GB2313293A

GB2313293A - Hook and slot connector with locking device

Info

Publication number: GB2313293A
Application number: GB9710593A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Fredrick Usher
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1996-05-22
Filing date: 1997-05-22
Publication date: 1997-11-26
Anticipated expiration: 2017-05-22
Also published as: GB2313293B; GB9710593D0; IE970370A1

Abstract

A connector 6 for a display, racking or shelving system having uprights 2 with slots 8 engaged by hooks 11 of the connector is characterised by a locking device in the form of an L-shaped member 15 which pivots at 14 on the connector. In the locked position, contact pad 16 bears against the face of the upright drawing the hooks against the upright to prevent disengagement. Structural members 5 of hollow rectangular section which mount between the uprights are placed over and bolted to the connectors after the member 15 has been locked whereby the member is covered and cannot be accidentally unlocked.

Description

"A Connector" Introduction The present invention relates to connectors and in particular to connectors for structural members.

There are a considerable number of structural members that are used for display units, shelving and merchandising generally. There are many different ways of providing such shelving systems or display units. Most of the systems, however, require that the units or items making up the system such as uprights, cross-members, shelves, etc. be accurately aligned and that they be secured in position relatively easily and at the same time they can be disengaged without the use of spanners or special tools.

These display units are regularly used at exhibitions, temporary promotions etc. where ease of assembly and quick demountability are all important. In more permanent situations one of the major areas where this is well known is in the positioning of shelving brackets which often project horizontally from a wall or other surface and thus form one particular form of unit with the connector. Many of these uprights are of a similar shape being formed with a plurality of spaced apart slots in a support face, the connector for the other structural member including a mounting plate terminating in a hook-like male member for engagement within and behind the slot. Such hook-like connectors are often used on one end of a bracket for example for shelving or for a horizontal or inclined structural member connected to the upright. This is a very advantageous form of connector in that it is relatively easily mounted in position, it is selfsupporting, however, it has the disadvantage that it can be relatively easily knocked out and thus structures made with such connectors are not in many instances sufficiently rigid in use. This is particularly the case for example with shelving brackets in that it is possible to dislodge the brackets by a sharp upward knock on the bracket or shelving thus causing severe problems.

However, such constructions of upright and connector are in widespread use.

The present invention is directed towards providing an improved construction of connector for structural members and display units.

Statements of Invention According to the invention there is provided a connector for engagement in a structural upright of the type having a plurality of spaced-apart slots in a support face, the connector including a mounting means terminating in a hook-like male member for engagement within and behind the slot and a locking means for securing the connector in the slot.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention the locking means is mounted for movement between a release position for mounting the connector to and for releasing the connector from the upright to a locked position in which the connector is secured to the upright.

In a particularly preferred embodiment of the invention the locking means is moveable from a locked position bearing against the support face of the upright to a release position free of the support face for mounting the connector to and for releasing the connector from the upright.

Preferably the locking means is pivotally mounted on the mounting means for movement between release and locked positions.

In one embodiment of the invention the mounting means is a mounting plate and the locking means is a locking plate member having a contact pad for engagement in the locked position against the support face of the upright.

Preferably the locking means includes a lever for moving the locking means between release and locked positions.

In one embodiment of the invention the locking means includes a clear surface for engaging the support face of a structural upright in the locked position.

Ideally the connector has a stop means to locate the locking means in a locked position.

Typically, the stop means comprises a projection on the mounting means which the locking means engages in the locked position.

In one embodiment of the invention the upright has two sets of spaced-apart parallel slots and the connector comprises a pair of mounting plates, the locking means being located between the mounting plates.

The invention also provides a display, shelving or racking system sub-assembly incorporating at least one connector of the invention.

Preferably the sub-assembly includes at least one structural upright having a plurality of spaced-apart slots in a support face.

Preferably the sub-assembly includes at least two spacedapart uprights, each having a connector, and a joining structural member extending between the connectors.

Ideally, the joining structural member is attached to the mounting means of the connectors.

Preferably the structural member is fixed to the connectors to substantially prevent access to the locking means of the connectors.

The invention also provides a display, shelving or racking system incorporating a sub-assembly of the invention.

According to the invention there is provided a connector for engagement in a structural upright of the type having a plurality of spaced-apart slots in a support face, the connector including a mounting plate terminating in a hook-like male member for engagement within and behind the slot, characterised in that there is provided a locking member for securing the connector in the slot. This is very advantageous in that in use once the connector can be securely locked against the upright it prevents disengagement and provides additional rigidity for a bracket mounted on the upright or for the structure itself.

In one embodiment of the invention, the locking member is moved from a position bearing against the support face so as to pull the hook-like male member against the upright to a position free of the support face to allow ease of disengagement. This pulling of the structure together is particularly advantageous and provides additional rigidity.

In another embodiment of the invention the locking member is a cam pivotally mounted on the connector. A cam arrangement is particularly suitable as it can be mounted on a lever or arm or other handle and simply pivoted into position.

In one particular form of upright, there are two sets of spaced-apart parallel slots in the upright and the connector comprises a pair of mounting plates. Ideally with this type of construction of upright and connector the locking member is sandwiched between the two mounting plates. This ensures that the handle when used to, for example, engage and disengage a locking member of the type having a cam, can be hidden within the mounting plates when secured in position.

Detailed Description of the Invention The invention will be more clearly understood from the following description of two embodiments thereof, given by way of example only with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a display system in which the connector could be used; Fig. 2 is a front view of an upright; Fig. 3 is an exploded plan view of a connector according to the invention, separated from a structural member on which it is mounted; Figs. 4 and 5 are perspective views of the connector in different positions; Fig. 6 is a side view of an alternative construction of connector according to the invention; Fig. 7 is a plan view of the connector of Fig. 4; Fig. 8 is a right-hand end view of the connector of Fig. 6; Fig. 9 is a left-hand end view of the connector of Fig. 6; Fig. 10 is a plan view of portion of the connector of Fig. 6; Fig. 11 is an exploded perspective view of the connector of Fig. 6; and Fig. 12 is a side, partially cross sectional view of the connector of Fig. 6, in use.

Referring to the drawings and initially to Fig. 1 there is illustrated a display system on which a connector according to the invention may be used. The display system is identified by the reference numeral 1 and comprises a plurality of uprights 2 mounted on bases 3, these uprights 2 carry panels 4 and are joined by structural members 5 having a connector 6. For completeness there is illustrated a further base 7 and additional panels 4. The structural member 5 is a hollow rectangular sectioned bar.

Referring now to Figs. 2 to 5 each upright 2 has a plurality of equi-spaced longitudinal slots 8. Each connector 6 comprises a mounting plate 10 terminating in two hook-like male members 11 for engagement within the slots 8 as is conventional. The connector 6 can be bolted to a structural member 5 through holes 12 and 13 on the mounting plate 10 and structural member 5, respectively as is described below.

Secured to the mounting plate 10 on a pivot pin 14 is an L-shaped bar 15 having a contact pad 16. A stop 17 is provided. The L-shaped bar 15 provides a locking member and it will be seen from the drawings that when the hooklike male members 11 are engaged within and behind the slots 8 of the upright 2, all of which are of essentially conventional construction. It will be seen that pivoting the L-shaped bar in the direction in the arrow A as indicated by the interrupted lines in Fig. 2 to the position illustrated that the contact pad 16 will bear against the face of the upright 2 between the two engaged slots 8 and thus this will form a support face for the contact pad 16 which will be forced against this support face and will draw the hook-like male members 11 hard against the interior of the upright 2 and thus will lock the connector 6 securely in position. The stop 17 will prevent the L-shaped bar from being pushed too far downwards, causing possible damage to the upright 2.

To mount the structural member 5 in position, portion of the underneath of the bar is preferably removed as shown in Fig. 1 at A and the structural member 5 is placed over the connector 6 and bolted to it through the holes 12 and 13. The structural member 5 now embraces the connector 6 and the L-shaped bar 16 cannot be pivoted and hance the connector 6 is rigidly locked.

Referring to Figs. 6 to 12 inclusive there is illustrated an alternative construction of connector indicated generally by the reference numeral 20 in which parts similar to those described with reference to the previous drawing are identified by the same reference numerals. In this embodiment the upright not shown has two sets of spaced-apart parallel slots which are not illustrated, as this is a conventional construction of upright and then the connector 20 comprises a pair of spaced apart mounting plates connected by the pivot pin 14 stop 17 and an additional bridging bar 21. In this embodiment the mounting plates 10 are cranked intermediate their ends at 22. The connector 20 operates in an identical manner to the connector 6.

While the particular construction of locking member has been described in some detail in the above as being an Lshaped bar, it will be appreciated that this construction is not necessarily the only construction that can be used.

For example, it is possible to have other forms of arrangement, however, what is advantageous in accordance with the present invention is the fact that the upright and the structural member to which it is connected are pulled together in a cam-like arrangement. Thus the contact pad 16 in the particular construction can be any suitable shape to assist this. Any other arrangement that causes the parts to be as it where pushed apart so that the hooks engage behind the slots, will achieve the purpose of the present invention.

Where the connector according to the invention is to be erected and demounted on a regular basis, it may be necessary to ensure that there is no physical damage to the exposed surface of the upright, in which case the contact pad may be of any suitable resilient material.

The invention is not limited to the embodiments hereinbefore described but may be varied in both construction and detail.

Claims

1. A connector for engagement in a structural upright of the type having a plurality of spaced-apart slots in a support face, the connector including a mounting means terminating in a hook-like male member for engagement within and behind the slot and a locking means for securing the connector in the slot.

2. A connector as claimed in Claim 1 wherein the locking means is mounted for movement between a release position for mounting the connector to and for releasing the connector from the upright to a locked position in which the connector is secured to the upright.

3. A connector as claimed in Claim 1 or 2 wherein the locking means is moveable from a locked position bearing against the support face of the upright to a release position free of the support face for mounting the connector to and for releasing the connector from the upright.

4. A connector as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the locking means is pivotally mounted on the mounting means for movement between release and locked positions.

5. A connector as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the mounting means is a mounting plate and the locking means is a locking plate member having a contact pad for engagement in the locked position against the support face of the upright.

6. A connector as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the locking means includes a lever for moving the locking means between release and locked positions.

7. A connector as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the locking means includes a clear surface for engaging the support face of a structural upright in the locked position.

8. A connector as claimed in any preceding claim wherein stop means to locate the locking means in a locked position.

9. A connector as claimed in Claim 8 wherein the stop means comprises a projection on the mounting means which the locking means engages in the locked position.

10. A connector as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the upright has two sets of spaced-apart parallel slots and the connector comprises a pair of mounting plates, the locking means being located between the mounting plates.

11. A connector substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

12. A display, shelving or racking system sub-assembly incorporating at least one connector of the invention.

13. A sub-assembly as claimed in Claim 12 including at least one structural upright having a plurality of spaced-apart slots in a support face.

14. A sub-assembly as claimed in Claim 13 including at least two spaced-apart uprights, each having a connector, and a joining structural member extending between the connectors.

15. A sub-assembly as claimed in Claim 14 wherein the joining structural member is attached to the mounting means of the connectors.

16. A sub-assembly as claimed in Claim 15 wherein the structural member is fixed to the connectors to substantially prevent access to the locking means of the connectors.

17. A display, shelving or racking system sub-assembly substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

18. A display, shelving or racking system incorporating a sub-assembly as claimed in any of Claims 13 to 17.

19. A display, shelving or racking system substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.