US2541303A - Display device - Google Patents

Description

E. w. SMITH DISPLAY DEVICE Feb. 13, 1951 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed March 5, 1949 I'IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII INVENTOR! ELMER WARREN SMITH ATTORNEY E. W. SMITH DISPLAY DEVICE Feb. 13, 1951 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed March 5, 1949 INVENTOR [mm WAR/PEN SMITH Patented Feb. 13, 1951 UNITED PATENT F F ICE 2,541,303 DISPLAY DEVICE Elmer Warren Sinith, D0uglas'ton, N. Y., a'ss'ignor to General Merchandising Bureau, Inc., New York, N. Y., a "corporation 'of Delaware ApplicationMarcll 5, 1949, Serial No. 79,809

'4 Claims. (01. HF-126) the customer circulates around the store and selects the merchandise "to be purchased without assistance from a clerk or salesman. In such stores as well as in others, it is particularly important to display the goods in the most attractive manner so that they will sell themselves to the customer.

One object of my invention is to provide an attachment for a standard store shelf which provides a more attractive medium for the display of goodssuch as packaged or cannedgoods.

A further object of the invention -is to :provide such an attachment or display shelf which in addition has a relatively large extra space for advertising, making it possible to. emphasize the merits of a given product directly at the point of sale.

Another object of the invention is to provide such an attachment or display shelf, with an upright front face which'bows or extends out at its center from the front edge of the store shelf, to which it is attached, so that the face of the ex tended section, with the advertising it contains, will attract the attention of store customer-s approaching along the store aisle-from either-side.

further objectis to 'provide'such -a display shelf that is portable in-that it may be applied to or removed from a standard store shelf at will.

and that does not interfere-with the storage and display of other goods on adjoining shelves.

Other objectsand advantages of my invention 'will be apparent or will be explainedin conjunction with the following description of theinvention-and of the accompanying drawings, in which Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a portion of :a self service store showing the shelf attachment of my invention applied to certain sections of the store shelves.

Fig.2 is a perspective view, on a -larger scale, of one form of display shelf suitableforattachment to a section of a standard'sto're shelf.

Fig. 3 is a transverse sectional-view of the shelf taken approximately on the line 3--3 of- Fig.--2, andshowing the display shelf mounted in place on the store shelf.

"Fig.4 is a plan-view of *a'somewhat different form of display shelf mounted'in place on astore shelf, and-showing the store shelf in section.

--Fig. 5 isa transverse sectional view of this alternative display shelf taken approximately on the line 5-5 of Fig. 4.

Fig. 6 is a vertical sectional view through approximately the center of a lighted display suit"- able for use 'on this display shelf, and taken approximately on the line 6-6 of Fig. 3.

Fig. "7 is'a vertical sectional view of a container- .for literature that may 'be used on the display shelf of my invention as seen in perspective in Fig. 2.

Fig. 3 is a transverse sectional view of a portion of a display shelf showing a modified construction.

Referring to "the drawings, and more particularly to Figs. 1, 2 and 3, numeral l0 indicates generally an arrangement of shelves in a self service supermarket or other type of store in which various packaged and canned goods are displayed on the individual shelf sections I I.

In order to increase the sales of certain brands of goods, I propose that a'false shelf I? having a projecting front portion i3 carrying advertising be mounted in or on one or more sections of the store 'shelves in whichsuch goods are to be displayed so that the advertising and. goods dis-' played on the projecting portion "will catch the eyes of customers approaching along the store aisle from either side. Such installations are indicated generallyat 1- 3 in Fig. 1.

The actual construction of the secondaryor display shelf itself may vary considerably in de tail although it preferably consists essentially of ashelf or supporting member l2 which fits over or on the store shelf and has a bulging or project mg front edge that comes out at the central.p.or-:- tionsubstantially beyond themarginof the store:

shelf itself. The projecting front edge may be curved or polygonal in shape as long as its central portion juts out beyond the normal margin of the usual store shelf.

member 12. This panel or member l5ia1so preferably extends a substantial distanceboth above.- and below the upper surface of 'theshe1fvlj2.

Beads or grooves i6 and" may be 'providedat. the top and bottom margins of thisvertical'front.

member |5so thatadisplay or advertisingcarol may be'slid into plac'eand changed from time:

to-time as the occasion demands.

This shelfassemblytis preferably anchored some fashion tothestore shelf 13 byrmean-s;

of the bolts and-nuts it. If desiredaback wall 'member 20 mayalso be attached to or formed,

integral with the shelf l2 and constructed "so that it fitsback'fiush'against'the back of the.

store shelf 2! as seen in Fig, 3. This back wall 20 may also be provided with a groove 22 at the top and a groove or punched out tabs 23 or other suitable means at the bottom to receive an advertising card that will lie against the back wall 20 above the shelf l2.

While this form of display shelf is illustrated in Figs. 2 and 3 as made of sheet metal, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the display shelf in this or other forms may be constructed of any suitable combination of wood,

metal, plastics or other materials adequate for the purpose.

In order to catch the customers eye more quickly, the shelf 42 may be fitted with one or more lighted displays as indicated at 25. See also Fig. 6. Such lighted displays may conveniently consist of a dummy can, bottle, box or jar of the goods to be displayed having translucent or partially translucent walls as shown at 26 and supported on a second dummy can or other suitable support 21 with a light 27a inside. One or more of such lighted displays may be used and a suitable box or other receptacle 28 (Figs. 2 and 7) may also be mounted on one corner of the shelf 12 to hold printed matter 29 associated with thefgoods to be displayed. For example, recipes,

advertising pamphlets, coupons, entry blanks for contests and the like may be placed in the receptacle 28.

Referring now particularly to Figs. 4 and 5,

these figures illustrate an alternative form of display shelf, in this case made of wood, as illustrated at 3B, but having the same projecting or bulging front portion 3| extending out beyond the store shelf 32 as previously described. In this form the back panel is omitted and the bulging edge of the front portion 3i of the shelf is provided with a vertical panel 32a extending both above and below the shelf, and having upper and lower grooves 33, 34 for display of advertising cards or the like as described above In this case the shelf 30 may be attached to the store shelf in a somewhat different manner. For example, the offset brackets 35 may be fixed to the projecting front portion 3i of the shelf 39 by rivets, bolts or other suitable means as indicated at 35, and the offset portions of these brackets may extend in under the store shelf 32,

so that by simply tightening the thumb screws 38' the shelf 30 may be adequately anchored in place;

This form of shelf may be provided with one or more lighted display cans 39 similar to the (us play cans 25.

As a further modification, the front panel of the display shelf may, if desired, be divided into two or more compartments (see Fig. 8). For example, this panel may be made up of two sections 4| and 42 each provided with top and bottom grooves as shown at 43, 44, 45 and 46 so that two separate cards carrying advertising or other printed matter may be separately installed and changed as needed.

By means of this device it is possible to featur certain goods or brands of goods in a veryattractive appealing manner without interfering with the other stock in the store. these featured goods, the advertising associated therewith and the locations of the portable display shelves may be quickly and easily changed from time to time as the occasion demands.

The terms and expressions which I have em-.

ployed are used as terms of description and not of limitation, and I have no intention, in the use of such terms and expressions, of excluding any Also, of course,

equivalents of the features shown and described or portions thereof, but recognize that various modifications are possible within the scope of the invention claimed.

I claim:

1. A portable display shelf for grocery stores and the like which comprises a shelf member constructed to fit over a standard store shelf, said member having a front portion to support goods and shaped to project out beyond the store shelf and the like which comprises a shelf member con-f structed to fit over a standard store shelf and support goods thereon, said member having a curved; front portion shaped to project out substantially beyond the store shelf, and an uprightpanel secured to the edge of said projecting portion, said panel extending above and below the level of said shelf member for a distance substantially.

less than the distance between store shelves and being constructed to receive and hold an 'adver-" tising card.

3. A portable display shelf for use on the store shelves of grocery stores and the like which com prises a shelf member adapted to fit over the store shelf and support a number of articles of merchandise with a portion of said article sup-.'

porting member extending beyond the forward edge of the store shelf, said member being formed" with a convex forward edge the center of which projects a substantial distance beyond the for-- ward edge of the store shelf, and means securedto said convex forward edge for holding a sheet of advertising matter in a vertical position along said convex edge so that it can easily be read fromthe side as well as from the front, said meansbeing substantially less in height thanthe dis-- tance between adjacent store shelves.

4. A portable display shelf for grocery stores or the like having a shelf portion, means for removably attaching said shelf portion to a store;

shelf, said shelf portion extending at its center a substantial distance beyond the forward edge of the store shelf and an upright front panel secured to the forwardly extending part of said; shelf portion and conforming generally to the.-

shape thereof, said panel having a height less than the distance between shelves and extending from above the level of said shelf portion to a point below the level thereof, and said panel hav-. ing means for holding an advertising card.

ELMER WARREN SMITH.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

2,467,411 Tingdale Apr. 19, 1949

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