GB1587668A - Dividers for display racks - Google Patents

Description

(54) IMPROVEMENTS IN DIVIDERS FOR DISPLAY RACKS (71) We, SCORPION ENTERPRISES LIMI TED, a British Company, of Yardley Road, Olney, Bucks, MK46 5EA, do hereby declare the invention, for which we pray that a patent may be granted to us, and the method by which it is to be performed, to be particularly described in and by the following statement:- This invention concerns improvements in dividers for display racks, more especially for display racks of the type used for merchandising greetings cards.

In the sale of greetings cards, it is conventional to display the cards for sale in racks of the type comprising a plurality of substantially vertical partitions or risers arranged one behind the other and rising stepwise, the base of the rack between the risers also rising stepwise so that of each group of stacked cards stored in a space between adjacent risers a substantial area of the foremost card is visible above the cards of the group in front. Such a rack will hereinafter be designated as "of the type initially referred to", Racks of the type referred to are generally of substantial lateral dimensions so that a relatively large number of groups of cards can be stored adjacent one another in a row between the same pair of risers.It is desirable to divide the space between the risers in order to segregate the respective groups of cards, but in view of the widely varying dimensions of greetings cards it is not practical, or at least is wasteful 6f space, to provide fixed divisions.

For this reason it- is knows to provide for racks of this type dividers in the form of clips which attach to the upper edges of the risers of the rack and have divider plates extending vertically and perpendicular to the risers. The divider plates engage the vertical edges of the displayed greetings cards and may be positioned according to the lateral dimensions of the cards, thus allowing maximum use of available space. A further advantage of such dividers is that they may be numbered to identify the groups of cards displayed, for the purposes of stock control.The dividers have therefore become widely used and are manufactured in large quantities by injection moulding from synthetic plastics materials; An important requirement of the dividers is that they should enable compensation for manufacturing tolerances in the display racks, since even a small space between the edge of a divider plate and an adjacent riser may be sufficient to allow a greetings card to slip therethrough. A variety of constructions of divider have therefore been devised with the object of enabling flexing of the divider plate to fit spaces of varying width. It has hitherto proved extremely difficult to meet the conflicting requirements for a divider which is both flexible and securely attachable to a riser of the rack whilst being of simple construction and economical to manufacture.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an improved construction of divider which meets these requirements.

In accordance with the present invention there is provided a divider for attachment to a display rack of the type initially referred to, comprising a clip for engagement over the upper edge of a riser of the display rack, a divider plate extending generally at right angles to said clip in order to form a partition extending between a riser to which said clip may be attached and the next adjacent riser to the rack, and a connector portion moulded integrally with the said clip and the divider plate and extending between the upper end of said clip and the divider plate in order to locate the divider plate in spaced relation to the clip whilst allowing angular flexing movement of the divider plate relatively to the dip about an axis at right angles to the plane of the divider plate, substantially independently of the action of the clip, Preferably the divider is formed by - injection moulding from synthetic plastics material.

In one embodiment of the invention the said clip comprises an inverted U-shaped member having two opposed flanges for gripping engagement with the opposite faces of a riser and a bridge piece intended to rest on the upper edge of the riser, and the said connector portion comprises a substantially planar web portion interconnecting the said bridge piece and the divider plate and having a free area extending substantially parallel to said bridge piece to form a flexible hinge allowing relative movement of the clip and the divider plate.

The said divider plate may have an oblique cammed edge for engagement with a riser adjacent that to which the clip is to be attached, to cause flexing of the plate relatively to the said clip.

The invention is illustrated by way of example in the accompanying drawings, in which: Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a divider in accordance with the invention, Fig. 2 is an elevation of the divider shown in Fig. 1, in the direction of the arrow X, and Fig. 3 is a plan view corresponding to Fig. 1.

Referring to the drawings, a divider for use with display racks of the type used for vending greeting cards comprises a clip portion 1 arranged to engage over the top edge of a riser of the rack, and a divider plate 2 arranged to extend rearwardly from the clip 1 into engagement with the front face of the next rearwardly adjacent riser. The divider is injection moulded from a resilient synthetic plastics material, such as polystyrene. The clip 1 comprises two opposed flanges la, arranged to grip the opposite surfaces of a riser of the display rack, and a bridge piece ib arranged to rest on the upper edge of the riser. The divider plate 2 is not attached directly to the clip 1, but is spaced therefrom by means of a web portion 3, which is a substantially planar portion generally parallel to the bridge piece lb of the clip 1. As may be seen more clearly from Fig.3, the web portion 3 has a portion 3a which extends freely over a distance d, this portion of the web thus forming a flexible hinge, to allow angular movement of the plate 2 relatively to the clip 1.

When a divider as described above is attached to a display rack, the clip 1 is pushed over the upper edge of a riser of the rack, with the plate 2 extending rearwardly, and since the plate 2 projects rearwardly to a distance greater than the spacing between risers of a rack with which the divider is intended to be used, the plate 2 will engage the front face of the rearward riser, by means of an oblique cam surface 2a, and be resiliently hinged forwards relatively to the clip 1, movement of the plate 2 being accommodated by means of the portion 3a of the web 3. The plate 2 of the divider thus effectively bridges the gap between the adjacent risers of the display rack preventing lateral displacement of greetings cards stored therein.

The flexing actions of the divider as it is attached to the display rack consist firstly of the spreading apart of the two flanges la of the clip 1, by the penetration therebetween of the upper edge of a riser, and secondly of the hinging of the portion 3a of the web 3, as a result of the force applied to the plate 2.

These two flexing actions are mutually indepedent, and, moreover, since the hinge portion 3a meets the clip 1 at its upper end, i.e. at the bridge piece lb, which is remote from the opposed pressure points of the jaws of the clip, the force transmitted to the clip by the web 3 has a negligible effect upon the spring action of the clip itself, in distinction from known constructions of divider in which the plate 2 is directly attached to, or even itself forms, one of the opposed jaws of the spring clip.

WHAT WE CLAIM IS: 1. A divider for attachement to a display rack of the type initially referred to, comprising a clip for engagement over the upper edge of a riser of the display rack, a divider plate extending generally at right angles to said clip in order to form a partition extending between a riser to which said clip may be attached and the next adjacent riser of the rack, and a connector portion moulded integrally with the said clip and the divider plate and extending between the upper end of said clip and the divider plate in order to locate the divider plate in spaced relation to the clip whilst allowing angular flexing movement of the divider plate relatively to the clip about an axis at right angles to the plane of the divider plate, substantially independently of the action of the clip.

2. A divider as claimed in Claim 1, in which the said clip comprises an inverted U-shaped member having two opposed flanges for gripping engagement with the opposite faces of a riser and a bridge piece intended to rest on the upper edge of the riser, and the said connector portion comprises a substantially planar web portion interconnecting the said bridge piece and the divider plate and having a free area extending substantially parallel to said bridge piece to form a flexible hinge allowing relative movement of the clip and the divider plate.

3. A divider as claimed in Claim 1 or 2, in which the said divider plate has an oblique cammed edge, for engagement with a riser adjacent that to which the clip is to be attached, to cause flexing of the plate relatively to the said clip.

4. A divider for display racks, substantially as described herein with reference to the accompanying drawings.

**WARNING** end of DESC field may overlap start of CLMS **.

Claims (4)

**WARNING** start of CLMS field may overlap end of DESC **. bridge piece and the divider plate and having a free area extending substantially parallel to said bridge piece to form a flexible hinge allowing relative movement of the clip and the divider plate. The said divider plate may have an oblique cammed edge for engagement with a riser adjacent that to which the clip is to be attached, to cause flexing of the plate relatively to the said clip. The invention is illustrated by way of example in the accompanying drawings, in which: Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a divider in accordance with the invention, Fig. 2 is an elevation of the divider shown in Fig. 1, in the direction of the arrow X, and Fig. 3 is a plan view corresponding to Fig. 1. Referring to the drawings, a divider for use with display racks of the type used for vending greeting cards comprises a clip portion 1 arranged to engage over the top edge of a riser of the rack, and a divider plate 2 arranged to extend rearwardly from the clip 1 into engagement with the front face of the next rearwardly adjacent riser. The divider is injection moulded from a resilient synthetic plastics material, such as polystyrene. The clip 1 comprises two opposed flanges la, arranged to grip the opposite surfaces of a riser of the display rack, and a bridge piece ib arranged to rest on the upper edge of the riser. The divider plate 2 is not attached directly to the clip 1, but is spaced therefrom by means of a web portion 3, which is a substantially planar portion generally parallel to the bridge piece lb of the clip 1. As may be seen more clearly from Fig.3, the web portion 3 has a portion 3a which extends freely over a distance d, this portion of the web thus forming a flexible hinge, to allow angular movement of the plate 2 relatively to the clip 1. When a divider as described above is attached to a display rack, the clip 1 is pushed over the upper edge of a riser of the rack, with the plate 2 extending rearwardly, and since the plate 2 projects rearwardly to a distance greater than the spacing between risers of a rack with which the divider is intended to be used, the plate 2 will engage the front face of the rearward riser, by means of an oblique cam surface 2a, and be resiliently hinged forwards relatively to the clip 1, movement of the plate 2 being accommodated by means of the portion 3a of the web 3. The plate 2 of the divider thus effectively bridges the gap between the adjacent risers of the display rack preventing lateral displacement of greetings cards stored therein. The flexing actions of the divider as it is attached to the display rack consist firstly of the spreading apart of the two flanges la of the clip 1, by the penetration therebetween of the upper edge of a riser, and secondly of the hinging of the portion 3a of the web 3, as a result of the force applied to the plate 2. These two flexing actions are mutually indepedent, and, moreover, since the hinge portion 3a meets the clip 1 at its upper end, i.e. at the bridge piece lb, which is remote from the opposed pressure points of the jaws of the clip, the force transmitted to the clip by the web 3 has a negligible effect upon the spring action of the clip itself, in distinction from known constructions of divider in which the plate 2 is directly attached to, or even itself forms, one of the opposed jaws of the spring clip. WHAT WE CLAIM IS:

1. A divider for attachement to a display rack of the type initially referred to, comprising a clip for engagement over the upper edge of a riser of the display rack, a divider plate extending generally at right angles to said clip in order to form a partition extending between a riser to which said clip may be attached and the next adjacent riser of the rack, and a connector portion moulded integrally with the said clip and the divider plate and extending between the upper end of said clip and the divider plate in order to locate the divider plate in spaced relation to the clip whilst allowing angular flexing movement of the divider plate relatively to the clip about an axis at right angles to the plane of the divider plate, substantially independently of the action of the clip.

2. A divider as claimed in Claim 1, in which the said clip comprises an inverted U-shaped member having two opposed flanges for gripping engagement with the opposite faces of a riser and a bridge piece intended to rest on the upper edge of the riser, and the said connector portion comprises a substantially planar web portion interconnecting the said bridge piece and the divider plate and having a free area extending substantially parallel to said bridge piece to form a flexible hinge allowing relative movement of the clip and the divider plate.

3. A divider as claimed in Claim 1 or 2, in which the said divider plate has an oblique cammed edge, for engagement with a riser adjacent that to which the clip is to be attached, to cause flexing of the plate relatively to the said clip.

4. A divider for display racks, substantially as described herein with reference to the accompanying drawings.