Background Art The prior art comprises pieces of furniture provided with shelves constituted by boards or panels made of wood or metal which are horizontal or inclined like a bookstand with invariable inclinations: such shelves are supported by the sides of the structure by means of wing-like supporting elements which are generally metallic and are screwed or even only inserted and locked in holes, cavities or slots provided in said sides and/or in the corresponding uprights at different levels.

The prior art, even the display furniture that is deemed to be the most functional, has shortcomings and drawbacks that are due to the discontinuity of the display of the items at the longitudinal ends of each shelf, where it is necessary to interpose thick uprights or load-bearing sides in order to insert therein the elements for supporting the corresponding ends of the shelf; moreover, said shelves are used to perform a single item supporting function, either horizontally or with a fixed inclination, and cannot be used to assume both arrangements or functions, the horizontal one and the variously inclined one, which are indispensable in order to achieve different functionalities of the item supporting surfaces.

This prior art is susceptible of considerable improvements regarding the possibility to eliminate the above cited shortcomings and drawbacks.

The above leads to the need to solve the new technical problem of practically eliminating the discontinuity of the support at the longitudinal ends of the shelves; another or second aspect of the same technical problem

consists in providing new elements for supporting the ends of said shelves that are adapted to support said shelves both in the horizontal arrangement thereof and in arrangements thereof that may also be angularly variable; a still other, or third aspect of the same technical problem is the provision of a shelf that can be used equally both with a horizontal arrangement and with an inclined arrangement, as required for example respectively for books and for magazines.

Disclosure of the Invention The aim of the present invention is to solve the technical problem by providing, as regards its first aspect, a display whose load-bearing structure, for each vertical series of item supporting shelves, is constituted mainly by pairs of uprights that are arranged opposite one another in a depth direction of the structure and are advantageously narrow, i. e. , not significantly thick, the spine of a profiled element having an omega-shaped cross-section being fixed to each one of the facing inner surfaces of said uprights, the sides of said profiled element having corresponding slots arranged in vertical succession with a preset spacing for interlocking therein at least one orientatable element for supporting the item supporting shelf, the front edges of said profiled element being advantageously folded at right angles and arranged opposite one another, also to allow the possible interlocking, between them, of a panel that is adapted to constitute a side between two mutually opposite uprights; the orientatable supporting element for the end of the shelf, adapted to solve the second aspect of the same technical problem, being constituted by a supporting portion that has an L-shaped profile and is adapted to protrude from a lateral face or side of said profiled element in order to support, together with another similar element, the corresponding lateral edge of the shelf, and by a consecutive and opposite part for interlocking in the slot of said profiled element; this last part being constituted by a short pin that is interposed between two plates, the end plate being adapted to enter the slot of a side of the vertical profiled element in

order to be retained therein after rotation, the other plate being adapted to limit the axial play of the pin that rests on the lower end of said slot in a manner that allows angular orientation; the shelf with different functions, adapted to solve the third aspect of the same technical problem, being constituted by an item supporting surface that is elongated or extends predominantly in a longitudinal and lateral direction, and by an auxiliary surface that is substantially normal or vertical, directed upward, and consecutive to the first surface enough to constitute respectively a rear abutment for the items, when using said shelf in a horizontal arrangement, and a front (lower) abutment in an inclined arrangement; means being provided for reinforcing the edges of said shelf, which is advantageously laminar.

The advantages achieved by this invention are: as regards solving the first aspect of the technical problem by means of a vertical profiled element having an omega-shaped cross-section, the possibility to avoid any significant longitudinal discontinuity of the shelves, therefore providing tighter, more compact modularity, space saving and more pleasant appearance; as regards solving the second aspect of the same technical problem by adopting an orientatable supporting element with an L-shaped portion for supporting the shelf and with an opposite interlocking portion that can be orientated so as to rest in the slot of said profiled element, the advantage being constituted by the possibility of orientation to support the end of the shelf in arrangements that can optionally be angularly different, with longitudinally closer shelves; finally, as regards solving the third aspect of the same technical problem by adopting a shelf constituted by two consecutive perpendicular planes, a main one and an auxiliary one, having different extensions in the direction of the depth of the piece of furniture and being reversible, the advantage consists in the economically advantageous possibility to use a single type of shelf for the several item display requirements.

Brief Description of the Drawings Further characteristics and advantages of the present invention will become better apparent from the detailed description of a preferred but not exclusive embodiment of a display for books, magazines and items in general, illustrated only by way of non-limitative example in the accompanying drawings, wherein: Figure 1 is a longitudinal view of a shelf in the position for horizontal use ;.

Figure 2 is a similar view of the same shelf in the position for inverted and inclined use; Figures 3,4 and 5 are respectively the same view of the shelf of Figure 1, a left view and a plan view thereof ; Figure 6 is a perspective view of the use of the shelf according to Figure 1; Figure 7 is a perspective view of the use of the shelf according to Figure 2; Figure 8 is a perspective view of a display with shelves on two vertical series, arranged horizontally or inclined, and supported by two pairs of profiled elements having an omega-shaped cross-section; Figure 9 is a partial enlarged-scale perspective view of the display of Figure 8, provided with a closure panel on one side; Figure 10 is a perspective view of a shelf supporting element suitable for interlocking in said profiled element; Figure 11 is a partial perspective view of a supporting upright of the display provided with a profiled element that has an omega-shaped cross- section with two supporting elements inserted on its sides, a horizontal one for the shelf according to Figure 1 and an inclined one for the shelf according to Figure 2; Figure 12 is a sectional view, taken along a transverse vertical plane, of the profiled element of Figure 11;

Figure 13 is a partial front view of a display with a vertical series of multiple horizontal and inclined shelves and with multiple pairs of supporting uprights that are arranged longitudinally and have a profiled element according to the invention.

Ways of carrying out the Invention With reference to the figures, the reference numeral 1 designates the orientatable shelf according to the invention, which is advantageously made of metal plate and is provided with a main surface 2 for supporting the items and with an auxiliary surface 3 that is substantially perpendicular and consecutive to the main one and is designed to contain the items along its depth in the case of Figure 1 and to have a mixed containment and support function in the case of Figure 2; the reference numeral 4 designates the edges, which are advantageously folded laterally in two directions for reinforcement and support by means of supporting elements; the reference numeral 5 designates the folded longitudinal edge of the main surface 2 and the reference numeral 6 designates the edge of the auxiliary surface 3, which is folded in two substantially perpendicular directions, folding being provided for stiffening; the reference numeral 7 (Figure 6) designates the items displayed on the shelves; the reference numeral 8 designates the uprights of the display 9 constituted by two vertical series of shelves 1; the reference numeral 10 designates horizontal parts for the connection of the structure of the display 9; the reference numeral 11 designates the profiled elements having an omega-shaped cross-section; the reference numeral 12 designates an optional lateral closure panel that is inserted between the edges of two mutually opposite profiled elements 11; the reference numeral 13 (Figure 10) designates the supporting element, provided with an interlocking pin 14, a tang-like plate 15 for insertion, a plate with wings 16 for retention, and an L-shaped hook constituted by the mutually perpendicular elements 17 and 18 ; the reference numeral 19 designates the sides of the profiled element 11, which are provided with slots 20, with mutually opposite front folded

edges 21, also in order to contain the optional panel 12, and with a back 22 that is fixed by means of screws 23 to the inner face of the upright 8; the reference numeral 24 (Figure 13) designates a display provided with at least three pairs of uprights 8 that are distributed longitudinally.

In the practical execution, the materials, the dimensions and the constructive details may of course be different from the ones described but technically equivalent thereto without thereby abandoning the scope of the protection of the appended claims.

The disclosures in Italian Patent Application No. M02001A000137 from which this application claims priority are incorporated herein by reference.