GB2539656A

GB2539656A - A shelf bracket

Info

Publication number: GB2539656A
Application number: GB1510952.3A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Mark Williams Nicolas
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2015-06-22
Filing date: 2015-06-22
Publication date: 2016-12-28
Anticipated expiration: 2035-06-22
Also published as: GB2539656B; GB201510952D0

Abstract

The shelf bracket 2, primarily for use with a door or radiator, comprises an anchor portion 4 joined via a connecting portion 10 to a shelf support portion 12. The anchor portion defines a downwardly facing channel which in use overlies an upper portion of the vertical support and the shelf support portion defines a substantially horizontal surface which is located below the horizontal plane of the top 6 of the anchor portion, with the shelf support portion extending horizontally from the anchor portion. The anchor portion preferably comprises an inverted U with one arm 8 longer than the other 4. The shelf support portion and the adjacent arm of the anchor portion may include apertures 14,16 for fixtures. The shelf support portion may comprise a pair of opposed arms between which a shelf may be supported. Also claimed is a shelf and bracket combination and a method for securing a shelf to a vertical support member.

Description

A Shelf Bracket The present invention relates to a shelf bracket which can be releasably coupled to a vertical or upstanding support member and in particular to a shelf bracket that can be suspended from the top of a radiator or door.

Shelf brackets that may be coupled to a radiator are known. However, such brackets are arranged such that the shelf sits substantially above the radiator. This has the effects of interfering with the heat convected from the radiator, as a significant portion of the heat convected by a radiator travels upwards from the top of the radiator, and also heating the shelf and anything located upon the shelf.

Similarly, such known brackets and shelving arrangements cannot be used in conjunction with doors.

According to a first aspect of the invention, there is provided a shelf bracket for locating a shelf adjacent to a vertical face of a vertical support member, the bracket including an anchor portion, a connecting portion and a shelf support portion, wherein the anchor portion defines a downwardly facing channel which in use overlies an upper portion of the vertical support member; the connecting portion connects the anchor portion to the shelf support portion; and the shelf support portion defines a substantially horizontal surface which is adapted to support a shelf in use, wherein the horizontal plane of the shelf support portion is located below a horizontal plane which includes an uppermost portion of the anchor portion and the shelf support portion extends horizontally away from the anchor portion.

The shelf bracket of the invention is adapted to be suspended from the top of a vertical support member, such as a radiator or a door via the anchor portion. The anchor portion and the connecting portion cooperate to locate the shelf support portion below the top of the vertical support member. In other words, the horizontal plane of the shelf support portion is below a horizontal plane which contains the top of the vertical support member. In this way, the shelf extends horizontally away from a vertical face of the vertical support member. Thus, if the vertical support member is a radiator, the shelf bracket and associated shelf does not interfere substantially with the convection of heat from the top of the radiator and if the vertical support member is a door, the anchor portion does not interfere with the operation of the door (assuming that the gap between the top of the door and the door frame is sufficient to receive therein the part of the anchor portion which overlies the top of the door).

According to the invention, there is a vertical gap defined between a first horizontal plane which includes the shelf support portion and second horizontal plane which includes an uppermost portion of the anchor portion and the first horizontal plane is lower than the second horizontal plane.

In an embodiment of the invention, the downwardly facing channel of the anchor portion is substantially in the form of an inverted U. The base of the U may be substantially planar, i.e. defining substantially right angular joints or bends with the opposed arms, or it may be curved. The base of the U will suitably be defined by the vertical support member with which the bracket is intended to be used. In this embodiment, the uppermost portion of the anchor portion will comprise the base of the inverted U-shaped anchor when the base is substantially planar or it will comprise a portion of the inverted U-shaped anchor when the base is curved.

In embodiments in which the anchor portion is substantially U-shaped, one of the opposed arms of the U may be longer than the other arm. Typically, the longer arm will be coupled to the connecting member. In this way, the shorter arm will be located behind the vertical support member, such as the radiator or door. This is useful if there is limited area at the rear of the vertical support member, for example, where the radiator is supported at its rear by mounting brackets. The shorter arm of the anchor portion is less likely to foul the radiator mounting brackets.

In many embodiments, it is desirable to secure or fix a shelf to the shelf support portion. To aid in this, the shelf support portion may include one or more apertures through which fixings may located in order to secure a shelf to the shelf support portion.

In a yet further embodiment, the connecting portion may connect the shelf support portion to a first channel defining element (e.g. arm of a U-shaped channel defining element) of the anchor portion and the first channel defining element of the anchor portion may include one or more apertures through which fixings may located in order to secure one end of the shelf to the first channel defining element. In this way, the shelf may be secured to the bracket via one of its major faces, typically a downwardly facing face which in use is supported upon the shelf support portion of the bracket, and also by a rear peripheral edge portion, where the rear of the shelf is defined as the portion of the shelf which is closest to the anchor portion.

In an alternative embodiment, the shelf support portion comprises a pair of opposed arms which define an upper shelf support arm and a lower shelf support arm. The two arms are suitably parallel to each other and spaced apart, such that a gap is defined between them. The gap is suitably substantially equal to a thickness dimension of a shelf adapted to be supported by the bracket. In this way, the shelf may be secured between the upper and lower shelf support arms. Thus, the shelf support portion may include a lower shelf support arm adapted to support a downwardly facing surface of a shelf and an upper shelf support arm adapted to engage an upwardly facing surface of the shelf.

The upper shelf support arm may comprise one or more lugs adapted to engage an upwardly facing surface of the shelf. Thus, the or each lug is suitably downward facing.

In embodiments in which the shelf support portion includes a pair of opposed shelf support arms, apertures may be provided in the upper shelf support arm and/or the lower shelf support arm, wherein each aperture is adapted to receive therethrough a respective fixing.

Suitably, the bracket is formed as a one-piece item. That is to say, the anchor portion, the connecting portion and the shelf support portion are together formed from a single sheet of material. In embodiments in which the shelf bracket is formed from a metal, such as steel or aluminium, the metal sheet may be pressed, stamped or otherwise formed into the configuration required for the bracket. In embodiments in which the bracket is formed from a polymeric material, the polymer may be moulded or otherwise formed into the desired configuration.

In order to prevent damage to the vertical support member, the inwardly facing surfaces of the channel defining elements of the anchor portion suitably include a layer of a resiliently deformable material, such as a foamed polymer. The resiliently deformable material cushions the anchor against the external surface(s) of the vertical support member and prevents or minimises damage.

According to a second aspect of the invention, there is provided a combination of a shelf and a shelf bracket, wherein the shelf bracket is as defined anywhere hereinabove in connection with the first aspect of the invention and the shelf is supported by the shelf support portion and secured thereto via one or more fixings, wherein the combination is detachably securable to a vertical support member. The shelf may be formed from any material, for example, wood, a polymeric material or metal.

According to a third aspect of the invention, there is provided a method of securing a shelf to a vertical or upright support member comprising the steps: (a) securing a shelf to a bracket as defined or described anywhere hereinabove in connection with the first aspect of the invention; and (b) locating the anchor portion of the bracket over the top of the vertical or upright support member such that the shelf extends horizontally away from a face of the vertical or upright support member and the horizontal plane of the shelf is located below the top of the support member.

In an embodiment of the third aspect of the invention, the vertical or upright support member is selected from a door and a radiator.

The skilled person will appreciate that the features described and defined in connection with the aspect of the invention and the embodiments thereof may be combined in any combination, regardless of whether the specific combination is expressly mentioned herein. Thus, all such combinations are considered to be made available to the skilled person.

An embodiment of the invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 is a perspective view of a bracket according to the first aspect of the invention; Figure 2 is a side elevational view of the bracket shown in Figure 1; Figure 3 is a front elevational view of the bracket shown in Figure 1; and Figure 4 is a plan view from above of the bracket shown in Figure 1.

For the avoidance of doubt, the skilled person will appreciate that in this specification, the terms "up", "down", "front", "rear", "upper", "lower", "width", etc. refer to the orientation of the components as found in the example when installed for normal use as shown in the Figures.

Figures 1 to 4 show different views of an embodiment of the invention as claimed. A shelf bracket 2 is provided which includes an inverted U-shaped anchor portion formed from a rear channel defining element 4, a top channel defining element 6 and a front channel defining element 8, wherein the three channel defining elements 4, 6, 8 together form a channel which has a downwardly facing opening. As can be seen from Figures 1 and 2, the front channel defining element 8 depends from the top channel defining element 6 by a greater amount than the rear channel defining element 4. This is useful so that the rear channel defining element does not foul any brackets at the rear of a radiator over which the bracket may be placed.

The length of the front channel defining element 8 can be varied according to how far from the top of the bracket 2 (defined by the top channel defining element 6) it is desired to mount a shelf A connecting portion 10 extends upwardly at an angle from the bottom edge of the front channel defining element 8 such that the top of the connecting portion 10 is spaced from the front channel defining element 8.

Projecting horizontally from the upper (distal) end of the connecting portion is a shelf support portion 12. The shelf support portion 12 projects away from the front channel defining element 8.

It will be noted that the horizontal plane defined by the shelf support portion 12 is lower than the bottom edge of the rear channel defining element 4. However, this is not an essential feature of the invention and the horizontal plane defined by the shelf support portion 12 may be level with the bottom of the rear channel defining element 4, or the rear channel defining element may extend below the plane defined by the shelf support portion 12.

The shelf bracket 2 is formed from a single sheet of aluminium which is formed into the configuration shown in the Figures.

The shelf support portion 12 includes three apertures 14 formed therethrough which are adapted to receive therethrough respective fastenings, such as screws. Similarly, the front channel forming element 8 includes a row of three apertures 16 arranged horizontally in a plane which is spaced about 10mm above the horizontal plane defined by the shelf support portion 12. However, the spacing may be less if it is intended to use a thinner shelf with the bracket 2, or greater if it is desired to use a thicker shelf with the bracket 2.

As noted in Figures land 2, the channel defined by the rear channel defining element 4, the top channel defining element 6 and the front channel defining element 8 is covered in its inwardly facing surfaces with a layer 18 of foamed polymeric material. The layer 18 is about 1-2 mm thick.

On the front channel defining element 8, the layer 18 extends downwardly from the top channel defining element 6 by a distance which is approximately equal to the length of the rear channel defining element 4. A further layer 20 of the foamed polymeric material is located at the bottom of the front channel defining element 8. The layer 20 extends upwards from the bottom of the front channel defining element 4 by about 50mm. Although a gap is shown between the layer 18 of foamed polymeric material and the layer 20, it is within the scope of the invention as claimed to provide a continuous layer of foamed polymeric material across the entire rear surface of the front channel defining element 4. It is also within the scope of the invention as claimed to vary the gap defined between the two layers 18, 20.

In use, a shelf (not shown) is arranged with a bottom face supported on the shelf support portion 12 and a rear edge adjacent to the front channel defining element 8. Screws (or other fixings) are then inserted through the apertures 14 defined by the shelf support portion and into the bottom face of the shelf to secure the shelf to the shelf support portion 12 of the bracket 2. Further screws are then inserted through the apertures 16 defined by the front channel defining element 8 and into a rear surface of the shelf. The screws which secure the rear of the shelf to the front channel defining element 8 prevent the shelf from rotating about the shelf support portion 12.

The combination of the bracket 2 and shelf is then located over a radiator or door by locating an upper portion of the radiator or door within the channel defined by the rear, top and front channel defining elements 4, 6, 8. The weight of the combination maintains it in the desired location and the foamed polymeric layers 18, 20 prevent damage to the radiator or door.

In an alternative embodiment of the invention (not shown), the shelf support portion comprises a pair of opposed, parallel shelf support arms which define a gap therebetween, wherein the gap is sized to be substantially equal to a thickness dimension of the shelf. An upper shelf support arm defines on its downwardly facing surface a plurality of lugs which in use engage an upwardly facing surface of the shelf when a portion of the shelf is located between the shelf support arms. A lower shelf support arm defines therein a plurality of apertures, wherein each aperture is adapted to receive therein a respective screw fixing (or other fixing as appropriate). In this way, the portion of the shelf located between the upper and lower shelf support arms is snugly received within the gap defined between the pair of arms and is secured in place with suitable fixings, such as screws, which extend through the lower shelf support arm.