MODULAR DISPLAY UNIT
A modular display unit that may be assembled without tools and without attachment hardware includes two or more shelves having spaced-apart elongate apertures, and two or more pairs of upright members. Each of the pairs of upright members extend through two or more of the elongate apertures. The upright members may include notches or other features that are configured to engage the associated shelf. One or more wedges extend through the elongate apertures between each of the pairs of upright members, and urge the upright members against the shelf. Optionally, one or more dowels slidably engage apertures in the shelves to provide a back support for display items. The shelves may optionally include a longitudinal groove along an upper surface to support display items such as compact and/or digital video disk cases.
Display units, including, for example, bookshelves, picture display cases, display units for digital media disks, knick-knacks, and the like, are considered an essential furnishing in many homes. The modular display units are typically an aesthetic fixture in the home.
Often it is desirable to have a display unit that covers a significant portion of a wall, for example. However, a user may desire to change the location or configuration of a display unit, for example, when remodeling or repositioning furnishings in a room, to accommodate new items, or simply to change the aesthetics in a room.
It can be difficult, however to find a display unit that is suitably sized and shaped for a particular room or location in a room. It can also be difficult or impossible to move a particular large display unit into a particular room.
Of course, many self-assembleable display units are available, wherein a user can bring a disassembled unit to the desired location and assemble it in place. Typically, such self-assembleable display units are put together with attachment hardware such as screws, nails, glues, brackets, and the like, and are intended to be assembled in a single, specific configuration. Particular tools may be required to assembly the unit, and the process may be difficult and time consuming. Such display units may be difficult or virtually impossible to disassemble and reassemble, for example, if it is desired to relocate it to a different room or building.
Moreover, many users may not like the aesthetic appearance of a display unit that is held together with conventional hardware.
There is a need for a modular display unit that may be assembled without tools, that does not require attachment hardware. It would further be advantageous to have a modular display unit that may be assembled in different configurations.
SUMMARYThis summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in a simplified form that are further described below in the Detailed Description. This summary is not intended to identify key features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used as an aid in determining the scope of the claimed subject matter.
A modular display unit, such as a book shelf or the like, that may be assembled without tools, and may, for example, comprise a single material type such as wood, is disclosed and includes a plurality of upright supports that engage a plurality of shelves through apertures formed in the shelves. Wedges, or other biasing members, are inserted into the shelf apertures to bias the associated upright support against associated shelf. In an exemplary embodiment, the entire unit comprises wood, and may be assembled, disassembled, and reassembled, perhaps in a large number of different configurations, without the use of any tools.
In a particular embodiment, the plurality of upright supports are configured as a pair of spaced-apart, upright members, and the wedges are disposed in the corresponding apertures between the pair of upright members.
In a particular embodiment, the plurality of upright supports each define a wedge-shaped protrusion that is positioned to extend into one of the plurality of shelf apertures when the modular display unit is assembled, and the wedges slidably engage the wedge-shaped protrusion.
In another particular embodiment, the wedges comprise pairs of wedges, and the plurality of pairs of wedges cooperatively bias the associated upright support against the plurality of shelves.
In a particular embodiment, the upright supports have notches, for example, rectangular or rounded notches, that are configured to engage one of the plurality of shelves when the modular display unit is assembled.
In particular embodiments, the plurality of upright supports are of differing lengths, and/or the shelves have differing lengths.
In a particular embodiment, the shelves further comprise a plurality of apertures, and a plurality of dowels are provided that frictionally engage the shelf apertures.
The foregoing aspects and many of the attendant advantages of this invention will become more readily appreciated as the same become better understood by reference to the following detailed description, when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:
A first embodiment of a modular display unit 100 in accordance with the present invention is shown in
Refer now also to
An upright member 11 is shown in
A dowel 25 is shown in isolation in
A first pair of upright members 11 are inserted into the rectangular aperture 17 of the lower shelf 13, with the notches 15 oriented outwardly. The upright members 11 are positioned such that the lower notches 15 are aligned with the lower shelf 13, and are then pushed outwardly so that the notches 15 slidably engage the lower shelf 13. One or more additional shelves, in this case the upper shelf 13′, may then be similarly positioned to engage the upright members 11 in spaced relation to the lower shelf 13. A first single tapered wedge 23 is inserted into the rectangular aperture 17, positioned between the upright members 11 with the relatively wide first end 37 oriented downwardly. A second single tapered wedge 23 is slidably inserted into the same elongate aperture 17, such that the angled side 43 of the first single taper wedge 23 slidably engages the angled side 43 of the second single taper wedge 23, as illustrated in the detail assembly view of
It will be appreciated that if more than two shelves 13 or 13′ are to be provided with appropriately configured upright members, the tapered wedges 23 may not be required at each shelf position. The pairs of tapered wedges may be provided between upright members 11 at any two vertical locations wherein the rigidity of the upright members 11 is sufficient to ensure all of the shelves will suitably engage the upright members 11.
Similarly, a second pair of upright members 11 may then be positioned in the other rectangular aperture 17 of the shelves 13, 13′ and additional pairs of single taper wedges 23 inserted between the upright members 11 to secure the second pair of upright members 11 to the lower shelf 13. If the optional dowels 25 are desired, one or more dowels 25 are inserted into the circular apertures 19 in the shelf 13 and positioned to slidably engage the circular apertures 19 in the lower and upper shelves 13, 13′ at any convenient time during the assembly. In practice, it may be preferable to assemble the module display unit 100 with the single taper wedges 23 loosely installed, such that the unit 100 retains some flexibility, and when all of the components are in position, then securely engage the wedges 23 to urge the upright members 11 outwardly with some force, such that the assembled unit 100 becomes very stable and relatively rigid.
It will now be appreciated that with very few components, and without any tools or attachment hardware, the modular display unit 100 can be easily assembled to erect the very stable unit shown in
The components of the modular display unit 100 may be formed from any suitable material, either natural or man made. In a current embodiment the components are formed from wood, providing an attractive, all-wood display unit with no fittings, glue, nail, screws or other hardware required.
In the modular display unit 110, upright members 53 include an integral angled portion, and one double taper wedge 53 is provided between the upright members 51 (in each of the rectangular slots 17 in the shelves 13′). Refer now also to
The double taper wedge 53 is generally trapezoidal in shape with opposite long sides 56 tapering inwardly from a wide end 57 towards a narrow end 58. Of course, the double taper wedge may be shaped differently, for example, in a triangular or diamond shape, with curved end edges, or the like. The shape of the double taper wedge 53 is designed to be complementary to the wedge-shaped protrusions 52 of the upright members 51.
Referring now again to
The modular display unit 120 includes upright members 51 that may be generally the same as the corresponding upright members 51 shown in
In this embodiment, a single upright member 51 extends through each rectangular aperture 17 in the shelves 13′. The upright members 51 are formed with wedge-shaped protrusions 52 as described above and shown in
The modular display units 100, 110, 120 shown in
In this embodiment, the modular display unit 120 may be provided with additional support, for example, by attachment to a wall, placement in a corner to abut a wall (e.g., to the right in
A front view of another assembled modular display unit 130 in accordance with the present invention is shown in
The upright members described above have generally rectangular notches that are sized to slidably receive a corresponding shelf. However, it will be appreciated by persons of skill in the art that the wedge members produce an outward force on the upright members, such that the upright members may be firmly biased against the corresponding shelf. The magnitude of the biasing force is controllable by the user when assembling the unit. Therefore, it is not necessary that the notches be rectangular, or that they closely conform to the shape of the shelf.
In
In
It will be appreciated that any of the upright members shown in
While illustrative embodiments have been illustrated and described, it will be appreciated that various changes can be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.
Claims
1. A modular display unit comprising:
- a plurality of upright supports;
- a plurality of shelves, each shelf having a plurality of apertures, each aperture having an associated one of the plurality of upright supports disposed therethrough, and each aperture having a first end a second end;
- a plurality of wedges, each wedge disposed in one of the plurality of shelf apertures and associated with one of the upright supports, wherein each wedge is operable to bias the associated upright support against the plurality of shelves.
2. The modular display unit of claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of upright supports comprises a pair of spaced-apart, upright members.
3. The modular display unit of claim 1, wherein the plurality of upright supports each define a wedge-shaped protrusion that is positioned to extend into one of the plurality of shelf apertures when the modular display unit is assembled.
4. The modular display unit of claim 1, further comprising a second plurality of wedges, each of the second plurality of wedges being paired with one of the first plurality of wedges, and wherein the plurality of pairs of wedges cooperatively bias the associated upright support against the plurality of shelves.
6. The modular display unit of claim 1, wherein the plurality of upright supports have notches that are configured to engage one of the plurality of shelves when the modular display unit is assembled.
7. The modular display unit of claim 1, wherein at least one of the plurality of shelves further comprises a longitudinal groove extending across the length of a top surface of the at least one shelf.
8. The modular display unit of claim 1, wherein the plurality of wedges each comprise a pair of single taper wedges.
9. The modular display unit of claim 1, wherein the plurality of wedges are shaped as a trapezoid having a constant thickness.
10. The modular display unit of claim 1, wherein the plurality of pairs of upright supports comprise a first pair of upright members that are of a different length than a second pair of upright members.
11. The modular display unit of claim 1, wherein the modular display unit is configured to be assembled without tools and without attachment hardware.
12. The modular display unit of claim 1, wherein the entire modular display unit is wood.
13. The modular display unit of claim 1, wherein the plurality of shelves further comprise circular apertures, and further comprising a plurality of dowels that frictionally engage at least one of the circular apertures in at least two of the plurality of shelves.
14. A modular display unit comprising:
- a plurality of shelves, each shelf having at least two elongate apertures;
- a plurality of upright supports, wherein each upright support extends through the elongate apertures in at least two of the plurality of shelves, and further wherein each of the plurality of upright supports includes a plurality of shelf-engagement means on at least one edge; and
- means for biasing the upright supports against the at least two of the plurality of shelves.
15. The modular display unit of claim 14, wherein each of the plurality of upright supports comprises a pair of spaced-apart, upright members.
16. The modular display unit of claim 14, wherein the plurality of upright supports each define a wedge-shaped protrusion that is positioned to extend into one of the plurality of shelf apertures when the modular display unit is assembled.
17. The modular display unit of claim 15, wherein the means for biasing the upright supports comprises a plurality of wedges disposed between each of the pairs of upright members.
18. The modular display unit of claim 17, wherein each of the plurality of wedges is positioned in one of the plurality of elongate apertures in the assembled modular display unit.
19. The modular display unit of claim 14, wherein the shelf-engagement means comprises shaped notches in the upright members.
20. The modular display unit of claim 14, wherein the modular display unit is configured to be assembled without tools and without attachment hardware, and further wherein the entire modular display unit is wood.
Type: Application
Filed: Dec 21, 2010
Publication Date: Jun 21, 2012
Inventor: William G. Stroud (Leavenworth, WA)
Application Number: 12/975,185
International Classification: A47B 47/04 (20060101); A47B 47/00 (20060101);