Tray with fronting member, associated displays and methods

Abstract

A display for displaying a product for customer selection at a retail location is provided. The display includes a plurality of stacked trays carrying product, each tray comprising a bottom and a fronting member. The fronting member of the trays is configured to move relative to the bottom to move the product along the bottom toward an end of the bottom.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present application relates to trays for holding and displaying product and more particularly to a tray with fronting member.

BACKGROUND

In a retail store, such as a grocery or supercenter, product displays serve various purposes. One purpose may be to display products. Another purpose may be to allow a customer to pick products from the display. Often, products are displayed on shelves with some of the product located nearer the customer and some product located farther from the customer. In some instances, it is desirable to reposition product nearer to the customer to make it easier for the customer to grasp the product and remove the product from the shelf. This repositioning of products nearer to the customer to facilitate customer viewing and picking can be cumbersome. To aid in repositioning, shelf displays have been proposed that have a pusher that can be used to push product toward the front of a display shelf after product is removed.

SUMMARY

In an aspect, a method of shipping product within a tray from a first location to a second location remote from the first location is provided. The method includes placing the product in the tray at the first location. The tray includes a bottom upon which the product rests and a fronting member slidably connected to the tray. The fronting member of the tray is moveable relative to the bottom to move the product placed in the tray along the bottom toward a front of the tray. The tray is transported with the product placed therein to the second location.

In another aspect, a tray for transporting and displaying a product at a retail location for customer selection is provided. The tray includes a bottom having a first end and a second end and a slide region along which the product can slide between the first end and the second end. A fronting member is slidable relative to the bottom. The fronting member has a front and a back where the front of the fronting member is configured for use in grasping the fronting member and moving the back of the fronting member toward the first end of the bottom. The back of the fronting member spans the slide region and is configured to engage products disposed on the bottom for moving products along the slide region toward the first end of the bottom. The tray is configured to be repeatedly cycled between a filling operation at a facility remote from the retail location and a displaying operation at the retail location where the product is displayed for customer selection.

In another aspect, a display for displaying a product for customer selection at a retail location is provided. The display includes a plurality of stacked trays carrying product, each tray comprising a bottom and a fronting member. The fronting member of the trays is configured to move relative to the bottom to move the product along the bottom toward an end of the bottom.

In another aspect, a method of building a display at a retail location is provided. The method includes positioning a first tray filled with products on the display. The first tray includes a first bottom along which the products can slide and a first fronting member having a first front configured for use in manually grasping the first fronting member and a first back capable of engaging the products disposed on the first bottom to move the products along the first bottom in response to manually pulling the first front. A second tray filled with products is stacked on top of the first tray. The second tray includes a second bottom along which the products can slide and a second fronting member having a second front configured for use in manually grasping the second fronting member and a second back capable of engaging the products disposed on the second bottom to move the products along the second bottom in response to manually pulling the second front.

The details of one or more embodiments are set forth in the accompanying drawings and the description below. Other features, objects, and advantages will be apparent from the description and drawings, and from the claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a partial, perspective view of an embodiment of a display for a retail store;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of an embodiment of a tray for use in building the display of FIG. 1;

FIG. 2A is a section view along line A-A of FIG. 2;

FIG. 3 is a front view of trays of FIG. 2 being stacked;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the tray of FIG. 2 with product;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a display with an embodiment of a tray having a fronting member in a storage position;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the display of FIG. 5 with the fronting member pulled toward a customer;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the display of FIG. 5 with the fronting member back in the storage position with product moved forward in the tray;

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the display of FIG. 5 with an upper tray removed from the stack;

FIG. 9 is a flow diagram of a method of shipping product for display at a retail store using the tray of FIG. 2;

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of a shipping unit including the tray of FIG. 2;

FIG. 11 is a diagrammatic top view of an embodiment of a stacking pattern for forming a shipping unit using the tray of FIG. 2;

FIG. 12 is a diagrammatic top view of another embodiment of a stacking pattern for forming a shipping unit using the tray of FIG. 2;

FIG. 13 is a diagrammatic top view of another embodiment of a stacking pattern for forming a shipping unit using the tray of FIG. 2;

FIG. 14 is a diagrammatic top view of another embodiment of a stacking pattern for forming a shipping unit using the tray of FIG. 2; and

FIG. 15 illustrates an embodiment of a supply chain process utilizing the tray of FIG. 2.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Referring to FIG. 1, a partial view of a display 10 for use in, for example, a dairy cooler at a retail location (e.g., a grocery store, supermarket, club store, convenient store, gas station, supercenter, etc.) includes shelves 12 and stacks 14a, 14b, 14c and 14d of trays 16 each carrying containers 18 of dairy product such as ice cream, cottage cheese, yogurt, sour cream, dips, milk, canned goods, bagged goods, etc. Various sizes and shapes can be carried by the trays 16 such as, six ounce or eight ounce containers of yogurt, as examples. Trays 16a disposed on top of the stacks 14a, 14b, 14c, 14d are supported upon trays 16b disposed thereunder. Trays 16a expose the containers 18 located therein for customer selection and removal from the display 10. With particular reference to the upper tray 16a in stack 14c, each tray 16 includes a fronting member 20 that can be used to reposition product 18 carried by the respective tray 16 by pushing the product 18 from a rearward display location toward a forward display location. Fronting member 20 can reduce the amount of work necessary to reposition or face the product 18 in the tray 16.

Referring now to FIG. 2, the tray 16 includes a bottom 22 and fronting member 20 that is slidable relative to the bottom 22. Bottom 22 includes a relatively elongated central portion that extends between a front end 26 and a rear end 28. Bumper or lip 34 is located at the front end 26. The bumper 34 includes laterally extending section 35 having a height less than that of sidewalls 38 and 40.

Bottom 22 includes a slide region 52 along which product can slide. The slide region 52 can be sized to accommodate one or more rows of product extending between front and rear ends 26 and 28. In some implementations, additional slide regions can be situated in each tray 16. For purposes of illustration, in an alternative embodiment, two slide regions 52a and 52b may be included that are separated by guide members 56 (shown by dotted lines). Guide members 56, which in the illustrated example are formed as raised extensions of the bottom 22, extend longitudinally along the length of the bottom 22 as rails that separate the first slide region 52a and the second slide region 52b. Guide members 56 can assure separation of the rows of product and guide product within their respective slide regions 52a and 52b as the products are moved. In some embodiments, there may be more than two slide regions 52, less than two slide regions, and more or less than two associated guide members 56. In some instances, a single guide member 56 separates the slide regions 52 and 54. Tray 16 may also accommodate stacked product situated in multiple, stacked layers.

Referring also to FIG. 2A, sidewalls 38 and 40 include contoured portions 41 and 42 that are shaped and sized to accommodate the shape of a preselected product. In the illustrated embodiment, the contoured portions 41, 42 are slanted inwardly toward a centerline of the tray 16. By contouring the sidewalls 38 and 40, excessive tilting and jostling of product can be inhibited which can maintain product in their upright, standing positions as the product are moved during a sliding operation.

Fronting member 20 moves relative to and generally along the bottom 22 and includes an assembly of a front 44, a back 46 and connecting members 48 and 50 extending from the front 44 to the back 46 and slidably disposed within respective tracks 27 and 29. Back 46 spans across the slide region 52 (or multiple slide regions), which allows the back 46 to engage the one or more rows of product located at the slide region 52. To facilitate grasping of the front 44, the front includes grasping structure 58. The grasping structure 58 facilitates grasping of the fronting member 20 to push and/or pull the fronting member in the direction of arrow 25. In some embodiments, the front 44 may engage the bumper 34 (e.g., using interlocking structure such as a rib and groove connection) to releasably lock the fronting member 20 in place (e.g., in the position illustrated by FIG. 2 with the front 44 in a retracted position).

Referring particularly to FIG. 2A, the bottom 22 and fronting member 20 include cooperating interlocking structure generally indicated as 53 that inhibits independent vertical movement of the fronting member 20 relative to the bottom 22, but allows for movement of the fronting member 20 relative to the bottom 22 generally in a plane parallel to the bottom 22. Fronting member 20 includes the connecting members 48 and 50 which are slidably received within respective tracks 27 and 29 formed by and extending along the bottom 22.

The cooperating interlocking structure 53 allows the fronting member 20 to slide relative to the bottom 22 in opposite directions, for example, by grasping front 44 and pulling front 44 outwardly from the bottom 22, or by pushing the front inwardly toward the bottom 22. Stops, detents, notches, hooks, etc. (see track 27 end 45 of FIG. 2) can be used to prevent pulling the fronting member 20 entirely from the tracks 27 and 29 of the bottom 22. This can inhibit separation of the fronting member 20 from the bottom 22.

Referring to FIG. 3, tray 16 includes nesting structure 74 that enable the trays 16a, 16b to nest with each other with product 18 disposed therein. Upper tray 16a includes a shoulder 76 that can engage a top ledge 78 of lower tray 16b. A central portion 80 of upper tray 16a can extend into a containing portion of the lower tray 16b. The nesting structure 74 can help to anchor the tray 16 at a position on a display as the fronting member 20 is being pulled to reposition product 18 located therein using back 46.

Referring now to FIG. 4, the tray 16 can be sized and shaped to accommodate any number of a given product 18. For purposes of illustration, product containers 82 are substantially frustoconical in the shape of cups or buckets, however, they can be other shapes and/or sizes. In some embodiments, the size of tray 16 will be at least somewhat dependent on the size and shape of the display to be built using the tray 16. As shown, the tray 16 is sized to accommodate one dozen yogurt containers 82. The yogurt containers 82 are aligned side-by-side in two rows 84 and 86 of six containers 82 with each row 84, 86 of containers being situated at slide region 52. Height H of the containers 82 is less than height h of the sidewalls 38 and 40 to allow an upper tray to nest with the tray as described with reference to FIG. 3 and support at least a portion of the weight of the upper tray.

FIGS. 5-8 illustrate trays 16a and 16b in use as part of a display 120. Display 120 includes a shelf 121, a stack 124 of trays 16, a front 122 closest to the customer and a rear 125 farthest from the customer. Referring to FIG. 5, the first two containers 82 of yogurt are removed from the upper tray 16a. The next two containers 82a and 82b are then closest to the front 122 and are the next containers which are within relatively easy reach by the customer. Because the containers 82a and 82b are farther removed from the front 122 of the display 120 than the already removed containers, more effort on the part of the customer may be required to reach and pick the containers 82a and 82b from the tray 16a. Referring to FIG. 6, fronting member 20 can be grasped and pulled toward the customer in the direction of arrow 127 relative to the bottom 22. This is done by grasping the front 44 of the fronting member 20 and pulling the fronting member 20 toward the customer. This pulling action moves the back (not shown) of the fronting member 20 toward the front 122 of the display. As the back moves, it engages the rearmost containers 82c and 82d and pushes the remaining containers toward the front 122 of the display 120 until the front most containers 82a and 82b abut bumper 34. Referring to FIG. 7, once the containers 82 are moved, the fronting member 20 can be moved back to its original position in the direction of arrow 126. This can be repeated until all product has been removed from the upper tray 16a. Referring to FIG. 8, the empty tray 16a (not shown) has been removed from the display 120 to expose the lower tray 16b and the containers 82 disposed therein. In some embodiments, lower tray 16b may be stacked upon another tray 16 (not shown) on shelf 121 during a restocking operation.

Tray 16 has a durable construction accomplished, at least in part, by use of durable plastic materials and robust interlocking structure 53 that slidably connects the fronting member 20 and the bottom 22. This durable construction along with the use of relatively lightweight plastics enables the tray 16 to be reusable and/or returnable. A “reusable” tray 16 is a tray that, once filled and emptied of product, can be refilled and re-emptied of product repeatedly. The tray 16 is “returnable” in that the tray can be repeatedly transported to a refill location remote from the retail location for refilling with product and used in transporting or shipping the product back to the retail location or to a different retail location from the refill location without altering components of the tray 16 to alter the tray's operation. For example, a returnable tray 16, as formed, is configured for both displaying of product and shipping of product without any need for a subsequent step of tearing, breaking, etc. of any component of the tray to reconfigure the tray from a shipping mode to a display mode. Suitable materials for forming the tray 16 including the bottom 22 and the facing member 20 may include polyethylene (e.g., high density polyethylene), polypropylene, polybutene, poly-vinylchloride, polyalkylene-therephtalate, akrylnitril-butadiene-styrenecopolymer, polyamide, polycarbonate and the like. The components of the tray 16 may be suitably manufactured by injection molding, vacuum molding, blow molding, press molding or combinations thereof. In some instances, materials may be added to the thermoplastic material in order to improve or change material properties. For example, ethyl-vinyl-acetate or rubber beads can be incorporated which will make the material more ductile and impact resistant. Glass fiber, carbon fiber, steel fiber or aramide fiber can be incorporated, which may make the material more rigid, less inclined to cold flow, but can make the material more brittle. Reinforcement bars may also be included.

Referring now to FIG. 9, a method 90 of shipping product to a retail location from a location remote from the retail location includes providing 92 multiple empty trays 16 at a filling facility, each tray 16 having a fronting member 20, for example, as described above. A filling facility is a location where trays 16 are filled with product containers, such as at a production facility or a warehouse, as examples. In order to ensure sanitary conditions, optionally the trays 16 can be washed. The trays 16 may have been sent previously from a retail location and may have been subjected to a washing operation where the tray 16 is cleaned prior to being provided at the filling facility. In some embodiments, the tray 16 is washed at the filling facility, at the retail location and/or at an intermediate location. The trays 16 are filled at step 94 with product, such as with containers 82 of yogurt, at the filling facility (see FIG. 4 for an example of a tray 16 filled with containers 82 of yogurt). Filling of the trays 16 may be automated, manual or a combination thereof. At a stacking step 96, trays 16 are stacked one on top of another. The stacking of trays 16 may also be automated, manual or a combination thereof. In some instances where the trays 16 include nesting structure 74, the trays 16 nest with trays 16 located thereunder to form the stack of trays. In some embodiments, the trays 16 may be stacked on a transport aid, such as a pallet for ease of transport. In certain embodiments, once the trays 16 are stacked, the trays 16 may be wrapped in a plastic film, such as a plastic shrink wrap to facilitate transport and to provide a protective barrier between the containers 82 and the environment. The stacked trays 16 are loaded onto a shipping vehicle at step 97, such as a truck, airplane, ship and/or other transport device, and then, at transportation step 98, the stacked trays 16 are transported to a location remote (e.g., an intermediate storage location such as a warehouse, retail location, etc.) from the filling facility. In some embodiments, the stacked trays 16 may be shipped in a controlled environment, such as a refrigerated environment for containers 82. The controlled environment may be selected based on product type.

Once the trays 16 have arrived at the retail location, the trays 16 may be stored (e.g., in a refrigerated environment) for a limited time and/or used to build or maintain a display at step 100. Once the tray 16 is placed on the display, customers may select product from one or more of the trays 16. When a tray 16 is emptied, the tray 16 is removed from the stack at a removal step 102 exposing containers 82 thereunder for customer selection. The emptied tray 16 is later returned to the filling facility at a return step 104 for refilling and the cycle repeats. In some embodiments, emptied trays 16 may be stacked (e.g., on a pallet) to be returned to the filling facility as a group of trays 16.

It may be advantageous to build a shipping unit that includes several of the trays 16 and containers 82. Trays 16 of the shipping unit can be moved as a unit, for example, during transport between the retail location and the filling facility. In some embodiments, it may be desirable to build a shipping unit of multiple, different products having differing size and shape product containers. This may be referred to as a mixed shipping unit in that a mix (e.g., two or more) of different types of product containers are shipped together as a unit. In some instances, the containers of product selected for the shipping unit may be chosen based on their display proximity at the retail location. For example, trays 16 of containers 82 of yogurt may be shipped as a unit with crates of containers of milk because the containers of milk and yogurt are displayed in relatively close proximity in a dairy department at the retail location. Numerous other mixed shipping unit examples are contemplated.

Referring to FIG. 10, an exemplary shipping unit 110 includes both a group 112 of crates 114 (e.g., plastic milk crates) and a group 116 of trays 16 stacked thereon. As shown, the shipping unit 110 may be a pallet 120 (shown in partial view by dotted lines). The trays 16 have a length L that is sized to span a depth D of the crates 114. This can allow for stacking of trays 16 upon either open top crates, such as those used for transporting milk containers, juice, etc. In the illustrated embodiment, the shipping unit 110 includes trays 16 filled with containers 82 of yogurt and crates 114 filled with containers of milk (e.g., one and/or one-half gallons of milk). Plastic wrap (illustrated by line 118) may be used to further secure the trays 16 to the crates 114. In some embodiments, the trays 16 and/or crates 114 may include mating structure for mating the bottom trays 16 with the crates 114. Straps or any other suitable securing member can be used to further secure the trays 16 to the crates 114.

FIGS. 11-14 illustrate various, examplary tray 16 stacking patterns for forming a shipping unit. FIGS. 11 and 12 include trays 16 that are stacked, for example, on a pallet (e.g., a 40 inch by 40 inch pallet). The trays 16 of each of FIGS. 11 and 12 have the same orientation. FIGS. 13 and 14 include trays 16 having differing orientations that are stacked, for example, on a pallet (e.g., a 40 inch by 48 inch pallet).

The trays 16 enable one-touch store replenishment of product in that relatively large numbers of product can be loaded into the trays at a filling facility and the filled trays can be used to build and replenish a display at the retail location. When a tray 16 is emptied, a store clerk or other employee can simply replace the emptied tray with a tray filled with product as opposed to his or her refilling the emptied tray at the display in stages, for example, by bringing product to the emptied tray at the display. Such one-touch store replenishment using trays 16, can reduce restocking time and improve stocking efficiency.

The trays 16, while allowing for repositioning of product using fronting members 20, can also be used as shipping containers and can be returnable and/or reusable, as noted above. The tray's nesting structure 74 can be used for alignment of stacked trays 16, which can improve safety by inhibiting sliding between adjacent trays 16 and allowing for relatively high stacks of trays to be formed, for example, for shipping. The nesting structures also allow the stacked trays 16 to be anchored at a location on the display, e.g., during a repositioning operation where the fronting member 20 is manually pulled and product is moved toward the customer.

A number of detailed embodiments have been described. Nevertheless, it will be understood that various modifications may be made. For example, in some embodiments, the tray 16 and/or an associated display may include structure (e.g., a strap, a clip, a clamp, etc.) for anchoring or connecting the tray 16 directly to the display or display shelf to inhibit movement of the tray relative to the display. Referring to FIG. 15, the trays 16 described above can be used in transporting product along a supply chain as well as for displaying the product carried by the trays. FIG. 15 includes various exemplary steps and locations along an exemplary supply chain process 130. More or less steps and locations may be included in the process 130. At a tray 16 washing facility, trays 16 may be washed, wrapped and stored for future tray picking according to a customer order. The washed, empty trays 16 may be transported to a manufacturing plant. At the manufacturing plant, the empty, washed trays 16 may be staged, filled and stacked, for example, as a shipping unit. The filled trays 16 may be sent to a supplier distribution center (DC). At the supplier DC, the filled trays 16 may be stored until an order is received. The filled trays 16 may be picked according to an order and transported to a retailer DC. At the retailer DC, the filled trays 16 may be stored until an order is received. The filled trays 16 may be picked according to an order and transported to a retail location (e.g., a retail store). At the retail location, the filled trays 16 may be stored and used to replenish a display formed using the trays 16. Empty trays 16 may be removed from the display, stacked and transported to the retailer DC where the trays are staged and transported to the tote washing facility. In some embodiments, the tote washing facility is integrated with one or more of the other facilities. The supplier DC may be integrated with the manufacturing plant or may be bypassed (i.e., direct to retailer). In some embodiments, the filled trays 16 may go directly from the supplier to the retail location bypassing the retailer DC. Empty trays 16 may go directly from the retail location to the tote washing facility. Accordingly, other embodiments are within the scope of the following claims.

Claims

1. A method of shipping product within a tray from a first location to a second location remote from the first location, the method comprising:

placing product in the tray at the first location, the tray including a bottom upon which the product rests and a fronting member slidably connected to the tray, the fronting member of the tray being moveable relative to the bottom to move the product placed in the tray along the bottom toward a front of the tray; and

transporting the tray with the product placed therein to the second location.

2. The method of claim 1 further comprising forming a display at the second location using the tray with the product, the display arranged and configured to allow a customer to remove the product from the tray, the fronting member of the tray being moveable relative to the bottom to move the product placed in the tray along the bottom toward the customer.

3. The method of claim 2 further comprising transporting the tray from the second location to the first location for refilling of the tray after the product placed in the tray is removed.

4. The method of claim 2 further comprising

placing products in multiple trays, each tray including a bottom upon which product rests and a fronting member slidably connected to the tray;

transporting the trays with the products to the second location; and

forming a display at the second location using the trays with the products, the display arranged and configured to allow a customer to remove the product from at least one tray, the fronting member of the at least one tray being moveable relative to the bottom to move the product along the bottom toward the customer.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the step of forming a display using the trays with the products includes stacking the trays, wherein an upper tray exposing product carried by the tray.

6. The method of claim 5, further comprising supporting the weight of the upper tray using a lower tray.

7. The method of claim 5 further comprising building a shipping unit comprising the trays with the product prior to the step of transporting the trays to the second location.

8. The method of claim 5 further comprising stacking the trays with the product upon a crate.

9. The method of claim 8 further comprising filling the crate with containers of milk.

10. The method of claim 8, wherein the crate has an open top with the trays stacked thereon, at least one tray having a length that spans the open top of the crate.

11. The method of claim 2, wherein the step of forming a display using the tray with the product includes placing the tray on a shelf of the display.

12. The method of claim 1 further comprising washing the tray.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein the product is a container of yogurt.

14. The method of claim 1 further comprising placing products in multiple trays, each tray including a bottom upon which product rests and a fronting member slidably connected to the tray; and

stacking the trays on a pallet.

15. A tray for transporting and displaying a product at a retail location for customer selection, the tray comprising:

a bottom having a first end and a second end and a slide region along which the product can slide between the first end and the second end; and

a fronting member slidable relative to the bottom, the fronting member having a front and a back, the front of the fronting member configured for use in grasping the fronting member and moving the back of the fronting member toward the first end of the bottom, the back of the fronting member spanning the slide region and configured to engage products disposed on the bottom for moving products along the slide region toward the first end of the bottom;

wherein the tray is configured to be repeatedly cycled between a filling operation at a facility remote from the retail location and a displaying operation at the retail location where the product is displayed for customer selection.

16. The tray of claim 15 further comprising a bumper located at the first end of the bottom.

17. The tray of claim 15, wherein the fronting member is configured to be grasped and moved manually.

18. A display for displaying a product for customer selection at a retail location, the display comprising a plurality of stacked trays carrying product, each tray comprising a bottom and a fronting member, the fronting member of the trays configured to move relative to the bottom to move the product along the bottom toward an end of the bottom.

19. The display of claim 18, wherein an upper tray of the stacked trays is anchored in place using a lower tray of the stacked trays.

20. The display of claim 18, wherein products carried by an upper tray are exposed for customer selection.

21. The display of claim 20, wherein products carried by a lower tray are covered by the upper tray.

22. The display of claim 18, wherein the display is refrigerated.

23. The display of claim 22, wherein the products are containers of yogurt.

24. The display of claim 18 further comprising nesting structure that anchors the upper tray and lower tray together.

25. The display of claim 18, wherein the fronting member having a front and a back, the front of the fronting member configured for use in grasping the fronting member and moving the back of the fronting member toward the first end of the bottom, the back of the fronting member spanning the slide region and configured to engage products disposed on the bottom for moving products along the bottom toward a front of the display.

26. A method of building a display at a retail location, the method comprising:

positioning a first tray filled with products on the display, the first tray comprising a first bottom along which the products can slide and a first fronting member having a first front configured for use in manually grasping the first fronting member and a first back capable of engaging the products disposed on the first bottom to move the products along the first bottom in response to manually pulling the first front; and

stacking a second tray filled with products on top of the first tray, the second tray comprising a second bottom along which the products can slide and a second fronting member having a second front configured for use in manually grasping the second fronting member and a second back capable of engaging the products disposed on the second bottom to move the products along the second bottom in response to manually pulling the second front.

27. The method of claim 26, wherein at least one of the first and second trays are filled at a location remote from the display.

28. The method of claim 26, wherein the step of stacking includes nesting the second tray with the first tray.

29. The method of claim 28 further comprising inhibiting removal of product from the first tray using the second tray.