GB2158696A - Adjustable rack of shelves - Google Patents

Abstract

A rack of adjustable shelves has a simple and economical shelf assembly mechanism. A shelf is attached to its supporting vertical posts by placing each of the posts through an individually associated corner shelf socket 24. The shelf is kept in position by a nylon keeper 30 which can be moved up and down the post to the desired height of the shelving. The keeper has a generally truncated pyramidal shape and at least one internal projection 40 which fits into a dimple, recess, or notch formed in the post at the desired shelf height. The keeper has vertical slots 36 that enable it to be squeezed together and to tightly wedge into the shelf socket and support the shelf on the corner post. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Adjustable rack of shelves This invention relates to a rack of adjustable shelves comprising at least two spaced parallel vertically oriented posts, each of said posts having a generally rectangular cross section with a plurality of recesses extending at periodical intervals along the length of an edge on at least one corner of said rectangular cross section, keeper means having a sleeve with at least two tapered side walls whereby said keeper has external contours which are at least part of a truncated pyramidal shape, said keeper means having an internal passageway with a generally rectangular cross section, whereby said keeper may slide longitudinally along said post, detent means formed on an inside edge of the passageway, said recesses and detent having complementary contours whereby said keeper is held in place by said detent fitting into a selected one of said recesses, and socket means formed of each shelf at points where said shelf is supported by said posts, each of said socket means having an internal opening with a generally truncated pyramidal shape which is complementary to the external contours of said keeper means, whereby said socket means rests on and is supported by said keeper means.

Adjustable shelving systems are known in the art. Such systems have many advantages in that they enable, among other things, a maximization of the use of costly storage space. Such shelving is also easily adapted to accommodate and support varying product sizes, thus enabling great flexibility as product designs and storage requirements change.

An adjustable shelving system has been described in U.S. Patents Nos. 3,424,111 and 3,523,508. This system makes use of shelf members, circular corner shelf supports, circular corner posts with graduated recesses and two-piece, semi-circular post supports for holding the shelf support and corner post in place. More particularly, the shelf supports are preferably metal and are comprised of two separate pieces which are wrapped around the corner post and snapped into place. Thus, in order to adjust the height of the shelf, the shelf supports must be detached from the shelf and moved. If one section of the shelf support is lost or broken, the shelving is useless until another shelf support is obtained.

In keeping with one aspect of this invention, an adjustable rack of shelves comprises at least one shelf attached to at least one vertical post by placing the posts through corner sockets of the shelf.

Between the shelf socket and the post, a metal or plastic, and preferably, nylon keeper keeps the shelf in a desired height position on the post. The posts have a graduated plurality of periodically recurring notches along the length of the post. The keeper has a truncated pyramidal shape and at least one internal detent which fits into a notch on the shelf post, at a desired height, to hold the shelf in place. The keeper can be easily moved up and down the post to any desired shelving height.

The above mentioned and other features of this invention and the manner of obtaining them will become more apparent and the invention itself will be best understood by reference to the following descriptions of embodiments of the invention taken inconjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:: Figure 1 is a perspective view of an adjustable rack of shelves which is a first embodiment of the shelf and post combination incorporating the principles of the invention; Figure 1A is a perspective view showing, in greater detail, a corner portion of the adjustable rack of shelves shown in Figure 1; Figure 2 is a perspective view of a shelf post with notches spaced at regular intervals, such as 1inch to 12 inches; Figure 3 is a perspective view of a first embodiment keeper, also shown in Figure 1A; Figure 4 is an exploded view of the shelf socket, being placed into position over the keeper; Figure 5 is a perspective view of a second embodiment of the invention showing vertical, somewhat diamond shaped notches in the shelf posts; Figure 6 is a perspective view of the keeper for the second embodiment of the invention;; Figure 7 is a perspective view of the corner shelf socket for the second embodiment of the invention; and Figure 8 is a perspective view of a corner detail showing the second embodiment of the invention.

A third embodiment of the invention uses the keeper of Figure 6 on the post of Figure 2.

As shown in Figure 1, a rack of shelves 20, constructed in accordance with the teachings of this invention, comprises at least one flat shelf 22 having four corner sockets 24, corner posts 26 with a graduated plurality of recurring dimples, recesses, or notches 28 and keepers 30 for maintaining the truncated shelf in position on each post 26. To expedite assembly, a pyramidal cap 27 (Figure 1A) may be used on the top of the post 26. This cap seals the top and readily guides the parts which fit over the post into place, without catching. On the bottom of each post is a threaded metal or plastic insert (not shown) which seals the bottom and provides a thread for adjusting a leveling bolt to fit for non-level floors. Shelf 22 may be constructed of a mesh of metal wires or rods 32 welded together or otherwise secured in any suitable manner to a shelf frame 34.

As shown in greater detail in Figure 1A, the corner sockets 24 are welded to the frame 34, for receiving the vertical posts. Each of these sockets has an internal opening with a somewhat truncated pyramidal shape. The bottom end of the socket is tapered outwardly with respect to the top end in order to guide the post 26 into position and to form an effective wedge holding action in cooperation with the keeper 30. As shown in Figure 2, the post having a generally rectangular cross section is provided with a plurality of notches 28 spaced at regular intervals of about one to one and one-half inches along the length of at least one edge of the posts 26. These notches receive and accommodate projections 40 located on the interior contour of the keeper.

The construction details of one exemplary keeper appear in Figure 3. As there shown, the keeper comprises a one-piece, truncated, generally pyramid-shaped sleeve which can be placed over the shelf post 26. The top edge of keeper 30 has vertical slots 36 in each side wall 38 so that the side walls of the keeper can be more readily squeezed, thus causing a projection 40 located on at least one interior corner near the uppermost edge of the keeper to be more securely wedged into the dimples or notches 28 of the shelf posts 26. The vertically extending slots also enable the cross section at the top of the keeper passageway to be slightly smaller than the cross section of the post. This way, the keeper more tightly embraces the post.

An outwardly protruding base 42 forms the lowermost edge of the keeper 30 to support the shelf socket. The lowermost edge preferably may be used when a perfect fit is more or less insured, The lowermost edge may preferably be eliminated if there is serious danger that a corner socket may fit down low enough to break the edge away from the keeper. The keeper is constructed of materials which are durable enough to provide a strong and reliable locking mechanism and yet is yieldable so that the projection can be firmly engaged in a notch of the post. A suitable material of construction for the keeper is nylon.

As shown in Figure 4, when the shelf socket 24 is placed over the keeper 30, the side walls 38 of the keeper 30 are squeezed together, forming an effective wedge and locking mechanism for supporting the shelf on the post. The protruding base 42 of the keeper 30 fits under and helps support the shelf to hold it firmly in place on the post.

An alternative embodiment of the invention is shown in Figure 5. There, the dimples, recesses, or notch 50 comprise a deeper diamond shaped notch cut into and piercing the post wall. Again, these notches are spaced at regular intervals of about one to one and a half inches along one exterior corner edge 52 of the shelf post 54. These notches accommodate a projection 62 of the keeper generally shown in Figure 6 to provide a means for engaging and supporting the shelf on the posts.

The construction details of this alternative embodiment of the keeper are shown in Figure 7. The keeper 56 comprises a one-piece device having two perpendicular and tapering walls 57 and 58, each with an attached retaining flange 60. The flanges partially wrap around the post and thus can be more readily retained on the post 54 while the shelf system is being assembled. The two perpendicular walls 57 and 58 are thicker at the lowermost edge of the keeper 56 to provide a tapering, somewhat truncated pyramidal effect so that the keeper fits tightly within the shelf socket when it is positioned over the keeper. A projection 62 is located in the interior corner at the junction of the two perpendicular, tapered walls 57, 58. The projection fits in a notch 50 on the post 54.When the walls of the keeper are squeezed by the walls of the shelf socket responsive to the weight of the shelf, the detent is firmly locked in place. The keeper is constructed of materials which are both strong enough to support the weight of the shelf and yet are yieldable enough to enable the walls of the keeper to squeeze and securely engage the shelf post and shelf socket. Again, nylon is such a material.

Figure 7 shows a preferred alternative embodiment of a shelf socket 70 which is used with the post 54 with the and keeper 56 of Figure 6. The shelf post 54 with the keeper 56 attached thereto is placed through the shelf socket 70, as shown in Figure 8. The weight of the shelf squeezes the keeper 56 against post 54 and the projection 62 firmly engages a selected notch 50, thus holding the shelf firmly in place. The tapered shape of the keeper 56 enables it to be firmly weged into the shelf socket.

A preferred embodiment may use a post of Figure 2 with dimples 28 which do not pierce the post in connection with keeper 56 of Figure 6.

This invention also makes it possible to economically add any number of supplemental units with only two posts (a saving of two posts per shelf unit). This is acomplished by the use of two inexpensive clips, per shelf. This can be done with the shelving extending in line or perpendicular to the last unit.

This inventive adjustable shelving rack is not limited to use in a stationary installation. It has the flexibility to be made into a mobile unit by inserting round or square stemmed casters, in lieu of threaded leveling inserts at the post bottom.

The construction of the shelf is not limited in length, width or height. The shelves include metal or plastic, wire mesh, solid or perforated panels.

The shelving units may be stacked on each other and extended upwardly by use of metal or plastic joiners which go into the bottoms and tops of the posts. These joiners should have the same outside dimension as the posts inside dimensions, and should have a separating collar between the stacked posts to insure that the joiner engages both tubes equally.

The many advantages of this adjustable rack of shelves should now be self-apparent. First, the parts are easily and inexpensively made on general purpose machine tools and polymer a tube mill, extrusion or molding equipment. Second, the keepers are a one piece construction which can be made quickly and easily; parts will not be lost; they are strong, durable and reliable to withstand the weight of a loaded shelf and repeated use. Of course, there are still other advantages which will be apparent to those skilled in the art.

Those who are skilled in the art will readily percieve how to modify the system. Therefore, the appended claims are to be construed to cover all equivalent structures which fall within the true scope and spirit of the invention.

Claims (10)

1. A rack of adjustable shelves comprising at least two spaced parallel vertically oriented posts, each of said posts having a generally rectangular cross section with a plurality of recesses extending at periodical intervals along the length of an edge on at least one corner of said rectangular cross section, keeper means having a sleeve with at least two tapered side walls whereby said keeper has external contours which are at least part of a truncated pyramidal shape, said keeper means having an internal passageway with a generally rectangular cross section, whereby said keeper may slide longitudinally along said post, detent means formed on an inside edge of the passageway, said recesses and detent having complementary contours whereby said keeper is held in place by said detent fitting into a selected one of said recesses, and socket means formed of each shelf at points where said shelf is supported by said posts, each of said socket means having an internal opening with a generally truncated pyramidal shape which is complementary to the external contours of said keeper means, whereby said socket means rests on and is supported by said keeper means.

2. The rack of claim 1 wherein the side walls of said sleeve rise from an ourwardly protruding base, said base projecting from the bottom of said side walls to help support the bottom of said socket.

3. The rack of claim 2 wherein said sleeve has four sides forming a complete truncated pyramid, said tapered side walls being vertically split downwardly from their top edge, said passageway being slightly smaller in cross section than said post whereby said split side walls are deflected outwardly somewhat when said post is fitted through said passageway and said keeper is squeezed together by the weight of the shelf when the shelf socket is placed over the keeper.

4. The rack of claim 2 wherein said sleeve has two adjacent tapered sides forming half of said truncated pyramid shape, said detent means being positioned inside said sleeve at the junction of said two tapered and adjacent sides.

5. The rack of claim 4 and retainer flanges extending from the non-adjacent edges of said taperes sides to at least partially surround said post far enough to hold said sleeve when on said post.

6. The rack of claim 1 wherein each of said recesses on said post is a notch.

7. The rack of claim 1 wherein each of said recesses on said post is a dimple.

8. The rack of claim 6 wherein said recesses extend along each of a pair of edges at diagonally opposed corners of said cross section.

9. The rack of claim 1 wherein there are a plurality of shelves, each having a generally rectangular cross section with one of said sockets on each corner, and wherein there are four of said posts fitting through the sockets on the respective corners of the shelves.

10. A rack of adjustable shelves as claimed in claim 1 substantially as described herein with reference to Figure 1, Figure 1A, Figure 2, Figure 3 and Figure 4; Figures 5 to 7; or Figure 8 of the accompanying drawings.