The present invention relates to an optimized folding display. The display can be used as a commercial product dispenser and is formed by a folding structure built with sheet material, preferably cardboard, or a similar semi-flexible material, which contains or allows housing one or more shelves for displaying the product.
Said display structures are transported in a planar or folded arrangement, and are expanded automatically, semi-automatically or with an easy-to-assemble system at the point of sale or display.
Displays of this type are widely used at the normal points of sale for product samples or set of product samples with usual product weight ranges of up to 50 kg per shelf, and this range varies depending on the materials used and the possible inner reinforcements to be added.
Different display systems of the mentioned type are known. They generally consist of a base structure and a shelving assembly coupled to the structure, intended for bearing weight.
The most complicated part of displays of this type is the folding system for transporting the display in reduced volume state. This feature represents an important convenience and an important logistic advantage, making it a desirable property to achieve. Therefore, great efforts have been carried out in this sense by a number of developers and inventors to achieve implementations and innovations.
Document ES2379334A1 discloses a self-assembling folding display, made from any lightweight semi-rigid material, preferably cardboard or plastic, for displaying and supporting products intended for sale. The display comprises a body formed by a rear area and two side flaps connected at the front by a lower baseboard. Both in the rear area and at the baseboard there are bellows-like folding lines which are completely straight once the display is unfolded. Furthermore, the display is provided with a plurality of shelves with connecting means for fixing them to one of the sides, leaving the other side supported by gravity in the means provided on the other side. The display can therefore be folded flat with the shelves in it.
Document ES1110005U discloses a folding shelving system obtained from a die-cut and bent sheet that has at least three outer bearing walls resulting from bending a single sheet of sheet material along at least two vertical bending lines. The three walls are capable of keeping the shelving system upright. A set of shelves from parts of the bearing walls results from the die-cutting and bending, the shelves being perpendicular to the bearing walls.
Document ES2293784A1 discloses a display that can be assembled by unfolding consisting of a bottom, sides, aerial shelves, a shelf of the base and an extension piece. The main feature of said display is that it is delivered pre-assembled with its parts suitably adhered to one another. Assembly is done by means of unfolding, bending and putting its components together. Inversely, it can be folded and packaged to be transported to another location.
Document EP2548477A2 discloses a modular folding stand comprising a panel of multiwall structure made of polypropylene. The stand comprises two vertical folds dividing said first panel into a rear plane, a left side plane and a right side plane. The side parts are folded up to 180° towards the rear plane. The rear plane comprises a plurality of horizontal slots and the side parts comprise a plurality of holes corresponding with the plurality of slots. Furthermore, a plurality of rods is provided that can be inserted in the holes of the sides. A plurality of shelves comprising a multiwall structure of polypropylene rests on said rods and comprises flaps inserted in the slots of the rear panel.
Document FR2984705A3 discloses a display made from a semi-rigid material comprising a front panel and a bottom wall connected by two side walls and at least one bearing board. Said display can be folded, where said front part and said bottom wall are arranged against one another.
Document DE 202013100231 U1 discloses a carrier element for supporting shelves or goods carriers in a sales display. The carrier element is formed as a single hollow profile with a support surface and side surfaces. In order to reinforce the hollow profile, a support member for supporting the support surface extends along a plane perpendicular to the support surface center plane and said support member abuts against at least one of the opposite side surfaces.
Although the displays mentioned in the state of the art meet their functional objective, they have not attained the simplification and the performance like that attained by the present invention the features of which are described below.
The object of the invention is to overcome this drawback. This is achieved by means of an optimized folding display of the type indicated above, characterized in that it comprises:
The present invention provides a display with a simplified structure that is particularly focused on achieving a significant reduction in handling times during the process of building said display. This advantage is fundamental in terms of production cost reductions, and therefore allows classifying it as a highly competitive product against other displays of its kind.
The combination of system elements implicitly and naturally offers a structure for bearing the shelf element that is highly weight-resistant with respect to other similar displays built with the same materials.
According to another feature of the invention, the optimized folding display further comprises:
According to another feature of the invention, further to said central region and said two contiguous end regions, said traverses comprise two additional end regions, one at each end of said traverses, that can be articulated also by means of creasing lines, and where each of said additional end regions of each of said traverses is inserted through a second slot provided in each of said side panels, again into said side panels, to form a link, said link being used as holding means for the corresponding traverse.
According to another feature of the invention, said display has a plurality of shelving assemblies at different heights, said shelving assemblies being formed by said shelf element and at least two of said traverses.
According to another feature of the invention, said side panels are connected by a rear panel having the same width as that said length of said central region of said traverses, and said side panels being articulated with said rear panel by vertical connecting lines.
According to another feature of the invention, said side panels have a horizontal cutting line at an intermediate height between said shelves, and said rear panel has a creasing line that extends between each of said cutting lines and is aligned with them, forming a lower part and an upper part of said display, said upper part being able to be articulated and bent backwards up to 180° onto said lower part.
According to another feature of the invention, said side covers of said side panels are formed from at least one side prolongation of each of the side panels themselves, said side prolongations being articulated by vertical creasing lines along which they can bend and be folded until covering said at least two end regions of said traverses.
According to another feature of the invention, at least two traverses bearing said shelf element of the shelving assembly are not located at the same height, resulting in said shelf element still having a specific angle of inclination when it rests on said traverses.
According to another feature of the invention, the shelving assemblies of said plurality of shelving assemblies have reduced relative separations and depths according to the height at which they are assembled, giving rise to a display assembly with a stepped configuration.
According to another feature of the invention, the display further comprises an elastic traction system located on the main diagonal of said articulated rhombus, said elastic system generating a force when said display is in the folded position that tends to bring said display to said expanded or working position spontaneously.
Other additional improvements of the invention that have been carried out during the year of priority and that even further improve the performance of the display according to the invention are described below.
According to another feature of the invention, said side panels in which said traverses for bearing said shelf elements are housed, said side covers and said rear panel are formed from a single sheet part having folding lines, such that said two side panels are located at the lateral ends of said sheet part, said rear panel is located in the center and said side covers are in the intermediate areas on either side of said rear panel; and the assembly is folded such that said side panels form the inner walls of the sides of said display, said side panels being articulated by folding lines, located in the front and connected to said side covers, said side covers being articulated by rear folding lines and connected with said rear panel on both sides; and said side panels have pairs of slots the upper ends of which are connected by a cutting line, such that an upside down U-shaped cut remains where pairs of traverses connected at their ends in the form of a rectangular ring through said end regions can be engaged, passing said end regions through said cut.
As a result, once the traverses and shelf elements are placed, the assembly is self-assembling because the side panels are held with the traverses themselves and the shelf elements on the inner face thereof, avoiding other fixing means such as gluing, fasteners, screws or the like. In order to achieve a more compact folding of the assembly the folding lines are preferably vertical.
According to another feature of the invention, the display comprises: two main side panels made from sheet material, each of said side panels having pairs of slots the upper ends of which are connected by a cutting line, such that an upside down U-shaped cut remains; a rear panel connecting said side panels, said side panels being articulated with said rear panel by vertical connecting lines; at least one shelf element having at least two side flaps that can be articulated by means of creasing lines and are configured for being inserted in pairs of slots of said side panels which, in the service position of said display, are facing one another and at one and the same height; side covers covering the outer surface of said side panels and said at least two side flaps; and said side covers being fixed to said outer surface of said side panels, and said side panels in which said at least one shelf element, said main side covers and said rear panel are housed, are formed from a single sheet part having folding lines, such that said two side panels are located at the lateral ends of said sheet part, said rear panel is located in the center and said side covers are in the intermediate areas on either side of said rear panel. As a result, manufacturing and assembly costs are considerably reduced because fewer dies are needed. In a synergistic manner, this configuration allows dispensing with any type of holding means because the display holds in the assembled state merely as a result of the configuration of the sheet part forming the side panels, the rear panel and the side covers. The sheet part is preferably rectangular and the folding lines are preferably vertical.
The display can be built without using glues or attachment elements as a result of a structure of self-consistent assembly, making it the top choice in terms of competitiveness with respect to the displays known in the state of the art.
To better understand the invention, drawings of embodiments of the present invention are enclosed as non-limiting illustrative examples.
For the sake of simplicity and clarity, most of the drawings show a diagrammatical form of a display without showing specific minor details as they are not considered essential.
First,
A preferred basic embodiment of the display starts with an assembly such as the one shown in
In a preferred embodiment schematically shown in
According to another feature of the invention, the described display can be folded until achieving a flattened configuration, and this process is shown in
In another preferred embodiment of the invention depicted in
According to another preferred embodiment of the invention, the side covers -20- are formed from extensions or prolongations -21a-, -21b-, -22a-, -22b-, -26a-, -26b- of the main side panels -1- and -2- themselves.
An embodiment based on a display of the type comprising a rear panel -16- like the one described above is also disclosed. Furthermore, the display has a cutting line -23a-, -23b-, in each of the main side panels -1- and -2-, located approximately between two shelving assemblies. Both lines are located at the same height, and a creasing line -24- in said rear panel -16- extends from a cutting line -23a- of one side panel -1- to the cutting line -23b- of the other side panel -2-. As a result, the display can be articulated and folded backwards, further to being folded into the characteristic rhombus shape of the invention. Correspondingly, the assembly can be folded into a smaller shape with two-fold size reduction. This embodiment is shown in
In this display, the two side panels -1-, -2- are located at the lateral ends of the sheet part 19-. In addition, the rear panel -16- is located in the center and the side covers 20- are in the intermediate areas on either side of the rear panel -16-.
This embodiment allows concealing the different panels and technical elements of the display in a simpler manner, and the display can be assembled without requiring additional fixing means. The assembly is therefore folded such that the side panels -1-, -2- form the inner walls of the sides of the display. As seen in the drawings, the side panels -1-, -2- are articulated by preferably vertical folding lines -28a-, -28b-, located in the front and connected to the side covers -20-. In turn, the side covers -20- are articulated by rear folding lines -29a-, 29b- and connected with the rear panel -16- on both sides.
Finally, for the purpose of simplifying the assembly of the shelving assemblies and not requiring external fixing elements, the side panels -1-, -2- have pairs of slots -30- the upper ends of which are connected by a cutting line -30a-, such that an upside down U-shaped cut remains. Pairs of traverses 3 connected at the ends of the U in the form of a rectangular ring can be engaged through their respective end regions -5a-, -5b-. To that end, the end regions -5a-, -5b- are passed through the cut -30a-.
In this case, the display has two main side panels -1-, -2- made from sheet material which, like in the previous embodiment, are provided with pairs of slots -30- the upper ends of which are connected by a cutting line -30a- forming an upside down U-shaped cut. Furthermore, the side panels -1-, -2- are connected and articulated with a rear panel -16- by vertical connecting lines.
In addition, the display also has two shelf elements -15- with two side flaps -15a-, -15c- and a rear flap -15b- which are articulated in respective creasing lines. These side flaps -15a- -15c- are inserted in pairs of slots -30- of the side panels -1-, -2- which, in the service position of the display, are facing one another and at one and the same height, such that it is possible to dispense with the traverses provided in the other embodiments.
Further to the elements that have already been described, in this embodiment the display also has side covers -20- covering the outer surface of the side panels -1-, -2- and the two side flaps -15a, 15c- of each of the shelf elements -15-. To suitably conceal these elements, the side covers -20- are fixed to the outer surface of the side panels -1-, -2-.
In this embodiment it is particularly preferable for the side panels -1-, -2-, the main side covers -20- and the rear panel -16- to be formed by a single sheet part -19- having vertical folding lines -28a-, -28b-, -29a-, -29b-. In this case, the two side panels -1-, -2- are located at the lateral ends of the sheet part -19-, the rear panel -16- is located in the center and the side covers -20- are in the intermediate areas on either side of said rear panel -16-. Preferably, the sheet part -19- is rectangular. Nevertheless, despite the fact that the base must hold on one plane once the display is assembled, the upper end does not necessarily have to be flat. Therefore, this upper end could have other alternative or fanciful shapes.
Like in the case of the other embodiments, the sheet material according to the embodiments of
Although the invention has been described with respect to preferred embodiments, such embodiments must not be considered to be limiting of the invention which is defined by the broadest interpretation of the following claims.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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201531717 | Nov 2015 | ES | national |
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
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PCT/IB2016/057111 | 11/24/2016 | WO | 00 |
Publishing Document | Publishing Date | Country | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
WO2017/089989 | 6/1/2017 | WO | A |
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