GB2297789A

GB2297789A - Adaptors for hooks

Info

Publication number: GB2297789A
Application number: GB9501786A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Neil Hugh Forsyth Speed
Original assignee: Fast Industries Inc
Current assignee: Fast Industries Inc
Priority date: 1995-01-30
Filing date: 1995-01-30
Publication date: 1996-08-14
Anticipated expiration: 2015-01-30
Also published as: GB9501786D0; GB2297789B

Abstract

Plastic adaptors 20 are disclosed which attach directly or indirectly to the front of merchandise display shelves 44. The adaptors having fittings 24,26 to receive J-hook mounting brackets 16 so as to provide a system for mounting a J-hook on a shelf. The adaptors also have attachments 36 for purpose-made snap-in label holders 54 to provide a system for labelling products carried by a J-hook. The adaptor shown has formations 28,30 to attach over a data-strip 42 carried by the shelf but a single rearward arm can be provided to be secured, for example by adhesive, to the top surface of the shelf directly.

Description

J-HOOK ADAPTOR/LABEL SObdR BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to an adaptor suitable for mounting a J-hook on a merchandise display shelf and which preferably also includes an attachment for a label holder.

A J-hook is a peg or hook commonly attached along the front edge of a merchandise display shelf in a retail store to suspend products additional to those which are displayed on the shelf itself. For example, J-hooks may be used to suspend secondary items which a shopper may find useful in conjunction with primary items that are displayed on the shelf itself.

Numerous mounting arrangements are known for attaching J-hooks to shelves. For example, a J-hook may simply be formed with an inverted U at the top to fit in a shelf aperture. Alternatively, the hook may be fitted on a mounting bracket which attaches to the front of a shelf. One such bracket which is commonly used consists of a resilient U-shaped plate carrying the hook and having outwardly directed flanges on the ends of the U. The bracket is primarily intended to fit in a price channel provided along the front of a shelf with the flanges snapping into place behind the upper and lower lips of the price channel. Recently, however, there has been a trend in marketing to move away from the system of mounting price labels and the like directly in price channels on the front of the merchandise display shelves.The trend is towards the use of so called "data strips" which are extruded plastic strips which themselves fit into or over the price channel and which carry the product labels. The data strip may be provided with a co-extruded see-through plastic window or cover behind which the labels may be fitted. In any event, the use of a data strip precludes the use of J-hook bracket of the kind described above and accordingly, to accommodate such brackets, various attachments have been developed which fit over the data-strip and have upper and lower lips at the front, simulating a price channel whereby the Jhook brackets can be mounted on such attachments. One such attachment, for example, is manufactured by Norman Pendred and Sons of London, England and is illustrated in Fig. 1 of the drawings.

The attachment 10 consists of two spring steel clips 12 (only one of which is seen in Fig. 1) riveted to a length of plastic Cchannel 14. The attachment can clip over a data-strip and accept the type of metal J-hook bracket 16 previously described and carrying a J-hook 18. However the attachment is somewhat heavy and expensive to manufacture and has no facility for labelling the products suspended from the J-hook.

SUMMAR OF THE INVENTION It is an object of this invention to provide J-hook adaptors to receive J-hook brackets of the kind described above, which are more economical to manufacture than the Pendred and Sons attachment, which are lighter in weight and which may also have the facility to accommodate labelling for products carried by the Jhook.

In one embodiment of the invention a J-hook adaptor comprises a lightweight extruded plastic clip having a front panel with upper and lower rearwardly extending shaped resilient legs intended to clip over a data-strip attached along the front of a shelf of the kind formed with a U-shaped trough in the front. The front panel of the adaptor has upper and lower forwardly extending lips behind which the flanges of a J-hook mounting bracket, as previously described, can be fitted. The shaping and resilient snapping action of the plastic legs behind the data-strip hold the attachment and loaded J-hook in place.

Preferably, the upper resilient leg of the clip may be formed with one half of a male and female snap-fitting, to receive a snapon label holder provided with the other half of the snap fitting.

For example, the upper leg of the clip may be formed with an almost completely circular groove forming a female part of the snap fitting and the label holder, which may also comprise a plastic extrusion, may have a male bead along its bottom edge to fit in the groove. With this arrangement when the clip is fitted over a datastrip on a shelf, the upper and lower legs are forced apart somewhat and this action tends to close up the groove in the upper leg thereby tightening its grip on the label holder.

In a second embodiment of the invention, the J-hook adaptor comprises an extruded plastic part again having a front panel with upper and lower forwardly extending lips, but in this case with a single rearwardly extending plate having attachment means thereon for securing the adaptor to the flat upper surface of a shelf which is devoid of a U-shaped front channel. The attachment means may comprise an adhesive on a bottom surface of the plate, an aperture to receive a peg for pinning the adaptor into a shelf aperture, or a press-down cut-out or the like for receipt in a shelf aperture.

A J-hook mounting bracket, as previously described, can again be fitted behind the upper and lower lips of the adaptor.

The second embodiment adaptor can also be equipped with a fitting to attach a label holder. For example, an almost completely circular groove structure, as previously disclosed, to receive a bead of a label holder, can be provided in the rearwardly extending plate or in a part of the adaptor which defines the forwardly extending upper lip.

Thus, in both embodiments, a light-weight extruded plastic Jhook adaptor is provided which can fit over a data-strip at the front of a shelf to receive a J-hook mounting bracket and also to receive a label holder enabling products carried by the J-hook to be labelled.

Additional features and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the ensuing description and claims read in conjunction with the attached drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Fig. 1 is a side elevational view of a known J-hook adaptor and mounting bracket, Fig. 2 is a perspective view of a first embodiment J-hook adaptor according to the invention, Fig. 3 is a side elevational view of the adaptor fitted over a data-strip along the front of a merchandise display shelf, Fig. 4 is a perspective view of a second embodiment J-hook adaptor according to the invention, Fig. 5 is a side elevational view of the second embodiment adaptor fitted along the front of a merchandise display shelf, Fig. 6 is a perspective view of a label holder suitable for use with either one of the first and second embodiment adaptors, Fig. 7 is an enlarged elevational view of a modification to the label holder, and Figs. 8A and 8B are diagrammatic side elevational views of the second embodiment adaptor fitted along the front of a shelf having an angled front.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring initially to Figs. 2 and 3, there is shown a first embodiment J-hook adaptor in the form of an extruded plastic clip 20 having a planar front panel 22 with upper and lower forwardly extending lips 24, 26 and upper and lower shaped rearwardly extending legs 28, 30. Lower leg 30 has a straight portion 32 extending from panel 22 into a downwardly bowed terminal portion 34. Upper leg 28 is shaped to form an almost completely circular groove 36 adjacent panel 22 followed by a straight portion 38 and a downwardly V-shaped terminal portion 40.

Clip 20 is shaped to snap fit over a data-strip 42 of a known kind received along the front edge of a shelf 44 which is of the type having a U-shaped channel 46 along the front edge, see Fig. 3.

The data-strip may also compromise a plastic extrusion with upper and lower limbs 48, 50 whereby it is fitted on the shelf and a seethrough front cover 52 behind which labels can be received to supply information relating to merchandise displayed on the shelf.

Clip 20 is shaped to snap fit over the data-strip by resilient expansion between legs 28 and 30. In the fitted position, as shown, the V-shaped terminal portion 40 of the upper leg 28 grips the top of the data-strip and the bowed terminal portion 34 of the lower leg 30 grips the bottom of the data-strip. With this arrangement a J-hook mounting bracket 16, as previously described, can be fitted between the lips 24, 26 of the clip 20, as shown, and the strength of the plastic clip is sufficient to support the Jhook 18 even when loaded with products.

Also, the groove 36 in the upper leg 28 of clip 20 can be used to attach a label holder 54 of the kind shown in Fig. 6. The label holder comprises a plastic extrusion having a body panel 56 with a co-extruded see-through cover 58 and a co-extruded extension 60 along the bottom edge of the body panel at the junction of the cover, the extension terminating in a solid circular bend 62 sized to fit in the groove 36 of clip 20. The extension 60 may be formed of a more flexible plastic than the body panel and cover to facilitate hinging of the label holder when attached to clip 20.

When clip 20 is attached to a shelf, as in Fig. 3, the outer flexing of legs 28 and 30 has the effect of compressing the groove 36 thereby tightening its grip on the label holder bead 62.

The label holder can be used to carry non-adhesive labels behind cover 58 to provide information pertaining to products on Jhook 18. In other embodiments, not shown, the cover 58 can be omitted and the body panel itself can be used to receive adhesive labels. In a modification of the label holder shown in Fig. 7, the bead 62 can be replaced by a ring or cylinder 64.

A second embodiment J-hook attachment 66, for use on shelves such as shelf 68 without a U-shaped trough in the front, is shown in Figs. 4 and 5. Attachment 66 again comprises a plastic extrusion formed with a body panel 70 having a forwardly directed lower lip 72 and a forwardly directed upper lip structure 74 including an almost completely circular groove 76 similar to groove 36 of the first embodiment. The body panel 70 has a single rearwardly extending plate 76a with attachment means, in this case a strip of adhesive 78, for securing the attachment to the upper surface of shelf 68.

Shelf 68 may be of a type have a price channel 80 along its forward edge to receive a data-strip 82 of known kind and, again, attachment 66 can be secured on the shelf over the data-strip to mount the J-hook mounting bracket 16 between the lower lip 72 and the upper lip structure 74. In this case, the wall of the circular groove 76 forms the retaining means for the upper flange of the mounting bracket 16. Attachment 66 can support a snap-in label holder 54 in groove 76 in like manner to the previous embodiment.

Also, plate 76a may be joined to body panel 70 by way of a coextended strip 76b of a flexible plastic material forming a hinge at the front of plate 76a. This allows panel 70 to flex and take up different angles for example to suit shelves having angled fronts. Thus, in Fig. 5 the attachment 66 is placed on shelf 68 by the adhesive 78 in a position such that panel 70 hangs vertically.

Fig. 8A shows the attachment 66 used on a shelf 84 having an angled front 86. Here the attachment is also placed on the shelf in a position whereby the panel 70 hangs vertically. In Fig. 8B, however, the plate 76a is positioned further back along the shelf so that panel 70 flexes along strip 76b to take up the angle of the shelf front.

While only preferred embodiments of the invention have been described herein in detail, the invention is not limited thereby and modifications can be made within the scope of the attached claims.

Claims

1. A plastic adaptor for mounting a J-hook bracket on the front of a merchandise supply shelf, the J-hook bracket being of a kind comprising a resilient U-shaped plate carrying a J-hook and having limbs terminating in oppositely directed flanges, the adaptor including a substantially planar front panel having upper and lower forwardly directed lip structures for receiving said oppositely directed flanges of a J-hook bracket therebetween and attachment means extending rearwardly from the front panel for releasably securing the adaptor to a shelf wherein the adaptor includes a wall portion forming one part of a two-part male and female fitting to receive a second part of the fitting formed on a label holder for carrying a label describing products to be mounted on the J-hook.

2. An adaptor as claimed in claim 1 in combination with a label holder comprising a body panel and said second part of the fitting depending from the body panel for releasable connection with said one part of the fitting.

3. A combination as claimed in claim 2 wherein said one part of the fitting comprises a groove of part-circular cross-section formed in said wall portion of the adaptor and the second part of the fitting comprises a bead on the label holder.

4. A combination as claimed in claim 3 wherein the bead comprises a solid bead formed on a flexible extension depending from the body panel.

5. A combination as claimed in claim 3 wherein the bead comprises a ring-shaped cylinder formed on an extension depending from the body panel.

6. A combination as claimed in claim 2 wherein the label holder includes a see-through cover over the body panel enabling non-adhesive labels to be carried between the body panel and the cover.

7. An adaptor as claimed in claim 1 wherein the attachment means comprises at least one rearwardly extending leg and said wall portion comprises a part of said leg adjacent the front panel.

8. An adaptor as claimed in claim 7 wherein said wall portion defines a groove of part-circular cross-section forming said one part of the fitting.

9. An adaptor as claimed in claim 1 wherein said wall portion comprises a part of the upper forwardly directed lip structure.

10. An adaptor as claimed in claim 9 wherein said wall portion defines a groove of part-circular cross-section forming said one part of the fitting.

11. A plastic label holder for attachment to a J-hook adaptor which is adapted to support a J-hook mounting bracket and which has a wall portion forming one part of a two-part male and female fitting to receive a second part of the fitting formed on the label holder, the label holder comprising a body panel, an extension depending from the body panel and said second part of the fitting at a bottom end of the extension.

12. A holder as claimed in claim 11 wherein said second part of the fitting comprises a solid male bead.

13. A holder as claimed in claim 11 wherein said second part of the fitting comprises a male bead having a ring-shaped crosssection.

14. A holder as claimed in claim 11 which includes a seethrough cover for the body panel.

15. A plastic adaptor for mounting a J-hook bracket on the front of a merchandise display shelf, the shelf being of a kind having a U-shaped channel along the front and a plastic data-strip fitted over the channel, the J-hook bracket being of a kind comprising a resilient U-shaped plate carrying a J-hook and having limbs terminating in oppositely directed flanges, the adaptor including a substantially planar front panel having upper and lower forwardly directed lip structures for receiving said oppositely directed flanges of a J-hook bracket therebetween and attachment means extending rearwardly from the front panel comprising upper and lower legs for resiliently clipping the attachment over the data-strip.

16. An adaptor as claimed in claim 15 wherein the upper leg terminates in a V-shaped portion to grip the top of the data-strip and the bottom leg terminates in a bowed portion to grip the bottom of the data-strip.

17. An adaptor as claimed in claim 15 wherein the upper leg has a wall portion adjacent the front panel defining a groove of part-circular cross-section to receive a male bead of a snap-in label holder.

18. An adaptor as claimed in claim 17 in combination with a label holder comprising a body panel, an extension depending from the body panel and a male bead along a bottom edge of the extension for receipt in said groove.

19. A combination as claimed in claim 18 wherein the label holder includes a see-through cover over the body panel.

20. A plastic adaptor for mounting a J-hook bracket on the front of a merchandise display shelf, the J-hook bracket being of a kind comprising a resilient U-shaped plate carrying a J-hook and having limbs terminating in oppositely directed flanges, the adaptor including a substantially planar front panel having upper and lower forwardly directed lip structures for receiving said oppositely directed flanges of a J-hook bracket therebetween, a plate element extended rearwardly from an upper end portion of the front panel and attachment means on the plate element for securing same to a surface of a display shelf.

21. An adaptor as claimed in claim 20 wherein the attachment means comprises a layer of adhesive on an undersurface of the plate element.

22. An adaptor as claimed in claim 20 which includes a wall portion defining a groove of part-circular cross-section to receive a male bead of a snap-in label holder.

23. An adaptor as claimed in claim 22 wherein said wall portion comprises a part of the upper lip structure of the adaptor.

24. An adaptor as claimed in claim 20 including hinge means between the front panel and the plate element to promote flexing of the front panel relative to the plate element to suit shelves having differently angled fronts.

25. An adaptor as claimed in claim 24 wherein the hinge means comprises a strip of flexible plastic between the body panel and the plate element.

26. An adaptor as claimed in claim 22 in combination with a label holder comprising a body panel, an extension depending from the body panel and a male bead along a bottom edge of the extension for receipt in said groove.

27. A combination as claimed in claim 26 wherein the label holder includes a see-through cover over the body panel.