Classifications

• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A47—FURNITURE; DOMESTIC ARTICLES OR APPLIANCES; COFFEE MILLS; SPICE MILLS; SUCTION CLEANERS IN GENERAL
  • A47B—TABLES; DESKS; OFFICE FURNITURE; CABINETS; DRAWERS; GENERAL DETAILS OF FURNITURE
  • A47B96/00—Details of cabinets, racks or shelf units not covered by a single one of groups A47B43/00 - A47B95/00; General details of furniture
  • A47B96/06—Brackets or similar supporting means for cabinets, racks or shelves
  • A47B96/061—Cantilever brackets
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A47—FURNITURE; DOMESTIC ARTICLES OR APPLIANCES; COFFEE MILLS; SPICE MILLS; SUCTION CLEANERS IN GENERAL
  • A47B—TABLES; DESKS; OFFICE FURNITURE; CABINETS; DRAWERS; GENERAL DETAILS OF FURNITURE
  • A47B57/00—Cabinets, racks or shelf units, characterised by features for adjusting shelves or partitions
  • A47B57/30—Cabinets, racks or shelf units, characterised by features for adjusting shelves or partitions with means for adjusting the height of detachable shelf supports
  • A47B57/54—Cabinets, racks or shelf units, characterised by features for adjusting shelves or partitions with means for adjusting the height of detachable shelf supports consisting of clamping means, e.g. with sliding bolts or sliding wedges
  • A47B57/56—Cabinets, racks or shelf units, characterised by features for adjusting shelves or partitions with means for adjusting the height of detachable shelf supports consisting of clamping means, e.g. with sliding bolts or sliding wedges the shelf supports being cantilever brackets
  • A47B57/567—Cabinets, racks or shelf units, characterised by features for adjusting shelves or partitions with means for adjusting the height of detachable shelf supports consisting of clamping means, e.g. with sliding bolts or sliding wedges the shelf supports being cantilever brackets using wedges or a wedging effect without screw means
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A47—FURNITURE; DOMESTIC ARTICLES OR APPLIANCES; COFFEE MILLS; SPICE MILLS; SUCTION CLEANERS IN GENERAL
  • A47F—SPECIAL FURNITURE, FITTINGS, OR ACCESSORIES FOR SHOPS, STOREHOUSES, BARS, RESTAURANTS OR THE LIKE; PAYING COUNTERS
  • A47F5/00—Show stands, hangers, or shelves characterised by their constructional features
  • A47F5/10—Adjustable or foldable or dismountable display stands
  • A47F5/101—Display racks with slotted uprights

Definitions

• a locking strip for securing a support member along an upright and a support member to be secured along an upright
• the present invention relates to a locking strip for securing a support member at a chosen height along an upright which is designed with at least one longitudinal and laterally open channel, the locking strip comprising two side portions and a groove running between these, and its dimensions being such that it can be inserted into the channel in the upright and can be locked in the desired position in the channel with the aid of an element which can be pressed through the lateral opening of the channel and into the groove of the locking strip.
• the invention also relates to a support member intended to be secured at a chosen height along an upright using such a locking strip.
• stands which can be used for setting up shelves for the display and presentation of goods.
• the stands must be very flexible and permit simple variation of the number of shelves or the like and the distance between these. It is also desirable to be able to build up shelves or display stands using two, three, four or more uprights. In some cases, display stands with only one upright can be used.
• stands are also intended to be able to be used for other types of supports for various goods, for example bars, display prongs, etc.
• the uprights must also be able to be used for attachment of signs and so-called flags with advertising offers.
• stands of the abovementioned type can be used for construction of, for example, shelves of any chosen configuration without using securing and locking elements which require screws or the like. In this way, a shelf can easily be constructed on site and, when so desired, can be dismantled and reconstructed at another site or altered for adaptation to other goods.
• GB-12235 describes a shelf unit which can be built- -from three uprights and ' shelves which are supported by spacer elements inserted into the uprights. This construction requires at least three uprights and can only use specially constructed shelves with projecting pins with balls or plates which are displaceable in grooves in the uprights .
• FR-A1-2558359 describes a stand with a central upright and modules at different levels along the latter.
• the central upright is in this case intended to be secured between floor and ceiling, which constitutes a serious limitation.
• US-A-2677519 describes different stands for securing brackets at a desired height.
• a support which can be secured in a groove and which comprises two wedge elements which can be pressed apart with the aid of a pivotable wedge member in order to lock the support in the groove.
• the wedge elements are held together with the aid of a pin which also serves as pivot pin for the pivotable wedge member.
• a spring-tensioned locking ball is used which is arranged at the lower end of the support.
• a main object of the present invention is to make available a locking strip for securing a support member at a chosen height in a channel in an upright, which locking strip is very easy and inexpensive to produce and can also be easily used on site to set up, for example, shelves or other stands for display of goods without using separate fastening elements such as screws or the like which require the use of tools.
• the locking strip is also intended to permit construction of shelves or other displays with an esthetically pleasing appearance.
• Another object is to make available a support member designed to be secured at a chosen height in a channel in an upright, using a locking strip according to the present invention which can be inserted into the channel .
• the first of the abovementioned objects is achieved by means of a locking strip of the type specified in the first paragraph, which is designed in one piece, in which the two side portions are connected by means of a material portion which forms a bottom of the groove between the side portions of the locking strip along at least part of the length of the strip and in which the side portions of the strip are designed with laterally projecting flanges which, when the strip is inserted into and moved within the channel in the upright, are designed to form guides extending on the outside of the upright .
• a locking strip of this type can be mass-produced at low cost and ensures that the support member in question can easily be secured at the desired height on an upright.
• the design of the strip it is easy to control it when adjusting its height, thus eliminating tendencies for it to become jammed in the channel of the upright .
• the side flanges of the strip also make it possible to obtain esthetically attractive stands with different decorative effects.
• the locking strip when it is inserted into a channel in an upright, allows a locking element to be pressed into the groove of the strip, which locking element has an edge portion which cooperates with an engagement surface in the groove so as to obtain a snap-fitting of the locking element into the groove.
• a locking element when it is inserted into a channel in an upright, allows a locking element to be pressed into the groove of the strip, which locking element has an edge portion which cooperates with an engagement surface in the groove so as to obtain a snap-fitting of the locking element into the groove.
• the groove of the strip preferably has a widened portion for receiving said edge portion of the press-in locking element, the transition between this widened portion and the groove expediently forming an abutment edge which can cooperate with the edge portion of the press-in locking element.
• a support member which is designed with a part which cooperates with the locking strip and which is in the form of a plate which can be pressed through a lateral opening in the channel of the upright and into a groove in the locking strip, with an edge portion which cooperates with an engagement surface in the groove in order to obtain snap-locking of the plate in the groove.
• the plate which can be inserted into the groove can constitute a part of the bracket, in which case the latter can easily be positioned and thereafter secured in the desired position by a pivoting movement, which results in the plate portion being pressed into and secured in the groove of the locking strip positioned in the upright.
• Fig. 1 shows an end view of a locking strip according to the invention, and stand parts cooperating with it.
• Figs 2A - 2E show different views of the locking strip in Fig. 1.
• Fig. 3 illustrates how two bracket arms are secured in a locking strip.
• Fig. 4 illustrates the fitting of a locking strip with two bracket arms on an upright .
• Fig. 5 is a cross section through an upright, and a view of a part which is connected to two bracket arms and is intended to be inserted into a channel in the upright .
• Fig. 6 shows in cross section, and on a larger scale, the securing of the bracket in the channel of the upright with the aid of a locking strip according to the invention.
• Fig. 7 illustrates an application of a stand according to the invention.
• Fig. 8 illustrates another example of an application of a stand according to the invention.
• Fig. 1 shows a cross section through an upright 1 designed in the form of an injection-molded profile and intended for a stand.
• the profile has four longitudinal channels 2, each with a lateral opening 3 whose width is smaller than the width of an inner part of the associated channel 2.
• Reference number 4 designates two bracket arms for a shelf, for example a glass panel .
• the bracket arms 4 are connected to a common fixture part 6 which is intended to be inserted into a locking strip 7 and is provided with a pivot pin 10.
• the locking strip is then in turn intended to be inserted into a channel 2 in the upright 1.
• the design of the locking strip 7 is shown in more detail in Fig. 2.
• A shows the locking strip in a perspective view obliquely from behind
• B shows it straight from behind
• C shows it from the side
• D shows it from the front
• E shows it in a perspective view obliquely from the front.
• the locking strip is made in one piece of plastic material with a certain elasticity and consists of two side portions 20, 21 which delimit a groove 22 running between them.
• the side portions are held together by means of a material portion 23 which forms a bottom in the groove along a certain part of the length of the locking strip.
• the side portions of the strip are designed with rearwardly open recesses which together form a seat 24 for receiving the pivot pin 10 on the bracket, as will be described below.
• the seat 24, viewed from the side has a keyhole shape with an inner portion 25 in which the pivot pin can be secured by snap-fitting.
• the side portions 20 and 21 defining the groove 22 are designed with flanges 26, 27 which project laterally from the opening of the groove and have a desired decorative structure. These flanges also constitute one boundary wall of a guide track 28, 29 which is formed in each side portion and whose function will be described below.
• Fig. 3 shows how the bracket arms 4 according to Fig. 1 are joined to a locking strip 7.
• the pivot pin 10 arranged on the common part 6 of the bracket arms is introduced into the seat 24 of the locking strip 7 so that it is secured by a -snap-fit in the inner portion 25 of the seat.
• the bracket arms 4 are held in an upwardly angled position.
• the locking strip together with the mounted bracket arms can thereafter be handled as one unit .
• bracket arms 4 When fitting the bracket arms 4 on an upright 1, the bracket arms are thus first coupled together with a locking strip 7, as has been shown in Fig. 3, after which the locking strip, with the bracket arms in an upwardly pivoted position, is driven down in one of the channels 2 in the upright 1 from its upper end (see the upper position in Fig. 4) .
• the seat of the pivot pin 10 is thus closed off by a bottom in the channel of the upright .
• the bracket arms are thereafter driven down in the channel in the upwardly pivoted position until the desired position is reached.
• the bracket arms are pivoted downward (see the lower position in Fig. 4) to a working position for these arms.
• the part 6 connected to the bracket arms 4 is pressed into the groove 22 in the locking strip 7 and is secured in the latter while pressing the locking strip tightly into the adopted position in the channel of the upright 1.
• Fig. 5 shows the locking strip 7 inserted into the upright profile 1, while the brackets 4 with the common part 6 with pivot pin 10 have been shown separately for reasons of clarity.
• the flanges 26, 27 of the locking strip fit closely to the peripheral surface of the upright profile 1, which contributes to an attractive appearance.
• the tracks 28, 29 formed under the flanges 26, 27 receive projecting flange portions 31, 32 of the upright profile 1, which flanges delimit the width of the channel opening in the upright .
• This design affords very good control of the strip 7 upon vertical adjustments of the associated bracket, without its tending to jam in the channel of the upright.
• the flanges 26, 27 and 31, 32 and the tracks 28, 29 also form labyrinth seals for the channels in the upright 1, which is an advantage from the point of view of hygiene, among other things.
• At least the lower part of the free edge of the common part 6 is designed with a projecting portion 33.
• the latter can, for example, be obtained by upsetting or bending, so that an engagement edge 34 on the opposite side of the part 6 is also obtained.
• the strip 7 In the initial position, i.e. before the part 6 has been pivoted into the groove 22, the strip 7 has a slightly smaller width than the corresponding dimension of the channel 2 in the profile 1. There is therefore a slight play between the side walls of the channel 2 and the side portions 20, 21 of the strip 7.
• the groove 22 is also expediently widened slightly at its lower end so as to form an engagement surface for the projecting portion 33 and the engagement edge 34 of the common part 6 of the brackets.
• Fig. 6 shows a cross section on a larger scale through a channel 2 in the profiled upright 1 with mounted locking strip 7 , after the common part 6 of the brackets has been pressed into the groove 22 in the locking strip. This view is in the opposite direction from Fig. 5.
• the side portion 21 of the locking strip 7 is designed with a recess 35 which widens the inner part of the groove 22 and generates an abutment surface 36 for cooperation with the engagement edge 34 of the common part 6.
• the second side portion 20 of the locking strip 7 is designed with a beveled engagement surface 37 for cooperation with the projecting portion 33 of the common part 6.
• the projecting portions 33 and 34 of the part 6 can be obtained in many different ways. In addition to upsetting, bending or pressing out, they can also be obtained by applying extra material on only one side or both sides of the part 6. To permit the necessary movement of the side portions 20, 21 of the locking strip, they are not joined together by a bottom portion at the position for engagement between the outwardly projecting portions 33 and 34 of the part 6 and the walls of the groove 22 in the locking strip 7.
• decorative strips and spacer strips in the form of extruded profiles 13 can be arranged in the channels 2 in the upright or in parts of these channels which are unused. They are expediently snapped into the channels from the side. These profiles too have an outer main portion 14 which can have a desired decoration and closely fits the peripheral surface of the profiled bar 1.
• profiled strips 13 can be used to facilitate the leveling of the shelf.
• Profiled strips 13 of a height corresponding to the height at which a shelf is to be arranged are first snapped in the channels of the uprights where a bracket is to be mounted. The bracket with its locking strip is then driven down in the channel until the locking strip strikes against the underlying profiled strip.
• the locking strips in all the stands can be easily driven down to the same level, where they are then securely locked by being pivoted downward in the manner which has been described above.
• the mutual spacing between shelves lying one above the other can also be easily adjusted using the same technique.
• Fig. 7 shows an application of brackets 4 in accordance with the above for fitting two glass shelves 15 on two uprights 1.
• brackets By fitting such brackets in two oppositely directed channels in an upright 1, a shelf can be mounted using just one upright 1. If so desired, brackets can also be mounted in the other channels of the upright.
• the figure shows the use of brackets comprising two bracket arms 4 arranged at an angle to one another, it is of course also possible, according to the invention, to fit single brackets or brackets which have more than two arms .
• Fig. 8 shows another stand comprising both inclined shelves 16 and horizontal shelves 17 which have been fitted according to the invention.
• Reference number 18 illustrates a display panel which is secured between the uprights 1 and which, along its vertical edges, is designed with projections (not shown) which have been introduced into holes in the legs of decorative and spacing strips 13 inserted into the channels 2 in the uprights 1, so that the edges of the panel are fitted in behind the head portions 14 of the strips 13.
• Reference number 19 indicates a top panel .
• the invention has been described above in connection with the illustrative embodiments shown in the drawing. These can be varied in several respects within the scope of the patent claims, especially as regards the application of the invention on different types of stands.
• the invention can thus be used for fitting shelves regardless of the number of uprights which are used.
• the invention can also be used for fitting other types of support members, for example bars, which run between uprights, or outwardly projecting display prongs or the like.

Landscapes

• Display Racks (AREA)
• Mutual Connection Of Rods And Tubes (AREA)

Priority Applications (2)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Publications (1)

Family

ID=20287030

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (4)

Citations (4)

• 2002
  • 2002-02-21 SE SE0200508A patent/SE0200508D0/sv unknown
• 2003
  • 2003-02-20 EP EP03705610A patent/EP1476047A1/en not_active Withdrawn
  • 2003-02-20 AU AU2003206560A patent/AU2003206560A1/en not_active Abandoned
  • 2003-02-20 WO PCT/SE2003/000273 patent/WO2003070058A1/en not_active Application Discontinuation

Patent Citations (4)

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