Merchandise display shelf

Abstract

To provide a merchandise display shelf on which a replenishment space can be automatically formed when a mobile shelf board is moved forward so that merchandise replenishment work can be efficiently performed.SOLUTION: A merchandise display shelf comprises: a mobile shelf board 51 supported movably in a front and rear direction by a shelf board support body; a merchandise pushing member 102 that is supported movably in the front and rear direction by a base plate 101, which can be mounted on an upper surface of the mobile shelf board 51, to enable pushing merchandise forward; forward biasing means 103 for always biasing the merchandise pushing member 102 forward; and forward movement regulation means 104 for regulating forward movement of the merchandise pushing member 102 when the mobile shelf board 51 moves forward by a certain quantity.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

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. [Background technology]

[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] To facilitate these operations, for example, Patent Document 2 describes a product forward-pushing device in which an automatic product presser capable of pushing products forward is provided on a base on which the products are placed so as to always move forward, and a manual presser is provided behind the automatic product presser which can be manually operated to move the automatic product presser forward, so that when there are fewer products displayed on the front side of the shelf, the products at the rear are pushed forward automatically by the automatic product presser, or by operation of the manual presser. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0005] [Patent Document 1] JP 2023-33885 A (Page 5, Figure 1) [Patent Document 2] Patent No. 4931817 (page 5, figure 1) Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0006] However, when the product advance device described in Patent Document 2 is attached to a movable shelf board that can be moved forward in a product display shelf, the following problem occurs. That is, when forming a refill space behind the movable shelf board, it is necessary to move the automatic product presser backward after the movable shelf board is moved to near the front limit or during the forward movement, but there is no means for moving the automatic product presser backward. Therefore, it is necessary to manually move the automatic product presser backward against the biasing means and form a refill space in front of the automatic product presser while maintaining that state, which causes a problem that the refill work cannot be performed efficiently.

[0007] To solve such problems, the present invention aims to provide a product display shelf that can automatically form a replenishment space when a movable shelf is moved forward, thereby enabling efficient replenishment of products. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] In order to solve the above problems, the product display shelf of the present invention comprises: The device is characterized by comprising a movable shelf supported on a shelf support so as to be movable in the forward and backward directions, a product pushing member which moves forward on the movable shelf and can push products forward, a forward biasing means which constantly biases the product pushing member forward, and a forward movement restricting means which restricts the forward movement of the product pushing member when the movable shelf moves forward a certain amount. According to this feature, when the products displayed on the front side of the movable shelf are sold out, the products on the rear side are automatically pushed forward by the product pushing member that is constantly biased forward, eliminating the need to move the products on the rear side to the front. Also, when the movable shelf moves forward a certain amount, the forward movement of the product pushing member is restricted, and a product replenishment space is automatically formed in front of the product pushing member, allowing the product replenishment space to be replenished efficiently.

[0009] The forward biasing means is characterized by having a spiral spring attached to the product pushing member. According to this feature, the forward biasing means can be stored compactly without being largely exposed on the movable shelf board, thereby saving space.

[0010] The forward movement restricting means is characterized by comprising a second spiral spring having a smaller rearward biasing force than the forward biasing force of the forward biasing means attached to the shelf support body rearward of the movable shelf, and a rear connecting member extending forward from the free end on the outer diameter side of the second spiral spring and having a front end connected to the product pushing-out member. According to this feature, the forward movement restricting means is not largely exposed on the movable shelf board, improving the appearance. Also, since the second spiral spring with a smaller biasing force than the forward biasing means is used, the forward movement of the product pushing member is not impeded.

[0011] The second spiral spring is characterized in that it is configured to fully extend when the movable shelf plate moves forward by a certain amount. According to this feature, when the movable shelf plate moves forward by a certain amount, the forward movement of the product pushing member is reliably restricted.

[0012] The product is further characterized by being provided with a base plate that can be attached to the upper surface of the movable shelf plate and supports the product pushing member so that it 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 forward biasing means and the forward movement regulating means. 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] 11 is a side view showing a state in which a product is pushed forward by a product pushing member before the movable shelf board is pulled out. FIG. [Diagram 5] 13 is a side view showing a state in which the movable shelf plate has moved forward a certain amount and the product pushing member has stopped near the middle portion. FIG. [Figure 6] 13 is a side view showing a state in which the movable shelf plate has moved to near its front limit and a refill space has been formed in front of the product pushing member. FIG. 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. 6. 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 multiple locking holes 7 at the same left and right height. The posts 2, 2, horizontal connecting rods 3, 3, rear panel 4, leg rods 6, 6 and brackets 8, 8 constitute a shelf board support body according to the present invention.

[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] 2 and 3, the product pressing body 10 includes a base plate 101 for placing products on which the product has a front-to-rear dimension substantially the same as that of the movable shelf board 51, a product pushing member 102 supported by the base plate 101 so as to be movable in the front-to-rear direction, a first spiral spring (power spring) 103 attached to the product pushing member 102 as forward urging means for constantly urging the product pushing member 102 forward, and a second spiral spring (power spring) 104 as forward movement restricting means for restricting the forward movement of the product pushing member 102. The second spiral spring 104 is attached to a horizontal rod 11 (see FIG. 1) that connects the middle parts of the left and right support columns 2, 2 in the up-down direction by using a bracket 14 described later.

[0020] The base plate 101 is made of, for example, polyacetal resin with low frictional resistance, and a fence 105 for preventing products from falling is provided on the upper surface of the front end portion. A fence may be provided on the front end portion 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. On the left and right side edges of the front and rear ends of the base plate 101, two screw insertion holes 101b, 101b 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 upward and forward in side view in Figure 3, a bottom plate 102c, 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 integrally molded from a synthetic resin, for example.

[0022] 3, the first spiral spring 103 is housed in a space on the rear side of the product pushing member 102, and its free end at the center is fixed to a support shaft 12 whose both ends are press-fitted into the left and right side plates 102b, 102b. The free end on the outer diameter side of the first spiral spring 103 extends forward through the lower part of the front plate 102a and is connected to the rear end of a front connecting member 13 made of a strip-shaped thin steel plate or the like, and the front end of this front connecting member 13 is screwed to the upper surface of the front end of the base plate 101. It is to be noted that the front end of the free end on the outer diameter side of the first spiral spring 103 may be directly fixed to the upper surface of the front end of the base plate 101 without providing the front connecting member 13.

[0023] 3, the first spiral spring 103 is wound in a spiral shape in a counterclockwise direction from the center toward the outer diameter side, and constantly biases the product pushing member 102 forward. A continuous groove in the front-rear direction may be formed in the center of the upper surface of the base plate 101, and the spring plate of the front connecting member 13 and the first spiral spring 103 that is pulled out forward may be accommodated in this groove. In this way, the front connecting member 13 and the spring plate of the first spiral spring 103 will not come into contact with the underside of the product displayed on the upper surface of the base plate 101.

[0024] As shown in FIG. 2, the second spiral spring 104 is accommodated in the space of the bracket 14, which is U-shaped when viewed from the front, and the free end of the second spiral spring 104 is fixed to the support shaft 15, both ends of which are press-fitted into the left and right side plates 14a, 14a. The bracket 14 is fixed to the front surface of the horizontal rod 11 slightly above the rear end of the movable shelf plate 51 by a screw. The free end of the second spiral spring 104 on the outer diameter side is fixed to the rear end of a rear connection member 16 made of a thin steel strip or the like that extends forward, and the front end of the rear connection member 16 is screwed to the upper surface of a protrusion 102f that protrudes rearward from the center of the rear edge of the bottom plate 102c of the product pushing member 102. The front end of the free end of the second spiral spring 104 on the outer diameter side may be fixed to the product pushing member 102 without providing the rear connection member 16.

[0025] 2, the second spiral spring 104 is wound in a spiral shape clockwise from the center toward the outer diameter side, and biases the product pushing member 102 backward. The backward biasing force of the second spiral spring 104 is set to be smaller than the forward biasing force of the first spiral spring 103 by reducing the thickness of the spring plate, etc. The number of turns (length) of the second spiral spring 104 is set so that it is fully extended when the movable shelf plate 51 moves forward a certain amount.

[0026] Next, a method for pushing out products and forming a refill space using the product pusher 10 of this embodiment will be described with reference to Figures 4 to 6. Figure 4 shows a usage state where the movable shelf board 51 is located at the rear end. In this state, the product pushing member 102 is constantly biased forward of the base plate 101 by the first spiral spring 103, so that when the products at the front are sold out, the products S at the rear are always automatically pushed to a position where they abut against the fence 105. This eliminates the need for an operation to move the products S at the rear to the front. The biasing force of the second spiral spring 104 is set smaller than that of the first spiral spring 103, so that the product pushing member 102 can move forward without hindrance.

[0027] As shown in FIG. 5, when the base plate 101 is moved forward a certain amount together with the movable shelf board 51, the second spiral spring 104 is fully extended, so that the product pushing member 102 stops moving forward and moves backward relative to the base plate 101.

[0028] 6, when the base plate 101 is further moved near the front limit together with the movable shelf board 51, the product pushing member 102 moves further relatively to the rear of the base plate 101 due to the fully extended second spiral spring 104. As a result, a replenishment space H for the products S is automatically formed in front of the product pushing member 102, and the products S can be efficiently replenished in the replenishment space H. Note that, since the replenishment work of the products S is performed with the movable shelf board 51 moved forward, the upper movable shelf board 51 does not interfere with the replenishment work.

[0029] After replenishing the products S, when the base plate 101 is moved together with the movable shelf plate 51 to the rearmost position, the product pushing member 102 moves forward due to the forward biasing force of the first spiral spring 103, so that the replenishing products S are automatically pushed forward.

[0030] As described above, in the product display shelf 1 according to the embodiment, when the product S displayed on the front side of the movable shelf board 51 is sold out, the product S on the rear side is automatically pushed forward by the product pushing member 102, so that the work of moving the product S on the rear side to the front side is not required. Also, when the base plate 101 moves forward a certain amount together with the movable shelf board 51, the first spiral spring 103 fully stretches, restricting the forward movement of the product pushing member 102, and a product replenishing space H is automatically formed in front of the product pushing member 102, so that the work of replenishing the product in the replenishing space can be efficiently performed. Moreover, the second spiral spring 104 is set to a length that is fully stretched when the movable shelf board 51 moves forward a certain amount, so that the forward movement of the product pushing member 102 is reliably restricted.

[0031] In addition, a first spiral spring 103 is used as a forward biasing means for constantly biasing the product pushing-out member 102 forward, and this first spiral spring 103 is housed in the space of the product pushing-out member 102, so that the forward biasing means can be stored compactly without being largely exposed on the base plate 101, thereby saving space.

[0032] Furthermore, since the rearward biasing force of the second spiral spring 104 is smaller than the forward biasing force of the first spiral spring 103, the forward movement of the product pushing member 102 is not impeded.

[0033] 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 first spiral spring 103 serving as forward biasing means, and the second spiral spring 104 serving as forward movement restricting means, so that the unitized product pressing body 10 can be attached to the product display shelf 1 simply by attaching the base plate 101 to the movable shelf board 51. Therefore, the product pressing body 10 can be easily attached to existing product display shelves with almost no processing.

[0034] 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.

[0035] 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.

[0036] Also, a locking mechanism (not shown) may be provided on the movable shelf 51, which can be manually switched to a restricted state in which the relative movement between the bracket 8 and the shelf support frame 52 is restricted. This allows the movable shelf 51 to be held in a state in which a replenishment space H for products S is formed in front of the product pushing member 102 as shown in Fig. 6, improving operability during replenishment. The configuration of this locking mechanism is one example, and other structures may be used, for example a configuration in which the locking mechanism comes into contact with the first spiral spring 103 to prevent the first spiral spring 103 from elastically returning to its original position to perform a winding operation.

[0037] In the above embodiment, the first spiral spring 103 is used as the forward biasing means for constantly biasing the product pushing member 102 forward, but it is also possible to use a tension coil spring, a rubber belt or other such forward biasing means.

[0038] Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the second spiral spring 104 is used as the means for restricting the forward movement of the product pushing member 102, but a tension coil spring, rubber, flexible string, etc. can also be used. In this case, it is sufficient if they are fully extended when the movable shelf plate 51 moves forward a certain amount.

[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 Horizontal rod 12 Support shaft 13 Front connecting member 14 Bracket 15 Support shaft 16 Rear connecting member 51 Shelf 52 Shelf support frame 52a Side movable frame 101 Substrate 101a Guide part 101b 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 First spiral spring (forward biasing means) 104 Second spiral spring (forward movement restriction means) 105 Fence H Refill Space

Claims

1. A product display shelf comprising: a movable shelf supported on a shelf support so as to be movable in the forward and backward directions; a product pushing member which moves forward on the movable shelf and can push products forward; a forward biasing means which constantly biases the product pushing member forward; and a forward movement restricting means which restricts the forward movement of the product pushing member when the movable shelf moves forward by a certain amount.

2. 2. The product display shelf according to claim 1, wherein said forward biasing means comprises a spiral spring attached to said product pushing member.

3. The product display shelf as described in claim 1, characterized in that the forward movement restricting means comprises a second spiral spring having a smaller rearward biasing force than the forward biasing force of the forward biasing means attached to the shelf support body rearward of the movable shelf, and a rear connecting member extending forward from the free end on the outer diameter side of the second spiral spring and having a front end connected to the product pushing member.

4. 4. The product display shelf according to claim 3, wherein the second spiral spring is adapted to fully extend when the movable shelf plate has moved forward by a certain amount.

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 forward biasing means and the forward movement restricting means.

Images