JP7739657B2 - Fall prevention device for inclined shelves - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a fall prevention device that is attached to the front end of an inclined shelf that allows placed products to automatically slide forward due to their own weight.

Conventionally, with horizontal display shelves used in supermarkets, convenience stores, etc., when products on the shelves sell out or become scarce, they must be manually replenished to ensure that products are always displayed in the front row, requiring a great deal of time and effort. To solve this problem, in recent years, sloping shelves have come into use, whereby products placed on the shelves automatically slide to the front row under their own weight. When using such sloping shelves, it is necessary to provide fall prevention devices (fall prevention plates in Patent Document 1) at the front ends of the shelves to prevent products from falling, as described in Patent Document 1, for example.

JP 2008-307866 A (page 6, Figure 2)

The fall prevention device described in Patent Document 1 is attached to the front end of the inclined shelf at a right angle to the shelf surface. Therefore, when products slide out from the rear of the inclined shelf and are displayed, the products may come into contact with the fall prevention device and fall forward. In particular, when products with narrow, tapered middle sections, such as plastic bottles, slide out from the rear of the inclined shelf and are displayed, the bottom end, which is lower than the center of gravity, comes into contact with the fall prevention device first, and a large forward rotational moment centered on the bottom end acts on the product, making it more likely that the product will climb over the fall prevention device and fall forward. To prevent this, the fall prevention device can be made taller, but making it taller than necessary not only impairs the visibility of the products but also makes it difficult to remove products from the front.

The present invention was developed to address these issues, and aims to provide a fall prevention device for inclined shelves that can effectively prevent products from falling without making them any taller than necessary.

In order to solve the above problem, the fall prevention device for an inclined shelf of the present invention comprises:
A fall prevention device that is installed at the front end of an inclined shelf that allows placed products to automatically slide forward due to their own weight,
The fall prevention device has a base portion that stands at a right angle from the shelf surface of the inclined shelf , and an inclined portion that is continuous and inclined rearward above the base portion,
The inclined portion is formed above the vertical center of the fall prevention device, and the upper end of the inclined portion extends diagonally forward and upward and is bent in an arc shape .
According to this feature, when a product slides out from the rear of the inclined shelf, it always comes into contact with the upper end located at the rear, which is always at a high position, first, so the forward rotation moment acting on the product is small, and the product can be effectively prevented from falling. In addition, the height of the fall prevention device does not need to be higher than necessary, and can be lowered, which improves the visibility of the product and makes it easier to take out the product.

The base is perpendicular to the shelf surface, and above the base there is a continuous inclined portion that slopes rearward.
According to this feature, the upper part of the inclined shelf is inclined backward, so that the visibility of the products from the front is good.

The inclined portion is characterized in that it is formed above the center of the fall prevention device in the vertical direction.
This feature makes it difficult for the bottom end of the product to come into contact with the base of the fall prevention device, thereby increasing the fall prevention effect. Also, even if the base of the fall prevention device is perpendicular to the shelf surface, the top end can be positioned further back than the base.

The upper end of the inclined portion is characterized by extending upward or obliquely forward and upward.
According to this feature, when a product comes into contact with the upper end of the inclined portion, the product is less likely to be damaged.

1 is a perspective view of a product display shelf equipped with a fall prevention device according to a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 10 is an enlarged side view of the inclined shelf in a state where the slid-out product abuts against the fall prevention device. FIG. 10 is an enlarged side view of the inclined shelf when the front row of products is removed. FIG. 10 is an enlarged side view illustrating the effect of preventing the product from falling. FIG. 10 is an enlarged side view of a main part of an inclined shelf according to a second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 10 is an enlarged side view of a main part of an inclined shelf according to a third embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 10 is an enlarged side view of a main part of an inclined shelf according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 10 is an enlarged side view of a main part of an inclined shelf according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention.

The following describes the implementation of the fall prevention device for inclined shelves according to the present invention based on examples.

A fall prevention device according to Example 1 will be described with reference to Figures 1 to 4. Figure 1 shows a product display shelf 1 used in supermarkets, convenience stores, etc. This product display shelf 1 comprises a pair of left and right support posts 2, 2; horizontal connecting rods 3, 3 connecting the opposing surfaces of the upper and lower ends of the support posts 2, 2; a lattice-shaped back member 4 fitted into the space surrounded by the support posts 2, 2 and the upper and lower horizontal connecting rods 3, 3; and a pair of left and right leg rods 5, 5 facing in the front-to-rear direction, the lower ends of which are fixed to the upper surfaces of the rear ends of the left and right support posts 2, 2.

The locking claws 7a at the rear ends of multiple upper and lower brackets 7, 7, each consisting of a pair of left and right brackets, are locked into multiple locking holes 6 lined up in a row on the front of the left and right support posts 2, 2, so that the brackets 7 are tilted downward and forward. The undersides of both side ends of an inclined shelf 8, which also slopes downward and forward, are fixed to each of the upper and lower left and right pairs of brackets 7, 7. The shelf surface (top surface) 8a of each inclined shelf 8 is divided into multiple left and right rows by multiple partition plates 9 facing forward and backward, and multiple products P, such as plastic bottles, are displayed lined up in the front and rear direction on the top surface of each row.

A slippery sheet or coating with a low coefficient of friction, such as made of fluororesin, is applied to the shelf surface of the inclined shelf 8 by means of adhesion or coating, so that placed products P automatically slide forward under their own weight. Instead of using such a slippery sheet or coating, it is also possible to arrange multiple rollers facing left and right in the front-to-back direction to slide the products P. In this way, by automatically sliding the products P forward under their own weight, as shown in Figure 3, when a customer removes the frontmost product P, the products P behind it automatically slide forward and come into contact with the fall prevention device 10, which will be described later, and stop.

As shown in the enlarged side view of Figure 2, fall prevention devices 10 are attached to the front end of each sloping shelf 8 to prevent products P from falling. The fall prevention devices 10 are made of a transparent resin. The lower end of the fall prevention device 10 is fitted and held between the front end face of the sloping shelf 8 and a display board 11 for displaying the product name, price, etc., which is fixed to the underside of the front end of the sloping shelf 8. The fall prevention device 10 can be made of any material, and may be opaque.

The base 10a of the fall prevention device 10, which rises from the shelf surface of the inclined shelf 8, is perpendicular to the shelf surface, and the inclined portion 10b, which is continuous with the base 10a, is bent backward in a dogleg shape. This ensures that the upper end of the inclined portion 10b is positioned further rearward than the lower end of the base 10a, which rises from the shelf surface, relative to the shelf surface of the inclined shelf 8. The inclined portion 10b is formed above the vertical center of the portion rising from the shelf surface. The inclination angle of the inclined portion 10b relative to the shelf surface is preferably in the range of 45 to 80 degrees, for example, to prevent damage to the product P. It is also preferable that the inclined portion 10b be inclined so that its upper end is positioned rearward relative to the vertical plane.

In this way, using a fall prevention device 10 with its inclined portion 10b bent backward can prevent product P from falling. That is, as shown in FIG. 2, when a sold-out product P is slid from the rear of the inclined shelf 8 to be restocked, the product P first abuts against the upper end of the inclined portion 10b of the fall prevention device 10 at a high position near the center of gravity, reducing the forward (i.e., counterclockwise) rotational moment acting on the product P. As a result, the product P can be effectively prevented from falling. In other words, regardless of the shape of the product P, the product P always first abuts against the upper end of the inclined portion 10b, which is the topmost end of the fall prevention device 10, thereby consistently reducing the forward rotational moment acting on the product P.

Furthermore, because the fall prevention device 10 is made of resin, it is flexible and can bend when a product comes into contact with the fall prevention device 10, cushioning the impact and making it difficult for the product P to tip forward. In addition, because the inclined portion 10b is bent rearward from the base portion 10a, even when it bends due to an impact, the upper end of the inclined portion 10b does not protrude further forward than the upper end of the base portion 10a in its natural state, making it difficult for the fall prevention device 10 to tilt forward.

Another fall prevention effect can be explained with reference to Figure 4. When product P comes to a stop by contacting the upper end of the inclined portion 10b of the fall prevention device 10, the rotational moment acting on product P is distributed to the upper and lower portions with respect to the contact line (L). That is, the rotational moment is distributed into a downward rotational moment (M1) formed by the product (A x a) of the upper mass (A) of product P and the distance (a) from its center of gravity (G1) to the contact line (L), and an upward rotational moment (M2) formed by the product (B x b) of the lower mass (B) of product P and the distance (b) from its center of gravity (G2) to the contact line (L). Therefore, even if the center of gravity (G) of product P is above the upper end of the fall prevention device 10, the downward rotational moment (M1) that would cause product P to tip forward is slightly counteracted by the upward rotational moment (M2), making product P less likely to climb over the fall prevention device 10 and fall.

In the fall prevention device 10 according to Example 1, the inclined portion 10b is formed above the vertical center. This makes it difficult for the lower end of a product P, such as a plastic bottle, to come into contact with the base 10a, even if the product P has a narrow, tapered middle portion. Instead, the narrowed middle portion comes into contact with the upper end of the inclined portion 10b first, effectively preventing the product P from falling. Furthermore, since the inclined portion 10b is formed above the vertical center, the upper end can be positioned further back than the lower end, even if the base 10a is perpendicular to the shelf surface.

Furthermore, since the inclined portion 10b of the fall prevention device 10 is bent backward, the visibility of the product P from the front is good. Also, since the fall prevention device 10 is see-through, the visibility of the product P is good. Moreover, since the fall prevention device 10 can prevent the product P from falling, there is no need to make the height of the fall prevention device 10 higher than necessary, and it can even be made lower, which further improves the visibility of the product P and makes it easier to take out the product P from the front.
In addition, it becomes easy to take out the product P from the front.

The fall prevention device of Example 2 will be described with reference to Figure 5. Note that components that are the same as those of Example 1 will be assigned the same reference numerals and duplicate descriptions will be omitted.

In the fall prevention device 10 according to Example 2, the upper end of the inclined portion 10b is bent upward at a right angle to the shelf surface. This allows the tip of the inclined portion 10b to come into surface contact with the product P, making it less likely for the product P to be scratched.

Figure 6 shows a fall prevention device 10 according to Example 3, in which the upper end of the inclined portion 10b is bent diagonally upward and forward in an arc shape. In this way, unlike Example 1, the corners at the upper end of the inclined portion 10b do not come into contact with the product P, making it less likely that the product P will be damaged.

Figure 7 shows a fall prevention device 10 according to Example 4. In this fall prevention device 10, the portion that rises from the shelf surface is bent in an arc toward the front, top, and rear. This allows the lower portion of the product P to be spaced farther away from the fall prevention device 10, preventing the fall of even products with a large narrowing in the middle.

Figure 8 shows a fall prevention device 10 according to a fifth embodiment. This fall prevention device 10 has a synthetic resin abutment member 12, the upper end of which curves backward, removably fitted to the upper end of the device body, which is erected perpendicular to the shelf surface. Even with a fall prevention device 10 fitted with such an abutment member 12, it is possible to reliably prevent product P from falling. Furthermore, attaching a separate abutment member 12 in a detachable manner has the advantage that only the abutment member 12 can be replaced to accommodate products P with different vertical dimensions or shapes.

The above describes embodiments of the present invention based on the drawings, but the specific configuration is not limited to these embodiments, and additions and modifications that do not deviate from the gist of the present invention are also included in the present invention.

For example, in the above embodiment, the fall prevention device 10 is attached by press-fitting between the display panel 11 and the front end surface of the inclined shelf 8. However, it is also possible to provide a slit-shaped fitting groove that opens upward at the front end of the inclined shelf 8 and fit the lower end of the fall prevention device 10 into this fitting groove from above. Alternatively, the lower end, bent forward into an L-shape, may be directly fixed to the shelf surface at the front end of the inclined shelf 8 with screws or the like.

The fall prevention device 10 of the present invention is not limited to the shapes of the above-described embodiments, as long as its upper end is positioned further rearward than its lower end relative to the shelf surface. Furthermore, it goes without saying that the fall prevention device 10 of the present invention can be used to prevent the fall of any product that can be displayed on the inclined shelf 8, in addition to the aforementioned product P, such as PET bottles.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Product display shelf 2 Support 3 Horizontal connecting rod 4 Back member 5 Leg rod 6 Locking hole 7 Bracket 7a Locking claw 8 Inclined shelf 9 Partition plate 10 Fall prevention device 10a Base 10b Inclined portion 11 Display board 12 Contact member P Product

Claims (1)

A fall prevention device that is installed at the front end of an inclined shelf that allows placed products to automatically slide forward due to their own weight,
The fall prevention device has a base portion that stands at a right angle from the shelf surface of the inclined shelf , and an inclined portion that is continuous and inclined rearward above the base portion,
A fall prevention device for an inclined shelf, characterized in that the inclined portion is formed above the center of the fall prevention device in the vertical direction, and the upper end of the inclined portion extends diagonally forward and upward and is bent in an arc shape .