DE29605842U1 - Shelf for displaying goods - Google Patents

Description

TER MEER -MÜLLER- STEINMEISTER &.PARTNER.. .. .. Storck

"V-

DESCRIPTION

The invention relates to a shelf for displaying goods in retail, with a number of vertical supports to which a number of horizontal rods are attached, to which slides for goods and/or hook rods for hanging goods are attached.

Such shelves are used in particular in larger retail stores, supermarkets, etc. They can be used to display different goods with or without packaging. The goods can be hung on the hooks or placed in the bins. An example of the goods in question could be sweets packaged in bags. These shelves usually consist of several elements or components that can be put together to form shelves of different sizes and, if necessary, different structures.

Naturally, it is in the interest of retailers and also of the manufacturers of the goods on display that these goods are presented in an attractive form and arouse the interest of customers. There is therefore a constant effort to improve the appearance of a shelf of the type in question here, to modernize it and to adapt it to contemporary tastes. On the other hand, with such changes in the form of presentation, it should not be necessary to completely remove the existing shelf and set up a completely new one, as this would be associated with high costs and would also cause increasing problems with the removal of the existing shelf.

The object of the invention is to create a shelf of the type mentioned at the beginning, which, based on a few conventional basic components, enables a flexible design with a few different, easily assembled elements.

This object is achieved according to the invention in a shelf of the above type by a number of rod sections with hooks at one end for hanging on the horizontal rods of the shelf and a row of holes in the front surface of the rod sections as well as chutes and hook rods with hook-shaped fastening devices adapted to the row of holes in the rod sections.

TER MEER - MÜLLER - STEINMEISTER &.PART.tyEa Storck

An essential feature of the invention are the aforementioned rod sections, which each serve to bridge the distance between two horizontal rods, of which they overlap the upper horizontal rod in a hook-like manner and are supported on the lower one. As a rule, several rod sections can be provided among one another to bridge the respective gaps between the successive horizontal rods.

Although the use of this large number of rod sections appears to be relatively complicated, they could not be replaced by a continuous, vertical rod. Such a continuous rod could not be suspended with essentially the same load on all or at least several horizontal rods in view of the relatively low accuracy that can be assumed for shelf constructions of this type, so that even if several hooks were used it would only be supported on one horizontal rod. Such a load could not be absorbed by the individual horizontal rods, or at least not without considerable deformation. Difficulties of this kind would be expected in particular because the aim of the invention is to retain conventional basic shelves with vertical supports and horizontal rods and only to supplement them in the sense of the invention. In conventional basic shelves, however, the distances between the horizontal rods are not uniform.

The solution according to the invention, in which the vertical rods are replaced by a number of rod sections, results in a completely uniform transfer of force to all horizontal rods. This means that the relatively high weight of the chutes can be distributed across the individual horizontal rods and thus easily supported.

The bar sections have rows of holes on their front surface which allow both hook bars and chutes to be attached, as will be explained in more detail later.
35

The rod sections are preferably made of a thin plate material, such as sheet metal, and are bent in a U-shape in their horizontal cross-section.

TER MEER - MÜLLER - STEINMEISTER &,PAR"Ü>IEFV Storck

The base of the U-profile is on the side facing the viewer and it has the vertical rows of holes. At the upper end of the rod sections, the hooks for hanging on the horizontal rods are formed in one piece with the side legs of the U-profile.

The side flanges or legs of the U-profile are preferably extended downwards and are slightly offset outwards or guided downwards with a slightly widening cone so that they can be placed on both sides past the next lower bar section against the horizontal bars and support themselves there. The bottom surface of the U-profile is recessed in the area of this extension. In this way, a bar profile can be built up from the bar sections from bottom to top.

At the lower end of the rod sections, additional hooks can be formed from the side legs of the U-profile, which overlap the lower horizontal rod from behind and, although they do not always support each other, prevent the lower end of the rod sections from being pulled forward.

According to the invention, the chutes are preferably designed in two parts and comprise an inner shell and an outer shell that accommodates it. The outer shell is used to hang on the shelf. It has side walls, a rear wall and a base, and hooks extend from the side walls at the rear upper corners for hanging in the rows of holes in the rod sections. The side walls run diagonally downwards to the front. There is no front wall. The base can be plate-shaped, but can also be formed by struts or a latticework.

The inner trays have a similar shape with side walls that slope downwards towards the front and a rear wall and, in this case, a relatively low front wall. The base is not horizontal in the position of use, but runs downwards from back to front, in particular in an arched shape with a decreasing steepness from back to front. The inner trays form the actual goods receptacle. These goods, for example, sweets in bags, which are placed in rows one behind the other in the inner trays.

TER MEER - MÜLLER - STEINMEISTER &,PART.NER, Storck

When individual bags are removed from the front, they slide over the sloping floor from behind, thus avoiding the undesirable visual impression created by a largely empty goods chute with individual bags remaining that have fallen over.

Preferably, the inner tray can be pulled out of the outer tray like a drawer, so that the inner tray is easily accessible when filling, arranging or cleaning. The inner tray is preferably guided in relation to the outer tray via mutual guides so that the inner tray is slightly raised in the front area or tilted backwards as a whole. In this slightly tilted backwards position, new bags or pouches can be sorted better than in the horizontal position of use of the inner tray, as it prevents the bags from sliding down the forward-sloping base in the rear area before the inner tray is completely filled.

In the following, preferred embodiments of the invention are explained in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.
20

Fig. 1 is a schematic front view of an inventive

according to shelf;

Fig. 2 is a corresponding side view;

Fig. 3 shows a first embodiment of a rod section

to form vertical bars to hold chutes and hook bars;
30

Fig. 4 is a second embodiment of a rod section;

Fig. 5 shows on a smaller scale the interaction of individual

superimposed bar sections;
35

Fig. 6 shows an embodiment of a chute;

Fig. 7 shows an insert for a chute according to Fig. 6 in pages

opinion;

TER MEER - MÜLLER - STEINMAIST5R &iPARTWER*. ·. ·. Storck

Figure 1 is the front view of a simple design of a shelf according to the invention. This shelf comprises two vertical supports 10, 12, to which horizontal rods 14, 16, 18, 20, 22 are attached one above the other at intervals. Supports of the type of interest here usually have a row of holes on the front (not shown in Figure 1) into which the horizontal rods 14, 16, 18, 20, 22 can be hung at different heights according to the hole spacing. The horizontal rods in turn serve to hang up bins 24, 26, 28, 30 (see also Figure 2) and hook rods 32, 34, 36, 38, 40 (Figure 2). Goods, for example candy bags, can be placed in the chutes and these candy bags can be hung on the hook bars 32,34,36,38,40.

At the lower end of the vertical supports 10,12 there is a base 42 on which two solid, large, open-topped chutes (so-called Wanzl baskets) 44,46 are arranged, which can be used in particular as storage space for goods that must be replenished from time to time in the chutes and on the hook bars.

These basic elements of the shelf can be supplemented by a rear wall (not shown) connecting the vertical supports 10, 12. All of the parts mentioned can be made of sheet metal.

As mentioned, the horizontal bars 14,16,18,20,22 have different distances between the different types of shelves available on the market. Even if the supports 10,12 are provided with rows of holes, these can only allow a relatively rough height adjustment.

If an individual shelf comprising bins and hook bars is to be created on a basic shelf consisting of vertical supports and horizontal bars, it is necessary to create additional suspension options, especially for the bins, which are comparatively heavy and cause a considerable tipping moment.

For this purpose, according to the invention, vertically arranged rod sections are provided, which can be arranged in a vertical row, each connecting two horizontal rods 14, 16, 18, 20, 22. Embodiments of such rod sections are shown in Figures 3 to 5.

TER MEER - MÜLLER - STEINMEISTBR &.PARTNER,. ,. ,. Storck

A rod section 50 according to Figure 3 is formed by a sheet metal bent at a right angle in a U shape with a base 52 and two side flanges or legs 54, 56. In the base 52 there is a row of holes 58, one below the other, which are equally spaced apart. In the embodiment shown, these holes 58 are rectangular. However, they can also be round or have a different shape. The width of the holes 58 in Figure 3 is sufficient to accommodate two hook elements lying next to one another, i.e. two adjacent chutes. However, two separate rows of holes can also be provided next to one another. It can be seen that the upper hole (not shown in detail) and the lower hole in the row of holes are at a distance from the respective ends of the base 52 that corresponds to half the hole spacing between the holes. Therefore, if two rod sections are hung directly below one another, the row of holes continues from one rod section to the other with the same spacing.

The side legs 54 and 56 are extended at their upper ends backwards, i.e. to the left at the back in Figure 3, to form rectangular hooks 60, 62, which are suitable for gripping the horizontal rods shown in Figure 1 from above. At the lower end, the side legs 54, 56 of the U-profile are extended by webs 64, 66 running along the free edges, which serve to support the next lower horizontal rod, not shown in Figure 3. In the area of the webs 64, the base area 52 is cut out together with the adjacent strips of the side legs 54, 56. A rod section 50 adjacent to the bottom according to Figure 3 can therefore directly connect to the rod section shown in Figure 3 at the bottom. It is important that the U-profile of the hook is slightly conical towards the bottom, i.e. that the base surface 52 tapers slightly downwards. Each cone is selected so that the rod section that follows downwards can enter between the webs 64, 66. This will be explained again later using Figure 5.

Figure 4 shows an embodiment that largely corresponds to that shown in Figure 3 and will therefore only be explained with regard to the differing details. The reference numbers already provided in Figure 3 are used for the other elements.

TER MEER - MÜLLER - STEINMAISTR &,PARTJVER., ., ,. Storck

In the embodiment according to Figure 4, not only the webs 64,66 already shown in Figure 3 are formed at the lower end of the side legs 54,56 of the U-profile, but also additional hooks 70,72, which correspond in shape to the upper hooks 60,62, but are significantly longer in their downward extension than the upper hooks. These lower hooks 70,72 serve to grip behind a lower horizontal rod, without any vertical support being provided on this rod. Rather, they are only intended to prevent the rod sections 68 from being pulled off the shelf surface at the bottom. These lower hooks 70,72 are generally not necessary, since the chutes hanging on the rod sections 68 or 50 generate such a high bending moment that the rod sections 68 are reliably pressed against the lower rods.

Figure 5, which has already been briefly mentioned, shows in a schematic, reduced representation three rod sections arranged one above the other, such as rod sections 50 according to Figure 3. It can be seen that the lower lateral webs 64, 66 each allow the entry of the next lower rod section.

Fig. 6 shows a further essential component of the shelf according to the invention, an embodiment of a chute. The chute, designated as a whole by 74, is made in two parts and consists of an outer shell 76, which is suspended from the shelf (not shown here), and an inner shell 78 lying in this. The outer shell 76 has two side walls 80, a rear wall 82 and a flat base 84 and is open to the front, i.e. to the right in Fig. 6. It is preferably made of sheet metal. Hooks 86 are formed on the rear upper corners of the side walls 80, which serve to hang the outer shell 76 in a shelf. The side walls slope forward at an angle at their upper edges 88.

The inner shell 78 lies with a slight clearance inside the outer shell 76. The inner shell 78 has a similar overall shape to the outer shell. It has two side walls 90,92, the upper edges 94,96 of which slope forward at the same angle as the edges 88 of the outer shell 76. However, the side walls 90,92 slightly protrude over the side walls 80 of the outer shell 76. They are also somewhat longer and protrude slightly forward from the outer shell 76, which is open at the front, as can be seen in Fig. 6.

TER MEER - MÜLLER - STEINMAIST5R &FARTJSJER., ., .. Storck

Furthermore, the inner shell 78 has a rear wall 98 connecting the side walls and a front wall 100, the height of which is relatively low in accordance with the inclined course of the side walls 90, 92.

The base of the inner tray 76, designated 102, has a steep incline from the rear wall 98 to the front wall 100 and runs in an arc from back to front, i.e. has a decreasing incline or steepness from back to front. This design ensures that goods or packaging in the form of bags, pouches, blister packs, etc., which are placed in a row from front to back in the inner tray, always slide from the back as they are removed from the front, so that properly placed bags or the like can always be seen at least on the front side facing the consumer. With corresponding chutes with a horizontal base, there is a risk that the last products will fall over as the products are removed, which will seriously impair their appearance.

The course of the base 102 can also be seen in Fig. 7. This figure shows the inner shell 78 without the outer shell 76.

The inner shell 78 lies loosely in the outer shell 76. Since the outer shell 76 has no front wall, the inner shell 78 can be pulled out to the front like a drawer, while the outer shell remains in the shelf as a guide for the inner shell. To form an end stop during this pull-out movement and also to provide additional guidance for the inner shell, there are pins 104 on both outer sides of the side walls 90 of the inner shell, which engage in slots 106 running from back to front in the side walls 80 of the outer shell 76. These slots 106 not only run from back to front in the side walls of the outer shell 76, but they also run diagonally downwards in a line that may be suitably curved, as shown in Fig. 6. In this way, not only does the front end of the slots 106 form the stop when the inner tray is pulled out, but at the same time the pins 104 are pressed downwards from above, while the inner tray 78 is tilted backwards accordingly. The strongly inclined base 102 of the inner tray 78 essentially loses its inclination in this way, so that new goods can be sorted in gradually without first having to

TER MEER - MÜLLER - STEINMEISTER &.PARTWER»· ·. *. Storck

— · · ·— *-**-* c— mm

repeatedly slide down from the back to the front across the floor. By pulling out the inner tray 78, the inner tray is not only made much more accessible for the staff, but it is also made easier to refill the inner tray with goods.
5

The inner shell 78 is also preferably made of sheet metal. However, both shells can also be made entirely or partially from other materials.

With the aid of the rod sections 50 and 68, a transition can be created in a simple manner according to the invention from any conventional rod shelf of the type shown here to the various elements according to the invention for completing the shelf, namely in particular to the chutes, the head piece and the hooks.

The hook rods 32,34,36,38,40 have not been shown in detail in the previous description. However, they can have the conventional shape and only need to be designed to be attached to the rod sections 50,68 on their rows of holes.

Claims (14)

TER MEER - MÜLLER - STEINMEISTgR &.PART.NER,. ., ., Storck PROTECTION CLAIMS 1. Shelf for displaying goods in retail, with a number of vertical supports (10,12) to which a number of horizontal rods (14,16,18,20,22) are attached, to which are attached chutes (24,26,28,30) for goods and/or hook rods (32,34,36,38,40) for hanging goods, characterized by a number of rod sections (50,68) with hooks (60,62) at one end for hanging on the horizontal rods (14,16,18,20,22) of the shelf and a row of holes (58) in the front surface (52) of the rod sections, as well as chutes (24,26,28,30) and hook rods (32,34,36,38,40) with hook-shaped fastening devices adapted to the rows of holes in the rod sections (86,88). 2. Shelf according to claim 1, characterized in that the rod sections (50,68) are U-shaped in cross section and comprise a base surface (52) and two lateral legs (54,56), and that the hooks (60,62) are formed on the lateral legs (54,56) and the holes (58) are cut into the base surface (52). 3. Shelf according to claim 2, characterized in that the rod sections (50,68) consist of sheet metal. 4. Shelf according to claim 2 or 3, characterized in that the lateral legs (54, 56) of the U-profile of the rod sections (50, 68) are extended at the opposite end to form webs (64, 66) which extend in strip form along the extensions of the free edges of the lateral legs. 5. Shelf according to claim 4, characterized in that in the region of the webs (64,66) additional hooks (70,72) extend from the lateral legs of the U-profile, the shape of which essentially corresponds to that of the hooks (60,62) at the other end of the rod sections (50,68), but which are directed in the same direction as the other hooks and the webs (64,66). TERMEER-MULLER-STEINMEISTGRAI ³ ARTISTS Storck - 11 - 6. Shelf according to claim 4 or 5, characterized in that the width of the base surface (52) of the U-shaped rod sections (50,68) increases in the direction of the webs (64,66) in width essentially corresponding to twice the material thickness of the U-profile. 7. Shelf according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the drawers (74) consist of an outer shell (76) to be suspended in the shelf and an inner shell (78) lying loosely in the outer shell, which extends forwards from the outer shell in the manner of a drawer. (76) can be pulled out. 8. Shelf according to claim 7, characterized in that the outer shell (76) has two side walls (80), a rear wall (82) and a flat base (84), that the outer shell is open on the front side and that hooks (86) for hanging on the shelf are formed on the rear upper corners of the side walls (80). 9. Shelf according to claim 7 or 8, characterized in that the side walls (80) of the outer shell (76) slope downwards at an angle. 10. Shelf according to one of claims 7 to 9, characterized in that the inner shell (78) has side walls (90, 92) sloping forwards, a rear wall (98), a front wall (100) and a base (102) sloping from the back to the front. 11. Shelf according to claim 10, characterized in that the bottom (102) of the inner shell (78) extends in an arc from back to front with gradually decreasing steepness. 12. Shelf according to one of claims 8 to 11 , characterized in that cooperating guide members (104, 106) are formed on the side walls (80, 90, 92) of the outer shell (76) and the inner shell (78), which limit the extension movement of the inner shell (78) in relation to the outer shell (76). TER MEER-MÜLLER-STEINMEISTER & PARTNERS Storck - 12 - 13. Shelf according to claim 12, characterized in that the guide members (104,106) are designed such that the inner shell (78) is gradually tilted backwards during the pull-out movement. 14. Shelf according to one of claims 12 or 13, characterized in that the guide members (104,106) have pins (104) in the outer surfaces of the side walls (90,92) of the inner shell (78) and slots (106) in the side walls (80) of the outer shell (76).