Angularly adjustable shelf and support

A shelf and support therefor are angularly adjustable with respect to a wall, or the like. The shelf and support are also adjustable in a plane which is parallel to the wall, or the like.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
The present invention relates, in general, to shelving, and, more 
particularly, to adjustable shelving. 
While adjustable shelving is known, the present inventors are not aware of 
any shelving which is adjustable with three degrees of freedom. That is, 
the inventors are not aware of any shelving that is adjustable in a plane 
parallel to a supporting surface and also angularly with respect to that 
supporting surface. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
The shelf means embodying the teachings of the present invention has means 
for adjusting the position of that shelf in a plane which is parallel to 
the supporting surface as well as means for adjusting the angular 
orientation of that shelf with respect to that supporting surface. 
The angular adjustment feature permits the shelf means to adapt to a wide 
variety of situations. 
The shelf support arm of the present invention acts as an end gate to 
prevent items stored on the shelf from sliding off the shelf; however, the 
arm still permits viewing of these items. 
The shelf and arms of the present invention are collapsible and thus are 
easily nested together for shipping and/or storing. 
The shelf arm can be attached to a shelf to suppport that shelf from above, 
thereby adding versatility to the device. The shelf arm is releasably 
attachable to a shelf body so that shelf bodies and arms can be 
interchanged, thereby adding still more versatility to the device. 
OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION 
It is a main object of the present invention to provide a shelf and a shelf 
support arm bracket with at least three degrees of adjustment freedom. 
It is another object of the present invention to provide a shelf means with 
an angular adjustment capability. 
It is still another object of the present invention to provide a shelf 
means which is adaptable to a wide variety of shelf styles. 
These together with other objects and advantages which will become 
subsequently apparent reside in the details of construction and operation 
as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, reference being had to 
the accompanying drawings forming part hereof, wherein like reference 
numerals refer to like parts throughout.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
Shown in FIGS. 1-6 is an angularly adjustable shelf means 10 embodying the 
teachings of the present invention. The shelf means is disengageably 
mounted on a channel bracket 12 which has oblong holes 14 defined 
longitudinally therein. The channel bracket is a wall standard commonly 
used to support shelving, and the like, and is attached to a wall or other 
such supporting structure by fasteners, or the like, as suitable. 
The shelf means 10 is symmetric, and thus only one end thereof will be 
shown and described herein, it being understood that the other end is 
identical to the end shown and described herein. 
The shelf means 10 includes a stepped body 20 having a plurality of levels 
22 separated by a riser section 24 and bonded by distal end 26 and 
proximal end 28. The shelf body preferably includes a multiplicity of rods 
30 and cross-rods 32. The rods are interconnected in groups, as shown by 
the reference indicator 36 in the preferred embodiment. While rods are 
disclosed herein, any other forms of the body, such as sheet metal, 
baskets, prong bars, pocket assemblies, or the like, and ungrouped rods 
can be used without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. 
Shelf body support arms 40 are located on each end of the body. Preferably, 
the arms are made of wire and sheet metal combined, and each support arm 
includes a U-shaped body 42 with a support plate 44 on the proximal end 
thereof. The body 42 includes leg forming rods 46 and 48 and bight section 
50. Leg 46 includes an offset 52 to make that leg flexible enough to fit a 
wide variety of items. The support arms are coupled to the body 20 by 
fastener members 56, each of which includes flats 58, 60 and 62 on leg 46 
of the arm and are coupled to the outermost rod 30'. Clamps 68 and 70 
couple the flats 58 and 62 to the flats 64 and 66 on the arm 30'. A 
plurality of flats are defined on the support arm so that various shelves 
and/or shelf positions can be defined by coupling the shelf body to 
appropriate flats on the support arm, and so that the body 20 can be 
replaced by an alternative form of the body, which will be discussed 
below. As will also be discussed below, the fastener members 56 are 
included in an overall angular adjustment means for the shelf means 10. 
The support plate 44 includes a planar body 72 having a pair of arms 74 and 
76 extending outwardly therefrom. The arms 74 and 76 are spaced apart from 
each other a distance corresponding to the spacing between the holes 14 on 
the wall standard 12 so that these arms can be accommodated in the holes 
14 as shown in the figures. 
The shelf angular adjustment means further includes a plurality of notches 
defined in corresponding edges of the plate arms 74 and 76. Thus, notches 
80 and 82 are defined in side edge 84 of the arm 74 and notches 86 and 88 
are defined in side edge 90 of the leg 76. The notches all open in a 
common direction as indicated in the figures so that these notches can 
engage selected edges of the hole defining periphery of the channel 
bracket. 
The notches are aligned so that notches 80 and 86 are in alignment with 
each other, as are notches 82 and 88. Of course, notches 80 and 88 and 82 
and 86 are not in alignment with each other. 
As shown in FIG. 1, the arms 74 and 76 are received in selected holes 14 so 
that one notch from each arm is engaged against peripheral edge 94 
defining each of the holes 14. The support plate 44, and hence the shelf, 
is thus coupled to a wall, or other such member, via the channel bracket. 
As shown in FIGS. 2, 3 and 4, the angle of the shelf support arm 40 with 
respect to the channel bracket 12, and hence with respect to a wall, is 
represented by the indicator B, and is variable by varying the notches 
used to engage the peripheral edges 94 of the holes 14. It is also noted 
that the body 20 has an initial angle with respect to the arm 40. In the 
preferred embodiment, the angle B equals 2.degree. (notches 82 and 86 
engaged in holes 14 in FIG. 2, 14.degree. in FIG. 3 (notches 80 and 86 
engaged in holes 14), and 28.degree. in FIG. 4 (notches 80 and 88 engaged 
in holes 14). The 2.degree. upward tilt is defined by the angular 
supporting position of the shelf body 20 with respect to the shelf support 
arm 40 so that the shelf body assumes the 2.degree. tilt while the plate 
44 is extending outwardly at an angle with respect to the wall bracket 12 
as shown in FIG. 2. 
An alternative form of the shelf means 10 is indicated in FIGS 7-10 and 
shelf means 10' includes shelf body 20'. The body 20' is planar between 
the proximal end 28' and the distal end 26', and is coupled to the shelf 
support arms 40 by fastener members 56 in an angular manner similar to the 
manner in which body 20 is coupled to the support arms 40 in shelf means 
10 to define a pre-mounting tilt of about 2.degree. with respect to the 
bracket 44. Thus, the shelf bodies 20 and 20' are interchangeable. It is 
noted that the flats 60 and 62 on the arm 40 are used to couple the body 
20' to that arm. 
A plastic snaplock P can also be used to attach the shelf body to the 
support arm in any embodiment of the present invention. 
The angular orientation of the shelf means 10' is indicated in FIGS. 8-10 
and assumes an angle B' with respect to the channel bracket, and hence 
with respect to the wall, or other such mounting element. Angle B' equals 
2.degree. in FIG. 9, 14.degree. in FIG. 8 and 28.degree. in FIG. 10. 
By appropriately attaching arm 40 to plate 44, the angle B' can be adjusted 
so that the shelf 20' assumes any suitable orientation such as, for 
example, horizontal, 2.degree. downwardly, 4.degree. downwardly, or the 
like. 
The arms 40 can also be folded outwardly or inwardly of the shelf so the 
entire assembly is essentially planar for storage, shipping or the like. 
Furthermore, the arms can be removed for storage, shipping, or the like. 
A further alternative embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIGS. 
11 and 12 and includes a support plate 44 having a bar 180 attached 
thereto, as by welding or the like, to extend upwardly with respect to a 
mounted plate 44. Outer end 182 of the bar 180 is attached, as by welding, 
or the like, to a bracket 186 having holes 188 defined therein to be 
spaced apart longitudinally of that bracket. Prong supports 190 are 
releasably attached to the bracket via the holes 188 to extend outwardly 
of the bracket as shown in FIGS. 11 and 12. The prong supports include 
legs 192, 194 and 196 and body 198 having a bent section 200 thereon. The 
prong members are used to support special items, and the three degrees of 
freedom provided by support plate 44, as above discussed, adds versatility 
to such display. 
A pocket 210 is shown in FIG. 13 in conjunction with an arm 10. This pocket 
will be adjustable and thus have a wide variety of adaptations available 
to it. As known to those skilled in the art, pockets are suitable for 
displaying hosiery, toys, lightweight books, soft goods or the like. The 
pocket is adjustable to accommodate a wide variety of item widths. Means, 
such as welding, non-slip clips, or the like, can also be included to 
connect the pocket parts 210A and 210B to the arm 40 in a manner which 
prevents rotation thereof about arms 40. Alternatively, the pocket can be 
affixed directly to the plates 44, if so desired, or cross bars can be 
used to interconnect parts 210A and 210B, if so desired. For the sake of 
example, welds and clips are shown in FIG. 13. 
A basket 220 is shown in FIG. 14 in conjunction with an arm 10. The basket 
can accommodate small packages, or the like. As above, the basket is 
prevented from rotating with respect to the arm. Alternatively, a rod can 
be used in place of arms 46 and 48 or the basket can be directly attached 
to the plate 44. 
A prong member 230 is shown in FIG. 15 in conjunction with an arm 10. The 
arm 10 is attached by J-hooks 232 to the bottom leg 234 of the member and 
a plurality of prongs 236 are mounted on a back 238 to extend outwardly of 
that back. The prongs have bent sections 240 and are suitable for 
supporting a wide vareity of items, and the J-hooks include a one-piece 
body 242 having one end 244 attached, as by welding or the like, to leg 48 
of the arm, and a bent section 246 bent around leg 46 of the arm and 
bottom leg 234 of the prong member. The J-hooks can be used with any 
embodiment of the present invention, if so desired. The FIG. 13 embodiment 
can be used to support the prong member 230, if so desired. 
It is noted that arms 10' and/or 160 can be used with the pocket 210, the 
basket 220 and/or the prong member 230 if so desired. These alternative 
embodiments are also adjustable with three degrees of freedom as 
above-discussed. 
It is noted that the above-discussed values for angles B and B' are 
preferred, but other values can be used without departing from the scope 
of the present invention. 
As this invention may be embodied in several forms without departing from 
the spirit or essential characteristics thereof, the present embodiment 
is, therefore, illustrative and not restrictive, since the scope of the 
invention is defined by the appended claims rather than by the description 
preceding them, and all changes that fall within the metes and bounds of 
the claims or that form their functional as well as conjointly cooperative 
equivalents are, therefore, intended to be embraced by those claims.