SHELVING DEVICE

Abstract: A shelving device wherein a side plate (22) of a shelf (21) is connected to a shelf plate (23) through an insert (1) attached to the side plate (22) and an engagement member (11) attached to the shelf plate (22). The insert (1) has its portion buried and fixed in the side plate (22) and is formed at one end of its buried portion (2) with a generally trapezoidal receiving portion (6) gradually narrowed upward and on both its sides with sloped faces. The engagement member (11) has its engagement portion adapted to be buried and fixed in the lower face of one end portion of the shelf plate (23) and is formed at one side of its engagement portion (12) with an engagement recess (16) gradually narrowed upward to fit the receiving portion (6) therein and at both the sides of its engagement recess (16) with a dovetail groove (18) having sloped faces closely engaging the sloped faces on the two sides of the receiving portion (6).

Description: The present invention relates to a shelving device for attaching a plate to a shelf. In the prior art, there have been used a variety of devices for attaching plates to shelves, which are generally grouped into those designed for detachably placing the shelf plates thereon and others for fixing the plates to the shelf. However, the former devices have failed to stably support the shelf plates, and the latter have made it difficult to adjust the levels of the shelf plates. The present invention is designed to improve the above-specified difficulties and has an object of providing a shelving device which can stably attach shelf plates easily and reliably and to facilitate their attachment and detachment. According to a feature of the present invention, there is provided a shelving device comprising: an insert 1 to be attached to a side plate 22 of a shelf 21; and an engagement member 11 attached to a shelf plate 23 and adapted to come into engagement with said insert 1, wherein the improvement is characterized: in that said insert 1 has its portion 2 buried and fixed in said side plate 22 and is formed at one end of its buried portion 2 with a generally trapezoidal receiving portion 6 gradually narrowed upward and on both its sides with sloped faces 7; and in that said engagement member 11 has its engagement portion 12 adapted to be fixed on and buried in the lower face of one end portion of said shelf plate 23 and is formed at one side of its engagement portion 12 with an engagement recess 16 gradually narrowed upward to fit said receiving portion 6 therein and at both the sides of its engagement recess 16 with a dovetail groove 18 having sloped faces 17 mating with the sloped faces 7 on the two sides of said receiving portion 6. In the shelving device according to the present invention,the insert 1is fixed through its buried portion 2 in the side plate 22 of the shelf 21, and the engagement member 11 is fixed in the lower face of the end portion of the shelf plate 23 such that the engage­ ment recess 16 of the engagement member 11 is fitted so that it tapers into the receiving portion 6 of the insert 1 in such a manner that the sloped faces 7 at the two sides of the receiving portion 6 and the sloped faces 17 at the two sides of the engagement recess 16 are fitted into the dovetail groove 18 while closely engaging each other. Other objects and features of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Fig. 1 is a side elevation showing one embodiment of the shelving device according to the present invention; Fig. 2 is a section showing the same; Figs. 3A and 3B are side elevations showing an insert and an engagement member, respectively; Figs. 4A and 4B are top plan views showing the same; Figs. 5A and 5B are bottom views showing the same; Figs. 6A and 6B are front elevations showing the same; Fig. 7 is a perspective view showing the insert; and Fig. 8 is a front elevation of a shelf. Indicated at reference numeral 1 is an insert which is integrally made of a synthetic resin. This insert 1 has a cylindrical buried portion 2 which is formed on its outer circumference with a plurality of annular ridges 3 and longitudinal ridges 4 and which is formed longitudinal thereof with a plurality of slits 5. Moreover, the buried portion 2 is formed at its end portion with a generally trapezoidal receiving portion 6, which is gradually narrowed upward, and on both the outer sides thereof with sloped faces 7. The receiving portion 6 is also formed with a through bore 8 which merges into the inside of the buried portion 2. Moreover, the receiving portion 6 is equipped at its lower end with a generally circular support plate 9 which has its one side cut away and which is formed with a fixing hole 10 at its substantially central portion. Indicated at numeral 11 is an engagement member which is integrally made of a synthetic resin. This engagement member 11 has a generally column-shaped engagement portion 12 which has its one side cut away and which is formed with a flange 13 around the outer circumference of its lower end. Moreover, the engagement portion 12 is formed on its outer circum­ ference with saw-toothed engagement ridges 14, and the engagement member 11 is drilled to form a fixing hole 15 which extends from its lower face to its substantially central portion such that it is aligned with the aforementioned fixing hole 10. The engagement portion 12 is formed at a flattened portion on one side with a generally trapezoidal engagement recess 16 which is opened at its lower end and at its outer side and is gradually narrowed upward thereby to fit the aforementioned receiving portion 6 therein. Inside of the two sides of that engagement recess 16, there is formed a dovetail groove 18 which has sloped faces 17 to mate with the sloped faces 7 at the two sides of the aforementioned receiving portion 6. Indicated at numeral 21 is a wooden shelf which is equipped with a plurality of shelf plates 23 between its two side plates 22. Thus, the buried portion 2 of the insert 1 is driven into a mounting hole 24, which is formed in a predetermined position in the side plate 22 at one of the two sides of the shelf 21, until it is buried and fixed therein. This fixture is effected by causing the plural engagement ridges 3 and 4 of the buried portion 2 to bite into the inner face of the mounting hole 24. Moreover, a tapping screw 26 is driven from the through bore 8 of the receiving portion 6 into the buried portion 2 so that this buried portion 2 is expanded through the slits 5 to promote the bite of the engagement ridges 3 and 4 thereby to ensure the fixture. In this instance, the buried portion 2 may be fixed by an adhesive. Then, the engagement portion 12 of the engagement member 11 is driven into a mounting recess 25, which is formed in the lower face of the corresponding one end of the shelf plate 23, until it is buried and fixed therein by causing the plural engagement ridges 14 to bite into the inner face of the mounting recess 25. In this case, too, the engagement portion 12 may be fixed by means of an adhesive. Then, the engagement recess 16 of the engagement member 11 at each end of that shelf plate 23 is taperly fitted so that it tapers onto the receiving portion 6 at the side plate 22 at the corresponding side, and the two sides of the receiving portion 6 are fitted in the dovetail groove 18 such that the sloped faces 17 at the two sides of the engagement recess 16 closely engage the sloped faces 7 at the two sides of the receiving portion 6. As a result, the engagement recess 16 and the receiving portion 6 are tightly fixed laterally and longitudinally through both the taper fixture gradually narrowed upward and the dovetail engagement. A tapping screw 27 is driven from the fixing hole 10 of the support plate 9 of the insert 1 into the fixing hole 15 of the engagement member 11 to fix the shelf plate 23 vertically. The insert 1 and the engagement member 11 can be withdrawn from each other through the engagement between the sloped faces 7 and 17 of the dovetail groove 18 to reliably support the shelf plate 23 and to prevent the side plate 22 from warping outward. In the present invention, the engagement recess of the engagement member attached to the shelf plate is fitted on the receiving portion of the insert attached to a side plate of a shelf so that it can taper into the dovetail groove to attach the shelf plate removably and stably.

Claims: 1. A shelving device comprising: an insert (1) to be attached to a side plate (22) of a shelf (21); and an engagement member (11) attached to a shelf plate (23) and adapted to come into engagement with said insert (1), wherein the improvement is characterized: in that said insert (1) has its portion (2) buried and fixed in said side plate (22) and is formed at one end of its buried portion (2) with a generally trapezoidal receiving portion (6) gradually narrowed upward and on both its sides with sloped faces; and in that said engagement member (11) has its engagement portion (12) adapted to be buried and fixed in the lower face of one end portion of said shelf plate (23) and is formed at one side of its engagement portion (12) with an engagement recess (16) gradually narrowed upward to fit said receiving portion (6) therein and at both the sides of its engagement recess (16) with a dovetail groove (18) having sloped faces closely engaging the sloped faces on the two sides of said receiving portion (6). 2. A shelving device as claimed in claim 1, wherein said buried portion (2) of the insert (1) has on its outer circumference with a plurality of annular ridges (3) and longitudinal ridges (4). 3. A shelving device as claimed in claim 1, wherein said buried portion (2) of the insert (1) has on its outer circumference with a plurality of longitudinal slits (5) and a tapping screw (26) which is driven into said buried portion (2) to expand the buried portion (2).

Inventors: MAZAKI, YOSHIYUKI
Applicants: KABUSHIKI KAISHA MURAKOSHI SEIKO
Application year: 1985
Main classification: F16B12
IPC codes: F16B12, F16B13