Shelf assembly

Abstract

 The present invention relates to a shelf assembly 200 for displaying products, which is suitable for instance in a top-access cooler 100. The shelf assembly is arranged for providing first-in first-out, FIFO, functionality, and comprises a first shelf 214 and a second shelf 222 which are vertically stacked. The shelf assembly comprises a control mechanism 221 arranged for controlling the position of the second shelf between a first position where a vertical projection of the second shelf is overlapping a back portion 212 of the first shelf, and a second position when the back portion is cleared from being overlapped by the second shelf and thereby made accessible from above, thereby enabling refilling of the first shelf 214 from above at the back portion thereof and providing FIFO functionality.

Description

Field of the Invention

[0001] The present invention relates generally to a shelf assembly for products and, more specifically, to a shelf assembly comprising vertically stacked shelves for displaying products, which is arranged for providing first-in first-out functionality of the products.

Background Art

[0002] In supermarkets and department stores there are many different types of shelf assemblies, which are filled with products offered for sale. Many of these products must for various reasons, such as open-dating or refrigerating reasons, be supplied in a manner that the last supplied products are positioned in the rear part of the shelf. As the customer then picks the products that are placed in the front part of the shelf assembly, this at the same time satisfies the requirement that the product first supplied is also first sold and first-in first-out (FIFO) functionality is therefore provided.

[0003] A large amount of the working time of the shop staff is used to supply additional products. This means that there is a great interest in getting rid of conventional types of shelf assembly where the remaining products from previous supplies first must be removed from the shelf assemblies before supplying new products. One way of solving this problem is to design shelf assemblies which are adapted to be refilled from behind. This can be achieved by wheels being mounted on a bottom plate of the shelf assembly so that the complete shelf assembly is pulled out, or alternatively pivoted out, from its position (e.g. from a cabinet or from the wall) to make the rear accessible for refilling. However, these types of solutions are not suitable for instance when providing products in top-access coolers, which are used for the exposure of cooled easy-to-grab goods. In a typical scenario, the goods in the bottom of a top-access cooler gets old and gradually damaged as people tend to reach for the top goods and the staff has to empty the space in the refrigerator to refill in a FIFO manner.

Summary of the Invention

[0004] An object of the present invention is to provide a shelf assembly which is applicable in top-access coolers and front-access coolers, which shelf assembly due to its construction supports FIFO functionality and provides a controlled mechanical structure for providing refilling of products to be supplied at a back portion of at least one product supporting shelf. These objects are achieved by a shelf assembly according to the present invention as defined in the appended claims.

[0005] According to one aspect of the invention, there is provided a shelf assembly for displaying products which is arranged for providing first-in first-out (FIFO) functionality. The shelf assembly comprises a first shelf, a second shelf, and a control mechanism arranged for controlling a position of the second shelf. The first shelf and the second shelf are vertically stacked. At least the first shelf is arranged for being refilled from above, loaded at a back portion thereof, to provide the FIFO functionality. This is done by means of the second shelf being arranged to be movable between a first position where a vertical projection of the second shelf is (horizontally) overlapping the back portion of the first shelf, and a second position where the back portion of the first shelf is cleared from being overlapped by the second shelf and made accessible from above. The movement of the second shelf is governed by means of the control mechanism. Advantageously, loading of new products to the rear portion of the first shelf is enabled as the second shelf is no longer blocking it. As new products are refilled in the back portion, any remaining products on the first shelf are pushed forwards to the front and made accessible to the customer. FIFO functionality is thus improved.

[0006] According to an embodiment of the shelf assembly, the control mechanism is provided by the first shelf and the second shelf being arranged having complementary elements for enabling the second shelf to be moved between the first position and the second position. That is, in an embodiment of the shelf assembly when being moved between the first position and the second position, the second shelf is moved from a back position in a forwards direction in relation to the first shelf and vice versa.

[0007] According to an embodiment of the shelf assembly, the shelf assembly further comprises at least one bracket, with which the second shelf is engaged. The control mechanism is provided by the bracket, which is advantageous. Some different solutions for the control mechanism are given below.

[0008] According to an embodiment of the shelf assembly, the bracket is arranged to be extensible in a forwards and backwards direction in relation to the shelf assembly. The bracket may be a pull-out bracket or arranged for being telescoped. The second shelf is thus extracted and retracted between the first position and the second position in a controlled manner defined by the limitation of the extensible bracket.

[0009] According to an embodiment of the shelf assembly, the bracket and the second shelf are arranged having complementary elements for enabling the second shelf to be moved, e.g. slid, or rolled in a forwards and backwards direction, respectively.

[0010] According to an embodiment of the shelf assembly, the complementary elements comprise rollers and at least one rolling track, or complementary sliding elements.

[0011] According to an embodiment of the shelf assembly, at least the first shelf is arranged for being gravity feeding, which is advantageous for providing an improved FIFO functionality as products then automatically slide forwards and replaces any product that the customer grabs, and consequently space for refilling is created in the back portion of the shelf.

[0012] According to an embodiment of the shelf assembly, the first shelf and the second shelf are vertically separated, which is advantageous.

[0013] According to an embodiment of the shelf assembly, it further comprises a third shelf vertically stacked above the first and second shelf. The third shelf is arranged having a shelf depth less than the second shelf, which allows for loading of the second shelf at a back thereof even if the third shelf is fixated and stacked above the second shelf.

[0014] According to an embodiment of the shelf assembly, the shelves are baskets or trays, which is advantageous for small, soft products or products that don't need to be organized (for instance products that does not need to be standing up like soda bottles).

[0015] According to an embodiment of the shelf assembly, the control mechanism further comprises a locking element, which is advantageous for keeping the second shelf in a desired position.

[0016] According to an embodiment of the invention, two shelf assemblies according to the inventive concept are arranged back-to-back. That is, their respective back sides are arranged facing each other, and are preferably secured together. This is advantageous when the shelf assembly is accessible from two sides or arranged in a very broad top-access display unit (for instance a top-access refrigerator).

[0017] In a second aspect thereof, the invention relates to a display unit for displaying products comprising at least one shelf assembly, which benefits from the shelf assembly according to the present invention and its associated advantages. Typically a display unit contains some form of cabinet, i.e. a confined space, into which the shelf assembly is arranged. The cabinet may be cooled, contain doors, or some similar protecting arrangement etc. The display unit may be a top-access display unit or a front-access display unit.

[0018] According to the second aspect of the invention, the display unit is a cooler or a refrigerator unit.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0019] The invention will now be described in more detail by way of non-limiting embodiments and with reference to the accompanying drawing, in which

Figs. 1a - 1b are schematic perspective side views showing an embodiment of a shelf assembly according to the invention, when the second shelf is in the first and the second position, respectively;

Figs. 2a - 2b are schematic side views, and Figs. 2c- 2d schematic top views, illustrating an embodiment of a shelf assembly according to the invention, when the second shelf is in the first and the second position, respectively;

Figs. 3a - 3c are schematic side views illustrating an embodiment of a shelf assembly according to the invention, when the second shelf is in the first and the second position, respectively;

Figs. 4a - 4e are close up schematic perspective side views of gliding arrangements for facilitating gravity feeding of embodiments of a shelf assembly according to the invention;

Figs. 5a - 5b are schematic side views illustrating the second shelf in the first and the second position, respectively, of an embodiment of a shelf assembly according to the invention;

Fig. 6 is a schematic side view illustrating an embodiment of a shelf assembly according to the invention;

Figs. 7a - 7c are close-up schematic side views illustrations of a locking mechanism according to the present invention; and

Figs. 8a - 8e are close-up schematic illustrations of embodiments of a control mechanism according to the present invention.

Detailed Description of Embodiments

[0020] The invention and its other objects and advantages will be described in the following exemplifying description with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which the corresponding numbers in different drawings refer to the corresponding features respectively. It is to be understood that the following exemplifying disclosure is not meant to limit the invention to the forms exposed here, but that on the contrary the invention is meant to cover all the variations, equivalences and alternatives that are covered by the spirit and the scope of the invention, as will be put forward in the following claims.

[0021] Figs. 1a - 1b are schematic illustrations showing an embodiment of a display unit and a shelf assembly of the invention. A perspective side view of the display unit 100 for products is shown. The display unit 100 comprises a product display compartment 151 (hereinafter referred to as compartment) having a back wall and (optionally see through) side walls, for containing a shelf assembly 200 according to an embodiment of the invention, and a cooling unit 150 for cooling the compartment 151. The cooling unit 150 typically comprises operational devices such as a compressor, a condenser etc. (not shown) which are common to the person skilled in the art. The compartment 151 includes an opening 152 at a top thereof, through which opening 152 the shelf assembly 200 is accessible. This is illustrated with an arrow L in Fig. 1 b.

[0022] To continue, the shelf assembly 200 is illustrated in more detail in Figs. 2a and 2b, and comprises a first shelf unit 210 with a substantially plate shaped shelf 214, which is stacked with a second shelf unit 220. The two shelf units 210, 220 are thus arranged arranged above/beneath each another and are here further vertically separated. In this exemplifying embodiment, the first and second shelf units 210, 220 are attached to the back wall of the display unit 100, but a shelf assembly according to the present inventive concept may be arranged attached to other types of applicable support structures. The second shelf unit 220 comprises a substantially plate shaped shelf 222, having a front, a back and two sides, which on each opposite side is engaged with a respective bracket 221, see Fig. 2b where a left side bracket is visible. The shelf 222 of the second shelf unit 220 is movable in a forwards F and a backwards B direction which is indicated by double arrow F, B in Fig. 2a (also corresponding to the front and back side of the shelves of the shelf assembly).

[0023] To provide FIFO functionality, the shelf 214 of the first shelf unit 210 is arranged to be forwardly inclined and is provided with a low friction arrangement on an upper side thereof. The low friction arrangement may be a low friction surface or coating, or an arrangement as described in more detail below with reference to Fig. 4. The shelf 214 is further arranged having stopping means 215 to prevent products from falling over the front edge of the gravity feeding shelf 214. To provide FIFO functionality the shelf unit 210 must further be refilled at a back portion 212 thereof. Since the shelf assembly 200 is arranged inside a compartment 151 (the shelf unit 210 is arranged at a back wall), the refilling needs to be done from above, by loading new products at the back portion 212 of the first shelf unit 210. This is illustrated by an arrow L in Fig. 2b. Note that in the confined space of the compartment 151, for the back portion 212 to be accessible for product loading from above, the second shelf unit 220 is positioned in a front position, that is, it is moved away from a back position, where a vertical projection of the shelf 222 of the second shelf unit 220 overlaps the back portion 212. This is further illustrated in Figs. 2c and 2d, where the shelf assembly 200 is shown in a top view. In Fig. 2c access to the back portion 212 of the shelf 214 of the first shelf unit 210 is blocked by the second shelf unit 220, while in Fig. 2d, the back portion 212 is no longer overlapped by the second shelf unit 220 as now the second shelf unit 220 is in the front position.

[0024] The position of the shelf 222 is controlled by a control mechanism which in this exemplifying embodiment is realized by means of providing complementary sliding means alongside the opposite side portions of the shelf 222 and the two respective brackets 221, which are best visible in Fig. 2b. Other control mechanisms are applicable, like for instance telescoping brackets, rollers etc. The brackets are typically a pair of supports which mutually cooperate to support the shelf and define substantially horizontal guiding (although typically being inclined a few degrees to provide gravity feeding of products arranged on the shelf). The substantially horizontal guiding is provided by the construction of the brackets or by means of complementary cooperating elements of the shelf, such as to enable the shelf to be moved forwards and backwards with respect to the shelf assembly to the extent permitted by the guiding brackets or the complementary cooperating elements. To provide gravity feeding of the shelf units the shelves are arranged inclining typically 2 - 8 degrees although other inclination angles may be applicable depending on the surface friction of the shelf, the weight of the products etc. The depth of the shelf 222 is selected to be less than the depth of the shelf 214 of the first shelf unit 210.

[0025] A display unit 101 according to an embodiment of the inventive concept is shown in Fig. 3a. The display unit 101 comprises a product display compartment 161 (hereinafter referred to as compartment) having a back wall and (optionally see through) side walls, for containing a shelf assembly 300 according to an embodiment of the invention, and a cooling unit 160 for cooling the compartment 161. The cooling unit typically comprises operational devices such as a compressor, a condenser etc. (not shown) which are common to the person skilled in the art. The compartment 161 includes an opening 162 at a front thereof, through which opening 162 the shelf assembly 300 is accessible. This is illustrated with an arrow L in Fig. 3a.

[0026] To continue, the shelf assembly 300 is illustrated in more detail in Figs. 3b and 3c, and comprises a first shelf unit 210, a second shelf unit 220 and a third shelf unit 310 (optional), which are stacked above one another. That is, the three shelf units 210, 220, and 310 are arranged vertically separated and arranged above/beneath one another. All three shelf units 210, 220, 310 are inclined and arranged for gravity feeding. The depth of the third shelf unit 310 is considerably less deep than the depth of the second and first shelf units, respectively. Further, the depth of the shelf 222 of the second shelf unit 220 is less than the depth of the shelf 214 of first shelf unit 210.

[0027] In this exemplifying embodiment, the first, second and third shelf units 210, 220, and 310 are attached to the back wall of the display unit 101. However, a shelf assembly according to the present inventive concept may be arranged attached to other types of support structures.

[0028] As visible in Fig. 3c, the second shelf unit 220 comprises a shelf 222, which on each side is engaged with a respective bracket 225 of pull-out type forming a control mechanism to provide movability of the shelf 222 of the second shelf unit 220 in a forwards and a backwards direction with respect to the first shelf unit 210, in the same manner as previously indicated by double arrow F, B in Fig. 2a.

[0029] To provide FIFO functionality the first shelf unit 210 and the second shelf unit 220 must be refilled at the respective back portions 212, 224 thereof. Since the shelf assembly 200 is arranged inside a compartment 161 (the shelf unit 210 is arranged at a back wall), the refilling needs to be done from above, by loading products at the back portions 212, 224 of the first and second shelf units 210, 220. In the confined space of the compartment 161, for the back portion 212 to be accessible for product loading, the second shelf unit 220 is positioned in a front position, as illustrated in Fig. 3c, that is, it is moved away from a back position where a vertical projection of a shelf 222 of the second shelf unit 220 overlaps the back portion 212 (this overlap is illustrated with lines in Fig. 3b), to the front position.

[0030] Note that the depth of the third shelf unit 310 must be less than the depth of the second shelf unit 220 to promote the product loading at the back portion 212 of the first shelf unit 210 (and the back portion 224 of the second shelf unit 220).

[0031] Fig. 4 illustrates in more detail the upper surface of a gravity feeding shelf according to an embodiment of the invention, where in Fig. 4a a shelf 60 comprising a bottom 61 is illustrated. The bottom 61 comprises ribs 62 which are arranged side by side and which extend in a front-rear direction of the shelf 60. When the shelf 60 is used as a gravity feeding shelf it is arranged with an inclination where the rear end is positioned higher than the front end, such that the products placed on the shelf 60 slide forwards by themselves due to gravity. The ribs 62 may be arranged with a low friction surface to facilitate the forwards sliding of products arranged on the bottom 61. The ribs 62 may further be utilized to provide clamping trails in which functional elements are demountably mountable. Functional elements include for instance roller tracks, se Fig. 4b, partition walls, see Fig. 4d, pushers (not shown) and front stoppers for preventing products placed on the shelf 60 from accidentally falling off the shelf 60 (not shown). Referring now to Fig. 4b, a roller track 50 comprises a plurality of rollers 52 arranged adjacently in parallel and rotationally attached in parallel opposite supporting side walls 54 arranged along the long side of a generally rectangular base holder 53. (The rolls being perpendicularly oriented with respect to the long side of the base holder 53.) The base holder 53 further has two parallel elongated mounting portions 51 arranged at a distance from each other along the long side of the underside thereof. The mounting portions 51 are detachably receivable at preferred positions by the recesses formed between respective pairs of adjacent ribs 62 of the shelf 60, as illustrated in the close up in Fig. 4c. Referring now to Fig. 4e, the partition wall 70 is a rectangular plate which is arranged to be detachably receivable at arbitrary positions by the recesses formed between respective pairs of adjacent ribs 62 of the shelf 60.

[0032] With reference now to Fig. 5a, an embodiment of a shelf assembly 400 comprises a first shelf unit 410, and a second shelf unit 420, where the first and second shelf units 410, 420 are baskets which are stacked on top of each other. The shelf units 410, 420 are inclined and arranged for gravity feeding as previously described. The depth of the second shelf unit 420 is less deep than the depth of the first shelf unit 410. The position of the second shelf unit 420 is controlled by a control mechanism which in this exemplifying embodiment is realized by means of complementary rolling means 422, 412 arranged alongside side portions of the second shelf unit and the first shelf unit. In addition, the second shelf unit is locked in its back position as illustrated in Fig. 5a by means of a releasable locking mechanism 700. When the first shelf units needs to be refilled, the locking mechanism is released and the second shelf unit 420 is rolled forwards to a front position as illustrated in Fig. 5b. Refilling of the first shelf unit 410 by means of loading new products at a back portion of the first shelf unit 410 is thus achieved. In this exemplifying embodiment, the shelf assembly 400 is arranged in a top-access cooler 170.

[0033] In an embodiment of the shelf assembly as illustrated in Fig. 6, a display unit 600 comprises a top-access cooler 650 in which two shelf assemblies 400, 401 according to the present invention are arranged back-to-back in the same compartment 651. The first and second shelf assembly 400, 401 are optionally secured together.

[0034] The exemplifying embodiments of the present invention has a locking mechanism 700 comprising a hook element 701 which is pivotally connected to a support element 702, as is illustrated in Fig. 7a - 7c. Fig. 7b illustrates the locking mechanism when the hook element 701 is released, and Fig. 7c illustrates when the locking element 700 is locked as the hook element 701 is hitches a portion 425 of a second shelf unit. Other types of locking mechanisms are applicable. According to an embodiment the locking element is integrated in the control mechanism for controlling the position of the second shelf unit.

[0035] As is evidently understood by a person skilled in the art the control mechanism for controlling the position of the second shelf unit may be designed in numerous forms of execution.

[0036] In Figs. 8a - 8e, close up illustrations of two different embodiments of complementary rolling means are shown. In Fig. 8a a U-groove roller 80 and a corresponding complementary guide rail 81 are illustrated. A U-groove roller is a roller which is provided with a U-shaped groove intended to engage with the guide rail such that the roller rolls along the guide rail. Guide rail 81 is here a rod, and in embodiments of the invention, such guide rails are arranged at upper side walls of a first (lower) basket (or, according to different embodiments of the shelf system, a bracket, or a lower shelf or tray) to guide an upper basket (or, according to different embodiments of the shelf system, an upper shelf or tray) in a forwards and backwards direction. In Fig. 8b, an upper basket 820 is illustrated which is arranged with rollers (only one U-groove roller 80 is visible in Fig. 8b) arranged on its underside for controlling the movement of the upper basket 820 in a forwards and backwards direction by the U-groove rollers 80 being fitted to roll along guide rails 81.

[0037] In Fig. 8c a lower basket 810 is illustrated where guide rails 82 are provided on an upper rim of the lower basket 810. The guide rails 82 are here substantially U-shaped and arranged to receive (and fit) rollers 83 arranged on an under side of an upper shelf 821, as illustrated in Figs. 8e and 8d.

Claims

1. A shelf assembly (200, 300, 400) for displaying products, said shelf assembly being arranged for providing first-in first-out, FIFO, functionality, said shelf assembly comprising:

a first shelf (214);

a second shelf (222); and

a control mechanism (221, 225, 422, 412) arranged for controlling a position of said second shelf,

wherein said first shelf and said second shelf are vertically stacked, and

wherein said second shelf is arranged to be movable by means of said control mechanism between a first position where a vertical projection of the second shelf is overlapping a back portion (212) of said first shelf, and

a second position when said back portion is cleared from being overlapped by said second shelf and thereby made accessible from above, thereby enabling refilling of said first shelf from above at said back portion thereof, and providing said FIFO functionality.

2. A shelf assembly (200) according to any preceding claim, wherein said control mechanism is provided by said first shelf (110) and said second shelf (220) being arranged having complementary elements for enabling said second shelf to be moved between said first position and said second position.

3. A shelf assembly (200) according to claim 1, further comprising at least one bracket (221), and wherein said control mechanism is provided by said bracket.

4. A shelf assembly (200) according to claim 3, wherein said bracket is arranged to be extensible in a forwards and backwards direction in relation to said shelf assembly.

5. A shelf assembly (200) according to claim 3, wherein said bracket (221) and said second shelf (222) are arranged having complementary elements for enabling said second shelf (222) to be moved in a forwards and backwards direction respectively in relation to said shelf assembly.

6. A shelf assembly according to any of claims 2 or 5, wherein said complementary elements comprise rollers (422, 80, 83) and at least one rolling track (412, 81, 82), or complementary sliding elements.

7. A shelf assembly according to any preceding claim, wherein at least said first shelf is arranged for being gravity feeding.

8. A shelf assembly according to any preceding claim, wherein said first shelf and said second shelf are vertically separated.

9. A shelf assembly (300) according to any preceding claim, further comprising a third shelf (310) vertically stacked above said first and second shelf, wherein said third shelf is arranged having a shelf depth less than the second shelf.

10. A shelf assembly according to any preceding claim, wherein said shelves are baskets or trays.

11. A shelf assembly according to any preceding claim, wherein said control mechanism further comprises a locking element (700).

12. A shelf assembly (600) comprising two shelf assemblies (400, 401) according to any preceding claim, wherein said two shelf assemblies are arranged back-to-back.

13. A display unit (100) for displaying products comprising at least one shelf assembly according to any preceding claim.

14. A display unit according to claim 13, wherein said display unit is a top-access display unit (100, 600) or a front-access display unit (300).

15. A display unit according to claim 13 or 14, wherein said display unit is a cooler or a refrigerator unit.

Drawing