CA2029823A1

CA2029823A1 - Display device

Info

Publication number: CA2029823A1
Application number: CA002029823A
Authority: CA
Inventors: John S. Skalski
Original assignee: RJ Reynolds Tobacco Co
Current assignee: RJ Reynolds Tobacco Co
Priority date: 1989-11-14
Filing date: 1990-11-13
Publication date: 1991-05-15
Also published as: GB2237979A; US5027957A; GB9024647D0

Abstract

DISPLAY DEVICE
ABSTRACT
A display device having a front cartridge section against which objects can be stacked, one against the other, in a first line; first and second strips each wound about itself to define first and second coils with first and second axes; structure for connecting the strips to the front cartridge section so that the axes of the coils are transverse to the first line; and a rear cartridge section having first and second legs which are extendable at least partially through the first and second coils. By moving the rear cartridge section away from the front cartridge section in the first line with the first and second legs extended into the first and second coils, the legs cause the first and second coils to unwind, whereby a force is developed on the first and second strips tending to draw the front and rear cartridge sections towards each other so that an article to be displayed can be resiliently captured in a display position between the front and rear cartridge sections.

Description

2029~23 .. . . :.

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old ~_th~

Thls inventlon r-lAtos to article di~play de~ic~ and, ~ ;
5 more particulArly~ to a d-viae into which artlcles are oad~d and nor~ally urged ~nto a di~play po~it~on ~E~ '. ,.'' ', ., '' It i8 common to d~pl~y m-rchandl~e in r-tall -tabll~hmRnt- in d~vic~- hAving elongato r~lls ~nd pu-hers 10 gutdod on th- rA~ nd bias~d 80 ~ to urge artlcl~ lnto a diBplay position onQ x mplary ~truature 18 shown ln U S
pAtent 3,308,961, to Che~loy A pucher plat- 28 is guid-d in ~orQ and a~t mov-ment on ~aaed rail~ 32 ~lx-dly 4-au~o~
to ~ ~uppor~ ~helr A ooil ~prlng 34 bia~ th- pu~h-r 15 plAtQ 28 towArd~ the ~ront o~ th- devlc- ~o that artlcl~
~ngaged thQr~by ar- bi~CQd lnto A d~play posltlon ~-While device~ such AS that ~hown ln Che~ley hav~ prov-n ~Qotive ~or th-i~ tntenaed purpo~-, th-Y have num-rous -~
drawbacks Flrst, ChQsl-y dl-olo~ n intric~tR ~i~
20 Arrang~nt o~ numerou~ lementB Re~ultlngly, th~ co~ts ;, Attendant th- manu~acture or BUCh ~ device are relati~ely h~gh ~;
Further, th- Chesley compon-nt~ mu~t be manu~acturRd and a68emb1ed to close tolerance~ to be operabl- A ~law in 25 one of the ralls 20, whic~ ar~ lnh-r~n~ly pron~ to b~lng bent in u~e, can rendar th~ entlr- d~vioe inoperabl~ ~`
A furtb-r draw~ack with the Chosley d~vic- 1 B that it ~-mU~t b~ cu~to~ bullt to ~atoh ind~vidual sh-lf con-~igura~ions It i~ t4~r-~or~ impo~lbl~ to mak- a univ-r~al : .
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2029823 :- ~

d-~$gn for dlff~ront retAil ~stabli~hm-nts On ~ite A~--ably by ~killed p-r~onn-l may be r-quir-d I~ on- ~tt-mpt~ to make a ~tandard structure, the stru¢tur- would b- mad- to accommodate the larg~st 5 ant1clpated numbor o~ art~cle~ I~ only a ~ow artlcles are ln the display, a large un-ightly 6tructur- r-mains in pl~c-, whlch ~Ak-s th- romalnd-r o~ th~ ah-lf unuseable A ~t$11 rurth-r drawback with a struatur-, suoh a- that in Ch-sley, ~ that onc- ~n P1AC-, the devic- lac~
10 ver-atility Ihat 1~, it ls ~e~igned ~or a ~poclfic width articl- and a peciflo arrang-ment o~ artlole~ along th-wldth o~ the helf Should on- de~ire to ch~ng- sh~
loc?tlon- ~or ~p-oiflc articles, one would have to di~4~-mbl- and rocon~truct or replAce the devic- on a 15 dlfr-rent shalr Th- inconvenionc~ to a ~tore operator i8 .: .:
appArent. ,~
T~e d-vic- ~uoh A~ that ln Che-l-y i- also inconv-nlont from 4 manufactur-r'~ ~tAndpolnt Ma~y d~f-ront part~ must b- made and inventoried The rall~ are long and thu- tak-20 up 4 con8id-rable a~ount Or ~pac- B c~u-e of th- in~rlcate lnterconn ction Or parts, var~atlon in one dlm-n~ion Or the Ch--ley device, a~ required by one us-r, m~y regulro a r d~lgn of th- entir- structur-, which may not be feaaible given the prlce ceilinga contend-d with by ~anu~aetur-rs ~
The ~res-nt l~v ntion i- ~p-cl~ically dirocted to ov-rco~ing the abov--enumer~ted proble~ ln a nov-l and si~ple manner Aacording ~o tho invention, a ~lspla~ d~vlae i~
30 ~rovid~d and ha~ a ~ront cAr~rldge 8eatlon ~gainst whlch obj-ots can be ~t~ak-d, on- Ag~in-t th- othe~, in A ~lr-t lin-s ~ t and ~-oond ~trips ach woun~ about it~ to 202~823 ~ ~ ~

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d~fine fir~t and s~cond ooil~ wlth ~lrst and ~-¢ond axess ~ttucture ~or conn~cting th- ~trip- to th~ ~ront cartrldg-BeCt$0n ~o that the AX-~ Or the coil~ ar- tran~v~r-- to th~
~irst llnet and a rear cartridge ~ction havin~ fir-t and 5 ~econd l~g6 whlch ar- ext-n~4ble a~ l-a~t ~art$ally through thQ ~ir~t And ~-cond coll~ By moving the roar c~rtr~dge ~oction away ~rom th~ ~ront cartrid~ s-ction in th~ ~irst llne, with thQ ~r~t and s-cond l-ge ~xtend~d into th~ f$r~t and second COllB, the l-g~ cause the ~lrot and B-cond c0118 :
10 to unwind, w~er-by a ~orco 1~ d~v-loped by the rir~t and ~-cond tr~pJ tending to draw tha ~ront and roar cartridg-~-ation~ toward~ each othQr 0o tha~ ~n artlcl- to bs - displ~yed ¢an bo r~ ntly capturQd in a di#play po~lt1~n b~tweon tho ~ront and rQa~ cartr~dg- 6ect~0ns LS Th- pr~s-nt lnventlon h~ a0 i~ prinoipal ob~ectivQq th~ provi~ion o~ a impl-, in-Xp-n~$V- dlspl4y dQvic- ~hlch 18 ~xt~-ly v~atil- At th~ ~am ti~, th- d-vico h~s a vory oompact con~igura~lon ~he dQvic- can b- oon~lgur-d ~o that, with no articlQ~
20 being d~-playod, tho roar cartridg- ~octlon ~B dr~wn olo--ly ~gain~t th- ~ront cartridg- soctlon by th~ ~trlp~ ~ho co~p~ct configur~tion ~acllit~t-a ~h~p~ing and handl~ng and mlni~iz-~ inventory ~pac- roqulr-ment- --At the ~ tl~ , the d-vic- 1~ oxtromely simplo ~y 2S reA~on of its obviating th- n--d ror conv-ntional guid~
~tructure, ouch as rail~ Th~ ~ront cartridge ~eotion can bo ~uitably ~-cur-d to a ~hel~, ~t any d-~lr-d location The amount of spaa- tak n up by th~ overAll devlc- ia dictat-d by th- ~ize and numbe~ Or articl~. Wlth no 30 article~ in plAC-~ the rear cartridgQ s-ation And strip~
r-tract into a very ao~paat con~gur~tlon As th- articl~
ar- loadea in place, one agaln~t the ot~er, in a rOre and a~t dlroction, th- bl~-lng trlp~ c9u-e an ~ven prorsur- to .'~'''',", "
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2029823 ~: :

be appli-d by the back w~ galn~t the article~ ~o th~t th-y ar- rl~mly ¢aptured in allgned r-latlon~hlp betw~en the ~ront and rear cartrldge ~-ctlon~
By simply vary$ng the s~rip length, the cap~clty o~ th~
5 di-play d-vic- c~n be alter-a, a- d--lred ~ he lnv-ntlon aloo con~emplates otruotur for attaching the front cartrldg~ -ctlon both flxedly to a shelf and r-lQasably to be ~-lect~vely attAch-d at any of a nu~b-r o~
do-~red locatlon~ on th- J~el~
The front c~rtr~age o-ction can b- dlr-ctl~ ~ixedly attac~ed to a sh~l~ through the us- or ~cr-w~, adhesiva~, tc Alt-rn~t~vQly, ~nd in a pre~rr d ~orm, a r~
provlded ~nd ~ultably s-cured to tho hel~ on whlch articles are to be dl~pl~yed In one ~or~, an elongate rail i~
15 ~roviaed wlth a lengthwl8- ~lot Th- ~ront cartr~dg-eatlon haJ a rib~pro~e~tion whlo~ i- rec-ived ln th- ~lot ~o th~t tho pro~ectlon lc slld~bl- lengthw~s- o~ the rall ~h- pro~ection malntaln~ th- ~ront cartxidge ~ection again~t ~oro and aft mov-ment With sultabl- rAil- on different 20 ~h-lves, th~ ~tore owner can sim~ly ~laoe the dl~play devlce ln ~ d-elr-d looatlon on any ~hel~
lt i~ al~o po-~lbl- to ha~o ~ ~ro~ection/~lot int~grally ror~ed wlth th~ ~holr and A coop-rating rail~lot on the di~play d-vlc- By ~e~aratin~ th- de~ic-~s) rrO~ the 25 rall~, the shel~ 1~ fr~-d to be u~-abl- for other pU~pO~Q~
In one ~orm of tho l~v-ntlon, a clip i9 ~orm~d int-grally wlth t~e rail, whie~ clip i8 capable o~ ¢arrylng a price and/or d~crlpt$v- inrormation relating to th~
articl~
To si~pll~y m~nu~aatur- o~ the d-vl¢o, prc~-rably th-rail 18 ~orm-d by a~ xtru-io~ prooe~ ~he ~ront and rear oart~idge ~ection~ are mold~d ~rom pla~t~a The 4trlp~ can b~ m-tal, ~YLARO, such ~ th- aoll- d~acrlb~d in U ~

Pat~nt 3,426,11S, or oth-r ~uitablo material cap~le Or maintaining a colled con~iguration A~sembly o~ the d-vlce ~ -involv - mer-ly s-curlng the trip ~nd~ to th- front cartridge ~octlon and pro~ecting th- l~g- on the r-ar s cartrldge ~-aSlon through th- collo In it- ~lmpl~t rOrm, th- r ~r cartridgo wall can b- a U-~hap-d me~b~r, ~uch a~ a ~orm-d wir- Th- u-~haped wire i~ direated ~hrough th~ co~l-, pre~rably ~n an invert-d orientatiO~. .....
Anoth-r a~p~ct Or th- inv-ntion i~ th~ provi~ion of .-tructur- on the r-ar cartridge wall extend~ng upwardly beyond the ~ntlcip~ted h-ig~t o~ ob~-ct~ to b- dis~layQd ~o th~t t~- location o~ the r-arwardmo~t article dlsplayed by the d-vice can b- ~e~dily id-nti~ied, ther-by ~acillt~ting 15 inv-ntorying by the tore owner . .. .~

Flg 1 i- ~n ~x~lod-~ p-r~p-ctlv- vlow or a dl-play devlc-, ~ccordlng to th- pr -ent invontiont F~g 2 18 a p~r-pective vlow o~ tho device in Flg 1 ln 20 lt- a~--mblod ~tat~ wlthout ~ny artlcl-s displayéd th~r~in Fig 3 is a p-rsp ctlv- vlew o~ a modlfi-d ~orm o~
dl-pl~y devlc-, accordlng to t~o ~re~ont ~nventiont Flg 4 15 ~ por-pective v~ew o~ th- devlae in Flg ~ in it~ a~-mbl~d stat~ wlthout any artlcl~ dl~pl~yed thorein Fig 5 18 ~ ~che~atla plan v~-w Or a plur~llty o~ th-inventlve di-play devia~ on à hel~
Flg 6 i~ a p~r~poctiv~ vl~ of A ~hel~ ~octlon howing a mounting le~-nt/rall th-reon ror a plurality Or dlsplay d-vice~
Flg 7 i~ a per-pQctiv- ~l-w o~ a ~ootion Or ~ ~hol~
with a groove th~r-in for roc-p~ion o~ a ~ounting el-m-nt rOr tho dl~pl~y d-v~cos and ..'~ '" '~
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~ Lg 8 l9 ~ persp~ctlv- ~lew of a s-atlon of a modlfi-d fo~ o~ ~ountln~ ~le~ent/rail.

one ~orm o~ di-play d-vlc-, a¢cording to th- pre--nt s inv-ntlon, i~ hown at 10 In Flge 1 and 2 Th- dl-play d-vlce/cartti~- lO aon~l~te o~ A ~ront cartrldge s-ctlon 12, a rear cartridg- sectlon 14, and ~ir-t and ~-cond ~l~xiblo ~tr~po 16, 18, r-sp-ctivoly, ~or int~rconn-cting th- ~ront and rear cartridge ~ctlono 12, 14 Th- Above ~le~-nt- cooperat~ to relea-ably e~br~ce a plurallty o~ art$cle~ 20 to b- di~played, as deplcted ~ch~m~tcally Ln Fig 5 The Artlale~ 20 may taXo Any ~h~p-~nd ~iz~ The artlcle~ 20 ar- shown ln quAr a contain-re, ~u¢h ae cigAret~- pac~-, snq the lke It should b~
15 under~tood th~t th- ld-nt$~y o~ t~ artlcl- 20 18 irr~levant to th- lnvontion ~ he inventlon aont-m~l~te~ th~t t~e ~ront c~rtrldg-~-ct~on 12 b- attach-d ~o t~ upwArdly ~aaln~ eur~ace 22 o~
a ~h-l~ 24 ~he artlcl-s 20 ar~ loa~Qd b-tw~-n th- ~ront 20 cartrldg- ~ection 12 and roAr cartridg- eectlon 14 and ar biAs-d towards t~- front cartrldge -ction 12 by the trlps lC, 18 into a dlsplay posltlon, w~er in they ar~ re~d~ly sQen and r-mov~ble by ~ aon~u~or ~o a¢complieh th~ abovo, th- st~lpe 16, 18 ar- wrapp-d ~5 about th-meolve~ to d-~ln- co~le 26, 28, r~-pectlvely ~h-~t~lp- 16, 1~ ~ay bo ~o~m-d o~ onvent~onal sprlng-type m-tal, or by oth-r ~aterlal, suoh A- M~LAR. In U S Patent 3,426,115, a auitable m-thod 1~ di6closed ~o~ ~orming MYLAR~
coil~, that oan be u~ed accordlng to th- pra-ent invention 30 ~e ~trip~ can ha~ a width a- shown in Flg~ 1-4, or may b-wid~r ~uch A~ t~- corr sponding strip~ 16, l~ shown ln Fig 2029823 `~

Conn~ction o~ e4ch ~trlp 16, 18 to th- cartridg-Bect~on~ 12~ 14 i~ th- 8ame, And thu- de~crlp~ion h-r-ln wlll bo limlt-d to x~plary ~trlp 18 Th- Btr$p 18 ha~ a forw~rd nd 30, whtch 18 conneot-d to th- front cartrldg-S ~c~lon 12 A cutout 32 1~ ~rovl~ed in the ~ron~ ~rtrldgQe-ction to de~ln- a ~orw~rdly ~aaing dg~ 34 ~h- ~r - end 30 o~ the ~trlp 18 1B wrapp-d ~round the dg~ 34 And ~ultabl- -cur~d to th- ~ront c~rtridg- s-ct$on 12 there~d~ac-nt, A~ by an adh--lve Wlth th- ~trlp ~nd 30 10 conn-ct~d to th- ~ectlon 12, ~ shown, th- ¢oil 28 r-~td--clo~ely ~d~ac-nt to th~ r ar d~ 3~, a~ eo~n ln F~g. a ~ he r~ar cartrldge s-ction 14 ha~ a ~orwardly ~aclng surfac- 38 for abutment wlth thQ odg- 36 of th- wall lZ
Th0 w~ll 14 h~- upwardly ~ro~00tlng l~g- 40 ~on- shown) 15 ~pAc~d ~llghtly re4rw~r~1y o~ th- wall ~ur~c- 38 W~th the i~
~trlps 16, 1~ ~-aur-d to the Sront ¢Artrtdg- ~ectlon 12, th- roar c~rtridg~ ~ect~on 14 c~n b- ~-mbl~d by dlrQctlng t~e l-g 40 upwar~ly through th coll 28 The l-g 40 ha-~u~lal-nt h-lg~t th4t ~t pro~ect~ ~ully ~hrough the coll 20 28 A tran-ver~- bloc~ing m mb-r 42 1~ provlded on th- fr--end 43 o~ th- le~ 40 to pxe~-nt ~oape o~ th coll 28 fro~
the l-g 40 in u~e Th- rear cartrldge octlon 14 ha~ a cutout 44 to accommodate the coll 28 with th coll 28 ourroundlng th- leg 40 The cutou~ d ~ln~ A ledq- 45 for 2~ ~upport~ng the coil 2~ Th- oppo-lte l-g ~not ~hown) on th r ar ¢artrid~ ctlon 14 xtend- through the coll 26 ln Ilk- manner. ~re~r~bly, the leg# 40 on the roar cartr~dge ~-ation 14 are -ubstAntially parallel, a~ are th- ax-~ 46, 48 o~ th- coil- 26, 28, r ~p-ctively, t~roYgh whlch the l-g~
30 40 ext-nd With ~ho dQ~iC- 10 a~mbled, th~ ~trlp~ 16, 18 t-nd i toward- th~ir wxA~d con~lgurat~on ~nd in ~o do~ng draw th~
rear cartridg- ~ect~on 14 aga$n~ the rront oartrldgo ~e~tlon 12, a~ ~hown ~n Fig 2 A~ ar~lcle~ are loaaed ~
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botw--n th- cartr~dge ~-ctlon~ 12, 14, the ~trlpe 16, 18 ~r~
c~us~d to unw~nd, wh~lo ma~ntalning a ~i~o ~ending to draw tho cartridg~ ~ection~ 12, 14 towardJ aah other ~h~ ~orc~
d~v~lop-d by th~ ~tr$p~ 16, 18 18 th~ sa~e o that the articl~ 20 r~m~in po~ltivoly in lin-, one b-hlnd the oth-r, a- ~een in Fig S A~ is ap~ar-nt ~rom ~lg~ 1, 2 and th~ devico lo i~ very co~paot and tak ~ up an a~ount o~
~pac~ dir~otly proportlon~l to the num~er o~ articles 20 loaded therein ~re~erably, the car~ridge ~-ctlon~ 12, 14 ar- moldQd rrom plAstic Ihe ~ront oartrld~o -ctlon 12 ha~ a front wall 50 and spac-d sid- wall~ s2, 54 pro~otlng rearwardly rrom th- ~ront wall ~0 The rearwar~ly ~ac~n~ ~ur~_ce 5g Or the ~ront w~ll 50 and th ~ide wall- S2, 54 coo~eratlv~ly 15 de~n- _ r-ceptacle ~t 56 con~lgur d to match the ~h_pQ ot and be sllghtly lar~or than ono o~ th- articlo~ 20 to be r dL~play-~ by the ~-vlc- 10 Th- reAr cartridg- ~ectlon 14, under the ~or¢~ exorted by th ~trips 14, 18, urge- an artlcl- 20 lnto t~- r-ceptAcle 56 and a dlsplay po-~tion ror 20 t~at artlclQ 20 A outout s8 18 pxov$ded ln th- ~ront wall 50 to perm~t ~i-wlng o~ th- artlcl~ 20 ln th d~play posltlon and gr~ep~ng by a purcha-er ~or r-~ov~l Th- rear cartrldg- ~-ction 14 has a tab 60 pro~ect~ng upwardly boyond th- ~axi~um antlcipated height ot th-25 articles 20, ~o a~ to g~v~ a ~i-ual lndicatlon o~ the rearward~o-t artlcl- Z0 Thls conven$ently and positlvely ale~t~ t~ tor- o~n-r a~ to th- nu~b-r o~ article~ 20 in th~ d~vice lo A ~impli~lQd foxm of tho d-vic- 10 i~ ~hown at 10' $n 30 Fl~- 3 and 4 Thc only dlfterence ~-twe-n t~o devlco 10' in Flg- 3 and 4 ~nd that lo ln Flg- 1 and 2 i~ that th-roar cartr~dge eation 62 ln th~ form-r ls modi~i-d ~rom that 14 in Fig~ 1 and 2 ~ho cartr$dg~ ~ection 62 1- a ~imple g . . .
U-~hAp-d el~nt with a croB~ bax 64 ~nd d-p~ndln~ log~ fi6, 68 Tho lega 66, 68 Ar- dir~ct-d downw~rdly through th-coil- 2C, 28, re~pectlvely, and ar~ drAwn by th- coil~ ao th- str~p~ 16, 18 tend to ~owind th~m~elv-~ Th- ro~r S c~rtridgo ~-ctlon 62 can bo lmply rormed ~y a piec~ o~
h~avy gauge w~r~ or alternatl~-ly ~or~d a~ ~ mold-d pi-c~
o~ stic Th- inv-ntion al~o cont-mplat-~ ~t~ucture ~or holalng the d-vlc- 10 rixedly agAin-t ~ore and Aft ~ovem-nt on a 10 ~h-l~ 24. Th- ~ructur- ~or dolng thi~ hown ln Figs S-8 An longat- ~ounting olem-nt/r~l 70, pre~-r~bly ~or~-d by an xtruoion proc~ mounted to the upwardly faclng sur~ce 74 or th ~h-l~ 24 The r~il 72 can b- held in pl~c- by a two-~id-d adh -ive trip 76, or by other 15 ~ultable ~ans, ~uch a~ cre~e, tc The rail ha~ ~p~a~d wall~ 78, 80 d~lnlng ther-betw -n an upwardly opening, U-~hap-d groov- 82 ~ he ~ront c~rtrldg- ~oction 12 ha~ a dop-ndlng rib/pro~oction 84, whlch 1~ acc~pt~d by the groove 82 Th-20 pro~eatlon ha- a cro~ ~ection gen~r~lly ma~ch~d to that o~
the groov~ 82 and 18 d~m-n~io~ed to be ~nugly, but r-l-aBAbly acaept-d within the rall groovs 82 To as~ mble the d-vl¢- ~0 on th- ohelf 24, on need only pre~- th-r~b/pro~ection 84 ~nto th- groove 82 ~t th- do~lred loc~tion 2S along the sh~l~ wldth Th- artlcle~ 20 can th-n b~ slmply load-d between the ~ront and roar aArtrldg- ~ect~ons 12, 14, ra-pectively ~h- dovlae 10 n--ds no addltlonal gu~d-at~ucture and t~Xes up only that a~oun~ of 8p~Ce on the ~hel~ 24 a- ia ns~dod by t~ number of artlclo~ b-lng 30 displayed I~ th- ai~pl~y d-vlae 10 1~ no long-r n~-d-d, it ~ mply drawn upwardly o~ e~ the rall 70 ~o that ~h-sh-l~ 24 18 ~r-- to be u--d a~ d-~lr~d . ..
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Modi~i~d ~orms or th- ra~l 12 are hown ln Flg~. ~ and 8 In Fig 7, a rall 86 1- ~hown with ~ rlb 88 pro~ctlng downwardly ther-from for rQcoptlon in a groove 90, d-rln-d directl~ in th- ~hol~ 24 The rall 86 ha~ a downwardly 5 facing surrac- ~2 rOr bearing agaln~t th- upwardly ~aclng ~urf~c- 74 o~ the sh~lr 24 An adh~siv~ layer ~4 i~
lnt-r~o-od b-tw--n tho sur~acos 92, 74 to prev-nt la~ral ~hi~tlng o~ th~ r~ll 86 relatlv- to the ~h-l~ 2~ and -paratlon o~ the rlb 88 ~rom th- ~roove go Th~ rall B6 10 ha~ ~ corr-~pondlng, upwardly op-ning groov- 94 ror acc~ptanc- o~ the rlb- 84 on th- devlc~ lo It hould b-undorstood that the rlb 84 can bo configur-~ to cooporAt-directly with th- groov- 90 in th s~elr 24 Thl~ obvtatQ~
tho n-ed ~or a ~eparat- rail 86 A ~urther modiried ror~ or rall 96 i~ ~hown in Flg 8 Th- rail 96 has an upwardly op~nln~ groo~- 98 for the rlb~
04 and a d~wnwardly ~aa~ng ~urrac- 100 attach-d to th-upwardly ~acing hol~ ~urr~co 74, a~ by an adho~iv- ~trlp ~02 ~he prlnclpal di~-ronc- b-twe~n th- r~il 96 and th~t 86 ~n Flg 7 18 that th- ~orward wall 10~ bounding tho groove 98 ha~ a downwardly turn-d uppor Ohd 106 and an upwardly tu~n-a bottom end 108, derined on the portlon 1l0 o~ the wall 104 x~-ndln~ downwardly b~low t~- ma~n body 112 of th rall 96 Th~ ~orwardly racln~ ur~ace 114 Or tho 25 wall 104 can acco~mod~t- pr~cing in~or~atlon, etc relatlng to ~h- artl~ 20 ln the d-~1ce 10 Th turned end~ 106, 108 coop-rat- to o~pture paper t~ip-, or the like, plac-d again~t the ~ur~ace 114 The ~oregoing di~clo~ure Or peci~ic mbodl~ent~ 1-intend-d to be lllu~tratlve of th broad concept~ co~pre-hend-d by the ~nven ion ' :

Claims

1. A display device comprising:
a front cartridge section against which objects are to be stacked, one against the other, in a first line;
a first strip wound about itself to define a first coil with a first axis;
a second strip wound about itself to define a second coil with a second axis;
means for connecting the strips to the front cartridge section so that the axes of the coils are transverse to the first line; and a rear cartridge section having first and second legs which are extendable at least partially through the first and second coils, whereby by moving the rear cartridge section away from the front cartridge section in said first line, with the first and second legs extended into the first and second coils, the legs cause the first and second coils to unwind so that a force is developed by said first and second strips tending to draw the rear cartridge section toward the front cartridge section so that an article to be displayed can be resiliently captured in a display position between the front and rear cartridge sections.

2. The display device according to claim 1 wherein at least one of the first and second strips is made at least partially from MYLAR?.

3. The display device according to claim 1 wherein at least one of the first and second strips is made at least partially from metal.

4. The display device according to claim 1 wherein said front cartridge section has a front wall with a rearwardly facing surface and spaced side walls which define in conjunction with the front wall surface a receptacle for an article to be displayed.

5. The display device according to claim 1 wherein said front cartridge section includes means for attaching the front cartridge section to a shelf on which articles are to be displayed.

6. The displayed device according to claim 1 wherein said front cartridge section includes means for releasably attaching the front cartridge section to a shelf on which articles are to be displayed.

7. The display device according to claim 1 in combination with a mounting element, said mounting element including means for attaching the mounting element to a shelf on which articles are to be displayed, and said front cartridge section includes means for attaching the front cartridge section to the mounting element to prevent movement of the front cartridge section in said first line.

8. The display device according to claim 1 in combination with a shelf having means for mounting the front cartridge section to the shelf, said front cartridge section including means for attaching the front cartridge section to said shelf mounting means.

9. The display device according to claim 1 wherein said rear cartridge section has means thereon extending upwardly beyond the anticipated height of objects to be displayed by said device for giving a visual indication of the location of a rearwardmost article displayed by said device.

10. The display device according to claim 1 wherein said coil axes are parallel to each other and in a substantially vertical orientation.

11. The display device according to claim 1 wherein said rear cartridge section has a U-shaped configuration.

12. The display device according to claim 1 wherein least one said leg has a free end with a blocking member adjacent to said free end to prevent escape of the coil from said one leg.

13. The display device according to claim 4 wherein the front wall has a cutout to permit viewing of a forwardmost article being displayed.

14. The display device according to claim 7 wherein the mounting element comprises an elongate rail and the attaching means for the front cartridge section includes means for attaching the front cartridge section selectively at different positions along the length of the rail.

15. A display device comprising:
a front cartridge section;
a rear cartridge section;
extendable strip means; and means for connecting the strip means to the front and rear cartridge sections so that the front cartridge section, rear cartridge section and strip means cooperatively extend in a continuous loop around articles to be displayed and the strip means urges the front and rear cartridge sections towards each other to releasably embrace articles to be displayed between said front and rear cartridge sections.

16. The display device according to claim 15 wherein the strip means is wrapped about itself to define a coil and as the front and rear cartridge sections are moved away from each other the coil unwraps to permit the front and rear cartridge sections to move away from each other, said front and rear cartridge sections being urged towards each other by a force produced by the strip means tending to rewrap itself.

17. The display device according to claim 15 wherein there are first and second strip means each connecting between the front and rear cartridge sections, each said strip means being wrapped about itself to define a coil with an axis, the axes of the coils defined by the first and second strip means being substantially parallel.

18. The display device according to claim 17 wherein said rear cartridge section has first and second substantially parallel legs which extend at least partially into the coils defined by the first and second strip means and draw the coils to effect unwrapping of the strip means as the front and rear cartridge sections are moved away from each other.

19. The display device according to claim 18 including means for attaching the front cartridge section to a shelf on which articles are to be displayed.

20. The display device according to cliam 18 including means for removably fixedly attaching the front cartridge section at selected positions on a shelf on which articles are to be displayed.