EP0650678A1

EP0650678A1 - Rack

Info

Publication number: EP0650678A1
Application number: EP93203020A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Cornelis Jan Vlastuin
Original assignee: VLASTUIN INTERN TRANSPORT EN PRODUKTVERPAKKINGEN BV
Current assignee: VLASTUIN INTERN TRANSPORT EN PRODUKTVERPAKKINGEN BV
Priority date: 1993-10-27
Filing date: 1993-10-27
Publication date: 1995-05-03

Abstract

A rack, in particular for displaying goods, comprises side walls are provided with insertion grooves (16,17) and are interconnected by flat crosswise-running bearers (6) for the goods, each with their side edge clamped in an insertion groove (16,17). Each side wall (1,2) has at least one side wall element (9) which is provided with grooves in which at least the axes coinciding with their lengthwise direction intersect each other in a common point of intersection. According to a first variant, each side wall element (9) consists of a closed, flat side wall face (14) with pairs of strips projecting relative to said side wall face, the strips of each pair forming an inserion groove between them and being interrupted at the position of a point of intersection with another insertion groove. According to a second variant, each side wall element consists of a flat side wall face (28) with insertion grooves (31-35) recessed relative to said side wall face, which insertion grooves are each bounded by a pair of strips (30) which are interconnected at their edge facing away from the side wall face.

Description

The invention relates to a rack, in particular for displaying goods, comprising side walls which are provided with insertion grooves and are interconnected by flat crosswise-running bearers for the goods, each with their side edge clamped in an insertion groove. Such a rack is known from German Patent Application DE-A-2820100. This known rack makes it possible for a number of shelves to be clamped horizontally between two vertical walls.
The disadvantage of this known rack is that its potential uses are limited. As already mentioned, the shelves can only be positioned horizontally, which makes such a rack unsuitable for holding, for example, loose goods such as sweets or smaller technical articles such as screws and the like.
Another disadvantage is that the rigidity of the construction made up of shelves and side walls leaves something to be desired. The connection between shelves and side walls is relatively flexible, in such a way that a reinforcing rear wall generally has to be used to bring the rigidity up to the mark. This in turn means that the rack is accessible at only one side, which makes it less suitable for a striking display of the articles concerned.
The object of the invention is therefore to provide a rack of the type described above which does not have these disadvantages. This is achieved through the fact that each side wall has at least one side wall element which is provided with grooves in which at least the axes coinciding with their lengthwise direction intersect each other in a common point of intersection. Such a side wall element can have grooves running at arbitrary angles relative to each other and to the horizontal, but it preferably has at least one groove running horizontally. This has the advantage that the rack can be constructed without regard to the type of products. For normally stackable products, such as packs, the bearers can be placed in the horizontal grooves.
The stability of the rack can be increased in an embodiment in which provision is made for a tensioning means which can be fixed to both side walls in each case near the common point of intersection of the grooves. The tensioning means can advantageously be situated directly below a bearer placed in the grooves and has a supporting effect thereon. Such a tensioning means not only holds the bearer pressed into the grooves, but also makes it possible for the bearer to be made relatively light in construction, since the latter itself need not have any great flexural rigidity.
A particularly sturdy design can be obtained if the tensioning means is held clamped at its end faces against corresponding stop faces on the side walls. The desired tensioning effect can be obtained if the tensioning means has a projection which projects into an opening provided in each stop face of the side walls, and which interacts with a fixing means which can be supported on the supporting face facing away from the stop face of the side in question. A bayonet closure is mentioned as an example for projection and fixing means.
According to a preferred embodiment, the tensioning means is in the form of a flexurally rigid bar with a flat face supporting the bearer, and at each of its ends the tensioning means has an unround positioning element which fits into a corresponding unround positioning recess of the corresponding side wall, which element and recess can be brought into interaction with each other in various angular positions.
According to a first possibility, the side wall element consists of a flat side wall face with pairs of strips which project relative to the side wall face, the strips of each pair forming an insertion groove between them and being interrupted at the position of a point of intersection with another insertion groove. Such a side wall element can very easily be made in one piece.
According to a second possibility, the side wall element consists of a flat side wall face with insertion grooves which are recessed relative to said side wall face, which insertion grooves are each bounded by a pair of strips which are interconnected at their edge facing away from the side wall face.
In a particularly sturdy design of the side wall element, a pair of strips is provided in each case at each edge of a side wall face, in such a way that at least the outermost strips are interconnected to form a closed edge reinforcement running all the way round. In order to increase the strength further, every two adjacent strips of different pairs are connected to each other at the position of each interruption.
In connection with the desired rigidity of the rack, the bearers are provided at one or both longitudinal edges with a reinforcement flange which is flanged through a specific angle, each reinforcement flange being clamped at its side edge in an insertion groove which intersects the insertion groove in which the bearer is clamped at the same angle. Owing to the reinforcement flanges, such a bearer not only has good flexural rigidity itself, but also gives the whole rack good rigidity properties, since the flanges also interact with the side walls.
According to a variant, the bearers can be provided with two bearer parts running at an angle relative to each other, which bearer parts are inserted in grooves of the side walls running at a corresponding angle.
Each side wall preferably has a number of side wall elements stacked on top of each other. This means that the whole rack can be reduced to a relatively small package for transportation. In that connection it is advantageous to provide a base plate with raised edges within which the side walls are confined.
The assembled side walls can be supported stably on the base plate between the raised edges if the dimensions of the bearers correspond to those of the base plate, while in the disassembled state all side wall elements with shelves can be stored in a compact manner on the base plate.
The invention will be explained in greater detail below with reference to a number of exemplary embodiments shown in the figures.
Figure 1 shows a view in perspective of the rack according to the invention.
Figure 2 shows a side wall element in perspective.
Figure 3 shows a vertical section through the side wall element of Figure 2.
Figure 4 shows a view of a variant of the side wall element.
Figure 5 shows a section through a pair of grooves of the side wall element of Figure 4.
Figures 6a and 6b show a second variant of the side wall element in perspective.
Figures 7a and 7b show a detail of the grooves of the side wall element of Figure 6.
Figure 8 shows a variant of a bearer.
Figure 9 shows a further variant of the side wall element.
Figure 10 shows such a side wall element with bearer and tensioning means.
Figure 11 shows a detail of the fastening of the tensioning means to a side wall element.
The rack shown in Figure 1 comprises two side walls 1, 2, which are accommodated on a base plate 3. Said base plate has a raised edge 4 which runs all the way round, and between which the side walls 1, 2 fit.
Accommodated between the side walls 1, 2 are two bearers 5, which have a downward slanting bottom 6 and raised edges 7, 8. The bottom 6 and the raised edges 7, 8 are inserted into grooves of the side wall elements 9, which together form the side walls 1, 2. The push-in connection between bearers and side wall element will be explained in greater detail in the description of the figures which follows.
Although the illustrated bearers 6 both have a slanting bottom, bearers with a horizontal bottom can, of course, also be used. These bearers can be inserted with their bottom into the horizontal grooves 12; the bearers 6 with slanting bottom are inserted into the slanting grooves 13.
As mentioned, the side walls 2 are made up of side wall elements 9 which are stacked on top of one another. A number of side wall elements 9 can still be seen on the base plate 3. These side wall elements also fit between the raised edge 4 of the base plate 3. These additional side wall elements 9 can also be added as desired to the side walls 1, 2. It will be clear that for purposes of transporting the rack, all side wall elements can be placed on the base plate 3, and the necessary bearers can be stacked on top of the row of side wall elements 9. All elements for the rack can thus be transported in a compact way.
Figures 2 and 3 show a variant of the side wall element which is provided with a vertical side wall face 14, at both sides of which groove pairs 15, 16, 17, 18 and 21 project. The strip pairs 15 and 18 run at the perimeter of the side wall face 14, while the outermost strips 19, 20 are in one piece, which considerably increases the rigidity of the side wall element.
The strip pairs 15 and 17 form horizontal grooves, while the strip pairs 16 and 21 are slanting. Finally, strip pairs 18 run vertically. At the place where the various strip pairs intersect, the strips are interrupted, as a result of which through grooves are obtained. This means that each groove can accommodate a bearer extending over the entire length or height of the side wall element.
The example shown by broken lines in Figure 2 is a bearer 22 which has a slightly slanting bottom 3 and an upward slanting rear wall 24. The rear wall 24 is inserted into the groove formed by the strip pair 21, and the bottom 22 into the groove formed by the bottom strip pair 16. However, it will be clear that, as described above, bearers with, for example, a horizontal bottom can also be placed in the grooves formed by the strip pairs 17, and flanges possibly provided on such a horizontal bearer can be accommodated in the grooves formed by the vertical strip pairs 18.
On the top side, each side wall element is provided with lobes 25, which fit into correspondingly shaped recesses 26 on the bottom side of each side wall element. The side wall elements can thus be stacked stably on top of one another.
In the variant shown in Figure 4, the side wall element not only has two vertical strip pairs 27 on the vertical edges of the side wall face 28, but also a vertical strip pair 29 lying in the centre thereof.
In addition to the horizontal strip pairs 30 lying on the top and bottom edges of the side wall face 28, there are horizontal strip pairs 31 lying further inwards. There is also a first series of strip pairs 32 running slanting slightly relative to the horizontal series of strip pairs, and a second series of strip pairs 33 running at an opposite angle. Finally, there are two upward slanting strip pairs 34 and 35. In the case of this variant of the wall element, the bearers can thus be erected in a large number of different ways.
As shown in Figure 5, in order to facilitate the insertion of the bearers into the pairs of strips, the bottom strip of each pair of strips not running vertically is made longer than the top strip 37. In other words, the bottom strip 36 projects further relative to the side wall face 38 of the top strip 37. Before being inserted fully into the groove formed by the pair of strips, the bearer can be supported on the bottom strip 36, following which it can be guided in a reliable way into the groove by the same strip 36. The free ends 39 of the strips 36 and 37 are also bevelled, which further facilitates the insertion of the bearer.
In the case of the side wall element shown in Figures 6a and 6b, the top side is provided with hook-shaped elements 40 which can interact with a corresponding hook-shaped recess 41 on the bottom side of the element lying above. All this is shown on a larger scale in Figure 6b. The side wall elements in question can be connected to each other in a reliable way by sliding in the hook parts 40, 41. With a view to correct mutual positioning of the side wall elements stacked on top of one another, at its top edge each side wall element also has lobes 42, which when fully inserted come to rest against corresponding recesses 43 in the bottom side of the side wall element lying above.
Figures 7a and 7b show that in the case of this side wall element the grooves are formed by strip pairs 44 which are recessed relative to the side wall face 45. At their end facing away from the side wall face 45, they are connected to each other by a bottom 46. On the surfaces of the strip pairs 44 facing each other, it is also possible to provide ribs 47, by means of which an inserted bearer element 48 can be reliably clamped. All this is shown in greater detail in Figure 7b.
Lobes 49 can also be provided on the outermost strips of this wall element. Between these lobes 49 and the bottoms 46, it is possible to retain a cover plate 53, which bears, for example, an advertising message.
The bearer shown in Figure 8 is made of wire material. It has hooks 10, from which the known cards bearing a product protected by a transparent plastic cover can be suspended.
The bearer 10 can be suspended from a side wall element 9 by means of the U-shaped metal plate 50, which has plastic shoes 51. The plate 50 can be inserted into the appropriate grooves of the wall element 9 by means of these plastic shoes.
For an alternative suspension, the wire material of the bearer itself can be used. The bent ends 52 of the bearer are in this case inserted into the grooves of the side wall element.
The side wall element 53 shown in Figure 9 has three sets of grooves 54, 55, 56 and 57, each consisting of two groove parts 54', 54'' etc. This means that said parts 54' and 54'' lie in line with each other. The grooves 54 etc. intersect each other in the imaginary point of intersection 58.
Each bearer 59 (see Figure 10) has on its end faces two lips, each of which can be inserted into a pair of groove parts 54', 54'' etc. In the exemplary embodiment shown in Figure 10, the bearer 59 is fitted in the groove parts 54, 54'' of the second set of grooves 54 to 57 from the top of the wall element 53.
The bearer in the embodiment shown in Figure 10 is supported by a tensioning element which is indicated in its entirety by 60. This tensioning element extends between two opposite side wall elements 53. All this is shown in detail in Figure 11.
The tensioning element 60 shown there has on its end face a disc 61, which is provided with peripheral teeth 62. Said disc 61 fits into the recesses 63 also shown in Figures 9 and 10, which recesses are in turn provided with internal teeth 64. If the disc 61 is given the correct angular position in the recess 63, the flat top surface 65 of the tensioning element can be chosen parallel to the direction of, for example, groove 54. In another angular position said top surface 65 can be selected parallel to, for example, the direction of the grooves 56. In the exemplary embodiment shown in Figure 10, the disc 61 is placed in such a way that the top surface of the tensioning element 60 runs parallel to the grooves 54.
In this position the tensioning element 60 forms a flexurally rigid support for the bearer 59.
The stability of the rack is improved through the fact that the disc 61 rests with its flat end face against the recessed face 66 of the recess 63. Inside said recessed face 66 is a hole 67, through which - as shown in Figure 11 - the projection, indicated in its entirety by 68, of the tensioning element 60 projects. This projection, which thus projects beyond the wall element 53, is provided with a helical groove 69, which opens out in access openings 70.
The bayonet ring 71 can be brought into interaction with said projection 68. Said bayonet ring has a pair of lobes 72, which can be placed in the access openings 70. If the bayonet ring 71 is then turned, for example by gripping it at the gripping points 73, the bayonet ring 71 can be tightened against the external surface of wall element 53. In the course of this, the disc 61 is also pressed against the surface 66, with the result that a very sturdy connection is ensured.
The wall elements 53 also have pins 74, which fit into recesses 75 of a wall element lying above. These wall elements lying above also have tapering positioning ribs 77 which can be wedged into correspondingly shaped recesses 78 in a wall element lying below.

Claims

Rack, in particular for displaying goods, comprising side walls which are provided with insertion grooves and are interconnected by flat crosswise-running bearers for the goods, each with their side edge clamped in an insertion groove, characterized in that each side wall has at least one side wall element which is provided with grooves in which at least the axes coinciding with their lengthwise direction intersect each other in a common point of intersection.
Rack according to Claim 1, in which the grooves of a side wall element run at regular intervals radially relative to said point of intersection.
Rack according to Claim 2, in which provision is made for a tensioning means which can be fixed to in each case two side walls near the common point of intersection of the grooves.
Rack according to Claim 3, in which the tensioning means is situated directly below a bearer placed in the grooves and has a supporting effect thereon.
Rack according to Claim 3 or 4, in which the tensioning means holds the bearer pressed into the grooves.
Rack according to Claim 5, in which the tensioning means is held clamped at its end faces against corresponding stop faces on the side walls.
Rack according to Claim 6, in which the tensioning means has a projection which projects into an opening provided in each stop face of the side walls, and which interacts with a fixing means which can be supported on the supporting face facing away from the stop face of the side in question.
Rack according to Claim 7, in which projection and fixing means form a bayonet connection.
Rack according to Claim 8, in which the projection bears at least one helical groove, in which groove a lip of a bayonet ring can be accommodated, in such a way that on turning of the bayonet ring the tensioning means is clamped against the side wall.
Rack according to one of Claims 4 - 9, in which the tensioning means is in the form of a flexurally rigid bar with a flat face supporting the bearer, and at each of its ends the tensioning means bears an unround positioning element which fits into a corresponding unround positioning recess of the corresponding side wall, which element and recess can be brought into interaction with each other in different angular positions.
Rack according to one of Claims 2 - 10, in which the grooves each consist of two groove parts which lie in line with each other at either side of the point of intersection.
Rack according to one of Claims 1 - 11, in which a side wall element consists of a flat side wall face with insertion grooves which are recessed relative to said flat side wall face, which insertion grooves are each bounded by a pair of strips which are interconnected at their edge facing away from the side wall face.
Rack according to Claim 12, in which a pair of strips is provided in each case at each edge of a side wall face, in such a way that at least the outermost strips are interconnected to form a closed edge reinforcement running all the way round.
Rack according to one of the preceding claims, in which a bearer is provided which at one or both longitudinal edges bears a reinforcement flange which is flanged through a specific angle, each reinforcement flange being clamped at its side edge in an insertion groove which intersects the insertion groove in which the bearer is clamped at the same angle.
Rack according to one of the preceding claims, in which each side wall comprises a number of side wall elements stacked on top of one another.