GB2279865A - Shelving system - Google Patents

Abstract

A shelving system of particular utility as a retail display system comprises a plurality of shelf units (9, 10, 11) arranged one above the other and hingedly connected at abutting edges thereof. The topmost shelf unit (9) is hingedly connected to a support (20). The shelf units (9, 10, 11) are spaced outwardly from the support (20) by rods (4) extending generally perpendicularly from the back of each shelf unit (9, 10, 11). Rods (4) are adjustable in length. <IMAGE>

Description

Title - Shelving Svstem This invention relates to a shelving system, in particular to an adjustable shelving system of particular utility as a retail display system.

Known shelving systems commonly comprise upright supports on which a series of shelves are fixed by means of brackets. Such shelving systems suffer from a number of disadvantages. For example, the upper shelves may obscure articles on the lower shelves.

There has now been devised a shelving system which overcomes or substantially mitigates the disadvantages of known shelving systems.

According to the invention, there is provided a shelving system comprising a plurality of shelf units arranged, in use, one above the other and hingedly connected at or near abutting edges thereof, the topmost shelf unit being provided with means for hinged connection to a support, and at least one of the shelf units being provided with means for spacing the unit outwardly from the support.

The shelving system according to the invention is advantageous primarily in that the shelves in the various shelf units may be disposed at a range of angles to the horizontal, facilitating display of articles on the shelves which, in a retail display system, may have a beneficial effect on sales. In addition, adjustment of the angle of the shelves, or selection of the most suitable configuration for a particular environment, may be possible by adjustment of the means for spacing the shelf units from the support.

The shelf units may be hingedly connected together by any suitable means. Most conveniently, hinges are fixed, eg by screws, to the back of each unit at suitable positions, eg near the ends or at intervals along its length. The means for hingedly connecting the topmost unit to the support is preferably a hook formation attached to, or formed integrally with, the topmost shelf unit, which hook formation can be hooked over a support rod forming part of the support.

The means for spacing at least one of the shelf units outwardly from the support is most conveniently a rod extending generally perpendicularly from the back of the shelf unit. The free end of the rod may engage the support frictionally or may locate in a suitable recess or other formation on the support. Most preferably, two or more such rods are provided on each shelf unit.

The rod may be connected to the shelf unit simply by being received within a cup member secured to the back of the shelf unit. The cup member may, for example, form part of a bracket welded to the back of the shelf unit.

It is however, preferred that the rod be connected to the shelf unit in such a manner that the effective length of the rod is adjustable. For this purposes, the rod may have a threaded end portion. The threaded end portion is conveniently a bolt protruding from a cap fitted over the end of the rod.

The shelving system according to the invention may comprise several shelf units, eg two, three or four shelf units. Two or more systems according to the invention may be incorporated into a single structure, or one or more such systems may be combined with more conventional shelving in a single structure.

The support may be a wall of a room or similar upstanding panel, or may be a vertical component in a free-standing structure such as a retail display cabinet.

The invention will now be described in greater detail, by way of illustration only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a perspective view of a first embodiment of a shelving system according to the invention, including three shelf units; Figure 2 is an end view of the shelving system of Figure 1; Figure 3 is a perspective view of the topmost shelf unit forming part of the shelving system of Figure 1; Figure 4 is a perspective view of a second form of shelf unit forming part of the shelving system of Figure 1; Figure 5 is a perspective view of a second embodiment of a shelving system according to the invention; Figure 6 is a perspective view of a third embodiment of a shelving system according to the invention; Figure 7 is a perspective view of a shelf support and hinge bracket forming part of a modified embodiment of the shelving system of Figure 1;; Figure 8 is a partial perspective view of a further modified embodiment of a shelving system such as that shown in Figure 1; Figure 9 is a partial end view of the shelving system of Figure 8; Figure 10 is a perspective view of a fixing bracket forming part of the shelving system of Figure 8; and Figure 11 is a scrap view showing the hinged connection of two shelf units forming part of the shelving system of Figure 8.

Referring first to Figure 1, a wall-mounted shelving system comprises three shelf units 9,10,11. The topmost shelf unit 9 is attached to a wall panel 20 by means of a hook-like formation 3 which engages a support rod 2 fixed to the wall panel 20 by means of brackets 1 near each end of the rod 2.

The middle shelf unit 10 is connected to the lower edge of the topmost shelf unit 9 by means of hinges 5 fixed to the rear of the two units 9,10. Similarly, the lowermost unit 11 is hingedly connected to the middle shelf unit 10.

As can be seen most clearly from Figure 2, the three hingedlyconnected shelf units 9,10,11 are supported and spaced from the wall panel 20 by respective support rods 4. One end of each of the support rods 4 is secured in a bracket 14 fixed to the rear of the shelf unit (see detail insert in Figure 2), and the other end bears against the wall panel 20. Each of the three shelf units 9,10,11 is supported by two support rods 4 locating in brackets 14 near each end of the unit. The support rods 4 are lengths of wooden dowel.

Referring now to Figure 3, the topmost shelf unit 9 comprises a rear wall 31 with two upstanding shelves 32,33 formed integrally therewith. The lower of the two shelves 33 has a lip 34. The rear wall 31 is formed with rows of apertures 7 which are used for fixing dividers 8, the dividers 8 being formed with lugs (not shown) on one edge, the lugs locating in the apertures 7. In Figure 1, the topmost shelf unit 9 is shown with one divider 8 in place; in Figure 3 two dividers 8 are shown.

The middle and lowermost shelf units 10,11 are identical and are shown in Figure 4. They are of broadly similar construction to the topmost unit 9, comprising a rear wall 41 with integrally formed upstanding shelves 42,43. The rear wall 41 is similarly apertured to receive dividers 8.

The angles at which the various shelf units 9,10,11 are disposed depends on the lengths of the wooden support rods 4. These can be tailored to suit the particular application for which the shelving system is intended.

Figure 5 shows a free-standing retail display unit including a shelving system according to the invention. Again, the unit comprises three shelf units 141,142,143 which are connected together in the same manner as the shelf units of Figures 1 to 4.

The topmost shelf unit 141 is hingedly connected to a support rail 145 fixed to a vertical partition 146. The display unit is provided with a counter top 147 and a rear portion 148, behind the partition 146, which is provided with conventional shelving for product storage.

The display unit of Figure 6 is intended for the display of, for example, fruit and vegetables. The system includes a shelving system according to the invention comprising two hingedly connected shelf units 151,152, and a lower, separate shelf unit 153.

Figure 7 shows a shelf support and hinge bracket 170 which is used in a modified version of the shelving system of Figure 1.

The bracket 170 comprises a planar steel bar 171 to opposite ends of which are welded male and female hinge components 172,173.

Also welded to the bar 171 is an angled cup 174 which receives one end of a support rod 4.

In the modified version of the shelving system of Figure 1, a number of brackets 170 are fitted to the back of the shelf units by means of bolts 175. The bar 171 extends right across the back of the shelf unit, providing reinforcement. The hinge components 172,173 cooperate with corresponding formations on brackets fitted to adjacent shelf units to provide a hinged connection.

Turning now to Figures 8 to 11, in a further embodiment which is generally similar to that of Figure 1, an upper support rod 81 is supported in brackets 82 which locate in slots in posts 83 at opposite ends of a rear panel 84. An upper shelf unit 85 has a hook-like formation 86 along its upper edge by means of which it engages the support rod 81.

The upper shelf unit 85 is spaced from the rear panel 84 by a rod 87. As shown in Figure 9, one end of the rod 87 is fitted with a cap 88 from which protrudes a threaded bolt 89. In use, the bolt 89 is engaged with a fixing bracket 90 (see Figure 10) which is welded to the rear of the shelf unit 85. The bracket 90 has an aperture 91 behind which is welded a threaded nut 92 such that the tip of the bolt 89 may be inserted through the aperture 91 and engage the nut 92. The threaded engagement of the bolt 89 with the nut 92 permits a certain degree of adjustability in the effective length of the rod 87. The end of the rod 87 which abuts the rear panel 84 is fitted with a plastics cap 86.

As can be seen from Figure 8, the topmost shelf unit 85 differs from that of Figure 1 in that it has no integrally formed upper or lower shelves. Instead, all shelves are fitted by means of series of transverse slots 98.

Figure 11 shows how two shelf units 94,95 may be hingedly connected by suitable male and female hinge formations (96,97 respectively) provided on their edges. Like the topmost shelf unit 85, both shelf units 94,95 are provided with series of transverse slots 98 by which shelves and dividers (not shown) may be fixed perpendicularly to the units 94,95.

Claims (14)

Claims

1. A shelving system comprising a plurality of shelf units arranged, in use, one above the other and hingedly connected at or near abutting edges thereof, the topmost shelf unit being provided with means for hinged connection to a support, and at least one of the shelf units being provided with means for spacing the unit outwardly from the support.

2. A shelving system as claimed in Claim 1, wherein adjacent shelf units are hingedly connected together by hinges fixed to the back of each unit.

3. A shelving system as claimed in Claim 2, wherein adjacent edges of two shelf units are provided with complementary male and female hinge components.

4. A shelving system as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the means for hinged connection of the top most unit to the support is a hook formation attached to, or formed integrally with, the topmost shelf unit, which hook formation is hooked over a support rod forming part of the support.

5. A shelving system as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the means for spacing at least one of the shelf units outwardly from the support is a rod extending generally perpendicularly from the back of the shelf unit.

6. A shelving system as claimed in Claim 5, wherein two or more such rods are provided on the shelf unit.

7. A shelving system as claimed in Claim 5 or Claim 6, wherein the rod is a wooden dowel.

8. A shelving system as claimed in any one of claims 3-7, wherein the rod is connected to the shelf unit in such a manner that the effective length of the rod is adjustable.

9. A shelving system as claimed in Claim 8, wherein the rod has a threaded end portion which engages the shelf unit.

10. A shelving system according to any preceding claim, comprising two, three or four shelf units.

11. A shelving system as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the support is the wall of a room or a structure secured to such a wall.

12. A shelving system as claimed in any one of Claims 1-10, wherein the system is a free-standing structure and the support is a component of that structure.

13. A shelving system substantially as hereinbefore described and as illustrated in Figures 1 to 4.

14. A shelving system substantially as hereinbefore described and as illustrated in Figures 8 to 11.