GB2206434A

GB2206434A - A flat packed shelved display unit

Info

Publication number: GB2206434A
Application number: GB8714132A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Peter Tietjen
Original assignee: PAN BOOKS Ltd
Current assignee: PAN BOOKS Ltd
Priority date: 1987-06-17
Filing date: 1987-06-17
Publication date: 1989-01-05
Also published as: GB8714132D0

Abstract

A flat packed shelved display unit comprises a first board which is foldable into a channel-shaped upright 12 comprising a web 20 and two flanges 22 extanding away therefrom at the sides thereof, and at least one second board foldable into a shelf 14 comprising a base 24 having a side 26 extending upwardly therefrom at each end thereof. The sides of the shelf having attaching means 28 attachable to the upright such that the base of the shelf extends away from the web of the upright oppositely to the flanges thereof. Further boards form feet 16 for the unit and a stabilising member 18 which extends between the feet. <IMAGE>

Description

A FLAT PACKED SHELVED DISPLAY UNIT This invention relates to a shelved display unit and is particularly, but not exclusively, applicable to such a unit for displaying books for sale, especially paperback books.

Heretofore so-called 'dump bins' have been supplied to book retailers for displaying books. These dump bins comprise compartmentalised cardboard boxes which are mountable on end so as to display the front of the top book of the books which are packed in each compartment. The dump bins are also used as part of the packaging in which the books are despatched to the retailer.

As books are produced in a range of cover area sizes as well as thicknesses, a range of dump bins of different compartment areas and depths is used. Also, it is usual to provide books of a single title in each dump bin and accordingly unless a retailer orders the number of books of a given title which fill a particular dump bin, extra packing and/or display material is required to fill the bin to ensure that the books are not damaged in transit and/or that display is effective.

With a view to overcoming the above-mentioned disadvantage associated with the use of dump bins as display units, the present invention provides a flat packed shelved display unit which can be despatched to and assembled by a retailer, for example, together with an order of books which may comprise any mix of book titles in any quantities separately packaged. Thus, the practical restriction on the make-up or size of an order imposed by the sizes of available dump bins is avoided.

In accordance with the invention such a flat packed shelved display unit advantageously comprises a first board means which is foldable into a channelshaped upright comprising a web and two flanges extending away therefrom at the sides thereof, and at least one second board means foldable into a shelf comprising a base having a side extending upwardly therefrom at each end thereof, the sides of the shelf having attaching means attachable to the upright such that the base of the shelf extends away from the web of the upright oppositely to the flanges thereof.

The attaching means on each side of the shelf may comprise a projection which is insertable through an aperture in said web, which projection is provided with a slot opening towards said shelf base and locatable on said web.

Advantageously the projection is provided with a second slot which opens away from said shelf base and is also locatable on said web. The use of the abovementioned two slots ensures a more stable attachment of each side of the shelf to the upright.

The apertures in the web through which the abovementioned projections are insertable may be provided bv respective flaps in said first board means, which flaps are advantageously foldable to extend away from the web in the same direction as the flanges such that side edges of said flaps provide abutment for said flanges.

In this case, the flat packed shelved display unit may further include means for urging the flanges into abutment with said flap side edges. These urging means may comprise respective elastic means connectable between each flap and the flange adjacent thereto. For example, each elastic means may comprise an elastic band which is fastened to a said flange and fastenable to a respective flap by location in slot means provided therein.

Whilst the second board means may be separate from the first board means, advantageously the first and the second board means are secured together in the flat packed shelved display unit. Thus, the or each second boar-d means may include flap means on the portion thereof for forming the base of the shelf, said flap means and the portion of the first board means for forming the web of the upright being secured together one over the other.

The portion of the second board means fbr forming the shelf base is advantageously foldable in two such that the shelf base has a double thickness of said second board means.

Preferably, the flat packed shelved display unit comprises foot means secured, or securable, to the first board means for supporting the first board means when it is folded into said upright. These foot means may comprise two third board means providing two separate spaced feet, each third board means and a respective portion of the first board means for forming a said flange of the upright being secured together one over the other. Each third board means may be foldable in two such that each foot provided thereby has a double thickness of said third board means.

Preferably each foot provided by said third board means is arranged to extend away from the web oppositely to the flanges when the first board means is folded to provide said upright.

Advantageously the flat packed shelved display unit may comprise a fourth board means securable between the feet provided by said third board means.

This fourth board means provides a more rigid structure for the display unit and may addiionally carry display material.

At least one, and preferably all, of the abovementioned board means may be advantageously formed of a cardboard material.

The invention also includes a flat packed shelved display unit as defined above when folded and assembled to form a shelved display unit.

In order that the invention may be well understood, an embodiment thereof, which is given by way of example only, will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a perspective view showing the front and one side of a shelved display unit which has been formed from a flat pack; Figure 2 is a side view of the same unit; Figure 3 is a detail of the rear of the same unit; Figure 4 shows a first board which is foldable to form an upright of the unit; Figure 5 shows a second board which is foldable to form a shelf of the unit; Figure 6 shows a third board which is foldable to form a foot of the unit; and Figure 7 shows a fourth board which is foldable so as to be securable between the two feet of the unit.

Referring first to Figures 1 to 3, there is shown a shelved unit 10 which comprises an upright 12 which carries a plurality (three as illustrated) of shelves 14 and is provided with two spaced feet 16, between which a stabilising member 18 is secured.

The upright 12 is formed by folding a first board which is illustrated in Figure 4. Each shelf 14 is formed by folding a respective second board which is illustrated in-Figure 5. Each foot 16 is formed by folding a respective third board which is illustrated in Figure 6 and the stabilising member 18 is formed from a fourth board which is illustrated in Figure 7.

All of the above boards are formed from a cardboard material and further reference to Figures 4 to 7 will be made hereinafter.

The upright 12 of the display unit is channel r shaped, comprising a web 20 and two flanges 22 extending away from the web' at the sides thereof. Each shelf comprises a base 24 having a side 26 extending upwardly therefrom at each end thereof. The sides 26 of each shelf have attaching means, generally indicated at 28, attached to the upright 12 such that the base 24 of the shelf extends away from the web 20 of the upright oppositely to the flanges 22 thereof.

As best seen in Figure 3, the attaching means of each side 26 of each shelf comprises a projection 30 which is insertable through an aperture 32 provided in the web 20 of the upright 12 and is provided with a slot 34 opening towards the shelf base which locates on the web portion 36 and a second slot 38 which opens away from the shelf base 24 and locates on portion 40 of the web.

Each aperture 32 is provided by a folding respective flap 42 to extend away from the web 20 in the same direction as the flanges 22 such that side edges 44 of the flaps 42 provide abutments for the flanges 22. The flanges 22 are urged into abutment with these flap side edges by elastic means shown as respective elastic bands associated with each flap 42 in the manner illustrated in Figure 3. As shown in Figure 3, the elastic band 46 is fastened to the illustrated flange 22 by passing through an aperture 48 therein and being located around a lug 50 defined between two slots 52 which open at the free edge 56 of the flange. The elastic band 46 is also fastenable to the illustrated flap 42 by location in slot means 56 provided therein and shown as comprising slots 58 and 60 which open at the edges 62 and 64 of the flap which define the free corner of the flap remote from the flange 22.

In Figures 4 to 7 which show respective cardboard boards from which the unit is formed, the solid lines represent cut edges, the dashed lines represent scores and the double-dashed lines (Figure 4 only) represent creases. The figures also indicate the way in which the boards are folded to form the various components of the unit 12. In this connection, the arrows designated A and B indicate the direction of folding about the various score lines, with the designation A signifying that the fold is substantially 900 and the designation B signifying that the fold is substantially 1800 such that a double thickness of board results. Portions of the boards and the parts of the unit which they form have been given the same reference numerals in the drawings.

Referring to Figure 5, it will be noted that the board illustrated therein for forming a shelf 14 has a portion 24 for forming the shelf base which is foldable in two about the score line 66 such that the shelf base has a double thickness of the board and is therefore more rigid than if the shelf base were formed from a single thickness of the board. Furthermore, each board for forming a shelf for the unit includes flap means, shown as a single flap 68, on the portion thereof for forming the base of the shelf. This flap 68 and the portion of the board shown in Figure 4 for forming the web of the upright are secured together one over the other. More specifically, the surface 70 of the flap 68 of each board is adhered to a respective surface portion of -the board shown in Figure 4 bounded by chain-dotted lines at 72.Thus, the board shown in Figure 4 and three boards as illustrated in Figure 5 are secured together. By securing these boards together, the formation of the unit is made,easier and the integrity of the connection between the shelves 14 and the upright 12 is improved. However, it is to be understood that the board for the upright and the boards for the shelves may be supplied as separate parts and the shelves may be attached to the upright merely by the attachment means 28 described above. Of course, if the upright and shelf boards are supplied separately, the flaps 68 may be secured during formation of the unit by using an adhesive or for example by stapling.

As will be noted from Figure 6, each foot 16 is formed from a board which is foldable in two such that the foot provided thereby has a double thickness of board. As illustrated in Figures 1 and 2, each foot 16 is secured to the board shown in Figure 4 so that it supports this board when it is folded to form the upright 12. Each board forming a respective foot 16 and a respective portion 12 of the board forming the upright are secured together one over the other. As illustrated, the double thickness of board forming each foot 16 is secured to the outside surface of a respective flange 22 so that each of the two separate spaced feet provided thereby are arranged to extend away from the web 20 oppositely to the flanges 22. By providing the feet already secured to the flanges, formation of the unit is facilitated.It will be appreciated that when the board from which the upright is formed is in a flat condition, as shown in Figure 4, the two feet 16 secured thereto will extend towards each other overlying the portion of the board which forms the web 20 but will not overlap each other, since this would unnecessarily increase the bulk of the unit when flat packed.

Each foot is provided with a projection 74 which is insertable in a respective slot 76 formed in the board shown in Figure 7 for forming the stabilising member 18 enabling this board to be secured between the feet to maintain the spacing of the feet. The board for forming stabilising member 18 comprises a main portion 78 which may be provided with advertising matter, and a flap 80 attached thereto.This flap 80 may be secured to the portion of the board shown in Figure 5 for forming the web of the upright, but presently it is preferred to provide the board as a separate item to the rest of the unit which comprises the board for forniing tie upright, the boards for forming the shelves and the boards for forming the feet all secured together so that the unit can be supplied with any one of a range of stabilising member boards 18 carrying different advertising matter.

When the unit is flat packed, the shelf forming boards and feet forming boards lie flat against the upright forming board to which they are secured.

Furthermore, in order to reduce the length of the flat pack, the upright forming board may be folded about the two crease lines 82 provided therein as indicated by arrows C in Figure 4. The elastic bands 46 are secured to the flange portions 22 of the board for forming the upright prior to despatch of the flat pack to the retailer so that it is only necessary for the retailer to secure these bands to the appropriate slots in the flaps 42 of the upright forming board after the folding operations on the upright forming board have been carried out.

It will, of course, be understood that whilst the illustrated unit provides three shelves, it may be modified to provide any appropriate number of shelves including just one.

Claims

CLAIMS:

1. A flat packed shelved display unit comprising a first board means which is foldable into a channelshaped upright comprising a web and two flanges extending away therefrom at the sides thereof, and at least one second board means foldable into a shelf comprising a base having a side extending upwardly therefrom at each end thereof, the sides of the shelf having attaching means attachable to the upright such that the base of the shelf extends away from the web of the upright oppositely to the flanges thereof.

2. A flat packed shelf display unit as claimed in claim 1, wherein the attaching means of each side of the shelf comprises a projection which is insertable through an aperture in said web, which projection is provided with a slot opening towards said shelf base and locatable on said web.

3. A flat packed shelf display unit as claimed in claim 2, wherein said projection is provided with a second slot which opens away from said shelf base and is also locatable on said web.

4. A flat packed shelf display unit as claimed in claim 2 or 3, wherein the apertures in said web are provided by respective flaps in said first board means, which flaps are foldable to extend away from the web in the same direction as said flanges such that side edges of said flaps provide abutments for said flanges.

5. A flat packed shelved display unit as claimed in claim 4, further including means for urging said flanges into abutment with said flap side edges.

6. A flat packed shelved display unit as claimed in flaim 5, wherein said urging means comprises respective elastic means connectable between each flap and the flange adjacent thereto.

7. A flat packed shelved display unit as claimed in claim 6, wherein each elastic means comprises an elastic band which is fastened to a said flange and fastenable to a respective flap by location in slot means provided therein.

8. A flat packed shelved display unit as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the or each second board means includes flap means on the portion thereof for forming the base of the shelf, said flap means and the portion of the first board means for forming the web of the upright being secured together one over the other.

9. A flat packed shelved display unit as claimed in claIm 8 s wherein said portion of the second board means for forming the shelf base is foldable in two such that said shelf base has a double thickness of said second board means.

10. A flat packed shelved display unit as claimed in any one of the preceding claims comprising foot means secured, or securable, to the first board means for supporting the first board means when it is folded into said upright.

11. A flat packed shelved display unit as claimed in claim 10, wherein said foot means comprises two third board means providing two separate spaced feet, each third board means and a respective portion of the first board means for forming a said flange of the upright being secured together one over the other.

12. A flat packed shelved display unit as claimed in claim 11, wherein each third board means is foldable in two such that each foot provided thereby has a double thickness of said third board means.

13. A flat packed shelved display unit as claimed in claim 11 or 12, wherein each foot provided by said third board means is arranged to extend away from the web oppositely to the flanges when said first board means is folded to provide said upright.

14. A flat packed shelved display unit as claimed in any one of claims 11 to 13, comprising a fourth board means securable between the feet provided by said third board means.

15. A flat packed shelved display unit as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein at least one of said board means is formed of a cardboard material.

i6. A flat packed shelved display unit substantially as herein described with reference to the drawings.

17. -A flat packed shelved display unit as claimed in any one of the preceding claims when folded and assembled to form a shelved display unit.