BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION In the retail sales industry, there is often a need to display a supply of products so that the products can be retrieved by consumers. There is also a need to advance products that are originally toward the rear of a shelf, or the like, toward a forward edge of the shelf in response to products being removed from the shelf, so that products remain easily available to the consumers. Various prior art display systems have been developed and used for this purpose. For example, it is conventional for a spring-biased pusher member to urge products toward a forward edge of a shelf, so that products are easily presented for retrieval by consumers.

It is cumbersome to restock some of the display systems of the above- described type. For example, when restocking some conventional display systems it is necessary for a stocking clerk to use one hand to hold a pusher member toward the rear of a shelf, while the other hand is used to place products in front of the pusher member. For another type of conventional display system, a tray that holds the products urged by the pusher member is manually pulled forward and thereby away from the pusher member, and thereafter the tray is manually filled with products and is then forced to a rearward position so that the pusher member urges the products forward. Both of these prior techniques require a stocking clerk to manually remove products from the container in which they were shipped to the retail store, and then place the products in the display system. Thus, it is labor intensive to restock conventional display systems. Accordingly, there is a need in the industry for a display system, which automatically advances products, that can be more easily restocked.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention solves the problem identified above and provides other advantages by providing a box-like product container, or tray, that is for containing products and is easily mounted to and removed from a pusher member. The tray defines a rearward, lower opening, which may be in the form of a slot, and a forward opening The pusher member is biased toward a stop. The stop may include or be in the form of a channel member that is mounted to a forward edge of a conventional shelf. The tray is mounted onto the pusher member such that the pusher member is introduced into the tray through the rearward, lower slot, and urges the products within the tray toward the forward opening and against an interior surface of the tray, so that the container is urged against the channel member. The pusher member need not be directly manually manipulated when the tray is mounted to the pusher member.

Further, the products may be shipped in the tray such that it is not necessary to transfer products from or to the tray when the tray is mounted to the pusher member.

When the tray is mounted to the pusher member as described above, a portion of the tray is secured between the pusher member and the channel member, and the products are optimally positioned at the forward opening. Therefore, the forward- most products can be easily selected and removed from the tray by consumers, or the like. As a consumer removes the forward-most product from the forward opening, the pusher member automatically moves forward so that the products remaining in the tray are automatically moved forward. Thus, products are optimally maintained at the forward opening until the tray is completely empty.

More specifically, the pusher member is connected to, extends upward from, and is operative for traveling along a track. At least one spring biases the pusher member toward a forward end of the track. The track extends perpendicularly to the channel member, and the forward end of the track is slidably connected to the channel member so that the track can be easily repositioned on the shelf, along the length of the channel member. The channel member includes a display channel that faces away from the shelf and can receive a strip of material that is marked with informational indicia that is related to the products being displayed.

In accordance with another aspect of the invention, the lower slot in the tray includes a forward portion. When a tray is mounted to the pusher member as

described above and is thereafter emptied of products, the empty tray is removed and replaced with a tray that is full of products. When the tray is emptied, the pusher member will have automatically advanced to a forward position that is proximate the forward end of the track. When the empty tray is removed from the pusher member, the pusher member is in and remains in the forward position and passes through the forward portion of the lower slot in the tray, such that the pusher member need not be manipulated when the empty tray is removed.

It is preferable for multiple trays that are substantially filled with products to be supplied to a location where the products are to be displayed and removed from the trays. It is also preferable for emptied trays that are mounted to pusher members to be replaced with filled trays. Because pusher members need not be directly manually manipulated when trays are mounted to or removed from the pusher members, the present invention provides a display system, which is for automatically advancing products toward a forward edge of a shelf, or the like, that can be easily and efficiently restocked.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS For a more complete understanding of this invention, reference should now be made to the preferred embodiment illustrated in the accompanying drawings, which are described below.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a display system according to the present invention, wherein portions of the display system are cut away. The display system provides a series of display units, each of which includes a pusher assembly and a tray for carrying products. One of the illustrated display units is partially exploded.

FIG. 2 is a partially sectioned side view of a tray containing products being mounted to a pusher assembly according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a partially sectioned side view of the tray containing products and pusher assembly of FIG. 2, in a subsequent stage of the mounting process illustrated in FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 illustrates the display unit of FIG. 2 in a mounted configuration, wherein the tray and the products therein are sectioned, and products have been and are being removed by a consumer.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a pusher assembly, channel member and shelf of the display system of FIG. 1, wherein portions of the channel member and shelf are cut away.

FIG. 6 is an exploded view of the pusher assembly, channel member and shelf of FIG. 5, wherein portions of the channel member and shelf are cut away.

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view taken substantially along line 7-7 of FIG. 4.

FIG. 8 is a plan view of a blank for constructing the tray of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a plan view of another blank for constructing the tray of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention will be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which the preferred embodiments of the invention are shown. This invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art. Like numbers refer to like elements throughout.

FIG. 1 illustrates a display system 10 that is for storing, displaying and advancing products 11, and that can be easily restocked. Only a few of the products 11 are specifically identified in figures. The display system 10 includes a channel member 12 that is mounted to a forward edge of a conventional shelf 14, such as a shelf in a retail store, or the like. The display system 10 further includes a series of display units 28 that are carried by the shelf 14. Four display units 28 are at least partially illustrated in FIG. 1. The left-most display unit 28 is in a partially exploded or unmounted configuration, and portions of the left-most display unit are also cut away. Portions of the two right-most display units 28 are also partially cut away. The display units 28 are laterally displaced from one another in FIG. 1 to clarify the figure; however, it is preferable for adjacent display units to be touching one another so that a maximum number of products 11 can be displayed on the shelf 14.

The channel member 12 is preferably extruded and uniform along its length.

As will be discussed in greater detail below, the display units 28 may be slid transversely with respect to the channel member 12 for the purpose of repositioning the display units. For example, each of the display units 28 illustrated in FIG. 1 could be easily manually slid transversely with respect to the channel member 12 so that the display units are placed in a closer side-by-side arrangement, so as to more optimally utilize the space on the shelf 14.

The channel member 12 includes a horizontally extending mounting flange 16, a channel flange 18 that extends upward from the mounting flange, and a channel flange 20 that extends downward from the mounting flange. The mounting flange 16 is proximate to the forward edge of the shelf 14 and is mounted to the upper surface of the shelf. The opposite ends of the channel flanges 18,20 are curled toward one another so that the channel flanges cooperate to define a display channel 22 that faces away from the shelf 14. The display channel 22 is capable of receiving a thin strip of material 24 that is preferably marked with informational indicia that is related to the products 11 being displayed by the display system 10. The strip of material 24 is illustrated by broken lines in FIGS. 1-4 so as to clarify those figures. The channel member 12 includes an additional flange that is in the form of a dog 26 and extends oppositely from the display channel 22. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the dog 26 may be any of various devices for holding, gripping, or fastening. In accordance with the preferred embodiment of the invention, the dog 26 is a hook-like fastening member with a downward oriented tip. As will be discussed in greater detail below, the channel flange 18 and dog 26, or the rear-most portions thereof that face the display units 28, can be characterized as stops, because they arrest movement of components of the display units 28.

Each display unit 28 includes a pusher assembly 32 and a box-like container, which is preferably in the form of a tray 30. The trays 30 can be mounted to and unmounted from the pusher assemblies 32 in a manner that allows for easy restocking of the display system 10, as will be discussed in greater detail below. The pusher assemblies 32 of the three right-most display units 28 illustrated in FIG. 1 are hidden from view. The pusher assemblies 32 that are hidden from view in FIG. 1 are generally identical to the pusher assembly 32 that is shown in FIG. 1. Therefore, the

discussion of the pusher assembly 32 that is shown in FIG. 1 should be considered to be representative of the pusher assemblies that are hidden from view.

The pusher assembly 32 includes a track 34 having a front end in the form of a male-like angled connector 36 that removably and slidably connects to the dog 26 of the channel member 12. The pusher assembly 32 also includes a pusher member 34 that travels along the track 34. In FIG. 1, a pusher member 38 is illustrated in solid lines toward the forward end of the illustrated track 34, and a phantom pusher member 38 is illustrated in broken lines toward the rear end of the track. That solid- line pusher member 38 is positioned proximate to a forward position of the pusher member, whereas that broken-line pusher member is positioned proximate to a rearward position of the pusher member. The pusher member 38 is capable of traveling between the forward position and the rearward position to define a travel path along the track 34. The pusher member 38 includes a front surface 39, and a pair of coiled springs 40 that bias the pusher member toward the forward position in a manner that causes the front surface 39 to urge the products 11 toward the forward edge of the shelf 14, as will be discussed in greater detail below.

As best seen primarily with reference to the left-most tray 30 in FIG. 1, each tray includes a bottom wall 44, front wall 46, rear wall 48 and side walls 50. The walls 46,48,50 extend upward from adjacent to peripheral edges of the bottom wall 44 to define a chamber 52 that receives the products 11. The front wall 46 and/or side walls 50 at least partially define a forward opening 54 to the chamber 52 through which products 11 may be manually withdrawn from the chamber, such as by consumers, or the like. Further, the bottom wall 44 defines a bottom opening 56 to the chamber 52, and the bottom opening is elongate and extends in a longitudinal direction. The rear wall 48 defines a rear opening 58 to the chamber 52, and the rear opening is contiguous with the bottom opening. More specifically, the bottom opening 56 and the rear opening 58 are portions of a continuous slot that extends from proximate the front edge of the bottom wall 44 to partially up the rear wall 48, such as to approximately half of the way up the rear wall, or more.

The bottom wall 44 includes a pair of longitudinally extending segments that are laterally spaced from one another so that the bottom opening 56 is defined between the segments. The products 11 extend laterally within the tray 30 between

the opposite side walls 50. Thus, each product 11 includes a middle portion between opposite end portions. For each product 11, one of the end portions of the product is supported by one of the segments of the bottom wall 44 and the other of the end portions of the product is supported by the other of the segments of the bottom wall, so that the middle portion of the product extends across the bottom opening 56.

As best seen in FIGS. 2 and 3, the rear opening 58 of a tray 30 allows that tray to be easily mounted onto a pusher assembly 32 while that tray 30 is full of products; therefore, the rear opening allows for quick and easy restocking of products 11. FIG.

2 illustrates a tray 30 being mounted to a pusher assembly 32, and FIG. 3 illustrates a subsequent stage of the mounting process partially illustrated in FIG. 2. In FIGS. 2 and 3 the tray 30 and the products 11 therein are sectioned.

In accordance with an exemplary method of the present invention, multiple trays 30 that are filled with products 11 are supplied to a location where the products are to be displayed and removed from the trays. A tray 30 that is filled with products 11 is mounted to a pusher assembly 32 to which a tray is not mounted, such as a pusher assembly from which an emptied tray has been removed, as discussed below.

Throughout the following discussion, primarily a single display unit 28 (FIG.

1) is addressed. The addressed display unit 28 is representative of each of the other display units of the display system 10 (FIG. 1). As best seen in FIG. 2, while a tray 30 is not mounted to a pusher assembly 32, the pusher member 38 of the pusher assembly is in its forward position proximate to the forward edge of the shelf 14. The rear opening 58 of the tray 30 to be mounted to the unoccupied pusher assembly 32 is aligned with the front surface 39 of the pusher member 38, while the track 34 is generally aligned with the bottom opening 56. Then, as best seen in FIG. 3, the tray 30 is pushed rearward so that the front surface 39 of the pusher assembly 38 passes through the rear opening 58 of the tray. As a result, the rear surface of the rear-most product 11 within the tray 30 abuts the front surface 39 of the pusher member 38.

Thereafter, as the tray 30 continues to be pushed rearward, the pusher member 38 travels with the tray and products rearward along the track 34.

Further steps of the exemplary method of the present invention can best be understood with reference to FIG. 4, which illustrates the display unit 28 in a mounted configuration. In FIG. 4 the tray 30 and the products 11 therein are sectioned, and the

pusher assembly 32 extends into the bottom opening 56 (FIG. 1) of the tray. Once the tray 30 being installed has been pushed sufficiently rearward so that the pusher member 38 is proximate to its rearward position, the front end of the tray is lowered and released. Thereafter, the external surface of the front wall 46 of the tray 30 is forced against the back side of the channel member 12. This occurs because the springs 40 urge the pusher member 38 forward. More specifically, the pusher member 38 urges the products 11 within the tray 30 toward the forward opening 54, such that the front surface of the forward-most product 11 engages the inner surface of the front wall 46. Therefore, the front surface of the front wall 46 is urged against the rearward-most surfaces of the upper channel flange 18 and the dog 26, which function to arrest the forward movement of the tray 30, which in turn arrests the forward movement of the products 11 and the pusher member 38. The upper channel flange 18 and the dog 26, or the rearward-most surfaces thereof, can be characterized as stops because of their arresting function. In the mounted configuration illustrated in FIGS. 4 and 7, the travel path of the pusher member 38 extends substantially in the longitudinal direction. That is, the track 34 is substantially parallel to the bottom opening 56. More specifically, the track 34 at least partially occupies the bottom opening 56.

As a consumer, or the like, removes the forward-most product 11 from the forward opening 54 of the tray 30, as is illustrated in FIG. 4 by the cut-away illustration of a hand 59, the pusher member 38 automatically moves forward along its travel path due to being biased by the springs 40. Therefore, the products 11 remaining in the tray 30 are automatically moved forward so that products are maintained proximate to the front of the tray 30 and the forward edge of the shelf 14.

When a tray 30 that is mounted to the pusher assembly 32 is emptied of products 11, the pusher member 38 will have already automatically traveled to its forward position. While an empty tray 30 is mounted to the pusher assembly 38 and the pusher member 38 is in its forward position, that tray can be lifted vertically from the pusher assembly 32 such that the pusher member passes through the forward-most portion of the bottom opening 56. Thereafter, a tray 30 that is full of products 11 is installed to the unoccupied pusher assembly 32 in the manner described above.

Some of the structural details of the pusher assembly 32, channel member 12 and shelf 14 are best seen in FIGS. 5-7. FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the pusher assembly 32, channel member 12 and shelf 14, and FIG. 6 is an exploded view of those components. Some of the components illustrated in FIGS. 5 and 6 are partially cut away. FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view taken substantially along line 7-7 of FIG.

4. The components discussed below are best seen with reference to FIG. 6, unless indicated otherwise.

The mounting flange 16 of the channel member 12 defines a vertical, counter- sunk mounting hole 60 that aligns with a vertical mounting hole 61 defined in the shelf 14. The mounting holes 60,61 are aligned and receive a fastener 62 so that the channel member 12 is secured to the shelf 14. Whereas only a single pair of the mounting holes 60,61 and a single fastener 62 are illustrated, multiple of those components are preferably spaced along the length of the channel member 12 and the shelf 14 so that the channel member is securely mounted to the shelf. The top surface or head of the fastener 62 is preferably flush with the upper surface of the mounting flange 16 so that the track 34 can be readily moved along the length of the channel member 12, as will be discussed in greater detail below.

A receptacle passage that extends along the length of the channel member 12 is defined between bottom surfaces of the dog 26 and a portion of the upper surface of the mounting flange 16. The receptacle passage includes end openings 66 at the opposite ends of the channel member 12, as well as a rear opening 68 that extends along the entire length of the channel member. The channel member 12 further includes a protrusion 70 that extends from the top surface of the mounting flange 16 into the receptacle passage.

The front end of the track 34 is in the form of a connector plate 72, which defines the angled connector 36. The angled connector 36 may be introduced into the receptacle passage by way of the end openings 66 or the rear opening 68. FIGS. 1 and 2-5 illustrate the angled connector 36 properly installed in the receptacle passage.

While the angled connector 36 is properly installed within the receptacle passage, the front tip of the angled connector abuts a rearward vertical surface of the protrusion 70, and a rearward vertical shoulder 36 of the angled connector abuts a forward vertical shoulder 76 of the dog 26 to provide a connection between the channel member 12

and the track 34. That connection between the track 34 and the channel member 12 is such that the pusher assembly 34 can be easily manually slid along the upper surface of the shelf 14, while the connection is maintained an the track remains transversely oriented with respect to the channel member. As a result, the placement of the pusher assemblies 32 can be easily and optimally changed, such as to accommodate trays 30 of varying widths or adjust the spacing between the display units 28 (FIG. 1). The flush nature of the fasteners 62 with respect to the upper surface of the mounting flange 16 prevents the fasteners 62 from interfering with the movement of the track 34 along the channel member 12. Further, the attachment between the track 34 and the channel member 12 restricts movement of the track 34 in the longitudinal direction.

As a result, the track 34 remains fastened to the channel member 12 while a tray 30 containing products 11 is mounted thereto or being mounted thereto.

The track 34 includes side rails 96 that protrude from the opposite sides of the track 34, and a rear lip 98 protrudes upward from the rear end of the track 34. The track 34 further includes a middle channel 78 that is positioned between side channels 80. The track 34 defines two holes 82 that extend vertically through the track and are open to the side channels 80. Each spring 40 includes a rolled portion 84 and a flat portion 86. The flat portion 86 of one of the springs 40 resides in one of the side channels 80, whereas the flat portion of the other spring resides in the other of the side channels 80, as is best seen in FIGS. 5 and 7. Each flat portion 86 defines a hole 88 that is aligned with a respective one of the holes 82 in the track 34. A pair of fasteners 90, each of which includes a head 92 and a shaft 94, secure the forward end of the flat portions 86 of the springs 40 into the side channels 80. In FIG. 6, one of the heads 92 is partially cut away so that its associated shaft 94 is clearly seen.

Respective holes 82,88 are aligned and receive a shaft 94 of a fastener 90 so that the springs 40 are respectively secured within the side channels 80. The fasteners 90 limit the extent to which the rolled portions 84 of the springs 40 can travel toward the forward end of the track 34, which in turn limits the distance that the pusher member 38 will be caused to travel toward the forward end of the track.

The bottom portion of the pusher member 39 defines a pair of slots 100 that are open to rear cavities 102 of the pusher member. Each of the springs 40 extends through a respective one of the slots 100 such that the rolled portions 84 of the springs

are respectively positioned in the rear cavities 102, as is best seen in FIG. 5. Side channels 104 of the pusher member 38 extend around the side rails 96 of the track 34, and downward oriented projections 106 of the pusher member extend into the middle channel 78 of the track 34, as is best seen in FIG. 7. This arrangement restricts movement of the pusher member 38 to the travel path defined along the track 34. The rear lip 98 of the track 34 functions to keep the pusher member 38 from being accidentally forced off the rear end of the track.

As best seen in FIG. 7, each of the bottom opening 56 and the rear opening 58 define a width W1 that is perpendicular to the longitudinal direction. As discussed above, the bottom opening 56 extends in the longitudinal direction. The pusher member 38 defines a width W2 that is perpendicular to the travel path of the pusher member, which extends along the length of the track 34. As mentioned above, the travel path of the pusher member 38 extends substantially in the longitudinal direction while the tray 30 is mounted to the pusher assembly 32 (i. e., while the display unit 28 is in the mounted configuration, which is illustrated by the three right-most display units in FIG. 1 and FIGS. 4 and 7). The width Wl is at least slightly larger than the width W2 so that the tray 30 can be easily mounted to or unmounted from the pusher assembly 32 while the travel path extends substantially in the longitudinal direction.

This is particularly advantageous when multiple display units 28 are arranged side-by- side with very little or no space therebetween.

FIGS. 8 and 9 are plan views of flat blanks 118 from which boxes 30 (FIGS.

1-4 and 7) can acceptably be formed. That is, the blanks 118 are boxes 30 in unfolded and flattened configurations. The blanks 118 illustrated in FIGS. 8 and 9 are similar, except for variations that are apparent from those figures.

In FIGS. 8 and 9, broken lines indicate foldable connections and solid lines indicate cuts. Each blank 118 contains panels 120-129. The panel 120 includes a cut- out opening 130, the panel 121 includes a cut-out opening 132 and the panel 122 includes a cut-out opening 134. The panel 121 defines a slit 136, a slit 138 is defined between portions of the panels 120,123, and a slit 140 is defined between portions of the panels 124,127. A tab 142 foldably extends from the panel 122, and a tab 144 extends from the panel 129. Further, the panel 124 defines the bottom opening 56, which is contiguous with the cut-out opening 132.

As best understood with reference to FIGS. 1,8 and 9, the blanks 118 are folded about their foldable connections so that the panels 120-122 overlap to provide the rear wall 48, the panels 123,125 are the side walls 50, the panel 124 is the bottom wall 44, and the panels 126-129 overlap to provide the front wall 46. Once a blank 118 is so folded, the slit 136 overlaps the slit 138, and those slits 136,138 receive the tab 142, and the slit 140 receives the tab 144, so that the a box substantially similar to the boxes 30 illustrated in FIGS. 1-4 and 7 is formed. When a blank 118 is folded and assembled as described above, the cut-out openings 130,132,134 are at least partially aligned to provide the rear opening 58.

Many modifications and other embodiments of the invention will come to mind to one skilled in the art to which this invention pertains having the benefit of the teachings presented in the foregoing descriptions and the associated drawings.

Therefore, it is to be understood that the invention is not to be limited to the specific embodiments disclosed and that modifications and other embodiments are intended to be included within the scope of the appended claims. Although specific terms are employed herein, they are used in a generic and descriptive sense only and not for purposes of limitation.