US3113678A

US3113678A - Two-piece shelf and pole bracket

Info

Publication number: US3113678A
Application number: US247040A
Authority: US
Inventors: Lloyd R Dickinson; William V Vessalo
Original assignee: McKinney Manufacturing Co
Current assignee: McKinney Manufacturing Co
Priority date: 1962-12-26
Filing date: 1962-12-26
Publication date: 1963-12-10
Anticipated expiration: 1980-12-10

Description

1963 R. DICKINSON ETAL 3,113,673

TWO-PIECE SHELF AND POLE BRACKET Filed Dec. 26, 1962 United States Patent 3,113,678 TWO-PIECE SHELF AND POLE BRACKET Lloyd R. Dickinson and William V. Vessalo, Pittsburgh, Pa., assignors to McKinney Manufacturing Company, Pittsburgh, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Filed Dec. 26, 1962, Ser. No. 247,040 Claims. (Cl. 211-90) This invention relates to shelf and pole brackets for clothes closets.

'In Patent 2,908,471 a shelf and pole bracket of the type contemplated herein is disclosed. 'Ilhat bracket is formed from two pieces that are welded together by the manufacturer. The welding adds to the cost, and the complete bracket is rather bulky to pack and ship.

It is among the objects of this invention to provide a shelf and pole bracket, which can be made from only two parts that need not be assembled until ready for use, which is made from parts that can be nested with like parts of other brackets to form compact bundles for storage and shipping, which do not require any welding, and which can be quickly and easily assembled by the user without requiring separate fastening members.

In accordance with this invention, a metal bar is bent at right angles to form a vertical wall-engaging leg and a horizontal forwardly extending shelf-supporting "arm. The latter has at its front end a forwardly extending central tongue, which is offset downwardly from the upper plane of the arm. Beneath the arm there is an inclined metal brace that has a vertical lower end portion engaging the front of the lower portion of the leg and provided with a vertical notch. The leg has a tongue extending through the notch and then upward in front of the lower end portion of the brace. The brace has a horizontal upper end portion in front of the arm, and the brace also is provided with an opening, through which the offset tongue extends forward to a position beneath the horizontal end portion of the brace. A pole-receiving hook is rigidly suspended from the front end of the brace and extends forward from it. If desired, the overlapping portions of the brace and bar may be provided with aligned holes for screws that will attach the bracket to the wall and to the shelf supported by it.

-The preferred embodiment of the invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which FIG. 1 is a side view of our bracket shown supporting a shelf and pole;

FIG. 2 is a front view of the bracket;

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the bracket only;

PlG. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary plan view of the front end portion of the horizontal member of the bracket; and

FIG. 5 is an enlarged fragmentary plan view of the upper end portion of the brace, showing the hook.

Referring to FIG. 1 of the drawings, a wooden shelf 1, and a pole 2 from which clothes can be hung, are shown supported by our bracket mounted on a wall 3 of a clothes closet. There may be .two or more of these brackets spaced along the shelf, or only one of them if the ends of the shelf and pole rest on cleats fastened to the walls of the closet at the opposite ends of the shelf. Each bracket is shown formed from only two pieces, a metal bar 4 bent to form a right angle, and an inclined brace 5 supporting a hook 6 at its upper end. To get the full advantage of this invention, the hook should be an integral continuation of the brace, although it could be a separate member secured in some suitable manner to the brace by the manufacturer.

The bent bar 4 is arranged so that it has a vertical leg 7 for engagement with the closet wall, and a horizontal arm 8 extending forward nearly the full width of the shelf that rests on it. The bar can be stiffened by providing it with a central corrugation 9 extending downwardly along the arm and around the bend and partway down the leg. The leg is fastened to the wall by two screws :10 and 11 extending through the upper and lower ends of the leg. To keep the bracket arm 8 from being bent downward under the weight of the shelf, it is braced by brace 5 extending from the front end of the arm down to the lower end of leg 7. ll his brace is formed from a metal bar similar to the one mentioned above, and likewise may be strengthened by a downwardly extending corrugation l2.

lt is a feature of this invention that the brace is not welded to the rest of the bracket, and neither are the two parts of the bracket secured together by separate fastening members, such as bolts. Instead, the bracket can be furnished to the customer in the knock-down and can quickly be assembled by him. Accordingly, to support the lower end of the brace and connect it to the rear leg of the bracket, the lower end of the brace is provided with a downturned short vertical portion 14 that engages flat against the front of the lower end of the leg, and this downturned end is provided at the bottom with a vertical notch :15. Extending through the notch is a tongue I16 that is struck out of the leg and that has an upturned front end which extends up along the brace a very short distance, substantially in engagement with it. [it will be seen that the notched lower end of the brace straddles and is seated up on the forwardly projecting portion of the tongue and is held against the leg by means of the upturned end of the tongue. Preferably, the screw 11 that fastens the lower end of the bracket to the wall extends through the upper end of the slot 117 formed in the leg by the struck-out tongue, and the screw also extends through a hole .18 in the brace directly in front of that slot. This screw therefore serves the double purpose of fastening the bracket to the wall and making the connection between the lower ends of the bracket members more rigid.

The upper "end of the inclined brace has a short forwardly extending horizontal portion 20 directly ,in front of arm '8. Together, the two horizontal portions of the arm and brace extend the full width of the shelf. To connect the upper end of the brace to the front end of the arm, the latter is provided with a forwardly extending central tongue 21 that is oifest downwardly from the up per plane of the arm. Preferably, a portion of the tongue is below the lower plane of the arm also. This tongue extends forward through an opening 22, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 5, with which the brace is provided, to locate the front end of the tongue beneath the horizontal upper end portion 20 of the brace. Since the brace cannot move forward off the upper tongue after the lower end of the brace has been mounted on lower tongue 16, the two parts of the bracket cannot come apart.

Nevertheless, as a further precaution and also as an aid in holding the two parts together while they are being assembled, the offset upper tongue has a narrow body and a wide front end or head as shown in FIG. 4. Also, the opening 22 in the brace is a slot that starts below hori- Zontal portion 20 and has a rear portion slightly Wider than the narrow part of the tongue but narrower than the head of the tongue. The front end of the slot is slightly Wider than the head of the tongue but considerably shorter, so that in order to insert the tongue in the slot the horizontal upper end 20 .of the brace must be tilted up into nearly a vertical position before it can be moved backward onto the tongue. After the head of the tongue has passed through the wide part of the slot, the lower end of the brace can be swung back toward the wall. This Willlock the upper end of the brace onto arm 8. The bent bar 4 that forms part of the bracket has sullicient resiliency to permit the two ends of the bar to be swung apart far enough to allow the notched lower end of the brace to be slipped over the outer end of the lower tongue 16. When the bar is released, notch 15 will fit down around the tongue. The brace can be applied to the bent bar either before the bracket is mounted on the wall, or after leg 7 has been fastened to the wall and before the shelf has been placed on arm 8.

The shelf is fastened to the top of the bracket by at least two screws 24 and 25. One of these extends up through a hole near the rear end of the arm while the other screw 25 preferably extends up through aligned holes 26 and 27 (FIGS. 4 and 5) in the head of the offset tongue 21 and the overlying portion of the brace. This front screw therefore serves the additional function of making the connection between the front ends of the bracket members more rigid.

The rigid hook 6, which supports the pole, may be formed by bending the front end of the brace bar straight down for a few inches and then curving it forwardly and upwardly. Of course, that is done by the manufacturer.

According to the provisions of the patent statutes, we have explained the principle of our invention and have illustrated and described what we now consider to represent its best embodiment. However, we desire to have it understood that, within the scope of the appended claims, the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically illustrated and described.

We claim:

1. A shelf and pole bracket comprising a metal bar bent to form a vertical wall-engaging leg and a horizontal forwardly extending shelf-supporting arm having at its front end a forwardly extending central tongue offset downwardly from the upper plane of the arm, an inclined metal brace beneath said arm having a vertical lower end portion engaging the front of the lower portion of said leg and provided with a vertical notch, the leg having a tongue extending through said notch and then upward in front of said lower end portion of the brace, the brace having a horizontal upper end portion in front of said arm, the brace being provided with an opening through which said offset tongue extends forward to a position beneath said horizontal end portion, and a pole-receiving hook rigidly suspended from the front end of the brace and extending forward therefrom.

2. A shelf and pole bracket according to claim 1, in which said bar has enough resiliency to permit the opposite ends of the bar to be sprung away from each other sufficiently to allow the lower end of the brace to be fitted over said lower tongue after said offset tongue has been inserted in said brace opening.

a 3. A shelf and pole bracket according to claim 1, in which said offset tongue has a narrow body and a wide front end, and said brace opening is a slot having a rear portion wider than said narrow body but narrower than the front end of the tongue, the front portion of said slot being wider than said front end of the tongue but shorter so that the lower end of the brace would have to be swung down away from said leg before the brace could be removed from the offset tongue.

4. A shelf and pole bracket according to claim 1, in which said vertical end portion of the brace and the adjoining portion of said leg are provided aligned holes for receiving a screw to fasten the lower end of the bracket to a wall behind it.

5. A shelf and pole bracket according to claim 1, in which said horizontal portion of the brace-and the underlying tongue are provided with aligned holes for receiving a screw to fasten the front end of the bracket to an overlying shelf.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 678,112 Callender July 9, 1901 1,156,129 Berger Oct. 12, 1915 2,908,471 Hollansworth Oct. 13, 1959