DE29904104U1 - Shelf module as a folding element and shelf made from shelf modules - Google Patents

Description

Description: Shelving module as folding element and shelf made from shelving modules

Description

The invention relates to a shelf module with two side walls, with a rear wall and a front wall with openings, as well as a shelf consisting of such shelf modules.

Such shelves or shelf modules are used for storing or warehousing different products, e.g. as a sales shelf, sales display or similar presentation object for offering and selling the products contained therein.

The well-known shelf modules or shelves are often constructed in the form of a shelf system, with several compartments arranged next to and/or above each other to accommodate the respective products. To assemble them, the side walls are connected to front and/or rear walls or other connecting elements. However, in order to be able to accommodate a sufficient number of products in these shelves, the shelves or corresponding modules are constructed quite bulky. This means that transporting these shelves and storing them is complex, and the assembly or installation at the installation site is also quite complicated and time-consuming.

In contrast, the invention is based on the object of developing a shelf or a shelf module of the type mentioned at the beginning in such a way that simple storage or convenient transport and also quick and simple assembly or disassembly is possible.

According to the invention, this object is essentially achieved in that the side walls with front wall and rear wall, for example.

are permanently connected by gluing at the joints or other connecting means and the front wall and rear wall are each designed as a folding element.

These measures provide an extremely compact shelf module that can be accommodated in a very small space for transport or storage. To do this, the front and rear walls, which are designed as folding elements, are folded together in two layers so that the side walls lie close together only with a double-layered front or rear wall in between. To assemble the shelf module, the side walls are pulled apart so that the front and rear walls are moved from the folded position to the stretched position, with the shelf module now essentially forming the shape of a cuboid. Special assembly measures for connecting the side walls to the front or rear wall are not required, as these are permanently connected to one another even during transport or storage. While the shelf module in the folded position only has a thickness that corresponds to the sum of the thickness of the side walls and twice the thickness of the rear or front wall, the shelf module can be significantly increased in volume by pulling the side walls apart like an accordion and transferring the folded front or rear wall into the stretched state, thus providing a very large space for goods compared to the transport state.

In particular, it has proven to be advantageous that the front wall and/or the rear wall can each be folded at least one way along a bend or fold that runs essentially parallel to the longitudinal axis of the shelf module. This results in a symmetrical structure of the shelf module, so that handling during assembly and disassembly is further simplified. It goes without saying that if necessary.

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more than one folding or crease edge can be provided in the front and rear walls.

It has proven to be advantageous that the folding edge is arranged essentially centrally on the front wall and/or rear wall.

It is particularly advantageous if at least the front and rear walls, but preferably also the side walls, are made of cardboard, MDF (medium density fiber) boards or similar material. Such a shelf module, consisting of one or more of the specified materials, can be manufactured extremely cost-effectively, whereby in particular the openings, the bent or folded edges or other necessary means can be produced simply by punching or similar technical measures.

According to another advantageous development of the invention, the openings in the front wall are designed as a transverse slot, elongated hole or the like, so that the goods in the shelf module can be easily seen and removed through these openings. The openings or transverse slots preferably extend over essentially the entire width of the front wall and are preferably arranged adjacent to one another in the direction of the longitudinal axis.

It has proven to be advantageous that the openings are arranged essentially equidistant from one another. However, it is understood that in individual applications the distance between the openings can also take on different values.

It is particularly advantageous if the adjacent openings are delimited by crossbars or if crossbars are arranged between adjacent openings, whereby at least some, but preferably all, of the crossbars have a

preferably have a bend or fold edge arranged essentially in the middle, which runs essentially transversely to the longitudinal axis. By folding over, for example, the upper part of the crossbars, preferably into the interior of the shelf module, the shelf module is considerably stiffened, since after folding over, the crossbars are twice as thick and, after folding over the crossbars, the fold edge arranged in the crossbars, which is aligned essentially parallel to the longitudinal axis, comes to rest on top of one another with complementary fold angles in both layers of each crossbar along the transversely arranged fold edge. This also considerably stiffens the shelf module.

According to another advantageous development of the invention, the front and rear walls have tabs or the like formed on the longitudinal edges, which are glued to the side walls or permanently connected by other connecting means. On the one hand, this measure ensures a permanent and long-lasting connection of the walls, and on the other hand, a further folding edge can be provided between the tabs and the walls, which further simplifies the assembly and disassembly of the shelf module.

It has also proven to be advantageous that the rear wall has holding means corresponding to the openings or crossbars of the front wall, which serve to accommodate shelves or similar means for forming compartments in the shelf module.

In particular, it is advantageous that each holding means is designed as at least one transverse slot, whereby this transverse slot, but preferably two laterally adjacent transverse slots of the rear wall, are each assigned to an opening or a transverse web of the front wall. This makes it possible to insert into these transverse slots as well as onto the front

to place or attach a shelf, insert or similar onto a transversely arranged folding edge.

The transverse slots are arranged offset in height relative to the transversely arranged folding edges of the transverse webs in the direction of the longitudinal axis, so that the shelf, rack or similar can be arranged at an angle in the rack module. The shelf, rack or similar is preferably arranged at an angle downwards in the rack module towards the opening in the front wall, so that the goods in the respective compartment slide or slip under the influence of gravity in the direction of the opening in the front wall and can be easily removed from the compartment through the opening and visible to the customer.

The assembly and disassembly of the shelving module is further simplified by the fact that one or more shelves, compartments or similar can be detachably connected to the front and rear walls.

A shelf or similar essentially has an L-profile and can preferably be hooked onto the folding edge with a front bend and onto the cross slot(s) of the rear wall with at least one, preferably two rear extensions. For assembly, the shelf is simply inserted into the interior of the shelf module through the opening in the front, with the extensions attached to the rear area of the shelf engaging into the corresponding cross slots in the rear wall. In the front area at the free end of the L-leg, a bend or similar is provided, which is simply hooked onto the folding edge of the crosspiece.

It is also possible for the shelf to be assigned a compartment divider that can be inserted into the slots on the shelf and/or the rear wall. This measure allows several compartments to be created on one level or in the area of a shelf by inserting one or more compartment dividers.

formed so that the variety of products accommodated by the shelf module can be increased considerably. According to a further advantageous development of the invention, at least one side wall of the shelf module is designed as a double layer. This measure is particularly suitable for the outer side walls of the shelf module when several shelf modules are connected to form a shelf or shelf system. Adjacent side walls of different shelf modules are then designed as a single layer, while the outer walls of the shelf or shelf system are made of double-layer or multi-layer material.

It is also advisable for the shelf module to have means such as recesses, tabs, extensions or the like, preferably in the foot area on the side wall(s) and/or the rear wall or front wall, which correspond to corresponding means, for example, of a base on which the shelf module is arranged or placed. This secures the shelf module in its position on the base.

For further stabilization, but also for optical reasons, profile rails, preferably aluminum profiles, are preferably attached to at least the long edges of the shelf module, which may also be connected to the base via appropriate connecting means.

It is also advisable to attach samples of the goods contained in the areas formed by the shelf, crossbar and side or front and rear walls to the front wall or crossbars and/or to have the front wall of the base have a surface structure, e.g. a label. These measures further increase the attractiveness of the shelf module.

The invention also relates to a shelf consisting of shelf modules of the type described above arranged in a row.

Type, whereby the shelf modules with flush adjacent side walls are arranged next to each other and the front and/or rear long edges and/or upper transverse edges are surrounded by a profile rail. This measure makes it extremely easy to connect two or more shelf modules to each other, whereby the stability of the entire shelf is also increased by the profile rails arranged on the edges and the visual impression or attractiveness is improved.

It is advantageous that the outer side wall of the shelf modules positioned on the outside is designed as a double layer or multiple layer.

Further aims, advantages, features and possible applications of the present invention emerge from the following description of the embodiment based on the drawings. All described and/or illustrated features form the subject matter of the present invention on their own or in any meaningful combination, also depending on their summary in the claims or their reference back to them.

Show it:

Figure 1 shows an embodiment of a shelf module according to the invention in the folded state,

Figure 2 two shelf modules arranged next to each other, partially unfolded,

Figure 3 is an enlarged view of the head area of Figure 2,

Figure 4 shows the shelf modules of Figure 2, with a first cross section of the first shelf module already folded

and a first shelf is mounted,

Figure 5 an upper compartment of a shelf module with compartment division arranged therein and

Figure 6 shows a fully assembled shelf consisting of several shelf modules, which is arranged on a base.

The shelf module 10 shown in the figures has two side walls 12, 14, a rear wall 16 and a front wall 18 with openings 20. The side walls 12, 14 are permanently connected to the front wall 18 and rear wall 16, for example by gluing at the joints or other connecting means. The front wall 18 and rear wall 16 are each designed as a folding element. In particular, the front wall and the rear wall 16 can each be folded at least around a bend or fold edge 22, 24 running parallel to the longitudinal axis 21 of the shelf module 10. The fold edges 22 run essentially in the middle of the front and rear walls 16, 18.

The front and rear walls 16, 18, but preferably also the side walls 12, 14, are made of cardboard, paperboard, MDF boards (medium density fiber) or similar material.

The openings 20 of the front wall are designed as a transverse slot 26, an elongated hole or the like and preferably extend essentially over the entire width of the front wall 18. In the direction of the longitudinal axis 21, the transverse slots 26 or the like are arranged adjacent to one another.

In the exemplary embodiment, the openings 20 are also arranged essentially equidistant from one another, but depending on the type and size of the goods to be offered, unevenly distributed arrangements of the openings 20 can also be provided.

The openings 20 are delimited by transverse webs 28 or transverse webs 28 are arranged between the openings 20, whereby at least some, preferably all, of the transverse webs 28 have a bent or folded edge 30. This folded edge 30 is arranged essentially transversely to the longitudinal axis 21 and preferably runs approximately centrally in the transverse web 28.

Furthermore, the front and rear walls 16, 18 have molded tabs 3, 4 or the like on the longitudinal edges 32 or at the abutments to the side walls 12, 14, which are glued or otherwise connected to the side walls 12, 14.

The rear wall 16 has holding means corresponding to the openings 20 or crosspieces 28 of the front wall 18. Each holding means is designed as at least one cross slot 36, wherein preferably two laterally adjacent cross slots 36 of the rear wall 16 are each assigned to an opening or a crosspiece 28 of the front wall 18. The cross slots 36 are arranged offset in height with respect to the folding edges 30 of the crosspieces 28 in the direction of the longitudinal axis 21.

Furthermore, one or more shelves 38 can be detachably connected to the front and rear walls 16, 18. A shelf 38 has essentially an L-profile and can preferably be hung or fastened with an angle 40 on the folding edge 30 and with at least one, preferably two rear extensions on the transverse slot(s) 36 of the rear wall 16. The shelf 38 is assigned a compartment division 42, which can be inserted into receptacles on the shelf 38 and/or the rear wall 16.

At least one side wall 12, 14 of the shelf module 10 is designed as a double layer 44.

Preferably in the foot area 4 6 on the side wall(s) 12, and/or the rear wall 16 or front wall 18 are means such as

Recesses 48, tabs, extensions or the like are provided which correspond to corresponding means of a base 50 on which the shelf module is arranged or positioned.

Profile rails 54, preferably aluminum profiles, are attached to the longitudinal edges 52 of the shelf module 10 and can also be connected to the base 50 if necessary.

Samples 56 of the goods contained in the compartments 58 formed by the shelf 38, crossbar 28 and side or front and rear walls 12, 14, 18 are attached to the front wall 18 or to the crossbars 28. It is also possible for the front wall of the base 50 to have a surface structure 60, e.g. a label.

The shelf 62 specifically shown in Figure 6 consists of several shelf modules 10 arranged in a row, whereby the shelf modules 10 are arranged laterally adjacent with flush side walls 12, 14 and the front and/or rear longitudinal edges 52 and/or upper transverse edges 64 of adjacent side walls 12, 14 are surrounded by a profile rail 54. In the case of the shelf modules 10 positioned on the outside, the outer side walls 12, 14 are designed as a double layer 44.

The following figures describe the assembly of a shelf module 10 or shelf 62:

The shelf module(s) 10 are delivered in a folded state as shown in Figure 1 as a compact package, so that considerable transport and storage capacities can be saved due to the small dimensions.

To assemble the shelf module 10, the upright package is first pulled apart as shown in Figure 2, so that the rear wall 16 and front wall along the folding edges 22, 24

unfold. In this state according to Figure 2, the shelf module 10 already has such stability that additional measures for stabilizing the shelf module 10 are unnecessary and it can already be positioned free-standing on the floor or on a base 50.

The crossbars 28 are then doubled in the area of the folding edges 30, whereby in particular the upper part of the crossbar 28 is folded inwards by 180° and thus the crossbar is stiffened in the direction of the longitudinal axis 21 despite the existing folding edge 24.

The further and main stabilization of the shelf module 10 is achieved by inserting or hanging shelves 38, as can be seen, for example, in Figures 4 and 5. Figure 5 also shows a compartment division 40 with which a compartment 58 can be divided into two, for example.

For further stabilization, for example, the longitudinal edges 52 of the side walls 12, 14 or the visible transverse edges can be covered with profile rails 54.

Figure 6 shows a complete shelf 62, consisting of four shelf modules 10. The individual shelf modules are connected to one another via profile rails arranged on the longitudinal edges 52 or transverse edges 64. The entire shelf 62 is positioned on a base 50, which can have a surface structure 60 or labeling that indicates the company or the goods. The transverse webs 28 can be equipped with product samples from the associated compartments 58.

Overall, the shelf 62 or the shelf module 10 according to the invention provides a system with which storage and transport capacities can be saved to a considerable extent. Nevertheless, the shelf 62 or the shelf module 10 are extremely easy to assemble or disassemble, whereby the system

has considerable stability, even though it is made of relatively soft materials such as cardboard, paperboard or similar.

13 Reference symbols:

10 Shelf module 12 Side wall 14 Side wall 16 Rear wall 18 Front wall

20 Breakthrough

21 Long side

22 Folding edge 24 Folding edge 26 Cross slot 28 Cross bar 30 Folding edge 32 Longitudinal edge 34 Tab 36 Cross slot 38 Shelf 40 Angle 42 Compartment division 44 Double layer 4 6 Foot area 4 8 Recess 50 Base 52 Longitudinal edge 54 Profile rail 56 Pattern 58 Compartment

60 Surface structure 62 Shelf

64 Cross edge

Claims (20)

• · 14 Protection claims: 1. Shelf module (10) with two side walls (12, 14) with a rear wall (16) and a front wall (18) having openings (20), characterized in that the side walls (12, 14) are permanently connected to the front wall (18) and rear wall (16), for example by gluing at the joints or other connecting means, and the front wall (18) and rear wall (16) are each designed as a folding element. 2. Shelf module according to claim 1, characterized in that the front wall (18) and the rear wall (16) can each be folded at least about a bend or folding edge (22, 24) running essentially parallel to the longitudinal axis (21) of the shelf module (10). 3. Shelf module according to claim 2, characterized in that the folding edge (22, 24) is arranged substantially centrally on the front or rear wall (16, 18). 4. Shelf module according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that at least the front and rear walls (16, 18), preferably also the side walls (12, 14) consist of cardboard, paperboard, MDF boards (medium density fiber) or similar material. 5. Shelf module according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the openings (20) of the front wall (18) are designed as a transverse slot (26), elongated hole or the like, which preferably extend essentially over the entire width of the front wall (18) and are preferably arranged adjacent to one another in the direction of the longitudinal axis (21). 6. Shelf module according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the openings (20) are arranged substantially equidistant from one another. 7. Shelving device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the openings (20) are delimited by transverse webs (28) or these transverse webs (28) are arranged between the openings (20), wherein at least a part, preferably all, of the transverse webs (28) have a preferably essentially centrally arranged bend or fold edge (3 0) which runs essentially transversely to the longitudinal axis (21). 8. Shelf module according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the front and rear walls (16, 18) have molded tabs (34) or the like on the longitudinal edges (32) or joints, which are glued or connected to the side walls (12, 14). 9. Shelf module according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the rear wall (16) has holding means corresponding to the openings (20) or transverse webs (28) of the front wall (18). 10. Shelf module according to claim 9, characterized in that each holding means is designed as at least one transverse slot (36), whereby preferably two laterally adjacent transverse slots (36) of the rear wall (16) are each assigned to an opening (20) or a transverse web (28) of the front wall (18). 11. Shelf module according to one of claims 9 or 10, characterized in that the transverse slots (36) are arranged offset in height with respect to the folding edge (30) of the transverse webs (28) in the direction of the longitudinal axis (21). 12. Shelving module according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that one or more shelves (38) are detachably connected to the front and rear walls (16, 18). 13. Shelf module according to claim 12, characterized in that a shelf (38) has a substantially L-profile and can be suspended preferably with a bend (40) on the folding edge (30) and with at least one, preferably two rear extensions on the transverse slot or slots (36) of the rear wall (16). 14. Shelf module according to one of claims 12 or 13, characterized in that the shelf (38) is assigned a compartment division (42) which can be inserted into receptacles on the shelf (38) and/or the rear wall (16). 15. Shelf module according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that at least one side wall (12, 14) is designed as a double layer (44). 16. Shelf module according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that means such as recesses (48), tabs, extensions or the like are preferably provided in the foot area (46) on the side wall(s) (12, 14) and/or the rear wall (16) or front wall (18), which correspond to corresponding means of a base (50) on which the shelf module (10) is arranged. 17. Shelf module according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that profile rails (54), preferably aluminum profiles, are attached to the longitudinal edges (52) of the shelf module (10), which are optionally also connected to the base (50). 18. Shelf module according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that on the front wall (18) or on the Crossbars (28) are used to fasten patterns (56) of the goods contained in the compartments (58) formed by the shelf (38), crossbar (28) and side or front and rear walls (12, 14, 16, 18) and/or the front wall of the base (50) has a surface structure (60), e.g. a label. 19. Shelf (62) consisting of shelf modules (10) arranged in a row according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the shelf modules (10) are arranged laterally adjacent with flush side walls (12, 14) and the front and/or rear longitudinal edges (52) and/or upper transverse edges (64) of adjacent side walls (12, 14) are surrounded by a profile rail (54). 20. Shelf according to claim 19, characterized in that in the case of the shelf modules positioned on the outside, the outer side wall (12, 14) is designed as a double layer (44).