Security system for displaying merchandise

Abstract

A display system for limiting direct access to items present on a fixture comprising: a frame member mountable to the fixture so as to extend across a height and length of the fixture; a plurality of door members mountable within the frame member, each door member comprising a panel that is substantially see-through to provide visual access to the items located on the fixture behind said frame member, wherein the plurality of door members are slidable within the frame member to form a space therebetween to access and remove at least one item from the fixture; wherein, the frame member is pivotally mounted with respect to the fixture such that the frame member can be pivoted away from the fixture to facilitate unimpeded access to the fixture to stock the fixture with items.

Description

RELATED APPLICATION(S) The present application claims priority from Australian Provisional Patent Application No. 2025900369 filed 11 February 2025, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. FIELD OF INVENTION The present invention relates generally to merchandise display system for displaying merchandise in a retail environment, and in particular, to a merchandise display system that provides for improved security of the displayed items for the deterrence of theft. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION In most commercial and retail environments it is important to display items for purchase in a manner that not only presents the items for inspection by the buyer, but which also enables the buyer to obtain the item to purchase the item at a designated checkout point. Unfortunately, in such self-service environments, by providing customers with easy access to the products for purchase, such products become more susceptible to theft, which may occur for multiple products at a single time, depending upon the experience and expertise of the thief. Product theft can be a considerable problem for store owners and can be considerably costly to the business as it not only represents a lost sale, but there is a replacement cost of the article to factor in as well, especially if the item is an expensive item. A simple solution employed by some shop owners is to lock the products behind a display shelf or case whereby if a potential buyer wishes to inspect the item or purchase the item, they must request the assistance of a sales assistant who will unlock the shelf or case and provide supervised access to the item. This system, whilst effective, is labour intensive and requires increased staffing levels to provide such assess to the locked goods, and also adversely effects the buying experience, which could have a detrimental effect on the sales figures of the shop owner. A variety of display solutions have been proposed which attempt to partially block access to the goods on display to make the act of stealing multiple items at one time more difficult. Such systems may employ tiles or barriers mounted across a display shelf, cabinet or rows of hooks, which are substantially see-through such that the buyer can clearly view the products on the display shelf or hooks behind the tiles / barriers, and if the buyer wishes to retrieve an item for purchase, they can manipulate the tile / barrier in some way to access the item. The tiles or barriers may be slidable or otherwise displaced to enable the product to be removed from the display in a deliberate action. Whilst such solutions have been effective in reducing theft of multiple items at a single time, they provide problems to staff who may need to replenish the removed goods, as the entire system typically requires at least partial disassembly. In situations where the display is unable to be disassembled, the staff must re-stock the display through the existing structure, adding significant time and labour cost. Thus, there is a need to provide a display system for presenting merchandise for purchase that functions to minimise the ease of theft of the items and which can be simply adapted to replenish items as required. The above references to and descriptions of prior proposals or products are not intended to be, and are not to be construed as, statements or admissions of common general knowledge in the art. In particular, the above prior art discussion does not relate to what is commonly or well known by the person skilled in the art, but assists in the understanding of the inventive step of the present invention of which the identification of pertinent prior art proposals is but one part. STATEMENT OF INVENTION The invention according to one or more aspects is as defined in the independent claims. Some optional and / or preferred features of the invention are defined in the dependent claims. In accordance with one aspect, the present invention provides a display system for limiting direct access to items present on a fixture comprising: a frame member mountable to the shelf fixture so as to extend across a height and length of the fixture; a plurality of door members mountable within the frame member, each door member comprising a panel that is substantially see-through to provide visual access to the items located on the shelf fixture behind said frame member, wherein the plurality of door members are slidable within the frame member to form a space therebetween to access and remove at least one item from the fixture; wherein, the frame member is pivotally mounted with respect to the fixture such that the frame member can be pivoted away from the fixture to facilitate unimpeded access to the fixture to stock the fixture with items. In one embodiment, the frame member may comprise an upper channel and a lower channel and the panel of each door member may be received in the upper channel and the lower channel to facilitate sliding movement of the panel within the frame member. The frame member may have a track that engages with a mount mechanism extending from the panel of each door member such that sliding movement of the door member within the frame member causes the mount mechanism to pass over the track. The track may be provided with a series of peaks and interconnecting troughs formed along a length thereof and the mount mechanism comprises a head portion that is biased into contact with the track such that is as the door member slides within the frame member the head portion of the mount mechanism slides over the series of peaks and interconnecting troughs and generates a noise indicative of the sliding movement of the door member within the frame member. The plurality of door members may be spaced apart along the frame member so as to be movable to form a gap between door members sufficient to access the at least one item from the fixture. A lock member may be provided at at least one end of the frame member to releasably secure the frame member to the fixture. The lock member may be movable between a locked position whereby the frame member is locked in a closed position so as to extend across a height and length of the fixture, and an open position whereby the frame member is pivoted into an open position whereby the frame member provides unimpeded access to the fixture to stock the fixture with said items. The lock member may be mounted to a vertical wall member of the fixture and may comprise a bolt member that is slidingly received within a recess formed in a locking plate mounted to the frame member when the frame member is in the locked position. The locking plate may be mounted to an underside of the upper channel of the frame member. The bolt member may be biased into the locked position by way of a bias member. A lock member may be provided at opposing ends of the frame member. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The invention may be better understood from the following non-limiting description of preferred embodiments, in which: Fig. 1 is a front view of a display system in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention; Fig. 2 is a front view of a door member of the display system depicted in Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a rear view of a door member of the display system depicted in Fig. 1; Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional end view of the frame member of the display system depicted in Fig. 1; Figs. 5 is a cross-sectional end view of the door member depicted in Fig. 2 and Fig. 3; Fig. 6 is a cross-sectional end view depicting the door member mounted within the frame member; Fig. 7 is a top view of the door member of Fig. 2; Fig. 8 is an enlarged perspective view depicting the manner in which the door member is mounted with respect to the track; Fig. 9 is a top view depicting the manner in which the door member is mounted with respect to the track; Fig. 10 is a cross-sectional end view depicting the manner in which the door member is mounted with respect to the track; Fig. 11 is an enlarged view depicting the pivotal connection of the frame member with respect to the shelf in a closed position; and Fig.12 is an enlarged view depicting the pivotal connection of the frame member with respect to the shelf in a partially open position. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Preferred features of the present invention will now be described with particular reference to the accompanying drawings. However, it is to be understood that the features illustrated in and described with reference to the drawings are not to be construed as limiting on the scope of the invention. The present invention will be described below in relation to the retail of individual packaged products presented on a display fixture, such as a shelf having an upper surface and a lower surface for supporting the products for display and purchase. However, it will be appreciated that the device of the present invention could be employed for the retail of a variety of different types and sizes of merchandise across a variety of different display fixtures, such as display cabinets, display hooks and the like, as will be appreciated by those skilled in the art. Referring to Fig. 1, a display system 10 in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention is depicted. In one embodiment, the display system 10 is configured to be mounted across a front surface of a shelf or similar display area, for containing the items (not shown) for purchase. The display system 10 comprises a frame member 12 extending along the shelf that comprises an upper panel 13 and a lower panel 14 that extends between ends 15. A plurality of door members 16 are mounted to extend between the upper panel 13 and the lower panel 14, and the door members 16 are configured to be see-through such that the items for purchase located on the shelf behind the door members 16, can be readily seen. The frame member 12 is mounted between an upper shelf support 18 and a lower shelf support 19 which define the shelf upon which the items for purchase are supported. In this regard, the height and length of the frame member 12 may vary depending on the length of the shelf and the vertical spacing provided between the shelves. As is shown in Fig. 1, each of the door members 16 are spaced apart by a gap 17 that enables the door members 16 to be separated to access the items stored on the shelf behind the door members 16. The gaps 17 formed between the door members 16 may vary, with the gaps 17 being sufficient to enable the door members to be slid together along the length of the frame member 12 such that a common gap is formed between at least two adjacent door members 16 to access the item on the shelf. In this regard, in order to access the item, a buyer must slide a number of door members 16 along the frame member 12 to form the required access gap, which makes it extremely difficult, if not impossible, to steal multiple items in a single sweeping action. Referring to Fig. 2 and Fig. 3, a door member 16 is depicted in isolation in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. The door member 16 generally comprises a planar body or panel 20 formed from a substantially see-through material, like Perspex®, glass or the like. The panel 20 has indicia 21 formed thereon in the form of writing, arrows, or the like to assist the user to understand how the door member 16 is to be moved to access the items located behind. It will be appreciated that the indicia 21 may also contain advertising to aid in identifying the items located behind the door member 16 and may take a variety of different styles and forms. An upper support 22 is formed adjacent a top edge of the door member 16. As is shown in the rear view of the door member 16 in Fig. 3, the upper support 22 has a mounting mechanism 25 centrally mounted thereto to facilitate mounting of the door member 16 to the upper panel 15 of the frame member 12, in a manner to be described in more detail below. The panel 20 of the door member 16 has a base 24 formed along a lower edge thereof which is configured to be received in the lower panel 14 of the frame member 12 as will be discussed in more detail below. In this regard, when the door member 16 is mounted to the frame member 12 it is supported at both the upper end and the lower end, so it is free to slide in an orthogonal manner along the frame member 12. The panel 20 has recessed portions 23 formed in the sides thereof such that a user can place their finger in the recessed portions 13 to apply a sliding motion to the door members 16, even if adjacent door members 16 are abutting and the space 17 formed therebetween is minimal. Referring to Fig. 4, the frame member 12 is shown in cross-section. The lower panel 14 is in the form of a U-shaped section that defines a channel for receiving the base 24 of the panel 20 of the door members 16 as is shown in Fig. 6. The upper panel member 13 is in the form of an inverted U-shaped section having a front wall 13a that extends in a downward direction further than a rear wall 13b. The upper end of the panel 20 is configured to be received within the inverted U-shaped channel of the upper panel member as shown in Fig. 6. A track 28 extends from an outer surface of the rear wall 13b of the upper panel member 13, as shown in Fig. 4. The track 28 will be described in more detail below but functions to engage with the mounting mechanism 25 mounted to extend from the rear surface of the upper support 22 of the panel 20. In this arrangement, both the upper support 22 and the base 24 of the panel 20 of each door member is received and constrained within the U-shaped channel of the lower panel 14 and the upper panel 13 of the frame member 12 and are free to slide along the frame member 12 under a sliding motion applied by the user. Referring to Fig. 7 an upper view of the door member is shown depicting the mounting mechanism 25. As shown, the mounting mechanism 25 centrally projects from a rear surface of the upper support 22 of the panel 20 to terminate in a lip 26 that projects upwardly therefrom (see Fig. 5). In this arrangement, the mounting mechanism presents a substantially flat surface 27 extending between the upper support 22 and the lip 26 upon which an engagement member 30 is supported. The engagement member 30 comprises a head portion 32 mounted on the end of a spring member 34. The spring member 34 is in the form of a resilient S-shaped metal coil that is attached at a distal end to the lip 26 and which is attached at a proximal end to the head portion 32. Due to the resilient nature of the spring member, the head portion 32 is free to move in a reciprocal motion in the direction of the arrow A. A gap 33 is formed between the end of the head portion 32 and the upper support 22, and this gap 33 is configured to receive the track 28 that extends from the outer surface of the rear wall 13b of the upper panel member 13, as shown in Fig. 6. In this arrangement, the head portion 32 of the engagement member 30 is biased by the spring member 34 to engage with a surface of the track 28 and will travel over the surface of the track member as the door member 16 slides along the frame member 12, as will be described in more detail below. However, it will be appreciated that the engagement member 30 can be detached from the door member 16 and the door member 16 may be used without the engagement member 30 if desired. Referring to Figs 8 - 10, the manner in which the engagement member 30 of the mounting mechanism 25 engages with the track 28 is depicted in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. It is intended that the engagement member 30 of the door member 16 interacts with the track 28 of the frame member 12 during sliding motion of the door member 16 within the frame member 12. This interaction generates an audible “clicking” sound that provides an audible indication that the door members 16 are being moved by a customer to access the items stored in the display system, thereby providing an audible deterrent to any theft activity. As depicted, the track 28 comprises a series of peaks 38 and interconnecting troughs or valleys 39 extending along the length of the upper panel 13 of the display system 10. When the door member 16 is positioned in the manner as shown in Fig. 8 - 10, the track 28 is received within the gap 33 formed between the end of the head portion 32 and the upper support 22 of the door member 16, such that the head portion 32 is biased into contact against the track 28. As is shown in Fig. 9, the width of the head portion 32 may be substantially the same as the width of the valleys 39 of the track 28 such that as the door member 16 slides along the frame member 12, the head portion 32 moves away from the valley 39 as it passes over the peak 38 and then returns with resilient force to contact the surface of the valley 39 under action of the spring member 34, thereby causing a clicking or ratchet sound as this sliding action continues. It will be appreciated that the track 28 and the corresponding head portion 32 may have a variety of configurations to create a noise as the head portion 32 passes along the track 28, as will be appreciated by those skilled in the art. As previously discussed, each frame member 12 is mounted between an upper shelf support 18 and a lower shelf support 19 so as to extend between the shelves as required. As is shown in Fig. 11 and Fig. 12, in order to replenish items stored on the shelf in a simple and efficient manner without having to manipulate the door members 16 to form an opening into which the items can be replenished, the frame member 12 is pivotally attached to the lower shelf support 19 at each end 15 by way of a pivot pin 40. The pivot pin 40 is in the form of a bolt or pin member that securely retains the lower panel of the frame member 12 to the lower shelf support 19 such that the frame member 12 is free to pivot between a substantially closed, vertical orientation, as shown in Fig. 11 and an open orientation whereby the frame member 12 is in a substantially horizontal position as is shown in the partially open position in Fig. 12.. The lower shelf support 19 has a vertical wall member 41 to which the end 15 of the frame member 12 is secured. A lock member 50 is mounted to the vertical wall member 41 and comprises a bolt member 43 that is biased by way of a bias member or spring 44 into a biased position that causes the end of the bolt member 43 to engage with a locking plate 45 provided on an underside of the upper panel 13 of the frame member 12, as shown in Fig. 11. In this biased position, the end of the bolt member 13 is received within a recess in the locking plate 45 of the frame member 12 to lock the frame member 12 in the vertical or closed, position. To open the display system 10 in order to replenish stock, a force is applied to the bolt member 43 to cause the bolt member 43 to retract against the bias member 44 such that the end of the bolt member 43 disengages from the locking plate 45. The frame member 12 is then free to pivot toward the horizontal orientation in an outward direction away from the shelf, as depicted in Fig. 12. This enables the display system to be configured to provide unimpeded access to the shelf behind the frame member 12 such that the display system 10 is substantially open and free of the panel members 20 to enable the shelf positioned behind the frame member 12 to be simply restocked with items as desired. It will be appreciated that the lock member 50 may take any variety of forms capable of selectively locking the frame member 12 in a vertical position for use and in a substantially horizontal position for replenishing the display system as required. The locking member is typically position at a rear position of the frame member 12 at opposing ends thereof, such that to “open” the display system 10 for restocking, each locking member 50 must be independently engaged at opposing ends of the system, so as to prevent a thief from simply opening the display system at one end. It will be appreciated that the display system of the present invention provides a simple and effective system for presenting items for purchase whilst limiting direct access to such items on a shelf which can increased the likelihood of theft of the items. The system can be simply employed and adapted to fit any shelf arrangement and can be readily adaptable to provide an audible theft deterrent to accompany the physical theft deterrent provided by the slidable gate members. Furthermore, the system of the present invention can be simply disengaged to effect restocking or products on the shelf, without requiring significant disassembly and the time and expertise associated therewith. Throughout the specification and claims the word “comprise” and its derivatives are intended to have an inclusive rather than exclusive meaning unless the contrary is expressly stated or the context requires otherwise. That is, the word “comprise” and its derivatives will be taken to indicate the inclusion of not only the listed components, steps or features that it directly references, but also other components, steps or features not specifically listed, unless the contrary is expressly stated or the context requires otherwise. It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that many modifications and variations may be made to the methods of the invention described herein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

Claims

1. A display system for limiting direct access to items present on a fixture comprising:a frame member mountable to the fixture so as to extend across a height and length of the fixture;a plurality of door members mountable within the frame member, each door member comprising a panel that is substantially see-through to provide visual access to the items located on the fixture behind said frame member, wherein the plurality of door members are slidable within the frame member to form a space therebetween to access and remove at least one item from the fixture;wherein, the frame member is pivotally mounted with respect to the fixture such that the frame member can be pivoted away from the fixture to facilitate unimpeded access to the fixture to stock the fixture with items.

2. A display system according to claim 1, wherein the frame member comprises an upper channel and a lower channel and the panel of each door member is received in the upper channel and the lower channel to facilitate sliding movement of the panel within the frame member.

3. A display system according to claim 2, wherein the frame member has a track that engages with a mount mechanism extending from the panel of each door member such that sliding movement of the door member within the frame member causes the mount mechanism to pass over the track.

4. A display system according to claim 3, wherein the track is provided with a series of peaks and interconnecting troughs formed along a length thereof and the mount mechanism comprises a head portion that is biased into contact with the track such that as the door member slides within the frame member the head portion of the mount mechanism slides over the series of peaks and interconnecting troughs and generates a noise indicative of the sliding movement of the door member within the frame member.

5. A display system according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of door members are spaced apart along the frame member so as to be movable to form a gap between door members sufficient to access the at least one item from the fixture.

6. A display system according to claim 1, wherein a lock member isprovided at at least one end of the frame member to releasably secure the frame member to the fixture.

7. A display system according to claim 6, wherein the lock member is movable between a locked position whereby the frame member is locked in a closed position so as to extend across a height and length of the fixture, and an open position whereby the frame member is pivoted into an open position whereby the frame member provides unimpeded access to the fixture to stock the fixture with said items.

8. A display system according to claim 7, wherein the at least one lock member is mounted to a vertical wall member of the fixture and comprises a bolt member that is slidingly received within a recess formed in a locking plate mounted to the frame member when the frame member is in the locked position.

9. A display system according to claim 8, wherein the locking plate is mounted to an underside of the upper channel of the frame member.

10. A display system according to claim 8, wherein the bolt member is biased into the locked position by way of a bias member.

11. A display system according to claim 8, wherein a lock member is provided at opposing ends of the frame member.

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