US1956164A

US1956164A - Shelf and bracket therefor

Info

Publication number: US1956164A
Application number: US623790A
Authority: US
Inventors: Henry G Voight
Original assignee: Sargent and Co
Current assignee: Sargent Manufacturing Co
Priority date: 1932-07-21
Filing date: 1932-07-21
Publication date: 1934-04-24
Anticipated expiration: 1951-04-24

Description

- April 24, 1934. H. G. VOIGHT SHELF AND BRACKET THEREFOR Filed July 21, 1932 Patented Apr. 24, 1934 PAEN'T FFlCE SHELF AND BRACKET THEREFOR Application July 21, 1932, Serial No. 623,790

11 Claims.

My invention relates to shelves and brackets therefor and more particularly to shelves made of sheet material, such as sheet metal, the parts of which may be shipped in knocked-down condition and readily assembled and secured to a wall or other support when they are to be used. Shelves of this character may be made of material of relatively light weight and at the same time strong and durable, and such shelves will not only be more sanitary than .the ordinary wooden shelf, but will be more easily kept clean and may be given a decorative finish to correspond to the finish of the kitchen, closet, bathroom, or other room in which they may be used.

One object of the invention is to provide a shelf made of sheet material and supports or brackets therefor which may be economically made and which will at the same time be durable and present a pleasing appearance.

Another object of the invention is to provide a bracket and shelf of such character that they may be shipped in disassembled or knockeddown condition and assembled, when ready to be installed, in a convenient manner, and the connections being such that the parts will be firmly secured together.

Another object of the invention is to provide a shelf of sheet material, such as-sheet metal, and a bracket therefor such that after the bracket has been secured upon a supporting surface, the shelf may be readily and conveniently secured thereto without the use of any special tools.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a shelf of the character described and a bracket therefor of such a character that the shelf may be detachably secured to the bracket at a point adjacent the front edgeand rear edge of the shelf whereby the latter will be held firmly and securely upon the brackets, so that there will be no danger of its rocking when in place, and which parts are so constructed that the shelf may be readily installed by anyone without the use of any special tools and may be shipped in knocked-down condition so that it will occupy a very small space. i

To these and other ends the invention consists in the novel features and combinations of parts to be hereinafter described and claimed.

In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a front elevational View of a shelf embodying my invention, the shelf being shown secured to a wall or other vertical surface;

Fig. 2 is a sectional view through one of the shelf brackets on line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary sectional view on line 33 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary sectional view on line 4-4 of Fig. 3; and

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary View showing a portion of the flange at the back of the shelf.

In order to illustrate a preferred embodiment of my invention, I have shown a shelf 10 supported upon a pair of brackets designated generally by the numeral 11. The shelf comprises a supporting or body member 12 and a flange 13 which in this instance extends about all four sides of the shelf, which is made of sheet material. Preferably, the flange will be integral with the member 12, and as this flange is bent downwardly from the body member, it will give the shelf the appearance of having substantial depth.

Ihe flange 13 at the rear edge of the shelf adjacent the brackets 11 is provided with

slots

14 and 15 leaving therebetween tongues 16, there being one of these tongues adjacent each of the brackets 11, as will be hereinafter explained. Adjacent the front end of the shelf, the metal thereof is displaced downwardly to provide recesses 17 each having an opening or slot 18 through the material of the shelf in the bottom of the recess. It will be understood that there will be one of the recesses 17 adjacent each of the brackets 11.

The brackets 11 comprise a back member 19 which usually will be disposed in a vertical position, and a horizontal member made up of two

parts

20 and 21, the latter being offset downwardly from the former but connected thereto by the inclined portion 22. It will be understood that the

parts

19, 20 and 21 will usually be formed integrally and in general present an L shaped member, one leg of which is adapted to be secured to the wall, and the other adapted to support the shelf.

The material of the member 19 is displaced outwardly along an intermediate portion thereof, as shown at 23, so as to present a longitudinal rib which will stand outwardly from the wall or other surface 24 to which the bracket is secured, so as to be in a position spaced from the wall. At the upper end, the portion 23 is enlarged in width, as shown at 25, so as to present between the bracket and the wall a pocket 26 to receive the tongue 16, as will be hereinafter explained.

A brace member 2'7 connects the lower end of the member 19 with the outer end of the member 21. This brace member may be, as illustrated, detachably secured to the rest of the bracket. To this end a slot 28 is provided in the part 23 of the bracket 19, and the member 2'7 is provided 110 with a tongue 29 which enters this slot, the lower end of the tongue having a lip 30 thereon to drop down over the lower edge of the slot and hold the parts in assembled position. It will, of course, be understood that the lower end of the part 27 may be riveted or otherwise secured to the part 19 if a detachable connection is not desired.

At the outer end the member 21 is provided with a slot 31 designed to register with the slot 18 in the bottom of the depression 17 when the parts are in place, and the member 27 is provided with a tongue 32 which is adapted to be inserted through both slots 31 and 18, and which has a lip 33 to engage over the bottom of the depression 1'7. This, as will be readily understood, not only holds the member 2? secured to the member 21, but also detachably secures the front end of the shelf to the bracket.

The bracket 11 may be provided with openings to receive fastening members 34, such as nails, screws, or the like, and the tongue 16 is provided with an opening 35 registering with a similar opening in the bracket so that a fastening member 36 may be inserted through both the shelf and the bracket to insure that these parts will be maintained in their proper relation.

It is believed that the advantages of my device will be apparent from the foregoing description, but it may serve a useful purpose to explain briefly the method of installing the shelf, and the manner in which it is secured to the brackets.

It will be understood that the shelf is shipped in knocked-down condition, the brackets 11 not being secured to the shelf 10. Also the part 27 which is detachable may or may not be secured to the remainder of the bracket. The brackets are first secured to the wall by means of the fastening members 34. The part 27 may have already been assembled with the rest of the bracket, but this is not necessary, as the fastening members may first be driven into the wall, and thereafter the tongues 29 and 32 may be inserted into the

slots

23 and 31, the lips 30 and 33 engaging over the edge of the slots to hold the member 27 in place. It will be understood that the horizontal portion 21 of the bracket will possess sufficiently resiliency to spring upwardly to permit this to be done.

The shelf may then be placed upon the bracket with the rear edge tilted upwardly by reason of the engagement of the flange at the rear edge with the top of the bracket, and the edge of the slot 18 in the depression 17 in the shelf slipped under the lip 33 of the tongue 32. It will, of course, be understood that there will be one of these depressions for each of the brackets 11, and the engagement of the tongues 32 with the edges of the slots 18 will be accomplished at the same time.

The tongue 16 will now overlie the pockets 26 at the rear of the shelf and may be slipped downwardly into these pockets so that the under surface of the part 12 will rest upon the'upper surface of the part 20. Fastening member 36 may now be passed through the part 25 and the tongue 16 so as to prevent the shelf working up at the rear end. By this means the shelf will be securely held in place at all times.

It will be understood that while I have provided means for the assembly of the shelf and bracket, the parts are so arranged that the shelf will have a support upon the bracket both at the front portion and at the rear portion thereof so that the shelf will be solidly supported, notwithstanding the fact that the arrangement for connecting the parts comprises a depressed portion in the shelf. This is, of course, accomplished by spacing the part 20 of the bracket a sufficient distance above the part 21 to contact with the under surface of the shelf adjacent its rear edge.

While I- have shown and described a preferred embodiment of my invention, it will be understood ihat it is not to be limited to all of the details shown, but is capable of modification and variation within the spirit of the invention and within the scope of the appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. A shelf and a bracket therefor, said shelf having a slotted depressed portion in the supporting surface thereof and said bracket having a member below the shelf abutting the lower surface thereof, said member having an offset portion abutting the lower surface of said depression, and means upon the bracket passing through the slot in said depression to secure the bracket to the shelf.

2. A shelf having a slotted depressed portion in the surface thereof, a bracket having a raised portion abutting the lower surface of the shelf, an offset lower portion underlying and abutting the depressed portion of the shelf, the bracket being provided with means passing through the slot in the shelf and located in the depressed portion thereof to secure the bracket to the shelf, and said depressed portion being adjacent the front edge of the shelf whereby the latter has a bearing on the bracket adjacent both the front and rear edges thereof.

3. A shelf and a bracket therefor, the bracket being adapted to be secured to a wall or other vertical surface, means detachably securing the bracket to the shelf adjacent the outer end of the bracket, the inner end of said bracket being provided with an upwardly facing pocket, and said shelf being provided with a downwardly projecting tongue entering said pocket.

4. A sheet metal shelf and a sheet metal bracket therefor, the bracket being adapted to be secured to a wall or other vertical surface, means detachably securing the bracket to the shelf adjacent the outer end of the bracket, means connecting the inner edge of the shelf to the bracket comprising a tongue formed integrally with one of said members, and a pocket formed in the other to receive said tongue.

5. A shelf bracket comprising a vertical portion and a horizontally disposed portion, the vertical portion of the bracket being provided with a raised longitudinally extending rib having a slot therein, the horizontal portion of the bracket being provided with a slot adjacent the free end thereof, a brace member having tongues extending through said slots and having lips extending over the edges of the slots, a shelf supported upon the bracket and having a part engaging beneath the lip on one of said tongues.

6. A shelf bracket comprising a vertical portion and a horizontally disposed portion, the vertical portion of the bracket being provided with a raised longitudinally extending rib having a slot therein, the horizontal portion of the bracket being provided with a slot adjacent the free end thereof, a brace member having tongues extending through said slots and having lips extending over the edges of the slots, and a shelf supported on said bracket and having a slotted depressed portion in the surface thereof above the bracket, one of the tongues of the bracket extending through the slot in the shelf and the lip of said tongue extending over the edge of the slot.

'7. A shelf and a bracket therefor, means for securing said members detachably together comprising an upstanding tongue upon the bracket, a slot in the shelf through which said tongue projects, and said tongue having a lip thereon to over-lie the edge of the slot.

8. A shelf and a bracket therefor, means for securing said members detachably together comprising an upstanding tongue upon the bracket, a slot in the shelf through which said tongue projects, said tongue having a lip thereon to over-lie the edge of the slot, and said slot being provided in a depression in the shelf whereby the upper edge of the tongue lies below the surface of the shelf.

9. A shelf bracket having a vertically disposed portion adapted to be secured to a wall, and a horizontally disposed portion, said vertically disposed portion having an outwardly displaced longitudinal rib between the side edges thereof, said rib adjacent the upper portion of the bracket being enlarged laterally to provide a pocket between the bracket member and the wall, said bracket member having portions engaging the wall upon each side of the pocket, a diagonal brace member connecting the vertical and horizontal portions of the bracket and having its end extended through the horizontal portion to engage a shelf supported on the bracket, and said pocket in the vertically disposed portion of the bracket being adapted to receive a tongue carried by the shelf.

10. A bracket member having vertically and horizontally disposed portions and a diagonal brace member connecting said portions, said brace member having its upper end extending through the horizontally disposed portion of the bracket and a lip provided on said extended end, the vertically disposed portion of the bracket having a portion thereof adjacent its upper end displaced outwardly to provide a pocket between the material of the bracket and the Wall to which the bracket is secured, there being portions of the bracket on each side of said pocket engaging the wall, a shelf supported on the bracket, said shelf having an opening receiving the extended end of the diagonal member and having a downwardly projecting tongue received in said pocket.

11. A bracket member having vertically and horizontally disposed portions and a diagonal brace member connecting said portions, said brace member having its upper end extending through the horizontally disposed portion of the bracket and a lip provided on said extended end, the vertically disposed portion of the bracket having a portion thereof adjacent its upper end displaced outwardly to provide a pocket between the material of the bracket and the wall to which the bracket is secured, there being portions of the bracket on each side of said pocket engaging the wall, a shelf supported on the bracket, said shelf having an opening receiving the extended end of the diagonal member and having a flange on the rear edge thereof, said flange being provided with slots forming a downwardly extending tongue therebetween, said tongue being received in said pocket, and the bracket portions upon each side of said pocket being received in said slots.

HENRY G. VOIGHT.