US20090078663A1

US20090078663A1 - Shelf

Info

Publication number: US20090078663A1
Application number: US11/858,950
Authority: US
Inventors: Arthur J. Gajewski
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2007-09-21
Filing date: 2007-09-21
Publication date: 2009-03-26

Abstract

A shelf, having a primary surface (20); a wall (30) extending from the primary surface (20), the wall (30) having a right wall (34) and a left wall (36); a rear edge (40) extending from the primary surface (20); a flange (50) disposed rearwardly and immediately adjacent to the right wall (34), and the left wall (36); the flange (50) extending downwardly to extend lower than the primary surface (20); a member (60) extending away from the rear edge (40); whereby the member (60) is capable of being received by a hole, and the flange (50) is capable of supporting the shelf in place.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to a shelf that can be used with pegboards.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Peg boards are used both commercially and residentially to display items and to hold items, such as tools. This is done, for the most part, by using peg board hooks. The peg board is usually made of some sort of compressed paper or cardboard.
One type of peg board shelf can be found at www.palaydisplay.com, specifically at http://www.palaydisplay.com/pc-13938-325-pegboard-shelf-4-w-x-9-1.aspx. This has two peg board hooks that are received by the peg board, and is supported by a flat rear edge, and has an adjacent flat surface. The description states that it is acrylic.
The invention is a peg board shelf that can hold things, such as packages, boxes, cans or bottles on its substantially flat surface, and the load is supported by a flange that contacts the peg board shelf. The flange is not the rear edge.
There exists a need for a peg board shelf that uses minimum peg board space, by having edges or sidewalls that do not have to be, for example, over 3/4 of an inch in height.
There also exists the need to manufacture a peg board shelf from one single piece of material. During the manufacturing process, the edges, particularly the front, do not have to be bent up, as the edges could be bent down.
Multiple embodiments of the system are disclosed herein. It will be understood that other objects and purposes of the invention, and variations thereof, will be apparent upon reading the following specification and inspecting the accompanying drawings.
As can be seen, there is a need for peg board shelf that has a low profile so as to occupy less space than a larger shelf; there is also need of a peg board shelf that can hold items, including boxes, cans or bottles; there is also need of a peg board shelf that can be made from one piece of material.

REFERENCE NUMERALS LIST

10 peg board shelf
20 primary surface
30 wall
32 front wall
34 right wall
36 left wall
40 rear edge
50 flange
60 member
70 shoulder
80 arm
90 finger
100 shape
200 method of making an embodiment of the present invention
210 removing material
220 bending the front wall, right wall, and left wall
230 bending the rear edge
240 bending the member rearwardly
250 bending a portion of the arm

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A shelf, comprising: a primary surface (20); a rear edge (40) extending from said primary surface (20); a flange (50) disposed rearwardly from said primary surface (20), said flange (50) extending downwardly to extend lower than the primary surface (20); a member (60) extending away from said rear edge (40); whereby said member (60) is capable of being received by a hole, and said flange (50) is capable of supporting the shelf in place.
A method of making a shelf, comprising the steps of: removing material (210); bending said front wall (32), said right wall (34), said left wall (36) so that each of said front wall (32), said right wall (34), and said left wall (36) are substantially perpendicular with respect to said primary surface (20); bending a rear edge (40) so that said rear edge (40) is substantially perpendicular with respect to said primary surface (20); bending a member (60) rearwardly about 90° with respect to said rear edge (40) that forms a shoulder (70) and an arm (80); and bending a portion of the arm (80) upwardly about 70° to form a finger (90).
A further aspect is a shelf, comprising: a primary surface (20); a wall (30) extending upwardly from said primary surface (20), said wall (30) having a right wall (34) and a left wall (36); a rear edge (40) extending upwardly from said primary surface (20); a flange (50) disposed rearwardly and immediately adjacent to said right wall (34), and said left wall (36); said flange (50) extending downwardly to extend lower than the primary surface (20); a member (60) extending upwardly away from said rear edge (40); whereby said member (60) is capable of being received by a hole, and said flange (50) is capable of supporting the shelf in place.
These and other features, aspects and advantages of the present invention will become better understood with reference to the following drawings, description and claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a pictorial of an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a second pictorial of an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a third pictorial of an embodiment of the present invention used with a peg board;

FIG. 4 is a top view of an embodiment of the present invention before it is bent or moved into shape;

FIG. 5 is a side view of an embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 6 is a schematic of a method of making the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The following detailed description is of the best currently contemplated modes of carrying out the invention. The description is not to be taken in a limiting sense, but is made merely for the purpose of illustrating the general principles of the invention, since the scope of the invention is best defined by the appended claims.
FIG. 1 illustrates the peg board shelf 10. The peg board shelf 10 has a primary surface 20 that is surrounded at least in part by a wall 30. A rear edge 40 may extend upwardly from the primary surface 20, whereby the rear edge 40 and the wall 30 may form an enclosed space of the primary surface 20. In one embodiment the rear edge 40 may extend downwardly from the primary surface 20. In one embodiment the wall 30 may comprise a front wall 32, a right wall 34 disposed rightwardly of the front wall 32, and the right wall 34 oriented substantially perpendicular with respect to the front wall 32. The wall 30 could extend upwardly from the primary surface 20 as illustrated, or it could extend downwardly (not illustrated).
The wall 30 may also have a left wall 36 disposed leftwardly of the front wall 32, the left wall 36 oriented substantially perpendicular with respect to the front wall 32. The left wall 36 may be oriented substantially parallel with respect to the right wall 34. The front wall 32 may be oriented substantially parallel with respect to the rear edge 40. The rear edge 40 may have an extension 100 that extends rightwardly to the right wall 34, and leftwardly to the left wall 36. In one embodiment the extension 1 00 is a tapered extension that reduces in height as the extension 100 or tapered extension 100 extends away from the rear edge 40.
A flange 50 may be disposed at a rear side of the front wall 34 and the side wall 36. The flange 50 may extend inwardly from the respective right wall 34 and left wall 36. The flange 50 may extend downwardly below the primary surface 20, as illustrated in FIG. 3. The flange 50 may receive a reaction force against the peg board surface. In one embodiment, the flange 50 may extend outwardly (not illustrated).
A member 60 may extend from the rear edge 40. The member 60 may have a shoulder 70 that extends upwardly from the rear edge 40. The shoulder 70 may be best seen in FIGS. 1 and 3. An arm 80 may extend rearwardly from the shoulder 70, as illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 5. In one embodiment of the present invention the arm 80 is substantially perpendicular with respect to the shoulder 70. A finger 90 may extend substantially upwardly from said arm 80. In one embodiment the finger 90 is oriented at an angle of about 110° with respect to the arm 80. The member 60 may be capable of being placed in ⅛″ or ¼″ diameter peg board holes. A plurality of members 60 may be disposed so as to be received by a pegboard with 1″ hole spacings. The members 60 may be disposed at 1″ intervals, or multiples thereof, i.e. 2″, 3″, etc . . . from another member.
The wall 30 may extend upwardly from the primary surface 20 at varying heights depending on the desired height of the upstanding sidewall 30. Alternatively, the wall 30 may extend downwardly.
FIG. 4 illustrates one shape 100 from which an embodiment of the present invention may be made. The shape 100 is shown as a flat surface that with material removed so that the present invention 100 may be made by forming or bending the material after it is cut.
One method 200 for making an embodiment of the present invention is illustrated in FIG. 6 from the steps of (1) removing material 210 to form a shape 100; (2) bending 220 the front wall 32, right wall 34, and left wall 36 up about 90° with respect to the primary surface 20; (3) bending 230 the rear edge 40 up about 90° with respect with the primary surface 20; (4) bending 240 the member 60 rearwardly about 90° with respect to the rear edge 40, which may form the shoulder 70 and arm 80; (5) bending 250 a portion of the arm 80 upwardly about 70° to form the finger 90.
In one embodiment, the shelf 10 is made from metal, or a metal alloy.
It should be understood, of course, that the foregoing relates to exemplary embodiments of the invention and that modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the following claims.

Claims

1. A shelf, comprising:

a primary surface (20);

a rear edge (40) extending from said primary surface (20);

a flange (50) disposed rearwardly from said primary surface (20), said flange (50) extending downwardly to extend lower than the primary surface (20);

a member (60) extending away from said rear edge (40);

whereby said member (60) is capable of being received by a hole, and said flange (50) is capable of supporting the shelf in place.

2. The shelf of claim 1, wherein said rear edge (40) extends upwardly from said primary surface (20).

3. The shelf of claim 1, wherein said wall (30) extends upwardly from said primary surface (20).

4. The shelf of claim 1, wherein said wall (30) extends downwardly from said primary surface (20).

5. The shelf of claim 1, wherein said rear edge (40) extends downwardly from said primary surface (20).

6. The shelf of claim 1, wherein:

said member (60) has a shoulder (70) that extends from said rear edge (40), an arm (80) extends rearwardly from said shoulder (70); said arm is substantially perpendicular with respect to said shoulder (70), and a finger (90) extending from said arm (80) and said finger (90) is oriented at an angle of about 110° with respect to said arm (80).

7. The shelf of claim 1, wherein:

said wall (30) has a front wall (32) extending between said right wall (34) and said left wall (36); and said front wall (32) is substantially parallel with respect to said rear edge (40).

8. The shelf of claim 1, further comprising, a wall (30) extending from said primary surface (20), said wall (30) having a right wall (34) and a left wall (36).

9. The shelf of claim 8, wherein said flange (50) is immediately adjacent to said right wall (34), and said left wall (36)

10. A method of making a shelf, comprising the steps of:

removing material (210);

bending said front wall (32), said right wall (34), said left wall (36) so that each of said front wall (32), said right wall (34), and said left wall (36) are substantially perpendicular with respect to said primary surface (20);

bending a rear edge (40) so that said rear edge (40) is substantially perpendicular with respect to said primary surface (20);

bending a member (60) rearwardly about 90° with respect to said rear edge (40) that forms a shoulder (70) and an arm (80); and

bending a portion of the arm (80) upwardly about 70° to form a finger (90).

11. A shelf, comprising:

a primary surface (20);

a wall (30) extending upwardly from said primary surface (20), said wall (30) having a right wall (34) and a left wall (36);

a rear edge (40) extending upwardly from said primary surface (20);

a flange (50) disposed rearwardly and immediately adjacent to said right wall (34), and said left wall (36); said flange (50) extending downwardly to extend lower than the primary surface (20);

a member (60) extending upwardly away from said rear edge (40);

12. The shelf of claim 11, wherein:

said member (60) has a shoulder (70) that extends upwardly from said rear edge (40), an arm (80) extends rearwardly from said shoulder (70); said arm is substantially perpendicular with respect to said shoulder (70), and a finger (90) extending from said arm (80) and said finger (90) is oriented at an angle of about 110° with respect to said arm (80).

13. The shelf of claim 11, wherein:

14. The shelf of claim 1, wherein the shelf 10 is made from metal.

15. The shelf of claim 10, wherein the shelf 10 is made from metal.

16. The shelf of claim 11, wherein the shelf 10 is made from metal.

17. The shelf of claim 3, wherein said wall (30) extends upwardly from said primary surface (20) at an angle of 90° with respect to the primary surface.

18. The shelf of claim 4, wherein said wall (30) extends downwardly from said primary surface (20) at an angle of 90° with respect to the primary surface.