Shelf Support

The present invention relates to an elongate, continuous section shelf support for supporting a rectangular section shelf and holding it as a cantilever, the shelf support being formed as a continuous section to run at least part of the length of the rear portion of the shelf, and having support means disposed to engage the rear portion only of the underside of the shelf and retaining means disposed to engage the rear portion of the top of the shelf, whereby the shelf can be frictionally engaged between the support surface and the retaining surface. Normally, there will be parts of the support which extend respectively up above the retaining surface and down below the support surface, to give bracing against an upright surface such as a wall when the shelf support is mounted thereon.

GB No. 2 053 666B discloses a shelf support of this general type. In practice, the shelf support functions very well provided the thickness of the shelf is within fairly fine tolerances. However, it is found expensive to maintain fine tolerances in manufacture, and if customers use their own shelving, the shelving is often outside the required tolerances. It is therefore desirable to improve the shelf support so that it can accept shelving of greater thickness tolerances.

The forward edge of the retaining means is the lowest part of the retaining means, and the support means has a dip below the forward edge of the retaining means, to enable the rear of the shelf to be engaged beneath the forward edge of the retaining means with the front of the shelf slightly raised, prior to pushing the shelf home.

By arranging that the forward edge of the retaining means is the lowest part of the retaining means, and by providing the dip in the support means below the forward edge of the retaining means, or the equivalent of such a dip, a somewhat thicker shelf can be inserted between the dip and the forward edge of the retaining means by slightly lifting the forward edge of the shelf, for instance through about 5.degree.; once the shelf has been inserted, it can be pushed firmly home, the extra thickness being taken up by the forward edge of the retaining means flexing upwards and possibly the forward edge of the retaining means biting slightly into the shelf; also, if a detent is provided on the support means, the detent may bite further into the underside of the shelf. For instance, in this way, it is found that a shelf support which is designed for a 15 mm thick shelf can comfortably accept 15.5 mm thick or even 16 mm thick shelves.

The invention is further described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is an exploded, isometric view of a first shelf support of the invention together with two end pieces;

FIG. 2 is a vertical section along the plane II--II in FIG. 1, on a smaller scale, showing the insertion of a shelf; and

FIG. 3 is a vertical section through a second shelf support of the invention.

As shown in FIG. 2, an elongate, uniform and continuous section shelf support 1 is of unitary construction. The shelf support 1 has a braced, roughly horizontal support means in the form of a member defining a support surface 2 which has the following zones, going from front to rear: a front lip 3, a horizontal zone 4, a curved transition zone 5, a dip zone 6, a ramp or wedge zone 7 (acting as wedge means) providing a wedge surface inclined at a small angle to the horizontal, a small downwards step 8 and a horizontal rearmost zone 9. The transition zone 5 forms a smooth curve between the horizontal zone 4 and the dip zone 6. The rearmost zone 9 is below the level of the rear end or edge of the wedge zone 7, which is in turn at the same level as the front lip 3. The dip and wedge zones 6,7 meet at a large obtuse angle and form a dip, the angles of the zones to the horizontal preferably being respectively 5.degree. and 11.degree.. In effect, the support surface 2 provides spaced first and second support locations or parts (lip 3 and the rear edge of the wedge zone 7) at the same level.

The shelf support 1 also has retaining means in the form of a member defining a roughly horizontal retaining surface 10 which is inclined forwards and downwards so that its downwardly extending forward part or edge part 11 is its lowest part. The retaining surface 10 is preferably substantially parallel to the rear zone 7, and may be for instance inclined at 10.degree. to the horizontal.

The vertical distance between the edge part 11 and the front end of the wedge zone 7 is greater than the vertical distance between the edge part 11 and the rear end of the wedge zone 7 or the lip 3.

The support 1 has mounting means in the form of a rear plate 12 which has a rear surface for abutting against an upright surface 13 such as wall, and is rebated at 14 to improve seating against an irregular surface. The grooves 15 are for metal saving, but the groove 16 imparts some flexibility at the junction of the retaining surface 10 and rear plate 12. The rear plate 12 carries the support means and the retaining means.

The support 1 can be screwed in position, and a small locating groove 17 is provided for drilling the screw holes. When in position, the lowest part of the rear plate 12 and the top of an upward extension 18 give bracing against the surface 13, preventing the gap between the support surface 2 and the retaining surface 10 being opened up excessively if a large weight is carried by the shelf 19.

The support surface 2 and the retaining surface 10 define a gap for receiving the rear portion of a shelf. As shown, a slightly over-thickness rectangular section shelf 19 can be inserted with its forward edge slightly raised; as its rear bottom edge will be beneath the level of the horizontal upper zone 4 of the support surface 2, the thickness of the shelf 19 can be slightly above that specified. When the shelf 19 is pushed firmly home, the retaining surface 10 will flex slightly upwards to accommodate the extra thickness of the shelf 19. When this occurs, the top of the extension 18 may bite into the surface 13 and/or may slide up the surface 13, possibly with some dishing of the extension 18; thus the edge part 11 is movable upwards by the application of a substantial vertical force. The wedging action applies strong forces; an upwards force applied to the edge part 11 has a relatively large lever arm on the join between the retaining surfaces 10 and the rear plate 12. In addition to the movement of the edge part 11, the step 8 may bite further into the underside of the shelf 19. The shelf 19 will be gripped or frictionally engaged between the support surface 2 and the retaining surface 10 and locked in position by the step 8 which acts as a retaining detent or barb. The front lip 3 may very slightly indent the underside of the shelf 19 when pressure is applied to the top of the shelf 19. The lip 3 provides a narrow support zone and avoids difficulties that could be caused by small irregularities on the underside of the shelf 19. The support 1 is designed so that the shelf 19 assumes a roughly horizontal position. In position, the rear of the shelf 19 will be against the rear plate 12. In theory at least, only the forward edge part 11 of the retaining surface 10 is necessary, unless very severe loads are applied; however, the rear part of the retaining surface 10 determines an upper limit to the thickness of the shelf 19, when the whole of the surface 10 is flush against the top of the shelf 19. The resistance of the edge part 11 is sufficient to support normal loads, and in practice the main purpose of the bracing extension 18 is to prevent the retaining surface 10 flexing upwards significantly if the front of the shelf 19 is raised (when the lever arm on the edge part 11 would be greater).

As shown in FIG. 1, decorative plastics-material end pieces 20 can be provided for push-fitting into the ends of the shelf support 1.

General dimensions of the shelf support 1 and shelf 4 and material or alternative materials for their construction can be as in GB No. 2 053 666B, which also gives other useful information. Preferably, the shelf support 1 is extruded from aluminium or plastics material or rolled from sheet metal strip. The support surface 2 will normally project from the rear plate 12 less than 50% or less than 30% of the shelf width, and may project as little as about 10% of the shelf width. The support 1 will normally have a length of 300 mm or greater, i.e. a substantial extent along the rear of the shelf 19.

FIG. 3 illustrates four modifications any or all of which can be made to the shelf support.

According to a first modification, a second wedge zone 20 is provided to the rear of the first wedge zone 7, behind the step 8, the second wedge zone 20 terminating in a step 21. The rear edge of the second wedge zone 20 is higher than that of the first wedge zone 7, but the front lip 3 is raised so as to be at the same level as the rear edge of the second wedge zone 20. The retaining surface 10 is also higher so that the vertical distance between the front lip 3 and the edge part 11 is the same as in FIG. 2. It is found in this way that rather thicker shelves can be accommodated; the barb formed by the rear edge of the second wedge zone 20 digs in further, but only the very rear part of the shelf need be pushed past it.

According to a second modification, a small protrusion or barb 22 is provided in the wedge zone 7. This serves a purpose particularly when the shelf is long. One end can be pushed in beyond the small barb 22 and temporarily held while the other end is inserted--without the small barb 22, special care has to be taken to stop the first end coming out when the second end is inserted.

According to a third modification, the rearmost zone 9 can have a slight inclination, say about 5.degree., forwards and upwards.

According to a fourth modification, an elongate, uniform and continuous section insert 23 can be engaged under the retaining surface 10. The insert 23 has a rib 24 which engages in the respective groove 15. In effect, the underside of the insert 23 acts as the new retaining surface and a thinner shelf can be accommodated.

As a fifth modification, the support surface could be flat and horizontal, the wedge surface being on the front part of the retaining member whose underside would slope forwards and upwards from its lowermost part (11).

As a sixth modification, the rear edge of the first wedge zone 7 (FIG. 2) or of the second wedge zone 20 (FIG. 3) can be arranged to bend over or break off when an extra-thick shelf is inserted, thus allowing the shelf to be accommodated.