AU709818B2 - Storage system - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to a storage system (1) comprising shelves and cabinets constructed from pieces of sheet material. Pairs of mounting rails (7, 8), which are arranged to be supported horizontally at a mutual distance from one another, exhibit means for setting up the rails on a wall (10), upright or other support intended for that purpose at the location where the storage system is installed. At least the upper and the lower shelves (4, 5) are so arranged by means of connecting devices as to be detachably attached to the aforementioned matching mounting rails (7, 8). Pieces in the form of sheets are so arranged by means of securing devices as to be capable of vertical installation between the aforementioned upper and lower shelves (4, 5) so as to be supported by said mounting rails (7, 8) to form the sides of installed formed cabinet carcasses. Components included in the system (1) exhibit a finished length at the time of delivery to the location where they are to be set up or have their dimensions adapted in conjunction with the setting-up of the components.

Description

WO 97/26808 PCT/SE97/00043 1 Storage system The present invention relates to a storage system comprising shelves and cabinets constructed from pieces of sheet material forming shelves and side panels.

Previously disclosed storage systems in accordance with the above comprise units manufactured at a factory by a large number of employees and with the help of large, expensive machines to produce bulky cabinet and shelf units of varying sizes, colours and types of wood, etc. Both the storage and the transport of the installed bulky units, which contain large volumes of air, present problems and high costs, since non-useful volume must be produced in advance and stored and transported on the public roads with a negative effect on the environment due to poor utilization of the transport capacity of the vehicles. Fuel economy is also poor, and there is a negative effect on road safety.

There is a requirement to be able to produce storage systems more rationally than previously, thereby avoiding large, bulky stores which cost a lot of money, and avoiding the need to transport the assembled cabinets, etc., over long distances from the factory to the customers for installation on walls and other supporting structures.

The cabinet carcasses for high-level and lowlevel cabinets included in the storage system, which are also suitable for the fitting-out of kitchens, stores, shops, offices and other premises, require right angles and flat surfaces for installation on walls, etc. This makes installation a time-consuming operation, because work must be done in conjunction with this to permit the alignment of plinths, and fitting pieces must be shaped, etc., and in the worst case the strength must be jeopardized in conjunction with installation in order to obtain an aesthetically WO 97/26808 PCT/SE97/00043 2 pleasing faqade without gaps and differences in level in the finished cabinet installation. Handling of these bulky cabinet carcasses makes the work laborious and is often associated with poor ergonomics. Conventional cabinet carcasses also lack all flexibility with regard to changed storage needs with rearrangement of the spaces in the storage system. In the best case a new need may be satisfied.

Conventional cabinet carcasses consisting of pre-assembled units which are installed next to one another thus exhibit double dividers, which involve the unnecessary use of materials.

The shelf construction disclosed through GB,A, 2237729 comprises shelves and a side panel which are so arranged as to be supported by installation rails with a rigid side edge which extends along a channel-like accommodating opening. The shelf in question is accommodated directly in the aforementioned accommodating opening without any aids to connection. Only elastic devices are arranged between the edges therein. It is difficult to achieve any stable and precise securing because of the considerable free play that is present in the accommodating openings, to which the elastic device also contributes, without having to use a vertically opposing support element to support the outer ends of the shelves. This means that a shelf construction with pairs of vertical side panels and interjacent horizontal shelves can be used to form cabinets and shelves in a simple fashion for installation on a wall, for example, or some other support intended for the purpose.

EP,A2, 0 146 932 certainly discloses, in a system for forming cabinets, the application of connecting elements for joining vertical side panels to one another, and also the arrangement of vertical rear and front panels forming the cabinet connected to the side panels via the aforementioned connecting elements. There are no connecting elements which connect horizontal shelves to wall rails, WO 97/26808 PCT/SE97100043 3 however, nor is any reference made to anything which might be able to provide tips relating to such shelf-connecting elements.

The principal object of the present invention is thus, in the first place, to find a storage system which, with simple and efficiently functioning means, solves the aforementioned problems effectively.

Said object is achieved in accordance with the present invention, which is characterized essentially in that pairs of mounting rails, which are arranged to be supported horizontally at a mutual distance from one another, exhibit means for setting up the rails on a wall, upright or other support intended for that purpose at the location where the storage system is installed, in that at least the upper and the lower shelves are so arranged by means of connecting devices as to be detachably attached to the aforementioned matching mounting rails, in that arranged between the aforementioned mounting rails and shelves are interacting connecting pieces which exhibit connecting devices for attachment to the mounting rails along one of their long sides, and exhibit connecting devices along the corresponding long side so arranged as to be capable of being connected to said shelves along their front edge, and in that pieces in the form of sheets are so arranged by means of securing devices as to be capable of vertical installation between the aforementioned upper and lower shelves so as to be supported by said mounting rails to form the sides of installed formed cabinet carcasses, in conjunction with which components included in the system exhibit a finished length at the time of delivery to the location where they are to be set up or have their dimensions adapted in conjunction with the setting-up of the components.

The storage system comprises prefabricated carcass elements of essentially uniform design for base panels, side panels, dividers and top panels. These exhibit WO 97/26808 PCT/SE97/00043 4 integrated or fixed edge profiles which interact with connecting elements for the on-site installation of the carcass. The installed carcass is self-stabilizing and hangs from horizontal, wall-mounted profile rails, interacting with the top and bottom edges of the cabinet carcass, which also engage in a positive fashion with the edge profiles. The edge profiles are executed for the attachment of fitting details such as sliding rails for drawers or bins, shelf supports, hinges and decorative elements, etc.

Advantages gained through the cabinet carcass in accordance with the invention can be summarized as improved transport economy, reduced storage space, simpler and cheaper installation, reduced material consumption, greater flexibility of application and thus maximum utilization of the available space inside the premises, in other words better total economy.

The invention is described below with reference to the accompanying schematic drawings, in which: Fig. 1 shows a plan view of a wall with cabinets in accordance with the invention mounted on it; Fig. 2 shows a part of the storage system in perspective and as an exploded view; Fig. 3 shows a part of a cabinet capable of being mounted on a wall with its constituent parts separated from one another slightly in the interests of clarity; Fig. 4 shows the outer edge part of the cabinet illustrated in Fig. 3, similarly in a position in which the constituent parts are separated from one another slightly; Fig. 5 shows a schematic solution for a storage system with its constituent cabinets and shelves installed on a wall and a bearer projecting therefrom.

A storage system 1 in accordance with the present invention, which comprises a number of shelves 2 and cabinets 3 constructed from pieces of sheet material 4-6, is WO 97/26808 PCT/SE97/00043 installed in accordance with the invention at the intended location and directly at the place where the storage system is to be fixed by means of pairs of mounting rails 7, 8. Said mounting rails 7, 8 are so arranged as to be supported horizontally at a mutual distance A from one another. Said mounting rails 7, 8 exhibit means 9 for said purpose, for example holes for screws 9A for setting up the rails in a steady fashion on a wall 10, on uprights, or on some other support 11 intended for this purpose at the actual location 12 for the installation of the storage system i. A trim panel can be accommodated between the rails 7, 8 and clipped securely in place.

In this way at least the upper and the lower shelves, which form the top panel 13 and the base panel 14 respectively of the installed cabinet 3 or the installed shelf 2, are so arranged as to be detachably attached to said matching mounting rails 7, 8 by means of connecting devices In this way at least the upper and lower shelves, which respectively form the top panel 13 and the base panel 14 of the installed cabinet 3 or the installed shelf 2, are so arranged as to be detachably attached by means of connecting devices 15 to said matching mounting rails 7, 8. Pieces of sheet material are also so arranged as to be attached vertically by means of fixing devices 16, 17 between said upper and lower shelves so that they are also supported by said mounting rails 7, 8 to form the side panels 18, 19 and the divider 20 of the installed formed cabinet carcasses 3. In this way a novel and unique feature of the invention is also that the constituent parts of the system i, i.e. the pieces of sheet material 4-6, the mounting rails 7-8 and the fixing devices 17 either exhibit a finished length when they are delivered from the factory, etc., to the setting-up location 12, or are only adjusted to size in WO 97/26808 PCT/SE97/00043 6 conjunction with the setting-up of the components 4-8, 15 in the intended location.

Said components are supplied from the factory or stores in the form of flat packs, which are easily handled from the point of view of both transport technology and storage, and which can be simply packaged to afford protection from damage before they are used. Arranged between the aforementioned mounting rails 7, 8 and the shelves 4, are interacting connecting pieces 21, which exhibit connecting pieces 21 for connection to the mounting rail 7, 8 along one long side 21A, and exhibit connecting devices 23 along the opposite long side 21B which are so arranged as to be capable of connection with said shelves 4, 5, 6 along their front edge 4A, 5A, 6A. Said connecting piece 21 is preferably formed from a profile which, at least along one longitudinal edge 4A, 5A, 6A of the shelves, but preferably along both of their longitudinal edges 4A, 5A, 6A; 4B, 6B, is connected to the shelf at the time of delivery. Thus both the front edge 4A-6A and the rear edge 4B-6B of the shelves 4-6, when viewed in their installed state, can exhibit profiles attached on the edges, for example in the form of a tapering edge part 24 milled down into the shelves and as a U-shaped profile The shape of the connecting devices 22 of the connecting pieces is preferably adapted to that of a fixing device 26 on the mounting rails 7, 8, for example as a male and female connection.

Said mounting rail 7, 8 is formed preferably from a U-shaped profile rail with a flange 26 at each of the free ends of the shank 27, and said connecting device 22 is in the form of a tubular component, preferably rectangular in form, which is so arranged, after having been snapped into engagement over the flanges 26, as to be accommodated in the mounting rail at its accommodating part 28, and as to be WO 97/26808 PCT/SE97/00043 7 enclosed in this way by the shanks 27, and is prevented by the flanges 26 from being forced out of engagement.

Fixing of the side panels 18, 19 to the top panel 13 and the base panel 14 which are attached to the mounting rail is permitted thanks to the fact that the vertically supportable side panels 6 exhibit connecting rails 29, 30 along both longitudinal edges 6A, 6B of the pieces 6 and with means of connection at the short end 61, 62, for example in the form of holes 31 for screws 16 or other fixing devices 17 capable of being accommodated therein, for example in the form of a clasp with a laterally projecting part 17A capable of being accommodated in a slotted hole 32, in order to permit connection of said side panels 6 to said shelves 4, Connection is made possible, for example, in that said shelves 4, 5 and side panels 6 exhibit connection pieces 21 and 29, 30, which are provided with transcurrent holes 33 uniformly distributed in a straight line along their length on both the rear edge 4B, 5B, 6B and the front edge 4A, 5A, 6A for the purpose of connection to additional side panels 20 and shelves. The connecting rails 29, 30 of the side panels exhibit holes 31 in their short ends 6 in accordance with the above positioned directly in line with said holes 33 arranged in a straight line.

The shelves 4, 5 and the side panels 18, 19 and the divider 20 are identical in shape, and it makes no difference where they are positioned, i.e. as shelves or side panels.

In order to provide a neat and also durable front surface, a front strip 34 can be capable of attachment to the respective connecting pieces 21 and connecting rails of the shelves 4, 5 and side panels 6 along their front by snapping securely into engagement. Strips can also be inserted in other grooves so that smooth, easily cleaned surfaces are achieved.

WO 97/26808 PCT/SE97/00043 8 Components and front strips intended for connection consist of a plastic and/or metal material, preferably aluminium, in conjunction with which the shelves and side panels consist of fibre material, wood, plastic, metal or a combination of said materials.

The flexibility of the cabinet carcass in accordance with the invention permits adaptation to meet various storage needs and can be supplemented with desired fittings, such as shelves, drawers, plinth drawers, hanging rails, wire baskets and cabinet doors, etc.

The invention is described below further and in more detail in conjunction with the installation of the various constituent components of the system.

In conjunction with installing the carcass, horizontally oriented profiles or wall rails are attached to the wall and are aligned vertically and levelled. If required, a side panel element may be used as a spacer during installation of the wall rails. A base panel is then installed with a fixed or integrated rear edge profile in positive engagement with the lower wall rail, after which side panels are fitted between the wall rails with their lower edges resting against the upper surface of the base panel and are fixed with the help of connecting elements to the rear and front edge profiles of the base panel. A top panel is fitted with an integrated, rear edge profile in positive engagement with the upper wall rail, after which connecting elements are used to fix the side panels to the rear and front edge profiles of the top panel to form a boxshaped cabinet carcass, and finally dividers are fitted in the desired position between the base panel and the top panel and are fixed to these with the help of connecting elements in the same way as the side walls. The cabinet carcass is now ready for fitting out with fitting items and for decoration.

The carcass elements, i.e. the base panel, the side panels, the top panel and the dividers, are of uniform WO 97/26808 PCTISE97/00043 9 construction in a basic embodiment and are manufactured in continuous lengths for cutting to size as specified in the order or on-site.

Fig. 2 shows a prefabricated cabinet carcass, in conjunction with which a panel, for example a base panel, exhibits plain milled recesses on the top and bottom sides of both of its longitudinal edges to accommodate an edge profile. The sheet material is of less significance for achieving the advantages of the invention, but may benefit from being made of pressure-glued wood fibres.

The edge profile exhibits in an inner part a longitudinal groove of essentially U-shaped cross-section for fitting the longitudinal edge of the sheet, and can be fixed to it with the help of an adhesive, for example a quicksetting two-component adhesive or an adhesive of the cyanoacrylate type. Alternatively, the edge profile may be integrated with the sheet and formed in a single piece with it. The edge profile exhibits, in a centrally located part, a longitudinal cavity which, as shown in Fig. 2, can have a circular cross-section, but, in an alternative embodiment, can also have a rectangular and possibly square crosssection. In the outer part opposite the groove, the edge profile exhibits a cross-sectional form which is adapted for positive engagement with the wall rail shown in the drawing figure. The outer part of the edge profile exhibits edges tapered for the purpose to facilitate snapping into engagement with the wall rail, and stops to provide locking in the snapped-in position by hooking into engagement with correspondingly shaped tongues on the wall rail.

Mounting holes are arranged at regular intervals through the edge profile across the extent of the cavity, in conjunction with which the centre axes of the holes intersect the centre axis of the cavity at right angles. The holes have a cross-sectional form which preferably corresponds to the cross-sectional form of the WO 97/26808 PCT/SE97/00043 cavity and are intended to permit a connecting element to pass through. The holes can be stamped, milled or drilled in a supplementary machining process in conjunction with the production of the edge profile, which is preferably manufactured by the continuous casting of aluminium or an aluminium alloy. The holes are preferably distributed along the length of the edge profile with a mutual distance between them such that at least every tenth centimetre of the edge profile contains a hole, so that the dividers present in a storage system can be positioned in that way with standardized distances for fitting-out components such as drawers, shelves and cabinet doors, i.e. with widths of or 80 centimetres, for example.

The connecting element preferably consists of a self-tapping screw with a diameter adapted for threaded engagement with the cavity. In another embodiment the connecting element may be an opening whose rectangular crosssection is adapted to the holes of rectangular cross-section and the cavity, which element may, in the connecting position, be fixed to prevent axial movement inside the cavity with the help of an assembly washer comprising a projection for positive engagement with a recess in the cotter pin in conjunction with the introduction of the washer in a direction cross-wise to the axial extent of the cotter pin. Attention must be drawn in this respect to the need, when designing the head of the cotter pin, to take account of the space occupied by the aforementioned tongues of the wall rail, which are described in greater detail below, when the edge profile is snapped into engagement in the wall rail.

Although not illustrated specifically here, the use of other devices for the axial fixing of the connecting element in the cavity is conceivable. Such devices may comprise transverse cotter pins, locking screws or similar.

The centrally located section of the edge profile, comprising the cavity and the holes, can be recessed WO 97/26808 PCT/SE97100043 11 and can lie within the lateral plane of the edge profile in order to permit the head of the screw, the head of the cotter pin and the head of the assembly washer to be accommodated within said lateral plane and, as such, not to encroach upon the space available for any additional fitting-out and decorative components. It will be appreciated that the holes may be recessed as an alternative for the purpose of accommodating the head of the screw, in which case the centrally located section of the edge profile need not be recessed in its entirety.

The outermost section of the edge profile, which, in its installed position, is in positive engagement with the wall rail, is dimensioned in such a way, together with the wall rail described below, as to form a unit whose thickness corresponds to the thickness of the sheet material.

Due to the fact that the outside of the sheet and the wall rail thus lie in a common plane, a level supporting surface is formed for side panels and dividers, when these are placed on the base panel.

The wall rail has an essentially U-shaped cross-section with a cavity which is adapted to accommodate the outermost section of the edge profile in a positively engaged fashion. The connecting web of the wall rail has a thickness which permits a rear panel to be clamped in conjunction with installation of the rail between the wall and a flange formed on the wall rail. The web exhibits a number of recessed holes through which fixing screws can be passed, whose head in the screwed-in position is located on or beneath the plane of the web to permit insertion of the edge profile, which, when in the inserted position, is in contact with the web of the wall rail. Extending from the web are a pair of shanks, each of the outermost ends of which exhibits a locking heel running across the extent of the shank and towards an imaginary central plane. The locking heels fix the edge profile to the wall rail through a process WO 97/26808 PCT/SE97/00043 12 of locking engagement behind the stops with the edge profile in its fully snapped-in position, when the shanks spring back after the snapping-in movement into contact with the lateral plane of the edge profile.

Considerable flexibility in respect of the arrangement of the storage space is offered in conjunction with installation, which is also applicable to subsequent rearrangement as storage needs change. Installation is performed easily by one man, and the setting-up of the storage system is restricted to the levelling and vertical alignment of the wall rails. Side panels and dividers are locked to the edge profiles of the base panel and the top panel by the introduction of connecting elements which extend through the holes in the aforementioned edge profiles, after which the connecting elements are fixed in the cavities by the edge profiles of the side panels and the dividers respectively. Fixing is by threaded engagement between connecting element and cavity, or alternatively with the help of a locking washer, locking screw or some other device for locking the connecting element axially in the cavity.

The installed cabinet carcass can be supplemented with various fitting-out components such as sliding rails for drawers, bins and wire baskets, shelf supports and plinth drawers suspended beneath the base panel, etc., in conjunction with which these components interact with the edge profiles to form a storage system.

Although not specifically illustrated, coloured and structured trim strips can be securely clamped to the edge profiles in a manner obvious to a person skilled in the art for the purpose of covering visible edge profiles, and side covering pieces can be applied to visible end panels. The holes in the edge profiles can be used for securing shelf supports, slide rails and guides, but also for installing commercially available types of hinges which, as the cabinet door is opened, lift it outwards from the cabinet WO 97/26808 PCT/SE97/00043 13 carcass in order to permit opening of doors which, in the closed position, cover the cabinet carcass and the front edges of the dividers. The edge profile on the base panel of the high-level cabinet can be used as an attachment device for kitchen appliances, such as microwave ovens, and for light fittings, etc. Pull-out plinth drawers suspended from rails can also be integrated in the facade of the storage system, in conjunction with which the plinth-free construction of the storage system permits a high degree of utilization of the space between the base panel and the floor.

A cover panel or work surface is usually installed above the cabinet carcass, in which case the top panel can be executed for reasons of material economy as a frame of edge profiles or as a ladder structure with edge profiles integrated into its long sides.

The invention is not restricted to the illustrative embodiments described above and shown in the drawings, nut may be varied within the scope of the Patent Claims without departing from the idea of invention.

Claims (7)

1. 2. System as claimed in Patent Claim 1, characterized in that said connecting piece (21) is formed V '9 AMENDED SHEET PCT/SE 7 /0004Q 156 1998 from a profile which, at least along one longitudinal edge (4A, 5A) of the shelves, but preferably along both their longitudinal edges (4A, 5A; 4B, 5B), is connected to the shelf at the time of delivery.
2. 3. System as claimed in Patent Claim 1, characterized in that the shape of the connecting devices (22) of the connecting pieces is adapted to that of the mounting rails for example as a male and female connection.
3. 4. System as claimed in Patent Claim 3, characterized in that said mounting rail 8) is formed from a U-shaped profile rail with a flange (26) at each of the free ends of the shank and in that said connecting device (22) is in the form of a tubular component, which is so arranged, after having been snapped into engagement over the flanges as to be accommodated in the mounting rail and enclosed by the shanks. System as claimed in Patent Claim 1, characterized in that vertically supportable side panels (6) exhibit connecting rails (29, 30) along both longitudinal vertical edges (6A, 6B) of the pieces with means of connection at the short ends, for example in the form of holes (31) for screws (16) or other fixing devices (17) capable of being accommodated therein, in order to permit connection of s-aid side panels to said shelves
4. 6. System as claimed in Patent Claim characterized in that shelves 5) and side panels (6) exhibit connection pieces (21, 29, 30), which are provided with transcurrent holes (33) uniformly distributed in a straight line along their length on both the rear edge (4B- 6B) and the front edge (4A-6A) for the purpose of connection to additional side panels and shelves.
5. 7. System as claimed in Patent Claim 6, characterized in that the connecting rails (29, 30) of the AMENDED SHEET 16 PCTISE 97 0043 16 -01- 1998 side panels exhibit holes (31) in their short ends (61, 6-) suitable for screws or other connecting means.
6. 8. System as claimed in Patent Claim 4, characterized in that a front strip (34) is capable of attachment to the respective cbnnecting pieces (21) and connecting rails (30) of the shelves 5) and side panels along their front edge.
7. 9. System as claimed in one or other of Patent Claims 1-8, characterized in that components and front strips intended for connection consist of a plastic and/or metal material, preferably aluminium, in conjunction with which the shelves and side panels consist of fibre material, wood, plastic, metal or a combination of said materials. System in accordance with Patent Claim 1, characterized in that said connecting piece (21) is preferably formed from a profile which, at least along one longitudinal edge (4A, 5A) of the shelves, but preferably along both their longitudinal vertical edges (4A, 5A; 4B, is connected to the shelf at the time of delivery, in that the shape of the connecting devices (22) of the connecting pieces is adapted to that of the mounting rails for example as a male and female connection, in that said mounting rail 8) is formed preferably from a U- shaped profile rail with a flange (26) at each of the free ends of the shank said connecting device (22) is in the form of a tubular component which is so arranged, after having been snapped into engagement over the flanges as to be accommodated in the mounting rail and to be enclosed in this way by the shanks, and in that the vertically supportable side panels exhibit connecting rails (29, along both longitudinal edges (6A, 6B) of the pieces and with means of connection at the short ends, for example in the form of holes (31) for screws (16) or other fixing devices (17) capable of being accommodated therein in order to permit connection of said side panels to said shelves i' \J d I -O L- ,1 \i P AMENDED SHEET