ES2626267T3 - Wire gondola - Google Patents

Abstract

Gondola (1) for the exhibition of articles, particularly usable in warehouses, comprising at least two vertical uprights (7, 9) integral with base legs (11) that ensure their maintenance in position, including the uprights (7 , 9) a front face (3) and a rear face (5), of which at least one is arranged to receive consoles (13) that extend perpendicularly towards the outside of the gondola (1), allowing the association of two consoles (13) assembled at the same height on the front faces (21) or on the rear faces (23) of the two successive uprights (7, 9), the support of a shelf (15) in which they are arranged the articles, each upright (7, 9) comprises at least two upright structures (33, 35) that respectively constitute the front face (21) and the rear face (23) of the upright (7, 9), said structures being upright (33, 35) arranged opposite each other and consolidated by m enos by a rigid wire structure (37, 39), said wire structure (37, 39) reinforcing the inertia of said uprights (7, 9), the upright structures (33, 35) being "U" shaped , the bottom of the "U" (49) comprising holes arranged to receive the consoles (13), characterized in that the lateral edges (45, 46, 47, 48) of the upright structures (33, 35) are reinforced by the wire structure (37, 39); and the upright (7, 9) comprises at least two wire structures (37, 39) that have the shape of a broken line whose angular ends (41, 43) are joined to the lateral edges (45, 46, 47, 48) facing the two upright structures (33, 35).

Description

5

10

fifteen

twenty

25

30

35

40

Four. Five

fifty

55

60

65

DESCRIPTION

Gondola wire.

The present invention relates to a gondola for the exhibition of articles. Find in particular its application in warehouses and will be used by furniture manufacturers for the large distribution.

The gondolas are composed in particular of vertical uprights, for example two, three or four longitudinally aligned uprights, either on the rear face of said gondola, when it comprises a single face, or in the central part of said gondola, when it comprises a face front and a back face. The uprights are integral to a base socket or each provided with one or two base legs, which allow its stable and upright maintenance.

These uprights receive on their front face and eventually on their back side, when it is a double-sided gondola, consoles that extend perpendicularly to the uprights, towards the outside of the gondola. The combination of two adjacent consoles, and arranged at the same height on one side, allows the support of a shelf on which the articles are located.

The gondola uprights are constituted by a tubular structure, generally of square or rectangular section. These uprights are subjected to tension in flexion due to the weight exerted by the articles arranged in the shelves. This mechanical tension is generally compensated by increasing the thickness and section of the tubular structure. This presents as an essential drawback increasing the amount of material used to make the uprights, and therefore increasing the price and weight of the gondola.

Furniture shelves are known that have the advantage of using the structure with wire to conceive the elements of the shelf furniture. Such is the case in US Patent No. 4,391,378 and in JP 5095828. This conception has the considerable advantage of reducing the amount of material needed and the weight of the furniture. However, the concepts described in these patents refer to a furniture of four vertical uprights that mutually support one or more planes, said uprights working essentially in compression. Its design is not adapted for gondolas that have only vertical uprights aligned longitudinally in the rear or central part of said gondolas, said uprights working mainly in flexion and being arranged to receive consoles for the support of the shelves. This mechanical tension is so strong that gondolas have high dimensions compared to the furniture described in US Patent Nos. 4,391,378 and JP 5095828, and must withstand significant amounts of items, particularly in large commercial areas. This has the consequence of considerably increasing the load exerted on said gondolas, hence the need to increase their inertia.

Document DE 9001695 describes a structure for the presentation of merchandise comprising two vertical uprights joined together by a grid and allowing two shelves to be supported.

US Patent No. 4,292,902 describes a shelf system specially designed for installation in enclosed spaces such as cars.

These last two documents do not describe vertical uprights each provided with two "U" shaped structures, the side edges of the structure being reinforced by a wire structure.

The present invention has as main objective to considerably reduce the amount of material used to conceive a gondola, which has the immediate effect of reducing its mass and especially its manufacturing cost, in particular in this period in which the costs of raw materials , including steel, have suffered a sharp increase. To this end, the invention aims to essentially favor the use of a wire structure for the design of all the elements of the gondola.

Another objective is to reinforce the mechanical inertia of the vertical uprights to increase their resistance to bending stresses due to the load of the items exposed on the shelves, forward or towards the rear of the gondola. Thus, the gondola according to the invention does not need to increase the thickness and section of the uprights to reinforce its mechanical inertia.

The invention also aims to improve the visual quality of the articles exhibited in the gondola, considerably reducing the solid aspect of the gondola and concealing, as much as possible, the elements of the gondola, in favor of said articles.

To this end, the invention relates to a gondola for the exhibition of articles, in particular usable in warehouses, comprising at least two vertical uprights integral to base legs that ensure their maintenance in position, the uprights comprising a face front and a rear face, of which at least one is arranged to receive consoles that extend perpendicularly

5

10

fifteen

twenty

25

30

35

40

Four. Five

fifty

55

60

65

towards the outside of the gondola, allowing the association of two consoles assembled at the same height on the front faces or on the rear faces of the two successive uprights the support of a shelf on which the articles are arranged. Said gondola stands out because each upright comprises at least two upright structures that respectively constitute the front face and the back face of the upright, said upright structures being arranged opposite each other and consolidated by at least one wire structure nested, said wire structure reinforcing the inertia of said uprights, the upright structures being "U" shaped, the bottom of the "U" comprising holes arranged to receive the consoles, the side edges of the upright structures being reinforced by wire structure.

Other advantages and features of the present invention will appear with the reading of the following description that is supported by figures that present a preferred and non-limiting embodiment of the gondola elements, among which:

- Figure 1 represents the constituent elements of a gondola according to the invention, seen in perspective,

- Figure 2 represents a first embodiment of the vertical uprights, seen in perspective,

- Figure 3 represents a second embodiment of the vertical uprights, seen in perspective,

- Figure 4 represents an embodiment of a console, perspective view,

- Figure 5 represents an embodiment of a shelf, perspective view,

- Figure 6 represents an embodiment of a base leg, seen in perspective.

The gondola 1 for the exhibition of articles, according to the invention, will have in particular its application in warehouses such as large commercial areas. The gondola 1 may comprise a single front face, this particular embodiment being provided for the gondolas adjacent to a wall surface. More generally, the gondolas comprise a front face 3 and a rear face 5, as shown in Figure 1. These gondolas 1 are generally longitudinally aligned to constitute the shelves of the store.

As shown in Figure 1, the gondola 1 comprises at least two vertical uprights 7, 9, at least two base legs 11, at least two consoles 13 and at least one shelf 15. The uprights 7, 9 vertical are integral to the base legs 11. These base legs 11 ensure the maintenance of said uprights in a stable and vertical position. They are fixed to the low ends of the vertical uprights 7, 9 and extend perpendicularly with respect to these, in the transverse direction of the gondola 1. According to one mode of conception, each upright 7, 9 comprises a single base leg 11 when the gondola 1 has a single face 3, and comprises two base legs 11 when the gondola has two front faces 3 and rear 5. However, a single base leg can be conceived that extends to both sides of the stud 7 , 9, towards the front and rear, when the gondola 1 has two faces. The base legs 11 can be concealed under a lining and support a low shelf 17, in order to form a base socket 19, as shown in Figure 1.

The vertical uprights 7, 9 comprise a front face 21 and a rear face 23, of which at least one is arranged to receive consoles 13. In fact, when the gondola 1 is single-faced, only the front face 21 needs be arranged to receive the consoles 13, while for the double-sided gondolas, the front face 21 and the rear face 23 need to be arranged. In the continuation of the description, the described gondola 1 will preferably be constituted by two front faces 3 and rear 5. The gondola can also comprise two longitudinal bars high 25 and low 27 that allow strengthening the stability of said gondola.

The consoles 13 are assembled on the front and rear face 23 of the uprights 7, 9 and extend perpendicularly towards the outside of the gondola away from said uprights 7, 9. The association of two consoles 13, arranged on the same face 21 of two successive struts 7, 9 and at the same height, it allows the support of a shelf 15 on which items are arranged.

According to a preferred mode, the consoles 13, shown in Figure 4, comprise hook-shaped legs 29 and their front and rear faces 21 comprise holes 31 intended to receive said legs 29.

Each upright 7, 9 comprises at least two upright structures 33, 35, as shown in Figure 2. These structures 33, 35 are arranged opposite each other and constitute the front face 21 and the rear face 23 of the upright 7, 9. These structures 33, 35 are provided with holes 31 spaced along their entire height to allow the assembly of the consoles 13 on several levels, said holes 31 receiving the legs 31

5

10

fifteen

twenty

25

30

35

40

Four. Five

fifty

55

60

65

29 of said consoles 13. These structures 33, 35 are consolidated by at least one nested wire structure 37, 39, each wire structure 37, 39 being arranged between said structures 33, 35. This wire structure 37 reinforces the inertia of the uprights, which allows to maintain a constant thickness and a section of upright, capable of supporting a wide range of items whose load can vary greatly. The structures 33, 35 are preferably made of metal sheet. However, the use of composite or other materials can be considered for its conception. Likewise, the use of a composite structure that integrates a metal reinforcing grid can be considered.

According to a first design mode shown in Figure 2, the post 7, 9 comprises at least two wire structures 37, 39. The wire structures 37 and 39 are in the form of a broken line whose angular ends 41, 43 are in solidarity with the lateral edges 45, 46, 47, 48 and in front of the two upright structures 33, 35. For this, structure 33, 35 has the shape of a "U". The bottom of the "U" 49 comprises holes 31 as described above, intended to receive the legs 29 of the consoles 13. The lateral sides of the "U" 51, 52 respectively constitute the lateral edges 45, 46 of the structure 33 and the lateral edges 47, 48 of the structure 35. These lateral sides 51, 52 are welded with the angular ends 41, 43 of the wire structures 37, 39.

Thus, the two "U" shaped structures 33, 35 are arranged opposite each other, and the opposite lateral sides are welded with the wire structure 37, 39, preferably on the internal faces of the " OR". The use of wire structures 37, 39 in the form of broken lmea, consolidated between the two structures 33, 35 allows the creation of shutters that reinforce the lateral edges 45, 46, 47, 48 of said structures 33, 35, thereby increasing inertia of the uprights 7, 9 and therefore its resistance to bending stresses exerted by the weight of the items.

According to a second design mode shown in FIG. 3, the upright 7, 9 is composed of two "U" shaped structures 53, 55 that constitute the front face 21 and the rear face 23 of the upright 7, 9, said being faces provided with holes 57 for the coupling of consoles 13. The stud 7, 9 also includes two flat structures 59, 61 that constitute the lateral sides of the stud 7, 9. These are in solidarity with two structures 53, 55 and keep them one in front of the other. These two flat structures 59, 61 are of low thickness and contribute to the stiffness of the stile. However, the post 7, 9 is consolidated by means of nested wire structures 63 arranged in the inner corners 65 of the "U" shaped structures 53, 55. This design also makes it possible to reinforce the mechanical inertia at the lateral edges of the "U" structure 53, 55, and therefore compensate the bending forces exerted forward or backward of the upright. The flat structures 59, 61 are preferably made of the same material as the "U" shaped structures 53, 55.

As shown in Figure 4, the console 13 is constituted by a plate 67 arranged to be fixed on the front face 21 or the rear face 23 of the stud 7, 9, and by a reinforced arm 69 in a nested wire structure, said arm 69 being fixed at its rear end with the plate 67. The plate 67 is provided at its rear end with hook-shaped legs 29 which are inserted in the holes on the "U" structure. The arm 69 comprises an upper wire part 71 and a lower wire part 73. Referring to Figure 4, the upper wire part 71 is linearly nipple adapted to receive a shelf 15. The bottom 73 is curved in shape. nested so that the height that separates the rear ends 75, 77 from the two parts 71, 73 corresponds to the height of the plate 67, and that the front end 79 of the bottom 73 joins the front end 81 of the top 71. The upper part 71 and the bottom 73 are welded together at their front end 79, 81, and have their rear end 75, 77, respectively welded at the upper 83 and lower 85 ends of the plate 67. The two parts 71 , 73 are consolidated by a wire structure 87 in broken lmea. This design is particularly suitable for compensating the bending forces exerted on said arm 69, and allows to considerably reduce the mass of the console 13, unlike the prior art consoles that are constituted by a flat steel sheet molded by trimming.

The association of two adjacent consoles 13, arranged on the same face of two successive vertical uprights 7, 9, allows the support of a shelf 15 on which the articles are arranged. As presented in Figure 5, the shelf 15 is composed of a structure, preferably of sheet, of low thickness, semi-rigid, which forms an exposure plane 89. The exposure plane 89 is preferably folded over its four edges to form a peripheral contour 91. This peripheral contour 91 has the advantage of dissimulating the upper part 71 of the console 13 resting on the lower face 93 of the plane 89. The plane 89 is reinforced on its lower face 93 at least by a nested wire structure 95, and preferably two nested wire structures 95, 97, shown in Figure 5, which are arranged in the direction of the plane length 89. These nested wire structures 95, 97 allow to compensate for the thin thickness of the plane 89 to avoid Let it flex under the load of the items. This design of the shelf 15 therefore contributes to reducing the amount of material used for the manufacture of the gondola 1.

The base leg 11 is made up of at least one nested wire structure 99 that forms the contour of the leg, being reinforced by a wire structure 101 arranged in broken line, welded in the upper part 103 and in the lower part 105 of said contour. Leg 11 is also composed of a fixing plate 107

5

10

fifteen

twenty

25

30

arranged to be fixed to the low end of the stud 7, 9, said plate 107 being arranged at the rear of the wire structure 99 and integral thereto. As shown in Figure 6, the leg 11 is preferably provided with two juxtaposed wire structures 99, 109 forming the contour, said structures 99, 109 being consolidated by the plate 107 disposed at its rear end, and by wires 111 soldiers welded transversely between the two wire structures 99, 109, at the top 103 and bottom 105.

The base leg 11 is provided with at least one stabilization piece 113 on the floor of the warehouse, and preferably two stabilization pieces 113, 115, as shown in Figure 6. The stabilization piece 113 is, by example, constituted by a small threaded plate 117, fixed at the bottom 105 of the two wire structures 99, 109, said threaded plate 117 receiving a threaded rod 119 provided at its low end of a contact roller 121 on the ground, allowing said threaded rod 119 to adjust the position of the roller 121 so that the leg 11 is perfectly stable on the ground.

The fixing plate 107 comprises, for example, a lower fixing leg 123 which is curved at its low end 125 and is fixed on a lateral side 51, 52 of the sheet structure 33, 35, and an upper fixing leg 127 which is inserted into a hole 31 at the low end of the front face 21 or rear 23 of the structure 33, 35.

The gondola 1 may eventually be equipped with at least one intermediate vertical panel 129, shown in Figure 1, when it has a front face 3 and a rear face 5. The panel 129 thus allows to separate the two faces 3, 5 of the gondola to make them different and thus put in value the items exposed in the shelf 15.

The gondola is, in a preferred and non-limiting way, made entirely of metal such as steel. But you can consider, however, some gondola elements made of different materials, such as a polymer.

The invention will be manufactured in particular in the metallurgical industry, by designers of metal structure and furniture for the large distribution.

Claims (12)

5 10 fifteen twenty 25 30 35 40 Four. Five fifty 55 60 65 1. Gondola (1) for the exhibition of articles, particularly usable in warehouses, comprising at least two vertical uprights (7, 9) integral with base legs (11) that ensure their maintenance in position, including the uprights (7, 9) a front face (3) and a rear face (5), of which at least one is arranged to receive consoles (13) that extend perpendicularly towards the outside of the gondola (1), allowing the association of two consoles (13) assembled at the same height on the front faces (21) or on the rear faces (23) of the two successive uprights (7, 9), the support of a shelf (15) in which the articles are arranged, each upright (7, 9) comprises at least two upright structures (33, 35) that respectively constitute the front face (21) and the rear face (23) of the upright (7, 9), being said upright structures (33, 35) arranged opposite each other and consolidated at least by r a rigid wire structure (37, 39), said wire structure reinforcing (37, 39) the inertia of said uprights (7, 9), the upright structures (33, 35) being "U" shaped, the bottom of the "U" (49) comprising holes arranged to receive the consoles (13), characterized in that the lateral edges (45, 46, 47, 48) of the upright structures (33, 35) are reinforced by the wire structure (37, 39); and the amount (7, 9) comprises at least two wire structures (37, 39) that are in the form of a broken line whose angular ends (41, 43) are joined to the lateral edges (45, 46, 47, 48) facing the two upright structures (33, 35). 2. Gondola (1) according to the preceding claim, characterized in that each rigid wire structure (37, 39) is arranged between the upright structures (33, 35). 3. Gondola (1) according to the preceding claim, characterized in that the lateral sides of the "U" (51, 52) are welded with the angular ends (41, 43) of the wire structures (37, 39). 4. Gondola (1) according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the gondola comprises at least one console (13) and the console (13) is constituted by a fixing plate (67) arranged to be fixed on the face front (21) or the rear face (23) of an upright (7, 9), and by a reinforced arm (69) in rigid wire structure, said arm (69) being fixed at its rear end with the plate (67 ). 5. Gondola (1) according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that it comprises at least one shelf (15) and the shelf (15) is composed of a structure (89) reinforced on its lower face (93) at least by a rigid wire structure (95, 97). 6. Gondola (1) according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the base leg (11) is composed of at least one rigid and reinforced wire structure (99, 109), and a fixing plate (107 ) arranged to be fixed at the low end of the stud (7, 9), said plate (107) being arranged at the rear of the wire structure (99, 109) which is provided with at least one stabilization piece ( 113) on the floor of the warehouse. 7. Gondola (1) according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that it comprises a front face (3) and a rear face (5), said faces (3, 5) being separated at least by an intermediate vertical panel (129 ). 8. Gondola (1) for the exhibition of articles, particularly usable in warehouses, comprising at least two vertical uprights (7, 9) integral with base legs (11) that ensure their maintenance in position, including the uprights (7, 9) a front face (3) and a rear face (5), of which at least one is arranged to receive consoles (13) that extend perpendicularly towards the outside of the gondola (1), allowing the association of two consoles (13) assembled at the same height on the front faces (21) or on the rear faces (23) of the two successive uprights (7, 9) the support of a shelf (15) on which they are the articles arranged, each upright (7, 9) comprises at least two upright structures (53, 55) that respectively constitute the front face (21) and the rear face (23) of the upright (7, 9), said being upright structures (53, 55) arranged facing and consolidated by at least a rigid wire structure (63), said wire structure reinforcing (63) the inertia of said uprights (7, 9), the upright structures (53, 55) being "U" shaped, the bottom of the "U" (49) holes arranged to receive the consoles (13), characterized in that the lateral edges (45, 46, 47, 48) of the upright structures (53, 55) are reinforced by the wire structure ( 63); the rigid wire structure (63) is arranged in the inner corners (65) of the upright structures (53, 55) and the vertical uprights (7, 9) each comprise two flat structures (59, 61) that constitute the lateral sides of the uprights (7, 9) and which are in solidarity with the two upright structures (53, 55) to keep the latter facing each other. 9. Gondola (1) according to claim 8, characterized in that the gondola comprises at least one console (13) and the console (13) is constituted by a fixing plate (67) arranged to be fixed on the front face ( 21) or the rear face (23) of an upright (7, 9), and by a reinforced arm (69) in rigid wire structure, said reinforced arm (69) being fixed at its rear end with the plate (67) . 10. Gondola (1) according to one of claims 8 and 9, characterized in that the gondola comprises at least one shelf (15) and the shelf (15) is composed of a structure (89) reinforced on its lower face (93 ) at least for a structure of nested wire (95, 97). 5 11. Gondola (1) according to any one of claims 8 to 10, characterized in that the base leg (11) is made up of at least one structure of nidged (99, 109) and reinforced wire, and of a fixing plate (107) arranged to be fixed to the low end of the upright (7, 9), said plate (107) being arranged at the rear of the wire structure (99, 109) which is provided with at least one stabilization piece (113) 10 on the floor of the warehouse. 12. Gondola (1) according to any of claims 8 to 11, characterized in that it comprises a front face (3) and a rear face (5), said faces (3, 5) being separated at least by an intermediate vertical panel (129). fifteen