Modular Shelf Management System
A modular system of interconnecting track members for use on a flat shelf or on an inclined gravity-feed shelf, wherein each individual track member includes an overhang on a first sidewall extending in a direction opposite the second sidewall of that track member, the overhang defining a channel to receive a portion of a second sidewall of an adjacent track member. The track members are provided in a variety of configurations, including different widths and different wall heights. The track members may also be provided with such features as friction-reducing hip slide rails, a groove to facilitate removal of the overhang, drainage openings, permanent dividers, and removable dividers. The track members of each of the various possible configurations each has the overhang on a first sidewall, and a second sidewall having a portion that is receivable in the channel formed by the overhang of the first sidewall of an adjacent track member, so the retailer may arrange a plurality of track members having different parameters (e.g., width, height, friction-reducing surface) to optimize display of different types and sizes of retail products on a shelf.
Latest B-O-F CORPORATION Patents:
This application is a Continuation-in-Part of U.S. Design patent application No. 29/232,370, filed on Jun. 17, 2005.
FIELD OF THE DISCLOSUREThis disclosure relates to controlled display of retail merchandise, such as gravity feed shelving, and more specifically, to a shelf management system including individual channel-defining track.
BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSUREIn order to increase inventory turnover and maximize efficient use of shelf space, retailers frequently utilize gravity feed shelving systems, wherein inclined shelves are used to stock merchandise. In such shelf systems, consumers are presented with an array of merchandise arranged in parallel track channels on each shelf, generally with only the front-most (“first-in” or “first-up”) unit of merchandise in each individual track being easily accessible, i.e. so-called “first-in-first-out” (FIFO) product merchandising. Upon removing this front-most unit of merchandise, the remaining units of like-merchandise in that given track channel advance, i.e. slide down, toward the front of the shelf, so that the next-successive unit in line becomes the new front-most unit in that track channel.
Since conventional flat merchandise shelves, e.g., cantilevered or so-called “gondola”-type shelves, a ow users to rearrange product on the shelves, such as to find product with later expiration dates, inclined gravity feed shelving systems help ensure that oldest product is sold first. By making rearrangement of product more difficult for consumers, it is found that inventory waste is reduced. The inclined arrangement of the gravity feed shelves also allows greater shelf-space on a given footprint of valuable floor space or the retailer, which is a particular advantage in relatively costly refrigerated aisles and wall units where gravity shelving systems are becoming the industry standard.
Gravity feed shelving is used in many applications, including for food containers, such as in grocery and convenience stores. For example, cartons or bottles of milk, cans of soft drinks, juice boxes, cottage cheese containers, and other like items are transported, in a FIFO format, along angled, gravity feed shelf systems. One such gravity flow shelving system is typified by U.S. Pat. No. 5,607,068, owned by the assignee of the present disclosure. Some applications for such gravity flow shelving include indexable and adjustable positioning structure, i.e. so as to allow the shelf lane dividers to be adjusted in their position as desired by the retailer, to accommodate larger or smaller product sizes, among the multiple flow lanes of a given gravity shelf unit. Such indexable and adjustable shelf assemblies are typified by U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,047,647 and 6,332,547, both owned by the assignee of the present disclosure. There have been many attempts to create shelf divider members that extend from the front to the rear of a gravity feed shelf and which can be easily adjusted.
Displaying and delivering containers of freshness-dated liquids such as fruit juice or milk products can often be hampered by leakage from these containers. When liquids spill onto the gravity flow racks, sticky residues can impair the ability of product to flow down the shelf, impair cleaning of track channels, and unsanitary conditions can be created. A system of shelf tracks which are easily rearranged at the option of the retailer, and which may be easily replaced when desired, would be advantageous. Further, track members which are more economical and less complicated to manufacture, install, and arrange than existing adjustable-width shelving systems would be desirable.
SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSUREThe present disclosure concerns a modular system of track members for display shelving in which the individual track members may stand alone or may be interconnected with either track members having similar configurations, or with track members having different configurations, in order to provide a flexible convenient system to display items. The track members of the present disclosure may be installed on a shelf individually or in groups in order to display and deliver product of various shapes and sizes, so as to maximize use of retail shelf space while assuring an orderly array of retail merchandise. The display channels formed by the individual track members may have a generally U-shape.
On each track member there exists a means for interconnecting adjacent tracks, such as an overhang on one sidewall which forms an inverted locking channel, which is shaped and sized to slidingly receive a male portion of an adjacent track member's sidewall. Typically there is only one overhang that runs the entire length of a given track member; however, it is possible that the overhang may extend over one or more portions of the length of a sidewall of the track member.
A wedge-shaped groove may be incorporated, running parallel to the overhang on one side of the sidewall having the engagement overhang, in order to facilitate removal of the overhang. For instance, it may be desirable to remove the overhang in the event the overhang, if present, would interfere with the track installation (such as when the sidewall of an outer-most track member is installed against a hard object such as a display case wall, support or cross bars of the shelf, or some other obstacle).
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING
It will be understood that the drawings are not to scale and that, in some instances, details which are not necessary for an understanding of the disclosed embodiments or which render other details difficult to perceive, may have been omitted. It should also be understood that this disclosure is not limited to the embodiments specifically illustrated in the drawings.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DISCLOSURE Having reference to the drawings, where like reference numbers comprise like elements, there is shown in
With the exception of the optional drain apertures 34, the track member 10 of the present disclosure may be formed as one piece, in a single extrusion operation, using a suitable plastic material.
There is shown in
There is shown in
There is shown in
There is shown in
The left sidewall 812 is provided with a knife groove 817, facilitating removal of a overhang 814 if the overhang 814 impedes installation of the track member 810.
The track members of the present disclosure may be provided in a variety of widths so that, at the option of the retailer, a shelf may be configured having track members of selected widths to optimize efficiency of shelf space and to best correspond to the widths of the product to be displayed and dispensed from the shelf. The width of the track member is determined when the track member is designed and then manufactured. Once manufactured, the width of a given track member cannot be altered. However, in certain embodiments disclosed herein, the track members may be provided with adjustable dividers to enable retailers to form track channels of customized widths.
When interconnected with adjacent track members, each of the track members of the present disclosure becomes more stabilized, by virtue of the double-layer separation achieved by adjacent sidewalls, than if the track members were provided individually. As a result, a shelf system of selectable width track channels having superior strength and rigidity is achieved. With the overhanging lip interconnection, it is also easy to remove a given track member, such as for the purpose of cleaning or to substitute a track member of a different height or width.
Like the track member of the first embodiment, the track members of all other embodiments disclosed herein may be extruded using a suitable plastic material. In addition, for those embodiments having hip slide strips, it is noted that such hip slide strips may each be provided with a friction-reducing lubricant coating, such as silicone, which coating may be co-extruded with the track members.
The length of the track member will vary depending upon the length of the display case into which it is arranged. The length of track member when manufactured is not necessarily the final length as the final product could be cut shorter upon installation. Alternatively, a manufacturer may extrude (or otherwise form) the track members to a variety of lengths to meet the needs of different shelf applications. While it is desirable to use the track members of the present disclosure in gravity feed shelving applications, it is also contemplated that the track members disclosed herein are appropriate for use in flat shelving, such as gondola-type shelving.
Claims
1. A track member for a shelf comprising:
- a bottom;
- a first sidewall extending upward from the bottom;
- a second sidewall extending upward from the bottom;
- the first sidewall having a portion curling in a direction away from the second sidewall and forming an overhang defining a downwardly-open channel.
2. The track member of claim 1, wherein the overhang extends from a front end of the track member to a rear end of the track member.
3. The track member of claim 1, including a plurality of hip slide rails extending upward from the bottom.
4. The track member of claim 3, wherein each of the hip slide rails is provided with a lubricant coating.
5. The track member of claim 3, in combination with at least one divider intermediate the first sidewall and the second sidewall, the divider comprising a wall and separating the track member into a plurality of track channels.
6. The track member of claim 5, wherein said divider is removable and is secured to the bottom of the track member by the hip slide rails.
7. The track member and removable divider combination of claim 6, wherein the removable divider includes a slanted first wing and a slanted second wing extending from a lower portion of the removable divider;
- wherein the hip slide rails are arranged in pairs and each pair of hip slide rails defines an inverted generally V-shaped groove to receive one of the slanted first and second wings of the removable divider.
8. The track member of claim 1, wherein the first sidewall extends above the overhang.
9. The track member of claim 1, wherein at least one of the first sidewall and the second sidewall includes a portion that jogs inwardly in a direction toward the other of the first and second sidewalls.
10. The track member of claim 1, wherein at least one drainage opening is provided in the bottom.
11. The track member of claim 1, wherein the first sidewall includes a wedge-shaped groove running parallel to and below the overhang, said wedge-shaped groove facilitating removal of the overhang.
12. A modular system of interconnecting track members for a shelf comprising:
- a plurality of track members each having a bottom, a first sidewall and a second sidewall, the first sidewall having a portion curling in a direction away from the second sidewall and forming an overhang defining a downwardly-open channel.
13. The modular system of interconnecting track members of claim 13, wherein each of the track members is selectable from at least a set of track members having a first width and a set of track members having a second width.
14. The modular system of interconnecting track members of claim 12, wherein at least one of the first sidewall and the second sidewall of at least one of the plurality of track members includes a portion that jogs inwardly in a direction toward the other of the first and second sidewalls of that track member.
15. The modular system of interconnecting track members of claim 12, wherein in at least one of the plurality of track members, the overhang extends from a front end of the track member to a rear end of that track member.
16. The modular system of interconnecting track members of claim 12, wherein at least one of the plurality of track members includes a plurality of hip slide rails extending upward from the bottom of that track member.
17. The modular system of interconnecting track members of claim 15, wherein each of the hip slide rails is provided with a lubricant coating.
18. The modular system of interconnecting track members of claim 15, wherein at least one of the plurality of track members is provided in combination with at least one divider intermediate the first sidewall and the second sidewall of that track member, the divider comprising a wall and separating that track member into a plurality of track channels.
19. The modular system of interconnecting track members of claim 17, wherein the divider is removable and is secured to the bottom of that track member by the hip slide rails.
20. The modular system of interconnecting track members of claim 18, wherein the removable divider includes a slanted first wing and a slanted second wing extending from a lower portion of the removable divider;
- wherein the hip slide rails of that track member are arranged in pairs and each pair of hip slide rails defines an inverted generally V-shaped groove to receive one of the slanted first and second wings of the removable divider.
21. The modular system of interconnecting track members of claim 12, wherein on at least one of the plurality of track members, the first sidewall extends above the overhang of that track member.
22. The modular system of interconnecting track members of claim 12, wherein on at least one of the plurality of track members, at least one of the first sidewall and the second sidewall includes a portion that jogs inwardly in a direction toward the other of the first and second sidewalls.
23. The modular system of interconnecting track members of claim 21, wherein the first or second sidewall of a second one of the track members adjacent and interconnected to the track member having the portion that jogs inwardly, and the sidewall including the portion that jogs inwardly, cooperate with one another to define a double-layer separation between two track channels defined by the respective track members, with an air gap therebetween.
24. The modular system of interconnecting track members of claim 12, wherein at least one of the plurality of track members has at least one drainage opening provided in the bottom.
25. The modular system of interconnecting track members of claim 12, wherein the first sidewall of at least one of the plurality of track members includes a wedge-shaped groove running parallel to and below the overhang of that first sidewall, said wedge-shaped groove facilitating removal of the overhang of that first sidewall.
26. A method for arranging a plurality of interconnecting track members on a shelf, comprising:
- selecting a plurality of track members from a set of track members having a bottom, a first sidewall and a second sidewall, the first sidewall having a portion curling in a direction away from the second sidewall and forming an overhang defining a downwardly-open channel, and a width complementary to retail product to be displayed in each of the respective track members; and
- interconnecting the selected track members by successively inserting a portion of the second sidewall of one of the selected track members into the downwardly-open channel of the overhang of an adjacent one of the selected track members until all the selected track members are interconnected.
27. The method of claim 26, and further including cutting along a groove provided under the overhang on the first sidewall of an outermost one of the selected track members and removing the overhang.
28. The method of claim 26, wherein in interconnecting the selected track members, arranging the track members such that on every other track member, the first sidewall includes a portion extending above the overhang of that sidewall.
Type: Application
Filed: May 3, 2006
Publication Date: Dec 21, 2006
Applicant: B-O-F CORPORATION (Aurora, IL)
Inventors: Eric Larsen (Bensenville, IL), Patrick Mitten (Barrington, IL), Kenneth Shaw (Wayne, IL), Edward Knorring, Jr. (Wheaton, IL)
Application Number: 11/381,483
International Classification: A47F 1/04 (20060101);