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1. Technical Field
The embodiments described and claimed herein relate generally to signage devices. More specifically, at least some of the embodiments described herein relate to signage devices that are designed for reusable plastic containers (“RPC”) of the type that can be used by growers for shipping produce and by grocery stores for displaying and selling said produce.
2. Background Art
Produce growers and retailers (e.g., grocery stores) use many diverse concepts for packaging, shipping, and displaying produce. The industry, however, has been trending toward the use of RPCs that are used for both shipping purposes and display purposes. RPCs are seen by some as the “wave of the future” because they are environmentally friendly and provide for significant supply chain cost savings compared to corrugated boxes. Indeed, the RPC or tray can be put directly on display tables or in refrigerated case, eliminating the need for the time-consuming process of removing produce from its packaging and setting the produce directly on the display table/refrigerated case. Unfortunately, some retailers, especially higher-end retailers, are reluctant to take advantage of the cost-saving and environmental benefits of RPCs because they associate the look of RPCs with lower-end or warehouse retailers.
The embodiments described and claimed herein are signage devices for RPCs that create the “high-end” or “farmers market” look and feel desired by some retailers. The various embodiments disclosed herein are minimally invasive in that they are designed so that the produce is not obscured or touched by the sign and the shopper is not impeded from accessing the produce in any way. The embodiments are also designed to allow efficient signage removal and attachment when switching out RPCs and to allow efficient sign removal and replacement when prices or produce items change.
In one particular embodiment, a signage device is provided that comprises a panel for holding a sign. The panel has at least one “c”-shaped sign holder formed from a first lip positioned opposite from a second lip and a raised rib positioned parallel to and between the first and second lips. The first lip, second lip, and raised rib triangulate the sign to keep the sign in place.
In another embodiment, a signage device is provided that comprises a sign holder for holding a sign. The sign holder comprises a first wall element adjacent a second wall element and a first rib on the first wall element positioned opposite from a second rib on the second wall element. The first wall element and the second wall element define a trough. The first rib is staggered from the second rib so that the sign is held by the sign holder at three distinct points, including at the trough, at the first rib, and at the second rib.
In yet another embodiment, a signage device is provided that comprises a panel having a first segment being oriented at an angle to a second segment. The first segment and second segment are generally planar. The first segment has a first lip and the second segment has a second lip to collectively define a “c”-shaped channel for holding a sign.
In yet another embodiment, a signage device is provided that comprises a divider having at least one wall member for dividing an interior volume of a tray into a plurality compartments. The divider supports at least one sign holder.
In yet another embodiment, a signage device is provided that comprises at least one support and a panel. The support rotatably supports the panel, whereby the panel is free-swinging. A first surface of the panel has a first “c”-shaped channel for holding a first sign and a second surface of the panel having a second “c”-shaped channel for holding a second sign.
Other embodiments, which include some combination of the features discussed above and below and other features which are known in the art, are contemplated as falling within the claims even if such embodiments are not specifically identified and discussed herein.
These and other features, aspects, objects, and advantages of the embodiments described and claimed herein will become better understood upon consideration of the following detailed description, appended claims, and accompanying drawings where:
It should be understood that the drawings are not necessarily to scale and that the embodiments are sometimes illustrated by graphic symbols, phantom lines, diagrammatic representations and fragmentary views. In certain instances, details which are not necessary for an understanding of the embodiments described and claimed herein or which render other details difficult to perceive may have been omitted. It should be understood, of course, that the inventions described herein are not necessarily limited to the particular embodiments illustrated. Indeed, it is expected that persons of ordinary skill in the art may devise a number of alternative configurations that are similar and equivalent to the embodiments shown and described herein without departing from the spirit and scope of the claims.
Like reference numerals will be used to refer to like or similar parts from Figure to Figure in the following detailed description of the drawings.
Referring first to
The C-channel 120 is a printed sign holder with a first return lip 121 at the top edge and second return lip 122 at the bottom edge for sign 40 retention and includes a raised rib 123 on the top surface to create friction when the sign 40 is slid into the C-channel 120. This rib 123 in effect triangulates the tension between the sign 40 (signs are routinely removed and replaced) and the extrusion. The return lips 121, 122 are approximately parallel to the top surface of the C-channel, but can be biased toward the top surface for greater sign 40 retention as reflected by the lips 121a, 122a in
The clip stem 130 has a spring-loaded clip 131 (featured by inward angled walls) molded at the bottom edge of the clip stem 130 that allows the clip stem 130 to attach to the tray 1 at the top end of the tray wall 2. Above the clip 131 is a stem 132 with an inverted “L” shape that transitions from a wider shaped geometry at its base 133 to a round shaft at its proximal segment 134 and distal segment 135. In other words, the cross section of the stem 132 at its base 133 is greater than the remaining segments of the stem 132. The wider shaped geometry at the base 133 of the stem 132 offers greatly increased strength between the clip 131 and stem 132, thus inhibiting stress at the intersecting point between the stem 132 and clip 131 of the device 110.
The distal segment 135 of the stem 130 also has two raised and tapered vanes 136 that also provide resistance friction so the signage C-channel 120 won't spin or flop over and hide the graphics on the sign. Since the vanes 136 are tapering from a small base dimension down to a tight corner at the top of the vane 136, some measurable deflection will occur and provide needed resistance without jamming the C-channel 120 too tightly. As shown in
Referring now to
The angled sign holder 220 includes two opposing ribs 211, 212 which are designed to firmly hold a sign 40 in place. The opposing inward-facing ribs 211, 212 create a triangulating resistance that allows one or more devices to hold a given sign 40 at the desired angle for consumer viewing (three devices are shown in
Referring now to
The C-channel 320 is angled in the center so that the graphic sign 40 can have a score 41 down the length of it. This provides physical distinction for the organization of graphic elements (e.g., price above the score 41 and a description below the score 41). Non-scored cards 40 will also fit this angled channel by draping in a curved graphic presentation. The C-channel 320 is formed from a first wall segment 321 and a second wall segment 322. Each of the segments 321, 322 include a lip 323, 324 for sign retention. The lips 323, 334 are approximately parallel to their respective segment 321, 322, but can be biased toward the respective segment 321, 322 for greater sign 40 retention as reflected by the lips 323a, 324a in
On the bottom of the extrusion there is a full-length spring-loaded clip 330 that secures the device 310 to the tray 1. Given the length of the device and its typical positioning at the rear of the tray, the spring clip has a vertical rear wall 331 and an angled front wall 332. This asymmetry allows the device 310 to stay positioned vertically when attached to the tray 1 and not tip forward.
Referring now to
With particular reference to
Each signage mounting post 430 has relevant details at each end of the post 430. At the top there is a plate 431 molded at approximately a 15° angle so the signage is correctly positioned for consumer viewing when the device 410 and tray 1 are displayed in an angled refrigerated case (e.g., refrigerated produce display at a grocery store). The plate 431 can be oriented at other angles depending upon the application. At the bottom of the post 430 where the post enters tubular openings 453, 454 of the divider 450, there are two molded-in vanes 432, 433 that deflect to provide enough friction to allow the signage to be positioned and remain in place for consumer viewing. As refected in
With particular reference to FIGS. 9 and 13-15, the divider 450 includes two identical panels 451 comprising a wall member 452, a first tubular opening 453 at one end of the wall member 452 and a second tubular opening 454 at the opposite end of the wall member 452, a top edge bead 455 running along the top edge of the wall member 452, a bottom edge bead 456 running along the bottom edge of the wall member 452, a plurality of ventilation slots 457 along the length of the wall member 452, a plurality of bead elements 458 extending from the top edge bead 455 to the bottom edge bead 456, a mating slot 459 at the mid-point of the panel 451.
The plurality of ventilation slots 457 that provide needed ventilation when the divider 450 and tray 1 is located in the refrigerated (and frequently hydrated) areas in a grocery store produce department. The raised bead elements 458 that serve several functions, including improved material flow in the injection mold, increased strength-to-weight ratios since the bead allows the panels to be thinner in cross-section, and offer locking surface geometry for the panels.
The mating slot 459 is open at one end across the narrow dimension of the panel 451 and bisects the length-wise edge. The slot 459 has a flat interior end to it. It is this slot 459 that mates to the identical second panel 451 (which is inverted), thus forming the titular X shape device 410. The opening 460 of this mid-point slot 459 has a ‘flower-petal-like’ shape to its geometry where the open-faced shapes are intended to accept and interlock with the bottom edge bead 456 of the mating panel 451. This interlock is intended to provide a narrow range of motion to the assembled X-wing panels so that they will not rotate relative to each other over a wide range and make installation by the sales associate more difficult (thus leading to a failed installation and discarding of the device).
The tubular openings 453, 454 at each end of the panel allow signage mounting posts 430 to be inserted from either side. Each complete assembly will include four signage posts and four double-C-channel sign holders 420.
Referring now to
As best shown in
The clip stems 530 are injection molded as two identically inverted-L-shaped arms so the need for left/right orientation in not needed. The clip 531 located at the base of the post 532 is thus symmetrical across their centerline and can mount equally well on either side, or front or back tray wall. The walls of the clip 531 are inwardly directed to grip the side wall of the tray 1. The arm 533 that inserts into the tube 523 does not have friction vanes (as in other device descriptions) so the panel 520 can seek its own center-of-gravity and always hang straight (perpendicular to the store floor).
In order to achieve the widest signage panel possible, the post 532 is narrowed (compared to the previous embodiments) and positioned at the outer edges of the spring clip 531. This allows the panel 520 (and thus the signs 40a, 40b) to be wider and still provides a strong clip-post interface in the injection-molded component.
The arm 533 that slides into the tube 523 of the panel 520 has a step increase in diameter near the arm/post interface to form a shoulder 524 that prevents the arm 533 from sliding too far into the tube 523 and jamming at the 90 degree bend.
Although the inventions described and claimed herein have been described in considerable detail with reference to certain embodiments, one skilled in the art will appreciate that the inventions described and claimed herein can be practiced by other than those embodiments, which have been presented for purposes of illustration and not of limitation. Therefore, the spirit and scope of the appended claims should not be limited to the description of the embodiments contained herein.