Supports – Brackets – Specially mounted or attached
Reexamination Certificate
2002-11-27
2004-03-30
Chan, Korie (Department: 3632)
Supports
Brackets
Specially mounted or attached
C248S223310, C248S225110, C040S642010, C040S657000, C211S057100
Reexamination Certificate
active
06712324
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates generally to a system of electronic labeling.
Electronic labeling is widespread at present in stores, particularly large stores. Electronic labels are usually present in the form of a housing, generally fairly flat and rectangular parallelepipedal, on the front surface of which is disposed a display element such as a liquid crystal display screen. The display is controlled by a microprocessor, for example remotely controlled by the central computer of the store.
There is already known for example from the international application published under the number WO-98/58360, such an electronic label and a rail permitting positioning the latter on the front edge of the shelves of display cases on which are disposed products offered for sale.
The label and the rail comprise means ensuring emplacement of the label by snapping into the rail, which are such that although it is easy to emplace the label in the rail, it is impossible to move said label along the rail or to remove it from said rail without a suitable tool.
These means are constituted on the one hand by longitudinal grooves formed in two wings of the rail disposed facing each other and between which the label is to be positioned, and on the other hand by a rib formed on the surface of the label adapted to be engaged in the longitudinal groove of one of the wings of the rail, and a retractable finger urged by resilient means, mounted extending from the opposite surface of the label and adapted to be engaged in the longitudinal groove of the other wing of the rail. During emplacement of the label, said finger is inserted snap-fittingly in the longitudinal groove formed in said other wing of the rail and, after possible movement of the label for a short distance along the rail, in means such as blind openings formed in the bottom of said groove to immobilize said finger against translation in the longitudinal direction of the groove.
This arrangement permits providing an electronic labeling system which is very simple to use and which ensures that the label cannot be moved along the rail to be juxtaposed with products other than those whose characteristics it describes, or to be removed by more or less ill-intentioned persons.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,126,125 discloses a hooking device permitting fixing electronic labels to the shelves of a storage depot. The hooking device is formed of a single piece comprising a rail adapted to receive said label and a coupling element adapted to permit the securement of the label on the lower surface of the shelf. The hooking device permits protecting the electronic label and is adapted to be unhooked from the shelf in case of a shock, during movement of the shelves by elevation.
The document WO-97/48862 discloses an electronic label support permitting fixing an electronic label on a display unit comprising a rod. This support is constituted by a body adapted to receive the electronic label and an adaptor adapted to fix securely the body on a mounting portion. The body is fixed on the adaptor by means of attachments. The rod of the display unit is specially modified so as to comprise the mounting portion receiving the adaptor.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The object of the present invention is to provide a labeling system using the same labels not for products presented on shelves, but for packaged products in plastic film and carried by a display unit with a peg. Said labeling system is adapted in most cases to the forms which said peg can take and in particular when said peg comprises a T-shaped rod. In a manner known per se, the packaging of the product has an opening thanks to which it is threaded on the peg disposed perpendicularly to a fixed wall. Above the peg bearing the products offered for sale is disposed a rod terminating at its front end in a crosspiece perpendicular to it. The label is hooked to this crosspiece so as to be moved in rotation about the latter during removal or emplacement of the products carried by the peg.
To this end, the invention provides an electronic labeling system adapted to be carried by the crosspiece of a display unit with a peg, characterized in that it comprises:
an open housing constituted by a bottom, an upper wing and a lower wing,
an electronic label adapted to be positioned in said open housing, in the form of a flat rectangular parallelepipedal body whose front surface constituted by one of the large surfaces is provided with a display screen, and comprising a first hooking means coacting with a corresponding means on the upper wing of the housing and a second hooking means coacting with a corresponding means on the lower wing of the housing,
a suspension element comprising two walls disposed parallel to each other and connected by a cylindrical portion adapted to be disposed astride the crosspiece of the display unit with a peg,
positioning means ensuring with said first and second hooking means comprising the label and the corresponding means of the wings of the housing, the relative positioning and retention of said housing, label and suspension element, said positioning means being inaccessible when the electronic label is positioned in the housing.
The labeling system according to the invention is further remarkable in that:
said positioning means are constituted by a pin on the housing, a blind hole on the label and axially aligned openings formed in the walls of the suspension element,
the blind hole of the label is formed in the rear face of the body of the latter,
the upper wing of the housing comprises a slot opening into a hollow recess in the bottom of the housing, said slot and said recess being adapted for the positioning of said walls of the suspension element,
the pin of the housing is formed on the bottom of the recess and is of a length greater than the depth of said recess such that its end extends beyond the front of the bottom of the housing and is adapted to engage in the blind hole of the body of the label,
the first hooking means is a retractable finger mounted in the body of the label, extending beyond the upper surface of the latter and being urged by a spring, and coacting with corresponding means of the upper wing of the housing,
the second hooking means is a longitudinal groove formed in the lower surface of the body of the label coacting with a rib disposed longitudinally on the internal surface of the lower wing of the housing,
the suspension element is of general L-shape, the cylindrical portion being disposed at the free end of the short leg of the L,
said walls of the suspension element are bent substantially at a right angle so as to have a small portion and a large portion disposed perpendicularly to said small portion and adapted to be inserted in the housing,
the corresponding means of the upper wing of the housing coacting with the first retractable hooking means mounted in the body of the label, is a groove disposed longitudinally in the internal surface of the upper wing of the housing,
the corresponding means of the upper wing of the housing coacting with the first retractable hooking means mounted in the body of the label, is a blind hole disposed in the internal surface of the upper wing of the housing and opening through the facing surface of the lower wing of the housing,
the upper wing of the housing comprises a throat disposed between said blind hole and a front surface of said upper wing of the housing, the lateral surfaces of said throat being closed, such that said retractable finger will be guided laterally upon being freed from the throat, and the surface of the bottom of the throat forming a guide ramp for the retractable finger which opens laterally into said blind hole, between the bottom of the blind hole and the internal surface of the upper wing, such that the retractable finger will snap into the blind hole after being freed from the throat,
the housing comprises a second pin formed on the bottom of the recess and of a length equal to the depth of said recess, and in that the suspension element comprises second axially aligned openings for
Catteau Dominique
Joliey Bernard
Chan Korie
Store Electronic Systems-Electronic Shelf Label
Young & Thompson
LandOfFree
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