Patent Application
20100123063
Slotwall storage systems enable the mounting of various items to a wall by using an intervening bracket that couples to or supports the item while being received within the slots in the slotwall. One of the items mounted to the wall may include a container for holding various items.
The invention relates to a bracket for mounting a container to a slotwall. The bracket is operably coupled to a wire frame having an upper element and a lower element. The lower element provides support for the bottom of the container and the upper element may act as a lateral stop for the container. A non-slip coating may be applied to one or more of the upper and lower elements.
In another embodiment, the invention relates to a bracket comprising a wire frame rotatably coupled with a base such that the orientation of the wire frame relative to a vertical axis may be selectively adjusted.
In yet another embodiment, the invention relates to a system for mounting a container to a slotwall having a plurality of slots, comprising: first and second brackets, each having a wire frame coupled to a base, and a container supported by the wire frame.
In the drawings:
Referring now to the figures,
The slotwall 12 may be in the form of a track, as illustrated, or may be in the form of a panel. The slotwall 12 may be of any desired length or multiple slotwalls 12 may be combined end to end to provide a slotwall 12 of a desired length. A plurality of slotwalls 12 may be arranged on a wall to provide a mounting system 10 with multiple levels. The slotwall 12 has a plurality of slots 13. A bracket 20 may be used to mount a container 14 to the slotwall 12 using the slots 13. The bracket 20 has a base 22 and a wire frame 24 that supports a container 14.
Referring now to
While the hooks 26, 28 are located on opposite edges of the base, they may be located anywhere. Also, while the hooks are illustrated to have a generally “J” shape, they may have any shape suitable for receipt within the slots 13. The hooks may also have additional components depending on the type of slotwall used and the desired features. For example, the first leg 30 may include an upwardly extending tab for limiting the lateral movement of the bracket 20 within the slotwall 12.
While the bracket 20 is illustrated for use with the slotwall 12, the hooks 26, 28 may have any size or shape suitable for use with any type of slotwall.
The wire frame 24 may have an upper element 38 and a lower element 40. The upper and lower elements 38 and 40, respectively, may be straight as illustrated, or may have other shapes and profiles. For example, upper and lower elements 38 and 40, respectively, may have a generally curved or bowed shape or an undulating profile. The upper and lower elements 38 and 40, respectively, do not necessarily need to be the same length or shape or have the same profile. While the wire frame 24 may be generally rectangular in shape, as illustrated, the wire frame 24 may have any other regular or irregular shape such as a generally triangular or oval shape, for example.
The wire frame 24 may further include a first end element 41 and a second end element 42. The second end element 42 may extend fully between the upper and lower elements 38 and 40, respectively, as illustrated, or extend only partially from one or both of the upper and lower elements 38 and 40. The end element 42 may be an extension of the wire frame 24, as illustrated, or be an additional element such as a boss, for example.
The wire frame 24 may be made from any suitable material including metal, wood or plastic, for example. Additionally, the wire frame 24 may be made from more than one material. Some or all of the parts of the wire frame 24 may also be coated with one or more materials to provide additional features such as mechanical and weather resistance, ease of use and safety features. For example, the wire frame 24 may be coated with a non-slip coating, such as polyvinyl chloride (PVC), to limit incidental slipping or sliding of an item placed on the wire frame 24.
A rotatable coupling 43 mounts the wire frame 24 to the base 22 and provides for their relative rotation. The rotatable coupling 43 comprises an arm 46 extending from the first end element 41 of the wire frame 24, through an opening 44 in the base 22, and terminating in a retainer 45. A coil spring 48 wound around the arm 46 abuts a rear face 52 of the base 22 and the retainer 45 to bias the wire frame 24 against a front face 50 of the base 22.
A rotational lock 49 is provided for fixing the rotational position of the wire frame 24 relative to the base 22. The rotational lock 49 comprises a plurality of cooperating projections 53 and locking elements in the form of recesses 54, with the projections shown extending from the first end element 41 and the recesses 54 formed in the base 22. The projections 53 may be received within the recesses 54 to fix the rotational position of the wire frame 24 at the corresponding rotational position. While illustrated as recesses, the locking elements 54 may be apertures, indentations or grooves, or pairs of raised elements in the front face 50 of the base 22. The locking elements 54 may be of any suitable size, shape and number. For example, the locking elements 54 may be generally rectangular shaped grooves, as illustrated in
To selectively rotate the wire frame 24 to a desired rotational position, the user first withdraws the projections 53 from the locking elements 54 by pulling on the wire frame 24 in a direction away from the base 22. This motion compresses the coil spring 48. The wire frame 24 may then be rotated to a desired rotational position. To secure the wire frame at the desired rotational position, the user releases the wire frame 24. The force of the coil spring 48 will draw the wire frame 24 toward the base 22 and the projections 53 will be retained within the locking elements 54. The rotational lock 49 maintains the wire frame 24 at the rotational position selected by the user.
While the rotational lock 49 is illustrated having a select number of positions for fixing the rotational position of the wire frame 24 relative to the base 22, the rotational lock 49 may be provided with any desired number of locking elements 54. The available rotational positions for fixing the wire frame 24 relative to the base 22 is dependent on the number and spacing of the locking elements 54. The rotational lock 49 may be provided with any suitable number of locking elements with any suitable spacing to provide a desired number of rotational positions.
Referring again to
The brackets 20 may be selectively spaced along the slotwall 12 to accommodate containers of different lengths. To accommodate containers of different heights, the wire frame 24 may be selectively rotated about a vertical axis relative to the base 22.
The user may independently adjust the angle of the wire frame 24 of each of the brackets 20 in the slotwall 12 to accommodate containers that have side walls of equal height or containers with side walls of unequal height. As illustrated in
The angle of the wire frame 24 relative to the vertical axis also determines the lateral spacing between the upper elements 38 of the two brackets 20 used for mounting the container 14. The greater the degree of rotation about the vertical axis, the larger the spacing is between the upper elements 38 of the two brackets 20. The user may selectively adjust the angle of the wire frame 24 to prevent or limit the lateral movement of the container 14.
Rotation of the bracket 20 also affects the lateral spacing between the lower elements 40. As each of the brackets 20 is rotated from the first angle A to the second angle C, the lateral spacing between the lower elements 40 of the two brackets 20 decreases.
For a given spacing E selected by the user between the brackets 20 illustrated in
As illustrated in
Referring again to
As illustrated by a container 17 mounted to the bottom row of the mounting system 10 in
While the bracket 20 has been illustrated with a rotatable coupling 43, it is within the scope of the invention for the wire frame 24 to be non-rotatably coupled with the base 22. The wire frame 24 may be coupled with the base 22 such that the wire frame is oriented at a pre-determined angle relative to the vertical axis. The wire frame 24 may also be provided at a fixed position wherein the upper and lower elements 38, 40 are substantially parallel along a horizontal axis.
The bracket 120 may have a first and second hook 126, 128 sized to be received in the slots 13 of the slotwall 12. The first and second hooks 126, 128 may have a generally “J” shape as illustrated, or any other shape suitable for receipt within a slot of any type of slotwall.
The wire frame 124 may have an upper element 138 and a lower element 140. The upper and lower elements 138 and 140, respectively, may be straight as illustrated or may have other shapes and profiles, such as a generally curved or bowed shape or an undulating profile. The upper and lower elements 138 and 140, respectively, do not necessarily need to be the same shape or have the same profile. While the wire frame 124 may be generally rectangular in shape, as illustrated, the wire frame 124 may have any other regular or irregular shape such as a generally triangular or oval shape, for example.
The wire frame 124 may further include a first end element 141 and a second end element 142. The second end element 142 may extend fully between the upper and lower elements 138 and 140, respectively, as illustrated, or extend only partially from one or both of the upper and lower elements 138 and 140. The end element 142 may be an extension of the wire frame 124, as illustrated, or be an additional element such as a boss, for example.
A rotatable coupling 151 mounts the wire frame 124 to the base 122 and provides for their relative rotation. The rotatable coupling 151 comprises an arm 146 extending from the first end element 141 of the wire frame 124 to a plate 158. The plate 158 is rotatably received within a raised channel 156 on a front face 150 of the base 122. The plate 158 may have a slot 159 for receiving a projection 160 extending from the front face 150 of the base 122 through the slot 159.
The channel 156 may be part of a sleeve 157 that is attached to the bracket 120 or it may be integrally formed in the front face 150 of the base 122. For example, if the base 122 is made from metal, the channel 156 may be stamped into the base 122.
A user may selectively rotate the wire frame 124 to a desired rotational by grasping the wire frame 124 and rotating the wire frame 124 to the desired position. The rotation of the wire frame 124 results in the corresponding rotation of the plate 158 within the channel 156. The plate 158 may be fixed at a desired position by the frictional resistance between a rib 163 located on the plate 158 and the channel 156. Alternatively, the plate 158 may be provided with grooves or teeth that mate with one or more projections on the channel 156 to fix the plate 158 at a desired position. The projection 160 may engage the plate 158 through the slot 159 to limit the rotation of the plate 158.
Two or more brackets 120 may be used to mount a container to the slotwall 12 in the same manner that the bracket 20 may be used to mount a container to the slotwall 12 as illustrated in
The wire frame 224 may have a generally U-shaped first telescoping element 270 connected with a generally U-shaped second telescoping element 272. The arms of each generally U-shaped first and second telescoping elements 270 and 272 extend generally perpendicular to a base 222 of the bracket 220. A part of the first generally U-shaped telescoping element 270 may form a first end element 241 and a part of the second generally U-shaped telescoping element 272 may form a second end element 242. The arms of the generally U-shaped first and second telescoping elements 270 and 272 connect to form an upper element 238 and a lower element 240 of the wire frame 224. As illustrated in
While the first generally U-shaped telescoping element 270 has been described as being telescopically received within the second generally U-shaped telescoping element 272, it is within the scope of the invention for the second generally U-shaped telescoping element 272 to be telescopically received within the first generally U-shaped telescoping element 270.
Referring now to
The wire frame 324 may have an upper element 338, a lower element 340 and first and second end elements 341 and 342. The wire frame 324 may also have one or more couplings 380 for securing an item to the wire frame 324. The couplings 380 may be in the form of screws that extend through a set of apertures 382 and are threadably received by the item that is being secured to the wire frame 324. One or more apertures 382 may be located on one or more components of the wire frame 324, including the upper element 338, the lower element 340 and the first and second end elements 341, 342. The couplings 380 do not have to be screws as illustrated, but may be any type of mechanical coupling device such as a hook or a clamp, for example.
A rotatable coupling 343 mounts the wire frame 324 to the base 322 and provides for their relative rotation. The rotatable coupling 343 is similar to the rotatable coupling 43 illustrated in
The bracket 320 has a rotational lock 349 for fixing the rotational position of the wire frame 324 relative the base 322. The rotational lock 349 comprises a plurality of cooperating projections 353 and locking elements in the form of recesses 354, with the projections shown extending from a first end element 341 of the wire frame 324 and the recesses 354 formed in the base 322. The rotational lock 349 is similar to the rotational lock 49 illustrated in
While the rotatable coupling 343 and rotational lock 349 are illustrated according to one embodiment, the rotatable coupling and rotational lock is not limited to any one embodiment. The wire frame 324 may be rotatably coupled to the base 322 according to any of the embodiments.
The couplings 380 may be used to secure an item, such as a shelf, to the wire frame 324. As illustrated by the containers 314 in the middle row of the mounting system 10 in
To accommodate a horizontal shelf 319, the wire frame 324 of each bracket may be rotated such that the upper element 338 and the lower element 340 are substantially parallel along a horizontal axis. The wire frame 324 of each bracket 320 may be selectively rotated to the desired position in the same way that the wire frame 24 may be rotated. The user firsts withdraws the projections 353 from the locking elements 354 by pulling on the wire frame 324 and compressing the coils spring 348. The wire frame 324 may then be rotated to a desired position and fixed into position by releasing the wire frame. The force of the coil spring 348 will draw the wire frame 324 toward the base 322 and the locking projections 353 will be retained within the locking elements 354. While the couplings 380 are illustrated securing an item to the wire frame 324 along a horizontal axis, the couplings 380 may be used to secure an item to the wire frame 324 at any rotational position.
The shelf 319 may be secured to the wire frame 324 by the couplings 380, as illustrated in
While the invention has been described in connection with certain specific embodiments thereof, it may be understood that this is by way of illustration and not of limitation and the scope of the appended claims should be construed as broadly as the prior art will permit.
