The present invention relates to a device intended for holding strip-like information carriers and being of the kind which includes a fitting or bracket structure which has connected thereto a part for accommodating information carriers.

Holders of this kind are used to a large extent in grocery stores and in departmental stores for instance, for the purpose of displaying information relating to the goods on sale and also the price of the goods.

The holders are intended to be placed on the edge surfaces of shelves, on wire-baskets or trays, and on partition walls which separate mutually adjacent com¬ partments of goods display cabinets or chests, for in¬ stance. These holders must be simple to use, i.e. enable information carriers to be readily placed there- in, should not collect dirt and dust, and should be easily cleaned. The holders should also be capable of presenting information to the customer clearly and should be simple and inexpensive to produce.

A holder which fulfills these requirements or deside¬ rata in general is described and illustrated in U.S. Patent Specification 4,295,288, which has been assigned to Applicants in the present case.

In recent times, however, there has been an increasing need to also display information which is of interest solely to store personnel, for instance the article number of the goods displayed, etc. This latter type of information, which is utilized for stock handling purposes, among other things, is normally in the form

of an automatically readable bar code or some like code. However, excessive information on cards or labels pertaining to specific goods or items and including references which are irrelevant to the customer can be confusing at times, and also misleading. Furthermore, a standard card or label may have insufficient space for the inclusion of administrative information.

These problems are solved by means of the present invention, by configuring the holder so that informa¬ tion can be presented on two sides thereof, wherein one side can present information relevant to the customer and the other side can present information relative to store personnel.

Thus, there is provided in accordance with the present invention a holder of the aforedescribed kind which is characterized in that the holder part intended to receive an information carrier is connected pivotally to the holder fitting, such as to be pivotal from a lower position in which information can be read from one side of said part, to a raised position in which information can be read from the other side of said part; and in that the holder is so constructed that subsequent to being raised said information-carrying part will remain in its raised position until being physically lowered.

Thus, the inventive holder enables information of interest to the customer to be read readily when said holder part is in its lowered position for instance, and to enable information concerning store personnel to be read readily when said part is in its raised posi¬ tion. Since the information-carrying part of the holder remains in its raised position, both hands can be used

for writing information on a piece of paper or for using a pen reader for automatically recording the information presented.

The holder part which accommodates the information carrier is preferably connected to the fitting struc¬ ture at its upper end, through elastic or resilient hinge means, and in that said parts are provided with mutually coacting devices which releasably latch the information-carrying part in its raised position. This latching of the information-carrying part is achieved through the action of the simple and effective re¬ silient hinge means.

According to one preferred embodiment of the invention, the information-carrying part of the holder has the form of a transparent pocket which is open along its upper edge, and the holder fitting is constructed or configured in a manner such that when the pocket occupies its lowered position pressure on the lower part of the front surface of said pocket will widen the pocket opening. This facilitates the exchange of infor¬ mation carriers, and particularly the handling of short information cards or labels.

It is preferred that when the pocket is in its lowered position, the rear pocket wall will be higher than the front pocket wall, and provided with cover means which protects the pocket opening. The pocket is also con- veniently provided with at least one guide bar for guid¬ ing a pen reader or the like so as to facilitate automa¬ tic reading of inforr tion facing towards one side of the pocket. The guide ba: ,s preferably disposed along the upper edge of that pocket wall which constitutes the rear wall in the downwardly swung position of the pocket, which

means, among other things, that the front surface of the pocket will be completely smooth.

In order to enable the pocket to be latched effectively in its raised position, the holder fitting is prefer¬ ably provided with an outwardly projecting part which is received in a notch-like recess between the front wall of the pocket and the aforementioned cover means, when the pocket occupies its raised position.

As an alternative to a latching mechanism, the holder fitting may be configured so that in its raised posi¬ tion the pocket will form an angle with the vertical such as to remain in its raised position under its own virtues, i.e. without the aid of mechanical means.

From the aspect of manufacture, it is preferred that all parts of the holder are formed integrally with one another, suitably by co-extrusion, so as to obtain a one-piece structure.

Other characteristic features of the invention are set forth in the following Claims.

The invention will now be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, which illus¬ trate anexemplifying embodimentof an inventive holder.

Figure 1 illustrates in perspective an inventive holder with the information-carrying pocket in a downwardly swung position.

Figure 2 illustrates how the pocket of Figure 1 is opened.

Figure 3 is a perspective view of the holder, with the information-carrying pocket in its raised, upwardly swung position.

The holder illustrated in the drawings includes a fitting 1, which in the case of the illustrated embodi¬ ment is intended to be fitted to the front edge of a store shelf 2, as shown schematically in Figure 2, or to some equivalent support means. The fitting 1, how- ever, can be given, any desired configuration, for instance so as to enable the holder to be fitted to wire-baskets or trays to the upper edge surface of compartment partitioning walls, or some like surface.

In order to enable the holder to support information carriers, which in the embodiment of Figure 2 have the form of short cards or labels 3, the fitting 1 has connected thereto a pocket 4 which is open. along its upper edge. The-pocket 4 is joined to the fitting 1 by means of a flexible, preferably elastic material part 5. The fitting 1, the pocket 4 and the material or hinge part 5 are prefer¬ ably extruded in the form of an integrated profile section, using appropriate co-extrusion techniques. Both the fitting 1 and the pocket 4 will preferably comprise PVC- aterial. The material from which the pocket is being made will then be fully transparent. The hinge means 5 may consist of a synthetic rubber material, such as the material sold under the name Alcryn by DuPont.

Thus, he inventive holder can be produced in a simple and rational manner, and enables the information- carrying cards or labels 3 to be changed in a very simple fashion. As illustrated in Figure 2, a card or

label change is effected, by pressing against the bottom edge of the front wall of the pocket 4 with the thumb of one hand, for instance. The pocket opening along the upper edge part of said pocket is widened therewith, as a result of the coaction between the rear wall of the pocket and the adjacently lying part of the fitting 1, thereby enabling an information carrier to be readily inserted into and removed from the pocket. Thus, it is important that the pocket is mounted on a fitting which is constructed so as to provide a counter-pressure surface for the rear pocket wall, so as to enable the pocket opening to be widened. Alterna¬ tively, the pocket can be mounted on, for instance, the front edge surface of a shelf, so that the shelf it- self, or a thin strip attached thereto, will function as a counter-pressure means. In this case, the fitting 1 can be replaced with a flat strip affixed to the front edge surface of the shelf, with the aid of self- adhesive tape or the like. The bottom edge of the shelf can then serve as a pivot point for bending or pivoting of the pocket.

In order to maintain a high state of hygiene and to prevent dust and dirt from penetrating down into the pocket through its opening, the rear wall of the pocket of the illustrated embodiment is provided with a cover part 6 which protects the pocket opening.

In the downwardly pivoted position of the pocket of the embodiment illustrated in Figures 1 and 2, the informa¬ tion carried by the information carrier and facing towards the front side of the pocket can be easily read by the customer. In order not to confuse this informa¬ tion with information directed to store personnel with respect to the specific goods concerned, this informa-

tion is presented on the rear side of the information carrier or card 3, or on a separate card which faces towards the rear wall of the pocket.

When wishing to read the information presented on the rear side of the information carrier, or card, which is normally effected with the aid of an optical light pen, the pocket 4 is pivoted to its other position, as illustrated in Figure 3. The rear wall of the pocket preferably has provided thereon a guide bar 7 which, in the said other position of the pocket, functions as a guide for the light pen or light device when reading, for instance, a bar code 8.

In the case of the illustrated embodiment, the pocket 4 is held in its raised position by a snap-lock devic comprising a slot-like space defined between the up^ ar edge of the front wall of the pocket 4 and the cover part 6, and an outwardly projecting part 9 on the fitting 1, said outwardly projecting part being received in said slot-like space. The snapping action is improved when the hinge part 5 is elastic.

Although the above-described locking mechanism by means of which the pocket is held in its raised position is highly advantageous, it will be understood that the pocket can be held raised in other ways. For instance, the fitting 1 can be constructed so that the pocket 4 will only support against the fitting in a position such that the angle defined by the pocket with the vertical will cause the pocket to remain in its raised position by itself. This can also be achieved by mount¬ ing the pocket 4 in a manner such that when in its raised position the pocket will support against the front edge surface of a shelf or against a shelf

element or a wire-basket element.

In the case of the illustrated embodiment with the guide bar 7 located on the rear side of the pocket, the pocket will present a completely smooth front surface when the pocket occupies its downwardly swung position, which is an advantage. However, if desired in order to satisfy some specific application, the information presented in the raised position of the pocket can be intended for the customer and the information which can be read-off in the downwardly swung position of the pocket may be intended for store personnel. In this case, a guide bar is preferably provided along the lower edge of the pocket front wall. The pocket may also be replaced with a pivotal plate and information presented on both sides of the plate.

The precise configuration of an inventive holder can also be varied in other respects within the scope of the following Claims. For instance, the hinge part 5 may consist of other hinge means than that described, such as short material parts which are welded to the fitting 1 and to the pocket 4 respectively.