US1136245A - Shelving. - Google Patents

Description

S. D. LELAND. SHELVINGI APPLICATION FILED NOV. 5. I9l2.

Patented Apr. 20, 1915.

sanronn n. LELAND, or wnnnnsnnr HILLS, inassacnnsnrzrs, assrenon 'ro Mann'- racrnmne namrnnn'r a nnorn'nnnme comraiw,- or 'so'orn'rnamnen nassacnnsnrrs, a coaro'r on or massacnnsnrris;

\ I ELVI'NG.

specification of Letters Patent- Patented Apr. eo, tars.

n ima -med November 5, 1m. Serial No. 729,628.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that T, SANFORD D. LELAND,

. a citizen of the United States, residing at Wellesley Hills, county of Middlesex, State of Massachusetts, have invented an Imrovement in Shelving, of which the fol owing description, in connection with the accompanying drawing, is a specification,

like characters on the drawing representing like arts. v

Th s inventlon relates to shelving and es- A pecially to sheet metal shelving.

c or taken down to make a she The objects of the invention are to providea shelving of this naturewhich can be easily and inexpensively manufactured; which is rigid and capable of supporting heavy weights; which has such a construction that anyone of the shelves can be removed or adjusted to difl'erent heights without dis-' turbing any other shelves; and which 1s,

made in sections that can: be 1 1ickly set up structure of any desired length; and otherwise to im- ,prov'e shelving all as will be more fully hereinafter described and then pointed out in the appended claims.

' Referring to the drawings wherein I have illustrated the preferred embodiment'of my invention, Figure 1 is a perspective view show-in a shelf embodying my invention;

' Fig. 21s a section through one of the partitions on the line ww, Fig. 3; Fig. 3 is a section through one of the shelves on substantially the line yy, Fig. 2; Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the corner bracket; Fig. 5 is a sectional view through one of the uprights and a portion of the partition showing the manner in which the partition and uprights become locked together when the apertures are punched; Fig. 6 is a perspec tive view of the corner bracket showing the opposite side from that shown in Fig. 4.

M improved shelving comprises uprights, partitions and shelves supported by the up rights. The uprights are designated by 1, the'partitions by 2 and the shelves by 3. The uprights herein shown are made from sheet metal strips which are folded longitudinally to havea general U-shape and to present the two sides 4 between which the ed es of the partitions 2 are received, there belng two uprights at each end of each shelf: 1 will preferably also fold the edges of the uprights inwardly between the sides- 4' thereby. to present an inner wall .5 which is substantially co-extensive with the outer wall 4.

. The edge of the partition 2 is received between the inwardly-folded ortions 5. The uprights are provided wit a pluralit of apertures 6' to receive the bolts 7 on w ich the shelves 3 are supported. These a er-- tures 6 are punched through the uprlght and the edge of the partition 2 after said edge of the partition has been inserted between the portions 5 of the upright, and in performing the punching operation the punch Wlll form a slight bur 8 which will enter the hole formed in the partition 2, and thisbur constitutes a means for locking the upright to the partition so that after the holes 6 have been punched in the two uprights at both edges of the partitions said practically with the horizontal body portion 13 which underlies the shelf and which is permanently secured thereto by rivets 14, or in any other suitable Way, andalso with the vertically-extending flange 15 which is provided with the open-ended slot 16 and is adapted to engage the uprights 1. I also preferabl make each corner bracket with a vertical ange 17 on the other side thereof, which stands at right angles tothe flange 15, said flange 17 lying. against the vertical flange 9 on the shelfand being embraced by the port- ions 10 and 11 of the shelf, as clearly seen in Fig. 3. This flange 17 will also be riveted or otherwise secured to the flange 9 of the shelf. The corner bracket. is permanently secured to the shelf.

The shelves are sustained in place by the bolts 7 which are inserted through the apertures 6 and the slots 16. The bolts are each provided with nuts 18 which engage the inner faces of the flanges 15 so that when are firmly clamped to the uprights. The shelves thus tie the'uprights together and make a rigid structure.

In setting up the shelving two partitions with their associated uprights are first placed the proper distance apart and the bolts 7 are inserted through the apertures 6 at the points where it is desired to locate the shelves. The shelves with their corner,

brackets may then be dropped into place, the slots 16 passing down over the bolts 7. When the shelves are properly located, the nuts 18 are tightened to make the structure rigid. Each shelf is thus sustained by four bolts 7, but the shelves are independent from each other and any one shelf can be readily removed by simply loosening the nuts and its supporting bolts and then lifting the shelf "ertica-lly to carry the slots 16 free from the bolts 7. This operation of removing the shelf does not in any way interfere with any of the other shelves, nor require any loosening of the bolts supporting the said shelves or re-adjustment of them. The open-ended slots 16 permit this individual removal of the shelves, as will be readily understood.

The shelf structure may be made of any desired length by adding other sections each comprising a tier of shelves and where the entire shelf structure is the length of several shelves the ends of alined shelves in adjacent tiers are sustained by the same bolt 7, as shown in Fig. 2. The construction is such, however, that the shelves in one tier can be readily arranged at different heights from the shelves of the adjacent tier.

The upright construction herein shown has the advantage that it is stiff and rigid and capable of sustaining a great weight without, however, being bulky, and has the further advantage that it can be very easily formed from a strip of sheet metal.

While I have illustrated herein the preferred embodiment of my invention, I do' not wish to be limited to the constructional features shown.

Having fully described my invention,

what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is 1- 1. In shelving, the combination with uprights, each formed with a plurality of apertures, of sheet metal shelves fitting between the uprights, each shelf having at each corner a corner bracket which is formed with a vertical flange to engage the upright and a horizontal flange or body underlying the shelf and permanently secured thereto, said vertical flange having an open-ended slot therein, and bolts extending through the apertures in the uprights and through said slots and by which the shelves are supported, said slots permitting any shelf to be removed without disturbing any other shelf.

2. In shelving, the combination with corner uprights formed from sheet metal bent into U-shape in cross section with the edges folded inwardly between the sides of the U, of partitions having their edges inserted between the inwardly-folded edges of the uprights, sheet metal shelves fitting between said uprights, corner brackets permanently secured to each shelf and detachably secured directly to the uprights whereby the shelves constitute the means for tying the uprights together.

3. In shelving, the combination with corner uprights formed from sheet metal bent into U-shape in cross section with the edges folded inwardly between the sides of the U, of partitions having their edges inserted between the inwardly-folded edges of the uprights, and sheet metal shelves fitting between said uprights, each shelf having at each corner a corner bracket which is formed with a vertical flange to engage the upright and a horizontal flange underlying the shelf and ermanently secured thereto, said vertical ange having an open-ended slot, and bolts extending through the uprights and slots and by which the shelves are supported. In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification, in the presence of two subscribin witnesses.

ANFORD D. LELAND. Witnesses:

LOUIS C. SMITH, BERTHA F. HEUSER.

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