System and method for product display, arrangement and rotation

Abstract

A device, system, and method for manually arranging products on a display shelf. A plastic ridged base may be cut to a desired display shelf width along preformed notches and then be placed on the display shelf. Excess base width may serve as a rear backing element to support row partitions. The ridges support merchandise and permit a pull member to rest between ridges. The pull member may be manually pulled to bring merchandise to the front of a row. The ridges may be universal, or may be of specific dimensions for items such as soup cans or baby food jars. Narrow base sections may be extruded and snapped together to form a desired base unit width. A spring or elastic active alignment device may be used on the base to move display items forward on a shelf.

1 . A product display base for use in manually aligning merchandise on a display shelf, the display base comprising a plurality of overlapping sections each section comprising: 
 a bottom surface, such that the display base may be placed on the display shelf, and at least a portion of the bottom surface is in contact with the display shelf;    a front edge;    a first side edge;    a second side edge;    a rear edge;    a plurality of merchandise support ridges, including a first merchandise support ridge and a second merchandise support ridge, such that the merchandise support ridges extend from the proximity of the front edge to the proximity of the rear edge; and    at least one pull member channel located between the first merchandise support ridge and the second merchandise support ridge, such that a portion of a pull member may be placed in the channel under merchandise supported by the first merchandise support ridge and the second merchandise support ridge    
   
   
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       31 . The product display base of  claim 1  further comprising 
 a front stop element which may be positioned in proximity to the front edge of the display base, the front stop element comprising 
 a front retention member, such that the front retention member may engage an item on the display base to prevent the item from inadvertently being pushed or pulled off of the front of the display base;  
 a base attached to the front retention member and positioned under the display base; and  
 a retaining lip integral to the base, such that the retaining lip engages slots provided in the bottom portions of a plurality of support ridges on the display base.  
   
   
   
       32 . The product display base of  claim 1  further comprising 
 a first snap feature along the first side edge; and    a second snap feature along the second side edge, such that the first snap feature of a first base section may snap over the second snap feature of a second base section.    
   
   
       33 . The product display base of  claim 1  wherein 
 the first and second support ridges at least partially support merchandise in a first row;    there is a third merchandise support ridge, such that the second ridge is positioned between the first ridge and the third ridge, and the third ridge at least partially supports merchandise in a second row; and    there is at least one row partition insert, such that the row partition insert is inserted between the second ridge and the third ridge in order to separate the first row and the second row.    
   
   
       34 . A product display system comprised of 
 a display shelf;    a plurality of partially overlapping display base sections, each display base section comprising 
 a bottom surface, such that the display base may be placed on the display shelf, and at least a portion of the bottom surface is in contact with the display shelf,  
 a front edge,  
 a first side edge,  
 a second side edge,  
 a rear edge, and  
 a plurality of ridges comprising 
 a first ridge extending from the proximity of the front edge to the proximity of the rear edge;  
 a second ridge extending from the proximity of the front edge to the proximity of the rear edge;  
 at least one pull member channel located between the first ridge and the second ridge, such that products may be placed in the row and a portion of a pull member may be placed in the channel under the products, and the product containers may be pulled toward the front edge of the display shelf by pulling the pull member which engages the rearmost product and pulls the row of products forward while the products are laterally confined within the row by the first ridge and the second ridge;  
 
   a plurality of pull members; and    a first merchandise item positioned in a first row and a second merchandise item positioned in a second row, such that the second row is adjacent to the first row, and such that the second ridge provides a boundary between the first row and the second row.    
   
   
       35 . The product display system of  claim 34  wherein a pull member comprises 
 an elongated section which rests within the pull member channel;    a rear product engagement section which is connected to the rear of the elongated section; and    a front pull section, connected to the front of the elongated section, such that the front pull section may be pulled outwards away from the front edge of the display shelf, thereby causing the rear product engagement section to engage the rearmost product in the row.    
   
   
       36 . The product display system of  claim 34  wherein 
 the first display base section has a top surface; and    a second display base section overlaps the first side edge of the first display base section, thereby extending the display base area.    
   
   
       37 . The product display system of  claim 34  further comprising 
 at least one front stop positioned in proximity to the front edge of a row, such that    the front stop may engage a portion of the first product in the row thereby restraining the product in the row.    
   
   
       38 . The display base of  claim 34  further comprising 
 a plurality of pre-formed bend markings so that base can be bent along a selected bend marking.    
   
   
       39 . The display base of  claim 34  further comprising 
 a spring loaded rear engagement member positioned in the first row, such that the rear engagement member pushes the first merchandise item toward the front of the display shelf.    
   
   
       40 . The display base of  claim 34  further comprising 
 an active alignment device positioned in the first row, such that the active alignment device pushes the first merchandise item toward the front of the display shelf.    
   
   
       41 . The display base of  claim 40  wherein 
 the active alignment device comprises a spring means.    
   
   
       42 . The display base of  claim 40  wherein 
 the active alignment device comprises an elastic member.    
   
   
       43 . The display base of  claim 34  further comprising 
 a first display shelf section comprising 
 a first snap feature along the first side edge, and  
 a second snap feature along the second side edge; and  
   a second display shelf section comprising 
 a first snap feature along the first side edge, and  
 a second snap feature along the second side edge, such that the first snap feature of the first base section may snap over the second snap feature of the second base section.  
   
   
   
       44 . The display base of  claim 34  further comprising 
 a front stop element which may be positioned in proximity to the front edge of the display base, the front stop element comprising 
 a front retention member, such that the front retention member may engage an item on the display base to prevent the item from inadvertently being pushed or pulled off of the front of the display base;  
 a base attached to the front retention member and positioned under the display base; and  
 a retaining lip integral to the base, such that the retaining lip engages slots provided in the bottom portions of a plurality of support ridges on the display base.  
   
   
   
       45 . The display base of  claim 34  wherein 
 the first row comprises 
 a first divider removably positioned between a first ridge and a second ridge; and  
 a second divider removably positioned between a third ridge and a fourth ridge.  
   
   
   
       46 . The display base of  claim 34  wherein the first divider and the second divider further comprise 
 a base; and    a partition member integral to the base, such that the partition member is narrower than the base unit, and such that the partition member is positioned to one side of the midpoint of the base, and such that the first divider and second divider may each be positioned with the partition member closer to the other divider or further from the other divider, thereby permitting the row width to be adjusted by the various orientations of the first divider and the second divider.    
   
   
       47 . A product display base section for use in manually aligning merchandise on a display shelf, the display base section comprising: 
 a bottom surface, such that the display base may be placed on the display shelf, and at least a portion of the bottom surface is in contact with the display shelf;    a front edge;    a first side edge;    a first snap feature along the first side edge;    a second side edge;    a second snap feature along the second side edge;    a rear edge;    a plurality of merchandise support ridges, including a first merchandise support ridge and    a second merchandise support ridge, such that the merchandise support ridges extend from the proximity of the front edge to the proximity of the rear edge; and    at least one pull member channel located between the first merchandise support ridge and the second merchandise support ridge, such that a portion of a pull member may be placed in the channel under merchandise supported by the first merchandise support ridge and the second merchandise support ridge