FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a stop wall structure for removably mounting to a front and two lateral sides of a metal-wire shelf for, for example, a sectional rack, so that articles positioned on the metal-wire shelf are protected against undesirable falling therefrom.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
In a sectional metal rack, metal-wire shelves are often used to hold different articles thereon. As can be seen from FIG. 1, a conventional sectional metal rack includes at least two vertical posts 50 having two vertical rows of hanging holes 51 provided on each face thereof, and a plurality of metal-wire shelves 10 removably supported on and between the vertical posts 50 via supporting brackets 40 hooked to the hanging holes 51.
The metal-shelf 10 is formed by welding a plurality of longitudinally extended metal wires 11 to a plurality of transversely extended intermediate metal bars 12, a front metal-bar set 13, and a rear metal-bar set 14, so that the metal wires 11 and the metal bars 12, 13, 14 intersect at a right angle. The front metal-bar set 13 includes an upper front and a lower front metal bar 131, 132, and the rear metal-bar set 14 includes an upper rear and a lower rear metal bar 141, 142. The metal-wire shelf 10 has four completely open sides, and articles positioned thereon are subject to undesirable falling therefrom. As can be seen in FIG. 1, the metal-wire shelf 10 can be otherwise supported on and between the vertical posts 50 in a forward and downward inclined position for use as a shoe rack, for example. Again, since the inclined metal-wire shelf 10 has four open sides, shoes (not shown) positioned thereon are subject to undesirable falling therefrom.
If metal wires and metal bars are used to directly form upright stop walls (not shown) at four sides of the metal-wire shelf 10, these stop walls would inevitably increase the manufacturing cost and the overall weight of the metal-wire shelf to thereby reduce the competing ability of the metal rack in the market. Further, the metal-wire shelf 10 with the upright stop walls formed with the metal wires and bars thereof tends to have a large volume that causes difficulty in packing the metal-wire shelf and increases the warehousing and transporting costs thereof to further reduce the competing ability of the sectional rack using such metal-wire shelf.
It is therefore tried by the inventor to develop an improved stop wall structure for removably mounting to a metal-wire shelf, so that articles positioned on the metal-wire shelf are protected against undesirable falling therefrom, and the metal-wire shelf can have wider applications.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
A primary object of the present invention is to provide a stop wall structure for mounting to a front and two lateral edges of a metal-wire shelf for a sectional rack, for example, so that articles positioned on the metal-wire shelf are protected against falling therefrom.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a stop wall structure for removably mounting to a metal-wire shelf, so that the stop wall structure does not increase the packing, warehousing and transporting costs of a sectional rack using the metal-wire shelf.
To achieve the above and other objects, the stop wall structure according to the present invention includes a front stop wall and two side stop walls for removably mounting to a front edge and two lateral edges, respectively, of a metal-wire shelf for a sectional rack, for example.
The front stop wall is formed along a lower edge thereof with a tongue portion and a plurality of clamping member inward and downward extended from a rear side of the tongue portion, so that a retaining space is formed between the tongue portion and the clamping members for firmly engaging with a transverse front metal-bar set of the metal-wire shelf. Each of the clamping members is provided at a left side with a leftward open slot for receiving a longitudinal metal wire of the metal-wire shelf therein.
The side stop walls each are provided along a lower edge with a plurality of C-shaped clamping members for each receiving and holding a transverse metal bar of the metal-wire shelf therein, so that the side stop walls are assembled to two lateral edges of the metal-wire shelf.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The structure and the technical means adopted by the present invention to achieve the above and other objects can be best understood by referring to the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments and the accompanying drawings, wherein
FIG. 1 shows a conventional sectional rack with metal-wire shelves mounted thereon;
FIG. 2 shows the metal-wire shelves of FIG. 1 with the stop wall structure of the present invention mounted to a front and two lateral edges thereof;
FIG. 3 is an assembled front perspective view of a front stop wall according to the stop wall structure of the present invention;
FIG. 4 is an exploded rear perspective view of the front stop wall of FIG. 3;
FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a side stop wall according to the stop wall structure of the present invention viewed from an outer side thereof;
FIG. 6 is a sectioned side view showing the manner of mounting the front stop wall of the present invention to a front edge of a metal-wire shelf;
FIG. 7 is a sectioned side view showing the front stop wall has been fixedly mounted to the front edge of the metal-wire shelf and coupled to the side stop wall;
FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing a metal-wire shelf with the stop wall structure of the present invention is supported on a sectional rack having a back wall;
FIG. 9 shows the metal-wire shelf with the stop wall structure of the present invention is supported on the sectional rack in a forward and downward inclined position; and
FIG. 10 shows the metal-wire shelf supported on the sectional rack is partially enclosed by the stop wall structure of the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
Please refer to FIG. 2. The present invention provides a stop wall structure for removably mounting to a metal-wire shelf 10 supported on, for example, a sectional rack, so that stop walls are raised from a front and two lateral edges of the metal-wire shelf 10 to protect articles positioned on the metal-wire shelf 10 against undesirable falling therefrom. As can be seen from FIG. 2, the stop wall structure of the present invention includes a front stop wall 20 for mounting to the front edge of the metal-wire shelf 10 and two side stop walls 30 for mounting to two lateral edges of the metal-wire shelf 10. The metal-shelf 10 illustrated in FIG. 2 is similar to that shown in FIG. 1, and is formed by welding a plurality of longitudinally extended metal wires 11 to a plurality of transversely extended intermediate metal bars 12, a front metal-bar set 13, and a rear metal-bar set 14, so that the metal wires 11 and the metal bars 12, 13, 14 intersect at a right angle. The front metal-bar set 13 includes an upper front and a lower front metal bar 131, 132, and the rear metal-bar set 14 includes an upper rear and a lower rear metal bar 141, 142.
The metal-wire shelf 10 is supported on the sectional rack via two supporting brackets 40 that are separately hooked to two spaced vertical posts 50 of the sectional rack. The vertical posts 50 are provided on respective front faces with two vertical rows of hanging holes 51, and the two supporting brackets 40 are inserted into and thereby hooked to two selected corresponding hanging holes 51 on the two vertical posts 50. Since the supporting of metal-wire shelf 10 on the vertical posts 50 via the supporting brackets 40 and the hanging holes 51 is a known skill, it is not discussed in details herein.
Please refer to FIGS. 3, 4 and 6. The front stop wall 20 is a substantially straight plate and can be made of a plastic material through injection molding. The front stop wall 20 includes a tongue portion 21 integrally formed along a lower edge of the front stop wall 20. At least two spaced clamping members 22 are inward and downward extended from a rear side of the tongue portion 21, so that a retaining space 23 is formed between the tongue portion 21 and the clamping members 22, as can be clearly seen in FIG. 6. Each of the clamping members 22 is provided at a left side with a leftward open slot 221. When it is desired to mount the front stop wall 20 to the front edge of the metal-wire shelf 10, simply press the retaining space 23 between the tongue portion 21 and the clamping members 22 of the front stop wall 20 against the front wire-bar set 13 at the front edge of the metal-wire shelf 10, as shown in FIG. 6. The leftward open slots 221 on the clamping members 22 allow corresponding longitudinal metal wires 11 to move thereinto and be held therein. When the longitudinal metal wires 11 are held in the leftward open slots 221, the front stop wall 20 is immovably fixed to the front edge of the metal-wire shelf 10. To enable easy mounting of the front stop wall 20 to the front edge of the metal-wire shelf 10, the front stop wall 20 is first held in a slightly rearward slant position relative to the front edge of the metal-wire shelf 10, so that an open end 231 of the retaining space 23 is aligned with the front metal-bar set 13 at the front edge of the metal-wire shelf 10, allowing the front metal-bar set 13 to fully move into the retaining space 23. Then, the front stop wall 20 is turned about the front metal-bar set 13 to a position perpendicular to the metal-wire shelf 10, and the front metal-bar set 13 will be located between the tongue portion 21 and the clamping members 22, as shown in FIG. 7. Then, move the front stop wall 20 leftward, so that some of the longitudinal metal wires 11 of the metal-wire shelf 10 are engaged with the sideward open slots 221 on the clamping members 22. At this point, the front stop wall 20 can no longer be turned rearward to thereby maintain at a rising position perpendicular to the metal-wire shelf 10.
Please refer to FIG. 7. The tongue portion 21 of the front stop wall 20 has a lower edge formed into a rearward curved holding section 211 having a certain degree of elasticity. The holding section 211 has an inner face pressed against both a front and a bottom side of the lower front metal bar 132 of the front metal-bar set 13 when the front stop wall 20 is turned to the perpendicular position relative to the metal-wire shelf 10. Meanwhile, the clamping members 22 has an inner face pressed against both a top and a rear side of the upper front metal bar 131 of the front metal-bar set 13. Therefore, the front, the rear, the top and the bottom side of the transverse front metal-bar set 13 are simultaneously confined in between the holding section 211 of the tongue portion 21 and the clamping members 22.
Please refer back to FIGS. 3 and 4. The front stop wall 20 can consist of two half-plates 20a, which can be joined together via a connecting plate 25. The connecting plate 25 is provided on one face with two spaced dots 251, and the two half-plates 20a are provided at corresponding positions with a recess 24 each for tightly receiving the dots 251 therein. The recesses 24 each are formed in a sunken face 241 on the rear side of the half-plates 20a of the front stop wall 20. The sunken faces 241 each have a depth equal to a thickness of the connecting plate 25, such that the connecting plate 25 is flush with the rear side of the half-plates 20a when the connecting plate 25 is connected to the half-plates 20a through engagement of the dots 251 with the recesses 24. In practical application of the present invention, the half-plates 20a are laterally symmetric plates and the recesses 24 are provided at two lateral edges of each of the half-plates 20a.
FIG. 5 shows a side stop wall 30 according to the stop wall structure of the present invention for closely mounting to a lateral edge of the metal-wire shelf 10. As shown, the side stop wall 30 is a substantially straight plate and can be made of a plastic material through injection molding. The side stop wall 30 is provided along a lower edge with a plurality of spaced first and second C-shaped clamping members 31, 32. The first and the second C-shaped clamping members 31, 32 can firmly hold the front metal-bar set 13 and the intermediate metal bars 12 therein, respectively. The first and second C-shaped clamping members 31, 32 each have a width smaller than a distance between two adjacent longitudinal metal wires 11 on the metal-wire shelf 10, such that the C-shaped clamping members 31, 32 can be movably located between two adjacent metal wires 11.
Each of the first and second C-shaped clamping members 31, 32 is provided at a lower portion with a downward open slot 311, 321, which is sized to engage with one longitudinal metal wire 11 of the metal-wire shelf 10. To mount the side stop wall 30 to the lateral edge of the metal-wire shelf 10, first align the open slots 311, 321 on the first and second C-shaped clamping members 31, 32 with one of the longitudinal metal wires 11 on the metal-wire shelf 10, so that the metal wire 11 can be guided into the open slots 311, 321. Then, move the side stop wall 30 toward the front edge of the metal-wire shelf 10 to align the first and the second clamping members 31, 32 with the front metal-bar set 13 and the intermediate metal bars 12, respectively, allowing the front metal-bar set 13 and the intermediate metal bars 12 to correspondingly move into and be held in the first and second C-shaped clamping members 31, 32. At this point, the side stop wall 30 is bound by the longitudinal metal wire 11 and can no longer move sidewardly relative to the metal-wire shelf 10.
As having been mentioned above, the front metal-bar set 13 includes an upper front metal bar 131 and a lower front metal bar 132; and front ends of the longitudinal metal wires 11 are welded to and between the upper and lower front metal bars 131, 132. The first C-shaped clamping member 31 located at a most lower front end of the side stop wall 30 is used to clamp the upper front metal bar 131 therein. Since the upper front metal bar 131 is located higher than the intermediate metal bars 12, the first C-shaped clamping member 31 is provided at a position higher than the second C-shaped clamping members 32.
The side stop wall 30 is further provided on a front end face near an upper end thereof with a recess 33. And, as can be seen in FIGS. 4 and 7, each of the half-plates 20a of the front stop wall 20 is provided on a rear side near two lateral upper ends thereof with a dot 26 each. When the front stop wall 20 and the two side stop walls 30 have been mounted to the front edge and the two lateral edges of the metal-wire shelf 10, respectively, the dots 26 on the front stop wall 20 are engaged with the recesses 33 on the side stop walls 30, as shown in FIG. 7, so that the front stop wall 20 and the two side stop walls 30 are connected to one another to form an integral stop wall on the metal-wire shelf 10.
Please refer to FIG. 8. A back wall 60 can be further mounted to and between the two vertical posts 50 corresponding to the metal-wire shelf 10 having the front and side stop walls 20, 30 mounted thereto, so that the metal-wire shelf 10 has walls at all four edges thereof, and articles can be positioned on the metal-wire shelf 10 without the risk of falling therefrom. The back wall 60 can be provided with a plurality of small holes 61, into which one or more partitioning members 62 can be inserted to divide a space enclosed in the stop walls 20, 30 and the back wall 60 into several subspaces for holding books, files and so on.
Please refer to FIG. 9. The metal-wire shelf 10 can be supported on and between the two vertical posts 50 in a forward and downward inclined position to serve as, for example, a shoe rack. Again, with the front stop wall 20 and the two side stop walls 30 mounted on the metal-wire shelf 10, the shoes positioned on the inclined metal-wire shelf 10 are not subject to the risk of falling from the rack.
With the front stop wall 20 being formed from two detachably connected half-plates 20a, the front stop wall 20 provides more flexibility in the application thereof. For example, the metal-wire shelf 10 can have only one of the half-plates 20a mounted to the front edge thereof while the two side stop walls 30 are separately mounted on the metal-wire shelf 10 to connect to two lateral edges of the half-plate 20a, as shown in FIG. 10. That is, only one half area of the metal-wire shelf 10 is confined in the half-plate 20a and the two side stop walls 30.
The stop wall structure of the present invention can be mounted to selected positions on a metal-wire shelf 10, so that the metal-wire shelf 10 has walls to provide better function for holding things thereon. Since the stop wall structure is removably mounted to the metal-wire shelf 10, it would not increase the overall volume and accordingly the warehousing and transporting costs of the sectional rack using the metal-wire shelf with the stop wall structure of the present invention. Therefore, the stop wall structure for metal-wire shelf according to the present invention is convenient and practical for use and will no doubt meet consumers' demands.
Patent Application
20100307998
