US3854427A

US3854427A - Adjustable support shelf

Info

Publication number: US3854427A
Application number: US00326915A
Authority: US
Inventors: W Corns
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1973-01-26
Filing date: 1973-01-26
Publication date: 1974-12-17
Anticipated expiration: 1991-12-17

Abstract

A storage and display shelf constructed in upright posts and horizontally oriented shelf boards. The relative positions of the boards and the posts is fully adjustable within the dimensional limits. Each post is defined by a pair of loose, independent upright extrusions, each shelf is defined by a continuous sheet metal member, and the shelves and the extrusions are locked together with tuning fork like brackets that are frictionally locked into secure engagement with the boards and firmly drawn against the extrusions to form a rigid, self-supporting structure. The elements of the shelf are secured together with standard, commercially available carriage and eye bolts. The posts, tuning forks and shelf members are free of all notches, holes or interengaging protrusions. The shelves can be rotated about their longitudinal (horizontal) axes to change their angular positions and improve the ease with which objects placed on them can be viewed or reached.

Description

United States Patent 1191 Corns Dec. 17, 1974 ADJUSTABLE SUPPORT SHELF [2]] App]. No.: 326,915

3,700,114 l/l972 Myers ..lO8/6X Primary ExaminerPaul R. Gilliam Attorney, Agent, or Firm--Townsend and Townsend [57] ABSTRACT A storage and display shelf constructed in upright 52 US. Cl. 108/] posts and horizontally oriented shelf ds. The rela- 511 1111.01. A47t /12 five PositionS of the boards and the Posts is fully [58] Field of Search 108/1-10, 96, justoblo within the dimensional limils- Each P is [08/108 109 110411 13 137 144 fined by a pair of loose, independent upright extru- 149 152, 153; 211/102 117 150 176 174; sions, each shelf is defined by a continuous sheet 182/82 metal member, and the shelves and the extrusions are locked together with tuning fork like brackets that are [56] References Cit d frictionally locked into secure engagement with the UNITED STATES PATENTS boards and firmly drawn against the extrusions to form I 224 127 5 1917 B l 108 H2 X a rigid, self-supporting structure. The elements of the I i shelf are secured together with standard, commerl,229,427 6/1917 Erlsmann 108/152 UX I 325 143 12/19; Comerio 08/152 X cially available carnage and eye bolts. The posts, tun- 1:518:49? 12/1924 Flood et 51.: 108/1 ing forks and Shelf members are free of notches [(158976 5/1930 Rice log/1Q holes or interengaging protrusions. The shelves can be 1,805,989 5/1931 Levene 108/1 rotated about their longitudinal (horizontal) axes to 1,826,055 /1931 Cornwall... 211/ X change their angular positions and improve the ease 2,044,642 6/1936 Slater 108/108 UX with which objects placed on them can be viewed of 2,548,992 4/1951 McPherson.. 211/176 x reached 2,788,902 4/1957 Norwicki l08/l52 UX v 3,168,365 2/1965 Evans 108/109 X 4 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures 5 1i lj ss 4 Ll L;:| 44 66 T5? i 41 1 1 12b 66 l 58 ;1 I 1 l8 l l" 1 I6 I 28 1 19 l 36 L A H I 1 I--I'\-\M r l l I up lll l 4 I i 50 52 68 II- 11111::4 k n 1- l 1 T EU '14" '44 If F PATENIE mac: 7 I974

sum

2 or 2 ADJUSTABLE SUPPORT SHELF BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION An almost unlimited variety of storage and display shelves is presently available on the marketplace. They vary in size, shape, aesthetic appearance, strength and manner in assembling them. Frequently, such shelves have provisions for changing the relative spacings between the shelf boards and/or their upright support posts for use with articles of varying sizes and shapes, for use in varying applications, and for use in modular, expandable systems.

A feature found on such shelves is the provision of means for incrementally changing the relative positions of the shelf elements, that is for changing the relative height and/or spacing of the upright members and/or the shelf boards. These provisions take a variety of forms such as holes, slots, indents, protrusions, wedges,

' bolts, bars and the like and an almost infinite variation thereof.

The adjustability in the relative positioning of the shelf elements is limited to given, fixed increments. This can be undesirable since it can lead to interferences with existing installations such as receptacle boxes in walls, windows, sills, columns, and the like. Furthermore, if the increments are too small the provision of great numbers of holes, notches and the like can seriously weaken the structure. Additionally, assembly of the shelves can prove troublesome unless all parts are in relatively precise vertical and horizontal alignment. Another, very serious drawback is that it is expensive to manufacture the required multiplicity of holes, protrusions and the like.

Since most of such holes, protrusions and the like are not used they significantly distract from the appearance of the structure. Quite commonly, the more versatile the structure is, that is the greater its adjustability, the less appealing it is to the eye. Thus, versatile structures are primarily for industrial use while structures for home and office use, where aesthetic appearance is desirable and frequently important, compromise on their versatility. In either case, the drawbacks of such structures are significant. Moreover, once installed it is frequently difficult if not impossible to change the relative positions of the members without complete disassembly. This is time consuming and expensive.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides a universally adjustable storage and display shelf constructed of a few simple, inexpensive elements that can also be assembled into a table. The elements of the shelves are frictionally interlocked so that their relative positions are not limited or governed by incrementally spaced apertures or protrusions as was the case in the past. The elements comprise shelf boards that are simple lengths of sheet metal provided with a number of longitudinally extending right angle bends, upright posts constructed of straight lengths of standard metal extrusions or the like, bifurcated, tuning fork like brackets and commercially available bolts with which all parts are drawn into frictional engagement to form a rigid structure. The heretofore customary apertures, notches, indents, protrusions and the like for assembling the shelves are no longer necessary. Consequently, the shelf of the present invention is inexpensive to manufacture, provides an optimal utilization of the available metal and is aesthetically appealing. Neither versatility nor strength are compromised, the shelf has equal utility for rugged industrial use and for refined home or office use.

Generally speaking, a shelf constructed in accordance with the present invention comprises a plurality of independent upright posts, a larger plurality of independent brackets and means for securingthe brackets to the posts at any desired location over substantially the full length of the posts. The securing means permit horizontal adjustment and alignment of sets of such brackets for positioning a shelf board thereon. The board includes means for engaging the brackets of a set at any desired position over its length and defines a horizontally extending object support surface.

In the presently preferred embodiment of the invention the posts are defined by pairs of upright channel members that are aligned in a vertical plane, e.g., along a wall. Eachpair of such members is spaced apart and defines a narrow upright slit that extends over the full length of the post. A plurality of generally L-shaped shelf boards or members is drawn into tight engagement with the upright post members to thereby frictionally interengage the posts and the boards and thus form the rigid shelf.

The tight interengagement between the posts and the boards is obtained by providing a plurality of L-shaped brackets for each board. Each board terminates laterally in longitudinally extending U-shaped end sections which receive the perpendicular legs of the brackets for free slideable movement of the brackets over the length of the board. The brackets have perpendicular slots that extend from free ends of the leg to adjacent the opposite end of the bracket leg and their spacing over the length of their shelf member is set to coincide with the spacing of the upright post slits. s

A pair of horizontally extending eye bolts is provided for each bracket and they extend through the slit in the adjacent post. A conventional carriage bolt having a square shaft adjacent the bolt head is extended through eyelets of the eye bolt and into the slot in one of the bracket legs. The square cross section of the carriage bolt is tapered, with the larger cross section being larger than the width of the corresponding bracket slot so that upon tightening of the carriage bolt it spreads the bifurcated bracket end and thus frictionally locks the bracket to one of the U-shaped end sections of the board. The tightening of the carriage bolt simultaneously rigidly secures the eye bolts to the brackets.

An additional carriage bolt, constructed as above described, is inserted into the slot in the other leg of the bracket and tightened. The other bifurcated end of the bracket is thereby spread into a secure frictional lock with the other U-shaped end section of the board.

The upper one of the two eye bolts for each bracket is tightened from the backside of the post until that bolt draws an edge of the board into firm frictional engagement with the upright post. The other eye bolt is fitted with a support nut positioned on the forward side of the post and supports, in compression, the lower portion of the bracket against the forward face of the bolt. For security reasons, it is preferred to firmly secure the lower bolt to the post by tightening it with a nut against the backside of the post.

The resulting interlock between the shelf boards and the upright posts is essentially a frictional interlock. It is secure and can be readily loosened to slide the board up and down along the posts to any desired position.

Alternatively, the carriage bolts can be loosened to slide the vertical posts horizontally along the shelves to any desired position. This is useful, for example, for adding additional posts to the shelf and thus strengthening it. Consequently, the shelf of the present invention is fully adjustable and permits any relative position of the boards and the vertical posts over their respective lengths.

This full adjustability of the shelf of the present invention also includes the adjustability of the angular orientation of the horizontally extending shelf boards. This is desired for inclining the support surfaces of the boards at varying angles for ease of visibility of and/or access to articles stored thereon. A particularly useful application of this feature is in bookstores where it is desired to position the backs of the book as nearly as possible perpendicular to persons line of sight. Consequently, lower shelves are tilted so that the book backs face upwardly while higher shelves are horizontal so that the book backs are vertically oriented.

The change in the relative angular position of the shelf board is obtained by pivoting the board about a longitudinal horizontal axis. For this purpose the two eye bolts with which the bifurcated brackets are secured to the upright posts are of unequal length. By controlling the difference in the length and/or by changing the spacing between the bolts the angular inclination of the bracket and the board can be varied. Furthermore, by extending the slots in the brackets over substantially the full length of the bracket legs, the bracket can be pivoted through a full 360 although it usually is only necessary to pivot the bracket through slightly more than 90.

Aside from its versatility, strength and relatively low manufacturing costs the shelf of the present invention is highly attractive. This is particularly a result of the U-shaped shelf board end sections which give the shelf a massive appearance and which conceal all parts, namely the bracket, nuts and bolts interconnecting the posts and the boards. Thus, the U-shaped end sections of the shelf provide a structural as well as an aesthetic function.

In addition, the same elements used for constructing a shelf can be used for constructing flat tables or tableshelf combinations. A table constructed in accordance with the invention comprises two or more sets of laterally spaced apart upright posts, each set having a plurality of spaced apart posts, the posts being constructed as described above. A plurality of the L-shaped bifurcated brackets are mounted to the posts, secured thereto with eye bolts as above described and frictionally interlocked with a table top defining member. Such a member is identical to the above-described L-shaped shelf boards except that the center bend is omitted so that the member defines a continuous flat table surface. The post sets are rigidly interconnected and another flat table top defining member is positioned between and secured to the post sets to form a continuous table surface.

Added to this basic table can be shelves disposed beneath the table surface. Additionally, one of the post sets can be extended above the table surface and additional shelves can be mounted thereto in the abovedescribed manner.

In accordance with a still further aspect of the II'IVCI'F tion, the table top between the post sets can be slightly lowered and provided with an adhesive surface, such as a double adhesive tape or tapes. A stack of cardboard cards can be pressed against the adhesive surface to demountably secure and align the cards to the recessed table top surface while permitting the stack to be flipped back and forth to provide visual access to each individual card.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a fragmentary plan view of a shelf constructed in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary side elevational view of the shelf illustrated in FIG. 1; and

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary side elevational view, similar to FIG. 2, but illustrates a shelf-table combination constructed in accordance with the present invention including a recessed, horizontal card storage bin for removably retaining a stack of cards in mutual alignment while providing visual access to each card.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, a shelf 2 constructed in accordance with the invention principally comprises a plurality of spaced apart, upright posts 4 aligned along a vertical plane, say the wall of a room, and horizontally extending shelf boards or

members

6, 8. Horizontal members 10 are attached to brackets 12 and tightened to draw an edge 34 firmly against a forward face 16 of the posts. This results in a frictional interlock between the board and the posts and thereby forms a rigid shelf structure.

The upright posts are defined by pairs of upright members such as commercially available channels 18 which are spaced apart to define between them slits 20 that extend from floor 22 to the upper end of the channels. Each channel pair is independent and they are not separately connected except as described hereinafter. The channels have square ends 24 and are free of holes, notches, indentations and the like and their edges are continuous over their full lengths and as originally formed.

Each

shelf

6, 8 is constructed of a continuous length of sheet metal 26 that includes a center bend 28 to define perpendicular support surfaces 30 for articles to be stored or displayed thereon. The lateral ends of the sheet metal strip include a pair of spaced apart, longitudinally extending 90

bends

32, 34 to define generally U-shaped end sections 36 that run over the full length of the sheet metal strip.

Brackets 12 have a shape complementary to that of the sheet metal strip, that is they are generally L- shaped and defined by first and second long and

short legs

38 and 40. The legs are bifurcated and define

slots

42, 44 that extend from free ends 46, 48 to adjacent the other end of the corresponding leg. Preferably the slots overlap as clearly shown in FIG. 2. The width of the bracket legs at the free ends is slightly less than the inner width of U-shaped end sections 36 of the shelf boards so that the brackets are readily inserted therein and can be slideably moved to any desired position over the length of the boards.

Carriage bolts

50 and 52 are provided for spreading the free ends of the brackets to thereby firmly lock the brackets to the shelf board. Carriage bolts are commercially available items and comprise a head 54, a square shaft portion 56 immediately beneath the head followed by a threaded shaft end 58. The square shaft portion is usually tapered with its greatest cross-sectional dimension just adjoining the bolt head. The bolt is selected so that at least part of the square shaft portion has a cross-sectional dimension greater than the width of

bracket slots

42, 44. Consequently, upon tightening the bolt the free ends of the bracket legs are spread apart and thereby engage and firmly lock the brackets to the U-shaped end sections of the shelf boards. Upon release of the bolts the brackets can again be moved to any desired position.

Horizontal mounting members preferably comprise eye bolts having eyelets 60. The eye bolts extend through slits between the upright channels 18 and their eyelets are aligned with the corresponding slot in brackets 1.2. Carriage bolts 52 extend through the eyelets and when they are tightened they spread the free ends of the corresponding bracket leg and simultaneously securely tighten the eyelets and therewith the eye bolts to the brackets. The eye bolts are horizontally oriented and a nut 62 tightens the upper bolt which biases edge 34 into the above-described film engagement with front face 16 of channels 18. The lower eye bolt includes a backup or compression nut 64 which rests against the front face of the channels and which is placed under compression by the weight of shelf board 6 and any articles carried thereon. A nut tightened against backside 66 of the posts is preferably provided to secure the lower eye bolt and prevent it from being accidentally dislodged as through shaking or vibrations.

It will be observed that upper shelf board 6 is tightened against the upright posts with eye bolts of unequal lengths. This enables the positioning of the bracket and the board at any desired angle with respect to a vertical or a horizontal plane. By changing the length differential between the two eye bolts, and/or by correspondingly increasing or decreasing the spacing between them the bracket can be pivoted in one or the other direction to change its angular inclination. This change in angular inclination is obtained through a relative pivotal motion of the shelf board and the brackets about a horizontal axis. It will be clear that the eye bolts can be attached to short leg as well as to long leg 38 of the bracket. Moreover, one of the two eye bolts can be attached to one leg and the other one to the other leg. In this manner the bracket can be pivotally adjusted through a full 360 are. When fitted to a shelf board this rotation is limited by the contact points between the U- shaped shelf and sections 36 on the one hand and the upper and the lower horizontal bolts 10 on the other hand.

The lowermost shelf board 8 is also secured to post 4 with eye bolts 10 which are attached to bracket 12 in the above-described manner. The eye bolts, however, are of equal length. Consequently, the bracket leg to which the bolts are attached is vertical and the remainder extends horizontally away from the posts. In this manner the lowermost shelf can be placed to rest directly against floor 22 to thereby provide a stable floor mounting for the posts, without need for attaching them to the wall, while at the same time providing valuable storage and display space.

As can be seen from the preceding description the shelf of the present invention is constructed of simple and inexpensive structural elements. The upright posts are constructed of lengths of channel, or similar structurul members such as square tubing or the like, which are cut to length but which are otherwise in their originally formed condition except for surface finishes. The shelf boards are constructed of sheet metal strips which include the indicated bends but which are otherwise uniform and of one-piece construction. They can be made in any desired length. Most conveniently, they are provided in 8 feet to 10 feet lengths. However, longer length, say up to 20 feet, can be furnished if desired. The bent sheet metal strips have a smooth, continuous surface, that is they are free of all holes, slots, indentations, protrusions or the like and they are in their originally formed condition except for any surface finish that is applied thereto. The eye and carriage bolts with their corresponding nuts are staple articles of commerce readily available at commercial retail and wholesale outlets. The bracket is of a simple construction and can be welded or cast in one piece.

Dimensionally, the elements of theshelf of the present invention can be selected to suit the desired use of the shelf. One shelf size, especially well adapted for the storage and display of large quantities of books, say in libraries or bookstores, utilizes conventional 2-inch, 2.57-pound steel channel, 8 feet to 10 feet lengths of l6-gauge sheet metal strips with 2-inch wide U-shaped end sections having long and short legs of 8% inch and 4% inch respectively. Correspondingly, the long and short support surfaces of the shelf are 8 /2 inch and 4 /2 inch. The brackets are constructed of /2-inch thick steel bar of /1-inch width and have bracket slot widths of /2-inch. The carriage bolts are /2-inch diameter threaded bolts with a standard head and a tapered square shaft section immediately beneath the head. The eye bolts are similarly standard eye bolts of /z-inch diameter.

The assembly of the shelf of the present invention is quick and can be readily performed by one man. The only required tools are a wrench to tighten the bolts. The lowermost shelf board is first positioned on the floor and fitted with the desired number of brackets which are locked in place at the locations at which upright posts are to be placed. Thereafter a pair of channels are placed upright against the lowermost board on each side of the rearwardly extending, vertically spaced eye bolts and frictionally secured against the board by tightening the eye bolts. This firmly presses the forward face of the channels against one of the U-shaped end sections of the lowermost channel and a washer 68 against the back face of the channels. In this manner a secure frictional interlock between the channels and the lowermost shelf board is obtained.

Thereafter additional shelves are assembled in the just described manner and mounted to the upright posts at the desired elevations. If all shelves are to have horizontal article support surfaces 30 they are mounted to the posts with eye bolts of equal length. If the shelves are to be inclined, as illustrated in FIG. 2, bolts of unequal length are used with the lower bolt being fitted with a compression nut 64.

Referring now to FIG. 2 the same basic parts used for constructing upright shelf 2 illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2 can be used for constructing atable in accordance with the present invention. Such a table 69 has two laterally spaced apart sets 70, 72 of upright posts 4, at least one of the post sets being no higher than the desired height of table top 74. A pair of L-shaped shelf boards 76 can be mounted to the lower end of the posts to provide added stability. Furthermore, sets of opposing L-shaped brackets 12a can be positioned between the upright post sets and secured to each other with carriage bolts 78 and to the posts with eye bolts 80 mounting bottom shelves 76 to rigidify the structure. To prevent excess deformation of the upwardly extending legs of such brackets spacers 80 are placed in bracket slots 44.

Pairs of opposing brackets 12b are preferably also provided adjacent the upper end of posts 70 and secured to each other and to the posts in the just described manner. The brackets are recessed from the upper end of posts 70 for purposes described hereinafter.

Mounted to the outside, that is to the lefthand side (in FIG. 3) of post sets 70 additional L-shaped brackets 120 which are secured to the posts so that long leg 38 extends horizontally away from and is aligned with the upper end. A table top member 82 is constructed identically to shelf boards 26 illustrated in FIG. 2 except that center bend 28 is deleted so that it defines a single flat table top surface 74. U-shaped end section 84 of the table top member is engaged by and frictionally locked to the free end of the long bracket end with a carriage bolt 86. The other U-shaped end 88 of the table top member extends over the top end of posts 70 and rests against the upper edge of the channel members recessed therefrom as is shown in FIG. 3. An additional table top member can now be placed on top of the upper set of brackets 12 to define a continuous flat table top surface (not shown). Alternatively, the second member can be inverted, as shown in FIG. 3, to define a storage bin 90.

The storage bin can be utilized for holding any desired article. In one particular embodiment of the invention a double adhesive tape 92 is placed against the flat surface of bin 93 and the edges of a multiplicity of cards 94 forming a card stack 96 is pressed against the adhesive surface to thereby removably secure the cards to the adhesive surface and maintain them' in mutual alignment. The card stack height is less than the spacing between upright walls 98 defined by the inverted table top member 82 so that the stacks can be flipped back and forth to provide visual access to each card. This arrangement is particularly useful for use on counter tops adjacent cash registers to maintain a simple inventory check and have the cashier mark off on the cards each item as it is sold.

An angle bracket 101 includes a horizontal, flat leg 102 that can be pressed against adhesive surface 92 to position the angle bracket. The inclined, upwardly extending leg of the bracket forms a support for the card stack. The angle bracket position can be adjusted for accommodating card stacks of differing sizes by simply moving the bracket to the desired position and then firmly pressing it against the adhesive surface.

If desired, one of the post sets, say set 72, can be extended upwardly to form a shelf structure over table top 74 by attaching thereto shelf boards 99. Similarly, shelf boards 100 can be secured to the upright posts, say the posts in set 70 beneath table top surface 74 by attaching thereto shelf boards 100.

l claim:

1. In an adjustable shelf having upright supports and horizontally extending shelves the relative position of which is adjustable for accommodating objects of varying sizes and weights, the improvement comprising:

a. a plurality of posts defined by pairs of members aligned in a vertical plane, each pair being spaced apart to define narrow upright slits between them;

b. a plurality of generally L-shaped shelf members defined by a one-piece sheet metal piece having an uninterrupted surface and a plurality of at least three parallel, longitudinally extending substantially perpendicular bends defining laterally terminating U-shaped end sections extending over the length of the shelf members;

c. a plurality of L-shaped brackets having first and second perpendicular legs free ends of which being disposed within the U-shaped end sections for slideable movement of the brackets over the length of the shelf members, the brackets having a pair of slots extending from the free ends to adjacent opposite ends of the bracket legs, the bracket legs, the spacing of the brackets on the shelf members corresponding to the spacing of the slits between the upright member pairs;

d. a pair of horizontally extending eye bolts for each bracket disposed in the slits;

e. first bolt means for each eye bolt extending through an eyelet thereof and through one of the slots;

f. second bolt means extending through the other one of the slots;

g. the first and second bolt means including shaft sections larger than the width of the slots;

h. means for tightening the first and second bolt means to thereby engage the shaft sections thereof with the adjacent legs of the brackets, firmly secure the eye bolts to the brackets, spread the free ends of the bracket legs and to thus secure the brackets to the shelf members;

. means for tightening the eye bolts to thereby draw the shelf members towards the upright members until the shelf members contact the upright members and the eye bolts, the shelf members and the upright members firmly engage each other and form a rigid structure;

whereby the number of posts and shelf members and their relative positions are readily and infinitely adjustable and variable over their respective extent for adaopting the shelf for use with articles of varying size and weight.

2. In an adjustable shelf having upright supports and horizontally extending shelves the relative position of which is adjustable for accommodating objects of various weights and sizes, the improvement comprising:

a. a plurality of posts defined by apairs of upright members aligned in a vertical plane, each pair being spaced apart to define narrow upright slits between them;

b. a plurality of generally L-shaped shelf members laterally terminating in U-shaped end sections extending over the length of the shelf members;

c. a plurality of L-shaped brackets having tuning fork like configuration defined by first and second perpendicular legs free ends of which being disposed within the U-shaped end sections for slideable movement of the brackets over the length of the shelf members, the brackets having a pair of slots extending from the free ends to adjacent opposite ends of the bracket legs, the spacing of the brackets of the shelf members corresponding to the spacing of the slits between the upright member pairs;

d. a pair of horizontally extending eye bolts for each bracket disposed in the slits, the bolts of at least some of the pairs having differing lengths;

f. second bolt means extending through the other one of the slots;

h. means for tightening the first and second bolt means to thereby engage the shaft sections thereof with the adjacent legs of the brackets, spread the free ends of the bracket legs and to thus secure the brackets to the shelf members;

i. means for tightening the eye bolts to thereby draw the shelf members towards the upright members until the shelf members contact the upright members and the eye bolts, the shelf members and the upright members firmly engage each other to form a frictionally connected rigid structure;

whereby the number of posts and shelf members and their relative positions are,readily and infinitely adjustable and variable over their respective extent for adapting the shelf for use with articles of varying size and weight; and

whereby at least some of the shelves are angularly inclined with respect to each other by virtue of the selection of at least some pairs of eye bolts of differing lengths.

3. A shelf according to claim 2 including a lowermost shelf member in contact with a supporting floor for the shelf, and wherein the eye bolt pairs for the lower-most shelf member are of like lengths so that one leg of the brackets of such shelf member is perpendicular to the post and the lower-most shelf member forms a lateral support for the posts and stabilizes them.

4. A shelf according to claim 2 wherein there are at least two shelf members mounted to the posts have eye bolts of unequal lengths, and wherein the spacing between the eye bolts for one of such shelf members is different from the spacing between the eye bolts for the other one of the shelf members to thereby vary angular inclination of such shelf members.

Claims

1. In an adjustable shelf having upright supports and horizontally extending shelves the relative position of which is adjustable for accommodating objects of varying sizes and weights, the improvement comprising: a. a plurality of posts defined by pairs of members aligned in a vertical plane, each pair being spaced apart to define narrow upright slits between them; b. a plurality of generally L-shaped shelf members defined by a one-piece sheet metal piece having an uninterrupted surface and a plurality of at least three parallel, longitudinally extending substantially perpendicular bends defining laterally terminating U-shaped end sections extending over the length of the shelf members; c. a plurality of L-shaped brackets having first and second perpendicular legs free ends of which being disposed within the U-shaped end sections for slideable movement of the brackets over the length of the shelf members, the brackets having a pair of slots extending from the free ends to adjacent opposite ends of the bracket legs, the bracket legs, the spacing of the brackets on the shelf members corresponding to the spacing of the slits between the upright member pairs; d. a pair of horizontally extending eye bolts for each bracket disposed in the slits; e. first bolt means for each eye bolt extending through an eyelet thereof and through one of the slots; f. second bolt means extending through the other one of the slots; g. the first and second bolt means including shaft sections larger than the width of the slots; h. means for tightening the first and second bolt means to thereby engage the shaft sections thereof with the adjacent legs of the brackets, firmly secure the eye bolts to the brackets, spread the free ends of the bracket legs and to thus secure the brackets to the shelf members; i. means for tightening the eye bolts to thereby draw the shelf members towards the upright members until the shelf members contact the upright members and the eye bolts, thE shelf members and the upright members firmly engage each other and form a rigid structure; whereby the number of posts and shelf members and their relative positions are readily and infinitely adjustable and variable over their respective extent for adaopting the shelf for use with articles of varying size and weight.

2. In an adjustable shelf having upright supports and horizontally extending shelves the relative position of which is adjustable for accommodating objects of various weights and sizes, the improvement comprising: a. a plurality of posts defined by apairs of upright members aligned in a vertical plane, each pair being spaced apart to define narrow upright slits between them; b. a plurality of generally L-shaped shelf members laterally terminating in U-shaped end sections extending over the length of the shelf members; c. a plurality of L-shaped brackets having tuning fork like configuration defined by first and second perpendicular legs free ends of which being disposed within the U-shaped end sections for slideable movement of the brackets over the length of the shelf members, the brackets having a pair of slots extending from the free ends to adjacent opposite ends of the bracket legs, the spacing of the brackets of the shelf members corresponding to the spacing of the slits between the upright member pairs; d. a pair of horizontally extending eye bolts for each bracket disposed in the slits, the bolts of at least some of the pairs having differing lengths; e. first bolt means for each eye bolt extending through an eyelet thereof and through one of the slots; f. second bolt means extending through the other one of the slots; g. the first and second bolt means including shaft sections larger than the width of the slots; h. means for tightening the first and second bolt means to thereby engage the shaft sections thereof with the adjacent legs of the brackets, spread the free ends of the bracket legs and to thus secure the brackets to the shelf members; i. means for tightening the eye bolts to thereby draw the shelf members towards the upright members until the shelf members contact the upright members and the eye bolts, the shelf members and the upright members firmly engage each other to form a frictionally connected rigid structure; whereby the number of posts and shelf members and their relative positions are readily and infinitely adjustable and variable over their respective extent for adapting the shelf for use with articles of varying size and weight; and whereby at least some of the shelves are angularly inclined with respect to each other by virtue of the selection of at least some pairs of eye bolts of differing lengths.

3. A shelf according to claim 2 including a lower-most shelf member in contact with a supporting floor for the shelf, and wherein the eye bolt pairs for the lower-most shelf member are of like lengths so that one leg of the brackets of such shelf member is perpendicular to the post and the lower-most shelf member forms a lateral support for the posts and stabilizes them.