CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

[0001] This application claims the priority benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Serial No. 61/358,585 filed June 25, 2010.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Field of I nvention

[0002] This invention relates to the field merchandise display systems, and more particularly, relates to a merchandise display system mountable on a display wall configured to receive cantilevered accessories on which articles may be displayed.

Description of Related Art

[0003] Many types of display systems are used to support merchandise on a display panel or wall at locations such as retail stores. These systems use one or more types of accessory arms, such as pegs, brackets or shelves, on which the merchandise is displayed. In some systems, these accessory arms are attached to the display wall with nails, screws or an adhesive fastener. However, it is often desirable to periodically change the display layout or to switch the type of accessory arms used in the layout. For example, at times it may be desirable to reposition the location of a peg accessory arm or to replace a peg accessory arm with a small shelf if the display panel is to be used for different products. With these semi-permanent display systems, changing the layout requires the removal of the screws or nails and repairing the holes left behind in the display wall.

[0004] It is known to use display systems with accessory arms configured to be plugged into a rail or slot in the display panel. However, some of these display systems are not very functional in that it can be difficult to secure the accessory arm in the slot, causing the accessory arm to fall out or rotate under the weight of the item being displayed. Additionally, these designs typically have rails or slots that only accept accessory arms having a specific plug-in configuration. This may limit the options available as to the type of accessory arms that may be used on the display panel.

[0005] It would therefore be desirable to have a display system that permits reconfiguration of the layout design and is able to work with different types of accessory arms.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0006] In one aspect of the present invention, a profile rail for a merchandise display system used for supporting merchandise on at least one display accessory arm extending from a display panel is provided. The profile rail includes a top wall, a bottom wall and a rear wall defining a chamber configured to receive an accessory arm. The chamber has a channel extending therefrom between an upper lip and lower lip. An upper wall extends between the top wall and the upper lip and the lower lip extends from the bottom wall. The profile rail further includes a lower bearing section located on the bottom wall and a protrusion extending into the chamber adjacent to the top and rear walls. The protrusion is spaced-apart from the rear wall to form a receiving chamber therebetween, and the protrusion includes a rear bearing surface directed toward the receiving chamber. The profile rail further includes an upper bearing surface on the upper wall directed toward the chamber.

[0007] In another aspect of the present invention, a merchandise display system is provided. The merchandise display system includes a base portion and an accessory arm releasably engageable with the base portion. The base portion includes a top wall, a rear wall, and a bottom wall forming a chamber therebetween, wherein the bottom wall includes a lower bearing section. The base portion further includes an upper wall extending between the top wall and an upper lip, wherein the upper wall includes an upper bearing surface. A lower lip extends from the bottom wall. The base portion also includes a channel extending from the chamber, wherein the channel is surrounded by the upper and lower lips. A protrusion is positioned between the top wall and the rear wall and is spaced-apart from both, wherein the protrusion extends into the chamber and forms a rear bearing surface. [0008] These and other features and advantages of this invention are described in, or are apparent from, the following detailed description of various exemplary embodiments of the systems and methods according to this invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0009] The structure, operation, and advantages of the presently disclosed embodiment of the invention will become apparent when consideration of the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein:

[0010] FIG. 1 illustrates a section view a merchandise display system according to one embodiment of the invention;

[0011] FIG. 2 illustrates a perspective view of the merchandise display system of FIG. 1 with the accessory arm removed for clarity;

[0012] FIG. 3 illustrates a section view of the merchandise display system of FIG. 1 with a different accessory arm;

[0013] FIG. 4 illustrates a section view of the merchandise display system of FIG. 1 with a different accessory arm;

[0014] FIG. 5 illustrates another embodiment of the merchandise display system;

[0015] FIG. 6 illustrates a perspective view of the merchandise display system of FIG. 5;

[0016] FIG. 7 illustrates a perspective view of the merchandise display system of FIG. 5;

[0017] FIG. 8 illustrates section view of the merchandise display system of FIG. 1 with the accessory arm removed for clarity;

[0018] FIG. 9 illustrates a perspective view of the merchandise display system of FIG. 1 with the accessory arm and display wall removed for clarity;

[0019] FIG. 10 illustrates section view of the merchandise display system of FIG. 1 with the accessory arm removed for clarity;

[0020] FIG. 11 illustrates a perspective view of another embodiment of the merchandise display system; and [0021] FIG. 12 illustrates a sectional view of the merchandise display system of FIG. 11.

[0022] Corresponding reference characters indicate corresponding parts throughout the views of the drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS

[0023] The invention will now be described in the following detailed description with reference to the drawings, wherein preferred embodiments are described in detail to enable practice of the invention. Although the invention is described with reference to these specific preferred embodiments, it will be understood that the invention is not limited to these preferred embodiments. But to the contrary, the invention includes numerous alternatives, modifications and equivalents as will become apparent from consideration of the following detailed description.

[0024] Referring now to the drawings, FIG. 1 shows a merchandise display system, illustrated generally at 10, used for supporting merchandise on a vertical display wall 11. The display system 10 includes a base portion 12 and an accessory arm 14 configured to mate with the base portion 12 and extend from the display wall 11 on which merchandise may be displayed. In the illustrated embodiment, the base portion 12 is in the form of a profile rail 16 operatively connected to the display wall 11 between a course of upper panels 18 and a course of lower panels 20 of the display wall 11. The exemplary embodiment illustrated in FIG. 1 is shown as being oriented substantially horizontally, but it should be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art that the profile rail 16 can also be oriented substantially vertically or at any other desired angle. The two panels 18, 20 and the profile rail 16 together form the display wall 11 having a front side 22 and a rear side 24. The display wall 11 desirably is attached to a foundation wall 26 opposed the rear side 24 of the display wall 11.

[0025] As best seen in FIG. 2, the profile rail 16 has an open chamber 28 that extends along the longitudinal length of the profile rail 16. The chamber 28 has a channel 30 extending therefrom that is open in the direction of the front side 22 of the display wall 11 between an upper lip 31 and a lower lip 32 of the profile rail 16. The chamber 28 is defined above by a top wall 34, below by a bottom wall 36, and a rear wall 38 is located opposite the channel 30 as a rear boundary of the chamber 28. According to the invention, the shape of the chamber 28 allows the profile rail 16 to receive accessory arms 14 having many different shapes. As seen in FIGS. 1 , 3 and 4 and as will be discussed below, different accessory arms 14 have mating portions that interact with various portions of the chamber 28 in order to secure the accessory arm 14 in the profile rail 16 and permit merchandise to be supported thereon. In the illustrated embodiment, the accessory arm 14 may be inserted into the slot-like chamber 28 at any desired position along the entire profile rail 16 and extend from the front side 22 of the display wall 11. However, one skilled in the art will understand that the base portion 12 may be a shorter, fixed-length profile rail 16A as shown in FIGS. 5-7, which is configured to mate with a slot having a corresponding size at specified locations in the display wall 11 without departing from the scope of the invention. In this embodiment, a snap on frame 39 may be inserted into the chamber 28 with a friction fit between the profile rail 16A and the display wall 11.

[0026] Turning now to FIG. 8, the channel 30 extends rearwardly from between the upper lip 31 and lower lip 32 an toward the rear wall 38 of the chamber 28. The lower lip 32 extends from the bottom wall 36 away from the chamber 28. Near the channel 30, the bottom wall 36 has a substantially planar portion and includes a lower bearing surface 42. Within the lower bearing surface 42 is a longitudinal duct 44 configured to receive an extruded slip-preventing strip 46. The slip-preventing strip 46 projects out of the longitudinal duct 44 and is formed of a pliable material that grips the underside of the accessory arm 14 to aid in holding the accessory arm 14 in engagement with the profile rail 16 and prevent unintended withdrawal of the accessory arm 14 from the chamber 28.

[0027] Near the junction of the rear wall 38 with the top wall 34 is a protrusion 50 extending into the chamber 28 and forming an undercut 52. The protrusion 50 is spaced apart from the rear wall 38, thereby forming a receiving chamber 51 therebetween. The undercut 52 includes a rear bearing surface 54. For purposes of illustration, the lower bearing surface 42 and rear bearing surface 54 are used with one embodiment of accessory arm 14 that is a cantilevered peg 14A as shown in FIG. 1 and explained below. The accessory arm 14 and chamber 28 are desirably shaped such that mating surfaces between these components are keyed and splined to prevent rotation of the accessory arm 14 in the profile rail 16.

[0028] An upper wall 66 extends upwardly between the upper lip 31 and the top wall 34 and provides a portion of the boundary of the chamber 28. The inner surface of the upper wall 66 directed inwardly toward the chamber 28 defines an upper bearing surface 62. The portion of the chamber 28 extending between the upper bearing surface 62 and the protrusion 50 below the top wall 34 is an upper void 60 within the chamber 28.

[0029] In the installed state, the upper and lower lips 31 , 32 terminate generally flush with the front side 22 of the display wall 11. It is advantageous to have the top and bottom lips 31 , 32 project slightly beyond the front side 22 to serve as edge protection.

[0030] The profile rail 16 further defines an upper cavity 80 and a lower cavity 81 positioned adjacent to the chamber 28. The upper cavity 80 extends upwardly and rearwardly from the portion of the chamber 28 opposite the channel 30, as shown in FIGS. 8-9. The lower cavity 81 extends downwardly and rearwardly from the portion of the chamber 28 opposite the channel 30. The upper cavity 80 is positioned between the top wall 34 and the rear wall 38, and the lower cavity 81 is positioned between the rear wall 38 and the bottom wall 36. The upper cavity 80 is defined by a portion of the protrusion 50, the rear wall 36, top wall 34, and a first wall 72 extending upwardly from the top wall 34, a second wall 73 extending upwardly from near the rear wall 38, and a third wall 74 extending between the first and second walls 72, 73. The lower cavity 81 is defined by a portion of the rear wall 38, the bottom wall 36, a first wall 72 extending downwardly from the bottom wall 36, a second wall 73 extending downwardly from the. rear wall 38, and a third wall 74 extending between the first and second walls 72, 73.

[0031] The profile rail 16 further includes an upper and a lower panel support flange 82, 84 extend vertically beyond the corresponding cavity 80, 81. The panel support flanges 82, 84 abut the rear side 24 (FIG. 1) of the display panels 18, 20. Desirably, the upper panel support flanges 82 is offset from the first wall 72 bounding the upper cavity 80 in a direction toward the front of the profile rail 16 so as to form a pocket 87 adjacent the first wall 72 and the top wall 34. The lower panel support flange 84 extends vertically downward from the first wall 72 bounding the lower cavity 81. As best seen in FIG. 10, the pocket 87 is well suited to receive a screw head 88 of a screw 90 used to attach the profile rail 16 to the foundation wall 26. As shown in FIG. 10, the panel support flanges 82, 84 have a notch line 92 serving as a marking, for example, for providing screw holes in the profile rail 16.

[0032] In the embodiment shown in FIG. 10, extending upwardly from the end of the top wall 34 opposite the upper cavity 80 is an upper tongue extension 94. Similarly, extending downward from the end of the bottom wall 36 opposite the lower cavity 81 is a lower tongue extension 95. The tongue extensions 94, 95 are received in corresponding grooves formed in the upper and lower panels 18, 20 to aid in joining the profile rail 16 and the panels 18, 20 to form the display wall 11. The tongue extensions 94, 95 are tapered to aid in the insertion of the tongue extensions 94, 95 into the grooves in the panels 18, 20. In one embodiment, the tongue extensions 94, 95 have grooves 98, 99 formed in outer edges 100, 101 therein, and the grooves 98, 99 are configured to receive a decorative snap-on cover 102, as shown in FIG. 11. As shown in FIGS. 11 and 12, the profile rail 16 may be installed on the display wall 11 such that the upper and lower support flanges 82, 84 are positioned adjacent to the front side 22 of the display wall 11. In such a use, the snap-on cover 102 may be attached to the profile rail 16 by snapping the protrusions 103 on the cover 102 into the grooves 98, 99. Desirably, the outer edges 100, 101 are undercut to form a lip 104 to promote a snap-tight fit.

[0033] For purposes of illustration, in the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 1 , the accessory arm 14 has a cantilevered peg 14A having a tongue 110 extending from its base end 112 that fits into the channel 30 of the profile rail 16. As a connection to the peg 14A, the tongue 110 has a preferably rectangular stem 116 and an upwardly oriented hook 118. On the underside, the stem 116 has a tapered portion in the direction of the hook 118. When the tongue 110 is inserted into the channel 30, it first has to be inclined, which is achieved by the accessory arm 14 being raised at its distal end 120. In this way, the tongue 110, with the hook 118, can be pushed into the channel 30 and under the protrusion 50. With the hook 118 located beneath the undercut 52, the distal end 120 is lowered and the hook 118 moves into the undercut 52. At the same time, the stem 116 has its top side extending beneath the rear bearing surface 53 on the protrusion 50 and has its underside supported on the lower bearing surface 42 of the bottom wall 36. In this case, the underside of the stem 116 exerts pressure on the slip-preventing strip 46. It also can be appreciated that the accessory arm 14 may be quickly and easily removed from the display wall 11 simply by angling the accessory arm 14 to remove it from the profile rail 16 without the need for tools or access to the back face of the wall 11. The operation of disengaging the accessory arm 14 proceeds in reverse order and begins with it being raised at the distal end 120, which causes the hook 118 to move out of the undercut 52.

[0034] In an additional embodiment of an accessory arm 14 shown in FIG. 3, it is also possible for a shelf accessory 14B to be inserted into the channel 30 by way of its rear surface 130. The accessory arm 14 includes a top surface 141 and a bottom surface 142. The rear surface 130 of the shelf accessory 14C should then be pushed in until it strikes against the rear wall 38, the undercut 52 remaining unoccupied. When in the installed position, the top surface 141 contacts the protrusions 150, the bottom surface contacts the slip-preventing strip 46, and the rear surface 130 contacts the rear wall 38 of the profile rail to provide releasable engagement between the accessory arm 14B and the profile rail 16.

[0035] In yet an additional embodiment of an accessory arm 14 shown in FIG. 4, it is also possible for an accessory arm 14C to have a bracket 140 extending from its base end 142 that fits into the chamber 28 and extends into the upper void 60 of the profile rail 16. When the bracket 140 is plugged into the chamber 28, it also has to be inclined in the forward direction so the bracket can be inserted through the channel 30. With the bracket 140 behind the upper wall 66, the distal end 120 is lowered and the bracket 140 moves into the upper void 60. The bracket 140 contacts the upper bearing surface 62 of the upper wall 66.

[0036] The illustrated accessory arm 14 is a simple peg on which merchandise may be displayed. However, with the present invention, it is to be appreciated that the display system 10 may be easily reconfigured with several different types of accessory arms 14. For example, the illustrated peg type accessory arm 14 may be replaced with an accessory arm comprising a small shelf or table frame or with any desired shape of accessory arm depending on the type of merchandise to be displayed. In order to switch the type of accessory arm 14 being used in the system 10, one must only remove the current accessory arm 14 from the profile rail 16 and replace it with a different accessory arm.

[0037] While this invention has been described in conjunction with the specific embodiments described above, it is evident that many alternatives, combinations, modifications and variations are apparent to those skilled in the art. Accordingly, the preferred embodiments of this invention, as set forth above are intended to be illustrative only, and not in a limiting sense. Various changes can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of this invention.

[0038] What is claimed is: