Adjustable Tray with Pusher Mechanism for Multi-Size Product Display
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing shelf systems fail to efficiently display and advance products of varying sizes towards the front of shelves, making them less visible and accessible to consumers, particularly in refrigerated sections where products like soft drinks and bottled beverages are stored.
Innovation Solution
An adjustable shelf assembly with interchangeable dividers and cams that allow for customizable lane sizes, combined with a pusher mechanism using a coiled spring to advance products, ensuring optimal visibility and accessibility by accommodating different product dimensions and sizes.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If fixed-size trays are used on shelves, then the shelf structure is simple, but products of varying sizes cannot be optimally displayed and accommodated
Solution Approach 1:
The shelf is divided into multiple adjustable lanes separated by dividers, allowing each lane to be independently configured for different product sizes. The dividers can be repositioned to create custom lane widths, enabling the shelf to adapt to various product dimensions while maintaining a relatively simple overall structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The shelf system incorporates movable and adjustable components including repositionable dividers, interchangeable trays, and adjustable cam mechanisms. These dynamic elements allow the shelf configuration to be changed based on product requirements, providing versatility without requiring a completely complex redesign of the entire shelf structure.
2Productivity
If gravity-based inclined trays are used, then products automatically move forward, but products of different sizes may not all reach the front effectively
Solution Approach 1:
Each lane is equipped with its own cam mechanism and pusher system that can be independently adjusted. The cam mechanisms provide localized mechanical advantage to push products forward, ensuring that products of different sizes in different lanes all reach the front effectively, rather than relying on a single uniform gravity-based approach.
Solution Approach 2:
The system allows adjustment of cam positions, pusher forces, and lane configurations to optimize product advancement for different product sizes. By changing these parameters, the shelf can effectively move various product dimensions to the front, improving productivity while maintaining adaptability.
3Ease of operation
If pusher systems with springs are used, then products are pushed forward effectively, but the system becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The spring-loaded pusher mechanisms are designed to automatically engage and disengage as products are placed or removed. The cams convert rotational motion into linear pusher movement, creating a self-regulating system that pushes products forward without requiring manual intervention, thereby improving ease of operation while keeping the mechanism relatively simple.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent combines multiple functions into integrated components: the cam mechanism simultaneously provides structural support, enables product pushing, and allows for adjustable positioning. The pusher system merges spring force, cam leverage, and product contact into a single coordinated mechanism, reducing overall system complexity while maintaining effective product advancement.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The adjustable shelf system effectively displays and advances products of various sizes towards the front, enhancing consumer visibility and accessibility, thereby improving merchandising effectiveness in retail environments.
Implementation Method 1
a pusher system to push the product toward the front of the shelf as the product at the front of the shelf is removed. Pusher systems may be mounted to a track and may include a pusher paddle and a coiled spring to urge the product forward
Data Source
AI summary
An adjustable tray for a merchandise display system may include a retainer for limiting the movement of products loaded in the adjustable tray, a first divider extending from a first panel and second divider extending from a second panel. The spacing between the first divider and the second divider can be configured to be adjusted. The first panel and the second panel can be configured to move to provide additional surface area for the adjustable tray to accommodate different sized products. The adjustable tray may further include a pusher mechanism configured to bias product toward the retainer.