US3552576A

US3552576A - Display unit

Info

Publication number: US3552576A
Application number: US712854A
Authority: US
Inventors: Joachim Lahr
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1967-03-18
Filing date: 1968-03-13
Publication date: 1971-01-05
Anticipated expiration: 1988-01-05
Also published as: DE1561583A1

Abstract

A unit for displaying and storing pairs of items for sale in which a storage unit is movably mounted within a display unit having front and rear panels and means for displaying one item of the pair attached to the panels.

Description

United States Patent Joachim Lahr Mozartplatz 4, Koblenz-Oberwerth, Germany Mar. 13, 1968 Jan. 5, 1971 Mar. 18, 1967 L, Germany No. L56049 Inventor Appl. No. Filed Patented Priority DISPLAY UNIT 5 Claims, 7 Drawing Figs.

U.S. Cl 211/36,

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Field ofSearch 2l l/34, 36, 37,57,l25;3l2/286,330,119,120,128,132, 135, l36;206/44.1l,45.1l,45.l5

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 803,086 l0/l905 Arnold 2l l/34 960,342 6/1910 Kleckner 312/286 1,649,061 ll/l927 Ensrud 2l l/36X 3,229,819 l/l966 Berk 2l l/59 FOREIGN PATENTS 981,060 l/l 965 Great Britain 2l l/37 Primary Examiner-David H. Brown Attorney-Webb, Burden, Robinson & Webb ABSTRACT: A unit for displaying and storing pairs of items for sale in which a storage unit is movably mounted within a display unit having front and rear panels and means for displaying one item of the pair attached to the panels.

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invenor JO-ac/nm l a /7 r PATENTEU JAN 5 mi SHEEY 3 UF 3 Inventor DISPLAY UNIT My invention relates to a display unit for displaying various items that are sold to consumers in pairs-In particular, my invention relates to a shoe display unit.

Generally, in displaying shoes or other items sold in pairs, it is not actually necessary that both pairs be displayed on the display unit, since the purpose of acquainting the customer with a certain item or shoe style can be accomplished by viewing only one item such as one shoe of a pair. If only one item of a pair is displayed, the display space can be substantially reduced. The danger of theft, particularly in large self-service stores, is great when complete pairs are openly displayed. However, when only one item of a pair is placed on view, the associated second item has been stored somewhere outside of the sales room. The disadvantage of this practice is that the second item must be brought in by the sales clerk from this distant storage place with a large unproductive expenditure of ,time and energy.

My invention provides an improved display shelf and, more particularly, a shoe display unit which is dimensionally small, secure against theft, and eliminates the long distances and time losses involved in obtaining the second item or shoe from a room other than the sales room.

My invention solves these problems by equipping a display shelf with a storage shelf that is immediately behind the display unit and which serves to store the second item of a pair, in a sufficiently separated and theft-proof manner, yet at the same time, affords great proximity between the stored items and the displayed items, thus eliminating problems of organizaton and transportation. The storage shelf is preferably designed as a double shelf disposed between two display units and preferably mounted and guided on rails, rollers or the like so that it is horizontally movable at one of the ends of the shelf into and out of the space between the two display units. in addition, the storage shelf may be articulatedly connected'to the shoe display unit so that it is pivotable in a horizontal plane. It is also very practicable to have the storage shelf removably, and more particularly, suspendably or insertably connected to the display unit.

Briefly stated, my display unit comprises a front and rear display board which include means for holding one item of a pair of items offered for sale. A storage unit is movably mounted between the front and rear display boards. The storage unit has a plurality of rectangular compartments which preferably are subdivided by means of diagonal partitions into two receiving chambers in each of which one item or shoe is stored in a suitably shaped container. The associated second item such as one shoe of the pair is displayed on the display unit. To make better use of the space available in the compartments of the storage shelf, the cartons for the single item are preferably somewhat wedge-shaped in configuration.

To facilitate the assembling of the individual separately housed member, the items on the display unit and in the storage shelf, as well as the conventional shaped container intended for both items and the single item carton which is placed'in the storage shelf, should all bear the same identification.

A modification of my invention is characterized by the fact that the storage shelf is designed as a board which is rollably mounted within the display unit, the second item of the pair being stored in a transparent bag made of plastic or netting held on hooks affixed to the board. In order to make the best use of the available space, the hooks for suspending the plastic bags may be mounted in a staggered pattern.

In the accompanying drawings, I have shown the preferred embodiments of my invention in which: v

FIG. l is a side view of the display'unit taken along line I-I of FIG. 2 with an end panel of the storage unit removed;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the display unit of my invention showing the storage unit partially withdrawn from between the front and rear display boards;

FIG. 3 shows the specially designedsingle-shoebox for use in the storage unit of my invention;

FIG. 4 is a diagrammatic plan view ofla modified embodi ment of my invention showing the storage' unit in its withdrawn position in dotted lines;

FIG. 5 is a front elevation of the embodiment shown in FIG. 4 with the storage unit in withdrawn position shown in dotted lines; Y

FIG. 6 is a side elevation of the embodiment of my invention shown in FIG. 4; and

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the modified embodiment of my invention shown in FIG. 4 with the storage unit partially withdrawn from between the front and rear display boards.

Display unit l comprises a generally rectangular structure having a front display board Ia and a rear display board lb and top and

bottom elements

1c and 1d, respectively. The display unit may be supported from the ground in' any conventional manner. Rods 8 for holding an item to be displayed are affixed to the front and rear display boards. For displaying shoes I prefer to the rods bent in a zigzag wavelike shape to afford a perspective view of the items to be displayed. In this manner a large number of shoes may be displayed in a pleasant fashion. i

It may be seen from the illustration of the embodiments as shown in FIG. 2 that a storage shelf 2 is movably mounted within an opening between the front display board and the rear display board. The storage shelf 2 slides on any guide means of conventional design. For example, the guide may comprise tracks secured to top lc and bottom ld with a suspension wheel riding in the tracks. The storage shelf` may be movable from either side of unit l as diagrammatically shown in FIG. 5, and the

end panels

2a and 2b of the storage shelf constitute the ends of unit when the shelf is closed or in the inserted position. Thus, when the shelf is inserted in the unit, anything stored in the shelf is protected from view.

The shelf itself is composed of a number of rectangular compartments 3 that are disposed adjacent one another in a stacked array. The shelf may have compartments on both the front as well as the back. The compartments may be of any size or shape. For storing shoes the compartments 3 preferably are subdivided by an inclined partition 4 into two chambers 5 and 6. A suitably shaped container, for example, a shoebox 7 may be inserted into each of these chambers 5. FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of a specially designed shoebox 7 for use in my invention. The approximately wedge-shaped configuration of the single-shoebox corresponds to the typical outline of a high-heeled shoe.

In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 4-7, the storage shelf 2 is a sliding board 9 which is disposed between front and back boards and elements Ic and Id. On the front and back of the board are hooks 10 disposed in an offset pattern and on which plastic or net bags 11 are hung. These or any equivalent means are used to store the associated second item of the pair. The bags may be large enough to carry'the purchased pair away from the store.

While I have shown and described preferred embodiments of my invention, it may otherwise be embodied within the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

l. A display unit for displaying and storing items purchased in pairs comprising: a boxlike structure including a front display board and means attached thereto for holding one item of said pair to be displayed; and a storage means for storing the other of said items, said storage means being movably mounted within said boxlike structure.

2. A display unit as set forth in claim l wherein said storage means includes a plurality of rectangular storage containers, said containers being subdivided by an inclined partition plate.

3. A display unit as set forth in claim ll wherein said storage means is disengageably connected -to said display unit by 5. A display unit as set forth in claim 4 wherein said storage means is characterized by a board slidably mounted above and

Claims

1. A display unit for displaying and storing items purchased in pairs comprising: a boxlike structure including a front display board and means attached thereto for holding one item of said pair to be displayed; and a storage means for storing the other of said items, said storage means being movably mounted within said boxlike structure.

2. A display unit as set forth in claim 1 wherein said storage means includes a plurality of rectangular storage containers, said containers being subdivided by an inclined partition plate.

3. A display unit as set forth in claim 1 wherein said storage means is disengageably connected to said display unit by suspension means.

4. A display unit as set forth in claim 1 wherein said boxlike structure includes a first and second display board in spaced-apart relationship and said storage means is movably mounted therebetween.

5. A display unit as set forth in claim 4 wherein said storage means is characterized by a board slidably mounted above and below and having suspension hooks for holding said stored items.