Shelving Units

Abstract

A shelving unit comprising a top, a base and at least one intermediate shelf, all of which have vertical stubs at their corners for attachment to uprights consisting of sheet metal profiled sections, the stubs on the intermediate shelf projecting both above and below it and being continuous over their whole height on at least two of their faces, and the uprights being notched to fit around the intermediate shelf so that the lower ends of uprights above the intermediate shelf rest upon the upper ends of uprights below it, so as to transmit loads straight through the uprights to the base. The stubs may be U-sectioned, their walls being bent inwardly at their edges, and the uprights may be of G-section dimensioned to be a force fit over the stubs. The stubs may be spot-welded to vertical flanges on the top, base and intermediate shelf.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to shelving units of the type comprising uprights consisting of sheet metal sections, a base with stubs projecting upwards for attachment to the uprights, and a top with stubs projecting downwards for attachment to the shelving uprights.

It is true that shelving units of this type can be used by themselves. In most cases, however, several units are combined to form a larger system. The aim of the invention is to design a shelving unit of the type referred to so that it can be stacked up to any required height, the forces in the uprights being conducted straight to the base surface without any deviation.

SUMMARY

According to the invention, a shelving unit of the type described above further comprises at least one intermediate shelf with stubs consisting of sheet metal sections disposed at its corners and projecting both above and below the intermediate shelf, which stubs being continuous over their whole height on at least two adjoining faces, the shelving uprights being notched at their ends so that the end faces of respective uprights attached from above and below to each stub on the intermediate shelf are in contact with one another in the region of the continuous through faces of the stub.

A shelving unit constructed in this manner can be used in various ways. Thus a unit consisting of a base, four uprights and the top of the shelving unit can be employed as a basic unit. In most cases, however, a further unit will be stacked above the aforementioned intermediate shelf. In this case it will not be a top which is fitted on to the uprights attached to the base of the shelving unit, but an intermediate shelf. Then four upright components will again be attached to this intermediate shelf and then either a shelving top or yet another intermediate shelf attached to the top ends of the uprights. Even when intermediate shelves are used the forces in the uprights are transmitted directly to the base of the shelving because the end faces of the uprights make direct contact with one another and so an upper upright can be supported directly on the adjoining lower upright without the necessity for forces to be introduced into the intermediate shelf.

The stubs consist advantageously of U-sections, the web of the U making contact with one side of the intermediate shelf and a flange of the U making contact with an adjoining side of the intermediate shelf, while the opposite flange has a notch which embraces the intermediate shelf. Thus the continuity of the outer faces of the stubs is obtained in a simple manner.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a shelving unit according to the invention in an exploded representation;

FIG. 2 is a view, on a larger scale than FIG. 1, of a corner of the shelving unit in the region of an intermediate shelf, corresponding with the arrows II in FIGS. 1 and 3; and

FIG. 3 is a horizontal section along the line III--III of FIG. 2.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

The shelving unit represented in FIG. 1 has a base 1, four lower upright components 2,3,4 and 5, an intermediate shelf 6, four upper upright components 7,8,9,10 and a top 11. The base 1, the intermediate shelf 6 and the top 11 are all rectangular and are constructed substantially similarly as regards their flat portions. Each of these portions has a plane shelf surface 12, vertical edge flanges 13 and inturned flanges 14 at right angles to the vertical edge flanges 13 (visible on the top 11 only, in FIG. 1), extending parallel with the shelf surface 12 so that the marginal regions of the parts 1,6 and 11 have a U-shaped cross-section. As can be seen from FIG. 3, the inturned flanges 14 meet in a mitre formation at the corners at 15 and are welded or soldered together at these joints.

Provided on the longer sides of the rectangular parts 1,6 and 11 are insertion slots 16 for partitions, while there are holes 17 in the shorter sides for the insertion of grilles for the shelving unit. As can be seen from the shelving top 11, these holes 17 are also provided in the inturned flanges 14.

The uprights 2,3, and 4,5 are mirror images of one another, respectively, which means that the uprights which are situated diagonally opposite one another, i.e., the uprights 2,5 and the uprights 3,4 are alike. Each of the uprights consists of a G-profile in section, as can be seen more clearly from FIG. 3. The G-profile has wall portions 18,19,20,21 and also edge bevels 22 and 23. As shown in FIG. 1, the uprights 2 to 5 are cut out at their ends in such a way that the walls 20, 21 are shorter than the walls 18,19 respectively. Beads 24 are provided adjacent the corner between the wall 21 and the wall 20. A corresponding bead can also be seen in FIG. 3. The wall 21 also has studs 25 stamped out of the wall these studs serving for the insertion of intermediate shelves such as the intermediate shelf 26 indicated by a broken line in FIG. 1.

The upper uprights 7,8,9 and 10 likewise consist of G-sections. The only difference from the lower uprights is that the uprights 7 to 10 are cut out at their top ends only and not at their bottom ends. Four corner stubs 27,28,29 and 30 are fitted to the base 1 of the shelving unit. The corner stubs consist of U-sections. Their manner of fixing to the base 1 will be described with reference to the stub 29 as an example. Like the other stubs, this stub has a web 31 and two parallel flanges 32 and 33. The web 31 and the flange 32 extend through the entire height of the stub whereas the flange 33 is shorter, by the thickness d of the base 12, than the web 31 and the flange 32. The stub 29 is applied from outside against the associated corner of the base 12 in such a way that the web 31 and the flange 32 are in contact with the vertical base flanges 13, whereas the flange 33 engages by its lower side over the shelf surface 12. The flange 32 and the web 31 are connected to the base flanges 13 by spot welding. The stubs 27 to 30 are slightly contracted at their top ends. To this end notches are provided at the corners 34 (see on stub 28) so that the tops of the individual walls 31,32,33 can be bent over inwards, at an angle of about 30.degree. for example.

Four stubs 35,36,37 and 38 are provided on the intermediate shelf 6. Here, again, the stubs are U-sections which are applied to the intermediate shelf in the same way as the stubs on the base 1, with the exception that the stubs 35 to 38 project beyond the shelf 6 on both sides, i.e., above and below it. To make this possible, a notch 39 is provided on one flange of each stub, embracing the intermediate shelf. The stubs 35 to 38 are provided with contractions at both ends, of the same form as in the case of the stubs 27 to 30 on the base 1. Each of the stubs on the intermediate shelf has two faces 47,48 which continue straight through from top to bottom of the stub.

Finally, the shelf top 11 has stubs 40,41,42,43 which are fitted in the same manner as has already been described with reference to the base 1. The difference from the base 1 is that in the case of the base the stubs project upwards and in that of the top they project downwards.

The manner of assembly of the shelving unit is made clear immediately by FIG. 1. First the uprights 2 to 5 are fitted over the stubs 27 to 30. The intermediate shelf 6 is then put on by fitting the stubs 35 to 38 into the uprights 2 to 5, then the upper uprights 7 to 10 are fitted over the upper ends of the stubs 35 to 38 and finally the stubs 40 to 43 of the shelf top are fitted into the upper ends of these uprights. As can be deduced from FIG. 2, the lower sides 44 of the upper uprights 7 to 10 rest directly upon the upper sides 45 of the lower uprights 2 to 5, in each case, of course, only in the region of the walls 18 and 19, the other walls being notched. Hence the pressure of the upper uprights 7 to 10 is transmitted directly, i.e., with no deviation, by way of the intermediate shelf 6 to the lower uprights 2 to 5 and from there to the base 1.

It can be seen from FIG. 3, that the free edges of the stubs are prevented from deflecting by the G-profiles of the uprights. Here one free edge is embraced by the bevel 22 of the G-profile, while the other edge is prevented from deflecting between the inside of the wall 20 and the bead 24 which is provided for this purpose. FIG. 3 also shows spot weld points 46 by which the stubs are fixed to the intermediate shelf 6.

The drawings do not show accessories such as side grilles which are inserted in the holes 17 and sloping edges on the shelf flanges 14 for the attachment of clips by means of which a number of shelving units placed side by side can be fixed together.

Claims

We claim:

1. A shelving unit comprising a plurality of uprights each having a G-shaped profile, a base having stubs projecting upwards for attachment to the uprights, a top having stubs projecting downwards for attachment to the uprights, and at least one intermediate shelf having stubs each consisting of sheet metal profiled sections disposed at the corners thereof and projecting both above and below the intermediate shelf, said intermediate shelf being bent over at its edges at least once and at a right angle, said stubs being U-shaped in cross section and having a base web and a pair of spaced flanges, said base web contacting one of said bent over edges on the intermediate shelf, one of said flanges contacting an adjoining bent over edge on the intermediate shelf, the remaining one of said flanges having means defining a cut out therein embracing said intermediate shelf so that said stubs are continuous over their whole height along at least two adjoining faces, the free edge of one stub flange being embraced by a fold of said G-shaped profile and the free edge of the other stub flange being engaged between a retaining bead on said G-shaped profile and an inner surface of said G-shaped profile, said base web and said one flange on each stub being in contact with said bent over edges and being connected thereto by spot welding, said uprights being cut out at their ends so that the end faces of respective uprights attached from above and below to each stub on the intermediate shelf are in contact with one another in the region of said continuous adjoining faces of the stub so that the load on the shelving is transmitted directly from one upright to the next lower upright.

2. A shelving unit comprising a plurality of uprights each consisting of sheet metal profiled sections, a base having stubs projecting upwards for attachment to the uprights, a top having stubs projecting downwards for attachment to the uprights, and at least one intermediate shelf having stubs each consisting of sheet metal profiled sections disposed at the corners thereof and projecting both above and below the intermediate shelf, said intermediate shelf being bent over at its edges at least once and at a right angle, said stubs being U-shaped in cross section and having a base web and a pair of spaced flanges, said base web contacting one of said bent over edges on the intermediate shelf, one of said flanges contacting an adjoining bent over edge on the intermediate shelf, the remaining one of said flanges having means defining a cut out therein embracing said intermediate shelf so that said stubs are continuous over their whole height along at least two adjoining faces, said base web and said one flange on each stub being in contact with said bent over edges and being connected thereto by spot welding, only the uprights attached from below to said stubs on the intermediate shelf being cut out at their ends so that the end faces of respective uprights attached from above and below to each stub on the intermediate shelf are in contact with one another in the region of said continuous adjoining faces of the stub so that the load on the shelving is transmitted directly from one upright to the next lower upright, the ends of the uprights attached from above to said stubs on the intermediate shelf being free of cut outs.

3. A shelving unit as claimed in claim 2, wherein the uprights have guide means which embrace the free edges of the stubs.