GB2099689A

GB2099689A - Support device

Info

Publication number: GB2099689A
Application number: GB8109987A
Authority: GB
Original assignee: BONUS PHILIP WILLIAM
Current assignee: BONUS PHILIP WILLIAM
Priority date: 1981-03-31
Filing date: 1981-03-31
Publication date: 1982-12-15

Abstract

A support device for a shelf (10) comprising rolling devices (20, 22) mounted eccentrically about axles (24, 26) in brackets (16, 18) below the shelf. The rolling devices may be discs or wheels or rollers and are formed from or coated with friction material such as rubber. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Support device Field of Invention This invention concerns support devices for shelves in alcoves or cupboards or the like. The invention allows shelves to be fitted with ease and at any height and spacing between two generally vertical and rigid surfaces.

Background to the Invention It is known to support shelves in alcoves and cupboards and the like by means of brackets or blocks which are secured to the walls of the alcove or cupboard and either freely support or are secured to normally the underside of the shelves.

Whilst such shelf supporting devices are perfectly satisfactory in use, their use does entail interference with the structure of the walls whether they be of brick or stone or of wood. Any adjustment or replacement of shelves when such supporting devices have been used entails considerable making good due to the damage which results from removal of the support devices.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a support device for shelves and the like in alcoves and in cupboards etc. which does not produce any damage to the walls either when it is initially put in place or if it is to be removed either to allow a shelf to be adjusted in height or position or to be fully removed.

Summary of the Invention According to the present invention a support device for a shelf or the like comprises a pair of rotatable rollers or wheels located at below opposite ends of the shelf or other member to be supported and rotatable about eccentric axes such that downward movement of the shelf or other supported member produces counterrotation of the wheels or rollers in a direction such as to wedge the wheels or rollers between their supports and the opposite walls.

Preferably the wheels or rollers are adjustable below the support to allow for fine adjustment of the spacing between the two supports to accommodate the precise spacing between the two walls.

Where rollers are used, these may extend over the majority or all of the front to back dimension of the shelf or other supported member.

Where wheels or discs are used, two or more such wheels or discs may be mounted in line below each of the ends of the shelf or other supported member.

The rollers or wheels or discs may be formed from or coated with a friction material such as rubber or a plastics material.

In one preferred embodiment, the wheels or discs are of rubber and an off-centre hole is formed through the disc through which is fitted a metal sleeve having radial annular protrusions at opposite ends so as to retain the sleeve in the disc and provide a cylindrical bearing surface for the disc or wheel whereby it can be mounted on an appropriately dimensioned pin or axle.

The invention provides the following advantages: 1. No damage occurs in the fixing of a shelf or other supported member between the walls.

2. A shelf can be positioned to any particular height and it is not necessary to rely on fixed notches or apertures in a wall support as in some designs of shelving system.

3. A shelf can be raised or lowered with the greatest of ease simply by lifting the shelf slightly to release the rollers or wheels and re-locating the shelf to just above the desired new position and allowing the weight of the shelf to rotate the wheels or rollers once again into a jammed condition.

The invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawing in which Figure 1 is a front elevation of a shelf supported by a system constructed in accordance with the invention, and Figure 2 is a plan view of one of the eccentric discs used in the support system, and Figure 3 is an end view of one of the discs mounted in a support.

Detailed Description of Drawings In Figure 1 a shelf 10 is shown supported between two vertically spaced apart walls 12 and 14 on the underside of which are located bracket 1 6 and 1 8 within which are rotatably mounted wheels 20 and 22. The wheels are carried by pins 24 and 26 and the brackets 16 and 18 are adjustably positioned on the underside of the shelf so that with rotation, the wheels 20 and 22 are jammed, due to their eccentric mounting, between the pins 24 and 26 and the walls 12 and 14 respectively.

The weight of the shelf and any load carried thereby acts in the direction of the arrow 28 and it will be seen that if this should cause any continued rotation of the wheels 20 and 22, it will only further increase jamming of the material forming the wheels between the walls and the pins and cause the shelf to become more firmly wedged in position.

Figure 2 shows the wheel 20, although the wheel 22 is the same, and it will be seen that this wheel includes an off-centre circular opening 30 defined by a metal sleeve having upturned radial flanges one of which is shown at 32 and the other of which is hidden. The flanges secure the sleeve 30 in place and the sleeve and flanges provide a good hard-wearing surface for mounting the disc 20 for rotation about a pin (not shown in Figure 2) which passes through the hole in the sleeve 30.

The disc 20 may be formed from metal or wood or plastics material or rubber. Where a non resiiient material is employed, the peripheral region åf the disc may be preferably formed from a resilient material such as rubber or a plastics material or a combination thereof so as to assist in the wedging action by actually allowing the wheel to deform and increase the surface area of the wheel in contact with the wall.

As shown in Figure 3, each of the wheels such as 20 as shown in Figure 3, is mounted between the parallel flanges 32 and 34 of a bracket having a bridging piece 36 which is adapted to be fitted by way of screws or the like to the underside of the shelf 10. The particular fixings are not shown since the bracket can be secured to the underside of the shelf in any known manner.

In one arrangement (not actually shown in the drawings) the two brackets may be received in a rail which itself is adapted to be secured to the underside of the shelf and the brackets can be slid along the rail and retained therein and secured in position at any desired location along the length of the rail so as to produce the fine adjustment needed to position the wheels at just the right spacing to cause the wedging action required to hold the shelf in place.

Figure 3 shows the pin 24 on which the wheel rotates and it will be seen that circlips or like retaining members 38 and 40 retain the pin in position and locate it axially in the flanges 32 and 34.

Claims

1. A support device for a shelf of the like comprising a pair of rotatable rollers or wheels located at below opposite ends of the shelf or other member to be supported and rotatable about eccentric axes such that downward movement of the shelf or other supported member produces counterrotation of the wheels or rollers between their supports and the opposite walls.

2. A support device as claimed in claim 1 in which the wheels or rollers are adjustable below the support to allow for fine adjustment of the spacing between the two supports to accommodate the precise spacing between the two walls.

3. A support device as claimed in claim 1 or 2 in which the rollers extend from the front to the back of the shelf or other supported member.

4. A support device as claimed in claims 1 to 4 in which the rollers or wheels or discs are formed from or coated with a friction material such as rubber or a plastics material.

5. A support device as claimed in claims 1 to 4 in which the wheels or discs are of rubber and an off-centre hole is formed through the disc through which is fitted a metal sleeve having radial annular protrusions at opposite ends so as to retain the sleeve in the disc and provide a cylindrical bearing surface for the disc or wheel whereby it can be mounted on an appropriately dimensioned pin or axle.

6. A support device for a shelf or the like constructed and arranged substantially as herein described with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.