Patent Application
20060207957
This invention generally relates to displays, and more generally to stackable display shelves.
Office and home users use display shelves for a variety of purposes. A wide variety of such products are available, including shelves, racks, baskets, and like arrangements, which facilitate convenient storage of articles where desired. Displays for storing and merchandising a multiplicity of products having shelves which are vertically stackably arranged in spaced relationship one above the other are known. Although the known constructions have attempted to provide a connection between the shelf members and the upright support members which is durable, less susceptible to wear, and more stable, such prior art constructions still suffer from certain disadvantages and shortcomings. For example, all of the features associated with the known prior art constructions have made such units overly complex, expensive to manufacture, require a large number of parts and/or components to assemble which is both inconvenient and time consuming. Additionally, known prior art is limited in that the display shelves are fixed in length and/or width.
There also exists a need and demand for an economical display unit which not only permits the spaced apart vertical stacking of one shelf member above the other, but also has modular capability in that it permits adjacent units to be arranged in side-by-side relationship in any desired modular configuration.
Provided is a user-configurable display which can be both vertically and horizontally arranged to achieve any desired arrangement. In one aspect, the invention provides a display that has shelves that can be variable in length with shelf ends that fit within corner pieces. The corner pieces can be curve-shaped, T-shaped, and cross-shaped. A locking mechanism such as a cam engages each shelf end such that the shelves are engaged to the corner pieces. A cover piece covers the corner pieces and hides the locking mechanism from view. Each shelf end includes a raised section that fits within lips of the corner pieces and one or more bores for receiving a cam bolt that engages the cams.
Each corner piece consists of a shaped material having a plurality of bores along a length of the material with a plurality of slots. Each of the plurality of slots is connected to one of the bores and has lips for receiving one of the shelf ends between the lips.
Each shelf end includes a raised section that fits within lips of the corner pieces. When the locking mechanism is a cam, each shelf further comprises at least one cam bolt on each shelf end for engaging the cam.
Other aspects and advantages will become more apparent from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
The accompanying drawings incorporated in and forming a part of the specification illustrate several aspects of the present invention and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the invention. In the drawings:
a-1k are views of various displays that can be constructed in accordance with the teachings of the present invention;
a is an isometric view of a single corner piece with a cover in accordance with the teachings of the present invention;
b is a cross-sectional view of the corner piece of
a is an isometric view of a T-shaped corner piece with a cover in accordance with the teachings of the present invention;
b is a cross-sectional view of the corner piece of
a is an isometric view of a +-shaped corner piece with a cover in accordance with the teachings of the present invention;
b is a cross-sectional view of the corner piece of
a is a top view of a shelf piece in accordance with the teachings of the present invention;
b is a side view of the shelf piece of
c is a front view of the shelf piece of
a is an isometric view of the cam of
b is a side view of the cam of
While the invention will be described in connection with certain preferred embodiments, there is no intent to limit it to those embodiments. On the contrary, the intent is to cover all alternatives, modifications and equivalents as included within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.
Turning to the drawings, wherein like reference numerals refer to like elements, the user-configurable stackable display can be configured in a variety of heights, widths, and lengths. For example, FIGS. 1(a)-1(k) provide an example of the different shapes that can be made using various corner pieces 100, 104, 108 with end pieces 102, 106, 110 and various shelf pieces 112, 114. While two shelf pieces 110, 112 are shown, the shelf pieces can be configured to be any length. In the description that follows, shelf pieces 112, 114 shall be used to describe the user-configurable display shelf. The corner pieces 100, 104, 108 may be made of various materials, including plastic, aluminum, steel, etc. The shelf pieces 112, 114 can be of any material, including wood, plastic, metal, glass, fiberboard such as MDF (medium density fiberboard) with a wood skin, and the like.
The end pieces 102, 106, 112 are typically made of the same material as a corner piece, but could be made from other materials. For example, if the corner piece is aluminum, the end pieces can be aluminum, plastic, wood, etc. The shelves 112, 114, corner pieces 100, 104, 108, and end pieces 102, 106, 110 may be any color. For example, the color of the corner pieces and end pieces can be gold, silver, white, black, etc. Similarly, the sides may be clear or stained, painted, or varnished in any color.
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The use of the terms “a” and “an” and “the” and similar referents in the context of describing the invention (especially in the context of the following claims) is to be construed to cover both the singular and the plural, unless otherwise indicated herein or clearly contradicted by context. The terms “comprising,” “having,” “including,” and “containing” are to be construed as open-ended terms (i.e., meaning “including, but not limited to,”) unless otherwise noted. Recitation of ranges of values herein are merely intended to serve as a shorthand method of referring individually to each separate value falling within the range, unless otherwise indicated herein, and each separate value is incorporated into the specification as if it were individually recited herein. All methods described herein can be performed in any suitable order unless otherwise indicated herein or otherwise clearly contradicted by context. The use of any and all examples, or exemplary language (e.g., “such as”) provided herein, is intended merely to better illuminate the invention and does not pose a limitation on the scope of the invention unless otherwise claimed. No language in the specification should be construed as indicating any non-claimed element as essential to the practice of the invention.
Preferred embodiments of this invention are described herein, including the best mode known to the inventors for carrying out the invention. Variations of those preferred embodiments may become apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art upon reading the foregoing description. The inventors expect skilled artisans to employ such variations as appropriate, and the inventors intend for the invention to be practiced otherwise than as specifically described herein. Accordingly, this invention includes all modifications and equivalents of the subject matter recited in the claims appended hereto as permitted by applicable law. Moreover, any combination of the above-described elements in all possible variations thereof is encompassed by the invention unless otherwise indicated herein or otherwise clearly contradicted by context.
This patent application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/663,343, filed Mar. 18, 2005, the teachings and disclosure of which are hereby incorporated in their entireties by reference thereto.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 60663343 | Mar 2005 | US |
