Abstract:
A shelving system including a pair of upright members, a plurality of cross-members extending between the upright members, and a plurality of shelves. Each shelf includes a plurality of first wire members defining a support surface, as well as at least two second wire members defining a support channel. Portions of the second wire members are upturned and define first and second engagement members. During assembly, each shelf is lowered onto a cross-member until the support channel engages the cross-member, whereupon the engagement members receive a respective upright member and thereby prevent rotation of the shelf about the cross-member.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
       [0001]    This application claims the benefit of and priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/031,935, filed Feb. 27, 2008, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND 
       [0002]    Shelving systems are available in a wide variety of shapes and configurations. Shelving systems exist that may be permanently coupled to walls or other structures. Freestanding shelving systems that are supported by the ground or dedicated base structures are also known. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0003]    In some embodiments, the invention provides a shelving unit including a first upright member and a second upright member spaced from the first upright member. The shelving unit also includes a plurality of laterally extending and vertically spaced-apart cross-members that are coupled to at least one of the first upright member and the second upright member, and a plurality shelves. Each shelf is supported by a respective one of the plurality of cross-members and defines a support surface extending forwardly and rearwardly away from the respective cross-member. Each shelf includes a first engagement member that extends upwardly and/or downwardly relative to the support surface and that engages the first upright member, and a second engagement member that extends upwardly and/or downwardly relative to the support surface and that engages the second upright member. The first and second engagement members cooperate to substantially prevent rotation of the shelf about the cross-member. 
         [0004]    In some embodiments, the invention provides a shelving unit including a first upright member, a second upright member spaced a distance L from the first upright member, and a plurality of cross-members coupled to at least one of the first upright member and the second upright member. Each cross-member is vertically spaced a distance H from adjacent cross-members. The shelving unit also includes a plurality of removable and interchangeable shelves. Each shelf is supported by a respective one of the cross-members and defines a support surface that extends forwardly and rearwardly away from the cross-member. Each shelf also includes engagement members that extend laterally above and/or below the support surface for engagement with a respective one of the uprights. The engagement members substantially prevent rotation of the shelf about the cross-member. The engagement members are spaced apart by a distance D that is greater than the distance L but less than the square root of the sum of the distance L squared and the distance H squared. 
         [0005]    In some embodiments, the invention provides a method of installing a shelf into a shelving unit. The shelving unit includes a first upright, a second upright spaced a distance from the first upright, and a plurality of vertically spaced-apart cross-members positioned between the first and second uprights. The shelf defines a support surface and a support channel facing in an opposite direction as the support surface, and includes a first engagement member on a first end of the shelf and a second engagement member on a second end of the shelf. The method includes inserting the shelf at an angle between the first and second upright members and between two adjacent cross-members such that the first engagement member is below the second engagement member. The first engagement member is engaged with the first upright, and the second engagement member is aligned with the second upright. The shelf is rotated downwardly to move the second engagement member into engagement with the second upright until the support channel receives the cross-member, such that engagement between the engagement members and the uprights substantially prevents rotation of the shelf about the cross-member. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0006]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a shelving system. 
           [0007]      FIG. 2  is a front view of the shelving system of  FIG. 1 . 
           [0008]      FIG. 3  is a side view of the shelving system of  FIG. 1 . 
           [0009]      FIG. 4  is a top view of the shelving system of  FIG. 1 . 
           [0010]      FIG. 5  is a perspective view of a portion of the shelving system of  FIG. 1 . 
           [0011]      FIG. 6  is a front view of the portion of the shelving system of  FIG. 5  with one shelf illustrated in an assembly position. 
           [0012]      FIG. 7  is a perspective view of a shelf of the shelving system of  FIG. 1 . 
           [0013]      FIG. 8  is a front view similar to  FIG. 6  illustrating the shelving system with an alternative form of cross-members. 
       
    
    
       [0014]    Before any embodiments of the invention are explained in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and the arrangement of components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the following drawings. The invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced or of being carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology used herein is for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting. 
       DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0015]      FIGS. 1-4  illustrate a shelving system  10  embodying the invention. The shelving system  10  includes a base  12  that, in the illustrated construction, is substantially circular, but which may also be any structure of various shapes such as rectangular, oval, squared, or the like, having a pair of opposing flat surfaces. A first upright member  16  and a second upright member  18  extend generally vertically upwardly from the base  12  relative to the ground. The first upright member  16  and second upright member  18  each include a foot  20 ,  22 , respectively, that rests upon or may be connected to the base  12 . 
         [0016]    The first and second upright members  16 ,  18  are laterally spaced apart from one another, and each upright member  16 ,  18  includes a width, W (see  FIG. 3 ). A plurality of spaced-apart shelf supports in the form of cross-members  26  (see  FIG. 6 ) extend between and are coupled to the first and second upright members  16 ,  18 . The cross-members  26  each define a length L (see  FIG. 2 ) that also defines a spacing distance between the first and second upright members  16 ,  18 . In the illustrated construction, the cross-members  26  are coupled to the first and second upright members  16 ,  18  by welding, however other coupling methods such as brazing, soldering, or the use of fasteners such as bolts or screws may be used. As illustrated, each cross-member  26  includes a width W that is substantially equal to the width of the first and second upright members  16 ,  18  for reasons discussed further below; however, other embodiments of the invention may include cross-members  26  having different or differing widths relative to the other cross-members  26  or to the first and second upright members  16 ,  18 . 
         [0017]    Referring also to  FIGS. 5-7 , the shelving system  10  also includes a plurality of support members in the form of shelves  30 . The shelves are generally rectangular, but again, various shapes may be used. The illustrated construction includes five shelves  30 ; however, more or fewer shelves  30  may be provided as desired for a specific application. Each shelf  30  is defined by a plurality of wire members including a plurality of first wire members  42  and at least two second wire members  44 . The first wire members  42  are spaced apart from and extend substantially parallel to one another. Forward and rearward ends of the first wire members  42  are upturned and joined together by wire connectors  43 , which define the front and back edges of the shelf  30 . Together the first wire members  42  define an upwardly facing support surface  32  of the shelf  30 , with the support surface  32  below the wire connectors  43 . The second wire members  44  are loops coupled to the first wire members  42  on a side opposite the support surface  32  (e.g., the underside of the first wire members  42 ). The second wire members  44  are spaced apart from and extend substantially parallel to one another and perpendicular to the first wire members  42 . Portions of the second wire members  44  are formed to extend outwardly and at an angle (e.g., 90 degrees upwardly, as illustrated) relative to the support surface  32  to define opposed pairs of first and second engagement members  48 ,  50 , which extend along those sides of the shelf not defined by wire connectors  43 . The space between the two second wire members  44  and below support surface  32  defines a support channel  34  that extends along the underside of the shelf. In the illustrated construction, the support channel  34  is substantially centered between the wire connectors  43  that define the front and back edges of the shelf  30 . Furthermore, although the illustrated construction includes shelves  30  formed of individual wires, the shelves could also be formed of, for example, one or more pieces of solid metal, wood, and/or plastic that are suitably formed to include the support surface  32 , the engagement members  48 ,  50 , and the support channel  34 . 
         [0018]    In the illustrated embodiment, the first engagement members  48  include elongated rod members that are spaced apart from each other by a distance E 1  sufficient to allow the engagement members  48  to receive therebetween the first upright member  16 . The second engagement members  50  also include elongated rod members that are spaced apart from each other by a distance E 2  sufficient to allow the second pair of engagement members  50  to receive the second upright member  22 . In the illustrated construction, the distance E 1  between the pair of first engagement members  48  is substantially equal to the distance E 2  between the pair of second engagement members  50 , both of which are substantially equal to the width W of the upright members  16 ,  18 . Furthermore, a distance D that extends from the first engagement members  48  to the second engagement members  50  is greater than the length L defining the distance between the upright members  16 ,  18 . In this regard, when the shelf is positioned on one of the cross-members  26 , each pair of engagement members  48 ,  50  snugly receives a respective one of the upright members  16 ,  18  and engages the forward and rearward surfaces thereof to stabilize the shelf  30  against pivotal movement about a substantially horizontal axis. 
         [0019]    As illustrated, the support channel  34  of each shelf  30  extends along the underside of the shelf  30  opposite from the support surface  32 . The second wire members  44  are spaced to receive one of the plurality of cross-members  26  when the shelf  30  is positioned substantially horizontally between the first and second upright members  16 ,  18 . In the illustrated embodiment, the spacing between the second wire members  44  (i.e. the width of the support channel  34 ) is substantially equal to the width W because the upright members  16 ,  18  and the cross-members  26  include substantially identical and substantially square cross-sections. 
         [0020]    The shelving system  10  is configured so that the shelves  30  can be quickly and easily installed, removed, and re-arranged at different levels without the use of tools or fasteners. The first and second upright members  16 ,  18  are spaced apart horizontally by the distance L, and the cross-members  26  are spaced vertically from one another by a distance H (see  FIG. 6 ). The distances L and H are sufficient to allow each shelf  30  to be inserted between the first and second upright members  16 ,  18 , and between adjacent cross-members  26  at an angle relative to the lower of the two adjacent cross-members  26 . To achieve this, a distance D (see  FIG. 6 ) that extends across the shelf  30  from the first pair of engagement members  48  to the second pair of engagement members  50  must be less than the square root of the sum of the distance L squared and the distance H squared. As discussed above, the distance D is also greater than the length L, which provides the relationship L&lt;D&lt;√(L 2 +H 2 ). 
         [0021]    As illustrated in  FIGS. 1-4 , the shelving system  10  may also include a side panel  60  coupled to the first upright member  16 . Although not shown, a second side panel may also be coupled to the second upright member  18 . The side panel  60  or panels may be coupled to the upright members  16 ,  18  by any suitable fasteners or coupling devices including, for example, clips, bolts, screws, ties and the like, as generally known to those skilled in the art. The shelving system  10  may further include a topper  64  coupled to and extending between the upright members  16 ,  18 . The topper  64  may be coupled using any suitable fastener The side panels  60  and topper  64  provide display surfaces suitable for advertising or product-related indicia. 
         [0022]    To install shelves on the shelving system  10 , one of the shelves  30  is inserted between two adjacent cross-members  26  and between the first and second upright members  16 ,  18  such that the support surface  32  is positioned at an acute angle with respect to the lower cross-member  26 . The first pair of engagement members  48  is aligned to receive the first upright member  16  between members  48 , and the second pair of engagement members  50  is aligned to receive the second upright member  18  between members  50 . In this way, a front portion of the shelf extends forwardly of the upright members  16 ,  18 , and a rear portion of the shelf extends rearwardly of the upright members  16 ,  18 . The elevated end of the shelf  30  is then moved downwardly toward the lower cross-member  26  until the support channel  34  engages the lower cross-member  26 , and the first and second pairs of engagement members  48 ,  50  engage the first and second upright members  16 ,  18 , respectively, to couple the shelf  30  to the shelving assembly  10 . Additional shelves  30  are similarly added to the shelving system  10  as desired. The relative widths of and spacings between the upright members  16 ,  18 , the cross-members  26 , the second wire members  44 , and the engagement members  48 ,  50 , combined with the relative length of the shelves  30  provide a secure yet easily removable coupling that allows the shelves  30  to be installed and removed without the use of tools or fasteners. 
         [0023]    As illustrated in  FIG. 8 , in some embodiments of the shelving system  10 , one or more of the cross-member  26  shelf supports may be replaced by shelf supports in the form of opposed clip members  68  that are removably attachable at varying heights along the upright members  16 ,  18 . Each clip member  68  extends a relatively short distance laterally inwardly from its respective upright member  16 ,  18  toward the opposite upright member  18 ,  16 . The clip members  68  and upright members  16 ,  18  may be provided with a wide variety of complimentary coupling features for coupling the clip members  68  to the upright members  16 ,  18 , including posts and holes, tabs and slots, and keys and keyways, to name a few. Such coupling features generally allow the clip members  68  to be easily moved to different vertical positions along the uprights  16 ,  18  to adjust the height and/or relative spacing between the shelves  30 . In some embodiments, including the embodiment of  FIG. 8 , at least one cross-member  26  extends between the upright members  16 ,  18  to substantially fix the distance between the upright members  16 ,  18 . In other embodiments, the shelving system includes a combination of a plurality of upright members  16 ,  18  and a plurality of clip members to support the shelves  30 .