This invention generally relates to retail merchandise displays, and more particularly to self-facing retail merchandise displays for biasing retail merchandise forward.
The retail industry customarily uses self-facing merchandise display trays which are also commonly referred to as auto-facing merchandise displays. An example of such a display tray is seen for example in United States Patent Publication No. 2013/0112634. These trays incorporate a biasing member in the form of pushers, pusher paddles, or pusher bodies to move retail merchandise to the front of a display tray.
The movement of the retail merchandise to the front of the merchandise display tray in turn places the retail merchandise at the front of the retail merchandise shelf since in most situations the tray is mounted on top of the retail merchandise shelf. Use of the self-facing retail merchandise tray with biased pushers is desirable because the use thereof avoids the manual labor once required by store employees who would walk the store and move individual items of retail merchandise from the back of a store shelf to the front of the store shelf. Such activity is commonly referred to as facing the shelves. The front facing of the retail merchandise on the trays and thus, on the shelf upon which the trays rest, allows customers to easily see and select an item of retail merchandise for purchase.
Accordingly, self-facing retail merchandise display trays are critical in reducing labor costs associated with manual facing of retail merchandise displays. Additionally, profitability is increased with retail merchandise at the front of a store shelf because of its increased visibility to the consumer, ease of access, and an overall aesthetically pleasing appearance of a well-organized and well-kept store which in turn ensures repeat as well as new customers.
Traditional trays with self-facing pushers have not proven adequate in auto-facing some types of cylindrical shaped merchandise. For example, cylindrical spray paint cans. Specifically, these cylindrical cans have protruding rings around the bottom of the can. As an intermediate can, that is, a can sandwiched between a preceding can and a succeeding can moves forward to the front of the shelf on the pusher biased tray, its protruding ring slides over the top of the ring of the preceding can and the immediately succeeding can. This type of problem is illustrated in
When an intermediate can has been pushed into this configuration it rides on the protruding rings of the preceding and succeeding cans. Undesirable problems arise when a consumer selects a front faced can to remove from the display tray. More particularly, as the can that is nearest the front stop of the tray is selected by the consumer and lifted from the retail merchandise channel within the tray, the succeeding can is lifted because its protruding ring is over the top of the protruding ring of the can that is being lifted out of the display. That is, instead of the consumer being able to lift just one can, two cans are lifted. When two cans are lifted from the tray the cans may be moved out of the desired linear array within the retail merchandise channel of the tray such that the self-facing pusher is not able to move freely to bias, that is push, the remaining merchandise to the front of the display. Further, the succeeding can that was not intended to have been lifted by the consumer may fall from the retail display as the selected can is lifted. When this happens, the cans, often times under pressure, as is the case for example with cylindrical spray paint cans, can be damaged during the fall.
Accordingly, there is a need in the art for a pusher that can bias cylindrical merchandise forward in an auto-facing retail merchandise display so that when a cylindrical can is selected the succeeding can does not fall from the display or become so displaced within the retail merchandise channel that the self-facing biasing is interrupted.
The invention provides such a pusher. These and other advantages of the invention, as well as additional inventive features, will be apparent from the description of the invention provided herein.
In one aspect, a retail merchandise pusher tray is provided. The embodiment of the merchandise pusher tray according to this aspect includes a base structure having at least one divider mounted to the base structure and extending upwardly from the base structure. A front stop is mounted at a front end of the base structure. At least one pusher is slidably mounted to the base structure. The pusher further includes a bottom wall and a pair of sidewalls extending upwardly from the bottom wall in an opposed space relation. A front wall of the pusher extends upwardly from the bottom wall. The front wall includes a base portion and a projection portion. The projection portion extends upwardly and diagonally away from the base portion to an upper edge. The upper edge of the projection portion is forward of the base portion.
The base structure can include a floor over a rectangular support structure. The floor may be comprised of wire members. The floor is mounted on top of the rectangular support structure. The at least one divider can include a pair of wire dividers arranged in opposed space relationship to define a retail merchandise channel. The front stop may be removable from the base structure. In yet other embodiments the front stop may be fixedly attached to the base structure at the front end of the tray. The front wall of the at least one pusher can include a back surface. The back surface can support a plurality of rib members in proximately parallel relation to the pair of side walls. The bottom wall of the at least one pusher includes an attachment arrangement. The attachment arrangement includes a pair of apertures. Each aperture permits a snap fit of a longitudinal member of the base structure.
In another aspect, a merchandise pusher tray is provided. An embodiment of a merchandise pusher tray according to this aspect includes a base structure and at least one divider mounted to the base structure and extending upwardly therefrom. A front stop is mounted at the front end of the base structure and the at least one pusher is slidably mounted to the base structure. The at least one pusher further includes a bottom wall and a top wall in opposed space relation to the bottom wall. A pair of side walls extends upwardly from the bottom wall in an opposed space relation and interposed between the bottom wall and the top wall. A front wall extends upwardly from the bottom wall to an uppermost edge. A depression is formed at the uppermost edge such that the depression forms a portion of the front wall and a portion of the top wall.
The base structure may include a rectangular support structure and a floor supported by the rectangular support structure. The floor may be comprised of wire members that include a plurality of longitudinal members in opposed space relationship and a plurality of horizontal members in opposed space relationship. A portion of each of the plurality of longitudinal members may be joined transversely to a portion of each plurality of horizontal members.
The rectangular support structure may include at least two horizontal bar members in opposed space relation and at least two longitudinal corner plate members in opposed space relation. The at least two horizontal bar members may be joined to the at least two longitudinal corner plate members proximate to ends thereof. The retail merchandise pusher tray of this embodiment may further include a curved front stop. In yet other embodiments the front stop may be flat. Further, the at least one divider may include a pair of wire dividers. Each divider may include a top longitudinal wire member over bottom longitudinal wire member in opposed space relation.
A first viewing window may be provided between the top and bottom longitudinal wire members and a second viewing window may be provided between the bottom longitudinal wire members and the floor. The pusher may include a cavity that provides for a biasing member. There may be a terminus end of the biasing member that is extendable through an attachment arrangement of the bottom wall to the front stop. The top wall of the pusher may further include a depression having a radius of curvature sized to approximate a radius of curvature of an item of retail merchandise.
In yet another aspect, a merchandise pusher tray is provided. An embodiment of a pusher tray according to this aspect includes a base structure and at least one divider mounted to the base structure and extending upwardly therefrom. A front stop may be mounted at a front end of the base structure and at least one pusher may be slidably mounted to the base structure. The at least one pusher may include a bottom wall and a top wall in opposed space relation to the bottom wall. A pair of side walls may extend upwardly from the bottom wall in an opposed space relation and interposed between the bottom wall and the top wall. A front wall may extend upwardly from the bottom wall. A retail merchandise support depression may form at least a portion of the front wall and the top wall. The retail merchandise support depression may have a radius of curvature which is sized to approximate a radius of curvature of a generally cylindrical item of retail merchandise such that the generally cylindrical item of retail merchandise is positioned within the retail merchandise support depression.
The base structure may include a wire floor mounted on top of a rectangular support structure. The wire floor may be in direct contact with the retail merchandise when the retail merchandise is mounted thereon. The rectangular support structure may include two hook members in opposed space relation configured for receipt of a portion of a front face of a retail merchandise shelf. The front stop of the pusher tray may include a retailer merchandise label holder. The at least one divider of the retail merchandise pusher tray may include a pair of wire dividers in opposed space relation and mounted to the wire floor of the base structure. The top wall of the pusher includes a vertical member proximately perpendicular to the top wall of the pusher. The vertical member extends between the pair of side walls and upwardly from the top wall. A forward most edge of the top wall can extend over a forward most edge of the bottom wall. The forward most edge of the top wall may include the retail merchandise support depression therein.
The accompanying drawings incorporated in and forming a part of the specification illustrate several aspects of the present invention and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the invention. In the drawings:
While the invention will be described in connection with certain preferred embodiments, there is no intent to limit it to those embodiments. On the contrary, the intent is to cover all alternatives, modifications and equivalents as included within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.
Turning now to the drawings,
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The tilted pusher 20 is moveable relative to the base structure 12 by means of the biasing member 82 in longitudinal direction 136 towards the front 118 of the tray 10 and also moveable in the longitudinal direction 137 towards the back of the tray 120. As previously discussed the biasing member 82 may be a coiled spring. A terminus end 84 of the biasing member 82 is extendable through an attachment arrangement 48 of the bottom wall 22 to the front stop 16.
Turning to the top view of the tilted pusher 20 as shown in
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All references, including publications, patent applications, and patents cited herein are hereby incorporated by reference to the same extent as if each reference were individually and specifically indicated to be incorporated by reference and were set forth in its entirety herein.
The use of the terms “a” and “an” and “the” and similar referents in the context of describing the invention (especially in the context of the following claims) is to be construed to cover both the singular and the plural, unless otherwise indicated herein or clearly contradicted by context. The terms “comprising,” “having,” “including,” and “containing” are to be construed as open-ended terms (i.e., meaning “including, but not limited to,”) unless otherwise noted. Recitation of ranges of values herein are merely intended to serve as a shorthand method of referring individually to each separate value falling within the range, unless otherwise indicated herein, and each separate value is incorporated into the specification as if it were individually recited herein. All methods described herein can be performed in any suitable order unless otherwise indicated herein or otherwise clearly contradicted by context. The use of any and all examples, or exemplary language (e.g., “such as”) provided herein, is intended merely to better illuminate the invention and does not pose a limitation on the scope of the invention unless otherwise claimed. No language in the specification should be construed as indicating any non-claimed element as essential to the practice of the invention.
Preferred embodiments of this invention are described herein, including the best mode known to the inventors for carrying out the invention. Variations of those preferred embodiments may become apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art upon reading the foregoing description. The inventors expect skilled artisans to employ such variations as appropriate, and the inventors intend for the invention to be practiced otherwise than as specifically described herein. Accordingly, this invention includes all modifications and equivalents of the subject matter recited in the claims appended hereto as permitted by applicable law. Moreover, any combination of the above-described elements in all possible variations thereof is encompassed by the invention unless otherwise indicated herein or otherwise clearly contradicted by context.
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