Sales cabinet with a built-in product display

Abstract

 The sales cabinet comprises a product display (30) that is closed on its rear side by a plate (60). A lower part of the product display is inserted in a channel of the sales cabinet. An angle iron (40) extending between a left side member (20a) and a right side member (20b) secures the product display to the sales cabinet. The plate (60) is maintained between flanges of the product display (30) and a shoulder of the sales cabinet. The plate is further secured to the angle iron (40). The sales cabinet may also comprise removable separator members an edge of which extends adjacent to the rear surface of the plate (40).

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0001] The invention relates to a sales cabinet with a built-in product display for use in retailer shops.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0002] It already exists sales cabinets with built-in product displays wherein the product display is defined by two vertical and transparent walls on the front side of the sales cabinet. Display products can be placed between the transparent walls for showing to customers the kind of retail products they will find in the sales cabinet behind the product display.

[0003] However such sales cabinets have a drawback due to the fact that customers may take the display products out of the built-in product display by inadvertence instead of taking retail products placed in the sales cabinet behind the product display. This drawback becomes even more acute in case there are no more retail products in the sales cabinet in which case customers are incited to take the display products of the built-in product display. Further, dust and other elements may go in such a product display.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0004] The invention provides for a solution to this new problem.

[0005] This object is achieved with the sales cabinet according to claim 1. Preferred embodiments are defined in the depending claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0006] 

Figure 1 shows a schematic perspective view of a sales cabinet according to a preferred embodiment of the invention.

Figure 2 shows a schematic perspective view of the left side member of the sales cabinet of figure 1.

Figure 3 shows a schematic perspective view of the bottom member of the sales cabinet of figure 1.

Figures 4a and 4b show schematically a rear view, respectively a top view, of the product display of the sales cabinet of figure 1.

Figure 5 shows a schematic perspective view of the rear member of the sales cabinet of figure 1.

Figure 6 shows a schematic perspective view of an angle iron member of the sales cabinet of figure 1.

Figure 7 shows a schematic perspective view of the rear plate for closing the product display of figure 2.

Figure 8 shows a schematic perspective view of a separator of the sales cabinet of figure 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0007] Fig. 1 shows a sales cabinet with a built-in product display according to the invention. The sales cabinet comprises a bottom member 10 extending between a left side member 20a and a right side member 20b. A product display 30 is located towards the front edge of bottom member 10 and extends between left side member 20a and right side member 20b. A length of angle iron 40 secures product display 30 to the sales cabinet. The sales cabinet further comprises a rear member 50.

[0008] In the description, the terms of front, rear, left and right will always refer to the same directions than those previously defined in reference to fig.1.

[0009] Bottom member 10 is illustrated by fig. 3. Bottom member 10 comprises a plate 11. The vertical projection on a horizontal plane of plate 11 has a rectangular outline. The front edge region of plate 11 is substantially flat and horizontal from its front edge 12 up to a longitudinal protuberance 13. Protuberance 13 extends parallel to front edge 12. Protuberance 13 extends preferably over the whole length of plate 11. The front wall of protuberance 13 is substantially vertical. The rear wall of protuberance 13 has preferably a curved cross section reaching the remaining part 14 of plate 11. Part 14 is preferably slightly inclined ― between e.g. 10° and 20 °- from a low level on the rear edge of protuberance 13 up to a higher level on the rear edge 15 of plate 11. The edges of plate 11 are extended by a vertical flange downward of plate 11. Said flange on the rear edge of plate 11 is referred to as flange part 16a while said flange on the left and right edges of plate 11 is referred to as left and right flange parts 16b ― only right flange part 16b is visible on fig. 1. A flat bar 18a is arranged on the front wall of protuberance 13 by means e.g. of glue. As a result, flat bar 18a extends also vertically. Flat bar 18a tops protuberance 13. Flat bar 18a preferably extends over substantially the whole length of plate 11. A length of angle iron 18b is arranged on the front edge region of plate 11. One wing of angle iron 18b is secured to plate 11 by means of e.g. rivets (not shown). The other wing of angle iron 18b extends substantially parallel to flat bar 18a. Angle iron 18b preferably extends over substantially the whole length of plate 11. As a result, flat bar 18a and angle iron 18b define between them a channel 17. Alternately, channel 17 is defined by two substantially parallel wall made integrally with bottom member 10.

[0010] As can be seen in fig. 5, rear member 50 comprises two longitudinal and flat wings 51, 52 perpendicular to each other. The length of rear member 50 corresponds substantially to the length of plate 11 of bottom member 10. The lower edge region of wing 51 of rear member 50 is secured to flange part 16a of bottom member 10 by means e.g. of rivets - see for this purpose, the holes 19a of flange part 16a corresponding to the holes 53 of wing 51.

[0011] As can be seen in fig. 2, left side member 20a is made of a plate 21, which is preferably flat. The edges of plate 21 are extended by a flange 22. Flange 22 is preferably perpendicular to plate 21. Flange 22 on the front edge of plate 21 is referred to as flange part 22a while flange 22 on the rear edge of plate 21 is referred to as flange part 22b. Flange 22 on the lower edge of plate 21 is referred to as flange part 22c while flange 22 on the upper edge of plate 21 is referred to as flange part 22d. The distance between flange part 22a and flange part 22b corresponds substantially to the distance between front edge 12 of bottom member 10 and the rear surface of wing 51 of rear member 50 when the latter is secured on bottom member 10.

[0012] Left side member 20a is mounted on bottom member 10 and rear member 50 preferably once rear member 50 is in position on bottom member 10. For this purpose, the lower edge of left flange part 16b of bottom member 10 rests on the inner surface of flange part 22c of left side member 20a. Left flange part 16b abuts plate 21. Further, front edge 12 of bottom member 10 abuts the inner surface of flange part 22a of left side member 20a. Left side member 20a is secured on bottom member 10 by means e.g. of rivets - see for this purpose holes 23 of plate 21 of left side member 20a corresponding to holes 19b of left flange part 16b; in fact, holes 19b are only visible for right flange part 16b in fig. 3. The left edge region of the upper surface of wing 52 abuts the inner surface of flange part 22d. The whole length of the left edge region of wing 51 extends along the inner surface of flange part 22b. Rear member 50 is secured to left side member 20a by means e.g. of a rivet through the left edge region of wing 54 and flange part 22d ― see for this purpose hole 24 of flange part 22d corresponding to hole 54 of the left edge region of wing 52.

[0013] Right side member 20b is symmetrically designed with respect to left side member 20a and is mounted on bottom member 10 and rear member 50 in a similar way than left side member 20a.

[0014] Angle iron 18b may advantageously protrude slightly from front edge 12 of bottom member 10 and have a length corresponding to the distance between the edges of flange parts 22a of left and right side members 20a, 20b, so that the vertical wall of angle iron 18b is comprised between the edges of flanges 22a of left and right side members 20a, 20b and that the inner surface of the vertical wall of iron angle 18b is aligned with the inner surface of flange parts 22a of left and right side members 20a, 20b.

[0015] We will now describe the product display 30 in reference to figs. 4a and 4b. Product display 30 comprises a rectangular front side 31, which is preferably flat. The lower edge of front side 31 is extended by a lower wall 32a preferably over substantially its whole length and the upper edge of front side 31 is extended by an upper wall 32b over substantially its whole length. The left edge of front side 31 is extended by a left wall 32c over substantially its whole length and the right edge of front side 31 is extended by a right wall 32d over substantially its whole length. Walls 32a, 32b, 32c, 32d are preferably substantially perpendicular to front side 31. Front side 31 with walls 32a, 32b, 32c, 32d form a kind of box. The edge of right wall 32d is extended by a flange 33d substantially parallel to front side 31 and oriented towards left wall 32c. Symmetrically, the edge of left wall 32c is extended by a flange 33c substantially parallel to front side 31 and oriented towards right wall 32d. The edge of lower wall 32a is extended by a flange 33a substantially parallel to front side 31 and oriented towards upper wall 32b. Flanges 33a, 33c, 33d preferably extends over a main part of the length of their respective walls 32a, 32c, 32d. Flange 33c and flange 33d are identically spaced from front side 31. Flanges 33c and 33d are more distant from front side 31 than flange 33b. The length of product display 30 from left wall 32c to right wall 32d corresponds substantially to the distance between the inner surface of plate 21 of left side member 20a and the inner surface of plate 21 of right side member 20b.

[0016] Product display 30 is mounted in the sales cabinet as follows. Lower wall 32a is inserted in press fit manner in channel 17 of bottom member 10. In other words, the lower region of front side 31 abuts the vertical wing of angle iron 18b and flange 33a abuts flat bar 18a. Front side 31 extends vertically with its left and right edge regions running along the inner surface of flange 22a of left and right side members 20a, 20b. Product display 30 is secured to the sales cabinet with help of a length of angle iron 40 shown in fig. 6.

[0017] Angle iron 40 has a length corresponding substantially to the distance between the inner surface of plate 21 of left side member 20a and the inner surface of plate 21 of right side member 20b. A threaded stud 41a is arranged ― e.g. by welding - in the angle of the left end of angle iron 40. Similarly, a threaded stud 41b is arranged in the angle of the right end of angle iron 40. Each threaded stud 41a, 41b protrudes beyond the respective end of angle iron 40. One wing 42a of angle iron 40 has a number of threaded holes 43 spaced apart from each other over the length of angle iron 40. The other wing is referred to as wing 42b. Wing 42b is perpendicular to wing 42a.

[0018] Angle iron 40 is mounted on the sales cabinet by inserting threaded stud 41a through a hole 24 of plate 21 of left side member 20a and by inserting threaded stud 41b through the hole 24 of plate 21 of right side member 20b. Left and right side members 20a and 20b provide enough resiliency for allowing the mentioned insertion. A respective nut 44 is mounted from the outside of left and right side members 20a, 20b on each threaded stud 41a, 41b for securing iron angle 40 to the sales cabinet. Holes 24 of left and right side members 20a, 20b are located so that the whole length of wing 42b rests on the outer surface of upper wall 32b of product display 30. More precisely, wing 42b rests on upper wall 32b with its longitudinal edge region beyond threaded studs 41a, 41b. Further, the parts of threaded studs 41a, 41b which do not project outside of left and right side members 20a, 20b define an abutment for the longitudinal edge of upper wall 32b of product display 30. Wing 42a extends vertically in downward direction, i.e. toward bottom member 10. As a result, angle iron 30 maintains fixedly product display 30 in channel 17 and along flanges 22a of left and right side members 20a, 20b.

[0019] The rear surface of wing 42a is closer to front side 31 of product display 30 than the front surface of flanges 33c, 33d, the difference corresponding substantially to the thickness of a rear plate 60 for closing the rear of product display 30.

[0020] Rear plate 60 is shown in fig. 7. Rear plate 60 is preferably flat and has a rectangular shape. The dimensions of rear plate 60 correspond substantially to those of front side 31 of product display 30. Rear plate 60 is mounted on product display 30 as follows. Rear plate 60 is inserted by sliding it vertically in downward direction between the rear surface of wing 42a and the front surface of flanges 33c, 33d until the lower edge of rear plate 60 reaches the region of longitudinal protuberance 13 where the lower edge region of the front surface of rear plate 60 abuts the rear surface of the part of flat bar 18a which extends above protuberance 13. Rear plate 60 has a number of holes 61, which correspond, to threaded holes 43 of angle iron 40. Hence, rear plate 60 may be secured to product display 30 with help of a set of screws.

[0021] One will understand that according to a vertical projection on a horizontal plane, the rear surface of wing 42a substantially corresponds to the rear surface of the part of flat bar 18a which extends above protuberance 13.

[0022] Plate 11 of bottom member 10 and left and right side members 20a, 20b are preferably made by thermoforming of a plastic material. Product display 30 is preferably obtained by cutting and folding a plate made of a clear plastic material, e.g. polycarbonate. Rear plate member 50 may be obtained similarly to product display 30, or may be also obtained by molding. Flat bar 18a may be made of a plastic material or in metal.

[0023] When the sales cabinet is in situation in a shop e.g. on a shelf, display products are placed into product display 30 by removing rear plate 60. For this purpose, the set of screws securing it to angle iron 40 are first loosen and then rear plate 60 is slid vertically in upward direction to free it from product display 30. Thus, display products may be placed in product display 30 by its rear side. Once the display products are placed into product display 30, rear plate 60 is again mounted and secured on product display 30 by means of the set of screws as already described.

[0024] Retail products are placed in the space corresponding to part 14 of bottom member 10 of the sales cabinet, i.e. behind product display 30.

[0025] The sales cabinet is particularly safe from customers tempted to take display products out of product display 30 once it is closed by rear plate 60. Indeed, first there is no opening allowing passage of fingers inside of product display 30. Second, rear plate 60 is mounted at the rear side of product display 30 so that customers do not even notice that there is a separate rear plate 60 closing product display 30. Similarly, the set of screws securing rear plate 60 to angle iron 40 are not visible to the customers - when angle iron 40 is not transparent - as they are located on the rear surface of wing 42a extending vertically. Even if customers note the existence of rear plate 60, they cannot remove it as it is rigidly maintained through said set of screws and the several abutments - i.e. flanges 33c, 33d and flat bar 18a - and do not usually have screw drivers on them. Third, product display 30 is well secured to the sales cabinet as the vertical wall of iron angle 18b prevents customers from grasping the lower side of product display 30 and pulling it out from channel 17. Similarly, flange 22a of left and right side members 20a, 20b prevents customers from grasping the left and right sides of product display 30. Fourth, angle iron 40 maintains product display 30 rigidly in position in the sales cabinet preventing its removal by customers. Further, nuts 44 on the outside of left and right side members 20a, 20b are usually not accessible to customers as one or several sales cabinets are placed side by side on the shelf between vertical walls of the shelf.

[0026] Product display 30 is also easily exchangeable for another one as product display 30 may be removed upon removal of angle iron 40. Hence, another product display may be mounted in replacement. The sales cabinet may allow so the mounting of product displays of different height, i.e. with a front side 31 being higher or lower. In this case, left and right side members 20a and 20b comprises a further hole 24 located at the corresponding height of the product display.

[0027] In another embodiment, the sales cabinet further provides the possibility to mount separator members 70 in the space receiving retail products. Separator members 70 define partitions of said space for sorting different types of retail products. Of course, separator members 70 preferably extend vertically and perpendicular to front edge 12 of bottom member 10. For this purpose, a number of grooves 19c are arranged in part 14 of plate 11 and correspondingly slots 55 are arranged on wing 51 of rear member 50. Only one groove 19c is depicted in fig. 3 as well as only the corresponding slot 55 is depicted in fig. 5. Grooves 19c are spaced apart and parallel to each others and extend perpendicularly to front edge 12 of plate 11. Each slot 55 is aligned to a respective groove 19c.

[0028] A separator member 70 is illustrated in fig. 8. Separator member 70 is made of a flat plate the rear edge 71 of which has the shape of a dovetail. Separator member 70 is mounted in the sales cabinet by inserting dovetail shaped rear edge 71 through slot 55 while lower edge 72 of separator member 70 is inserted in the corresponding groove 19c. Groove 19c advantageously extends partly on the rounded cross section behind protuberance 13. The shape and dimensions of lower edge 72 correspond to those of groove 19c. Dovetail-shaped rear edge 71 has preferably a length slightly greater than the length of slot 55 so as to provide a locking effect once rear edge 71 is inserted through slot 55. The insertion of rear edge 71 through slot 55 is possible due to the recesses of the dovetail shape as follows. One top of the dovetail shape is first inserted through slot 55 and then the opposite top is inserted by previously sliding separator member 70 in abutment on the recess corresponding to the first top in order to allow the opposite top to pass through slot 55. Of course, separator member 70 may be removed by reversing the mounting steps. The outline of separator member 70 is dimensioned so that its front edge 73 runs along rear plate 60 of product display 30. As a result, separator members 70 further improve safety of product display 30 by preventing customers from possibly grasping the lower longitudinal edge of rear plate 60 and pulling it towards the rear direction. Separator member 70 may be cut out of a plastic plate made of e.g. of polycarbonate.

[0029] The invention was described with reference to a preferred embodiment. However, many variations are possible within the scope of the invention. For instance, another embodiment of the invention comprises the sales cabinet of fig. 1 in which product display is inclined e.g. in rear direction instead of being vertical. For this purpose, the front edge region of plate 11 up to protuberance 13 is inclined with respect to a horizontal plane instead of being horizontal. The front wall of protuberance 13 is accordingly inclined with the same angle instead of being vertical so that it is still parallel to the wing of angle iron 18b which extends perpendicularly to the front edge region of plate 11. The location of hole 24 is consequently changed on plate 21 of left and rear side members 20a, 20b. The outline of plate 21 is also consequently modified so that flange 22a still runs along front side 31 of product display 30.

[0030] Alternately, an inclined display product 30 may be obtained by modifying product display 30. In this case, walls 32a and 32b are parallel to each other, but are inclined with respect to front side 31 instead of being perpendicular to it. Flanges 33a, 33c and 33d are parallel to front side 31. The angle of angle iron 18b corresponds substantially to the angle between front side 31 and lower wall 32a. The front wall of protuberance 13 is also accordingly inclined instead of being vertical. The angle of angle iron 40 corresponds substantially to the angle between lower wall 32a and flange 33a. The location of holes 24 are consequently changed on plate 21 of left and rear side members 20a, 20b. The shape of plate 21 is also consequently modified so that flange 22a still runs along front side 31 of product display 30.

Claims

1. Sales cabinet comprising a product display wherein the product display (30) is closed on its rear side by a plate (60).

2. Sales cabinet according to claim 1, characterized in that it comprises a channel (17) in which is inserted a lower part (32a) of the product display (30).

3. Sales cabinet according to claim 2, characterized in that the channel (17) is partly defined by an angle iron (18b).

4. Sales cabinet according to claim 2 or 3, characterized in that the channel (17) is partly defined by a flat bar (18a).

5. Sales cabinet according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that a second angle iron (40) secures the product display (30).

6. Sales cabinet according to claim 5, characterized in that the second angle iron (40) abuts a rear edge region of an upper wall (32b) of the product display (30).

7. Sales cabinet according to claim 5 or 6, characterized in that the second angle iron (40) extends between a left side member (20a) and a right side member (20b) of the sales cabinet.

8. Sales cabinet according to any one of claims 5 to 7, characterized in that the second angle iron (40) has at each end a respective threaded stud (41a, 41b) passing through respectively the left and right side members (20a, 20b).

9. Sales cabinet according to any one of claims 5 to 8, characterized in that the plate (60) is secured to the second angle iron (40).

10. Sales cabinet according to any one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that the plate (60) is maintained between flanges (33c, 33d) of the product display (30) and at least one shoulder (18a) of the sales cabinet.

11. Sales cabinet according to any one of claims 1 to 10, characterized in that it comprises flanges (22a) abutting left and right edge regions of a front side (31) of the product display (30) wherein the flanges (22a) run along substantially the whole length of said left and right edge regions.

12. Sales cabinet according to any one of claims 1 to 11, characterized in that it comprises at least one removable separator member (70) an edge (73) of which extends adjacent to the rear surface of the plate (40).

Drawing