SHELVING SYSTEM

Abstract

A shelving system triangular bracket includes a vertical leg with a top end and a bottom end, a horizontal leg with an outer end and an inner end which is connected to the top end of the vertical leg, a diagonal leg with a top end connected to the outer end of the horizontal leg and a bottom end connected to the bottom end of the vertical leg, and a plurality of hooks disposed on the diagonal leg. A complete shelving system may include a top shelf and a side shelving unit.

Description

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims benefit of and priority to U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/449,723 filed Jan. 24, 2017, under 35 U.S.C. § § 119, 120, 363, 365, and 37 C.F.R. § 1.55 and § 1.78, and is incorporated herein by this reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This subject invention relates to shelving and brackets for shelving.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

There are numerous triangular shelf brackets. U.S. Pat. No. 6,053,465 (incorporated herein by this reference), for example, includes a shelf bracket with a clothes rod support attached to the diagonal leg of the bracket. U.S. Pat. No. 3,695,569 (incorporated herein by this reference) discloses a triangular bracket with a diagonal rod having an extending hook shaped portion. U.S. Pat. No. 564,486 (incorporated herein by this reference) discloses a triangular bracket with a single lower hook.

L-shaped shelf brackets are also known. U.S. Pat. No. 1,856,044 (incorporated herein by this reference), for example, discloses an L-shaped shelf bracket with a hanger rod and U.S. Pat. No. 5,680,940 (incorporated herein by this reference) shows an L-bracket with six pin hooks under the horizontal leg of the L-bracket.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Featured in one preferred embodiment is a shelving system triangular bracket with hooks disposed on the diagonal leg of the bracket for hanging ties, belts, hangers and/or other articles. In one example, the shelving system further includes spaced bars held by the bracket, struts across the bars, and legs on one side of the shelf used to support additional shelves.

Featured is a shelving system with a unique triangular bracket component. A horizontal leg has an outer end and an inner end which is connected to the top end of a vertical leg. A diagonal leg has a top end connected to the outer end of the horizontal leg and a bottom end connected to the bottom end of the vertical leg. A plurality of hooks are disposed on the diagonal leg. In one example the plurality of hooks extend outwardly from the diagonal leg for ties, belts, and the like. Additional hooks may extend inwardly from the diagonal leg. The horizontal leg may further include a plurality of orifices therethrough for supporting additional hangers. The shelving system typically further includes a shelf supported on the horizontal leg. In one example, the shelf includes spaced bars and the bracket horizontal leg inner end and outer end each include concave cups receiving a shelf bar therein. The shelf may further include a cross bar connected to ends of the spaced bars and spaced struts between the spaced bars. Each strut may include concave end cups receiving a shelf bar therein. The spaced struts may further include a plurality of orifices therethrough.

In some examples, the shelving system may further include a vertical support connected to each end of a shelf bar. These vertical supports may also support additional shelves.

Also featured is a shelving system triangular bracket comprising a vertical leg, a horizontal leg connected to the vertical leg and including inner and outer concave cups, a diagonal leg connected to the horizontal leg and connected to the vertical leg, and including a plurality of hooks.

The subject invention, however, in other embodiments, need not achieve all these objectives and the claims hereof should not be limited to structures or methods capable of achieving these objectives.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

Other objects, features and advantages will occur to those skilled in the art from the following description of a preferred embodiment and the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic three dimensional view showing a triangular bracket for a shelving system in accordance with an example of the invention; and

FIG. 2 shows an example of a complete shelving system in accordance with the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Aside from the preferred embodiment or embodiments disclosed below, this invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced or being carried out in various ways. Thus, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and the arrangements of components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. If only one embodiment is described herein, the claims hereof are not to be limited to that embodiment. Moreover, the claims hereof are not to be read restrictively unless there is clear and convincing evidence manifesting a certain exclusion, restriction, or disclaimer.

FIG. 1 shows an example of a preferred triangular bracket 10 with vertical leg 12a, horizontal leg 12b, and diagonal leg 12c. Bracket 10 may be molded and made of plastic.

The inner end 14 of the horizontal leg 12b is connected to the top end 16 of the vertical leg 12a, the outer end 18 of the horizontal leg 12b is connected to the top end 20 of the diagonal leg 12c, and the bottom end 22 of the diagonal leg 12c is connected to the bottom end 24 of the vertical leg 12a. Vertical leg 12a, horizontal leg 12b, and diagonal leg 12c may be T-beam constructions with webs 30, 31, and 33 and flanges 32, 34, and 36 respectively.

Preferably, the outer surface of flange 36 of diagonal leg 12 includes spaced hooks 40 extending outwardly therefrom. In this particular example, each hook 40 includes a long horizontal portion 42 and a short vertical portion 44 at the distal end of horizontal portion 42. Hooks 40 may be used to hang ties, belts, and/or other articles from the bracket. The inside of web 33 of diagonal leg 12 may include spaced hooks 50 (here three) extending inwardly. In this particular example, these hooks are triangular in shape and may be used to support hangers. Horizontal leg 12b may also include orifices 60 through web 31 for supporting additional hangers.

As shown, bracket 10 horizontal leg 12b supports a top shelf construction, here inner round plastic or metal bar 70a and outer round bar 70b spaced from inner bar 70. The horizontal leg 12b thus includes, in this particular example, inner 72a and outer 72b upwardly facing concave cups for receiving bars 70a and 70b, respectively, in a friction fit manner. U-shaped cross bar 70c interconnects the ends of bars 70a, 70b. The shelving unit may further include spaced struts 76 (also of a T-beam construction) with downwardly facing concave cups 78a, 78b (see also FIG. 2) at each end thereof. The web 80 of each strut may further include spaced orifices 82 therethough for supporting additional hangers. The top surface of the flange 34 of the horizontal leg 12b of the triangular bracket 10 and the top surfaces of the flanges 84 of strut 76 support articles stored on the top of the shelving unit. The outer bar 70b is usually used to support hangers.

As shown in FIG. 2, the other end of the shelf bars are supported by vertical supports (e.g., legs) 90a, 90b extending upward from the floor and connected to each bar 70a, 70b, respectively. These supports 90a, 90b in conjunction with supports 90c, 90d are the vertical supports for the side shelving unit 92 shown here with shelves 94a, 94b, and 94c and hanger rod 96. Shelves 94a, 94b, and 94c may be solid plastic panels with corner holes for the legs 90a-90d.

In other embodiments, the bracket, the hooks, and the top shelf may be configured differently. The bracket legs could be round, for example, and the hooks U- or V-shaped and/or the top shelf could be a rectangular board instead of spaced rods.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, this shelving unit is able to hold a plurality of objects, hangers, ties, belts, and the like in a compact fashion which is particularly useful in condos, apartments, and micro housing units. The triangular bracket supports the shelf and also includes means to hang ties, belts, hangers and other articles. The struts strengthen the shelf and also include means to hang additional hangers and the like. The vertical supports support the top shelf and also support additional shelves. Typically, the triangular bracket is first installed as desired on a wall 5 using fasteners 13a, 13b, FIG. 1 through holes in the flange 32 of vertical bracket leg 12a. Supports 90a, 90b, and bars 70a, 70b as a single unit are then installed as shown in FIG. 2. The struts 76 are then installed. Side shelf unit 92 is then assembled. Assembly of the shelf unit is fairly easy to accomplish in a fairly quick manner.

Although specific features of the invention are shown in some drawings and not in others, this is for convenience only as each feature may be combined with any or all of the other features in accordance with the invention. The words “including”, “comprising”, “having”, and “with” as used herein are to be interpreted broadly and comprehensively and are not limited to any physical interconnection. Moreover, any embodiments disclosed in the subject application are not to be taken as the only possible embodiments. Other embodiments will occur to those skilled in the art and are within the following claims.

In addition, any amendment presented during the prosecution of the patent application for this patent is not a disclaimer of any claim element presented in the application as filed: those skilled in the art cannot reasonably be expected to draft a claim that would literally encompass all possible equivalents, many equivalents will be unforeseeable at the time of the amendment and are beyond a fair interpretation of what is to be surrendered (if anything), the rationale underlying the amendment may bear no more than a tangential relation to many equivalents, and/or there are many other reasons the applicant can not be expected to describe certain insubstantial substitutes for any claim element amended.

Claims

1. A shelving system comprising;

a triangular bracket including: a vertical leg with a top end and a bottom end, a horizontal leg with an outer end and an inner end which is connected to the top end of the vertical leg, a diagonal leg with a top end connected to the outer end of the horizontal leg and a bottom end connected to the bottom end of the vertical leg, and a plurality of hooks disposed on the diagonal leg.

2. The shelving system of claim 1 in which the plurality of hooks extend outwardly from the diagonal leg.

3. The shelving system of claim 1 in which the plurality of hooks extend inwardly from the diagonal leg.

4. The shelving system of claim 1 in which the diagonal leg of the triangular bracket includes a plurality of hooks extending outwardly from the diagonal leg and a plurality of hooks extending inwardly from the diagonal leg.

5. The shelving system of claim 1 in which the horizontal leg further includes a plurality of orifices therethrough.

6. The shelving system of claim 1 further including a shelf supported on the horizontal leg.

7. The shelving system of claim 6 in which said shelf includes spaced bars.

8. The shelving system of claim 7 in which the horizontal leg inner end and outer end each include concave cups receiving a shelf bar therein.

9. The shelving system of claim 7 in which the shelf further includes a cross bar connected across the spaced shelf bars.

10. The shelving system of claim 7 in which the shelf further includes spaced struts between the spaced shelf bars.

11. The shelving system of claim 10 in which each strut includes concave end cups receiving a shelf bar therein.

12. The shelving system of claim 10 in which said spaced struts further include a plurality of orifices therethough.

13. The shelving system of claim 6 further including a vertical support connected to each end of a said shelf bar.

14. The shelving system of claim 13 in which said vertical supports also support additional shelves.

15. A shelving system triangular bracket comprising:

a vertical leg;

a horizontal leg connected to the vertical leg and including inner and outer concave cups;

a diagonal leg connected to the horizontal leg and connected to the vertical leg; and

a plurality of hooks extending from the diagonal leg.

16. A shelving system comprising:

a triangular bracket including: a vertical leg, a horizontal leg connected to the vertical leg, a diagonal leg connected to the horizontal leg and connected to the vertical leg, and a plurality of hooks extending from the diagonal leg;

a top shelf supported on the horizontal leg;

spaced struts supporting the top shelf;

vertical supports for said top shelf; and

one or more additional side shelves supported by the vertical supports.

17. The shelving system of claim 16 in which the plurality of hooks extend outwardly from the diagonal leg.

18. The shelving system of claim 16 in which the plurality of hooks extend inwardly from the diagonal leg.

19. The shelving system of claim 16 in which the diagonal leg of the triangular bracket includes a plurality of hooks extending outwardly from the diagonal leg and a plurality of hooks extending inwardly from the diagonal leg.

20. The shelving system of claim 16 in which the horizontal leg further includes a plurality of orifices therethrough.

21. The shelving system of claim 16 in which said spaced struts each further include a plurality of orifices therethough.

22. The shelving system of claim 16 in which said triangular bracket horizontal leg includes inner and outer concave cups and said top shelf includes spaced inner and outer bars received in said inner and outer concave cups.

23. The shelving system of claim 22 in which said spaced struts each further includes spaced inner and outer concave end cups for the top shelf spaced inner and outer bars.