System and method for product display, arrangement and rotation

A temporary shelf basket comprised of

• a wire basket, such that the basket can hold a plurality of product containers;
• a first support arm integral to the basket, such that a portion of the first support arm may be positioned in a hole on the display shelf;
• and
• a second support arm integral to the basket, such that a portion of the second support arm may be positioned in a hole on the display shelf.

A product alignment device for use in manually aligning product containers on a display shelf, the product alignment device comprising:

• an elongated first side member having a front and a rear, such that the first side member may rest on the display shelf and may be pushed or pulled along a plane parallel to the display shelf;
• an elongated second side member having a front and a rear, such that the first side member may rest on the display shelf and may be pushed or pulled along a plane parallel to the display shelf;
• a first rear member integral to the rear of the first side member, such that the first rear member may be pushed or pulled along a plane parallel to the display shelf by pushing or pulling the first side member;
• a second rear member integral to the rear of the first side member, such that the second rear member may be pushed or pulled along a plane parallel to the display shelf by pushing or pulling the second side member;
• and
• a front member integral to the front of the first side member and integral to the front of the second side member, such that the first side member, the first rear member, the second side member, and the second rear member may be pushed or pulled along a plane parallel to the display shelf by pushing or pulling the front member.

A product alignment device for use in aligning and positioning a product on a display shelf, the product alignment device comprising:

• a wire frame, the wire frame comprising
• an elongated first frame side having a front and a rear,
• an elongated second frame side having a front and a rear,
• a rear portion connecting the first frame side and the second frame side, and
• a front portion connecting the first frame side and the second frame side;
• a first frame side covering which substantially surrounds the elongated first frame side;
• and
• a second frame side covering which substantially surrounds the elongated second frame side.

A system for displaying products generally forming a queue on a display shelf, the system comprising:

• a product display shelf having a front portion and a rear portion;
• at least one product container, the container having
• a bottom which rests on the display shelf,
• a preferred front face,
• a first side face having a lower first side face portion, and
• a second side face having a lower second side face portion,
• such the lower first side face portion is not orthogonal to the display shelf, and the lower second side face portion is not orthogonal to the display shelf;
• and
• an arranging means operable for moving at least one product container manually from the rear portion of the display shelf towards the front portion of the display shelf, the arranging means comprising
• a rear positioning element adapted to engage the rear product container in the queue from the rear side of the product,
• a front pull element,
• a first slide rail, such that the rear of the first slide rail is connected to the rear positioning element, and the front of the first slide rail is connected to the front pull element, and a second slide rail, such that the rear of the second slide rail is connected to the positioning element, and the front of the second side slide rail is connected to the front pull element,
• such that the first slide rail and the second slide rail are spaced apart to define a channel to receive the product containers on the display shelf, such that the front pull element may be pulled outwardly from the display shelf in order to pull the first and second slide rails and the rear positioning element outwardly with respect to the shelf, thereby engaging the rearmost product container and pulling all product containers located in the channel toward the front of the shelf, and such that the front pull element may be pushed back toward the rear of the display shelf after the product containers are properly aligned with respect to the front of the display shelf.

A method for arranging products to be displayed, comprising the steps of:

• providing a display shelf with first products arranged in a queue, the display shelf having a front and rear portion;
• providing second products to be displayed on the display shelf in the queue;
• providing a shelf basket capable of being positioned on a display shelf so that the first products can be moved into the shelf basket with a smooth transition;
• positioning the shelf basket so that it is positioned to receive the first products;
• moving the first products from the shelf onto the shelf basket;
• moving the second products onto the shelf basket;
• positioning the second products towards the rear portion of the display shelf;
• and
• moving the first products from the shelf basket onto the display shelf generally in front of the second products.

A method for aligning product containers in a queue on a display shelf, comprising:

• placing an arranging means on the display shelf, the arranging means comprising
• a rear positioning element adapted to engage the rear product container in the queue
• from the rear side of the product,
• a front pull element,
• a first slide rail, such that the rear of the first slide rail is connected to the rear positioning element, and the front of the first slide rail is connected to the front pull element, and
• a second slide rail, such that the rear of the second slide rail is connected to the positioning element, and the front of the second side slide rail is connected to the front pull element, such that the first slide rail and the second slide rail are spaced apart to define a channel to receive the product containers on the display shelf;
• placing at least one product container in the channel;
• pulling the front pull element away from the display shelf and thereby pulling the first and second slide rails and the rear positioning element outwardly with respect to the display shelf, thereby engaging the rearmost product container and pulling all product containers located in the channel toward the front of the shelf;
• and
• pushing the front pull element back toward the rear of the display shelf after the product containers are properly aligned with respect to the front of the display shelf.

A method for rotating product containers in a queue on a display shelf, comprising:

• placing an arranging means on the display shelf, the arranging means comprising
• a rear positioning element adapted to engage the rear product container in the queue from the rear side of the product,
• a front pull element,
• a first slide rail, such that the rear of the first slide rail is connected to the rear positioning element, and the front of the first slide rail is connected to the front pull element, and
• a second slide rail, such that the rear of the second slide rail is connected to the positioning element, and the front of the second side slide rail is connected to the front pull element, such that the first slide rail and the second slide rail are spaced apart to define a channel to receive the product containers on the display shelf;
• placing at least one old product container in the channel;
• positioning a shelf basket on a shelf located within reach of the queue;
• pulling the front pull element away from the display shelf and thereby pulling the first and second slide rails and the rear positioning element outwardly with respect to the display shelf, thereby engaging the rearmost product container and pulling all old product containers located in the channel toward the front of the shelf;
• removing all old product containers from the channel;
• determining the number of new product containers necessary to fill the queue;
• inserting the proper number of new containers in the channel;
• pushing the new containers toward the rear of the channel;
• removing the old containers from the shelf basket and placing the old containers in the channel in front of the new containers;
• and
• pushing the front pull element back toward the rear of the display shelf after the product containers are properly aligned with respect to the front of the display shelf.