Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
CA 02614184 2008-01-09
ROTARY SHELVING UNIT
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The present invention relates to a rotary shelf assembly that will
increase the
linier shelf space for the retail industry and in accordance with tobacco
legislation' in
particular, protects and hides the product or merchandise from public view.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] The retail industry is always looking for ways to increase the amount
of
display space in a retail store as a result of an explosion of new products
being
launched. Standard horizontal shelving in stores consists of a flat shelf to
display
product on. Often, there is a tremendous amount of wasted space behind the
front
facing of thin packed product like tobacco, DVD's, razor blades etc, when they
are
displayed on a standard flat shelf. For example, on an 18" shelf, a product
may only
require a 6 inches deep of shelf space, wasting 9" of space in behind the
front facing
of the product. The present invention Rotary shelving, for example, enables 6
rotating dispensing shelves to be utilized in only 2 ft of wall space/ height
of display
space. were as with standard flat shelves , 6 shelves would require 40 inches
to 48"
of wall space/height. Therefore, the present invention is very much needed and
useful in the retail environment. On embodiement of the present invention is
that the
divider assembly uses a constant force/spring load track. To push product
forward
and to hold product in place when the rotary shelving unit inverts the
shelves. One
prior art that does exist are spinners racks, which spin and display product
vertically
and uses gravity to keep product in place. Spinner racks usually sit on a base
on the
floor or counter. The present invention is substantially different in the
spinners, by
spinning and displaying product horizontally and therefore require constant
force/
spring load pressure to keep product in place and from falling out when
inverted. The
present invention can sit on the floor, bases of exisiting fixtures and
counter, mounted
under the counter away from public sight, above and on the counter using side
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poles, hung from the ceiling with brackets. As well, the present invention can
be
stacked on top of each other.
[0003] In addition to the need for maximizing the shelf space, retailers and
particularly those in the tobacco industry are being legislated to remove,
hide or
cover tobacco product on display from the public. In order to accommodate the
tobacco legislation in the past, retailers have removed tobacco product from
existing
displays and hid the tobacco inventory in drawers until requested by tobacco
purchasers. Retailers have also tried to cover the tobacco product on display
with a
shower curtains type apparatus that hangs from a rod mounted to the ceiling
above
or attached to the front of the display. Other retailers have had large custom
made
doors built specifically for their sites that are mounted to the ceiling
and/or floor.
These past attempts to hide product from public view require extensive
millwork and
trade labour, as well as being site-specific and costly to install.
DESCRIPTION OF INVENTION
[0004] The invention relates to a rotary shelf that increases the linier shelf
space for
retail displays and hide can the product or merchandise from view, and in
particular,
to hide tobacco products or similar products from view in jurisdictions where
required
by law.
Rotary Shelving Assembly
[0005] A preferred embodiment of the present invention, as illustrated in the
line
drawing of Figure 1, Figure 2 and Figure 3, The invention relates to a rotary
shelf
assembly for holding and displaying product horizontally. The rotary shelving
system
having at least one shelf, the shelf assembly comprising:
a. An aluminum, steel or plastic extrusion, sheet metal weldment, with a
coupling for at least one shelf/dispensing tray, this forms the linear axel
of the Rotary shelf.
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b. At least one aluminum, steel or plastic shelf/dispensing tray with
dividers that adjust to the width of the product
c. A top cover that hold product in place when inverted and helps to hide
product from view. This cover will be able to support graphics
d. Dividers with constant force/ spring load inserts that push product
forward and keep product from failing out when inverted. This design
has a unique divider, it has a locking feature that will be able to size any
size package, in order to make this dispense product effortless the
correct facing width for the package must be maintained for the
package to be dispensed correctly. The width of this space is
determined by the divider. This divider has a locking tab that is located
on a slight angle, it is this precise angle that gives the divider the ablity
for simple adjustment, of the facing width, then locks into position by
twisting the divider to the parallel locking position. This provides
instant adjustment and precision facing width.
Another embodiment of the present invention is that it is the Rotary I
Shelving assembly is modular and can be coupled together to fit each various
size
requirements, and therefore can be mass produced instead of custom made.
Another embodiment of the present invention is that a single or multiple
dispensing
assembles consisting of an axel and dispensing shelf/tray assemble can be
supported by the cabinet/cover housing
Another embodiment of the present invention is that a Rotary Shelving assemble
housed dispensing units can be stacked on top of each other.
Cabinet for covering and supporting Rotary dispensing unit.
[0007] Another embodiment of the present invention is an aluminum, steel and/
or
plastic cabinet/ cover/housing provides a support mechanism for at least one
axel
coupled to at least one shelf /dispensing unit. An embodiment of the aluminum,
steel
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and/ or plastic cabinet/ cover/housing is that the cover or housing provides a
support
mechanism for various configurations of doors including, two piece sliding
doors, a
one piece hinged pull down door that uses a plurality of magnets or looped
Velcro to
keep doors in the closed position, a one piece retractable door that travels
inside two
side tracks and can be pulled down or up to open and close and a hinged pop up
door. All of the various configurations of doors can be lockable and all of
the various
configurations of doors are supported by the housing or cover.
Rotary Axel for dispensing shelves/trays.
[0008] Another embodiment of the present invention is the linier axel which is
an
aluminum, steel or plastic extrusion, sheet metal weldment, with a coupling
for at
least one shelf/dispensing tray. The shelf or dispensing tray is coupled to
the axel by
an extrusion that connects the shelf/tray to the axel as shown in diagram FIG
3 and
4, detail "B". The axel may also be made out of a sheet metal weldment that
connects
the shelf/trays by welding them together . The sheet metal weldment and
shelf/trays
may also be riveted, bolted or screwed to each other. It is also possible for
the axel
to be made out of other materials and coupled to the dispensing shelves with
glue,
rivets or other methods .
[0009] Another embodiment of the present invention is that it is generally
produced
out of Aluminum, Steel and plastic, however, the present invention can be
produced
to virtually the same specification in corrugate, glass, wood or wood-
composite
materials.
Dispensing shelf/ trays assembly.
[0010] Another embodiment of the present invention is its dispensing
shelves/trays
assembly with divider assembly. The Divider assembly consists of an adjustable
rail
or track for separating each row or facing of product. Each Divider having a
constant
force, spring load inserts that push product forward and keep product from
falling out
when inverted.
[0011 ] In order to utilize the Rotary Shelving with Products that can not be
pushed
forward, such as sunglasses, will be held in place with clips or pockets.
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[0012] In order to utilize the Rotary Shelving with Products that can not be
pushed
forward, such as sunglasses, will be held in place with clips or pockets.
t = s~= ;:.Other features of the invention will be evident from the disclosure
of
several embodiments that follows.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
1 is a diagram of an embodiment of the invention showing the
rotary shelf assembly inside the housing cabinetlcover.
J,~~~~'~sa;iõ~ ~...FIG. 2 is a diagram of an embodiment of the invention
showing the
rotary shelf dispenser details including an axel and dispensing trays with top
cover
and constant force spring load dividers.
r.`}' ,I._ FIG. 3 is a diagram detailing one embodiment showing a side-view of
r,.,.. r...,.
the rotary shelf dispenser assembly including an axel and dispensing trays
with top
cover and with constant force spring load dividers.
LQ ~~~ 61, : 171 .FIG. 4 illustrates detail "B"
"' iu } F~?
_FIG. 5 illustrates detail "C"
~.~......,.~
~,. ,~
!~;~'.~~~j_ I. 6 details the constant force spring load divider details.
FIG. 7 details a side-view cut away of the rotary shelf dispenser
assembly and housing cabinet/cover.
[0021 ] Fig. 8 shows an angled inside -view of the Rotary shelf dispenser
assembly
and housing cabinet/cover.
[0022] Fig. 9 Shows an angled outside -view of the housing cabinet/cover.
[0023] Fig 10 Shows a straight on inside- view of the Rotary shelf dispenser
assembly and housing cabinet/cover.
[0024] Fig 11 shows a side view of the housing cabinet cover
[0025] FIG. 12 is a diagram showing a Hexagon metal weldment Axel.
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CA 02614184 2008-01-09
[0026] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing the Dispensing ShelflTray assembly
[0027] FIG. 14 is a diagram showing divider, constant force spring load
details
[0028] FIG. 15 is a diagram showing divider pusher details
[0029] FIG. 16 is a diagram showing divider, pusher details
[0030] FIG.17 is a rendering of Rotary Shelving unit mounted using poles on a
counter.
[0031] FIG 18 is a rendering of the Rotary Shelving unit sitting on a counter
or base.
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