LABEL AND/OR SIGN HOLDER
This is a complete application claiming benefit of provisional application Serial No.
60/411,407 filed September 18, 2002.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Field of the Invention
This invention relates to merchandising aids, and relates more particularly to the manner and
means by which a label holder or a combination label holder/sign holder is secured to a
merchandising shelf, particularly a merchandising shelf devoid of a "C-channel" along its front edge.
The label holder portion of the merchandising aid is designed to preferably removably receive non-
adhesive labels to display consumer information such as descriptions and prices of products on the
shelf, as well as inventory control information, such as barcodes and the like. The sign holder
portion of the merchandising aid, if included, is adapted to carry a "flag" or sign displaying special
information to the consumer, such as identifying a "sale" item or the like. For simplicity, the terms
"label holder" and "label/sign holder" are used interchangeably to include label holders with or
without one or more means to also carry a sign or flag as discussed below.
Description of the Related Art
Shelves with "C-channels" along the front edge are commonly found in merchandise outlets
such as supermarkets, pharmacies and the like, the C-channel being formed with spaced upper and
lower opposed lips to provide a convenient means for mounting many different kinds of fit-in articles,
such as labels, signs or sign holder which provide information relating to the merchandise displayed
on the shelf. While adhesive-backed labels can be secured directly to such a surface, removing such
adhesive -backed labels is time consuming and difficult, leaving an unsightly residue build-up which is
resistant to cleaning. Generally, non-adhesive paper or plastic labels are preferred since they can
easily be replaced if they become damaged or the product information changes. Therefore, label
holders have been provided which commonly have a back or body panel attached in some fashion to
the supporting surface, with a transparent cover member flexibly secured along one mating edge to
the body panel to define a pocket between the front surface of the body panel and the rear surface of
the cover member for removable reception of one or more such information-containing labels.
It should be understood, however, that the attachment elements of the label holder of this
invention are useful even in label holders adapted to carry adhesive labels, i.e., those without a cover
member or a pocket to receive paper or plastic non- adhesive labels.
Label holders are generally provided in elongated sections, perhaps 4' or more in width, and
may be secured by adhesive strips or the like to any supporting surface such as the side of a shelving
or warehouse unit. However, most applications for such label holders are directly on the front flange
or in the C-channel of the front edge of a product display shelf. Various prior art embodiments of
such label holders can be seen in U.S. Patent Nos. 4,713,899, 5,458,307, 5,488,793, 5,515,632,
5,682,698, 5,899,011 and 6,105,295, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein in their
entireties by reference.
Oftentimes, in addition to the information provided by the product labels, it is desired to
highlight certain information about a particular product or group of products by displaying an
enlarged "flag" or sign on the shelf, depending from the portion of the shelf carrying such products, or
extending into the aisle at such a location. Different forms of "sign holders" are also well known in
the merchandising art, examples of which can be seen in the aforementioned U.S. Patent No.
5,488,793, as well as U.S. Patent Nos. 4,485,575, 4,531,313, 4,625,441, 4,704,813, 4,917,342,
4,995,182, 5,682,698, and 6,163,996, the disclosures of which are also incorporated herein in their
entireties by reference.
Separate sign holders can simply be positioned on the shelf itself, or juxtaposed to the shelf in
the aisle. Yet, such an arrangement may not be stable, can waste valuable product display space, and
can even cause damage to consumers. For that reason, as seen in some of the aforementioned
patents, such sign holders may be designed to be supported partially or entirely in the same C-
channels as the label holders.
While constructions of this nature are convenient for many applications, significant
difficulties are encountered when it is necessary to insert new labels or to remove or replace labels
already carried in the underlying label holder. In order to access the label holder pocket, any and all
sign holders secured in front of and, therefore, overlying the label holder must first be removed, and
subsequently replaced. This is time consuming, labor intensive, and obviously inefficient, particularly
when using elongated label holders that may have multiple sign holders engaged along their length.
U.S. Patent No. 6,568,112 issued May 27, 2003 (the '112 patent), the subject matter of
which is also incorporated herein in its entirety by reference, provides a combination label/sign holder
wherein the sign holders are carried by, and move with, the cover member and do not interfere with
access to the label holder pocket so that labels can be selectively inserted and removed from the label
holder pocket without removing any of the sign holders associated with related products. More
specifically, in the '112 patent, the front surface of the cover member of the label holder is provided
with a pair of sign holder-receiving lip members which can snappingly receive edge portions of a
resilient plastic or metal sign holder such as seen in aforementioned U.S. Patent No. 5,488,793, or
the engaging portions of a depending sign holder of the type seen in aforementioned U.S. PatentNos.
5,682,698 and 6,163,996, or other such commercially available sign holders. The combination
label/sign holder of the '112 patent also includes a locking construction to secure paper or the like
labels in the pocket, with a ledge or other finger-engaging element adapted to facilitate opening the
label holder for insertion or removal of labels from the pocket as seen particularly in aforementioned
U.S. Patent No. 5,515,632.
Some merchandising shelves do not have integral C-channels and have only a downwardly
depending or downwardly and forwardly angled front edge or lip terminating in a rearwardly-directed
lower flange. Attachment of a label holder or a combination label/sign holder to a merchandise shelf
devoid of an integral C-channel is problematic. While label or label/sign holders can be adhesively
secured to the depending lip on shelves of this nature, moving or replacing such elements, as with the
adhesively-backed labels themselves, is difficult, time consuming and leaves an unsightly residue that
is resistant to cleaning. Attempts to avoid the adhesive attachment with various elements fixing the
lower portion of the label holder to or around the rearwardly extending flange on the bottom of the
shelf have been generally unsuccessful because they cannot retain the body panel in position against
the front edge of the shelf when the cover member is tipped forwardly to insert or remove a label
from the pocket.
The invention of the '775 application is directed to a label and/or sign holder having a
discrete adaptor element which enables the same to be attached to a merchandising shelf which does
not have an integral C-channel and has only a downwardly depending or downwardly and forwardly
angled front edge or lip terminating in a rearwardly-directed lower flange. The adaptor element of
the '775 application can be fixed to the top of the shelf, such as by one or more integrally extruded or
independent fasteners such as "push pin" members or the like snappingly engaged in the apertures
commonly defined in the supporting surfaces of such shelves, and has a forwardly extending reverted
front edge or "hook" member adapted to engage with upper portions of the body panel of the label
holder to secure the same in position without interfering with the ability of the cover member to
move relative to the body panel to open a pocket formed between these elements for reception or
removal of a label as necessary. A variety of means are disclosed therein for securing the lower
portions of the label holder to the rearwardly extending lower shelf flange.
While the label and/or sign holder of the '775 application, with its independent or discrete
adaptor element, is functionally efficient and effective to secure a label and/or sign holder to a
merchandising shelf which does not have an integral C-channel or the like, it would be desirable for
many applications to avoid the need for a discrete adaptor element which can be lost or misplaced
and which requires additional manipulation in securing the label and/or sign holder to the front edge
or lip of the merchandising shelf. Additionally, particularly with the embodiments of the adaptor
element shown in the '775 application that include integral "push pins" and, even those
embodiments of the adaptor element provided with openings or weakened points through which
more conventional discrete push pins or the like can be inserted into the openings of the shelf to
retain the adaptor and thereby the label and/or sign holder, the integral push pins, or the openings in
the adaptor, must conform to the openings in the shelf surface or the connection will be difficult or
impossible to accomplish. Since the discrete adaptor of the '775 application must be reasonably
robust in order to provide the "hook" for engaging the label and/or sign holder, it is generally not
practical to simply force a push pin or the like through the adaptor into the shelf openings without
pre-weakening the adaptor or forming openings therein for receipt of the push pins.
For the foregoing reasons, it would be desirable to provide a label and/or sign holder designed
for engagement with a merchandising shelf lacking an integral C-channel which avoids the need for
an independent or discrete adaptor element and which enables push pins or the like to be selectively
positioned wherever the shelf openings are found.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
A primary object of this invention is the provision of means designed to facilitate attaching a
label holder such as seen, for example, in U.S. Patent No.5,515,632, and/or a combination label/sign
holder,' such as seen, for example, in the '112 patent, to a merchandising shelf of the type described
above lacking a C-channel, while avoiding the need for a separate or independent adaptor element.
Another object of this invention is to provide a label holder which is integrally extruded with
a thin film-like element which can be secured to the top of the shelf by one or more independent
fasteners such as "push pins" or the like snappingly engaged through the film into the shelf apertures
to pull the upper portions of the body panel of the label holder into tight engagement with the front
edge of the shelf.
Yet another object of this invention is to provide a label holder construction which secures
the upper portions of the body panel to the shelf without interfering with the ability of the cover
member to move relative to the body panel to open a pocket formed between these elements for
reception or removal of a label as necessary.
A further object of this invention is the provision of a label holder with an integral film as
discussed above to secure the upper portions of the body panel and any of the various elements
described in the '775 application underlying or wrapping around the rearwardly extending lower shelf
flange to secure the lower portions of the label holder in position.
Other and further objects, features and advantages of the invention will become apparent
from the ensuing description and claims taken in conjunction with the attached drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Figure 1 is a fragmentary perspective view of a preferred embodiment of a combined label/sign
holder according to this invention about to be affixed to the front edge or lip of a shelf with no C-
channel by push pins as discussed above secured through the integral film element into the holes in
the shelf supporting surface;
Figure 2 is a side elevational view of the label/sign holder of Figure 1 secured to a
merchandising shelf; and
Figure 3 is a side elevational view of the label/sign holder of this invention apart from the
shelf.
Like reference characters refer to like parts throughout the several views of the drawings.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
In describing a preferred embodiment of the invention illustrated in the drawings, specific
terminology will be resorted to for the sake of clarity. However, the invention is not intended to be
limited to the specific terms so selected, and it is to be understood that each specific term includes all
technical equivalents which operate in a similar manner to accomplish a similar purpose.
Referring generally to the drawings, a preferred embodiment' of a merchandising aid in the
nature of an integral tri-extrusion of a combined label/sign holder such as seen in the '112 patent,
modified for attachment to a shelf lacking a C-channel, is designated generally by the reference
numeral 10. The merchandising aid 10 includes a label holder portion 15 formed by a back or body
panel 16 and a cover member 18 flexibly secured to each other at a hinge or pivot portion 20. The
material from which the merchandising aid is made is not critical to the instant inventive concepts,
although commercially such products are commonly co-extruded from plastics materials, with the
body panel 16 being formed of an opaque plastic and the cover member 18 being formed of a
transparent material to enable passers-by to view information on a label (not shown) captured in a
pocket 17 formed between the front surface of the body panel 16 and the rear surface of the cover
member 18. The cover member 18 can be tipped forwardly in a well-known manner to facilitate the
insertion or removal a label. The resilient nature of the hinge 20 will then normally bias the cover
member 18 back to its closed position to retain the label in the pocket 17 in a well known manner.
In a preferred embodiment, the upper edge portions of the base panel 16 include a forwardly
and downwardly extending flange or lip 32 and the upper edge portions 34 of the cover member 18
are lockingly engageable under the body panel lip 32 to retain the cover member and secure a label in
the pocket 17, particularly in the event the resilience of the connection between the base panel 16
and the cover member 18 weakens with continued use of the label holder 15. A downwardly and
then forwardly and upwardly extending finger-engaging element 36 is preferably carried by the upper
edge portions 34 of the cover member 18 to facilitate release of the upper edge portions 34 of the
cover member 18 from the locking engagement with the flange 32 of the base panel 16.
As mentioned above, the cover member 18 of the label holder portion 15 of the '112 patent
carries a sign holder such that the label holder can be opened without removing the sign holder. To
that end, a pair of sign holder-receiving lip members 50, 52 are integrally formed on the cover
member 18, i.e., by extrusion. The upper sign holder-receiving lip member 50 extends forwardly and
downwardly from the upper edge portions 34 of the cover member 18 behind the finger-engaging
element 36 to form an upper sign holder-receiving pocket 54, and the lower sign holder-receiving lip
member 52 extends forwardly and upwardly from the lower edge portions of the cover member 18 to
define a lower sign holder-receiving pocket 56.
One well-known spring clip form of sign holder (not shown) includes a spring plastic or metal
element having oppositely extending edge portions adapted to be snappingly engaged in the sign
holder-receiving pockets 54, 56, respectively, in an obvious manner. Such sign holders have a
central slit or opening adapted to grippingly engage a plastic or cardboard "flag" or sign (not shown) .
A different form of sign holder is seen, for example, in the aforementioned U.S. Patent Nos.
5,682,698 and 6,163,996, and the label/sign holder 10 can likewise accommodate such items
enabling the substitution of labels, with no need to remove the sign holder since it is carried by, and
moves with, the cover member 18.
The merchandising aid 10 can be of any dimensions, but, as noted above, is generally
marketed in elongated sections which can receive and retain multiple labels, each of which is adapted
to contain consumer and inventory information related to products on a merchandise shelf and
display such information to passers-by or store personnel through the transparent cover member 18.
The flag or sign , on the other hand, in a sign holder is extended into the aisle or downwardly below
the shelf in a manner to more prominently display special product information to consumers passing
in either direction. By supporting the sign holder directly on the cover member 18 of the label holder
portion 15 of the merchandising aid 10, the cover member 18 can be tilted forwardly for insertion or
removal of a label without interference from the sign holder, since the sign holder with its
accompanying sign remains in position on the cover member 18 and moves therewith. In this
manner, it is possible for store personnel to readily remove or replace new labels at any point along
the length of a section of label holder without removing any or all of the sign holders associated
therewith.
For all intents and purposes the preferred label/sign holder 10 seen in Figure 1 is substantially
identical to the preferred label/sign holder of the '112 patent. However, in order to enable the
label/sign holder 10 disclosed herein to be attached to a merchandise shelf 40 commonly formed of
metal and including a generally horizontally-extending product or merchandise support section 42
having a front edge 42' and generally including a multiplicity of uniformly spaced rows of through-
apertures 44 generally circular or diamond-shaped as shown in Figure 1, a forwardly and downwardly
depending or shelf lip 46 devoid of a C-channel, and a rearwardly extending lower shelf flange 48, the
label/sign holder 10 hereof, is modified to include means to engage the bottom of the label holder
with the shelf flange 48 of the shelf 40, and a thin film-like, preferably transparent element 70 is
integrally formed with the upper edge 16' of the body panel 16 to secure the top of the label holder
10 to the shelf 40.
With respect to securing the lower portions of the label/sign holder 10 to the shelf 40, a
rearwardly extending lower flange 38 with a reverted return 39 is illustrated as integrally formed with
the body panel 16 to underlie and extend around or toward the rear edge 49 of the shelf flange 48.
The length of the return 39 can be such as to wrap around and engage the rear edge 49 of the shelf
flange 48 or simply approach the same as shown since accidental disengagement of these elements is
quite difficult once the upper portions of the label/sign holder 10 are secured to the shelf 40 as
explained in more detail below. The extended nature of the return 39 illustrated in the drawings
enables the same to be used with shelf flanges such as shown at 48 of different lengths. Further,
while this type of lower engagement is shown as preferred, any of the embodiments of the lower shelf-
engaging means illustrated in the '775 application, or others, may be substituted therefore without departing from the instant inventive concepts.
Further, it is to be understood that the film-like element 70 would even be useful in a label
holder attached at its lower end to or about the lower edge of a shelf lip lacking a rearwardly
extending shelf flange (not shown).
The integral upper shelf-engaging thin film element 70 is the principal feature of this
invention and generally comprises a film-like flap of a material such as polyvinyl chloride, perhaps
0.005 inch in thickness so that it can be easily penetrated, and preferably transparent so that the
openings 44 of the shelf 40 can be viewed through the film as seen in Figure 1. In this manner, push
pins 74 can be snappingly engaged through the film-like element 70 into one or more of the apertures
44 of the shelf 40, usually in the first row of apertures 44, but possibly in a more rearward row,
thereby securing the label/sign holder 10 in position.
While the label holders of this invention are commonly extruded, enabling co-extrusion of,
for example, the body panel 16 and the continuous film-like element 70, of different plastics
materials, or different thicknesses of the same plastics material, the instant inventive concepts are
applicable to label holders in which individual spaced sections of thin, film-like elements are secured
in any fashion to a body panel (not shown) to provide a piercable member to be secured to the
merchandise shelf by push pins or the like.
Any type of conventional discrete plastic or other such spring-type fasteners, dart clips or
push pins can be used in conjunction with the label/sign holder 10 of this invention so long as they
can be inserted through the element 70 and will engage in the openings 44 of the shelf 40 to retain
the element 70 and, thereby, the upper portions of the label/sign holder 10, on the front edge 46 of
the shelf 40.
The somewhat resilient nature of the thin film element 70 actually acts to pull the upper
portions of the label/sign holder 10 into tight engagement with the front lip 46 of the shelf 40 as the
push pins 74 stretch the film during penetration thereof.
The various elements, as well as the materials from which these elements are formed, can be
readily modified without departing from the instant inventive concepts. It will be understood that,
while the film-like element is generally continuous across the full width of the label/sign holder
sections of such films, relatively narrow as compared to the widths of a label or label/sign holder
usually marketed, may be attached in any fashion to the top edge of the body panel at selected
locations along its length. Yet, for most applications, tri-extrusion of three different materials, for the
film-like element, the label holder backing and the cover member is most commercially desirable.
To reiterate, although the film-like element 70 of this invention has been illustrated herein in
combination with a label/sign holder of the type seen in the '112 patent, it is obvious that similar
designs can be equally adapted to secure a label holder without an integral sign holder or, for that
matter, a label holder without a locking cover or with no cover at all. Moreover, although the
designs disclosed herein are particularly adapted to secure a label or label/sign holder to a shelf devoid
of a C-channel, similar elements could be used even if the shelf included a C-channel, avoiding some
of the more complicated structures necessary to secure the same to the C-channel, or securing a label
or label/sign holder to a shelf with a C-channel when the channel-engaging means are not included
or are broken.
The foregoing descriptions and drawings should be considered as illustrative only of the
principles of the invention. As noted, the invention may be configured in a variety of shapes and
sizes and is not limited by the dimensions of the preferred embodiment. Numerous applications of
the present invention will readily occur to those skilled in the art. Therefore, it is not desired to limit
the invention to the preferred embodiments or the exact construction and operation shown and
described. Rather, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the
scope of the invention.