SHELF BRACKET

Abstract

A shelf bracket is provided for use in retail shelving systems having shelves supported on brackets attached to slotted uprights which stand vertically either independently or by attachment to a wall or other vertical surface. The bracket includes a proximal end portion, a distal end portion, and a middle portion configured to support a shelf. The proximal end portion includes a hook portion and a positioning tab that is vertically spaced from the hook portion.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims priority from U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/232,164 filed Sep. 24, 2015, the entirety of which is incorporated by reference herein.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to retail shelving systems and, in particular, to a shelf bracket for such systems.

BACKGROUND

Retail shelving systems typically feature slotted uprights which stand vertically either independently or by attachment to a wall or other vertical surface. Shelves are supported on a pair of brackets that engage the slots of a pair of the slotted uprights. The uprights feature multiple slots so that the height of the brackets, and thus the shelf supported thereon, may be selected and adjusted.

Retail establishments typically require that the shelves be oriented with the top surface of the shelf at an angle of just under ninety degrees with respect to the vertical plane of the uprights. This permits items on the shelves to be easily viewed but also reduces the chances that an item may fall off of the front of the shelf.

A shelf bracket typically features at least one hook portion at the proximal end that engages the slots of a corresponding upright. The hook portion includes a least one abutting surface that engages the outer surface of the upright when the hook portion is in engagement with a slot. An issue exists, however, in that the thickness of the material of the uprights, which is usually metal or steel, varies between different types of uprights. Such a variance impacts the angle that the top surface of the shelf makes with respect to the vertical plane of the upright. A need exists for a shelf bracket that addresses this issue.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a partial side elevational view of the proximal end portion 10 of an embodiment of a shelf bracket of the present technology;

FIG. 2 is a side elevational view of the shelf bracket of FIG. 1 installed on a slotted upright having a slotted wall first thickness;

FIG. 3A is a perspective view of the shelf bracket of FIG. 1 prior to being installed on a pair of slotted uprights of FIG. 2;

FIG. 3B is a perspective view of the shelf bracket of FIG. 1 installed on the slotted uprights of FIG. 3A;

FIG. 3C is a side elevational view of the shelf bracket of FIG. 1 installed on the slotted uprights of FIG. 3A;

FIG. 3D is a detail view of the circled area of FIG. 3B, showing the shelf bracket of FIG. 1 installed on the slotted uprights of FIG. 3A;

FIG. 4 is a side elevational view of the shelf bracket of FIG. 1 installed on a slotted upright having a slotted wall second thickness;

FIG. 5 is a side elevational view of the shelf bracket of FIG. 1 installed on a slotted upright having a slotted wall third thickness;

FIG. 6 is a side elevational view of the shelf bracket of FIG. 1 installed on a slotted upright having a slotted wall fourth thickness and an alternative slot spacing;

FIG. 7A is a perspective view of the shelf bracket of FIG. 1 prior to being installed on a pair of slotted uprights of FIG. 6;

FIG. 7B is a perspective view of the shelf bracket of FIG. 1 installed on the slotted uprights of FIG. 7A;

FIG. 7C is a side elevational view of the shelf bracket of FIG. 1 installed on the slotted uprights of FIG. 7A; and

FIG. 7D is a detail view of the circled area of FIG. 3B, showing the shelf bracket of FIG. 1 installed on the slotted uprights of FIG. 7A.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

FIGS. 1-7 illustrate one embodiment of a shelf bracket 20 of the present technology.

FIG. 1 shows the proximal end portion 10 of the shelf bracket 20. The shelf bracket 20 may be preferably formed from a sheet of steel or metal, but any suitable strong and at least semi-rigid material may be used. As illustrated in FIG. 1, the proximal end portion 10 of the shelf bracket 20 includes a hook portion 22. The hook portion 22 includes an upwardly extending safety stop 24 and a downwardly extending hook engagement member 26. A hook recess 32 is provided beneath the hook portion 22 of the bracket, adjacent to the hook engagement member 26. A positioning tab 34 is provided and located a vertical distance 36 (indicated by arrow) down from the top edge 38 of the hook recess. A guide surface 42 extends between the hook recess 32 and the positioning tab 34. The middle portion 61 of the bracket is configured and adapted to support a shelf 64.

With reference to FIGS. 2 and 3, a pair of shelf brackets of the type illustrated in FIG. 1 may be used to support a shelf 64 upon a pair of slotted uprights 50 and 52. The slotted uprights may stand upright on their own or with support of a shelving system, wall or other vertical surface. Each of the slotted uprights 50 and 52 include a number of vertical slots. Using upright 50 as an example, the upright includes a number of vertical slots 54 formed in wall 62 separated by dividers 56.

The shelf bracket 20 may be installed upon the uprights 50 and 52 as shown in FIGS. 3A-3D. Using upright 50 as an example, the shelf bracket 20 may be tilted with the distal end portion 60 (in FIG. 3) slightly elevated above the proximal end portion 10, so that the stop 24 may pass through a slot 54 of the upright. The hook engagement member 26 may then be passed through the upright slot as the distal end portion 60 of the shelf bracket is rotated downwards so that it is approximately level with the proximal end portion 10. The entire shelf bracket 20 may then be lowered so that the hook recess 32 receives the top edge of the upright divider below the upright slot 54 through which the shelf bracket hook portion stop 24 and hook engagement member 26 passed. As a result, the bracket guide surface 42 abuts, generally along its entire length, the exterior surface of the wall 62 of the slotted upright 50. Furthermore, as best shown in FIG. 2, the positioning tab 34 of the bracket is positioned within one of the slots 54 of the upright beneath the slot 54 through which the shelf bracket hook portion stop 24 and hook engagement member 26 passed.

With reference to FIG. 2, the bracket 20 may cause the top surface 64 of the shelf 44 to form a first angle 66, with the slotted wall 62 of the upright when the slotted wall 62 has a first thickness 68. As an example only, first angle 66 of FIG. 2 could be 88.1° when first thickness 68 is 0.190 inches.

Returning to FIG. 3, a second bracket identical to bracket 20, the hook portion of which is indicated at 69, supports the shelf 64 on the second slotted upright 52 in the same fashion as described for bracket 20 and upright 50.

With reference to FIG. 4, the bracket 20 is shown engaging an upright, indicated in general at 70. The upright 70 features a wall 72, having vertical slots 74 separated by dividers 76 (in a manner similar to upright 50 of FIGS. 2 and 3).

The shelf bracket 20 may be installed upon the upright 70 by tilting the bracket with the distal end portion 60 slightly elevated above the proximal end portion 10 so that the stop 24 may pass through a slot 74 of the upright. The hook engagement member 26 may then be passed through the upright slot as the distal end portion 60 of the shelf bracket is rotated downwards so that it is approximately level with the proximal end portion 10. The entire shelf bracket 20 may then be lowered so that the hook recess receives the top edge of the upright divider below the upright slot through which the shelf bracket hook portion stop 24 and hook engagement member 26 passed. The lower portion of the bracket guide surface 42 abuts the exterior surface of the wall 72 of the slotted upright 70, while the top portion of the guide surface 42 is slightly spaced from the exterior surface of upright wall 72. As a result, a wedge-shaped gap is formed between the bracket guide surface 42 and the outer surface of the wall 72 of the upright. Furthermore, as best shown in FIG. 4, the positioning tab 34 of the bracket is positioned within one of the slots 74 of the upright.

With reference to FIG. 4, the bracket 20 may cause the top surface 78 of a shelf supported by the bracket (in cooperation with a neighboring bracket as in FIG. 3) to form a second angle 82 with the slotted wall 72 of the upright when the slotted wall 72 has a second thickness 84. As an example only, second angle 82 of FIG. 2 could be 88.8° when second thickness 84 is 0.165 inches.

With reference to FIG. 5, the bracket 20 is shown engaging an upright, indicated in general at 90. The upright 90 features a wall, indicated in general at 92, having vertical slots 94 separated by dividers 96 (in a manner similar to upright 50 of FIGS. 2 and 3).

The shelf bracket 20 may be installed upon the upright 90 by tilting the bracket with the distal end portion 60 slightly elevated above the proximal end portion 10 so that the stop 24 may pass through a slot 94 of the upright. The hook engagement member 26 may then be passed through the upright slot as the distal end portion 60 of the shelf bracket is rotated downwards so that it is approximately level with the proximal end portion 10. The entire shelf bracket may then be lowered so that the hook recess receives the top edge of the upright divider below the upright slot through which the shelf bracket hook portion stop 24 and hook engagement member 26 passed. The lower portion of the bracket guide surface 42 abuts the exterior surface of the wall 92 of the slotted upright 90, while the top portion of the guide surface 42 is slightly spaced from the exterior surface of upright wall 92. As a result, a wedge-shaped gap is formed between the bracket guide surface 42 and the outer surface of the wall 92 of the upright. Furthermore, as best shown in FIG. 2, the positioning tab 34 of the bracket is positioned within one of the slots 94 of the upright.

With reference to FIG. 5, the bracket 20 may cause the top surface 97 of a shelf supported by the bracket (in cooperation with a neighboring bracket as in FIG. 3) to form a third angle 98 with the slotted wall 92 of the upright when the slotted wall 92 has a third thickness 99. As an example only, third angle 98 of FIG. 5 could be 89.5° when the third thickness 99 is 0.140 inches.

With reference to FIGS. 6 and 7, a pair of shelf brackets of the type illustrated in FIG. 1 may be used to support a shelf 104 upon a pair of slotted uprights 106 and 108. The slotted uprights may stand upright on their own or with support of a shelving system, wall or other vertical surface. Using upright 106 as an example, the upright includes a number of vertical slots 110 formed in wall 112 separated by dividers 114.

The shelf bracket 20 may be installed upon the upright 106 by tilting the bracket with the distal end portion 120 (in FIG. 7) slightly elevated above the proximal end portion 10 so that the stop 24 may pass through a slot 110 of the upright. The hook engagement member 26 may then be passed through the upright slot as the distal end portion 60 of the shelf bracket is rotated downwards so that it is approximately level with the proximal end portion 10. The entire shelf bracket may then be lowered so that the hook recess receives the top edge of the upright divider below the upright slot through which the shelf bracket hook portion stop 24 and hook engagement member 26 passed. In this situation, however, the positioning tab 34 abuts a divider 114 so that the bracket guide surface 42 is spaced along its entire length from the exterior surface of the wall 112 of the slotted upright 106. This permits the shelf to be mounted to the upright at the desired angle even though the thickness of the upright slotted wall 112 may be thin (as compared to other types of uprights, such as those of FIGS. 2-5).

With reference to FIG. 6, the bracket 20 may cause the top surface 116 of the shelf to form a fourth angle 118, with the slotted wall 112 of the upright when the slotted wall 112 has a fourth thickness 120. As an example only, fourth angle 118 of FIG. 6 could be 89° when fourth thickness 120 is 0.104 inches.

Returning to FIG. 7, a second bracket identical to bracket 20, the hook portion of which is indicated at 122, supports the shelf 104 on the second slotted upright 108 in the same fashion as described for bracket 20 and upright 106.

While the preferred embodiments of the invention have been shown and described, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that changes and modifications may be made therein without departing from the spirit of the invention.

Claims

1. A bracket for mounting a shelf to a first upright having a first set of slots separated by a first set of dividers and a second upright having a second set of slots separated by a second set of dividers comprising:

a. a middle portion configured to support a shelf;

b. a proximal end portion including a hook portion and a positioning tab;

c. said positioning tab vertically spaced from the hook portion so as to abut one of the first set of dividers of the first upright when the hook portion engages one of the first set of slots of the first upright; and

d. said positioning tab also positioned to pass through a first one of the second set of slots of the second upright when the hook portion engages a second one of the second set of slots of the second upright.

2. The bracket of claim 1 wherein the hook portion includes an upwardly extending stop and a downwardly extending hook engagement member.

3. The bracket of claim 1 wherein the positioning tab is vertically spaced beneath the hook portion.

4. The bracket of claim 1 further comprising a guide surface positioned between the hook portion and the positioning tab.

5. A shelving system comprising:

a. a first pair of uprights, each having a plurality of slots separated by a plurality of dividers;

b. a pair of shelf support brackets, each bracket including: i) a middle portion configured to support a shelf; ii) a proximal end portion including a hook portion and a positioning tab; iii) said positioning tab vertically spaced from the hook portion so as to engage a divider of a corresponding one of the first pair of uprights when the hook portion engages a slot of the corresponding one of the first pair of uprights; iv) said positioning tab also positioned to pass through a first slot of a corresponding one of a second pair of uprights when the hook portion engages a second slot of the corresponding one of the second pair of uprights;

c. a shelf positioned upon the pair of shelf support brackets.

6. The shelving system of claim 5 wherein the hook portion of each bracket includes an upwardly extending stop and a downwardly extending hook engagement member.

7. The shelving system of claim 5 wherein the positioning tab of each bracket is vertically spaced beneath the hook portion.

8. The shelving system of claim 5 wherein each bracket further includes a guide surface positioned between the hook portion and the positioning tab.