GB2276912A - Rail clip - Google Patents

Abstract

A clip (1) for a sign (6) mounts on a shelf edge rail (15) by virtue of opposed flanges (7 and 8) engaging opposed side edge parts of the rail. One flange 8 is slidably mounted on the clip 1 for adjustment and has a lug 4 with a detent which engages a rack 3, thus the flange (8) may be pushed up to engage the lower edge of the rail and held in such position by engagement of the detent on lug (4) with the rack (3). <IMAGE>

Description

TITLE A Clip for Releasably Mounting on a Rail The present invention relates to a clip for releasably mounting on a rail, the clip having a recess to receive a card or plate or other member projecting away from the rail to which the clip is intended to be attached.

According to this invention there is provided a clip for releasably mounting on a rail, the clip having spaced Clangers, the flanges being, in use, adapted to engage one with each side edge of a rail, one of said flanges being mounted on said clip to allow adjustment of the spacing between the flanges.

In a preferred construction of clip said one flange is slidably mounted on a body part of the clip to permit adjustment of the spacing between the flanges.

Advantageously detent means are provided between the body part and a carrier integral with said one flange and slidable on the body part, said detent means allowing the carrier to be adjusted and retained on the body part in one of a plurality of positions. In an embodiment the detent means comprises a rack on the body part and a pawl on the carrier or vice versa. Preferably said one flange or the carrier thereof have spaced opposed channels to slidably engage opposed side edges of the clip body part.

According to this invention there is also provided a clip for releasably mounting on a rail, the clip having spaced flanges, the flanges being, in use, adapted to engage one with each side edge of a rail, characterised by one of said flanges being mounted on said clip to allow adjustment of the spacing between the flanges, and further characterised by the clip having a body part on which may be mounted a display card, ticket or the like information carrying medium, the body part having a lateral wing at ech of two opposed sides, and a respective flange at each of two other opposed sides, the said one flange having a lug at each side thereof with a channel each slidably engaging a respective wing whereby said flange may be moved towards or away from the other flange, one or both lugs including a catch member which may be selectively engaged with or released from said body to secure or release the one flange on the body.

Preferably and in the aforesaid construction, the body has a toothed rack formation extending along one or both wings, the lug having a detent forming the catch member engageable or disengageable with said rack.

Advantageously the lug has a lateral extension through which pressure may be applied to disengage the detent.

According to the invention there is further provided a clip for releasably mounting on a rail and preferably having a raised portion of resilient material provided with a recess and gripping means to securely engage and retain an outwardly projecting card or plate or other member, the clip having a first flange at a first region of the clip to engage and be retained by an upper edge of a rail member and a second flange at a second region of the clip opposite the said first region adapted to engage and be retained by a bottom edge of the said rail member, the second flange being engageable with the said bottom edge of the said rail member to span a rail member of corresponding width or being movable towards the said bottom edge of the said rail member to span a rail member of lesser width and to engage and be retained by the bottom edge of the said rail member.

There is also provided in accordance with the invention an assembly of the said clip and a rail member on which the clip is adapted to be releasably mounted.

Preferably a toothed rack or ratchet and detent or pawl means are provided on the clip to enable the second internal flange to be movable towards and away from the first internal flange. Desirably, the pawl means may comprise an opposed pair of pawl members, each having an inwardly extending abutment detent engageable with the teeth of the rack and an outwardly extending lug. The said lugs which are thus opposed can be readily depressed to facilitate release of the said abutment from the ratchet teeth when required, that is when the pawl members need to be moved along the ratchet.

Advantageously the said raised portion of the clip is such as to allow for a recess therein of sufficient depth to hold a card or plate or other member so that it will extend subs;tantially at right angles to the plane of the rail member to which the clip is intended to be attached, and preferably the said recess is defined by opposed wings bearing rounded teeth to grip a card or plate securely.

By way of example only preferred forms of the invention will now be described and illustrated by the accompanying diagrammatic drawings, wherein: Figure 1 is a perspective view of a clip for releasably mounting on a rail, Figure 2 is a front view of the clip of Figure 1, Figure 3 is a side elevation of the clip of Figure 3, Figure 4 is a rear view of the clip of Figure 1, Figure 5 is a perspective view of the clip of Figure 1 fitted to a rail of a width corresponding to the full span of the clip, Figure 6 is a perspective view of the clip of Figure 1 fitted to a rail of a width substantially less than the span of the clip, and Figure 7 is a perspective view similar to that of Figure 6 but showing the clip holding a card or plate bearing a slogan.

The clip 1 shown in Figure 1, and in one preferred form, has a raised portion body part 2 with a curved recess 5 to receive a card or plate 6 bearing a slogan as shown in Figure 7, so that the card or plate 6 projects from the clip 1 substantially perpendicularly to the plane of the rail member 15 engaged by the clip 1. The raised portion 2 is made of a resilient material, e.g.

hjgh density polypropylene, and the curved recess 5 is defined by wings 17 and 18 bearing rounded teeth 19 and 20 to facilitate entry of a card or plate 6 between opposed teeth 19 and 20. The resiliency of the wings 17 and 18 enables the teeth 19 and 20 to retain their grip on the card or plate 6.

In an alternative construction the outwardly facing area of the raised portion 2 may be planar or have a plate secured thereto to adhesively connect with a card or to engage mechanically by a tongue or incision therein.

The clip 1 is provided with an arrangement of a lug forming a pawl or detent member 4 and a toothed rack 3 to enable a rear lower flange 8 of the clip to be moved to a position required for the flange 8 together with a lip end 8 to securely engage a lower external edge 11 of a rail 9 as is shown in Figures 5, 6 and 7. The clip 1 also has a flange 7 together with lip end 7a to engage securely an upper external edge 10 of the rail 9. Where the width of the rail member 15 corresponds to the span of the clip 1, that is the distance between opposed inside surfaces of the internal flanges 7 and 8 of the clip 1, the pawl member 4 will be at an end position as shown in Figures 1 to 5.

At each side of the lower flange 8 the lug 4 is provided with a channel 4a which engages side wings 2a of the clip in a sliding manner. The pawl 4 and rack 3 thus form a releasable catch to allow adjustment of the spacing between the flanges 7 and 8.

The rack 3 and pawl 4 may operate as a ratchet whereby the flange 7 may be pushed upwards easily but release of the pawl 4 is required for reverse operation.

The rail 9 comprises a horizontally extending top flange member 16 and vertically extending web member 15 formed from a front and a rear leaf as shown to define a ticket receiving space therebetween. Lip 7a of lug 7 engages the top edge of the front leaf with the rail 9 being held by a support member 14 such as a shelf edge, panel or wall in which case flange member 16 may be omitted.

Each pawl member 4 has an inwardly extending detent or abutment 21 engageable by the teeth 22 of the rack 3 and an outwardly extending lug part 23. Gripping of the lugs 23 facilitates release of the abutment 21 from the teeth 22 when required, that is when the pawl members 4 need to be moved along the rack 3 to move the position of flange 8, thus facilitating engagement or disengagement with a rail with the clip being furthermore adaptable to engage rails of various widths.

To prevent lateral movement of the clip 1 along the rail 15 two spaced projections 24 are provided on the rear of the clip to each side of the flange lip 7a.

These projections 24 deform the front leaf of the rail 15 when the flange lip 7a is engaged with the edge 10 and as the clip is swung down to engage the lower flange lip 8a, with the edge 11 to lock the clip to the rail.

The clip 1, preferably made of plastics material, as described and illustrated is intended to hold signs, e.g.

card or plate 6, to rails 9 known as "data strips" or "scanner rails". These scanner rails, for electronic point of sale, are usually fitted to shelf edges and a long felt need has existed for a clip to hold signs preferably at substantially right angles to the plane of the rail member to which the clip is attached wherein the clip is readily adjusted to different width rails.

Conveniently the clip 1 may be designed to span, by adjustment of the distance between opposed inside surfaces of the flanges 7 and 8, widths of a rail member 15 varying from 26 mm to 39 mm to cover current usage but other sizes may be adopted if desired.

Claims (16)

1. A clip for releasably mounting on a rail, the clip having spaced flanges, the flanges being, in use, adapted to engage one with each side edge of a rail, one of said flanges being mounted on said clip to allow adjustment of the spacing between the flanges.

2. A clip in accordance with Claim 1, wherein said one flange is slidably mounted on a body part of the clip to permit adjustment of the spacing between the flanges.

3. A clip in accordance with Claim 2, wherein detent means are provided between the body part and a carrier integral with said one flange and slidable on the body part, said detent means allowing the carrier to be adjusted and retained on the body part in one of a plurality of positions.

4. A clip in accordance with Claim 3, wherein the detent means comprises a rack on the body part and a pawl on the carrier.

5. A clip in accordance with Claim 3, wherein the detent means comprises a pawl on the body part and a rack on the carrier.

6. A clip in accordance with any one of Claims 2 to 5, wherein said one flange or the carrier thereof have spaced opposed channels to slidably engage opposed side edges of the clip body part.

7. A clip for releasably mounting on a rail, the clip having spaced flanges, the flanges being, in use, adapted to engage one with each side edge of a rail, characterised by one of said flanges being mounted on said clip to allow adjustment of the spacing between the flanges, and further characterised by the clip having a body part on which may be mounted a display card, ticket or the like information carrying medium, the body part having a lateral wing at each of two opposed sides, and a respective flange at each of two other opposed sides, the said one flange having a lug at each side thereof with a channel each slidably engaging a respective wing whereby said flange may be moved towards or away from the other flange, one or both lugs including a catch member which may be selectively engaged with or released from said body to secure or release the one flange on the body.

8. A clip in accordance with Claim 7, wherein the body has a toothed rack formation extending along one or both wings, the lug having a detent forming the catch member engageable or disengageable with said rack.

9. A clip in accordance with Claim 8, wherein the lug has a lateral extension through which pressure may be applied to disengage the detent.

10. A clip in accordance with any preceding claim wherein each flange includes a lip to engage behind an abutment surface at respective side edges of the rail.

11. A clip for releasably mounting on a rail, the clip having a first flange at a first region of the clip to engage and be retained by an upper edge of a rail member and a second flange at a second region of the clip opposite the said first region adapted to engage and be retained by a bottom edge of the said rail member, the second flange being engageable with the said bottom edge of the said rail member to span a rail member of corresponding width or being movable towards the said bottom edge of the said rail member to span a rail member of lesser width and to engage and be retained by the bottom edge of the said rail member.

12. A clip in accordance with any preceding claim, wherein a body part of the clip has a raised portion of resilient material provided with a recess and gripping means to securely engage and retain an outwardly projecting card or plate or other member.

13. A clip in accordance with Claim 12, wherein the said raised portion of the clip is such as to allow for a recess therein of sufficient depth to hold a card or plate or other member so that it will extend substantially at right angles to the plane of the rail member to which the clip is intended to be attached.

14. A clip in accordance with Claim 13, wherein the said recess is defined by opposed wings bearing rounded teeth to grip a card or plate securely.

15. A clip in accordance with any preceding claim in combination with a rail member preferably of the kind herein disclosed.

16. A clip constructed and arranged substantially as described herein and as exemplified in the drawings.