Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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Display S sy tem
Field of Invention
This invention relates generally to a display device and more specifically to
a
display system having a display panel that can securely engage a display
shelf.
Background of Invention
Display systems have been developed in the past to exhibit a wide variety of
advertising in merchandise outlets such as supermarkets and the like. In-store
merchandising systems have often included C-channels on steel merchandise
shelves that
accommodate either labels or sign holders. The varying sizes of the C-channels
result
in the labels and sign holders becoming displaced or not fitting properly. To
overcome
this problem and effectively secure the labels or sign holders, it is often
necessary to
force the label into the C-channel or glue the label to the channel. This
results in
problems when the labels have to be removed from the channel once labels are
no longer
required.
Prior art display systems have been devised to address the aforenoted
problems.
For example, United States Patent No. 5,473,833 issued on December 12, 1995 to
Ostrovsky, relates to a clip-on label holder and cover. The clip-on label
holder may be
inserted into a price ticket channel member of a shelf. The cover comprises an
elongate
clear plastic strip, having a clear plastic display panel and an integral
clip.
Harnois et al. is the owner of United States Patent No. 5,4l9,066 which issued
on May 30, 1995. This patent relates to a card holder extrusion mounted on a
conventional card holder located in front of a shelf.
United States Patent No. 5,488,793 issued to Gebka et al. on February 6, 1996.
This patent relates to an extruded plastic price channel which can be fitted
into a C-
channel at the front of a merchandise shelf to provide a mounting for
merchandise labelling.
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United States Patent No. 5,458,307 was issued on October 17, 1995 to Gebka.
This patent relates to a ribbed plastic price cha~mel for use on a product
display shelf to
receive product labels. The ribbed plastic price channel has a high friction
coating on
the ribs to reduce the tendency for an inserted label to slide along the
channel and out a
position.
United States Patent No. 4,995,182 was issued on February 26, 1991 to Fast. A
sign holder is disclosed for use in attaching label cards or other signs in
prominent
positions. The sign holder may project from a front edge of supermarket and
like
product display shelves.
United States Patent No. 4,557,064 was issued on December 10, 1985 to
Thompson. This patent relates to a plastic display card holder for receiving
and gripping
a card for display purposes and comprises of interconnected spaced-apart
parallel wall
portions.
United States Patent No. 4,384,418 was issued on May 24, 1983 to Alley. This
patent relates to a shelf display and is constructed for vertical elastic
mounting of a
product information member between upper and lower shelves.
United States Patent No. 4,208,818 was issued on June 24, 1980 to Butcher.
This
patent relates to a display device for displaying two similar articles on a
store shelf. The
display device has a base portion which includes a flat sheet adapted to
overlie a shelf
which is generally horizontal. A flexible sign holder is connected to the
front of the flat
sheet and extends forwardly and downwardly therefrom for containing pricing
information.
United States Patent No. 5,682,698 was issued on November 4, 1997 to Bevins.
This patent relates to a plastic sign holder and is designed to fit into C-
channels of
different heights along front edges of respective merchandise display shelves.
The holder
is a plastic sheet with downwardly folded flaps of different heights at the
top and bottom
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edges. The flaps are adapted to the heights of the respective channels so that
the holder
can be reversed for selective use in either channel.
United States Patent No. 4,338,739 was issued on July 13, 1982 to Greenberger.
This patent relates to a display device which is adapted for use in
conjunction with
conventional shelf moldings. The sign includes a first portion which snaps
within the
molding and a second portion which extends therefrom.
United States Patent No. 5,375,803 was issued on December 27, 1994 to Kump.
This patent relates to a holder for planar or sheet material includes a first
panel, a second
panel and a hinge along which an edge of the first panel is secured to an edge
of the
second panel.
United States Patent No. 4,704,813 was issued on November 10, l987 to Fast.
This patent relates to a multipurpose display card holder that is formed from
a rectangular
blank of plastic sheet. The blank is divided by three transverse crease lines
into four
contiguous panels namely a base forming panel at one end of the blank, a first
card
holder panel adjacent the base forming panel, a bridging panel adjacent the
first card
holder panel and a second card holder panel adjacent the bridging panel at the
other end
of the blank.
Thus a display system which provides an easy and secure way of attaching and
detaching a display panel to a merchandise display shelf without the need for
a C-channel
or fasteners is desirable.
Summary of the Invention
An object of one aspect of the present invention is to provide an improved
display
system.
In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a
display
system comprising of a holding means having at least two panels, a stopping
member and
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a retaining grove. The display system may further comprise of a display means
having
a locking member wherein the locking member fits securely into the retaining
groove,
and the stopping member prevents the display means from being dislodged.
Preferably, the holding means may be further defined by three panels, wherein
the three panels are oriented into a Z-shape. The holding means may also be
defined
with two panels, a front panel and a back panel that are associated with one
another so
that the display means may fit securely between the two panels.
Conveniently, the stopping member may be further defined as an angled rib and
the display means may be defined as a folded display panel having a front edge
and a
back edge. Preferably the locking member may be a lip located on the back edge
of the
folded display panel.
In accordance with still another aspect of the invention, there is provided a
method
for removably mounting a display system having a Z-shaped holding means which
may
have a stopping member and retaining groove and a display means which may have
a
locking member. The method requires attaching the Z-shaped holding means to a
display
shelf, and then attaching the display means to the Z-shaped member wherein the
locking
member snaps into the retaining groove and the stopping member holds the
display means
in an attached position.
Brief Description of Drawings
A detailed description of the preferred embodiments are provided herein below
by way of example only with reference to the following drawings, in which:
Fig. 1, in a perspective view, illustrates a display system in accordance with
a
preferred embodiment of the present invention.
Fig. 2 , in a perspective view, illustrates a display system in accordance
with a
second preferred embodiment of the present invention.
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Fig. 3, in a perspective view, illustrates the holding means in accordance
with the
preferred embodiment described in Fig. 1.
Fig. 4, in a perspective view, illustrates the holding means in accordance
with the
preferred embodiment described in Fig. 2.
Fig. 5, in a perspective view, illustrates the display panel in accordance
with the
preferred embodiments described in Fig. 1 and 2.
Fig. 6, in a perspective view, illustrates the display system in operation.
Fig. 7, in a front view, illustrates the display system in operation.
In the drawings, preferred embodiments of the invention are illustrated by way
of example. It is to be expressly understood that the description and the
drawings are
only for the purpose of illustration and as an aid to understanding, and are
not intended
as a definition of the limits of the invention.
Best Mode for Carrying Out the Invention
In the description which follows, like parts are marked throughout the
specification and the drawings with the same respective reference numerals.
The
drawings are not necessarily to scale and in some instances proportions may
have been
exaggerated in order to more clearly depict certain features of the invention.
Referring to Fig. 1, 6 and 7 there is illustrated in a perspective view, a
display
system 10 in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention.
The
display system 10 includes a holding means 12 comprising of at least two
panels 14, a
stopping member 16 and a retaining groove 18.
The display system 10 also includes a display means 20 having a locking member
22. The locking member 22 of the display means 20 may associate with the
retaining
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groove 18 of the holding means 12 and the stopping member 16 may associate
with the
display means 20 so that the display means 20 is secure in an attached
position 24.
Referring to Fig. 3, the holding means l0 may be further defined as having
three
panels, a front panel 26, an internal panel 28, and a back panel 30. The three
panels
may associated with one another in a Z-shape 32. In the Z-shape 32
orientation, the back
panel 30 may engage a conventional display shelf 34, as seen in retail stores
.
The stopping member 16 may be further defined as a rib 36 that can associate
with the internal panel 28 of the Z-shape 32 holding means 12. More
specifically, the
rib 36 may be angled in a downward direction 38 at the top edge 40 of the
internal panel
28. The downward direction 40 of the angled rib 36 allows the display means 20
to be
securely held in the Z-shaped 32 holding means 12 in the attached position 24.
This is
accomplished as the angled rib 36 prevents the display means 20 from moving in
an
upward direction if the display means 20 is moved or knocked by a passer-by.
Referring to Fig. 5, the display means 20 may be further defined as comprising
a folded display panel 48. Folded display panel 48 may have a front edge 50
and a back
edge 52. The locking member 22 may associate on the back edge 52 of the folded
display panel 48. The locking member 22 may be further defined as a lip 54.
Referring to Fig. 3, retaining groove 18 is formed by the association of the
bottom
edge 44 of internal panel 28 and the bottom edge 46 of front panel 26.
Specifically, the
lip 54 of the folded display panel 48 may fit into the retaining groove 18 so
as to securely
attach the folded display panel 48 to the Z-shaped 32 holding means 12. The
display
system 10 may be made from rigid plastic so as to give strength and structure
to the
display means 20 and the locking member 22. This additional rigidity also
allows for the
locking member 22 or lip 54 to "snap" into the retaining groove 18 thereby
helping to
secure the display means 20 to the Z-shaped holding means 12.
The rigidity of the plastic also enables the angled rib 36 to act as an
effective
stopping member 16, and the back panel 28 to attach to the display shelf 34
and support
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the weight of the display system 10. The display system 10 may also be made
from a
transparent material to allow for a "see-through" effect. The display means 20
may have
various advertising or promotional material or the like on its surface to
alert the
consumer.
Referring to Fig. 2 and 4, holding means 12 of the display system 10 may also
be comprised of only a front panel 56 and a back panel 58. The front panel 56
and the
back panel 58 may be oriented juxtaposed to one another and connected to form
a
retaining groove 60. A stopping member 62 may be located at the top edge 64 of
the
back panel 58. As described for the embodiment shown in Fig. 1 and 3, the
stopping
member 62 may be further defined as a rib 66.
More specifically, the rib 66 may be angled in a downward direction 68 at the
top
edge 64 of the back panel 58. The downward direction 68 of the angled rib 66
allows
the display means 70 to be securely held between the back panel 58 and the
front panel
56 in the attached position 72. This is accomplished as the angled rib 66
prevents the
display means 70 from moving in an upward direction if the display means 70 is
moved
or knocked by a passer-by. The back panel 58 may be attached to a display
shelf 34 by
means of a fastener, such as adhesive tape and the like.
Referring to Fig. 1 and 3, in operation, the display system 10 having a Z-
shaped
holding means 80 may be removably mounted to a display shelf 34 using the
following
method: attaching the Z-shaped holding means 80 to a display shelf 34;
attaching the
display means 82 to the Z-shaped holding means 80 by snapping the locking
member 84
of the display means 82 into the retaining groove 86; positioning the display
means 82
securely to the Z-shaped holding means 80 with the aid of the stopping member
88.
As described above, the Z-shaped holding means 80 may be further defined as a
front panel 90, an internal panel 92 and a back panel 94, wherein the back
panel 94
attaches the display system 10 to the display shelf 34, and the internal panel
92 and the
back panel 94 hold the display means 82 in an attached position 24. The
display means
82 may be further defined as a folded display panel 98 having a back edge 100
and a
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front edge 102. The locking member 84 may be further defined as a rigid lip
104 located
on the back edge 100 of the folded display panel 98. The rigid lip 104 may
snap into the
retaining groove 86 to secure the folded display panel 98 to the Z-shaped
holding means
80. The display system 10 may be made from resilient plastic or the like, and
may be
transparent.
Various embodiments of the invention have now been described in detail. Since
changes in and/or additions to the above-described best mode may be made
without
departing from the nature, spirit or scope of the invention, the invention is
not to be
limited to said details.
