CA2174024A1 - Adjustable standard system - Google Patents
Adjustable standard systemInfo
- Publication number
- CA2174024A1 CA2174024A1 CA002174024A CA2174024A CA2174024A1 CA 2174024 A1 CA2174024 A1 CA 2174024A1 CA 002174024 A CA002174024 A CA 002174024A CA 2174024 A CA2174024 A CA 2174024A CA 2174024 A1 CA2174024 A1 CA 2174024A1
- Authority
- CA
- Canada
- Prior art keywords
- rail
- support means
- standard
- hardware
- mounting rail
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Abandoned
Links
Classifications
-
- A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
- A47—FURNITURE; DOMESTIC ARTICLES OR APPLIANCES; COFFEE MILLS; SPICE MILLS; SUCTION CLEANERS IN GENERAL
- A47B—TABLES; DESKS; OFFICE FURNITURE; CABINETS; DRAWERS; GENERAL DETAILS OF FURNITURE
- A47B96/00—Details of cabinets, racks or shelf units not covered by a single one of groups A47B43/00 - A47B95/00; General details of furniture
- A47B96/14—Bars, uprights, struts, or like supports, for cabinets, brackets, or the like
-
- F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
- F16—ENGINEERING ELEMENTS AND UNITS; GENERAL MEASURES FOR PRODUCING AND MAINTAINING EFFECTIVE FUNCTIONING OF MACHINES OR INSTALLATIONS; THERMAL INSULATION IN GENERAL
- F16M—FRAMES, CASINGS OR BEDS OF ENGINES, MACHINES OR APPARATUS, NOT SPECIFIC TO ENGINES, MACHINES OR APPARATUS PROVIDED FOR ELSEWHERE; STANDS; SUPPORTS
- F16M13/00—Other supports for positioning apparatus or articles; Means for steadying hand-held apparatus or articles
- F16M13/02—Other supports for positioning apparatus or articles; Means for steadying hand-held apparatus or articles for supporting on, or attaching to, an object, e.g. tree, gate, window-frame, cycle
Landscapes
- Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
- General Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
- Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
- Display Racks (AREA)
Abstract
The invention provides an adjustable standard system with support means movably supported on a mounting rail. The support means comprises hardware such as a shelf clip, hangar bar or the like attached to a support arm which is easily engaged to or disengaged from the rail when in a tilted orientation but cannot become detached from the rail when in the mounted position. In the preferred embodiment, the rail is provided with rear openings into which a boss projecting from the support arm can be selectively engaged. The openings can be closely spaced along the entire length of the rail without affecting the structural integrity of the standard, and are concealed behind the rail.
Description
Field of Invention This invention relates to standard systems. In particular, this invention relates to an adjustable standard system for display and shelving units, for positioning at a selected height hardware such as brackets, hooks, hangars and the like, for supporting or suspending articles and structures for supporting articles such as shelves, platforms, etc.
Ba~l~round of the Invention For storing and displaying articles in shelving and display units and the like used in such applications as merchandising, home furnishing and storage, it is advantageous to provide hardware and supporting structures which are adjustable in height. Depending upon the nature of the articles to be stored or displayed, such units may utilize many different types of hardware affixed to a supporting wall or pedestal, such as shelf brackets, hooks, hangars and other hardware of varying configurations.
The most common standard system used for support in these types of units utilizes a slotted standard, which is essentially a metal channel with a main face having a column of vertical slots. Various shapes and styles of brackets are designed with one or more barbed or hooked flanges spaced to fit into the slots in the standard.
While the slotted standard provides some degree of versatility in the height at which the shelves and other supporting structures can be mounted, it is conspicuous and quite unattractive. Decorative display and shelving units are often designed primarily for aesthetic appeal, and the slots often break up the clean lines of a display and can significantly detract from its visual appeal. The slotted standard can be recessed into the supporting surface, but the slotted main face of the standard remains largely visible. Moreover, the slotted standard in general requires a supporting panel substantially along its length; typically such a standard is incapable of end mounting because the series of slots along its main face significantly reduces its structural integrity.
Furthermore, there are limitations to the adjustability of hardware in a system using the slotted standard. The web of material separating the slots must be wide enough to resist tearing and deformation under the weight of the load on the hardware. This significantly limits the number of slots which can be formed into a given length of standard. Also, the hooks on the bracket may be designed to engage the standard in an inler~erellce fit, whereby the bracket is inserted into the standard and then forced down into a frictionally locked position, which requires that sufficient clearance be left between brackets for maneuvering a tool to strike the bracket into the locked position.
This invention overcomes these disadvantages by providing an adjustable standard system having a mounting rail for detachably mounting support means comprising hardware attached to a support arm, which is easily engaged to or Png~ged from the rail when in a tilted orientation but cannot become detached from the rail when in the mounted position. The rail can be mounted on any surface in a display or shelving unit, and can be adapted to be mounted on a slotted standard for relrofilling to existing display and shelving units. The clean, continuous lines of the rail provide a much more attractive alternative to the slotted face of the standard, and the rail can be more readily finished with chrome plating or another finish that matches the display unit.
In the ~re~elled embodiment, the rail is provided with rear openings into which a boss projecting from the support arm can be selectively engaged. Since the rear openings can be recesses which do not extend completely through the rail, they can be spaced very closely without affecting the structural integrity of the standard and are completely concealed behind the rail. There is thus greater flexibility in the positioning of hardware in a shelving or display unit, and the standard system of the invention accordingly provides a more versatile and much more attractive alternative to systems utilizing the slotted standard.
The invention thus provides a mounting rail for mounting on a supporting surface, support means comprising a support arm having means for engaging the support means to the rail, and means for locking the support arm at a selected position on the rail.
Brief Description of the Drawin~
In drawings which illustrate a ~re~rfed embodiment of the invention by way of example only, Figure 1 is a side elevation of the standard system of the invention;
Figure 2 is a partial front elevation of the standard system;
Figure 3 is a partial rear elevation of the standard system;
Figure 4 is a side elevation of support means comprising a shelf clip;
Figure 5 is a top plan view of the support means of Figure 4;
Figure 6 is a bottom plan view of the support means of Figure 4;
Figure 7 is a partial rear elevation of a further embodiment of the mounting rail; and Figure 8 is a partly cutaway side elevation of the support means showing the adjusting means.
Detailed Description of the Invention Figure 1 illustrates a yre~elled embodiment of the adjustable standard system according to the invention. The standard system includes a mounting rail 20 which is mounted in any suitable fashion in a display or shelving unit or the like, and support means 2 comprising a support arm 30 connected to or ~referably integral with any desired configuration of hardware 4 such as a shelf bracket 6,hangar bar 8 or the like. (As used in this description the term "hardware" includes any supporting or suspending structure used in display, shelving or storage units and the like, including those specifically mentioned, and also shelves, platforms, bars etc., and is in no way limited to the embodiments shown and described.) In a ~refelred embodiment of the invention the mounting rail 20 is formed from a metal bar which is thick enough to be rigid and structurally secure.
The mounting rail 20 is provided with any suitable means for securing the rail 20 to a panel of the display, such as end caps or brackets (not shown). The mounting rail 20 may be mounted between bottom and top panels of the display using end caps, or may be mounted directly to a wall of the display by brackets or by providing bent or curved ends on the mounting rail 20 itself. The mounting rail 20 may also be provided with hooks for engaging a slotted standard, for retrofitting the standard system of the invention to existing display and shelving units.
The support arm 30 is attached to the hardware 4 at a front end 32 and the other end is configured to form a hook 34. The support arm 30 ~refelably projects from the rear end of the hardware 4 at one side, as shown in Figures 2 and 3), and the other side of the hardware 4 is provided with a lip 50, seen in Figures 5 and 6, defining a channel 38 which approximates the dimensions of the mounting rail 20. A boss 36 dimensioned to fit into the mounting openings 22 projects into the channel 38 from a rear wall 40 of the hook 34, positioned laterally so that when the hook 34 is mounted over the rail 20 the boss 36 is in line with the mountingopenings 22.
The rear face 24 of the rail 20 is provided with a series of mounting openings 22, which in the embodiment shown are essentially cylindrical recesses extending partly into the rail 20, as shown in Figure 3. The openings 22 may be spaced apart any desired distance, and may even be so closely spaced as to overlap, as shown in Figure 7. These openings 22 cooperate with the boss 36 provided on the -support arm 30 to lock the support means 2 into position on the rail 20 as described below.
The hook 34 includes a return flange 42 having an oblique forward edge 44. The lip 50 is similarly provided with an oblique rear edge 46, parallel to the edge 44 and spaced from the edge 44 a sufficient distance that the mounting rail 20 will fit through the opening 48 defined between the two edges 44, 46, but only when the edges 44, 46 are aligned with the edges of the mounting rail 20. Thus, when the support means 2 is in its rest position, as in the lower shelf clip 6 shown in Figure 1, the mounting rail 20 is fully engaged in the channel 38 and retained by the return flange 42 and the lip 50. When the support means 2 is tilted upwardly (relative to its rest position), as in the upper shelf clip 6 shown in Figure 1, the flange 42 and the lip 50 both pivot away from the rail 20, so that when the edges 44, 46 come intoalignment with the edges of the mounting rail 20 the opening 48, now aligned with the mounting rail 20, permits removal or repositioning of the support means 2 asdesired.
In use, the mounting rail 20 is secured to a panel of the display by brackets, end caps or any other suitable means. To engage a support means 2 to the mounting rail 20, the support means 2 is oriented so that the opening 48 (ie. each oblique edge 44, 46) comes into alignment with the edges of the rail 20. The support means 2 can than be engaged by passing the mounting rail 20 through the opening 48 formed between the oblique edges 44, 46. In this orientation the user can slide the support means 2 up or down the rail 20, by maintaining this tilted attitude.
When the desired height is reached the user allows the support means 2 to fall toward its rest position, until the boss 36 contacts the rear face 24 of the rail 20. The support means 2 will not fall completely into its rest position, restingagainst the front face 26 of the mounting rail 20, until the boss 36 comes fully into alignment with one of the openings 22; as soon as the support means 2 falls completely into its rest position the user can release it, confident that the support means 2 is locked into position on the rail. Thus, the user does not have to be able to see the openings 22, as the support means can only drop fully to the rest position when the boss 36 locks into an opening 22, and this is a sufficient indication to the user that the support means 2 is securely mounted.
Removal of the support means 2 simply involves tilting the support means 2 upwardly until the edges 44, 46 come into alignment with the edges of the mounting rail 20, at which point the rail 20 will pass through the opening 48 and the support means 2 can be detached from the mounting rail 20.
Because the support means 2 can be tilted upwardly on the mounting rail 20, so that the attitude of the hardware 4 changes as it pivots toward and away from the rail 20, the support means 2 can be provided with adjusting means, for example a threaded adjusting screw 60 disposed through a hole 62 in the lower end of the hardware 4. As shown in Figure 8, the tip 61 of the screw 60 bears against the front face 26 of the mounting rail 20. Some portion of the hole 62 is threaded to engage the screw 60, so that as the adjusting screw 60 is driven deeper into thehardware 4, it forces the support means 2 to tilt upwardly, which changes the attitude of the hardware 4 commensurately. This ability to adjust the attitude or level of the hardware 4 is a particularly useful feature in the case of a display or shelving unit designed for aesthetic appeal, as it allows for shelves, platforms and other supporting hardware to be easily levelled and aligned with one another.
Plefelled embodiments of the invention having been described above by way of example, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that certain modifications and adaptations may be made without departing from the scope of the invention as set out in the appended claims. All such modifications and adaptations are intended to fall within the invention.
Ba~l~round of the Invention For storing and displaying articles in shelving and display units and the like used in such applications as merchandising, home furnishing and storage, it is advantageous to provide hardware and supporting structures which are adjustable in height. Depending upon the nature of the articles to be stored or displayed, such units may utilize many different types of hardware affixed to a supporting wall or pedestal, such as shelf brackets, hooks, hangars and other hardware of varying configurations.
The most common standard system used for support in these types of units utilizes a slotted standard, which is essentially a metal channel with a main face having a column of vertical slots. Various shapes and styles of brackets are designed with one or more barbed or hooked flanges spaced to fit into the slots in the standard.
While the slotted standard provides some degree of versatility in the height at which the shelves and other supporting structures can be mounted, it is conspicuous and quite unattractive. Decorative display and shelving units are often designed primarily for aesthetic appeal, and the slots often break up the clean lines of a display and can significantly detract from its visual appeal. The slotted standard can be recessed into the supporting surface, but the slotted main face of the standard remains largely visible. Moreover, the slotted standard in general requires a supporting panel substantially along its length; typically such a standard is incapable of end mounting because the series of slots along its main face significantly reduces its structural integrity.
Furthermore, there are limitations to the adjustability of hardware in a system using the slotted standard. The web of material separating the slots must be wide enough to resist tearing and deformation under the weight of the load on the hardware. This significantly limits the number of slots which can be formed into a given length of standard. Also, the hooks on the bracket may be designed to engage the standard in an inler~erellce fit, whereby the bracket is inserted into the standard and then forced down into a frictionally locked position, which requires that sufficient clearance be left between brackets for maneuvering a tool to strike the bracket into the locked position.
This invention overcomes these disadvantages by providing an adjustable standard system having a mounting rail for detachably mounting support means comprising hardware attached to a support arm, which is easily engaged to or Png~ged from the rail when in a tilted orientation but cannot become detached from the rail when in the mounted position. The rail can be mounted on any surface in a display or shelving unit, and can be adapted to be mounted on a slotted standard for relrofilling to existing display and shelving units. The clean, continuous lines of the rail provide a much more attractive alternative to the slotted face of the standard, and the rail can be more readily finished with chrome plating or another finish that matches the display unit.
In the ~re~elled embodiment, the rail is provided with rear openings into which a boss projecting from the support arm can be selectively engaged. Since the rear openings can be recesses which do not extend completely through the rail, they can be spaced very closely without affecting the structural integrity of the standard and are completely concealed behind the rail. There is thus greater flexibility in the positioning of hardware in a shelving or display unit, and the standard system of the invention accordingly provides a more versatile and much more attractive alternative to systems utilizing the slotted standard.
The invention thus provides a mounting rail for mounting on a supporting surface, support means comprising a support arm having means for engaging the support means to the rail, and means for locking the support arm at a selected position on the rail.
Brief Description of the Drawin~
In drawings which illustrate a ~re~rfed embodiment of the invention by way of example only, Figure 1 is a side elevation of the standard system of the invention;
Figure 2 is a partial front elevation of the standard system;
Figure 3 is a partial rear elevation of the standard system;
Figure 4 is a side elevation of support means comprising a shelf clip;
Figure 5 is a top plan view of the support means of Figure 4;
Figure 6 is a bottom plan view of the support means of Figure 4;
Figure 7 is a partial rear elevation of a further embodiment of the mounting rail; and Figure 8 is a partly cutaway side elevation of the support means showing the adjusting means.
Detailed Description of the Invention Figure 1 illustrates a yre~elled embodiment of the adjustable standard system according to the invention. The standard system includes a mounting rail 20 which is mounted in any suitable fashion in a display or shelving unit or the like, and support means 2 comprising a support arm 30 connected to or ~referably integral with any desired configuration of hardware 4 such as a shelf bracket 6,hangar bar 8 or the like. (As used in this description the term "hardware" includes any supporting or suspending structure used in display, shelving or storage units and the like, including those specifically mentioned, and also shelves, platforms, bars etc., and is in no way limited to the embodiments shown and described.) In a ~refelred embodiment of the invention the mounting rail 20 is formed from a metal bar which is thick enough to be rigid and structurally secure.
The mounting rail 20 is provided with any suitable means for securing the rail 20 to a panel of the display, such as end caps or brackets (not shown). The mounting rail 20 may be mounted between bottom and top panels of the display using end caps, or may be mounted directly to a wall of the display by brackets or by providing bent or curved ends on the mounting rail 20 itself. The mounting rail 20 may also be provided with hooks for engaging a slotted standard, for retrofitting the standard system of the invention to existing display and shelving units.
The support arm 30 is attached to the hardware 4 at a front end 32 and the other end is configured to form a hook 34. The support arm 30 ~refelably projects from the rear end of the hardware 4 at one side, as shown in Figures 2 and 3), and the other side of the hardware 4 is provided with a lip 50, seen in Figures 5 and 6, defining a channel 38 which approximates the dimensions of the mounting rail 20. A boss 36 dimensioned to fit into the mounting openings 22 projects into the channel 38 from a rear wall 40 of the hook 34, positioned laterally so that when the hook 34 is mounted over the rail 20 the boss 36 is in line with the mountingopenings 22.
The rear face 24 of the rail 20 is provided with a series of mounting openings 22, which in the embodiment shown are essentially cylindrical recesses extending partly into the rail 20, as shown in Figure 3. The openings 22 may be spaced apart any desired distance, and may even be so closely spaced as to overlap, as shown in Figure 7. These openings 22 cooperate with the boss 36 provided on the -support arm 30 to lock the support means 2 into position on the rail 20 as described below.
The hook 34 includes a return flange 42 having an oblique forward edge 44. The lip 50 is similarly provided with an oblique rear edge 46, parallel to the edge 44 and spaced from the edge 44 a sufficient distance that the mounting rail 20 will fit through the opening 48 defined between the two edges 44, 46, but only when the edges 44, 46 are aligned with the edges of the mounting rail 20. Thus, when the support means 2 is in its rest position, as in the lower shelf clip 6 shown in Figure 1, the mounting rail 20 is fully engaged in the channel 38 and retained by the return flange 42 and the lip 50. When the support means 2 is tilted upwardly (relative to its rest position), as in the upper shelf clip 6 shown in Figure 1, the flange 42 and the lip 50 both pivot away from the rail 20, so that when the edges 44, 46 come intoalignment with the edges of the mounting rail 20 the opening 48, now aligned with the mounting rail 20, permits removal or repositioning of the support means 2 asdesired.
In use, the mounting rail 20 is secured to a panel of the display by brackets, end caps or any other suitable means. To engage a support means 2 to the mounting rail 20, the support means 2 is oriented so that the opening 48 (ie. each oblique edge 44, 46) comes into alignment with the edges of the rail 20. The support means 2 can than be engaged by passing the mounting rail 20 through the opening 48 formed between the oblique edges 44, 46. In this orientation the user can slide the support means 2 up or down the rail 20, by maintaining this tilted attitude.
When the desired height is reached the user allows the support means 2 to fall toward its rest position, until the boss 36 contacts the rear face 24 of the rail 20. The support means 2 will not fall completely into its rest position, restingagainst the front face 26 of the mounting rail 20, until the boss 36 comes fully into alignment with one of the openings 22; as soon as the support means 2 falls completely into its rest position the user can release it, confident that the support means 2 is locked into position on the rail. Thus, the user does not have to be able to see the openings 22, as the support means can only drop fully to the rest position when the boss 36 locks into an opening 22, and this is a sufficient indication to the user that the support means 2 is securely mounted.
Removal of the support means 2 simply involves tilting the support means 2 upwardly until the edges 44, 46 come into alignment with the edges of the mounting rail 20, at which point the rail 20 will pass through the opening 48 and the support means 2 can be detached from the mounting rail 20.
Because the support means 2 can be tilted upwardly on the mounting rail 20, so that the attitude of the hardware 4 changes as it pivots toward and away from the rail 20, the support means 2 can be provided with adjusting means, for example a threaded adjusting screw 60 disposed through a hole 62 in the lower end of the hardware 4. As shown in Figure 8, the tip 61 of the screw 60 bears against the front face 26 of the mounting rail 20. Some portion of the hole 62 is threaded to engage the screw 60, so that as the adjusting screw 60 is driven deeper into thehardware 4, it forces the support means 2 to tilt upwardly, which changes the attitude of the hardware 4 commensurately. This ability to adjust the attitude or level of the hardware 4 is a particularly useful feature in the case of a display or shelving unit designed for aesthetic appeal, as it allows for shelves, platforms and other supporting hardware to be easily levelled and aligned with one another.
Plefelled embodiments of the invention having been described above by way of example, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that certain modifications and adaptations may be made without departing from the scope of the invention as set out in the appended claims. All such modifications and adaptations are intended to fall within the invention.
Claims
1. An adjustable standard system comprising a mounting rail for mounting on a supporting surface, support means comprising a support arm having means for engaging the support means to the rail, and means for locking the support arm at a selected position on the rail.
Priority Applications (1)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA002174024A CA2174024A1 (en) | 1996-04-12 | 1996-04-12 | Adjustable standard system |
Applications Claiming Priority (1)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA002174024A CA2174024A1 (en) | 1996-04-12 | 1996-04-12 | Adjustable standard system |
Publications (1)
| Publication Number | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| CA2174024A1 true CA2174024A1 (en) | 1997-10-13 |
Family
ID=4157971
Family Applications (1)
| Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA002174024A Abandoned CA2174024A1 (en) | 1996-04-12 | 1996-04-12 | Adjustable standard system |
Country Status (1)
| Country | Link |
|---|---|
| CA (1) | CA2174024A1 (en) |
-
1996
- 1996-04-12 CA CA002174024A patent/CA2174024A1/en not_active Abandoned
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Legal Events
| Date | Code | Title | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| FZDE | Discontinued |