Expandable Interlocking Shelving System
An expandable shelving system that can be assembled without special hardware or tools comprises vertical supports, intermediate shelves, a removable top shelf, a bottom shelf, a rotational assembly attached to the bottom shelf and a base attached to the rotational assembly. Slots along the side of the vertical supports cooperate with slots on the shelves to create an interlocking stable shelving structure. The shelves can rotate to provide access to all sides of the shelving structure. The shelving system can further include expansion vertical supports and expansion anchors to create longer vertical supports. The expansion vertical supports cooperate with the slots on the shelves to create an expanded shelving system.
This application claims the benefit of co-pending provision application No. 61/414,067, filed Nov. 16, 2010.
FIELD OF INVENTIONThis invention relates to shelves. This invention relates particularly to an expandable interlocking shelving system.
BACKGROUNDMany people have items they wish to store on shelves or organizers. For example, many people have numerous pairs of shoes that clutter valuable floor space. Often a person will organize his or her shoes on shoe stands, racks, or shelves. Additionally, some people may wish to organize on shelves other items, such as sweaters, sheets, towels, cleaning supplies, toiletries, cans or boxes of food, dishes, cookware, garden supplies, automotive supplies, tools, and sports items. While organizers are readily available to the consumer, they typically are made for one specific type of item, are not expandable, and require time, hardware, and tools to assemble.
Traditionally, organizers are available for a specific purpose. For example, specialized shoe trees and shoe stands are designed to organize one's shoes. Similarly, sweaters can be organized in specialized sweater bags or sweater boxes, and garden supplies can be organized in specialized garden or potting benches. While dedicated organizers can be very useful for their intended purpose, they may not work as well to organize other items. For example, if a person no longer needs a shoe tree, he cannot repurpose it easily for sweater storage. It would be desirable to have an organizer suitable for many purposes.
Another disadvantage to traditional organizers is that they often are not expandable or easily modified. In other words, a consumer cannot add on to or change the existing organizer to create more organizational space. Instead, the consumer must simply buy and build a second or third organizer. It would be desirable to have an organizer capable of expanding or being modified. Moreover, it would be further desirable for the organizer to be expandable without increasing its footprint.
Traditional organizers must be assembled by the consumer using tools and special hardware. For example, a typical shelving unit is sold as a kit of shelves, supports, screws and nuts. Depending on the complexity of the shelves, it can take a couple of hours to assemble and may require the use of power tools. It would be desirable to have an organizer that can be assembled without hardware and without needing specialized tools.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONThe present invention is an expandable shelving system that can be assembled without special hardware or tools. The system comprises three or more vertical supports with two or more slots formed along one side of each vertical support, one or more intermediate shelves with three or more slots formed along each shelf's perimeter, a removable top shelf, and a bottom shelf with three or more slots formed along its perimeter. The shelves can be any shape such as circular, rectangular, square, triangular, octagonal, or a free-form shape. Additionally, the shelving system comprises a rotational assembly attached to the bottom shelf and a base attached to the rotational assembly. The slots along the side of the vertical supports cooperate with the slots on the shelves and bottom shelf to create an interlocking stable shelving structure. The shelves can rotate to provide access to all sides of the shelving structure. The shelving system can further include expansion vertical supports with slots formed along one side of each expansion vertical support. The expansion vertical supports can be attached to the vertical supports with expansion anchors to create longer vertical supports. The expansion vertical supports cooperate with the slots on the shelves to create an expanded shelving system.
The expandable shelving system components can be packaged together as a kit comprising vertical supports, shelves, a top shelf, and a base assembly comprising the bottom shelf, rotational assembly, and base. Preferably the base assembly is preassembled. The kit can further include expansion vertical supports, or expansion vertical supports and additional shelves can be available separately. To assemble the shelving system, a consumer first interlocks the lowest slot on a vertical support with a slot on the bottom shelf. Next, the consumer interlocks additional shelves with the same vertical support. Once the shelves are in place, the consumer interlocks the slots of each of the remaining vertical supports with the series of vertically-aligned slots around the perimeter of the shelves and the bottom shelf. After all of the vertical supports are placed, the consumer can expand the shelving system with expansion vertical supports or can connect the top shelf to the top edge of the vertical supports. If the consumer wishes to expand the shelving system, an expansion vertical support is connected to an expansion support with the expansion anchor. Next, shelves are interlocked with the expansion vertical support, and then the remaining expansion vertical supports are interlocked with the newly added shelves and are connected to the existing vertical supports. Finally, the consumer can attach the top or further expand the shelving system. Additionally, the consumer can modify the shelving system by removing, adding, or replacing vertical supports or partially disassemble the shelving system to create storage areas of different sizes or to transport the shelving system.
Additionally, the lowest support slot 15 is preferably spaced from the bottom edge 14b of vertical support 14 an amount approximately equal to the height of the anchor 14a. In a preferred embodiment, each vertical support is approximately 24 inches tall and 5 inches wide and comprises four support slots 15 spaced approximately 6 inches from each other. Additionally, the upper-most slot is positioned approximately 4 inches from top edge 14c, and the lowest slot is positioned approximately 2 inches from the bottom edge 14b. In a preferred embodiment, each slot is approximately 2.5 inches deep.
Preferably, rotational assembly 18, base 19, and bottom shelf 17 are concentric to facilitate the shelving system rotating about its central axis. Alternative embodiments, however, include attaching the rotational assembly 18 at locations other than the center of bottom shelf 17. For example, rotational assembly 18 can be located near a corner of a square or rectangular bottom shelf 17 to allow the shelving system 10 to pivot around that corner.
Intermediate shelves 12 and bottom shelf 17 can be any geometric shape and any size. For example, the shelves can be square, rectangular, circular, triangular, octagonal, or a free-form shape. Additionally, the shelves can have sharp or rounded corners and edges.
The vertical supports 14, expansion vertical supports 24, top shelf 16 and pedestal 16a, bottom shelf 17 and pedestal 17a, and intermediate shelves 12 are all preferably constructed from the same material. The material can be any substantially rigid material including plastic, for example an acrylic or polycarbonate resinous material, wood, cardboard, particle board, fiberboard, plywood, or foam board. Preferably, the material is a transparent acrylic plastic such as Plexiglas®, so that the shelving unit is transparent and yet structurally sound. Each shelf or support can be made from the plastic or, alternatively, the parts can be made of different materials. For example, the vertical supports 14, top shelf 16, and intermediate shelves 12 may be made of plastic, while shelf 17, base 19, and upper support 18a of rotational assembly 18 are made substantially of wood or fiberboard.
Alternative embodiments of the interlocking shelves include versions where the shelves increase or decrease in size from the bottom shelf 17 to top shelf 16 and where the vertical supports 14 can be angled to accommodate the diminishing or increasing size of the shelves. While the preferred embodiment employs three or more vertical supports, the system can also employ only two vertical supports. A three-support embodiment is typically more stable than a two-support embodiment, but a two-support embodiment may suffice, depending on the number of shelves used, types of materials employed, goods stored within the shelving system, and the location of use.
The expandable shelving system components can be packaged together as a kit comprising vertical supports, shelves, a top shelf, and a preassembled base assembly comprising the bottom shelf, rotational assembly, and base. Alternatively, the base assembly can be packaged in the kit in its component parts with out preassembly. The kit can further include removable blocks that can be used to support the shelves when the consumer assembles the shelving system. The blocks are not connected to the system, and instead act as temporary spaces and stabilizers, and are removed once the shelving system is assembled. The blocks are pieces of any material with a height substantially equal to the distance between support slots 15 on the expansion vertical supports 14. The blocks can be comprised of any material that the shelving system is made of or of packing material such as closed-cell extruded polystyrene foam. The kit can further include expansion vertical supports and additional shelves, or the expansion components can be sold as a separate kit.
For convenience and easy transport, the unassembled components can be collected and, if desired, bound together. The collection of unassembled components take up far less volume than if assembled, which decreases shipping costs and makes the kit easier to carry and transport. The vertical supports 14 can be stacked in parallel and bound with a detachable. Stacking them and binding them together makes the components easy to carry and transport, for example in the trunk of a car, bed of a pick-up truck, or cargo area of a longer-haul vehicle. The binder can be nearly any binding means, so long as it is detachable from the stack of vertical supports 14 and preferably detachable without tools. For example, the binder may be a band, a box, a bag, a wrap, or adhesive. The binders may be made of metal, plastic, cardboard or paper, elastic or inelastic materials. In the preferred embodiment, there are two binders, each a plastic band that can be slipped off the end of the stack of vertical supports to unbind them. Alternatively, the binder can be cut off or, after being detached from the stack, remain attached to one of the vertical supports. This is useful if the shelving will be disassembled and stored for next season. For further convenience, the shelves can also be bound, similarly to how the vertical supports are bound as described above.
If the consumer wishes to expand the shelving system 10, the consumer removes or simply does not connect the top shelf 16. The consumer then connects a first expansion vertical support 24 to a vertical support 14 with expansion anchor 24a or 60. Next, the consumer interlocks a shelf slot 13 of an intermediate shelf 12 into the lowest expansion slot 25 of the expansion vertical support 24. The consumer continues interlocking intermediate shelves 12 with expansion vertical support 24 as desired or until there are no more available expansion slots 25 on the expansion vertical support 24. Then, the consumer interlocks the expansion slots 25 on the remaining expansion vertical supports 24 to series of vertically aligned shelf slots 13 of intermediate shelves 12 and bottom shelf 17. When all of the expansion vertical supports 24 have been interlocked with the intermediate shelves 12, then the consumer can connect the top shelf 16 to the top edge 24c of the expansion vertical supports 24. Alternatively, the consumer can add additional expansions to the shelving system by repeating the above steps.
After the shelving system 10 has been assembled, the consumer can alter it to accommodate different sized items or can partially or completely dissemble it for storage of relocation. To alter the shelving system 10, the consumer can slide out one or more vertical supports 14 from the shelving system 10 as long as enough vertical supports 14 remain to maintain stability. This will create larger individual storage compartments. Likewise, a consumer can slide in one or more vertical supports 14 to the shelving system 10. This will create smaller individual storage compartments. The depth of each vertical support can be increased to ensure separation between compartments, and may be so deep as to touch in the center of the device. Preferably however rotational assembly 18 does not extend through shelves, allowing more area for storage.
The preferred embodiment of the shelving system is fit together without tools or fasteners, however fasteners of various sorts may be used to further secure the components of the shelving system to each other. Fastening the pieces together may be particularly useful for helping maintain the structural integrity when the device is rotated quickly or with great vigor. For example,
While there has been illustrated and described what is at present considered to be the preferred embodiment of the present invention, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications may be made and equivalents may be substituted for elements thereof without departing from the true scope of the invention. Therefore, it is intended that this invention not be limited to the particular embodiment disclosed, but that the invention will include all embodiments falling within the scope of the description, drawings, and their equivalents.
Claims
1. A shelving system comprising:
- a. a plurality of vertical supports, each vertical support having two or more support slots formed along one side of each vertical support;
- b. one or more intermediate shelves, each intermediate shelf having a plurality of shelf slots formed along each intermediate shelf's perimeter, wherein each intermediate shelf is interlockable to each vertical support by sliding a support slot of one or more vertical supports into a cooperating shelf slot;
- c. a removable top shelf attachable to the vertical supports;
- d. a bottom shelf with a plurality of shelf slots formed along its perimeter, the bottom shelf attachable to the vertical supports;
- e. a rotational assembly attachable to the bottom shelf; and
- f. a base attachable to the rotational assembly.
2. The shelving system of claim 1 wherein:
- a. the plurality of vertical supports numbers three or more; and
- b. the plurality of shelf slots numbers three or more.
3. The shelving system of claim 1 wherein the rotational assembly further comprises:
- a. an upper support plate in connection with an upper rotational track; and
- b. a plurality of ball bearings separating the upper rotational track from a lower rotational track.
4. The shelving system of claim 1 further comprising:
- a. a plurality of expansion vertical supports with one or more slots formed along one side of each expansion vertical support.
5. The shelving system of claim 4 further comprising:
- a. a plurality of expansion anchors.
6. The shelving system of claim 4 wherein the vertical supports and expansion anchors each comprise at least one fastener aperture and the shelving system further comprises fasteners.
7. The shelving system of claim 1 further comprising:
- a. connectors used to secure the top shelf to the vertical supports.
8. A shelving kit comprising:
- a. a plurality of vertical supports with a plurality of slots formed along one side of each vertical support;
- b. one or more intermediate shelves with a plurality of slots formed along each shelf's perimeter;
- c. a removable top shelf;
- d. a bottom shelf with a plurality of slots formed along its perimeter;
- e. a rotational assembly;
- f. a base; and
- g. a binder containing components a-g in an unassembled configuration.
9. The shelving kit of claim 8 further comprising:
- a. a plurality of connectors for securing the top shelf to the vertical supports.
10. The shelving kit of claim 8 further comprising:
- a. one or more blocks for supporting the vertical supports during shelving system assembly.
11. The shelving kit of claim 8 further comprising:
- a. a plurality of expansion vertical supports with one or more slots formed along one side of each expansion vertical support.
12. The shelving kit of claim 11 further comprising:
- a. a plurality of expansion anchors.
13. The shelving kit of claim 11 further comprising fasteners.
14. The shelving kit of claim 8 wherein the binder is a box.
15. A shelving kit comprising:
- a. a plurality of vertical supports attachable to one or more intermediate shelves;
- b. a removable top shelf attachable to the plurality of vertical supports;
- c. a bottom shelf attachable to the plurality of vertical supports;
- d. a rotational assembly attachable to the bottom shelf;
- e. a base attachable to the rotational assembly; and
- f. a binder containing components a-g in an unassembled configuration.
16. The shelving kit of claim 15 further comprising:
- a. a plurality of connectors for attaching the top shelf to the vertical supports.
17. The shelving kit of claim 15 further comprising:
- a. one or more blocks for supporting the vertical supports during shelving system assembly.
18. The shelving kit of claim 15 further comprising:
- a. a plurality of expansion vertical supports attachable to the vertical supports.
19. The shelving kit of claim 18 further comprising:
- a. a plurality of expansion anchors for attaching the expansion vertical supports to the vertical supports.
20. The shelving kit of claim 15 wherein the vertical supports and expansion anchors each comprise at least one fastener aperture and the shelving system further comprises fasteners.
Type: Application
Filed: Nov 16, 2011
Publication Date: May 17, 2012
Inventor: Charles C. MacLean, III (Phoenix, AZ)
Application Number: 13/297,839