Merchandise display shelf
The product display shelf addresses inefficiencies in existing systems by automating the creation of replenishment spaces through a single forward movement of the shelf board, using a magnet-connected drawer member and spiral spring for efficient product movement, enhancing operational efficiency and reducing manual intervention.
Patent Information
- Application Number
- JP2023109720
- Authority / Receiving Office
- JP · JP
- Patent Type
- Applications
- Current Assignee / Owner
- Filing Date
- 2023-07-04
- Publication Date
- 2025-01-17
AI Technical Summary
Existing product display shelves require inefficient double movements of the movable shelf board to create a replenishment space, and manual operation of levers for product movement, complicating the replenishment process, especially for perishable items.
A product display shelf with a movable shelf board supported by a shelf support, a product pushing member, a rearward biasing means, and a front drawer member connected via a magnet, allowing automatic creation of a replenishment space by a single forward movement of the shelf board, utilizing a spiral spring for backward movement of the pushing member.
Efficiently creates a replenishment space with automatic product movement, reducing manual effort and interference, while allowing seamless operation on existing shelves with a compact and cost-effective design.
Smart Images

Figure 2025007947000001_ABST
Abstract
Description
[Technical field]
[0001] The present invention relates to a product display shelf used for displaying products in, for example, a store or the like.
[0002] Stores such as supermarkets and convenience stores use product display shelves that display products on multiple shelves. When the remaining quantity of products on a shelf becomes low, it is necessary to replenish the products, but when replenishing the products on the lower shelf to be replenished, the shelf above it may get in the way of the replenishing work. One display shelf that solves this problem is a sliding shelf device in which the shelves are supported so that they can slide forward (see, for example, Patent Document 1), and the replenishing work of products can be easily carried out by sliding the shelf to be replenished forward.
[0003] However, even when such a sliding shelf device is used, since displayed products are sold from the front of the shelf, it is necessary to move the products at the back to the front of the shelf and replenish the replenishment space formed at the rear with new products. Also, since food and beverages have expiration dates, it is necessary to move products with an approaching expiration date to the front of the shelf and replenish the rear of the shelf with new products.
[0004] For example, Patent Document 2 describes a product pushing display shelf in which a push-out member is provided on the upper surface of a movable shelf so that it can be moved in the forward and backward directions; by moving the push-out member forward, products at the back of the shelf can be moved to the front of the shelf, allowing new products to be replenished in the replenishment space formed behind the shelf. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]
[0005] [Patent Document 1] JP 2023-33885 A (Page 5, Figure 1) [Patent Document 2] JP 2021-108801 A (Page 7, Figure 5) Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]
[0006] However, in the display shelf described in Patent Document 2, the movable shelf must be moved forward twice to form a restocking space behind the shelf. That is, the first forward movement of the movable shelf once pushes the product at the back to the front side of the movable shelf by the push-out member, and then the push-out member is returned to the rear together with the movable shelf, and the second forward movement of the movable shelf forms a restocking space behind the product that has been moved to the front side. Therefore, in order to complete the restocking work of the product, the movable shelf must be moved back and forth twice, which is a problem in that the restocking work cannot be performed efficiently. Patent Document 2 also discloses a configuration in which the product is moved forward together with the push-out member by operating a lever, but there is the inconvenience of having to manually operate the lever each time.
[0007] To provide a product display shelf that has been made with a view to solving such problems and that automatically forms a product replenishing space when a movable shelf is moved forward, thereby enabling the product replenishing work to be carried out efficiently. [Means for solving the problem]
[0008] In order to solve the above problems, the product display shelf of the present invention comprises: The device comprises a movable shelf supported on a shelf support so as to be movable in a forward and backward direction, a product pushing member which moves forward on the movable shelf and can push products forward, a rearward biasing means which constantly biases the product pushing member rearward, and a front pull-out member of the product pushing member which extends forward from the product pushing member and is folded back rearward at the front of the movable shelf to be connected to the shelf support, the front pull-out member having a connecting portion which is disconnected from the shelf support when a force greater than a predetermined value is applied due to the forward movement of the movable shelf. According to this feature, when the movable shelf is moved forward, the product pushing member is pulled forward by the front drawer member, and products remaining on the rear side of the movable shelf are automatically pushed forward. Also, when the movable shelf and the product pushing member move forward, a force acting on the front drawer member releases the connection, and the product pushing member is moved rearward by the rearward biasing means, and a product replenishment space is automatically formed in front of the product pushing member. This allows the efficient replenishment of products in the replenishment space.
[0009] The front drawer member is characterized in that it is a flexible string-like member that is folded back rearward below the front portion of the movable shelf plate. According to this feature, even if the front drawer member is folded back backward at the front of the movable shelf, the flexible string-like member passes smoothly through the front of the movable shelf, so the product push-out member can be moved reliably in the front-rear direction. Also, because the string-like member is folded back backward below the movable shelf, it does not get in the way when removing or replenishing products.
[0010] The connecting portion is composed of a magnet attached to the free end of the folded portion of the front drawer member and a connecting member made of a magnetic material that connects the left and right brackets of the shelf support below the movable shelf, and is characterized in that the magnet is attracted to the connecting member, thereby connecting the front drawer member to the shelf support, and the connection between the front drawer member and the shelf support is released when the magnet moves away from the connecting member. According to this feature, the structure of the connecting portion is simple, which contributes to reducing costs.
[0011] The rearward biasing means is characterized by comprising a spiral spring attached to the product push-out member and a connecting member extending rearward from the outer diameter side free end of the spiral spring and having a rear end connected to the rear portion of the movable shelf plate. According to this feature, the rear biasing means can be stored compactly without being largely exposed on the movable shelf board, thereby saving space.
[0012] The product further includes a base plate that can be attached to the upper surface of the movable shelf plate and supports the product pushing member so that the product pushing member can be moved in the forward and backward directions, and a unitized product pushing body is formed by the base plate, the product pushing member, the rearward biasing means and the front pull-out member. According to this feature, the unitized product pressing body can be mounted on a product display shelf simply by attaching the base plate to the movable shelf, so that the product pressing body can be easily mounted on an existing product display shelf with almost no processing required. [Brief description of the drawings]
[0013] [Figure 1] 1 is a perspective view of a product display shelf according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is an enlarged perspective view of a unitized product pressing body. [Diagram 3] FIG. 2 is an enlarged perspective view of the rear side of the product pressing body as viewed from behind. [Figure 4] 13 is a side view showing a state in which the product pushing member is located at the rearmost position before the movable shelf plate is pulled out. FIG. [Diagram 5] 13 is a side view showing a state in which the movable shelf plate has moved forward and the product pushing member has moved to the vicinity of the middle portion. FIG. [Figure 6] 13 is a side view showing a state in which the movable shelf and the product pushing member have moved to near their front limits and the connection between the product pull-out member and the connecting member has been released. FIG. [Figure 7] 7 is a side view showing a state in which the product pushing member in the state shown in FIG. 6 has been moved to a rearward limit position by a rearward biasing means, and a refill space has been formed in front of the product pushing member. FIG. [Figure 8] FIG. 13 is a side view showing a modified example of the connecting portion of the front drawing member. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0014] DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A product display shelf according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the following examples. EXAMPLES
[0015] A product display shelf according to an embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 1 to Fig. 7. The product display shelf 1 is used to display products in stores such as supermarkets and convenience stores, and as shown in Fig. 1, includes a pair of support posts 2, 2 spaced apart from each other on the left and right, horizontal connecting rods 3, 3 connecting the opposing surfaces of the upper and lower ends of both support posts 2, a back panel 4 fitted into an internal space surrounded by the support posts 2, 2 and the upper and lower horizontal connecting rods 3, 3, and a shelf body 5 with multiple upper and lower stages. The left and right support posts 2, 2 are made self-supporting by fixing leg rods 6, 6 facing forward to their lower ends. The shelf body 5 is composed of a movable shelf board 51 and a shelf support frame 52 for supporting it.
[0016] A number of locking holes 7 are vertically arranged at regular intervals on the front surface of the posts 2, 2, and a pair of left and right metal brackets 8, 8 for supporting the shelf body 5 are detachably attached to the locking holes 7 at the same height on the left and right. The front ends of the brackets 8, 8 are connected to each other by a connecting member 13 (see FIG. 4) facing in the left and right directions, which will be described later. The posts 2, 2, horizontal connecting rods 3, 3, rear panel 4, leg rods 6, 6, brackets 8, 8 and connecting member 13 constitute a shelf support body in this embodiment. In this way, the shelf support body directly or indirectly supports the movable shelf 51 and does not move.
[0017] The shelf support frame 52 is made up of a pair of left and right side movable frames 52a, 52a facing the front-rear direction and fitted onto the upper ends of the left and right brackets 8 so as to be movable in the front-rear direction, and a connecting frame (not shown) facing the left and right direction connecting the front parts of the left and right side movable frames 52a, and the movable shelf 51 can move in the front-rear direction integrally with the shelf support frame 52 while being supported by the shelf support frame 52. Note that instead of using such a shelf support frame 52, for example, a slide rail consisting of a two-stage movable rail may be attached to the left and right brackets 8, and the left and right slide rails may support the movable shelf 51 so as to be movable in the front-rear direction.
[0018] The commodity pressing body 10, which is a unit formed by previously assembling a number of components, is removably attached to the upper surface of the movable shelf board 51. Note that in the embodiment, for convenience, an example is shown in which only one commodity pressing body 10 is attached to the movable shelf board 51 on the middle level, but when implemented in a store, multiple commodity pressing bodies 10 are attached side by side in the left-right direction to the movable shelf board 51 on each level.
[0019] As shown in Figures 2 and 3, the product pressing body 10 comprises a base plate 101 for placing products, the base plate 101 having a front-to-rear dimension approximately the same as that of the movable shelf 51, a product pushing member 102 supported by the base plate 101 so as to be movable in the front-to-rear direction, a front pull-out member 103 extending forward from the product pushing member 102, and a spiral spring (power spring) 104 attached to the product pushing member 102 as a rearward biasing means for constantly biasing the product pushing member 102 rearward.
[0020] The base plate 101 is made of, for example, polyacetal resin with low friction resistance, and a fence 105 for preventing products from falling is provided on the upper surface of the front end. A fence may be provided on the front end of the movable shelf 51. On both the left and right side surfaces of the base plate 101, groove-shaped guide portions 101a, 101a that are continuous in the front-rear direction are formed. A through hole 101b for the front drawer member 103 is formed in the center in the left-right direction of the front end of the base plate 101. In addition, on the left and right side edges of the front and rear ends of the base plate 101, two screw insertion holes 101c, 101c are formed each for inserting screws for attaching the base plate 101 to the upper surface of the movable shelf 51.
[0021] The product push-out member 102 comprises a front plate 102a facing in the vertical direction, side plates 102b, 102b extending rearward from both the left and right edges of the front plate 102a with their rear edges excluding the lower half end inclined diagonally forward and upward when viewed from the side in Figure 3, a bottom plate 102c (see Figure 3), and guided portions 102e, 102e extending outward from the lower ends of the left and right side plates 102b, 102b and having inward fitting portions 102d, 102d at their lower ends that slidably fit into guide portions 101a, 101a of the base plate 101, and the entire member is molded as a single unit from a synthetic resin, for example.
[0022] The front withdrawal member 103 comprises a flexible string-like member such as a leash cord and a magnet 11 described later, and its rear end is connected to a protrusion 102f protruding from the center in the left-right direction of the front of the lower end of the front plate 102a. The front end of the front withdrawal member 103 is drawn downward through the through hole 101b described above, and the magnet 11 is connected to its free end. In addition, a long recessed groove that opens upward in the front-rear direction and continues to the through hole 101b may be formed in the center in the left-right direction of the upper surface of the base plate 101, and the front withdrawal member 103 may be accommodated in this recessed groove. In this way, it is possible to prevent the product placed on the base plate 101 from coming into contact with the front withdrawal member 103.
[0023] When the commodity pressing body 10 is attached to the movable shelf 51, the magnet 11 can be pulled downward together with the front drawer member 103 from an opening (not shown) formed in the front part of the movable shelf 51. The front drawer member 103 pulled downward from the front part of the base plate 101 and the movable shelf 51 is folded back backward, and the magnet 11 connected to its free end (rear end) can be attracted to the connecting member 13 made of a magnetic material (e.g., steel material) that connects the front ends of the left and right brackets 8 as shown in FIG. 4, and when attracted, the front drawer member 103 is connected to the connecting member 13. When the magnet 11 is separated from the connecting member 13, the connection between the front drawer member 103 and the connecting member 13 is released. The magnet 11 and the connecting member 13 constitute the connecting portion in this embodiment.
[0024] As shown in Fig. 3, the spiral spring 104 is housed in a space on the back side of the product pushing member 102, and its free end in the center is fixed to a support shaft 14 whose both ends are press-fitted into the left and right side plates 102b, 102b. A front end of a connecting member 15 made of a strip-shaped thin steel plate or the like and extending rearward is fixed to the free end on the outer diameter side of the spiral spring 104, and the rear end of this connecting member 15 is screwed to the upper surface of the rear end of the base plate 101. The spiral spring 104 is spirally wound clockwise from the center to the outer diameter side in side view in Fig. 3, and is positioned at the rear end of the base plate 101 by constantly biasing the product pushing member 102 rearward.
[0025] Next, a method of pushing out products and forming a refill space using the product pushing body 10 of this embodiment will be described with reference to Figs. 4 to 7. Fig. 4 shows a state in which products placed on the front side of the base plate 101 are sold and reduced in a usage state in which the movable shelf board 51 is located at the rear end. In this case, the product pushing member 102 is located at the rear end of the base plate 101 by the biasing force of the spiral spring 104, so that the products S remaining on the rear side of the base plate 101 are not pushed forward by the product pushing member 102. Also, in the state of Fig. 4, the front drawing member 103 drawn downward from the front of the base plate 101 and the movable shelf board 51 is folded back toward the rear with the opening at the front of the movable shelf board 51 as a fulcrum, and the magnet 11 attached to the free end is attracted to the connecting member 13 of the bracket 8. As a result, the front drawing member 103 is connected to the connecting member 13 which is a part of the constituent member of the shelf board support body.
[0026] As shown in FIG. 5, when the base plate 101 is moved forward together with the movable shelf plate 51, the product push-out member 102 is pulled forward by the front pull-out member 103 connected to the connecting member 13 against the biasing force of the spiral spring 104, and the product S remaining on the rear side of the base plate 101 is pushed forward.
[0027] As shown in Fig. 6, when the base plate 101 is further moved to the front limit together with the movable shelf plate 51 with the foremost product S in contact with the fence 105, the front drawer member 103 is pulled forward and the tension applied to the front drawer member 103 exceeds the magnetic force of the magnet 11, so that the magnet 11 is separated from the connecting member 13 and the connection between the front drawer member 103 and the connecting member 13 is released. As a result, as shown in Fig. 7, the product pushing member 102 is returned to the original position near the rear limit by the biasing force of the spiral spring 104, and a replenishment space H for the product S is automatically formed in front of the product pushing member 102. This makes it easy to replenish the product S in the replenishment space H with the movable shelf plate 51 and the base plate 101 moved forward. After replenishing the product S, the base plate 101 is moved to the rear limit position together with the movable shelf plate 51, and the magnet 11 is attracted to the connecting member 13 again.
[0028] As described above, in the product display shelf 1 according to the embodiment, the products S remaining on the rear side of the base plate 101 can be automatically pushed forward simply by moving the base plate 101 forward together with the movable shelf board 51. Furthermore, when the base plate 101 and the product pushing member 102 are moved forward, the spiral spring 104 moves the product pushing member 102 backward, and a replenishment space H for the products S is automatically formed in front of it, so that the work of replenishing the products S in the replenishment space H can be efficiently performed. Note that the replenishing work is performed with the movable shelf board 51 moved forward, so that the upper movable shelf board 51 does not hinder the replenishing work.
[0029] In addition, because a flexible string-like member is used for the front drawer member 103, even if the front drawer member 103 is folded back backward using the through-hole 101b of the base plate 101 and the opening of the movable shelf board 51 as fulcrums, the string-like member can pass through the through-hole 101b and the opening smoothly, and the product push-out member 102 can be moved reliably in the front-rear direction. Moreover, because the front drawer member 103 is folded back backward below the movable shelf board 51, it does not get in the way when removing or replenishing the products S.
[0030] Furthermore, the connecting part which releases the connection between the front drawer member 103 and the shelf support body is composed of a magnet 11 connected to the free end of the front drawer member 103 and a connecting member 13 made of a magnetic material which connects the front ends of the left and right brackets 8 together, thereby simplifying the configuration of the connecting part and reducing costs.
[0031] Furthermore, a spiral spring 104 is used as a backward biasing means for constantly biasing the product pushing member 102 backward, and this spiral spring 104 is housed in the space of the product pushing member 102, so that the backward biasing means can be stored compactly without being largely exposed on the base plate 101, thereby saving space.
[0032] Furthermore, the product pushing member 102 is supported by a base plate 101 that can be attached to the upper surface of the movable shelf board 51 so as to be movable in the front-rear direction, and the unitized product pressing body 10 is formed by the base plate 101, the product pushing member 102, the spiral spring 104, and the front pull-out member 103, so that the unitized product pressing body 10 can be attached to a product display shelf simply by attaching the base plate 101 to the movable shelf board 51. Therefore, the product pressing body 10 can be easily attached to an existing product display shelf with almost no processing.
[0033] Although an embodiment of the present invention has been described above with reference to the drawings, the specific configuration is not limited to the embodiment, and additions and modifications that do not deviate from the gist of the present invention are also included in the present invention.
[0034] For example, in the above embodiment, the product pushing member 102 is supported by the base plate 101 so as to be movable in the front-rear direction, and the unitized product pressing body 10 is attached to the movable shelf plate 51, but the base plate 101 may be omitted and the product pushing member 102 may be attached directly to the upper surface of the movable shelf plate 51. In this case, the movable shelf plate 51 may be provided with a guide portion for moving the product pushing member 102 in the front-rear direction.
[0035] In the above embodiment, the spiral spring 104 is used as the rearward biasing means for constantly biasing the product pushing member 102 rearward, but it is also possible to use a rearward biasing means such as a tension coil spring or rubber.
[0036] Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the connecting portion for releasing the connection between the front drawer member 103 and the shelf support body is composed of a magnet 11 provided at the free end of the front drawer member 103 and a connecting member 13 made of a magnetic material that connects the front ends of the left and right brackets 8 together, but it may also be composed of a magnetic material provided at the free end of the front drawer member 103 and a connecting member made of a magnet that connects the front ends of the left and right brackets 8 together.
[0037] Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the connecting portion for releasing the connection between the front drawer member 103 and the shelf support body is composed of a magnet 11 provided at the free end of the front drawer member 103 and a connecting member 13 made of a magnetic material that connects the front ends of the left and right brackets 8 together. However, as shown in FIG. 8, for example, the connecting portion may be composed of a hook 16 made of a flexible spring plate (which may be a resin plate) fixed to the connecting member 13, and a loop portion 17 that engages with the hook 16 formed at the free end of the front drawer member 103, so that when the front drawer member 103 is pulled forward, the hook 16 elastically deforms forward and the loop portion 17 comes off.
[0038] In addition, the front drawer member 103 is configured to pass through the through hole 101b and the opening and be folded back backward, but it may also be configured to be folded back downward at the front end of the movable shelf 51 without providing an opening, and furthermore, it may be configured to be folded back at the front end of the front drawer member 103 without providing the through hole 101b.
[0039] Furthermore, the configuration of the product display shelf is not limited to that of the above embodiment, but may be, for example, a freezer or refrigerator showcase, or may be composed of shelf posts that can be fixed to a wall surface, brackets that can be engaged with the shelf posts, and shelf boards.
[0040] In addition, in the above embodiment, the base plate 101 of the product pressing body 10 is described as being attached to the movable shelf plate 51 by screw fixing, but this is not limited to this, and other attachment means such as a magnet or engagement with the front part of the movable shelf plate 51 may also be used. [Explanation of symbols]
[0041] 1 Product display shelf 2 pillars 3 horizontal connecting rod 4 Rear Panel 5 shelf 6 leg rods 7 Locking hole 8 Bracket 10 Product presser 11 Magnet (connection part) 13 Connecting member (connecting part) 14 Rotational Axis 15 Connection parts 16 Hook 17 Loop section 51 Shelf 52 Shelf support frame 52a Side movable frame 101 Substrate 101a Guide part 101b Through hole 101c Screw insertion hole 102 Product extrusion parts 102a Front panel 102b side plate 102c bottom plate 102d Inward fitting part 102e Guided part 102f protrusion 103 Front drawer member 104 Spiral spring (rear biasing means) 105 Fence H Refill Space
Claims
1. a product push-out member that moves forward on the movable shelf and can push products forward; a rearward biasing means that constantly biases the product push-out member rearward; and a front pull-out member of the product push-out member that extends forward from the product push-out member and is folded back rearward at the front of the movable shelf and connected to the shelf support, wherein the front pull-out member has a connecting portion that is disconnected from the shelf support when a force greater than a predetermined value is applied due to the forward movement of the movable shelf.
2. 2. The product display shelf according to claim 1, wherein the front pull-out member is a flexible string-like member folded backward below the front portion of the movable shelf board.
3. The product display shelf of claim 1, characterized in that the connecting portion is composed of a magnet attached to the free end of the folded portion of the front drawer member and a connecting member made of a magnetic material that connects the left and right brackets of the shelf support below the movable shelf, and the front drawer member is connected to the shelf support when the magnet is attracted to the connecting member, and the connection between the front drawer member and the shelf support is released when the magnet moves away from the connecting member.
4. 2. The product display shelf according to claim 1, wherein the rearward biasing means comprises a spiral spring attached to the product pushing member and a connecting member extending rearward from the outer diameter side free end of the spiral spring and having a rear end connected to the rear portion of the movable shelf plate.
5. A product display shelf as described in any one of claims 1 to 4, further comprising a base plate that can be attached to the upper surface of the movable shelf plate and supports the product pushing member so that the product pushing member can be moved in the forward and backward directions, and a product pushing body is formed as a unit by the base plate, the product pushing member, the rearward biasing means and the front pull-out member.
Citation Information
Patent Citations
Commodity extrusion display shelf
JP2021108801A
Slide type shelf device
JP2023033885A