Display rack with ventilation window in the vertical walls
The present disclosure relates to a polymeric display rack for supporting and displaying articles. The rack may include one or more elongate channels defined by at least one vertical sidewall, a track, and a front member. Each channel may incorporate one or more ventilation windows defined therein that may vary in size, shape, and dimensions, thereby facilitating the circulation of air through the channel.
The present invention relates to a display rack for supporting and displaying articles, and more particularly to a polymeric display rack that incorporates at least one ventilation window.
Typically, a display rack for supporting and displaying articles is either of the horizontal variety or the gravity-fed variety. In horizontal display racks, generally, a spring or some other means is provided to move the articles, e.g., bottles, forward through a channel as the lead article is removed. In gravity-fed display racks, the front end is typically set at an angle relative to a horizontal axis such that the articles in the channel may move toward the front of the channel under the influence of gravity as the lead article is removed.
In either variety, the channels which house the articles and through which the articles travel during dispensation, are defined by at least one sidewall and a floor, or track, the gravity-fed variety typically also including a front member designed to maintain articles within the channel against the force of gravity until dispensed. A typical display rack may include one or more channels. In multi-channel display racks, the sidewalls of the individual channels may be adapted for connection with those of an adjacent channel such that a single unit may be formed. This connection may be achieved through the use of an individual element, such as a clip, fastener, or any other suitable mechanism or structure that may be either integrally formed with or connected to the sidewalls of the channel, or the track. Alternatively, a display rack may be unitary in construction, employing a plurality of channels having at least one sidewall that may be shared with an adjacent channel, and a floor or track common to each channel.
In general, the sidewalls, tracks, and/or front members that define a display rack are dimensioned to accommodate articles of particular size, as may be standard in a particular industry. For example, with respect to soft-drinks, bottles and cans are typically dimensioned within a particular range of heights and widths, and display racks are generally dimensioned accordingly. However, in the United States, these articles are typically smaller than those that may be available or used over seas, or in other countries. Accordingly, domestic, or conventional display racks are typically unable to accommodate these larger articles, and if used, the conventional racks may perform poorly or unreliably. Accordingly, there exists a need for a display rack that more adequately accommodates articles that may vary in size, such that proper performance may be ensured.
Frequently, display racks of the type disclosed herein may be used to display and support articles or items in a vending machine. In this setting, it may be desirable to maintain the articles below ambient temperature, particularly in the case of food items such as soft-drinks, sandwiches, snacks, or the like, to increase the shelf-life of a particular item, or to increase consumer satisfaction. To maintain the temperature of such articles below ambient, cool air is generally circulated throughout the food compartment of the vending machine. This cool air maintains the temperature of the articles housed therein at or below a pre-determined threshold vis-à-vis contact with the outer surface of the article, as in a common refrigeration unit. The exposed surface area of an article, therefore, may be of significant import, in that increasing this surface area has a direct effect upon the rate at which an article may be cooled, and the ease with which the desired temperature of that article may be maintained once achieved. Accordingly, the degree to which the surface area of an article may be exposed has a direct effect on the overall efficiency of the unit in which it is housed. By increasing the efficiency of the cooling process through the exposure of a larger percentage of the surface area of an article to the cooled ambient, the overall cost of supporting and maintaining that process may be significantly reduced.
In conventional polymeric display racks, as are known in the art, the vertical sidewalls are typically solid structures. There exists a need, therefore, for a lightweight, polymeric display rack that may accommodate articles of various size, including those of the larger variety, that is less expensive manufacture, and that saves costs during use by facilitating the increased circulation of cool or refrigerated air therethrough.
SUMMARYIn one embodiment, a polymeric display rack for supporting and displaying articles is disclosed which includes at least one elongate channel at least partially defined by one or more vertical sidewalls with proximal and distal sections, and a track connected to a bottom thereof. The sidewall, or walls, may define at least one ventilation window therein that is configured and dimensioned to permit the circulation of air throughout the channel, or channels. Additionally, the display rack may further include a front member connected to the sidewall, or walls.
In alternate embodiments, either the vertical sidewall, or walls, or the track may include a securing mechanism.
In another embodiment, the elongate channel, or channels, may define at least two sections that share at least one vertical sidewall.
In still another embodiment of the present disclosure, the vertical sidewall, or walls, may define a first height in the proximal section, and a second height in the distal section. It is contemplated that the first height and the second height may be substantially unequal, and that the second height may be greater than the first height. It is further contemplated that the at least one vertical sidewall may define a height that is substantially tapered from its proximal end to its distal end, the height of the at least one vertical sidewall being substantially greater at the distal end thereof.
It is contemplated herein that the elongate channel, or channels, may be configured and dimensioned to slidably receive at least one article, such that the article or articles may at least partially traverse the elongate channel, or channels. In this embodiment, the ventilation window, or windows, defined in the at lest one vertical sidewall may be oriented such that the article, or articles, are substantially aligned therewith when they are at rest in the channel, or channels.
It is further contemplated that the polymeric display rack may incorporate one or more selectively removable panels that may be disposed about the ventilation window, or windows. In such an embodiment, when the selectively removable panel, or panels, are removed, the at least one ventilation window revealed. In one embodiment, the selectively removable panel, or panels, may be at least partially formed of a lattice.
The present disclosure contemplates that the ventilation window, or windows, disclosed herein may be quadrilateral, or elliptical, in configuration. In each embodiment, the window, or windows, define an axial dimension and a transverse dimension. It is contemplated, in either embodiment, that the axial dimension may be greater than the transverse dimension, or that the transverse dimension may be greater than the axial dimension.
In one embodiment, the polymeric display rack disclosed herein may be at least partially formed of a plastic material.
The present disclosure further contemplates an improved polymeric display rack that includes at least one elongate channel at least partially defined by at least one vertical sidewall, and a track connected to a bottom thereof. In this embodiment, the improvement may comprise one or more ventilation windows defined in the at least one vertical sidewall that may be configured and dimensioned to permit the circulation of air throughout at least a portion of the elongate channel, or channels.
These and other features of the polymeric display rack disclosed herein will become more readily apparent to those skilled in the art through reference to the detailed description of the various embodiments of the present disclosure below.
Various embodiments of the present disclosure are described herein below with references to the drawings, wherein:
Specific embodiments of the polymeric display rack disclosed herein will now be described in detail with reference to the foregoing figures wherein like reference numerals identify similar or identical elements. In the drawings and in the description which follows, the term “proximal” refers to that portion of the polymeric display rack furthest from where an article or item may be dispensed, while the term “distal” refers to that portion of the polymeric display rack closest thereto. In addition, the term “article” is to be given the broadest possible meaning within the relevant art, therefore including, but not being limited to bottles, cans, sandwiches, snacks, and the like.
Referring now to the drawings,
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In one embodiment, rack 100 may comprise a single channel 102 having two sidewalls 104 connected by track 106 and, optionally, front member 108, as seen in
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Referring now to FIGS. 1 and 4-4C, it is contemplated that windows 116 may be quadrilateral in configuration, thereby defining an axial dimension “L1” and a transverse dimension “T1”. Axial and transverse dimensions “L1”, “T1” may be of any suitable scale to permit the inflow and outflow of air through channel 102. It is contemplated that the transverse dimension “T1” may be greater than the axial dimension “L1” in one embodiment, as seen in
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In each of the aforementioned embodiments, it is contemplated that one or more components of the rack disclosed herein, e.g. the sidewall, the window, or the track, may incorporate a support system, mechanism, structure, or element. As an illustrative example, it is contemplated that the sidewalls may have wire or the like, either disposed therein or thereupon, such that the rack may be significantly rigidified and/or supported.
From the foregoing and with reference to the various figure drawings, those skilled in the art will appreciate that certain modifications can also be made to the present disclosure without departing from the scope thereof. While several embodiments of the disclosure have been shown in the drawings, it is not intended that the disclosure be limited thereto, as it is intended that the disclosure be as broad in scope as the art will allow and that the specification be read likewise. Therefore, the above description should not be construed as limiting, but merely as exemplifications of particular embodiments. Those skilled in the art will envision other modifications within the scope and spirit of the claims to be appended hereto.
Claims
1. A polymeric display rack for supporting and displaying articles, comprising:
- at least one elongate channel defined by at least partially defined by at least one vertical sidewall, the at least one vertical sidewall having proximal and distal sections and including at least one ventilation window defined therein, the at least one ventilation window being configured and dimensioned to permit the circulation of air throughout the at least one elongate channel;
- a track connected to a bottom of the at least one vertical sidewall, the track at least partially defining the elongate channel; and
- a front member connected to the at least one vertical sidewall.
2. The polymeric display rack of claim 1, wherein the at least one vertical sidewall includes a securing mechanism.
3. The polymeric display rack of claim 1, wherein the track includes a securing mechanism.
4. The polymeric display rack of claim 1, wherein the at least one elongate channel defines at least two sections, the at least two sections sharing at least one vertical sidewall.
5. The polymeric display rack of claim 4, wherein the at least one vertical sidewall defines a first height in the proximal section and a second height in the distal section, the first height and the second being substantially unequal.
6. The polymeric display rack of claim 5, wherein the second height is greater than the first height.
7. The polymeric display rack of claim 1, wherein the at least one vertical sidewall defines a height, the height being substantially tapered from the proximal end of the at least one vertical sidewall to the distal end of the at least one vertical sidewall such that the height of the at least one vertical sidewall is substantially greater at the distal end thereof.
8. The polymeric display rack of claim 1, wherein the display rack is at least partially formed of a plastic material.
9. The polymeric display rack of claim 1, wherein the at least one elongate channel is configured and dimensioned to slidably receive at least one article such that the at least one article may at least partially traverse the at least one elongate channel, the at least one ventilation window being oriented such that the at least one article is substantially aligned therewith while at rest in the at least one elongate channel.
10. The polymeric display rack of claim 9, wherein the at least one ventilation window is quadrilateral in configuration, the at least one ventilation window defining an axial dimension and a transverse dimension.
11. The polymeric display rack of claim 10, wherein the axial dimension is greater than the transverse dimension.
12. The polymeric display rack of claim 10, wherein the transverse dimension is greater than the axial dimension.
13. The polymeric display rack of claim 9, wherein the at least one ventilation window is substantially elliptical in configuration, the at least one ventilation window defining an axial dimension and a transverse dimension.
14. The polymeric display rack of claim 13, wherein the axial dimension is greater than the transverse dimension.
15. The polymeric display rack of claim 13, wherein the transverse dimension is greater than the axial dimension.
16. The polymeric display rack of claim 1, wherein the at least one vertical side wall includes at least one selectively removable panel disposed about the at least one ventilation window such that when the panel is removed, the at least one ventilation window is at least partially revealed.
17. The polymeric display rack of claim 16, wherein the at least one selectively removable panel is at least partially formed of a lattice.
18. An improved polymeric display rack having at least one elongate channel that has at least one vertical sidewall, a track connected to a bottom of the at least one vertical sidewall, and a front member connected to the at least one vertical sidewall, wherein the improvement comprises:
- at least one ventilation window defined in the at least one vertical sidewall, the at least one ventilation window being configured and dimensioned to permit the circulation of air throughout at least a portion of the at least one elongate channel.
Type: Application
Filed: Mar 14, 2007
Publication Date: Sep 18, 2008
Inventor: Daniel C. Riley (Hackensack, NJ)
Application Number: 11/724,119