US1350996A - Self-serving store - Google Patents

Description

H. C. HARVEY.

SELF-SERVING STORE.

APPLICATION FILED OCT. 16. I918.

Patented Aug. 24,

H. C. HARVEY.

SELF-SERVING STORE. APPLICATION FILED OCT. 16. 1918.

Patented Aug. 24, 1920.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HENRY G. HARVEY, OF HUNTINGTON, WEST VIRGINIA.

SELF-SERVING STORE.

Application filed October 16, 1918. Serial No. 258,346.

of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to merchandizing and more particularly to the arrangement and equipment of what may be termed the plant of a store.

As is well known to those familiar with the subject, the expense of selling is a very high percentage of the total cost of doing business and it is the object of the present invention to reduce this selling cost by an arrangement and equipment that will limit the attendants to a minimum number.

Specific objects of the invention include the provision of an arrangement that permits of the location of the diflerent general classes of merchandise by the prospective customer at a distant point; also the arrangement of goods such as will permit of the spontaneous notice of the customer.

A further object of the invention is the provision of such an arrangement as Wlll permit of restocking of the merchandise exhibitors with a minimum of labor and with despatch.

Other objects attained by the invention will be apparent from the following description.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a plan view showing a stock room and a sales room with its lobby correlated and equipped in accordance with the present invention.

Fig 2 is a vertical section taken transversely through the lobby and looking in the direction of the stock room.

Fig. 3 is a vertical section taken longitudinally through the entire equipment at a point between the shelving stack 46 and the cabinet of Fig. 1 and looking to the right.

Fig. 4 is a detail elevation of one of the stacks and showing the truck mounted on it.

Referring to the drawings there is shown a store room including what may be termed the sales room 10 with its communicating lobby 11 and in the rear of which sales room is the stock room 12 communicating with the sales room by a doorway 13 provlded with a suitable closure.

The lobby, as illustrated is at the front of the store and has the entrance doorwa 14 at each side of which is a transparent front 15 which if desired may be removable or foldable as are man store fronts.

Transversely of t e store and separating the lobby from the sales room is a railing l6 and near to the end of the railing at one side of the store the receive a turnstile including a central standard 17 having the usual arms 18 that radiate from a hub mounted upon the standard. From the standard forwardly beyond the sweep of the arms of the turnstile there extends a rail 19 at right angles to the railing 16 which latter it will be understood is provided with a wire or other structure extending from it to the floor.

rom the post 17 of the turnstile there,

extends into the sales room a low partition 20 surmounted by a rail at substantially the same height as the rail 16, this partition 20 abutting a partition 21 of the same height that extends transversely of the sales room at both sides of the partition 20. That portion of the partition 21 extending from the partition 20 in thedirection'of the remote wall 22 of the store terminates at a low partition 23 that extends in the direction of and terminates short of the transverse rail 16 which with its lower equipment constitutes a low partition.

At opposite sides of the post 17 are the ingress and egress openings 2i and 25 through which the customers enter and leave the sales room respectively.

The portion of the partition 21 extending from the partition 20 in the direction of the near wall 26 of the store terminates against a stack of shelves 27 that extend from the partition 21 parallel with the wall 26 to near the rear wall 27 of the sales room, these stacks of shelves 27 being double faced, that-is opening at both sides of the stack. The stack 27 and the adjacent portion oft-he partition 21 form one boundary of a basket rack 29 that extends to near the turnstile so that a customer entering'through the opening 24 may take a basket from this railing is interrupted to rack to hold the goods selected in a manner of shelves 30 between which and the stack 27 is a passageway 31 that continues to the wall 27.

A stack of shelves 32 extends from the wall 26 to the door opening 13 in the rear wall 27 of the sales room while a stack of shelves 33 extends from the doorway 13 to the wall 22. both of these last named stacks being against the wall 27. A stack of shelves 34 is disposed against the wall 22 and extends from the shelves 33 to near the partition 16.

From the stack 27 there extend in the direction of and at right angles to the wall 22, merchandise exhibitors 35, 36, 37, and 33 which terminate short of the stack of shelving 34 to afford a passage and alternating with these merchandise exhibitors are other similar exhibitors 39, 40, 41, and 4-2 that extend from the stack of shelving 34 in the direction of and terminating short of the stack 27. These last named series of exhibitors are therefore in staggered relation and they are spaced apart sufficiently to permit of ready movement of customers between them and between their free ends and the opposite shelving stack.

The foremost exhibitor 39 is of a height to permit a view of it from the lobby 11 over the intervening equipment and the succeeding exhibitors are each slightly higher than the preceding one, progressing toward the rear of the sales room so that a customer in the lobby 11 may see the upper portions of all of these exhibitors to note the signs with which they are equipped and which indicate the classes of merchandise exhibited on them and to see the goods displayed upon the upper shelves.

Between the partition 23 and the wall 22 are arranged a refrigerator 43, a meat cabinet 44, and a bread cabinet 45, although it will be understood that cabinets or exhibitors for other commodities may be substituted. These cabinets are spaced from an exhibitor 46 disposed against thepartition 23 and between it and the wall 22, which exhibitor may constitute a vegetable rack in the event the equipment is employed for a correlated class of store. Also a shelf or othertype of exhibitor 47 is disposed along the rear face of the partition 21. v

Extending from the partition 20 toward but terminating short of the partition 23 is a cashiers counter comprising a section 48 that is spaced from the partition 21 and parallel toiit. Thence it extends forwardly as shown at 50 and is then returned parallel to and spaced from the rail 16 as shown at 51; this latter portion terminating short of the rail 52. The portion 50 of the counter at its forward end is connected with the partition 23 by a chain or other removable barrier 50'.

In operating this sales equipment, the

customer enters the lobby and having taken a view of the signs on the different exhibitors, both the transversely extending ones and the longitudinally extending ones, he.

passes through the entrance 24, which is permitted by the turnstile that operates in this one corresponding direction. A basket is selected from a rack 29 and the customer makes his way through the passage 31. 1f the desired commodity is at the rear of the sales room he continues down the passage 31 to the rear and then passes between the staggered exhibitors to the location of the article wanted. He may then continue to the front of the store selecting such additional articles as may'suit his fancy and finally passing across to the cashiers counter where payment for the articles is made. He then passes out through the turnstile. The price of each article is marked plainly on it so that the customer knows its cost and so that the cashier may readily determine the total.

If the article or articles desired are located toward the front of the sales room, the customer may pass from the passageway 31 to the circuitous passageway between the staggered exhibitors through one of the turnstiles 53 formed through the shelving stack 27 and opening from the passage 31 to the circuitous passage in the direction of progress through the circuitous passage toward the front of the store. Thus the entry through a turnstile 53 to the circuitous passage will be with and not against the stream.

It will of course be understood that the customer may enter without having first located from the lobby the article or articles desired and may pass from one part of the sales room to another in search of such articles as may strike the fancy.

To facilitate restocking of the various merchandise exhibitors, an opening 54 is formed in the transverse partition 27 at a height abovethe heads of the customers and a bridge 55 is extended from this opening to the shelving stack 27 and with the said stack, carries track rails 56 that extend from the forward end of the stack 27 across the bridge through the opening 54 and into the stock room 12 into which the bridge likewise projects to carry the rails. Beside the portion of the bridge that projects into the stock room is a loading platform 57 provided with a runway 58 to facilitate the bringing of merchandise onto the platform from which it is lifted onto a wheeled truck 59 disposed upon the trackway and designed for moving throughout the length 'of the latter. The truck with its load of merchandise is pushed or operated mechanically by gravity to'the proper point of the length of the shelving stack 27 and being stopped, its contents are removed in whole or in part and transferred to the proper exhibitors.

The stack 27 thus serves not only to exhibit the merchandise but to carry the merchandise-or distributing system and it will be understood of course that the truck may be stopped in any place most convenient for unloading.---'

It will be noted that the shelving stacks 27 and 34 form lateral barriers alternately at opposite ends of the transverse exhibitors but it will be understood that unshelved partitions or walls may in some instances be advantageously substituted.

While the rail 16 has been illustrated as low so that what lies behind it may be clearly seen, in Fig. 2, it will of course be understood that this rail and the underlying grating may have any desired height.

It will be understood that when the trade in the store is such that one cashier may attend to the customers the chain 50 is extended as illustrated and the customers all pass between the portion 51 of the counter and the rail 16. When, however, the business requires more than one cashier, additional cashiers may stand behind other portions of the counter and the chain 50 disengaged at one end to permit it to hang so that the customers may pass between the counter and the partitions 23 and 21 as indicated.

What is claimed is:

1. A merchandizing apparatus having a series of parallel merchandise exhibitors staggered laterally of the series, the successive exhibitors increasing in height with a resultant possible view of the upper portions of all of them throughout their lengths, from a common point in a direction at right angles to the exhibitors, whereby to display from such common point the characters of goods contained by the exhibitors.

2. A merchandizing apparatus having a series of merchandise exhibitors having barriers arranged alternately at their opposite ends with a resultant circuitous passage, a lobby with respect to the view from which the exhibitors are arranged at right angles and with which lobby one end of the passage communicates, a passage-Way leading from the other end of the circuitous passage to the lobby adjacent to the first named end-of the circuitous passage and a single means for limiting the lobby-communicating end of the circuitous passage to e ress and the lobby-communicating end of the passage-way to ingress.

3. A merchandizing apparatus comprising a sales room and a lobby, the sales room having a series of merchandise exhibitors and barriers at alternate opposite ends of the exhibitors with a resultant circuitous passage, a passage-way leading from the lobby to the remote end of the circuitous passage, a cashiers department communicating with the opposite end of the circuitous passage and with the lobby and a single means for permitting egress only between the cashiers department and the lobby and for permitting ingress only between the lobby and the said passage-way communicating therewith.

4-. A merchandizing apparatus including separate compartments, one of the compartments having a merchandise exhibitor, additional merchandise exhibitors in juxtaposition to the first exhibitor, a trackway extending from the other compartment and traversing and supported upon the first named exhibitor and a merchandise truck mounted upon and movable over the trackwa 5 A merchandizing apparatus comprising separate compartments, one of the compartments having a merchandise exhibitor extending in the direction of the other com partment, a trackway extending from within said other compartment and traversing said exhibitor and supported thereon, and additional exhibitors at opposite sides of the first named exhibitor and in juxtaposition thereto.

6. A merchandizing apparatus comprising separate compartments, one of the compartments having a merchandise exhibitor extending in the direction of the other compartment, a trackway extending from within said other compartment and traversing and supported upon said exhibitor, and additional exhibitors at opposite sides of the first named exhibitor and in juxtaposition thereto, the exhibitor at one side of the first named exhibitor extending parallel throughout the length of the former and the exhibitors at the other side of the first named exhibitor being mutually parallel and at angles to the first named exhibitor.

7. A merchandizing apparatus comprising separate compartments, one of the compartments having a merchandise exhibitor extending in the direction of the other compartment, a trackway extending from withinsaid other compartment and traversing said exhibitor, additional exhibitors at oppositesides of the first named exhibitor and in juxtaposition thereto, the exhibitor at one side of the first named exhibitor extending parallel throughout the length of the former and the exhibitors at the other side of the first named exhibitor being mutually parallel and at angles to the first named exhibitor and alternately spaced therefrom.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signaturein the presence of a witness.

HENRY C. HARVEY. Witness:

J A. MORIARTY.

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