 |
Description  |
|
|
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates generally to shelving and more particularly to
adjustable shelving of the "knock-down" type.
Adjustable metal shelving is well known. Such metal shelving has means
provided to vertically adjust the shelving at a specified height. Many of
these types have corner posts which support the flat shelving, and by
means of set screws, set bolts, or the like, such as shown in U.S. Pat.
No. 3,675,598, the flat shelving is positioned at the desired vertical
height on the corner posts. However, it has been found that the use of
such type of set screws, and the like, requires continuous loosening and
tightening and therefore requires special tools, and is also subject to
continuous wear, dents, loosening of the threaded parts and stripping of
the threads.
An improvement on this type of adjustable metal shelving has been described
in U.S. Pat. No. 3,424,111. In this patent, there is described an
adjustable shelving including a flat shelf member which has corner
supports secured to the flat shelf member at each of its corners. The
corner supports are adapted to receive and securely hold the corner posts.
The corner posts, in turn, are fitted with post supports which hold the
corner supports and corner posts in a wedging secured arrangement.
Additionally, the corner posts are provided with circular slots around its
periphery graduated at fixed distances along the vertical dimension of the
posts, and the post supports are provided with internal rib means or a
ring-like band. Accordingly, the post supports are positioned with the rib
means or ring-like band in a particular circular slot at a desired
vertical height along the corner posts and are held clamped by means of
the corner supports on the flat shelf member.
A further modification of this type of shelving is described in U.S. Pat.
No. 3,523,508 which describes the details of the clamping arrangement
utilizing frustro-conical sections between the corner supports and the
post supports. The post supports also include an inwardly extending rib
which engages within the circular indentations formed about the periphery
of the corner posts at vertically spaced apart graduated locations.
A further variation of this type of shelving is also described in U.S. Pat.
No. 3,604,369 which further utilizes a keyway formed in the corner
supports and a corresponding wedge-like key formed as part of the post
supports for engaging the keyway in the corner supports. The corner posts
are also formed with the vertically spaced apart indents located at
predetermined increments along the vertical dimension of the posts.
Although each of the aforementioned patents provide an improvement in
adjustable shelving of the so called "knock-down" type, they all are
limited in that the vertical position of the shelf along the posts is
restricted to the particular location of the indentation formed in the
corner posts. For example, if the graduated indentations are approximately
1 inch apart, the vertical positioning of the adjustable shelving is
limited to such 1 inch increments. Although for many applications such
graduated increments may be sufficient, it is frequently desired to have
the shelving positioned at a vertical height which is between the
graduated indentations.
It is accordingly a desirable feature to permit a secure continuous
adjustable setting of the shelving along the corner posts so as to permit
vertical positioning of the flat shelf at any desired height without
limitation to specific graduated increments.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is accordingly an object of the present invention to provide adjustable
shelving which avoids the aforementioned problems of prior art shelving.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide adjustable
shelving which permits a secure continuous adjustment of the shelf along
vertical corner posts.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide adjustable
shelving which can be inexpensively constructed of readily available parts
necessitating only a minimal number of members to the completed assembly.
Still a further object of the present invention is to provide adjustable
shelving without requiring set screws or set bolts, or the use of tools in
conjunction therewith, wherein the shelving includes a spiral engagement
arrangement.
Yet a further object of the present invention is to provide adjustable
shelving wherein the shelves are firmly held to the supporting posts and
as the weight of material on the shelves increases, the shelves become
increasingly more firmly engaged and tightly held onto the posts.
Briefly, in accordance with the present invention, there is provided
adjustable shelving which includes corner posts each of which has a spiral
indentation around its exterior. Corner clamping assemblies are provided
which surround respective corner posts. The corner clamping assemblies
have a frustro-conical shaped exterior and are provided on their interior
with an inwardly extending protrusion engageable within the spiral
indentations. A flat shelf having corner retaining members are provided.
The corner retaining members have a complementary frustro-conical interior
for receiving and securely holding the clamping assemblies about their
respective posts.
The corner clamping assemblies can be formed of one or two parts, and can
include either a spiral rib complementary to the spiral indentation of the
post, or a single protrusion which will engage the spiral indentation.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
With the above and additional objects and advantages in view, as will
hereinafter appear, this invention comprises the devices, combinations and
arrangements of parts hereinafter described by way of example and
illustrated in the accompanying drawings of a preferred embodiment in
which:
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the adjustable shelving in accordance with
the present invention;
FIG. 2 is an exploded view of a corner portion of the adjustable shelving
shown in FIG. 1;
FIGS. 3A and 3B are respectively the top and front views of a corner post;
FIG. 3C is a front view of a modified corner post having two separate
spiral indentations around its exterior;
FIG. 4 is an exploded view of a corner clamping assembly in accordance with
one embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 5 is a detailed view of an interconnecting arrangement for sections of
the clamping assembly shown in FIG. 4;
FIG. 6 is a perspective view of another embodiment of a clamping assembly
in accordance with the present invention;
FIG. 7 shows a portion of a modified clamping assembly having another type
of a projecting rib, and
FIG. 8 is a perspective view of another embodiment of a clamping assembly.
In the various figures of the drawing, like reference characters designate
like parts.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
Referring now to FIG. 1, the adjustable shelving of the present invention
is shown generally at 10 and comprises a plurality of flat shelves 12
which are retained on corner posts 14 by means of corner retaining members
16. The flat shelf is shown as being constructed of the type including
crisscrossing wire 18 supported along the periphery by means of parallel
running rods 20 spaced beneath the upper flat shelf. However, it is
understood that other types of flat shelving could similarly be utilized.
The particular corner posts which are utilized are shown in more detail in
FIGS. 3A and 3B. It is noted that the corner post 14 is a tubular member
having formed about its exterior a spiral indentation 22. The corner posts
themselves are circular rod like members formed of a suitable material of
construction such as aluminum or steel. The spiral indentation 22 can
begin either at the top of the post or can be slightly spaced from the
top, as shown. It is noted that a cap member 23, well known in the art, is
inserted into the open top portion of the post. Although the posts are
shown as being of circular tubular material, it is understood that they
could be made solid, square or other suitable configuration.
Referring now to FIG. 2, the particular clamping arrangement will be
described in more detail. The corner clamping assembly is shown to
comprise two separate sections 24, 26. Each section includes a
substantially semi-circular outer wall 28, 38 provided at its lowermost
edge with a semi-circular outwardly extending flange 30, 31. One of the
abutting edges of the semi-circular wall 28 is provided with a tongue and
groove arrangement including the tongue portion 32 and the groove portions
34, 36, which matingly engage with the corresponding groove and tongue
arrangement on the abutting edge of the wall 38, which includes the groove
40 and the corresponding tongue portions 42, 44. It will be appreciated
that the other abutting edges of the walls 28, 38 have an opposite mating
arrangement as shown in FIG. 2. In this manner, the two sections interfit
with each other when mounted on the post 14. It is noted, that as
described above, both sections 24, 26 are identical, whereas the
differences therebetween is set forth below.
Each of the sections 24, 26, has a protruding rib 46, 48 on the interior
surface thereof. The two ribs are formed so that when the two sections
interfit, a continuous spiral rib is formed which is complementary to the
spiral indentation 22 formed on the corner post. In this manner, when the
two sections 24, 26 are mounted on the corner post 14, the spiral rib will
engage within the spiral indentation on the corner post and the corner
clamping assembly can be circularly rotated about the corner post. As a
result, the clamping assembly can be positioned at any vertical height
along the corner post 14 by spirally rotating the clamping assembly about
the corner post. It will therefore be appreciated that the vertical height
of the clamping assembly on the corner posts is not limited to specific
graduated locations, but can be continuously adjusted to any desired
vertical height along the corner posts.
FIG. 3C shows a modified corner post 15 having two separate spiral
indentations 22A, 22B about its exterior. The spiral indentations 22A, 22B
are oriented in the same direction, being 180.degree. out of phase with
each other so that each spiral indentation is equally spaced between the
other spiral indentation as shown. This two spiral indentation arrangement
permits the two sections of the corner assembly to each have a protrusion
on its interior wall in such a manner that the two sections are identical.
For example, the section 26 shown in FIG. 2 can be combined with an
identical section to form a clamping assembly having the two sections
identified as 26A, 26B. Thus, as shown in FIG. 3C, the spiral rib 46A of
section 26A is engaged in the spiral indentation 22A with the spiral rib
46B of section 26B being engaged in the spiral indentation 22B. As
indicated above, the two sections 26A, 26B will interfit with each other
when mounted on the post 15.
It is noted, that the two spiral indentations of the post 15 will function
equally as well with a pair of the sections 24 shown in FIG. 2, a pair of
either of the sections 50, 52 shown in FIG. 4, as will be described below,
and a pair of either of the sections 100, 104 shown in FIG. 8, which will
also be discussed hereinafter below. It is further noted, that the use of
the double spiral post 15 would reduce production costs of the sections of
the clamping assembly wherein a mold or stamping of only one section is
required. Furthermore, it would only be required to stock a plurality of
the one section, wherein there would be no confusion in matching the
sections as would be if two different sections were used in the clamping
assembly.
Once the clamping assemblies have been mounted on the corner posts with the
spiral ribs engaging within the spiral indentations of the posts, each
corner retaining member 16 is placed over the respective two sections of
each clamping assembly to hold them in tight engagement with the corner
post and to retain them in place.
It will be noted that the outer peripheral shape of the two sections 24,
26, which form the corner assembly, is such as to be frustro-conical. The
interior shape of the corner retaining member 16 is also frustro-conical
and complementary to the exterior of the two sections forming the corner
assembly. In this manner, as the corner retaining member 16 is placed over
the two sections of the corner assembly, it wedgingly holds them securely
together and locks them tightly about the corner post. As additional
weight is placed on the shelf, the corner retaining member will further
wedgingly clamp the two sections together and thereby further tighten them
against the corner post. In this manner, additional weight only tends to
further wedge the members together to hold the shelf more securely in
place.
Although the lower edge of the corner retaining member 16 is not intended
to reach the bottom of the corner assembly, after continued use, and as
the members tend to wear, the corner retaining member may reach the lower
edge. For this purpose, the flanges 30, 31 are provided on the sections
24, 26 to abut against and stop the corner retaining member 16 to ensure
the maximum extension of the corner retaining member 16 over the clamping
assembly.
Referring now to FIG. 4, there is shown in more detail a modified
embodiment of the sections of the clamping assembly. Again, there are
provided two sections 50 and 52 which interfit with each other and clamp
about the corner post. Each of the sections have abutting faces which are
arranged with a dovetail interfitting connection. Specifically, on the
section 50, one abutting edge 54 has a protruding dovetail section 56
which interfits with the receiving complementary dovetail recess 58 formed
on the corresponding abutting edge 60 of section 52. At the same time, an
opposite type of arrangement is formed at the other abutting edges with
the dovetail section 62 protruding from the abutting edge 64 of section 52
which is received in the complementary recess 66 formed on the abutting
edge 68 of section 50. In the same manner as the above mentioned sections
24, 26 of FIG. 2, each of the sections 50, 52 has a protruding spiral-like
rib 51, 53 on the interior surface thereof for the same function described
above. Furthermore, the flanges 55, 57 on the sections 50, 52 function the
same as the above mentioned flanges 30, 31 on the previously described
sections 24, 26.
By increasing the effective circular peripheral length of each clamping
section 24, 26 and 50, 52 slightly more than half of the circumference of
the post 14, it is possible to have each of the sections snap fit on the
corner post so that each section will actually be held by itself.
Accordingly, the extension of the tongue portion 32 and the dovetail
section 56, 62, each formed at one abutting edge, provides the additional
circular peripheral length in the form of a lip to facilitate the snapping
of the section about the corner post and retain each section in place by
itself. In this manner, one section can be mounted on the corner post and
positioned at the desired height. That section will remain in place and
the mating other section can then also be mounted and snapped into place.
The abutting edges with the appropriate tongue and groove or dovetail
arrangement will then be interfitted into each other.
By making each of the body sections, excluding the tongue portion and the
dovetail section, slightly less than half of the circumference of the
corner post, an additional benefit is provided as shown in FIG. 5.
Specifically, there is shown parts of each of the sections 50 and 52, and
the dovetail interfitting arrangement including the protruding portion 56
and the groove 58. It will be noted that a slight space 70 is formed
between the abutting edges 54, and 60. This slight space between the
abutting edges permits the two sections to be wedged towards each other
when the corner retaining member, which is connected to the shelf, is
placed over these two sections to clamp them together. Thus, this will
further clamp the sections about the corner posts and hold them together.
It should further be noted in FIG. 5, that the dovetail protrusion 56 is
also spaced from the back edge of the recess 58 which receives the
dovetail, in order to form the space 72. This space 72 is slightly larger
than the space 70 so that even after the two sections are fully clamped
together, there will still exist this space 72. The purpose of this space
72 is to facilitate separating the two sections of the clamping member. A
tool, such as a screwdriver, can be inserted into the space 72 and can be
used as a wedge to separate the two sections so that they can each be
easily removed from the corner post.
Although the clamping assembly has thus far been described as being formed
of two sections interfitting with each other, it should be understood that
the clamping assembly could also be formed of a single section, as shown
in FIG. 6. More specifically, the clamping assembly is shown as a
circumferential member 74 having a wall 76 forming a cylindrical interior
78 and a frustro-conical shaped exterior 80. An outwardly protruding
flange 82 is formed at the lower peripheral edge of the wall 76. A slot 84
is formed longitudinally through the entire member so as to form a space
defined between the facing walls 86, 88 of the slot. The interior
circumference 78 of the member 74 is preferably slightly less than the
outer circumference of the corner post 90, shown in phantom, to provide a
tight fit therebetween. On the interior of the cylindrical surface 78 is
formed a spiral rib, a portion of which is shown at 92.
The clamping assembly 74 shown in FIG. 6 can be spread apart and slid down
on the post to the desired vertical height. The two facing walls 86, 88
can then be released to clamp the assembly on the post. The protruding
spiral rib 92 on the interior surface of the clamping assembly will then
be engaged into the spiral indentation 94 formed about the periphery of
the corner post 90. It is noted, that when the spiral rib 92 is engaged in
the spiral indentation 94, the clamping assembly 74 can also be rotated on
the post to the desired vertical height. The corner retaining member on
the shelf can then be placed over the clamping member 74 and as it is
pushed down it will force the two faces 86, 88 closer to each other,
thereby clamping the clamping assembly onto the corner post.
Heretofore, there was described the formation of an interior rib which
protrudes from the clamping assembly and was described as being a spiral
in order to engage the spiral indentation. However, the protrusion need
not be a spiral about the interior wall of the clamping assembly. As shown
in FIG. 7, there is provided one section of a clamping assembly 96 which
has only a single segment 98 protruding from an internal wall. The segment
98 can be a dimple, a bar or any other section which protrudes and which
can engage into the spiral indentation in the corner post. If it is a
simple dimple, as shown, it can be positioned anywhere on the interior and
it will engage within the spiral indentation. If the protrusion is
elongated in shape, it should be placed at an angle commensurate with the
angular pitch of the spiral indentation in the corner post.
The corresponding section that would mate with the section shown in FIG. 7
could be formed without any protrusion at all. Since each section is
formed so that it will snap around the corner post, the section shown in
FIG. 7 will snap onto the corner post and the protrusion 98 will ride
within the spiral indentation formed about the corner post. The other
mating section need not have any indentation and will still snap around
and engage within the section shown in FIG. 7. On the other hand, both
sections could have indentations.
As shown in FIG. 8, if both sections have indentations, then the
indentations must be formed so that they will both properly fit within the
spiral groove at the same time when fitted together. Thus, by way of
example, in the section shown at 100 in FIG. 8, there is provided a
protrusion 102 while in the mating section 104 there is provided a
corresponding protrusion 106. The protrusions 102 and 106 are vertically
spaced apart so that they will respectively ride within appropriate
locations in the spiral indentation. At the same time, it will be noted
that since these protrusions 102, 106 are elongated, they are placed at an
angle having a pitch corresponding to the pitch of the spiral.
It is further noted, that the spiral indentation in the post shown in FIG.
8 has an opposite direction than the previously shown spiral indentations
of FIGS. 1, 2, 3B and 6, wherein except for the clamping assembly 96 of
FIG. 7, the spiral ribs or protrusions must match the direction of the
spiral indentation, where both directions function in the same manner set
forth above if properly matched.
The particular parts forming the corner assembly can be formed of either
plastic or metal. When formed of plastic, since there is provided more of
a flexure than with metal, the dovetail engagement shown in FIGS. 4 and 6
may be preferable when forming the clamping assembly. However, if there is
sufficient flexing of the metal material, such dovetail could also be
utilized with metal parts. However, where the metal is rather stiff, a
preferable arrangement might be the tongue and groove arrangement shown in
FIG. 2 or shown in FIGS. 7 and 8. The clamping assembly 96 of FIG. 7 and
sections 100, 104 of FIG. 8 are provided with a tongue 108 which is
received in a groove 110, whereby a space 112 is provided therebetween to
facilitate separation thereof in the same manner as the space 72 mentioned
above and shown in FIG. 5.
Preferably, a locating mark or scale 114 is printed or otherwise placed
vertically upon the outer surface of each corner post across the spiral
indentation at points 116, 118, 120, 122, as shown in FIG. 2, for
positioning the corner clamping assemblies in alignment with each other.
For example, by positioning a top edge of each of the corner clamping
assemblies at any desired one of the points 116-122 etc., and when using a
two section clamping assembly, placing the facing side edges of the two
sections of each clamping assembly along the locating mark 114, all of the
clamping assemblies can be positioned at the same height to easily
construct the shelving 10 shown in FIG. 1, without the use of any other
measurement or scale instrument.
Numerous alterations of the structure herein disclosed will suggest
themselves to those skilled in the art. However, it is to be understood
that the present disclosure relates to a preferred embodiment of the
invention which is for purposes of illustration only and is not to be
construed as a limitation of the invention.
* * * * *
|
|
 |
|
 |
Description |
|
