EP1986522B1

EP1986522B1 - Shelving brackets

Info

Publication number: EP1986522B1
Application number: EP07733534.7A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Granville Hancocks
Original assignee: Eden Industries UK Ltd
Current assignee: Eden Industries UK Ltd
Priority date: 2006-02-24
Filing date: 2007-02-20
Publication date: 2016-08-03
Anticipated expiration: 2027-02-20
Also published as: WO2007096669A1; EP1986522A1; GB0603649D0

Description

Field of the invention

The invention relates to brackets for connecting shelves to uprights in modular shelving systems, particularly to brackets providing improved flexibility in the spacing of shelves.

Background of the invention

Modular shelving systems are used widely for domestic and commercial storage and in the retail trade, particularly throughout supermarkets. Many such systems are constructed from variable numbers of three primary components ie, two or more uprights, one or more shelving panels and two or more shelf-supporting brackets that hook into slots in the uprights.
The uprights may be free-standing or wall-mounted and are usually rectangular section hollow bars of which the front face has been provided with a series of slots, spaced at fixed intervals along the length of the upright, and into which the hooks of the shelf-supporting brackets mount. Generally the slots are spaced at fixed intervals, commonly with a spacing (or pitch) of 50mm. For conventional systems, the spacing of the slots in the upright is a determinant of the vertical spacing between shelves mounted thereto. The pitch is therefore a constraint for such shelving systems, and in retail displays can significantly restrict the volume of products stored and displayed.
One approach to overcoming this problem is to reduce the pitch between the slots in the uprights, however reducing this sufficiently to provide significantly greater flexibility in shelf heights (for example to 25mm) significantly reduces the loads that can be supported. The use of uprights having different pitches may also require different size brackets, leading to an increase in the total number of components required and/or incompatibility between various components. Various approaches to the use of uprights having different pitch distances are shown in German utility models DE29705604U1 and DE29717791U1 .
An alternative approach is to use a bracket that can be fixed at two different heights with respect to the same slots on a particular upright. One such bracket is disclosed in GB2321389A , which discloses a substantially symmetrical bracket having two longitudinal edges and mounting hooks orientated towards both edges, but being positioned closer to one edge than the other, so that the bracket is fixed at a first height when it is connected to a slot in a first orientation and positioned at a different height when inverted and connected to the same slot. Such brackets can be difficult to use in practice, as adjusting their height requires that the bracket be removed and inverted before being repositioned. There is also the possibility of misaligning such brackets, ie fixing one of a pair of brackets in a first orientation, and the other in the second orientation; particularly as both the upper and lower edges have shelf engaging features.
US 3,089,675 discloses a multiple angle shelf bracket.
US 6,202,965 discloses a modular office system incorporating wall panels with interlock edges to facilitate assembly. The substantially planar panels include a plurality of tabs extending from one side edge of the panel. The tabs are lockingly received within corresponding slots of an upright support member. To prevent disconnection of the panels, a retractable fastener bar can be selectively slid into locking engagement with the support member. The fastener bar is positioned within the panel and movable between a retracted position and an extended position engaging the upright support. A threaded fastener may be used to prevent sliding movement of the bar.
WO 92/05332 discloses an eccentric disc lock bracket for releasable engagement with a support member having a plurality of vertically spaced slots, which comprises an eccentric disc lock and a cantilever bracket including an end portion having an axle receiving aperture and a pair of seating hooks outwardly
extending from a rear edge of the end portion vertically positioned one above the other and dimensioned to be receivable into a pair of vertically spaced slots of the support member.
US 4,307,671 discloses a shelf supportable by at least one shelf support from at least one vertical support having vertically spaced slots therein. The rear edge of each shelf support carries upper and lower extensions which fit into the slots. Abutting surfaces between the upper and lower extensions extend at angles to each other and abut, selectively, the adjacent surface of the vertical support. A downwardly opening notch in the lower edge of each upper extension engages the adjacent portion of its vertical support between the slots therein while the shelf is horizontal. An upstanding projection on the upper edge of each upper extension engages the adjacent portion of its vertical support between the slots therein while the shelf is tilted. Depending projections on the lower extensions abut adjacent portions of the vertical support between the slots therein while the shelf is horizontal and are adapted to move over the portions of the support between the slots upon upward movement of the rear portion of the shelf.

Summary of the invention

The present invention provides a bracket for connecting a shelf to an upright having a plurality of regularly spaced apart slots, the bracket being capable of being attached to the upright at two positions of differing heights and comprising: an upper edge comprising shelf supporting means, at least one first hooked attachment means which co-operatively engages the lower edge of a slot when the bracket is in the lower of the two positions, at least one second hooked attachment means which co-operatively engages the upper edge of a slot when the bracket is in the higher of the two positions, and at least one supporting means which supportively engages the lower edge of a slot when the bracket is in the higher of the two positions; such that the upper edge of the bracket is held at substantially the same angle with respect to the upright when the bracket is in the higher or the lower of the two positions; at least one attachment lug (19) defining the at least one first hooked attachment means (21) and the at least one second hooked attachment means (23); characterised in that: an upper edge of the at least one first hooked attachment means is vertically positioned above a lower edge of a corresponding said at least one second hooked attachment means.
In preferred brackets according to the present invention the attachment lug projects from an attachment edge of the bracket. In such brackets it is also preferred that the at least one supporting means is spaced apart from the attachment lug, so that when the bracket is in the higher of the two attachment positions the second attachment means co-operatively engages the upper edge of a slot other than the slot which is engaged by the supporting means. For such preferred brackets of the invention intended for use with uprights having a pitch of 50mm, the vertical distance between the attachment lug and the supporting means is preferably also 50mm, so that the second hooked attachment means and the supporting means engage adjacent slots. Most preferably in such brackets of the invention, the supporting means is positioned below the at least one attachment lug.
In brackets of the present invention, the attachment lug may also comprises supporting means for supportively engaging the lower edge of a slot when the bracket is in the higher of the two positions. In such brackets, the supporting means forming part of the attachment lug may be the only supporting means or, more preferably, may be additional to a separate supporting means.
In one embodiment of the present invention the brackets comprise two or more attachment lugs, each of which may optionally also comprise supporting means.
In brackets of the present invention comprising two or more supporting lugs, the lugs are preferably vertically spaced apart by 50mm.
In a particularly preferred embodiment of the present invention the brackets comprise one or two attachment lugs (one or each optionally also comprising additional supporting means)and a spaced apart supporting means. In such brackets it is preferred that the one or two attachment lugs and the spaced apart supporting means are each vertically spaced apart by 50mm.
When the brackets of the present invention are to be used with uprights having a pitch of 50mm (particularly when each slot has a height of 28mm and the land between is 22mm) it is preferred that the vertical distance between the upper edge of the first hooked attachment means and the lower edge of the corresponding second hooked attachment means is 3mm, so that moving the bracket from a position in which the first hooked attachment means engages the lower edge of a particular slot to a position where the corresponding second hooked attachment means engages the upper edge of the same slot will raise the height of the bracket by 25mm.
Brackets according to the present invention may be of any suitable size or shape. Preferred bracket of the present invention are elongated, generally triangular, plates. Preferably brackets according to the present invention will be arranged so that, when they are attached to an upright, the upper edge of the bracket will be held substantially perpendicular with respect to the upright when the bracket is in both the higher and the lower of the two possible attachment positions.
Brackets according to the present invention preferably further comprise shelf engaging means.
In brackets according to the present invention the at least one first hooked attachment means, at least one second hooked attachment means and the at least one supporting means are all preferably positioned on a mounting edge which is generally perpendicular to the upper edge of the bracket. Generally the upper edge will be longer than the mounting edge, however the length of the upper edge will in generally be governed by the sizes of the shelves with which the bracket is to be used, whilst the length of the mounting edge will be governed by the number of slots to which the bracket is to be attached. Preferred total lengths of brackets of the present invention (measured along the upper edge and including the length of the attachment means) range from 300 to 1000mm, more preferably from 400 to 850mm, for example 405mm, 505mm, 605mm, 705mm and 805mm. Where brackets of the present invention are for use with uprights having a slot pitch of 50mm, preferred lengths of the mounting edge will range from 75 to 175mm, for example 105 or 155mm.
Brackets according to the present invention preferably have a width of from 2.0 to 3.5mm, more preferably from 2.5 to 3.0mm, most preferably 3.0mm.
Brackets according to the present invention may be made from any suitable materials including metals, plastics and composite materials. Suitable metals include steels, particularly high tensile micro alloy steels.
In brackets according to the present invention having a generally perpendicular mounting edge the at least one first hooked attachment means is preferably positioned further from the mounting edge than the at least one second hooked attachment means and the at least one supporting means, so that moving the bracket from the lower position to the higher position also moves the mounting edge closer to the upright. Such preferred brackets of the present invention also preferably comprise two or more shelf engaging means so that a shelf may be attached to the bracket at the same distance from the upright whether the bracket is in the lower or higher positions.
Brackets according to the present invention allow shelves to be fitted to the uprights at fixed angles thereto and at spacings that are multiples of half the pitch; for example, when the pitch is 50mm, perpendicular shelves may be attached at spacings that are multiples of 25mm.
The present invention also provides shelves to which are attached two or more brackets of the present invention. Such shelves may be attached directly to slotted uprights with spacings of half multiples of the pitch of the slots.
The present invention also provides a modular shelving system comprising a plurality of uprights having a plurality of regularly spaced apart slots and further comprising a plurality of brackets and/or shelves of the present invention. Such a modular shelving system may be used to build shelving in which the shelves may be spaced at multiples of half of the pitch of the slots in the uprights (for example, when the pitch of the slots is 50mm, shelves may be attached at spacings of multiples of 25mm, for example 125mm, 175mm or 275mm).

Detailed description of the invention

An embodiment of the present invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a front view of a conventional shelving upright for use with brackets of the present invention;
Figure 2 is a side elevation of a preferred embodiment of a shelving bracket according to the present invention, and
Figure 3 is a side view of a conventional shelf for use with a bracket of the present invention.

Figure 1 shows a conventional upright 1 for use with a bracket 3 of the present invention. The upright 1 is a hollow steel bar having a rectangular cross section. The front face 5 comprises a vertical series of upright slots 7, each slot 7 having a height of 28mm and the space between each slot 7 being 22mm. Each slot 7 has a lower edge 9 and an upper edge 11.
As shown in figure 2, an embodiment of a bracket 3 of the present invention has the appearance of a substantially flat, generally triangular plate. The bracket 3 is made of a high tensile micro alloy steel and has a thickness of 3mm. The bracket 3 has an upper edge 13 and a mounting edge 15 which is generally perpendicular to the upper edge 13. The upper edge 13 of the bracket 3 is joined to the mounting edge 15 by a lower edge 17.
The total length of the bracket 3 from the end of the upper attachment lug 19 to the leading edge 53 is 505mm, and the length from the beginning of the upper second hooked attachment means 23 to the second shelf engaging means 41 is 440mm. The height of the mounting edge 15 is 155mm.
The mounting edge 15 comprises two attachment lugs 19 each defining a first hooked attachment means 21 and a second hooked attachment means 23. The vertical distance between the upper edges 25 of each of the first hooked attachment means 21 is 50mm and this is also the vertical distance between the lower edges 27 of each of the second hooked attachment means 23. The vertical distance between the upper edge 25 of each of the first hooked attachment means 21 and the lower edge 27 of the corresponding second hooked attachment means 23 is 3mm.
The mounting edge 15 of the bracket 3 also comprises supporting means 29 which comprises a shoulder 31. The vertical distance between the shoulder 31 and the lower edge 27 of the second hooked attachment means 23 of the nearest attachment lug 19 is 75mm.
The supporting means 29 also comprises an arm 33 having an additional support surface 35.
The attachment lug 19 closest to the supporting means 29 also comprises an additional guiding shoulder 37 which is directly above the shoulder 31 of the supporting means 29 at a vertical distance of 52.5mm.
The bracket 3 also comprises first shelf engaging means 39 and second shelf engaging means 41.
In use, the bracket 3 may be attached to the upright 1 in a first position by hooking the first hooked attachment means 21 of each of the lugs 19 into two consecutive slots 7 so that each of the upper edges 25 of the first hooked attachment means 21 engage the lower edges 9 of the two slots 7. In this position the additional support surface 35 of the supporting means 29 will also engage the lower edge 9 of the slot 7 immediately below the two slots 7 engaged by the attachment lugs 19. The bracket 3 may be raised in height by 25mm by moving the bracket upwards and inwards with respect to the upright 1, so that each of the second hooked attachment means 23 engage the upper edges 11 of the two consecutive slots 7. The bracket is held in this position because the shoulder 31 of the supporting means 29 supportively engages the lower edge 9 of the slot 7 immediately below the two slots 7 engaged by the attachment lugs 19. Movement of the bracket 3 from the lower to the upper position is facilitated by the guiding shoulder 37 of the attachment lug 19 immediately above the supporting means 29.
When a pair of brackets 3 are mounted to two uprights 1 at equivalent heights, a shelf 43 can be supported. When the brackets 3 are in the lower position (ie when the first hooked attachment means 21 are engaging the lower edges 9 of the slots 7) the rear bracket engaging means 51 of the shelf 43 will engage the second hooked attachment means 23 of the upper attachment lug 19, while the front bracket attachment means 49 of the shelf 43 will engage the second shelf engaging means 41 in the upper bracket edge 13. If the brackets 3 are moved into the higher position (ie the second hooked attachment means 23 of each of the attachment lugs 19 are engaging the upper edges 11 of two slots 7 and the shoulder 31 of the supporting means 29 is supportively engaging the lower edge 9 of the slot 7) the shelf 43 may be attached so that the rear bracket engaging means 51 engages the first shelving engaging means 39 in the upper bracket edge, whilst the front bracket engaging means of the shelf 43 engages the front edge 53 of each of the brackets 3. In this embodiment the shelf 43 will be perpendicularly to the uprights 1 when the brackets 3 are in the lower attachment position and when they are in the upper attachment position.
A further embodiment of a bracket 3 of the present invention comprises only 1 attachment lug 19 and 1 supporting means 29. The height of the mounting edge 15 of such a bracket 3 is 105mm.
Multiple brackets 3 may be used to attach multiple shelves 43 to two or more uprights 5 to form a shelving system having shelves with vertical clearances of multiples of 25mm.

Claims

A bracket (3) for connecting a shelf (43) to an upright (1) having a plurality of regularly spaced apart slots (7), the bracket (3) being capable of being attached to the upright (1) at two positions of differing heights and comprising:
an upper edge (13) comprising shelf supporting means,

at least one first hooked attachment means (21) which co-operatively engages the lower edge (9) of a slot (7) when the bracket (3) is in the lower of the two positions,

at least one second hooked attachment means (23) which co-operatively engages the upper edge (11) of a slot (7) when the bracket (3) is in the higher of the two positions, and

at least one supporting means (29) which supportively engages the lower edge (9) of a slot (7) when the bracket (3) is in the higher of the two positions;

such that the upper edge (13) of the bracket (3) is held at substantially the same angle with respect to the upright (1) when the bracket (3) is in the higher or the lower of the two positions;

at least one attachment lug (19) defining the at least one first hooked attachment means (21) and the at least one second hooked attachment means (23);
characterised in that:
an upper edge (25) of the at least one first hooked attachment means is vertically positioned above a lower edge (27) of a corresponding said at least one second hooked attachment means.
A bracket (3) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the at least one supporting means (29) is spaced apart from the at least one attachment lug (19).
A bracket (3) as claimed in claim 2, wherein the supporting means (29) is spaced apart from the at least one attachment lug (19) by a vertical distance of 50mm.
A bracket (3) as claimed in any of claims 1 to 3, wherein at least one of the at least one attachment lugs (19) also comprises supporting means (37) which supportively engages the lower edge (9) of a slot (7) when the bracket (3) is in the higher of the two positions.
A bracket (3) as claimed in any of claims 1 to 4, comprising two or more attachment lugs (19).
A bracket (3) as claimed in claim 5, wherein the attachment lugs (19) are vertically spaced apart by 50mm.
A bracket (3) as claimed in any of claims 1 to 4, comprising one or two attachment lugs (19) and a spaced apart supporting means (29).
A bracket (3) as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the distance between the upper edge (25) of the first hooked attachment means (21) and the lower edge (27) of the corresponding second hooked attachment means (23) is 3mm.
A bracket (3) as claimed in any preceding claim, which is an elongated generally triangular plate.
A bracket (3) as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the upper edge (13) of the bracket (3) is held substantially perpendicular with respect to the upright (1) when the bracket (3) is in both the higher and the lower of the two positions.
A bracket (3) as claimed in any preceding claim, further comprising shelf engaging means (39, 41).
A bracket (3) as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the at least one first hooked attachment means (23), at least one second hooked attachment means (23) and the at least one supporting means (29) are positioned on a mounting edge (15) of the bracket (3) which is generally perpendicular to the upper edge (13) thereof.
A bracket (3) as claimed in claim 12, wherein the at least one first hooked attachment means (21) is positioned further from the mounting edge (15) than the at least one second hooked attachment means (23) and the at least one supporting means (29), so that moving the bracket (3) from the lower position to the higher position also moves the mounting edge (15) closer to the upright (1).
A bracket (3) as claimed in claim 13, comprising two separate shelf engaging means (39, 41) so that a shelf (43) may be attached to the bracket (3) at the same distance from the upright (1) whether the bracket (3) is in the lower or higher positions.
A shelf (43) comprising two or more brackets (3) as claimed in any preceding claim.
A modular shelving system comprising a plurality of uprights (1) having a plurality of regularly spaced apart slots (7), and further comprising a plurality of brackets (3) as claimed in any of claims 1 to 14 and/or a plurality of shelves (43) as claimed in claim 15.