Self-locking spring pusher

The subject of the invention is a self-locking spring pusher used in merchandizing as an element of horizontal product feeders placed on racks or near cash desks.

A horizontal cigarette packet feeder, in which a pusher with a guide and a spring are mounted between vertical walls on the bottom of the body is known from Polish utility model No. 59657. A spring feeder in which there is a horizontally situated spring and a pusher placed ahead of the spring is known from Polish patent application No. 346080. A merchandising system which has an element with a path with a pusher pushed with a string is known from a Polish patent application. Similar solutions are known from publications of US patent descriptions US 2004/0065630, US 2006/0273053 and US 2007/0029270.

According to the invention, the self-locking spring pusher consists of a body in which a stop and a roll are mounted in a self-aligning way and additionally the body has side walls joined with an arc vault at the top, and a connector at the bottom which connects top slides, and additionally the side walls have flat inner cavities with limiting arches and additionally the stop has side walls with inner slide recesses and additionally the side walls are connected at the bottom to the mandrels with a hook-shaped connector and the hook-shaped connector has an operational undercut and furthermore the stop has a forked rest or a flat rest and additionally the stop is mounted in flat front inner recesses in the body through mandrels of the hook-shaped connector and additionally the roll is mounted in the inner slide recesses of stop through its bearing mandrels.

Exemplary embodiment of the subject of invention is presented in the drawing, where Fig. 1 shows a side view of the pusher positioned on a known guide, Fig. 2 - the front view of the pusher designated as A on Fig. 1 , Fig. 3 - the rear view of the pusher designated as B in Fig. I ₅ Fig. 4 - the side view of the pusher, Fig. 5 - the rear view of the pusher body designated as D in Fig. 4, Fig. 6 -

the front view of the pusher body designated as C on Fig. 4, Fig. 7 - the A-A axial section of the pusher body designated on Fig. 6, Fig. 8 the B-B section of the pusher body wall designated on Fig. 7, Fig. 9 - a side view of the pusher stop, Fig. 10 the E view of the pusher stop designated on Fig. 9, Fig. 11 - an expanded assembly drawing of pusher assemblies, Fig. 12 - a top view of a part of the known guide showing a catch for flat tape spring wound up inside the pusher.

The self-locking spring pusher has a body 1 consisting of. side walls 1.1 joined with arc vault 1.5 at the top, and a connector 1.6 at the bottom with a nose 1.11 and additionally the connector 1.6 connects top slides 1.4 on guide 1.2. Side walls 1.1 have flat inner cavities 1.13 which make it easier to mount stop 2 in body 1. In the side view, body 1 has flat outer cavities 1.12, atop arc recess 1.9, a rear arc recess 1.8 and a front arc recess 1.7. In the front view, body 1 has a longitudinal handling recess. The axial section of body 1 shows on the inner surface of side wall 1.1 a flat front inner recess 1.15 with a stopper arch 1.16 and a flat inner cavity 1.13 with a limiting arch 1.14. Stop 2 has side walls 2.1 with inner slide recesses 2.2 and additionally side walls 2.1 are connected at the bottom to mandrel 2.4 with a hook-shaped connector 2.3 and additionally connector 2.3 has an operational undercut 2.8. Additionally, stop 2 has a forked rest 2.5 or flat rest 2.5.1. The forked rest 2.5 has an angular wall 2.6 and a handling grip 2.7. Between side walls 2.1 there is a roll 3 with bearing mandrels 3.1 inserted in slide recesses 2.2. A flat spring 4 with a hook-shaped bend 4.1 at the end is wound around roll 3. Body 1 is mounted by its guide 1.2 on slides 5.1 of guide 5 and spring 4 is engaged in guide 5 by its hook-shaped bend 4.1.

In its initial position, the self-locking spring pusher is at the mounting point of the spring 4 in guide 5. Stop 2 has a fixed position and the hook-shaped connector 2.3 of its side walls 2.1 is supported by its operational undercut 2.8 against the surface of slide 5.1 of guide 5. On pressing the operating grip 2.7, stop 2 is inclined backwards, which allows to move the pusher to guide 5. On releasing, operating grip 2.7, stop 2 returns to its former position and the pusher is

locked by seizing hook-shaped connector 2.3 at the butting of operating undercut 2.8 and the surface of slide 5.1 of guide 5, which allows positioning the pusher at any place of guide 5. The design ensures the movement of stop 2 with relation to body 1 by mounting mandrels 2.4 of stop 2 in inner recesses 1.15 in the walls of body 1. The pressure of product units placed on guide 5 causes forked rest 2.5 of stop 2 to incline and move the pusher backwards, with a simultaneous unwinding of spring 4. Each time a product unit is taken off, a part of spring 4 is wound up and all the other product units are moved towards the front of guide 5 under the pressure of the retamirig pusher.