GB2349803A - Shelf structure - Google Patents

Abstract

Modular shelving, which can be made in different depths, includes first part and second parts 1,2 connected non-detachably along the front edge of the first part, the two parts serving to define the total depth of the shelf. Both parts may be of a box-like section (eg of extruded Al) with the edges of the first part having barbs 3<I>a</I> which snap-fit into corresponding formations 3<I>b</I> on the second section. The first and second parts are each provided in different depths. Sheet metal brackets (Figs 7,8), provided with hooks to engage slotted supports, have bent portions (18) which engage with slots in the ends of the shelf parts and may be held in this position by adhesive or mechanical fixings. The front edge of the second shelf part may include either slots for mounting a display card or an LCD display device.

Description

2349803 IMPROVEMENTS IN SHELVING The invention relates to shelves which

are detachable from a support means having a plurality of different positions to which the shelf may be attached.

Shelves are of course used in many places, such as libraries, factories, DIY outlets, supermarkets and warehouses. The variety of shelves is huge because the dimensions of length and depth, and the strength of the shelf determine what the shelf can support and its field of use. The shelves are generally made of sheet steel which is cut by machine tools, and folded into shape. Components are then welded to the main body of the shelf. usually to allow mounting of the shelf on a support.

Each shelf made in this way is of fixed dimensions. If a shelf of different depth or length is required, different machine tools will be required for its manufacture. It is relatively time-consuming and costly to produce a new size of shelf, so this production method is inflexible.

According to one aspect of the invention we provide a shelf of modular construction comprising first and second elongate members, and means to allow mounting of the shelf on a support member, one of the elongate members having an edge portion with attachment means to allow nondetachable mechanical connection to complementary attachment means on an edge portion of the other elongate member, the sum of the depths of the elongate members being substantially equal to the depth of the assembled shelf.

2 This means that shelves of different depths can be assembled by varying the depth of at least one of the first and second members. The production method is therefore more flexible.

Preferably first and second elongate members of different depths are produced so that a plurality of shelves with different depths can be assembled. This allows manufacturers to be flexible and not to be restricted to a shelf of particular dimensions. Manufacturers can therefore respond quickly and easily to varying orders from their customers. A sufficient variety of depths may be provided by having two first members and three or more second members. The shelf may also include a third elongate member non-detachably connected to either the first or second elongate member.

Preferably the elongate member forming the outwardly facing edge of the assembled shelf, when the shelf is mounted on support means, comprises a nosepiece.

Preferably at least one elongate member is extruded. In this way, the length of the elongate rnembers can be varied easily.

Conveniently the elongate members are made of aluminium. The aluminium construction will weigh less than a similar shelf of steel, but allows the shelf to maintain a high degree of rigidity and strength.

The elongate members are preferably of a box-like cross section having a support surface and an opposing surface, connected by support means. The support means adds strength to the construction of the shelf.

3 Preferably the attachment means on the edge portion of the first elongate member and the corresponding edge portion of the second elongate member engage in a "snapfiC or "click-into-place" type of connection to 5 lock together the elongate members to form a shelf.

Such a connection between elongate members can be effected by hand with no machine intervention required for assembly. The connection is simple as it requires no other additional mechanical connecting components, such as bolts, rivets or screws, although such mechanical connecting components could be used if desired. Ideally, no adhesive is required in the connection.

Preferably the mechanical attachment means on one elongate member is in the form of a tapered edge with longitudinally extending contoured portions. The mechanical attachment means on the other elongate member preferably has complementary contoured portions to lockingly receive the edge of the first elongate member.

Preferably the contoured portions on one elongate member are longitudinal ridges. The contoured portion on the edge of the other elongate member (to which the first elongate member above will be attached) forms hook portions which lockingly retain the ridge or ridges on the edge of the first elongate member.

The connection between the elongate members is strong enough to prevent their separation when the assembled shelf is in use.

The edge of the shelf which is facing outwards when the shelf is mounted on a support member may include a slot into which lengths of plastic or 4 card can be inserted. Information such as advertising logos or product details can be printed on the plastic or card.

Alternatively, an electronic device could be retained within the box-like cross section of the shelf to produce images on an LED which is located on the outwardly facing edge of the shelf. This allows the owner of the shelves to vary rapidly product information or details.

Traditionally, shelves are mounted using brackets which mechanically engage the shelf, the engagement frequently involving the interaction of a plurality of male and female parts. The brackets usually include welded components and they must engage the shelf at a pre-determined angle. Relative movement of the bracket and shelf allows a snap-fit of the bracket to the shelf which locks the two components together.

Considerable force is needed to effect the snap-fit so a mallet is often used. Alternatively. the arrangement may include a hook and hole arrangement which requires careful alignment of the hooks relative to the holes. The engagement between support bracket and shelf is complicated and therefore difficult to effect, increasing the assembly time of the shelves.

The shelves of the present invention may be mounted on the support member using brackets which mechanically engage each end of the shelf. Each bracket preferably comprises a first region at right angles to a second region. The first region enters a receiving slot located on the opposing surface of the shelf, the slot being accessible from each end of the shelf. The second region has, at a peripheral portion which engages the support member, a series of hook-like members. The brackets are preferably cut from a flat metal sheet, which is then folded. They are therefore simple to manufacture and assemble on the shelves.

The hook-like members may be laser cut, allowing any shape of hook to be cut quickly and accurately.

The hooks are generally of known configuration, and preferably enter a series of vertically spaced holes located on the support member. Upon entry to the holes in the support member, a relatively small movement of the whole shelf in the direction of the orientation of the hooks causes the shelf to be lockingly retained on the support member. The shelf may be removed from the support member at a later date should there be a requirement to install a new shelf, or vary the mounting height of the existing shelf.

The receiving slot of the shelf may be formed by two longitudinally extending flanges spaced across the depth of the shelf, and extending perpendicularly from the opposing surface of the shelf.

The flanges preferably extend parallel to one another. The flanges can be provided on one elongate member, or each elongate member may have a flange to form the slot when the shelf is assembled. The slot receives the first region of the bracket tightly enough to prevent easy withdrawal of the bracket from the slot, but if required adhesive means may be used to improve the strength of the connection between the bracket and the shelf.

The adhesive means may include double sided tape sandwiched between the upper surface of the first portion of the bracket and the underside surface of the shelf.

The shelf and the bracket may be powder coated prior to the bracket entering the receiving slot of the shelf in order to improve the appearance 6 of the assembly. The powder coating can improve the strength of the connection between the bracket and the shelf.

The support member may be free standing or a series of elongate wall mounted members. A free standing support member is preferably assembled at the manufacturer's site to allow rapid installation of the shelves et the customer's premises.

The support member preferably includes a plurality of vertically spaced holes in the form of slots to receive detachably the hooks of the bracket.

The plurality of holes allow mounting of the shelves at one of a series of possible heights from the ground.

The free standing frame may have holes on opposite faces of the frame so 15 that two shelves can be mounted at any one height from the ground, the shelves facing opposite directions when mounted on the frame.

The uppermost shelf on the support member can be inverted so that the receiving slot portion resides on the uppermost face of the shelf from the ground. A second type of bracket is identical to the first type of bracket except the orientation of the hooks relative to the bracket is such that the hooks point in the opposite direction to those hooks on the first bracket. The hooks enter the holes in the support member to retain the shelf in the uppermost position from the ground on the support member. The shelf as used in this way is a useful finishing piece for the whole assembled arrangement of shelves and support member.

According to a further aspect of the present invention, there is provided a shelf including means to allow fastening of a support bracket to each end of the shelf, the means comprising a slot extending towards each end of 7 the shelf and accessible from each end of the shelf, each slot in use receiving a complementary portion of a support bracket.

There now follows by way of example only a detailed description of the 5 invention with reference to the accompanying figures of which:

Figure I shows in transverse cross section an assembled modular shelf of the present invention; and Figure 2 shows in transverse cross section an elongate member used in the assembly of the shelf of Figure 1; Figure 3 shows in transverse cross section an exploded view of Fart of the mechanical attachment means of the elongate member of 15 Figure 2; Figure 4 shows in transverse cross section a further example of an elongate member which can be used in the assembly of a modular shelf according to the invention; 20 Figure 5 shows in transverse cross section an example of an elongate nosepiece used in the assembly of the shelf of Figure 2; Figure 6 shows in transverse cross section an exploded view of 25 part of the mechanical attachment means of the nosepiece of Figure 5; Figure 7 shows a plan view of a pre-folded bracket of a first type; 8 Figure 8 shows a plan view of a pre-folded bracket of a second type; and Figure 9 shows wall mounted support means. 5 Figure I shows an assembled modular shelf comprising a first elongate member 1 and a second elongate member 2 hereinafter referred to as the nosepiece because it is the part of the shelf which is presented outwards from support means (not shown in Figure 1). The elongate members 1,2 have complementary mechanical connection means 3 along their adjacent longitudinal edges by which the members are non-detachably connected. The shelf is mounted on a support member (see Figure 9) by brackets (see Figure 7) engaging in slots at each end of the shelf.

Each elongate member 1 is extruded from aluminiurn and is of box-like cross-section, having spaced upper and lower members 4,5, which are substantially parallel, and connected by cross members 9.

The member I has a slot 6 formed by elongate flange 7 and elongate foot 8 which extend perpendicularly from the lower face 5 of the shelf. Brackets engage in the slot 6 at each end of the member 1. The elongate foot 8 is an inverted 'T' shape in transverse cross section. The flange 7 is formed as an extension of the back edge face of the shelf with its free end at right angles to the extension pointing towards the front of the shelf.

The back edge of the member 1 is closed, and back plate 11 prevents objects placed on the shelf from falling from the back of the shelf to the ground. This back plate 11 is especially advantageous when the shelf is mounted on a free standing frame rather than being wall-mounted.

9 The mechanical connection between the edges of the elongate member 1 and the nosepiece 2 is indicated generally at 3. The elongate member 1 is open at this edge, and the upper and lower members 4, 5 terminate in 5 barbs 3a to form a substantially tapering entry space.

The elongate member 1 is shown before assembly in Figure 2, where the tapering entry space can be more clearly seen. Figure 3 shows in detail abutment surfaces 12, 13 formed by the barbs 3a of the mechanical connection means.

The nosepiece 2 is also extruded from aluminium, and is of closed section, defining a chamber 14. It has a pair of spaced upper and lower members corresponding to the members 4, 5 of the elongate member 1, a contoured outer edge 10 and the mechanical connection means 3 on the inner edge.

The mechanical connection means 3b shown in more detail in Figures 5 and 6 includes.a channel which is formed with abutment surfaces 15, 16.

The mechanical connection 3b of the nosepiece 2 enters the tapering entry space of the member 1 to form a snap fit which is non-detachable. The surface 12 of elongate member 1 abuts surface 15 to retain the nosepiece on elongate member 1. The surface 13 of elongate member 1 abuts surface 16 of nosepiece 2 to ensure a tight fit of each barb 3a in each channel 3b.

Either elongate member I or nosepiece 2 could be dimensioned to have a different depth from the depth shown in the figures. Thus, Figure 4 shows an example of the elongate member I which has an increased depth compared with the elongate. member I of Figure 2.

Similarly, the nosepiece 2 could be manufactured to have an increased depth compared to the nosepiece shown in Figure 1. A variety of elongate members having different depths and each having complementary mechanical connection means on one edge could be easily extruded. The stockpile of different elongate members provides a selection of different depths from which suitable elongate members could be selected to assemble a shelf of required depth. Different lengths of shelf can easily be formed by cutting the extruded members to length.

The nosepiece 2 of Figure 5 shows a modification. The front edge of the nosepiece, instead of being rounded, has a slot 10 into which can be inserted a length of flexible card or plastic with information relating to product details. Alternatively, the slot 10 could be replaced by an LCD screen, not shown, and the box-like chamber 14 houses an electronic device (not shown) which displays messages on the LCD screen.

Figure 7 shows a bracket 17 for mounting the shelf. The bracket is laser cut from a sheet of steel, with hooks 20. The bracket is folded along the dotted line to form a right angle between a first porti on 18 and a second portion 19. The first portion 18 is received in the slot 6 at each end of the shelf, in order to assemble the bracket with the shelf. Adhesive pads or double sided tape 23 may be situated on the first portion 18 of the bracket in order to attach the shelf and bracket together securely.

Alternatively, these parts may be secured by pop rivets or self-tapping screw fixings.

The first portion 18 has a slot 22 to accommodate the elongate foot 8 of the shelf when the first portion is received in the slot 6.

11 The hooks 20 are orientated to retain the bracket on a support member. A hole 21 allows the bracket to be suspended during powder coating.

Figure 8 shows a bracket 24 of a second type, which allows mounting of an inverted shelf to the uppermost attachment points on a support member. The bracket is folded in the manner described previously so the first portion 18 is at right angles to the second portion 19. The first portion 18 has a slot 22 to accommodate the foot 8 of the shelf.

The second portion 19 has hooks 25 which are of different orientation relative to the hooks of brackets 17. The hooks 25 allow the brackets to be mounted at an uppermost position on the support member so the inverted shelf forms a "finishing piece" for the assembled shelves and 15 support member arrangement.

Figure 9 shows wall mounted support means which include vertically spaced holes 26 into which the hooks 20, 25 can be inserted, to allow the shelf to be retained as the support means.

12

Claims (1)

1 A shelf of modular construction comprising comprising first and second elongate members, and means to allow mounting of the shelf on a support member, one of the elongate members having an edge portion with attachment means to allow non-detachable mechanical connection to complementary attachment means on an edge portion of the other elongate member, the sum of the depths of the elongate members being substantially equal to the depth of the assembled shelf.

2. A shelf as claimed in claim 1, in which first and second elongate members of different depths are produced.

3. A shelf as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2, in which a third elongate member is non-detachably connected to either the first or the second elongate member.

4. A shelf as claimed in any preceding claim, in which the elongate member forming the outwardly facing edge of the shelf comprises a nosepiece.

5. A shelf as claimed in any preceding claim, in which at least one elongate member is extruded.

6. A shelf as claimed in any preceding claim, in which each elongate member is of box-like cross-section, having a support surface and an opposing surface connected by support means.

13 7. A shelf as claimed in any preceding claim, in which the attachment means on the edge portion of the first elongate member and the corresponding edge portion of the second elongate member engage in a snapfit type of connection.

8. A shelf as claimed in claim 7, in which the attachment means on one elongate member is in the form of a tapered edge with longitudinally extending contoured portions, and the complementary attachment means on the other elongate member has complementary contoured portions to 10 lockingly receive the edge of the one elongate member.

9. A shelf as claimed in claim 8, in which the contoured portions comprise ridges and complementary hook portions.

10. A shelf as claimed in any preceding claim, in which the outwardly facing edge of the shelf includes display means.

11. A shelf as claimed in any preceding claim, including brackets for mounting on a support member, one bracket engaging mechanically with 20 each end of the shelf.

12. A shelf as claimed in claim 11, in which eiach bracket comprises a first region at right angles to a second region, the first region entering a receiving slot on the opposing surface of the shelf and the second region having hook-like members to engage the support member.

13. A shelf as claimed in claim 12, in which the receiving slot is formed by two longitudinally extending flanges spaced across the depth of the shelf and extending perpendicularly from the opposing surface.

14 14. A shelf as claimed in claim 13, in which the flanges extend parallel to one another. 1 15. A shelf as claimed in claim 13 or claim 14, in which the flanges are formed on one elongate member. 16. A shelf as claimed in claim 13 or claim 14, in which separate elongate members have one flange. 10 17. A shelf providing a support surface and including means to allow fastening of a support bracket to each end of the shelf, the means comprising a slot extending towards each end of the shelf and accessible from each end of the shelf, each slot in use receiving a complementary 15 portion of a support bracket. 18. A shelf of modular construction substantially as described herein with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.