WO1993004472A1

WO1993004472A1 - Shelving unit, arrangement and system

Info

Publication number: WO1993004472A1
Application number: PCT/GB1992/001515
Authority: WO
Inventors: Kenneth Frank Roberts
Original assignee: Smart, Jane, Belinda
Priority date: 1991-08-17
Filing date: 1992-08-17
Publication date: 1993-03-04
Also published as: GB9117775D0

Abstract

A shelving unit, arrangement and system in which two shelving pieces (20) are spaced vertically apart, one above the other, the upper shelving piece (at least) having a greater vertical dimension adjacent its rearward edge (20b) in use than adjacent the front edge (20a), whereby an article (22) on the lower shelf can be tilted about a rear corner (26) to expose sufficient of a front lower corner (34) for the article to be grasped thereby and withdrawn. A suitable shelving unit includes two such shelving arrangements (48, 50) back to back, with a common dividing partition (46). A shelving system has two such shelving units pivoted to a single shelving unit (10).

Description

SHELVING UNIT, ARRANGEMENT AND SYSTEM

This invention relates to a shelving unit, arrangement and system, and in particular to a shelving unit, arrangement and system for storing a number of flat-sided articles adapted for individual removal.

Preferably the shelving arrangement permits the storage and individual removal of a number of similarly sized flat-sided articles, each of which is visible, so that the article to be removed is readily identified. A shelving unit can be provided to fulfil the same purpose but wherein at least some of the articles can if required be concealed, prior to identification and removal.

The storage of large numbers of similarly sized or dimensioned flat-sided articles is required both in the home, an * in places of business. Typical articles to be removably stored are music (audio) cassettes, video cassettes, and compact discs.

It is known for purchasers simply to stack their cassettes face-up, one on top of another on a shelf; and then to remove the (stored) cassettes together, to permit the selection of the cassette to be played, which can be inconvenient; furthermore, the use of such non-purpose built shelving is often wasteful of space, particularly if the owner has a large cassette collection, and the cassette removal, selection, and replacement can be time consuming.

Purpose made storage units are available, particularly for audio cassettes, typically utilising one or more pull-out drawers, with each drawer sized to contain several cassettes stored side by side; the cassettes have their longest edges horizontal, with the title strip visible to the user from above when the drawer is opened. The sides of the drawers are of a smaller (vertical) dimension than the vertical sides of the "as stored" cassettes, so that an individual cassette can be grasped at either end of its longest edge, and lifted out of the drawer. However, cassette manufacturers recommend that cassettes be stored fully re-wound, and with the resulting empty tape spool above the full tape spool, whereas in such known drawer storage arrangement, the cassettes are stored so that tape is strung between spools at the same level.

Purpose built shelving is also available, whereby cassettes may be stored as recommended by the manufacturers with one spool above the other i.e. with the longest edge of the cassette vertical, but the cassettes must be either spaced apart on a shelf to allow each one to be grasped at its sides to allow individual removal, or else the shelving spacing must be such as to allow the cassette to be grasped at either end of its longest edge i.e at its "top" and "bottom" (as positioned on the shelf), for removal. The (horizontal) spacing apart of the articles on a shelf, or the (vertical) spacing apart of the rows of shelves requires considerable space.

In a business environment, such as, for example, in a store specialising in the retailing of music cassettes, video cassettes, or compact discs, or stores specialising in the rental of video cassettes, often only an empty case is on display, with the respective cassettes and discs stored separately, perhaps in a separate store room accessible only to members of staff. To promote sales it is desirable for the empty cases to be readily visible, but for security it is desirable that the storage of the corresponding cassettes and discs be such that each is both accessible to and readily visible to the staff member (so that the counter is not left unattended for a significant period) whereby the required cassette can be quickly and individually removable from storage by the staff member. A large area of storage shelving is needed, particularly if multiple copies of a popular cassette are in stock; it is therefore known to provide purpose built wall-mounted shelving, or free-standing "back-to-back" shelving, both of which can incorporate integral shelf projections to act as separators for the (horizontal) spacing apart of the cassettes or discs, or with the shelves themselves spaced (vertically) sufficiently far apart to allow the cassettes to be grasped at either end of their longest (vertical) edge. I propose a shelving arrangement for similarly dimensioned flat-sided shelved articles in which the articles are each visible and individually removable, the articles being in mutual side-by-side contact, wherein an article can be tilted about a corner so as to expose sufficient of another corner for the article to be grasped thereby and withdrawn.

Furthermore I propose a shelving arrangement for the storage and display of a plurality of similarly dimensioned flat-sided articles in which the articles can be in side-by-side contact but yet individually removable, which includes at least two shelves which in use are spaced vertically apart, wherein a vertical distance between the shelves is substantially equal to the corresponding vertical dimension of the article.

In a particularly advantageous embodiment of my invention, I provide a shelving arrangement in which the articles are adapted to be retained immediately adjacent one another on shelving pieces, with the said shelving pieces spaced vertically apart one above another, such that each shelved article is easily visible and individually removable from the shelving unit characterised in that the shelving pieces are adapted to tilt the articles, and further characterised in that the shelving pieces are thicker adjacent their rearward edge than adjacent their front edge. Usefully the articles to be stored are rectangular, with two pairs of adjacent corners, whereby in the stored condition the said adjacent corner pairs are vertically spaced and offset. Preferably the shelving arrangement is such that the shelved articles stand with their longest edges inclined to the vertical.

The inclined angle from the vertical is small, perhaps between 5 and 15 degrees, and thus for the storage of audio and video cassettes, a manufacturer's storage recommendation that the empty spool be above the full spool can be satisfied.

Because the shelved articles are slightly inclined, for a shelving arrangement or a unit utilising two or more shelves the lower front corner of a first article projects slightly forwards of the upper front corner of a second similar article immediately beneath it, allowing finger access whereby the first article can be lifted until it is out of alignment with the immediately adjacent articles to either side; thus it may be fully grasped and removed from between the adjacent articles. Because the shelving pieces are thicker at their rearward edge than at their front edge the amount by which the article can be moved out of alignment with the immediately adjacent articles by this lifting action is increased. Since with the arrangement and unit of the invention it is not necessary to place a finger or thumb between adjacent (vertically spaced) rows of shelved articles, the vertical spacing between shelves can be less than in known shelving arrangements to allow more articles to be stored.

It is an advantageous feature of my invention that the spacing between the top rear corner of an article and the under-surface of the shelving piece above it may be such as to both prevent the article falling sideways, and prevent the article tipping forwards, out of the shelving unit. Thus the articles are safely stored even if a shelf is only partially filled i.e. with the articles remaining in the desired "upright" condition.

It is often an additional requirement, particularly for the storage of articles not already enclosed within their own individual cases, such as books, that the shelving be enclosed, so protecting the articles, for instance from dust. Thus not only may my shelving arrangement be mounted within a self-contained shelving unit, but two or more of my shelving units may be arranged to form a shelving system, characterised in that the contents of each of the shelving units can be enclosed. The shelving units or system may be free-standing or wall mounted.

Usefully the shelving system is lockable.

The user may wish to store differently sized flat-sided articles in different parts of the unit or system, and the manufacturer can cater for this as by utilising differently spaced shelves for audio cassettes and for compact discs for example; or the user may personally wish to vary the shelving disposition.

It is yet a further feature of this invention to provide a shelving unit having a plurality of shelving pieces wherein the shelving pieces are removable to allow the user to select a size of shelving piece or spacing of shelving pieces to suit his storage requirements.

The invention will be further described by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig.l shows an embodiment of shelving unit according to the invention;

Fig.2 shows a side view of a shelving unit consisting of three shelves, each shelf being filled with similarly dimensioned articles;

Fig.3 is a view of Fig.2 with one shelved article tilted, ready for removal;

Fig.4 is of one embodiment of enclosable shelving system according to the invention.

Fig.5 is a partial view of one embodiment of removable rear shelving piece; Fig.6 is of a U-shaped cup for removably securing a shelving piece to an end wall;

Fig.7 shows one embodiment of an end wall for a shelving unit with removable shelving pieces; and

Fig.8 shows three modified shelving pieces.

In the description, the geometric expressions front, rear, top and bottom refer to the shelving arrangement in its position of normal use, i.e. rear is to the left in the Fig.2 embodiment, front is to the right, and top and bottom refer to the vertically upper and lower portions as seen in this figure.

The shelving unit 10 of Fig.l comprises a top wall 12, a bottom wall 14, two end walls 16,16a, a rear wall 18, and three shelving pieces 20 providing three shelves for similarly sized flat-sided articles such as audio cassettes, video cassettes, compact discs, or books.

The rear wall 18 may be apertured to accept screws or similar fixings, so that the shelving unit can be fixed to a wall; alternatively, the shelving unit may be free-standing, either on another article of furniture or on the floor of a room.

Fig. 2 shows a side view of a shelving unit, also comprising three shelves. As shown, each shelf is filled with similarly sized flat-sided articles 22, rectangular in cross-section. In this embodiment the shelving pieces are solid, but in an alternative embodiment could be apertured or formed from longitudinally extending bars. Shelving pieces 20 are chosen such that the article's centre of gravity is behind the front edge 24 of the shelving piece 20; suitably a shelved article 22 projects beyond the front edge 24 of the shelving piece 20 by a distance less than half the length of its lower edge.

An abutment 28 is positioned adjacent the lower rear corner 26 (as in use) of the article; and is selected so that the top rear article corner 30 rests against the rear wall 18. In an alternative embodiment, abutment 28 is not required, the article being supported by its lower edge on shelving piece 20, and at its top rear corner 30 against rear wall 18. In another alternative embodiment, the abutment 28 is of a size so that the top rear article corner 30 is adjacent to, but does not rest against, the rear wall 18.

The shelving piece 20 and abutment 26 are positioned to cause the shelved articles 22 to be angled with respect to the shelving arrangement. The abutment 26 may be integral with shelving piece 20, may be fixed securely to it, or may be mounted on rear wall 18. Shelving pieces 20 are securely retained within shelving unit 10, preferably being fixed to end walls 16,16a. The under-surface of each shelving piece 20 is tapered at 36 (Fig.3) for approximately half its width, terminating at front edge 24, so that the shelving piece 20 is thicker adjacent its rearward edge i.e. at rear wall 18, than at its front edge 24. In an alternative embodiment the taper may extend from adjacent the rear wall 18 to the front edge 24.

The shelving pieces 20 are arranged at a vertical separation slightly greater than the size of the article e.g. cassette case 22 to be shelved. For audio cassettes for example, with a case dimension of 10.9cm along the longest edge, the vertical spacing i.e. the distance between adjacent shelving pieces as measured upwardly along the rear wall, is in one embodiment 12.0cm. In that embodiment, the shelving pieces 20 are 6mm thick at dimension 32, and inclined at an upward angle of approximately 15 degrees; the abutments 28 cause the bottom rear edge 26 of the articles to rest approximately 2cm away from rear wall 18. In an alternative embodiment, the abutments 28 cause the bottom rear edge 26 of the articles to rest approximately 0.8cm away from rear wall 18, shelving pieces 20 are vertically spaced 11.8cm apart, and are upwardly angled, and thus the shelved articles inclined, by approximately 5 degrees.

When it is desired to remove a single shelved article from a filled shelving unit, the user will lift the exposed front lower corner 34 of the article, into the position shown in dotted outline in Fig.3; the under-surface tapering of the shelving piece 36 provides freedom to allow this movement. The side edges 38 of the front lower corner 34 of the article are thus exposed, and may thus be gripped as between finger and thumb, allowing the 5 article to be removed.

In another embodiment for the storage of audio cassettes, it is arranged that the under-surface tapering continues to within 0.5cm of rear wall 18, and the untapered portion is parallel to, and spaced 1mm away from, the upper edge of the top rear corner 10 of the cassettes. Because of the closeness of the untapered portion to the cassettes, it is found that the cassettes are prevented both from falling sideways (if the shelf is unfilled), and from tipping forwards out of the unit.

The shelving system 40 of Fig.4 comprises three shelving 1 sections. The central shelving section is a shelving unit 10, which again may be wall-mounted or free-standing. In this embodiment, the front edges of its two end walls 16,16a are hingedly connected at 42 to two outer shelving sections 44. Outer shelving sections 44 are of similar shape, and are partitioned at 20 46, mid-way between front and rear, with shelving pieces 20 mounted to each side of this partition i.e. two shelving units are mounted "back to back", with the partition 46 being their common rear wall. Thus both outer shelving sections 44 have inner shelving units 48 and outer shelving units 50. Each outer shelving unit has hingedly connected to its outermost edge 52 a door 54, such that when the door 54 is closed the contents of the outer shelving unit 50 are enclosed. Similarly, the outer shelving sections 44 are half the width of the central shelving unit 10, such that when they are hingedly moved towards central shelving unit 10 (to "close" the unit) , the contents of the central shelving unit 10, and the contents of the inner shelving units 48 of the outer shelving sections 44 are also enclosed.

Retaining means (not shown) may be used to limit the degree of hinged articulation of the outer shelving sections 44, and of the doors 54.

In an alternative embodiment, hinged door 54 can be replaced by a sliding door, perhaps of glass. The doors, and the outer shelving sections may be retained in their closed condition as by magnetic catches, or alternatively by lock and key, thus giving a secure shelving arrangement, particularly useful for in-store displays e.g. when empty cassette cases are displayed in the outer shelving unit 50, and the corresponding cassettes or corresponding full cassette cases are stored in the inner shelving unit 48 and/or the shelving unit 10.

In another alternative embodiment, the front edges of the end walls 16,16a of the central shelving unit 10 are angled with respect to the vertical direction, such that the top of these front edges are closer to rear wall 18 than the bottom of these front edges. This will overcome the tendency of the system to "open" under the action of gravity, particularly if the outer shelving sections 44 are full, in the event that the system is not mounted vertically, or if there is some sag in the hinges.

An alternative embodiment of shelving piece 20 is a two-piece shelving piece, with a rear shelving piece 56 (Fig.5) and a front shelving piece (not shown) . In this embodiment rear shelving piece 56 is an "L" section, so that the abutment 28 and the article supporting piece 58 are integral, whilst the front shelving piece may be a straight narrow beam, or else a circular rod or tube. The front shelving piece will correspond to the front edge 24 of shelving piece 20. The front shelving piece will be of smaller vertical cross-section than article support piece 58 of rear shelving piece 56, so that again the shelving piece is thicker at its rearward edge than its front edge.

In another embodiment, there may be additional intermediate beams or bars between the front and rear shelving pieces, to provide further support for the articles. However, the vertical cross-section of these intermediate beams or bars must be such as allows the article to be lifted into the dotted outline position of Fig.3. One embodiment of shelving unit allows the shelving pieces to be removable. The user may thus choose the size and/or spacing of the shelving pieces to suit different articles. The shelving pieces, in this embodiment preferably two-piece shelving pieces, are removably secured within the shelving unit 10. Rear shelving pieces 56 may be removably secured by way of a projection 60 on either end (Fig.5) slidingly fitting into U-shaped cups 62 (Fig.6) on the end walls 16,16a. Front shelving pieces may also be removably secured by way of a similar cups on the end walls. The U-shaped cups 62 may themselves be removable, as by the provision of bosses 64 adapted to fit within suitably sized recesses in the end wall 16,16a.

In an alternative embodiment of shelving system 40, the shelving pieces of the outer shelving sections 44 are removable. Such an embodiment would allow the outer shelving sections to be selected to contain either audio cassettes or the larger compact discs for example; a suitable arrangement for the positioning of U-shaped cups 62 and front shelving pieces is shown in Fig.7. The two positions of the partition 46 are shown in dotted lines at 46a and 46b. The partition is thus itself removable, and is retained in position by the shelving pieces.

When it is desired to store audio cassettes in the outer shelving section, six U-shaped cups 62 are sited in the positions shown as "A", with the partition at 46a, running centrally between them. Six rear shelving pieces 56 and six front shelving pieces, in this embodiment circular, are fitted. The positioning of the front shelving pieces are shown at "B".

5 For use with compact discs, only two U-shaped cups 62 are fitted at "C", and two rear shelving pieces are fitted into the cups. Front shelving pieces, again circular, will be fitted at positions "D". The partition is in this case positioned at 46b, 10 and is supported by the rear shelving pieces 56 and lugs 66 projecting from suitably positioned recesses in the end wall.

It will be understood that it is within the scope of this invention that the shelving arrangement is such that as front lower corner 34 is lifted, the movement allowed to the article

15 before it engages the under-surface of the immediately adjacent shelving piece above, will be sufficient to allow the sides of the front lower corner to be grasped so that the article may be removed, but may be arrived at by either {a} when the top rear corner 30 rests against rear wall 18, the article rotating about

20 the contact point therebetween; (b) when the top rear corner is adjacent to, but does not rest against rear wall 18, the article rotating about lower rear corner 26; {c} when the top rear corner is adjacent to, but does not rest against rear wall 18, the article rotating about lower rear corner 26 until top rear corner

25 30 engages rear wall 18, thence the article rotating about the contact point therebetween; {d} lower rear corner 26 slidin towards the front of shelving piece 20, and top rear corner 30 sliding down rear wall 18; or (e} when an article part forwardl of the top rear corner pivots about a downwardly extending portion, integral or affixed (Fig.8, 23a,23b respectively) of the upper shelving piece.

Embodiment (e) can be particularly advantageous for shelving pieces mounted with their upper face 21 substantally horizontal, and thus with the lower face 23 of the shelving piece immediately above also being substantially horizontal - but with a downward projection, or thickening (Fig.8, 23c), whereby to provide an article pivot forwardly of the rearward edge 20b; since the articles are no longer upwardly tilted, there can be a saving of front-to rear space and vertical height. The downwardly extending portion also inhibits sideways tilting of articles on a part empty shelf.

An integral downward extension or thickening will be more useful for plastics shelving pieces, whilst an affixed strip will probably e more useful for wood-based shelving pieces.

The topmost shelving piece can be a "roof" , or enclosure member for a unit e.g. unit 10, rather than itself being an enclosed (or open) shelf.

In an alternative embodiment to those shown in the drawings,

the shelving arrangement may be employed in self-assembly shelving, as in the type where the shelving pieces are supported upon shelf supports, which are themselves supported (perhaps removably) upon wall mounted brackets. The shelf supports could incline the shelving pieces in the manner described, and the shelving pieces may be thicker at their rearward edge than at their front edge.

When in use with heavy articles, or where the shelf supports are widely spaced, thick shelving pieces may be required. If the shelving pieces are themselves thicker than a human finger, then again it is no longer necessary to incline the articles to prevent forward slippage and/or to expose the front lower corner; the articles must of course project beyond the front edge of the shelving pieces, in order that they may be lifted out of alignment with the immediately adjacent articles to either side prior to withdrawal. Thus the shelving pieces need not be inclined i.e. their upper surfaces 21 are horizontal or substantially so.

Claims

1. A shelving arrangement which includes two shelving pieces (20) spaced vertically apart, one above the other, each shelving piece having opposed edges, one of said edges being a forward edge (20a) in use and the other being a rearward edge (20b) in use, characterised in that the upper shelving piece is of greater thickness adjacent its rearward edge than adjacent its forward edge, whereby a stacked article (22) on the lower shelf can be tilted about a corner (26) to expose sufficient of another corner (34) for the article to be grasped thereby and withdrawn.

2. A shelving arrangement for similarly dimensioned flat-sided articles (22) stacked in mutual side-by-side contact which includes two shelving pieces (20) spaced apart by a vertical distance substantially equal to the corresponding vertical dimension of the article, each shelving piece having opposed edges, one of said edges being a forward edge (20a) in use and the other being a rearward edge (20b) in use, each of said edges having a vertical dimension, characterised in that the vertical dimension of the rearward egde of the upper shelving piece is greater than the vertical dimension of the forward edge, whereby an article on the lower shelving piece can be tilted about a rear corner (26) to expose sufficient of a front corner (34) for the article to be grasped thereby and withdrawn.

3. A shelving arrangement according to Claim 1 or Claim 2 characterised in that the upper shelving piece has an upper face (21) and a lower face (23), the lower face having an upward taper (36) adjacent the forward edge.

4. A shelving arrangement according to Claim 3 characterised in that each shelving piece (20) is upwardly tilted whereby the forward edge (20a) of the upper face of a shelving piece is vertically higher than the rear edge (20b) of the upper face.

5. A shelving arrangement according to Claim 3 or Claim 4 characterised in that a spacer is located at the rear edge of the upper face (21) to provide an abutment against which the lower rear corner (26) of the stacked article can locate.

6. A shelving unit which includes interconnecting sidewalls (16,16a), with at least two shelving pieces (20) supported by the sidewalls, characterised by a shelving arrangement according to any of Claims 1-5.

7. A shelving unit according to Claim 6 characterised in that the shelving pieces (20) are removably mounted by support cups (62), and in that the support cups are themselves removably mounted to respective sidewalls, whereby the cups can be repositioned to permit adjustment of the vertical spacing between the shelving pieces.

8. A shelving system characterised in that two shelving units (10) according to Claim 6 or Claim 7 are mounted back to back, and in that the shelving units have a common rear dividing partition (46) therebetween.

9. A shelving system according to Claim 8 when dependent upon Claim 6 or Claim 7 characterised in that two identical shelving sections are provided, the shelving sections being mounted on hinges (42) spaced apart by substantially twice the width of the shelving sections, and in that the shelving sections are mounted on a shelving unit (10), and in that the shelving sections can be pivoted to conceal the shelving pieces on the shelving unit.

10. A shelving system according to Claim 9 when dependent upon claim 8 characterised in that one shelving unit (10) itself has a hinged closure member (54), the other shelving unit (48) back to back with said one shelving unit being concealed when the respective shelving sections are pivoted to the closed condition.