U.S. patent number 3,677,203 [Application Number 05/046,768] was granted by the patent office on 1972-07-18 for merchandise support with hinged shelf.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Southern Cross Industries, Inc.. Invention is credited to Wade H. Barrineau.
United States Patent |
3,677,203 |
Barrineau |
July 18, 1972 |
MERCHANDISE SUPPORT WITH HINGED SHELF
Abstract
A merchandise shelf arrangement which may be used to display and
arrange soft drink bottles in a supermarket. Each of a number of
spaced shelves is hinged to a vertical support for vertical
adjustment thereon relative to the merchandise above or below. The
shelf may be injection molded with a plastic pressure adjustment
bracket on one end to which the shelf is hinged along a living
hinge of plastic material such as polypropylene material. The
bracket is also hinged in two pieces along a plastic hinge line
whereby the pieces may be confined in a channel in the shelf in
place at a selected position while permitting manual relocation by
applying pressure to the bracket. A flat spring inserted in the
bracket and extending across the hinge line is "cocked" in place by
the load of the merchandise whereby the shelf will rise when the
load is removed.
Inventors: |
Barrineau; Wade H. (De Kalb
County, GA) |
Assignee: |
Southern Cross Industries, Inc.
(Atlanta, GA)
|
Family
ID: |
21945287 |
Appl.
No.: |
05/046,768 |
Filed: |
June 16, 1970 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
108/166;
211/59.4; 211/149; 211/150 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A47F
5/0087 (20130101); A47F 5/0037 (20130101); A47F
7/281 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
A47F
5/00 (20060101); A47F 7/28 (20060101); A47b
005/00 () |
Field of
Search: |
;108/106,107,108,111
;211/49 ;248/246 ;16/150 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Gay; Bobby R.
Assistant Examiner: Moore; Garry
Claims
What is claimed:
1. In a merchandise support:
a. a substantially vertical shelf support structure which may be a
rectangular metal frame, there being a normally vertical guide
means on said shelf support in which one end of a shelf is mounted
and supported for normal position to support merchandise including
soft drink bottles loose or in cartons,
b. a shelf structure comprising a normally substantially horizontal
shelf when loaded with merchandise and a bracket connected to said
shelf along a hinge therebetween whereby said shelf will move along
said hinge from a substantially horizontal to substantially
vertical position so that said shelf may raise when empty to expose
merchandise on an identical shelf which may be located
therebelow,
c. said shelf structure bracket being slidably supported on said
vertical shelf support for sliding adjustment thereon and being
held in place from movement when fully loaded with a heavy load of
merchandise such as large soft drink bottles by means of pressure
exerted between portions of said bracket and portions of said
vertical shelf support, said bracket being so arranged as to be
manually displaced as to the portions in contact so as to relieve
said pressure sufficiently to adjust said shelf relative to said
vertical shelf support,
d. said shelf and said bracket being molded integrally with an
integral, flexible hinge line therebetween from a plastic material
such as polypropylene.
2. The device in claim 1:
d. said shelf and said bracket having a spring means interposed
therebetween and said spring means being operated when said shelf
is extended into load bearing condition to bias said shelf upwardly
when said load is removed.
3. The device in claim 2:
said spring means being a flat leaf spring extending from said
shelf across said hinge and into said bracket.
4. The device in claim 2: said shelf and said bracket being molded
integrally with an integral, flexible line therebetween from a
plastic material such as polypropylene.
5. The device in claim 3: said shelf and said bracket being molded
integrally with an integral, flexible hinge line therebetween from
a plastic material such as polypropylene.
6. In a merchandise support:
a. substantially vertical shelf support structure which may be a
rectangular metal frame, there being a normally vertical guide
means on said shelf support in which one end of a shelf is mounted
and supported for normal position to support merchandise including
soft drink bottles loose or in cartons,
b. a shelf structure comprising a normally substantially horizontal
shelf when loaded with merchandise and a bracket connected to said
shelf along a hinge therebetween whereby said shelf will move along
said hinge from a substantially horizontal to substantially
vertical position so that said shelf may raise when empty to expose
merchandise on an identical shelf which may be located
therebelow,
c. said shelf structure bracket being slidably supported on said
vertical shelf support for sliding adjustment thereon and being
held in place from movement when fully loaded with a heavy load of
merchandise such as large soft drink bottles by means of pressure
exerted between portions of said bracket and portions of said
vertical shelf support, said bracket being so arranged as to be
manually displaced as to the portions in contact so as to relieve
said pressure sufficiently to adjust said shelf relative to said
vertical shelf support,
d. said bracket having the bracket portions relatively movable and
connected about a hinge line and normally being positioned in
angular displacement about said hinge line under pressure on said
shelf support structure to hold said shelf in place but being
relatively movable about said hinge line from the angular
displacement to relieve said pressure sufficiently to permit said
shelf to be moved by hand.
7. The device in claim 6:
e. said vertical shelf support structure having continuous, opposed
contact surfaces engageable by said movable portions on said
bracket for adjustment upwardly or downwardly.
8. The device in claim 7:
f. said bracket portions comprising transverse members connected by
a hinge therebetween and projecting members from said transverse
members extending from said hinge and said projecting members and
transverse members at times being at an angle to said hinge line,
and said hinge biasing said transverse members to resist
displacement toward each other whereby said transverse members are
forced against said pressure to assume a position against said
opposed contact surfaces.
9. The device in claim 6: a leaf spring interposed between said
shelf and said bracket.
10. The device in claim 8: a leaf spring interposed between said
shelf and said bracket.
11. The device in claim 6: said shelf and said bracket and said
bracket portions all being integrally molded from a plastic
material such as polypropylene.
12. The device in claim 7: said shelf and said bracket and said
bracket portions all being integrally molded from a plastic
material such as polypropylene.
13. The device in claim 8: said shelf, said bracket, said bracket
portions, said transverse members and said projecting members all
being integrally molded from a plastic material such as
polypropylene.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
l. Field of the Invention
Merchandise shelves and support structures such as racks wherein
the shelves are plural and spaced vertically and fold upwardly when
released by removing the merchandise as a result of pressure such
as that from a coil spring.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Shelf arrangements such as that shown in U. S. Pat. Nos. 2,992,742
and 2,637,445, are made from wire and welded or otherwise attached
and the shelves are fitted in place in an assembly operation which
includes bringing springs into position to operate the shelves as
well as other operations which cost money and take time. Welded
wire shelves are more costly than plastic. The coil springs are not
insignificant in cost and must be the right characteristics
required to exert the proper pressure and to function repeated
numbers of times. Stopping the shelves in the proper position when
extended as well as retracted requires some amount of proper
assembly and the shelves must be vertically adjustable without a
great deal of trouble as this must be done by supermarket
personnel. These requirements cause the rack to be at a certain
cost level when made of wire and fabricated and assembled in that
manner.
SUMMARY
Slidably mounted on a substantially vertical support, one or more
foldable merchandise shelves suitable for supporting soft drink
bottles is capable of execution in plastic or other material which
may be formed to provide a hinge structure to divide the shelf into
folding sections and a hinge between the shelf and a pressure slide
bracket mounted on the vertical support, thereby eliminating wire
shelves and coil springs and reducing the cost of construction
accordingly. Also, a positive pressure arrangement is adjustable by
hand to selectively adjust the shelf from a position upwardly
therefrom by means of portions of the bracket engaging the vertical
support which in one form can be a track channel with part of the
bracket under pressure therein. An ordinary metal leaf spring may
be used at the hinge to provide the self-raising feature of the
shelf which folds on itself when empty and this is the only part of
the shelf and bracket which is metal. Assembly of the entire
structure is simplified over previous all-wire arrangements and
assembly of the leaf spring is simplified. Therefore, original
assembly is easier and less expensive and replacement of the
shelves or other parts has been simplified.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a merchandise rack of the present
invention.
FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the rack shown in FIG. 1 in partial
dis-assembly.
FIG. 3 is an enlarged perspective view of the shelf support bracket
of a shelf in the rack shown in FIG. 1.
FIG. 4 is an enlarged side elevation view of the plastic bracket
shown in FIG. 3.
FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along lines 5--5 in FIG.
7.
FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along lines 6--6 in FIG.
5.
FIG. 7 is a side elevation view of the rack shown in FIG. 1.
FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the shelf bracket in position to
receive the spring inserted therein.
FIG. 9 is a plan view of the spring slots of the bracket portion of
the shelf.
DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
The rack is designated generally and overall by reference numeral
10 and comprises a vertical back 12 which may be constructed from
roll formed steel and which is attached to a metal based 14 by
means of hook lock tabs 16 on brackets 18 fitted into slots 20 in
the back 12. Base 14 is made from metal plate in a box-like
formation with a top 22, sides 24, front 26 and back end 28. Atop
shelf 30 may be used if desired and is made from sheet metal formed
like a tray with a bottom 32 and upstanding sides and ends 34.
Shelf 30 attaches like base 14 by means of hook tabs 16 mounted on
side angle brackets 36 fitted into slots 38 in the top of the back
12.
There are a plurality of slots 20 and 38 in spaced, aligned
relation along the back 12 to provide a number of selective
locations for the base 14 as well as the shelf 30 and also to
accommodate a diagonal strut or brace member 44 formed from tubular
metal and with flattened, formed ends to fit into a slot 38 and
into a slot 46 in the base 14. When assembled this provides a
strong, rigid rack that may be placed on the floor in a supermarket
to hold bottles such as and including large soft drink bottles and
packages of bottles such as packages 46 shown in FIG. 1 with six
bottles 48 each. The intermediate shelf assemblies 50, now to be
described, hold these bottles 48 and are extended when in use but
fold out of the way of the lower shelf when the upper shelf is
depleated. When one shelf is empty it folds substantially medially
upon itself and moves out of the way so that the customer can see
and have access to remove the bottles on the next shelf.
It should be noted that the base 14 is optional and can be
eliminated and the back 12 attached in some other fashion, such as
to a wall or to a goldola cart (not shown) or any other fixture
(not shown). Back 12 is formed with two vertical guides or tracks
52 therein made by forming the sheet material into a pair of
opposed, spaced channels 54 having an entrance 56 thereinto from
the front thereof (see FIGS. 2 & 3). These channels 54 and
tracks 52 provide a means to support a shelf bracket 60, also
called a slide or slide bracket, so that under certain conditions
of adjustment a bracket 60 and its shelf 62 can slide vertically
for adjustment but is retained against movement even when fully
loaded with bottles. The back wall of channel 54 is designated by
reference numeral 66.
Shelf 62 is integrally molded from polypropylene (also called
polypro) with the bracket 60 and folds along a transverse hinge
into parts 62a and 62b. It is a characteristic of polypropylene
that when properly oriented it has a memory and the molecular
structure resists breaking at a hinge line thereby permitting
considerable bending repetitions. Bracket 60 is molded along line
70 to the edge 72 of shelf 62 which is molded with openings 74
defined by a pattern of plastic material 76. The line 70 is a
flexible polypropylene hinge. Bracket 60 is molded in two principal
parts -- upper part 78 and lower part 80 connected along a hinge
line 82 which permits flexing between part 78 and part 80. Each
part 78, 80 is formed with side elements 86, 88 molded therein and
each element 86, 88 comprises offset lugs 90 corresponding somewhat
and somewhat complimentary to the shape of the channels 54 in which
said lugs 90 and element 86, 88 are confined as seen in FIGS. 4, 5
and 6. Shelf 62 is formed with a middle section 94 having a spring
slot 96 therein leading into a spring tunnel 98 in section 94 to
accommodate one end of a leaf spring 100 made from suitable spring
material tempered for repeated use , etc. Each part 78, 80 has a
side member 102, 104 supporting the lugs 90 at right angles to the
transverse strips 106, 108. Strip 108 has a spring slot 110 therein
with a beveled surface leading thereto. Strip 106 has a narrow slot
112 therein leading to the slot 96 in section 94 and from there
into tunnel 98. Slot 112 in strip 106 defines a narrow strip 114
which in molding has been reduced in thickness to accommodate a
part of the spring 100 bent therearound when assembled and inserted
as shown in FIGS. 3, 8 and 9. The entire bracket 60 is a shelf
slide which is hinged at 82 in such a way that the leaf spring 100
threaded through slots 110, 114 into tunnel 98 so that when
inserted and with the shelf and bracket 60 in place in the channels
54 the spring 100 is bent (see FIG. 6) causing the hinged bracket
or slide 60 to cock in the channels 54 providing a tight frictional
bind which will not allow the slide (bracket) 60 to be moved up and
down in the channels 54 until enough pressure has been applied to
overcome the resistance. The amount of resistance of pressure is a
function of the strength of the spring 100 used and the angle at
which the spring is bent in the section 106, 108 and 94. For ease
of adjustment, the slide preferably is designed in such a way that
the frictional bind can be eased by pushing on the bracket 60 in
the manner shown in FIG. 4 to bring the surfaces of elements 86, 88
and lugs 90 contacting the walls of channels 54 substantially out
of engagement with the walls of channels 54 and moving the bracket
60 and shelf 62 upwardly or downwardly as desired while holding the
bracket 60 by hand.
The shelf 62 is activated by the same spring 100 by means of the
hinge line 82 and the spring 100 in the tunnel 98, so that shelf 62
can swing in an arc of 90.degree. from substantially horizontal to
substantially vertical. With no load on the shelf 62 the shelf 62
will always return to the vertical position and normally cannot
spring below horizontal. The shelf arrangement prevents excessive
bending of the spring 100 to prevent the spring 100 from taking a
permanent set.
With reference to FIG. 8, it is possible to thread and insert the
leaf spring 100 in the assembly of each shelf 62 and bracket
(slide) 60 assembly substantially in a straight or slightly curved
line with little or no tension of the spring until the shelf
assemblies 50 are mounted in place in the channels 54. Spring 100
can be relatively inexpensive compared with some of the helical and
coil springs used in folding shelf construction and molding of the
entire shelf assembly 50 from polypropylene is less expensive than
folding shelves made from metal with coil springs, etc.
Advertising material such as decals or screen print 106 may be
placed on the top of shelf 50 so that when folded as shown in FIG.
1 the advertising will be displayed.
While I have shown and described a particular embodiment of my
invention this is by way of illustration only and various
alterations, changes, revisions, modifications, additions,
substitutions, additions, and departures may be made in the form
shown without departing from the scope of my invention defined
within the interpretation of the appended claims.
* * * * *