Sliding Shelf Tray Guide for Secure Tilt Display
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing merchandise display shelves with slide and tilt functions suffer from insecure attachment of the upper tray to the base, resulting in undesirable play and instability.
Innovation Solution
A shelf design featuring a base with elongate slots and tongues, where the tongues nest within the slots to allow sliding and tilting movements, with a stepped section and arcuate slot to guide the tray into a tilted orientation and prevent separation, ensuring secure engagement and controlled movement.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the upper tray is made slideable relative to the base, then ease of operation is improved, but reliability deteriorates due to undesirable play between the tray and base
Solution Approach 1:
The slot is divided into three functional segments: a first section for sliding movement, a second downwardly extending section for tilting movement, and a step feature for positioning. This segmentation allows the tray to perform multiple operations (sliding, tilting, positioning) through a single guided path, improving reliability while maintaining ease of operation
Solution Approach 2:
The elongate slot acts as an intermediary mechanism between the tray and base, providing a controlled path for movement. The slot's specific geometry (with downward extension and step) mediates the interaction between sliding and tilting motions, ensuring stable engagement while enabling ease of operation
2Ease of operation
If the tray is made tiltable, then ease of operation is improved, but device complexity increases due to the need for controlled movement paths
Solution Approach 1:
The slot combines multiple functional features (sliding path, tilting guide, positioning step) into a single integrated structure. This merging eliminates the need for separate mechanisms for each operation, reducing device complexity while maintaining ease of operation
Solution Approach 2:
The slot geometry dynamically adapts to guide the tray through different motion phases: horizontal sliding along the first section, then downward tilting along the second section. This dynamic guidance path enables complex tilting motion without requiring complex mechanical linkages
3Adaptability or versatility
If the slot extends downwardly to enable tilting, then adaptability is improved, but manufacturing precision requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The slot is pre-formed with the precise downward extension and step geometry during base manufacturing. This preliminary action establishes the exact tilting path and positioning features, enabling adaptability while managing manufacturing precision requirements through integrated design rather than post-assembly adjustments
Data Source
Figure 1~2
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Figure 5~6
AI summary
A shelf for a point-of-sale unit is disclosed. It comprises a base (2) mountable to an upright so as to extend therefrom in a fixed position. The base (2) comprises a bottom wall (5) and parallel side walls (4) upstanding from opposing edges of the bottom wall (5). Each parallel side wall (4) has an elongate slot (9) extending in a direction away from an upright when the base (2) is mounted thereto. The shelf further comprises a tray (3) that includes a floor (14) to support merchandise thereon. The tray has parallel side surfaces (13) upstanding from opposing edges of the floor, and a tongue (15) extending laterally from each edge in a direction away from the floor. The tray (3) is configured to nest within the base (2) with each tongue (15) received in a corresponding elongate slot (9) in the side wall (4) of the base so that the tray is slideable relative to the base away from the upright with each tongue travelling along its corresponding slot.