Storage and display assembly
[iii 3,874,758  
 [45] Apr. l, 1975 Huncklcrm..........r.........  
  2li/128 ....2ll/l28 Sanders0n..................,....  
 [2l] Appl&#39; NO: 327533 Primair)l Examiner-Paul R. Gilliam Assiszunl Ermm&#39;ner-Carl F. Pietruszka [57] ABSTRACT A storage and display assembly has a plurality of verti` cally removable pocket containers held by four walls 0f a case. Each container has three vertical walls and an Open side with removable shelves dividing each container into separate verticall y displaced compartaining articles. When articles displayed in st compartment are depleted` the respecm fr .m W SD.. mu ee mm S T N E m A .lD.. CS SE mm n T :aus e D RE H N U M 1.  
 STORAGE AND DISPLAY ASSEMBLY BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION l. Field ofthe Invention The invention relates to an assembly for displaying a plurality of different articles for sale or use and, in particular, to a display assembly having facilities for storing extra articles which may be used to replenish the displayed articles when sold or used.  
 2. Description of the Prior Art There are a number of prior art display assemblies having facilities for storing replacement articles. Examples of such assemblies are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,655,620, 2,104,214, 2,280,935, 2,937,763 and 3,675,982. Some of the prior art assemblies are provided with a bin in a lower or rear portion thereof where extra articles can be stored. However, in such assemblies, different articles are often mingled or strewn in the bin making it difficult to find a particular article as well as exposing the stored articles to much handling and damage. Also, it can not be readily determined if any of the stored articles are depleted.  
  The above-mentioned U.S. Pat. No. 2,104,214 describes a tier arrangement of horizontal drawers with shelves on the front thereof for displaying individual articles. Such horizontal drawer arrangements require elaborate support structures or cabinets for the drawers which are generally too expensive, heavy, or large to be conveniently employed as display assemblies.  
 SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION ln accordance with the invention, a display and storage assembly for articles has a case with four walls holding a plurality of vertically removable containers in abutting relationship wherein each of the containers has (a) three vertical walls, (b) an open side and (c) a plurality of shelves secured to the walls to form a plurality of vertically disposed compartments for holding articles, the uppermost compartment being open at the top to display the articles therein.  
  A feature of the invention is the provision of horizontal guideways on side walls of each container for removably securing the shelyes. Additionally, each shelf has a Harige extending upwardly in the open side of the container.  
  Other features and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description of the preferred embodiment taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.  
 BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. l is a perspective view of a display and storage assembly in accordance with the invention;  
  FIG. 2 is a perspective view ofa container of the assembly shown in FIG. l;  
  FIG. 3 is a side cross sectional view of the container of FIG. 2 showing articles placed therein.  
 DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring first to FIG. l, there is shown a display and storage assembly having a plurality of vertically removable containers 10-10 held in abutting rows and columns by walls l2, 14, 16 and 18 ofa case 20. Each row of containers l-l0 rests upon a respective one of the steps 22-22 in the bottom of the case 20. The containers l0l0 each have a rear wall 24 and two side walls 26 and 28 with the front being open. The upper edges of the walls 26 and 28 are formed at an angle extending downward from the upper edge of the rear wall 24 so that the upper edges of the containers 10-10 are generally in a sloping plane which rises from the front to the rear of the case 20.  
  In each of the containers 10-10 as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, shelves 30, 32 and 34 are removably secured by respective guide rails 36, 38--38 and 40 (only one of each of the pair 36 and 40 is shown) mounted on the walls 26 and 28 to form three vertically disposed compartments to hold articles or packages 42-42. F langes 44, 46 and 48 extend upwardly from the front of each of the respective shelves 30, 32, and 34. A protuberance 50 is provided on the rear wall 24 of each container for aiding in the manual gripping and removal from the case 20. Holes 52 and 54 in the rear wall 24 in each of the lower compartments allow for the insertion of a finger to push articles toward the open front.  
  Preferrably, the case 20, the containers 10-10 and shelves 30, 32 and 34 are molded from a suitable rigid synthetic plastic, such as a styrene plastic. However, other materials, such as wood, metal, cardboard etc. could be used to form one or more parts of the assembly.  
  The storage and display assembly shown in FIGS. l-3 could be modified in that the steps 22-22 could be eliminated and the vertical length of the containers 10-10 in each column could be increased stepwise to present substantially the same sloping front as that shown in FIG. l. Also, the containers 10-10 are shown with three compartments which could be changed to less or more by the removal of one of the shelves 30 and 32 or the addition of more shelves. Further, the containers 10-10 are shown with the same horizontal rectangular dimensions, however, containers with different sizes and different shapes in the horizontal dimensions could be designed to mate and fit within the case 20. Additionally, the protuberance 50 could be replaced by a recess or other gripping aid.  
  In use, the case 20 illustrated in FIG. l is designed to set on a floor, table top or other area where it is desired to display a plurality of articles 42-42, such as packages containing zippers, laces, braids, tapes, etc. As shown in FIG. 3, a plurality of the articles 42-42 may be positioned on each of the shelves 30, 32 and 34. To accommodate larger articles, the shelf 32 may be removed. The front wall l2 of the case 20 serves as a front wall for each of the containers in the forwardmost row to contain articles 42-42 therein. The rear walls of the containers serve as front walls for containers in the row immediately therebehind to contain articles therein. The articles on the upper shelf 30 of each container are clearly visible in the open top of the container. Further, the stepped arrangement of rows of containers with the angled upper edges of the side walls 26 and 28 improves the visibility of the articles 42-42.  
  When the articles 42-42 on the upper shelf 30 of one of the containers 10-10 are depleted, the respective container may be lifted from the assembly by gripping the rear wall 24 using the protuberance 50 as an aid. Flanges 44, 46, and 48 retain the articles on the respective shelves 30, 32 and 34 when the container is raised or when the container immediately in front thereof is raised. Replacement articles can then be transferred to the upper shelf 30 from one of the lower shelves 32 and 34. As an aid in removing the articles from the lower shelves, the holes 52 and 54 may be used to insert a finger and push the articles toward the open front or one of the shelves 30, 32 and 34 may be removed using the flanges 44, 46 and 48 as a gripping aid.  
  The invention can be used to aid in the turn over and inventory of articles for sale or use. By a systematic advancement of articles from the lower shelves to the upper shelves and the addition of the newest articles to the lower shelves, it can be assured that the first-in articles are the first-out articles. Also a reorder or stock control card may be placed on one of the lower shelves with the addition of new articles. When the card is exposed, it may be used to reorder additional articles.  
  Since many variations, modifications, and changes in detail may be made to the preferred embodiment described in the foregoing description and shown in the accompanying drawings without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention, the description and drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.  
 What is claimed is:  
  l. A display and storage assembly for articles comprising a case having front, rear and side walls;  
 a plurality of step means disposed in the bottom of said case between said front and rear walls and arranged to ascend from said front wall to said rear wall;  
  a plurality of vertically and individually removable containers held in abutting and slidable relationship between the front, rear and side walls of the case, the bottom of each container being arranged to rest on said step means;  
 each one of said containers having an open front, a  
 rear wall and side walls;  
 a plurality of vertically disposed and relatively spaced pairs of horizontal guideways mounted on the side walls of each container such that a pair of horizontal guideways is disposed on their respective side walls of a container in vertically spaced relation to another pair of horizontal guideways on the container; plurality of vertically spaced and horizontally disposed shelves in each container, each one of the shelves being slidably retained between its pair of horizontal guideways of a container. the top of each shelf for supporting an article and along with adjacent upper portions of the rear and side walls of a container forming an article-holding compartment; flange extending upwardly from each shelf` at the open front of a container for retaining an article in the compartment during use of the container in said case; and each container having an uppermost shelf, an uppermost article-holding compartment being disposed above the uppermost shelf of each container in said case and each container being open at the top to display an article in the uppermost article-holding compartment, at least one lower article-holding compartment below the uppermost shelf of each container and between successive shelves thereof, the lower article-holding compartment for storing an extra article and having an open front between the successive shelves at the open front of each container, and the open front of each container being normally enclosed by a wall of said case or the rear wall of another container. 2. A display and storage assembly as defined in claim l wherein the upper edge of the respective side walls of each container is formed at an angle extending downward from the upper edge of the rear wall so that the upper edges of the containers all lie substantially in a sloping plane which rises from the front to the rear of said case; and the rear wall of each container has an opening large enough to accommodate a finger for insertion into a compartment below the uppermost shelf. 3. A display and storage assembly as defined in claim l which includes means on the rear wall of each container for aiding in the gripping and removal thereof from the case.  
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