Product display system

Abstract

An inexpensive, easy to assemble and durable product display system is disclosed. The system includes a plurality of elongated dividers, a base member and an alignment member. The dividers have sufficient rigidity to resist bending and to provide guidance of products placed between adjacent dividers. The base member includes a plurality of divider positioning cavities operatively associated with a first end of the divider which allow placement of the dividers in a predetermined configuration to accommodate a desired size of products. The alignment member receives a second end of the divider and retains the dividers in the predetermined configuration.

1 . A product display system, comprising: 
 a plurality of elongated dividers having sufficient rigidity to resist bending and to provide guidance of products placed between adjacent dividers;    a base member having a plurality of divider positioning cavities operatively associated with a first end of the divider which allow placement of the dividers in a predetermined configuration to accommodate a desired size of products;    an alignment member for receiving a second end of the divider and for retaining the dividers in the predetermined configuration.    
   
   
       2 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , further comprising a housing for securing the base member and alignment member thereto, wherein the housing further comprises a top wall, a bottom wall, a first side wall, a second side wall, and a rear wall.  
   
   
       3 . The apparatus of  claim 2 , wherein the base member has a product support surface that is angled towards the rear wall to aid in retaining products therein and the rear wall is of a size to form an opening used for dispensing products.  
   
   
       4 . The apparatus of  claim 2 , further comprising a front panel for attachment to a front portion of the housing, the front panel having dimensions to form an opening above the base member for dispensing of products and further comprising at least one support element for supporting one or more portions of the base member.  
   
   
       5 . The apparatus of  claim 2 , wherein the housing, base member and alignment member are of one piece construction which is of a substantially planar form that has been pre-cut and pre-scored to facilitate assembly.  
   
   
       6 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the alignment member includes a surface that is biased towards the base member when the product display is assembled and the surface of the alignment member includes a pattern of cavities that correspond to the pattern of cavities of the base member.  
   
   
       7 . The apparatus of  claim 6 , wherein the surface includes at least one cut that defines separate surface portions of cavities to facilitate bending when dividers are installed.  
   
   
       8 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the alignment member includes a pattern of slots that correspond to the pattern of cavities of the base member and forms an upper internal boundary of the display system.  
   
   
       9 . The apparatus of  claim 8 , further comprising a cover for placement on the top wall to obscure the slots to provide a neat appearance for the product display.  
   
   
       10 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the dividers have at least one of a substantially C, D, H, J, S, T, U, V, W, X, Y, or other geometric, cross-sectional shape.  
   
   
       11 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein at least one end portion of the dividers has a reduced shape to facilitate seating in a cavity.  
   
   
       12 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the base member and the alignment member are configured such that the dividers are snap-fit thereto and the dividers are configured to provide uninterrupted vertical movement of products placed between adjacent dividers.  
   
   
       13 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the dividers, the base member and the alignment member are all made of the same material and the material comprises at least one of a paper composite material, cardboard, corrugated cardboard, plastic, rubber, fiberglass, metal or a composite material.  
   
   
       14 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein at least one of the base member and the alignment member comprises a plastic material and at least one of the base member and the alignment member includes a predefined pattern of cavities that have been vacuum formed.  
   
   
       15 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein at least one of the base member and the alignment member includes a predefined pattern of cavities that are through holes or slots.  
   
   
       16 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the product display is configured for use as at least one of a wing rack display, a stadium cut tray, a peg wall module, or a slat wall module.  
   
   
       17 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the base member includes a plurality of pins or bosses which are operatively associated with the dividers to provide different placements of divider locations thereon.  
   
   
       18 . The apparatus of  claim 17 , further comprising a template containing a predetermined pattern associated with the base member, the template providing placement of the dividers in a predetermined configuration to accommodate a desired size of product to be displayed, an alignment member for receiving a second end of the divider and for retaining the dividers in a predetermined configuration, and a housing for securing the base member and alignment member therein.