US3239299A

US3239299A - Shelf-cabinet assembly

Info

Publication number: US3239299A
Application number: US365382A
Authority: US
Inventors: Donald W Doherty
Original assignee: Queen Manufacturing Co Inc
Current assignee: Queen Manufacturing Co Inc
Priority date: 1964-05-06
Filing date: 1964-05-06
Publication date: 1966-03-08
Anticipated expiration: 1983-03-08

Description

March 8, 1966 D. w. DOHERTY SHELF-CABINET ASSEMBLY 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed May 6, 1964 March 8, 1966 D. w. DOHERTY 3,239,299

SHELF-CABINET ASSEMBLY Filed May 6, 1964 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 I III- II a I I llllul.

INVENTOR.

United States Patent T 3,239,299 SHELF-CABINET ASEMBLY Donald W. Doherty, Park Ridge, 111., assignor to Queen Manufacturing Co., Inc., Chicago, Ill., a corporation of Illinois Filed May 6, 1964, Ser. No. 365,382 6 Claims. (Cl. 312255) This invention relates to shelf-cabinet structures and has particular relation to an assembly having portions capable of association to form a cabinet.

One purpose of the invention is to provide a shelf structure usable alternately as a shelf and as top and bottom walls of a cabinet.

Another purpose is to provide a cabinet formed of a plurality of wall panels, some of said Wall panels being usable as shelves.

Another purpose is to provide a shelf and cabinet assembly which may be assembled and disassembled by hand and without the use of tools of any kind.

Another purpose is to provide a shelf and cabinet assembly of maximum economy and simplicity in manufacture and use.

Another purpose is to provide a shelf and cabinet assembly usable in association with pole supports therefor.

Other purposes will appear from time to time during the course of the specification and claims.

The invention is illustrated more or less diagrammatically in the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a front elevation;

FIGURE 2 is a detail view on an enlarged scale;

FIGURE 3 is an exploded view;

FIGURE 4 is a detail view in partial cross section;

FIGURE 5 is a sectional view taken on line 5-5 of FIGURE 1, with parts omitted; and

FIGURE 6 is a detail view on an enlarged scale.

Like parts are indicated by like numerals throughout the specification and drawings.

Referring now to the drawings, and particularly to FIGURE 1, a pair of spaced pole supports 1 is shown as supporting a shelf 2 and a cabinet 3.

FIGURE 2 illustrates one planar surface of the shelf 2. It will be observed that the shelf 2 carries, at its opposite longitudinal edges and centrally of each of said edges, a hollow sleeve. Since the sleeves are identical, they are both designated by the numeral 2a. FIGURE 2 illustrates a surface of the shelf 2 which is normally the undersurface when the shelf 2 is employed as a shelf, as indicated in FIGURE 1. The shelf 2, as may be more easily seen in FIGURE 3, includes an upper surface 4 and a depending skirt 5 which depends from the entire peripheral edge of the surface 4. The sleeve 2a and skirt 5 are coextensive at the sleeve 2a. The undersurface 6 of shelf 2, as best seen in FIGURE 2, has formed therein and extending therefrom a ridge 7. The ridge 7 parallels the skirt 5 throughout the extension thereof about the shelf 2 in spaced relationship with the skirt 5 to form therewith a peripheral groove 8. A second ridge 9 extends from the surface 6 in spaced parallel relationship with a portion of the ridge 7 which in turn parallels one longitudinal extension of the skirt 5, the ridge 9 forming, with the parallel, opposed portion of ridge 7, a groove 10.

Referring now to FIGURE 3, it will be seen that a set of two shelf structures 2 is shown. The shelves 2 are spaced vertically one from the other, and the lowermost thereof has been inverted. Thus, the grooves 8, 10 of the shelf structures 2 shown in FIGURE 3 are positioned in spaced aligned and opposed relationship. Illustrated at 11 in FIGURE 3 is a back wall panel of generally rectilinear configuration. A pair of spaced side wall Patented Mar. 8, I966 panels 12, 13 is illustrated in FIGURE 3 and a set of generally rectilinear sliding front wall panels or doors is illustrated at 14 in FIGURE 3.

Each of the side wall panels 12, 13 has a pair of opposite edges turned inwardly, as indicated, for example, at 15. A central portion of the walls 12, 13 is inwardly offset in a curved plane, as indicated at 16. It will be observed that the offset portions 16 of walls 12, 13 have a radius substantially equal to that of sleeves 2a and are positioned for alignment with sleeves 2a.

The elements illustrated in FIGURE 3 may be easily assembled by hand to form the cabinet 3, as shown in FIGURE 1.

Means for locking the shelves 2 in desired position on poles 1 is illustrated in FIGURE 4. Each of the sleeves 2a has a groove 2b formed therein and opening through both edges of the sleeves 20 as at 20. A lock member 17 is provided for insertion into groove 2b to lock the sleeve 2a to the pole support 1. For a more detailed understanding of the lock structure shown in FIGURE 4, reference may be had to my copending application relating thereto.

It will be observed that the shelf 2 may be employed as such, as clearly shown in FIGURE 1. The shaft 2 may also be employed, by merely inverting one of said shelves 2, as the upper and lower walls of a cabinet structure supported on the cabinet supports 1. The operator merely positions a shelf 2, in inverted position, on the supports 1, locking the same thereto by manual pressure on a lock member 17, for example, to move member 17 into a groove 2b of the sleeves 2a carried by shelf 2. Thereafter, wall panel 11 and side wall panels 12, 13 are merely positioned with their bottom edges in the appropriate portions of groove 8. The inwardly turned portions 15 of the walls 12, 13 extend inwardly from the opposite lateral edges of the shelf 2, the back wall panel 11 overlapping the same. The sliding front wall panels, or doors, are then positioned, one of said doors being positioned in the remaining portion of groove 8 and the other of said doors being positioned in the paralleling groove 10. The upper shelf 2, in its normal position, is then moved downwardly to seat the upper edges of the wall panels 11-14 in the corresponding grooves formed in the undersurface of shelf 2. The doors 14 may be opened to permit the manual insertion of lock members 17 in sleeves 2a of the upper shelf 2 after the same has been moved downwardly to receive the wall' panels 1114. Thereupon, the cabinet of the invention has been formed and is ready for use. If, at any time, it be desired to re-ernploy the shelf members 2 as shelves, the operator merely disengages the lock members 17 from supports 1, separates the shelves 2, removes the Wall panels 11-14, and repositions lower shelf 2 in its normal position for aesthetic reasons, though it will be understood that the shelf 2 may be employed as a shelf in its inverted position, when desired.

With the cabinet 3 assembled as above described, an attractive appearance is created. No means of locking the shelves 2 to the supports 1 are visible to the viewer. No fastening or securing elements for holding the wall panels to the spaced shelf members 2 are visible to the viewer, the skirts 5 masking the engagement of the wall panels 11-14 with the space shelves 2. The cabinet is, nonetheless, completely rigid and secure and as fully effective as though the panels 11, 12, 13 were integrally formed with or secured by fasteners to the upper and lower wall portions 2.

Whereas there has been shown and described an operative form of the invention, it should be understood that this showing and description are to be taken in an illustrative and diagrammatic sense only. There are many modifications in and to the invention which will be apparent to those skilled in the art and which will fall within the scope and spirit of the invention. The scope of the invention should, therefore, be limited only by the scope of the hereinafter appended claims.

What is claimed:

1. A shelf-cabinet assembly comprising a pair of tubular supports, a pair of spaced shelf members having sleeve portions surrounding said supports at opposite ends of said shelf members, lock means engaging said sleeves and supports, said shelf members having opposed groove segments, wall members extending between said shelf members and having opposite edges positioned in said groove segments.

2. A cabinet comprising an upper horizontal wall and a lower horizontal wall, said upper and lower walls being identical, each of said upper and lower walls having a first surface, a perimeter skirt depending from said first surface, a second surface opposite said first surface, a perimeter ridge extending from said second surface in parallel spaced relationship with said perimeter skirt to form a perimeter groove therewith, a pair of tubular posts, means for holding said shelf members in spaced relation between and on said posts, one of said shelf members being reversed to cause said second surfaces and grooves to oppose each other, a plurality of wall members positioned between said shelf members and held in the groove between the skirt and ridge of each of said shelf members.

3. A cabinet and support therefor comprising a pair of spaced tubular posts, a pair of identical shelf members extending between and mounted in spaced relationship on said posts, said shelf members being identical, each of said shelf members having a shelf surface and an opposite surface, each of said opposite surfaces having a perimeter groove formed therein, one of said shelf members being reversed to cause said opposite surfaces and grooves to oppose one another, a back wall having its upper and lower edges positioned in the opposed grooves of said shelf members, a pair of side walls having their upper and lower edges positioned in the opposed grooves of said shelf members, a first front wall portion having its upper and lower edges positioned in the opposed grooves of said shelf members, a second ridge on said opposite surface of each of said shelf members, said second ridge paralleling the ridge forming the groove in which said front wall has its upper and lower edges positioned to form a second groove, a second front wall portion having its upper and lower edges positioned within said second groove formed by said second ridge with said last-named ridge.

4. A cabinet and support therefor comprising a pair of spaced tubular posts, a pair of identical shelf members extending between and mounted in spaced relationship on said posts, said shelf members being identical, each of said shelf members having a shelf surface and an opposite surface, each of said opposite surfaces having a perimeter groove formed therein, one of said shelf members being reversed to cause said opposite surfaces and grooves to oppose one another, a back wall having its upper and lower edges positioned in the opposed grooves of said shelf members, a pair of side walls having their upper and lower edges positioned in the opposed grooves of said shelf members, a first front wall portion having its upper and lower edges positioned in the opposed grooves of said shelf members, a second ridge on said opposite surface of each of said shelf members, said second ridge paralleling the ridge forming the groove in which said front wall has its upper and lower edges positioned to form a second groove, a second front wall portion having its upper and lower edges positioned within said second groove formed by said second ridge with said last-named ridge, each of said side walls having an intermediate portion inwardly offset, said posts extending along and within said offset portions of said side walls.

5. A cabinet and support therefor com-prising a pair of spaced tubular posts, a pair of .identical shelf members extending between and mounted in spaced relationship on said posts, said shelf members being identical, each of said shelf members having a shelf surface and an opposite surface, each of said opposite surfaces having a perimeter groove formed therein, one of said shelf members being reversed to cause said oposite surfaces and grooves to reversed to cause said opposite surfaces and grooves to oppose one another, a back wall having its upper and shelf members, a pair of side walls having their upper and lower edges positioned in the opposed grooves of said shelf members, a first front wall portion having its upper and lower edges positioned in the opposed grooves of said shelf members, a second ridge on said opposite surface of each of said shelf members, said second ridge paralleling the ridge forming the groove in which said front wall has its upper end lower edges positioned to form a second groove, a second front wall portion having its upper and lower edges positioned within said second groove formed by said second ridge with said last-named ridge, said side walls being identical, said first and second front wall portions being identical.

6. An alternate shelf and cabinet assembly including a pair of spaced posts, a pair of shelf members selectively, slidably carried by and between said posts, lock means for locking said shelf members at predetermined spaced positions on said posts, each of said shelf members having a shelf surface and a grooved opposite surface, at least one of said shelf members being reversibly mountable on said posts to cause said groove opposite surfaces to oppose one another, and a plurality of generally rectilinear wall members, each of said wall members having upper and lower edges positionable in the grooves of said opposed grooved surfaces to form a cabinet between said posts and supported on said posts by said lock means.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 193,339 7/1877 Lothrop 21 190 2,636,797 4/1953 Alheit 312265 X FOREIGN PATENTS 855,715 2/1940 France. 1,168,484 9/1958 France.

256,671 8/ 1926 Great Britain. 512,887 2/1955 Italy.

CLAUDE A. LE ROY, Primary Examiner.

CHANCELLOR E. HARRIS, Examiner.

F, DOMOTOR, Assistant Examiner.