WO2005104070A1

WO2005104070A1 - Display device

Info

Publication number: WO2005104070A1
Application number: PCT/NO2005/000130
Authority: WO
Inventors: Kenneth Heimtun; Ronni STRØM
Original assignee: Stroem Ronni; Kenneth Heimtun
Priority date: 2004-04-20
Filing date: 2005-04-20
Publication date: 2005-11-03
Also published as: NO321917B1; NO20041597L; NO20041597D0

Abstract

The invention relates to a device in connection with a collecting unit with a display portion for a replaceable message element that is mounted at an edge termination, together with a shopping basket with a display device.

Description

Display device

The present invention relates to a device for use in connection with a collecting unit such as a shopping basket for displaying a message together with a shopping basket with a display device. Marketing of products and services is employed in order to influence people's shopping pattern when making decisions. These decisions may involve, for example, which foodstuffs to buy and from which producer the food should come. It has been shown that influencing people at the moment of decision is an effective policy and it is therefore desirable to be able to place marketing elements on devices in which a person collects goods when shopping, such as for example a shopping basket, either in the form of a trolley or a portable basket.

Alternative solutions exist for placing marketing elements or message elements on a shopping basket. In Norwegian patent application 70188 (Apenes), for example, a portable shopping basket is disclosed where the two short ends of the shopping basket have an outwardly extended termination at the top termination, thereby forming a horizontal surface for placing advertising, for example. A second alternative is illustrated in JP9016112 (Shunichi) which discloses a square display attached to the shopping basket's lateral surface or the shopping trolley's lateral surface by four screw elements. In WO 0074028 (Nelson) a display is illustrated fixed by glue to the top of the edge of a portable shopping basket. There are also devices for placing a message element in connection with the steering handle of wheeled shopping trolleys.

The object of the present invention is to provide a device for displaying a message element in connection with a collecting unit, where the message can be easily replaced. The message may, for example, be an advertisement. It is an object to provide a device that can be mounted on existing collecting units as well as providing a basket and a display element adapted to suit each other. It is also an object to facilitate replacement of the message while ensuring that it cannot fall out by itself or on account of inadvertent actions by the user or be an obstacle during normal use of the collecting unit.

The above-mentioned objects are achieved by devices as indicated in the attached independent claims.

The invention relates to a display device for use in connection with a collecting unit. The collecting unit has a plurality of side elements and a bottom element that is connected to all the side elements so that together they form a collecting unit, which may be a portable shopping basket, a shopping trolley or the like. The collecting unit's side elements have an edge termination opposite the bottom element. The display device comprises at least one display portion for displaying a replaceable message element. The display portion is arranged in connection with the edge termination of a side element and has a surface area parallel and/or at an acute angle to the lateral surface of the side element and a length corresponding to at least a portion of the edge termination. The display device may be envisaged here extending along the whole edge teπnination, forming several separate portions or only one small portion along the edge termination. The display portion may constitute the whole display device, several separate portions or only one portion of the device. The edge termination of the side element for the collecting unit may come in different shapes, and some alternatives thereof will be discussed later.

In other words, the fact that the display portion of the display device is arranged in connection with the edge termination will mean that it extends from the end of the side wall facing away from the bottom element some distance towards or also conceivably all the way down to the bottom element. The display portion extends over the edge termination down towards the bottom element on both sides of the side wall. In a preferred embodiment the orientation of the display portion is at an acute angle to the side wall. It is also possible for the display portion to be parallel to the side wall.

In an embodiment of the invention the display portion has a substantially identical dimension along both sides of the edge termination. In another variant the display portion has different dimensions on the two sides of the side surface with, for example, a large dimension on the outside of the collecting unit and only a small dimension on the inside of the collecting unit, or vice versa.

In an embodiment the principal shape of the display portion is substantially complementary to a portion of the side element near the edge termination.

At at least one of the edges facing away from the edge teπnination, the display device's display portion may comprise a hooked portion for attachment to the side element of the shopping basket.

In a variant of the display device where it is specially adapted to suit message elements made of paper or similar material, the display portion comprises at least one at least partly transparent portion, thus enabling the message element to be viewed through the display portion.

The invention also comprises a shopping basket with a display device.

The shopping basket's termination edge comprises at least one portion suitable for mounting a display device for a replaceable message element, where the teπnination edge at least in one portion has a stepped reduction or in other words a recess in its surface and designed in a shape complementary to a display device. In a preferred embodiment of the shopping basket it comprises a teπnination edge with a first inner angular portion, a first inner teπnination surface, a connecting portion, an outer termination surface and an outer angular portion.

In the prefeπed embodiment the display device for mounting on the shopping basket comprises two surfaces, which are connected along a lateral edge by a connecting surface and extend over the edge termination.

In a preferred embodiment the stepped/reduced portion for mounting the display device with the inner angular portion comprises a substantially U-shaped recess along the entire length of the portion. The inner termination surface, the connecting portion and the outer termination surface are together stepped down along the entire length of the portion for mounting the display device, with the result that when they are joined together the display device's surface is flush with the surface of the rest of the termination edge. In this way the user will perceive the edge termination as a continuing surface even with a display device placed in a portion of the edge teπnination.

Furthermore, in a prefeπed embodiment of the invention, in the stepped portion there is provided at least one rib extending from the connecting portion, on the outside of and some distance down along the outer termination surface. The outer edge of the rib converges on. the other lateral surface in the direction of the connecting surface, with the result that viewed from the side it forms a substantially triangular profile. The rib or ribs are terminated at a distance from the outer angular portion extending along the entire length of the portion.

For the first surface along an edge opposite the connecting surface, the display device has a securing mechanism in the form of a hooked portion for engagement with the shopping basket, i.e. in abutment under an end surface of the rib. The second surface's end edge facing away from the connecting surface has a straight termination which in the preferred embodiment fits into the U-shaped recess in the edge teπnination of the shopping basket.

In a prefeπed embodiment of the shopping basket at least one of the ribs has been given a width in the longitudinal direction of the stepped portion of the edge termination. This gives the display portion's hooked portion a larger sliding surface before it engages with the edge termination of the shopping basket and also an increased attachment surface. The rib with greater width may be provided with a notch in the termination of the width surface facing the outer angular portion, thus providing an engagement point for releasing the display device from the shopping basket's teπnination edge.

In the prefeπed embodiment of the display device the first surface has an angular orientation relative to the second surface and converges on the second surface in the direction of the connecting surface. The display device is also designed so as to be prestressed both between the two surfaces when it is fastened to the shopping basket and also in relation to the hooked portion's engagement with the shopping basket.

The present invention will now be explained in greater detail by embodiments with reference to the attached drawings in which:

Figs. 1 and 2 illustrate a cross section of a device for displaying a message element according to the prior art,

Fig. 3 illustrates a cross section of a first embodiment of the invention,

Fig. 4 illustrates a cross section of a second embodiment of the invention, Fig. 5 illustrates a portable shopping basket with a display device according to the invention,

Figs. 6 and 7 are a perspective view of the edge termination of the shopping basket in fig. 5 without the display element, viewed partly from below and from above,

Fig. 8 illustrates a cross section of the edge termination of the shopping basket in

Fig. 9 illustrates a cross section of the edge termination in fig. 8 alone, and

Fig. 10 illustrates a cross section of the display device in fig. 8 alone.

Fig. 1 is a cross sectional view of a previously known display device 1 comprising a display portion 10 and a back plate portion 12 disposed in the rear edge of the display portion 10 and joined to the display portion along an edge, which display device is fastened to a collecting unit 2 in the form of a shopping basket along an upper edge termination 5. The display portion 10 and back plate portion 12 are joined at an edge facing away from the end edge of the edge termination 5 and are otherwise not connected, thus enabling the message element to be placed between the two portions. The two portions are kept in abutment against each other by built- in tension in the material and the joint. At its edge facing away from the joint the display portion is also provided with a slanting outwardly facing flange, thus facilitating the insertion and removal of the message element.

Fig. 2 illustrates a second previously known embodiment of a display device 1 comprising a display portion 10, a rear back plate portion 12 and an attachment portion 13, where the display element 1 is mounted in a cavity of the edge termination 5, which cavity faces outwards from the basket 2. In this case the display element is so designed that pushing in the lower part of the display portion 10 will provide access for replacing a message element mounted between the display portion 10 and the back plate portion 12. In the following section similar elements have been given similar reference numerals to the examples according to the prior art.

Fig. 3 illustrates a first embodiment of the invention where the shopping basket 2 has a teπnination edge 5 with a width dimension. The display device 1 comprises a display portion 10 with a rear back plate portion which in the same way as in the known embodiment in fig. 1 is joined along an edge. In this embodiment the display device also comprises an attachment portion 13 which is attached by glue or in some other way to the edge termination 5 of the shopping basket. The attachment portion 13 can be attached to the inside of the edge termination 5 with the result that the display device extends over the edge teπnination 5. In this embodiment the display portion 10 extends substantially in a direction that forms an acute angle with the lateral surface of the shopping basket.

Fig. 4 illustrates a second embodiment of the invention where a display element 1 is mounted surrounding the edge termination 5 of the shopping basket. Here the edge teπnination 5 is disposed behind an angled portion of the side element, thus enabling the shopping baskets to be stacked on top of one another. In this embodiment the display portion 10 of the display device 1 extends from the outside of the edge termination over the top thereof and some distance down along the inside of the edge termination. In this embodiment the display device includes hooked portions 11 for engagement with the edge termination 5 in order to hold the display device in place. On the outside of the edge termination 5 the hooked portion is in abutment below the edge termination 5, and on the inside the hooked portion 11 is passed through a through-going hole 14 in the edge termination 5 and is in abutment against and below an edge of the through- going hole 14. In the depicted cases two hooked portions 11 are illustrated but a variant with only one hooked portion may well be envisaged.

Fig. 5 illustrates a collecting unit 2, 20 designed according to the invention, with side elements 3 joined to a bottom element 4, where the side elements 3 contain an edge termination 5 at their edge facing away from the bottom element 4. The collecting unit 2, 20 also has a handle 8 for caπying. At the edge teπnination 5 display elements 1 are provided in portions. The display elements in this embodiment are so designed that the surface of the display elements 1 and the edge termination 5 forai a level surface. The details of this embodiment will be explained in more detail with reference to the following figs. 6-10. Fig. 8 is a sectional view of the assembly of the display device 1 on the collecting unit 2, the collecting unit separately in fig. 9 and the display device separately in fig. 10. As illustrated in these figures, the edge termination 5 comprises a first inner angular portion 21, an inner termination surface 22 extending substantially in the same direction as the side element 3, a connecting portion 23 extending substantially perpendicularly to the inner teπnination surface 22 in a direction out of the collecting unit, and an outer termination surface 24 extending substantially parallel to the inner termination surface 22 in a direction back over it and an outer angular portion 25 extending in a direction facing away from the collecting unit. Along its entire length along the side element 3 the inner angular potion 21 has a U- shaped recess 26, i.e. a recess coπesponding to the length of the display element, which recess 26 is positioned so that a leg of the U is on a level with the inner termination surface 22. As shown in fig. 8 the width of the U substantially coπesponds to the thickness of the material in the display device. On the outer termination surface 24 is mounted at least one rib 27 extending from the connecting portion 23 some distance down along the outer teπnination surface 24. The rib's outer edge 32 converges on the outer termination surface 24 in the direction towards the connecting portion 23 so that it is flush with the termination surface 24 in the transition. The rib therefore has a triangular contour. The rib 27 is also terminated in an end edge 29 facing away from the connecting portion 23 at a distance from the outer angular portion 25. The transition between the outer edge 32 of the rib and the end edge 29 is provided with a bevelled surface 30. In an embodiment of the invention at least one rib has been given a width along its entire length, and this will be explained with reference to figs 6 and 7. In an embodiment illustrated in the figures the rib may include a width extension 33 in the part of the rib 27 that is close to the bevelled surface 30 and the end edge 29. This has been done in order to have a larger abutment surface in this area in order to prevent the abutment surface and the display element from becoming so worn in this exact area. The bevelled surface 30 and the end edge 29 in particular are subject to wear when inserting and releasing the display element. It should be noted that it is not necessary to provide the rib with this width extension.

The display device as illustrated in fig. 8 and alone in fig. 10 comprises a first surface 42 connected to a second surface 43 by a connecting surface 44. At its end facing away from the connecting surface 44 the first surface 42 comprises a securing mechanism in the form of a flange 45 directed inwards towards the second surface 43 and to some extent towards the connecting surface 44. The outer end termination 46 of this flange 45 is angled. This is done to ensure that when the display element is passed down over the termination edge 5, the flange 45 with the end termination 46 will slide easily over the bevelled surface 30 of the rib 27, so that the flange 45 remains located under and in abutment against the end surface 29 of the rib 27, holding the display element in place, as illustrated in fig. 8. The first surface 42 is also provided with a small gripping edge 47, the flange extending from the first surface 42 a short distance in from the end edge of the surface 42. Moreover, the first surface 42 is slightly curved in its surface and given an angular orientation relative to the second surface 43 so that it converges on the connecting surface 44. Another factor that helps to keep the display element in place relative to the termination edge is that the second surface 43 of the display element is of such a size that when the display element is passed down over the termination edge, the second surface 43 extends down into the U-shaped recess 26 and is locked therein, as illustrated in fig. 8. In addition to this constructional interlocking of the elements, the display device is so designed that there is prestressing between the first 42 and the second surface 43 when it abuts against the inner termination surface 22 and outer edge 32 of the rib 27, as well as prestressing in the flange's 45 abutment against the end edge 29 of the rib 27. The outer angular portion 25 is also positioned in such a manner that the user of the shopping basket will not inadvertently tear off or remove the display device from the edge termination.

In the described embodiment the display device will be made of an at least partly transparent material, thus enabling the message element placed behind the display device to be viewed through the first surface 42, the second surface 43 and the connecting surface 44. In this case message elements will be made that have a complementary shape to the assembly of the first surface 42, the second surface 43 and the connecting surface 44.

Figs. 6 and 7 illustrate perspective views of the edge termination 5 for a shopping basket as illustrated in fig. 5. As can be seen in these figures the collecting unit is provided with slightly rounded termination edges 5. Fig. 7 clearly illustrates that the portion for attaching the display device is stepped down relative to the rest of the edge teπnination, where it can be seen that the connecting portion 23 and the outer termination surface 24 are recessed relative to the rest of the termination edge 5. In the portion five ribs 27 are provided, the three central ribs with a naπow width and the two outer ribs with a large width 28, forming a guide surface for the flange portion 45 of the display device. In the lower edge of the width dimension 28, these ribs with a large width also have a notch 31 which is best seen in fig. 6. The notch 31 is provided in order to facilitate the release of the display device from the edge termination 5. The ribs 27 with a naπow width are also provided with a width extension 33 at their lower end.

The invention has now been described by embodiments, and a number of variants and modifications with regard to those described may be envisaged within the scope of the invention as defined in the following claims. For example, the display device may comprise several transparent portions and not just one portion. A variant may be envisaged where the termination edge is designed along its entire length for the insertion of a display device, so that it is not just a portion of the edge. The message element may be of a different type, for example electronic, thereby being included in the material forming the display device. A variant may be envisaged where the message element is placed on the outside of the display device.

Claims

CLAIMS 1. A device for use in connection with a collecting unit (2, 20), which has a plurality of side elements (3) and a bottom element (4) that is connected to all the side elements so that together they form a collecting unit with an edge termination (5) of the side elements (3) opposite the bottom element (4), for example a shopping basket, where the device comprises at least a display portion (10) for displaying a replaceable message element, where the display. portion (10; 42, 43, 44) is arranged in connection with the edge teπnination (5) of a side element (3), and has a surface area substantially parallel and/or at an angle to the lateral surface of the side element (3) and a length corresponding to at least a portion of the edge termination (5), characterised in that the display portion (10; 42, 43, 44) extends over the edge termination (5) and extends along both sides of the edge teπnination (5).

2. A device according to claim 1, characterised in that the display portion (10; 42, 43, 44) has a principal shape substantially complementary to a portion of the side element (3) near the edge teπnination (5).

3. A device according to claim 1 or 2, characterised in that at at least one of the edges facing away from the edge termination (5) the display portion (10; 42, 43, 44) comprises a hooked portion (1 1; 45) for attachment to the side element (3).

4. A device according to one of the above-mentioned claims, characterised in that the display portion (10; 42, 43, 44) comprises at least one at least partly transparent portion, thus enabling the message element to be viewed through the display portion.

5. A shopping basket (20) with a display device, which shopping basket comprises a bottom element (4) and at least one side element (3) with a termination edge (5) opposite the bottom element (4), where the termination edge (5) comprises at least one portion adapted for mounting a display device for a replaceable message element, characterised in that the portion is reduced in its surface and provided with a complementary shape to a display device, which display device comprises two surfaces (42, 43), which are connected along a lateral edge by a connecting surface (44), where along an edge opposite the connecting surface (44) the first surface comprises a securing mechanism (45, 46) for engagement with the shopping basket (20), where the shopping basket's termination edge (5) and the display element's outer surfaces (42, 43, 44) are flush with one another when the display element is mounted on the shopping basket.

6. A shopping basket according to claim 5, characterised in that the shopping basket's termination edge (5) comprises a first inner angular portion (21), a first inner termination surface (22), a connecting portion (23), an outer teπnination surface (24) and an outer angular portion (25), where in the portion concerned the inner angular portion (21) comprises a substantially U-shaped recess (26) along the entire length of the portion; the inner termination surface (22), the connecting portion (23) and the outer termination surface (24) together are stepped along the entire length of the portion and at least one rib (27) is provided extending from the connecting portion (23), outside of and some distance down along the outer termination surface (24), which rib(s) is terminated at a distance from the outer angular portion (25).

7. A shopping basket according to claim 5, characterised in that the first surface (42) has an angular orientation relative to the second surface (43) and converges on the second surface (43) in the direction of the connecting surface (44).

8. A shopping basket according to claim 5 or 7, characterised in that it comprises at least one transparent display portion.