THEREOF

The present invention relates to a support element for shelves of commercial display units.

More precisely, the present invention relates to a support element for shelves of commercial display units made of cardboard.

Different types of commercial display units are known in the state of the art obtained from cardboard blanks. Such display units are usually self-installed, as they are formed by cardboard blanks specifically cut and folded to make said commercial display units pass from a substantially closed position to a substantially open position. Furthermore, such commercial display units, when in the substantially open position, are usually self-supporting and can thus be easily positioned for displaying goods.

However, said commercial display units can be loaded onto individual shelves in such a way that said shelves cannot provide the right support for the goods to be displayed, hence getting broken or, more frequently, bent on the central portion of the shelves towards the bottom.

A solution to such problem is described in the German utility model DE 20 2013 100231 U1 , which described a support element for commercial display unit shelves comprising a hollow profile with a triangular cross-section, having a support surface adapted to be in contact with the shelf to be reinforced, and two slanted side surfaces. Furthermore, such support element provides a transversal element arranged perpendicularly to said support surface and in contact with the edge formed by said two oblique side surfaces.

Such profile is obtained by folding a rectangular blank made of cardboard divided into six surfaces by five respective parallel folding lines, so that the transversal element is obtained by folding the two outer surfaces so as to have the outer edge at the central folding line and gluing them together and to the edge itself.

Therefore, the support surface comprises the two surfaces adjacent to the end ones.

Such support element also has two flaps for each end adapted to promote the insertion of the support element on both side walls of the display unit at the respective shelf. The display unit, in particular, has a relevant recess for the insertion of the flaps of the support element.

The support element described up to now has different technical problems, and more specifically:

- the support element must be transported after being folded, due to the necessary gluing; in this way it is more bulky with respect to the sheet of cardboard from which it is formed, and runs a higher risk of being damaged during transport;

- as the support surface is formed by two separate surfaces, placed alongside each other, in the event of the surfaces that compose the transversal element coming unstuck, the support element would lose structural solidity, potentially being able to collapse onto itself.

A further example of a shelf comprising support elements is described in patent document DE 20 2008 001583 U1.

This is the context of the solution provided by the present invention, which sets out to provide a folding support for shelves of commercial display units that does not need to be glued and is therefore easy to transport in flat form.

The aim of the present invention is also to provide a support element that runs a lower risk of being damaged during transport.

A further aim of the present invention is to provide a support element with greater structural solidity.

Yet another aim of the present invention is to realise a support element that is cheap, easy to assemble and reliable.

Therefore an object of the present invention is a blank adapted to be assembled into a support element for supporting shelves of commercial display units. Said support element has a hollow profile with a triangular cross-section, and comprises a support surface adapted to be in contact with the shelf to be reinforced, two slanted side surfaces, and a transversal element perpendicular to said support surface extending to an edge between said two slanted side surfaces.

Said blank also has an outer face having a substantially rectangular shape and a longitudinal central axis and is characterized in that: said outer face is divided by four folding lines parallel to said longitudinal central axis, in particular by two intermediate folding lines, and two inner folding lines, into - a central panel, adapted to become said support surface of said support element, delimited by said two inner folding lines;

- two outer panels, adapted to become said transversal element of said support element; and

- two intermediate panels, adapted to become said slanted side surfaces of said support element, each arranged between a respective outer panel and the central panel.

Said blank is also characterized in that said central panel comprises at least one central cut, arranged on said longitudinal central axis, and in that at least one pair of longitudinal flaps is provided for each central cut, each longitudinal flap arranged on the edge of the respective outer panel so as to be inserted in the respective central cut when said blank is assembled into said support element.

Said blank is finally characterized in that it can be configured so that by folding with a mountain-fold with respect to said outer face, said folding lines and the edge of each outer panel at each longitudinal flap, and inserting said at least one pair of longitudinal flaps inside the respective central cut, said support element is obtained.

According to the invention, said blank may not have any folding line on said longitudinal central axis.

Preferably, according to the invention, said blank can comprise two central cuts and two pairs of longitudinal flaps.

In a preferred embodiment, said blank can also comprise two central transversal flaps, preferably substantially rectangular shaped, each arranged on a respective outer edge of said central panel, with said blank configured so that when it is assembled into a support element, said central transversal flaps can be folded on the respective outer edge abutting the edges of said slanted side surfaces.

Again according to a preferred embodiment, said blank can also comprise two pairs of intermediate transversal flaps, preferably with a substantially triangular shape, with each intermediate transversal flap arranged on the outer edge of each intermediate panel, and wherein said blank is configured so that, when it is assembled into a support element, said intermediate transversal flaps can be folded on the respective outer edge with a valley-fold with respect to said outer face. Furthermore, according to the invention, said blank can comprise, at said edge, a folding line between each longitudinal flap and the respective outer panel.

A further object of the present invention is a support element for supporting shelves of display units obtained by folding the blank as previously described. In particular, said support element, once formed, comprises a hollow profile with a triangular cross-section, comprising a support surface adapted to be in contact with the shelf to be reinforced, two slanted side surfaces, and a transversal element perpendicular to said support surface extending to an edge between said two slanted side surfaces. Preferably, said support element can be obtained without the use of gluing means.

Furthermore, an object of the present invention is a support element for supporting shelves of commercial display units, said support element having a hollow profile with a triangular cross-section. In particular, said support element is characterized in that it comprises a continuous support surface, adapted to be in contact with the shelf to be reinforced, two slanted side surfaces, and a transversal element perpendicular to said support surface, extending to an edge between said two slanted side surfaces, said support element being obtained starting from a single blank comprising contiguous panels delimited by respective folding lines and coupling means between said panels for forming said support element. Specifically, said coupling means is at least a pair of cuts and respective longitudinal flaps, obtained in said blank, said support element being obtained by folding said blank along said folding lines and inserting said longitudinal flaps in the respective cuts.

According to the invention, said support element can comprise a transversal flap for each outer edge of said support surface and/or for each outer edge of said slanted side surfaces.

Furthermore, according to the invention said support element can have two cuts and two pairs of longitudinal flaps.

Finally, an object of the present invention is a display unit comprising at least one shelf, a rear wall, and two side walls, said display unit comprising also at least one support element as previously described, coupled to said side walls, below said at least one shelf, by means of coupling means, and wherein said longitudinal flaps of said support element are further folded so that their respective faces are in contact with said support surface of the support element and with the lower surface of said shelf.

In particular, according to the invention, said coupling means may comprise at least one recess on each side wall of said display unit arranged below each shelf, wherein said support element can comprise said transversal flaps so that said transversal flaps of each side of said support element can be arranged inside the respective recess of the respective side wall of the display unit.

The invention will now be described, by way of non-limiting illustration, with particular reference to the drawings of the appended figures, wherein:

figure 1 shows a perspective view of the support element according to the invention;

figure 2 shows a view from above of the blank through which the support element of figure 1 is obtained;

figure 3 shows a view from below of the support element of figure 1 in a folding step from the blank of figure 2;

figure 4 shows a view from below of the support element of figure 1 ;

figure 5 shows a view from above of the support element of figure 1 ;

figure 6 shows a side view of the support element of figure 1 with the central transversal flap raised; and

figure 7 shows a perspective view of a display unit according to the invention comprising the support element of figure 1.

With reference to figures 2 - 5, a blank according to the invention, indicated by the numeric reference 1 , is observed. Said blank 1 is adapted to be assembled into a support element 20 (shown in figure 1 ) for supporting shelves of commercial display units (as shown in figure 7).

Said blank 1 , preferably made of cardboard, is substantially rectangular shaped, having an outer face 2 and two central axes, a longitudinal central axis y and a transversal central axis x, orthogonal to said central axis y.

In the particular embodiment of the figures described herein, the two central axes x and y are also axes of symmetry of the blank 1 however, in alternative embodiments, the blank 1 can also not have any type of symmetry. The blank 1 comprises four folding lines 7 and 8, parallel to said longitudinal central axis y, in particular two intermediate longitudinal folding lines 7, more proximal to the outer edges 3 of said blank 1 , and two inner longitudinal folding lines 8. Said parallel folding lines 7, 8 divide said blank 1 into five parallel panels, in particular two outer panels 9, two intermediate panels 10, comprised between the intermediate folding lines 7 and the inner folding lines 8, and a central panel 1 1 , comprised between the two inner folding lines 8. The folding lines can be obtained through the creasing or incision of the material of the blank.

The blank 1 also comprises two central cuts 18, arranged on said longitudinal central axis y, and two pairs of longitudinal flaps 12, preferably with a substantially rectangular shape, each flap 12 of the respective pair being arranged on the outer edge 3 of each outer panel 9. In particular, each longitudinal flap 12 is separated from said outer panel 9 by a folding line 13 or at said edge 13, more in particular the edge portion 3 between each longitudinal flap 12 and said outer panel corresponds to a folding line 13. Said pairs of flaps 12 are arranged on the respective edge 3 in a position such that when the blank 1 is assembled in the support element 20, they are adapted to be coupled to each other at a respective central cut 18.

In alternative embodiments, there may be only one central cut 18 and only one pair of longitudinal flaps 12 or, alternatively, more than two central cuts 18 with which the same number of pairs of longitudinal flaps 12 are associated. Furthermore, said longitudinal flaps 12 can also have different shapes from a rectangular shape.

With particular reference to figures 1 and 3, it is observed that the assembly of the blank 1 into a support element 20 is obtained by folding with a mountain-fold, with respect to the outer face 2, the folding lines 13 at the respective edges 3, the intermediate longitudinal folding lines 7, and the inner longitudinal folding lines 8. Said mountain-folds, with respect to the outer face 2, are indicated in figure 2 with broken lines. In this way, said pair of longitudinal flaps 12 is in proximity to the respective central cuts 18, which are substantially parallel to each other, each longitudinal flap 12 of each pair arranged opposite each other. Said longitudinal flaps 12 are then inserted into said central cuts 18. With this movement the outer panels 9 are substantially located in contact and parallel to each other, opposite one another, thus constituting the transversal element 9 of the support element 20 of figure 1. Such support element 20 therefore has a substantially hollow triangular shape, whose perimeter is formed by the central panel 1 1 and by the two intermediate panels 10. The central panel 11 thus constitutes the continuous flat support surface 11 of said support element 20, whereas the intermediate panels 10 constitute the slanted side surfaces 10 of said support element

20. It is also to be noted that with said movement, the transversal element 9 is arranged substantially perpendicular to said support surface 11 , with an edge 7 in common with the slanted side surfaces 10 of the support element 20. Finally, the longitudinal flaps 12 can be further folded with a mountain-fold, with respect to the outer face 2 of the blank 1 , so as to have the respective faces in contact with the support surface 11 , and lock the support element into the final shape, shown in figure 1.

Advantageously, a support element 20 is thus formed which does not require any gluing of the surfaces that compose it.

A further advantage is represented by the fact that said support element 20, adapted to be inserted inside commercial display units, has a continuous, and therefore structurally solid, support surface 11.

As shown in figure 7, said support element 20 can be inserted inside a commercial display unit 21 , to support a shelf 22 of said display unit.

The support element can be coupled to the two side walls 24 of said display unit 21 , below the shelf 22 to be supported, thanks to coupling means 14, 15, 25, present both on the display unit 21 and on the support element 20.

In this particular embodiment, said coupling means is comprised of a recess 25, placed on each side wall 24 of the display unit

21 , below the shelf 22 to be supported, and three pairs of transversal flaps 14, 15 of the blank 1 forming the support element 20. Each of said pairs having a transversal flap 14, 15 on each transversal edge 5 parallel to the transversal axis x of the blank 1. In particular, each transversal edge 5 of the blank 1 has two intermediate transversal flaps 14, with a substantially triangular shape, having an outer edge 16 in common with the intermediate panels 10, and a central transversal flap 15, with a substantially rectangular shape, having an outer edge 17 in common with the central panel 1 1. Other embodiments of the present invention may only comprise two pairs of intermediate transversal flaps 14, having an outer edge 16 in common with the intermediate panels 10, or only a pair of central transversal flaps 15, having an outer edge 17 in common with the central panel 1 1 ; in these alternative embodiments such transversal flaps 14, 15 can also have different shapes from a triangular or rectangular shape.

Said transversal flaps 14, 15 of the support element are inserted into the respective recesses 25 of the commercial display unit after being folded onto the respective outer edges 16 and 17. In particular, the intermediate transversal flaps 14 are folded with a valley-fold onto the respective outer edge 16, with respect to the outer face 2 of the blank 1 , whereas the central transversal flaps 15 are folded so as to abut the slanted surfaces 10 of the support element 20; in other words, they are folded with a mountain-fold on the outer edge 17, with respect to the outer face 2 of the blank 1. Said valley-folds, with respect to the outer face 2, are indicated in figure 2 with dash-dotted lines.

Advantageously, the support element 20 is thus fixed to the display unit 21 without needing any gluing.

Finally, it is to be noted that, once the support element 20 has been inserted into the display unit 21 , the folded longitudinal flaps 12 of the support element 20 are locked in movement, having a face substantially in contact with the support surface 1 1 of the support element 20, and with a face substantially in contact with the lower face of the shelf 22 of the display unit 21 , thus guaranteeing the maintenance of the shape of said support element 20 and further locking the assembly of the support element 20.

The preferred embodiments have been described above and variants on the present invention have been suggested, but it must be understood that skilled in the art can make modifications and changes without thereby falling outside the relative scope of protection, as defined by the appended claims.