GB2042876A - Shelving Construction - Google Patents

Abstract

The manner of engagement of the bracket described in U.K. Specification 930955 with a shelf is modified in that the upper flange 3 of the bracket is located in a groove in the shelf edge rather than engaging the upper surface of the shelf.

Description

SPECIFICATION Shelving Construction This invention relates to a shelving construction of the kind comprising a shelf and at least one shelf supporting bracket which may be readily assembled into a unit and, if desired, the or each bracket thereafter assembled on an upright to facilitate holding the unit as a rigid structure.

In British Patent No. 930,955, there is described and shown a shelving construction of this kind in which the bracket is of laterallyopening channel cross-section, having upper and lower laterally extending flanges, between which an end of the shelf is received. The optimum thickness of said end of the shelf thus corresponds to the distance between internal facing surfaces of the upper and lower flanges of the bracket respectively, so that said end fits reasonably tightly between the flanges. If the thickness of the end of the shelf were to be less than said distance between the flanges, movement of the end of the shelf up or down between the bracket flanges would be possible, whilst if the thickness were to be greater, the end of the shelf could not be received between the flanges. Thus a specific size of bracket is needed for each thickness of shelf.

Moreover with this shelving construction, the upper flange of the bracket forms an increased thickness or step at the end of the shelf. Although this may be overcome by accommodating the upper flange in a rebate in the upper surface of the shelf, at the end thereof so that the upper surface of the upperflange lies flush with the remainder of the upper surface of the shelf, the upper flange would remain visible, thus perhaps somewhat detracting from the appearance of the shelving construction.

It is an object of the invention to produce a shelving construction of the kind specified in which at least one of the disadvantages of the prior art construction is obviated or at least minimised.

According to the invention a shelving construction comprises a shelf and at least one bracket for supporting the shelf, the or each bracket having a flange extending along at least part of an end of the shelf, in use, and into a slot provided in said end of the shelf, to secure the shelf to the or each bracket, the or each bracket having a part which co-operates with the shelf to define a projection-and-recess connection to locate the shelf on the or each bracket, the arrangement being such that when the flange of the or each bracket is located in the slot in the end of the shelf, the shelf cannot be lifted, but the shelf and the or each bracket can be rotated relatively to one another about an axis of the projection until the shelf is clear of said flange whereafter disengagement of the projection-andrecess connection is possible.

Preferably the bracket is of laterally opening channel cross-section, the sides of the channel being defined by upper and lower flanges of the bracket, the upper flange engaging in said slot in the end of the shelf and the lower flange engaging the lower surface of the shelf, one of the projection and the recess of said projection-andrecess connection being provided at a free end of said lower flange and the other being provided at said lower surface of the shelf.

Conveniently the projection is provided on a forwardly, laterally offset extension portion of the lower flange at a front end of the or each bracket and the recess is a circular hole in the lower surface of the shelf.

According to a further aspect of the invention, a shelving construction comprises a shelf and supporting brackets, each bracket having a flange extending along at least part of an end of the shelf, in use, and into a slot provided in said end of the shelf, to secure the shelf to the brackets, each bracket, at its rear end, having hooks to engage in a vertical support post, each bracket and the shelf having an element of a projectionand-recess connection to locate the shelf on the brackets.

This arrangement enables the top surface of the shelf to be continuous, as there is no upper flange of the bracket resting on the top surface and forming a step, and there is also no upper flange of the bracket accommodated in a recess in said upper surface. The single flange or the upper flange of a bracket is received in the slot in the end of the shelf and is thus substantially concealed from view. Moreover shelves of a thickness greater than the spacing of the upper and lower flanges can be used with the brackets merely by appropriately positioning the slots in the ends of each shelf.

The invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a perspective view of a bracket of a shelving construction of the present invention, Figure 2 is a plan view on a reduced scale showing a bracket applied to one end of a shelf and hooked into a support bracket, and Figure 3 is a cross-section on the line 3-3 of Figure 2, the view being on an enlarged scale as compared to Figure 2.

The bracket 1, which may be stamped from a single sheet, has a laterally opening U-shaped cross-section comprising a vertical intermediate or base portion 2, and parallel upper and lower flanges 3 and 4 extending perpendicularly from the portion 2. At the rear end of the bracket the base portion 2 is provided with hooks 5. As shown in Figure 2 these hooks 5 engage in vertical slots 6 in a vertical post 7 secured to a wall 8 or other support member.

The lower flange 4, at the front end of the bracket 1, is provided with a forwardly and somewhat laterally directed or offset extension 9 which, at its outer end, has an upwardly bent portion 10 serving as a fastening projection. The corner of the upper flange 3 lying above the extension 9 is inclined or rounded as shown at 11.

The shelf 12 to which the bracket 1 is to be attached is shown in Figures 2 and 3. It is provided on its lower surface with a recess in the form of a circular hole 1 3 adapted to receive the upwardly bent portion 10 so that this portion may be rotated, but not moved laterally in the hole 1 3.

The distance between the end of the shelf 1 2 and the axis of the circular hole 13 is adapted to the distance between the longitudinal axis of the projection 10 and a plane coinciding with the inner surface of the vertical base portion 2 of the bracket.

In the end surface of the shelf 12 is provided a straight slot 14 which extends parallel to the upper and lower surfaces of the shelf. The slot 14 lies, in this example, just below the upper surface of the shelf and extends from the part of the end surface adjacent the post 7 to a position just short of that at which the hole 13 is provided, so that the slot 14 is as long as the upper flange 3 intended to engage therein in use.

The whole of the shelf end surface below the slot 14 is cut away by an amount substantially equal to the thickness of the base portion 2 of the bracket, as shown in Figure 3, so that when the bracket is engaged on the end of the shelf, the outer surface 1 5 of the base portion of the bracket can lie flush with the end surface 1 6 of the shelf above the slot. The depth of the slot is equal to or slightly deeper than the lateral extent of the upper flange 3 and the distance between the lower edge of the slot 14 and the lower surface of the shelf is substantially equal to the distance between the respective internal surfaces of the upper and lower flanges 3 and 4.

The use of the bracket is thus such that when it is positioned at an angle with the end surface of the shelf 12, as shown at 1 7 in chain dotted lines in Figure 2, the rounding of the corner 11 provides a clearance between the bracket and the end surface of the shelf so that the projection 10 may be inserted in the hole 1 3 in the lower surface of the shelf until the extension 9 engages said lower surface.

The bracket 1 is thereafter pivoted about the projection 10 towards the shelf, so that the upper flange engages in the slot 14 and the lower flange engages the lower surface of the shelf 12, so that at the end of the relative movement between the shelf and bracket, the bracket lies parallel to the end of the bracket as shown in Figures 2 and 3, with the whole thickness of the base portion 2 of the bracket being received in the cut away portion of the bracket end surface below the slot, so that the surfaces 1 5 and 16 are flush.

The bracket at the opposite end of the shelf is in all details similar to the bracket described but is a mirror image thereof.

To remove the bracket from the shelf, the reverse procedure is adopted by pivoting the bracket away from the shelf about the projection 10 until the upper flange 3 leaves the slot 4 and the corner 11 is clear of the shelf, whereupon the projection 10 can be removed from the hole 13.

The assembled unit, comprising the shelf and the brackets attached to the ends thereof, is held together as a rigid structure by assembling the brackets on respective spaced vertical posts, constructed as the post 7.

Instead of the arrangement described and shown, the projection-and-hole connection could be reversed by placing the pin on the shelf and the hole in the bracket.

Moreover instead of a pair of flanges 3 and 4, only a single flange could be provided, to engage in the slot in the shelf. This single flange could be shaped to that it is extended downwardly at the free end of the bracket, to provide the extension 9 and projection 10, with the slot for the flange being correspondingly appropriately shaped.

Alternatively with a single flange arrangement, for example with the single flange remaining in the same form as the flange 3, the portion 9 and projection 10 could be provided merely as a short lateral extension from the base portion 2 of the bracket.

If required, more than one flange could be provided to engage in respective slots in the end of the shelf. In one alternative embodiment, the upper flange contacts the upper surface of the shelf, as in the prior art arrangement, or is received in a rebate in said upper surface to lie flush therewith, and it is a lower flange which fits into a slot provided in the end of the shelf, although with this construction the upper flange is not concealed from view, different thicknesses of shelves can be used with the same brackets.

With the shelving construction of the invention, shelves of increased thicknesses can be used with the same brackets, provided the slot is appropriately positioned in the end surface of the shelf, to receive a flange of the bracket. Moreover with the majority of the embodiments described, the single flange or uppermost flange of the bracket is substantially concealed from view and the upper surface of the shelf is uninterrupted.

Although in the example illustrated, the shelf supporting portion extends perpendicularly from the portion of the bracket carrying the hooks, it could instead extend upwardly or downwardly therefrom at an angle as is well known in the art.

Claims (11)

Claims

1. A shelving construction comprising a shelf and at least one bracket for supporting the shelf, the or each bracket having a flange extending along at least part of an end of the shelf, in use, and into a slot provided in said end of the shelf, to secure the shelf to the or each bracket, the or each bracket having a part which co-operates with the shelf to define a projection-and-recess connection to locate the shelf on the or each bracket, the arrangement being such that when the flange of the or each bracket is located in the slot in the end of the shelf, the shelf cannot be lifted, but the shelf and the or each bracket can be rotated relatively to one another about an axis of the projection until the shelf is clear of said flange whereafter disengagement of the projection-andrecess connection is possible.

2. A shelving construction as claimed in claim 1, wherein the or each bracket is of laterally opening channel cross-section, the sides of the channel being defined by upper and lower flanges of the bracket, the upper flange engaging said slot in the end of the shelf and the lower flange engaging the lower surface of the shelf, one of the projection and the recess of said projection-andrecess connection being provided at a free end of said lower flange and the other being provided at said lower surface of the shelf.

3. A shelving construction as claimed in claim 2, wherein the projection is provided on a forwardly, laterally offset extension portion of the lower flange at a front end of the or each bracket and the recess is a circular hole in the lower surface of the shelf.

4. A shelving construction as claimed in claim 2, or claim 3, wherein a corner portion of the lower flange is inclined or rounded.

5. A shelving construction as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the or each bracket has hooks for engagement in slots in a supporting post.

6. A shelving construction comprising a shelf and supporting brackets, each bracket having a flange extending along at least part of an end of the shelf, in use, and into a slot provided in said end of the shelf, to secure the shelf to the brackets, each bracket at its rear end, having hooks to engage in a vertical support post, each bracket and the shelf having an element of a projection-and-recess connection to locate the shelf on the brackets.

7. A shelving construction as claimed in claim 6, wherein each bracket is of laterally opening channel cross-section, the sides of the channel being defined by upper and lower flanges of the bracket, the upper flange engaging in a slot in the end of the shelf and the lower flange engaging the lower surface of the shelf, one of the projection and the recess of said projection-and-recess connection being provided at a free end of said lower flange and the other being provided at said lower surface of the shelf.

8. A shelving construction as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the projection is formed of an upwardly bent portion of the material of the flange.

9. A method of engaging together a shelf and a shelf bracket comprising providing a shelf having a slot in one of its ends, and also being provided with one element of a projection and recess connection, connecting together said bracket and said shelf by engaging the other element of said projection and recess connection on or in said bracket with said one element associated with said shelf and pivoting said bracket relatively to said shelf about an axis of said projection so that a flange of said bracket engages in said slot in the end of the shelf.

1 0. A shelving construction substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as shown in the accompanying drawings.

11. A method of engaging together a shelf and a shelf bracket substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.