EP0196052B1 - Circular shelf for furniture - Google Patents

Abstract

A rotatable compartment floor (10) for corner cupboards or the like has a circular contour or a contour in the form of a circular sector and is provided at the circle center with a hub (12) and at the outer edge with a peripheral wall (14) projecting vertically upwards. To divide the surface of the compartment floor into several compartments, there is at least one radial wall element (20) which at its outer end (32) is supported on the peripheral wall (14) and at its inner end has an end piece (24) in the form of a circular arc which surrounds the hub (12) and which engages in a continuous groove (28) in the hub by means of a flange (26) projecting horizontally inwards.

Description

The invention relates to a shelf with a circular or circular sector-shaped outline, which has a hub at the center of the circle and a circumferential wall projecting vertically upwards at the outer edge, and to a carousel floor insert formed from a plurality of such shelves.

Shelves of the type mentioned above and carousel floor inserts formed therefrom are arranged, in particular, in the inside corners of cupboards, for example built-in kitchen cupboards, and are used for storing pots and other kitchen utensils. The shelves are rotatable about a vertical axis running through the hub, so that the objects placed can be moved to the open side of the cabinet by rotating the shelf (DE-U-73 34 073). In this way, a favorable utilization of the closet space in the inner corners, which is otherwise difficult to access, is made possible.

In many cases, it is desirable to divide the base of the shelf by partition walls so that an orderly storage of the kitchen utensils is facilitated.

The invention has for its object to provide the shelf with partitions that can be easily attached to the shelf in a position corresponding to the respective need.

This object is achieved in a shelf of the type mentioned by at least one radial wall element, which is supported with its outer end on the circumferential wall and at its inner end has a circular end piece encompassing the hub, which with a horizontally inwardly projecting flange into a circumferential groove of the hub engages.

The wall element can be clamped in any angular position between the hub and the peripheral wall of the shelf without the need for fastening devices on the base of the shelf or on the peripheral wall, which impair the appearance of the shelf and make cleaning more difficult. Due to the flange engaging in the groove of the hub, the wall element is fixed at its inner end in the vertical direction. At its outer end, the wall element is held in position by the inward clamping force of the peripheral wall. If the outer end of the wall element is pulled upwards, the wall element is pivoted about the inner end and tilted on the peripheral wall. The outer end of the wall element can therefore only be lifted with a certain amount of force over the upper edge of the peripheral wall.

Preferably, the wall element is provided at its outer end with a projection resting on the upper edge of the peripheral wall and a clip which encompasses the peripheral wall from the outside and which grips the lower edge of the shelf and tensions the projection of the wall element against the upper edge of the peripheral wall.

The shelf usually has a circular sector-shaped recess corresponding to the inner corner of the front of the cabinet. In this case, the wall elements can also be used as the end of the shelf at the radially running edges of the recess.

If the shelf is provided with only a single radial wall element, the end piece preferably forms a 180 ° bend, so that the opposite ends of the end piece can exert a certain clamping force on the hub. Optionally, however, the end piece can also be designed as a shorter circular arc section, so that a larger number of wall elements can be arranged on the same hub.

In the case of a carousel shelf insert, which consists of a plurality of shelves of the type mentioned at the beginning, the wall element of the lower shelf is preferably held with its upper edge in a positive or non-positive manner on the upper shelf.

In this way, on the one hand, a simple fastening of the wall element is made possible in any angular position, and on the other hand the upper shelf is dropped by the wall element or by several wall elements arranged in this way, so that larger loads can be excluded and the carousel floor insert is stiffened overall.

The lower area of the wall element is preferably fixed in the manner described above between the hub and the peripheral wall of the lower shelf, but can also be supported directly on the base of the lower shelf. Optionally, the lower edge of the wall element can engage in grooves in the base of the lower shelf or in the peripheral wall thereof or can be secured against an adjustment in the circumferential direction of the shelf by projections, resilient tongues or the like.

The upper edge of the wall element can be supported directly under the underside of the base of the upper shelf. In this case, the wall element has a widened upper surface at the upper edge, in particular in the radially outer region, which rests on the underside of the upper shelf, so that a tilt protection for the wall element is formed.

The bottom of the shelf is often provided with radial stiffening ribs. In this case, the wall element along the upper edge is preferably provided with a groove which forks surrounds the lower edge of one of the stiffening ribs. If the wall element is to be detached or installed in a different angular position, the upper shelf is on the Axis loosened and slightly raised so that the stiffening rib emerges from the groove of the wall element. Optionally, the engagement between the groove of the wall element and the stiffening rib of the shelf can also have a certain play, so that the engagement of the wall element with the upper shelf can be released with elastic deflection and / or rotation of the wall element about a horizontal axis without the upper shelf must be raised. Finally, it is also possible to provide the wall element in the area of the upper edge with bars, eccentrics or the like, which releasably engage the stiffening ribs of the upper shelf.

• Figur 1 zeigt einen Ausschnitt eines kreisförmigen Fachbodens mit einem Wandelelement;
• Figur 2 zeigt einen Schnitt durch den Fachboden längs einer parallel zu dem Wandelement verlaufenden Linie;
• Figur 3 zeigt ein radial äusseres Ende eines Wandelements gemäss einem anderen Ausführungsbeispiel der Erfindung;
• Figur 4 zeigt in der Draufsicht einen Umfangsabschnitt eines Fachbodens und veranschaulicht weitere Ausführungsbeispiele der Erfindung;
• Figur 5 ist eine Ansicht des äusseren Randes eines Fachbodens mit Wandelement gemäss einem weiteren Ausführungsbeispiel der Erfindung;
• Figur 6 ist ein Teilschnitt durch einen erfindungsgemässen Fachbodeneinsatz;
• Figur 7 ist eine perspektivische Ansicht eines Anschlussstücks für ein durch ein Drahtgitter gebildetes Wandelement;
• Figur 8 ist ein senkrechter Schnitt durch zwei Fachböden und ein Wandelement gemäss einem anderen Ausführungsbeispiel der Erfindung;
• Figur 9 ist ein waagrechter Schnitt durch das Wandelement gemäss Figur 8;
• Figuren 10 (A), (B) und (C) veranschaulichen die lösbare Befestigung eines Wandelements an einer Rippe eines Fachbodens;
• Figuren 11 bis 14 zeigen unterschiedliche Querschnitte mehrteiliger Wandelemente;
• Figur 15 veranschaulicht eine andere Art der lösbaren Befestigung eines Wandelements an einem Fachboden;
• Figur 16 zeigt ein Wandelement mit einer Einrichtung zur Anpassung an unterschiedliche Höhen des oberen Fachbodens; und
• Figur 17 ist ein Schnitt längs der Linie XVII-XVII in Figur 16.

Preferred exemplary embodiments of the invention are explained in more detail below with reference to the drawings.

• Figure 1 shows a section of a circular shelf with a convertible element;
• Figure 2 shows a section through the shelf along a line running parallel to the wall element;
• Figure 3 shows a radially outer end of a wall element according to another embodiment of the invention;
• FIG. 4 shows a top view of a peripheral section of a shelf and illustrates further exemplary embodiments of the invention;
• Figure 5 is a view of the outer edge of a shelf with wall element according to another embodiment of the invention;
• FIG. 6 is a partial section through a shelf insert according to the invention;
• FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a connector for a wall element formed by a wire mesh;
• Figure 8 is a vertical section through two shelves and a wall element according to another embodiment of the invention;
• FIG. 9 is a horizontal section through the wall element according to FIG. 8;
• Figures 10 (A), (B) and (C) illustrate the releasable attachment of a wall element to a rib of a shelf;
• FIGS. 11 to 14 show different cross sections of multi-part wall elements;
• Figure 15 illustrates another type of releasable attachment of a wall element to a shelf;
• FIG. 16 shows a wall element with a device for adapting to different heights of the upper shelf; and
• Figure 17 is a section along the line XVII-XVII in Figure 16.

First of all, a first exemplary embodiment of the invention will be explained with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2.

A shelf 10 made of plastic has a hub 12 projecting upwards beyond the level of the shelf and, on its outer edge concentric to the hub 12, has a flat, vertically projecting peripheral wall 14. The shelf 12 is rotatably attached to a vertical axis 16 with its hub 12. The shelf 10 is provided on its underside with radial stiffening ribs 18.

A radial wall element 20 is clamped between the hub 12 and the peripheral wall 14 at a short distance from the surface of the shelf 10. The wall element 20 has a U-shaped cross-section open at the bottom and is provided with vertical stiffening ribs 22 at longitudinal intervals. The wall element 20 also made of plastic thus has a relatively high bending stiffness. The height of the wall element is approximately one tenth of the length.

At the inner end of the wall element, an integrally molded end piece 24 is provided in the form of a 180 ° circular arc section which surrounds the circumference of the hub 12. At the lower edge of the end piece 24, a radially inwardly projecting flange 26 is formed, which engages in a circumferential groove 28 of the hub 12. The hub 12 is chamfered at its upper outer edge, and the inner surface of the end piece 24 is adapted to the peripheral surface of the hub 12. The end piece 24 is provided at the upper edge with a radially inwardly projecting flange 30 which rests on the upper end face of the hub 12.

At the outer end, the wall element 20 abuts the peripheral wall 14 with a vertical end face 32, which extends approximately over the lower half of the wall element. The upper half of the wall element forms a projection 34 resting on the upper edge of the peripheral wall 14. A clamp 36, which is connected in one piece to the projection 34 and is widened in the circumferential direction, lies against the upper edge and against an outer material layer of the peripheral wall 14 and engages with a hook-like shape inwardly angled lower end 38 below the lower edge of the peripheral wall 14. The wall element 20 is thus positively secured against lifting, against radial displacement and against tilting about its longitudinal axis. Furthermore, the wall element is non-positively secured against rotation about the axis 16.

The wall element 20 is detached from the shelf 10 as follows. First, the lower end 38 of the bracket 36 is resiliently bent outward, and the outer end of the wall element 20 is raised over the upper edge of the peripheral wall 14 with slight elastic deformation of the wall element and the peripheral wall 14. The wall element is then pulled radially outward, so that the flange 26 emerges from the groove 28 of the hub. The assembly of the wall element is carried out in reverse of the process described above.

The wall element can thus be securely attached to the shelf 10 in any angular position without the need for special holding devices on the surface of the shelf or on its peripheral wall.

For example, when the shelf 10 rotates on the shelf put objects in the circumferential direction against the wall element 20, the wall element bends slightly. In this case, since the U-profile of the wall element has a certain width, the wall element tilts on the inner surface of the peripheral wall 14. In this way, the wall element is reliably secured against rotation about the axis 16.

To increase the frictional connection between the wall element 20 and the peripheral wall 14, plugs 40 made of flexible material can be arranged in the regions of the wall element which bear against the peripheral wall 14, as shown in FIG.

FIG. 4 shows exemplary embodiments of shelves 10 in which the peripheral wall 14 is profiled in such a way that the wall element 20 is positively secured against an adjustment in the peripheral direction.

In the left half of FIG. 4, the peripheral wall 14 of the shelf 10 is provided on the inner surface with recesses or grooves 42, into which the end of the wall element 20 engages. In the right part of FIG. 4, flat recesses 44 for the projection 34 and the upper end of the bracket 36 of the wall element are formed in the upper edge of the peripheral wall 14.

According to FIG. 5, flat recesses 46 are formed on the lower edge of the peripheral wall, into which the lower end 38 of the clamp 36 engages.

The recesses 42 and 44 or 46 allow a finely graduated angular adjustment of the wall element 20 and moreover have a decorative effect which has a favorable influence on the appearance of the shelf.

FIG. 6 shows an exemplary embodiment of a carousel floor insert 48 according to the invention. The carousel floor insert is formed by two shelves 10 which are mounted on the same axis 16 in a rotationally fixed manner. The axis 16 is rotatably supported with its upper and lower ends, not shown, in a corner cabinet. The hubs 12 of the shelves are each fixed on the axis 16 with the aid of a clamping bush 50. A relatively wide joint between the clamping bush 50 and the actual hub 12 forms a circumferential groove 28.

The carousel floor insert 48 has a number of wall elements 52, which are each supported on the lower shelf 10 and are held in a form-fitting manner on one of the stiffening ribs 18 of the upper shelf 10. The wall element 52 has a foot 54 which corresponds to its construction and the type of fastening according to the wall element 20 described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 5. On the foot 54, a wire mesh 56 is attached, the vertical rods 58 engage with their lower ends in blind holes 60 of the foot 54. A terminal block 62 is plugged onto the upper ends of the vertical rods 58. The terminal block 62 has a groove in its upper edge which surrounds the lower edge of the stiffening rib 18 in a fork-like manner.

If the wall element 52 is to be detached, the clamping bush 50 of the upper shelf is loosened and the upper shelf is raised slightly.

The stiffening ribs 18 of the shelves are arranged at angular intervals of 25 °. The angular position of the wall elements 52 can therefore be varied in a 25 ° grid, so that the size of the compartments divided by the wall elements 52 can be adapted to the respective requirements.

Instead of the continuous connecting bar 62, individual connecting pieces can also be arranged on the upper ends of the vertical rods 58. FIG. 7 shows such a connecting piece 64, which has a T-shaped shape and is provided on the upper edge with a groove 66 for receiving the lower edge of the stiffening rib 18.

FIG. 8 shows a further exemplary embodiment of a wall element 68. This wall element is a one-piece plastic part which has a foot 54 and a connecting strip 62 similar to the wall elements 52, but in which a continuous wall 70 is provided instead of the wire mesh. At the radially outer end of the wall element 68, the wall 70 is closed off by a thickened edge 72.

As can be seen in FIG. 9, the circular arc-shaped end piece 24 of the foot 54 forms a 90 ° arc in this case, so that a maximum of four wall elements 68 can be arranged between the shelves 10. If a larger number of wall elements or a certain scope for changing the compartment division is desired, the arc of the end piece 24 can be further reduced.

Instead of the terminal block 62 of the wall elements 52 and 68, releasable latches can be provided which allow the connection between the wall element and the stiffening rib 18 to be released without the upper shelf having to be raised. Furthermore, it is possible to provide the upper shelf 10 on the underside or on the inner surface of the peripheral wall 14 with grooves into which the upper edge of the wall element or a connector of the wall element can be inserted. Finally, it is also possible to non-positively fix the wall element to the upper shelf 10. For this purpose, lips made of flexible plastic or plugs similar to plugs 40 in FIG. 3 can be provided on the upper edge of the wall element.

FIG. 10 illustrates a possibility for releasably fastening the wall element 68 to the stiffening rib 18 of the upper shelf. As can be seen in the section in FIG. 10A, the terminal strip 62 in this case consists of two parts 74, 76, which are shown in perspective in FIGS. 10B and 10C. The part 74 is rigidly connected to the center of the wall element 68 and has a recess 78 to which a dovetail groove 80 is attached closes. The part 76 is provided with a corresponding dovetail 82. If the terminal block 62 is to be fixed on the stiffening rib 18, the dovetail 82 is inserted into the recess 78 and inserted into the dovetail groove 80, so that the two parts 74, 76 are positively connected to one another and engage around the lower edge of the stiffening rib 18.

According to FIG. 11, the wall element 68 is formed in two parts overall, and the two parts are held together by sliders 84, which engage with both parts of the wall element via dovetail guides, which do not show a wedge shape. In this embodiment, the height of the wall element 68 can be varied continuously by sliding the slides 84 in the longitudinal direction of the wall element, i.e. in the radial direction of the shelf.

FIG. 12 shows a further embodiment of the wall element 68, in which a plate 86 made of plastic is inserted into grooves in the foot 54 and the connecting bar 62. The wall element 68 according to FIG. 12 can also be installed without the upper shelf 10 having to be raised by the plate 86 being pushed radially into the grooves in the foot and the connecting strip. If the upper and lower edges of the plate 86 converge in a wedge shape in the direction of the axis 16, the wall element 68 can be self-lockingly inserted between the lower shelf and the stiffening rib or the base of the upper shelf by inserting the plate 86.

In the case of a wall element made up of several, partially wedge-shaped parts, the individual parts can also engage with one another by means of dovetail guides or similar guide profiles. Examples of suitable guide profiles are illustrated in FIGS. 13 and 14.

FIG. 15 shows a further exemplary embodiment of the invention, in which a wall element 88 with a widened front edge 90 is supported directly below the surface of the upper shelf 10. In the extension of the edge 90, a bolt 92 is arranged, which is slidably guided in a slot 94 of the wall element. The latch 92 can be locked in the position shown by solid lines in FIG. 15 and lies almost without play under the lower edge of the peripheral wall 14 of the upper shelf. In this position, the latch 92 prevents the wall element 88 from tipping over its lower edge, since the latch is tilted on the peripheral wall 14. To release the wall element, the latch 92 in the groove 94 is moved into the position shown in broken lines. In this position of the latch, there is sufficient play between the front edge 90 of the wall element and the lower edge of the peripheral wall 14, so that the wall element 88 can be tilted and removed from the space between the shelves.

In the case of the wall element 52 shown in FIG. 6, it is also possible to provide a way of detaching the wall element without lifting the upper shelf 10. This can be achieved, for example, in that the terminal strip 62 or the connecting pieces 64 are supported elastically on the wire mesh with the aid of helical compression springs.

FIGS. 16 and 17 show a modified exemplary embodiment of the wall element 68 according to FIG. 8. The terminal strip 62 of this wall element has a very deep and wide groove 66 which overlaps relatively far with the stiffening rib 18 of the upper shelf 10. The wall element 68 also has a vertical slot 96 on the outer edge, which receives the lower edge of the peripheral wall 14 of the shelf. These measures ensure that even with certain differences in the height of the upper shelf 10 in relation to the lower shelf, a clean connection of the wall element is guaranteed. The groove 66 is provided on its side walls with an inclined shoulder 98. On the shoulders 98, a clamping piece 100 is supported, which grips around the lower edge of the stiffening rib 18 in a fork-shaped manner. The terminal block 62 has a lateral slot 102, in which a projection 104 of the clamping piece engages. With the aid of a screwdriver inserted into the slot 102, the clamping piece 100 can be adjusted in the direction of the oblique shoulders 98 in such a way that the stiffening rib 18 of the upper shelf is securely supported on the wall element 68 via the clamping piece 100.

In the embodiment according to FIG. 6, an adaptation to different heights of the upper shelf can be achieved by correspondingly adapting the length of the vertical bars of the wire mesh. According to the inventor's knowledge to date, the embodiment according to FIG. 6 represents a particularly advantageous embodiment of the invention.

Optionally, however, differently shaped wire brackets can also be inserted into the blind holes of the foot 54 according to FIG. 6, which are not connected to the upper shelf. In addition, it is possible to insert a wire bracket into the outer blind holes 60 of two wall elements arranged on the same shelf, which extends above the peripheral wall 14 in the circumferential direction of the shelf, so that the effective height of the peripheral wall is increased without changes to the shelf itself.

Claims (16)

1. Shelf having a circular or sector-shaped area and provided at the centre of the circle with a hub (12) and at the outer edge with a peripheral wall (14) projecting vertically upwards, characterized by at least one radial wall element (20, 52, 68) which is supported at its outer end (32) on the peripheral wall (14) and at its inner end is provided with an end member (24) which has the shape of a circular arc and engages around the hub (12), and which by means of a flange (26) projecting horizontally inwards engages in a groove (28) extending around the hub.

2. Shelf according to Claim 1, characterized in that the end member (24) forms a 180° arc.

3. Shelf according to Claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the wall element (20) is provided at its outer end with a projection (34) lying on the top edge of the peripheral wall (14).

4. Shelf according to Claim 3, characterized in that the projection (34) is provided with a clip (36) embracing the bottom edge of the peripheral wall (14).

5. Shelf according to Claim 4, characterized in that the clip (36) is widened in the peripheral direction.

6. Shelf according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the flange (26) engaging in the groove (28) in the hub (12) is formed at the bottom edge of the end member (24).

7. Shelf according to Claim 6, characterized in that the end member (24) is provided at the top edge with a flange (30) lying on the upper end face of the hub (12).

8. Shelf according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the wall element (20) has a U-shaped cross-section open at the bottom.

9. Shelf according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the wall element (20) is provided in the surface regions coming into engagement with the peripheral wall (14) of the shelf (10) with stoppers (40) of soft elastic material in order to increase static friction between the wall element and the peripheral wall.

10. Shelf according to one of Claims 1 to 9, characterized in that the peripheral wall (14) is provided at regular intervals in the peripheral direction with cut-outs (42; 44; 46) to receive a part of the wall element (20).

11. Shelf according to one of Claims 1 to 10 in a rotating shelf insert for cabinets, which has at least one additional shelf disposed some distance above the first shelf and also has a shaft (16) on which both shelves (10) are fastened, characterized in that the radial wall element (52; 68) of the bottom shelf is held positively or frictionally by its upper edge on the upper shelf.

12. Shelf according to Claim 11, characterized in that the wall element (68) is provided at its top edge with a plane surface which lies flat against the underside of the upper shelf.

13. Shelf according to Claim 11, characterized in that the wall element (52; 68) has on its upper edge a longitudinally extending groove (66) in which the bottom edge of a stiffening rib (18), which extends radially on the underside of the upper shelf, engages.

14. Shelf according to Claim 13, characterized in that the wall element (52) has a foot (54) of plastics material, a wire grid (56) inserted into blind holes (60) in the foot, and at least one connection member (62; 64) pushed onto the top end of the wire grid.

15: Shetf according to Claim 13, characterized in that the wall element (68) is formed by a one- piece component of plastics material.

16. Shelf according to one of Claims 11 to 15, characterized in that the wall element (68) consists of a plurality of parts (84; 54; 62, 86) and is adjustable in height by movement of said parts relative to each other.

Images