GB2221831A - Collapsible shelf - Google Patents

Abstract

A folding and telescoping shelf 1 for a roll container has a goods-retaining wall 7 along an outer edge zone thereof. The wall 7 is tiltable relative to an adjacent shelf section 3 about an axis of pivoting 9 parallel to the wall 7. The axis 9 can be either directly at the base of the wall 7 or spaced from the wall 7, preferably by a distance no greater than the base width of the smallest goods article which the roll container is designed to carry. The shelf 1 is supported at respective sides by two horizontal, parallel guides 2 and has, at the base of the wall 7, respective protrusions 8 which, in the uncollapsed condition of the shelf 1, extend down behind respective ends of the guides 2 to obstruct undesired collapsing of the shelf 1. <IMAGE>

Description

1A CCELAPS N This invention relates to a collapsible shelf, in particular for a roll container. Roll containers are employed in transporting goods, for example milk or fruit juice cartons from packing premises, for example a dairy, to retail premises, for example a supermarket. The roll container may be stood in such a position in the retail premises that customers may help themselves to the cartons, which are arranged in layers on respective shelves of the roll container, or a shop assistant may transfer the cartons from the roll container to shop shelves.The roll containers often have walls of wire latticework, with the customers or assistants being able to withdraw cartons through the latticework although access to the cartons is often difficult, or have one or more of such latticework walls in the form of gates openable to allow much easier access to the cartons, but then careless customers or assistants can knock or tip cartons from the shelves at the open gateway. It is also known for the roll container shelves to be of latticework and to fold or telescope in various ways to give better access to those layers of cartons below the top shelf.

French Registered Design 130621 (104879) discloses a roll container mainly of latticework and carrying cartons. The container has a front gate and four shelves, of which the lower is the bottom wall of the container. The three higher shelves can be folded back towards the rear wall of the container. A problem with this container is that, when the front gate is open, the foremost cartons can fall from the fronts of the shelves.

Finnish Patent Publication 74243 and Dutch Patent Application 8500192 disclose a combined folding and telescopic shelf for a roll container for carrying cartons. The shelf is in three latticework sections whereof two are hinged together and the third can be telescoped relative to one of the two. Again, there is the problem that, when a gate is open, cartons can fall from the shelf.

Dutch Patent Application 8501404 discloses a roll container which is designed to be automatically loaded at its rear, where it has a vertically displaceable gate. The roll container has shelves supported by horizontal, lateral guides of right-angle crosssection. Each shelf consists of shelf sections transversely hinged together and designed to lie horizontally one upon another in a fully collapsed condition of the shelf. The foremost of the sections of each shelf has fixed thereto at its front a guard in the form of a rod bent in the shape of an inverted U. The legs of the U-shape are welded or otherwise attached to the shelf and the base of the U-shape projects horizontally above the front edge of the shelf. The guard serves to support goods articles against falling from the front of the shelf.

For the purpose of latching the shelf in its uncollapsed condition, two openings are provided near the respective front extremities of its lateral guides in the horizontal flanges of those guides, and two security hooks are fitted on the underside of the shelf at its front to extend into the respective openings as the unfolding shelf nears its uncollapsed condition.

According to the present invention, there is provided a collapsible shelf, comprising first and second substantially rectangular shelf sections interconnected along respective adjacent edges thereof and collapsible between a fully uncollapsed condition in which said sections lie substantially in a horizontal plane and a fully collapsed condition in which said sections extend transversely to said plane, the first substantially rectangular shelf section having along an outer edge zone thereof substantially parallel to said adjacent edges a goods-retaining wall which moves with said first shelf section during the collapsing and is upstanding when said shelf is in said fully uncollapsed condition, and said goods-retaining wall being tiltable relative to said first shelf section towards said first shelf section and about an axis of pivoting substantially parallel to said adjacent edges.

The arrangement whereby the goods-retaining wall is tiltable relative to the first shelf section improves access to goods below the shelf in the collapsed condition of the shelf.

The goods-retaining wall may be fixed to an extension which in the uncollapsed condition lies substantially in the said horizontal plane, the extension being hingedly interconnected with the first shelf section by way of the said axis of pivoting, which is thus spaced from the wall. In this manner, the wall is held against undesired tilting by goods lying on the extension.

For this reason, the spacing between the wall and the axis of pivoting is advantageously no greater than the smallest goods article which the shelf is designed to carry.

If the shelf is supported by two substantially horizontal guides substantially parallel to each other at respective opposite sides of the shelf, the shelf may have, in the region of the base of the wall, downwards protrusions which, in the uncollapsed condition, extend down behind respective ends of the guides to obstruct undesired collapse of the shelf. This has the advantage that no special working of the guides, for example forming of openings therein, is required for the purpose of providing obstruction of undesired collapse of the shelf.

The shelf is collapsible in a folding and/or telescopic manner.

In order that the invention may be clearly understood and readily carried into effect, reference will now be made, by way of example, to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure IA shows a diagrammatic perspective view of part of a roll container including a collapsible shelf in a fully uncollapsed condition, Figure 1B is a view similar to Figure 1A but showing the shelf partially collapsed, Figure 1C is a view similar to Figure 1A, but showing the shelf in a fully collapsed condition, Figure 2 is a perspective view of a portion of the front of the roll container with the shelf fully uncollapsed, Figure 3 shows a side elevation of that portion with the shelf fully uncollapsed, and Figure 4 shows a view similar to Figure 3, but with the shelf beginning to be collapsed.

Referring to the drawings, the folding shelf 1 is supported at respective opposite sides thereof by two rectangular-section horizontal tubes 2 of respective side frameworks of the roll container. The shelf is hingedly connected at its rear to a rear framework (not shown) of the roll container and consists of three rectangular shelf sections 3, 4 and 5 all in the form of wire grilles. The shelf sections 3 and 4 are hingedly interconnected along respective adjacent edges thereof at 6 and are foldable about such hinged interconnection 6 between a fully unfolded condition shown in Figures 1A, 2 and 3, in which the sections 3, 4 and 5 lie substantially in a horizontal plane and a fully folded condition shown in Figure 1C in which the sections 3, 4 and 5 extend transversely to that plane. The sections 4 and 5 are arranged to telescope relative to each other.The shelf section 3 has along its outer edge zone substantially parallel to the interconnection 6 a goods-retaining wall 7 which is upstanding when the shelf is in the fully unfolded condition.

The wall 7 is again formed mainly of a wire grille and includes at its lateral extremities respective downward protrusions s which latch in front of the respective front ends of the tubes 2 to obstruct undesired telescoping and/or folding of the shelf 1.

The roll container includes a plurality of folding shelves, each according to the drawings, arranged at vertical intervals above a fixed non-folding shelf at the bottom of the roll container.

To avoid the wall 7 significantly obstructing access to goods at the very rear of the shelf below in the fully folded condition of the shelf shown in Figure 1C, the wall 7 is pivotally connected to the shelf section 3. Referring to Figures 1A to 1C, the axis of pivoting of this pivotal connection is directly at the base of the wall 7 and in the rear boundary plane of the wall. In this version, to fold the shelf from its fully unfolded condition shown in Figure IA the wall 7 is tilted rearwards about its axis of pivoting to bring its protrusions 8 virtually out of their latching condition and then the wall 7 is pushed forwards to telescope the section 4 into the section 5 (see Figure 1B), and the sections 3 and 4, 5 are folded about the inter-connection 6 to bring the shelf into the condition shown in Figure 1C. In the version shown in Figures 2 to 4, the axis of pivoting (referenced 9) does not lie in the plane of the rear boundary of the wall 7 but is spaced rearwards from that plane. In this case, the wall 7 has a short horizontal extension 10 by way of which it is connected to the section 3. The distance of the axis 9 from that plane is substantially no greater than the height of the wall 7 in its vertical condition shown in Figures 2 and 3. Advantageously, the distance is no greater than the base width of the smallest carton which the roll container is designed to carry. A particular advantage of the versions disclosed in the drawings is that, in the fully folded condition of the shelf, the wall 7 tends to be maintained in its condition folded against the section 3 because, in that condition, the protrusions 8 bear upon the tubes 2.

Generally speaking, the versions disclosed with reference to the drawings especially facilitate the use of roll containers in shops, whilst ensuring good operation of the roll containers both during distribution and on conveyor lines and filling machines at the dairy or the like. They particularly avoid any need for the shop customer, in order to fold the shelf, first to lift the front wall 7 substantially vertically through a significant distance, which could be a problem for customers. With the hinged front wall, a rearward push upon the wall 7 not only turns the wall 7 to loosen the latching provided by the protrusions 8 but also at the same time causes the shelf to telescope.

Consequently, the rearward parts of the protrusions 8 can be made relatively steep, in order to reduce the risk of shelves loosening, for instance because of crashes on the conveyor lines, which could result in opening of the roll containers and disturbances on the conveyor lines and filling machines. The wall 7, in the fully unfolded condition of the shelf, tends always to remain in its latching condition until a customer decides to turn it rearwards about its axis of pivoting 9.

Claims (8)

CtAR;

1. A collapsible shelf, comprising first and second substantially rectangular shelf sections interconnected along respective adjacent edges thereof and collapsible between a fully uncollapsed condition in which said sections lie substantially in a horizontal plane and a fully collapsed condition in which said sections extend transversely to said plane, the first substantially rectangular shelf section having along an outer edge zone thereof substantially parallel to said adjacent edges a goods-retaining wall which moves with said first shelf section during the collapsing and is upstanding when said shelf is in said fully uncollapsed condition, and said goods-retaining wall being tiltable relative to said first shelf section towards said first shelf section and about an axis of pivoting substantially parallel to said adjacent edges.

2. A collapsible shelf according to claim 1, said goodsretaining wall is fixed to an extension which in the uncollapsed condition lies substantially in said plane and said extension is hingedly interconnected with said first shelf section by way of said axis of pivoting which is spaced from said goods-retaining wall.

3. A collapsible shelf according to claim 2, wherein the distance between said axis of pivoting and the base of said goods-retaining wall is no greater than the height of the wall.

4. A collapsible shelf according to claim 3, wherein said distance is no greater than the base width of the smallest goods article which said shelf is designed to carry.

5. A collapsible shelf according to claim 1, wherein said axis of pivoting is directly at the base of said goods-retaining wall.

6. A collapsible shelf according to any preceding claim and supported by two substantially horizontal guides which are substantially parallel to each other and which support the shelf at respective opposite sides thereof, said shelf having, in the region of the base of said wall, downward protrusions which, in the uncollapsed condition, extend down behind respective ends of said guides to obstruct undesired collapse of said shelf.

7. A collapsible shelf, substantially as hereiftefare described with reference to Figs. 1A to 1C, or Figs. 2 to 4, of the accompanying drawings.

8. In a roll container, one or more collapsible shelves each according to any preceding claim.