US2123290A - Device for displaying merchandise - Google Patents

Description

July 12, 1938. w. s. POWERS DEVICE FOR DISPLAYING MERCHANDISE Filed Oct. 5, 19556 INVENTOR 'W/zz/AM 5. Pan 5% Patented July 12, 1938 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE DEVICE FOR DISPLAYING MERCHANDISE William S. Powers, New York, N. Y., assignor to The W. F. Powers Company, New York, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application October 5, 1936, Serial No. 104,079

1 Claim.

ping boxes or containers for the merchandise to be displayed; and the object of the invention is to provide a unitary collapsible display device of the class and for the purpose specified, which when extended will form a hollow or tubular display device adapted to envelop or encircle one or more containers for the products to be displayed, and further to provide at the upper portion of the display and above the container arranged therein a compartment or merchandise {5 display section upon which the articles may be arranged in stacked, piled or other arrangement so as to provide a raised and readily visible and accessible display of the actual merchandise being offered for sale; a further object being to provide a device of the class described having char acterized wall portions, one of which is severed from one part of the display and arranged and mounted in spaced relation thereto to form a top protruding display section; a further object being to provide means for maintaining said top display section in upright position; a further object being to provide means for reinforcing the upper edge of the front wall of the d-isplayy'a further object being to provide means for forming a stepped supporting section at'the top of the display to provide a stepped or staggered arrangement of merchandise thereon, and further, with means for bracing and supporting said stepped section; a still further object being to provide a display of the class described consisting of front and side printed or lithographed display wall portions which are integrally formed and anupwardly projecting characterized back wall portion with means involving a supplemental back wall member for securing said parts together d .50 of my improvement are designated by suitable reference characters in each of the views, and in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a display device made according to my invention with parts of 5,5 the construction broken away and in section.

' Fig. 2 is a rear view of the construction shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a plan view of the construction shown in Figs. 1 and 2.

Fig. 4 is a cross sectional view of the lower end portion of the display, illustrating the same in a partially collapsed position.

Fig. 5 is a vertical section of the upper end portion of a display such as illustrated inFig. 1 of the drawing, and showing a modification; and,

Fig. 6 is a section on the line 66 of Fig. 5.

In displaying merchandise, and especially in providing what are known as floor displays, it has been customary to employ heavy or substantial board in the construction of such displays so as to be sufficiently strong to maintain and support the articles to be placed on display, and devices of this kind have been very costly to produce and thus have found limited uses.

It is one of the distinctive features of my invention to provide a device of the class under consideration which is composed of very light, printed or lithographed material which simply forms a jacket or enclosure for one or more containers, the latter serving as means for supporting the display in extended position and further, as the means for supporting the-merchandise to be arranged in'the display and exposed through the upper end thereof, the material of the display jacket or enclosure being of sufficient weight or thickness tosupportitself, and especially with certain parts thereof braced and reinforced as more fully hereinafter set forth; In this manner, the desired display may be produced at a very nominal cost, thus facilitating a more extensive use thereof.

While the invention is adapted primarily for use as a floor display in conjunction with wood, metal, cardboard or corrugated board containers, the same may be used as a counter, shelf or table display. The contour of the display will depend entirely upon the form of the carton or container in conjunction with which the same is to be used as well as the number of cartons to be arranged in the display to govern the height thereof.

In Figs. 1 to 4 inclusive, I have shown one method of carrying my invention into effect. In these figures, l0 represents the display jacket, housing or enclosure formed from a relatively thin, printed, lithographed or otherwise characterized sheet 12, a detached part of which is indicated at 12a. This characterized sheet is scored so as to fold the lines I3 and M to divide the same into a front panel or wall 55 and side the device is set up for use.

panels or walls I6 and II, the latter being folded centrally and longitudinally as indicated at It; so as to collapse the display in the manner indicated in Fig. 4. At the rear edges of the side walls I6 and I! are foldable flanges l9 and 2G. The upper edge of the front wall l5 also includes a wide foldable flap or flange 2|, which, in the construction shown in Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawing, is folded downwardly and inwardly so as to reinforce said upper edge of the front wall and to provide a neat and finished upper edge 22 of the display. The side walls l6 and II at their front edges project above the folded edge 22 as seen at 23. Said upper edges are beveled as seen at 24 so as to provide an attractive upper display end for the device. In this connection, it will be understood that any desired contour may be formed on the upper edge of the side walls to suit the type of merchandise placed on display or the manner of arranging such merchandise thereon.

The part l2a forms a part of the sheet l2, or, in other words, is characterized by printing, lithographing or otherwise in one operation therewith, the lower edge lZb of the part lZa normally joining the free edge I2c of the flap or flange 2|, In forming the device, the part l2a is severed and wire stitched or otherwise attached to the upper end portions of the flanges l9 and 2!! as indicated at 25 in Fig. 2 of the drawing. The part l2a forms the upper end portion of the back wall of the display and the upper edge 26 of said part may be of any irregular contour to form a display section, displaying or characterizing the merchandise arranged in front thereof. The front characterized face of said part i2a may have a section such as the circular section indicated by the dot and dash line 21, upon which the sales price of the merchandise may be arranged, or this section may serve as means for receiving sales price tickets or sheets which may be changed from time to time.

At 28, I have indicated in dot and dash lines an uncharacterized portion of the part 12a which will normally be arranged thereon in the shipment or transportation of the display, but which will be torn off or severed on the line 29 when The purpose of the portion 28 is to protect and guard the projecting display part In in transit.

At 30, I have shown a separate sheet forming the back wall proper of the device, and this sheet is not characterized in the construction shown, and is preferably composed of slightly heavier and of a cheaper grade of material than that employed in the part I2, [2a. This back wall part 39 is secured in position by wire stitches or other fastening means 3| passing therethrough and through the flanges l9 and 20 as seen in Fig. 2 of the drawing. The back wall part 33 includes an upwardly projecting tongue portion 32 centrally thereof, which is arranged upon the rear surface of the lower end portion of the part l2a and serves to maintain said part |2a against outward movement.

I also preferably employ on the rear surface of the part l2a, a vertically arranged reinforcing strip 33 for maintaining the part I211, and especially the protruding portion thereof in upright position. One side 33a of the strip is glued or otherwise secured to the rear surface of the part l2a, whereas the other side 33b is normally arranged upon the rear surface of the part lZa in the shipment of the device and is adapted to be extended at right angles thereto as seen in Figs. 2

and 3 of the drawing and is held in such position by a lock element 330 formed from the material thereof as in other bracing devices of this kind. It is understood that the element 330 is also normally arranged flatly upon the part l2a and extended into the right angle position shown in Figs. 2 and 3 of the drawing when the device is in use.

In the use of my improved device, one of the displays may be shipped with each box, carton or container for the merchandise to be displayed, or one of the displays may be sent with a shipment of such boxes, depending entirely upon the requirements of the store keeper; or in some cases, where the display device is used in conjunction with two or more of the boxes or containers, a display device will be supplied with the sale of such number of containers as to be used in conjunction therewith.

To illustrate the latter use, I have indicated in Fig. 1 of the drawing, two similar boxes or cartons 34, 34a arranged one upon the other within the walls l5, I6, I! and 30 of the display. The upper surface 341) of the uppermost box 34 is arranged below the edge 22 so as to form a countersunk chamber or compartment which will support the lowermost articles 35 below or partially below the edge 22, whereas the remainder of such articles may be stacked or piled to extend upwardly above the edge 22 and within the upper ends of the side walls It and II, it being preferred that the upper portion of the back wall part [2a remain extended above the top of the articles so as to form a top finishing or display section as well as the price sheet supporting section.

From the foregoing, it will be apparent that all or part of the articles 35 normally contained in the boxes or cartons 34, 34a may be removed therefrom, the display Ill then slipped on over the two boxes when arranged one upon the other, and then the articles 35 arranged in position. The boxes 34, 34a fit snugly within the walls of the display l and will serve to support said walls in extended position and also serve to support the articles at the upper or open end of the display.

In some instances, it may be found desirable to simply open the top of a box or container, then place the display device thereover and simply arrange the articles contained in the box in any desired manner within the upper portion of the display, or, in other words, at the upper open end of the box. This would be especially true with various kinds and classes of canned goods.

In Figs. and 6, I have shown a slight modification which consists simply in providing a supplemental part 36 which will be wire stitched or otherwise securedto the flap or flange 2|, the part 36 being of a width equal to the length of the flange 2| or substantially equal to the distance between the adjacent surfaces of the side walls I 6 and II. The part 36 is scored and folded a number of times to form, in addition to the horizontally arranged flange or flap 2|,two step platforms or supporting shelves 31 and 38. The inner end of the platform 38 is arranged adjacent the part I21; and is provided with projecting members 39 adapted to pass through the part l2a to retain the part 36 in its assembled position as clearly illustrated in Fig. 5 of the drawing.

I also preferably cut from the central portion of the part 36 an'upright supporting member 4!] and a foot portion 4| which aids in bracing the central portion of the stepped article supporting part 36. With this construction it is preferred that the upper end of the box partially indicated at 42 in Fig. 5 of the drawing be arranged adjacent the foot-piece 4| as well as the lower end portion 43 of the part 36 attached to the flap 2 I.

When the display device is in collapsed position, the part 36 will extend onto the part l2a and will aid in protecting the cut-out display portion 26 of the part IZa. The article supporting part 36 may be of different forms in cross section to adapt the same for use in different kinds and classes of display and to suit merchandise of different forms and dimensions.

Upon a consideration of Fig. 2 of the drawing, it will be noted that the lower edge of the back wall part 30 terminates short of the lower end of the walls l5, l6 and I1, forming a relatively large opening 44 at the back of the display. The purpose of this construction is to facilitate the placement of the display on a box or container or the operation of slipping the same thereover. This is especially advantageous if, for uncontrollable reasons, the display shouldfit snugly on the box. It will be understood in this connection that a tight fit is not essential, but, in any event, it would be somewhat difficult to apply a display l0 over a box if the lower edge of the part 30 were in alinement with the lower edges of the other walls thereof. The lower ends of the flanges l9 and 20 being unattached to the wall 30 are free to flex outwardly if desired. In referring to the characterization of the wall portions 15, I6, l1 and l2a,

it will be understood that all of these wall portions may have advertising or display characters or any kind or class arranged thereon to attract attention to the complete display unit and to include such markings as trade marks, trade names or symbols of merchandise identification.

Having fully described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

A display device of the class described comprising a tubular body, said body being fashioned from one characterized sheet of thin material folded to form a front wall, side walls foldable upon each other and rear projecting flanges, a back wall sheet secured to said flanges, the side walls being foldable centrally'to collapse upon each other and the front wall upon said back Wall, a supplemental back wall part attached to the flanges of said side walls at the upper end thereof to provide an upwardly projecting display section, the upper edge of the front wall having an inwardly folded flange, the back wall sheet terminating short of the lower end of said body to form a large opening at the back thereof, and the upper end of said back wall sheet having an upwardly extending flange arranged rearwardly of and serving to reinforce the lower edge portion of said supplemental back wall part.

WI LIAM S- POWERS.

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