JPS6143243B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to gravity-fed shelves constructed such that products placed thereon are fed by gravity, and in particular to tracks used in such shelves. The tracks are arranged to form one or more chutes tilted forward and downward to hold rows of packages such as bottles and transport the packages forward with a minimum of friction. .

Rails of the type described above are disclosed in pending U.S. patent application no.
No. 098876 (November 30, 1979) and No. 168951 (July 11, 1980), these rails met with considerable success, yet they still made it difficult to package bottles of various sizes. There is a need for rails that can be arranged in a variety of shapes for placement.

The rail-based shelves according to the invention are versatile in use, have low friction, are simple in construction and are extremely economical both in terms of initial costs (invested capital) and maintenance costs. It is characterized by A track for a gravity-fed shelf according to one form of the invention comprises a web plate, a flange plate integral with one end of the web plate and forming an L-shaped structure with the web plate; a plurality of parallel ribs formed between the flange plate and the other end of the web plate on one side, and means for forming at least one breakable area on the web plate; , which is characterized in that this makes it possible to cut off a part of the web board from the rest to reduce the width of the web board.

A gravity-fed shelf according to the invention has a substantially rigid retaining frame having a retaining surface in a plane that slopes forward and downwardly, and a number of elongated tracks placed on the retaining surface, each track being , a web plate having a lower surface in contact with the retaining surface, and a flange plate integral with one side end of the web plate and forming an L-shaped structure together with the web plate, the flange plate having one rail; is placed in contact with the side end remote from the flange plate of the adjacent rail, so that an inclined chute is formed by the flange plate of said one rail and the web plate and flange plate of said adjacent rail. It is characterized by

Another gravity-fed shelf according to the invention has a substantially rigid retaining frame having a retaining surface in a plane that slopes forward and downwardly, and a number of elongated tracks disposed on the retaining surface; Each rail includes a web plate having a lower surface in contact with the retaining surface, and an L length that is integral with one end of the web plate and is integral with the web plate.
flange plates forming a shaped structure, two adjacent rails are placed in opposite positions (facing each other), i.e. the side end of one rail far from the flange plate is connected to the adjacent rail. is placed in contact with the side end remote from the flange plate of the rail, so that an inclined chute is formed by the flange plate and web plate of one rail and the flange plate and web plate of the adjacent rail. There is.

The present invention will be explained below with reference to embodiments shown in the drawings.

Figure 1 shows a cross section of a long and narrow rail 1.
a web plate 2 having an upper surface 3 and a lower surface 4;
It has a flange plate 5 integral with one end of the web plate 2, and the web plate 2 and the flange plate 5 together form an L-shaped rail. A guide flange 6 is integrally formed at the upper end of the flange plate 5, so that
The flange plate 5 is given a T-shaped cross-section.

In order to minimize the friction between the packaging of bottles and the like placed on the rail, a large number of upward parallel ribs 7 to 18 are integrally formed on the upper surface 3, and each rib has an approximately triangular cross section. have

In order to allow the width of the web plate of the rail 1 to be reduced, an elongated notch 19 is made in the lower surface 4 of the part far from the flange plate 5 and close to the free end 20 of the web plate. are parallel to the ribs 7 to 18 and are created between the ribs 9 and 10, thus forming a breakable zone extending along the entire length of the web plate 2. To reduce the width of the track, it is sufficient to simply raise the end 21 as shown in phantom in FIG. It can be done. The end 21 is then discarded, thus leaving a portion of the web plate 2 with the ribs 10-18. Notches 19 can also be made in the upper surface 3 of the web plate 2, and other means other than notches can be used to create the frangible areas, for example by creating perforations or weakened areas in the web plate. You can also make one. Furthermore, in some embodiments it may be appropriate to create one or more breakable zones along the web plate, thus providing multiple breaks.

The rails 1 may be made by extrusion from polyvinyl chloride and, if desired, from high impact polystyrene. Also, to reduce friction between the ribs 7-18 and the bottom of the product placed thereon, silicone or other suitable lubricious material may be dispersed in the polystyrene so that during use the ribs 7-18 The lubricating action of the lubricating material can be made effective at all times even if the upper surface of 18 is worn (the reason why the lubricating action can always be made effective is as follows.
(This is because the structure is substantially uniform).

As an example, the second arrangement of the rails for forming a group of chute C ₁ , C ₂ etc. on the display shelf is
As shown in FIG. In FIG. 2, all the rails are similarly placed side by side, and the ends of all the rails have been cut off and discarded.
As shown, the free end of the web plate of each rail (with the exception of the leftmost rail) rests against the flange plate of an adjacent rail. Each of the multiple chute C produced by this arrangement consists of the web plate 2 and flange plate 5 of one rail, and the flange plate 5 of the adjacent rail. This arrangement is most suitable for placing rows of single packages such as bottles on each chute C ₁ and C ₂ .

In FIG. 3, each chute C ₃ and C ₄ is formed by two rails placed side by side,
The free end of the web plate 2 of one rail is placed against the free end of the web plate 2 of the adjacent rail. In the case of shoot _C3 , the ends of both web plates 2 are separated and discarded, but in the case of shoot _C4 , the ends of both web plates are in contact with each other. shoot
C ₃ is suitable for placing small multi-packs (for example, 6-packs), and chute C ₄ has a wide width and is suitable for holding relatively large multi-packs. Of course, the first
Any combination of the track arrangements shown in the figures and FIG. 2 can be easily made. In either arrangement, a guide flange 6 is provided to guide the product during its descent along the chute and to minimize the contact area between the packaging, such as a bottle, and the flange plate 5.
will be provided. Further, it is not necessarily necessary to place adjacent rails so as to abut each other as shown in the drawings. This is because it allows small gaps between adjacent rails without compromising the low friction relationship between the product and the rails.

FIG. 4 shows a gravity-fed shelf 22 forming part of a holding frame with a group of tracks 1 arranged to form a row of inclined chute. The shelf 22 has a front holding body 23, an intermediate holding body 24 and a rear holding body 2.
5, and the holding bodies 23, 24, 25 each have a
It has upwardly facing retaining surfaces 26, 27, 28, all of which are located in a common plane that slopes forward and downward. Preferably, a flat retaining plate 29 is placed on the retaining surfaces 26, 27, 28, which provides a continuous plane on which the lower surface 4 of each track (for example track 1) rests. The rails and chute are therefore angled downwardly towards the front end of the shelf 22. As will be appreciated, a row of products placed on the chute is automatically fed in the direction of the chute's inclination when a preceding product in the row is removed.
Although the angle of inclination to the horizontal can be changed slightly,
Experience has shown that this angle should preferably be a minimum of 3.5 degrees to a maximum of about 8 degrees, and in most cases should be about 6 degrees.

The front holding body 23 has a stop body 30 made of a protective wire.
The stop body 30 is inserted into a beat (ring) 31 that protrudes rearward. When packages such as bottles are placed on a chute placed on a shelf, the natural tendency is for these products to automatically slide down and forward on the shelf, with the lowest (frontmost) product being held back by the stop 30. It is stopped from sliding and normally remains against the bead 31.

In order to place the rails 1 at desired positions on the shelf, each rail is bent and both ends are attached to the front and rear holders 2.
It is sufficient to simply insert it into each of the groove-shaped recesses No. 3 and 25. Of course, if necessary, the rails can be fixed to the retaining plate 29 or the retaining surface 2 using a suitable fixing device or adhesive.
It can also be fixed at 6, 27, or 28.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

1 is a sectional view of a track according to the invention; FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a group of tracks placed to form one arrangement of shelf chute; and FIG. 3 shows another arrangement of shelf chute. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of a display shelf having tracks according to the invention; FIG. 1... Rail, 2... Web plate, 3, 4... Upper and lower surfaces of the above plates, 5... Flange plate, 6...
Guide flange, 7-18...rib, 19...notch, 22...shelf, 23...front holding body, 24...
Intermediate holding body, 25... Rear holding body, 29... Holding body, 30... Stopping body.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. In a plastic rail of a gravity feed shelf,
A web plate having a product holding surface, a flange plate integrally forming a substantially "L"-shaped structure with one edge of this web plate, and a flange plate placed on the product holding surface parallel to the flange plate with a predetermined gap from each other. a plurality of ribs, which are formed by protruding upward from the product holding surface and have an overall triangular cross section; an elongated notch formed in a surface opposite the product-retaining surface in a direction, the elongated notch forming a breakable area, and the breakable area forming a gap between the elongated notch and the other edge; a gravity-fed shelf adapted to reduce the width of the web plate by separating a portion of the web plate from the web plate, the rails being molded from high impact polystyrene having a lubricious material dispersed therein; track of. 2. A rail for a gravity feed shelf according to claim 1, wherein the flange plate has a substantially T-shaped cross section.