Shelf Support Bracket Construction

The present invention is adapted to support appurtenances such as shelves on decoratable walls, and particularly on hidden dividers or splines located between decorative wall panels as disclosed in prior U.S. Pat. No. 4,031,675. That patent shows two forms of shelf-supporting brackets, one having one set of forwardly disposed laterally offset projections for supporting the end of a shelf at a panel joint and the other having two sets of laterally offset projections straddling the panel joint. A disadvantage of this construction is that a change from one bracket to the other to accommodate an additional shelf requires first removing the shelf before one bracket can be substituted for the other. Another disadvantage is that right and left brackets having the single set of shelf-supporting projections are required along with the bracket with the two sets, making a total of three parts.

It is an object of the invention to provide a novel and improved shelf-supporting bracket adapted to be used singly or in pairs for engaging into a vertical spline between or at the ends of decorative wall panels.

Another object is to provide an improved bracket which may be used for supporting the end of a shelf and to intermesh with a like bracket for supporting an additional contiguous shelf without requiring removal of the first bracket or the shelf supported thereby.

A further object is to provide an improved bracket which accomplishes the foregoing objects and has means for detachably locking the bracket in place.

A still further object is to provide an improved bracket in right and left configurations which can be used together to provide shelf supports straddling the panel joint.

These and other objects are accomplished by the improvements comprising the present invention, a preferred embodiment of which is shown in the accompanying drawings and described in the specification as exemplifying the best known mode of carrying out the invention. Various modifications and changes in details of construction are comprehended within the scope of the appended claims.

In general, a bracket embodying the concept of the invention may be utilized with a vertical spline adjoining a wall panel, or between panels, and having a series of vertically spaced slots therein, the bracket having preferably two vertically spaced rearwardly extending flanges terminating in hooks for engaging in spaced slots in the spline and a laterally extending front flange having at least one forwardly extending shelf-supporting projection at its outer edge. The rearwardly extending flanges are spaced apart sufficiently to allow the addition of a similar opposite hand bracket in vertically offset inter-meshing position with one of its rearwardly extending flanges between those of the first bracket and the forwardly extending shelf-supporting projections in horizontal alignment.

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view showing right and left hand brackets according to the invention in position to be engaged in slots in a vertical spline and a shelf-supporting bar in position to be hung on the forwardly disposed projections of the brackets.

FIG. 2 is a vertical sectional view showing the brackets intermeshed and engaged in slots in the spline with a shelf supported on the brackets.

FIG. 3 is a front elevational view on line 3--3 of FIG. 2 showing the shelf-supporting bar in phantom.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing how one of the brackets is used to support the end of a shelf-supporting bar which terminates at the panel joint.

As illustrated in FIGS. 1-3 of the drawings, the novel and improved bracket may comprise a pair of right and left intermeshed brackets engaged in the slots in a spline, or may be a single right or left bracket negaged in the slots in a spline, as illustrated in FIG. 4. A pair of right and left brackets may be used to support a shelf-supporting bar which extends on both sides of the spline at a panel joint as in FIGS. 1-3, or to support the ends of two shelf bars adjoining each other at the panel joint. The single right hand bracket in FIG. 4 supports the end of a shelf bar extending to the right, and in order to support the end of a shelf bar extending to the left, a left hand bracket may be intermeshed with the right bracket shown and engaged in different slots in the same spline.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, the right hand bracket is indicated generally at 10a and the left hand bracket at 10b. Each of the brackets has rearwardly extending flanges terminating in downturned hooks for engaging in slots 11 in a vertical spline 12. Bracket 10a has rearwardly extending flanges 13a and 14a terminating in hooks 13a' and 14a', and bracket 10b has rearwardly extending flanges 13b and 14b terminating in hooks 13b' and 14b'. The hooks form downwardly open notches which are preferably spaced apart so as to engage over the lower edges of two spline slots 11 with one slot in between, or in other words, in the first and third slots of a group of three slots, for a purpose to be described.

Each of the brackets has a front flange extending laterally from the forward edges of the laterally extending flanges and in front of the wall panels P. The front flange 15a extends laterally to the right from flanges 13a and 14a and the front flange 15b extends laterally to the left from flanges 13b and 14b. Each of the front flanges 15a and 15b has forwardly extending shelf-supporting projections at its laterally outward edges. The flange 15a preferably has upper and lower projections 16a and 17a and the flange 15b preferably has upper and lower projections 16b and 17b. These projections preferably have upwardly open vertical notches 16a' and 17a', and 16b' and 17b', respectively.

It is to be noted that the projection 16a extends downward from the upper edge of flange 15a, whereas the projection 16b is vertically offset or spaced below the upper edge of flange 15b. Similarly, the projection 17b extends upwardly from the lower edge of flange 15b, whereas the projection 17a is vertically offset or spaced above the upper edge of flange 15a. These offset spacings are calculated so that when the two brackets 10a and 10b are vertically offset and intermeshed as in FIGS. 2 and 3, the projections 16a and 16b and their notches 16a' and 16b' will be horizontally aligned, and the projections 17a and 17b and their notches 17a' and 17b' will be horizontally aligned.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, when the brackets 10a and 10b are intermeshed, the upper rearward flange 13a is positioned between rearward flanges 13b and 14b, with the hook 13a' engaging in a slot 11 between and vertically adjacent to the slots engaged by hooks 13b' and 14b'. Similarly, the lower rearward flange 14b is positioned between rearward flanges 13a and 14a, with the hook 14b' engaging in a slot 11 between and vertically adjacent to the slots engaged by hooks 13a' and 14a'.

Preferably, the brackets 10a and 10b are provided with locking means such as shown in prior U.S. Pat. No. 4,048,768. Thus, a locking arm 19a may be pivoted at 20a on flange 14a and a locking arm 19b may be pivoted at 20b on flange 13b. The lower end of arm 19a has an angular rearwardly projecting tab 20a thereon for engaging in the second slot below the slot engaged by hook 14a', and the upper end of arm 19b has an angular rearwardly extending tab 20b thereon for engaging in the next adjacent slot above the slot engaged by hook 13b'. Obviously, when the tab 20a is engaged in its slot 11 it prevents upward movement of the bracket 10a sufficient to disengage the hooks 13a' and 14a' from their slots, and when tab 20b is engaged in its slot 11 it prevents upward movement of bracket 10b sufficient to disengage the hooks 13b' and 14b' from their slots.

The projections 16a, 16b and 17a, 17b are adapted to support a horizontal self-supporting bar 22 in front of the wall panels P and having a downturned rear flange 23 along its upper edge and a downwardly extending flange 24 extending along its lower edge. The flange 23 is adapted to engage in notchs 16a' and 16b' and the flange 24 in notches 17a' and 17b' when the brackets 10a and 10b are intermeshed and engaged in the spline slots, as indicated in FIG. 2. The front wall 25 of the bar preferably has a series of screw holes 26 therein for attaching the vertical wall 27 of a shelf 28 or a like appurtenance by means of screws 29.

In operation the brackets 10a and 10b may be engaged in the spline slots in the intermeshed position of FIGS. 2 and 3, and their locking arms 19a and 19b then swung to engage the tabs 20a and 20b in the corresponding spline slots 11. The shelf-supporting bar is then engaged in the notches 16a, 16b and 17a, 17b.

Referring to FIG. 4, if the shelf-supporting bar ends at the spline 12, only one of the brackets is needed, as indicated by bracket 10a, to support the end portion of the bar. It will be apparent that should it be desired to support the end portion of another bar extending in the opposite direction, a left hand bracket 10b can be intermeshed with bracket 10a to support the end of the other bar, without disengaging the bracket 10a. Thus the shelf supported by bar 22' can be in effect extended or continued without having to remove the original shelf and its contents.

The novel and improved bracket construction is adapted to be used singly or in pairs for various shelf-supporting arrangements and requires no additional parts. It is quickly and easily installed or removed without the aid of tools.