Abstract:
The present invention is directed to a shelf assembly for use with a display rack. The display rack has two lateral posts, each of which has a plurality of vertically spaced openings. The shelf assembly includes a shelf, a pair of braces, and a clip corresponding to each brace. An important aspect of the present invention is that the braces and clips are capable of supporting the shelf at a predetermined height above the uppermost vertical spaced opening in the lateral post. This permits the shelf assembly to display articles higher than typical shelf assemblies. Another aspect of the present invention permits the brace to be lowered such that the brace overlaps the shelving structure below thereto, where the lower shelving structure is from the prior art.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS  
       [0001]     This application is a divisional application of Ser. No. 10/972,917 filed Oct. 25, 2004. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]     The present invention relates to a merchandise shelving display and more particularly to a shelving assembly that utilizes space above the prior art shelving displays to provide extra shelving space that was not previously available.  
         [0003]     Various types of merchandise displays have been available. Some of these prior art merchandise displays further relate to extending the area of display in order to stack more merchandise. U.S. Pat. No. 4,620,489 discloses an extendible merchandise shelving display that includes a shelf that extends to increase the overall width (or direction from the display rack). Other merchandise displays are simply drawn to different overall structures or mounting brackets (brackets used to mount the shelf to the display rack). U.S. Pat. No. 3,730,108 discloses an adjustable shelving structure that includes vertical upright posts with a peg board placed in between the vertical upright posts. The shelves are mounted directed to the upright posts. U.S. Pat. No. 3,294,351 similarly discloses a shelf mounted directly to upright posts. U.S. Pat. No. 6,315,258, however, utilizes the peg board to mount brackets, wherein the merchandise or shelves are mounted directly to the peg board.  
         [0004]     Close review of these and other prior art references finds that the shelf or basket are always leveled with or held relatively even with the bracket. As such, the shelf or basket holding the merchandise cannot extend higher than the shelving structure that includes the vertical upright posts nor higher then the peg board. There is thus a large area of the shelving display above the uppermost shelf that is not been used in the industry. Since each additional shelf provides a greater display area that allows the merchant to sell more goods, it is extremely beneficial to increase the area. The invention should also be adaptable to fit into existing shelving displays without compromising the existing display area.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0005]     In accordance with the present invention a shelf assembly for use with a display rack is provided. The display rack has two lateral posts, each of which has a plurality of vertically spaced openings. The shelf assembly includes a shelf, a pair of braces and a clip corresponding to each brace. An important aspect of the present invention is that the braces and clips are capable of supporting the shelf at a predetermined height above the uppermost vertical spaced opening in the lateral post. This permits the shelf assembly to display articles higher than typical shelf assemblies. Another aspect of the present invention permits the brace to be lowered such that the brace overlaps the shelving structure below thereto, where the lower shelving structure is a typical prior art shelf.  
         [0006]     These aspects of the present invention are accomplished by the present invention which includes a shelf with a flat bottom, a shallow front portion, and a back portion that is significantly longer than the front portion. The front portion and back portion also extend upwardly away from the flat bottom.  
         [0007]     In addition, each brace has a lateral section with openings and an arm secured at one end to the lateral section and secured at another end to the shelf. Lastly, each clip includes a mounting bracket that has an outside face secured to the lateral section of the brace. The clip also has a mounting face that includes means to secure the clips to the lateral posts. The mounting face is perpendicular to the outside face and includes a predetermined depth such that the braces are secured at a predetermined distance away from the lateral posts.  
         [0008]     The clips may also include a locking bracket that is slidably engaged to an inside portion defined on the mounting bracket. The locking bracket has a secondary means to lock the clips to the lateral posts. Thereby the shelf assembly cannot be accidentally knocked off of the lateral posts.  
         [0009]     Numerous other advantages and features of the invention will become readily apparent from the following detailed description of the invention and the embodiments thereof, from the claims, and from the accompanying drawings. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0010]     A fuller understanding of the foregoing may be had by reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein:  
         [0011]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a shelf assembly in accordance with the present invention, the shelf assembly is attached to a display rack,  FIG. 1  further illustrates a prior art shelf below the invention;  
         [0012]      FIG. 2  is an enlarged perspective view of the brace and clip of the shelf assembly from  FIG. 1 ;  
         [0013]      FIG. 3  is front perspective view of the shelf assembly from  FIG. 1 ;  
         [0014]      FIG. 4  is an inside perspective view of the clip illustrated in  FIG. 2 ;  
         [0015]      FIG. 5  is an exploded view of the clip from  FIG. 4 ;  
         [0016]      FIG. 6  is an left side view of the clip from  FIG. 4 ; and  
         [0017]      FIG. 7  is a right side view of the clip from  FIG. 4 .  
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS  
       [0018]     While the invention is susceptible to embodiments in many different forms, there are shown in the drawings and will be described herein, in detail, the preferred embodiments of the present invention. It should be understood, however, that the present disclosure is to be considered an exemplification of the principles of the invention and is not intended to limit the spirit or scope of the invention and/or claims of the embodiments illustrated.  
         [0019]     Referring now to  FIGS. 1 and 3 , a partial perspective view of a shelf assembly  100  in accordance with the present invention is illustrated. The assembly  100  is secured to a display rack  10  (known in the art) that includes a common and well-known shelf  50 .  
         [0020]     The display rack  10  includes a plurality of spaced apart upright posts  12 . Each post  12  includes a number of vertical spaced openings  14 . A pegboard  20  is provided between the posts  12 . As well known in the art, shelves  50  are secured to the pegboard  20 . The typical shelf  50  used on the display rack  10  is formed of a generally U-shaped outer frame  52  inasmuch as the outer frame  52  has a flat bottom  54  with a low back portion  56  and a shallow front portion  58  bent upwardly to form a retainer for articles positioned on the shelf  50 . The outer frame  52  is generally fabricated from relatively heavy gauge wire. The back portion  56  is low because the shelf  50  is positioned up against the pegboard  20  such that articles positioned on the shelf and against the back portion  56  will not fall off the shelf. Multiple shelves  50  are typically positioned on the display rack at various heights such that numerous articles can be displayed. In addition, a predetermined amount of space must be provided between shelves  50  in order to provide the consumer with the ability to look and retrieve the articles. Therefore, because of these factors, only a specific number of shelves  50  are able to fit on the display rack. There is thus a need to provide a shelf assembly that can be used above these shelves without interfering with the articles thereon; thereby providing the merchant with another shelf to display articles.  
         [0021]     The shelf assembly  100  includes a shelf  110 , a brace  120 , and a clip  130 . While the shelf  110  is designed to retain articles, it is shaped differently then the prior art shelves  50 . The shelf  110  includes a flat bottom  112 , a shallow front portion  114 , and a high back portion  116 . The high back portion  116  is preferably significantly longer than the low back portion  56  on a typical shelf  50 . As discussed in greater detail below, the shelf  110  does not rest against the peg board  20 , therefore a higher or longer back portion is required to prevent articles resting in the shelf  110  from falling out behind the shelf  110 . The flat bottom  112  is shorter than the typical flat bottom  54  in order to have the front portions of both the present invention  100  and the prior art shelves  50  extend out the to about the same distance. However, the front portion of the present invention may be recessed or extend out past the prior art shelf that is positioned below the present invention. The high back portion  116  of the shelf  110  also permits articles to be arranged such that the articles are resting up against the high back portion  116  as opposed to only resting on the flat portion (as illustrated in  FIGS. 1 and 3 ).  
         [0022]     To provide the shelf  110  of the present invention with the extra height and extension, the brace  120  is manufactured specifically to accomplish this task. The brace  120  includes a lateral section  122  that is secured to the clip  130 . Extending from the lateral section  122  is at least one and preferably two forward extending arms, a top extending arm  124  and a lower extending arm  126 . The extending arms  124 ,  126  are positioned to raise the shelf  110  to a position that is higher than the position that the assembly  100  is secured to the lateral posts  12 . If desired, the position of the shelf  110  could be above the top portion of the lateral posts  12 . The lateral section  122  includes a plurality of openings  128  to secure the lateral section  122  to the clip  130 . The plurality of opening  128  permits adjustability of the brace  120  to the clip  130 . Therefore, the height and distance between the uppermost typical shelf  50  and the present invention shelf  110  can be easily adjusted.  
         [0023]     As shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2 , the lateral section  122  is also positioned away from the lateral post such that the lower end of the lateral section  122  can overlap the low back portion  56  of the shelf  50 . This feature is accomplished by the unique clip  130  specifically designed for the shelf assembly  100 .  
         [0024]     The clip  130  shown in great detail in  FIGS. 4 through 7  is herein discussed. The clip  130  includes a mounting bracket  132  and a locking bracket  152 . Both the mounting bracket  132  and the locking bracket  152  include a longitudinal slot ( 134  and  154  respectively). The two slots  134  and  154  align with each other when the two brackets are assembled. The two brackets  132  and  152  are fastened to each other by a typical screw and nut combination  150 . Upon loosening the fastening  150  the locking bracket  152  may slide with respect to the mounting bracket  132  (and visa versa).  
         [0025]     The mounting bracket  132  includes an outside face  136  that abuts the lateral section  122  of the brace  120 . The outside face  136  includes at least one opening  138  (preferably two) that are able to align with the openings  128  on the lateral section  122 . The lateral section  122  is secured to the outside face  136  with similar fastenings  150  (as described above). The mounting bracket  132  also includes a mounting face  140  that extends at a perpendicular angle from the outside face  136 . The mounting face  140  includes a pair of flanges  142  with a downwardly projecting hook portion  144  provided with an inner notch  146 . The flanges  142  are vertically spaced from each other a distance equal to the vertical spacing of adjacent openings  14  defined on the posts. The mounting bracket  132  may then be mounted on the upright posts  12  at a desired vertical position by inserting the pair of flanges  142  through a pair of adjacent openings  14 .  
         [0026]     The locking bracket  152  is placed against the inside portion  145  on the mounting bracket  132  and positioned such that its slot  154  is aligned with the slot  134  on the mounting face  140 . The locking bracket  152  includes a flange  156  with an upwardly projecting hook portion  158  also provided with an inner notch  160 . The locking bracket  152  slides with respect to the mounting bracket  132  until the flange  156  can be properly inserted in one of the vertical openings  14  on the posts. Once the flange  156  on the locking bracket  152  is inserted into an opening  14  on the post  12 , the locking bracket  152  is fastened to the mounting bracket  132 , thereby locking the mounting bracket  132  to the vertical post  12 .  
         [0027]     Another important aspect of the invention is the clip  130  has an outside face  136  perpendicular to the mounting face  140  and the mounting face  140  has a predetermined depth d. When the shelf assembly  100  is assembled, the brace  120  is mounted to the outside face  136  and the mounting face  140  mounts the brace  120  to the display rack  10  about an inch distance thereto. (It is important to note that the specific distance in which the mounting face  140  is mounted to the display rack  10  may be changed without affecting the entire scope of the invention.) Since the brace  120  is not abutting the lateral posts  12 , the brace  120  may be lowered such that the lower extending arm  126  overlaps the shelf  50  immediately below thereto (illustrated in  FIGS. 1-3 ).  
         [0028]     From the foregoing and as mentioned above, it will be observed that numerous variations and modifications may be effected without departing from the spirit and scope of the novel concept of the invention. It is to be understood that no limitation with respect to the specific methods and apparatus illustrated herein is intended or should be inferred. It is, of course, intended to cover by the appended claims all such modifications as fall within the scope of the claims.