Horizontally supported planar surfaces – Plural related horizontal surfaces – Vertically adjustable
Patent
1996-08-02
1998-04-14
Chen, Jose V.
Horizontally supported planar surfaces
Plural related horizontal surfaces
Vertically adjustable
108 61, 211175, A47B 900
Patent
active
057380198
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to adjustable shelf assemblies for use in merchandising display stands of the type including a pair of vertically slotted spaced uprights to which the shelf assemblies can be attached at varying heights.
Various known patents disclose display stands in which the shelf assemblies includes shelves which are extendable forwardly from a retracted position to a fully extended position which permits the loading and rotation of the products to be displayed thereon. An example of such a display stand can be found in U.S. Pat. No. 4,705,175 which comprises an extendable shelf assembly adapted to be removably mounted on the slotted uprights of a merchandising display stand comprising a shelf mounted on shelf support means, shelf extending means attached to said shelf and the shelf support means and operable so that the shelf can be extended or retracted.
Whilst display stands of this type provide an improvement of those with non-extendable shelves, they suffer from the disadvantage that they are only extendable to a loading position. As a result, after loading, the shelves have to be pushed back to their display position in which the front edges of the shelves are vertically aligned so the merchandise is not displayed to its best advantage.
The Applicant realized that these merchandising display stands could be substantially improved by providing a facility for the shelves to be incrementally extended horizontally to permit the front region of each shelf to be extended to protrude slightly further than the shelf above it. This provided the significant advantage of allowing the products on each shelf to be both displayed and readily accessible to the buying public and as a result the sales through-put of the display stand could be substantially increased.
The invention is therefore characterised by providing manually operable locking means operable to permit the shelf to be incrementally extended or retracted to a selected one of several incrementally spaced positions when the locking means are released, said locking means retaining the shelf in its selected position when reengaged.
Preferably, the shelf extension means comprises at least one extendable runner assembly with a fixed member and a movable runner movably mounted thereon, the fixed member being attached to the shelf support means and the movable runner being attached to the shelf, the movable member being mounted so as to be extendable from and retractable within the fixed member.
Conveniently, the locking means is mounted on the extendable shelf and engages with the shelf support means to retain the shelf in its selected position. In a preferred embodiment, the shelf support means has a plurality of incrementally spaced detents thereon which are engageable by the locking means. The shelf support means preferably comprises a pair of spaced support arms with the spaced detents formed along the underside thereof, the locking mechanism including a movable actuator bar located underneath and adjacent the front edge of the shelf assembly and movable to disengage the locking means from the detents so that the shelf can be moved relative to the shelf support means.
In a preferred embodiment, the locking means comprises a locking bar connected to the actuator bar which is engageable with the detents, the locking bar being normally biased into engagement with the detents and extending between a pair of lever arms connected to the actuator bar, each lever arm being pivotally mounted to the adjacent movable runner intermediate its ends.
The locking bar is preferably raised to release the locking mechanism but it can be mounted so that it can be depressed or pulled towards the front edge of the shelf assembly thereby disengaging a locking peg or bar from the detent through a series of pivoted levers.
In another embodiment, the locking mechanism comprises a pivotally mounted locking lever associated with said shelf support means which is normally biased into engagement with a selected hole of a plurality of holes pro
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Chen José V.
PPE Limited
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