U.S. patent number 3,885,675 [Application Number 05/428,679] was granted by the patent office on 1975-05-27 for construction kit for the erection of storage and display structures of varying dimensions in the form of shelves, cupboards, display cases and the like.
Invention is credited to Patric C-O. Hellberg, Gladys E. K. Hultenby.
United States Patent |
3,885,675 |
Hultenby , et al. |
May 27, 1975 |
Construction kit for the erection of storage and display structures
of varying dimensions in the form of shelves, cupboards, display
cases and the like
Abstract
There is provided a construction kit for the erection of storage
and display structures, such as shelves, cupboards, display cases
and the like, of varying dimensions. The kit comprises a number of
main elongate sections divided into three groups. A first group is
intended to form legs and vertical suspension supports of said
structure. A second group form horizontal long-side bars of the
structure, while the third group form horizontal shortside bars
thereof. The section bars of the three groups are provided with
recesses of determined shape and size, thereby to enable the
section bars of said groups to be detachably assembled into a
closely knit, stable structure without the need of such securing
devices as screws, nails, brackets and the like.
Inventors: |
Hultenby; Gladys E. K. (111 29
Stockholm, SW), Hellberg; Patric C-O. (111 44
Stockholm, SW) |
Family
ID: |
20303214 |
Appl.
No.: |
05/428,679 |
Filed: |
December 27, 1973 |
Foreign Application Priority Data
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Dec 28, 1972 [SW] |
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17078/72 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
211/118; 211/208;
52/664 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A47F
5/10 (20130101); A47B 47/0083 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
A47F
5/10 (20060101); A47B 47/00 (20060101); A47F
005/08 () |
Field of
Search: |
;211/177,182,148,118
;52/664,669 ;46/17,27,28,29 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Foreign Patent Documents
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224,853 |
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May 1962 |
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OE |
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937,224 |
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Aug 1948 |
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FR |
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348,524 |
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Oct 1960 |
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CH |
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420,531 |
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Mar 1967 |
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CH |
|
Primary Examiner: Frazier; Roy D.
Assistant Examiner: Hafer; Robert A.
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Fleit & Jacobson
Claims
We claim:
1. A collapsible structure for use as a storage or display rack
comprising a plurality of elongated main bars of substantially
identical rectangular cross-section including in combination at
least four vertical suspension supports each having at least one
rectangular hole which corresponds to the rectangular cross-section
of the main bars, two first horizontal elements which are provided
at each end thereof with a downwardly opening recess having a width
that corresponds to the thickness of the main bars, and two second
horizontal elements which are provided at each end thereof with a
downwardly opening recess and an upwardly opening recess, both last
mentioned recesses having a width that corresponds to the thickness
of the main bars and being positioned on opposite sides of a line
perpendicular to said second horizontal element, the downwardly
opening recess at each of said second horizontal elements engaged
in the rectangular hole of a vertical suspension support and the
downwardly opening recess at each end of said first horizontal
elements engaged in the upwardly opening recess of a second
horizontal element and the end of each first horizontal element in
contact with a corresponding vertical suspension support adjacent
its rectangular hole in order to provide structural stability
without additional securing elements.
2. The structure of claim 1 wherein the first and second horizontal
elements have the long side of their rectangular cross-section in
the vertical direction, and the end of each first horizontal
element along one vertical side thereof being in full flush contact
with the corresponding vertical suspension support on both sides of
the rectangular hole therein.
3. The collapsible structure of claim 1 including a plurality of
cross stays interfittingly engaging recesses positioned along the
top longitudinal edge of said first horizontal elements, said
recesses having substantially the same width as the thickness of
the first horizontal elements.
4. The collapsible structure of claim 1 wherein the combined depth
of the mating recesses of said first and second horizontal elements
is substantially equal to the cross width of the main bars.
5. A tie-joint for a vertical support member and two horizontal
members having substantially identical rectangular cross-section
width and length used in collapsible display or storage structures
or the like which comprises a vertically disposed hole through the
width dimension of the vertical support member which corresponds in
size to the rectangular cross-section of the three members, a
downwardly opening vertical recess and an upwardly opening vertical
recess in one horizontal member, each recess having a width equal
to the width dimension of the three members and horizontally offset
from each other by which one side edge of each recess coincides
with a plane perpendicular to said one horizontal member, said
downwardly opening recess engaged within the vertical hole of the
support member, and said upwardly opening recess engaging a mating
downwardly opening vertical recess in the other horizontal member,
the combined depth of the upwardly opening recess of the said one
horizontal member and the downwardly opening recess of the other
horizontal member equal to the length dimension of the members so
that when assembled the horizontal members lie in the same plane
and a lengthwise side face of the other horizontal member adjacent
its recess is in flush contact with a side face of the vertical
support member on both sides of its rectangular hole in order to
provide stability to the tie-joint without additional securing
means.
6. A collapsible structure adapted for use as a display support
rack comprising: a plurality of elongated main bars of identical
cross-sectional dimensions comprising a first group of main bars
being vertical supporting bars having holes therein, a second group
of main bars being horizontal cross-bars for engaging the vertical
bars and having recesses in both vertically disposed faces thereof,
a third groups of main bars being side bars for supporting shelving
and having recesses in one vertically disposed face thereof, said
main bars interfitting to form a plurality of equilevel tie-joints
for stably supporting the structure; the end of each first
horizontal cross-bar in contact with a corresponding vertical
supporting bar adjacent its hole is order to provide structural
staliblity and a plurality of supporting beams having holes therein
for interfitting with said vertical supporting bars.
7. The collapsible structure of claim 6 wherein said main bars are
made of aluminum.
8. The collapsible structure of claim 6 wherein said vertical
supporting bars include means for matingly engaging said support
beams.
9. The collapsible structure of claim 8 wherein the mating means
includes a tongue surrounding an L-shaped recess for engaging the
holes in said support beams.
10. The collapsible structure of claim 6 including brackets on said
support beams for attaching said structure to a ceiling.
11. The collapsible structure of claim 6 including means for
attaching said vertical bars to a floor.
12. The collapsible structure of claim 6 including flanges on said
support beams for engaging a ceiling.
Description
The present invention relates to a construction kit for the
erection of storage and display structures of varying dimensions in
the form of shelves, cupboards, display cases and the like.
Shops, storage rooms, warehouses, industrial stores and similar
places where goods are put on display or stored, all require some
form of structure on which the goods can be placed or hung so as to
be readily accessable and observable. For example, clothes shops
and show windows often lack practical means for hanging and
displaying goods therein which can be quickly adapted in a flexible
manner to the space required by the goods, to their varying sizes
and to suit the desired appearance of the goods on display. There
is consequently a need for a storage and display structure of the
type envisaged which can be readily assembled and which can be
conveniently rebuilt to suit the display and storage of goods of
varying dimensions.
The same requirements are found in industrial storage rooms,
warehouses etc. in those instances where the number of goods to be
stored and the size and type of the goods varies. For example, as
the number of goods stored increases or goods are removed from
stored ranges or goods of greater size are stored, it is convenient
to be able quickly to alter the storage or display space to
constantly suit present space requirements. In such instances there
is a need for storage and display structures which can be readily
assembled and dismantled without the need of screws or like
attachment means which require tightening when assembling or
dismantling the structure. In order to satisfy all requirements
regarding the "flexibility" of such structures, it is ncessary to
have at disposal a pre-arranged construction kit which, with
respect to the number of components contained therein and the
dimensions of said components, permits the desired degree of
selectivity when assembling said structure.
In accordance with the invention there is provided a construction
kit of the type aforementioned with which the aforesaid desiderata
can be achieved, said construction kit being mainly characterized
in that it comprises a number of main, elongate sections of
generally rectangular cross section, of which sections a first
group are preferably intended to form legs or vertical suspension
supports for the actual goods themselves or for shelves and are
provided longitudinally thereof with spaced apart rectangular holes
of substantially the same dimensions as the cross-sectional
dimensions of all of said main, elongate sections, and of which
main, elongate sections a second group are preferably intended to
form horizontal long-side bars of the construction kit and are
provided at least at the end thereof with recesses extending
inwardly of one long edge of said sections, the width of said
recesses substantially coinciding with the width of all main,
elongate sections, and in that said construction kit further
comprises a third group of main, elongate sections which are
preferably intended to form horizontal short-side bars of said kit
and which are provided at least at each end thereof with recesses
extending inwardly of the two long edges of said sections, said
recesses in said two long edges being disposed on either side of a
normal to said long edges and having a width which substantially
coincides with the width of all main, elongate sections, and in
that the different support are arranged to be joined together in
cross-like joints by mutual insertion of said sections in the holes
and recesses disposed therein, and in that the support bars forming
part of the construction kit are of different length, for example
in accordance with a module system or the like.
The invention will now be described in more detail with reference
to an embodiment thereof illustrated diagrammatically in the
drawing, further features of the invention being disclosed in
conjunction therewith.
On the drawing,
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the upper portion of a stand
constructed from members of a construction kit according to the
invention,
FIG. 2 shows an end portion of a ceiling suspension support
according to the invention and, in broken view, a vertical
suspension support for the stand in a position prior to the
suspension support being connected to the ceiling suspension
support, and
FIG. 3 shows at the bottom thereof one end of a section bar in the
construction kit intended to form one of the long-side bars of said
kit, and at the top thereof the end of a short-side bar co-acting
with said long-side bar.
In FIG. 1 the reference numerals 10 and 11 indicate generally two
parallel support beams or bars of cross-shaped crosssection
produced, for example, from extruded aluminium. Attached to the
upper portion or flange 12 and 13 respectively of the beams is a
number of brackets 14 and 15. The brackets are shown in dash-dotted
lines and are assumed to be anchored to the ceiling of a room. The
support beams 10 and 11 in the illustrated embodiment each have two
horizontally outwardly projecting flanges 16, 17 and 18, 19
respectively capable of being used to support panels or the like
placed between the beams, to screen-off the ceiling or to support
light fittings.
Each beam 10 and 11 is provided along the lower portion or flange
20 and 21 respectively thereof rectangular holes or openings 22 and
23 extending transversely of the longitudinal axis of said beams.
The holes or openings 22 and 23 are preferably arranged in uniform
spaced relationship along said beams and, with the illustrated
embodiment, there is suspended from two of the illustrated holes 22
and 23 in respective flanges 20 and 21 a pair of vertically
extending legs or suspension supports 24. As will be seen from the
drawing, the upper ends of the supports have arranged therein a
tongue surrounding an L-shaped recess 25 which is intended to be
inserted in holes 22 and 23 respectively and then lowered in said
holes so that the portion of the beam located beneath said holes is
received in the vertically extending L-shaped recess and together
with the walls of respective holes retains respective suspension
supports in a relatively stable position at respective beams. The
vertical suspension supports are also provided with rectangular,
vertically inwardly extending holes or openings 26 arranged in
uniform spaced relationship along said supports for receiving cross
bars or short-side bars at 27. The design of the cross bars is more
clearly shown in FIG. 3.
As will be seen from FIG. 1, extending inwardly from one edge
surface of the long-side bars 29 are recesses 28 arranged in
uniform spaced relationship along said bar. The recesses 28 are
intended to accomodate additional cross bars provided with
corresponding recesses arranged to fit into the recesses 28. The
additional cross bars are intended for use when it is desired to
bridge the distance between the two long-side bars to form supports
for shelfing or the like when goods stacked on the shelves require
stronger support.
With respect to the individual design of the members of the
construction kit from which the structure shown in FIG. 1 is
erected, reference is made primarily to FIG. 2, in which by way of
Example one end of the support beam 10 is shown in perspective and
in larger scale than in FIG. 1. The Figure also shows one of the
vertically inwardly extending holes 22 in the beam 10. FIG. 2 also
shows in broken view one of the vertical suspension supports 24, in
the upper end of which can be seen the hole of the L-shaped recess
25 and in the lower end of which one of the vertically inwardly
extending holes 26 for receiving one of the cross bars 27 is
arranged.
At the bottom of FIG. 3 there is shown one end of a cross bar 27,
in which there is arranged in the under edge surface thereof a
recess 30 and in the upper edge surface thereof a recess 31.
Subsequent to inserting the end of the cross bar into the hole 26
in FIG. 2, the walls of recess 30 are intended to engage around the
portion of the bar 24 located beneath the hole 26, as seen in the
drawing, by lowering the cross bar in said hole 26. Subsequent to
connecting the cross bar 27 with the suspension bar 24 in this way,
the end 29a of the long-side bar 35 having a recess 34 arranged in
the under edge 33 thereof can be moved down into the recess 31 in
the cross bar 27, into abutment with the rear side 35 of the
suspension support 24, to complete a supporting cross-joint. With
respect to the end of the cross bar 27 shown at the bottom of FIG.
3, it should be noted that the two recesses 30 and 31 extending
inwardly from the long edges of said bar are located on either side
of a normal 36 to the upper edge 37 and the lower edge 38 of the
bar.
In accordance with the invention it is preferred to form the
different section bars from profiled sections having a
substantially rectangular cross-sectional shape, wherewith for the
sake of convenience all bars, with the exception of beams 10 and
11, have the same cross-sectional shape and cross-sectional size.
Further, the rectangular holes and recesses have a width which
substantially coincides with the thickness or cross width of the
main, elongate sections. It is assumed, however, that some
allowance is made for clearance in the holes and recesses to permit
the different members to be joined or pushed together.
One of the special advantages afforded by the invention is that by
means of the respective holes and edge recesses it is possible to
join together, for example, the suspension support 24, the longside
bars 29 and the cross bars 27, as shown in FIG. 2, in a knot-like
joint, where the different bars support against each other so that
the structure formed from the members of the construction kit is
stable, despite the fact that the members are only loosely joined
together.
The construction kit of the present invention can have the form of
a module system or the like in which there is provided long-side
bars, cross bars, suspension supports in different lengths to suit
different requirements, thereby enabling the structure to be
constantly changed to suit the dimensions required at any moment.
The functions served by the long-side bars and cross bars referred
to in the aforegoing are interchangeable, so that a cross bar may
be arranged to fulfil the function of a long-side bar and vice
versa, depending on the length of the sections used in each group
to erect the structure.
Although the vertical supports 24 of the embodiment illustrated in
FIG. 1 are shown suspended from main beams 10 and 11, there is
nothing to prevent said supports from resting on a floor surface,
i.e. be totally free from possible ceiling suspension means.
So that in the assembled position of the horizontal elongate
sections the upper long edge surfaces of said sections lie on the
same level, e.g. to form a support for detachable shelves placed
thereon, the depth of each recess 31 in the cross bar 27 is adapted
to the depth of the recess 34 in the long-side bar 29 so that the
sum of the depth measurements substantially coincides with the
cross width of the main sections. There is nothing to prevent the
depth of the recess 31 and the recess 34 from being the same,
although in certain cases a better support is obtained at the
knot-like joints if the depth of the co-acting recesses are
different.
The members of the construction kit according to the invention may,
of course, be made from a wide number of different materials, such
as plastics, wood, fibre etc., although with respect to the
durability of the structure and not least to the strength and
stability thereof it is preferred that the members are made of
metal, preferably aluminium or alloys thereof. Although in
accordance with the invention it is preferred to use the same
cross-sectional shape for all main, elongate sections the invention
is not restricted to such preference but assumes the freedom of
choice with respect to the dimensions of said sections when
modifications to the function of said sections result in
equivalence with the aforementioned main, elongate sections having
exactly coinciding cross-sectional shapes.
The invention is not restricted to the illustrated and described
embodiment thereof, but can be modified within the scope of the
accompanying claims.
* * * * *