FR2866142A1 - DEVICE FOR FASTENING AN ELECTRONIC LABEL, ESPECIALLY PRICE DISPLAY IN A SALES SITE. - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention proposes a new device for fixing an electronic tag, in particular for displaying prices in a sales area. According to the invention, the device comprises: a fixed part (2 0) capable of being mounted on a part structure of the sales area, - a movable part (10) mounted in an articulated manner about a generally horizontal axis (A) on the fixed part (20) and having arrangements (11, 12, 12 ') for the mounting an electronic tag, and - a variable angular wedge (23, 33) making it possible to determine one of a plurality of angular positions between the fixed part and the movable part receiving the electronic tag under the effect of the force of gravity The orientation of the electronic label is thus easily adapted to its situation in relation to the eyes of the consumer and / or to the particular orientation of the shelves displaying the articles.

Description

The present invention relates generally to equipment and

  accessories for sales areas such as supermarkets and hypermarkets, as well as for any presentation of products requiring

information.

  Nowadays, the prices of the products sold in supermarkets are more and more frequently displayed by means of electronic labels with liquid crystal display (LCD) receiving the price information from the centralized management system of the store by link of preference wireless. These labels are in the form of a small box generally parallelepiped fixed on the nose (front) of the shelf of gondola on which are arranged the articles. A label attachment device receives the housing of the label and has a clip adapted to the tablet or a rail attached to the tablet.

  These tablets can have different shapes, and they can also be tilted to use the force of gravity to drag the products to customers as items are taken by them. More traditionally, they can be simply horizontal.

  Finally, the gondola tablets are located at different heights, typically between the height of the ground and about 2 meters or more.

  In addition, a good readability of the electronic label by the consumer requires that its front face is substantially perpendicular to the direction of view of the consumer in question. For tablets located in height, the face is inclined downwards, and vice versa for low shelves.

  Faced with this variety of shelf arrangements, it is usually used as many different media label that situations to manage, so that in all cases a proper visibility of the LCD display of the label is ensured. But this obviously weighs down the design, installation and management of electronic tag systems, and contributes to a higher overall cost.

  In addition, these label fasteners generally provide a rigid mounting of the label on the tablet, so that in case of shock (which is far from rare on busy places of sale), there is sometimes a break either of the label fastening device itself, or parts (rail or label housing) with which the fastener cooperates.

  The present invention aims to overcome these disadvantages of the state of the art.

  To this end, it proposes a device for fixing an electronic tag, particularly for displaying prices in a sales area, characterized in that it comprises: a fixed part that can be mounted on a part of the structure of the sales area, - a mobile part hingedly mounted around a generally horizontal axis on the fixed part (20) and having arrangements for mounting an electronic tag, and - a variable angular wedge making it possible to determine one of a plurality of angular positions between the fixed part and the mobile part receiving the electronic tag under the effect of the force of gravity exerted on the latter.

  Some preferred, but not limiting, aspects of this device are the following: the variable angular wedge is formed by a slider slidably mounted on the movable part.

  * the slider is sliding in the horizontal direction.

  the cursor comprises a head received in an opening formed in the bottom of a cradle able to receive the electronic tag.

  * The cursor comprises a bearing portion adapted to be based on one of a plurality of support zones formed on the fixed part.

  * The support zones are formed below a hook formed on the fixed part and adapted to receive by latching a rod projecting from the rear of the movable part to define the joint.

  the plurality of angular positions comprises an angular position in which a display face of an electronic tag mounted in the device is substantially vertical.

  the plurality of angular positions comprises two angular positions in which a display face of an electronic tag mounted in the device is respectively inclined in two opposite directions with respect to a vertical plane.

  * the fixed part includes arrangements for its attachment to a shelf or a rail attached to the shelf.

  Other aspects, objects and advantages of the present invention will appear better on reading the following detailed description of preferred embodiments thereof, given by way of nonlimiting example and with reference to the appended drawings, in which: FIGS. 1A-1C illustrate the adjustable fastening device of the invention, in profile view, in its environment, in three different adjustment positions. FIG. 2 illustrates the fastening device in front view, in the position corresponding to FIG. 1B, and FIG. 3 illustrates in perspective a bearing region and an associated support member respectively belonging to two parts of the device illustrated in the preceding figures.

  Referring now to the drawings, there is shown a fixing device which comprises a label receiving part 10, having a cradle 11 adapted to receive, in a non-removable manner without particular tools (according to a principle known per se), the housing generally parallelepipedic of an electronic price display tag (not shown). This cradle 11 is delimited by upper and lower walls 12, 12 ', and arrangements not detailed because out of the scope of the invention are provided for fixing the electronic tag in its cradle.

  The device comprises a second part 20 having a clip 21 for its attachment either directly on a gondola shelf (not shown) provided with frontal arrangements of the lips or the like type, or on a rail (not shown) fixed on the front of the tablet. This clamp 21 includes, for this purpose, arrangements 211, 213 and 214 for embedding and / or hooking for the aforementioned fixing tablet or rail. In the present example, FIG. 1B illustrates the mounting of the clamp 21 on a gondola shelf T having, in a manner known per se, upper and lower oblique lips respectively L1 and L2.

  Outwardly from the main portion 210 of the clamp, and in one piece with it, is provided a hook 22 defining a generally cylindrical, generally upwardly open horizontal interior passage. Correspondingly, the portion 10 of the device comprises a rod 13 defining a pivot axis A, extending rearwardly relative to the bottom wall of the cradle 11 and secured to this cradle by means of two lateral supports 14. The width of the hook 22 is slightly less than the distance between the supports 14, so that the axis 13 can be introduced into the hook by snapping from the top, so as to achieve an articulated assembly between the parts 10 and 20 of the device, and therefore between the electronic tag and the tablet.

  The device also comprises a sliding slider 30 which comprises a head 31 mounted to slide horizontally in a horizontal opening 15, horizontally elongate, formed in the central region of the bottom of the cradle of the part 10. This head 31, immediately behind this wall bottom, is extended by an amount 32 directed upwards, itself extended backwards by a bearing portion 33.

  Correspondingly, and as also well shown in Figure 3, the front face of the region 210 of the clamp 21 comprises, immediately below the hook 22 participating in the pivotal connection described above, support arrangements generally designated by the reference 23 and comprising three zones 231, 232 and 233 which succeed one another horizontally below the hook 22, the zone 231 being the most protruding with respect to the outer face of the main region 210 of the clamp 21, while the zone 233 extends flush with this outer face and the intermediate zone 232 extends only slightly projecting.

  Small bosses formed on the upper and lower edges of the opening 15 are as many hard points to identify three preferred positions for the cursor 30. In correspondence with these three positions are formed at the bottom of the cradle 11 a series of pins R1 , R2, R3 allowing, as will be seen in the following, to help the operator to adjust the fixing device.

  FIG. 1A illustrates a first adjustment of the fixing device, in which the slider 30, acting for example on the head, occupies a position such that its bearing portion 33 is facing the most protruding zone 231 of the support arrangements . With such support, the bottom of the cradle 11 here a position oriented at about 45 relative to the vertical. In this way, a label received in the cradle 11 takes an orientation such that it can easily be read when the label is substantially lower than the consumer's eye height, and typically when the label equips one of the lowest shelves of a supermarket gondola. Alternatively, this position can be used for electronic tags equipping downwardly inclined tablets, so as to upwardly raise the display face of said labels.

  In FIGS. 1B and 2, the slider 30 occupies its median position, where the support portion 33 of the slider bears against the zone 232 of the support arrangements.

  In this position, the cradle 11 has an orientation such that the front face of the electronic tag received in it will extend in a generally horizontal plane, which is well suited for tablets located more or less at the height of the head or bust of the average consumer.

  Finally, in FIG. 1C, the slider 30 occupies the position where its support portion 33 is opposite the zone 233 of the support arrangements 23, which is substantially flush with the front face of the main portion 210 of the In this position, the cradle 11 and the electronic tag that it is intended to receive occupy a negative orientation position (with respect to the positive orientation illustrated in FIG. 1A), with an angular value of about 15. This position is well suited for electronic labels mounted on the highest shelves of supermarket gondolas.

  It will be noted here that the slider 30 can be moved either by acting on the head 31 from the front, prior to the introduction of an electronic tag, or by acting on the upright 32 and / or the support member 33 from the back, especially when an electronic tag has already been put in place.

  Thus, the slider 30 acts as a wedge with variable action as a function of the position it occupies, to limit the rotation of the rotating part 10 of the device relative to the fixed part 20 under the effect of gravity.

  It is interesting to observe here that, in each of the positions, the part 10 of the device receiving the electronic tag is free to pivot upwards and return to its initial position, for example when subjected to a shock, This can happen quite often in very crowded places. This freedom of movement (ie a counterclockwise rotation in FIGS. 1A, 1B and 1C) makes it possible to reduce the risk of breakage, breakage or other degradation at the level of the fastening device assembly. label (as well as the rail when such a rail is present), because the stresses exerted in this direction are automatically absorbed.

  Preferably, all the parts constituting the fixing device described are made of plastic material injected, therefore in an economical manner.

  Of course, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described and shown, but the skilled person will be able to make many variations or modifications.

  In particular, it is understood that the device described can be easily modified by those skilled in the art to adopt a greater number of inclinations and / or inclinations of different angular values.

  In addition, it can be provided that the displacement of the slider 30 is made impossible, or at least difficult to achieve, when an electronic tag is in place in its cradle 11, so as to limit the risk of inadvertent adjustment of the device.

Claims (9)

  1. Device for fixing an electronic tag, particularly for the display of prices in a sales area, characterized in that it comprises: a fixed part (20) able to be mounted on a part of a structure (T ) of the sales area, - a movable part (10) articulately mounted about a generally horizontal axis (A) on the fixed part (20) and having arrangements (11, 12, 12 ') for mounting an electronic tag, and - a variable angular wedge (23, 33) for determining one of a plurality of angular positions between the fixed part and the mobile part receiving the electronic label under the effect of the force of gravity exerted on these last ones.   2. Device according to claim 1, characterized in that the variable angular wedge (23, 33) is formed by a slider (30) slidably mounted on the movable part (10).   3. Device according to claim 2, characterized in that the slider (30) is slidable in a horizontal direction.   4. Device according to one of claims 2 and 3, characterized in that the slider (30) comprises a head (31) received in an opening (15) formed in the bottom of a cradle (11) adapted to receive the electronic tag.   5. Device according to one of claims 2 to 4, characterized in that the slider (30) comprises a bearing portion (33) adapted to come to rest on one of a plurality of bearing zones (231- 233) formed on the fixed part (20).   6. Device according to claim 5, characterized in that the bearing zones (231-233) are formed below a hook (22) formed on the fixed part and adapted to receive by snapping a rod (13). protruding from the rear of the movable part to thus define the articulation.   7. Device according to one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that the plurality of angular positions comprises an angular position in which a display face of an electronic tag mounted in the device is substantially vertical.   8. Device according to one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that the plurality of angular positions comprises two angular positions in which a display face of an electronic tag mounted in the device is respectively inclined in two opposite directions by compared to a vertical plane.   9. Device according to one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that the fixed part (20) comprises arrangements (211, 213, 214) for attachment to a shelf or a rail attached to the shelf.