CA1040422A

CA1040422A - Tagstrip for store shelves

Info

Publication number: CA1040422A
Application number: CA238,723A
Authority: CA
Inventors: John Williams
Original assignee: Canadian Business Machines Ltd
Current assignee: Canadian Business Machines Ltd
Priority date: 1975-10-29
Filing date: 1975-10-29
Publication date: 1978-10-17

Abstract

TAG STRIPS
ABSTRACT
The present invention provides an improved tag strip for shelves of the type made of sheet metal having a return portion on the forward edge thereof; the tag strip having a body portion with means for securing price tags and the like on the front thereof and attaching means extending rearwardly from the back to engage the return portion of the shelf.

Description

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SPECIFICATION

This invention relates to improvement in tag strips ~or store shelves and the like.
, In many shops and stores, especially grocery stores and the like wheremany kinds and brands o~ products are displayed ~or sale side by side and on several levels o~ shelves it is both convenient and desirable to have means ~or displaying the price which applies to each item, without relying on the price which may be stamped on the package, so as to be clearly apparent to the shopper.

It is also desirable to be able to change the applicable price in such display, especially as they relate to products ~or which the prices are frequently changable such as groceries.

Such prico indicators o~ten take the ~orm o~ individual plastic or cardboard tags bearing numbers which are assembled in any chosen combination and inserted in some sort o~ holder on the front of shelves where the items are displayed ~or sale.

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Such a holder o~ten takes the ~orm o~ a long strip run-ning along and attached to the ~orward edge o~ the shelves on which the items are displayed. Such strips are o~ten extruded with lower and upper lips which serve to grip the top and bottom of the cardboard or plastic tags, and allow them to be moved adjustably back and ~orth along the shelves.
'~, Such extruded strips are commonly attached to the shelves by the use o~ screws or bolts or other means in the construction o~ the display counters.
:, ~ It is the purpose o~ this invention to provide an a~Qe an improved tag stxip suit ~or neat and easy attachment to shelves o~ the type, now commonly in use, which are made ~rom sheet metal. By means o~ the present invention a tag strip is provided which is easily attached to a shelf, either during manu~acture or a~ter installation, and can be easily re-moved or replaced when necessary.

The present invention provides a tag strip ~or shelves o~ the type which have at the ~orward edge a rearwardly protruding return portion; said tag strip having a cross sectional con-~iguration comprising a body portion, adapted to extend along the ~ront o~ the shel~, and having means to secure price tags and the like on the ~ront thereo~, and attaching means projecting rearwardly ~rom said body portion to engage the return portion o~
the shel~. The attaching means comprise a member extending ~rom the rear o~ the body porti~ of the tag strip having a ~irst and second portion presenting a forwardly open space there between adapted to receive the shel~ return portion snugly therein.

These and other objects are sought to be met by the present invention whiçh can be better understood by re~erence to the following description and drawings in which:
Figure 1. is a perspective view o~ a counter structure with two shelves each having a tag strip in accordance with the present invention.

Figure 2. is a perspective view o~ a shel~ and an attached tag strip in accordance with the present invention showing the cross sectional con~iguration and relationship thereof.

In Figure 1. there is illustrated part o~ a display counter having a supporting wall 2 with two display shelves shown 10404ZZ4 and 6 respectively each having on the forward face thereof tag strips 8 and 10 respectively in accordance with the present in-vention. The lower tag strip 10 has for example price tags 12 ;; and 14 which are composed of individual cardboard or plastic tags bearing numerals (and decimals etc.) which may individually be inserted in the tag strips to display the price of the items on the shelf above. Such inserts bearing numerals or letters are easily available and commonly used for such display purposes.
In fact they are commonly used in conjunction with tag strips of previously known design.

Figure 2. is enlarged to show a portion of the type of shelf now commonly found in display counter~ used in drug stores and grocery stores etc. The shelf illustrated is one of the type ,~
which may be made out of sheet metal having a horizontal, planar top portion 16, and the forward edge having a vertical, downward extending face portion 18, and a rearwardly extending return por-tion 20 all formed from the one sheet by bending the metal at 90 degrees at two locations. This well known structure provides rigidity by the forward face 18 which resists the ~ending of the shel~ and the return portion 20 which prevents buckling of the face portion 18.

The tag strip in the illustrated embodiment of the present invention runs along the ~orward edge o~ the shelf and has a sub-stantially upright body portion 22 with an upper lip 24 running along its upper edge and the lower lip 26 running along its lower edge.

The upper lip extends forwardly and downwardly in two pro-jections to present two downward facing grooves running along the length of the strip. lQ4~4ZZ

Similarly the lower lip also extends ~orwardly with two projections extending upwardly to provide two spaced-apart up-ward facing grooves. The two pairs of grooves thus provide means for holding the plastic or cardboard tags illustrated in Figure 1., being dimensioned according to the size of the tags.
The spacing of the two grooves in the lower lip allows for two different sizes o~ inserts.

As best seen ln Figure 2. there is, extending rearwardly from the rear of the body portion 22, attaching means 30 which also runs along the length of the strip. This attaching means has a first portion 32 attached to and projecting rearwardly from the rear of body portion 22 terminating in a U-turn, and has a second portion 34 which extends forwardly therefrom towards, but not connected to, the body portion 22. The forward edge of the second portion 34 terminates in an upstanding ridge 36.

The rearward extending portion 32 and the forward extending portion 34 of the attaching means are parallelled to each other and spaced slightly apart 80 as to accommodate snugly the return portion 20 of the metal shelf.

Thus by this invention a tag strip may be provided for shelves of the type ~abricated from sheet metal having a return portion without the necessity of fabrication at the factory or without the need for any skill or equipment to attach them to counter shelves-already installed. By holding the tag strip under the front face of the shelves so that the rear edge of the return 20 is inserted into the space between the upstanding ridge 36 and the body portion 22 the strip is then pulled forward and `

upward until the return portion 20 is ~orced into the space between the portions 32 and 34 of the attaching means. The body portion 22 will prevent the strip from moving backwards off the return 20 and the resiliency o~ the materialwill hold the strip along the front face o~ the shel~ in the position shown in Figure 2.

The installation method described above requires some flexibility in the attaching means such as might be provided if the tag strip is made of plastic as the inventor pre~ers.
However, if the strip was made of a less flexible and resilient material such as metal, the tag strip of this design cOula be installed by sliding along to the return o~ the shelf before the ends are ffbstructed by any end walls in assembling the ; counter.

Whether they were made of metal or pLastic or other material lt would be readily appreciated that the entire strip, with all means necessary for attaching it to the shelf can be made by extruding a long length of a cross sectional shape as disclosed herein and merely cutting the same into appropriate lengths.
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It will of course be appreciated that various modifications and variations of the illustrated embodiment may be employed -I without departing ~rom the inventive concept herein.
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Claims

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property or privilege is claimed are defined as follows;

1. A tag strip for shelves of the type which have at the forward edge a rearwardly protruding return portion; said tag strip comprising an elongated length of extrudable material, having a cross sectional configuration comprising, a body portion substantially upstanding adjacent to and along the forward edge of said shelf, means to secure tags to the forward face of said body portion of said tag strip, attaching means comprising a rearwardly projecting member having a first portion extending horizontally rearwardly from approximately the mid line of said body portion and thence extending around and forwardly to present a second portion parallel to said first portion and forming a forwardly open U-shaped member adapted to receive said shelf return portions snugly therein.

2. A tag strip as claimed in Claim 1 in which said tag securing means comprises at least one downwardly open groove running along the top of said body portion and at least one upwardly open groove running along the bottom of said body portion, said grooves adapted to engage the upper and lower edges respectively of a tag.

3. A tag strip as claimed in Claim 2 in which there is a first groove along the lower edge of said body portion and a second groove spaced downwardly and outwardly from said first groove along the bottom of said body portion.

4. A tag strip as claimed in Claims 1, 2, and 3 in which a said tag strip is made of a resiliently flexible plastic capable of deforming sufficient to allow insertion of said shelf return portion in said attaching means and resilient enough to support the said tag strip by engaging said return portion when inserted.