..BE..DE....FRGB........NL........................R0658326EUROPEAN PATENT APPLICATIONA119950621EP94203538.719941206enenen930140419931217BE19950621199525199506211995256 6A 47F 5/00 A 6A 47B 88/18 B 6A 47B 57/04 BdeSchaukasten oder SchaugestellenDisplay cabinet or rackfrArmoire ou casier d'exposition1ROTHMANS TOBACCO COMPANY B.V.018750405938/6193Drentestraat, 19NL-1083 HK AmsterdamNLCoster, KeesRijksstraatweg 19NL-2121 AA BennebroekNLWolswinkel, BertusEkris 45NL-3931 PV WoudenbergNLOttelohe, Jozef René00000742Bureau Ottelohe J.R. b.v.b.a. Fruithoflaan, 105 Bus 32600 Antwerpen (Berchem)BEBEDEFRGBNL

Each means of guidance between each side wall of the cabinet or rack and each side panel of the drawer consists of an upwardly sloping guide groove (5) which is open at one end and closed at the other end and is provided with protrusions (6) over at least part of its length and behind which guide pins (9-10) are hooked in order to lock the drawer (12) with which they work in conjunction into a chosen withdrawn sloping or horizontal position, where the guide groove and the guide pins engaging in it are installed on the inner surface of the side wall (3) of the cabinet (1) and the side panel of the drawer (12).

The invention is for a display cabinet with an open front or open rack in which several drawers positioned so that they slope downwards are provided for the display of small articles, in particular cigarette boxes, where guiding means are provided between each side panel of the cabinet or rack and the adjacent side panel of each drawer, which permit each drawer to be slid out of the cabinet a given distance and locked in position, as well as to be tilted to a desired sloping or horizontal position.

To this end a device has been realized as described primarily in claim 1 below.

As a result the drawers can be filled without difficulty with the desired articles and positioned in a sloping position so that the articles are easily visible.

By way of example and without in being in any way exhaustive, a description of a preferred embodiment of a display cabinet pursuant to the invention is given below. This description refers to the attached drawing where:

In these figures a display cabinet 1 with open front 2 can be seen. In the inner surface of each of the two side panels 3 of the display cabinet 1 several upward sloping guide slats 4 are fitted at the top and at a distance from one another. Each guide sat 4 has a longitudinal guide groove 5 of which the lower lengthways edge is provided with several teeth 6 which serve as strikers. Below, the guide groove has a Vee shaped part 7 which finishes in a horizontal open insertion section 8 which is located on the front of the display cabinet. Two guide pins 9-10, which are attached to each of the side panels 11 of each drawer 12, engage in each of the two opposing guiding grooves 5 of the guide slats 4. Each drawer is provided with a partition on the front and the back and may be made of metal, a transparent material or some other material. In each drawer there may be a number of compartments 13 of equal width, depending on the dimensions of the articles to be displayed and sold. Likewise several tubular boxes with a filling and dispensing opening can be arranged in the drawers in such a way that they can be removed. The guide slats 4' for the drawer mounted against the lowest shelf of the rack 14 or for the drawer mounted against the surface of the floor are mounted in such a way that angle of inclination is less than that of the guide slats 4 mounted higher up and the rear end of the guide groove 5 provided in guide sat 4 moves in a curved section 5' running upwards. As a result the lower drawer can be slid in and out of the cabinet without difficulty.

In order to insert a drawer 12 in the display cabinet 1, the guide pins 9-10 of the drawer are slid into the open entry part 8 of the guide grooves 5 of the guide slats 4, until the drawer has assumed the desired position in the cabinet and the front guide pins are hooked behind the appropriate teeth 6 of said guide grooves, so that the sloping drawer is hooked firmly in the cabinet. In this way each sloping drawer can protrude to a greater or lesser extent from the cabinet. To fill a drawer placed in the cabinet with flat cigarette boxes for example, the drawer is raised slightly until the foremost guide pins 9 of the drawer come clear of the teeth 6, the drawer is withdrawn the desired distance from the cabinet and the rearmost guide pins 10 are hooked behind the appropriate teeth 6 or in the Vee shaped part 7 of the guide grooves 5, so that the drawer can be held by tilting in the desired sloping position to fill the drawer and then slid back into the cabinet as described above.

It goes without saying that the teeth 6 in the guide grooves 5 could be replaced by other protruding elements or protrusions, that the guide grooves with teeth could likewise be installed directly in the internal surface of the cabinet or rack instead of in a guide slat 4, and that the form, dimensions and number of guide grooves and the teeth fitted in them, as well as the guide pins on the drawers, could also differ.

 Display cabinet (1) with open front (2) or open rack and provided with several drawers (12) stacked one above the other in which articles for display and sale, such as cigarette boxes, are arranged, where there are means of guidance between each side panel (3) of the cabinet or rack and the adjacent side wall of each drawer (12) which allow the drawers to be installed in the cabinet so that they slope and be slid in and out of the cabinet, characterized by the fact that each means of guidance consists of a guide groove (5) running upwards and which is open at one end and closed at the other end and is provided with protrusions (6) over at least part of its length and behind which guide pins (9-10) are hooked in order to lock the drawer (12) with which they work in conjunction into a chosen withdrawn horizontal or sloping position, where the guide groove and the guide pins engaging in them are installed on the inner surface of the side wall (3) of the cabinet (1) and the side panel of the drawer (12). Display cabinet in accordance with claim 1, characterized by the fact that the protrusions consist of teeth (6) which are fitted in the lower longitudinal edge of the guide groove (5). Display cabinet in accordance with claim 1, characterized by the fact that the guide groove (5) at the bottom runs into a Vee shaped part (7) that extends into a horizontal open front section (8). Display cabinet in accordance with claim 1, characterized by the fact that the guide groove (5) with protrusions (6) is provided in a guide sat (4) which is fastened on the inner surface of the side panels (3) of the cabinet (1) and in which there are two guide pins (9-10) on the adjacent side panel of the drawer. Display cabinet in accordance with claim 1, characterized by the fact that the upper end of the guide groove (5) ends in a curved section (5') which runs upwards and towards the front of the cabinet. Display cabinet in accordance with claims 1 to 5, characterized by the fact that the lowest guide grooves facing one another (5) have an angle of slope which is less than that of the guide grooves which lie above them, so that the sliding in and out of the drawer (12) is not impeded.