EXPANDABLE DISPLAY SYSTEM
An expandable display system that has an expanded position for displaying products and a compact position for efficient shipment. The expandable display system includes a product tray and a graphic panel, with the graphic panel being configured to slide along the product tray so that the expandable display system can move from the compact position to the expanded position and vice versa. In certain embodiments, the expandable display system includes a locking mechanism that prevents the graphic panel from separating from the product tray when the graphic panel slides along the product tray as the expandable display system moves from the compact position to the expanded position.
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Embodiments of the present invention relate to expandable display systems having a compact position and an expanded position.
BACKGROUNDRetail product sales are driven by many factors. Product demand, quality, and pricing are some factors that contribute to retail product sales. Other factors may include product advertising and product location in the retail environment. Many product display devices are designed to take advantage of valuable retail space and their location. Display devices may also be designed to utilize advertising space creatively to include product graphics, indicia, and trademarks.
Display devices and product ideally should be easy to set up, requiring minimal time and effort from retail employees. Some retail establishments require that displays meet particular size specifications to maximize the advertising and display space for the product. However, display size specifications are often greater than the merchandise space requirements, which leads to waste in materials and space during shipping and storage.
It is thus desirable to provide a display unit that is easy to ship, easy to set up, and provides efficient delivery of product to the end-consumer. It is further desirable to provide display units that feature graphics, while also providing the additional display space on the unit, if needed. It is further desirable to provide a display unit that uses a minimal amount of material and requires a minimal amount of space during shipping.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONEmbodiments of this invention include an expandable display system including a product tray and an associated graphic panel. According to one embodiment of this invention, the graphic panel is slidably connected to the product tray, allowing the graphic panel to telescope along the product tray to expand and contract the overall size of the expandable display system. In this manner, the expandable display system has a compact position and an expanded position. According to one embodiment, the expandable display system includes a locking mechanism to prevent the graphic panel from separating from the product tray when the expandable display system moves from the compact position to the expanded position.
Embodiments of the invention now will be described more fully with reference to the drawings.
In one embodiment, the assembled product tray 12 includes a bottom panel 18, a back panel 20, a front panel 22, and two side panels 24. The bottom panel 18 connects the front panel 22 to the back panel 20. The side panels 24 extend from the back panel 20. The side panels 24, the front panel 22, the bottom panel 18, and the back panel 20 form a cavity capable of holding retail product. The front panel 22 may vertically extend from the bottom panel 18 to retain retail product within the product tray 12, while still allowing the retail product contained within the product tray 12 to be visible to a consumer. The product tray 12 also includes one or more locking tabs 26 (shown in
Optionally, a graphic insert 242 (shown in
The blanks illustrated herein are formed from paper, paperboard and/or corrugated paperboard material, although other materials may be used if desired. Unless otherwise stated, within the borders of an illustration of a blank, broken or dotted lines indicate fold lines, score lines or other lines of weakness, while solid lines indicate cuts or apertures.
The assembled product tray 12 may be formed from a blank 50 shown in
The front panel 22 of the assembled product tray 12 is formed by folding the inner front panel 54 along fold line 58 and capturing the tabs 60 into the slots 62. Front flaps 64 may be folded along score lines 96 to provide additional structural support for assembled front panel 22. The two side panels 24 of the assembled product tray 12 may be formed by folding the inner side panels 68 along fold lines 92 and capturing the tabs 86 within the slots 84. Optionally, the back side panels 72 may be folded along fold lines 100 and used to provide additional structure support for the assembled side panels 24. Similarly, the top flaps 70 may be folded along fold lines 104 to provide additional support. The assembled back panel 20 may be formed by folding the inner back panel 76 along fold line 102 onto the outer back panel 78, and capturing the tabs 82 within the slots 80.
The tabs 86 may be sized so that they are received within slots 84 and extend beyond slots 84 so that they protrude from the bottom panel 74. These protrusions serve as the at least one locking tab 26, as shown in
In the embodiment shown in
The design and shape of the graphic panel 14 may vary depending on the needs of the retail customer. For example, the front panel 30 may be parallel to the back panel 31, as shown in the embodiment of
The assembled graphic panel 14, like the product tray 12, may be formed from a blank 250, shown in
Inner end panels 190 and 194 fold along fold lines 176 and 172, respectively, inwardly toward each other. An optional support panel 192 then folds along fold line 174 so that it lays on top of inner end panels 190 and 194. The support panel 182, if used, serves to provide additional strength and help retain the shape of the assembled graphic panel. End panel 182 folds along fold line 178 and lays on top of the support panel 192. A tab 184 folds along a fold line 188 and is secured to the bottom panel 156 with glue, tape, or other suitable means. The tab 184 may be secured to the bottom panel 156 by machine or by hand.
Optionally, the back panel 158 may include a cutout 196. If used, the cutout 196 acts as a handle to assist with sliding the assembled graphic panel 14 along the assembled product tray 12 to expand and contract the expandable display system 10, as is discussed in detail below. The cutout 196 can be any suitable size and shape.
The assembled graphic panel 14 is adapted to cooperate with the product tray 12 and is capable of sliding along the product tray 12 so that the expandable display system 10 has an expanded position and a compact position. In the embodiment show in
The graphic panel 14 of the embodiment shown in
In one embodiment of this invention, the expandable display system 10 includes a locking mechanism to prevent disengagement of the graphic panel 14 from the product tray 12 when the display system 10 is sliding from the compact position to the expanded position. As shown in
The top panel 28, the front panel 30, the back panel 31, and the end panel 34 of the graphic panel 14 may optionally include graphics, trademarks, and/or other promotional materials to advertise the retail product stored in the product tray 12. Because the product tray 12 slides into the graphic panel 14 when the expandable display system 10 is in the compact position, the graphics, trademarks, and/or promotional material are visible whether the expandable display system 10 is in the expanded position or the compact position.
An alternate embodiment 200 of the expandable display system is shown in
The alternate expandable display system 200 is designed to fit multiple extension length tray sizes. The alternate expandable display system 200 has a compact position (shown in
The sliding graphic panel 14 and the product tray 12 eliminates production materials and reduces transportation costs. The product tray 12 and the graphic panel 14 are sized to meet the dimensions required by the retail stores, reducing the space needed to ship and store a single expandable display system 10. Additionally, less material is needed for the shippers and fillers used to store and contain the expandable displays 10 during shipping. Because less material is used to make the expandable display systems, more display systems can be shipped per shipping pallet. Therefore, less shipping pallets are required per trailer, which reduces the number of trailers needed to ship the expandable displays. This results in transportation cost savings.
To display retail products contained within the expandable display system 10, the graphic panel 14 slides along the edge of the product tray 12 to expand to the needed display size. Because the expandable display system 10 has a compact position and an expanded position, the material costs are lowered because the display systems 10 ship in the compact position, but can expand to the expanded position to fill space as might be required by retail stores. This leads to more efficient shipping and storage of the expandable display system 10. The expandable display system also achieves cost savings in labor and assembly costs. Because the expandable display system 10 is expandable, the smaller shipping size does not affect the ability of the expandable display system 10 to expand to larger retail store requirements once it is on the shelf.
Changes and modifications, additions and deletions may be made to the structures and methods recited above and shown in the drawings without departing from the scope or spirit of the invention and the following claims.
Claims
1. A display system comprising:
- (a) a product tray for housing a plurality of product;
- (b) a graphic panel slidably engaged with the product tray and capable of sliding between a compact position and an expanded position; and
- (c) a locking mechanism that prevents the graphic panel from separating from the product tray as the graphic panel moves from the compact position to the expanded position.
2. The display system of claim 1, wherein the locking mechanism further comprises a tab on the product tray and a flap associated with the graphic panel.
3. The display system of claim 1, wherein the width of the graphic panel is the same as the width of the product tray.
Type: Application
Filed: Jan 16, 2008
Publication Date: Jul 16, 2009
Applicant: ROCK-TENN SHARED SERVICES, LLC (Norcross, GA)
Inventor: Tom Lang (New Milford, CT)
Application Number: 12/014,873
International Classification: B65D 6/16 (20060101); B65D 1/34 (20060101); B65D 85/00 (20060101);