Fold-out shelving unit made of cardboard or a similar material

Abstract

The fold-out shelving unit comprises a rear panel (1), side panels (2) movable between a folded position, wherein said panels are coplanar, and an expanded position, wherein the side panels (2) are perpendicular to the rear panel (1), a moving support panel (3) extending from one to the other of the side panels (2) and a shelf panel (4) foldable over the rear panel (1). The support panel (3) and the shelf panel (4) are cinematically linked to one another and to the side panels (2) by first and second cinematic linking means so that the support panel (3) gets closer and away parallel to the rear panel (1) and the shelf panel (4) pivots relative to the rear panel (1) when the side panels (2) move between the folded position and the expanded position.

Description

FIELD OF THE ART[0001]The present invention relates to fold-out shelving unit made of cardboard or a similar material, such as corrugated cardboard, corrugated plastic, lightweight cardboard, etc. The fold-out shelving unit of the present invention is useful, for instance, as a sales stand to display goods at a sales point and, therefore, it comprises one or more shelves capable of holding up goods, including relatively heavy articles, such as books, preserve tins or jars, bottles, etc.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0002]International patent application WO-A-2009037368 describes a self-expanding, foldable structure for a shelved sales stand, made of cardboard or a similar material, that comprises a main piece defining a rear panel and side panels hingedly attached to side edges opposite said rear panel, wherein the side panels can be moved between a folded position, wherein said side panels and the rear panel are substantially parallel or coplanar, and an expanded position, wherein the...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0013]Optionally, one or more elastic members, such as annular rubber bands, are arranged to push the rear, side and support panels towards the expanded position and keep them therein. Thus, thanks to the elastic member or members, the fold-out shelving unit is self-expanding, since it is automatically expanded from the folded position to the expanded position, whereas the folding from the expanded position to the folded position is carried out manually against the force of the elastic members. Alternatively, since the panels are cinematically linked, the expansion and the folding can be carried out manually with ease, and alternative retention means, elastic or otherwise, can be used to keep them in the expanded position.

Problems solved by technology

One drawback of the linking panels described in said international patent application WO-A-2009037368 is that, in the expanded position, they only support the shelf panels by their side edges, and this entails the risk of the shelf panels sagging or failing under the weight of the articles arranged on top, unless the shelf panels are made of the substantially stiff material or their front edges are reinforced with fins or folds that add complexity to the structure.

One drawback of said U.S. Pat. No. 6,715,623 is that it does not comprise a cinematic linkage between the panels embedded in the main piece and the shelf panels, so that, in order to move the shelving unit from the expanded position to the folded position, it is necessary, firstly, to individually fold the shelf panels and keep them in the folded position before the side and support panels can be folded.

In addition, this makes it impossible or fairly complex to incorporate elastic members arranged to push the shelving unit towards the expanded position so that the fold-out shelving unit is self-expanding.

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