Shelf edge beam |
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申请号 | US11488883 | 申请日 | 2006-07-18 | 公开(公告)号 | US20080017600A1 | 公开(公告)日 | 2008-01-24 |
申请人 | Travis B. Thompson; | 发明人 | Travis B. Thompson; | ||||
摘要 | A shelf edge support is provided which strengthens the front edge of a shelf particularly for point-of-purchase displays which are typically constructed of a paper or cardboard. The shelf edge support includes two L-shaped members which are configured to be attached to the front edge of a shelf. | ||||||
权利要求 | Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is as follows: |
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说明书全文 | The present invention relates to product shelving and, more particularly, to a structural shelf support for point-of-purchase display shelving constructed of corrugated paper or plastic, cardboard or other lightweight construction material. Point-of-purchase display shelves are widely used in outlet stores, discount stores and anywhere there is unused counter or floor space available which allows a vendor of goods to set up stands or displays to display the goods without having to acquire space or fixed shelving. Flexibility of design of point-of-purchase displays often result in displays with shelves having long spans. The shelf is fully supported along the back and sides. However, the front edge is often unsupported, or a metal support or brace is incorporated to strengthen the front edge of the shelf. The weakest point is at the longitudinal center of the shelf. Additionally, the middle front edge of the shelf often endures the most stress from product load, product restocking, customer use and abuse. Metal supports must be designed for the particular application and are not readily suited to retrofit a point-of-purchase display not designed to utilize a metal support. Use of metal supports is expensive, requires additional time to construct, is not readily adaptable to various shelf widths and requires disassembly if the unit is going to be replaced after use. Accordingly, there is a need for a shelf support system that is lightweight, easily applied in manufacturing or to an existing shelf system, inexpensive and recyclable. The present invention provides a shelf edge beam that includes two or more structural members which are configured to slip over the front edge of point-of-purchase display shelf. The shelf edge beam attaches to the upper and lower surfaces of the shelf and transfers the load from the middle of the shelf to the outer edges which are supported by the vertical sides of the shelving system. The shelf edge beam may be applied in manufacturing or may be applied to a preexisting shelf. Referring initially to For example, two or more layers of paper material may be formed into a right angle and laminated together with an epoxy resin to form each member. The members 22 and 24 are glued together along the vertical legs 28 and 30 leaving a gap 36 between the horizontal legs 32 and 34 to receive the edge of a shelf (not shown). The upper edge 38 of the shelf edge beam 20 is trimmed and the outer surfaces 40 are wrapped with film or cover 26 for aesthetic purposes, as well as to provide some protection and strength to the front and top edges of the shelf edge beam 20. The members 22 and 24 may be manufactured as one continuous member, cut into matching lengths then glued together and trimmed. Alternatively, member 22 may be manufactured separately from member 24 and the vertical leg 28 of member 22 sized to match the inside dimension of the vertical leg 32 of member 24 together with the gap 36 to reduce waste and eliminate the trimming step. Referring to Referring to A shelf edge beam 20 is fastened to the front edge of each shelf 64. A small amount of glue (not shown) is squeezed into the channel 36 of the shelf edge beam 20. The shelf edge beam 20 is slipped over the front edge of the shelf 64. The strength of the shelf edge beam 20 comes from the two angled members 22 and 24. The force of the weight of the products 72 being supported in the middle of the shelf 64 is transferred along the shelf edge beam 20 to the outer ends to the sides 66 and 68 of the display case 60 preventing deflection and structural failure of the shelf 64. Referring to When applying the hinged shelf edge beam 80 to the front edge 102 of a shelf 104, a protective film or paper (not shown) is removed from the tape 96 to expose the adhesive. The hinged shelf edge beam 80 is applied to the lower surface of the front edge 102 of the shelf 104 with the front edge 102 in contact with the vertical surface 92 and the tape 100 in contact with the lower surface of the shelf 104 (See Referring to Referring to It is to be understood that while certain forms of this invention have been illustrated and described, is it not limited thereto except insofar as such limitations are included in the following claims. |