ES2886930T3 - Low-thickness metal shelving for merchandise display - Google Patents

Abstract

The metal shelf for the display of merchandise, comprising at least two uprights (9) to which a plurality of shelves (1) are attached, each upright (9) being provided with slots for fastening the shelves (1) , whose slots are arranged at a predetermined distance from each other, where each shelf (1) has a thickness (N) less than said predetermined distance between the slots (p) and such that the space between two shelves separated in height by M steps p is equal to M*p-N, and where the shelves can be arranged so that they have a distance from one shelf to the other according to one of the two options: at a distance from each other corresponding to a height of the products (Hi ) for which the relation **(See formula)** is true, where m is the number of steps p, and alternatively at a distance from each other corresponding to the height of the products (Hj) for which the relation ** (See formula)** is true, where m is the number of steps os p, and where each shelf (1) is obtained from a metal sheet by subsequent cutting and bending operations, where the front and rear sides of each shelf (1) are grooved and shaped with downward curves (301 ; 101) and inwards (201'; 201), where at the ends of the other two short sides each shelf (1) is provided with folded-down flanges (6) which are side by side of the support brackets (11), where the support brackets (11) are obtained from a metal plate and are hooked protrudingly to the upright (9) of the shelf, where the ends of the metal sheet that form said shelf (1 ) rest on said supports (11), and where said profiled parts of the front side and rear side of the same shelf (1), as well as the ends of the metal reinforcements (4) with an inverted omega profile, obtained by means of cutting and bending operations of the metal sheet, parallel to said front and rear sides of the shelf (1) and that with their flanges are attached to the lower face of the same shelf (1) by means of welding points (Z) , rest on said supports (11), characterized in that said folded flanges down (6) have rounded corners (106) and have a height (Q) of about 12 mm, and said down-folded flanges (6) are separated from the front side and back side of the shelf (1) by a distance (R1) of around 7 mm and a distance (R2) of around 50 mm respectively, and said folded-down flanges (6) as a whole have an extension (T) of around 440 mm, and said folded-down flanges down (6) are separated from the ends of the stiffeners (4) by a distance (V) of about 4.5 mm, and said folded down flanges (6) at the ends are provided with holes (7) with a diameter of about 5 mm, where the appendages of said supports (11) supporting the shelf (1) can be inserted, which are equipped on an upper side with small grooves to house small lugs (8) of about 4 mm obtained by cutting and folding in the folded-down flanges (6).

Description

DESCRIPTION

Low-thickness metal shelving for merchandise display

The invention relates to a metal shelf for displaying merchandise for sale, according to the preamble of claim 1.

Documents US2010/0077781, US 2010/077781 A1, US 2845187 A, DE 10306834 B3, US 4098480 A, US 2 005593 A and DE 29702781 U1 describe a metal shelf.

Document DE10306834 also describes a metal shelf. Currently, the thinnest sheet metal shelves produced by the applicant for the above-mentioned shelving have a thickness of about 25 mm and with plan dimensions of about 50x133 cm have a maximum load capacity of about 240 kg per shelf, for example, measured in accordance with the UNI 11262 technical standard. Currently, for example, it is possible to arrange seven shelves with this thickness one on top of the other, placing the first about 10 cm from the floor, they are separated from each other by about 25-27 cm, so that they form a shelf whose last top shelf is about 1900-2000mm from the floor. This height is difficult to reach by old people and young people.

Added to this is the fact that the merchandise to be displayed usually has a low weight, such as breakfast products, jams, pasta and others that can be supported by shelves with a lower load capacity than that mentioned above.

In conventional shelving, the shelves normally have a thickness equal to the distance between the slots in the upright.

In this case, let p be the distance or pitch between the slots, it should be noted that between two shelves separated from each other in height by m steps p, the space available in height to display the products is equal to (m*pp), that is , the space between two shelves separated in height m*p is equal to m*p minus p, that is, the thickness of a shelf itself. In conventional racking, a product with a height Hi can be placed between two shelves separated in height by m*p with

The arrangement of all the shelves to receive the products can cause the upper shelf to have a total height from the ground that is too much for people of short stature.

Therefore, when manufacturing metal shelves, the dimensioning of three contrasting magnitudes must be faced, which must be optimized in order to ideally satisfy the needs of the user: the display area of each shelf must be wide enough, the height The total amount of racking must be sufficiently reduced and at the same time it is necessary to guarantee sufficient mechanical resistance to the shelves, so that they provide a good useful load, and to the structure as a whole to support the merchandise.

The purpose of the present invention is to overcome these drawbacks of currently known shelves and to optimize the three magnitudes mentioned above, providing a metal shelf for displaying merchandise, comprising at least two uprights to which a plurality of shelves are attached, each upright it is provided with slots for holding the shelves, which slots are separated from each other by a predetermined distance, where each shelf has a thickness less than said predetermined distance between the slots.

The present invention achieves the above objectives with a metal shelf for the display of merchandise for sale according to the preamble of claim 1 which also shows the combination of features of the characterizing part of claim 1.

Thus the shelves have a thickness N less than p and the space between two shelves separated in height by m steps p is greater, since the thickness of the shelf is reduced, and therefore the space is equal to M*p-N.

In a preferred example, the shelves rest on adjustable supports, attached to the uprights by means of the slots for the insertion of supports with pitch p = 25 mm.

Therefore, the rack is such that it makes it possible to place the shelves at a lower height from the ground than the corresponding case where the shelves have a thickness matching the pitch of the slots p.

It is in the interest of the exhibitor to keep the level of the upper shelves as low as possible, so as to allow users, even those who are not tall, to voluntarily buy the products on display. upper shelves. For this reason, the arrangement of the shelves is normally designed in such a way as to guarantee a level of the upper shelf sufficiently accessible by the users. Store workers have to select the lowest level where the brackets are inserted into the stile so that the shelves are positioned for proper merchandise display and to allow for the lowest overall shelf height. Therefore, the rack of the new type is capable of arranging under the rack the products having a height Hi that fluctuates

m*p-2*p <= Hi < m*pp,

but also the products that have Hj so that

which, on the contrary, in a conventional rack would require being placed between two shelves separated in height by (m+1)*p.

The new type of shelving therefore allows products with a height Hj to be distributed even between two shelves m*p separated from each other, which, on the contrary, in the state of the art would require placing between two shelves with a distance in height each other by (m+1)*p (in other words, with a height increased by one more step p relative to m*p). Thus, the shelf is capable of gaining a step p in height for all those products that have a height with the characteristics of Hj.

Therefore, the rack offers increased versatility in the assembly of the products, because it allows placing between two shelves m*p separated from each other, all those products of height Hk in such a way that

m*p-2*p <= Hk < m*p-N,

where Hk can represent the products that have a height Hi such that

m*p-2*p <= Hi < m*p-p,

or the products that have a height H ^j such that

m*p-p <= Hj < m*p-N

From all of the above it is clear that whenever it is possible to place the products between two shelves separated in height by m*p with a height Hi and also those with a height H ^j , then it is possible to gain a step towards the bottom for position the shelves and supports.

Since there are many products on display in a store, according to the law of large numbers, the number of cases where it is possible to reduce by one step p, the height positioning between adjacent shelves is considerable, and this makes it possible to gain several p steps toward the bottom on a stud.

For example, in the case of a rack with 8 shelves, if in 50% of the cases it is possible to lower the height of the support that supports the shelf by one step p, then, on average, the height of the upper shelf is reduced by 8 shelves * 50% * p = 8*0.5*25 mm = 100 mm, which denotes the gain in height of the rack, compared to conventional racking.

In one embodiment, the upper shelf has a distance from the floor ranging from 1,500 to 1,900 mm, preferably ranging from 1,600 mm to 1,800 mm.

The lower shelf has a distance from the ground ranging from 100 mm to 200 mm, preferably ranging from 110 mm to 160 mm.

In a preferred embodiment seven shelves are provided, but it is also possible to provide six or eight shelves or similar numbers.

In one embodiment, the shelf has a thickness of less than 20 mm, preferably about 18 mm, and is obtained from a metal sheet with a thickness of 0.7 mm, by means of subsequent cutting and bending operations. The shelves have the same plan dimensions as conventional shelves and are reinforced so that they have a load capacity per shelf slightly less than 200 kg.

With these shelves that have a reduced thickness, it is possible to make shelves with the same number of shelves as those with a thickness of 25 mm, as in the example above, spaced apart from each other by a distance equal to or slightly lower, where the seventh upper shelf has a distance from the ground of around 1800 mm, unlike the previous one of around 2000 mm, with the intuitive advantages that derive from this condition.

In one embodiment, each shelf has a useful load greater than 100 kg, preferably between 160 and 200 kg, in particular corresponding to 180 kg.

According to the invention, the front side of the shelf and the rear side are grooved and profiled by downward and inward curves, and the shelf at the ends is equipped with downwardly folded flanges which are side by side of the support brackets. support. The support brackets are obtained from a metal plate and are hooked in a projecting way to the upright of the shelf. The ends of the metal sheet that form said shelf rest on the supports. Said profiled parts of the front and rear sides of the same shelf, as well as the ends of the metal reinforcements with an inverted omega profile, also obtained by cutting and bending the metal sheet, parallel to said front and rear grooved sides and that with its flanges are attached to the lower face of the same shelf by means of welding points and rest on said supports.

The reinforcements are obtained from a 1 mm thick metal sheet.

Other characteristics of the invention and the advantages derived from it will become clearer from the following description made with reference to the figures of the four attached drawing tables, where:

Figures 1 and 2 are partial and perspective views, from above and below and looking at one end, of a portion of the shelf of interest;

Figure 3 is the bottom plan view;

Figures 4 and 5 are front views of the front and rear sides respectively of the shelf of interest;

Figure 6 is the detail according to the cross section line VI-VI of Figure 3;

Figures 7 and 8 are enlarged side views of the front and rear side portions of the shelf of Figure 6, indicated by K1 and K2 respectively;

Figure 9 is a front view of a double metal shelving unit that has, to the left of the same upright, the known shelves with a thickness of 25 mm hooked to it and to the right of the upright has the shelves with a thickness reduced to 18 mm.

Figures 1, 2 and 3 show that the shelf 1 according to the invention has a rectangular plan shape and is obtained by subsequent operations of cutting and bending the metal sheet with a thickness S of about 0.7 mm ( Figure 8) and has a depth A of about 504.5 mm and a width B of about 1328 mm. Referring also to Figures 5, 6 and 7, it is seen that the rear side of the shelf 1 has a square curve 101 with a thickness of about 16.3 mm and has a lower lower part 201 with a corrugated profile, with a width D of about 25 mm. The front side of the shelf 1 also has a thickness C of about 16.3 mm, it has a curve 301 with a hook-shaped profile so that label holders or price holders can be snapped on, it has a height E of about 13 .8 mm and even this side ends in a lower and lowered curve 201' with a corrugated profile, similar to the rear one and having a width D' of about 25-26 mm. In the intermediate portion of said lower and corrugated profiles 201, 201' rows of holes 2 are formed (Figures 2, 3, 6, 7) corresponding to the holes 2' of the upper face of the shelf 1 (Figures 1, 6, 7 ) are aligned with it and all these holes have a diameter of approximately 7 mm and are intended to receive small known protections, not shown, useful for confining the products displayed on the shelf 1 at the front and at the rear.

From Figures 1 to 3 it is seen that the rear side of the shelf 1 is smaller than the front, since the shelf at the rear corners is provided with recesses 3 having a width E of about 26 mm and a depth F about 50 mm, useful for housing the uprights of the shelf.

On the lower face of the shelf 1, three reinforcements 4 obtained from a metal sheet with a thickness S' (Figure 8) of about 1 mm are fixed by means of an adequate number of welding points Z on their flanges 104, separated from each other. by a decreasing distance toward the middle of shelf 1 and disposed on lines parallel to the front and rear sides of shelf 1. Good results were achieved by providing two Z-welds close to each other at each end of each flange 104 and by providing thirteen Z-weld points. for each gusset 4. The gussets 4 have an intermediate isosceles trapezoidal profile and have the rims 104 bent outwards and coplanar with each other, and as a whole have a profile reminiscent of the inverted letter Omega of the Greek alphabet. The braces 4 have a width G of their smallest base 5 of about 71.4 mm, they are characterized by a distance between centers H of about 162 mm and the outer braces are separated from the front side of the shelf 1 by a distance L1 of about 50 mm and from the rear side of the same shelf 1 by a distance L2 of about 64.2 mm.

The thickness M of the reinforcements 4 is around 17.3 mm which, once added to the thickness of the metal sheet that forms the shelf 1 (0.7 mm), gives the shelf 1 a total thickness N of 18 mm.

The shelf 1 is completed by the folded down flanges 6 on the short sides, having rounded corners 106, having a height Q of 12 mm, which are separated from the rear side and the front side of the shelf 1 by a distance R1 of about 7 mm and a distance R2 of about 50 mm respectively, which together have an extension T of about 440 mm, which are separated from the ends of the stiffeners 4 by a distance V of about 4.5 mm ( Figures 4, 5) and at the ends are provided with holes 7 with a diameter of 5 mm, in which known appendages of said supports supporting the shelf 1 can be inserted, which are equipped on the upper side with small grooves also of known type to house small lugs 8 of about 4 mm obtained by cutting and bending the rims 6 inwards.

By making a shelf 1 with the characteristics described, it is possible to guarantee a load capacity of around 180 kg and to arrange it with a front side as in Figure 7 with a remarkably articulated profile so that it can support the same label holders or price holders that are they can fit into shelves of known type made with a metal wire. In the state of the art, it is known that shelves made with metal wire are obtained by combining in the upper part a circular metal wire with a diameter of around 4 mm, in the lower part a circular metal wire with a diameter of around of 8 mm, with the interposition between them of a transverse wire mesh with a diameter of about 2-3 mm, so that the front part has a total thickness of about 13.5-14 mm.

In the embodiment of Figure 7, the shelf 1 can be seen, the front side of which is formed by a metal sheet profile, so that its upper part has an upper coupling rib 12 and a lower coupling rib 13 below.

The upper coupling rib 12 is constituted by a tooth-shaped profile, which is subsequently provided with a recess.

The lower coupling rib 13 is constituted by another tooth-shaped profile, which is subsequently provided with a coupling wall.

In this way, the front side is suitable for coupling with a C-shaped profile label holding element, the two ends of the C-shaped profile being suitable for coupling respectively with the upper rib 12 and with the lower rib 13 .

In one embodiment, the C-shaped profile preferably has two radii of curvature that are different from each other. Said upper coupling rib 12 has a profile that can be comprised of a semicircle 120 with a diameter of approximately 4 mm and said lower rib 13 has a profile that can be comprised of a semicircle 130 with a diameter of approximately 8 mm.

The front face has a thickness of approximately 13.8 mm and with its shape they can carry the same label holders or mountable price holders on the known shelves made of metal wire.

By means of metal shelves with a thickness of 18 mm as in the present invention, it is also possible to achieve the advantages of the non-limiting example of Figure 9, where 10' shows conventional metal shelves by using shelves 1' with the thickness of about 25 mm, separated from each other by about 25 mm and hooked by their support brackets 11' to the left of an upright 9 with a height Y of about 2000-2100 mm, to the right of it the shelves 1 according to the invention with a thickness of 18 mm are hooked by their supports 11, so as to form a second shelf 10 whose shelves 1 are separated from each other so that they can easily support, both for insertion and extraction, the same products X with a height of around 23-24 cm which are supported with a greater vertical margin on the known shelf 10'. In the known shelf 10' the upper seventh shelf 1' is at a distance Y1 from the floor of about 1900-2000 mm, while in the right shelf 10 with the shelves 1 reduced to 18 mm, the upper seventh shelf 1 it is around 1700mm off the ground Y2, with the intuitive ergonomic benefits that follow.

Claims (15)

1. Metal shelving for merchandise display, comprising at least two uprights (9) to which a plurality of shelves (1) are attached, each upright (9) being provided with slots for fastening the shelves ( 1), whose slots are arranged at a predetermined distance from each other, where each shelf (1) has a thickness (N) less than said predetermined distance between the slots (p) and such that the space between two shelves separated in height for M steps p is equal to M*pN, and where the shelves can be arranged so that they have a distance from one shelf to the other according to one of the two options: at a distance from each other corresponding to a height of the products (Hi) for which the ratio m*p-2*p <= Hi < m*p-p is true, where m is the number of steps p, and alternatively at a distance from each other corresponding to the height of the products (Hj) for which the relation m*p-2*p <= Hj <m*p-N is true, where m is the number of steps p, and where each shelf (1) is obtained from a metal sheet by subsequent cutting and bending operations, where the front and rear sides of each shelf (1) are they are grooved and profiled with downward (301; 101) and inward (201'; 201) curves, where at the ends of the other two short sides each shelf (1) is provided with downwardly folded flanges (6) which are one next to the other of the support supports (11), where the support supports (11) are obtained from a metal plate and are hooked projectingly to the upright (9) of the shelf, where the ends of the metal sheet that form said shelf (1) rest on said supports (11), and where said profiled parts of the front side and rear side of the same shelf (1), as well as the ends of the metal reinforcements ( 4) with an inverted omega profile, obtained by cutting and bending operations of the metal sheet, parallel to said front and rear sides of the shelf (1) and that with their flanges are held on the lower face of the same shelf (1) by means of welding points (Z), rest on said supports (11), characterized in that said folded-down flanges (6) have rounded corners (106) and have a height (Q) of about 12 mm, and said folded-down flanges (6) are separated from the front side and from the side rear of the shelf (1) by a distance (R1) of about 7 mm and a distance (R2) of about 50 mm respectively, and said downwardly folded flanges (6) as a whole have an extension (T) of about of 440 mm, and said folded-down flanges (6) are separated from the ends of the stiffeners (4) by a distance (V) of about 4.5 mm, and said folded-down flanges (6) at the ends are provided with holes (7) with a diameter of around 5 mm, into which the screws can be inserted. appendages of said supports (11) that support the shelf (1) that are equipped on an upper side with small slots to accommodate small lugs (8) of about 4 mm obtained by cutting and bending inwards the folded down flanges (6) . 2. The shelf according to claim 1, wherein two shelves m*p separated from each other allow to accommodate products that have a height (Hk) for which the following relationship is true:

and where Hk represents a height Hi such that

or a height Hj such that m*p -p <= Hj < m*p-N 3. The shelf according to claim 1 or 2, wherein eight shelves are provided. 4. The shelf according to claim 3, wherein the height of the eighth upper shelf is between 1500 and 1900 mm, preferably between 1600 and 1800 mm. 5. The shelf according to one or more of the preceding claims, wherein the shelf (1) has a thickness (N) of less than 20 mm. 6. The shelf according to claim 5, wherein said thickness (N) of the shelf is about Shelving according to one or more of the preceding claims, wherein each shelf (1) has a payload greater than 100 kg, preferably between 160 and 200 kg, in particular corresponding to 180 kg. 8. The shelf according to claim 7, wherein the front side is formed by a metal sheet profile, so that in the upper part it has an upper coupling rib (12), constituted by a tooth-shaped profile which is subsequently provided with a recess, and at the bottom a lower engaging rib (13) constituted by another tooth-shaped profile which is subsequently provided with an engaging wall, so that the front side is suitable for engaging with a label holder with a C-shaped profile. 9. The shelf according to claim 8, wherein the C-shaped profile preferably has two radii of curvature which are different from each other. 10. The shelf according to one or more of claims 8 to 9, wherein said upper coupling rib (12) has a profile that can be comprised of a semicircle (120) with a diameter of approximately 4 mm, said rib The lower part (13) has a profile which can be understood as a semicircle (130) with a diameter of approximately 8 mm, and the front side has a thickness of approximately 13.8 mm and with its shape it can carry the same label holders or mountable price holders. the shelves made of metal wire. 11. The shelf according to one or more of claims 7 to 10, wherein the shelf (1) is obtained from a metal sheet with a thickness of 0.7 mm, while said reinforcements (4) are obtained from a metal sheet with a thickness of 1 mm. 12. The shelf according to one or more of claims 7 to 11, wherein the shelf (1) has a depth (A) of about 504.5 mm and a width (B) of about 1328 mm, characterized by the use of three of said reinforcements (4) with an isosceles trapezoidal median profile, with the smallest base having a width (G) ranging from 70 to 72 mm, for example around 71.4 mm, as well as well as a distance between centers (H) that ranges from 160 to 165 mm, for example around 162 mm and by the fact that said reinforcement (4) is separated from the front side of the shelf (1) by a distance (L1 ) of about 50 mm, while the opposite reinforcement (4) is separated from the rear side of the shelf (1) by a distance (L2) ranging from 60 to 65 mm, for example about 64.2 mm. 13. The shelf according to claim 12, characterized in that as the plan dimensions (A, B) of the shelf change, the dimensions relative to the reinforcements (4) and their positioning within the same shelf (1) can change proportionally. 14. The shelf according to claim 13, wherein said welding points (Z) that fasten the flanges of the lower reinforcements (4) to the same shelf, are characterized by a decreasing pitch towards the center line of the same shelf (1 ), are provided in pairs with a closer distance at the ends of the same shelf (1) and are in a number of at least twenty-six for each brace (4). 15. The shelf according to one or more of the preceding claims, wherein the thickness (C) of the rear and front sides of the shelf (1) ranges from 16 to 16.5 mm and, for example, is around 16.3mm