EP0822770B1

EP0822770B1 - A shelf system

Info

Publication number: EP0822770B1
Application number: EP96911176A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Jan Liedström
Original assignee: Ikea International AS
Current assignee: Inter Ikea Systems BV
Priority date: 1995-04-24
Filing date: 1996-04-24
Publication date: 2000-07-05
Anticipated expiration: 2016-04-24
Also published as: ES2148750T3; WO1996033639A1; ATE194267T1; DE69609173D1; SE9501492D0; DE69609173T2; SE506384C2; DK0822770T3; SE9501492L; EP0822770A1

Abstract

A shelf system comprised of a wooden post of rectangular cross section and fastened to a wall. The post has a plurality of parallel holes (41) which are spaced in the longitudinal direction of the post and extend perpendicular to the post side-surfaces (51). A bracket (1) has provided at one end a generally U-shaped aperture or recess which fits the post (2). The flanges/legs (11) of the aperture or recess include holes which can be aligned with the post holes (41) when the bracket is horizontal and the bottom surface (12) of the aperture supports against the front surface (50) of the post. A securing pin can be inserted through the flange holes (13) and a post hole (41) such as to secure the bracket to the post.

Description

The present invention relates to a shelf system of the kind defined in the preamble of the following Claim 1. Such systems are known from GB-A-2 154 429 and AU-69 966/74.

The invention thus relates to a shelf system of the kind which includes a post and a bracket connectable thereto.

The majority of known shelf systems have a flexible character, i.e. they enable the shelf-supporting brackets, and therewith the shelving, to be readily moved repositioned, and are based on the use of metallic components, i.e. sheet-metal brackets and bracket-receiving posts, wherein the brackets are provided with hooks that can be hooked into an opening or slot in the sheet-metal posts, and wherein the bottom part of the bracket supports against the outside of the post so as to prevent the bracket from swinging down around the hook.

One earlier known shelving system comprised of sheet-metal components (SE-C-130 039) includes a bracket that has two mutually parallel and mutually spaced flanges and a support edge. The post, or upright, has a U-profile, whose one leg is provided with longitudinally separated slots or openings. When the shelving system is assembled, the bracket flanges lie against the outside of a respective leg of the U-profile. One flange carries a pin which extends perpendicularly to the flange and up to the other flange. The rear upper part of the other flange is cut short. If the bracket should lean obliquely upwards and away from the post, the pin can be inserted axially into a hole in the post leg, therewith preventing the bracket from moving in the axial direction of the pin. When the flange carrying the pin is in contact with the post, the bracket can be dropped down to a horizontal position, wherewith the remaining part of the other bracket flange grips over the other leg of the post and locks the bracket thereto. When the bracket is in its horizontal position, an abutment shoulder on the bracket supports against the post at a level beneath the level of the pin.

Although such a shelf system affords a number of advantages, which will be understood by the skilled person, it is obvious to the skilled person that this known shelf system construction cannot be used in practice when wishing to use wood as the construction material, and then primarily with regard to the brackets.

However, the invention is based on the concept of constructing the shelving brackets and preferably also the bracket-supporting posts of the system from wood.

Accordingly, the object of the present invention is to provide a construction that enables wood to be used successfully as construction material, at least with regard to the brackets.

It also lies within the scope of this object to use a construction material that has many aesthetic qualities other than those associated with the use of metal sheet as construction material.

The object of the present invention is thus to provide a bracket construction for the combination of posts and brackets, which is structurally simple, which will enable the use of wood as construction material, and which provides effective and safe holding of the shelving supported by the brackets, besides affording a favourable support for the shelving.

This object of the invention is achieved with a shelf system according to the following independent Claim.

Embodiments of the inventive shelf system are defined in the dependent Claims.

The invention thus relates to a shelf system comprising a post and a bracket that can be detachably fitted thereto which may be made of wood, wherein the end-part of the bracket that is intended to be fitted to the post includes two mutually spaced leg elements, each being intended to lie in contact with a respective side surface of two opposed side surfaces on the post, wherein the post includes a series of mutually parallel and mutually spaced through-penetrating openings which extend in the longitudinal direction of the post generally at right angles to the side surfaces of said post, wherein each of the bracket flanges has a respective hole which can be brought into alignment with a hole in the post where the bracket supports against the post through the medium of a support surface located between the flanges. The flange holes lie at an upper part of the flanges when the bracket is in its required position, whereas the support surface is located at a lower level than the holes. The bracket is secured to the post by a pin that extends through the flange holes and in through a hole in the post.

According to one preferred embodiment, the post is comprised of two mutually parallel and mutually spaced bracket elements which are connected together through the medium of at least one spacer element which defines the aforesaid support surface of the bracket. A spacer element which connects the bracket elements is also preferably arranged at the free end-parts of said bracket elements, so that the bracket will have a through-passing and vertically directed opening between the bracket elements and the two said spacer elements.

A shoulder provided on the underside of a shelf can then be dimensioned to fit into the vertically directed bracket opening, so as to secure the shelf against horizontal movement. In the most common case in which the ends of two mutually contiguous shelves meet in the symmetry plane of the bracket, it may be convenient to provide on the underside of each end of the shelves a shoulder which takes-up half of the vertical through-passing opening of the bracket.

Because the bracket elements are made from wood and because the brackets and the bracket elements are mutually separated by a distance that corresponds to the width of the post (which is preferably also made of wood), the bracket obtains a well-disposed support surface for accommodating respective ends of two shelves that meet and extend up to the symmetry plane of the brackets.

Because the end-part of the bracket that connects with the post fits against three sides of the post profile, the bracket is afforded good stability against rotation around the longitudinal axis of the post.

By providing the first bracket spacer element that forms a support surface against the post with a certain clearance or play in the upper region of the bracket, the holes in the flanges can be moved further in from the front surface of the post by lifting up the bracket to a point located slightly above its intended orientation, so as to enable a bracket to be fitted to the post by means of the aforesaid pin even should the bracket support surface lie too close to the flange holes, or should the post holes lie too far away from the front surface of the post.

In those cases when the brackets are expected to be heavily loaded, the aforesaid pin may have the form of a bolt provided at one end with a bolt head or a screw thread and provided with a screw thread at the other end, so as to enable the bracket flanges to be tightened securely to adjacent post surfaces with the aid of nuts, thereby greatly increasing the bearing capacity of the brackets.

Fig. 1: is a horizontal view of an inventive bracket fitted to a post.
Fig. 2: is a sectional view taken on the line II-II in Fig. 1.
Fig. 3: is a sectional view taken on the line III-III in Fig. 2.
Fig. 4: illustrates the use of a bolt joint in securing the bracket to the post.
Fig. 5: shows a bracket variant.

The shelf system according to Figs. 1-3 comprises a wooden post 2 which has a rectangular cross-section and which presents a front surface 50 and two mutually opposing side surfaces 51. The post is screwed to a wall in a typical manner, as shown in Fig. 2. The post 2 includes a series of holes 41 which are perpendicular to the surfaces 51 and mutually spaced in the vertical direction of the post 2.

The bracket 1 includes two mutually parallel and mutually identical bracket side-pieces 10 which are mutually joined with the aid of two

spacer elements

15 and 16, preferably by glue joints. The width of respective spacer elements 15 corresponds to the width of the post 2, wherein the end-part of the bracket has a generally U-shaped aperture whose bottom surface is formed by the surface 12 of the spacer element 15 and whose flanges 11 are formed by the rear parts of the side-pieces 10.

A hole, or bore, 13 of the same diameter as the holes, or bores, 41 is provided in each of the flanges 11 in a position which enables the holes 13 to be aligned coaxially with a hole 41 in the post 2 when the support surface 12 of the spacer element 15 lies against the front surface 50 and the upper side of the bracket is in its required position, e.g. horizontal. A pin or corresponding device 31 can now be inserted through the mutually aligned

holes

13, 41. Because the surface 12 has a certain clearance with respect to the front surface 50 of the post above a level which lies at distance t beneath the level of the holes 13, the

holes

13, 41 can be easily brought into alignment with one another, despite any tolerances in their mutual positions.

As illustrated in Figs. 2 and 3, blocks 22 which together fill-out the vertical channel 40 defined between the elements 10 in the region between the

spacer elements

15 and 16 may be provided at the ends of the shelving 21 on the underside thereof.

As shown in Fig. 4, the pin 31 can be replaced with a headed bolt 32 and associated nut 34, wherein the head of the bolt and the nut rest against flanges 11 via washers 35. Friction between the flanges 11 and the post side-surfaces 51 can be utilized by tightening the

bolt joint

32, 34.

When the bracket elements 10 are comprised of solid wood, the fibre direction will preferably lie in the longitudinal direction of the brackets. The same applies when the spacer element 15 is made of wood.

The hole 13 will preferably be located in an upper part of the bracket flange 11, and the effective supportive area 12 provided by the spacer element 15 will preferably lie in the undermost part of the bracket, so as to obtain the largest possible leverage from the pin 31 to the supportive area 12 while taking into consideration the shear forces that are exerted by the pin 11 on the flange 11.

Although it is preferred to manufacture the brackets and posts from solid wood, it is conceivable to use other wooden material, such as plywood, for the brackets, particularly for their two side-pieces 10.

Fig. 5 illustrates a bracket 1 in which the one side-piece 10 has recesses or apertures 64 in its upper edge between the

spacer blocks

15, 16. This enables two such brackets with apertures 64 in different side-pieces 10 to be fitted on the same level on each of two horizontally separated posts, whereafter ribs, not shown, can be placed in the apertures or recesses 64 to bridge the distance between the two brackets, for instance when these brackets are to be used to build a hat shelf or the like. The ribs may have a cross-sectional shape corresponding to the shape of the apertures 64, so as to form an abutment surface on the same level as the upper edge of the side-pieces 10.

The bracket also includes two mutually opposing holes 63 at the free ends of the side-pieces 10. The holes can receive a rod from which clothes can be hung from a hat shelf or the like. In this embodiment, the spacer blocks are located inwardly of the bracket ends, so that the rod can freely bridge the distance between the two side-pieces 10 of a bracket 1.

At its attachment end, the bracket has a vertical extension which exceeds the distance between the holes 41 in the post, so that two pins 31 can be used to secure the bracket to the post. Primarily, two bolt joints (see Fig. 4) can be used to mount a bracket that is expected to support extremely heavy loads.

By choosing wood material, for instance solid wood, chipboard, plywood or like materials for at least the side-pieces 10 of the bracket, rigidly stable and aesthetically and environmentally low-weight brackets can be readily produced, such brackets that will be less likely to damage other materials in their vicinity.

Claims

A shelf system comprising a post (2) and a bracket that can be fitted thereto, wherein the end-part of the bracket (1) to be fitted to the post (2) includes a recess or aperture formed by a bottom surface (12) and two bracket flanges (11), wherein the mutually facing surfaces of the brackets (11) are intended to lie adjacent a respective side-surface of two opposing post side-surfaces (51), wherein the post (2) includes a series of through-penetrating mutually parallel holes (41) which are spaced in the longitudinal direction of the post and extend through said opposing surfaces of the post, wherein the bracket (1) is provided in the upper part of its two flanges (11) with a through-penetrating hole (13), wherein a pin or corresponding device (31) extends through the bracket holes (13) and through one of the post holes (41), and wherein the bottom surface (12) of said aperture or recess supports against the front surface (50) of the post and determines the attitude or direction of the bracket in relation to the post, characterized in that the bracket includes two mutually parallel and mutually spaced bracket elements (10) which are joined together through the medium of at least one spacer member (15) in the vicinity of the post-fitting end of the bracket.
A shelf system according to Claim 1, characterized in that other spacer members (16) are mounted between the bracket elements (10) at the front end of the bracket (1) such as to form a vertical channel (40) which extends through the bracket (1) and which is defined by the spacer members (15, 16) and the two bracket elements (10); and in that shelves (21) which meet in the symmetry plane of the bracket (1) are provided on the underside of their mutually adjacent end parts with blocks (22) which together essentially fill the cross-sectional space of said channel.
A shelf system according to Claim 1 or Claim 2, characterized in that the post side-surfaces (51) are parallel and perpendicular to the post front-surface (50); and in that the aperture (41) in the bracket (1) has a shape which conforms generally to the cross-sectional shape of the post (2).
A shelf system according to any one of Claims 1-3, characterized in that the pin is formed by the shank of a bolt which, in coaction with a nut (34), can tighten the flanges (11) into friction engagement with the side surfaces of the post (2).
A shelf system according to any one of Claims 1-4, characterized in that at least the bracket side-pieces (10) are made of wood material.
A shelf system according to Claim 5, characterized in that the brackets are made of solid wood, wherein the fibre direction is chosen to extend in the longitudinal direction of the bracket, at least in those parts of the bracket (1) which define said aperture.
A shelf system according to Claim 5, characterized in that at least the bracket side-pieces (10) are made of plywood.