US1321571A

US1321571A - Selff-serving store

Info

Publication number: US1321571A
Authority: US
Publication date: 1919-11-11
Anticipated expiration: 1936-11-11

Description

E. M."S?T1LES.' SELF SERVINGTSTQRE- APPLICATION FILED AUG.22. 191s.

, Patented Nov. 11, 1919.

v 3 SHEETS-SHEET l- E. M. STILES.

SELF SERVING STORE.

APPLICATION HLED Aue.22. ma.

1 ,3'2 1 ,5? 1 Patented Nov. 11, 1919.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

E. M. STILES.

SELF SERVING STORE.

APPLICATION FILED AUG.22.1918.

Patented Nov. 11, 1919.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3. A

EDWARD M. STILES, 0F MOUNT PLEASANT, IOWA.

SELF-SERVING STORE.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented Nov, 11, 1919,

Application. filed August 22, 1918. Serial No. 250,910.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, EDWARD M. STILEs, a citizen of the United States, residing at Mount Pleasant, in the county of Henry and State of Iowa, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Self-Serving Stores, of which the following is a specifi-' cation.

This invention relates to store and store furniture construction by means of which a customer is enabled to select the goods he desires to purchase without the assistance of an attendant, and has for its object the provision of an improved structure of the character named.

The invention is exemplified in the combination and arrangement of parts shown in the accompanying drawings and described in the following specification, and it is more particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawings Figure 1 is a plan view of a storeroom therebeing anentrance 13 to the store .at

the front thereof in the usual manner. Just w1thin the door 13 is a small lobby 14 which is separated from the main salesroom' 15 by a railing 15' extending transverselyof the storeroo A. passage 16havin a turnstile or one ay. closure 17 leads From the lobby 14 to he salesroom 15 and a second passage 18 h ving a similar oneway closure 19 is provided for the return of customers from the s alesroom to the lobby. Along the wall 10 at the customers leftas he enters the salesroom, is a displa ca'binet20 which may consist of a series 0 shelves, as shown in Fig. 2 of the drawings, or maybe of any form best adapted for the character of goods to 'be sold. Along the rear wall 11 are other-cabinets 21., 22 and 23 whichmay be" of varied construction to accommodate goods of different characters. The cabinet 24, similar to cabinet 20, is arranged against the wall opposite the one near the cabinet 20. Within the salesroom 15, and extending parallel with the side Walls, are

cabinets

25 and 26 and a railing 27 which divide the sales room into aseries of longitudinal passages or aisles, 28, 29, 30 and 31, respectively. The ends of the

cabinets

25 and 26 are spaced from the rear of the store and are connected by a railing 31 which forms with the caloinets 21, 22 and 23 a rear passage 32. The front end of the cabinet 24 'is connected with the frontend of the railing 27 by a railing 33 and a checking counter 34 extends parallel with the railing 33 and forms therewith a passage 35 leading to. the exit 18. A space 36 is provided between the checking counter 34 and the railing 16 which is occupied by the necessary attendants for checking goods and collecting for sales. The cabinet 25 is preferably divided longitudinally by a partition 37, shown in Fig. 3, so that shelves on one side of the cabinet will face the aisle 28- and the shelves on the other side will face the aisle 29. The cabinet 26 is preferably open to both sides, as shown in Fig. 3.

It is desirable to arrange a store of th1s kind in which general merchandise is sold ,so that two classes of customers may be readily accommodated. Some customers visiting the store desire to do a general market ing and buy several different kinds of goods. There are other customers who come to the storefor the express purpose of buying only one or two articles which they have definitely in mind before they enter, the store. When a store is arranged according to the present invention, both of these classes of customers may be accommodated with the greatest convenience to the: customers themselves and without interference between the customers wishing to do the two kinds of shopping. The customer who wishes to do .a general marketing, enters the store "the exit 18 into the lobby 14 and thence to the street. It should be noted that during a part of the course followed by the customer. he has a railing at one side and shelves at -the other. The shelves along this v part of the passage are stocked with the goods which it is most desirable to give the customer plenty of opportunity to examine. The fact that there are goods along one side of the passage only, prevents the customers attention from being distracted from one side to the other, and insures his seeing the entire display. Other portions of the passage, such as the aisle 28 are provided with shelving on both sides and this shelving may be stocked with goods which requires little inspectionand which constitute the every day needs of customers. Goods of this character thecustomer will buy without their being especially brought to his attention,

while the shelving in the

aisles

29 and 30 may be stocked with goods which might be overlooked. The goods in the shelving along aisle 28 will also naturally be the goods which the customers will make a special trip to the store to secure, and therefore, the arrangement is suchthat a customer may easily have access to this aisle without the necessity of 'passing through the entire ,circuitous route provided for the general shop- I per. The shelving along. the aisle 28 may be stocked with uch things as canned goods, tea, coffee, break-fast foods, soap, washing powder, etc., and acustomer who wishes a can of corn, or a bar of soap, may enter the passage 16 along the broken lines .39 and go to the shelving along the aisle 28 where these goods are kept and, without continuing throu h the other parts'of the store, may go direct'y through the passage 40 at the forward end of the counter 25 to the checking counter and then to the exit. .This he may do without interfering in any way with the .customers following the complete route throughthe store and without Wasting any of his own time.

In the modification shown in Fig. 4, only one route is provided throughout the store and a continuous railing 41 is so arranged that the customer has the shelving at one side only, during his entire passage from the entrance 42 to the exit 43. In this figure -a stopkroom 44 is shown at the rear of the store which is entered through a door 45 leading from the salesroom, to the stockroom. A single cabinet 46 in the interior of the room is provided with a central partition like that in the cabinet 25 in the form previously described so that the goods on one side of the cabinet are viewed by the customer as he passes along one aisle and the" goods in the other side of the cabinet are accessible from the next aisle. This arrangement of the storeis especially valuable where it is not desired to accommodate customers who come for articles previously selected by them, but where it is wished to permit the customer to inspect all of the goods in the store before he comes to the exit.

I claim:

1. In a self-serving store. a pluralitypf cabinets arranged substantially parallel with one another and spaced apart, and a railing arranged to cocperate with said cabinets to form a passage along one side wall of said store from the front to the rear thereof and thence across the rear of said store to the opposite side thereof and thence along the opposite side toward the front of. said store, said railing being arranged at one side of said passage throughout a part of its length along which a cabinet is arranged at the opposite side of said passage.

2. In a self-serving store, a plurality of cabinets arranged therein substantially parallel with one another and spaced apart, and a. railing arranged to coiiperate with said cabinets to form a passageway along one side of said store from the front to the rear thereof, thence across the back of said store to the opposite side thereof, thence forwardly along said opposite side of said store, thence rearwardly to a point adjacent the passage across the rear end of said store, thence forwardly again to an exit passageway.

cabinets arranged therein substantially parallelwith one another and spaced apart, and a railing arranged to cooperate with said cabinets, said railing and cabinets forming a continuous passageway extending from the front to the rear of said store along one side thereof, thence across the rear of said store to the opposite side thereof, thence along said opposite side to the front of said store, thence rearwardly to a point adjacent the passage across the rear end of said store, thence forwardly to an exit passageway, said passage having a railing at one side thereof and a cabinet at the other side thereof during a part of its length so that a customer moving along said passage may examine all of the goods displayed along said part of said passage Without turning from one side to the other thereof.

4. In a self-serving store, a plurality of display cabinets arranged substantially parallel with one another and spaced apart, railings cooperating with said cabinets to form a continuous circuitous passageway extending from the entranceto the exit of said store and a shorter and more direct passageway from said entrance to said exit, which shorter passageway includes only a part of said display cabinets.

5. A store constructlon compnsing a plurality of display cabinets arranged substan- 3. In a self-serving store, a plurality of nets to provide a continuous circuitous passageway extending from the entrance to the exit of said store, and a by-pass extending from a point along said first-mentioned passage to the exit of said store.

6. A store construction comprising a plurality of display cabinets arranged parallel with one another and spaced apart, two of said cabinets ha ing adjacent ends thereof spaced from a wall of said store and connected by a. railing forming a passage between said wall and said railing. and a second railing extending between said cabinets to form two adjacent. passageways between said cabinets, said second railing having the end thereof spaced from said first-aneutioned railing to form a connection for the passageways between said cabinets.

T, In a storeroom construction, a series of cabinets arranged along the two opposite side walls and the iear wall of said store room, a. pair of cabinets within said storev room extending parallel with the side walls thereof and spaced from said side walls and from one. another, the rear ends of said pair of cabinets being spaced from the rear of said storeroo n and connected by a railing to form a passage across the rear of said stOl't. a railing extending between the cabinets of said pair to divide the space therebetween into two passageway, the rear end of said railing being spaced from the railing connecting the rear ends of said pair of cabinets, and a third railing connecting the forward end of said second railing with one side wall of said store, said third railing being spaced from the forward end of one of said pair of cabinets to form a passage around the end of said cabinet, the forward end of the other of said pair of cabinets being spaced from the front wall of said store to form a by-pass from a point adjacent the entrance of said store to the exit thereof.

8. A' storeroom construction coinprisinga plurality of cabinets and railings extending substantially parallel and alternating with one another within said storerooin and having passageways therebet-ueen. said cabinets and railings forming side walls for said passageways. and means for connecting adjacent ends of alternate side walls of said passageways to close the ends of adjacent passageways. the intermediate side wall be tween the passageways thus closed being spaced from said closing means to form a connection between said adjacentpassageways. the whole thus forming a continuous circuitous route from the. entrance of said storeroom to the exit thereof a port-ion of which route is provided with a display cabinet at one side thereof and a railing at the opposite side thereof.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification on this 19th day of August. A. D. 1918.

EDWARD M. STILES.