EP3764846B1 - Supply element - Google Patents

Description

The invention relates to a supply element for a shelving system for providing power and/or data to a terminal device. The invention further relates to a shelf post with a supply element. Finally, the invention relates to a shelf system with a shelf post.

Shelving systems are widely used to hold and display goods. A large number of such shelving systems can be found in supermarkets in particular.

In order to supply an end device of a shelving system - for example a display device for the goods stored in the shelving system or for their price - with power and/or data, very complex technical solutions are known from the prior art, which are based either on wireless, for example radio-based Solutions, or based on complicated wiring and cable routing.

Even when converting such a shelving system, for example to change the distance between the individual shelving brackets if goods of a different size are to be accommodated, the technical solutions known from the prior art cause a great deal of effort. In the case of cable-supported solutions, a large number of individual cables have to be removed from the end devices and re-laid after the racking has been converted and reconnected to the end devices.

The assignment of the information to be displayed on the terminal poses particular problems, particularly in the case of cable-supported solutions, since the computer supplying the shelving system with data must always assign specific information to a specific terminal and supply it with it.

In the case of cable-supported solutions, this requires a great deal of effort.

From the U.S. 9,404,645 B1 is a supply element for a shelving system for providing power and/or data to a terminal device in order to use power and/or or to provide data by contacting a terminal device on a shelf bracket that is attached to the shelf post, with at least three conductor tracks being designed for conducting power and/or data.

This is where the invention comes in, the object of which is to specify a supply element for a shelving system that makes it possible in a simple manner to specifically supply end devices of the shelving system with data and/or power.

Furthermore, such a supply element should make it possible in a simple manner for the shelving system to be converted without great effort, for example by the distance between the individual shelving brackets being able to be changed within limits without the need for costly new cable laying to the terminals.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a shelf post having such a service member.

A final object of the invention is to provide a shelving system comprising such a shelf post.

The first object of the present invention is solved by the subject matter of claim 1.

It was recognized within the scope of the present invention that a supply element for a shelf system for providing power and/or data to a terminal solves the disadvantages of the prior art described above if the supply element is provided in an interior space of a hollow shelf post of the shelving system can be arranged in order to provide power and/or data by contacting a terminal device on a shelf bracket which is attached to the shelf post, the supply element being of multi-layer design and having a longitudinal extension L, a width extension B and a thickness D, and wherein at least three conductor tracks are formed for conducting power and/or data, one of which is freely accessible and contactable continuously along at least one section A of the longitudinal extent L on the surface of the supply element, and at least two conductor tracks for conducting power and/or data the O Surface of the supply element in sections A', A" of the longitudinal extension L are freely accessible and contactable, with the sections A', A" on the longitudinal extension L of the at least two conductor tracks, on which these are freely accessible and contactable, at different locations O' , O" of the surface of the supply element are designed to supply at least two shelf consoles of the shelf system with terminals with power and/or data.

The supply element described above makes it possible in a simple manner to equip the shelf system in such a way that terminals of the shelf system are specifically supplied with data and/or power in a simple manner.

In the context of the invention, "specific" means that each end device of each shelf console is supplied with the power and/or data that the computer assigns to the end devices.

A support element can be regarded as a shelf bracket, which is attached to the shelf post in a manner known per se in preferably regularly arranged openings in the wall of the shelf post by means of hooks which are provided separately or on the shelf brackets.

The shelf bracket can also include a floor that is used to store goods.

The supply element according to the present invention also makes it possible to convert the shelving system without any effort, with a shelf bracket which is attached to the shelf post, for example in a known manner as described above, and has a terminal, as well as a cable connection from the terminal along the shelf bracket to a contact -Elements, which are assigned to the end of the shelf bracket with which it is attached to the shelf post, is simply hung in an adjacent opening, the contacting elements coming into contact with the conductor tracks of the supply element and thus conducting electricity and / or data.

The supply element of the present invention thus makes it possible in a simple manner for each shelf console of the shelf system to be provided with power and/or data for the end device provided on the shelf console in a more specific manner.

In the simplest embodiment of the present invention, it is provided that the supply element has three conductor tracks for conducting current and/or data. In this case, a conductor track on the surface of the supply element along at least one section A of the longitudinal extent L is freely accessible and contactable.

In a practical embodiment of the invention, it can be provided that this trace represents ground (GRD).

It is also provided that two further conductor tracks are provided for conducting current and/or data, the two further conductor tracks having sections A, A', on which they are freely accessible and contactable, the sections A, A' of the two further conductor tracks are formed at different locations O′, O″ on the surface of the supply element.

This makes it possible that, in the simplest embodiment of the present invention, a shelving system is equipped with two consoles for goods, with a terminal being provided on each console, and with the supply element of the present invention supplying power and / or data in a more specific way for each of the two terminals can be made available.

This makes it possible, for example, for the information display elements, as which the terminals are designed, to display different information about the goods held in the shelving system and, in particular, also different prices.

In the context of the invention, the supply element has more than three conductor tracks in order to be able to use shelving systems with more than two consoles in a further development.

It has turned out to be extremely advantageous within the scope of the present invention if it is provided that at least seven conductor tracks are formed.

A shelving system that has two consoles can be supplied with both power and data in a simple manner with seven conductor tracks.

As already described above, three conductor tracks are provided for conducting current, while four conductor tracks of the supply element ensure the supply of data.

In a shelving system that has three consoles, the supply element of the present invention can have at least thirteen conductor tracks in an advantageous development, of which five conductor tracks are provided for the provision of power and eight conductor tracks for the provision of data.

It goes without saying that more than four brackets can also be provided in a shelving system, in which case the number of conductor tracks that are formed on the supply element increases accordingly.

In a simple embodiment, one conductive path is provided per console for the provision of electricity and for the shelving system a conductive path for GRD, while each console has two conductive paths for the provision of data on the supply element.

In an extremely advantageous embodiment of the present invention, it can be provided that the sections of the conductor tracks of the supply element, on which they are freely accessible and contactable, extend so far that a shelf bracket can be attached to various openings made in the shelf post, with contact always being made from Supply element can be ensured for the terminal. It goes without saying that this is limited insofar as contact is made to the section of the conductor track or to the sections of the conductor track only where they are freely accessible and contactable. In this way, the shelf can be rebuilt to a limited extent, so that goods of a different size can be accommodated without restricting the contact between the supply element and the end device.

In a very practical embodiment, the supply element can be in the form of a multi-layer polymer material-metal composite body. Such a multi-layer polymer material-metal composite body can be formed in such a way that layers of polymer material and layers of a metal or an electrically conductive material are arranged alternately one above the other, at least in sections.

In this way it is possible, on the one hand, for the number of conductor tracks to be implemented in a simple manner in the supply element by the number of layers made of a metal or a current-conducting material. On the other hand, by arranging layers of polymer material and layers of metal or a current-conducting material alternately one above the other, the conductor tracks made of the metal or the current-conducting material are sufficiently insulated from one another.

The formation of the layer thickness, in particular in the case of the layers made of metal or the electrically conductive material, can also take into account the necessary current transport by making the layers correspondingly thicker if there is an increased power requirement from the end device, which is the case, for example, in the case of lighting the shelf console of the case can be.

In the case of the present invention, it can be particularly favorable if the layers made of polymer material and the layers made of a metal or an electrically conductive material, which are arranged alternately one above the other, are arranged one above the other at least in sections in one plane.

This measure of the present invention ensures that such a supply element can be produced in a simple manner, can also be contacted easily, and ensures reliable contacting with the consoles, so that the contacting elements can be arranged on the consoles in a defined manner by this measure.

Copper, aluminum, steel and corresponding alloys are suitable as metals. In particular, current-conducting polymer materials that contain conductive particles or fibers can be provided as current-conducting materials. Intrinsically conductive polymer materials can also be used as conductive materials.

In an advantageous development of the invention, it can be provided that the conductor track or conductor tracks that are exposed and contactable on the surface of the supply element have a width of 2 to 6 mm. This enables reliable and simple contacting of the conductor track or conductor tracks.

Thermoplastics are particularly suitable as polymer materials, since they are easy to process and form, light, inert, durable, insulating and durable, and are also available at low cost.

Duroplasts are also suitable for producing the supply element according to the invention.

The supply element according to the invention can advantageously be produced with the aid of a polymer molding process.

Such a supply element can be easily manufactured in particular by an injection molding and/or a pressing and/or a laminating and/or an embossing and/or a thermoforming process.

Alternatively, it can be provided that the supply element is produced entirely or partially using an additive manufacturing process, for example a 3D printing process.

For this purpose, a three-dimensional model that can be read by a data processing machine can advantageously be used for the production.

The invention also includes a method for generating a data processing machine-readable three-dimensional model for use in a manufacturing method for a supply element. Here, the method also includes in particular the input of data representing a supply element into a data processing machine and the use of the data to represent a supply element as a three-dimensional model, the three-dimensional model being suitable for use in the manufacture of a supply element. Also included in the method is a technique in which the input data of one or more 3D scanners, which operate either in touch or in a non-contact manner, in the latter energy is delivered to a supply element and the reflected energy is received, and where a virtual three-dimensional Model of a utility element is generated using computer-aided design software.

The manufacturing process can be a generative powder bed process, in particular selective laser melting (SLM), selective laser sintering (SLS), selective heat sintering (Selective Heat Sintering - SHS), selective electron beam melting (Electron Beam Melting - EBM / Electron Beam Additive Manufacturing - EBAM) or solidification of powder material by means of a binder (binder jetting). The manufacturing process can be a generative free space process, in particular build-up welding, wax deposition modeling (WDM), contour crafting, metal-powder application processes (MPA), plastic-powder application processes, cold gas spraying, electron beam melting (electron beam welding - EBW) or melt layering processes such as fused deposition Modeling (FDM) or Fused Filament Fabrication (FFF). The manufacturing process can include a generative liquid material process, in particular stereolithography (SLA), digital light processing (DLP), multi-jet modeling (MJM), polyjet modeling or liquid composite molding (LCM). Furthermore, the manufacturing method can include other generative layer construction methods, in particular Laminated Object Modeling (LOM), 3D screen printing or light-controlled electrophoretic deposition.

In the case of the present invention, it can prove to be very advantageous if it is provided that the freely accessible sections A, A', A" of the conductor tracks are connected by contact elements, such as a spring and/or a tongue and/or a pogo pin. located at the end of the shelf bracket that attaches the shelf bracket to the shelf post. In this way, it is easily possible to rebuild the shelving system by unhooking the shelving bracket from the shelf post, lifting the spring and/or tongue and/or pogo pin off the supply element trace, and after rebuilding the shelving system, after which the shelf bracket is anchored in the shelf post at a new location, the contact element, such as the spring and / or the tongue and / or the pogo pin contacts the conductor tracks of the supply element in a safe way again.

The further object of the present invention, to specify a shelf post which is designed in an improved manner compared to the prior art, is solved in claim 7.

In the context of the present invention, it was recognized that a shelf post, which has a supply element in the interior according to the present description, is particularly advantageously designed to feed power and/or data to terminal devices.

The last object of the present invention, to specify a shelving system, is solved in claim 8.

A shelving system with at least one shelving post, as described above, is suitable in a particularly advantageous manner for specifically supplying end devices of the shelving system with power and/or data.

If the shelving system is modified according to the above description, it does not require a great deal of effort to make new contact with the terminals that are attached to the shelving consoles.

Further important features and advantages of the invention result from the dependent claims, from the figures and from the associated description of the figures.

It goes without saying that the features mentioned above and those still to be explained below can be used not only in the combination specified in each case, but also in other combinations or on their own, without departing from the scope of the present invention.

Preferred exemplary embodiments of the invention are shown in the figures and are explained further in the following description.

The present invention is illustrated by the accompanying figures.

Fig. 1

ein Versorgungselement in einer ersten Ausführung in einer schematischen Querschnittsansicht;

Fig. 2

ein Versorgungselement in einer zweiten Ausführung in einer schematischen Querschnittsansicht;

Fig. 3

das Versorgungselement aus Fig. 1 in einer schematischen Aufsicht;

Fig. 4

das Versorgungselement aus Fig. 1 in einer schematischen seitlichen geschnittenen Ansicht entlang des Schnittes P-P;

Fig. 5

das Versorgungselement aus Fig.1 in einer schematischen seitlichen geschnittenen Ansicht entlang des Schnittes Q-Q;

Fig. 6

ein Versorgungselement in einer dritten Ausführung in einer schematischen Querschnittsansicht;

Fig. 7

das Versorgungselement aus Fig. 6 in einer schematischen seitlichen geschnittenen Ansicht entlang des Schnittes X-X;

Fig. 8

ein Regalsystem in einer schematischen seitlichen geschnittenen Ansicht mit einem Versorgungselement.

For this shows:

1

a supply element in a first embodiment in a schematic cross-sectional view;

2

a supply element in a second embodiment in a schematic cross-sectional view;

3

the supply element 1 in a schematic top view;

4

the supply element 1 in a schematic lateral sectional view along the section PP;

figure 5

the supply element Fig.1 in a schematic side sectional view along the section QQ;

6

a supply element in a third embodiment in a schematic cross-sectional view;

7

the supply element 6 in a schematic lateral sectional view along section XX;

8

a shelving system in a schematic lateral sectional view with a supply element.

In the 1 a supply element 1 is shown in a first embodiment in a schematic cross-sectional view.

The supply element 1 is designed as a polymer material/metal composite body 2 . For this purpose, the polymer material-metal composite body 2 has a large number of layers 5 on, the layers 5 having polymer material 3 and metal 4 arranged alternately one above the other at least in sections.

At least in sections, layers 5 of polymer material 3 and metal 4 are arranged one above the other in the polymer material-metal composite body 2 of the supply element 1 in a plane according to the section Q-Q. The layers 5 made of metal 4 represent conductor tracks 6, 6', 6".

The conductor tracks 6, 6′, 6″ made of metal 4 are separated from one another by polymer material 3 and are therefore insulated from one another.

On the surface 7 of the supply element 1, the conductor tracks 6, 6′ are designed to be exposed and contactable, at least in sections.

The supply element 1 has a thickness D and a width B.

In the 2 a supply element 1 is shown in a second embodiment in a schematic cross-sectional view.

The reference symbols in 2 correspond to those in 1 .

In the embodiment of the supply element 1 according to 2 are further conductor tracks 6, 6' and 6" in comparison to the embodiment according to FIG 1 formed in the polymer material-metal composite body 2 . The embodiment of the invention according to 2 has a total of seven conductor tracks 6, 6', 6".

For this purpose, for example, in the 2 the three conductor tracks 6 and 6', 6" shown on the right serve for the provision of current, while the four conductor tracks shown in FIG 2 shown in the supply element on the left (6', 6") are used to provide data.

In the 3 the supply element is off 1 shown in a schematic plan view.

The reference symbols in 3 correspond to those from the previous figures.

The supply element 1, which is designed as a polymer material-metal composite body 2 and contains polymer material 3 and metal 4, has a longitudinal extent L.

Conductor tracks 6, 6′, 6″ are freely accessible and contactable on the surface 7 of the supply element.

For this purpose, the sections A, A" of the longitudinal extent L of the supply element 1 are provided, on which conductor tracks 6' and 6" are exposed and contactable on the surface 7 of the supply element 1.

The locations O′ and O″ of the strip conductors 6, 6″ exposed on the surface 7 of the supply element 1 are different.

In this way, contact can be made with conductor track 6' at location O', while contact with conductor track 6" can be implemented at location O".

The supply element 1 has an end 8 at which the conductor tracks 6, 6', 6" can be contacted, for example by providing a plug device there, which is not shown. With such a plug device, current and/or data can be fed into the conductor tracks 6 , 6', 6" of the supply element are fed.

The conductor tracks 6, 6', 6" extend to different extents on the surface 7 of the supply element 1.

The conductor track 6, which is available as ground for the power supply, is designed to be exposed and contactable on the surface 7 almost along the entire length L of the supply element 1, so that contact can be made at all points along the conductor track 6.

The conductor tracks 6′, 6″ each extend along approximately half of the longitudinal extension L of the supply element 1 on the surface 7, are exposed there and can be contacted, so that in the right-hand half of the surface 7 of the supply element 1 along the conductor track 6′ contact can be made and contact can be made in the left half of the surface 7 correspondingly along the conductor track 6".

This makes it possible in a simple manner to provide a power supply for a shelf system 30, which is based on the conductor tracks 6 and 6' or 6 and 6', the power supply through the conductor tracks 6 and 6' of a shelf bracket 34 with a Terminal 20 is assigned and the power supply through the conductor tracks 6 and 6" of another shelf bracket 34 with a terminal 20.

In this way, each terminal 20 of each shelf console 34 can be powered specifically.

The same applies to the supply of data to the end devices.

For this purpose, the data are transmitted to the end device through the conductor tracks 6' and 6' for one shelf console and through the conductor tracks 6" and 6" for another shelf console.

The conductor tracks 6, 6′ and 6″, which are designed to be exposed and contactable on the surface 7 of the supply element 1, preferably have the same width everywhere, so that reliable contacting is possible.

In the 4 the supply element is off 1 shown in a schematic lateral sectional view along the section PP.

The reference symbols in 4 correspond to those from the previous figures.

On the surface 7 of the supply element 1, the conductor track 6 is continuous from one end 8 to approximately the second end of the supply element 1, is exposed and can be contacted. The conductor track 6 has the same cross section or approximately the same cross section throughout.

In the figure 5 the supply element is off 1 shown in a schematic side sectional view along section QQ.

The reference symbols in figure 5 correspond to those from the previous figures.

In the area of the section Q-Q through the supply element 1, two conductor tracks 6', 6" are arranged one after the other on its surface 7. The conductor track 6' is freely formed on the surface 7 of the supply element 1 in section A' of the longitudinal extension at location O' and can be contacted .

Insulated from the conductor track 6′, the conductor track 6″ is exposed and contactable in section A″ of the longitudinal extent L of the supply element 1 on its surface 7 at location O″.

The conductor tracks 6′, 6″ have the same cross section or approximately the same cross section throughout.

In the 6 a supply element 1 is shown in a third embodiment in a schematic cross-sectional view.

The reference symbols in 6 correspond to those from the previous figures.

Compared to the supply element 1 according to 1 is the supply element 1 in 6 in the third embodiment, further conductor tracks 6, 6', 6", 6‴ have been added, so that ten conductor tracks 6, 6', 6", 6‴ are formed in this exemplary embodiment. All conductor tracks 6, 6', 6", 6‴ are isolated from one another by being separated from one another by layers 5 of polymer material 3.

The conductor tracks 6′, 6″, 6‴ are formed in a plane, represented by the section XX, in each case as layers 5 made of metal 4, which are separated from one another by layers 5 made of polymer material 3. With the supply element 1 according to 1 a shelving system 30 can be supplied with power and data, which comprises three shelving consoles 34 .

The one in the 6 The conductor tracks 6, 6', 6" and 6‴ shown in the supply element 1 on the right half of the figure serve, for example, to produce a power supply. The six conductor tracks 6 in the left half of the supply element 1 shown in 6 serve to ensure the data supply.

the 6 shows the supply element 1 as a section YY from the following 7 .

In the 7 the supply element 1 is off 6 shown in a schematic lateral sectional view along section XX.

The reference symbols in 7 correspond to those from the previous figures.

The supply element 1 according to 7 shows three conductor tracks 6', 6" and 6"' in this figure. The conductor tracks 6′, 6″ and 6‴ are insulated from one another by polymer material 3 being arranged between them.

The conductor track 6′ is freely accessible and contactable in section A′ of the longitudinal extent L of the supply element 1 at location O′ on the surface 7 of the supply element 1 .

Insulated from the conductor track 6′, the conductor track 6‴ is freely accessible and contactable in section A″ on the surface 7 of the supply element 1 at location O″ on the surface 7. In the conductor track 6‴, the conductor track 6‴ is in section A‴ of the Longitudinal extension L of the supply element 1 freely accessible and contactable on the surface 7 at the location O‴.

The supply element 1 is in the 7 as a section XX according to the supply element 1, which is in 6 shown.

In the 8 a shelving system 30 is shown in a schematic side sectional view with a supply element 1 .

The shelving system 30 includes a shelf post 32 having an interior space 33 . A supply element 1 is accommodated in the interior space 33, in particular secured or fixed there.

The shelving system 30 also includes at least two shelving brackets 34 which are hung in corresponding openings on the shelving post 32 in a manner known per se with the aid of hooks 35 formed on the shelving brackets 34 or assigned to them. The perforations on the shelf post 34 are known in the prior art to be of a large number, with the perforations being generally equally spaced from their immediate neighbors. In this way, the distance between two adjacent shelf brackets 34 on the shelf system 30 can be changed by simply unhooking from an opening and re-hanging the shelf bracket 34 in another opening.

Each shelf console 34 has a terminal 20 which is, for example, an information display element in order to display information about the goods held in the shelf system 30 or their price.

The terminal 20 on the shelf bracket 34 is connected via a cable connection 37, which is arranged in a conventional manner on the shelf bracket 34 or in the shelf bracket 34, wherein at the end of the shelf bracket 34, which is associated with the shelf post 34 and which protrudes with this end into the interior 33 of the shelf post 32, contacting elements 36 are formed, which are formed as a spring and / or tongue and / or pogo pin.

The arrangement in the shelving system 30 according to 8 is now so that the in the 8 illustrated upper bracket 34 of the shelving system 30 with the contacting elements 36, the conductor tracks 6 and 6 "contacted, while the lower shelf bracket 34 in 8 with their contacting elements 36, the conductor tracks 6 and 6 'contacted.

In this way, the end devices 20 on the two shelf consoles 34 are supplied with power and/or data, with each end device 20 specifically receiving the power and/or data specifically assigned to it. It goes without saying that a shelf system 30 with further shelf brackets 34, i.e. in particular with more than two shelf brackets 34, can be provided, in which case the supply element 1 must have a number of conductor tracks 6 that is appropriate for this purpose, in order to specifically connect each end device 20 with supply power and/or data.

reference list

1

supply element

2

Polymer material-metal composite

3

polymer material

4

metal

5

layer

6, 6', 6", 6‴

trace

7

surface

8th

End

20

end device

30

shelving system

32

shelf post

33

inner space

34

shelf console

35

hook

36

contacting element

37

cable connection

A, A', A", A‴

section

B

latitude

D

thickness

L

longitudinal extent

O', O", O‴

location

Claims (8)

1. A supply element (1) for a shelving system (30) for providing current and/or data to a terminal device (20), in order to provide current and/or data by contact to a terminal device (20) on a shelving bracket (34) which is fastened to the shelf support (32), characterised in that the supply element (1) can be arranged in an interior (33) of a hollow shelf support (32) of the shelving system (30), which supply element is multi-layered and has a longitudinal extent L, a widthwise extent B and a thickness D, with at least three conductor paths (6, 6', 6") for conducting current and/or data being formed, of which one is freely accessible and contactable continuously along at least a portion A of the longitudinal extent L on the surface (7) of the supply element (1), and at least two conductor paths (6', 6") for conducting current and/or data are freely accessible and contactable on the surface (7) of the supply element (1) in portions A', A" of the longitudinal extent L, the portions A', A" on the longitudinal extent L of the at least two conductor paths (6', 6"), on which these conductor paths are freely accessible and contactable, being formed at different locations O', O" on the surface (7) of the supply element (1), in order to supply current and/or data to at least two shelving brackets (34) of the shelving system (30) with terminal devices (20).
2. A supply element (1) according to claim 1, characterised in that at least seven conductor paths (6) are formed.
3. A supply element (1) according to claim 1 or 2, characterised in that at least thirteen conductor paths (6) are formed.
4. A supply element (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterised in that it is formed as a multi-layered composite polymer material/metal body (2) is formed, wherein, at least in portions, layers (5) of polymer material (3) and layers of a metal (4) or a current-conducting material are arranged alternately one above another.
5. A supply element (1) according to claim 4, characterised in that the layers (5) of polymer material (3) and layers of a metal (4) or a current-conducting material which are arranged alternately one above another, are arranged, at least in portions, one above another in one plane.
6. A supply element (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterised in that freely accessible portions A, A', A" of the conductor paths (6, 6', 6") can be contacted by contacting elements (36), such as for example a spring and/or a tongue and/or a pogo pin.
7. A shelf support (32) with a supply element (1) according to one of claims 1 to 6 which is arranged in the interior (33) of the shelf support (32).
8. A shelving system (30) with at least one shelf support (32) according to claim 7.

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