SHELVING UNIT
A shelving unit includes: front support posts; rear support posts; a front cross beam between the front support posts; a rear cross beam between the rear support posts; side cross beams, wherein one of the side cross beams is between one of the front support posts and one of the rear support posts and the other of the side cross beam is between the other of the front support posts and the other of the rear support beams; a bin including a receptacle adapted to receive a wire; and a wire shelf including a support section, wherein the wire shelf is adapted to be supported by the side cross beams either in a flat configuration or an angled configuration, and wherein the wire shelf includes a wire adapted to engage the receptacle when the wire shelf is in an angled configuration.
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S)
This United States Patent Application claims the priority benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/236,052, filed Aug. 21, 2009, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONThe present invention relates to a shelving unit. Typical shelving units have one or more generally horizontal shelves at different elevations for storage of various items, including storage bins. Some storage units have shelves that are angled downwardly from back to front so that bins or other storage items may slide forwardly for easy access. Such shelving units require stopping means for preventing the bins or other stored items from sliding off the front of the unit. Conventional stopping means tend to be complicated, add more expense during manufacturing and/or difficult to assemble.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONThe present invention provides a shelving unit having a pair of spaced apart generally vertical front supports and a corresponding pair of generally vertical rear supports. Front and rear cross beams extend generally horizontally between the front supports and rear supports respectively. Side cross beams extend between each front support and the corresponding rear support.
The shelving unit includes at least one wire shelf adapted to receive and support one or more bins. The wire shelf is supported by at least two side cross beams and/or the front and rear cross beams in either a generally flat, horizontal configuration or an angled configuration wherein the shelf extends rearwardly and slightly upwardly. The wire shelf includes at least one wire adapted to engage the at least one notch when the wire shelf is in an angled configuration. The shelving unit also includes at least one bin including a bottom wall which has at least one notch adapted to receive a wire of the wire shelf.
Preferably, the wire shelf includes at least two or more wires that may simultaneously engage two or more notches in the bottom wall of the bin. The engagement of one or more the shelf wires and one or more notches of the bin help to stabilize the bin when the shelf is in its angled configuration by preventing unwanted forward sliding movement of the bin, while allowing lateral movement of the bin.
The wire shelf may be adapted to slide forward beyond the at least one front cross beam.
In one embodiment of the invention the shelving unit includes at least two generally vertical front support posts, each front support post including at least one column of slots along its length adapted to receive at least one slot engaging member; at least two generally vertical rear support posts, each rear support post including at least one column of slots along its length adapted to receive at least one slot engaging member, wherein the front support posts and the rear support posts have similar configurations; at least one generally horizontal front cross beam between the at least two front support posts and including at least one slot engaging member at each end adapted to engage a slot; at least one generally horizontal rear cross beam between the at least two rear support posts and including at least one slot engaging member at each end adapted to engage a slot; and at least two generally horizontal side cross beams extending between front and rear support posts including at least one slot engaging member at each end. Preferably, the front, rear and side cross beams have similar cross sectional configurations.
The shelving unit includes wire shelves adapted to receive and support a plurality of storage bins. The wire shelf is adapted to be supported by two side cross beams and/or the front and rear cross beams in either a flat configuration or an angled configuration achieved by turning the shelf upside down. The wire shelf includes at least two or more wires that may simultaneously engage two or more notches in the bottom wall of bins when the wire shelf is in its angled configuration. The shelving unit also includes a plurality of bins having a bottom wall which has notches adapted to simultaneously receive two or more wires of the wire shelf.
The detailed description set forth below in connection with the drawings is intended as a description of embodiments of a shelving unit in accordance with the present invention and is not intended to represent the only forms in which the invention may be constructed or utilized. It is to be understood that the same or equivalent functions and structures may be accomplished by different embodiments that are also intended to be encompassed within the spirit and scope of the invention. As denoted elsewhere herein, like element numbers indicate like elements or features.
As shown in
In the embodiment of
The front cross beam 14, the rear cross beam 16, and the side cross beams 18 are attached to the front support posts 12 and the rear support posts 10, respectively, with rivets 15, as shown in
In the embodiment shown in
In
The first longitudinal wire 32 extends along the front edge of the wire shelf 22 so that the first longitudinal wire 32 lies on the front cross beam 14 when the wire shelf 22 is in the horizontal configuration, as shown in
The fifth longitudinal wire 40 extends along the rear edge of the wire shelf 22 where the widthwise wires 23 are bent to form a leg 30. When the wire shelf 22 is positioned in a flat configuration, as shown in
The sixth longitudinal wire 42 is positioned at the upper edge of the leg 30 and attached to the ends of the widthwise wires 23. When the wire shelf 22 is positioned in an angled configuration, as shown in
Further, the notches 50, 52, 54, 56, and 58 are positioned at intervals along the longitudinal of the bin 24 so that two or more of the notches 50, 52, 54, 56, and 58 may simultaneously engage two or more of the longitudinal wires 34, 36, 38, and 40. Therefore, the position of the bin 24 relative to the wire shelf 22 may be adjusted. For example, the bin 24 may be positioned towards the rear of the wire shelf 22 when the bin 24 does not need to be accessed, and the bin 24 may be positioned towards the front of the wire shelf 22 when the bin 24 needs to be accessed, as shown in
It is understood that the number and spacing of the longitudinal and widthwise wires may be varied as desired. It is also understood that the shelving unit may be formed of any suitable material, e.g., metal and/or plastic.
In another embodiment of the present invention, the wire shelf 122 may be supported by a front cross beam 14, a rear cross beam 16, and two side cross beams 18, as shown in
Longitudinal wire 140 is at the rearward edge of the wire shelf 122 where the widthwise wires 123 are bent upwardly to form a leg 130. Longitudinal wire 142 is positioned at the upper edge of the leg 130 and is attached to the ends of the widthwise wires 123. In this embodiment of the present invention, there may or may not be a front cross beam 14 or a rear cross beam 16 positioned at the level of the wire shelf 122.
Further, since longitudinal wire 132 is at the top of the front edge section of the wire shelf 122 which extends upwardly from longitudinal wire 133 in the angled configuration as shown in
In
In this embodiment, the structure of wire shelf 222 is similar to that shown in
Z-beam style cross beams have a generally vertical upper front wall, a generally horizontal support wall 19A extending inwardly from the bottom edge of the upper front wall and an angled wall 19B extending from the inner edge of the support wall at a downward and forward angle. Here, the rear weight of wire shelf 222 is supported by side support wires 244 on support walls 19A of the side cross beams 18.
As the wire shelf 222 is extended forward beyond the front of the shelving unit, the front of the wire shelf 222 is no longer supported by the front edge of the wire shelf 222 In this embodiment, the end of longitudinal wire 242 is bent so that it extends under the angled wall 19B of the side cross beam 18 to prevent the longitudinal wire 242 from moving upwardly which, in turn, prevents the front weight of the wire shelf 222 from rotating or tipping the front of the wire shelf 222 downwardly.
Alternatively, the notches may be formed of two or more grooves or slots positioned along a widthwise line along the bottom wall of the bin 24. That is, the notches may not extend across the entire width of the bin. For example, either side of the bin may have one or more downward projections that have one or more notches adapted to engage the longitudinal wires of a wire shelf. The notches 50, 52, 54, 56, and 58 may have any suitable cross-sectional shape, such as a hook, semi-circular, triangular or rectangular shape.
Further, the bin 24 may have at least one hook 500 positioned along the width of the top of the back wall of the bin 24. The hook 500 may have a slot 502 adapted to engage, or hook over, a front longitudinal wire of the wire shelf, e.g., first longitudinal wire 132, when the wire shelf is in the angled configuration. Here, the bin 24 may be positioned in front of the shelving unit so that the contents of the bin 24 are easily accessible.
In another embodiment of the present invention shown in
Although the present invention has been described through the use of exemplary embodiments, it will be appreciated by those of skill in the art that various modifications may be made to the described embodiments that fall within the scope and spirit of the invention as defined by the claims and their equivalents appended hereto. For example, aspects shown above with particular embodiments may be combined with or incorporated into other embodiments.
Claims
1. A shelving unit for supporting bins comprising:
- at least two generally vertical front support posts, each front support post comprising at least one column of slots along its length adapted to receive at least one slot engaging member;
- at least two generally vertical rear support posts, each rear support post comprising at least one column of slots along its length adapted to receive at least one slot engaging member, wherein the front support posts and the rear support posts have similar configurations;
- at least one generally horizontal front cross beam between the at least two front support posts and comprising at least one slot engaging member at each end adapted to engage a slot;
- at least one generally horizontal rear cross beam between the at least two rear support posts and comprising at least one slot engaging member at each end adapted to engage a slot;
- at least two generally horizontal side cross beams comprising at least one slot engaging member at each end adapted to engage a slot, wherein at least one of the at least two side cross beams is between one of the at least two front support posts and one of the at least two rear support posts and at least the other of the at least two side cross beams is between the other of the at least two front support posts and the other of the at least two rear support beams, and wherein the at least one front cross beam, the at least one rear cross beam, and the at least two side cross beams have similar configurations;
- at least one bin comprising at least one receptacle adapted to receive a wire; and
- at least one wire shelf comprising a support section adapted to receive the at least one bin, wherein the wire shelf is adapted to be supported by at least the at least two side cross beams in either a flat configuration or an angled configuration, and wherein the wire shelf comprises at least one wire adapted to engage the at least one receptacle when the wire shelf is in an angled configuration.
2. A shelving unit for supporting bins comprising:
- at least two generally vertical front support posts, each front support post comprising at least one column of slots along its length adapted to receive at least one slot engaging member;
- at least two generally vertical rear support posts, each rear support post comprising at least one column of slots along its length adapted to receive at least one slot engaging member, wherein the front support posts and the rear support posts have similar configurations;
- at least one generally horizontal front cross beam between the at least two front support posts and comprising at least one slot engaging member at each end adapted to engage a slot;
- at least one generally horizontal rear cross beam between the at least two rear support posts and comprising at least one slot engaging member at each end adapted to engage a slot;
- at least two generally horizontal side cross beams comprising at least one slot engaging member at each end, wherein at least one of the at least two side cross beams is between one of the at least two front support posts and one of the at least two rear support posts and at least the other of the at least two side cross beams is between the other of the at least two front support posts and the other of the at least two rear support beams, and wherein the at least one front cross beam, the at least one rear cross beam and the at least two side cross beams have similar configurations;
- at least one bin comprising at least one receptacle adapted to receive a wire; and
- at least one wire shelf comprising a support section adapted to receive the at least one bin, wherein the wire shelf is adapted to be supported by at least the at least two side cross beams in either a flat configuration or an angled configuration, wherein the wire shelf comprises at least one wire adapted to engage the at least one receptacle when the wire shelf is in an angled configuration, and wherein the wire shelf is adapted to slide forward beyond the at least one front cross beam.
Type: Application
Filed: Aug 23, 2010
Publication Date: Feb 24, 2011
Inventors: Vaughn Sucevich (West Linn, OR), Bruce Meredith (Thousand Oaks, CA)
Application Number: 12/861,646
International Classification: A47B 81/00 (20060101);