System for displaying wallpaper samples

Abstract

A display system for displaying samples of wallpaper includes a display stand having a frame and a plurality of display panels, a plurality of wallpaper display samples affixed to the display panels in a pre-selected pattern, a plurality of pre-cut wallpaper take home samples correlated with the display samples and a plurality of containers sized and shaped for removably holding a supply of the take home samples. Each of the containers is mounted onto the frame so as to be located proximate to one of the display samples so as to visually associate the supply of the take home samples with the display sample correlated therewith. The display stand may include a frame rotatably mounted on a base, and upstanding members extending upwardly from the base and outwardly from a notional central axis at 90° angles to each other. The display panels may include pairs of display panels extending between adjacent upstanding frame members, wherein the display panels of each of the pairs are arranged at an obtuse angle to each other, and at an acute angle to an adjacent upstanding member.

Description

RELATED APPLICATION [0001] This application is a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 10 / 612,915 filed Jul. 7, 2003.FIELD OF THE INVENTION [0002] The present invention relates to systems for the sale of wallpaper, and more particularly, to display systems for the retail sale of special order wallpaper. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0003] Wallpaper is conventionally sold at the retail level by means of fixtures which both display samples of the wallpaper and store a supply of wallpaper for purchase by consumers. A typical fixture consists of a series of cubicles sized for holding rolls of wallpaper, having a front cover to which is affixed a display sample of the wallpaper contained in the cubicle. One example of such a fixture is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,433,883 to Boender et al. The use of this type of display stand fixture requires the retailer to maintain a substantial inventory of wallpaper, which is disadvantageous, because of the additional costs associated with thi...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0012] The present invention is further directed to a wallpaper display system, comprising a display stand having a frame rotatably mounted on a base, and a plurality of display panels mounted to the frame, each of the display panels having a vertically extending mounting surface, a plurality of wallpaper display samples affixed to the mounting surface in a pre-selected pattern, a plurality of pre-cut wallpaper take home samples correlated with the display samples, and a plurality of containing devices sized and shaped for removably holding the supply of the take home samples, wherein the containing devices are mounted onto the frame so as to present the take home samples in a generally vertically extending fashion, each of the containing devices being located proximate to one of the display samples so as to visually associate the supply of take home samples therein with the display samples correlated therewith.

Problems solved by technology

The use of this type of display stand fixture requires the retailer to maintain a substantial inventory of wallpaper, which is disadvantageous, because of the additional costs associated with this inventory.

Another problem with retailing wallpaper through the use of conventional display / storage fixtures is that they often do not include take home samples, which results either in customers opening rolls to rip off small pieces, or, in an effort to avoid such a problem, the retailer making a roll of each type of wallpaper available to the consumer so that they can remove pieces to take home.

One disadvantage of this design is that a customer, when looking at the display as a whole, can only view “the outer-most edge of each wallcovering sample”.

Even though the design of Price et al. permits either the shelf or the wallpaper sample to be removed, overall comparisons between samples may be difficult because (except for the top sample) only part of each sample is exposed to view.

An additional disadvantage of the Price et al. patent is that the pockets for the take-home pieces are positioned on the support columns, such that a customer may not be immediately able to associate the appropriate take home piece with its corresponding sample.

Furthermore, all of the above retail display fixtures suffer from the same disadvantage, namely, when wallpaper is placed in any of the above display stands a consumer is not able to assess both the look and texture of the wallpaper in the condition in which it is actually used; i.e. affixed to a surface, and then immediately access a co-located, corresponding take home sample.

An additional disadvantage of the above retail display fixtures is that they create an inherent limit in the number of persons who can simultaneously view and inspect the wallpaper samples up close.

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