Technical Field

The present invention relates to a supporting device applicable to display surfaces and the like. Background Art

As is known, panels with rollers are already used on display surfaces of sales shelves whose function is to automatically provide the "gliding" of the products so that the display front is always full of products, because the products on the shelves replace immediately those that are extracted.

In the solutions of the background art, laterally adjacent rows of rollers with mutually parallel axes are provided, and therefore inevitably there is a space between the several rows that is not affected by the rollers, so that difficulties may arise in the movement of the product, because it is not supported adequately by rollers.

Another problem further consists in that the surfaces with rollers are usually connected to the display surfaces by way of the interposition of adhesive material, such as for example double adhesive, causing further difficulties in case of removal, and moreover there is poor stability of the connection.

Disclosure of the Invention

The aim of the invention is to solve the above cited problems, by providing a supporting device applicable to display surfaces and the like that makes it possible to provide rows of rollers arranged so as to prevent the occurrence of dead spaces, i.e., spaces without rollers, between one row and the next, so that the product is always adequately supported.

Within this aim, an object of the invention is to devise a supporting device that can be provided by using modular elements that allow the combination of several panels, adapting to a wide range of depths of the display surfaces, thus meeting the different contingent requirements. Another object of the present invention is to provide a supporting device that thanks to its particular constructive characteristics is capable of guaranteeing highest reliability and safety of use.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a supporting device applicable to display surfaces and the like that can be obtained easily starting from commonly commercially available elements and materials and is also competitive from a merely economical point of view.

This aim, as well as these and other objects that will become better apparent hereinafter, are achieved by a supporting device applicable to display surfaces and the like, according to the invention, which comprises at least one panel which supports at least one row of rollers with a mutually parallel axis which protrude from said panel, characterized in that the laterally adjacent rollers of said at least one row of rollers are mutually offset in an axial direction for obtaining a useful width of said at least one row of rollers that is larger than the axial length of each one of said rollers. Brief description of the drawings

Further characteristics and advantages of the invention will become better apparent from the description of a preferred but not exclusive embodiment of a supporting device applicable to display surfaces and the like, illustrated by way of non-limiting example in the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is a schematic perspective view of two panels which are mutually separated and spaced with the rows of rollers as an extension;

Figure 2 is a perspective view of the step of mating between the two panels;

Figure 3 is a view of the two panels mated;

Figure 4 is an exploded view of the device according to the invention; Figure 5 is a schematic view of a display surface of an exhibitor provided with the supporting device according to the invention; Figure 6 is an enlarged-scale view of a detail of a panel with the rollers extracted;

Figure 7 is a sectional view, taken along a longitudinal plane, of the supporting device according to the invention applied to the display surface of an exhibitor; Figure 8 is a perspective view of the detail of the mating means between two panels as an extension;

Figure 9 is an enlarged-scale sectional view of the coupling means of two panels arranged as an extension;

Figure 10 is a plan view of the coupling means; Figure 11 is a rear view of the coupling means;

Figure 12 is an enlarged-scale view of a portion of rows of laterally adjacent rollers with the mutual offset highlighted. Ways of carrying out the Invention

With reference to the figures, the supporting device applicable to display surfaces and the like, according to the invention, comprises at least one panel, designated by the reference numeral 1 , which supports a plurality of rows 2 of rollers 3 that are arranged with mutually parallel axes.

Advantageously, it is possible to use modular panels so as to mate, by way of mutual coupling means, two modular panels 1 arranged as an extension of each other, with the rows of rollers as an extension of each other.

Advantageously, it is possible to provide modular panels with different longitudinal extensions so as to be able to cover a wide range of sizes by using one or more modular panels. The panels 1 are provided, in a manner known per se, with longitudinal slots 10, arranged at the edges, that allow the insertion of partitioning sides 1 1 that can be arranged according to the dimensions of the product to be displayed.

Moreover, on the lateral edges the panels 1 are provided with engagement teeth 12 and with seats 13 that allow the mutual side-by-side arrangement of a plurality of panels in order to obtain the desired width of the display surface.

A particular feature of the invention consists in that the rollers 3 are arranged so that on each row of rollers, the rollers 3 that are arranged side- by-side are mutually offset in an axial direction, so that a useful width of the row 2 of rollers 3 is obtained which is larger than the axial length of each one of the rollers.

As shown clearly in Figure 12, in practice, by providing a matching offset between laterally adjacent rows, a surface is provided in which practically all the regions are affected by the rollers and there are no "dead regions" that are typical of rows of side-by-side rollers.

The rollers 3, as highlighted in the drawing, have axial pivots 4 that engage by snap action rotation seats 5 provided by the corresponding panel.

Another important aspect of the invention consists in that there is a rear containment profile 20, which is provided by means of an extruded element and is equipped with a resting wing 21, which terminates in a lower tooth 22 that engages the edge of the surface 23 of the shelf, acting in practice as an engagement element.

Moreover, there is an upper tooth 24 that provides a region for accommodating the upper edge of the corresponding panel 1, which is thus mated and retained by an engagement tooth 25 arranged at the end of the resting contact wing 21 that is inserted in a rear notch 26 provided by the panel.

In this manner, it is possible in practice to engage the several panels on the display surfaces without necessarily having to resort to the application of adhesive in order to connect the panels to the supporting surface.

Moreover, there is a front containment profile 30 that is provided by means of an extruded element and has a base wing 31 provided with a front coupling tooth 32 that can be inserted in a front engagement slot 33 provided on the lower face of the panel 1.

Moreover, at the front a containment profile 34 is provided, which engages the front edge of the panel 1 and, in cooperation with a front edge 35, defines the seat for a front element 36, which in practice is the element for stopping the products that tend to advance on the rolling surface.

As noted earlier, the panels can be mated by way of coupling means which are provided on a transverse edge and are constituted, as shown in Figures 8 to 11, by a projecting wing 40 that affects half the width of each modular panel 1 , so as to mate with the other modular panel to be engaged. On the face of the protruding wing 40 that is directed opposite with respect to the face from which the rollers protrude projecting teeth 41 are provided which can be coupled in hollows 42 provided in the recessed region 43 that is laterally adjacent to the wing 40.

In a region not affected by the wing 40 coupling teeth 45 are provided, which define a guiding plane 46 and a recess 47 for coupling to bridges 48 provided correspondingly on the edge of the modular panel 1 in the region affected by the wing 40.

In this manner, as highlighted in Figures 9 to 11, a snap coupling is provided between two modular panels arranged as an extension of each other, providing in practice a mutual rotation about a central axis which is perpendicular to the axis of the rollers.

The arrangement described above therefore provides the possibility of having a supporting device in which in practice all of the useful surface is affected by the rows of rollers thanks to the solution of mutually offsetting the laterally adjacent rollers and arranging them so as to correspond to the laterally adjacent rows, so that, in practice, the offset rollers affect the laterally adjacent row of rollers.

Moreover, the use of rear and front engagement profiles makes it possible to obtain a stable and quick assembly without the need to apply adhesives and the like. The possibility of mutual coupling between the modular panels makes it possible to cover with the same reusable elements a wide range of dimensions, in practice, all the dimensions that are used normally on the display surfaces of the exhibitors. The invention thus conceived is susceptible of numerous modifications and variations, all of which are within the scope of the appended claims.

All the details may further be replaced with other technically equivalent elements. In practice, the materials used, as long as they are compatible with the specific use, as well as the contingent shapes and dimensions, may be any according to requirements.

The disclosures in Italian Patent Application No. MI2009A000456 from which this application claims priority are incorporated herein by reference. Where technical features mentioned in any claim are followed by reference signs, those reference signs have been included for the sole purpose of increasing the intelligibility of the claims and accordingly, such reference signs do not have any limiting effect on the interpretation of each element identified by way of example by such reference signs.