EP3801138B1

EP3801138B1 - Retail merchandise tray

Info

Publication number: EP3801138B1
Application number: EP19814286.1A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Thomas O. Nagel
Original assignee: Fasteners for Retail Inc
Current assignee: Fasteners for Retail Inc
Priority date: 2018-06-08
Filing date: 2019-06-06
Publication date: 2024-05-22
Anticipated expiration: 2039-06-06
Also published as: EP3801138A1; EP3801138A4; MX2020012101A; EP4378352A2; AU2019280831A1; WO2019236860A1

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention generally relates to retail merchandise displays, and more particularly to self-facing retail merchandise displays used for biasing retail merchandise forward.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Self-facing retail merchandise displays are generally known in the art. Once such display is the pusher system. A conventional pusher system incorporates one or more pusher paddles or pusher bodies that ride along a respective elongated track. A spring is connected between the pusher body and a leading edge of the track. The spring acts to bias the pusher body forward along the track towards the leading edge thereof.
A user can retract the pusher body away from the leading edge of the track and position items of retail merchandise in a linear row on top of the track and between the leading edge of the track and the pusher body. The biasing force provided by the spring and exerted upon the pusher body serves to bias the linear row of retail merchandise forward to ultimately "front face" the merchandise.
That is, when a customer removes the leading most item of merchandise from the linear row of merchandise, the pusher body will be drawn forward by the spring to index the row of merchandise forward so that the next item of merchandise in the row is positioned proximate the leading edge of the track in an aesthetically pleasing manner. Such automatic front facing eliminates the necessity for retail store employees to manually face the merchandise, and thus ultimately reduces the cost of labor of the retailer.
The aforementioned pusher systems have been utilized in various retail display environments. One example is a retail shelf. Typically, a plurality of pusher bodies and their corresponding tracks are arranged in a side by side manner along the shelf. Each pusher body and its corresponding track are separated by dividers to maintain a plurality of generally straight rows of merchandise that run from the front to the back of the shelf. Such a familiar configuration can be found in many retail stores for selling hygiene items such as deodorant, as one example.
In another configuration, the pusher system may be embodied as a stand-alone pusher tray. These trays may include means for mounting the tray as a cantilevered extension from another structure, such as a bar. These trays may also be situated directly on a retail shelf. Further, these trays may include side barriers which are adjustable so as to accommodate merchandise of differing widths. Examples of these trays may be readily seen at U.S. Patent Nos. 9,254,049 , 9,241,583 , 8,720,702 .
US 2014/319086 relates to a pusher tray assembly comprising a hanging tray and a sliding tray having a wire track, the sliding tray moveably connected to the hanging tray by fins of a pusher, the pusher slidingly engaged to the wire track for movement between a first position and a second position.
AU 2014100791 relates to a product rack comprising: a stationary portion configured to, in use, be mounted on a support structure; a sliding portion comprising a length, the sliding portion connected to the stationary portion and configured to be moved relative to the stationary portion between a retracted longitudinal position and an extended longitudinal position, the sliding portion configured to support a plurality of products arranged in a row beginning at a front end of the sliding portion and extending backwards along the length of the sliding portion; a stop at the front end of the sliding portion; and urging means acting along the length of the sliding portion to urge the row of products supported on the sliding portion into abutment with the stop; wherein the rack comprises catch means configured to prevent the sliding portion from moving out of the retracted position unless the sliding portion is pulled towards the extended position.
WO 2017/015466 relates to a product display tray including one or more arms including engagement members. The product display tray can also include a base having one or more tracks receiving the one or more arms, wherein the base is slidable along the one or more arms from a first position to a second position. The product display tray can also include a handle. The product display tray can also include a latch, wherein the latch is operably connected to the handle, wherein the latch has an engaged position and a disengaged position, and wherein the latch is in the engaged position when the base is in the first position and the base is operable to enter the second position when the latch is in the disengaged position.
The invention relates to improvements in the above described pusher systems, more particularly, the above described pusher trays. These and other advantages of the invention, as well as additional inventive features, will be apparent from the description of the invention provided herein.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An aspect of the present invention relates to a retail merchandise tray as recited in claim 1. Preferred embodiments are recited in claims 2-10.
An aspect of the present invention relates to method of loading a retail merchandise tray as recited in claim 11.
Other aspects, objectives and advantages of the invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings incorporated in and forming a part of the specification illustrate several aspects of the present invention and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the invention. In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a retail merchandise tray;
FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the retail merchandise tray of FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 is a cross section of the retail merchandise tray of FIG. 1, taken in the region of a spacer;
FIG. 4 is a partial perspective view a divider assembly of FIG. 1, illustrating a resilient connection thereof;
FIG. 5 is a partial perspective of the retail merchandise tray of FIG. 1, illustrating a front stop thereof;
FIG. 6 is a partial perspective view of the retail merchandise tray of FIG. 1, illustrating a pusher thereof;
FIG. 7 is another perspective view of the pusher shown in FIG. 6;
FIG. 8 is a partial perspective view of the retail merchandise tray of FIG. 1, illustrating a removable connection between a wire support structure and a load bearing member of the retail merchandise tray;
FIG. 9 is partial perspective view of another retail merchandise tray;
FIG. 10 is a side exploded view of the retail merchandise tray of FIG. 9;
FIG. 11 is partial perspective view of a divider assembly of the retail merchandise tray of FIG. 9, illustrating a slidable connection between a divider wall and a baffle plate extension of the divider assembly;
FIG. 12 is a partial perspective view of the divider assembly shown in FIG. 11, illustrating a slidable connection between the baffle plate extension and a spacer of the retail merchandise tray;
FIG. 13 is perspective cross section taken in the region of the slidable connection between the baffle plate extension and the spacer;
FIG. 14 is a perspective view of another retail merchandise tray;
FIG. 15 is a partial perspective view of a shelf mounting arrangement of the retail merchandise tray of FIG. 14, in the form of a mounting plate;
FIG. 16 is a perspective exploded view of the mounting plate of FIG. 15;
FIG. 17 is a partial side view of the retail merchandise tray of FIG. 14, illustrating the mounting plate mounting the retail merchandise tray to a shelf;
FIG. 18 is a perspective view of another shelf mounting arrangement of the retail merchandise tray, illustrating multiple retail merchandise trays such as those as shown in FIG. 14, mounted to a mounting rail which receives at least one mounting tab;
FIG. 19 is a perspective exploded view, illustrating one of the retail merchandise trays of FIG. 18 disconnected from the mounting rail to expose at least one mounting tab of the retail merchandise tray which is received between adjacent teeth of the mounting rail;
FIG. 20 is a perspective view of the retail merchandise tray of FIG. 1 utilizing a foldable front stop, illustrating a foldable front stop in its operational position;
FIG. 21 is a perspective view of the retail merchandise tray of FIG. 20, illustrating the foldable front stop transitioning from its operational position to a loading position;
FIG. 22 is a partial perspective view of the foldable front stop shown in FIGS. 20-21;
FIG. 23 is a perspective view of the retail merchandise tray of FIG. 1, utilizing an alternative divider wall assembly;
FIG. 24 is a perspective view of an embodiment of a retail merchandise tray according to the teachings herein;
FIG. 25 is a perspective view the embodiment of FIG. 24 in an extended position;
FIG. 26 is a partial perspective view of the retail merchandise tray of FIG. 24;
FIG. 27 is a partial perspective view of the retail merchandise tray of FIG. 24 illustrating a locking arm of the retail merchandise tray; and
FIG. 28 is another partial perspective view of the locking arm of FIG. 27.

Embodiments depicted in Figs. 1-23 are not encompassed by the wording of the claims but are considered as useful for understanding the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Turning now the drawings, various embodiments of a retail merchandise tray are illustrated. A retail merchandise tray (hereinafter referred to as a "tray") according to the teachings herein as the advantage of having a reduced assembly time and cost due in part to the weld-free interconnection of its various components. Further, a tray according to the teachings herein presents a new and improved baffle plate methodology, which heretofore required a separate plate to be positioned under the tray with its own independent mounting. Still further, a tray according to the teachings herein presents a new and improved shelf mounting configuration for those trays which mount directly to a retail shelf. These and other advantages will be understood from the following detailed description.
Turning first to FIG. 1, the same illustrates a tray 100 having a pair of load bearing members 102. Load bearing members 102 are identical so a description of one applies equally well to the other. A front stop 104 is connected to the load bearing members at a first end 114 of tray 100. Front stop 104 may include additional integrated or attached structures such as price channel extrusions, faceplates, etc.
A wire support frame 110 (see FIG. 2) is removably to the load bearing members adjacent a second end 116 of tray 100. This wire support frame is also removably attached to front stop 104 adjacent first end 114. Put differently, wire support frame has opposed first and second ends which are adjacent first and second ends 114, 116 of tray 100, respectively.
The first end of wire support frame 110 is removably attached to front stop 104, while the second end is removably attached to load bearing members 102. As used herein, "removably attached" means an attachment which may be readily undone in a nondestructive manner and subsequently repeated in the same manner. Within this meaning "removably attached" does not include welds, comolding, or other permanent forms of attachment which require component destruction or damage to undo.
A pusher 106 is mounted to wire support structure 110 and slidable thereon in directions 120, 122. Pusher 106 is operable to bias a row or rows of retail merchandise situated on top of wire support structure 110 and load bearing members 102 from second end 116 of tray 100 to first end 114 of tray 100. As may be seen from inspection of FIG. 1, pusher 106 may employ a honeycomb structure to reduce its overall weight. As will be explained below, pusher 106 is biased under the force of a coil spring or other biasing element.
A pair of movable divider assemblies 108 are positioned on either side of tray 100. Divider assemblies 108 are movable in directions 124, 126 to modify a width or distance between the divider assemblies 108. This lateral adjustment allows for the accommodating retail merchandise of differing widths. As will be explained below, divider assemblies 108 employ a removable attachment between their divider walls and wire supports. This advantageously allows for the connection of the divider walls using a resilient or "snap" connection. As a result, lightweight materials may be utilized for the divider walls themselves, while more robust materials may be utilized for the wire supports.
As may also be seen in FIG. 1, each load bearing member 102 includes a cut-out 118 sized to receive a retail merchandise bar of the type typically found in refrigerated cases or other retail merchandise displays. This allows for a cantilevered mounting of tray 100.
Turning now to FIG. 2, divider 100 is illustrated in an exploded view. As may be seen in this view, tray 100 also includes spacers 112 which are used on the one hand to maintain the lateral spacing between load bearing members 102, and on the other hand to receive wire supports of divider assemblies 108 as discussed below. Spacers 112 are identical so a description of one applies equally well to the other. These spacers may formed of a lightweight material such as plastic or the like, and attach at their side edges to load bearing members 102 such that spacers 112 are interposed between load bearing members 102.
The two divider assemblies 108 shown are identical. As such, a description of one applies equally well to the other. It should also be noted that although two dividers assemblies 108 are shown, only a single divider assembly 108 may be employed in some alternate configurations, while in other alternate configurations, the divider assemblies 108 may be entirely omitted.
Divider assembly 108 includes a divider wall 132 and a pair of wire supports 134 which are removably attached to divider wall 132. Each wire support 134 connects to divider wall 132 with a resilient "snap" style connection to thereby hold it in place during operation. Divider wall also includes a flange 148 depending perpendicular to its remaining generally upright presentation. This flange 148 may be utilized to support merchandise extending laterally beyond load bearing members 102.
Each wire support 134 includes a straight portion 136 and a bent portion 138 generally at a right angle to straight portion 136. Bent portions 138 are received in corresponding slots 140 formed in divider wall 132. Each slot has a passage formed therein for receipt of straight portion 136 such that straight portion 136 passes through divider wall 132 until bent portion 138 bottoms out in slot 140. This configuration allows for divider assembly 108 to be of a multi-material construction, with wire supports 134 formed of a rigid material such as metal, while divider wall 132 may be formed of a lightweight material such as plastic for example. Further, as was the case with pusher 106, divider wall 132 may also employ a honeycomb structure to reduce its overall weight.
Still referring to FIG. 2, wire support structure 110 includes a lateral member 154 and a pair of longitudinal members 156 extending generally perpendicular to lateral member 154. As its name implies, wire support structure 110 is formed of metal wire, with longitudinal members 156 welded to lateral member 154. Although two longitudinal elements 156 are illustrated, fewer or greater longitudinal members 156 may be employed depending on the overall width of tray 100.
With reference now to FIG. 3, the same illustrates a cross section through the front most spacer 112 shown in FIG. 2. This view illustrates the reception of bent portion 138 in slot 140. Additionally, this view also illustrates the passageway 144 formed in divider wall 132 within slot 140. A corresponding passageway 142 is also formed in each load bearing member 102 and is aligned with passageway 144 of divider wall 132. This alignment allows for straight portions 136 to pass through divider wall 132, through load bearing member 102, and into a corresponding passageway 146 of spacer 112. Each spacer 112 has a pair of passageways 146 which overlap one another as shown. Spacers 112 attach to load bearing members 102 via fasteners such as those shown, or any other mechanical expedient.
With reference to FIG. 4, each slot 140 includes a number of resilient tabs 148. These tabs extend within slot 140 such that as bent portion 138 enters slot 140, these tabs will elastically deform out of the way, and then return to their original position as shown in FIG. 4. This holds each wire support 134 in place relative to divider wall 132.
Turning now to FIG. 5, front stop 104 mounts to load bearing members 102 as shown. In particular, front stop 104 includes a mounting portion 160 which extends generally perpendicular to an upright portion 162 as shown. This mounting portion includes laterally extending tabs 164 which are received in corresponding open slots 166 formed in load bearing members 102. These tabs 164 and their corresponding slots 166 are U-shaped such that they cannot rotate relative to one another. This has the advantage of preventing unwanted rotation of front stop 104 relative to load bearing members 102. Additionally, mounting portion 160 may also include protrusions 168 received in corresponding apertures 170 for the same purpose.
Mounting portion 160 also includes pockets 158 within which the terminal ends of longitudinal members 156 are received and supported from an underside thereof. As such, wire support structure 110 is supported at either end, as introduced above.
With reference to FIG. 6, as mentioned above pusher 106 is slidable on wire support structure 110. To this end, pusher 106 includes wire receiving passageways 178 through which longitudinal members 156 extend. As may be surmised from inspection of FIG. 6, pusher 106 is fully supported by wire structure 110. This results in minimal contact of pusher 106 with the remainder of tray 100, thereby reducing or eliminating the likelihood of binding or the like.
A spring opening 182 is also formed through pusher 106 for feeding an uncoiled portion of a coil spring 180 as shown in FIG. 7. This coil spring 180 rests on pusher 106 and its free end passes through opening 180 and connects to front stop 104, or any other portion of tray 100 sufficient to apply a biasing force to pusher 106 to pull it from second end 116 to first end 114 shown in FIG. 1.
Turning now to FIG. 8, lateral member 154 includes keys 184 adjacent the ends of lateral member 154. One end of lateral member 154 and its respective keys 184 are shown in FIG. 8. An identical configuration exists for the other end. These keys are formed and sized such that they may pass through a keyway 186 formed in load bearing members 102.
As shown in the illustrated view, the outer most key 184 has passed through keyway 186 to thereby interpose load bearing member 102 between keys 184. This configuration maintains the lateral positioning of wire support frame 110 relative to load bearing members 102. It is also possible to omit the inner keys 184 at each end of lateral member 154 and use only the outer most keys 184, such that the load bearing 102 are interposed between these outer most keys 184.
Turning now to FIG. 9, an alternate embodiment of tray 100 is shown in the form of tray 200. This embodiment is identical to the embodiment of tray 100 discussed above, except for the following notable differences. Accordingly, and for purposes of brevity, a redundant description of the same structure discussed above is dispensed with.
Indeed, tray 200 also incorporates load bearing members 202, a front stop 204, and pusher 206 and spacers 212 which are identical in form and function as those same components discussed above relative to FIGS. 1-8. However, the divider assemblies 208 have a different construction. These divider assemblies 208 are identical so a description of one applies equally well to the other. Additionally, this embodiment also incorporates a baffle plate 228 along the underside of tray 200.
Turning first to the latter of the above two notable differences, baffle plate 238 is removably attached to tray 200. In particular, and with reference to FIG. 10, baffle plate 238 includes resilient clips 250 which clip against spacers 212 as shown with momentary reference back to FIG. 9. This allows baffle plate 238 to be snapped on and off tray 200. As is understood by those of skill in the art, existing baffle plates are typically separate structures from any trays or the like, and typically require their own separate mounting to the back of a retail merchandise display. The instant disclosure has the advantage of a self contained baffle plate 238 with each tray 200 that is directly mounted thereto.
As is also generally understood in the art, baffle plates are employed to prevent denser cold air in a refrigerated environment from rapidly passing past the upper most trays in a refrigerated case or the like. Such baffle plates typically slow this flow of cold air such that the upper trays and the lower trays are generally exposed to the same amount of cold air. Maintaining this principle in the instant disclosure, divider assemblies 208 also employ their own baffle plate extension such that when divider assemblies 208 are extended, a continuous baffle plate surface is presented across the width of tray 200. This configuration provides the same advantage of slowing or preventing the undesirable flow of cold air past tray 200, but has the advantage of a self-contained baffle arrangement as mentioned above.
To this end, and turning now to FIG. 11, each divider assembly 208 includes a divider wall 232 attached to wire supports 234 in the same manner as discussed above. However, divider assembly also includes a baffle plate extension 230. A slidable connection is formed between baffle plate extension 230 and flange 248 of divider wall 232. This slidable connection is in the form of a tab 272 on flange 248 which depends downwardly into a corresponding slot 274 formed into the baffle plate extension. As a result, flange 248 and baffle plate extension 230 form a continuous baffle plate surface as shown.
Turning now to FIG. 12, baffle plate extension connects to spacers 212 via slidable connection as well. As a result, pulling divider wall 232 away from tray 200 causes tab 272 to slide within slot 274 until it reaches the position shown in FIG. 11. Thereafter, continued movement of divider wall 232 laterally away from tray 200 then causes baffle plate extension 230 to slide along spacers 212 to allow baffle plate extension 230 to move laterally outward as well to the position shown in FIG. 11.
Still referring to FIG. 12, this slidable connection of baffle plate extension 230 relative to spacers 212 is formed by slidable clips 276. These clips 276 include rounded portions 278 which clip partially around corresponding rounded portions of spacers 212. As such, the baffle plate extensions are affixed to but slidable along spacers 212.
Turning now to FIG. 13, laterally outward movement of each baffle plate extension 230 continues until a downwardly depending extension portion 288 of baffle plate extension 230 which depends generally perpendicular from a support portion 290 of baffle plate extension 230 abuts load bearing member 202 as shown.
With reference to FIG. 14, the same illustrates a tray 300 which is identical to tray 100 except that it utilizes load bearing members 302 of a different design, and a shelf mounting arrangement for situating tray 300 directly on the surface of a retail shelf. Each of these features will be discussed in turn.
As stated above, the remainder of tray 300 is identical to tray 100 discussed previously, and as such, a redundant detailed description of identical features is dispensed with for purposes of brevity. Indeed, tray 300 also includes, a front stop 304, a pusher 306, divider assemblies 308, a wire support structure 310, and a pair of spacers 312 (see FIG. 15) each of which is identical to those same structures discussed above relative to tray 100.
Load bearing members 302, however, no longer utilize a cut-out such as cut-out 118 shown in FIG. 1. Instead, load bearing members 302 have generally flat bottoms so that they may sit directly on a shelf. As previously mentioned, tray 300 also incorporates a shelf mounting arrangement for fixing tray 300 on to a retail shelf.
One embodiment of such a shelf mounting arrangement is shown in FIG. 15. This embodiment includes a mounting plate 392 which clips onto the front most spacer 312 of tray 300. Mounting plate 392 includes a pair of extensions 394 which have a general hook shape and are configured to extend into apertures formed in a retail shelf.
With reference to FIG. 16, mounting plate 392 employs a clip 396 similar to those clips described above for removably attaching mounting plate 392 to spacer 312. Although two extensions 394 are illustrated fewer or greater extensions may be employed. FIG. 17 illustrates tray 300 mounted to a shelf 398. As may be seen in this view, extensions 394 extend through apertures in the shelf to fix tray 300 to shelf 398.
FIG. 18 illustrates another embodiment of a shelf mounting arrangement. In this embodiment, multiple trays 300 are mounted to a mounting rail 500, which is in turn mounted directly to shelf 398. As explained below, each tray 300 snaps into mounting rail 500 to fix the tray 300 to shelf 398. Although two trays 300 are shown, mounting rail 500 may be of any length to accommodate a greater number of trays 300.
FIG. 19 illustrates one of the trays 300 exploded away from mounting rail 500. As can be seen in this view, mounting rail 500 includes a plurality of teeth 502, with a space formed between each adjacent set of teeth. These spaces 504 are configured to receive a tab 506 formed on front stop 304. In the illustrated embodiment, two tabs 506 are utilized, but fewer or greater tabs 506 may be employed. The width of each tab 506 is such that it will tightly fit in each space 504. As a result, tray 300 may be removably attached to mounting rail 500.
FIG. 20 illustrates tray 100 from FIGS. 1-8 utilizing a different embodiment of a front stop 604. This front stop 604 is foldable from an operational position shown in FIG. 20 to a loading position shown in FIG. 21. As can be seen in FIG. 21, in the loading position, front stop 604 is rotated to a generally flat presentation to allow retail merchandise to be loaded onto tray 100 from the front end 114 (see FIG. 1) thereof. This presents a significant advantage over other designs with non-folding front stops, because in those designs merchandise is typically loaded from the rear of the tray, or is difficult to load from the front due to the non-folding front stop obscuring the loading path.
FIG. 22 illustrates the rear side of front stop 604. Front stop 604 includes a mounting portion 660 and an upright portion 662. However, unlike front stop 104, these portions 660, 662 are not integrally formed. Instead, mounting portion 660 is separate from upright portion 662 and a hinge is formed between these components. Indeed, a hinge pin 704 extends through mounting portion 660 and is received by hinge lugs 708 on upright portion 662. Upright portion 662 may rotate about hinge pin 704 relative to mounting portion 660. A spring 706 is also associated with hinge pin 704, and exerts a biasing force against upright portion 662 to maintain it in its upright position. This biasing force may be overcome by pushing against the front face of upright portion 662, causing the same to rotate about hinge pin 704. This configuration has the advantage of allowing high speed loading of tray 100. It should be noted that although front stop 604 is illustrated with tray 100, front stop 604 may be utilized with any of the trays described herein.
FIG. 23 illustrates another embodiment of a tray 800. This tray is identical to those trays described above in that it includes a pair of load bearing members 802, a front stop 804, a pusher 806, a wire support structure 810, and a divider assembly 808. The key difference with tray 800 over those described above is that it utilizes only a single divider assembly 808. This divider assembly 808 is substantially the same as those described above in that it includes a divider wall 832 removably attached to wire supports 834 as shown.
However, because only a single divider assembly 808 is used, it is configured to be shared with an adjacent tray (not shown) having only a single divider as well. Put differently, divider wall 832 is shared between two adjacent trays 800. To this end, divider wall 832 has flanges 848 extending from both sides thereof. This allows divider wall 832 to support merchandise on tray 800 shown, as well as the adjacent tray 800 (not shown). Furthermore, although not illustrated, it is also conceivable that this single divider wall may be connected to two baffle plate extensions such as those described above relative to tray 200. In such a configuration, flanges 848 would also include tabs such as those described above to achieve a slidable connection with baffle plate extensions. More generally, this single divider assembly configuration may be employed on any of the trays described herein.
As discussed in the preceding, trays according to the teachings herein present various advantages over existing configurations, for example, a lighter and less labor intensive assembly process, an integrated baffle plate configuration which may readily adapt to movement of the divider walls of the trays, an intuitive shelf mounting arrangement, a foldable front stop arrangement, and a single divider assembly arrangement which may be shared between trays, to name only a few.
Turning now to FIGS. 24-28, an alternate embodiment of a tray 900 is shown. This embodiment is identical to those trays discussed above, except for the following notable differences. Accordingly, and for purposes of brevity, a redundant description of the same structure discussed above is dispensed with.
Indeed, tray 900 also incorporates load bearing members 902, a front stop 904, a pusher 906, and spacers 912 which are identical in form and function as those same components discussed above, except for the following notable differences. First, load bearing members 902 do not provide downwardly opening cutouts for mounting tray 900 onto a retail merchandise support bar. Instead, these cutouts are integrated directly into a movable baffle plate 928, which like the above-discussed baffle plate is also movable. Further, this embodiment also incorporates a pusher locking mechanism with an integrated unlocking capability. Additionally, dividers 908 incorporate baffle plate extensions which are the same as those discussed above. As a result, these baffle plate extensions of dividers 908 as well as the movable baffle plate 928 provide the same baffle functionality as that discussed above.
Indeed, and with particular reference to FIG. 24, pusher 906 is slidably mounted to wire support frame 910. A front stop 904 is disposed generally at a front end of the tray and pusher 906 is movable toward and away from the front stop 904 in the same manner as that discussed above. Load bearing members 902 provide structural support to tray 900 and also provide mounting locations for spacers 912 as well as wire support structure 910.
Divider assemblies 908 include divider walls 932 which are attached to wire supports 934 in the same manner as discussed above. A baffle plate extension 930 is slidably connected to a flange 938 of each divider assembly 908 in the same manner as discussed above. It should be noted, however, that these baffle extensions 930 are not required. Indeed, tray 900 could be provided with baffle plate 928 alone.
In FIG. 24, tray 900 is shown in a first position wherein it has a first longitudinal length which may be taken from front stop 904 to the opposite longitudinal end of tray 900. In this position, tray 900 is configured to readily dispense retail merchandise in the same manner as that described above.
However, as shown in FIG. 25, tray 900 has a second position wherein tray 900 has a second longitudinal length which is longer than the first longitudinal length. In this position, baffle plate 928 has slidably moved relative to load bearing members 902 (and indeed the remainder of tray 900). This sliding or pullout functionality advantageously allows tray 900 to be slid forward when it is time to reload tray 900. This is particularly helpful where tray 900 is mounted in a rack system with other shelving or other trays above and below it. In such an instance, access to tray 900 for reloading the same is generally limited and difficult due to the obstruction above the tray by other shelving or trays. As such, being able to draw tray 900 forward to expose a substantial amount if not the entirety of wire support structure 910 allows for rapid reloading of tray 900. This rapid reloading is facilitated to an even greater extent when taking into account the pusher locking mechanism which is described below.
Baffle plate 928 includes a pair of downwardly depending side walls 1008 each of which incorporate their own downwardly opening notch or cutout 918. Side walls 1008 are sized and spaced so that they are in sliding contact with the interior surfaces of load bearing members 902. Baffle plate 928 also includes an elongate slot 1010 which receives a downwardly extending tab 1014 (see FIG. 26) which depends from a tab plate 1012. This tab and slot configuration limits the sliding movement of baffle plate 928 in linier directions 1004, 1006.
FIG. 26 illustrates the aforementioned tab and slot configuration. As may be seen in this view, tab 1014 is generally T-shaped such that it cannot easily be displaced from slot 1010 once situated therein.
As indicated above, tray 900 also incorporates a pusher locking system with an auto unlocking feature. With reference to FIG. 27, this locking system includes a locking arm 1020. Locking arm 1020 includes notches 1022 which are designed to receive a crossbar 954 of wire support structure 910. At any time, pusher 906 may be locked relative to crossbar 954 by simply rotating locking arm 1020 so as to engage notches 1022 with crossbar 954. The biasing force provided by a biasing element connected between pusher 906 and the front end of tray 900 pulls these notches 1022 into engagement with crossbar 954. As a result, pusher 906 is prevented from moving towards front stop 904.
This locking feature advantageously allows the user to lock the pusher in its rearmost position, and then rapidly load a row of retail merchandise into tray 900. Such a feature facilitates the rapid reloading of tray 900. This feature, when taken in combination with the sliding capability of baffle plate 928 to pull tray 900 forward for ease of access for top loading operations provides for a highly efficient means of restocking tray 900 as needed. However, as noted above, when tray 900 is contained in a racking system, it is difficult to access portions of the tray especially the rear area of the tray when tray 900 is returned to its first position or the position shown in FIG. 24. As such, it is difficult to access the above-described locking arm in such a position. To alleviate this issue, baffle plate 928 also includes an unlocking tab 1018 as may be readily seen in FIG. 25. As baffle plate 928 slides in direction 1006 relative to the remainder of tray 900, this unlocking tab 1018 will be brought into contact with locking arm 1020. Such a configuration may be seen in FIG. 28.
Indeed, in FIG. 28, unlocking tab 1018 is nearing contact with angled surfaces 1024 formed on the arms of locking arm 1020. Once unlocking tab 1018 contacts these angled services 1024 upon continued movement of baffle plate 928 in direction 1006, locking arm 1020 will be unhooked or forced out of contact with crossbar 954. This configuration thus provides an automatic unlocking function upon movement of baffle plate 928 relative to the remainder of tray 900.

Claims

A retail merchandise tray (900), comprising:
a pair of opposed load bearing members (902);

a front stop (904) mounted to the pair of load bearing members (902);

a wire support structure (910) supported at least in part by the pair of load bearing members (902);

a pusher (906) mounted to the wire support structure (910), the pusher (906) movable along the wire support structure (910) toward and away from the front stop (904) along a first axis, the pusher (906) including a locking arm (1020), the locking arm (1020) operable to lock the pusher (906) in a locked position, in the locked position, the pusher (906) is prevented from moving toward the front stop (904) along the first axis;

at least one divider assembly (908) movable relative to the pair of opposed load bearing members (902) along a second axis perpendicular to the first axis;

a pair of spacers (912) aligned along the first axis and interposed between the pair of load bearing members (902) and situated below the wire support frame (910);

a baffle plate (928) movable relative to the pair of load bearing members (902) and relative to the wire support frame (910), the baffle plate (928) is slidably mounted between the pair of load bearing members (902) and slidable along the first axis, characterized in that the baffle plate (928) including an unlocking tab (1018), wherein sliding the baffle plate (928) along the first axis toward the front stop (904) causes the unlocking tab (1018) to engage the locking arm (1020) and transition the locking arm (1020) from the locked position to an unlocked position wherein the pusher (906) is free to move toward the front stop (904) along the first axis.
The retail merchandise tray (900) of claim 1, wherein the at least one divider assembly (908) includes a pair of divider assemblies (908) movable about the second axis and arranged such that the pair of load bearing members (902) are interposed between the pair of divider assemblies (908).
The retail merchandise tray (900) of claim 1, wherein the at least one divider assembly (908) includes a divider wall (932) and a pair of wire supports (934), the pair of wire supports (934) removably attached to the divider wall (932) by a resilient connection.
The retail merchandise tray (900) of claim 3, wherein the divider wall (932) includes an upright portion having opposed sides, wherein a flange (938) extends from at least one of the opposed sides perpendicular to the upright portion.
The retail merchandise tray (900) of claim 1, wherein a tab plate extends between the pair of opposed load bearing member (902) and includes a downwardly depending tab (1014).
The retail merchandise tray (900) of claim 5, wherein the baffle plate (928) includes a slot (1010), the tab (1014) extending through the slot (1010), and wherein an abutted contact between the tab (1014) and an end of the slot (1010) define a limit position of sliding movement of the baffle plate (928) relative to the pair of opposed load bearing members (902).
The retail merchandise tray (900) of claim 1, wherein the baffle plate (928) includes a pair of opposed sidewalls (1008) extending parallel to the pair of opposed load bearing members (902), wherein a cut out (918) in the form of a downwardly opening hook is provided in each of the pair of opposed sidewalls (1008), the cut out (918) configured to receive a retail merchandise supportbar.
The retail merchandise tray (900) of claim 7, wherein the pair of opposed sidewalls (1008) are in sliding contact with the pair of opposed load bearing members (902).
The retail merchandise tray (900) of claim 1, wherein the baffle plate (928) is slidable such that the retail merchandise tray (900) has a variable longitudinal length.
The retail merchandise tray (900) according to any one of claims 1 to 9,
wherein the baffle plate (928) is slidable relative to the pair of load bearing members (902) and the wire support structure (910) along the first axis such that the retail merchandise tray (900) has a first longitudinal length in a first position of the baffle plate (928) relative to the pair of load bearing members (902) and the wire support structure (910), and a second longitudinal length greater than the first longitudinal length in a second position of the baffle plate (928) relative to the pair of load bearing members (902) and the wire support structure (910).
A method of loading a retail merchandise tray (900), the retail merchandise tray (900) comprising a pair of opposed load bearing members (902), a front stop (904) mounted to the pair of load bearing members (902), a wire support structure (910) supported at least in part by the pair of load bearing members (902), a pusher (906) mounted to the wire support structure (910), the pusher (906) movable along the wire support structure (910) toward and away from the front stop (904) along a first axis, at least one divider assembly (908) movable relative to the pair of opposed load bearing members (902) along a second axis perpendicular to the first axis, a pair of spacers (912) aligned along the first axis and interposed between the pair of load bearing members (902), and a baffle plate (928) slidably mounted between the pair of load bearing members (902), the method comprising:
sliding the baffle plate (928) along the first axis relative to the pair of opposed load bearing members (902) away from the front stop (904);

moving the pusher (906) to a position adjacent a rear of the wire support frame (910);

locking the pusher (906) to the wire support frame (910) to place the pusher (906) in a locked position;

loading retail merchandise onto the wire support frame (910); and

sliding the baffle plate (928) along the first axis relative to the pair of opposed load bearing members (902) toward the front stop (904); and

characterized in that the step of sliding the baffle plate (928) along the first axis toward the front stop (904) includes automatically transitioning the pusher (906) from the locked position to an unlocked position via contact between the baffle plate (928) and a locking arm (1020) of the pusher (906).