Shelf arrangement

The present invention pertains to a shelf arrangement. This shelf arrangement is intended for storing and exhibiting products of at least a first product type and a second, different product type in a showroom.

The present invention pertains to a shelf arrangement intended for storing and exhibiting products. DE 19809496 discloses a console, on which compact electric appliances can be exhibited, wherein said console features a cavity for storing, for example, electric cables. DE 4002763 A1 discloses a shelf system, in which the shelf bases have a reduced depth in certain regions. This system is intended to improve the visibility of the exhibited products. JP 2006 334275 A1 discloses a shelf system that is equipped with a certain illumination arrangement for advantageously emitting, for example, blue or red light.

Based on this prior art, the invention aims to make available a shelf arrangement that is suitable for an inexpensive mass production. However, the shelves should still appropriately exhibit high-quality products in a showroom. The shelf arrangement should be suitable, in particular, for different and possibly also very different products, namely at least products of a first and a second type. Despite the dissimilarity of the exhibited products, the arrangement should have a uniform overall appearance.

This is achieved with: a shelf arrangement that is suitable for storing and exhibiting products of at least a first product type and a second product type in a showroom and comprises at least one first shelf of a first shelf type and at least one second shelf of a second shelf type (that differs from the first shelf type), wherein the first shelf comprises at least two shelf bases, one of which forms an uppermost shelf base, and the second shelf comprises at least two shelf bases, one of which forms an uppermost shelf base, wherein the uppermost shelf base of the first shelf provides a first surface for exhibiting products and the uppermost shelf base of the second shelf carries a console attachment that provides a second surface for exhibiting products, and wherein the uppermost shelf base of the first shelf and the uppermost shelf base of the second shelf have the same height.

Consequently, an inventive shelf arrangement comprises at least two shelves, namely a shelf of a first shelf type and another shelf of a second shelf type that differs from the first shelf type. The first shelf has at least two shelf bases, but may also have three or four or more shelf bases. One of these shelf bases forms the uppermost shelf base. Analogously, the second shelf may have two, three, four or more shelf bases, one of which forms the uppermost shelf base.

The uppermost shelf base of the first shelf provides a first surface for exhibiting products, i.e., products essentially can be placed over the entire surface on this shelf base. The uppermost shelf base of the second shelf, in contrast, is not primarily intended for exhibiting products. More than 60 or 70 or 80 or 90% of its surface are covered by a console attachment. This console attachment is primarily intended for exhibiting products and provides a second surface for this purpose. Although the exhibition surface of the second shelf provided by the console attachment lies higher than the exhibition surface of the first shelf, the uppermost shelf base of the second shelf has the same height as the uppermost shelf base of the first shelf.

The height of these shelf bases is their height above the floor when the first and the second shelf are properly installed.

The uppermost shelf base of the first shelf and the second shelf may form part of a shelf body.

The shelves may be open on one side or both sides. If the shelves are open on one side, the front side is the side, from which products can be placed on the shelves. The console attachment on the second shelf is preferably inclined, particularly inclined toward the front side. In other words, the height of the console increases toward the rear side.

The console attachment can be attached to the second shelf in many different ways. In one embodiment, the console stands on the uppermost shelf base of the second shelf with four legs.

Individual platforms for exhibiting different products may be arranged on the console. These platforms may respectively provide a horizontal exhibition surface on an inclined console surface. The platforms may provide horizontal exhibition surfaces of different heights.

The first shelf and the second shelf may respectively feature a rear wall. The rear wall may be respectively realized in such a way that it protrudes over the respective uppermost shelf base. It preferably also protrudes over the console attachment. The rear walls therefore form an optical rear boundary of the first and the second shelf.

It may be advantageous to realize the rear wall of the first shelf and the rear wall of the second shelf with the same height.

The rear walls may also carry information signs. These information signs may also be arranged at the same height, i.e., at least the lower edges have the same height or the upper edges have the same height or the upper edges and the lower edges have the same height.

Additional product carriers may be provided on the exhibition surface of the first shelf. These product carriers may be individually adapted to different products if the exhibition surface of the first shelf carries different products.

It is advantageous to offer a shelf arrangement, in which the first product type exhibited on the first shelf on average has a greater volume than the second product type exhibited on the second shelf. It may therefore be advantageous if the second shelf features more shelf bases than the first shelf. It would be possible to arrange a carrier system laterally on the first and/or on the second shelf, wherein products such as, e.g., replacement parts can either be directly suspended on said carrier system or the carrier system carries additional bases for storing and exhibiting products.

The shelf arrangement may be advantageously combined with a lighting system that features lamps of a first type on the first shelf and lamps of a second type that differs from the first type on the second shelf. It would be possible, in particular, to provide lamps of the first type on the uppermost shelf base of the first shelf. It would furthermore be possible to provide lamps of the second type on the underside of the console attachment of the second shelf. In this case, a lamp of the first type may be realized in the form of a closed strip light and a lamp of the second type may be realized in the form of an open strip light.

In the context of this invention, the term closed strip light refers to a strip light that comprises lamps and an enclosure that protects these lamps. The lamps may consist, for example, of light bulbs or LED lamps. The enclosure may be rigid or flexible, wherein a suitable rigid enclosure consists of a tube of translucent glass or an alabaster- colored tube with a round or angular profile, for example, a circular, elliptical, rectangular, square or triangular profile. In an open strip light, in contrast, the lamps are not covered by an enclosure (other than their own outer shell).

Other features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the description and drawings, and from the claims.