SUPPORT BEAM AND SHELVING SYSTEM USING THE SAME

Abstract

A support beam and a shelving system are disclosed. The support beam comprises: a first vertical component; a second vertical component, positioned with the first vertical component in a shared vertical plane; a horizontal component connected to the first vertical component; a connecting component connected to the horizontal component and to an upper end of the second vertical component, wherein the connecting component has a diagonal orientation such that the connecting component angles downwards towards the second vertical component; and an extending component having a first end and a second end and being connected to a lower end of the second vertical component at the second end, wherein the extending component has a first straight portion extending from the first end, and an angle between an extending direction of the first straight portion and that of the second vertical component is between 0 and 145 degrees.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a beam structure and storage device. More particularly, the present invention relates to a support beam and a shelving system using the support beams for various shelving systems for increased efficiency in load-bearing and bulk transport.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Boltless or riveted shelving systems are commonly used for storing a variety of items in a space-efficient manner while decreasing clutter and are a popular storage option for any warehouse, factory, house, or garage because of their versatility and industrial strength. Typical shelving systems, as exemplified in U.S. Pat. No. 8,424,694, may include four vertical corner posts, any suitable number of horizontal support beams extending between pairs of posts, and corresponding shelves resting on and supported by the pairs of horizontal support beams. Additionally, boltless shelving systems are designed for easy assembly (i.e., minimal tools needed) and for quick and easy adjustments and reconfiguration of the shelving systems.

However, many boltless shelving systems, including the aforementioned prior art, have undesirably low load-bearing capacities or require a diagonal strut on the sides of the shelving system, thus limiting usable space of the shelving system and the accessibility of said stored items. Therefore, there is a need for an optimal beam for use in a shelving system with a high load-bearing capacity and increased accessibility.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is an objective of the present invention to provide devices that allow for various shelving system beams for increased efficiency in load-bearing and bulk transport, as specified in the independent claims. Embodiments of the invention are given in the dependent claims. Embodiments of the present invention can be freely combined with each other if they are not mutually exclusive.

A support beam for supporting a shelf assembly is provided by the present invention. It comprises: a first vertical component; a second vertical component, positioned with the first vertical component in a shared vertical plane; a horizontal component connected to the first vertical component; a connecting component connected to the horizontal component and to an upper end of the second vertical component, wherein the connecting component has a diagonal orientation such that the connecting component angles downwards towards the second vertical component; and an extending component having a first end and a second end and being connected to a lower end of the second vertical component at the second end, wherein the extending component has a first straight portion extending from the first end, and an angle between an extending direction of the first straight portion and that of the second vertical component is between 0 and 145 degrees.

Preferably, a material of the support beam may comprise metal or plastic.

Preferably, the extending component may further have a second straight portion extending from the second end.

Preferably, the first straight portion and the second straight portion may be parallel.

Preferably, the extending component may further have a U shape section between the first straight portion and the second end.

Preferably, the extending component may further have at least one arc section between the first straight portion and the second end.

Preferably, the extending component may further have at least one bending point between the first straight portion and the second end.

Preferably, the extending component may further have a flat portion perpendicular to the second vertical component between the first end and the second end.

Preferably, the first vertical component and the second vertical component at two ends of the support beam may further have an opening, respectively, for riveting, slotting or bolting.

Preferably, the horizontal component and the connecting component may be trimmed off at two ends of the support beam at an angle that is not perpendicular to the support beam.

Another support beam for supporting a shelf assembly is also provided in the present invention. It comprises: a first vertical component; a second vertical component, positioned with the first vertical component in a shared vertical plane; a horizontal component connected to the first vertical component; a connecting component connected to the horizontal component and to an upper end of the second vertical component, wherein the connecting component has a curved shape; and an extending component having a first end and a second end and being connected to a lower end of the second vertical component at the second end, wherein the extending component has a first straight portion extending from the first end, and an angle between an extending direction of the first straight portion and that of the second vertical component is between 0 and 145 degrees.

Preferably, a material of the support beam may comprise metal or plastic.

Preferably, the curved shape of the connecting component may comprise at least one inflection point.

Preferably, the extending component may further have a second straight portion extending from the second end.

Preferably, the first straight portion and the second straight portion may be parallel.

Preferably, the extending component may further have a U shape section between the first straight portion and the second end.

Preferably, the extending component may further have at least one arc section between the first straight portion and the second end.

Preferably, the extending component may have at least one bending point between the first straight portion and the second end.

Preferably, the extending component further has a flat portion perpendicular to the second vertical component between the first end and the second end.

Preferably, the first vertical component and the second vertical component at two ends of the support beam may further have an opening, respectively, for riveting, slotting, or bolting.

Preferably, the horizontal component and the connecting component may be trimmed off at two ends of the support beam at an angle that is not perpendicular to the support beam.

A shelving system is disclosed in the present invention. It comprises: a number of corner posts; a number of the beams, wherein each beam is configured to be adjustably coupled to a pair of corner posts and at least one of the beams is the support beams mentioned above; and at least one shelf configured to rest on at least two beams.

Preferably, the shelving system may further comprise at least one fixing beam fixed on two opposite support beams.

Without wishing to limit the present invention, the support beams are technically advantageous over the prior art because they can hold more weight for the same amount of material. Furthermore, the package volume for a shelf system for shipping and handling can be reduced by about 50-70%. In some embodiments, the amount of reduction can be about 15%.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1A is a side view of a support beam according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 1B shows a back perspective view of the first embodiment.

FIG. 1C shows a front perspective view of the first embodiment.

FIG. 1D shows another front perspective view of the first embodiment with four openings punched on the support beam.

FIG. 1E shows one rivet fixed in each of the openings for connecting the support beam.

FIG. 2 is a side view of a support beam according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a side view of a support beam according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4A is a side view of a support beam according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4B is a side view of the support beam in the fourth embodiment which has a flat bottom.

FIG. 5 is a side view of a support beam according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6A is a side view of a support beam according to a sixth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6B is a side view of a variation of the support beam according to a sixth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a side view of a support beam according to a seventh embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a side view of a support beam according to an eighth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a side view of a support beam according to a ninth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 shows a support beam with cut-offs at two ends.

FIG. 11 shows a perspective view of an embodiment of a shelving system.

FIG. 12 shows how a support beam is attached to a corner post.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The present invention will now be described more specifically with reference to the following embodiments.

Refer to FIGS. 1A-1C. FIG. 1A is a side view of a support beam 1 according to a first embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 1B shows a back perspective view of the first embodiment, and FIG. 1C shows a front perspective view of the first embodiment. The support beam 1 is a long straight object and its extension direction is perpendicular to FIG. 1A. In order to enlarge local features, a portion of the support beam 1 between two ends thereof is omitted and not drawn. Dashed lines in FIG. 1B and FIG. 1C show boundaries of the omitted portion. Elements of the support beam 1 mentioned below are defined in FIG. 1A. It is understandable that any element is also a long straight object and connected to another one to form the support beam 1 in one piece. In FIG. 1A, dashed lines are used to distinguish one element from another connected element.

In this embodiment, the support beam 1 for supporting a shelf assembly comprises a first vertical component 11, a second vertical component 12, a horizontal component 13, a connecting component 14 and an extending component 15. The second vertical component 12 is not connected directly with the first vertical component 11. Rather, the second vertical component 12 is positioned with the first vertical component 11 in a shared vertical plane. Thus, the first vertical component 11 and the second vertical component 12 can contact a plane of a corner post of a shelf, so that the support beam 1 is able to attach to the corner post. For ease of explanation, the second vertical component 12 has a upper end 121 and a lower end 122.

The horizontal component 13 is connected to the first vertical component 11. The connecting component 14 is connected to the horizontal component 13 and to the upper end 121 of the second vertical component 12. In this embodiment, the connecting component 14 has a diagonal orientation, such that the connecting component 14 angles downwards towards the second vertical component 12. The angle θ between the horizontal component 13 and the connecting component 14 can be variable.

The extending component 15 has a first end 151 and a second end 152. The second end 152 of the extending component 15 is connected to the lower end 122 of the second vertical component 12. The extending component 15 also has a first straight portion 153 extending from the first end 151. In the present embodiment, the extending component 15 forms a hook-like shape by the first straight portion 153 and it increases stiffness against bending and twisting when the support beam 1 is assembled in a shelving system. An extending direction of the first straight portion 153 shown by an arrow dotted line and an extending direction of the second vertical component 12 shown by an arrow solid line are parallel. The angle between the two directions is 0 degrees. According to the present invention, the angle may range from 0 degrees to 145 degrees. Other embodiments will include different examples of the first straight portion 153 to show different angles. The bottom of the support beam 1 is arc-shaped.

According to the present invention, the following situations may apply. The overall length of the support beams from one end to the other may be 1 to 10 feet. The width of the beam may be 1 to 6 inches. The thickness of the support beams may be even throughout and may be 0.5 mm to 3.0 mm. Material-wise, according to the present invention, in all embodiments in the description, may be and not limited to metal, plastic, or any other rigid material.

The support beam 1 may be attached to a corner post to form a portion of the shelving system by welding. However, it is not the only way. The support beam 1 can be further processed for bolting, riveting, or slotting itself with the corner post, or any other ways. See FIG. 1D and FIG. 1E. FIG. 1D shows another front perspective view of support beam 1 in the first embodiment with four openings punched on the support beam 1, and FIG. 1E shows one rivet fixed in each of the holes for connecting the support beam 1. Each of the first vertical component 11 and the second vertical component 12 at two ends of the support beam 1 has an opening 20, respectively, for riveting, slotting, or bolting. There are four openings 20 shown in FIG. 1D. Rivets 21 are fixed in the openings 20 in first vertical component 11 and the second vertical component 12. The rivets 21 may be replaced by bolts for attaching the support beam 1 to the corner post. The difference between the rivets 21 and the bolts is that the former are fixed in the support beam 1 while the latter are applied only when attaching. For a clearer comprehension, please refer to FIG. 12. The rivets 21 located at one end of a support beam 200 can be fastened to the keyhole slots 110 on the same corner post 100 to reinforce the stability of the shelving system, maintaining the vertical alignment of the support beam 200 with the corner post 100. Alternatively, these rivets 21 can be affixed to the keyhole slots 110 on distinct corner posts 100 to extend the length of a single corner post, enabling the stacking of multiple shelving systems atop one another.

See FIG. 2. It is a side view of a support beam 2 according to a second embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, most of the components of the support beam 2 are the same as corresponding components of the support beam 1. In order to simplify explanation, the same symbols refer to the same component in different drawings and embodiments. Unless some features change in new designs, details of the mentioned components will not repeat again. In the second embodiment, the extending direction of the first straight portion 153 shown by an arrow dotted line and the extending direction of the second vertical component 12 shown by an arrow solid line are no longer parallel. An angle between the two directions is greater than 0 degrees, for example, 30 degrees. The extending component 15 can still form a hook-like shape by the first straight portion 153 to increase stiffness against bending and twisting when used.

See FIG. 3. It is a side view of a support beam 3 according to a third embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, the design of the extending component 15 is different from the designs of the extending component 15 in the previous two embodiments. The extending direction of the first straight portion 153 shown by an arrow dotted line and the extending direction of the second vertical component 12 shown by an arrow solid line are perpendicular to each other. The angle between the two directions is 90 degrees. The extending component 15 forms an L shape by the first straight portion 153 and can also help increase stiffness against bending and twisting. The first straight portion 153 is parallel to and shorter than the horizontal component 13. The first straight portion 153 in FIG. 3 rotates more degrees (about 60 degrees) counterclockwise from FIG. 2. In practice, the angle between the two directions can be still larger until the upper limit, 145 degrees as mentioned above.

See FIG. 4A. It is a side view of a support beam 4 according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention. The extending component 15 of the support beam 4 further comprises a second straight portion 154 extending from the second end 152. The first straight portion 153 and the second straight portion 154 are parallel. It makes the hook-like shape deeper. In addition, the extending component 15 has a U shape section 155 between the first straight portion 153 and the second end 152. The corresponding portion of the U shape section 155 in the first embodiment forms the arc shape. The U shape section 155 may have arcs with the same diameter at the corners. In a variation, the corners may also be at a right angle. See FIG. 4B. It is a side view of a variation of the support beam 4 which has a flat bottom. Namely, the U shape section 155 becomes a flat portion 155′ with a straight segment. The flat portion 155′ is perpendicular to the second vertical component 12 between the first straight portion 153 and the second end 152.

See FIG. 5. It is a side view of a support beam 5 according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention. The extending component 15 of the support beam 5 has a bending section 156 replacing the U shape section 155 in the previous embodiment. The extending component 15 has at least one bending point between the first straight portion 153 and the second end 152. In this embodiment, there are two bending points indicated by two arrows. It forms discontinuous planes in the appearance of the bending section 156.

See FIG. 6A. It is a side view of a support beam 6 according to a sixth embodiment of the present invention. The extending component 15 of the support beam 6 has three arc sections 157 replacing the bending section 156 between the first straight portion 153 and the second end 152 in the previous embodiment. According to the present invention, the number of the arc section 157 is at least one. It could make a wavy appearance on the bottom of the support beam 6. According to the present invention, the arc sections 157 may also be between the first straight portion 153 and the U shape section 155. See FIG. 6B. It is a side view of a variation of the support beam 6. It makes the hook wavy.

See FIG. 7. It is a side view of a support beam 7 according to a seventh embodiment of the present invention. The extending component 15 of the support beam 7 has a slant straight section 158 to replace the three arc sections 157 in the previous embodiment. The bottom of the support beam 7 is bent up at an angle. The distance between the second vertical component 12 and the first straight portion 153 in the embodiments may be shorter than the horizontal component 13. It should be emphasized that the sharp corners illustrated in FIGS. 4B, 5, and 7 are not limited to sharp shapes exclusively; they may also incorporate smoothly curved corners on the outside and/or inside, similar to the smooth corners of the extending component 15 shown in FIG. 4A. Furthermore, the first end 151 of the extending component 15 is not restricted to a flat rectangular shape; it may possess a concave or convex surface or also feature a slight inward and/or outward bend, forming a tail-like portion.

See FIG. 8. It is a side view of a support beam 8 according to an eighth embodiment of the present invention. This embodiment is similar to the first embodiment except the design of the connecting component 14. The connecting component 14 in the present embodiment is connected to the horizontal component 13 and to the upper end 121 of the second vertical component 12. The connecting component 14 has a curved shape. As shown in FIG. 8, the connecting component 14 can be further separated into a first segment 141 and a second segment 142, which have an inflection point marked by a star in between.

According to the present invention, the curved shape of the connecting component 14 may comprise more than one inflection point. As for the design with more inflection points, see FIG. 9. It is a side view of a support beam 9 according to a ninth embodiment of the present invention. This embodiment is another design of the connecting component 14. The connecting component 14 can be further separated into a first segment 141, a second segment 142, a third segment 143 and a fourth segment 144. Therefore, there are three inflection points in this embodiment. It should be noted that the variations of the extending component 15 may also be applied to the eighth and ninth embodiments.

In order to facilitate assembling of a shelving system using the support beams mentioned above, further treatments may be applied on the two ends of the support beam. See FIG. 10. It shows a support beam with cut-offs at two ends. The horizontal component 13 and the connecting component 14 are trimmed off at two ends of the support beam at an angle that is not perpendicular to the support beam. The first vertical component 11 and the second vertical component 12 are not affected. Therefore, the cut-off plane formed is not the cross section of the support beam. Namely, a normal direction of the cut-off plane on each end is not parallel to an extension direction of the support beam. As shown in FIG. 10, two ends of the support beam are gradually trimmed inwards at the horizontal component 13 and the connecting component 14. In addition, a portion of the extending component 15 at two ends of the support beam is removed. Thus, the treatments clear the openings on the side of the support beam so the rivet or bolt can be installed. It also prevents support beam interference at corners when assembled.

See FIG. 11. It shows a perspective view of an embodiment of a shelving system 10. The shelving system 10 includes a number of corner posts 100, a number of beams 200 and at least one shelf 300. In this embodiment, there are four corner posts 100, sixteen beams 200 and four shelves 300 used for illustration. It forms a rectangular four-layer shelf. In practice, the number of each element is not limited by FIG. 11. More beams 200 and shelves 300 may form the shelving system 10 with more layers.

In some embodiments, a layer of the shelving system may have more than one shelf 300. For example, the layer may comprise at least two shelves 300. In this embodiment, each shelf may be shorter than the length of the beam. This can allow for expanding the height on a lower layer. For example, if only one of the shorter shelves is used in a layer, then an area of said layer will be open so that taller items can be placed in a lower layer and pass through said open area.

The corner posts 100 may be made by bending a hard metal strip, forming two connected long straight plates at a right angle. In order to attach the beams 200, there are a number of keyhole slots 110 formed on each corner post 100. Locations of the keyhole slots 110 on all the corner posts 100 should be the same. The lengths of the corner posts 100 are not restricted.

According to the present invention, the type of beams is not limited. Conventional beams not described in this invention can be used. However, at least one of the beams 200 should be the support beams mentioned above. The lengths of the beams 200 are not restricted. In this embodiment, two kinds of beams 200 with different lengths are applied. Each beam 200 is configured to be adjustably coupled to a pair of corner posts 100. FIG. 12 shows how the support beam 200 is attached to the corner post 100. In this particular embodiment, all the beams are the support beams of one type in the first embodiment. Two rivets 21 at one end of the beam 20 pass through two corresponding keyhole slots 110 of the corner post 100 then stuck therein. In FIG. 12, it is obvious that the cut-offs at the ends of the beams 200 prevent the beams 200 from interfering with each other at the corner as marked by a dashed circle. When the beams 200 are firmly attached to the corner posts 100 and a basic structure of the shelving system 10 is formed, the shelf 300 can rest on at least two beams 200. According to the present invention, generally, the shelf 300 should be support by four beams 200 for maximum load.

In some cases, if the length of the beams 200 is too long, the stiffness of beams 200 is not enough to resist the bending moment caused by the loading of the shelf 300. In order to address this issue, as shown in FIG. 11, the shelving system 10 may further comprise at least one fixing beam 400. The fixing beam 400 can be attached to two opposite beams 200 at the same layer, preferably, at the center of the beams 200. In this embodiment, there are four fixing beams 400 applied, one for two long beams 200 of each layer.

Although there has been shown and described the preferred embodiment of the present invention, it will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art that modifications may be made thereto which do not exceed the scope of the appended claims. Therefore, the scope of the invention is only to be limited by the following claims. In some embodiments, the figures presented in this patent application are drawn to scale, including the angles, ratios of dimensions, etc. In some embodiments, the figures are representative only and the claims are not limited by the dimensions of the figures. In some embodiments, descriptions of the inventions described herein using the phrase “comprising” includes embodiments that could be described as “consisting essentially of” or “consisting of”, and as such the written description requirement for claiming one or more embodiments of the present invention using the phrase “consisting essentially of” or “consisting of” is met.

While the invention has been described in terms of what is presently considered to be the most practical and preferred embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention needs not be limited to the disclosed embodiments. On the contrary, it is intended to cover various modifications and similar arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the appended claims, which are to be accorded with the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and similar structures.

Claims

1. A support beam for supporting a shelf assembly, comprising: a first vertical component;a second vertical component, positioned with the first vertical component in a shared vertical plane;a horizontal component connected to the first vertical component;a connecting component connected to the horizontal component and to an upper end of the second vertical component, wherein the connecting component has a diagonal orientation such that the connecting component angles downwards towards the second vertical component; andan extending component having a first end and a second end and being connected to a lower end of the second vertical component at the second end, wherein the extending component has a first straight portion extending from the first end, and an angle between an extending direction of the first straight portion and that of the second vertical component is between 0 and 145 degrees.

2. The support beam according to claim 1, wherein a material of the support beam comprises metal or plastic.

3. The support beam according to claim 1, wherein the extending component further has a second straight portion extending from the second end.

4. The support beam according to claim 3, wherein the first straight portion and the second straight portion are parallel.

5. The support beam according to claim 1, wherein the extending component further has a U shape section between the first straight portion and the second end.

6. The support beam according to claim 1, wherein the extending component further has at least one arc section between the first straight portion and the second end.

7. The support beam according to claim 1, wherein the extending component further has at least one bending point between the first straight portion and the second end.

8. The support beam according to claim 1, wherein the extending component further has a flat portion perpendicular to the second vertical component between the first straight portion and the second end.

9. The support beam according to claim 1, wherein each of the first vertical component and the second vertical component at two ends of the support beam further has an opening, respectively, for riveting, slotting or bolting.

10. The support beam according to claim 1, wherein the horizontal component and the connecting component are trimmed off at two ends of the support beam at an angle that is not perpendicular to the support beam.

11. A shelving system, comprising: a plurality of corner posts;a plurality of beams, wherein each beam is configured to be adjustably coupled to a pair of corner posts and at least one of the beams is the support beam according to claim 1; andat least one shelf configured to rest on at least two beams.

12. The shelving system according to claim 11, further comprising at least one fixing beam attached to two opposite support beams.

13. A support beam for supporting a shelf assembly, comprising: a first vertical component;a second vertical component, positioned with the first vertical component in a shared vertical plane;a horizontal component connected to the first vertical component;a connecting component connected to the horizontal component and to an upper end of the second vertical component, wherein the connecting component has a curved shape; andan extending component having a first end and a second end and being connected to a lower end of the second vertical component at the second end, wherein the extending component has a first straight portion extending from the first end, and an angle between an extending direction of the first straight portion and that of the second vertical component is between 0 to 145 degrees.

14. The support beam according to claim 13, wherein a material of the support beam comprises metal or plastic.

15. The support beam of claim 13, wherein the curved shape of the connecting component comprises at least one inflection point.

16. The support beam according to claim 13, wherein the extending component further has a second straight portion extending from the second end.

17. The support beam according to claim 16, wherein the first straight portion and the second straight portion are parallel.

18. The support beam according to claim 13, wherein the extending component further has a U shape section between the first straight portion and the second end.

19. The support beam according to claim 13, wherein the extending component further has at least one arc section between the first straight portion and the second end.

20. The support beam according to claim 13, wherein the extending component further has at least one bending point between the first straight portion and the second end.

21. The support beam according to claim 13, wherein the extending component further has a flat portion perpendicular to the second vertical component between the first end and the second end.

22. The support beam according to claim 13, wherein each of the first vertical component and the second vertical component at two ends of the support beam further has an opening, respectively, for riveting or bolting.

23. The support beam according to claim 13, wherein the horizontal component and the connecting component are trimmed off at two ends of the support beam at an angle that is not perpendicular to the support beam.

24. A shelving system, comprising: a plurality of corner posts;a plurality of the beams, wherein each beam is configured to be adjustably coupled to a pair of corner posts and at least one of the beams is the support beams according to claim 13; andat least one shelf configured to rest on at least two beams.

25. The shelving system according to claim 24, further comprising at least one fixing beam fixed on two opposite support beams.