ES2641730T3 - Metal shelves to display merchandise - Google Patents

Abstract

Metal shelving for displaying merchandise, comprising at least two uprights (9) to which a plurality of shelves (1) are attached, each upright (9) being provided with grooves for securing the shelves (1), grooves which they are arranged at a predetermined distance from each other, wherein each shelf (1) has a thickness (N) less than said predetermined distance between the grooves; the upper shelf is at a distance from the floor that varies from 1500 mm to 1900 mm, preferably that varies from 1600 mm to 1800 mm; the lower shelf at a distance from the floor ranging from 110 mm to 160 mm, preferably ranging from 150 mm to 180 mm; the shelf (1) has a thickness (N) of less than 20 mm; each shelf (1) has a payload greater than 100 kg, preferably between 160 and 200 kg, specifically corresponding to 180 kg; each shelf (1) obtained from a metal sheet by subsequent cutting and bending operations, whose front (301, 201 ') and rear (101, 201) sides are grooved and profiled with bends down and in, at the ends it is provided with bent down edges (6) that are side to side to support the supports (11) obtained from a metal plate and that are hooked in a way that protrudes from the upright (9) of the shelf, the ends of the sheet metal forming said shelf (1) is supported on each support and said profiled parts of the front and rear side of the same shelf (1), as well as the ends of the metal reinforcements (4) with an inverted omega profile, also obtained by means of cutting and bending operations of a metal sheet, parallel to said ribbed front and rear sides of the shelf (1) and which with their edges are attached to the lower face of the same shelf (1) by means of welding (Z) of points is supported yan on said supports; and wherein each edge of the reinforcements (4) is provided with a central point weld (Z) located in the middle of its longitudinal extension, said edges being further provided with an arrangement of two first sets of spot welds, the first set symmetrically arranged with respect to the central spot weld and where the spot welds of each first set is spaced from each other by a distance, which decreases towards the middle of the shelf, each edge being further provided with a second set of two spot welds provided at each end of each edge, the second set being symmetrically arranged with respect to the center point and where the spot welds of each second set are spaced from each other by a distance less than the distance between the spot welds of the first two sets.

Description

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DESCRIPTION

Metal shelves to display merchandise

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

Document US2010 / 0077781 describes a metal shelf.

Also document DE10306834 describes a metal shelf

Currently, the finest metal sheet shelves produced by the applicant for the aforementioned shelf have a thickness of approximately 25 mm and flat dimensions of approximately 50x133 cm have a total load capacity of approximately 240 kg per shelf, for example as measured according to technical regulations UNI 11262. Currently for example it is possible to arrange seven shelves with said thickness one on top of the other, the first one being placed approximately 10 cm from the floor, spaced from each other by approximately 25-27 cm, so that form a shelf whose last top shelf is approximately 1900-2000 mm from the floor. This height is difficult to reach for the elderly and young people.

In addition to this is the fact that the merchandise to be displayed often has a reduced weight, such as for example breakfast products, jams, pasta, and others that can be supported by shelves with a load capacity of less than the aforementioned

In conventional shelves the shelves usually have a thickness equal to the distance between the grooves of the stud.

In this case, be it the distance or the passage between the grooves, it must be taken into account that between two shelves spaced apart from each other in height by m steps p, the space available in height to display the products is equal to ( m * pp), this is the space between two shelves spaced in height m * p is equal to am * p minus p, which is the thickness of a shelf itself.

In conventional shelves, a product with a height Hi can be placed between two shelves spaced in height by m * p with

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

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

Therefore, when manufacturing metal shelves, the dimensioning of the three contrasting quantities must be tackled, which must be optimized to ideally meet the user's needs: the display area of each shelf must be sufficiently wide, the height Total shelving has to be sufficiently reduced and simultaneously it is necessary to guarantee sufficient mechanical resistance to the shelves, to provide a good payload, and to the structure as a whole to support the merchandise.

The present invention is directed to overcome these drawbacks of the shelves currently known 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 being provided with grooves for securing the shelves, grooves which are spaced from each other a predetermined distance, where each shelf has a thickness less than said predetermined distance between the grooves.

The present invention achieves the above objectives with a metal shelf to display merchandise for sale according to 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 are supported by adjustable supports, attached to the uprights by means of the slots for insertion of supports in steps of p = 25 mm.

Therefore the shelf is such that it makes it possible to place the shelves at a height from the floor less than that of the corresponding case where the shelves have a thickness that coincides with the passage of the grooves p.

It is in the interest of the exhibitor to maintain the level of the upper shelves as low as possible, in a way that allows users, even the least high, to buy willingly the products displayed on the upper shelves. For this reason, the arrangement of the shelves is normally designed such that it guarantees a level of the upper shelf sufficiently attainable by the users. Warehouse workers have to

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select the lowest level to insert the supports in the upright, such that to place the shelves to properly display the merchandise and to allow the lowest overall shelf height.

Therefore a shelf of this new type is able to arrange under the shelf products that have a height Hi that varies between

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

but also products that have a Hj such that m * p-2 * p <= Hj <m * p-N,

which on the contrary in a conventional shelf would require that it be placed between two shelves spaced in height by (m + 1) * p.

The new type of shelf therefore allows the distribution of products that have a height Hj even between two separate shelves m * p from each other, which on the contrary in the state of the art would require placing it between two shelves with a distance of one from another in height of (m + 1) * p (in other words, with an increased height in a step p more with respect to * p). Thus the shelf is capable of gaining a height step for all those products that have a height with the characteristic of Hj.

Therefore the shelf offers increased versatility in the assembly of the products, since it allows to place between two separate shelves m * p from each other, all those products of height Hk such that

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

where Hk can represent either products that have a height Hi such that m * p-2 * p <= Hi <m * p-p,

or products that have a height Hj such that m * p-2 * p <= Hj <m * p-N,

From all of the above it seems clear that it is increasingly possible to place products between two shelves spaced in height by m * p with a height Hi and also those with a height Hj, then it is possible to win a step to the bottom to position the shelves and the supports.

Since in a warehouse there are many products exhibited, according to the law of large numbers, the number of cases in which it is possible to reduce in a step p the positioning in height between adjacent shelves is considerable, which makes it possible to win several steps pa the bottom of a stile.

For example, in the case of a shelf with 8 shelves, if it is possible in 50% of the cases to reduce the height of the support that supports the shelf in one step, 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 height gain of the shelf, compared to a conventional shelf.

According to the invention, the upper shelf has a distance from the floor that varies from 1500 to 1900 mm, preferably varying from 1600 mm to 1800 mm.

The lower shelf has a distance from the floor that varies 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.

According to the invention, the shelf has a thickness of less than 20 mm, preferably approximately 18 mm, and is obtained from a metal sheet with a thickness of 0.7 mm, by subsequent cutting and bending operations.

The shelves have the same flat dimensions as the conventional shelves and are reinforced to 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 previous example, spaced from each other by an equal or slightly smaller distance, where The seventh upper shelf has a distance to the ground of approximately 1800 mm, unlike the previous one of approximately 2000 mm, with the advantages that are intuited derived from this condition.

According to the invention, each shelf has a payload greater than 100 kg, preferably between 160 and 200 kg, specifically corresponding to 180 kg.

According to the invention, the front side of the shelf and the back are grooved and profiled by bends down and inwards, and the shelf at the ends is equipped with folded down edges that are side to side to rest on the supports. The supports are obtained from a metal plate and are hooked in a way that protrudes to the amount of the shelf. The ends of the metal sheet that forms said shelf rest on the 5 supports. Said profiled parts of the front and back side 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 ribbed sides and which with their edges are held on the underside of the same shelf by means of welds by points resting on said supports.

The reinforcements are obtained from a metal sheet with a thickness of 1 mm.

10 Additional features of the invention and the advantages derived therefrom will become clearer from the following description made with reference to the figures in the four tables of attached drawings, where:

Figs. 1 and 2 are partial and perspective views of the top and bottom and looking at one end of a part of the shelf of interest;

Fig. 3 is the plan view of the bottom;

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

Fig. 6 are the details according to the cross-section line VI-VI of figure 3;

Figs. 7 and 8 are side and enlarged views of the front side part and the rear side part of the shelf of Figure 6, denoted by K1 and K2 respectively;

Fig. 9 is a front view of a double metal shelf with the shelves 20 with a thickness of 25 mm attached to this to the left of the same upright and to the right of the upright has the shelves with the thickness reduced to 18 mm.

From figures 1,2 and 3 it is clear that the shelf 1 according to the invention has a rectangular flat shape and is obtained by subsequent operations of cutting and bending metal sheet with a thickness S of approximately 0.7 mm (fig. 8) and has a depth A of approximately 504.5 mm and a width B of approximately 1328 25 mm. With reference also to figures 5, 6 and 7 it should be noted that the rear part of the shelf 1 has a square bend 101 with a thickness of approximately 16.3 mm and this has a lower part 201 recessed with a corrugated profile, with a width D of approximately 25 mm. The front side of the shelf 1 also has the thickness C of approximately 16.3 mm, has a bend 301 with a hook-shaped profile so that the label supports or price supports can be snapped in, has a height E of approximately 13.8 mm and even this side ends in a bend 201 'lower and recessed with a corrugated profile, similar to the rear and having a width D' of approximately 25-26 mm. In the intermediate part of said lower and corrugated profiles 201, 201 ', rows of holes 2 (fig. 2, 3, 6, 7) corresponding to the holes 2' of the upper face of the shelf 1 (fig. 1, 6) are formed , 7) which are aligned with them and all these holes have a diameter of approximately 7 mm and are intended to receive small known protectors, not shown, useful for confining the products displayed on shelf 1 in the front and in the rear.

From figures 1 to 3 it should be noted that the rear side of the shelf 1 is smaller than the front side since the shelf in the rear corners is provided with cavities 3 having a width E of approximately 26 mm and a depth F of approximately 50 mm, useful to accommodate the uprights of the shelf.

On the underside of the shelf 1, three reinforcements 4 obtained from metal sheet with a thickness S '(fig. 8) of approximately 1 mm are fastened by an appropriate number of welds Z by points at the edges 104, spaced apart from each other. others for a distance that decreases towards the middle of the shelf 1 and arranged in lines parallel to the front and rear sides of the shelf 1. Good results have been achieved by providing two welds Z close to each other at each end of each edge 104 and providing thirteen welds Z of points for each reinforcement 4. The reinforcements 4 have an intermediate isosceles trapezoidal profile and have the edges 104 folded outward and in the same plane with each other, and as a whole they have a profile reminiscent of the inverted Omega letter of the Greek alphabet. The reinforcements 4 have a smaller width G of their base 5 of approximately 71.4 mm, are characterized by a distance between centers H of approximately 162 mm and the external reinforcements are spaced from the front side of the shelf 1 by a distance L1 of approximately 50 mm and the rear side of the same shelf 1 for a distance L2 of approximately 64.2 mm.

50 The thickness M of the reinforcement 4 is approximately 17.3 mm which once added to the thickness of the metal sheet forming the shelf 1 (0.7 mm) gives the shelf 1 a total thickness of 18 mm.

The shelf 1 is completed by folding edges 6 on the short sides, which have rounded corners 106, having a height Q of 12 mm, which are spaced from the rear side and the front side of the shelf 1 for a distance R1 of approximately 7 mm and for a distance R2 of approximately 50 mm respectively, which together has an extension T of approximately 440 mm, which are spaced from the ends of the

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reinforcements 4 for a distance V of approximately 4.5 mm (figs. 4 and 5) and at the ends they are provided with holes 7 with a diameter of 5 mm, where the known appendages of said supports can be inserted that support the shelf 1 which are equipped on the upper side with small grooves also of known type to house small tabs 8 of approximately 4 mm obtained by cutting and bending the inside edges 6.

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

In the embodiment of Fig. 7, the shelf 1 can be seen, whose front side 301 is formed by a metal sheet profile, such that it has an upper coupling rib 12 superiorly and a lower coupling rib 13 inferiorly.

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 an additional tooth-shaped profile, which is subsequently provided with a coupling wall.

In this manner, the front side 301 is suitable for engaging with a label support member with a C-shaped profile, the two ends of the C-shaped profile being suitable for engaging respectively with the upper rib 12 and with the rib 13 lower.

In one embodiment, the C-shaped profile preferably has two radii of a curvature that is different from each other.

Said upper coupling rib 12 has a profile that can be comprised in a semicircle 120 with a diameter of approximately 4 mm and said lower rib 13 has a profile that can be comprised in a semicircle 130 with a diameter of approximately 8 mm.

The front side 301 has a thickness of approximately 13.8 mm and with its shape it can take the same label holders or price brackets mountable to the known shelves made with metallic 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 the conventional metal shelf using shelves 1' with the known thickness of 25 mm, spaced from each other by approximately 25 mm and hooked by their support brackets 11 'to the left of a stud 9 with a height Y of approximately 2000-2100 mm, to the right of the same shelf 1 according to the invention with a thickness of 18 mm is hooked by its supports 11, such that to form a second shelf 10 whose shelves 1 are spaced apart from each other as well as to easily support, both for insertion and extraction, the same products X with a height of approximately 23-24 cm that is supported with a higher vertical assignment in the known 10 'shelf. In the known shelf 10 ', the seventh upper shelf 1' is at a distance Y1 from the floor of approximately 1900-2000 mm, while in the shelf 10 on the right with the shelves 1 reduced 18 mm, the seventh upper shelf 1 is at a distance Y2 of the floor of approximately 1700 mm, with the ergonomic advantages that intuitively derive from it.

It is clear that all technical equivalents and proportional sizing deductible from what is disclosed and described herein are within the scope of the invention, therefore the scope of protection of the invention should be directed to cover all those shelves designed with flat dimensions different from those of the example considered herein, which will be proportionally sized to achieve the same utility, by using the same innovative concept, all this without departing from the teaching principle of the present invention as described, show and claim below. In the claims, the references in the supports are simply an indication and not a limitation of the scope of protection of the claims themselves.

Claims (8)

5 10 fifteen twenty 25 30 35 40 Four. Five fifty 1. Metal shelf for displaying merchandise, comprising at least two uprights (9) to which a plurality of shelves (1) are attached, each upright (9) being provided with grooves for securing the shelves (1), slots which 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; the upper shelf is at a distance from the floor that varies from 1500 mm to 1900 mm, preferably that varies from 1600 mm to 1800 mm; the lower shelf at a distance from the floor ranging from 110 mm to 160 mm, preferably varying from 150 mm to 180 mm; the shelf (1) has a thickness (N) of less than 20 mm; each shelf (1) has a payload greater than 100 kg, preferably between 160 and 200 kg, specifically corresponding to 180 kg; each shelf (1) obtained from a metal sheet by subsequent cutting and bending operations, whose front (301,201 ') and rear (101,201) sides are ribbed and profiled with bends down and in, at the ends it is provided with edges folded down (6) that are side by side to support the supports (11) obtained from a metal plate and that are hooked in a way that protrudes from the stud (9) of the shelf, the ends of the metal sheet that form said shelf (1) is supported on each support and said profiled parts of the front and rear side of the same shelf (1), as well as the ends of the metal reinforcements (4) with an inverted omega profile, also obtained by means of operations cutting and bending of a metal sheet, parallel to said front and rear ribbed sides of the shelf (1) and that with its edges are attached to the underside of the same shelf (1) by means of welds (Z) of points are supported in dich supports you; and where each edge of the reinforcements (4) is provided with a central point weld (Z) located in the middle of its longitudinal extension, said edges being also provided with an arrangement of two first sets of spot welds, the first set symmetrically arranged with respect to the central spot welding and where the spot welds of each first set is spaced from each other by a distance, which decreases towards the middle of the shelf, each edge being further provided with a second set of two spot welds provided at each end of each edge, the second set being symmetrically arranged with respect to the center point and where the spot welds of each second set are spaced from each other for a distance less than the distance between the spot welds of the first two sets. 2. The shelf according to claim 1, wherein seven shelves are provided. 3. The shelf according to claim 1, wherein said shelf thickness (N) is approximately 18 mm. 4. The shelf according to one or more preceding claims, wherein the front side (301) is formed by a metal sheet profile, such that it has an upper coupling rib (12) superiorly, constituted by a tooth-shaped profile that it is subsequently provided with a cavity, and inferiorly with a lower coupling rib (13) constituted by an additional tooth-shaped profile that is subsequently provided with a coupling wall, such that the front side (301) is suitable for coupling with a label support element with a C-shaped profile. 5. The shelf according to claim 4, wherein said upper coupling rib (12) has a profile that can be comprised in a semicircle (120) with a diameter of approximately 4 mm, said lower rib (13) has a profile that It can be comprised in a semicircle (130) with a diameter of approximately 8 mm, and the front side (301) has a bend with a thickness of approximately 13.8 mm. The shelf according to one or more of the preceding claims, wherein the shelf (1) is obtained from metal sheet with a thickness of 0.7 mm, while said reinforcements (4) are obtained from metal sheet with a thickness of 1 mm 7. The shelf according to one or more of the preceding claims, wherein the shelf (1) has a width (B) and a depth (A) of approximately 1300 mm and approximately 504.5 mm respectively, characterized by the use of three of said reinforcements (4) with an isosceles trapezoidal middle profile, with the smallest base having a width (G) ranging from 70 to 72 mm, for example approximately 71.4 mm, as well as a distance between centers (H) which varies from 160 to 165 mm for example of approximately 162 mm and by the fact that said reinforcements (4) are spaced from the front side of the shelf (1) by a distance (L1) of approximately 50 mm, while the reinforcement ( 4) opposite is spaced from the rear side of the shelf (1) by a distance (L2) that varies from 60 to 65 mm, for example approximately 64.2 mm. 8. The shelf according to one or more of the preceding claims, wherein the thickness (C) of the rear grooved and folded sides of the shelf (1) vary from 16 to 16.5 mm and for example are approximately 16.3 mm .