System including article support surface and dividers

Abstract

The following invention relates to a system comprising: an article support surface for the arrangement of articles on a front end of the article support surface, having an article track whose track width is delimited and adjustable by at least two dividers having one front fixing element and one rear fixing element, at least one article track whose track width is delimited and adjustable laterally by the dividers, a front fixing section arranged at the front end for fixing the front fixing element and a rear fixing section arranged at a rear end of the article support surface for fixing the rear fixing element characterized in that the rear fixing element has a rear attachment lug facing towards the front fixing element.

Claims

1. System comprising: an article support surface for the arrangement of articles on a front end of the article support surface; at least one article track that has a track width that is delimited and adjustable laterally by at least two dividers, each of the dividers having a respective front fixing element and a respective rear fixing element characterized in that the rear fixing elements each have: a rear attachment lug facing towards the front fixing element of the respective divider and sloping at an angle with respect to a longitudinal axis of the respective divider; or a rear attachment lug facing away from the front fixing element of the respective divider and sloping at an angle with respect to the longitudinal axis of the respective divider; a front fixing section arranged at the front end for fixing the front fixing elements of the at least two dividers; and a rear fixing section arranged at a rear end of the article support surface for fixing the rear fixing elements of the at least two dividers, the rear fixing section comprising: a row of rear insertion pockets having: insertion pocket openings facing toward a rear edge of the article support surface to accommodate the rear attachment lugs of the at least two dividers; or insertion pocket openings facing toward the front end of the article support surface to accommodate the rear attachment lugs of the at least two dividers; and a row of channels arranged along a top surface of the rear fixing section, the top surface of the rear fixing section having an incline with respect to a generally planar central portion of the article support surface that is located between the front fixing section and the rear fixing section, the channels extending lengthwise with respect to the at least one article track and arranged in line with the rear insertion pockets, the channels configured to guide the rear attachment lugs such that as the at least two dividers are pushed along the article support surface the channels guide the rear attachment lugs toward the rear insertion pockets.

2. System according to claim 1, wherein the rear attachment lug of each of the at least two dividers has at least one of: an upper attachment face sloping down towards the article support surface; or a lower attachment face sloping down towards the article support surface.

3. System according to claim 1, wherein the rear fixing elements of the at least two dividers each have parallel side faces that define at least one of front attachment lugs of the rear fixing elements or the rear attachment lugs.

4. System according to claim 1, wherein the front fixing section has a row of front insertion pockets aligned with the rear insertion pockets for accommodating the front fixing elements of the at least two dividers.

5. System according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the rear attachment lugs of the at least two dividers has a ribbing.

6. System according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the at least two dividers (4, 4) is embodied as a punched metal sheet having elongated ribbings.

7. System according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the at least two dividers is a U-shaped frame comprising a front leg to which the front fixing section is attached, a rear leg to which the rear fixing section is attached and a longitudinal leg arranged between the front and the rear legs for guiding the articles along the at least one article track.

8. A shelf comprising: an article support surface for the arrangement of articles on a front end of the article support surface; a front fixing section arranged at the front end of the article support surface for fixing front fixing elements of at least two dividers; and a rear fixing section arranged at a rear end of the article support surface for fixing rear fixing elements of the at least two dividers, the rear fixing section comprising: a row of rear insertion pockets having: insertion pocket openings facing toward a rear edge of the article support surface to accommodate the rear fixing elements of the at least two dividers; or insertion pocket openings facing toward the front end of the article support surface to accommodate the rear fixing elements of the at least two dividers; and a row of channels arranged along a top surface of the rear fixing section, a bottom surface of the channels of the rear fixing section having an incline with respect to a generally planar central portion of the article support surface that is located between the front end and the rear end of the article support surface, the channels extending lengthwise with respect to the article support surface and arranged in line with the rear insertion pockets, for guiding the rear fixing elements such that as the at least two dividers are pushed along the article support surface the channels guide the rear fixing elements toward the rear insertion pockets.

9. System according to claim 1, wherein the channels are further configured to accommodate a front attachment lug of at least one of the at least two dividers.

10. System according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the front fixing elements of the at least two dividers has a ribbing.

11. System according to claim 2, wherein the lower attachment face slopes parallel to the upper attachment face.

Description

(1) Further advantages, features and details of the invention are described in the following description of preferred exemplary embodiments and with reference to the drawing. In the drawing:

(2) FIG. 1a shows an oblique frontal perspective view of a first embodiment of the system according to the invention,

(3) FIG. 1b shows an oblique rear perspective view of a first embodiment of the system according to the invention,

(4) FIG. 2a shows a perspective view of the first embodiment according to FIG. 1a with the dividers not fitted,

(5) FIG. 2b shows an enlarged representation of a rear end of the first embodiment according to FIG. 2a,

(6) FIG. 3 shows an enlarged representation of a rear end of the first embodiment in the fitted state,

(7) FIG. 4a shows a cross sectional view of the first embodiment according to FIG. 1a,

(8) FIG. 4b shows an enlarged representation of the rear end of the first embodiment according to FIG. 4a,

(9) FIG. 4c shows an enlarged representation of the front end of the first embodiment according to FIG. 4a,

(10) FIG. 5a shows a perspective view of a second embodiment of the invention with dividers not fitted,

(11) FIG. 5b shows an enlarged representation of a rear end of the second embodiment according to FIG. 5a,

(12) FIG. 6 shows an enlarged representation of a rear end of the second embodiment in the fitted state,

(13) FIG. 7a shows a cross sectional view of the second embodiment according to FIG. 5a,

(14) FIG. 7b shows an enlarged representation of the rear end of the second embodiment according to FIG. 7a, and

(15) FIG. 7c shows an enlarged representation of the front end of the second embodiment according to 7a.

(16) In the figures, identical components or components with the same function are denoted with the same reference signs.

(17) FIGS. 1a and 1b show a system which serves as an article presentation insert with an article support surface 1. The articles that are to be mounted on article support surface 1 are arranged in an article track which is delimited at the sides by dividers 4, 4, wherein the articles are arranged as far as possible on a front end 2 of the article track or the article support surface 1. In the present description, spatial indicators such as front and rear refer to the article support surface 1 and its front end 2, towards which the articles are to be transported or guided along the article track.

(18) The articles are preferably conveyed in particular automatically towards the front end 2, wherein the movement of the articles is limited by a preferably transparent front panel, which is not shown. The front panel may particularly be fixed to the front end 2 by means of a fastening strut 20.

(19) The dividers 4, 4 are in particular attachable solely to the front end 2 and to a rear end 3. A front fixing section 7 is arranged on the front end 2, and a rear fixing section 8 is arranged on the rear end 3.

(20) The article support surface 1 in particular consists of several article carrier surfaces 1a arranged side by side, wherein a front end cap 1v on the front end 2 forms the front fixing section 7, and a rear end cap 1h on the rear end 3 forms the rear fixing section 8.

(21) The left divider 4 shown in FIG. 2a is punched from a metal sheet and has two ribbings 40 for reinforcement. Ribbings 40 extend practically for the entire length of the divider 4.

(22) A front fixing element 5 is conformed on the front end of the divider 4. This is embodied as a sheet metal extension with a ribbing 50, and thus has a very simple shape. In contrast to this, a rear fixing element 6 is of more complex construction. It has a rear attachment lug 60 which faces towards the front fixing element 5, and in particular is reinforced with a ribbing 66.

(23) The rear attachment lug 60 has an upper attachment face 61 and a lower attachment face 62 arranged parallel thereto, both of which faces extend at an angle to a longitudinal axis of the divider 4 and at an angle to the article support surface 1.

(24) The divider 4 also has a front attachment lug 63 with a sloping attachment face 64 on the rear fixing element 6.

(25) The divider 4 illustrated on the right in FIG. 2a is constructed as a U-shaped frame with a front leg, a rear leg, and a longitudinal leg arranged between the front and the rear legs. The longitudinal leg serves to guide the articles along the article track. The front fixing element is attached to the front leg, and the rear fixing element is attached to the rear leg.

(26) The longitudinal leg extends in particular parallel to the article support surface and serves to guide the articles along the article track.

(27) The front leg and the rear leg extend substantially parallel to each other and are aligned at an angle of 90 with respect to the longitudinal leg.

(28) The front fixing element 5 in particular has a flat shape with parallel side walls. A lock extension 51 (see FIG. 4c) particularly extending towards the rear fixing element 6 is provided on the lower end of the front fixing element 5. In this way the front fixing element 5 may also be locked in place.

(29) The rear fixing element 6 as a punched metal sheet or folded metal sheet is attached to the rear leg particularly by means of a welded joint.

(30) Thus, the rear fixing element has two parallel side faces 65, 65, particularly on the area of a rear attachment lug 60 and a front attachment lug 63.

(31) The rear attachment lug 60 has an upper attachment face 61 and a lower attachment face 62 extending parallel thereto. The front attachment lug 63 has a sloping attachment face 64 which is arranged opposite the upper attachment face 61 and in particular parallel thereto.

(32) The front fixing section 7 has a row of front insertion pockets 9, which are arranged side by side transversely to the article track. The front insertion pockets 9 have insertion pocket openings with an elongated shape, the longitudinal axis of which extends in the direction of the article track. The insertion pockets 9 are arranged side by side and in line with each other. The distance between adjacent front insertion pockets 9 is preferably in the range from 1.5 to 3 times the width of the insertion pocket openings. The front fixing elements 5, 5 may be fixed in the front insertion pockets 9, the width of the article track being adjustable by the selection of the front insertion pocket. The insertion pocket openings preferably face vertically upwards from the article support surface 1.

(33) The rear fixing section 8 is shown enlarged in FIG. 3. The rear fixing section 8 has rear insertion pockets 10 with insertion pocket openings 11, which face away from the front fixing section 7 and rearwards from the rear end 3.

(34) The rear attachment lugs 60, 60 may be accommodated in the rear insertion pockets 10, and similarly to the row of front insertion pockets 9 a row of rear insertion pockets are arranged in line and side by side with each other.

(35) Channels 12 are also arranged in a row at the top of the rear fixing section 8 similarly to the insertion pockets 9, 10.

(36) The dividers 4, 4 may be assembled in particular simply by grasping the dividers 4, 4 at the front end 2 and pushing the dividers 4, 4 towards the rear on the article support surface 1 until the rear attachment lug 60, 60 is moved beyond the rear fixing section 8, where the rear fixing element 6, 6 drops downwards. While the rear fixing element 6, 6 is pushed over the rear fixing section 8, the lower attachment face 62, 62 is aligned and guided by the channels 12. The slope of the lower attachment face 62, 62 causes the rear fixing element 6, 6 to rise automatically.

(37) As soon as the rear attachment lug 60, 60 has been moved over the rear fixing section 8 and drops down, a pulling force can be applied to the front end 3 of the divider 4, 4, causing the rear attachment lug 60, 60 to engage in the rear insertion pocket 10 which is aligned with the channel 12, by which the rear fixing element 6, 6 was aligned previously.

(38) The slope of the upper attachment face 61, 61 causes the rear fixing element 6, 6 to be pulled downwards, so that not only the rear attachment lug 60, 60 but also the front attachment lug 63, 63 is fixed in the rear fixing section 8. The front attachment lug 63, 63 engages in the corresponding channel 12, while the rear attachment lug 60, 60 engages in the corresponding rear insertion pocket 10. As soon as the attachment position or end position as shown in FIG. 4b has been reached, the front fixing element 5, 5 may be connected to the front fixing section 7. This occurs when the front fixing element 5, 5 engages in the front insertion pocket 9 which is aligned with the channel 12 and the rear insertion pocket 10.

(39) In the case of the left divider 4, the front fixing element 5 is held in place in clamping manner by the ribbing 50, while for the right divider 4 a lock extension 51 is provided, which engages in locking manner with the front fixing section 7 as shown in FIG. 4c, as the lock extension 51 clasps behind the front insertion pocket 9. This may be effected by applying a pulling force to the front leg to bend the U-shaped frame of the divider 4 slightly open.

(40) The left divider 4 shown in FIG. 5a is constructed similarly to the divider 4 of FIGS. 2a to 4c except for a rear fixing element 6.

(41) A front fixing element 5 is conformed on the front end of the divider 4. The rear fixing element 6 has a rear attachment lug 60 which is directed away from the front fixing element 5, and which in particular is reinforced with a ribbing 66.

(42) The rear attachment lug 60 has an upper attachment face 61 and a lower attachment face 62 arranged parallel thereto, which attachment faces extend at an angle to a longitudinal axis of the divider 4 and at an angle to the article support surface 1.

(43) The divider 4 also has a front attachment lug 63 on the rear fixing element 6.

(44) The divider 4 illustrated on the left in FIG. 5a is constructed similarly to the divider 4 of FIG. 2a except for the rear fixing element 6 and the absence of a lock extension 51.

(45) The rear fixing element 6 as a punched metal sheet or folded metal sheet is attached to the rear leg of the divider 4, particularly by means of a welded joint.

(46) The rear fixing element 6 has a rear attachment lug 60 which faces away from the front fixing element 5. The rear attachment lug 60 has an upper attachment face 61 and lower attachment face 62 extending parallel thereto. The rear fixing element 6 also has a front attachment lug 63.

(47) An enlarged representation of rear fixing section 8 is shown in FIG. 5b. The rear fixing section 8 has rear insertion pockets 10 with insertion pocket openings 11, which face towards the front fixing section 7 and forwards from the rear end 3.

(48) The rear attachment lugs 60, 60 may be accommodated in the rear insertion pockets 10, wherein a row of rear insertion pockets 10 are arranged in line and side by side with each other similarly to the row of front insertion pockets 9.

(49) Channels 12 are also arranged in a row at the top of the rear fixing section 8 similarly to the insertion pockets 9, 10, 10.

(50) The dividers 4, 4 may be assembled in particular simply by grasping the dividers 4, 4 at the front end 2 and applying a pushing force to the front end 2, thereby pushing the dividers 4, 4 on the article support surface 1 in the channels 12 in guided manner towards the rear until the rear attachment lug 60, 60 engaged in the rear insertion pocket 10 which is aligned with channel 12.

(51) The slope of the upper attachment face 61 , 61 causes the rear fixing element 6, 6 to be pressed down, so that not only the rear attachment lug 60, 60 but also the front attachment lug 63, 63 are fixed in the Rear fixing section 8. The front attachment lug 63, 63 engages in the corresponding channel 12, while the rear attachment lug 60, 60 engages in the corresponding rear insertion pocket 10.

(52) As soon as the attachment position or end position as shown in FIG. 7b has been reached, the front fixing element 5 , 5 may be connected to the front fixing section 7. This occurs when the front fixing element 5, 5 engages in the front insertion pocket 9 which is aligned with the channel 12 and the rear insertion pocket 10.

LIST OF REFERENCE SIGNS

(53) 1 Article support surface 1a Article carrier surface 1v Front end cap 1h Rear end cap 2 Front end 3 Rear end 4, 4, 4, 4 Divider 5, 5, 5, 5 Front fixing element 6, 6, 6, 6 Rear fixing element 7 Front fixing section 8, 8 Rear fixing section 9 Front insertion pockets 10, 10 Rear insertion pockets 11, 11 Insertion pocket openings 12, 12 Channels 20 Fastening strut 40 Ribbing 50 Ribbing 51 Lock extension 60, 60, 60, 60 Rear attachment lug 61, 61, 61, 61 Upper attachment face 62, 62, 62, 62 Lower attachment face 63, 63, 63, 63 Front attachment lug 64, 64, 64, 64 Sloping attachment face 65, 65, 65, 65 Parallel side faces 66 Ribbing