FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to display systems, and more particularly to a shop-fitting display system of greatly improved flexibility.

BACKGROUND TO THE INVENTION

Due to the spread of EPOS (electronic point of sale) and bar code systems, many supermarkets are now able to adopt very sophisticated stock control systems and are able to order supplies on a day-to-day basis, thereby greatly reducing inventory and warehouse space requirements. The new electronic systems give improved information on the amount of merchandise sold per linear foot of shelf space, and can, for example, enable shelf stock levels to be reduced to allow more information to be displayed at the point of sale, or to display more lines of merchandise.

The improved stock level information flow is, however, of limited benefit to a store operator because traditional shelving and display systems are relatively inflexible and wasteful of the available space.

Traditional shelving is hung, in cantilever fashion, from brackets attached to spur uprights at the rear of the display area. In order to vary the length and depth

of the shelves, a large inventory of shelving and brackets must be carried. In addition, the shelf spacing is limited by the size of the brackets and the modular fixing hole spacings on the uprights. The uprights also constitute inconvenient vertical divisions on a display gondola and limit the width, position and height of product display blocks to the dimensions of individual bays.

More recently, an improved shelf suspension system has been developed, in which ribbed extruded aluminium panels are vertically arranged on the spur uprights, and cantilever brackets for the shelves are hooked over the horizontal ribs of the aluminium panels, which ribs are themselves hook-shaped in cross-section. This provides improved flexibility for hanging shelving from the aluminium panels, since the modular distance apart of the horizontal ribs is only 15mm or 16mm, but it does not overcome the limitations imposed by the need to keep a large inventory of shelving and brackets.

In addition to the above, the known shelving systems are limited in the lengths of shelving available and are somewhat inflexible in the positioning of product organising and discipline devices such as shelf dividers, product trays and pressure feed devices. Typically such devices need to be attached to a wall at the front of the shelf, which is often inconvenient and limits the

possibilities for the display of point of sale information.

There is, accordingly, a need for an improved shelving system having improved flexibility.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In a first aspect of the invention there is provided a display system comprising shelving of modular construction whereby the shelf depth and/or angle can be varied.

In a second aspect, the invention provides a display system comprising shelving provided with integral and continuous cantilever mounting means.

In a third aspect, the invention provides a display system comprising shelving having undercut locating means disposed in an upper surface thereof for locating product organising and discipline devices.

According to one preferred aspect of the invention, there is provided a display system comprising:

a shelf member having an upper surface for supporting articles to be displayed,

the shelf member having a rear portion adapted to be supported in cantilever fashion from a vertical wall,

a forward portion adapted to be positioned in longitudinal engagement with the rear portion so as to increase the depth of the shelf member,

and edge locking means adapted to secure edges of the rear portion and forward portion together in a load- supporting cantilever arrangement.

In another preferred aspect, the invention provides a display system comprising:

a shelf member having an upper surface for supporting articles to be displayed,

the shelf member having continuous mounting means integral therewith and extending along substantially the entire length of a longitudinal edge of the shelf member or a part thereof,

whereby the shelf member can be detachably supported in cantilever fashion from a vertical wall.

In a further preferred aspect, the invention provides a display system comprising:

a shelf member having an upper surface for supporting articles to be displayed,

the upper surface having disposed therein one or more undercut elongate channels, grooves, or recesses extending longitudinally of the shelf member and shaped to receive and locate co-operating projections or feet on shelf dividers, pressure feed devices, product trays, and other such product organising and discipline devices.

The invention also provides a shelf member suitable for use in a display system according to the invention.

Preferably the shelf member of the present invention comprises one or more extruded profiled sections, and which can, for example, be extruded plastics, or preferably extruded aluminium sections. Preferably the extruded sections have a hollow profile to provide ducting for wiring and cables, for example, for illumination devices.

The use of an extruded section for the shelf member enables the shelving to be produced in any desired length, which is a major advantage of the present invention. In addition, the use of an extruded section enables the mounting means to be extruded along the rearward edge thereof as part of the profile, and also permits the elongate channels, grooves or recesses in the

upper surface of the shelf member to be formed in a similar manner. Where the shelf member comprises a rear portion and a forward portion these can also be extruded sections and the edge locking means can be part of one, or usually both, of the profiles.

In certain embodiments the shelf member can comprise two or more portions, and one or more of the portions may comprise an angle insert so that, for example, the shelf can be tilted or tiered back for better visibility or access to the articles on display, or forward to facilitate gravity feed of articles to the front of the shelf number.

If necessary or desirable, end mouldings can be provided which are adapted to co-operate with the profiled ends of the shelf member to give a decorative appearance, and/or to lock the portions of the shelf member together to prevent accidental disengagement, which may occur, for example, by tip up of the front portion of the shelf member.

In addition to varying the depth of the shelf member, the edge locking means can also be used to attach a front edge strip carrying point of sale data, for example price and EPOS information.

The upper surface of the shelf member has one or more undercut elongate channels, grooves, or recesses extending longitudinally thereof, which are preferably extruded integrally with the shelf section profile, although the possibility that they may be disposed in a cover, sheet, mat, or other flat member laid on the shelf section profile is not excluded.

The cross-sectional profile of the channels, grooves, or recesses can be of any suitable form, provided that it comprises one or more undercut portions in order to provide securing means for the projections or feet of the product organising and discipline devices. Preferred embodiments of profile cross-sections include, for example, dovetails and similar shapes. In an especially preferred embodiment, an urging means is provided to exert pressure on the projections or feet of the product organising and discipline devices to maintain the projections or feet in close contact with an undercut portion of the profile of the channel, groove or recess for added security against dislodg ent. The urging means may take the form, for example, of a resilient plastics strip, or a spring or wedge located along the front edge of the shelf member, or an elastic member, or a resilient foam member, which exerts a rearward pressure on one or more of the organising and discipline devices.

Preferably a plurality of undercut channels, grooves, or recesses are provided, the number depending on the depth of the shelf member. Usually 2 to 10, and preferably 4 to 8 of the channels, grooves, or recesses are provided. The channels, grooves or recesses preferably extend along substantially the entire length of the shelf member, and also over the top edge of any end moulding, so that product organising and discipline devices can be slid along the channels, grooves, or recesses and also, in certain cases, straddle adjacent shelves.

Product organising and discipline devices such as shelf dividers and trays may be used with or without pressure feeds devices. Where used, pressure feed devices may incorporate one or more shelf dividers and may be integral therewith, for example, as described in our co-pending UK Patent Application No GB 9407324.4.

The projections or feet on the product organising and discipline devices are preferably staggered to allow the devices to approach each other as closely as possible.

The shelf front edge may be integral with the forward most portion of the shelf member, or may be a separate edge strip member having a decorative appearance or adapted to carry product information. The shelf front

edge or edge strip member may comprise a restraining member to prevent articles form falling off the front of the shelf member, which can, for example, also be a lens. Alternatively, the lens can form part of a shelf divider, a pressure feed device, or both.

Other devices, such as leaflet holders and information panels can be attached to the shelf member using the channels, grooves, or recesses, or by conventional means.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Various embodiments of the invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 shows an exploded perspective view of a display system according to the invention;

Figure 2 shows a sectional side elevation of portions of the shelving member of the display system of Figure 1;

Figure 3 shows a sectional side elevation of an front portion for the display system of Figure 1;

Figure 4 shows a sectional side elevation of an angle member for use with the display system of Figure 1; and

Figure 5 shows a plan view of a pair of shelf dividers and a pressure feed device for use with the display system of Figure 1.

Referring firstly to Figure 1, the display system, illustrated generally at 1 comprises a shelf member 2 having a rear portion 3, a central portion 4, and a front edge portion 5. The shelf member is adapted to be supported from a rear wall 6, which is an extruded aluminium section having horizontal ribs 7 of hook-shaped profile. Downwardly depending continuous longitudinal hooked-shaped projections 8 are spaced apart on the rear edge of the rear portion 3 of the shelf member 2, and co¬ operate with the ribs 7 so that the rear portion 8 is supported in cantilever fashion from the rear wall 6. The rear portion 3 is of hollow tapered extruded section and is provided with a screw fixing hole 9 for receipt of a screw 10 holding in place an end moulding 11. The arrangement of ribs 7 and projections 8 enables the rear portion 3 of the shelf member 2 to be readily suspended

from the rear wall at any desired height, which can be varied at will. The ribs 7 on the rear wall 6 are normally 15mm or 16mm apart, permitting a wide choice of heights for the shelf member.

The use of a cantilever mounting with downwardly depending hook-shaped projections enables the shelf member simply to be lifted up a few millimetres in order to release the projections from the ribs, without any need to tilt the shelf member. The shelf member can thus easily be moved without disturbing adjacent shelf members or dislodging any articles on the shelf member. If desired the shelf member can extend over more than one bay by virtue of the continuous cantilever mounting means.

The central portion 4 of the shelf member 2 is also a hollow extruded section and has a screw fixing hole 12 for receipt of a further screw 10 holding the end moulding 11 in place. The portions 3 and 4 of the shelf member 2 have co-operating edge profiles 13, 14 respectively, which are more readily seen in figure 2. Roughly speaking, the portion 14 comprises a male member which fits into female member 13. To assemble the rear and central portions together, the male member 14 is presented to the female member 13 at a slight angle, and a slight downward rotation of the central portion 14 enables the profiles 13 and 14 to be locked together with

projection 15 on the male member 14 being located in recess 16 in female member 13, and projection 17 on female member 13 locating against ledge 18 on male member 14.

Central portion 4 has a further female locating member 19 for the reception of a male member 20 on the front edge portion 5.

Both the rear portion 3 and the central portion 4 have upper surfaces 21, 22 having undercut channels 23 of dovetail-shaped cross section disposed therein. As can be seem from Figure 1, the channels extend for the entire length of the shelf member 1. Corresponding profiles 24 are also cut or moulded into the top edge of the end moulding 11.

A lens 25, which also acts as a front wall of the shelf member 1 can be located in a slot 26 in the front edge portion 5.

The end moulding 11 has a flat end surface 27 and a profiled inner surface 28 which co-operates with the profiled end regions of the portions of the shelf member 1 to lock them together and prevent accidental disengagement by upward tilting of the central or front portions of the shelf member.

Turning now to Figure 3, there is shown a front portion 30 having a male locating member 31 and a female locating member 32, which can co-operate with the central portion 4 of the shelf member 1 to provide a further extension of the depth of the shelf member. The female portion 32 can them receive the male portion 20 of the front edge portion 5.

Figure 4 shows an angle member 40 which can be used to tile the shelf member 2 in a generally downward direction. The angle member 40 has downwardly depending lugs 41 which co-operate with the hook-shaped ribs 7 on the rear wall 6, and upwardly directed hook-shaped ribs 42 which co-operate with the lugs 8 on the rear portion 3 to support the shelf member 2.

Product organising and discipline devices are illustrated in figures 1 and 5 and comprise a pair of shelf dividers 50, 51 and a pressure feed device 52. The shelf dividers 50,51 and the pressure feed device 52 are provided with horizontally extending feet 53, which are staggered as shown in Figure 5, and which are shaped so as to fit into the dovetail channels 23. The shelf dividers and the pressure feed device can be moved along the shelf member 2 to any convenient location. The feet 53 are generally wedge-shaped on one side, as shown at 54 and this wedge-shaped portion can fit into the dovetail recess of the channels 23. The shelf dividers and

pressure feed device can be further secured in position by rearwardly directed pressure of a wedge-shaped or resilient strip (not shown) which can, for example, be inserted between the lens 25 and the front ends of the shelf dividers and pressure feed device.

The pressure feed device has a cursor 55 which is acted upon by a roll spring 56 having its free end 57 secured to the front end of the pressure feed device. As indicated by the arrow in Figure 1, the cursor 55 acts, in operation, to push articles towards the front edge of the shelf member 2.

It will be appreciated that the novel display system of the present invention provides a substantial improvement in flexibility over the known designs. The extruded shelf member can be produced in any desired length, and the depth of the shelf member can be extended depending upon the display requirements. Product organising and discipline devices can be located and secured in any desired position on the shelf member. The height, width and position of blocks of products can be varied at will, and the limitations of traditional shelving systems are substantially overcome.

The reader's attention is directed to all papers and documents which are filed concurrently with this specification and which are open to public inspection

with this specification, and the contents of all such papers and documents are incorporated herein by reference.

All the features disclosed in this specification (including any accompanying claims, abstract and drawings), and/or all of the steps or any method or process so disclosed, may be combined in any combination, except combinations where at least some of such features and/or steps are mutually exclusive.

Each feature disclosed in this specification (including any accompanying claims, abstract and drawings), may be replaced by alternative features serving the same, equivalent or similar purpose, unless expressly stated otherwise. Thus, unless expressly stated otherwise, each feature disclosed is one example only of a generic series of equivalent or similar features.