Patent Application
20080053345
The present invention will be further described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which
Referring now to the drawings, wherein like reference numerals refer to like or corresponding parts throughout the several views,
Each support member 4 includes a back plate 8 (shown most clearly in
Stretch releasing adhesive strips 14 are arranged between the back plates 8 and the wall surface 12 for securing the shelving system 2 to the wall surface 12. A suitable stretch releasing adhesive is the double-sided stretch releasable adhesive strips available from 3M Company, St. Paul, Minn. under the COMMAND trade designation. Commercially available COMMAND adhesive strips are currently manufactured as discrete strips with one end of the strip including a non-adhesive pull tab to facilitate stretching of the strip during removal.
In the illustrated embodiment, each side end of the storage trays 6 is curved to define a channel 22 that allows the storage trays 6 to be manually secured to, and removed from, the frame member support portions 10b, 10d. In addition, in the illustrated embodiment, the storage trays 6 are provided with a somewhat concave shape to allow them to better retain items placed therein. To allow water that collects in the storage trays to drain therefrom, the storage trays 6 may optionally contains openings (not shown). The storage trays 6 and back plates 8 may be formed of any suitable material such as, for example, metals and synthetic plastic materials or combinations thereof.
Stretch releasing adhesives are high performance pressure-sensitive adhesives that combine strong holding power with clean removal and no surface damage. The double-sided adhesive strips 14 may be any conventionally known stretch releasing adhesive tape including a stretch releasing adhesive tape with an elastic backing, a stretch releasing adhesive tape with a highly extensible and substantially inelastic backing, or a stretch releasing adhesive tape comprising a solid elastic pressure sensitive adhesive, but are preferably stretch releasable adhesive strips that are moisture resistant (i.e. they maintain their holding power in the presence of water and/or in high humidity environments).
Specific tapes suitable for use in the various embodiments of the present invention include the pressure sensitive adhesive tapes with elastic backings described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,024,312 (Korpman), the pressure sensitive adhesive tapes with highly extensible and substantially inelastic backings described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,516,581 (Kreckel et al.) and 6,231,962 (Bries et al.), 6,569,521 (Sheridan et al.), 7,078,093 (Sheridan et al.), and the solid elastic pressure sensitive adhesive described in German Patent No. 33 31 016. Other suitable stretch releasing adhesive constructions include the stretch removable adhesive tape laminate including a separable fastener described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,972,141 (Bries et al.), and the elongate stretch removable tape constructions described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,641,910 (Bries et al.), and 6,541,089 (Hamerski et al.)
In the illustrated embodiment, the lower most support portion 10g (
The stretch releasing adhesive strips 14 include an adhesive portion, which in the FIGS is concealed by the back plates 8, and a non-adhesive pull tab portion 14b that extends outwardly beyond the bottom the back plates 8 as shown most clearly in
As shown in the illustrated embodiment, if the adhesive strip 14 does not include a separable fastener, the shelving system 2 may include optional cover plates 18 that may be arranged in overlapping relation with each back plate 8. To allow the cover plates 18 to connect with the back plates 8, the cover plates 18 contain elongated slots that correspond to the frame member 10. When assembled to the back plates 8, the cover plates 18 overlay, and thereby serve to conceal, the non-adhesive pull tab portion 14b of the adhesive strips 14, but when the cover plates 18 are removed from the back plates 8, the non-adhesive pull tabs 14b are exposed and can be readily accessed by a user wishing to stretch remove the adhesive strips 14 from the wall surface 12.
The frame member 10 may be constructed from any suitable rigid material including metals or synthetic plastic materials. A particularly suitable material is a continuous metal rod such as a vinyl coated rod. Metals are desirable because of their strength and their fabrication characteristics. To allow the shelving system 2 to be transported or stored more compactly, the frame members 104 may include a hinged construction that allows the support portions 10b, 10d and the extension portion 10c to be folded together. The storage trays 6 may be formed of metal, synthetic plastic materials, or fabrics such as canvas or an open net-like material. In addition, the trays 6 may be designed for specific purposes depending on the intended end use application for the tray.
Persons of ordinary skill in the art may appreciate that various changes and modifications may be made to the invention described above without deviating from the inventive concept. For example, it will be recognized that the shelving system may be designed to include any number of storage trays. Thus, the scope of the present invention should not be limited to the structures described in this application, but only by the structures described by the language of the claims and the equivalents of those structures.
This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/842,621, filed Sep. 6, 2006, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 60842621 | Sep 2006 | US |
