AU2011264061B2 - Sales table - Google Patents

Abstract

The sales table comprises a product receiving area (4) for receiving products as well as four legs (1) and a base (7) for supporting the products in the product receiving area. Four side walls (5) for laterally delimiting the product receiving area are fastened to the legs. At least one of the side walls (5) has a bent area (19) directed downward like a hook which can be hooked from above in a recess (17) at the upper end of at least one of the legs (1). The side wall (5) or a part (13) thereof can be unhooked from the recess (17) and folded away by means of a simple hand movement, and the sales table can be completely disassembled or reassembled by means of only a few more hand movements. Thus the recess (17) and the bent area (19) are robust components of the table which are simple to produce, provide a stable and rigid connection between the side walls and the legs (1), and enable easy handling of the table.

Description

SALES TABLE The invention relates to a sales table having a goods receiving area for receiving goods, such as a table for the presentation of special offers. An example for a known sales table is disclosed in DE 202 02 212 U1. This table comprises four posts of a rectangular hollow profile which are connected to each other by means of a frame. In the known table, a goods receiving area is defined by sidewalls of wire grid mounted to the posts and by a base of a horizontal wire grid hooked to the sidewalls. Sales tables of this kind serve for the presentation of special offers or discounted goods in shops. Such offers change frequently and, therefore, the tables are constantly moved or entirely dismantled and later re-erected when used again. To easily store the table between two of its uses without it consuming much space, the table should be constructed to be easily disassembled or folded without this requiring the use of special tools. It is also desired that the sidewalls be designed so that they can be lowered or folded down at least partially to facilitate access to goods lying deep in the goods receiving area. But known tables whose sidewalls can be folded down or removed have complicated mechanisms for the fastening of the sidewalls and therefore are expensive to manufacture and difficult to use. Preferred embodiments of the invention provide a sales table whose sidewall can be fastened and released in an easy manner. According to the present invention, there is provided a sales table having a goods receiving area for receiving goods, and comprising: posts, a base for supporting the goods in the goods receiving area, and a sidewall fastened to the posts for lateral delimitation of the goods receiving area and comprising a downwardly directed hook shaped deflection which can be hooked from above into a recess provided at an upper end of at least one of the posts wherein the sidewall comprises a horizontal wire whose ends engage elongated holes in the posts, so that the sidewall can be lifted or lowered along the elongation of the elongated holes, whereby the deflection hooks into or out of engagement with the recess. Such recesses and deflections are easy to manufacture. The sidewall can be hooked into and out of engagement by a simple manual movement. The engaged state is maintained already by the weight of the sidewall. The danger of an accidental -2 disengagement is low because the load on the sidewall in use is mostly caused by customers leaning from above on the sidewall, whereas an accidental lifting of the sidewall does practically not occur. The post of the table is robust and easy to manufacture. Embodiments of the invention are particularly preferred when the sidewalls of the table are made from wire grid. A cap can be plugged onto the upper end of the post of the table to cover any sharp edges of the post and makes a pleasant appearance. The cap can also cover the recess provided for engagement of the sidewall and thus secures the sidewall against accidental disengagement. This alternative is particularly suited for sidewalls which are disengaged only when the table is disassembled. In a preferred embodiment, the cap does not obstruct the disengagement of the sidewall. This embodiment is particularly suited for sidewalls which are disengaged in order to be lowered or folded down so as to facilitate access to goods lying deep in the goods receiving area. The invention is described, by way of non-limiting example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Fig. 1 shows a side view of the sales table, Fig. 2 shows a side view of a post of the sales table, Fig. 3 shows a detail of the sales table including a hook-shaped deflection of the sidewall directed downwardly for engagement into an upwardly open recess at the upper end of the post, and Fig. 4 shows a cap to be plugged onto the upper end of the post. The sales table shown in Fig. 1 comprises four vertical posts 1 each made of steel with hollow rectangular profile (box profile). The posts 1 are fastened by screws to a frame 2 which connects the posts to each other. Wheels 3 on which the table can travel are mounted to the frame 2.

-2A The sales table comprises a goods receiving area 4 surrounded by four vertical sidewalls 5. The sidewalls 5 are each disposed between two neighbouring posts 1 to which they are fastened. They are made of wire grid with horizontal and vertical wires of steel. The lowermost horizontal wires 6 of the sidewalls 5 support a base 7 also made of a wire grid. A cap 8 of resin is plugged from above onto each of the posts 1 to close the interior of the hollow profile and thereby also to cover any sharp edges and provide a smooth optical appearance. The sidewall 5 visible in the view shown in Fig. 1 is formed of two parts 9, 13. Its lower part 9 comprises horizontal wires 6, 10 whose ends engage bores 11, -3 12 in adjacent walls 18 of the hollow profiles of the posts 1. In the side view of a post 1 shown in Fig. 2, the bores 11, 12 are shown as seen from the sidewall 5. The engagement between the wires and bores fixes the lower part 9 of the sidewall 5 to the posts I without substantial free play or movement. The upper part 13 of the sidewall 5 comprises a lower horizontal wire 14 whose two longitudinal ends engage respective elongated holes 15 in each of the adjacent walls 18 of the hollow profile of the posts 1. An upper horizontal wire 16 of the upper part 13 of the sidewall 5 engages by its two ends into respective cut outs or recesses 17 each provided in the upper end of each of those walls 18 of the hollow profile of the posts 1 which face the sidewall 5. Fig. 2 shows the elongated hole 15 and the recess 17 as seen in a view towards that wall 18 of the hollow profile of a post 1 which faces the sidewall 5. As also shown in Fig. 2, the longitudinal direction of the elongated hole 15 is vertical, and the recess 17 in the wall 18 is upwardly open. Thus, the upper part 13 of the sidewall 5 can be lifted in accordance with the elongation of the elongated hole 15 upwardly to an extent such that the upper wire 16 leaves the recess 17 upwardly and is disengaged from it. The upper part 13, when thus brought into a lifted position, can be pivoted around its lower wire 14 serving as a pivot axis, and can be folded down until it hangs parallel to the lower part 9. In this folded position (not shown) of the upper part 13 of the sidewall 5, easy access is provided to goods lying low on the base 7 of the goods receiving area. Fig. 3 is a detailed view of an end of the upper horizontal wire 16 of the upper part 13 of the sidewall 5 together with the upper end of the post 1. In the position shown, the upper part 13 of the sidewall 5 is lifted to an extent that the upper horizontal wire 16 has been lifted out of the upwardly open recess 17 of that wall 18 of the hollow profile of the post 1 which faces the sidewall 5, and has been disengaged entirely from the post 1. Each end of the upper horizontal wire 16 is bent downwardly at a right angle to form a hook-shaped deflection 19 directed downwardly. When the upper part 13 of the sidewall 5 is hooked into the post 1, the upper part is lowered from the position shown in Fig. 3 so that an end of the upper wire 16 is inserted from above into the recess 17. Thereby, the upper wire 16 engages the interior of the post 1 by the deflection 19 taking hold at the rear of that wall 18 which faces the sidewall 5, i.e. behind the wall 18 in the interior of the post 1 below the recess 17, as shown in the upper right part of Fig. 1. This type of engagement of the deflection 19 through the recess 17 into the interior of the post I secures the posts I against them swinging outwardly, and thus contributes to a stiff structure of the sales table.

-4 Figs. 4(a) and (b) show side views of the cap 8 from two directions perpendicular to each other, and Fig. 4(c) shows a top plan view of the cap 8. The cap 8 comprises a substantially horizontal cover plate 20 and, extending therefrom, four leg-like flanges 21 projecting downwardly. When the cap 8 is plugged onto the upper end of a post 1, the cover plate 20 covers the hollow profile of the post 1 from above, and the flanges 21 engage squeezingly into the hollow profile. The flanges are formed such that they do not obstruct the recess 17, and the cap 8 can thus be plugged onto the post 1 while the upper wire 16 is engaging the recess 17. In this embodiment, the cover plate 20 has a cut-out 22 at a location which lies above the upwardly open recess 17 when the cap 8 is plugged on the post 1. The cut-out 22 allows the deflection 19 to pass through, when the upper wire 16 is hooked into or out of the recess 17. Thus, it allows the upper part 13 of the sidewall 5 to be folded down while the cap 8 remains plugged on the post 1. As is further shown in Figs. 1 and 3, the post 1 comprises another upwardly open recess 117 and a further elongated hole 115 both in its wall perpendicular to the above-mentioned wall 18. The recess 117 and the elongated hole 115 serve for the fastening of a further sidewall (not shown) hooked thereto in the same manner as the upper part 13 of the sidewall 5 is hooked to elongated hole 15 and recess 17. The cover plate 20 of the cap 8 covers the recess 117 since it has no cut-out at the location of the recess 117, as opposed to its cut-out 22 at the location of the recess 17. Thus, the (unshown) further sidewall is protected against it being inadvertently lifted. Only after the cap 8 has been removed, the further sidewall can be disengaged. This is done typically when the sales table is disassembled and also the screws connecting the post 1 and the frame 2 are released and the table is dismantled entirely. The recesses 17, 117 and the deflections 19 are portions of the sales table which can be easily manufactured and are robust but which still provide a durable and rigid connection between the sidewalls and the posts 1. At the same time, they allow easy handling of the table when the upper part 13 of the sidewall 5 is folded down or when the sales table is assembled or disassembled. Namely, as described above, the upper part 13 of the sidewall 5 can be disengaged from the recess 17 and folded down by simple manipulations, and the sales table can be disassembled or reassembled entirely with only a few further steps of manipulation.

-5 While various embodiments of the present invention have been described above, it should be understood that they have been presented by way of example only, and not by way of limitation. It will be apparent to a person skilled in the relevant art that various changes in form and detail can be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Thus, the present invention should not be limited by any of the above described exemplary embodiments. Throughout this specification and the claims which follow, unless the context requires otherwise, the word "comprise", and variations such as "comprises" and "comprising", will be understood to imply the inclusion of a stated integer or step or group of integers or steps but not the exclusion of any other integer or step or group of integers or steps. The reference in this specification to any prior publication (or information derived from it), or to any matter which is known, is not, and should not be taken as an acknowledgment or admission or any form of suggestion that that prior publication (or information derived from it) or known matter forms part of the common general knowledge in the field of endeavour to which this specification relates.

Claims (7)

1. A sales table having a goods receiving area for receiving goods, and comprising: posts, a base for supporting the goods in the goods receiving area, and a sidewall fastened to the posts for lateral delimitation of the goods receiving area and comprising a downwardly directed hook-shaped deflection which can be hooked from above into a recess provided at an upper end of at least one of the posts, wherein the sidewall comprises a horizontal wire whose ends engage elongated holes in the posts, so that the sidewall can be lifted or lowered along the elongation of the elongated holes, whereby the deflection hooks into or out of engagement with the recess.

2. A sales table according to claim 1, wherein said at least one post has a hollow cross sectional profile, and the recess is formed in the wall of the hollow profile at the upper end of the post, so that the recess is upwardly open.

3. A sales table according to claim 1 or 2, wherein said horizontal wire is a lower horizontal wire and the sidewall further comprises an upper horizontal wire whose ends are downwardly angled so as to form said deflection.

4. A sales table according to any one of claims 1 to 3, comprising a cap to be plugged onto the upper end of at least one of the posts.

5. A sales table according to claim 4, wherein the cap comprises a cover plate covering said recess from above.

6. A sales table according to claim 4, wherein the cap comprises a cover plate having a cut-out at a position of the recess, so that the hook-shaped deflection can be removed upwardly from the recess thereby passing through the cut-out.

7. A sales table substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the drawings and/or Examples.