GB2475883A

GB2475883A - Pivoting product non-display shield for the front of a shelf

Info

Publication number: GB2475883A
Application number: GB0921243A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Gary Souter; Philip Toovey
Original assignee: Maxim Design Group Ltd
Current assignee: Maxim Design Group Ltd
Priority date: 2009-12-04
Filing date: 2009-12-04
Publication date: 2011-06-08
Also published as: GB0921243D0

Abstract

A product shield 18 for use with a shelf assembly having shelves for storing and displaying goods, the product shield 18 having a fixed portion [21, Fig. 3] attachable to a front portion 15 of a shelf 10 and a movable mask 30, in the form of a flap, pivoted relative to the front edge 15 of the shelf by at least one hinge 20 for movement between a first, generally upright position, in which the goods on said shelf are concealed from view and a second position facilitating access to goods on the shelf. A second mask [38, Fig. 5] also in the form of a flap, may also be pivoted from the front edge 15 of said shelf to hang downwardly and mask goods on an adjacent lower shelf [10B, Fig. 5].

Description

I

A Display_Shelf

Field

This invention relates to shelves for sales display units and in particular to point of sale display units having an array of stacked shelves one above another.

Background of the invention

Display units are frequently used in retail outlets behind the pay counter, and in order to maxim ise the display area the shelves are as closely.

stacked one on another as is possible. In the document GB-A-2450912, the present applicant describes a two part display shelf that is convenient to use even in a densely packed array of shelves. Modern shelving, especially for display and sale of cigarettes, is typically divided into stock trays provided with spring loaded pack pushers which feed a row of packs towards the front of the tray. In this condition, the packs are easy to access for sale and when the shelves are viewed from the front, the front packs in their respective trays appear in a generally unbroken linear array.

In some countries, the legislature may deem that it is undesirable for cigarette, packets to be on permnent view to prospective customers. It is therefore necessary to provide a means for easy access to the goods, allow sight of the goods for selection to the sales person and which masks the goods at other times.

Statements of Invention

According to a first aspect of the present invention there is provided a product shield for use with a shelf having a front edge and at least one display surface for storage and display of goods, typically in packs, wherein the product shield has a fixed portion attachable to a front portion of the shelf and a movable mask pivoted relative to the front edge of the shelf for movement between a first position in which the goods at the front edge of said shelf are masked from view and a second position facilitating access to the pack adjacent the front edge of the tray.

The rnoveable mask may comprise a flap which is pivotally mounted to the front portion of the shelf by at least one hinge having a having a first hinge plate forming the fixed portion of the shield with a second hinge plate being secured to the mask and resilient means acting between the two hinge plates to rotate the second plate relative to the fixed first plate.

The two hinge plates may be mounted on a single hinge pin and the resilient means is a coil spring arranged coaxially of the pin. The mask may be pivoted to the shelf by at least two spaced apart hinges Preferably, the mask is resiliently biased to a substantially upright position in use so as to mask the goods from view.

Preferably, the product shield further includes a second mask, also in the form of a flap, pivoted relative to the front edge of said shelf for movement between a first position in which the flap hangs downward such that in a shelf assembly having a plurality of shelves arranged one above another, goods in an adjacent lower shelf are masked from view.

When the first mask is pivoted to the respective shelf by at least two spaced apart hinges, the second mask may be pivoted to the two hinges hanging downwardly. therefrom to mask the goods on the lower shelf.

The second mask, preferably, hangs from a pair of oppositely extending spindles which engage in respective.holes in each hinge, preferably the holes for the hinge pins.

The spindles are each connected to a support bar which in turn is connected to the second flap.

The front surface of the or each flap may be utilised for the display of information, for example pricing. . The front edge of the or each shelf may be provided with at leastone upstanding flange and the or each first hinge plate is adapted to engage the flange.

According to a second aspect of the present invention there is provided a shelf assembly comprising a plurality of shelves arranged on above the other and including at least one shelf according to the first aspect of the invention.

Detailed Descriptionof the Drawings

The Invention will be described by way of Example and with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Fig. 1 is an isometric view of a shelf with a product shield according to the present invention Fig. 2 is similar view to that shown in Fig, 1 with the product shield open for access to the goods, Fig. 3 is an isometric enlarged view of a hinge as is used for the product shield.

Fig. 4 is an exploded isometric view of hinge.

Fig.5 is a isometric view of a pair of shelves arranged one above the other with a second product shield also according to the present invention Figs 6 is an exploded isometric view of the product shield shown in Fig. 5, and Fig.7 is a side elevation of the second product shield assembled together.

Detailed Description of the Present Invention

With reference to Fig. 1 and Fig.2, there is shown a prior art shelf 10 as is disclosed in GB-A-245091 2 the contents of which are hereby incorporated into the present specification. The shelf 10 comprises a lower try 11 and an upper, tray 12 which is slidably supported on the lower tray 11. The two parts 11 & 12 are preferably formed from sheet metal.

The lower tray 11 is connected to a pair of wall mountings (not shown) having apertures therein which engage prongs 14 on the vertical rear' edge of the tray to hold the tray assembly in a chosen position. The upper tray 12 is slidably mounted on the lower tray 11 for backwards and forwards movement. The upper tray 12 has a front edge15 with an upturned flange 16 thereon. 0 The upper tray 12 may be divided by partitions into a plurality of storage units for the display and storage of packs 17 of goods e.g. cigarettes.

The storage units are typically provided with spring loaded pack pushers which feed a row of packs towards the front of the tray. In this condition, the packs are easy to access for sale and when the shelves are viewed from the front, the front packs in their respective trays appear in a generally unbroken linear array.

The array of packs may be hidden from view from the front. by a product shield 18 as shown in Fig.1. The product shield 18 has a fixed portion attachable to a front portion of the shelf 10 and a movable mask 30 pivoted relative to the front edge 15 of the shelf 10 for movement between a first position as shown in Fig. 1 in which the goods 1 7 at the front edge 15 of said shelf are masked from view and a second position as shown in Fig. 2, facilitating access to the pack adjacent the front edge of the tray. The mask 30 is pivoted to the shelf 10 by hinges 20 and the fixed portion of the shield 18 comprises a fixed portion of the hinge.

The mask 30 is in the form of a flap which. is pivoted relative to the front edge 15 of the upper tray 12 for pivotal movement and is secured to the upper tray 12 by a pair of spaced apart hinges 20.

With reference to Figs. 3 & 4, each hinge 20 comprises two hinge plates, a first hinge plate 21 which in use is fixed relative to the shelf 10 and is mounted to the flange 16 and a second hinge plate 22 which in use is attached to the flap 30. The two hinge plates 21 22 have inter-engaged portions 25 and 26 respectively and are pivoted relative to each other by a hinge pin 23 accommodated in aligned holes 27 & 28 in the inter-engaged portions 25 & 26. The first hinge plate 21 on its rear face 31 is provided with an undercut recess 32 (see Fig 7) and a support surface 33 normal to the rear face 31. In use, the recess 32 is a slide fit over the flange 16 and the support surface 33 sits against the underside of the tray 12.

A pair of coil springs 29 arranged coaxially of the pivot pin act between the two hinge plates to bias the two plates together so that when the mask 30 is pulled downwards as shown in Fig. 2 on release, the springs 29 return the mask 30 to its upright condition to mask the goods.

With reference to Fig. 5, there is shown two shelves 1OA,1OB arranged one above the other in a shelf assembly 50 as is typical in a display unit comprising a plurality of shelves. The upper shelf 1OA has a tray 12A having a mask 30, as previously described, pivoted relative to the upper tray 12A. The lower tray 12B is provided with a second mask 38, also in the form of a flap, which is also pivoted relative to the upper tray 12A and hangs downwardly under gravity to mask the goods on the lower tray 1 2B.

With reference also to Figs. 6 and 7, the flap forming the mask 30 comprises three parts, a root portion 41 attached to the hinges, 20, a substantially flat main portion and a stiffener 43 at the distal end of the mask. The stiffener 43 clips over the main portion 42 which in turn clips into the root potion 41 which is attached to the second hinge plate 22.

The second flap 38 is pivoted to the two hinges 20 hanging downwardly to mask the lower tray 12B. The second flap 38 comprises three parts similar to the flap 30, a root portion 51 adjacent the hinges 20, a main portion 52 and stiffener 53. The root portion 51 hangs from a pair of oppositely extending spindles 55 which engage in respective holes in each hinge. The spindles 55 are each attached to a respective support bar 56, the two support bars 56 being attached to the stiffener 51. The two spindles 55 engage in the pin holes 28 which also accommodate the hinge pins 23 for the respective hinges.

The mask 38 is lifted as shown in Fig 5 to gain access to the goods on the tray 12 and when released falls to resume the position masking the goods.

Claims

Claims 1.A product shield for use with a shelf having a front edge and at least one display surface for storage and display of goods, wherein the product shield has a fixed portion attachable to a front portion of the shelf and a movable mask pivoted relative to the front edge of the shelf for movement between a first position in which the goods on said shelf are masked from view and a second position facilitating access to goods adjacent the front edge of the tray.
2. A product shield as claimed in Claim 1, wherein the moveable mask comprises a flap which is pivotally mounted to the front portion of the shelf by at least one hinge having a having a first hinge plate forming the fixed portion of the shield and the second hinge plate secured to the mask with a resilient means acting between the two hinge plates to rotate the second plate relative to the fixed first plate.
3. A product shield as claimed in Claim 2,wherein the two hinge plates are mounted on a single hinge pin and the resilient means is a coil spring arranged coaxially of the pin.
4. A product shield as claimed as claimed in Claim 2 or Claim 3 wherein the shield has two hinges so that the mask in use is pivoted to the shelf by two spaced apart hinges
5. A product shield as claimed in any one of Claims 2 to 4, wherein the mask is resiliently biased to a substantially upright position masking the goods from view
6. A product shield as claimed in any one of Claims 1 to 5 and further including a second mask, also in the form of a flap, pivoted relative to the front edge of said shelf for movement between a first position in which the flap hangs downward such that in a shelf assembly having a plurality of shelves arranged one above another, goods in an adjacent lower shelf are masked from view.
7. A product shield as claimed in Claim 6 when. dependant on Claim 4, wherein when the first mask is pivoted to the respective shelf by at least two spaced apart hinges and the second mask is pivoted to the two hinges and hangs downwardly to mask the goods on the lower shelf.
8. A product shield as claimed in Claim 7 wherein the second mask hangs from a pair of oppositely extending spindles which engage in respective holes in each hinge.
9. A products shield as claimed in Claim 8 wherein the spindles engage in the holes for the respective hinge pins.
10. A product shield as claimed in Claim 9 wherein the spindles are each connected to a support bar which in turn is connected to the second mask.
11. A product shield as claimed in any one of Claims 1 to 11, wherein the front surface of theoreach flap or mask is utilised for the display of information, for example pricing.12 A shelf including a product shield as claimed in any one of Claims 1 to 11.* 13. A shelf as claimed in Claim 12 wherein the front edge of the shelf is provided with at least one upstanding flange and the or each first hinge plate is adapted to engage the flange.14. A shelf assembly comprising a plurality of shelves arranged on above the other and including at least one shelf according to Claim 12 or Claim 13.15. A shelf for the display and storage of goods and which is substantially as described herein with reference to the drawings.