GB2228864A - A goods hanging device - Google Patents

Abstract

A goods hanging device for pendantly supporting goods for display in, for example, retail establishments comprises a means for reinforcing an edge defined in an upper extremity of an orifice in the device. The reinforcing means (8) comprising first and second bodies each of rigid material and presenting a face for applying to a different side of the hanging device and a reinforcing surface terminating at said face and resilient clip means whereby the bodies may be removably attached to one another when applied with the reinforcing surfaces in alignment with the edge of the orifice. Thus the reinforcing device provides for a load-bearing surface. The clip means may comprise projections 14 formed in one of the rigid bodies which are snap-fitted through the orifice 6 and received in recesses 28 in the other rigid body. The hanging device may comprise an elongate flexible strap (Fig. 1) having the reinforced orifice 6 at one end for passage of a support peg and first and second releasably engageable fastening means 10, 12, e.g. press studs, at the other end and intermediate the ends, for forming the strap into a goods supporting loop. Alternatively the hanging device may comprise an elongate flexible container having the reinforced orifice at one end for passage of a support peg and a pocket at the other end of receiving goods for display. <IMAGE>

Description

Goods Hanging Strap The invention relates to means for pendantly supporting goods for display in, for example, retail establishments.

It is known to hang, for example, a plurality of blister packs of small items of hardware, on a peg or the like jutting out substantially horizontally from display stands, each pack being formed with a hole for the passage of the peg, and similar mounting arrangements have been employed for other light-weight goods. Conveniently, the pegs are slightly upturned at their free ends to prevent goods accidentally falling off.

Whilst in its simplest form the peg is circular in section transverse to its length, and conveniently formed of a length of heavy gauge round wire, other forms of peg have been produced, particularly for heavier goods, and such forms include pegs formed of wire bent to define two spaced parallel reaches. One such peg is in common use in Europe and the form of hole suitable for the passage of such a peg is known as a "Euro-hole". The doubling of the wire increases the weight that can be supported, and doubles the surface area over which the load represented by the goods is spread.

If very large loads are to be supported, however, without pressure damage to the goods or their packings, it is desirable further to increase the surface area over which the load is spread in relation to the spacing of the reaches.

According to one aspect of the invention, therefore, there is provided means for reinforcing an edge defining the upper extremity of a wide orifice in a goods hanging device formed of sheet material, said means comprising first and second bodies, each of rigid material and presenting a face for applying to a different side of the sheet material and a reinforcing surface terminating at said face, and resilient clip means whereby said bodies may be removably attached to one another when so applied with the reinforcing surfaces in alignment with said edge of said orifice whereby said reinforcing surfaces combine to provide a load-bearing surface to said hanging device.

Preferably each of said bodies is flat and of constant thickness, and said reinforcing surfaces define part of a slot-like opening therein.

Preferably again, the clip means comprise a projection from the face of one body dimensioned to pass through the opening of the other body by virtue of resilient deformation.

An important aspect of the reinforcing means is that, unlike metal clips of the prior art it will not tear the material of the device and it also complies with high safety standards.

Whilst it is common to lay packs containing goods on pegs for display and self-service purposes, not all goods lend themselves to display in packages either because the 'item is of a shape that is difficult to package or because the customer requires to see, and perhaps handle, the item unencumbered with a packing. Whilst some such items could conceivably be suspended by passing the peg through an orifice in the article, this arrangement may be unsatisfactory in some circumstances such as if the article is thereby likely to suffer damage.

According to a further aspect of the invention there is thus provided a goods hanging device comprising elongate flexible strap means having an orifice at one end for the passage of a support peg and first fastening means at the other end adapted releasably to engage second fastening means intermediate the ends by forming the strap means into a goods-supporting loop. The said fastening means may comprise press-studs, and the hole in the strap means may be reinforced by means as aforesaid.

According to a further aspect of the invention there is provided a goods hanging device comprising elongate flexible containing means having an orifice at one end for the passage of a support peg and a pocket means at the other end.

The pocket means may be secured with fastening means such as press-studs and a portion of the pocket may be transparent such that the contents of same are displayed. The orifice in the containing means may be reinforced by means as aforesaid.

Embodiments of the invention will now be described by way of example and with reference to the accompanying drawings of which: Fig. 1 shows a goods-supporting strap with a reinforced hole; Fig. 2 is a perspective view of one of a pair of reinforcing elements for reinforcing the hole of the strap of Figs 1; Fig. 3 is an underneath plan view of the element of Fig. 2; and Fig. 4 is a plan view of the other of the pair of elements for reinforcing the hole of the strap of Fig. 1.

Fig. 5. shows a further embodiment in accordance with the invention of a goods supporting containing means with a reinforced hole.

As shown in Fig. 1 a goods hanging device comprises a strap of flexible sheet material such as plastics coated fabric having a wide upper portion 2 reducing to a long narrow lower portion 4. In the upper portion 2 is a slot 6, transverse to the length of the elongate portion 4, and a slot 6 is bounded by a reinforcing device 8 to be described in more detail below.

At the lower extremity of the lower portion 4 is one element 10 of a pair of press-studs, known in the art, whilst intermediate the element 10 and the slot 6 is a further element 12, being the other of the pair of press-studs, the arrangement being that by looping the fabric between the elements 10 and 12, the elements can be brought into face to face contact with one another and releasably secured together.

The slot 6 is of a shape known as a Euro-hole and is suitable for the passage of horizontal pegs so that the strap hangs from the peg in the manner shown in the figure. By passing the lower part 4 of the strap through an opening in an item of merchandise, such as between the strings of a tennis racquet, looping the strap around the frame of the racquet and bringing the studs 10 and 12 into engagement with one another, the item of merchandise can be supported from the peg by means of the strap, can be examined without the encumberance of packing material and can readily be removed, for sale, by releasing the press-studs, unfolding the strap and withdrawing the narrow end 4 from the article.

The reinforcing means 8 is shown more clearly in Figs. 2 to 4. As shown in the figures, the bodies, which are substantially flat and are made of plastics material, generally define a constant width border to a slot 16, 18 of size and shape corresponding closely to the slot 6 of Fig. 1.

The body shown in Figs. 2 and 3 is placed to one side of the portion 2 of the strap with projections 14 passing through the slot 6 in the strap, whilst the body shown in Fig. 4 is positioned against the opposite side of the strap with the upper edge 16a of slot 16 in alignment with the corresponding edge 18a of the slot 18 of the Fig. 3 element and the margins of the slot 6. The projections 14 are snap-fitted through the slot 16 in the Fig. 4 body by virtue of elastic deformation of the projections or of the Fig. 4 body or both, in such a way that the strap is tightly sandwiched between the two bodies and the edge of the slot 6, and particularly the upper edge thereof, is reinforced by the bodies.

Considering Figs. 2 and 3 in more detail, each of the projections 14 is of T-shape, the stem being of exaggerated width and rising from bridge portions 20 defined between square through-holes 22 and the extreme lateral ends 24 of the opening 18.

As shown in Fig. 2, the face of a body from which the projections 14 rise is also provided with a plurality of very small projections 26 (some only shown) which in use exert a grip on the sandwiched strap and keep the reinforcing surfaces in line with the surface to be reinforced.

Turning to Fig. 4, this body is simpler inasmuch as it has no major projections (though on the underside, that is to say the side not shown in the figure) it has projections similar to the projections 26 of the Fig. 2 element. As shown, however, it does have rectangular recesses 28 for the reception of the head of the T-shape projections 14 when they are passed through the strap and through the slot 16.

A further embodiment of a goods hanging device in accordance with the invention is shown in Fig. 5. The device comprises a containing means of flexible sheet material such as plastics fabric which may or may not be transparent along a fraction or the whole of its length. The fabric has a wide upper portion (40) and a long narrow lower portion (42). In the upper portion (40) is a slot (44), transverse to the length of the elongate portion (42), and the slot (44) is bounded by a reinforcing device (8) as herein previously described. The slot (44) is of a shape known as the Eurohole and is suitable for the passage of horizontal pegs so that the device hangs from the peg in the manner shown in the figure.

The lower portion (42) comprises a transparent pocket which is closed by an upper flap (46). The pocket flap (46) is secured by means of a fastening device (48) such as a pressstud arrangement.

In use the containing means is used to display products inserted into the transparent pocket and by virtue of the reinforcing device (8) the containing means can be used to safely display a number of products of considerable weight.

Claims (9)

1. A means for reinforcing an edge defining an upper extremity of a wide orifice in a goods hanging device formed of sheet material, said means comprising first and second bodies, each of ridged material and presenting a face for applying to a different side of the sheet material and a reinforcing surface terminating at said face, and resilient clip means whereby said bodies maybe removably attached to one another when so applied with the reinforcing surfaces in alignment with said edge of said orifice whereby said reinforcing surfaces combine to provide a load-bearing surface to said hanging device.

2. A means for reinforcing an edge according to Claim 1 wherein each of said bodies is flat and of constant thickness, and said reinforcing surfaces define part of a slot-like opening therein.

3. A means for reinforcing an edge according to Claim 1 wherein the clip means comprise a projection from the face of one body dimensioned to pass through the opening of the other body by virtue of resilient deformation.

4. A goods hanging device comprising elongate flexible strap means having an orifice at one end for the passage of a support peg and first fastenting means at the other end adapted releasably to engage second fastening means immediate the ends by forming the strap means into a goods supporting loop wherein the hole in the strap means is reinforced by first and second bodies, each of ridged material and presenting a face for applying to a different side of the sheet material and a reinforcing surface terminating at said face, and resilient clip means whereby said bodies may be removably attached to one another when so applied with the reinforcing surfaces in alignment with said edge of said orifice whereby said reinforcing surfaces combined to provide a load-bearing surface to said hanging device.

5. A goods hanging device according to Claim 4 wherein the said fastening means comprises press-studs.

6. A goods hanging device comprising an elongate flexible containing means having an orifice at one end for the passage of a support peg and a pocket means at the other end wherein the orifice is reinforced by first and second bodies, each of ridged material and presenting a face for applying to a different side of the sheet material and a reinforcing surface terminating at said face, and resilient clip means whereby said bodies may be removably attached to one another when so applied with the reinforcing surfaces in alignment with said edge of said orifice whereby said reinforcing surfaces combine to provide a load-bearing surface to said hanging device.

7. A goods hanging device according to Claim 6 wherein the pocket is secured with a fastening means.

8. A goods hanging device according to Claim 7 wherein the fastening means is a press-stud.

9. A goods hanging device according to Claims 6, 7 or 8 wherein at least a part of the pocket is transparent.