Adjustable Shelf And Cabinet Structure

Abstract

The present clamps are designed to be attached to a cabinet or shelf and applied in open form to the side of supporting poles that reach from floor to ceiling, the clamps serving when closed to support the cabinet or shelf at any desired height. Friction buttons of resilient material are compressed against the poles in the closing of the clamps to prevent slippage. Snap-action catches lock the clamps securely in place on the poles and there are no screws requiring tightening.

Description

This invention relates to an adjustable shelf and cabinet structure and, more specifically, one in which parallel vertical poles of spring-loaded construction, reaching from the floor to the ceiling, form the supports that are easy to move from one place to another and are particularly handy for bathroom installation straddling the toilet flushing tank to provide extra shelf and storage space usually needed, these structures having thereby earned the name "space savers."

A salient feature of the present invention is the employment of easily closeable and openable pole clamps, each of economical two-piece molded plastic construction, the one piece having integral supporting hooks extending therefrom easily connectable to the sidewall of a cabinet or to one side of a shelf and applicable to a supporting pole from one side thereof as distinguished from having to be assembled on the pole from one end, and the other part being pivotally connected to the first part swingable into closed position where it can be locked firmly in place with snap action of a spring catch molded integrally with the first-mentioned piece, one of the two pieces having a radially projecting button of compressible resilient plastic or the like provided thereon and arranged to be compressed automatically in the closing of the clamp to take a good hold on the pole for reliable support but yet permitting jogging of the cabinet or shelf up or down as desired. In other words, there is complete absence of screws requiring tightening, whereas prior structures invariably required them.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an adjustable shelf and cabinet structure embodying the features of my invention;

FIG. 2 is a side view of one of the pole clamps shown substantially full size supporting a cabinet, only a portion of a sidewall of which is shown in vertical sectional detail;

FIG. 3 is a top view of the clamp shown in FIG. 2, taken on the line 3--3 thereof;

FIG. 4 is a side view of FIG. 2 on the line 4--4 thereof;

FIGS. 5 and 6 are a perspective view and a top view, respectively, of one of the pole clamps, shown opened to better illustrate the construction, and

FIG. 7 is a side view, similar to FIG. 2, but showing a pole clamp connected with one end of a shelf in a similar manner, a portion of one end being shown in vertical sectional detail.

The same reference numerals are applied to corresponding parts throughout the views.

Referring to the drawing, and at first mainly to FIG. 1, the reference numerals 8 and 9 designate a pair of substantially vertical parallel tubular poles having rubber-cushioned supports on the floor and adapted to be adjustably secured in abutment with the ceiling by means of spring-pressed pads suitably mounted on the upper ends of the poles 8 and 9 in a manner well-known in the art and, therefore, not necessary to illustrate, the two poles providing support for the opposite ends of a cabinet, like that shown at 11, and one or more shelves, as shown at 12 and 13. A pair of clamps 14 of novel construction are provided in vertically spaced relation at opposite ends of the cabinet 11 for support thereof on a pair of laterally spaced parallel hooks 15 that extend through laterally spaced parallel vertical slots 16 provided in the sidewall 17 of the cabinet. Each of the shelves 12 and 13 is supported in a similar manner by a pair of hooks 15 on each of the clamps 14 used at opposite ends of the shelf, similar vertical slots 17 being provided in the end walls 18 of the shelves to receive these hooks, as illustrated in FIG. 7. As can now be pointed out, the clamps 14 are of unique two-piece hinged construction making it a simple matter to first set up the poles and then assemble a cabinet on the poles with the one half 19 of each clamp previously assembled on each sidewall, so that all that remains is to close each clamp with its other half 20 and lock the clamp in tight frictional engagement with the pole, the handiness with which the parts 19-20 of each clamp can be snapped together usually enabling one person to attend to the entire assembling operation by himself, and, of course, the shelves, being even lighter, present no problem at all. With prior constructions, the clamp means was usually designed to be slipped over the ends of the poles, which complicated the setting up of the structure a great deal, and, what was worse, there was usually a screw or screws on each that had to be tightened, and in some cases they were not easy to get at, especially where an effort was made to more or less conceal them.

Referring to FIGS. 5 and 6 the clamps 14 are of two-piece molded plastic construction and the fixed half 19 of each clamp is generally L-shaped and has the integral hook of slightly reduced thickness and bifurcated as shown at 22 and defines an integral spring catch portion 23 on its inner part having a keeper projection 24 extending the whole thickness of its rounded outer end 25. The other leg 26 of half 19 terminates in a forked portion 27 for hinge connection by means of a steel pintle 28 with the reduced end 20 of one leg 30 of the L-shaped pivotal half 20 of the clamp. The other leg 31 of the latter ends in a channel-shaped portion 32 in which the bifurcated portion 22 of the first-mentioned fixed half 19 of the clamp fits and is arranged to be locked tightly in closed position by the catch portion 23 when its keeper projection 24 snaps into place behind the channel portion 32 at 33. About 150.degree. of the inner side of the fixed half 19 of the clamp is struck on a radius to fit on the pole as seen at 34, about the same extent is true on the inner side of the pivotal half 20 as seen at 35, so that when the clamp is closed there is only about 60.degree. or less of the circumference of the pole that is not contacted by the clamp, as best appears in FIG. 3. A socket 36 is provided in the pivotal half 20 of the clamp near the pivoted end thereof and a button 37 of compressible resilient plastic material or the like is suitably cemented in place therein and projects normally, therefrom as seen in FIGS. 5 and 6 but is arranged to be compressed as shown in FIG. 3, when the clamp is closed, so as to provide sufficient frictional resistance to slippage to provide adequate support for the cabinet or shelf carried thereon. The catch 23 normally projects inwardly, as best appears in FIG. 6, but, in the final portion of the closing movement of the pivotal half 20, the web portion 38 of the channel 32 is pressed against the catch 23 and forces it outwardly at about the same time that the button 37 is being compressed between the pole 8 or 9 and the pivotal part 20 of the clamp and consequently there is outward thrust on the pivotal part 20 holding it spring pressed against the inner side of keeper 24 combined with inward spring pressure of catch 23 against the web 38 of the channel 32 to insure a good locking action. Finger pressure on the rounded outer end 25 of the catch tending to disengage the keeper 24 is enough to cause the clamp to spring open if one decides to shift a cabinet or shelf upwardly or downwardly from a given position. It is possible to force a clamp to slip in either direction on the pole by pressure against the clamp but that method of adjusting a cabinet or shelf is not recommended because of the wear and tear on the buttons 37.

In operation, the clamps 14 are preferably, although, of course, not necessarily assembled on the cabinet or shelf before the clamps, still open, are applied to one side of the poles 8 and 9. Then, to complete the assembly, it is only necessary to close the clamps on the poles, and, in so doing, compress the buttons 37 between the clamps and the poles.

It is believed the foregoing description conveys a good understanding of the objects and advantages of my invention. While a preferred embodiment of the invention has been illustrated and described, this is only for the purpose of illustration, and it is to be understood that various modifications in structure will occur to a person skilled in this art.

Claims

I claim:

1. In a construction of the character described the combination with an upright generally cylindrical pole serving as a support, a pole clamp for support of a device on the pole comprising two generally semicircular parts that are hingedly connected at one end for wraparound application to the pole, a spring catch on a substantially tangential extension of one end of one of said parts, an outwardly facing channel adapted to receive said extension provided on the free end of the other of said parts, the spring catch being engageable on the outer end of the web portion of said channel to lock the parts together in closed position, another tangential extension in rigid relationship to the clamp part carrying the spring catch and outwardly spaced relative thereto, and spaced projections on the outer side of the same clamp part and on the rigid extension for support of an article on said pole.

2. A construction as set forth in claim 1 including resilient yieldable friction means compressible between the pole and at least one of the two semicircular parts in the closing thereof on the pole for frictionally resisting relative movement between the pole and clamp.

3. A clamp of the character described comprising two generally semicircular parts that are hingedly connected at one end for wraparound application to a cylindrical object, a spring catch on a substantially tangential extension of one end of one of the said parts, an outwardly facing channel adapted to receive said extension provided on the free end of the other of said parts, the spring catch being engageable on the outer end of the web portion of said channel to lock the parts together in closed position, another substantially tangential extension in rigid relationship to the clamp part carrying the spring catch and outwardly spaced relative thereto, and spaced hook means on the latter side of the same clamp part and on the rigid extension for article supporting purposes.

4. A clamp as set forth in claim 3, wherein both halves of the clamp are molded of one piece resilient plastic material hingedly connected by a pin.