GB2475496A

GB2475496A - Goods carrier for use in a display and dispensing unit

Info

Publication number: GB2475496A
Application number: GB0920257A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Gary Souter; Philip Toovey
Original assignee: Maxim Design Group Ltd
Current assignee: Maxim Design Group Ltd
Priority date: 2009-11-19
Filing date: 2009-11-19
Publication date: 2011-05-25
Also published as: GB0920257D0

Abstract

A removable goods carrier 31 for use in a sales display and dispensing unit 11, comprises an elongate hollow rectangular body with an enclosed chamber 33 in which goods 12 are stored and moved from one end the chamber to the other by a support 36 which is biased towards the open end of the chamber by four tension springs 37 located in the corners of the rectangular body 32. The support 36 may comprises a central raised bed 38 having an upper surface shaped to receive the goods 12 [see Figure 4] and side portions 41 providing guide surfaces for movement within the carrier body.

Description

A Sales Display & Dispensing Unit

Field

This invention relates to sales display and dispensing units and in particular to point-of-sale units which may be used to display and dispense items for impulse sales in a retail or catering environment.

Background of the Invention

Display units are often used in shops or other commercial premises to display and dispense a particular line, or lines of goods which may often be produced by a single manufacturer.

In particular, display units may be used in retail, restaurant, or canteen environments near to the point of sale, or payment to tempt customers to buy goods, particularly drinks and confectionary, on impulse whilst paying for other goods.

In GB 2361 233 there is described a drinks dispenser in which the cans or bottles are loaded into carriers for the delivery of goods to an access point. The carriers may be replenished in situ and are also removable from the display ut' for re-stocking with goods.

GB 2420 423 describes another carrier unit for a drinks dispenser and a drinks dispenser incprporating the same. The carriers each comprise an elongate hollow body having a substantially enclosed chamber in which the goods are stored, the goods being movable from one end of the chamber to the other by a support plate which is lifted by a flat section spiral spring. The carriers are each independently mounted in the unit by suitable means allowing for easy removal of each carrier from the housing, preferably without disturbing the other carriers.

The present invention provides for a simplified carrier.

Statements of Invention

According to the invention there is provided a removable goods carrier for use in a sales display and dispensing unit, the carrier comprising an elongate hollow rectangular body having an enclosed chamber in which the goods are stored, the goods being movable from one end the chamber, when in use, to the other by a support having a similar shape to the cross-section of the chamber and which biased towards said other end of the chamber by four tension springs located one in each corner of the rectangular body and acting between the support and said other end of the body.

Preferably, the support comprises a central raised bed having an upper surface shaped to receive a goods container e.g. a can or bottle, and side portions providing guide surfaces thereon for movement and location of the support within the body.

Preferably, the tension springs are attached to the side portions of the support below said central raised bed, that Is the side away from the goods and each spring passes through a respective guide hole in the side portions of the support.

Said one end of the goods carrier includes a raised abutment which limits movement of the support towards said one end and the extension of the tension springs.

The side portions of the support extend away from the central bed and are spaced apart with the gap therebetween accommodating said abutment.

In use, containers of pre-packaged goods are arranged in a linear array within the passageway with adjacent containers being in contact one with another, with the Support contacting a container at the lower end of each linear array so that the tension springs move the array of containers along the carrier towards the other end of the carrier.

Alternatively the containers may comprise open rigid trays which can stack one on another, with pre-packages goods e.g. chocolate bars, arranged on the open trays.

When in use, the or each carrier is arranged so that the respective chanber is oriented along a substantially vertical axis.

The rectangular body comprises narrower sidewalls and wider sidewalls which may be perforated with a plurality of apertures which in use permit through flow of cooling air. At least one of the wider sidewalls has a central hollow rib extending along the length the carrier.

According to a second aspect of the present invention there is provided a sales display and dispensing unit for pre-packaged goods in containers, the unit comprising a housing with cooling means therein, an opening in the top of the housing, and at least one carrier according to the first aspect of the invention arranged in a substantially vertical orientation within the housing.

Preferably a plurality of carriers arranged in tandem and/or side-by side in the housing. The housing may include upright location spigots which engage with a receptor on the carrier, preferably a hollow rib, to locate a respective carrier Within the housing. The housing may be further provided with vertical posts which serve to maintain the carriers in a vertical condition.

The cooling means is preferably a built-in refrigeration unit housed beneath the carriers.

The unit may be prinarily used for the storage and sale of drinks packaged in bottles and/or cans, and other goods such as chocolates, sandwiches etc. supplied in open trays.

Description of the Drawings

The invention will be described by way of example only with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Fig.1 is an isometric view of a carrier according to the present invention, Fig.2 is an isometric part cut away view of a loaded carrier of the type shown in Fig. 1, Fig.3 is a similar view to that of Fig.2 with some goods removed, Fig.4 is a view similar to Fig. 2 with the goods removed, Fig.5 is an isometric view of a display and dispensing unit showing the arrangement of the carriers, and Fig. 6 is an exploded isometric view the display unit shown in Fig 5.

Detailed Description of the Invention

with reference to Figs. 5 & 6; there is shown a sales display and dispensing unit 11 which in this example are for drinks packaged in cans 12. The unit 11 may be free standing or built into a display wall. The unit 11 has a housing 13 assembled around a frame 14 with an opening 15 in the top of the housing 13 giving access to the goods within the housing.

The frame 14 is formed in two sections, a lower section 17 which houses a refrigeration unit 18 and an upper section 19 for storage of goods within the unit. The housing 13 is assembled from a plurality of inner panels F! and outer panels Po mounted to the frame with insulating material therebetween.

Containers of pre-packaged goods e.g. soft drinks cans 12 are stored within the upper section 19 of the housing 13 within removable carriers 31. The housing 13 may accomodate any desired number of carriers 31 and in the present example eight carriers 31 are arranged substantially vertically both in tandem and side by side within the housing 13. The carriers 31 are each independently mounted within the housing allowing for easy removal of each carrier from the housing without disturbing the other carriers. The upper section 19 has spaced apart spigots 21 and posts 22 projecting vertically upwardly from the base thereof for location of the carriers 3l'within the housing and support of the carriers in the vertical condition.

The refrigeration unit 18 is located within the housing 13 beneath the carriers 31 for cooling the drinks stored in the unit. The refrigeration unit 18 cools by circulation of cold air within the unit which is facilitated by ventilation slots and holes in the inner panels Pi and base of the upper section 19.

The carriers 31 are best seen in Figs. 1-4 and are similar to each other so that only one carrier will be described in detail to give an understanding of the Invention.

Each carrier 31 comprises an elongate rectangular hollow body 32 having narrower sidewalls 34 and wider sidewalls 35 forming a substantially enclosed chamber 33 therein along which the cans 12, or other pre-packed goods, are guided and transported. The pre-packaged goods 12 are transported along the chamber 33 by a support 36 which is moved along the chamber moving the goods 12 to the upper end of the carrier 31. The support 36 has a similar shape to the cross-section of the chamber and is biased towards the upper end of the chamber by four tension springs 37 located one in each corner of the rectangular body 32 and acting between the support and said other end of the body.

The support 36 comprises a central raised bed 38 having an upper surface shaped 39 to reeive a can 12 and side portions 41 providing guide surfaces for movement and location of the support 36 within the body 32. The tension springs 37 are attached to the distal ends of the side portions 41 of the support 36, below said central raised bed 38. Each spring 37 passes upwardly through a respective guide hole 42 in the two side portions 41 of the support to connect to the upper end of the carrier.

An abutment 43 is provided in the lower end portion of the carrier 31 and serves as a reinforcement for the carrier and limits extension of the tension springs 37 and the downward movement of the support 36.

The side portions 41 of the support 36 extend downwardly away from the central bed 38 and are spaced apart with the gap therebetween. The abutment 43 and support 36 are formed so that the side portions can pass either side of the abutment which is accoimnodated in the gap between the side portions.

The cans 12 are placed into the carrier 31 one by one from the top against the spring bias. The cans are retained within the chamber 33 and are arranged side by side with -thesupport 36 acting directly against the adjacent can to move the array of cans along the chamber. The spring rates of the tension springs are such that when a can 12 is removed from the array, the springs shorten under the fduced weight, to move the support upwards by a distance ecual to the diameter of the can. The four tension springs 37 located at the corners of the support 36 ensure that the spring load is applied evenly to the support which does not tip within the chamber.

Each carrier body 32 is formed from a suitable material, such as aluiriinium but other materials such as thermoplastics materials may also be suitable. The carrier body 32 is provided with a plurality of apertures or perforations 44 in the sidewalls 34 & 35 which allow for the circulation of cooling air. At least one of the wider sidewalls 35 has a central hollow rib 45 extending along the length the carrier.

In use the rib co-operates with a spigot 21 in housing 13 to locate the carrier within the housing.

then any carrier 31 is empty, the carrier 31 can be re-filled by removing the carrier from the sales unit li for filling on the site or at a remote location. It may be desirable to have spare pre-filled carriers of pre-chilled goods previously made ready for loading into the unit.

Claims

Claims 1. A removable goods carrier for use in a sales display and dispensing unit, the carrier comprising an elongate hollow rectangular body having an enclosed chamber in which the goods are stored, the goods being movable from one end the chamber, when in use, to the other by a support having a similar shape to the cross-section of the chamber and which biased towards said other end of the chamber by four tension springs located one in each corner of the rectangular body and acting between the support and said other end of the body.
2. A carrier as claimed in Claim 1, wherein the support comprises a central raised bed having an upper surface shaped to receive a goods container and side portions providing guide surfaces thereon for movement and location of the support within the body.
3. A carrier as claimed in Claim 2,wherein the tension springs are attached to the side portions of the support below said central raised bed, that is the side away from the goodto be moved, and each spring passes through a respective guide hole in the side portions of the support.
4. A carrier as claimed in any one oftlaims 1 to3, wherein an abutment is provided as said one end of the carrier to limit extension of the tension springs and movement of the support towards said one end.
5. A carrier as claimed in Claim 4 when dependant upon Claims 2 & 3, wherein the side portions of the support extend away from the central bed and are spaced apart with the gap therebetween accommodating said abutment.
6. A carrier as claimed in any one of Claims 1 to 5, wherein the rectangular body comprises narrower sidewalls and wider sidewalls which may be perforated with a plurality of apertures which in use permit through flow of cooling air.
7. A carrier as claimed in Claim 6 wherein at least one of the wider sidewalls has a central hollow rib extending along the length the carrier.
8. A removable goods carrier for use in a sales display and dispensing unit substantially as described herein and with reference to Figs. 1 to 4 of the drawings.
9. A sales display and dispensing unit for pre-packaged goods in containers, the unit comprising a housing with cooling means therein, an opening in the top of the housing, and at least one carrier according to anyone of Claims 1 to 8 arranged in a substantially vertical orientation within the housing.
10, A display unit as claimed in Claim 9 having a plurality of carriers arranged in tandem and/or side-by side in the housing which includes upright location spigots which engage with a receptor on the carrier to locate a respective carrier within the housing.
11. A display unit as claimed in Claim 10 wherein the housing is further provided with vertical posts which serve to maintain the carriers in a vertical condition.
12. A display unit as claimed in any one of Claims 9 to 11, wherein the cooling means comprises a built-in refrigeration unit housed beneath the carriers.