Supports: racks – Special article – Stacked articles
Reexamination Certificate
1998-10-21
2001-02-13
Lev, Bruce A. (Department: 3634)
Supports: racks
Special article
Stacked articles
C211S128100, C211S184000, C220S643000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06186345
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates generally to merchandising devices and, more particularly, to a shipping case which can serve not only as a transport and storage case but also as a merchandising display unit.
Conventional shipping cases of the above mentioned type are disclosed, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,762,594 and 3,841,519. These shipping cases are usually arranged for stacking. In a stacked position, they can form a suitable storage and display rack providing a good visibility of the contents such as bottles, cans or boxes arranged in rows, and permitting the contents to be removed through one or more side openings formed for each case. Cases of this type have been found of utility since they can dispense with the process for transferring the contents to one or more separate display racks, which would otherwise be required at the point of sales. However, as the contents of the stacked cases are removed first from the front rows adjacent to the side openings, it is still annoying duties to those who attend to the stacked cases to rearrange the remaining contents so that the contents are presented with tidy front rows.
What is needed, therefore, are shipping cases which can be stacked to form a storage and display rack that is easy to attend to. Such shipping cases and a rack should be capable of automatically rearranging the contents or articles so that the articles are displayed always in tidy rows.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
According to the invention in one form, a stackable shipping case is provided with a slanted floor and one or more partitions to provide a gravity feed display unit. The stackable case comprises a base wall, a pair of opposed side walls and a back wall which are molded together to form a unitary crate structure with an open top and an open front. These open top and open front are designed to provide access to the articles to be accommodated in the crate structure. The base wall is arranged so that its upper surface provides a low friction, article-carrying floor inclined downwardly toward the open front. The partitions are formed on the floor and divides the floor area into two or more parallel tracks for receiving articles in rows. These tracks extend forward from the back wall so that the articles in each track are carried by the floor and are allowed to gravity feed toward the open front along the respective track. A front stopper is provided at the open front for engagement with the leading article in each track to prevent the leading article from falling out of the crate structure until its removal is desired. Further, the lower edges of the side walls are arranged to cooperate with a lower adjacent like case so that the case is permitted to be stacked on the lower adjacent like case.
In a preferred embodiment, the floor is inclined with respect to a plane defined by the upper edges of the side walls. Each side wall may be formed with a hand aperture to define a hand grip near the upper edge of each side wall.
In another preferred embodiment, the stackable case further comprises an upper front cross member extending between the side walls so that the lower edge of the upper front cross member, the front edges of the side walls and the top of the front stopper cooperatively define the open front through which the contents of the case may be removed.
In still another preferred embodiment, the stacking means comprises upper and lower engaging means. The upper engaging means comprises the upper edges of the side walls whereas the lower engaging means comprises the lower edges of the side walls. The lower edges of the side walls are arranged to engage the upper engaging means of the lower adjacent like case. The lower engaging means may further comprise a pair of side ribs projecting downward respectively from the lower edges of the side walls to engage the side walls of the lower adjacent like case, respectively. In this embodiment, the stackable case may further comprise an upper front cross member extending between the side walls. In such a case, the upper engaging means further comprises the upper edge of the upper front cross member and the upper edge of the back wall. The lower engaging means may further comprise a pair of front and rear ribs projecting downward from the front and rear edges of the base wall to engage the upper front cross member and the back wall of the lower adjacent like case.
In a further preferred embodiment, the front stopper comprises a lower front cross member extending between the side walls. In this embodiment, the one or more partitions may extend between the back wall and the lower front cross member. The vertical size of each partition may be less than that of the side walls.
In a still further preferred embodiment, the back wall of the stackable case is formed with one or more rear openings for receiving respective portions of the leading articles in a longitudinally adjacent like case (i.e., a “rear case”) placed behind the back wall in a front-to-back contacting relationship with the stackable case (i.e., the “front case”). The number of such openings may correspond to that of the tracks in each case, and the rear openings may be located at the rear ends of the tracks in the front case, respectively. The rear openings allow the front and rear cases to be placed together in a directly contacting relationship even though some portions of the leading articles in each case tend to project forwardly though the respective open front. In this embodiment, the front case may comprise a plurality of rear arresting members joined to the back wall such that each arresting member transversely spans the respective rear opening to engage the leading articles in the rear case. The arresting members prevents the leading articles in the rear case from leaning against the trailing articles in the front case so that the trailing articles in the front case are free of pressure of the articles in the rear case.
The present invention in another form provides a combination comprising a shipping case and its contents, i.e., a plurality of upright articles such as bottles, cans or boxes in their upright position. The shipping case in this form is virtually identical to that of the first form except that the case of the second form is further defined as having the side walls of a vertical size substantially greater than the vertical size of the upright articles.
The present invention in still another form provides a modular merchandising device comprising a plurality of shipping cases stacked one on top of another to form a display rack. Each shipping case in this form is virtually identical to the case of the first form.
The objects and advantages of the present invention should be apparent from the above and following description, the accompanying drawings and the appended claims.
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Display Industires, LLC.
James John L.
Lev Bruce A.
LandOfFree
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