Scalloped rack or shelf for floral merchandiser

Abstract

A rack or shelf for a floral display cabinet has a scalloped cutout that holds a number of round or conic vases or flower containers. The scalloped shape allows the containers to be held in a number of configurations. The containers do not shift or slide if the merchandiser is bumped or moved. The tip or pitch angle of the shelf can be adjusted. A cover for the shelf allows the shelf to be used as a solid flat shelf for supporting items from the bottom.

Description

[0001] This application claims priority of U.S. Provisional Pat. Appln. 60 / 605,802, Sep. 1, 2004, which is incorporated by reference herein. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0002] The invention concerns floral display cabinets and merchandisers, and is more particularly directed to a shelf or shelving system for holding a number of round or conic containers. The invention is concerned with a shelf that can be used with the floral merchandisers as shown and described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 29 / 189,833, High-Profile Refrigerated Floral Merchandiser Unit, now U.S. Pat. No. D496,053, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. [0003] The shelves can be mounted on a back vertical wall of floral display cabinet, and the round containers or vases, which each may hold water plus a quantity of cut flowers, rest in a row in a recess or recesses formed in the shelf. The containers are supported from their sides on the cutout or recess, so that the bottoms of the contai...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0010] A further object is to provide shelves or racks for which the tip or pitch angle can be easily adjusted for optimal presentation of the floral merchandise.

[0011] Still further, an object is to provide a shelf or rack for a floral display or merchandiser cabinet in which the shelf or rack can be easily converted from one with an open cutout to one with a solid or unapertured shelf top.

[0013] That is, in order to secure the containers or vases from rolling or shifting, for example, if the floral merchandiser is moved or bumped, the cutout or recess of the rack or shelf has a scalloped shaped, i.e., the cutout is formed of a row of overlapping circular cutouts. The center to center distance between the circles is greater than half the circle diameter, but less than a full diameter, and favorably about three-quarters of the diameter. This arrangement allows the flower containers to be positioned in every other position, i.e., first, third, fifth, etc. or at the alternate positions, i.e., second, fourth, sixth, etc. If it is desired for a particular display arrangement, the containers can be spread out more, e.g., first, fourth, and seventh positions. This allows the merchant to arrange the floral containers as best suits the type of flowers being displayed and offered for sale.

[0014] In preferred embodiments of this invention, the tip or pitch angle, i.e., the angle of the shelf with respect to the horizontal, is fully adjustable, from flat to 30°. In the flat position, the shelf can be covered so as to form a solid shelf without openings. The racks or shelves can be moved vertically up or down on the shelf standards. The shelf or rack may be formed so that it is angled slightly towards the customer for better display of the flowers. Also, the shelf or shelves may be supported on struts of different lengths, so that some shelves are spaced further from the vertical wall and some closer, allowing the lower shelves to protrude out towards the customer and upper shelves to be further back, again for optimal display of the cut flowers.

[0015] In addition, a solid cover (without the cutouts) can be movably attached onto the shelf, i.e., pivoted on a horizontal axis, so that the cover can be swung into place over the cutout when a solid shelf is needed, but can be swung back into a storage position behind the shelf when not needed.

Problems solved by technology

In the prior art, the typical racks that have an open rectangular recess or cutout do not hold the round containers in place very well, as they can roll and move sideways, e.g., from customer handling or from moving the entire merchandiser.

The racks with fixed circular openings do not have any flexibility as to how the containers can be arranged or distributed on the rack within the floral display cabinet.

The racks with fixed circular openings do not have any flexibility as to how the containers can be arranged or distributed on the rack within the floral display cabinet.

Moreover, the pitch angle (i.e., the angle at which the shelf and containers are tilted to present the floral items to customers) is typically at a fixed angle, or else it requires considerable effort to adjust the angle of the shelf.

Moreover, no thought has been given previously to a simple means to convert the apertured shelf to one with a solid, unapertured surface (i.e., without the cutouts for the vases) for supporting items at their bases or bottoms.

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