Shelving System

Abstract

A wall-mounted shelf and drawer assembly configured to hold an item on top of the shelf as well as providing a containment unit underneath the shelf all of which can be mounted to a wall via a wall mount.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/769,069, entitled “Component Shelf,” filed Feb. 25, 2013, which application is incorporated in its entirety here by this reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This invention relates to a shelf assembly having drawings, the assembly being mountable to a wall.

SUMMARY

The present invention is directed to a shelf and drawer assembly that can mount on the wall using a wall mount. The wall mount may hold one or more shelves, one or more drawers, one or more shelf/drawer combination, and any combination thereof.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1A shows a perspective view of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 1B shows an exploded view of the embodiment shown in FIG. 1A.

FIG. 2A shows a perspective view of another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2B shows an exploded view of the embodiment shown in FIG. 2A.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The detailed description set forth below in connection with the appended drawings is intended as a description of presently-preferred embodiments of the invention and is not intended to represent the only forms in which the present invention may be constructed or utilized. The description sets forth the functions and the sequence of steps for constructing and operating the invention in connection with the illustrated embodiments. It is to be understood, however, that the same or equivalent functions and sequences may be accomplished by different embodiments that are also intended to be encompassed within the spirit and scope of the invention.

With reference to FIGS. 1A and 1B, the present invention is a wall-mounted shelf assembly 100 configured to hold an item on top of a shelf 4 as well as providing a containment unit 2 underneath the shelf 4 all of which can be mounted to a wall via a wall mount 1. For the sake of convenience and ease of description, any directional terminology will be in reference to the shelf assembly 100 being properly mounted on a wall with the top and related terms being in the direction going above the assembly 100, bottom and related terms being in the direction going below the assembly 100, forward and related terms being in the direction away from the wall upon which the assembly 100 is mounted, back and related terms being in the direction towards the wall, and lateral and related terms being in either direction to the left or right side of the assembly 100.

The wall mount 1 is a piece of sturdy material that can be secured to the wall. The wall mount 1 may have holes 10 or slots 11 to allow the wall mount 1 to be secured to the wall, for example, by screws, nails, brackets and the like. Other securing means or fasteners can also be used, such as adhesives, hook and loop fastener, and the like.

The wall mount 1 has a mounting face 12 to which the shelf 4 and the containment unit 2 can be attached. The mounting face 12 may have a means for securing the shelf 4 and the containment unit 2 to the wall mount 1. In the preferred embodiment, the containment unit 2 is screwed onto the mounting face 12. Therefore, the mounting face 12 may have holes 13 to receive the screws. Other means for securing the containment unit 2 to the mounting face 12 can be used, such as hooks, clamps, and the like.

In some embodiments, the wall mount 1 may have a level 14 incorporated into the mounting face 12. This will help level the wall mount 1 while it is being fastened to the wall to assure that the containment unit 2 is level when fastened to the wall mount 1.

The containment unit 2 comprises a drawer tray 7 and a drawer 3. The drawer tray 7 is essentially the housing having a back wall 20, two side walls 22, 24 adjacent to the back wall 20 and opposite each other, and a floor 26 adjacent to the back wall 20 and two side walls 22, 24. In the preferred embodiment, the top and front are open. The drawer tray 7 can be fastened to the wall mount 1 via, for example, screws 6. As such, the drawer tray 7 may have holes 28 corresponding to the holes 13 on the mounting face 12 so that the drawer tray 7 can be fastened to the wall mount 1 via screws 6, nuts and bolts or other fastening means.

The drawer 3 is configured to slide into the drawer tray 7. The drawer 3 has a back wall 30, two side walls 32, 34 adjacent to the back wall 30, front wall 36 adjacent to the two sidewalls 32, 34 and opposite the back wall 30, and a floor 38 adjacent to the back wall 30, sidewalls 32, 34, and front wall 36 on the bottom. The sidewalls 32, 34 of the drawer 3 and drawer tray 7 may comprise a rail system 8 so that the drawer 3 slides smoothly into the drawer tray 7.

On top of the sidewalls 22, 24 and/or back wall 20 of the drawer tray 7 are support devices 5. Support devices 5 provide a stable surface upon which the shelf 4 may be placed. Thus, the containment unit 2 functions as a holder for the shelf 4 and the shelf 4 can be attached to the wall mount 1 via the containment unit 2. The support devices 5 may be rubber, plastic, cork, felt, metal, magnets, or any other material upon which the shelf 4 may be placed. In the preferred embodiment, the shelf 4 is made of glass and the support devices 5 are securing devices that can secure the shelf in place to prevent unwanted movement or sliding of the shelf 4. For example, in the preferred embodiment, the support device 5 can be a suction cup. The suction cup can adhere to the surface of the shelf 4 to prevent the shelf from moving, while still allowing the shelf 4 to be removable. In addition, the shelf 4 does not have to be modified as long as it has a smooth surface.

The shelf 4 may be made of any other solid or rigid material that can be placed on top of the drawer tray 7 to serve as a cover for the drawer tray 7. For example, the shelf 4 may be made of wood, metal, glass, plastic, and the like. In some embodiments, the shelf 4 may be integrally formed with the drawer tray 7 or fastened securely to the drawer tray 7.

In some embodiments, the wall-mounted shelf assembly 100 may have a variety of shelf/drawer combinations. For example, the shelf assembly 100 can have one shelf 4 and one containment unit 2, two shelves 4, 4a, and one containment unit 2, two shelves 4, 4a and two containment units 2, 2a, or any number of shelf and containment unit combination. Preferably, any containment unit has a shelf on top of it as a cover for the drawer; however, a shelf 4 can stand alone without an associated containment unit 2.

For example, as shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B, the wall-mounted shelf assembly may have two shelf/containment unit combinations 102, 102a, one directly on top of the other. In such an embodiment, the mount plate 1 will have to be modified to accommodate the multiple shelf/containment unit combinations 102, 102a. Essentially, the wall mount 1 will have to be longer so as to separate the multiple shelf/containment unit combinations 102, 102a. In addition, the mounting face 12 will require multiple sets of holes 13a, 13b and/or slots to allow the multiple shelves/drawer combinations 102, 102a to be fastened to the mounting face 12. The second shelf/drawer combinations 102a are essentially replicas of the first shelf/drawer combination 102, and therefore, the features of the second drawer tray 7a, the second drawer 3a, and the like, are the same as described above for the drawer tray 7 and drawer 3.

In some embodiments, as shown in FIG. 1A, the wall-mounted shelf assembly may be a combination of a shelf 4 and a shelf/drawer combination 102. For example, in the embodiment shown in FIG. 1A, the top shelf is a shelf 4a without a containment unit. The bottom unit is a shelf/drawer combination 102 having the shelf 4 and containment unit 2 described above.

As shown in FIG. 1B, in such an embodiment, the holder for the shelf 4 may be a support frame 41 to fasten to the wall mount 1. Since in the preferred embodiment, a single wall mount 1 is used, the support frame 41 is generally “U” or “V”-shaped having a first arm 42 and a second arm 43 connected together at a center 44. The center 44 may be fastened to the wall mount 1. When the center 44 of the support frame 41 is fastened to the wall mount 1, the two arms 42, 43 extend laterally and forwardly away from the wall mount 1. This allows the two arms 42, 43 to provide support to the shelf 4 at the shelf's outer edges.

A bracket 45 may be used as an interface between the support frame 41 and the wall mount 1. In the preferred embodiment, the bracket 45 has a plurality of holes 46 that align with a plurality of holes 47 on the center 44 of the support frame 41 to allow the support frame 41 to fasten securely to the front portion of the bracket 45. On the rear of the bracket 45 are hooks 48. In this embodiment, the mounting face 12 may have a plurality of slots 15 to receive the hooks 48 on the bracket 45. This allows the bracket 45 to secure itself to the wall mount 1. In some embodiments, more slots 15 than hooks 48 are provided so that the height of the shelf 4a relative to the first shelf 4 can be adjusted. The bracket 45 may further comprise a horizontal tab 49 containing a hole. This will align with a hole 50 on the shelf 4a to help fasten the shelf 4a to the bracket 45 with, a screw 51, or some other type of fastener.

The support frame 41 may also comprise horizontal tabs 52 to hold support devices 5 to provide stability to the shelf 4.

The foregoing description of the preferred embodiment of the invention has been presented for the purposes of illustration and description. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise form disclosed. Many modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teaching. It is intended that the scope of the invention not be limited by this detailed description, but by the claims and the equivalents to the claims appended hereto.

Claims

1. A shelf assembly, comprising:

a. a wall mount having i. a mounting face, and ii. a level incorporated into the mounting face;

b. a containment unit attachable to the wall mount, wherein the containment unit comprises a drawer tray and a drawer; and

c. a shelf positioned on top of the containment unit to serve as a cover for the drawer tray,

d. wherein the drawer tray comprises i. a back wall, ii. two sidewalls adjacent to the back wall and opposite each other, and iii. a floor adjacent to the back wall and the two sidewalls, iv. suction cups on top of the drawer tray to provide a stable surface upon which the shelf may be placed, v. wherein the drawer tray has holes corresponding to holes on the wall mount so that the drawer tray can be fastened onto the wall mount;

e. wherein the drawer comprises i. a back wall, ii. two sidewalls adjacent to the back wall and opposite each other, iii. a front wall adjacent to the two sidewalls and opposite the back wall, and iv. a floor opposite the shelf and adjacent to the back wall, sidewalls, and front wall, v. wherein the sidewalls of the drawer and drawer tray comprise a rail system so that the drawers slide smoothly into the drawer tray.

2. The shelf assembly of claim 1, further comprising a second shelf attached to the wall mount.

3. The shelf assembly of claim 2, wherein the second shelf is attached to the wall mount by a holder.

4. The shelf assembly of claim 3, wherein the holder is a support frame.

5. The shelf assembly of claim 4, wherein the support frame comprises a pair of arms projecting laterally and forwardly away from the wall mount.

6. The shelf assembly of claim 5, wherein the support frame comprises a second set of suction cups to support the second shelf.

7. The shelf assembly of claim 3, wherein the holder is a second containment unit.

8. A shelf assembly, comprising:

a. a wall mount comprising a level;

b. a containment unit attachable to the wall mount, wherein the containment unit comprises a drawer tray and a drawer; and

c. a shelf positioned on top of the containment unit to serve as a cover for the drawer tray, wherein the drawer tray comprises securing devices on top of the drawer tray to provide a stable surface upon which the shelf may be placed.

9. The shelf assembly of claim 8, further comprising a second shelf attached to the wall mount.

10. The shelf assembly of claim 9, wherein the second shelf is attached to the wall mount by a holder.

11. The shelf assembly of claim 10, wherein the holder is a support frame.

12. The shelf assembly of claim 11, wherein the support frame comprises a pair of arms projecting laterally and forwardly away from the wall mount.

13. The shelf assembly of claim 12, wherein the support frame comprises a second set of suction cups to support the second shelf.

14. The shelf assembly of claim 8, wherein the holder is a second containment unit.

15. A shelf assembly, comprising:

a. a wall mount;

b. a containment unit attachable to the wall mount, wherein the containment unit comprises a drawer tray and a drawer; and

c. a shelf positioned on top of the containment unit to serve as a cover for the drawer tray, wherein the drawer tray comprises support devices on top of the drawer tray to provide a stable surface upon which the shelf may be placed.

16. The shelf assembly of claim 15, further comprising a second shelf attached to the wall mount.

17. The shelf assembly of claim 16, wherein the second shelf is attached to the wall mount by a support frame.

18. The shelf assembly of claim 17, wherein the support frame comprises a pair of arms projecting laterally and forwardly away from the wall mount.

19. The shelf assembly of claim 16, wherein the support frame comprises a second set of supporting devices directly in contact with the second shelf.

20. The shelf assembly of claim 16, wherein the second shelf is attached to the wall mount by a second containment unit.