Display table

Abstract

A display table has a twin sheet thermo-formed base having recesses in its top surface at the ends which receive the lower ends of legs which support a tray above the base. The recesses and lower ends of the legs are tapered to result in an interference fit between the legs and the recesses and the recesses include a flange which extends inwardly and which supports the lower ends of the legs from below. The lower ends of the legs extend through and beyond the flange and define an upwardly facing shoulder which catches behind the flange, on the lower side of the flange to hold the legs and the base together. Lower and upper ends of the base each have a gusset which extends inwardly and abuts the upper surface of the base at the lower end of the legs and the lower surface of the tray at the upper end of the legs. The gussets fit into similarly shaped recesses in the respective base and tray. A tapered snap fit connects the upper ends of the legs to the tray and a partition is provided in the tray. The base has five feet which define the surface of the base which engages the floor, with four of the feet at the comers and one at the center.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

[0001] This claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/263,665 filed Jan. 23, 2001.

STATEMENT CONCERNING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

[0002] Not applicable.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0003] The present invention relates to display tables that are used in retail stores to display products.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0004] Display tables are used in retail stores to display products and are typically located at the end of an aisle or checkout counter, or by themselves in clusters. Typical display tables are made of wood, such as particle board, or metal. These types of display tables also typically present sharp comers which can be a hazard. However, wood has been the preferred material because it is relatively inexpensive and strong. However, wooden display tables are also rather heavy and difficult to move.

[0005] A need exists for a display table which is sturdy and stable, but which is easy to assemble and light weight so that it is easy to move. The display table also must be inexpensive to produce and attractive in appearance, with the possibility of making it distinctive for a particular retailer, and it must present no hazardous sharp corners.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0006] The invention provides a display table having a one-piece molded base, a one-piece molded tray and two one-piece molded legs which support the tray above the base at the ends of the table. The lower ends of the legs project into recesses molded into the ends of the tray and the ends of the legs have upwardly facing shoulders that catch behind a flange which is formed in the recess. The upper ends of the legs are snap fit to the tray.

[0007] The base is preferably twin sheet thermo-formed with a pinch-off area occurring in the recess that receives the lower ends of the legs. The inside of the pinch-off area is then cut away, after molding, to produce the flange behind which the upwardly facing shoulder of the lower end of the leg catches behind.

[0008] In addition, the base is preferably formed with five feet which help in sliding the display table across a floor and reduce teeter-totter of the display table. Preferably, there is one foot adjacent each corner of the base, and one foot in approximately the center of the base.

[0009] Sliding of the display table is especially desirable, as the display table may be used as a security device to block entry and egress through a checkout aisle. Thereby, the display can normally be used at the end of the checkout aisle or in a proximate location, when the checkout aisle is being used by a checkout clerk. However, to limit entry and egress through the checkout aisle when it is not being used, the display table can be slid in front of or into the checkout aisle to block it.

[0010] In another preferred aspect, the lower ends of the legs preferably seat against the flange, and have side walls which are tapered and interfere with tapered side walls of the tray above the flange. Thereby, a snug fit is provided between the lower end of each leg and the tray.

[0011] In addition, the upper and lower ends of the legs are preferably provided with central gussets for reinforcement and stabilization. A pair of such gussets are preferably provided on the inside surface of each leg, so that they project from the leg toward the center of the table, and press against either the top of the base or the bottom of the tray. Each gusset is preferably generally tongue-shaped, facing downwardly for the base gusset and upwardly for the tray gusset, and each gusset is supported by a hollow shell structure. Each gusset preferably fits into a similarly tongue-shaped recess in the respective bottom of the tray or top of the base.

[0012] Optionally, a divider may be provided in the tray to partition it into different sections.

[0013] With the tray twin sheet thermo-formed, the top of the tray does not present a flat surface. For example, there may be a central reinforcing ridge or one or more depressions. In addition, each place where a foot is formed the top of the tray is depressed downwardly and pinched off with the bottom sheet to form the foot bottoms, which may be slightly below the bottoms of the outer walls of the base. Consequently, there is a depression at each foot location in the top of the tray. Therefore, it may be desirable to provide separate trays or wire baskets to hold products for display on top of the base.

[0014] All comers and upwardly facing edges of the base tray and legs are radiused and are not sharp. Forming these components of plastic also helps cushion any blows that may occur in an impact to the table.

[0015] The tray and base may be formed to have outer side walls which are inclined somewhat upwardly. This presents a surface, particularly on the tray, which may be used to display the logo of the retail store in which the display table is used, or another logo.

[0016] In addition, at the ends of the tray, a wedge-type snap fit may be used to capture the top of each leg with the end of each leg tapered so as to fit into the tapered space between a skirt of the table and an inner tray wall, with a projection on the outer surface of the leg snapping into a hole in the skirt of the tray. The skirt at the ends of the tray is preferably molded with a slight concavity inward so as to be biased against the outside of the leg when it is inserted.

[0017] These and other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the detailed description and drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0018] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a display table of the invention fully assembled;

[0019] FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the display table;

[0020] FIG. 3 is an end-plan view of the display table also showing display baskets in phantom on the base of the table;

[0021] FIG. 4 is a front-plan view of the display table, also showing display baskets in phantom on the base of the table;

[0022] FIG. 5 is a top-plan view of the display table;

[0023] FIG. 6 is a bottom-plan view of the display table;

[0024] FIG. 7 is a top-plan view of one of the legs for the display table;

[0025] FIG. 8 is a plan view of the inner side of one of the legs for the display table;

[0026] FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view from the plane of the line 9-9 of FIG. 3;

[0027] FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view from the plane of the line 10-10 of FIG. 4; and

[0028] FIG. 11 is a detail view of the lower portion of FIG. 9.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

[0029] Referring to FIG. 1, a display table 10 of the invention has a base 12, a pair of identical legs 14 and a tray 16 supported above the base 12 by the legs 14. In the tray 16, an optional divider panel 18 may also be provided to partition the tray 16 into two areas. All of the parts of the display table 10 are molded plastic, with the base 12 preferably being twin sheet thermo-formed high density polyethylene, the tray 16 being single sheet thermo-formed high impact polystyrene or ABS and the legs 14 and divider 18 being blow-molded high density polyethylene.

[0030] Legs 14 are made with a distinctive, stylized X pattern, but they could be made in any pattern, to suit a particular retailer so as to have uniformity of design throughout the entire retail store or retail store chain.

[0031] Referring particularly to FIGS. 2, 7, 8 and 9, each leg 14 has a tapered lower end 20, a tapered upper end 22 and a middle section 24 joining the upper 22 and lower 20 ends. At the junction between the middle portion 24 and the lower end portion 20, there is provided a tongue-shaped gusset 26 and at the junction between the middle portion 24 and the upper portion 22 there is provided a tongue-shaped upper gusset 28. The gussets 26 and 28 are supported respectively from above or below by a hollow shell 30 to maintain the gussets 26 and 28 generally horizontal.

[0032] Centrally located above the upper gusset 28 in the upper end portion 22 on the inside surface of the upper portion 22 is a groove 32 which receives the rear surface of groove 34 which supports the divider 18. A groove 34 exists in the inside sidewall 46 at each end of the tray 16. Divider 18 may also be formed with projecting central portion 38 which extends into a correspondingly shaped groove in the bottom of the tray 16. Portion 38 projects so as to make room at the ends of the divider 18 for the tongue shaped recesses 52, which project on the upper side of the tray 16. In the outside surface of each upper end 22 is formed an elongated lateral projection 40 which snaps into a hole 42 which is formed in the end wall 44 of the tray 16. The end wall 44 is preferably molded so as to concavely shaped in its fee state, biasing it toward the upper portion 22 when the upper end 22 is inserted into the space between the end wall skirt 44 and the inside wall 46 of the tray. As best seen in FIG. 9, the skirt end wall 44 is inclined upwardly so that the space between the walls 44 and 46 tapers. Front and rear walls 48 and 50 of the tray 16 are also inclined upwardly at a similar angle.

[0033] The upper portion 22 tapers similarly to the space between the walls 44 and 46 and is preferably slightly larger in width (0.015″ on each side for example) than the space between the walls 44 and 46 so as to provide an interference fit which is snug. The projection 40 snaps into the hole 42 when the end 22 is fully seated in the space between the walls 44 and 46. The tongue-shaped gusset 28 supports the tray 16 from the bottom and preferably fits into similarly shaped recess 52 which is formed in the bottom of the tray 16. Since the tray 16 is single sheet thermo-formed, the recess 52 can also be seen in FIG. 2 and in the top view of FIG. 5 as a projection above the surrounding bottom surface of the tray 16. Forming the recess 52 to match the shape of the gusset 28 helps to resist racking of the display table. The lower end 20 of each leg 14 is also tapered and fits within a similarly tapered recess 54 in the base 12.

[0034] Referring particularly to FIGS. 9 and 11, recess 54 is formed in the base 12 by pinching off the top sheet 56 and the bottom sheet 58 of the two sheets which form the base 12 at a generally rectangular pinch-off area that is slightly larger than the base of projecting end 60 of end 22. The pinched-off area, which is approximately midway between the upper and lower surfaces of the base 12, then has its central portion cut out of it so as to generally match the size of the base 61 (FIG. 8) of the projecting end 60 of the lower end 22 above a catch 62 of end 60 that defines an upwardly facing shoulder 64. The lower end of the catch 62 is tapered so that the end 60 can be inserted into the cut out hole in the pinched-off area and when it is fully inserted, the shoulder 64 catches beneath the flange 66 which remains after the pinched-off area inner portion is cut out. A downwardly facing perimetral shoulder 68 which rests on the flange 66 is defined between the upper portion 63 of the end portion 22 and the projecting end 60. Thus, shoulder 68 extends outwardly further than the opening in the flange 66. Preferably, a portion of the end 22 which is within the recess 54 and is tapered is somewhat larger (0.015 for example, on each side) than the recess 54 so as to provide a snug fit.

[0035] The gusset 26 fits into a similarly shaped recess 70 in the top wall of the tray 12 in mating face to face surface contact as shown in FIG. 9, similar to the gusset 28 and recess 52 interface at the top of each leg 14. The shell 30 supports the gusset 26 to be generally horizontal so as to stabilize the leg 14 relative to the base 12.

[0036] Base 12 has five feet 76, one at each corner and one in the center, which are provided by pinching off the upper sheet 56 and the lower sheet 58 at a level below the bottom of the side walls 78 of the base 12. Five feet 76 are provided to ease sliding of the display table 10 across the floor and to reduce teeter-totter of the table. Additionally, if additional mobility is desired, recesses could be formed in the bottom of the tray 12 for mounting wheels or casters to support the table. As shown in FIG. 6, bottom sheet 58 is recessed upwardly and pinched off against the top sheet 56 at areas 82 for additional reinforcement. Center ribs 84 and 86 may also be provided in the top sheet 56 and a central portion of the top sheet 56 may be provided with additional ridges and recesses as illustrated, or any other suitable reinforcing structures.

[0037] As illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 4, a name plate 88 or other indicia may be affixed to the skirt 48, for example by an adhesive.

[0038] With the upper surface of the platform 12 having projections and recesses, it is desirable to provide baskets or trays, for example metal wire baskets, to hold product for display on top of the tray 12. Such baskets 90 are shown in phantom in FIGS. 3 and 4.

[0039] A preferred embodiment of the invention has been described in considerable detail. Many modifications and variations to the preferred embodiment described will be apparent to those skilled in the art. Therefore, the invention should not be limited to the embodiment described, but should be defined by the claims which follow.

Claims

1. A display table, comprising:

a tray;

molded plastic legs, one at each end of the tray, separably connected to the tray; and

a base separably connected to lower ends of the legs, said base being twin sheet thermo-formed; and

wherein lower ends of said legs are received in recesses formed in the upper surface of said base at the ends of said base, said lower ends of said legs being received in an interference fit in said recesses, and wherein said recesses include a flange extending inwardly on which the lower ends of said legs are supported, and wherein the lower ends of the legs extend through and beyond the flange and have a shoulder which catches against a lower surface of the flange to retain the leg in the recess.

2. A display table as claimed in claim 1, wherein said leg includes a gusset extending from an inner surface of said leg which gusset confronts an upper surface of said base.

3. A display table as claimed in claim 2, wherein said gusset is received in a recess in the upper surface of said base, which recess is shaped to conform to the shape of the gusset.

4. A display table as claimed in claim 2, wherein said gusset is supported from above the gusset by a hollow shell-shaped structure which is integrally molded with said leg.

5. A display table as claimed in claim 1, wherein said lower portion of said leg is tapered and fits with an interference fit in the recess formed in the upper surface of the base, said recess also being tapered.

6. An improvement of claim 1, wherein said base has five legs which extend below side walls of the base so as to support the base on a floor surface.

7. An improvement of claim 1, wherein said legs are molded plastic.

8. The improvement of claim 7, wherein said tray is single sheet thermo-formed plastic.

9. A display table as claimed in claim 1, wherein a gusset is provided at each of the upper and lower ends of each leg, each said gusset extending inwardly from the inner surface of the leg and the top gusset confronting the lower surface of the tray and the lower gusset confronting the upper surface of the base so as to support and stabilize the display table.

10. A display table as claimed in the last claim, wherein each said gusset is supported by a hollow shell structure which is integrally connected to the gusset and the leg.

11. A display table as claimed in claim 10, wherein the upper end of each said leg is tapered and fits into a tapered space between two walls of the tray, and the upper end of each leg has a lateral projection which snaps into a hole formed in one of said walls of the tray which define the tapered space.

12. A display table as claimed in claim 11, wherein the tray is twin sheet thermo-formed.