EP2438585B1 - Support for an information display having at least one front display face and a rear face - Google Patents

Description

The field of the invention is that of information display racks for communication or visual advertising at POS points of sale. In this case, they are collapsible columns that can be folded automatically, with the advantage of being able to be transported and stored in excellent conditions, on the one hand, and to be installed very quickly on site. , on the other hand.

More specifically, the invention relates to an information display rack with at least one presentation front face and a rear face, comprising at least one blank of a substantially rigid and foldable material comprising said presentation face, the support being able to being driven from a folded state to an unfolded state under the action of devices exerting their actions in a discrete manner distributed along the presentation face of the blank, each device comprising means of constraint, to unfold the support, and means maintaining the support in its unfolded state, the folding of the support taking place against the action of the constraint means of said devices.

It will be noted that when the support comprises only one front face of presentation and a rear face, of presentation or not, the constraining devices are also intended to bend the presentation face of the blank and the holding means are also provided to maintain the presentation face in the curved state.

Speak FR-2824946 such a support is known, the restraining and holding devices of which are each comprising an elastic stress strap and a retaining strip intended to abut against a folded edge portion of the blank, at its two ends or to one, the band being articulated by its other end to the blank, near a lateral edge of the presentation face. A support of the same type is also known, with two presentation faces interconnected by their edges and comprising, between them, the stress elastics and retaining support plates and fixed in the center of the presentation faces or on their lateral edges, on the inner side.

From a folded state, just start to unfold the support so that, under the action of elastic strain, it unfolds completely automatically. Conversely, the folding of the support is effected by stretching the elastics of stress.

It can be argued that the necessity of having two-piece assemblies, a holding band and a strain-relief elastic, for the unfolding of the support, is not the ideal in terms of fabrication, installation, price, even weight. In addition, after many unfolding / folding manipulations, it is feared that the elastics may have weakened or relaxed, that their strength is no longer sufficient to properly exert their constraint function, not to mention the risks that they may not break under the action of heat or UV rays or because their length has been miscalculated and too short.

It has already been considered to use only stress elastics, without holding strips, by fixing at their two ends elastic cords at the lateral edges of the support, the maintenance of the presentation face in its curved state, when it is the case, being ensured by the balance between the strength of the elastic cords and the "opening" force of the convex face. But such a solution does not avoid the disadvantages of elastics presented above.

We have also already thought about not using rubber bands.

By the patent FR-2876261 a support is known with two presentation faces interconnected by their edges and comprising, between them, foldable holding plates fixed to the presentation faces, on the internal side, but it is the operator who must unfold the support and manually begin to constrain the presentation faces, bringing their edges closer, before unfolding the holding plates and tilt locking portions of the pads to lock in their holding state and maintain unfolded the support.

In the last two cases presented above, the supports comprise single pieces of stress and / or support, the supports of which the presentation face (s) is sprayed while bringing their edges closer together, but with, in the first case, the disadvantage elastics and, in the second case, the obligation of a positive constraint action of the operators.

We still know, by the Brazilian patent PI 0303694 , a support of the type of that of the patent FR-2876261 , with holding devices fixed between the two faces, which can move between a folded state and a deployed and locked state holding the support in the unfolded state. If, here too, the operator must intervene to modify the state of the holding devices, by pushing on it, it will be noted that the presentation faces take their curved state and the support, its unfolded state, not by bringing the lateral edges of the faces, but directly by spacing the presentation faces. WO 2009/039608 discloses another information display rack having a collapsible column form.

The invention of the present application aims to propose a solution free from all the difficulties presented above.

Thus the invention relates to a support according to claim 1

Thus, the constraint and holding devices, each consisting of a single piece of spacing, exert only their function of constraint, moving from their forced state to their rest state, and their function of maintenance, because of have reached their state of rest in which they maintain the unfolded state of the support.

In the preferred embodiment of the support of the invention, said devices are memory effect to, after stress, return to their state of rest.

Then, the dipositifs are advantageously provided with an elasticity that ensures their memory effect.

In this case, the dipositifs may consist of a pad of elastic cellular material, for example a polyurethane foam, attached to one or both faces.

But the devices may also consist of a compression spring (coil spring) attached to one or both faces, or a flexible elastic blade attached to one of the two faces only.

It should be noted that the "elastic" foam is in the process of becoming a clean and ecological material. Whether foam pads, springs or blades, to consider only these examples, even if their function of stress can dull with use and time, it is incommensurate with the risk of wear or breakage of elastics.

The spacers may be fixed in the central portion of the support or near their side edges.

When the support has only one presentation front face and one rear face, the restraining and holding devices are also intended to bend the presentation face of the blank and to keep it in the curved state, the devices being arranged to in the state of rest, constrain and disembowel the presentation front.

Reference has just been made to information display carriers comprising a plurality of constraining and holding devices exerting their actions in a discrete manner distributed along the faces of the support. This is industrially the most interesting solution, because the most flexible, the lightest, the cheapest.

• la figure 1 est une vue du fian à plat d'une première forme de réalisation du support de l'invention ;
• la figure 2 est une vue du support à l'état déplié obtenu avec le flan de la figure 1 , en perspective de dessus et de trois quarts ;
• la figure 3 est une vue du support de la figure 2, en perspective de dessus, de face ;
• la figure 4 est une vue en bout du support des figures 2, 3, à l'état déplié ;
• la figure 5 est une vue du support des figures 2, 3, en cours de repliement ;
• la figure 6 est une vue en bout du support de la figure 5 ;
• la figure 7 est une vue du support des figures 2, 3, 5, à l'état replié ;
• la figure 8 est une vue en bout du support de la figure 7, les deux faces aplaties l'une contre l'autre ;
• la figure 9 est une vue du flan de la figure 1 , avec des patins de mousse et en cours de formation du support ;
• la figure 10 est une vue du flan de la figure 1, avec des lames élastiques et en cours de formation ;
• la figure 11 est une vue du flan de la figure 1, avec des ressorts de compression et en cours de formation;
• les figures 12a, 12b, 12c sont des vues en bout d'une quatrième forme de réalisation du support de l'invention, à quatre faces, à l'état déplié, en cours de repliement et pratiquement à l'état replié, respectivement et
• les figures 13a, 13b, 13c sont des vues en bout d'une cinquième forme de réalisation, du support de l'invention, à trois faces, à l'état déplié, en cours de repliement et pratiquement à l'état replié, respectivement.

The invention will be better understood with the aid of the following description of several embodiments of the support of the invention, with reference to the appended drawing, in which

• the figure 1 is a plan view of a first embodiment of the support of the invention;
• the figure 2 is a view of the support in the unfolded state obtained with the blank of the figure 1 , in perspective from above and three quarters;
• the figure 3 is a view of the support of the figure 2 , in perspective from above, from the front;
• the figure 4 is an end view of the support of figures 2 , 3 , in the unfolded state;
• the figure 5 is a view of the support of figures 2 , 3 , being refolded;
• the figure 6 is an end view of the support of the figure 5 ;
• the figure 7 is a view of the support of figures 2 , 3, 5 , in the folded state;
• the figure 8 is an end view of the support of the figure 7 both sides flattened against each other;
• the figure 9 is a view of the blank of the figure 1 , with foam pads and in the process of forming the support;
• the figure 10 is a view of the blank of the figure 1 , with elastic blades and being formed;
• the figure 11 is a view of the blank of the figure 1 , with compression springs and being formed;
• the Figures 12a, 12b, 12c are end views of a fourth embodiment of the four-sided, unfolded, folded, and substantially folded support of the invention, respectively, and
• the Figures 13a, 13b, 13c are end views of a fifth embodiment of the three-sided, unfolded, folded, and substantially folded support of the invention, respectively.

The display rack blank 1 of the figure 1 is here cardstock, which is a substantially rigid and collapsible material. It comprises, still here, two suites of four panels 2-5 and 6-9 extending on either side of a longitudinal center line 10, intended, after folding, to form one of the two lateral edges of the support. The panels of the two suites, adjacent to each other, extend on either side of three transverse fold lines 11-13, orthogonal to the longitudinal centerline 10. All the panels are identical to each other and the outer surfaces of the panels two suites are intended to form here two front 14 and rear 15 presentation faces of the support.

Each panel is extended laterally, on the side opposite to that of the longitudinal fold line 10, by a border 16 for mounting and closing the support. Each edge 16 is indented on both sides and is intended to be folded around the edge 17 of the associated panel, to be plated and attached to the associated edge of the adjacent panel of the same level, the pairs of panels 2, 6; 3, 7; 4, 8; 5, 9. From the outer edge 18 of each edge 16, there are two cutouts 19, 20 arcuate portion opening on a small hole 21 for receiving a holding elastic of the two edges 16 of each pair of panels. same level tight against each other and thus fixed to one another.

In zones 22, 23, 24 of the panels 6, 7, 8, respectively on the inner surface 28 of the blank portion intended to become the rear face 15, it is provided to fix, here by gluing ( figure 9 ), three pads 25, 26, 27 elastic foam foam, here polyurethane. Each pad here has a parallelepipedal shape relatively elongated, that is to say long enough to be able to perform its function of stress and spacing that will be discussed later.

The display rack is formed by folding the two series of panels 2-5, 6-9, one over the other, after folding the blank 1 around the line median 10, juxtaposition of the borders 16, two by two and maintaining in this state of juxtaposition against each other by elastics passed through the cuts 19, 20.

Once formed ( figure 2 ), the display stand has the form of a vertical column with two side edges 10 and 29, the edge 29 being formed by the outer edges 18 of the borders 16, extending in the extension of each other.

On the figure 2 , the display is in the form of a vertical column deployed, which can be folded on itself by folding on each other panels 2-9.

Note that the pads 25-27 are spaced from each other, so that their overall action is exerted on the height of the column but discreetly distributed over this height, that is to say along the faces of presentation.

From the unfolded, or deployed, state of figure 2 , we can fold the support ( Figures 5-8 ), by folding the panels 2-9 on top of each other.

For this purpose, the two faces 14, 15 are flattened one on the other by crushing the pads 25-27 ( figure 8 ), the flattening being possible due to the relative sliding of the borders 16 which is permitted by the fastening elastics. The folding of the panels against each other takes place around the transverse fold lines 11-13 ( figure 5 ), alternately on one side and the other, in accordion, before maintaining the assembly thus folded by any appropriate means, for example an elastic band ( figure 7 The deployment is carried out even more simply, by removing the elastic which holds the support in the folded state, under the action of expansion and relaxation of the pads 25-27 which, since their forced state, separate the faces 14, 15 from each other until, moving towards their rest state, these pads reach this state of rest or a state of near-rest in which their action balances the opening force presentation faces 14, 15.

The pads 25-27, elastic foam cellular, because of this elasticity, on the one hand, and the fact that in the folded state of the support, they themselves are compressed, or constrained, on the other hand, exert, on the presentation faces 14, 15, a constraint action which will move them away from each other to unfold the support. In addition, since the support column in question is a column two faces, when the pads spread both sides of each other, the two faces bulge by bringing the two lateral edges 10, 29 closer together, the action of stress of the pads thus also exerting to bulge both sides . At the end of the process of deploying the support, as has been said above, a balance will be established between, on the one hand, the opening force exerted by the faces 14, 15 to return to their flat state and tending to bring them closer to one another and to recompress the pads, and, secondly, the strength of the pads acting in the opposite direction, tending to make them take their uncompressed rest state. Thus the stress and spacer pads also exert an action of maintaining the support in its unfolded state. In the case of a two-sided support, the pads thus also exert a holding action of the faces in their curved state. The pads exert these functions of constraint and maintenance alone.

Ultimately, the cellular foam pads, which are single pieces, or unitary, single element, evolve between a constrained state, when they are compressed because the support is in the folded state, and a state of rest ( or near rest), in which they maintain the support in the unfolded state.

In general, the skids defined above can also be described as memory effect devices provided here by their elasticity.

We have just described a support column, with, for stressing and spacing and holding devices, elastic cellular foam pads.

The support columns of the Figures 10 and 11 whose elements are identical to those of the support column of Figures 2-9 have the same references, comprise, as constraining devices and retention memory effect, leaf springs 35-37 and coil springs 45-47, instead of pads 25-27.

The leaf springs, elastic and flexible, each comprise, an end range 38, for its attachment to the inner surface 28 of the face 15, an intermediate portion 39 flexible and elastic and central inflection zone, and a second range end 40, free, and slidable on the surface interior 41 of the face 14 during the folding and unfolding of the support column.

When folding the support, folding the two faces on one another and fold the panels over each other, flattened the blades 35-37 which, when unfolding, will resume their form of rest for remove both sides from each other.

The coil springs 45-47 of the column of the figure 11 , are only fixed to the inner surface 28 of the face 15 by an end turn, the other end turn remaining free, while it could also be fixed to the inner surface 41 of the face 14. The coil springs 45-47 function as the 35-37 blades. In the folded state of the column, the springs are compressed and when they can resume their state of rest, they separate the two faces 14, 15 from one another.

Support columns have been considered in which the foam pads, the leaf springs and the coil springs are fixed in the center of the panels, and hence the faces, near the transverse fold lines. Any other arrangement would be perfectly conceivable, such as, for example, near the lateral edges, that is to say near the borders 16 or the longitudinal fold line 10.

Two-sided support columns have been described ( Figures 1-11 ). But the invention applies equally well to support columns with more than two faces, for example three faces 51, 52, 53 ( Figures 13a, 13b, 13c ), with a triangular cross-section, or with four faces 61, 62, 63, 64 ( Figures 12a, 12b, 12c ), with a rectangular cross section, the constraint and holding devices 55, 65 being arranged as before, between two opposite faces 62, 64 (four-sided columns) or two adjacent faces 52, 53 (three-sided columns). With a three-sided column, the free face 51 of the constraining device 55 could comprise a fold line 54, to form, during the folding of the column, an edge moving away from the opposite edge 56 of the column, connecting the two other faces 52, 53 approaching one another until they are applied to one another ( figure 13c ), the third face then being completely folded on itself in two half-faces 51 ', 51 ".

With a four-sided column 61-64, folding and flattening would occur by hinging adjacent two-to-two faces 61, 62 and 63, 64 or 61, 64 and 62, 63 around the four edges 66, 67 , 68, 69 forming the column.

Claims (9)

1. Support for an information display, being in the shape of a foldable column and comprising at least one front display face (14) and one rear face (15), said support comprising at least one blank (1) made of a substantially rigid and foldable material comprising said display face (14), it being possible for the support to be driven from a folded state to an unfolded state under the action of stressing and holding devices (25-27) which act so as to be distributed discretely along the display face (14) of the blank (1), each stressing and holding device (25-27) comprising stressing means for unfolding the support and holding means for the support when said support is unfolded, the support being folded against the action of the stressing means of said devices (25-27), characterised in that each stressing and holding device (25-27) is formed by one single spreading part that is fixed to at least one of said faces (15) and which is supported on the other of said faces such as to spread said front face (14) and rear face (15) of the support, said stressing and holding devices (25-27) are arranged so as to be able to change between a stressed state, in the folded state of the support, and a rest state, in which said devices hold the support in the unfolded state.
2. Support according to claim 1, wherein said stressing and holding devices (25-27) have a memory effect so as to return to their rest state after being stressed.
3. Support according to claim 2, wherein said stressing and holding devices (25-27) are provided with a resilience that ensures their memory effect.
4. Support according to claim 3, wherein said stressing and holding devices (25-27) are formed by pads made of a resilient cellular material.
5. Support according to claim 4, wherein the pads (25-27) are fixed to one face (15) only.
6. Support according to claim 3, wherein said stressing and holding devices (25-27) are formed by compression springs (45-47).
7. Support according to claim 3, wherein said stressing and holding devices (25-27) are formed by flexible resilient strips (35-37) fixed to just one (15) of the two faces (14, 15).
8. Support according to any of claims 1 to 7, wherein only two faces (14, 15) are provided, the stressing and holding devices (25-27) being provided to bend the display face (14) of the blank (1) and to hold said display face in the bent state, said devices being arranged to, when in the rest state, stress and bend the front display face (14).
9. Support according to any of claims 1 to 7, wherein at least three faces are provided.

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