GB2260481A - Shelving - Google Patents

Abstract

A free-standing shelving system of the type comprises four uprights which support a plurality of rectangular shelves. Attached at each corner of each shelf 5 are respective pegs 12-15 which are shaped to co-operate with corresponding keyhole-shaped holes 16-19 in the upright 4. In order to allow the corner of each shelf to be offered up to the internal corner of the upright, and attached thereto without distortion of the components, the enlarged portions of holes 16-19 are displaced laterally away from the corner. The narrow portions of holes 16-19 are, however, positioned so as to tightly hold the shelf corner into the upright, thus providing a rigid joint. <IMAGE>

Description

"FREE-STANDING SHELVING SYSTEM" This invention relates to a free-standing shelving system.

Such shelving systems, which are commonly made from steel, comprise a plurality of uprights and a plurality of shelves which are supported at spaced positions on the uprights. A common basic configuration comprises four uprights supporting three or more rectangular shelves, the uprights being positioned to provide a support at each of the four corners of the shelves. Such a unit is free standing. Several such units can be attached together to form a run of shelving and, in some types, uprights may be shared between adjacent units.

Free-standing shelving systems of this general type have been available for many years. Commonly they are supplied as kits which are bolted together to form the shelving. The uprights are equipped with a plurality of spaced holes so that the shelves can be position at any desired height, according to the requirements. The assembly of these shelves, involving as they do many nuts and bolts, is lengthy and awkward and recently attempts have been made to cut down on the assembly time of these systems. One recent system, for example, utilises shelf support clips which are fitted at desired positions on the uprights, and are shaped to support and secure the shelves.

In another system, described in British Patent No. 1441065, the uprights are formed with keyholeshaped holes, and the shelves are supported on elongate shelf support members which are equipped with pegs which co-operate with the keyholes to provide a frame structure on which the shelves can be laid.

The system has the disadvantage of requiring many components to produce even a basic set of shelves and, as such, has little advantage over the conventional nut and bolt system described above.

In the system of the present invention, however, the number of component parts needed to make a set of shelves is reduced to the minimum because neither bolts, clips, or separate shelf supports, are required. Instead, according to the invention the shelves themselves are provided with protruding attachment means which are co-operatively engageable with holes in said uprights. Such attachment means may for example take the form of a protruding peg with an enlarged head and the holes in the supports may each be shaped in the manner of a keyhole with an enlarged portion, sized to receive said enlarged head, and a relatively narrow portion sized to fit the shank of the peg. A secure attachment can thus be effected for each corner of each shelf by slotting the peg at that corner into the desired hole in the upright and moving the peg into the narrowed portion of the hole.

For added rigidity two or more pegs may be provided at each corner of each shelf, each such peg being cooperatively engageable with an adjacent spaced hole on the upright. In order to provide the necessary surface area for such extra pegs, the shelf edges may be extended to provide a flange or similar structure.

By these means, it is possible to fabricate a free-standing shelving system which is both rigid and easy to adapt to changing circumstances. Assembly is very quick, since the only components required to make the basic unit are the uprights and the shelves.

In order that the invention may be better understood, two embodiments thereof will now be described by way of example only and with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 is a pictorial perspective view showing the general type of shelving unit with which the present invention is concerned; Figure 2 is a perspective view of part of a shelving system, illustrating a first embodiment of the invention; Figure 3 is an enlarged perspective view showing part of the arrangement of Figure 2, with parts separated; Figure 4 is a view of part of the shelf forming part of the embodiment of Figure 2 in a condition before being formed to shape; Figures 5 to 8 are diagrams for explaining the shape and dimensions of the interengaging parts in the embodiment of Figure 2;; Figures 9, 11 and 12 are views corresponding to Figures 2, 3 and 4 respectively, but illustrating a second embodiment of the invention; and Figure 10 is a plan view of one corner of the structure shown in Figure 9.

Referring first to Figure 1, the shelving system illustrated comprises four uprights 1 to 4 which support a plurality of shelves 5. The uprights are equipped along their length with spaced holes so that the shelves can be fitted at a variety of positions, according to the circumstances of use.

The basic shelving unit may be used simply as a basic shelving system, either alone or as part of a larger system, and may be free-standing or attached to an adjacent wall. Various additions may be made to enhance the product such as tool hooks, storage baskets and cupboard doors, side and back panels as illustrated. The bottoms of the uprights may be fitted with caps 6, as shown, to prevent damage to the floor surface.

Reference is now made to Figures 2, 3 and 4 which show in detail a first embodiment of the invention. The invention is directed to the problem of finding a rigid and secure fitting of each shelf 5 to the uprights 1 to 4. To illustrate this, just a single shelf 5 is shown in the following drawings, for clarity.

Each shelf comprises sheet material, for example steel, which initially has the corner shape illustrated in Figure 4 but which, during manufacture, is folded along dotted lines 7 to give a perimeter flange portion 8. The flange 8 serves to improve the load carrying capacity of the shelf whilst at the same time providing a surface on which are provided the interengagement means. For this purpose, the flange portion 8 is enlarged at each corner of the shelf to form mutually orthogonal surfaces 9, 10 at each corner.

The uprights 1 to 4 each comprise angle section, for example also of steel and are provided with spaced holes 11 which form part of the interengagement means.

The interengagement means at each corner of each shelf will now be described in detail with reference to Figures 3 and 5 to 8. On each of the surfaces 9, 10 are provided a respective pair of pegs 12/13 and 14/15. As illustrated by the dotted lines in Figure 3, these pegs engage with respective holes 16 to 19 in said uprights. To this end, the pegs of each pair 12/13 and 14/15 are vertically spaced by an amount equal to the pitch of the holes 11 in the uprights.

Each peg 12 to 15 is formed as a narrow shank portion 20 and an enlarged head portion 21.

Likewise, each hole 11 is formed in the manner of a keyhole, with a narrow portion 22 and an enlarged portion 23. It will be noted that Figures 5 to 8 illustrate a slightly different variant to that shown in Figures 2 and 3 in that each hole 11 has two narrow portions 22, one extending above, and one below the enlarged portion 23. This symmetrical variant is simply to enable the uprights 1 to 4 to be used either way up, and has no effect on the manner of operation.

The size and shape of the holes 11 is important in obtaining good results. In order to provide the necessary rigidity, it is necessary to provide the pegs 12 to 15 on both of surfaces 9 and 10. However, a little thought will indicate that such an arrangement leads to potential problems during assembly. The problem occurs as the corner of the shelf 5 is offered up to the upright.

A typical sequence of movements is shown in Figure 7. It will be seen that the pegs 12 and 13 protruding from surface 9 will prevent the pegs 14 and 15 on surface 10 from entering the holes 18 and 19 in the upright, and vice-versa. For this reason, the holes 11 have to be specially shaped. In particular, the enlarged portion 23 is not symmetric with respect to narrow portion 22, as in a conventional keyhole, but is eccentrically positioned, as clearly illustrated in Figure 6, so as to be wider on that side of the hole 11 closer to the edge 24 of the upright, and relatively narrower on that side closer to the corner 25 of the upright. Of course, the hole 11 could be symmetric, by increasing the size of the enlarged portion 23 on that side closer to corner 25 to match that on the other side. However, this would serve no mechanical purpose.

Details of the size and shape of the hole 11 will now be given, referring in particular to Figures 5 and 8: 1) Width D of narrow portion 22 = width A of shank 20 of peg + tolerance to allow for free movement.

2) Contour of left side of enlarged portion 23 is a circle, centre at point X, of radius F = width B of head 21 of peg + tolerance or free movement.

3) Contour of right side of enlarged portion 23 is a circle, centre at point Y, of radius E = width B of head 21 of peg + tolerance for free movement.

4) Point X lies on centre line of narrow portions 22; point Y lies to the left of point X by a distance C = A/2 + S + T + tolerance where S is the length of shank 20; T is the depth of head 21.

5) Length S of shank 20 = the thickness of the material from which the upright is fabricated, plus a tolerance for free movement.

6) The distance G between the centreline of each peg 12 to 15 and the adjacent exterior surface 9 or 10 is equal to the distance H from the centre line of the narrow portion 22 to the adjacent inside surface of the upright 1 to 4.

These dimensions enable both pairs of pegs 12/13 and 14/15 to enter and be securely locked into their respective holes in the upright. The enlarged portion 23 receives the respective head 21 of the peg, and then by tapping downwards for example with a hammer 26 (Figure 2), the pegs drop into the narrow portion 22 and are securely locked therein by the heads 21 of pegs 12 to 15, and by the interaction of the abutment of surfaces 9/10 with the inside surfaces of the upright in association with the shanks 20 of the pegs 12 to 15 in the narrow portions 22. The simultaneous locking on two adjacent mutually orthogonal sides gives enhanced rigidity, and obviates the use of bracing.A view of a peg entering a hole 11 is shown in Figure 8: position J shows the peg just entering the hole 11, and shifted to the left due to the abutment of the other pegs on the inside surface of the upright; position K shows the peg in its final position, with the shank 20 seated at the rounded bottom of narrow portion 22.

Figures 9 to 12 illustrate a second embodiment in which the uprights are not simple right-angle sections, as previously but have an open trapezoidal section, clearly illustrated in Figures 10 and 11, defining mutually orthogonal sections 30, 31 and intermediate section 32 joining sections 30, 31 and which is at 45 to sections 30, 31. The interior contour of the uprights matches the exterior contour of the shelf corners, which are modified to define surfaces 9 and 10 (as before) and an intermediate surface 29 extending between surfaces 9 and 10 at 45".

A drawing of the blank sheet of metal before folding to shape to form shelf 5 is shown in Figure 12, where dotted lines 7 represent fold lines, as before. The tabs 33, which are folded in the manner shown in Figures 10 and 11 to form the surface 29, may in fact be omitted, thus enabling a small saving of material and simplified construction. This leaves the corner without a surface 29. The tabs 33 may alternatively simply be overlapped to form the surface 29.

Each of the sections 30, 31 of each upright 1 to 4 is formed with a plurality of equally-spaced holes 11 of keyhole-shape. These holes have an enlarged portion to receive the head of the peg, and a narrow portion to receive the shank. The narrow portion extends up and down to enable the uprights to be used either way up. The holes 11 are formed in a similar manner to that described above with reference to Figures 5 to 8. Although, of course the detailed geometry is different as between the two embodiments, the basic principle is the same.

Assembly of the shelves proceeds by offering up the shelf corner at the desired position on the upright so that the heads of pegs 12 to 15 enter the respective enlarged portions of two pairs of adjacent holes 11. As before, a hammer or similar implement can then be used to tap the shelf into its final position, with the peg shanks securely located in the narrow portions of the holes 11.

There have been described several embodiments of shelving systems which can be assembled quickly and easily from a relatively small number of components.

The assembled shelving units are strong and rigid and visually more attractive than the conventional shelving systems using nuts and bolts. Appearance can be further enhanced by covering the corners of the uprights, for example with a clip-on strip with a decorative outer surface. Although the drawings show the holes 11 provided along the length of the uprights, this is not of course essential. It may be desirable for aesthetic or cost reasons, or under special circumstances, to place holes 11 only where a shelf is to be put, thus restricting the positioning of shelves 5.

Claims (10)

1. A free-standing shelving system comprising a plurality of uprights equipped with spaced holes therealong, a plurality of shelves, and attachment means at each corner of each shelf for attaching said shelves to said uprights so that the shelves extend approximately horizontally between said uprights and are supported thereby, said attachment means comprising peg means provided on each said shelf at each corner thereof, said peg means protruding outwardly from said shelf in such a way as to be cooperatively engageable with the holes in the uprights.

2. A shelving system as claimed in claim 1 wherein said peg means comprises at least one peg formed on the shelf and protruding therefrom for engagement with a respective hole in said upright.

3. A shelving system as claimed in claim 2 wherein each said peg comprises a narrow shank portion and an enlarged head portion, and wherein the holes in the uprights are formed with an enlarged portion, sufficiently large for the peg head portion to pass through, and a narrow portion able to receive the shank portion of the peg, but not sufficiently large to enable the peg head portion to pass through.

4. A shelving system as claimed in any one of the preceding claims wherein said peg means is provided on at least one surface which forms part of the shelf at each corner thereof, but extends in a plane at right angles to that of the general plane of the shelf.

5. A shelving system as claimed in claim 4 wherein said peg means are formed on two said surfaces, being the mutually orthogonal surfaces formed at the corner of the shelf, wherein said peg means comprises at least one peg formed on and protruding from each of said two surfaces, and wherein said uprights are shaped, when seen in section, to define first and second planar portions which are mutually orthogonal and in each of which are formed holes into which said pegs are co-operatively engageable.

6. A shelving system as claimed in claim 5 wherein said two surfaces are joined at the corner of the shelf, and wherein said first and second planar portions of said upright are joined so that the upright has an L-section.

7. A shelving system as claimed in claim 5 wherein the two surfaces at the corner of each shelf are joined by a further surface, also orthogonal to the general plane of the shelf, said further surface extending across the corner, for example at 45', and wherein said first and second planar portions of said upright are joined by a third planar portion which has a plane parallel to that of said further surface on the shelf, when the shelf is in position.

8. A shelving system as claimed in any one of claims 5 to 7 wherein each of said two surfaces at the corner of each shelf is formed with two or more of said pegs, spaced apart in the longitudinal direction of the supports by an amount equal to the inter-hole spacing on the supports.

9. A shelving system as claimed in claim 3, and any one of claims 5 to 8, wherein the pegs and their corresponding holes are of such size and shape as to enable the shelf to be attached to the upright without distorting the material either of the shelf, or of the upright.

10. A shelving system as claimed in claim 9 wherein the enlarged portion of each hole in each of said first or second planar portions of said upright is sized and/or positioned in a direction lateral to the axis of the respective upright such as to allow the head portion of the peg to enter, even though the peg is displaced laterally due to abutment of the peg or pegs protruding from the other of said two surfaces at the corner of each shelf against the other of said first or second planar portions of said upright.