Display shelf for bowling ball
A display shelf having a) a shelf portion having a supporting plate defined by a front edge, back edge and side edges, and b) a display holder for holding product information for product held by the shelf. The display holder is secured to the shelf by at least two hinges having the same pivot axis located behind the front edge such that the shelf is rotatable through at least 90 degrees from a position primarily below the supporting plate in a plane perpendicular to a position parallel to the supporting plate of the shelf.
This application claims priority from U.S. provisional Application 61/196,484 filed Oct. 17, 2008.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONThis invention relates to display shelves and particularly to a display shelf for a bowling ball. Display shelves for bowling balls are known in the art but have serious disadvantages.
As might be expected, there are a number of display shelves having a hinged card or information holder, e.g. U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,924,367; 5,934,633; 6,318,684; 6,665,969; 7,137,606; and 7,216,445. These vertical sign structures reduce access space between shelves thus reducing the number of shelves that can be placed in a given vertical dimension and interfering with ball placement and removal because they usually do not permit complete rotation away from all area between the shelves.
There are also a number of patents showing a hole in a shelf for retaining a ball, e.g. U.S. Pat. No. 5,746,332; and U.S. Patent Application US 2007/0221803A1. Display shelves for bowling balls have a unique problem in that typically to display a series of such balls on a plurality of shelves, one above another, a wide access must be available between the shelves for insertion and removal of the bowling ball. Such shelves are therefore not conducive to the use of vertically oriented shelf signs since such signs reduce access area between shelves thus significantly reducing shelf display space in a given area.
Therefore, what was not known was a bowling ball shelf having such a retaining hole and a sign carrier that permitted access to the shelf through the entire area between shelves.
Further any such rotating sign holders for display shelves which might have permitted complete upward rotation to completely access entry area between shelves for shelf access, would have required significant wasteful spatial separation from the shelf to permit complete upward rotation of the sign holder for shelf access.
Furthermore, such shelves, when made of a plastic have required deep ribs in the form of vertical flanges or ribs to provide sufficient strength to support the weight of the ball. Further if display insignia or information is desired, a vertical surface is required to hold the insignia or information.
In accordance with the invention, there is therefore provided a shelf that overcomes these disadvantages.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONIn accordance with the invention a display shelf is provided that includes:
- a) a shelf portion having a supporting plate defined by a front edge, back edge and side edges, and
- b) a display holder for holding product information for product held by the shelf.
The display holder is secured to the shelf by at least two hinges having the same pivot axis located behind the front edge such that the shelf is rotatable through at least 90 degrees from a position primarily below the supporting plate in a plane perpendicular to a position parallel to the supporting plate of the shelf.
It has been found that a supporting frontal horizontal rib, as found in many prior art shelves, may be reduced or eliminated and display information can be placed on a swiveling display can be rotated out of the way to permit ball placement and removal and returned again to a display orientation. Strength may be added to the shelf in the form of various oriented ribs that are of insufficient height to significantly interfere with ball placement or removal.
The shelf of the invention can thus display as many as 40% more bowling balls in the same vertical space as prior art display shelves.
A significant feature of the display shelf of the invention is a swiveling hinge that permits a greater degree of rotation of a display holder than a usual hinge would in the present application. In particular, a slot is provided in the display holder that permits accommodation of a horizontally oriented supporting rib perpendicular to the display holder thus preventing interference with the supporting rib when the holder/retainer is rotated downwardly to an optimum display position. The hinge may further use a boss in the form of a cylindrical pin that locks into a through hole in the shelf thus giving secure attachment in the display position but permitting removal in a non-display orientation.
Preferred embodiments of the invention are shown in the enclosed for sheets of drawings.
As seen in
The display shelf has a display holder 26 having holding flanges 28 and 30 for holding descriptive and/or advertising material.
As best seen in
As previously discussed, as best seen in
The display shelf is provided with edge supporting flanges 14, 52 along the side edges and is preferably further provided with supporting intermediate flanges 16, 18 between the edge supporting flanges permitting a rigid shelf structure with minimum supporting plate thickness.
Also as previously discussed, the display holder is provided with slots 50 that permit rotation of the shelf over the edge supporting flanges 14, 52.
The display shelf is preferably a bowling ball display shelf having a hole 24 through the supporting plate 12 for retaining a bowling ball.
Each of the hinges preferably includes concentric holes 42 behind the front edge 48 of the shelf through the edge supporting flanges and the display holder comprises pivot arms, each having a cylindrical pivot pin, and the pivot arms are arranged so that the pivot pins fit into the holes to form the hinges.
Advantages of the shelf of the present invention include:
- a) sleek and sturdy design
- b) requires less slat wall space
- c) attractive appearance
- d) revolutionary swivel display attachment permitting greater degree of rotation to permit optimal display orientation; and
- e) less material and production cost.
Claims
1. A display shelf comprising:
- a) a shelf portion having a supporting plate defined by a front edge, back edge and side edges, and
- b) a display holder for holding product information for product held by the shelf, said display holder being secured to the shelf by at least two hinges having the same pivot axis located behind the front edge such that the shelf is rotatable through at least 90 degrees from a position primarily below the supporting plate in a plane perpendicular to a position parallel to the supporting plate of the shelf.
2. The shelf of claim 1 wherein the display holder is rotatable through at least 120 degrees.
3. The shelf of claim 1 wherein the shelf is rotatable through at least 180 degrees from a position primarily below the supporting plate in a plane perpendicular to the supporting plate of the shelf to a position primarily above the supporting plate in a plane perpendicular the supporting plate of the shelf.
4. The display shelf of claim 1 wherein the shelf is provided with edge supporting flanges along the side edges.
5. The display shelf of claim 4 wherein the display holder is provided with slots that permit rotation of the shelf over the edge supporting flanges.
6. The display shelf of claim 1 wherein the display shelf is a bowling ball display shelf having a hole through the supporting plate for retaining a bowling ball.
7. The display shelf of claim 1 wherein each of the hinges comprises concentric holes behind the front edge of the shelf through the edge supporting flanges and the display holder comprises pivot arms, each having a cylindrical pivot pin, and the pivot arms are arranged so that the pivot pins fit into the holes to form the hinges.
8. The display shelf of claim 4 wherein the shelf is further provided with supporting intermediate flanges between the edge supporting flanges permitting a rigid shelf structure with minimum supporting plate thickness.
Type: Application
Filed: Apr 28, 2009
Publication Date: Apr 22, 2010
Applicant: Douglas Heim Enterprises, Inc. (North Tonawanda, NY)
Inventor: Douglas C. Heim (North Tonawanda, NY)
Application Number: 12/387,114
International Classification: A47F 7/00 (20060101); A47F 5/00 (20060101);