EP0043168B1

EP0043168B1 - A cupboard, bookshelf or the like

Info

Publication number: EP0043168B1
Application number: EP81200720A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Lars Gunnar Ruthér
Original assignee: Ruther Inredningar AB
Current assignee: RUTHER INREDNINGAR AB
Priority date: 1980-07-01
Filing date: 1981-06-25
Publication date: 1984-09-12
Also published as: DE3166008D1; SE8004845L; SE435128B; EP0043168A1

Description

Background of the Invention

This invention relates to such cupboards, book shelves or the like as are generally defined in the preamble of claim 1. The invention primarily relates to book shelves but may also be applied to cupboards, storage racks and other units and pieces of furniture for storage purposes.
A book shelf or the like of this general kind forms the subject matter of FR-A-711639 which discloses a shelf structure comprising walls provided with vertical rails or columns having shoulders facing upwardly. Each of these columns has a substantially sawtooth shape as seen in a vertical section. Each shoulder is intended as a support for a one shank of a bracket which substantially has the shape of a Z as seen in a cross section and whose other oppositely directed shank forms a support for a shelf or platform. Each shelf which extends between two adjacent walls of the piece of furniture in question is supported by two pairs of Z-brackets. When a shelf of this old structure is to be shifted in the vertical direction it is necessary to shift the brackets individually, independent of the shelf proper.
US-A-2 967 625 discloses a standard and bracket assembly comprising shelf supporting brackets. These standards are, in the shelf supporting condition, substantially similar to the rails of FR-A-711639. The principal features of the shelf supporting brackets of this US disclosure resides therein, that each bracket is integral with its standard and united thereto by a resilient tongue.
DE-B-1 265 369 discloses a shelf which is provided with a pair of double, plastic strips or ribs each pair extending along the entire length of one of the lateral ends of the shelf. Each double rib comprises two wedge-shaped parts which are united by a flexible yoke. One rib part is provided with a tongue engaging a corresponding groove in the appurtenant shelf. The outside of the other rib part is provided with tooth-like projections. The intention is that the shelf is to be supported by the wedge action between the rib parts when the tooth-like projections engage an adjacent wall of a book shelf or the like, being retained purely by friction. In this structure it is impossible to displace the shelf downwards without removing it entirely from the cabinet.
DE-B-1 128 614 discloses a shelf structure comprising vertical posts or rails having longitudinal grooves and wedge-shaped recesses in one of their longitudinal lateral surfaces for supporting the shelves. These have pivotable supporting brackets at one of their ends and stationary supporting brackets at their other end. The brackets which are all rigid do not project beyond their respective lateral ends of the shelf and are horizontal in their shelf supporting position. Since the shelves are provided with pivotable brackets only at one of their ends, it is not possible to adjust the height position of the shelves while maintaining the shelves in a horizontal position.

Summary of the Invention

The principal object of the invention is to eliminate these drawbacks and to provide a cupboard, book shelf or the like of the kind in question which permits a simple shift or transfer of the shelves in the vertical direction. This object is attained thanks to the fact that the cupboard, book shelf or the like according to the invention is so designed as is set forth in the characterizing clause of claim 1.

Brief Description of the Drawings

Further features and advantages of the cupboard, book shelf or the like according to the invention will become apparent from the following detailed description and the annexed drawings which diagrammatically and as non-limiting examples illustrate some embodiments of the invention.

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a set of shelves or platforms, such as a (book) shelf or cupboard constructed in accordance with the invention.
Figs. 2 and 3 illustrate a vertical rail or column of shoulders comprised in the set of shelves according to Fig. 1 in a perspective view and a plan view, respectively.
Fig. 4 is a partial, sectional view through a wall of the rack or shelf unit, also illustrating two support brackets.
Fig. 5 is a partial horizontal sectional view substantially along line V-V in Fig. 4.
Fig. 6 is a partial vertical sectional view substantially on line VI-V- in Fig. 4.
Fig. 7 is a perspective view of another embodiment of a support bracket.
Figs. 8 and 9 illustrate two further brackets in a side view and a partial sectional view through an appurtenant shelf, respectively.
Fig. 10 is a plan view from beneath on a smaller scale and illustrates a step of a displacement or transfer of a shelf.
Fig. 11 is a partial horizontal sectional view through an intermediate wall comprising a post and constructed according to the invention.

Description of the Preferred Embodiments

The (book)shelf or the cupboard according to Fig. 1 comprises a stationary base or bottom 1, a stationary upper shelf 2 or top and two end walls 3, of which one could constitute an intermediate wall of wider shelf unit, possibly a back panel 4, and two displaceable shelves 5. These are suitably inserted in an inclined position into the shelf unit as illustrated in Fig. 1.
Each end wall or intermediate wall 3 is on each one of its sides or principal surfaces which face an opposed end wall or intermediate wall provided with two carrier rails which are generally designated 7 and are more clearly shown in Figs 2-6. The rails 7 are made e.g. of aluminium or another preferably metallic, wear- resistant material and have bores 8 at their ends (Figs. 2 and 3) for screws 9 by means of which the rails are secured to the walls 3. The rails 7 are substantially sawtooth-shaped as seen in a longitudinal section, as is evident from Figs. 2 and 4, and comprise shoulders 10 which are intended to carry a shelf 5 in cooperation with a bracket to be described below, at the transitions between one saw-tooth and the adjacent one. As is most clearly shown in Fig. 2 the saw-teeth 11 suitably have a broken or angular contour.
Especially if the walls are of sheet iron, the rails may alternatively be comprised of portions of the respective walls, in that they firstly comprise flexible tongues which are cut out in the sheet iron wall and essentially correspond to the outer edge portion of the saw-teeth, and secondly comprise such portions of the sheet iron wall as are located intermediate the tongues or surround them, respectively.
A first embodiment of a bracket is illustrated in Figs. 4 and 6, in which it is generally designated 13. The bracket which is of plastic or another flexible or elastical material comprises two interconnected plate- shaped shanks 14 and 15 which form an obtuse angle with each other in the un-bent condition of the bracket (the lower bracket in Fig. 4).
The shank 14 has an integral substantially cylindrical rib 16 which is intended to be introduced into a corresponding groove in the end edge of the shelf 5, as is apparent from Figs. 4 and 6. The lower free edge of the flange 15 is intended to rest upon one of the shoulders 10 of the rails and thereby support the shelf 5. Since the cooperating rails normally are four in number, there is normally a bracket adjacent each corner of the shelf 5.
In Fig. 7 there is illustrated another embodiment of a bracket 13 which comprises two plates or the like, 18, 19, which are united through a web 20 and between themselves form an interspace 21 defined by preferably parallel wall surfaces, and a suitably cylindrical stud 22 which is united with one of the plates 18 and whose longitudinal axis forms an obtuse angle with the other plate 19, which has a preferably planar carrier surface which is intended to rest upon one of the said shoulders 10 of the rail 7 for carrying a shelf 5.
The plates or shanks 18, 19 may possibly be wider than as shown, and furthermore the plate 18 may suitably be given a circular shape to be able to be countersunk in a drilled or milled counterbore, which is coaxial with the stud 22, which corresponds to the rib 16 in Figs. 4 and 6, in the end edge of the shelf 5.
In Fig. 8 there is illustrated another bracket 13 which is intended in particular for shelves 5 in the form of thin plates, e.g. of glass. This bracket is comprised of a short profile rail of approximately F-shaped cross section, the lower horizontal shank 24 of the F forming an obtuse angle with the ascender 25 and being intended as a carrier surface for the end of a shelf, and the upper horizontal shank 26, which is shorter than the lower shank, of the F being intended to embrace the end of the shelf together with the lower shank. The bottom end of the ascender 25 of the F forms a preferably planar carrier surface, which is intended to rest upon one of the said shoulders 10 of the rail 7.
In Fig. 9 a further bracket 13 is shown, which primarily is intended for sheet-metal shelves. This bracket comprises a substantially parallelepipedal block 27 and a flexible tongue 28 which projects obliquely therefrom and whose free end edge forms a preferably planar carrier surface, which is intended to rest upon one of the shoulders 10 of the rail 7. The block 27 may be secured to the shelf 5 by means of a diagrammatically indicated rivet 29 or the like.
In particular when the shelves 5 are made of sheet-metal the flexible shanks 15, 19, 25, 28 of the brackets 13 may be comprised of tongues which are cut out and bent out of the end edge of the shelf (Fig. 9) which in this case is perpendicular to said end edge, whereby the brackets 13 become integral parts of the shelves 5.
In Fig. 10 there is illustrated how the shift or displacement of a shelf 5 in the vertical direction is carried out. During such transfer the shelf is initially raised to the upper level in Fig. 4, the shanks 15 of the brackets being hereby pressed out of the saw-tooth recesses or grooves in the rail 7. Subsequently the shelf 5 is pulled forward in the direction of the arrow to the depth position A in Fig. 10, after which the shelf can be moved upwards or downwards to the desired level and then be pushed inwards into its normal depth position B which is shown to the right in Fig. 10, and subsequently the height position is adjusted to a new level, so that the shank 15 of the bracket flexes in into another one of the grooves of the rail 7 and comes to rest upon another shoulder 10.
In an alternative embodiment which is illustrated in Fig. 11, the end walls and/or intermediate walls 3 may comprise vertical posts 30, which are provided pairwise and form the longitudinal, vertical end edges of the walls and are interconnected by means of end panels or cross bars 31, which are embraced by a pair of flanges 33 on each post. Each post 30 has at least one channel 32 (two in Fig. 11) for a rail 7.
The embodiments described above and shown in the drawings are of course to be regarded merely as non-limiting examples and may as to their details be modified in several ways within the scope of the following claims. Thus, it is possible to provide on each interior wall face only one central, suitably wider rail instead of two rails at a distance from each other, the pair of brackets 13 which are located near the ends of a common end edge of a shelf being of course replaced by a single central bracket just opposite said single rail. Furthermore, new embodiments which are also covered by the claims may be created by combining details taken from different ones of the exemplificatory embodiments described above. The expression "shelves or the like" also comprises other displaceable elements than shelves, e.g. drawers and drawer pidestals.

Claims

1. A cupboard, book shelf or the like, having displaceable horizontal shelves, platforms or the like (5) supported at their ends by two opposed end or intermediate walls (3) which are substantially similar to each other and comprise, on their mutually opposing faces, vertical columns (7) of shoulders (10) which face upwardly and are preferably of uniform width, each pair of adjacent shoulders being connected together by two surfaces, one surface above the other, the upper surface being substantially parallel to the plane of the wall while the lower surface is inclined upwardly-outwardly with respect to the plane of the adjacent wall, so that a vertical section through the column has substantially a sawtooth shape, the shoulders of each row being located between a pair of substantially vertical boundary surfaces which are located substantially in the same vertical planes as the two lateral end edges of the respective shoulder and extend above each lateral end edge; at least one support bracket (13) being provided for each end of each shelf, platform or the like, characterized by each support bracket being removably fastened by an attachment portion to, or made integrally with, said end, a resilient tongue (15, 19, 25, 28) integral with the bracket and having a thickness at most that of the shoulder, both measured perpendicularly to the plane of the wall, projecting beyond the end of the shelf, platform or the like and forming an obtuse angle with the plane of the shelf, platform or the like when the latter is free or supported, the end of the tongue resting on the shoulder to support the respective end of the shelf, platform or the like; the tongue being elastically pivotable about an axis substantially parallel to the end of the shelf, platform or the like to such an extent as to form substantially a right angle with the plane of the shelf, platform or the like and to not project substantially beyond the end thereof; the arrangement being such that it is possible to raise the shelf, platform or the like while maintaining it horizontal to disengage the tongues from a first set of shoulders and engage them with the plane walls, to push in or pull out the shelf, platform or the like horizontally, to raise or lower the shelf, platform or the like while maintaining it horizontal, and then to pull it or push it horizontally to re-engage the tongues with a further set of shoulders on a higher or lower plane.

2. A cupboard, book shelf or the like according to claim 1, characterized in that the shoulders (10) and the pairs of surfaces joining adjacent shoulders are provided in substantially vertically extending rails (7) secured to said walls (3).

3. A cupboard, book shelf or the like according to claim 2, characterized in that the number of rails per wall side as well as the number of brackets (13) per shelf end is two.

4. A cupboard, book shelf or the like according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that each bracket comprises two integral plates (14, 15), of which one (15) constitutes said tongue and the other plate (14) comprises a stud-like engagement member (16) which projects from one of the surfaces of the plate (14) and is insertable into a hole which is provided in a shelf end and has a cross section corresponding to that of the engagement member (16).

5. A cupboard, book shelf or the like according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the brackets (13) comprise two plates (18, 19), which are united with each other by a web (20) and between themselves form an interspace (21) defined by two preferably parallel plate surfaces, and a stud member (22) which is preferably cylindrical and which is integral with one of the plates (18) and whose longitudinal axis forms an obtuse angle with the other plate (19), which has a preferably planar support surface adapted to rest upon one of said shoulders (10). Fig. 7.)

6. A cupboard, book shelf or the like according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the brackets (13), which are intended for thin shelves, particularly glass plates, are comprised of short profile rails having a substantially F-shaped cross section, the lower, horizontal shank (24) of the F forming an obtuse angle with the ascender (25) of the F and being adapted to constitute a support surface for a shelf end, and the upper horizontal shank (26) of the F which is shorter than the lower shank being intended to embrace the shelf end together with said lower shank, and the lower end of the ascender (25) of the F forming a preferably plane carrier surface intended to rest upon one of the shoulders (10). (Fig. 8.)

7. A cupboard, book shelf or the like, according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the brackets (13) which are intended primarily for sheet metal shelves (5) comprise a substantially parallelepipedal block (27) and a flexible tongue (28) projecting obliquely therefrom and having a free end edge, which forms a carrier surface which is preferably planar and which is intended to rest upon one of the shoulders (10). (Fig. 9.)