EP3957214A1

EP3957214A1 - Merchandise supply device for storing and making available for picking sell-by-weight loose products

Info

Publication number: EP3957214A1
Application number: EP20191346.4A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Mårten SJÖBERG; Linda ERIKSSON
Original assignee: HL Display AB
Current assignee: HL Display AB
Priority date: 2020-08-17
Filing date: 2020-08-17
Publication date: 2022-02-23
Also published as: US20220047097A1

Abstract

Merchandise supply device for storing and making available for picking sell-by-weight loose products. The device comprises a container (10) having side walls (12, 12,13) and a bottom wall (14), which walls (11-14) together define a storage space for the product, wherein a sloped bottom wall (14) is arranged for gravity feeding the product from a rear fill opening (15) to a front pick-out opening (17), which pick-out opening (17) is covered by an openable lid (13). The pick-out opening (17) is covered by an intrusion barrier device (30) comprising an iris port (40). An intrusion barrier device for use with a merchandise supply device is also disclosed.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates generally to the field of merchandise supply devices for storing and providing sell-by-weight loose products in shops and in particular to a device for storing such products and making them available for the customers to collect by picking. The disclosure also relates to an intrusion barrier device for use with a merchandise supply device.

BACKGROUND

In the sale of loose products or commodities which are sold by weight, sometimes referred to as bulk products or bulk inventory, such as, for example, sweets, tea, grains, nuts and the like, different merchandise supply systems for storing and making the products available to the customers are used. The systems often comprise one or several containers for storing the products. The containers are placed in a shop and arranged such that the customers may transfer the product from the storage container to a bag or the like carried by the customer. The customer may thereafter bring the bag to the shop's till for weighing and payment.
Where the shop provides several varieties of a certain product, it is usual for a number of storage containers corresponding to the number of product varieties to be placed adjacent to one another, often in a matrix containing horizontal rows and vertical columns of containers. The customer may then simply pick or feed out the desired quantity of each product variety and transfer it to a common bag for mixing the product varieties. This type of sale of sell-by-weight loose products allows an effective utilization of space for the shopkeeper, low packaging consumption and wide freedom of choice for the customer to buy the desired quantity and product mix. By suitable shaping of the containers, it is also possible for the products to be displayed in a clear and appealing manner, which provides good customer information and, moreover, can help to promote increased sales.
The systems may be divided into two general groups comprising open systems and closed systems. At the open systems, the customers may gain access to and come in direct contact with the product stored inside a storage container. Typically, at the open systems, the customer uses a spoon or a scoop to transfer the desired product amount from the storage container to a bag or the like.
At the closed systems, direct contact is prevented, and the systems are designed such that the product may be fed out without allowing the customer to touch the product before it has left the storage container. Normally, the closed systems comprise means for feeding the product by gravity to an openable door, gate, valve or the like. In use, the customer holds a bag or other receptacle below an outlet spout such that the desired amount of the product may be poured by gravity into the receptacle upon opening the door and keeping it open until the desired amount has been poured into the receptacle. EP 3 542 678 A1 discloses such a closed gravity feed system.
The known closed systems thus afford for a high degree of hygienic cleanliness with a comparatively low risk of contamination of the products stored in the container. However, such closed systems are not suitable for a lot of products, since the gravity fed passage through the openable door may cause the loose product to be packed together, agglomerated or to form lumps in the outlet passage. This in turn prevents the possibility to dispense the desired amount and may even cause clogging of the outlet passage such that all further dispensing is prevented. These problems especially occur when the closed systems are used for sticky and/or soft loose products such as sweets and candy.
Hence, the open systems have hitherto been the only practically viable solution for such sticky and/or soft sell-by-weight loose products. EP 2 394 535 A1 discloses such an open system comprising a storage container having a rear fill opening, a front pick-out opening and a sloping bottom wall for guiding the product towards the pick-out opening. The pick-out opening is covered by an openable lid which the customer may open for picking out the desired amount by using a hand-held scoop. The use of a hand-held scoop allows for a precise metering and easy picking also of bulk products that are prone to stick together. However, at open systems, the stored products are exposed to contamination by foreign matter entering through the pick-out opening when the lid is open.

SUMMARY

An object of the present disclosure is to provide an enhanced merchandise supply device.
Another object is to provide such a device which prevents intrusion of foreign matter to the stored product while still allowing precise metering and easy transfer from the storage container to a collection receptacle also of bulk products that are prone to stick together.
A further object is to provide such a device which is simple in construction and which may be manufactured at a comparatively low cost.
Still another object is to provide such a device which is easy to clean.
Yet an object is to provide such a devices which promotes sales of the products stored and supplied therefrom.
According to a first aspect, the present disclosure provides a merchandise supply device according the claim 1. The merchandise supply device is arranged for storing and making available for picking sell-by-weight loose products. The merchandise supply device comprises a container having side walls and a bottom wall, which walls together define a storage space for the product. A sloped bottom wall is arranged for gravity feeding the product from a rear fill opening to a front pick-out opening, which pick-out opening is covered by an openable lid. The pick-out opening is covered by an intrusion barrier device comprising an iris port.
The merchandise supply device thus allows for easy and precise picking-out of the desired product amount by introducing a hand-held scoop, pliers or similar tool through the iris port and the pick-out opening after opening the lid. During such insertion of the tool, the iris port deforms to follow the shape of the inserted tool such that the opening exposing the interior of the container is kept to a minimum during use of the tool. When the tool is withdrawn from the pick-out opening, the iris port closes such that the pick-out opening is essentially sealed from the surrounding atmosphere. By this means the exposure to of the stored product to the surrounding atmosphere is kept to a minimum which essentially reduces the risk of contamination of the stored product, by bacteria, viruses and other foreign matter.
By designing the intrusion barrier device and the iris port accurately, it is further possible to completely prevent and make impossible the insertion of a hand through the pick-out opening. This solves an important problem at conventional open systems where customers may neglect the intended use of a tool to instead grab the products directly using the fingers. Naturally, such direct human contact with the stored product increases the risk of contamination of the stored product. In addition, the mere possibility to reach the products by direct contact with the fingers makes many customers reluctant to purchase products supplied by such conventional open systems, which reduces the sales of such products.
Not the least at times with pandemic diseases spreading in society, the present merchandise supply devices thus provides an efficient means for hygienic supply of precisely selected amounts of bulk products which may willingly be used by most customers.
According to one embodiment, the iris port may comprise a membrane of resiliently flexible material. In this disclosure, the term "membrane" is used to signify a comparatively thin and soft pliable sheet of a material which may or may not be permeable to certain substances. In particular the material is preferably essentially impermeable to air, moisture and other substances normally occurring in the atmosphere surrounding the merchandise supply device.
The membrane may exhibit at least one through penetrating slit which defines at least one resiliently deflectable sealing tongue.
The membrane may exhibit two through penetrating slits arranged in a cross formation and defining four generally triangular sealing tongues.
Preferably a maximum opening dimension of the iris port is smaller than approx. 10 cm. By this means insertion of a human hand through the pick-out opening is efficiently prevented.
In cases where the iris port comprises two slits in cross formation each slit may have a longitudinal extension of 3-10 cm, preferably 5-8 cm.
The intrusion barrier device may comprise a mounting bracket to which the iris port is fixed, which mounting bracket is insertable through the pick-out opening and fixable to the container. This provides an easy means for fixing the intrusion barrier to the container.
The mounting bracket may comprise a base plate with a port opening covered by the iris port and at least two mounting legs extending from the base plate and being supported by the bottom wall of the container.
The port opening preferably has an opening area which is smaller than approx. 50 cm². This further prevents insertion of a human hand into the container.
The iris port may be detachably fixed to the mounting bracket. This allows for easy removal of the iris port such as for cleaning and exchange if damaged.
The iris port may be clamped between the mounting bracket and a peripheral mounting disc. This provides a tight and well-sealed fixation of the iris port while still allowing easy removal.
The peripheral disc, the iris port and the mounting bracket may each exhibit a number of mutually aligned fixation holes receiving fastening elements.
The intrusion barrier device may be retrofittable to existing merchandise supply devices.
According to a second aspect, the present disclosure provides an intrusion barrier device for a merchandise supply device which comprises a container having a rear fill opening, a front pick-out opening, side walls and a bottom wall, which walls together define a storage space for a product. The intrusion barrier device comprises a mounting bracket with a base plate exhibiting a port opening covered by an iris port and at least two mounting legs extending from the base plate. The intrusion barrier device may be embodied in accordance with the above described merchandise supply device and exhibits corresponding objects and advantages.
Further objects and advantages of the merchandise supply device and the intrusion barrier device will appear from the following detailed description of exemplifying embodiments and from the appended claims.
Generally, all terms used in the claims are to be interpreted according to their ordinary meaning in the technical field, unless explicitly defined otherwise herein. All references to "a/an/the element, apparatus, component, means, step, etc." are to be interpreted openly as referring to at least one instance of the element, apparatus, component, means, step, etc., unless explicitly stated otherwise. The steps of any method disclosed herein do not have to be performed in the exact order disclosed, unless explicitly stated.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Aspects and embodiments are now described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig 1 is a perspective, partly exploded view of a merchandise supply device according to one embodiment.
Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the merchandise supply device shown in fig. 1 when assembled and further illustrating a tool for picking out products stored in the device.
Fig. 3 is a perspective view corresponding to fig. 2 schematically illustrating the tool being inserted through the iris port of the merchandise supply device.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The aspects of the present disclosure will now be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which certain embodiments of the invention are shown.
These aspects may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limiting; rather, these embodiments are provided by way of example so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and to fully convey the scope of all aspects of invention to those skilled in the art. Like numbers refer to like elements throughout the description.
Fig. 1 shows an embodiment of the merchandise supply device when partly disassembled. The merchandise supply device comprises a container 10 which has a number of side walls including opposed walls 11, 12, a curved front wall 13 and a rear wall (nor shown). A bottom wall 14 extends between lower portions of walls 11, 12 and front wall 13. The side walls 11, 12, 13 and the bottom wall 14 define an interior space for storing a bulk product (not shown) such as sweets, candy, cereal or the like. The container exhibits a rear fill opening 15 which is arranged at the top of an upwardly protruding rear portion of the container 10. The fill opening 15 is covered by a removable fill opening lid 16.
The curved front wall 13 exhibits a front most generally vertical portion 13a, an intermediate sloping portion 13b and a rear, generally vertical portion 13c. A pick-out opening 17 is arranged in the intermediate sloping portion 13b. A openable lid 18 is pivotally connected to the container 10 by means of two hinges 19a, 19b. The lid 18 is pivotal between a fully open position shown in fig. 1 and a fully closed position (not shown) in which the lid fully covers the pick-out opening 17. The hinges 19a, 19b are damped to provide a braked soft closing of the lid when released from a vertical position.
In the shown example the merchandise supply device further exhibits a chassis 20 fixed to the container 10 and arranged for attaching the device to a shelf, a stand, a bracket or the like (not shown).
The merchandise supply device further comprises an intrusion barrier device 30. The barrier device 30 comprises a mounting bracket 31 which exhibits a base plate 32 and two mounting legs 33, 34 extending perpendicularly downwards from opposing side edges of the base plate 32. A pair of fixation tabs 35 extend rearwardly from the rear edge of the base plate 32. A rectangular port opening 36 is formed centrally in the base plate 32. The port opening 36 is fully covered by an iris port 40 which is clamped between the base plate 32 and a peripheral mounting disc 37, which exhibits a central opening having essentially the same dimensions as the port opening 36.
The iris port 40 is formed of a rectangular membrane 41 of a resiliently flexible material such as silicone or a vinyl-based material. A number of fixation holes 41a are distributed along a peripheral portion of the membrane 41. Each fixation hole 41a is aligned with a corresponding hole 32a, 37a through the base plate 32 and the mounting disc 37. The iris port 40 is fixed to the mounting bracket 31 by being interposed between the base plate 32 and the mounting disc 37. The membrane 41 is clamed between the base plate 32 and the mounting disc 37 by fastening means (not shown) inserted through the aligned holes 37a, 41a, 32a. The fastening means may be formed e.g. as snap-fitted pins, rivets, screws and bolts or the like.
The intrusion barrier device is attached to the container 10 by insertion through the pick-out opening 17. In the mounted position the mounting legs 33, 34 rest on a front portion of the bottom wall 14, a peripheral portion of the base plate 32 rests against a support flange or lip arranged around the pick-out opening 17 and the fixation tabs 35 are engaged under the rear edge of pick-out opening 17. Preferably, the mounting bracket 31, the iris port 40 and the mounting disc 37 are each formed of a transparent material for enhancing the display of the stored product and facilitating picking-out of the product.
A pair of through penetrating slits 42a, 42b are formed in a cross-shaped configuration in the membrane 41. The slits 42a, 42b thus forms four generally triangular shaped resilient tongues 43a-d of the membrane 41. In the unloaded condition shown in figs. 1 and 2, the resiliency of the membrane material urges the tongues 43a-d to regain their natural position being coplanar with the peripheral portion of the membrane 41. In this unloaded condition the neighbouring tongues contact each other over the respective slit 42a, 42b such that the iris port is fully closed and seals the interior space from the surrounding atmosphere.
In use, the customer first opens the pivotal lid 13 as shown in fig. 3. Thereafter, he or she grabs a suitable tool such as a pair of pliers 50 which should normally be provided in the vicinity of the merchandise supply device. When the pliers 50 is brought into contact with the closed iris port 40 and pushed through the pick-out opening 17, the resilient tongues 42a-d are yieldingly deformed to allow insertion of the front end of the pliers 50 into the container. The resiliency of the tongues 43a-d causes the tongues 42a-d to be temporarily formed so as to follow the outer contour of the portion of the pliers which is inserted through the iris port 40. By this means the iris port 40 only opens to the degree necessary for inserting and moving the front end of the pliers 50 inside the container 10. This in turn results in that the opening needed for inserting the pliers 50 is kept to a minimum thereby to minimize the risk of foreign matter to be introduced into the container 10.
When the desired product amount has been grabbed by the pliers 50 or collected by the scoop, the tool 50 is withdrawn through the pick-out opening 17 and the iris port 40 and the picked-out product may then be dropped into a bag or other receptacle. When the tool 50 is withdrawn from the iris port 40, the iris port automatically resumes its closed condition by the tongues 42a-d resiliently resuming their natural planar sealing position as shown in fig. 2
The iris port 40 also prevents insertion of a human hand into the container 10. The maximum opening area of the iris port is defined by the length of the slits 42a, 42b. It has proven especially advantageous to give the two slits somewhat different longitudinal extensions. In the shown example the shortest slit 42a is approx. 4-6 cm and the longest slit 42b approx. 6-9 cm. By such slit lengths the pliers 50 and other suitable tools may readily be inserted and manipulated for picking-out any desired product amount from the container. At the same time, such slit lengths limit the maximum opening area of the iris port 40, such that a human hand of normal size may not be introduced through the iris port 40. Insertion of a human hand may be further prevented by limiting the opening area of the port opening 36. Typically, the dimensions of the port opening 36 are chosen to correspond with the length of the slits 42a, 42b. Hence, in the shown example, the port opening 36 may be rectangular with one side having the length 4-6 cm and one side the length 6-8 cm. By making the dimensions of the port opening essentially corresponding to the length of the slits 42a, 42b rapture initiated at the ends of the slits is also prevented.
The arrangement of the iris port 40 as a part of intrusion barrier device 30 having a mounting bracket allows for that the barrier member with iris port may be retrofitted onto existing merchandise supply devices having a container with a pick-out opening.
The aspects of the present disclosure have mainly been described above with reference to a few embodiments and examples thereof. However, as is readily appreciated by a person skilled in the art, other embodiments than the ones disclosed above are equally possible within the scope of the invention, as defined by the appended patent claims. For example, the iris port may comprise other numbers of slits than two for defining the resiliently deflectable sealing tongues. It may e.g. be sufficient to provide a single curved slit which defines a single generally U-shaped resiliently deflectable tongue. Alternatively, the iris port may comprise three or more slits arranged to define several resilient tongues arranged in a star or flower shaped configuration.

Claims

Merchandise supply device for storing and making available for picking sell-by-weight loose products, which device comprises a container (10) having side walls (12, 12, 13) and a bottom wall (14), which walls (11-14) together define a storage space for the product, wherein a sloped bottom wall (14) is arranged for gravity feeding the product from a rear fill opening (15) to a front pick-out opening (17), which pick-out opening (17) is covered by an openable lid (13), characterized in that the pick-out opening (17) is covered by an intrusion barrier device (30) comprising an iris port (40).
Merchandise supply device according to claim 1, wherein the iris port (40) comprises a membrane (41) of a resiliently flexible material.
Merchandise supply device according to claim 2, wherein the membrane (41) exhibits at least one through penetrating slit (42a, 42b) which defines at least one resiliently deflectable sealing tongue (43a-d).
Merchandise supply device according to claim 3, wherein the membrane (41) exhibits two through penetrating slits (42a, 42b) arranged in a cross formation and defining four generally triangular sealing tongues (43a-d).
Merchandise supply device according to any of claims 1-4, wherein a maximum opening dimension of the iris port (40) is smaller than 10 cm.
Merchandise supply device according to any of claims 1-5, wherein the intrusion barrier device (30) comprises a mounting bracket (31) to which the iris port (40) is fixed, which mounting bracket (31) is insertable through the pick-out opening (17) and fixable to the container (10).
Merchandise supply device according to claim 6, wherein the mounting bracket (31) comprises a base plate (32) with a port opening (36) covered by the iris port (40) and at least two mounting legs (33, 34) extending from the base plate (32) and being supported by the bottom wall (14) of the container (10).
Merchandise supply device according to claim 7, wherein the port opening (36) has an opening area which is smaller than approx. 50 cm².
Merchandise supply device according to any of claims 6-8, wherein the iris port (40) is detachably fixed to the mounting bracket (31).
Merchandise supply device according to any of claims 6-9, wherein the iris port (40) is clamped between the mounting bracket (32) and a peripheral mounting disc (37).
Merchandise supply device according to claim 10, wherein the peripheral disc (37), the iris port (40) and the mounting bracket (32) each exhibits a number of mutually aligned fixation holes (32a, 37a, 41a) receiving fastening elements.
Merchandise supply device according the any of claim 1-11, wherein the intrusion barrier device (30) is retrofittable to existing merchandise supply devices.
An intrusion barrier device (30) for a merchandise supply device comprising a container (10) having a rear fill opening (15), a front pick-out opening (17), side walls (11, 12, 13) and a bottom wall (14), which walls (11-14) together define a storage space for a product, which intrusion barrier device (30) comprises a mounting bracket (31) with a base plate (32) exhibiting a port opening (36) covered by an iris port (40) and at least two mounting legs (33, 34) extending from the base plate (32).