Product Support Brush for Shelving

Abstract

A system for displaying and supporting products on an adjustable shelf assembly, with a lower shelf and an upper shelf, using a bracket connected to a the upper shelf and an elongated brush consisting of a row of nylon bristles that are bound to a rigid spine that engages a channel formed in the bracket, where the row of bristles are oriented in a downward direction. A predetermined shelf spacing is selected such that when the product is placed on the lower shelf, an upper portion of the product will engage the row of bristles and maintain the product in a substantially vertical orientation.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to product shelving systems. More specifically, the present invention relates to a shelving system that employs a bristle type brush aligned to engage the upper portion of narrow profile products and retain them in a substantially vertical orientation.

2. Description of the Related Art

Product shelving system are generally known in the art, and are in common use in retail, commercial, industrial, and residential applications. Wall mounted and free standing shelving system are available. Generally, there are plural vertical support members and plural horizontal shelves in a shelving system. Free standing shelves also include a support base. The shelves may be adjustable along the vertical axis of the support members to enable the storing of variously sized products. Shelving systems are frequently modular in design, having shelves of common widths and depths that can be positioned to extend their length indefinitely. The so-called big-box retailers and grocery stores use such shelving system in a manner familiar to most.

Generally, products simply rest on the surface of a shelf For products with a low profile and that have a adequately flat base, the product will remain stable on the shelf. However, where products are particularly narrow or have a tall profile, instability can be an issue. Examples of such problematic products in the retail environment are binders, including 3-ring binders used to hold loose-leaf paper. Binders tend to be awkward and unstable on the shelf. This issue is exacerbated in the case were the product is removed and replaced on the shelf periodically. For example, in a retail environment, customers may remove a product from the shelf, examine it, and then return it to the shelf. It is often desirable for products to be aligned in an efficient, convenient, and attractive manner on a shelf. However, where the product is unstable on the shelf, and where it is accessed repeatedly, these goals are challenging to achieve. Stability can be achieved using support devices, such as book-ends, fixtures, or racks of various sorts. However, such devices need to be adjusted to fit the product, and the quantity of the product, and are cumbersome in their own right. They are therefore, not usually convenient for users to access and operate. Thus, it can be appreciated that there is a need in the art for a shelving system that overcomes the problems in product stability and convenience.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The need in the art is addressed by the systems of the present invention. The present invention teaches a system for displaying a product with a narrow profile on a shelf assembly that includes a lower shelf and an upper shelf with a predetermined shelf spacing therebetween. The system comprises a bracket connected to the upper shelf and an elongated brush connected to the bracket. There is a row of bristles oriented in a downward direction, and the predetermined shelf spacing and the brush are arranged such that when the product is placed on the lower shelf, an upper portion of the product will engage the row of bristles, thereby maintaining the product in a substantially vertical orientation.

In a specific embodiment of the foregoing system, the lower shelf and the upper shelf are adjustable to enable selection of the predetermined shelf spacing. In a refinement to this embodiment, wherein the shelf assembly is selectably adjustable by an incremental distance, the row of bristles have a length that is greater than the incremental distance.

In a specific embodiment of the foregoing system, the product has a shape that is prone to tip over without external support. In another embodiment, the product is plural binders.

In a specific embodiment of the foregoing system, the bracket is connected to a bottom surface of the upper shelf. In another embodiment, the upper shelf has holes formed therethrough, and the bracket is connected to the upper shelf with fasteners that engage the holes.

In a specific embodiment of the foregoing system, the brush comprised a row of nylon bristles that are bound to a rigid spine. In a refinement to this embodiment, the bracket is an extrusion shape having a channel formed therein for engaging the rigid spine. In another specific embodiment, the upper shelf and the lower shelf have a predetermined shelf length, and the elongated brush has a brush width that is substantially coextensive with the predetermined shelf length.

The present invention also teaches a system for displaying a product with a narrow profile on a shelf assembly that includes a lower shelf and an upper shelf, which are adjustable to a predetermined shelf spacing therebetween. The system includes a bracket connected to the upper shelf and an elongated brush connected to the bracket, with a row of bristles oriented in a downward direction. The predetermined shelf spacing is selected such that when the product is placed on the lower shelf, an upper portion of the product will engage the row of bristles and maintain the product in a substantially vertical orientation.

In a specific embodiment of the foregoing system, the shelf assembly is selectably adjustable by an incremental distance, and the row of bristles have a length that is greater than the incremental distance. In another specific embodiment, the product has a shape that is prone to tip over without external support. In another embodiment, the product is plural binders.

In a specific embodiment of the foregoing system, the bracket is connected to a bottom surface of the upper shelf. In another specific embodiment, the upper shelf has holes formed therethrough, and the bracket is connected to the upper shelf with fasteners that engage the holes.

In a specific embodiment of the foregoing system, the brush consists a row of nylon bristles that are bound to a rigid spine. In a refinement to this embodiment, the bracket is an extrusion shape with a channel formed therein for engaging the rigid spine.

In a specific embodiment of the foregoing system, the upper shelf and the lower shelf have a predetermined shelf length, and wherein the elongated brush has a brush width that is substantially coextensive with the predetermined shelf length.

The present invention also teaches a system for displaying a product with a narrow profile on a shelf assembly that includes a lower shelf and an upper shelf that has holes formed therethrough, and which are adjustable by an incremental distance to a predetermined shelf spacing therebetween. The system includes a bracket connected to a bottom surface of the upper shelf with fasteners that engage the holes, and wherein the bracket is an extrusion shape with a channel formed therein. An elongated brush consisting of a row of nylon bristles that are bound to a rigid spine engages the channel formed in the bracket, and the row of bristles is oriented in a downward direction. The predetermined shelf spacing is selected such that when the product is placed on the lower shelf, an upper portion of the product will engage the row of bristles and maintain the product in a substantially vertical orientation, because the row of bristles have a length that is greater than the incremental distance.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a drawing of a shelving system according to an illustrative embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a shelving assembly detail drawing according to an illustrative embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a detail drawing of a mounting bracket and brush according to an illustrative embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an assembly drawing according to an illustrative embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a section view of a mounting bracket according to an illustrative embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a top view drawing of a mounting bracket according to an illustrative embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a front view drawing of a mounting bracket according to an illustrative embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a section view drawing of a mounting bracket and brush according to an illustrative embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a section view drawing of a brush according to an illustrative embodiment of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Illustrative embodiments and exemplary applications will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings to disclose the advantageous teachings of the present invention.

While the present invention is described herein with reference to illustrative embodiments for particular applications, it should be understood that the invention is not limited thereto. Those having ordinary skill in the art and access to the teachings provided herein will recognize additional modifications, applications, and embodiments within the scope hereof and additional fields in which the present invention would be of significant utility.

In considering the detailed embodiments of the present invention, it will be observed that the present invention resides primarily in combinations of steps to accomplish various methods or components to form various apparatus and systems. Accordingly, the apparatus and system components and method steps have been represented where appropriate by conventional symbols in the drawings, showing only those specific details that are pertinent to understanding the present invention so as not to obscure the disclosure with details that will be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art having the benefit of the disclosures contained herein.

In this disclosure, relational terms such as first and second, top and bottom, upper and lower, and the like may be used solely to distinguish one entity or action from another entity or action without necessarily requiring or implying any actual such relationship or order between such entities or actions. The terms “comprises,” “comprising,” or any other variation thereof, are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of elements does not include only those elements but may include other elements not expressly listed or inherent to such process, method, article, or apparatus. An element proceeded by “comprises a” does not, without more constraints, preclude the existence of additional identical elements in the process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises the element.

Novel approaches to supporting products in a vertical orientation on shelves are herein disclosed. Rather then employing bookends, brackets, or other adjustable structures to maintain products in a generally vertical orientation, the present disclosure employs a brush or similar bristled member that is positioned above a shelf and that flexibly engages and upper portion of the product to provided lateral, or side-to-side, support. The flexible feature enables the product to be pushed through the bristled member to facilitate insertion and removal of the product from the shelf. Tipping forces acting on the product are reasonably controlled by the resilience of the bristles. Also, since the bristles are generally smaller and closure together than the pertinent dimensions of the products, and since the bristles are disposed along a row placed laterally with respect to the shelf, the brush results in an infinitely adaptable arrangement to engage a wide variety of products without the need of adjustment.

The only adjustment that is needed is the vertical spacing between the shelf and the brush, which is disposed above the product resting on the shelf, but also positioned to interfere with the product at its upper end. Since shelves commonly have a stack of plural shelves, this arrangement is readily facilitated by attaching the brush assembly to the underside of an upper shelf while resting the product on a lower shelf. Furthermore, since shelving systems are generally adjustable along the vertical axis of the support structure, the shelf positioning may be set to coordinate with the product height to provided the needed interference and bristle engagement. Also, where the vertical shelf spacing is incremental, such as one-inch adjustment steps, the length of the bristles is selected to insure that there can always be interference with the product. For example, the bristles may have a length of one and a half inches, or at least a length greater than one inch to provide interference in this example.

Reference is directed to FIG. 1, which is a drawing of a shelving system 2 according to an illustrative embodiment of the present invention. This embodiment illustrates a free standing shelf, as may be utilized by a retailer of consumer products. The shelving system 2 includes a base 4 with an integrated base shelf 8 and vertical support structure 6, which has rails that are slotted to engages plural shelves 10, 12, 14, and 16 at incremental height spacing. Generally, the basic shelving structure is of conventional design. The brush assembly 20 is fastened to the underside of an upper shelf 14 using threaded fasteners 22 that engages existing holes perforated though the shelf material. A brush assembly 20 is applied to each upper shelf. As used herein, an “upper” shelf is one that has another shelf below it. And, “lower” shelf is one that has another shelf above it. Thusly, is can be appreciated that the shelves function cooperatively, and that the bottom shelf 8 would never be an upper shelf, and a top shelf 16 would never be a lower shelf.

In FIG. 1, each of shelves 10, 12, 14, and 16 have a brush assembly attached to its lower surface adjacent to the front of the shelf. An exemplar product is illustrated with respect shelf 10. Plural 3-ring binders 26 rest on shelf 10. Shelf 12 has a brush 24 disposed below its lower surface, which acts to engage the upper edge of each binder 26. As the binders 26 are pushed onto shelf 10, the upper edge of the sidewalls of the binders spread the bristles of the brush 24 apart to pass therethrough. Once in place, the bristles resist tipping from side to side and maintain the binders 26 in a vertical orientation. Since the brush 24 is disposed across the entire width of the shelve, products 26 can be inserted at any location along the width of the shelf and still benefit from the lateral support. In addition, it does not matter what width each item of product is. In this example, the binders could be 1″, 2″, 3″, or a mixture thereof and the brush 24 would still function to support the product.

Reference is directed to FIG. 2, which is a shelving assembly detail drawing according to an illustrative embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 illustrates a front corner of a shelf 30, which has a row of perforated holes 31 formed therethrough. Such perforations are common in retail, commercial, and industrial shelving systems. A mounting bracket 32, in the form of a right-angled bracket, is fasted to the underside of the shelf 30 with one or more fasteners, which are a screw 38 and wing nut 40 in the illustrative embodiment. The bracket 32 has a slotted hole 36 formed in it, which provides for a degree of adjustment in the position of the bracket 32. The mounting bracket 32 has an elongated brush 34 extending downwardly therefrom. The length that the brush 34 extends downwardly from the shelf 30 is selected to engage an upper portion of the intended product (not shown) that will be inserted below the shelf 30.

Reference is directed to FIG. 3, which is a detail drawing of a mounting bracket 42 and brush 44 according to an illustrative embodiment of the present invention. The embodiment shows that the bracket 42 is elongated and has plural mounting slots 43 used to attach it to the upper shelf (not shown). In the illustrative embodiment, the bracket is a plastic extrusion. An elongated brush 44 is engaged with the bracket 42 using a spine on the brush 44 and an extrusion channel on the bracket 42, which will be more fully disclosed hereinafter.

Reference is directed to FIG. 4, which is an assembly drawing according to an illustrative embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 shows the bracket 42 and brush 44 of FIG. 3 as they are assembled together. In FIG. 4, the elongated brush 44 is inserted into an extrusion channel in the bracket 42. The two units as slid together to form an integrated brush assembly prior to attaching to the shelving system (not shown).

Reference is directed to FIG. 5, which is a section view of a mounting bracket 48 according to an illustrative embodiment of the present invention. The bracket 48 is a plastic extrusion in the illustrative embodiment. It is generally a right-angled bracket having a horizontal portion 50 and a vertical portion 52. The horizontal portion 50 is attached to the underside of an upper shelf (not shown) using a slot 54 in the bracket 48. The slot 54 is located in a recessed portion 51 that provides clearance for the fasteners (not shown). At the lower end of the vertical portion 52 that is a brush channel 56 formed for receiving the spine of an elongated brush (not shown). The length of the bracket 48 is generally coextensive with the width of the shelf (not shown) that it is to be attached to.

Reference is directed to FIG. 6 and FIG. 7, which are a top view and a front view drawing, respectively, of a mounting bracket according to an illustrative embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6 provides a view of the horizontal portion 50 of the bracket extrusion 48 showing three mounting slots 54. The brush mounting channel 56 is visible in phantom lines. FIG. 7 shows a front view of the vertical portion 52 of the mounting bracket. This view also shows the location of the elongated brush mounting channel 56.

Reference is directed to FIG. 8, which is a section view drawing of a mounting bracket 48 and brush 60 according to an illustrative embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 8 shows the brush 60 engaged with the brush mounting channel 56 formed into the mounting bracket extrusion 48.

Reference is directed to FIG. 9, which is a section view drawing of a brush 60 according to an illustrative embodiment of the present invention. This elongated brush embodiment is fabricated using a row of nylon bristles 66 that are wrapped about a wire spindle 64. The bristles 66 are held in place on the spindle 64 using a formed spine 62 that is crimped about the spindle 64. In the illustrative embodiment, the spine 62 is formed from aluminum. The length of the bristles 66 is selected to provide adequate engagement with the product (not shown) in light of the incremental shelf spacing the is available in the target shelving system (not shown).

Thus, the present invention has been described herein with reference to a particular embodiment for a particular application. Those having ordinary skill in the art and access to the present teachings will recognize additional modifications, applications and embodiments within the scope thereof.

It is therefore intended by the appended claims to cover any and all such applications, modifications and embodiments within the scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A system for displaying a product with a narrow profile on a shelf assembly that includes a lower shelf and an upper shelf having a predetermined shelf spacing therebetween, comprising:

a bracket connected to the upper shelf;

an elongated brush connected to said bracket, and having a row of bristles oriented in a downward direction, and wherein

the predetermined shelf spacing and the brush are arranged such that when the product is placed on the lower shelf, an upper portion of the product will engage said row of bristles, thereby maintaining the product in a substantially vertical orientation.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the lower shelf and the upper shelf are adjustable to enable selection of the predetermined shelf spacing.

3. The system of claim 2, and wherein the shelf assembly is selectably adjustable by an incremental distance, and wherein said row of bristles have a length that is greater than said incremental distance.

4. (canceled)

5. The system of claim 1, and wherein the product is plural binders.

6. The system of claim 1, and wherein said bracket is connected to an underside of the upper shelf.

7. The system of claim 1, and wherein the upper shelf has holes formed therethrough, and wherein, said bracket includes slotted holes that align with the holes in the upper shelf and is connected to the upper shelf with fasteners that engage the holes in the upper shelf and the slotted holes in the bracket.

8. The system of claim 1, and wherein said brush comprises a row of nylon bristles that are bound to a rigid spine.

9. The system of claim 1, and wherein said bracket is an extrusion shape having a channel formed therein for engaging with a spine of the elongated brush.

10. The system of claim 1, and wherein the upper shelf and the lower shelf have a predetermined shelf length, and wherein said elongated brush has a brush width that is substantially coextensive with the predetermined shelf length.

11. A system for displaying a product with a narrow profile on a shelf assembly that includes a lower shelf and an upper shelf, which are adjustable to a predetermined shelf spacing therebetween, the system comprising:

a bracket connected to the upper shelf;

an elongated brush connected to said bracket, and having a row of bristles oriented in a downward direction, and wherein

the predetermined shelf spacing is selected such that when the product is placed on the lower shelf, an upper portion of the product will engage said row of bristles, thereby maintaining the product in a substantially vertical orientation.

12. The system of claim 11, and wherein the shelf assembly is selectably adjustable by an incremental distance, and wherein said row of bristles have a length that is greater than said incremental distance.

13. (canceled)

14. The system of claim 11, and wherein the product is plural binders.

15. The system of claim 11, and wherein said bracket is connected to a bottom surface of the upper shelf.

16. The system of claim 11, and wherein the upper shelf has holes formed therethrough, and wherein, said bracket is connected to the upper shelf with fasteners that engage the holes.

17. The system of claim 11, and wherein said brush comprises a row of nylon bristles that are bound to a rigid spine.

18. The system of claim 11, and wherein said bracket is an extrusion shape having a channel formed therein for engaging with a spine of the elongated brush.

19. The system of claim 11, and wherein the upper shelf and the lower shelf have a predetermined shelf length, and wherein said elongated brush has a brush width that is substantially coextensive with the predetermined shelf length.

20. A system for displaying a product with a narrow profile on a shelf assembly that includes a lower shelf and an upper shelf that has holes formed therethrough, and which are adjustable by an incremental distance to a predetermined shelf spacing therebetween, the system comprising:

a bracket connected to a bottom surface of the upper shelf with fasteners that engage the holes, and wherein said bracket is an extrusion shape having a channel formed therein;

an elongated brush consisting of a row of nylon bristles that are bound to a rigid spine that engages said channel formed in said bracket, and wherein said row of bristles is oriented in a downward direction, and wherein

the predetermined shelf spacing is selected such that when the product is placed on the lower shelf, an upper portion of the product will engage said row of bristles, thereby maintaining the product in a substantially vertical orientation, and wherein

said row of bristles have a length that is greater than the incremental distance.

21. The system of claim 9, wherein the bracket further comprises a horizontal portion having a first length extending along a free edge of the horizontal portion and a second length extending along a fixed end of the horizontal portion, the first length being less than the second length.

22. The system of claim 18, wherein the bracket further comprises a horizontal portion having a first length extending along a free edge of the horizontal portion and a second length extending along a fixed end of the horizontal portion, the first length being less than the second length.