Merchandise display bracket

TECHNICAL FIELD

This invention relates to a bracket for carrying merchandise for retail display. More particularly, this invention relates to such a bracket which can suspend a variety of sizes of merchandise from a wall or fixture at a variety of angles relative to the wall or fixture.

BACKGROUND ART

It is often the desire of the retailer to display certain types of merchandise by hanging the merchandise on a wall or fixture. Normally, such merchandise is merely hooked onto the wall or fixture, or in the case of larger items, such as children's toy cars or the like, cables are used to hold the item against the wall. Not only could such support be unsafe, but also such does not permit the carrying of merchandise in a suspended-animation type of configuration, which desirably presents a unique, attractive, and eye-catching manner of displaying merchandise in the retail establishment.

Such a display is not easy to accomplish, and in known displays, the merchandise normally extends perpendicularly outward from or parallel to the wall or fixture. However, the retailer, if space allows, would often want the customer to observe the merchandise from a perspective view, and as such, the merchandise would have to be suspended at some angle to the wall or fixture. To date, there is no known device which can allow the retailer to create such a display whereby the merchandise can be suspended at an angle to the wall or fixture as selected by the retailer.

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION

It is thus an object of the present invention to provide a bracket which can support merchandise on a wall or fixture so that it would appear to be in suspended animation away from the wall.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a bracket, as above, which can be adjusted to carry the merchandise at a wide variety of angles relative to the wall.

It is an additional object of the present invention to provide a bracket, as above, which can be adjusted to carry merchandise of differing sizes.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a bracket, as above, which can easily be installed on a conventional wall or fixture at the desired location along the wall or fixture.

It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a bracket, as above, in which the merchandise can be readily attached thereto.

These and other objects of the present invention, as well as the advantages thereof over existing prior art forms, which will become apparent from the description to follow, are accomplished by the improvements hereinafter described and claimed.

In general, a bracket for carrying merchandise on a fixture made in accordance with the present invention includes a mounting member adapted to be attached to the fixture. A support frame is pivotally attached to the mounting member and is adapted to carry the merchandise at a selected angle relative to the fixture.

In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, a bracket for carrying merchandise on a fixture includes a mounting member adapted to be attached to the fixture, and a support frame carried by the mounting member and adapted to carry the merchandise. The support frame is adjustable so as to be adapted to carry merchandise of varying sizes.

A preferred exemplary bracket incorporating the concepts of the present invention is shown by way of example in the accompanying drawings without attempting to show all the various forms and modifications in which the invention might be embodied, the invention being measured by the appended claims and not by the details of the specification.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1

is a fragmented, schematic view of a merchandising display fixture carrying brackets made in accordance with the present invention, one of the brackets being shown as carrying a child's toy vehicle having a portion thereof broken away.

FIG. 2

is a perspective view of a bracket made in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 3

is a perspective view of the bracket of

FIG. 2

showing the manner in which the angle of the merchandise being carried by the bracket, relative to the fixture, can be varied.

FIG. 4

is a perspective view of the bracket of

FIG. 2

showing the manner in which the lateral size of the bracket may be adjusted to accommodate merchandise of various sizes.

PREFERRED EMBODIMENT FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

A bracket made in accordance with the present invention is indicated generally by the numeral

10

. As shown in

FIG. 1

, a plurality of brackets

10

are adapted to be carried by a display wall or fixture generally indicated by the numeral

11

. For ease of description,

FIG. 1

shows two empty brackets

10

on a portion of fixture

11

, and shows one bracket carrying an item of merchandise, such as a child's toy car

12

. While an item such as car

12

is particularly suited to be carried by brackets

10

, it should be evident that brackets

10

could carry any type of merchandise which the retailer would deem to be particularly suited for the suspended-animation, elevated type of display shown in FIG.

1

. It should also be appreciated that brackets

10

are designed so that fixture

11

can carry a plurality of vertically spaced rows of merchandise, with each item of merchandise within a row being laterally spaced from each other.

Fixture

11

can be a stand-alone fixture or can include structural components merely carried by a wall of a retail establishment. The fixture

11

, schematically shown in

FIG. 1

, includes upper and lower horizontally extending supports

13

having a plurality of vertically extending, laterally spaced stanchions

14

positioned therebetween. A plurality of generally horizontal and vertically spaced support bars

15

extend between stanchions

14

and, as will hereinafter be described, vertically adjacent bars

15

are adapted to carry brackets

10

.

Each bracket

10

is preferably made of a plurality of metallic components suitably attached, as necessary, as by welding, and includes a somewhat D-shaped mounting member generally indicated by the numeral

16

. Mounting member

16

includes a base arm

17

which carries a channel plate

18

on each end thereof. Channel plates

18

are adapted to snap onto or otherwise engage adjacent support bars

15

of fixture

11

. When a bracket

10

is properly positioned on fixture

11

, base arm

17

will thus be vertically oriented and will extend between adjacent support bars

15

.

Mounting member

16

also includes an upper arm

19

extending generally laterally outward from the upper end of base arm

17

, and a lower arm

20

extending generally laterally outward from the lower end of base arm

17

. Lower arm

20

is shown as being generally longer than upper arm

19

so that, as shown in

FIG. 1

, when bracket

10

is carried by fixture

11

, it will be tilted downwardly, from its back, adjacent to fixture

11

, to its front, the farther point away from fixture

11

, so as to tilt, in an aesthetically pleasing manner, the merchandise

12

being carried by bracket

10

. It should also be noted that arms

19

and

20

effectively space the majority of bracket

10

away from fixture

11

to create the suspended-animation effect for the merchandise

12

.

The outer ends of arms

19

and

20

are interconnected by a support arm

21

which is preferably positioned to be in the same vertical plane as base arm

17

. An adjustment plate

22

is carried generally centrally of arm

21

and includes a plurality of arcuately spaced apertures

23

therethrough. As will hereinafter be described, apertures

23

cooperate with other elements of bracket

10

so that the merchandise

12

may be positioned at selected angles relative to fixture

11

.

Each bracket

10

also includes a generally flat merchandise support frame generally indicated by the numeral

24

. As best shown in

FIG. 4

, support frame

24

includes longitudinally extending, laterally spaced side members

25

each of which have spaced stub posts

26

extending toward each other, a post

26

being shown in

FIG. 4

for only one of the side members

25

. Posts

26

are adapted to be telescopically received in opposed hollow arms

27

which form a portion of an I-shaped member generally indicated by the numeral

28

. A bar

29

, which as shown may be in the form of a channel, interconnects arms

27

and thereby completes the I-shape of member

28

.

As a result of this configuration, the lateral size of support frame

24

may be adjusted. To that end, arms

27

can be provided with set screws

30

or the like near the ends thereof, and side members

25

can be spaced from each other the desired distance by sliding stub posts

26

into hollow arms

27

, and then locking them in place via the tightening of set screws

30

. As a result, side members

25

can be positioned relative to each other over a wide range of distances varying from their closest position shown in

FIGS. 2 and 3

to a position of almost twice that size if, for example, stub posts

26

were received in arms

27

just far enough so that they could be engaged by set screws

30

. Since frame

24

serves as the support for the merchandise

12

, brackets

10

can thus accommodate merchandise of a wide variety of lateral sizes.

Brackets

10

can also accommodate merchandise of various longitudinal sizes. To that end, the outer end of each side member

25

, that is, the end of side members

25

positioned farthest away from fixture

11

when bracket

10

is mounted thereon, is provided with a plurality of apertures

31

extending therethrough. Apertures

31

will thus be located adjacent to the front of merchandise

12

which, as shown in

FIGS. 1 and 3

, is held on support frame

24

by conventional, threaded, and preferably bendable, U-bolts

32

. U-bolts

32

can extend around some portion of merchandise

12

, such as the axle of the toy car as shown in

FIG. 1

, and the ends thereof are positioned through selected apertures

31

to receive nuts

33

to hold them in place. Thus, the length of the item of merchandise

12

will dictate which apertures

31

are utilized to hold the merchandise on side members

25

.

As previously described, brackets

10

may also be positioned at selected angles relative to fixture

11

which gives the retailer the option of displaying merchandise

12

at selected angles relative to fixture

11

. For example, as shown in the center of

FIG. 1

, that bracket

10

is directed out from fixture

11

at an angle of approximately ninety degrees. In this position, the bracket

10

would be positioned as shown in FIG.

2

. Or, as shown at the left and right in

FIG. 1

, brackets

10

may be angled in one direction, or in the opposite direction. Preferably, the retailer may be given the option of several angles for brackets

10

, each direction ranging from ninety degrees, that is, lateral to the wall, or effectively zero degrees, that is, parallel to the wall.

To that end, support frame

24

is pivotable relative to mounting member

16

about a pivot pin

34

which extends through bar

29

, plate

22

, and support arm

21

. A protuberance

35

(

FIG. 3

) formed on bar

29

is received in a selected one of the apertures

23

of plate

22

. Thus, to change the angle of frame

24

relative to mounting member

16

when mounting member

16

is attached to fixture

11

, one need only grasp side members

25

and rotate frame

24

with sufficient force to move protuberance

35

out of its current aperture

23

and into the desired aperture

23

.

In view of the foregoing, it should be evident that a bracket

10

constructed according to the present invention, as described herein, substantially improves the art and otherwise accomplishes the objects of the present invention.