US1973854A

US1973854A - Merchandise display rack

Info

Publication number: US1973854A
Application number: US660808A
Authority: US
Inventors: William G Hoffman; Hartig Walter
Original assignee: HOFFMAN BEVERAGE Co
Current assignee: HOFFMAN BEVERAGE Co
Priority date: 1933-03-15
Filing date: 1933-03-15
Publication date: 1934-09-18
Anticipated expiration: 1951-09-18

Description

Patented Sept. 18, 1934 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFECE MERCHANDISE DISPLAY RACK William G. Hoffman, Seuth Orange, and Walter Hartig, Newark, N. J,

, assignors to Hoffman Beverage Company, Newark, N. J., a corporation of New Jersey Application March 15, 1933, Serial No. 660,808

10 Claims.

This invention relates to merchandise display racks and has particular reference to a rack in produce which he wants while waiting to be Waited on by the clerk in the store. To this end various forms of display racks for merchandise have been provided, but so far as we are aware no successful display rack has been provided for distributing bottled beverages.

In accordance with the present invention a display rack for bottled beverages is provided which is arranged so that the beverages are brought to the attention of the prospective purchaser in a striking and attractive manner, and which alsois arranged so that the prospective purchaser may personally select and withdraw the bottled beverage which he wishes to purchase. The new rack holds the bottles securely against displacement and injury, illuminates them in an attractive and conspicuous way, and is so con* structed that the supports in which the bottles are mounted and which are likelyrto become soiled are readily removable for cleaning.

The new display rack of this invention comprises a frame having vertically spaced sets of cleats which slope toward the rear of the'rack and upon which are slidably mounted a series of removable trays having rails upon their upper surfaces which engage the bottom and sides or the bottle so as to hold it securely and having corresponding rails on their lower surfaces which align vertically with the rails in the tray below for securely holding the upper ends of the bottles whichare supported in the rails on the tray below. Preferably these trays are of progressively increasing lengths from the top to the bottom of the rack, so that the lower trays hold more bottles than the upper trays and greater stability of the rack is accordingly provided, even though more bottles are removed from the lower trays than from the upper trays, and. the difierence in demand of the beverages is compensated for.

Each of the trays is preferably made of metal or some other suitable material which can be kept sanitary by immersion in or treatment with a suitable cleaning fluid, or the like, and the trays are standardized so that they are readily interchangeable with the corresponding trays (it other racks. The front of each tray is provided with a receptacle for electric lamps, which are located behind atransparent or translucent screen provided with a suitable legend for identifying the particular beverage placed in the corresponding tray, or the like. These lamps are connectible to a suitable source of power by means of a separable electrical connector, which, when the trays are to be removed for cleaning or any other purpose, may be readily disconnected and as readily reconnected'when the corresponding trays are replaced.

It will be seen that the new display rack of this invention is complete in itself and readily portable, so that it may be placed at any convenient point in a distributors store, or the like, where it will be readily noticed by a prospective purchaser who enters the store for the purpose of purchasing abottled beverage or other products, the illumination provided in the trays being so arranged that the bottled beverages located in the adjacent tray are illuminated as well as those in the corresponding tray, so that the bottles appear to be luminous and provide'as'triking and attractive display. Although the rack may be arranged to hold practicallyany number of beverage bottles, it is stable because of the pyramidal arrangement of the bottles in the trays. Also the rearward slope of the trays causes the beverage bottles to engage each other from front to rear so that a practically solid mass is provided in each tray, whereby rattling of the bottles, due to vibrations in the store, is prevented, anddislodgement of the bottles from the rack, due to jarring of the rack or other causes, is also eliminated.

For a more complete understanding of the invention reference may be had to the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a front elevation of the new display rack of this invention;

Figure 2 is a vertical section therethrough, as seen along the line 2'2 of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a plan view of one of the individual trays of the rack, showing the arrangement of the bottle-supporting rails;

Figure 4 is a bottom view of one of the individual trays, showing the arrangement of the rails for holding the upper ends of the bottles supported on the tray below and the arrangement of the illuminating lamps; and

Figure 5 is a transverse section through one of til ilo

the trays, as seen along the line 5-5 of Figure 3,

and illustrates the relationship between the upper and lower ends of the bottles in the adjacent trays.

In these drawings, numeral 10 designates the rack which may be made of metal, wood, or other suitable material, and which comprises a rear panel' 11 connected to substantially triangular side walls 12, which are joined with the rear panel 11 to the top piece 13 and to the open bottom piece 14, which carries the casters 15, or the like, and supports the rack 10 on the floor. The lower front edges of the side walls 12 are connected by a lower front panel 16.

The inner surfaces of the opposite side walls 12 are provided at vertically spaced points with cleats 17, upon which rest the bottle-holding trays 18. The cleats 17 slope rearwardly, so that the bottles supported on the trays 18naturally incline rearwardly and tend to slide by gravity into positive engagement with each other, as is illustrated especially in Figure 2. I

The trays 18 are preferably made of metal so that they may be readily kept sanitary by immersion in or treatment with a suitable cleaning or sterilizing fluid or liquid. These trays 18 are provided on their upper and lower surfaces with a series of rails, the rails on the upper surfaces of the trays being provided for holding the lower ends of the bottles, and the rails on the lower surfaces of the trays being provided for holding the upper ends of the bottles supported on the tray immediately below.

These upper and lower rails are supported on a box-like frame comprising side pieces 19, connected by an inclined rear piece 20, and a front piece 21 which is generally channel-shaped in cross-section with the opening of the channel below, so as to provide the transverse receptacle 22 extending along the front of each tray. The aforementioned upper rails include a center rail or track 23 extending between the front and

rear pieces

20 and 21 of the tray and overlapping the front piece 21, as is shown especially in Figure 3. It is upon this rail 22 that the bottles rest and because the rail is of small surface area the bottles may he slid readily along it without mate rial resistance.

Also extending between front and

rear pieces

21 and 20 and spaced laterally from adjacent center rails 23 are spaced side rails 24, the front ends of which overlap the front piece 21 and the rear ends of which are displaced laterally from their front ends and extend partly along the corresponding center rails 23, being connected to the said front ends by a bow having a curvature substantially corresponding to the curvature of the bottom of the beverage bottle. The spacing of the bow of each side rail 24 from the rear of the tray is such as to compensate for the rearward slope of the bottles, as illustrated in Figure '2; that is to say, the bow of the side rail 24 engages the rear bottle in such a way that the upper. end of the latter is located near the rear panel 11, so that the rear bottle is securely held despite its inclined position resulting from the declination of the tray, I

As illustrated especially in Figures 3 and 5, the opposite sides of the side rails 24 cooperate with corresponding sides of the bottles arranged in adjacent rows, so that the bottles are not only supported on the center rails 23, but their sides are closely engaged by the side rails 24 whereby the bottles are securely held against lateral movement.

The lower edge of each center rail 23 lies adjacent the caps or upper ends of the bottles mounted in the tray below, as illustrated especially in Figures 2 and 5. The spacing between the lower surface of center rail 23 of an upper tray and the upper surface of the corresponding center rail 23 of the tray below is such that the bottles cannot be raised high enough to clear the upper edges of the corresponding rails 24, so that the bottles cannot be tilted sidewise or strike against the bottles in the adjacent rows. Located diagonally below each center rail 23 are two spaced side rails 25, which extend between front and

rear pieces

21 and 20 of the tray and are located at an angle with respect to each other, so that they substantially confine the caps or upper ends of the bottles in the tray below, but do not resist the placement or removal of bottles therein.

The rear ledge 26 of the channel-shaped front piece 21 of the tray extends below the lower edges of center rails 23 and below the upper ends or caps of the bottles supported on the tray below, so that in order to insert bottles in the tray,'the upper ends of the bottles must be placed behind ledge 28 before the lower ends of the bottles may be seated on the center rail 23 between the side rails 24 of the tray below. Conversely, when the bottles are removed, the lower ends thereof must.

be withdrawn first before the upper ends thereof will clear the ledge 26. This arrangement insures that the bottles will not topple outwardly even if they are incorrectly placed in the tray below.

The front panel of each tray, i. e., the front wall of the channel-shaped front piece 21 is slotted. horizontally or longitudinally and fitted with a glass, stencil, or other partially transparent or translucent plate 27, which bears suitable legends identifying the fiavor, characteristic, or the like-of the beverages mounted on the corresponding tray. Within the receptacle 22 formed in the channel-shaped front piece 21 are located .a plurality of electric lamp sockets 28 for the reception of electric lamps 29 which are wired in series or parallel and connected to one element 30 of a separable electric connector, the other element of which is connected to a supply wire extending through an opening 31 in the rear piece 20 of the tray. This supply wire and the corresponding element of the electrical connector are not shown, but are of conventional design and are connected to a suitable source of power.

In order to protect the lamps 29 from injury by the inadvertent insertion'of the top of a bottle in receptacle 22 while the bottle is being placed in or withdrawn from the rack, a guard, screen or shield 37 of sheet metal, or the like, is placed across the open side of the lamp receptacle 22, as illustrated in Figures 2 and 4. In order to let the light through and to provide ventilation for receptacle 22, the guard, screen or shield 37 is provided with slots, shown in Figure 4, which must be narrower or smaller than the dimensions of the caps of the bottles in order to serve the purpose intended. Obviously, the guard, screen or shield 37 may be otherwise apertured or perforated, depending upon requirements.

The trays 18 are all constructed in the manner described except that they are of progressively decreasing lengths so as to conform to the generally pyramidal shape of the rack 10. The lengths of the trays, of course, govern the number of bottles which they will hold. For instance, the larger or lower tray may hold four bottles in each row, the second or middle tray three bottles in each row, and the upper tray two bottles in each row. 1'

The upper ends of the bottles resting on the upper tray are engaged between rails 23' and 25, which correspond to rails 23' and 25, respectively, on the under side of each of the trays. These

rails

23 and 25 extend between rear panel 1-1 of the rack 10 and a strip 32 secured across the upper end of the rack 10 and formingwith an apertured front piece 33 a receptacle 34 containing lamps 35 arranged in the same way as the lamps 29 in the receptacles 22 of the corresponding trays 18 are arranged. A guard, screen or shield 37 extends across-the open side of recep- 1 tacle 34 and serves the same purpose'as guard 37 on tray 18. The front piece 33 is provided with a glass, stencil, or other transparent or translucent panel 36, which may bear the name'of the manufacturer or the trade name of the beverages displayed in the rack and which is illuminated downwardly through the openings in the guard 3'7 upon the bottles resting on the upper tray 13. Although these

parts

23', 25', 32, 33, 35, 36 and 37' have been described as being fixed to the rack 10, they may form a removable unit like the trays 18, if desired.

In use, the new display rack of this invention is placed at a conspicuous place where the merchandise carried thereby will be readily visible and accessible to a prospective purchaser. The trays 18 are slid in position on the appropriate cleats 1'7 and the supply wires passed through openings 31 in the trays and connected to the connector element 30, so as to illuminate the legends carried by the panels 27 thereof. The beverage bottles, properly classified as to flavor, or the like, in accordance with the legends on panels 2'7, are then placed in the trays, the upper ends thereof being first introduced between rails 25 and their lower ends then being placed between rails 24, so that the bottles rest upon rails 23 and slide to the rear of the trays as determined by the bows of rails 24.

Because the bottles are closely confined between

rails

23 and 24 and the

overhead rails

23 and 25 or 23 and 25', they cannot ride up on rails 24 to strike the bottles of the adjacent rows or be otherwise displaced, so that the liability of breakage of the bottles is reduced to a minimum. Also, because the front end of each center rail 23 projects above the upper surface of front piece 21, which it overlaps, the finished upper surface of front piece 21 will not be marred or discolored as the result of removal and replacement of bottles.

The light issuing from

lamps

29 and 35 is reflected downwardly through the openings in the guards 3'7 and 37' respectively, so as to illuminate the contents of the bottles, the rays of the lamps not only illuminating the bottles immediately below them, but also illuminating the bottoms of the bottles immediately above, so that all of the bottles are illuminated, and, because of their nature, they assume a luminous appearance which is very striking and attractive.

Although the trays contain different numbers of bottles and the rack is pyramidal in shape, the bottles on the lower trays do not extend beyond the front edges of the tray next above because of the inclination of the trays, so that the bottles are protected against injury, are not readily dislodged and are shielded against falling dust and other material. This pyramidal arrangement provides the rack with great stability and permits the arrangement of'the beverages to compensate for the varying demand for the different flavors.

stooping to read labels is unnecessary.

1 'While a preferred embodiment of the invention has'been illustrated and described herein, it is to beunderstocd that the invention is not limited thereby, but is susceptible of changes in form and detail'within-its scope.

We claim: 1. In a display rack, the combination of a frame, a tray mounted on the frame and sloping '90 'rearwardlyf'guides on the tray for supporting a engaging the rear article of the corresponding row to brace it in the said incline-:1 position. by the lamps 35, the rays of which are reflected .2. In a display rack, the combination of i a frame, a tray mounted on the frame, spaced guides on the tray engaging the sides of articles and between which articles are supported in an upright inclined position in rows, and a lateral extension on each guide for engaging the rearmost article in the corresponding row.

3. In a display rack, the combination of a frame, an inclined tray mounted on the frame, spaced guides on the tray engaging the sides of articles and between which articles are supported in an upright inclined position in rows, and a lateral extension on each guide spaced from the rear of the tray for engaging the rearmost article of the corresponding row to compensate for the inclination of the article in that row.

4. In a display rack, the combination of a frame, an inclined tray mounted on the frame, spaced guides on the tray between which articles are held in an upright inclined position in rows, a rail between adjacent guides upon which the weight of the articles is supported, and a stop engaging the last article in each row to compensate for the inclination of the articles in that row.

5. In a display rack, the combination of a frame, an inclined tray mounted on the frame, spaced guides on the tray between which articles are held in an upright inclined position in rows, a rail between adjacent guides upon which the 125 weight of the articles is supported, and a lateral projection on each guide for limiting the rearward movement of the rearmost article in the corresponding row.

6. In a display rack, the combination of a 130 frame, a tray mounted on the frame, spacedrails on the tray upon which the weight of articles is supported, and spaced guides on the tray having a portion extending substantially parallel to and between adjacent rails for confining the articles in rows in upright position, said guides each having another portion partially extending along the adjacent rail and connected to the said parallel portion by a bow having substantially the configuration of the adjacent article in the corresponding row.

7. In a display rack, the combination of a frame, a plurality of substantially like trays removably mounted on the frame in spaced superposed relation, means on the upper surface of a lower tray for supporting a plurality of articles in an upright inclined position with the articles extending in a row from thefront to the back of the tray, and means on the lower surface of the adjacent upper tray for receiving the upper 150 ends of the row of articles supported on the tray below.

8. In a display rack, the combination of a frame, a plurality of substantially like trays removably mounted on the frame in spaced superposed relation, substantially parallel guides on the upper surface of a lower tray for independently supporting a plurality of articles in a substantially upright position with the articles extending in a row from the front to the back of the tray, and substantially parallel guides on the lower surface of the adjacent upper tray aligned with the guides of the lower tray for receiving the upper ends of the row of articles supported in the guides of the tray below.

9. In a display rack, the combination of a frame, a plurality of substantially like trays removably mounted on the frame in spaced superposed relation, said trays being arranged in rearwardly inclined position, guides on the upper surface of a lower tray for independently holding a row of articles in an upright inclined position, a stop engaging the rearmost article of the tray, and guides on the lower surface of the adjacent upper tray aligned with the guides of the lower .tray for receiving the upper ends of the row of articles supported in the guides of the tray below.

10. In a display device, the combination of a frame, a plurality of removable trays supported in spaced superposed relation on the frame, means on the top of each tray for independently supporting a row of articles in an upright inclined position, means on the bottom of each tray for receiving the upper ends of the row of articles on the tray below, and means on the rear of each tray for engaging the rearmost article of each row to compensate for the inclination of the articles.

WILLIAM G. HOFFMAN. WALTER HARTIG.