U.S. patent application number 11/353907 was filed with the patent office on 2006-09-07 for suspended shelf support system.
This patent application is currently assigned to Skyhooks, LLC, a limited liability. Invention is credited to Lisa V. Allendorph, John C. Dute.
Application Number | 20060197002 11/353907 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 36943232 |
Filed Date | 2006-09-07 |
United States Patent
Application |
20060197002 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Dute; John C. ; et
al. |
September 7, 2006 |
Suspended shelf support system
Abstract
Brackets are provided in two forms so that, with the addition of
shelving stock, suspended shelving units can be built. Regardless
of form the brackets have reversely bent edge flanges so that they
may be linked together to form parallel chains. Shelves are
supported between the chains and held in place by means of threaded
fasteners.
Inventors: |
Dute; John C.; (Concord,
MI) ; Allendorph; Lisa V.; (St. Louis, MO) |
Correspondence
Address: |
YOUNG & BASILE, P.C.
3001 WEST BIG BEAVER ROAD
SUITE 624
TROY
MI
48084
US
|
Assignee: |
Skyhooks, LLC, a limited
liability
Concord
MI
|
Family ID: |
36943232 |
Appl. No.: |
11/353907 |
Filed: |
February 14, 2006 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
60653301 |
Feb 16, 2005 |
|
|
|
Current U.S.
Class: |
248/250 ;
248/322; 248/339 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A47B 43/006
20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
248/250 ;
248/322; 248/339 |
International
Class: |
A47G 29/02 20060101
A47G029/02 |
Claims
1. A linkable support bracket for shelves and the like comprising:
a body of plate-like stock having longitudinally opposite ends bent
back along parallel bend lines to form opposite edge flanges; and a
fastener hole formed laterally centrally of the body proximate the
lowermost flange, whereby a shelf or the like may be fastened
between parallel brackets.
2. A bracket as described in claim 1 wherein the fastener hole has
a keyway extending toward the adjacent bend line.
3. A bracket as defined in claim 1 wherein a tooth is formed on the
edge of one of the edge flanges.
4. A shelf support bracket adapted to be linked with duplicates of
itself comprising: an elongate body of substantially flat stock
having longitudinally opposite ends reversely bent back along
parallel bend lines to form opposite flange hooks and a
longitudinally intermediate, laterally extending step; a hanger
hole formed laterally centrally of the body proximate the uppermost
flange hook; and a fastener hole formed laterally centrally of the
body proximate the lowermost flange hook.
5. A shelf support bracket as described in claim 4 further
including a fastener hole formed laterally centrally of the body
proximate the step.
6. A shelf support bracket as defined in claim 5 wherein the
fastener holes have keyways extending toward the adjacent bend line
and step respectively.
7. In combination: a pair of identical brackets adapted to be
longitudinally linked with duplicates of themselves, each bracket
comprising a body of substantially flat stock having longitudinally
opposite edges flanges bent back along parallel bend lines to form
opposite flange hooks; a hanger hole formed laterally centrally of
each body proximate the uppermost flange hook; a fastener hole
formed laterally centrally of each body proximate the lowermost
flange hook; and a device fastened between the brackets.
8. The combination of claim 7 wherein each bracket has an offset
formed at the longitudinal center parallel to the bend lines
forming the edge flange hooks.
9. The combination of claim 7 wherein each bracket has a tooth
formed in the outer edge of the upper flange hook.
Description
[0001] The present invention claims priority from U.S. Provisional
Application Ser. No. 60/653,301, filed on Feb. 16, 2005.
BACKGROUND
[0002] 1. Field of the Invention
[0003] This invention pertains to suspended shelving systems and
particularly to a shelving system which includes a bracket having
reversely bent opposite end flanges which make it possible to link
brackets together to form hanging chains between which shelves are
fastened.
[0004] 2. Background of the Invention
[0005] Shelving systems and units of various kinds are available.
The most common type of shelving unit comprises corner posts and a
plurality of flat shelves fastened between the posts in parallel
spaced relationship. The unit stands on the floor. A more recent
development is the wall-mounted shelving system using vertical
metal support strips fastened to a wall and having spaced slots,
and brackets which are fastened to the supports by means of tabs
which extend into the slots. Shelves are then mounted on the
brackets.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0006] The present invention provides a suspended shelving system
and/or components for constructing suspended shelving systems in a
variety of sizes. In one form, the present invention is a shelving
system adapted to be suspended from a ceiling or other overhead
support by means of eye hooks or the like. In general, a. system
constructed in accordance with the present invention comprises two
or more chains of interlinked shelf support brackets, each bracket
including a plate-like body with reversely bent edge flanges at the
opposite longitudinal ends thereof to permit identical brackets to
be linked to one another to form a chain. With one form of bracket,
the interlinked edge flanges provide alternately oppositely
directed horizontal support surfaces for the ends of shelf which
can be fastened between parallel but spaced apart brackets or
bracket chains. The brackets and shelves are easily assembled using
common household tools and a minimum of handyman skills. With three
or more chains of interlinked brackets, shelves and respective
adjacent vertical rows are staggered. Because the shelving units
require no proximity to a vertical wall, they may be suspended from
an overhead support in the middle of a room as well as near a
wall.
[0007] Using another form of bracket, the reversely bent edge
flanges extend in opposite directions and an offset is provided in
the longitudinal center of the bracket to provide a shelf support
extending in one direction. Again, using three or more chains of
such brackets, the shelves in adjacent vertical rows are staggered
and any given shelving system requires no immediate proximity to a
vertical walls.
[0008] In the commercial form, the "product" may be sold in the
form of brackets alone or in combination with suitable instruction
literature. This allows the user to select shelving material
according to his or her own tastes and according to his or her own
requirements as far as size and quantity is concerned.
Alternatively, brackets made in accordance with the invention may
be packaged with shelving material and sold as extendable or
fixed-size kits. The advantages of the present invention are
numerous. Shelves need be neither too high nor too low; units do
not rest on floors subject to flooding; units can be placed
anywhere in a room and can be accessed from both sides.
[0009] Because of the retailing possibilities as described above,
another aspect of the invention is the bracket per se. As
hereinafter described in greater detail, there are at least two
embodiments of the bracket, each embodiment comprising a plate-like
body fabricated from essentially rigid stock such as steel,
aluminum or plastic and having bent out opposite edge flanges to
permit the brackets to be interlinked. In one embodiment, the bent
out flanges are reversely bent so that two or more brackets can be
linked end-to-end. Each bracket has a hanger hole near the
uppermost edge flange and a shelf fastener hole proximate the
lowermost edge flange. Both of the holes are preferably laterally
centered on the bracket; i.e., midway between the opposite lateral
edges. The shelf fastener hole is designed to accommodate a
fastener such as a screw or nail having a head and is preferably
provided with a keyway such that fasteners may be installed in the
shelf and the combination of the shelf and. fasteners dropped into
place between two spaced apart parallel chains of linked brackets.
Although we refer generally to the use of "shelves" with the
brackets, it is to be understood that other items such as baskets
made of stiff wire-like material can also be suspended from the
brackets.
[0010] In another embodiment, an offset or step is provided in the
center of the bracket for shelf support purposes. This bracket is
typically longer than the bracket of the first embodiment. Again,
the opposite longitudinal edges of the bracket are bent back to
provide edge flanges, in this case, the flanges extending in
opposite directions from one another, to permit the brackets to be
linked together to form a chain of any desired length. Again, two
or more chains of brackets can be suspended from the ceiling or
another overhead support by means of hooks and shelves are mounted
between the chains by means of the flanges and/or offsets. Where
three or more parallel chains or brackets are used, the shelves are
staggered as between adjacent vertical rows.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0011] FIG. 1 is a perspective drawing of a portion of a shelving
system using a first form of bracket.
[0012] FIG. 2 is a schematic side view diagram of a shelving system
using two or more chains of brackets of the type shown in FIG. 1
and staggered shelving units between adjacent parallel chains or
brackets.
[0013] FIG. 3 is a perspective drawing of a second type of bracket
showing how two identical brackets are interlinked; and
[0014] FIG. 4 is a schematic side view diagram of a three vertical
row shelving system constructed using brackets of the type
illustrated in FIG. 3.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE ILLUSTRATIVE EMBODIMENTS
[0015] Referring to FIG. 1, a first shelving system is shown to
comprise in part identical, linkable metal brackets 10, 12 and 14,
each of which comprises a flat, plate-like body which may, for
example, measure approximately four inches vertically by three
inches horizontally. Bracket 10 has reversely bent edge flanges 16
and 18 at the longitudinally opposite ends thereof, each flange
being approximately 3/8 to 1/4 of an inch deep and bent back to
define an included angle between the flange and the body of the
bracket 10 of approximately 45.degree.. The upper edge flange 16
has a laterally centrally located tooth 20 formed thereon for
purposes to be described. A hanger hole 22 is formed in the body of
bracket 10 approximately 1/4 of an inch below the top edge and
approximately 5/16 of an inch in diameter to permit the bracket to
be hung from an eyehook 40 or the like which is screwed into an
overhead support as hereinafter described. In addition, bracket 10
is provided with a keyway shaped fastener aperture 24. The top
portion of the keyway shaped aperture 24 is approximately 1/4 of an
inch in diameter and the lower portion approximately 1/8 of an inch
in width an extending fully to the bend line which defines the
lower edge flange 18.
[0016] Similarly, bracket 12 has upper and lower reversely bent
edge flanges 26 and 28, a hanger hole 30 and a keyway aperture 32.
Identical bracket 14 has upper and lower edge flanges of which only
the upper edge flange 34 appears in FIG. 1. This upper edge flange
has a tooth 36 formed centrally between the lateral edges and a
hanger hoe 38.
[0017] The shelving system illustrated in FIG. 1 is only partial as
will be explained hereinafter with reference to FIG. 2. However, it
is shown to comprise shelving stock which in this instance includes
an upper shelf 42 and a lower shelf 44. Screws 46 and 48 are used
to secure the shelves to the brackets as hereinafter described with
reference to FIG. 2.
[0018] Referring now to FIG. 2, to assemble a shelving unit using
the brackets 10, 12 and 14 of FIG. 1 as well as additional
identical brackets, a pair of eye hooks 40 are screwed into an
overhead support such as a ceiling joist 50. Chains, not shown, can
be used to lower the shelving unit from the ceiling, but in this
case it is assumed that identical brackets 10 and 10 are hooked to
the eye hooks 40 by way of the hanger holes 22. Brackets 12 and 12'
are linked to the top brackets 10 and 10' by placing the edge
flanges 26 on top of the edge flanges 18. It will be noted that the
center tooth 20 (not shown) of the bracket 12 fits into the keyway
shaped aperture 24 of the bracket 10 and the tooth 36 of the
bracket 14 fits into the keyway aperture 32 of the bracket 12. This
helps align the brackets with one another and prevent sideways
slippage between brackets. As many brackets as desired may be
linked together to form parallel vertical chains which are spaced
apart laterally by the desired width of the shelving unit. Although
not shown in FIG. 2, it is to be understood that additional chains
of additional vertical chains of identical brackets are suspended
from additional eye hooks 40 at the desired lateral spacing and in
parallel to the chains made up of the brackets 10 and 10', 12 and
12', 14 and 14' shown in FIG. 2.
[0019] The shelf 42 which is typically but not necessarily made of
wood and of a depth which may be substantially greater than the
lateral width of the bracket 10 is disposed between the bracket
chains; i.e., between the brackets 10 and 10' by resting the shelf
42 on the top edge flanges 26 and 26' of the brackets 12 and 12'
respectively. The shallow depth of the interlinked end flanges is
sufficient to provide support for the shelf 42 when fasteners 46
and 46' are disposed through the keyways of the apertures 24 and
24' of the respective brackets 10 and 10'. The fasteners 46 may be
screws or nails and are preferably but not necessarily screwed or
pounded part way into the shelf 42 along the lateral centerline
thereof prior to assembly of the shelf 42 into its position between
the brackets 10 and 10'. This approach to assembly is permitted by
the keyway shaped apertures 24 which allow the heads of the
fasteners 46 to be inserted through the larger holes, after which
the shelf is dropped down into its support position wherein the
shaft of the fastener passes through the narrower slot shaped
portion of the apertures 24. If screws are used, the fasteners 46
and 46' may be left slightly loose during the assembly process and
then tightened up to more permanently integrate the entire system.
The shelves 44 and 44' are approximately 4 inches below the shelf
42 and are "staggered" in the sense that they are in adjacent
parallel rows. This of course requires two additional chains of
brackets 10, 12 and 14 arranged in parallel with the chains shown
in FIG. 2. Shelf 44 rests on the "knee" formed by the interlinked
edge flanges of the brackets 12 and 14 and are secured by fastener
48 driven into the end surfaces of the shelf 44. This arrangement
can be duplicated vertically as many times as space and/or need
allows/requires, the result being a shelving system with laterally
staggered shelves with overall 8 inch spacings. Of course the
brackets may be made in different sizes to provide wider gaps or
"pitch" between parallel shelves in the same row. By way of
example, a bracket 10 with a 6 inch vertical dimension provides as
12 inch pitch between shelves in a given row and a 6 inch space in
between staggered shelves in laterally adjacent rows. The system
shown in FIG. 2 has a bottom shelf 52 at a distance below the shelf
42 calculated in accordance with a number of brackets which are
added to the chains.
[0020] As described above, shelving system constructed in
accordance with the illustrations of FIGS. 1 and 2 has remarkable
stability and unitary integrity without the necessity for leaning
against or bearing against a vertical surface such as an outside
wall. While the preferred material for the brackets 10, 12 and 14
is solid metal, they may also be made of rigid mesh and/or plastic.
They must of course be relatively rigid and may be painted or
otherwise colored in various colors and designs according to the
creative imagination of the manufacturer.
[0021] Referring now to FIGS. 3 and 4, a second style or form of
bracket 54 is shown. A second identical bracket 56 is also shown in
FIG. 3 to convey the fact that identical brackets 54 and 56 are
vertically linkable to form chains in the same manner the chains
were formed with the brackets 10, 12 and 14 of FIGS. 1 and 2. The
bracket 54 is also made of plate stock such as steel, but has an
overall longitudinal dimension of approximately 8 inches, rather
than the four inch longitudinal dimension of the bracket 10 of FIG.
1. Bracket 54 also has edge flanges 58 and 60, a laterally central
hanger hole 62 just below the upper edge flange 58 and a keyway
shaped aperture 64 adjacent and running into the lower edge flange
60. The upper edge flange 58 preferably has a central tooth 66
formed therein to interfit into the lower portion of the keyway
aperture 64 when two identical brackets 54, 56 are linked together
to form a chain.
[0022] The bracket 54 is formed with a longitudinally central,
laterally extending offset 68 of approximately 1/4 of an inch in
depth. Whereas the edge flanges 58 and 60 are reversely bent
through an angle of approximately 135.degree., the offset 68 is
preferably bent at an angle of only 90 degrees and a second keyway
shaped aperture 70 is formed just above but extending into the
offset 68 as best shown in FIG. 3. It will be appreciated that hole
62 is a "hanger" whereas the apertures 64 and 70 are fastener
apertures serving the same purpose as the apertures 24 and 32 in
the embodiment of FIG. 1.
[0023] Referring now to FIG. 4, a three-row shelving system
suspended from four lined up but laterally spaced eye hooks 70 as
shown. As in the embodiment of FIG. 2, the eyehooks 70 are driven
into a ceiling joist 72 at intervals representing the desired
lateral width or extent of the shelves 74, 76 and 78 to be
suspended therefrom. Starting with the left-hand most chain of
brackets 54, 56, it will be seen that the top bracket 54 is
suspended directly from the eye hook 70. As before, a length of
chain may be interposed between the eye hook 70 and the top bracket
54 if it is desired to lower the entire unit. Bracket 56 is linked
to bracket 54 by way of the edge flanges. The offset 68 in the
bracket 54 provides the rest or support for the shelf 74. The
second chain of brackets 54', 56', etc. is identical to the first
chain but arranged in mirror image relationship. A third chain of
brackets 54'', 56'', etc. is arranged and parallel to the first and
second chains and a fourth chain of brackets 54''', 56'''is
arranged in mirror image relationship to the third chain. Shelves
74 are arranged between the first and second chains, the outer
lateral edges of the shelves 74 resting on the offset 68 as
described above. Fasteners 76 are driven into the edges .of the
shelves 74 and, in the assembled state, extend through the slotted
portions of the fastener aperture 70 shown in FIG. 3. Again, it is
preferred to place the fasteners 76 in the edges of the shelves
before the shelves 74 are put in place.
[0024] Shelves 76 are disposed between the interlinked edge flanges
of the brackets 54', 54'', 56', 56'' and are therefore staggered by
four inches relative to the shelves 74 in the first vertical row of
shelves. Again, this provides an eight inch pitch between shelves
in a given vertical row and a four inch space in between the
staggered shelves in adjacent rows.
[0025] It will be noticed that the edge flanges of the brackets 54
are bent in opposite directions whereas the edge flanges of the
brackets 10 are bent in the same direction. It will also be noted
that a bracket 54 is, in effect, a pair of brackets 10 permanently
pre-linked. Whereas the offset 68 is preferably 90 degrees, it may
be somewhat greater than 90 degrees if desired. Again, the brackets
54, be made of numerous relatively rigid materials including both
side metal, gridded metal and plastic. Shelving units of the type
shown in FIG. 4 may be designed and created in any of many varying
widths according to the physical characteristics of the shelving
material used and the weight of the object to be supported by the
shelves. The shelf depths can be substantially greater than the
width of the brackets 54 and the shelf pitch may be varied by
varying the longitudinal dimensions of the bracket 54, 56.
[0026] It will be appreciated that the invention has been described
with reference to specific and preferred embodiments thereof and
that various changes, alterations and additions may occur to those
skilled in the art.
* * * * *