Tray design for merchandise display device
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     This invention relates to a tray or shelf design for holding products in a merchandise display device. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Merchandise display devices are frequently used to provide an attractive setting for a product to be sold as well as for a functional arrangement that will facilitate handling of the product. Such display devices are used in supermarkets, discount department stores and other sales outlets and are designed so that they occupy only limited floor space. The devices are usually fabricated from cardboard or similar inexpensive materials and they are generally designed for displaying a particular product or a limited group of products. These devices typically employ several trays or shelves arranged in a stacked or tiered manner in order to accommodate the maximum amount of merchandise with a minimum of floor space required for the device. Since such display devices may be shipped to the sales outlets in knockdown form, it is desirable for them to be designed so that assembly can be quickly and easily accomplished. An example of a merchandise display device is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,506,790 wherein multiple shelves are employed for supporting the product. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention provides a shelf or tray design that is intended for use with suitable support means that are capable of accommodating two or more trays arranged in a vertically spaced manner. The tray is of unitary construction and includes front and side walls for retaining product on the tray even when the tray is positioned with the front edge of the tray at a lower elevation than the rear edge of the tray. 
     It is an object of the present invention to provide a tray for a merchandise display device wherein opposing side walls are continuous with the front wall of the tray and the front and side walls comprise a folded panel of corrugated board for increased structural strength. 
     The disclosed tray includes a bottom panel member having opposing first and second side edges and opposing front and rear edges, a bottom-reinforcing panel designed to underlie at least a portion of said bottom panel member with the front edge of the bottom-reinforcing panel being essentially parallel to and adjacent to the front edge of the bottom panel member. An elongated panel folded along its longitudinal axis is disposed between and attached to the front edges of the bottom panel member and bottom-reinforcing panel with the folded elongated panel extending along the entire length of the front edge of the bottom panel member and forming the front wall of the tray. The tray also includes first and second side walls comprising folded sections that are continuous with the folded elongated panel extending along the front edge of the bottom panel member with the side walls being positioned in abutting relationship to the respective first and second side edges of the bottom panel member. Both the front wall and the first and second side walls project generally upwardly a predetermined distance to retain the particular product that is supported by the bottom panel member. Attached, respectively, to the first and second side walls are first and second locking panels which extend a predetermined distance beneath the bottom panel member and serve to maintain the first and second side walls and the front wall in an upwardly projecting position. Attached to the first and second side walls, respectively, are first and second connecting panels which are also attached to opposing side edges of the bottom-reinforcing panel and are provided with score lines to permit the connecting panels to be folded as the connecting panels and the bottom-reinforcing panel are positioned beneath the locking panels and the bottom panel member. 
     It is a further object of this invention to provide a unitary blank of material which is predesigned to fold into the tray described above. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the predesigned blank is provided with a layer of adhesive adjacent to the longitudinal axis of the elongated panel so that the elongated panel will be maintained in folded form prior to erecting the tray from the blank. 
     Yet another object of this invention is to provide a tray with a merchandise-supporting bottom panel member having one or more slots designed to accommodate tabs protruding through the slots which serve as dividers in the tray. 
     These and other objectives will be apparent from the attached drawings and detailed description which follows. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a plan view of a blank used for forming a tray in accordance with one embodiment of the invention. 
     FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the tray that is formed from the blank shown in FIG. 1. 
     FIG. 3 is a plan view of a blank used for forming a tray in accordance with another embodiment of the invention. 
     FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the blank of FIG. 3 showing details of the manner in which the tray is formed. 
     FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the tray that is formed from the blank shown in FIG. 3. 
     FIG. 6 is a plan view of a blank used for forming a tray in accordance with yet another embodiment of the invention. 
     FIG. 7 is a plan view of a blank used for forming a merchandise display device designed to hold trays formed in accordance with the invention. 
     FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a merchandise display device formed from the blank shown in FIG. 7 and holding a formed tray in accordance with FIG. 5. 
     FIG. 9 is a plan view of a blank used for forming a tray in accordance with a further embodiment of the invention. 
     FIG. 10 is a perspective view of a tray formed from the blank of FIG. 9 showing details of the tray design. 
     FIG. 11 is a perspective view of a merchandise display device designed to hold trays of the type shown in FIG. 10. 
     FIG. 12 is a plan view of a blank used for forming a tray in accordance with yet another embodiment of the invention. 
     FIG. 13 is a perspective view of a &#34;drop-in&#34; tray divider suitable for use with certain embodiments of the invention. 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     With reference to the drawings, the blank 18 shown in FIG. 1 is formed into tray 35 shown in FIG. 2. As can be seen from the view of the underside surface of blank 18 in FIG. 1, elongated panel 20 extends along the entire length of the blank and is provided with a weakened zone 21 that coincides essentially with the longitudinal axis of elongated panel 20. The folding of elongated panel 20 along its longitudinal axis is facilitated by weakened zone 21 and folded panel 20 forms the front and side walls of the tray as shown in FIG. 2. Hingedly attached to opposing edges in the central portion of elongated panel 20 are bottom panel member 23 and bottom-reinforcing panel 24. Locking panels 27a and 27b are attached to either end of elongated panel 20 adjacent to bottom panel member 23 and connecting panels 28a and 28b are attached to elongated panel 20 opposite to locking panels 27a and 27b, respectively. Connecting panels 28a and 28b are also attached to opposing side edges of bottom-reinforcing panel 24 and are provided with weakened zones 30 and 31. Back panel 26 is hingedly attached to the rear edge of bottom panel member 23. 
     Formation of tray 35 from blank 18 involves folding of elongated panel 20 along weakened zone 21 and positioning the folded panel at an angle of approximately 90 degrees with respect to the plane of bottom panel member 23. Locking panels 27a and 27b are then moved to a position beneath and in contact with bottom panel member 23 until each end of folded elongated panel 20 is in abutting relationship with the respective side edge of bottom panel member 23. This movement is facilitated by score lines 33 and 34 in folded elongated panel 20. Finally, bottom-reinforcing panel 24 is moved to a position beneath bottom panel member 23 (see FIG. 2) and locking panels 27a and 27b with the simultaneous folding inwardly of connecting panels 28a and 28b along weakened zones 30 and 31 to produce the formed tray 35. Suitable fasteners such as staples may be used at strategic locations to maintain the tray in its formed configuration. Instead of using fasteners the tray is preferably installed in a suitable merchandise display device that is designed to hold the tray in its formed configuration. Optional mounting tabs 37a and 37b as well as 38a and 38b attached, respectively, to panels 23 and 24 are preferably employed to engage suitable retainers associated with a merchandise display device so that the tray will be held securely in the desired position by the device. Also, it is preferred that a layer of adhesive 22 be applied to elongated panel 20 in order to maintain elongated panel 20 in its folded state before formation of the tray is completed. It is apparent that the height of the front and side walls of tray 35 will be approximately one half the transverse dimension of elongated panel 20. Thus, the height of the walls can be made to accommodate most effectively the size and nature of the particular product to be displayed on the tray. If desired, tray 35 may be provided with a product divider such as the separate &#34;drop-in&#34; design shown in FIG. 13 which has upwardly projecting dividers 148 and 149 incorporated therein. 
     Another embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIGS. 3, 4 and 5. The underside surface of blank 39 is shown in FIG. 3 and the blank includes panels 40, 43, 44, 47a, 47b, 48a and 48b which correspond, respectively, to panels 20, 23, 24, 27a, 27b, 28a and 28b in FIG. 1. Connecting panels 48a and 48b are provided with weakened zones 49 and 51 to facilitate folding of those panels in the formation of a tray from blank 39. Additionally, back panel 45 is hingedly attached to the rear edge of bottom panel member 43 and is designed to cooperate with support means associated with the merchandise display device in which the formed tray 55 (FIG. 5) is used. Score lines 56 and 57 facilitate the bending of folded elongated panel 40 during formation of tray 55. Bottom panel member 43 is provided with slot 46 whose longitudinal axis is essentially perpendicular to the front edge of bottom panel 43 and is designed to accommodate tabs 50a and 50b attached to locking panels 47a and 47b, respectively. As seen in FIG. 5, tabs 50a and 50b protrude through slot 46 and together serve as a tray divider for the product or products displayed. The location of this tray divider may be moved by modifying the dimensions of the locking panels as shown in FIG. 12. Thus, locking panel 77a is shortened while locking panel 77b is lengthened and slot 76 is correspondingly relocated to accommodate tabs 80a and 80b when the blank is converted into a formed tray. 
     It is preferred that a layer of adhesive 42 be applied to elongated panel 40 (see FIG. 3) prior to folding panel 40 along weakened zone 41. This embodiment of the invention also includes mounting tabs 54a and 54b which are hingedly attached to opposing side edges of bottom-reinforcing panel 44 and mounting tabs 52a and 52b which are hingedly attached to opposing side edges of bottom panel member 43. These mounting tabs are designed to cooperate with appropriate support means which hold the tray in a desired position in a merchandise display device. 
     The embodiment shown in FIG. 6 is similar to that depicted in FIGS. 3, 4 and 5 except that bottom panel member 63 is provided with two L-shaped slots 66a and 66b which are designed to receive tabs 70a and 70b, respectively. Tabs 70a and 70b assume the L-shaped configuration of slots 66a and 66b while tabs 71a and 71b are sandwiched between locking panels 67a and 67b, respectively, and bottom-reinforcing panel 64 in the tray that is formed from blank 58. Thus, tabs 70a and 70b serve as dividers in the formed tray and their upwardly projecting position is maintained by tabs 71a and 71b, respectively. It should be noted that the location of slots 66a and 66b can be changed by making corresponding changes in the design of locking tabs 67a and 67b, respectively. The functions of panels 60, 63, 64, 65, 67a, 67b, 68a and 68b are analogous to those of panels 40, 43, 44, 45, 47a, 47b, 48a and 48b in the blank shown in FIG. 3. Also, weakened zone 61, adhesive layer 62 and mounting tabs 72a, 72b, 74a and 74b serve to facilitate, respectively, the conversion of elongated panel 60 to its folded state and the installation of the formed tray in a merchandise display device. 
     Shown in FIGS. 7 and 8 is one type of support stand which can be used to hold a number of trays in vertically spaced fashion. The blank shown in FIG. 7 includes a back panel 90, opposing side walls 91 and 92, and locking panel extensions 91a and 92a which are designed to engage a folded base assembly comprising panels 98, 99 and 100. Side walls 91 and 92 are each provided with hingedly attached and vertically spaced flaps 94 and 96 which are designed to be folded inwardly along weakened zones 101 and 102 into a locked position (see FIG. 8) by means of cooperating slots 95 and 97 and projections on each of flaps 94 and 96. Panel 104 is hingedly attached to panel 105 and is designed to fold inwardly into a locked position to form the top of the support stand. Locking panel extensions 105a and 105b are designed to engage the side wall assemblies. For purposes of illustration, only one tray is shown in the assembled merchandise display device of FIG. 8. It will be seen, however, that up to five trays can be installed in the device. A tray in accordance with FIG. 5 is shown in the installed position in FIG. 8. The preassembled tray is positioned in the spaces between adjacent vertically spaced flaps 94 and 96 with mounting tabs 52a and 54a (see FIG. 5) being disposed between side wall 91 and adjacent flaps 94 while mounting tabs 52b and 54b (see FIGS. 4 and 5) are disposed between side wall 92 and adjacent flaps 96 (see FIG. 8). It should be noted that the principal support for the formed tray in the support stand is provided by the upper edges of the flaps 94 and 96 on which the tray is installed. Thus, the upper edges of flaps 94 and 96 can be designed to support the tray in an essentially horizontal position or in an inclined position. Depending on the tray position desired, the lower edge of each flap 94 and 96 is designed to cooperate with the upper edge of the adjacent flap 94 or 96. In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the upper and lower edges of flaps 94 and 96 are designed to support the tray in an inclined position so that the front edge of the tray is at a slightly lower elevation than its rear edge. This allows product displayed on the tray to move toward the front wall of the tray by gravitational forces. 
     A further embodiment of this invention is shown in FIGS. 9 and 10. The view of the underside surface of blank 108 in FIG. 9 includes elongated panel 110 with weakened zone 111 and an optional layer of adhesive 112 to facilitate maintaining elongated panel 110 in a folded state. Bottom panel member 113 has hingedly attached thereto back panels 115a, 115b and 115c with the narrow gap between adjacent back panels being sufficient to allow intermeshing with cooperating support means associated with a merchandise display device. The rear edge of bottom-reinforcing panel 114 is provided with two spaced apart slots 123 and 124 extending inwardly from the rear edge of panel 114. Hingedly attached to the rear edge of bottom-reinforcing panel 114 are tabs 127a and 128a which have ends 127b and 128b severed from the rear edge of panel 114. Locking panels 117a and 117b and connecting panels 118a and 118b with weakened zones 119 and 121 are analogous to panels 47a and 47b and panels 48a and 48b, respectively, in the embodiment shown in FIG. 3. When blank 108 is formed into a tray, slot 123 moves into alignment with the narrow gap between back panels 115a and 115b and slot 124 moves into alignment with the narrow gap between back panels 115b and 115c. Also, bottom-reinforcing panel 114 is held in position in the formed tray by moving tab ends 127b and 128b into contact with the upper surface of locking panels 117a and 117b, respectively, as shown in FIG. 10. The formed tray is then inserted into a support stand such as the one depicted in FIG. 11. 
     The merchandise display device of FIG. 11 includes two vertical support members 135 and 136 disposed between side walls 131 and 132. Vertical support members 135 and 136 are provided with vertically spaced slots 138 and 139, respectively, which extend rearwardly from the front edges of support members 135 and 136. Slots 123 and 124 of the formed tray shown in FIG. 10 are brought into alignment with slots 138 and 139 of vertical support members 135 and 136 and the tray is pushed into the support stand so that portions of bottom panel member 113 and bottom-reinforcing panel 114 penetrate into slots 138 and 139 where they are securely held by the confining edges of those slots. The merchandise display device shown in FIG. 11 is designed to accommodate three trays but it is apparent that the device can be designed to hold any number of trays desired. Since the trays are held in place primarily by the confining edges of slots 138 and 139, it is evident that the dimensions of those slots should approximate the combined thickness of the formed tray portions that enter slots 138 and 139. The dimensions of the narrow gaps between back panels 115a, 115b and 115c of the formed tray should have minimum transverse measurements that approximate the thickness of vertical support members 135 and 136. 
     Each of the preferred embodiments described above is fabricated from corrugated board or boxboard. When adhesives are employed in connection with the folding of the elongated panels of each blank, either aqueous or non-aqueous adhesives may be used. Aqueous formulations include those based on starch or dextrins and non-aqueous formulations include those based on synthetic resins. Particularly preferred are hot-melt adhesives which are capable of forming strong bonds quickly when they are activated. 
     While several embodiments of the present invention have been described above, it is apparent that other modifications can readily be made based on the teachings contained herein. Any such modifications are deemed to be a part of this invention as defined by the scope of the appended claims.