| Removable product support bar display apparatus and method -> Monitor Keywords |
|
|
  Removable product support bar display apparatus and methodUSPTO Application #: 20070102379Title: Removable product support bar display apparatus and method Abstract: A product support bar display device is disclosed for supporting packaged products from a display bar which may be removed to allow new packaged products to be installed thereupon behind older packaged products previously located thereupon without first requiring the removal of the older packaged products from the display bar. The display bar is supported by and removably mounted on a display bar carriage, which itself is moveably mounted on a pair of support bars which extend from the rear of a display case or area forwardly. The display carriage may be moved from a first display position near the proximal ends of the support bars to a second service position near the distal ends of the support bars to facilitate the removal of the display bar to allow additional packaged products to be installed on the display bar from the rear so that the new packaged products will be behind older packaged products remaining on the display bar. (end of abstract)
Agent: Reinhart Boerner Van Deuren S.c. Attn: Linda Kasulke, Docket Coordinator - Milwaukee, WI, US Inventor: Aaron L. Strand USPTO Applicaton #: 20070102379 - Class: 211059100 (USPTO) Related Patent Categories: Supports: Racks, Special Article, Stacked Articles, With Impaling Means The Patent Description & Claims data below is from USPTO Patent Application 20070102379. Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention [0001] The present invention relates generally to display devices for supporting packaged products each having a product support aperture located near the top thereof, and more particularly to an improved product support bar display apparatus having display bars which may be removed to allow new packaged products on the proximal end thereof behind older packaged products without first having to remove the older packaged products from the display bar. [0002] A wide variety of peg bars devices have been used to display products which are being offered for sale. At a minimum, such peg bar display devices have an elongated peg or rod which is mounted on a pegboard, from a display case, or on a mounting bracket. Over time, they have evolved into more sophisticated and complex configurations. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,580,017, to Larson, shows a display apparatus having an elongated peg with a mounting end which is flattened for mounting in an elongated rectangular channel having oval apertures located therein. The elongated peg has an L-shaped leg mounted thereupon which extends above and in parallel to the elongated peg, with the L-shaped leg being used to support a price display member above the end of the elongated peg. Products having a product support aperture located therein can be supported for display from the elongated peg. U.S. Pat. No. 5,580,017 is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. [0003] Such peg bar display devices have been used in a wide variety of applications to display products for sale therefrom. One such application is the display of food products such as cheese and meats in a refrigerated case. An example of this application is found in U.S. Pat. No. 6,959,560, to Weikel et al., which shows a refrigerated display case having a peg bar support system. The refrigerated display case has support bars mounted horizontally inside the case, with pairs of parallel rods extending from each of the support bars. Packages of products having product support apertures are mounted on the lower rods, and a horizontal tag mounting member is attached to the free ends of the upper rods, with pricing and other information being located on the tag mounting member. [0004] It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that products which are located in a refrigerated case will typically have product expiration dates, and if a refrigerated product is not sold before its expiration date it will be removed from sale and either thrown out or returned to the manufacturer. In either case, there is a substantial incentive to ensure that such products are sold rather than being allowed to expire. With most peg bar systems in use at the present time, older products on the peg bars must be removed to allow newer products to be placed on the peg bar. After the newer products are placed on the peg bar, the older products can then be returned to the peg bars, thereby placing the older products in front where they will be sold before the newer products are sold. Unfortunately, with currently-known peg bar display devices, it is far easier to add additional and newer products to the end of the peg bar, thereby placing the oldest products in the back and increasing the likelihood that they will not be sold prior to their expiration date. [0005] One of the only solutions to this problem other than to remove the older products by hand is found in U.S. Pat. No. 5,901,860, to Nowicki, which uses a stocking rod which has a tip which is placed onto the free end of a peg bar, with the older products on the peg bar then being moved from the peg bar onto the stocking rod. Newer products can them be placed onto the peg bar, after which the stocking rod can be used to replace the older products on the peg bar in front of the newer products. While the Nowicki patent certainly represents an easier and quicker way to restock the peg bar with the older products being placed in front for first sale, it still requires the removal and subsequent replacement of the older products on the peg bar. [0006] Other proposed solutions have only focused on movement of the older products to the front of the peg bar display. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,131,748, to Kawasaki et al., and U.S. Patent Application Publication Nos. 2005/0040122 and 2005/0077257, both to Ahlund et al., each focus on moving products located on a peg bar from the rear to the front of the peg bar. These designs thus are of no assistance in dealing with the problem being contemplated herein of adding newer products to a peg bar containing older products. One other variation on the design of peg bars is found in U.S. Pat. No. 3,638,801, to Larson, which shows spaced-apart parallel arms which are adjustable in length, thereby allowing the device to be shortened to place remaining products near the front end thereof. This design also is not helpful to the problem being contemplated herein. [0007] It is accordingly the primary objective of the present invention that it facilitate the addition of newer products to a display bar without requiring the prior removal of older products previously contained on the display bar therefrom. It is a related objective of the present invention that it does not require the use of a tool or any other additional apparatus to add the newer products to the display bar behind the older products which are already suspended from the display bar. It is a further objective of the present invention that it be adaptable to work with any of the wide variety of packaged products which are presently displayed from a peg bar type display apparatus. [0008] It is another objective of the present invention that it may be used in refrigerated display cases, and that in such an application it will not block the airflow within the refrigerated case that such a refrigerated application requires. It is yet another objective of the present invention that it provide a price display in close association with product suspended from the display bar, and that the price display does not interfere in any way with the addition of new products to the display bar. It is still another objective of the present invention that it not require additional room to implement, thereby not reducing the number of products which can be displayed and offered for sale from a predetermined location. [0009] The product support bar display apparatus of the present invention must also be of construction which is both durable and long lasting, and it should also require little or no maintenance to be provided by the user throughout its operating lifetime. In order to enhance the market appeal of the product support bar display apparatus of the present invention, it should also be of inexpensive construction to thereby afford it the broadest possible market. Finally, it is also an objective that all of the aforesaid advantages and objectives of the product support bar display apparatus of the present invention be achieved without incurring any substantial relative disadvantage. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION [0010] The disadvantages and limitations of the background art discussed above are overcome by the present invention. With this invention, a pair of support bars are mounted in side-by-side fashion onto a mounting member located at the rear of a display case or a wall. In applications where there will be a plurality of the product support bar display apparatus installed in close proximity, a horizontal mounting member will typically be mounted between spaced-apart vertical mounting standards located on the rear wall of the display case or on a wall. The support bars thus extend outwardly, with the ends of the support bars which are mounted to the horizontal mounting member being referred to as the proximal ends of the support bars, and the outwardmost ends of the support bars being referred to as the distal ends of the support bars. [0011] In the preferred embodiment, a sign rail is mounted onto the distal ends of the support bars, and typically extends across several pairs of support bars. The sign rail is adapted to receive the distal ends of the support bars therein, and to be retained thereupon. Prices for the various objects to be displayed from the product support bar display apparatus may have their prices and additional information contained on small cards which are clipped onto or adhesively secured to the sign rail, where the prices and other information will be displayed immediately above the products which are suspended from the product support bar display apparatus. [0012] A display bar carriage is moveably supported by the support bars, and is free to move between a first position adjacent the horizontal mounting member and a second position adjacent the sign rail at the distal ends of the support bars. The display bar carriage is free to move between the first and second positions on the support bars. The display bar carriage will be normally located in the first position when the product support bar display apparatus of the present invention is in use to display products which are suspended therefrom. [0013] A display bar is removably mounted from the display bar carriage in a position under the support bars upon which the display bar carriage is moveably mounted. The end of the display bar which is mounted onto the display bar carriage is referred to as the proximal end of the display bar, and the outwardmost end of the display bar is referred to as the distal ends of the display bar. When the display bar is mounted from the display bar carriage, it will be essentially parallel to the support bars upon which the display bar carriage is mounted. The display bar is mounted a sufficient distance below the support bars to allow bags of product having a product support aperture located near the top thereof to be mounted on the display bar, and easily accessed by a customer to remove a bag of product from the display bar. In the preferred embodiment, the distal end of the display bar is upwardly angled. [0014] When the display bar has had its supply of bags of packaged product sufficiently diminished, it will need to be restocked. Typically, there will be some remaining bags of product on the display bar, which bags of product will typically be older than additional bags of product to be added to the display bar. To restock the display bar, the display bar carriage will be moved from its first position adjacent the horizontal mounting member to its second position adjacent the sign rail. When the display bar carriage is in this second position, the display bar will extend outwardly with its distal end being located under the back side of the sign rail. [0015] The display bar is temporarily removed from the display bar carriage without removing the bags of product which are hanging from the display bar. Additional bags of product are put onto the display bar from the proximal end thereof to restock the display bar with bags of products. The distal end of the display bar is them remounted onto the display bar carriage, and the display bar carriage is returned to its first position adjacent the horizontal mounting member. The older bags of product which were previously on the display bar will be at the front nearer the distal end of the display bar, and the newly stocked bags of product will be located neared the distal end of the display bar behind the older bags of product. [0016] While in the preferred embodiment two support bars are used for each product support bar display apparatus, alternatively, a single support member could instead be used. Such a single support member may be wider than it is high, for example. The two support members may also be attached together at the distal ends thereof in a U-shaped configuration. [0017] The display bar carriage of the preferred embodiment is made of a segment of rectangular channel material. In the preferred embodiment, the display bar has a flattened longitudinal zone which is located near the proximal end thereof, and the display bar carriage has an oval hole located therein in the front side thereof and a corresponding circular hole located in the rear side thereof. Thus, the proximal end is inserted through the oval hole until the proximal end exits the display bar carriage in the circular hole. The display bar is then rotated ninety degrees and it will be retained in position in the display bar carriage. If desired, a spring member may be placed inside the display bar carriage to engage the flattened longitudinal zone of the display bar and retain it in its engaged position. [0018] It may therefore be seen that the present invention teaches a product support bar display apparatus which facilitates the addition of newer products to a display bar without requiring the prior removal of older products previously contained on the display bar therefrom. The product support bar display apparatus of the present invention does not require the use of a tool or any other additional apparatus to add the newer products to the display bar behind the older products which are already suspended from the display bar. The product support bar display apparatus of the present invention is adaptable to work with any of the wide variety of packaged products which are presently displayed from a peg bar type display apparatus. [0019] The product support bar display apparatus of the present invention may be used in refrigerated display cases, and that in such applications it will not block the airflow within the refrigerated case that such a refrigerated application requires. The product support bar display apparatus of the present invention provides a price display in close association with product suspended from the display bar, and the price display does not interfere in any way with the addition of new products to the display bar. The product support bar display apparatus of the present invention does not require additional room to implement, and thereby does not reduce the number of products which can be displayed and offered for sale from a predetermined location. [0020] The product support bar display apparatus of the present invention is of a construction which is both durable and long lasting, and which will require little or no maintenance to be provided by the user throughout its operating lifetime. The product support bar display apparatus of the present invention is also of inexpensive construction to enhance its market appeal and to thereby afford it the broadest possible market. Finally, all of the aforesaid advantages and objectives of the product support bar display apparatus of the present invention are achieved without incurring any substantial relative disadvantage. DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Continue reading... Full patent description for Removable product support bar display apparatus and method Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims Click on the above for other options relating to this Removable product support bar display apparatus and method patent application. ###  How KEYWORD MONITOR works... a FREE service from FreshPatents1. Sign up (takes 30 seconds). 2. Fill in the keywords to be monitored. 3. Each week you receive an email with patent applications related to your keywords. Start now! - Receive info on patent apps like Removable product support bar display apparatus and method or other areas of interest. ### Previous Patent Application: Loading hook for commercial goods Next Patent Application: Versatile display hook system Industry Class: Supports: racks ### FreshPatents.com Support Thank you for viewing the Removable product support bar display apparatus and method patent info. IP-related news and info Results in 3.45993 seconds Other interesting Feshpatents.com categories: Daimler Chrysler , DirecTV , Exxonmobil Chemical Company , Goodyear , Intel , Kyocera Wireless , |
||
