EP2856910B1

EP2856910B1 - Sectional shelving with modular shelf elements

Info

Publication number: EP2856910B1
Application number: EP14003425.7A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Stefania Filippi
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: FILIPPI, STEFANIA
Priority date: 2013-10-04
Filing date: 2014-10-06
Publication date: 2016-09-14
Anticipated expiration: 2034-10-06
Also published as: HUE030697T2; ITVI20130244A1; PT2856910T; ES2602092T3; HRP20161473T1; PL2856910T3; EP2856910A1; SI2856910T1

Description

Field of the Invention

The present invention generally finds application in the field of home or industrial storage devices and particularly relates to sectional shelving with modular shelf elements.

Background art

Sectional metal shelving units are known, which comprise a plurality of vertical uprights designed for removable secure attachment of crossbars or crosspieces supporting shelves for storage of items.
The crossbars may be secured at different heights of the shelving and may be fastened thereto by screws or interlocking means.
The need is particularly felt in the art to make sectional shelving units that may be assembled and easily adapted to various uses.
In this respect, some prior art shelving units are known which comprise shelves and crossbars having suitably shaped and mutually connectable edges, for quick and easy assembly.
For example, EP1872685 discloses a metal shelving unit in which the shelves and the crossbars have complementarily shaped notches, for stable connection of the crossbar to the shelf such that the latter may project out of the crossbar with its downwardly folded end edge.
A first drawback of this known arrangement is that the folded edge of the shelf has sharp ends that might cause injuries to the hands of a user accessing the shelf of the shelving unit.
Furthermore, the overlapped arrangement of the folded edge of the shelf and the crossbar involves the drawback of increasing the overall dimensions of the shelf and, as a result, of the whole shelving unit.
Finally, a user might inadvertently bump into the outwardly folded edge and unintentionally cause disengagement thereof from the crossbar.
In an attempt to obviate these drawbacks a number of shelving structures have been developed having a more compact size and improved safety and reliability.
EP2363040 discloses sectional metal shelving comprising at least one pair of crossbars, each having a pair of longitudinally inwardly projecting plates or surfaces for supporting the shelves.
These plates are formed by folding the upper and lower edges of each crossbar and enable shelf support by allowing the bottom surface of the shelf and the folded edges of the sidewalls thereof to lay thereon with no mechanical connection.
One drawback of this prior art arrangement is that the plates formed at the upper edges of the crossbars must have an aperture or a break therein for shelf positioning and support on the underlying plates. Thus, the plates are relatively deformable and prone to failure with time or reduce the weight and vertical load capacity of the shelving.
Furthermore, the risk still exists that a user accessing a lower shelf might accidentally cause disengagement of the shelf from the crossbar.
WO03/028506 discloses a shelving unit that has all the features of the preamble of claim 1, in which the crossbars that are designed to be secured to the uprights have substantially L-shaped joining elements for supporting the folded edges of the shelves by cooperating with the walls of the uprights. In one embodiment, the crossbars have an additional vertical wall, parallel to the main vertical wall and joined thereto to form pocket-like joining elements, involving very high costs and fabrication complexity.
Also, each crossbar has substantially horizontal stiffening walls which are obtained by folding twice the vertical wall of the crossbar through 90°, which further increases the complexity and fabrication costs of the shelving unit.
US5036778 discloses a shelving unit having stringers designed for secure attachment to the uprights and shelves that may be supported by the stringers, in which easy stringer has a box-like shape, with vertical walls joined together by horizontal walls. The vertical walls of each stringer are pressed and joined together at their ends to create joining apertures for the uprights. Each stringer has grooves on the top horizontal wall, which are designed to receive the downwardly folded lateral edges of shelves, but do not extend over the entire length of the stringers. Due to the box-like structure and the folding and deformation features of the stringers the shelving structure is higly complex and expensive.
FR2579431 discloses a shelving unit which has uprights joined by crossbars, and adapted to rest thereupon. The crossbars have upper edges with stiffening folds which cannot receive the shelves thereon and discontinuous lower edges folded twice through 90° to form pocket-like shelf-supporting elements. This type of crossbar is relatively simple but provides a single lower support feature for the shelves.

Disclosure of the invention

The object of the present invention is to overcome the above drawbacks, by providing sectional shelving with modular shelf elements that is highly efficient and relatively cost-effective.
A particular object of the present invention is to provide sectional shelving composed of elements that have a simple and inexpensive construction, while ensuring stable support and retention of the shelves.
Another object of the present invention is to provide sectional shelving that allow users to access the shelves with the utmost safety.
A further object of the present invention is to provide sectional shelving that may be simply and promptly assembled and/or disassembled.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide sectional shelving that has small overall dimensions.
These and other objects, as better explained hereafter, are fulfilled by sectional shelving with modular shelf elements as defined in claim 1.
Advantageous embodiments of the invention are obtained in accordance with the dependent claims.

Brief Description of the Drawing

Further features and advantages of the invention will become more apparent upon reading the following detailed description of a few preferred non-exclusive embodiments of sectional shelving with modular shelf elements, which is described by way of a non-limiting example with the help of the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of the sectional shelving of the invention;
FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of a portion of Fig. 1;
FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a first detail of Fig. 1 according to a first embodiment;
FIG. 4 is an enlarged perspective view of a portion of Fig. 3;
FIG. 5 is a front view of the first detail of Fig. 3;
FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the first detail of Fig. 1 according to a second embodiment;
FIG. 7 is a side view of the first detail of Fig. 1 connected to a second detail of Fig. 1;
FIG. 8 is an enlarged view of a portion of Fig. 7;
FIGS. 9 and 10 are perspective and front views of the second detail of Fig. 7 respectively.

Detailed description of a preferred embodiment

The above figures show sectional shelving, generally designated by numeral 1, which is designed for use in supporting and/or displaying items of various natures.
The shelving may be used in both home and industrial environments, especially when quick assembly and disassembly of the modular elements is required.
As shown in FIG. 1, the shelving comprises at least two pairs of substantially vertical uprights 2, 3 in longitudinally and transversely staggered positions, with each pair of uprights 2, 3 being transversely connected together by a respective substantially horizontal crossbar 4, 5.
Preferably, the vertical uprights 2, 3 may consist of metal sections having an L- or similarly shaped cross section, with a transverse face 7 and a longitudinal face 8 in substantially perpendicular relationship.
Conveniently, each crossbar 4, 5 has a substantially vertical longitudinal wall 9, 10 with an upper edge 11, 12.
Furthermore, the sectional shelving 1 comprises a plurality of substantially horizontal shelves 13, 14 located at different heights to define vertically staggered support surfaces.
Particularly, each shelf 13, 14 is composed of at least one, preferably at least two modular elements 15, 16, each having a flat top portion 17, 18 and longitudinal lateral portions 19, 20.
If multiple modular elements 15, 16 are provided, then they may be assembled in adjacent positions, i.e. side by side, to cover the whole plan surface area of the shelving.
For this purpose, the modular elements 15, 16 may be of various types, not shown, i.e. may have different plan sizes, to form shelves of different overall sizes and afford a remarkably versatile assembly of the shelving.
Particularly, the longitudinal lateral portions 19, 20 are perpendicular to the flat top portion 17, 18 and are downwardly folded to provide shelf stiffening and increases flexural strength and load bearing capacity.
Referring to the crossbars 4, 5, they have the main purpose of supporting the transverse end portions 21, 22 of the shelves 13, 14, therefore they are critical structural elements for this type of very simple and lightweight shelving.
For this purpose, each crossbar 4, 5 has a stiffening member 23, 24 at its upper edge 11, 12, extending substantially over the entire length of the latter.
In this type of shelving the stiffening members of the crossbars usually have a substantially horizontal orientation, as shown for example in EP2363040 .
A peculiar characteristic of the invention, as best shown in FIG. 4, is that the stiffening member 23, 24 is substantially vertical, i.e. parallel to the vertical wall 9, 10 of the crossbar 4, 5, which increases the flexural moment of inertia of the latter as compared with normal crossbars, and hence improves its resistance to bending and vertical stresses.
According to the invention, the stiffening member 23, 24 is conformed to define a joining element 25, 26 for the shelves 13, 14, which projects inwards from the vertical wall 9, 10 of the crossbar 4, 5.
Advantageously, in order to prevent local weakening, the joining element 25, 26 is substantially continuous and aperture free over its length.
A further peculiar characteristic of the invention is that, as best shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, each modular element 15, 16 has transverse end appendages 27, 28, each designed to simply rest upon the joining element 25, 26 of a respective crossbar 4, 5.
In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the joining element 25, 26 may be a substantially U-shaped element, with substantially vertical parallel sides 29, 30; 31, 32 joined at their lower portion by an at least partially rounded bottom surface 33, 34 to define a slit 35, 36.
Alternatively, the shape of the slit 35, 36 may be slightly different from the one described above, e.g. it may be a substantially V-shape, as long as it fully fulfills its shelf joining purpose.
Preferably, each end appendage 27, 28 of each modular element 15, 16 may have a flat portion 37, 38 and a substantially vertical portion 39, 40.
The latter may fit into the slit 35, 36 of a respective joining element 25, 26 for stable connection of each modular element 15, 16 to the crossbars 4, 5 without requiring any additional mechanical connection elements.
This connection arrangement allows longitudinal and transverse deformations of the shelving 1 to be limited as the load acting thereupon increases.
Advantageously, the downwardly folded lateral portions 19, 20 of the modular elements may be recessed with respect to the appendages 27, 28 thereof, to allow their substantially vertical portions 39, 40 to fit into their respective joining elements 25, 26 without interfering therewith.
A second possible bearing point may be provided by the contact between the flat surface 37, 38 of each appendage 27, 28 and the free upper edge 41, 42 of the U-shaped joining element 25, 26.
Conveniently, the longitudinal lateral portions 19, 20 of each modular support element 15, 16 are also folded through 90° to provide substantially horizontal inner stiffening tabs in opposed relationship, which define the maximum thickness of the modular support element 15, 16. The tabs 43, 44 may in turn be folded through 90° to reduce the risk that sharp edges may be accessed by the users.
As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, each crossbar 4, 5 may comprise a lower edge 45, 46 which is folded through 90° relative to the vertical wall 9, 10 thereof, to provide a substantially flat stiffening support wall 47, 48, which is oriented inwards from the space delimited by the uprights 2, 3.
Conveniently, the distance d between the free upper edge 41, 42 of the joining element 25, 26 and the stiffening wall 47, 48 of the lower edge 45, 46 of each crossbar 4, 5 will be selected to substantially match the maximum thickness s of the modular support elements 15, 16.
Thus, a third possible bearing point will be provided for the modular support elements 15, 16 on the crossbars 4, 5, with the tabs 43, 44 contacting the 90°-folded lower edges 45, 46 of the crossbars 4, 5.
Particularly, the tabs 43, 44 may directly lie on the stiffening walls 47, 48 formed by folding the lower eges 45, 46 of the crossbars 4, 5 through 90°.
In a further aspect of the invention, the joining element 25, 26 that defines the slit 35, 36 may be integral with the vertical wall 9, 10 of the crossbar 4, 5 and may be obtained by double folding of the upper edge 11, 12 of the crossbar itself.
The rounded folded U-shape of the upper edge 11, 12 of the crossbar 4, 5 will provide an additional safety feature against any injury caused to the users, as prescribed by relevant regulations.
In an alternative embodiment, not shown, the joining element 25, 26 may be formed separately and be connected to the straight upper edge 11, 12 of the crossbar 4, 5 by welding or seaming.
Typically, the uprights 2, 3, the shelves 13, 14 and the crossbars 4, 5 are preferably but without limitation made of stamped metal sheets.
The above disclosure clearly shows that the shelving 1 of the present invention ensures bearing stability to each modular element 15, 16 supported by the crossbar 4, 5 and a high load capacity for item support.
Particularly, as shown in FIG. 7, this result is achieved by the simultaneous provision of multiple bearing points for the modular element 15, 16 on the crossbar 4, 5.
For the sake of completeness, it shall be noted that each crossbar 4, 5 may be removably secured to a respective pair of uprights 2, 3 by first connection means 49.
These first connection means 49 may be located in lateral peripheral portions 50, 51 relative to the upper edge 11, 12 of the crossbar 4, 5 and may comprise mechanical connection means of the interlocking or screw fastening type or the like.
Conveniently, the transverse faces 7 of the vertical uprights 2, 3 may have a plurality of vertically staggered holes 52 or interlock members 52, for attachment of the crossbars 4, 5 at variable and selected heights.
Furthermore, each modular element 15, 16 may be removably secured to the uprights 2, 3 by second mechanical connection means 54 and to adjacent modular elements 16, 15 by third mechanical connection means 55 that are similar to the first connection means 49 as described above.
Advantageously, the second universal connection means 54 may be as described in the Italian patent application VI2011A000113 by the applicant hereof.
The above disclosure clearly shows that the sectional shelving 1 of the invention fulfills the intended objects and particularly can provide stable support for the displayed items and high load capacity, as well as a structure with no exposed sharp elements.
The shelving of the invention is susceptible of a number of changes and variants, within the inventive concept disclosed in the appended claims. All the details thereof may be replaced by other technically equivalent parts, and the materials may vary depending on different needs, without departure from the scope of the invention.
While the shelving has been described with particular reference to the accompanying figures, the numerals are only used for the sake of a better intelligibility of the invention and shall not be intended to limit the claimed scope in any manner.

Industrial applicability

The present invention finds industrial application in the field of devices for storage and/or display of items and particularly in the fabrication of sectional shelving units.

Claims

A sectional shelving (1) with modular shelf elements, comprising at least two pairs of substantially vertical uprights (2, 3) in longitudinally and transversely staggered positions, at least one pair of substantially horizontal crossbars (4, 5), each adapted to connect a respective pair of uprights (2, 3) together in the transverse direction, at least one pair of substantially horizontal shelves (13, 14) located at different heights to define vertically staggered support surfaces, wherein each of said shelves (13, 14) consists of at least one modular element (15) having transverse end appendages (27) with a substantially vertical portion (39), a flat top portion (17) and longitudinal lateral portions (19), that are folded downwards relative to said flat top portion (17), wherein said longitudinal lateral portions (19) are further folded through 90° to form substantially horizontal and mutually opposed lateral longitudinal tabs (43), wherein each crossbar (4, 5) is adapted to be secured to said uprights (2, 3) by respective first connection means (49) and has a substantially vertical wall (9, 10) with an upper edge (11, 12) having a substantially vertical stiffening member (23, 24) which defines a substantially continuous aperture free joining element (25,26), for supporting the shelves (13, 14), wherein said joining element (25, 26) is substantially U-shaped, to define a slit (35, 36), said substantially vertical portion (39) of each of said appendages (27) being adapted to fit into a respective slit (35, 36) to prevent any longitudinal or transverse deformation of the shelving (1), said crossbars (4, 5) having substantially flat and seamless lower end edges (45, 46), which are folded once through 90° relative to said vertical wall (9, 10), said lower end edges (45, 46) being located below said first connection means (49) and being adapted to form stiffening walls (47, 48) and to support said longitudinal lateral tabs (43) by a simple resting arrangement and with no interlocking arrangement;
characterized in that said joining element (25, 26) is integral with or connected by welding or seaming to said vertical wall (9, 10) of each of said crossbars and obtained by double folding of said upper edge (11, 12) to define said substantially U-shaped slit (35, 36).
Shelving as claimed in claim 1, wherein said downwardly folded lateral portions (19) are recessed relative to said appendages (27), to allow their substantially vertical portions (39) to fit into their respective joining elements (25, 26) with no interference therewith.
Shelving as claimed in claim 1, wherein said U-shaped joining element (25, 26) comprises substantially vertical parallel sides (29, 30; 31, 32), which are joined at their bottom portions by a bottom surface (33, 34), said substantially vertical potion (39) of each appendage (27) being adapted to rest upon said bottom surface (33, 34) of said slit (35, 36).
Shelving as claimed in one or more of the preceding claims, wherein each shelf (13, 14) is made up of at least one pair of modular elements (15, 16) in mutually adjacent positions.
Shelving as claimed in one or more of the preceding claims, wherein said uprights (2, 3), said shelves (13, 14) and said crossbars (4, 5) are made of stamped metal sheets.
Shelving as claimed in claim 1, wherein each modular element (15, 16) is adapted to be removably secured to said uprights (2, 3) by respective second connection means (54).
Shelving as claimed in claim 4, wherein each modular element (15, 16) is adapted to be secured to an adjacent modular element (16, 15) by third connection means (55).
Shelving as claimed in claim 3, wherein each of said appendages (27, 28) comprises a respective flat portion (37, 38) and each of said joining element (25, 26) comprises a respective free upper edge (41, 42), said at least one modular element (15) being connected to said crossbars (4, 5) at a first bearing point between said substantially vertical portion (39, 40) of each appendages and said bottom surface (33, 34), at a second bearing point between said flat portion (37, 38) and the respective free upper edge (41, 42) of said joining element (25, 26) and at a third bearing point between each tab (43, 44) and the respective stiffening wall (47, 48).