WO2019243780A1

WO2019243780A1 - Label holder

Info

Publication number: WO2019243780A1
Application number: PCT/GB2019/051644
Authority: WO
Inventors: Gerald MCLUCAS; David Edward Saunders
Original assignee: Concept Data Display Limited
Priority date: 2018-06-21
Filing date: 2019-06-13
Publication date: 2019-12-26
Also published as: GB201810186D0; GB2574865A; GB2574865B

Abstract

A label holder for releasable fixation to a display shelf comprising a shelf mount formed separately from a cover. The cover is releasably attachable to the shelf mount via respective coupling regions. A releasable lock having a first part and a second part provided respectively at the cover and shelf mount for overlapping abutment with one another to prevent unintentional decoupling of the components.

Description

Label Holder

Field of invention

The present invention relates to a label holder for releasable fixation to a shelf and configured to hold and mount display material such as a label at the shelf, and in particular, although not exclusively, to a multi-part label holder device in which a front cover part is releasably mountable to a rearward shelf mount part.

Background art

Currently, supermarkets, department stores and other retail outlets display goods and products on shelves. Typically, information relating to the product is displayed at the front edge of the shelf and includes product information, price, product content, promotional information, visually appealing signs etc.. Traditionally, such price and content information is included on printed paper or card labels that are attachable to the front edge of the shelves on which the products or goods are displayed. As prices, products and the region of display changes, it is often required to interchange the printed information. Accordingly, label holders have emerged as a convenient means of affixing a label to a shelf.

WO 2008/098337 discloses a label holder for an electronic shelf label that includes a mounting portion attachable to the shelf and a transparent viewing wall to accommodate an electronic shelf label between the wall and the shelf attachment portion.

EP 3035318 discloses a fixation device and system for attaching shelf accessories to a shelf. The fixation device comprises an elongate profile element adapted to be mounted along the front edge of the shelf provided with fixation portions and edges to mount different accessories for display purposes.

However, existing display holders are disadvantageous for a number of reasons. In particular, conventional systems are single-piece and are susceptible to breakage or wear at one or more‘ hinge’ regions. When worn, the transparent viewing wall does not return to its fully abutted position against the main body of the shelf holder and tends to gape. In such situations the entire holder device must be replaced which is wasteful and

environmentally unfriendly. Additionally, such holders are typically co-extruded in which a transparent front cover of a first material is extruded with a base part of a second material. The co-extrusion (fusion) of the two materials requires sophisticated tooling and is typically regarded as a difficult process. Moreover, co-extruded single-piece

components are difficult to recycle as the component materials are typically physically separated i.e. broken apart prior, to recycling. Accordingly, what is required is a shelf display holder that addresses these problems.

Summary of the Invention

At least some objectives of the present invention are to provide a shelf display device, attachable to a display shelf that is easy to manufacture, represents an efficient use of material and that may be recycled conveniently and efficiently so as to be environmentally friendly. The objectives are achieved via a multi-component label holder having a first part attachable to a shelf and in particular a region at a front edge of the shelf and a second part forming a transparent cover for the first part and adapted to secure a label of other display material or components at the front edge of the shelf. In particular, the present label holder comprises a shelf mount part attachable to a shelf and a cover part releasably attachable to the shelf mount part, the cover having at least a transparent portion with both the shelf mount part and the cover part having coupling regions that include respective locking portions to enable the cover part to be releasably locked to the shelf mount part when in use.

By forming the label holder as a multi-component system and in particular at least a two- part system, should the cover part become damaged or worn during use, the cover part may be replaced without having to replace the shelf mount part. This represents an efficient use of material and allows the cover part to be recycled. Preferably, the cover part is formed from a single piece material that may be conveniently recycled.

The present label holder is advantageous in that the shelf cover part may be manufactured independently of the shelf mount part for ease and optimised manufacture of each component. The component parts may be assembled locally (at the point of display) or pre-assembled post manufacture. Preferably, the shelf mount part and the cover part are extruded and are formed from a polymer based material. The label holder is particularly beneficial to allow independent recycling of the shelf mount part and cover part at a suitable time when either one of the two component parts becomes worn or damaged.

The first and second releasable locking portions are configured to allow convenient releasable locking of the components via a user’s fingers and thumbs without the need for specific tools. Preferably, the locking portions provide a tactile snap-fit locking function. Preferably, the locking action provides an audible indication of secure locked mounting of the cover at the shelf mount. According to a first aspect of the present invention there is provided a label holder for releasable attachment to a shelf comprising: a shelf mount having a main body and at least one outwardly projecting arm for attachment of the label holder to a shelf by frictional engagement; a cover being separate and releasably attachable to the shelf mount and having at least one partially transparent wall mountable in opposed position to the main body to accommodate a label therebetween; the shelf mount comprising a first coupling region having a first part of a releasable lock; and the cover comprising a second coupling region engageable with the first region and having a second part of a releasable lock frictionally engageable with the first part to enable the cover to be releasably coupled with the shelf mount.

Reference within this specification to a label holder’ encompass a device and apparatus for displaying paper, card or electronic screens, tags or strips that are referred to herein as labels^’’ that display information relating to goods, a product, services or other information and promotional material relating to the offering for sale of goods, products and services.

Preferably, the first coupling region of the shelf mount is provided at or towards an edge of the main body and the second coupling region of the cover comprises a boot member engageable to sit over the edge. The cover is preferably hingeably mounted at the shelf mount at a lower region of the cover and shelf mount such that an upper edge of the cover may be hinged outwardly and forwardly away from the shelf mount to enable insertion of display material (i.e. a label).

Preferably, the main body comprises a rear face from which the arm projects and wherein the wall comprises a rear face for positioning opposed to the front face of the main body and a front face to be outwardly facing. More preferably, the wall is configured to hinge via the boot towards and away from the opposed position at the main body. The boot is preferably formed from a curved end region of the cover. Preferably, the boot is formed with a rear portion that is angularly disposed relative to the transparent wall such that the transparent wall may be resiliently biased away from the rear portion of the boot so as to open the boot and allow mating onto the lower edge of the shelf mount. Preferably, the main body comprises a foot extending along the edge and projecting forwardly in opposed direction to the arm, the boot defining an internal channel to accommodate the foot. Advantageously, the boot comprises a rear portion angularly disposed and resiliently hingeable relative to the wall so as to enable resiliently biased opening of the channel to accommodate the foot and to frictionally couple the cover to the shelf mount. The rear portion of the boot is preferably configured to frictionally engage onto the rear face of the shelf mount so as to provide a first means of coupling the cover to the shelf mount. The first and second parts of the releasable lock provide a second means of secure attachment of the cover to the shelf mount and in particular prevent the cover from‘ slipping down^’’ at the shelf mount. For example, if a user were to touch the wall of the cover and apply a downward force, the first and second parts of the releasable lock are configured to resist such forces and to retain the cover in locked position. As will be appreciated the magnitude of the locking force may be specifically configured via the relative sizes of the first and second parts of the releasable lock.

Preferably, the boot comprises a curved portion that projects in a forward direction from the wall and in particular from a front face of the substantially planar cover. The curved portion provides a mechanism to resiliently bias the rear portion towards the wall of the cover at the rear face of the wall. The extent of this curvature (e.g., radial size) may be selectively adjusted (during the design phase) to provide the desired force by which the rear portion is biased towards the rear face. This effects the force by which the cover is retained at the shelf mount and additionally the retention force by which the cover is gripped onto the shelf mount via the boot clipping onto the lower region of the shelf mount.

Preferably, the foot extending along the edge of the cover projects forwardly from the wall so as to project into the interior of the boot and in particular into the cured region of the boot. As such, the foot is capable of contacting an interior of the boot should the cover slip or move downwardly relative to the shelf mount. Accordingly, the foot is configured to arrest undesirable downward movement of the cover relative to the shelf mount (by abutment interaction with the inside surface of the boot) which accordingly provides a third means of retaining the cover at the shelf mount. Preferably, the boot is formed as a lip, ledge or shelf projecting forwardly from the front face and/or the wall of the cover. This is advantageous to prevent a label (mounted at the front face of the cover) from slipping down the shelf mount even when the cover is bent forwardly to insert or remove a label between the cover and shelf mount.

Via the configuration of the boot at the cover and the foot of the shelf mount, the cover is capable of being mounted and releasably secured to the shelf mount via a clipping action. This is achieved as the boot opened by prizing apart the resiliently biased rear part of the boot from the wall and sliding the cover upwardly into engagement with the lower edge region of the shelf mount so as to accommodate the foot within the boot. This is advantageous to allow the cover to be attached to the shelf mount without having to slide the cover laterally sideways onto the shelf mount. As will be appreciated, such sideways sliding action to mount the two components together is not always possible for example where the display shelf is positioned immediately adjacent sidewalls that would effectively block introduction of the cover onto the shelf mount from either lateral side. Accordingly, the present configuration having a resiliently biased hinging mechanism provides a label holder for releasable attachment to a shelf via a clipping action in which the label holder is attached to the shelf from the front facing side of the shelf and not from the lateral side.

Preferably, the first part of the releasable lock is positioned at the main body at or towards the edge and the second part of the releasable lock is positioned at or towards the boot. More preferably, the first part of the releasable lock is positioned at the rear face of the main body and the second part of the releasable lock is positioned at the rear portion of the boot. Such an arrangement is advantageous such that the first and second parts of the releasable lock, and the majority of the boot are hidden from a customer at the rear of the label holder so as not to interfere with the forward facing display region.

Preferably, the wall is hingeably mountable at the main body via the respective first and second coupling regions wherein at least a portion of the wall is capable of being resiliently hinged away from the main body. Should the first and/or second coupling regions become damaged or worn during use, the respective component part (i.e. cover and/or shelf mount) may be replaced independently to avoid a need to replace the entire label holder.

Optionally, a distance by which the first part of the releasable lock projects from the main body is approximately equal to or less than a thickness of the main body. Optionally, a distance by which the second part of the releasable lock projects away from the cover is approximately equal to or less than a thickness of the wall. Such an arrangement is advantageous to provide a releasable lock having an appropriate locking magnitude to prevent unintentional movement or decoupling of the cover from the shelf mount whilst providing a cover that may be frictionally engaged onto the shelf mount conveniently and quickly when securing a label in position.

Preferably, the main body and the cover are elongate having a length that extend along the front edge of the shelf (i.e., horizontally) and a width extending perpendicular to the front edge of the shelf to be orientated generally in the vertical plane encompassing vertical and or oblique orientations (relative to vertical). Optionally, the first and second parts of the releasable lock are elongate and extend over the full or a majority of the length of the main body and the cover respectively. Such an arrangement is advantageous to ensure the cover is securely attached to the shelf mount along its full length to avoid unintentional decoupling.

Optionally, the first part of the releasable lock comprises at least one first rib and the second part of the releasable lock comprises at least one second rib, the first and second ribs capable of overlapping and abutment of one another to inhibit decoupling of the cover from the shelf mount. Optionally, the first and second parts of the releasable lock each comprise any one or a combination of the set of: ribs, ridges or lips; channels, grooves or dimples; bayonet fixings; snap-fit members; teeth or tongs. As will be appreciated, the first and second parts of the releasable lock may take any form of raised projection and/or recess or depression that together are capable of frictionally inter-engaging. Inter engagement and abutment contact of the first and second parts of the releasable lock is provided by the coupling region of the cover, optionally in the form of a boot, having at least a portion that is resiliently biased, bent, curved or angled in a pre-set form and configuration so as to bias the first and second parts of the releasable lock together into releasable engagement. Optionally, the first part and second part of the releasable lock may comprise specific biased means provided at the respective shelf mount and cover to provide resiliently biasing of the first and second parts together independently of the boot and/or respective coupling regions.

Optionally, the shelf mount may comprise a first material and the cover may comprise a second material different to the first material. Preferably, the second material of the cover is transparent, semi-transparent or opaque. Optionally, the wall is transparent, semi- transparent or opaque. Optionally, the wall may extend continuously along the cover. Optionally, the wall may be provided at specific regions of the cover. Optionally, the wall is formed from strips, fingers, flanges or a frame provided at the cover such that labels or other display material may be positioned within the frame or between/under the fingers. Accordingly, the wall may extend over only a portion or regions of the cover and accordingly the shelf mount.

Optionally, the label holder may comprise a clip having a fixation portion frictionally engageable onto an edge of the wall at a position distal to the second coupling region, the clip being separate to the shelf mount and the cover. The clip may be formed with a shoe having a rear portion that is resiliently biased against a respective front portion to allow the clip to be hingeably and frictionally engageable with an upper edge of the wall of the cover. The clip is configured to retain additional display material such as printed cards, labels or shelf accessories at the label holder.

Optionally, the front face of the main body and the wall of the cover are substantially planar.

Brief description of drawings

A specific implementation of the present invention will now be described, by way of example only, and with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 is a perspective view of a label holder comprising a shelf mount part and a separate cover part releasably attachable to form a modular display device at a leading edge of a shelf according to a specific implementation of the present invention;

Figure 2 is an end view of the label holder of figure 1 ;

Figure 3 is a perspective view of the shelf mount part of figure 1 ;

Figure 4 is an end view of the shelf mount of figure 1 ;

Figure 5 is a perspective view of the cover part of figure 1 ;

Figure 6 is an end view of the cover part of figure 1.

Detailed description of preferred embodiment of the invention

Referring to figures 1, 2, 3 and 4 a label holder 31 comprises a shelf mount 10 releasably attachable with a cover 1 1. Shelf mount 10 comprises a first arm 14a and a second arm 14b projecting rearwardly from a main body 12. Each arm 14a, 14b is profiled to comprise angled, curved or bent regions to frictionally engage a portion of a display shelf at or towards a leading edge of the shelf. The arms 14a, 14b may take any form, as will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, adapted to releasably engage directly onto a shelf or for attachment to an intermediate attachment body that itself is mounted directly or indirectly to the shelf.

The shelf mount 10 further comprises a foot 16 projecting forwardly from main body 12 in an opposite direction relative to arms 14a, 14b. Referring to figure 3, foot 16 is provided at a lower first edge 22 of main body 12 with second arm 14b provided at an upper second edge 23 of main body 12. First arm 14a extends from main body 12 at a position intermediate foot 16 and second arm 14b. Shelf mount 10 further comprises a rib 17 representing a first part of a releasable lock. Rib 17 projects rearwardly from main body 12 in the same rearward direction as arms 14a, 14b and at a position towards lower edge 22. A distance by which rib 17 extends is approximately equal to a thickness of main body 12 and is significantly less than a corresponding distance by which arms 14a, 14b project rearwardly from main body 12.

Shelf mount 10 is substantially elongate such that the lower and upper edges 22, 23 extend lengthwise. Additionally, foot 16, rib 17 and arms 14a, 14b are all aligned generally parallel to the lengthwise extending edges 22, 23 and extend over the entire length of main body 12. Accordingly, main body 12 comprises a rearward facing face 20 and a forward facing face 21. Referring to figures 3 and 4, the main body 12 of shelf mount comprises a thinned section 24 extending inwardly along the length of main body 12 from upper edge

23. Section 24 enables shelf mount a degree of positional adjustment and flexibility when mounted in position at a shelf.

Referring to figures 1, 2, 5 and 6, cover 11 comprises a transparent wall 13 having a lower edge 27 and an upper edge 28. Wall 13 is generally planar and is dimensioned to be approximately equal to main body 12 of shelf mount 10. Accordingly, wall 13 comprises a rearward facing rear face 26 and a forward facing front face 25. A boot 15 is provided at lower edge 27 and comprises a curved portion 15a that projects in a forward direction from wall 13 at front face 25. Boot 15 further comprises a rear portion indicated generally by reference 19. Rear portion 19 comprises an upper lip 19a and a lower curved portion 19b with portion 19b positioned at lower edge 27 whilst lip 19a is positioned opposed to wall rear face 26. Boot 15 via curved portion 15a and rear portion 19 define an internal channel 30 (between rear face 26 and the majority of the length of rear portion 19). Due to the curvature of portions 15a and 19a, wall 13 is angularly disposed relative to a majority of the length of rear portion 19 such that channel 30 is generally closed at its upper end defined by lip 19a that is biased into touching or almost touching contact against rear face 26. Channel 30 may be 'opened at the upper region (corresponding to lip 19a) by a user grasping the upper edge 28 of cover 11 and forcing wall 13 forwardly away from rear portion 19 (that is anchored in a fixed position at shelf mount 10) as described in further detail below. A rib 18 projects forwardly from a forward facing face 29 at boot rear portion 19. That is, rib 18 projects forwardly into channel 30 from the rear portion 19 and towards wall rear face 26. Foot 16 extends forwardly from front face 25 so as to define a lip or shelf that extends oblique or generally perpendicular to body 12 and wall 13. In particular, foot 16 extends laterally into curved portion 15a so as to overlap into portion 15a. Accordingly, should cover 11 move downwardly relative to shelf mount 10, foot 16 is adapted to contact the internal region of curved portion 15a (that defines channel 30). The contact between foot 16 and the interior of curved portion 15a prevents any further independent downward movement of cover 1 1 relative to shelf mount 10. Accordingly, foot 16 extending the full length of main body 12 provides a further means to prevent the undesirable and

unintentional detachment of the cover 11 from the shelf mount 1. Additionally, the ledge shaped foot 16 also acts to retain a label in secure position between wall 13 and main body

12 even when wall 13 is hingeably moved away from main body 12 as a label is introduced or removed at the label holder.

Cover 11 is elongate such that wall 13 is approximately dimensioned to correspond in shape and size to main body 12 of shelf mount 10. Accordingly, cover edges 27 and 28 extend lengthwise along cover 11. Similarly, boot 15, rear portion 19 and rib 18 also extend lengthwise and are aligned approximately parallel to edges 27 and 28. Label holder

31 preferably further comprises a clip 32 having a front portion 33 and a rear portion 34.

A bent portion 36 extends intermediate front and rear portions 33, 34 so as to resiliently bias rear portion 34 towards front portion 33 and define a channel 35 therebetween. Clip

32 is configured to frictionally engage onto wall 13 via upper edge 28 sliding into channel 35 as the front and rear portion 33, 34 are prized apart. Clip 32 is retained by biasing frictional engagement of the front and rear portion 33, 34 onto the respective faces 25, 26 of wall 13.

In use, shelf mount 10 is securable to a region at the front edge of a shelf via arms l4a,

14b. Cover 1 1 is then coupled to shelf mount 10 by a user mating boot 15 over foot 16. Accordingly, foot 16 is introduced into channel 30 as rear portion 19 is prized apart from wall 13. Cover 1 1 is slid upwardly into coupled engagement with shelf mount 10 as wall

13 slides over main body 12 with the opposed respective faces 26, 21 in frictional contact. Corresponding frictional contact is provided between boot face 29 and rear face 20 of main body 12. Cover 1 1 is mated in fully coupled position with shelf mount 10 when foot 16 is fully accommodated within channel 30 at boot 15.

Releasable locking of cover 11 at shelf mount 10 is provided by overlapping abutment contact between ribs 17 and 18. In particular, as cover 11 is slid upwardly onto main body 12, rear portion 19 is bent rearwardly to open channel 30 and allow rib 18 to pass over rib 17. Due to the curved portion 19b, as rib 18 clears rib 17, rear portion 19 and in particular upper lip 19a hinge forwardly to close channel 30 with lip 19a biased into frictional contact against main body rear face 20. Additionally, rib 18 is accordingly biased into frictional overlapping abutment with rib 17. As such, the positionally overlapped ribs 17, 18 prevent cover 1 1 for being unintentionally decoupled via a downward sliding action from shelf mount 10. The locking action is effective over the entire length of the label holder 31 has ribs 17, 18 extend the full length of the respective shelf mount 10 and cover 11.

With cover 11 mounted in locked position at shelf mount 10, a label may be inserted between wall 13 and main body 12 into the region between the opposed touching faces 26, 21. The label may be introduced by a user bending forwardly wall 13 away from main body 12 via upper edge 28. At least one tab (not shown) may be provided at edge 28 or at widthwise extending edges of wall 13 so as to facilitate a user‘ opening’ the label holder to allow insertion of a display component (i.e. label).

Preferably, cover 11 is formed from a transparent material. Shelf mount 10 is preferably formed from a different material to that of cover 11. This provides convenient

manufacture of the two component parts 10, 11 separately. Additionally, should the cover 11 become damaged or worn and in particular if regions/portions 15a, 19b become worn or damaged and do not provide sufficient biasing of the wall 13 against main body 12, cover 1 1 may be replaced and interchanged independently of shelf mount 10. Accordingly, the present label holder is advantageous for ease of manufacture and is environmentally friendly to facilitate recycling of materials. Preferably, components 10 and 11 are formed from plastic. Preferably, the material of components 10 and/or 11 is biodegradable, biocompostable or is otherwise configured to facilitate disposal and/or recycling.

Claims

1. A label holder for releasable attachment to a shelf comprising:

a shelf mount having a main body and at least one outwardly projecting arm for attachment of the label holder to a shelf by frictional engagement;

a cover being separate and relasably attachable to the shelf mount and having at least one partially transparent wall mountable in opposed position to the main body to accommodate a label therebetween;

the shelf mount comprising a first coupling region having a first part of a releasable lock; and

the cover comprising a second coupling region engageable with the first region and having a second part of a releasable lock frictionally engageable with the first part to enable the cover to be releasably coupled with the shelf mount.

2. The label holder as claimed in claim 1 wherein the first coupling region of the shelf mount is provided at or towards an edge of the main body and the second coupling region of the cover comprises a boot member engageable to sit over the edge.

3. The label holder as claimed in claims 1 or 2 wherein the main body comprises a rear face from which the arm projects and wherein the wall comprises a rear face for positioning opposed to the front face of the main body and a front face to be outwardly facing.

4. The label holder as claimed in claims 2 and 3 wherein the wall is configured to hinge via the boot towards and away from the opposed position at the main body.

5. The label holder as claimed in claims 2, 3 or 4 wherein the main body comprises a foot extending along the edge and projecting forwardly in opposed direction to the arm, the boot defining an internal channel to accommodate the foot.

6. The label holder as claimed in claim 5 wherein the boot comprises a rear portion angularly disposed and resiliently hingeable relative to the wall so as to enable resiliently biased opening of the channel to accommodate the foot and to frictionally couple the cover to the shelf mount.

7. The label holder as claimed in claim 6 wherein the first part of the releasable lock is positioned at the main body at or towards the edge and the second part of the releasable lock is positioned at or towards the boot.

8. The label holder as claimed in claim 7 wherein the first part of the releasable lock is positioned at the rear face of the main body and the second part of the releasable lock is positioned at the rear portion of the boot.

9. The label holder as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the wall is hingeably mountable at the main body via the respective first and second coupling regions wherein at least a portion of the wall is capable of being resiliently hinged away from the main body.

10. The label holder as claimed in any preceding claim wherein a distance by which the first part of the releasable lock projects from the main body is approximately equal to or less than a thickness of the main body and a distance by which the second part of the releasable lock projects away from the cover is approximately equal to or less than a thickness of the wall.

11. The label holder as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the main body and the cover are elongate.

12. The label holder as claimed in claim 11 wherein the first and second parts of the releasable lock are elongate and extend over the full or a majority of the length of the main body and the cover respectively.

13. The label holder as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the first part of the releasable lock comprises at least one first rib and the second part of the releasable lock comprises at least one second rib, the first and second ribs capable of overlapping and abutment of one another to inhibit decoupling of the cover from the shelf mount.

14. The label holder as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 13 wherein the first and second parts of the releasable lock each comprise any one or a combination of the set of:

• ribs, ridges or lips;

• channels, grooves or dimples;

• bayonet fixings;

• snap-fit members;

• teeth or tongs.

15. The label holder as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the shelf mount comprises a first material and the cover comprises a second material different to the first material.

16. The label holder as claimed in any preceding claim further comprising a clip having a fixation portion frictionally engageable onto an edge of the wall at a position distal to the second coupling region, the clip being separate to the shelf mount and the cover.

17. The label holder as claimed in any preceding claim when dependent on claim 3 wherein the front face of the main body and the wall of the cover are substantially planar.