US20080230666A1

US20080230666A1 - Dispensing, displaying and containing case for products and object

Info

Publication number: US20080230666A1
Application number: US12/154,334
Authority: US
Inventors: Alvaro Nelson Quinones Farfan
Original assignee: Metalurgica Quinones Farfan Ltda Soc
Current assignee: Metalurgica Quinones Farfan Ltda Soc
Priority date: 2007-03-23
Filing date: 2008-05-22
Publication date: 2008-09-25

Abstract

A container, displaying and dispenser shelf for products or objects, which comprises a body formed by 4 elements: two side pieces joined to a base and a front piece, which form an inner space to contain products or objects, said base having a slope suitable for immediate and constant dispensing of said products or objects on user's demand, and without the participation of any external element to the dispensing system< wherein said side pieces are rhomboids with diagonally-oriented longer sides, and opposing equal smaller inner angles from 30° to 70°; and longer sides of said rhomboid having a length from 39 to 49 cm.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a container, displaying and dispenser shelf for products or objects, which comprises a body formed by 4 elements: a base, a front piece and two side pieces joined to the former two elements to form an inner container space with a slanting base to shift the products or objects by gravity. The present invention aims to solve the technical problem posed by container shelves, especially those used in supermarkets, in order to offer clarity and order when displaying products, not requiring to be replaced as a whole by supermarket staff, and not using stoppers or springs, which could be damaged or worn out, as supporting means, to put the products or objects at the buyers' disposal.

STATE OF THE ART

Currently, there are many different types of product containers for supermarkets. These containers, which further display such objects, require to be constantly “replenished” by the establishment (supermarket), i.e. often replenishing the stock of products to offer them to the buyers. Many of these containers have disadvantages in terms of:
clarity and order to display the products;
number of times needed to replenish the product in the containers;
wearing out of the stoppers or springs that make possible to put the product at the buyers' hand;
the product is not always at the buyer's hand, which encourages a buying disposition toward other product.
These disadvantages are solved mainly by:
a) conceiving a system that decreases the times needed to replenish the products;
b) a container or dispenser that regulates by itself the outlet of the product without requiring an additional element in the system;
c) a container that has a durable lifetime, considering the constant manipulation to which it will be exposed.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1: An exploded view of each of the elements that form the shelf is represented, where two identical side pieces, a base (which also serves as a support) and a front piece, which serves as a front lid, are showed.

FIG. 2: a perspective view of the container shelf is represented in this figure; the object in this view is represented completely mounted (opposed to FIG. 1), and the placement and order of each element can be assessed. The rectangular form and small thickness of the shelf can be further observed.

FIG. 3: an elevation view of the container shelf is shown, with the front piece (3) in the foreground.

FIG. 4: a close-up view of the front piece of the shelf is shown; said front piece is placed before the side pieces and surpasses the height of such side pieces. Furthermore, it is possible to appreciate all the lowered or rounded edges of said piece.

FIG. 5: a side view of the container shelf is shown, wherein it can be appreciated the length of the front piece (which surpasses the height of the side pieces) and the rear coupling piece of the base.

FIG. 6: a close-up view of the coupling piece of the container shelf is shown.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention comprises 4 pieces; each of them has been assigned an Arabic numeral. The first piece is referred to as the front piece (3), the next two pieces are called lateral or side walls (1), hereinbelow referred to as the side pieces and the last piece is the base (2).
With reference to FIG. 1, when these four elements are mounted together, they form a container body, which is formed by coupling the side pieces (1) to the base (2), wherein the front piece (3) accomplish the role of a stopper for the container body. In FIG. 2, the container shelf is completely mounted with each piece in its own place.
With reference to FIG. 3 and FIG. 4, the front piece (3) is the only piece with which the user will be directly related, and therefore all its edges are rounded to protect both the product from possible damages when being stored in the container shelf and the manipulating user.
Furthermore, as depicted in FIG. 5, the bottom edge of the front piece (3) surpasses the height of the side pieces (1), which is purposely made to support the container shelf; therefore, the present model is supported on the front piece and also on the base piece (2), since this base piece has a supporting back or coupling, which is formed by a double pleating or fold at its top edge that forms a 90° angle; this is clearly appreciated in FIG. 1 and FIG. 6.
With reference to FIG. 5, a side view of the container shelf is shown, where it can be readily appreciated the side pieces (1), which are formed from a rectangle from which 2 triangles are excised from each end; the size of the triangles' sides can vary depending on the intended slope of the container shelf, which is directly related to the characteristics and features of the product to be displayed. Therefore, the shape of the side pieces goes from a rectangle to a rhomboid.
With reference to FIG. 3 and FIG. 4, the front piece (3) has a cut that extends from the horizontal top edge of said front piece to its half point approximately, which allows displaying the front of the product's package or container, thus improving its exposure to the possible buyers.
Thanks to its intrinsic slope (refer to FIG. 5), which is caused by the shape of the side pieces (1), and to the coupling means of the back piece, the container shelf makes possible to:
a) put the displayed product permanently at the buyers' hands, because of the effect of gravity exerted on the product disposed inside the container shelf;
b) eliminate any need for product ordering or outlet regulating systems as long as the products are being extracted by buyers, since the container shelf auto-regulates the outlet, order and display of the product, thanks to the slope that can be achieved;
have a reduced thickness, which causes the shelf to have a reduced weight, thus facilitating its carrying-over and handling by personnel in charge of replenishing the container shelf;
d) have a reduced number of pieces, only 4, which facilitates mounting and model building; and
e) vary the length, width and slope angle of the container shelf, regardless of the former points, without affecting the product dispensing and displaying features of the container shelf. The limit values within which said sizes can vary are:

- 1) width: 5-30 cm;
- 2) length: 45-60 cm; and
- 3) smaller side pieces inner angles: 30°-70° (these angles will determine the slope of the container shelf).

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, a container, displaying and dispenser shelf for products or objects comprises a body formed by 4 elements: two side pieces joined to a base and a front piece, which form an inner space to contain products or objects, said base having a slope suitable for immediate and constant dispensing of said products or objects on user's demand, and without the participation of any external element to the dispensing system< wherein said side pieces are rhomboids with diagonally-oriented longer sides, and opposing equal smaller inner angles from 30° to 70°; and longer sides of said rhomboid having a length from 39 to 49 cm.
In other preferred embodiment of the present invention, said base is rectangular-shaped and its length will depend on the length of the side pieces, because both elements must have coincident larger lengths to produce the slope required by each side piece; and said base is pleated to produce a support for the container shelf, which is further pleated outwards in 90°, thus forming a hook that will serve to support said container shelf from its back.
In a further preferred embodiment of the present invention, the front pieces is rectangular shaped, is coincident with the width of the base, and surpasses the smaller edge of the side pieces in its height, the variation of which is comprised between 1 and 2 cm.
In another further preferred embodiment of the present invention, the ends of the front piece have curvature radii from 7 to 10 mm, and said front piece comprises a trapezoidal cut-out having a smaller side located on the top horizontal edge of said front piece, wherein the height of said trapezoid is smaller than 50% of the height of said front piece, the larger side of said trapezoid is smaller than 80% of the length of the horizontal edge of said front piece and the smaller side of said trapezoid is smaller than 45% of the length of the horizontal edge of said front piece.

Claims

1. A container, displaying and dispenser shelf for products or objects, which comprises a body formed by 4 elements: two side pieces joined to a base and a front piece, which form an inner space to contain products or objects, said base having a slope suitable for immediate and constant dispensing of said products or objects on user's demand, and without the participation of any external element to the dispensing system< wherein said side pieces are rhomboids with diagonally-oriented longer sides, and opposing equal smaller inner angles from 30° to 70°; and longer sides of said rhomboid having a length from 39 to 49 cm.

2. A product containing shelf according to claim 1, wherein said base is rectangular-shaped and its length will depend on the length of the side pieces, because both elements must have coincident larger lengths to produce the slope required by each side piece; and said base is pleated to produce a support for the container shelf, which is further pleated outwards in 90°, thus forming a hook that will serve to support said container shelf from its back.

3. A product containing shelf according to claim 1, wherein the front piece is rectangular shaped, is coincident with the width of the base, and surpasses the smaller edge of the side pieces in its height, the variation of which is comprised between 1 and 2 cm.

4. A product containing shelf according to claims 1 and 3, wherein the ends of the front piece have curvature radii from 7 to 10 mm, and said front piece comprises a trapezoidal cut-out having a smaller side located on the top horizontal edge of said front piece, wherein the height of said trapezoid is smaller than 50% of the height of said front piece, the larger side of said trapezoid is smaller than 80% of the length of the horizontal edge of said front piece and the smaller side of said trapezoid is smaller than 45% of the length of the horizontal edge of said front piece.