Lock Pin Cantilever Shelf

This invention relates to a cantilever shelf bracket assembly.

Cantilever shelf brackets of various types have been known for many decades. In recent years, public interest has been shown in elongated cantilever shelf brackets of extruded construction, as of aluminum. Examples of such brackets are set forth in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,508,301 and 4,385,565. Such brackets enable a shelf of predetermined thickness to be lockingly engageable into a bracket recess so as to be tightly sandwiched between an underlying support and an overlying support. While such arrangements are effective, it is sometimes desirable to be able to accommodate shelves of widely varying thicknesses. Moreover, it is sometimes desirable or necessary to have usable shelf space that extends from the front edge of the shelf clear to the wall on which the shelving is mounted.

The present invention provides a cantilevered shelf assembly capable of accommodating a shelf of any desired thickness, with no specific thickness limitation necessary to assemble the apparatus. The support mechanism is completely beneath the shelf, accommodating various shelving thicknesses. Moreover, the top of the shelf has usable clearance all the way from the front edge to the wall surface, i.e., for the full depth of the shelf.

The bracket assembly of this invention is composed of two special interfitting brackets, one being a shelf bracket to be mounted to a shelf and the other being a wall bracket to be mounted to the wall. These are interlockable with a sliding interfit capable of being rapidly interconnected or disconnected as desired, yet safely mounted against accidental disconnection. The components are interlocked with a transverse locking mechanism shown to be locking pins which are inserted between the brackets.

Both brackets are extruded as from aluminum, and are capable of coextrusion so as to minimize expense of manufacture.

These and other objects, advantages and features of the invention will become apparent upon studying the following specification in conjunction with the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a sectional side elevational view of the novel bracket assembly, with a shelf in place;

FIG 2 is a fragmentary plan view of a portion of the assembly in FIG. 1; and

FIG. 3 is an elevational view of the two bracket components in unassembled condition.

Referring now specifically to the drawings, the bracket and shelf assembly 10 depicted in FIG. 1 includes the novel bracket assembly 12 shown mounting a shelf 14 and adjacent a wall W.

The shelf may be of any conventional material, typically wood or the like, capable of being secured to the shelf bracket 16 (FIG. 3) as by fasteners, e.g. screws 18, and/or adhesive, or otherwise.

Shelf bracket 16 comprises an elongated member for underlying the shelf, preferably being of extruded aluminum or equivalent material. It includes a horizontally oriented planar portion 20, preferably an integral upstanding rear flange 22 for engaging the rear edge of shelf 14, and optionally a stop and support flange 24 extending rearwardly from the upper edge of flange 22 for engaging the upper edge of the wall bracket 30 (FIG. 3). Flange 24 also extends the horizontal top surface of the shelf 14 to the wall in a neat appearance, which hides all construction details such as stub 32a and makes this area easy to clean. Extending downwardly from the lower surface of planar member 20 is at least one, here shown to be two, elongated coupling lugs 26, each having a downwardly extending stem 26a and a rearwardly extending convergently tapered foot 26b, i.e., generally V-shaped to the rear. If two or more of these are employed, they are arranged in parallel fashion, i.e., extending laterally in the direction of the length of the shelf bracket, and spaced from each other from front-to-rear. Behind each stem 26a and above foot 26b is a forwardly convergent space 28, i.e., generally V-shaped to the front, for receiving a mating portion on the wall bracket. On the front face of this male connector lug 26 is a configurated face 26c for cooperative interfit with a transversely extending, like configurated, locking bar or pin 60 (FIGS. 1 and 2).

The wall bracket 30 includes an upstanding rear panel 32 with a wall engaging rear surface, a forwardly extending horizontal upper panel 34, and preferably a diagonally downwardly rearwardly extending support and enclosure panel 36 extending from the outer front edge of panel 34 downwardly to the lower edge of vertical panel 32. These three panels enclose a space 37 which can be employed for receiving wiring or the like. Rear panel 32 has a stub portion 32a which extends above horizontal panel 34 and contains suitable fastener receiving openings 32b (FIG. 3) therein for additional fasteners 38 (FIG. 1) to attach wall bracket 30 to the wall W.

Horizontal panel 34 not only includes an upper surface area 40 formed of successive coplanar portions, for engaging lower surface 21 of shelf bracket panel 20, but also includes transversely elongated groove-type cavities 42. Each has an upwardly open mouth 42a. The front-to-rear width of the mouth 42a of each such cavity is greater than the front-to-rear width of foot 26b depending from the shelf bracket, to allow vertical entry of the foot into the cavity. At the rear of the mouth is a forwardly projecting generally V-shaped tang 44 which has a downwardly rearwardly tapered undersurface for engaging the downwardly and rearwardly, like tapered upper surface of foot 26b, thereby enabling foot 26b, after vertical insertion down into the female coupler cavity, to be rearwardly slid into snug relationship with this tapered surface. This occurs as the bottom surface 21 of shelf bracket panel 20 engages the portion of upper surface 40 immediately to the rear of the cavity. The male foot 26b therefore tightly engages with female recess 46 at the rearward portion of cavity 42, as the forwardly extending tang 44 engages space 28. Thus, each of the brackets has a male coupler and a female coupler, simultaneously interengaged during assembly.

After the interfitting sliding connection is made between the shelf bracket and the wall bracket, a laterally extending locking pin 60 is inserted into the cavity space between the forward curved face 26c of element 26, and the rearwardly facing but forward configurated surface 42b of the cavity, to prevent removal of the shelf bracket from the wall bracket. These locking pins, shown here to be two in number, are preferably mounted to an end panel 70 (FIG. 2) for the assembly. Thus the end panel covers the end surfaces of the bracket components and space 37 for aesthetic purposes, and serves to insert locking pins 60 in place. The forward noses of the locking pins are preferably tapered for ready insertion. The locking pin insertion in turn retains end panel 70 in place. In FIGS. 1 and 2, pins 60 are shown with a clearance or space between them and the adjacent surfaces. This is merely for clarity of illustration. In actual practice, pins 60 have a snug sliding relationship with surfaces 26c and 42b to retain the brackets tightly together and to hold the pins and therefore the end panels firmly. Although only one end panel and set of locking pins is shown, there usually will be two, one for each end, in mirror image. These locking pins may be provided with a slight taper for frictional retention. If desired, the end panels can be further secured to the brackets with additional fasteners.

If desired, the downwardly rearwardly extending front panel 36 of wall bracket 30 may be covered by a suitable dress strip 74 (FIG. 1), e.g., of anodized aluminum, polymeric material or the like, such dress strip having curled upper and lower edges for being resiliently snapped over the upper forward and downward rearward apices of the junctures of panels 34, 36 and 32.

It is conceivable that the invention taught herein and shown by the illustrative preferred embodiment in FIGS. 1-3 may be modified in certain respects to accommodate particular situations. Therefore, it is intended that the invention is to be limited only by the scope of the appended claims and the reasonably equivalent structures to those defined therein, and not by the illustrative embodiment set forth.