Abstract:
A supporting bracket is designed to connect to a wall-mount rack by inserting hooks provided at a rear end of the bracket into holes provided on a front side of a vertical post of the wall-mount rack. The supporting bracket includes two parallelly spaced side wall portions, on top edges of which retaining slots are formed to enable the support of two shelves at two opposite lateral sides of the bracket. Two rails may be connected to two sides of the bracket for supporting a drawer-type container. A hanger may be connected to a lower side of the bracket to support a crossbar for holding suit hangers. The supporting bracket is therefore a multipurpose and highly efficient supporting member very practical for use on the wall-mount rack for supporting different types of holding members.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
   The present invention relates to a supporting bracket for a wall-mount rack, and more particularly to a highly efficient multipurpose supporting bracket for supporting shelves, drawer-type containers, etc. on the wall-mount rack. 
   BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   A general wall-mount rack includes a horizontal crossbar and a plurality of vertical posts. The horizontal crossbar is horizontally fixed to a wall surface high from the ground or floor, and the vertical posts are hung on the crossbar and are spaced parallel from one another and perpendicular to the ground or floor. The vertical post is provided on a front side with a row of holes, into which a supporting bracket is inserted, so that a metal wire shelf may be supported on two horizontally corresponding supporting brackets for holding things thereon. U.S. Pat. Nos. D490,697; 3,701,325; and 5,110,080 disclose wall-mount racks having the above-described structure. 
   The conventional supporting brackets for wall-mount rack are designed to support only one type of member for holding things. For example, the brackets disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,701,325 and 6,024,333 are designed to support metal wire shelves only. When it is desired to mount a slide-out basket, for example, on the wall-mount rack, another type of bracket is required. Moreover, the brackets disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,701,325 and 6,024,333 are designed to support only one metal wire shelf each. When it is desired to mount two metal wire shelves side by side at the same height on the wall-mount rack, two brackets are required to locate between the two metal wire shelves to separately support one of them. That is, the conventional brackets for wall-mount rack have only one single function and fail to meet the general consumers&#39; requirements. 
   It is therefore tried by the inventor to develop a high-efficient multipurpose supporting bracket for wall-mount rack to eliminate the drawbacks existed in the conventional brackets. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   A primary object of the present invention is to provide a multi-purpose and high-efficient bracket adapted to support metal wire shelves, board-type shelves, slide-out baskets, and hanger rods on a wall-mount rack. 
   The supporting bracket for wall-mount rack according to the present invention includes two parallel side wall portions, so that two members for holding things may be supported at two lateral sides of the bracket to locate at the same height on the wall-mount rack with simplified mounting procedures. 
   The two side wall portions of the supporting bracket of the present invention are provided on top edges with retaining slots to firmly hold the supported shelves to the bracket. 
   The supporting bracket of the present invention may have at least one rail connected to one of the two side wall portions. The rail includes two spaced L-shaped tabs, and the side wall portions of the supporting bracket are correspondingly provided with two insertion holes each, so that the rail is connected to the side wall portion by inserting the L-shaped tabs into the insertion holes. With the rails connected to two adjacent supporting brackets, a slide-out basket or a drawer may be supported on the rails to locate between the supporting brackets. 
   The supporting bracket of the present invention may have a hanger connected to a lower side thereof, so that a crossbar may be supported on two such hangers connected below two adjacent supporting brackets for holding suit hangers thereon. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     The structure and the technical means adopted by the present invention to achieve the above and other objects can be best understood by referring to the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments and the accompanying drawings, wherein 
       FIG. 1  is an assembled front perspective view showing the use of supporting brackets of the present invention on a wall-mount rack; 
       FIG. 2  is a perspective view of the supporting bracket according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention; 
       FIG. 3  is a left side view of the supporting bracket of  FIG. 2 ; 
       FIG. 4  is a fragmentary, enlarged view of  FIG. 2 ; 
       FIG. 5  shows the connection of a board-type shelf to the supporting bracket of  FIG. 2   
       FIG. 6  is an exploded perspective view of a supporting bracket according to another embodiment of the present invention; 
       FIG. 7  shows the use of the supporting brackets of  FIG. 6  to support a slide-out basket on the wall-mount rack; 
       FIG. 8  is a fragmentary sectional view showing the connection of a rail to the supporting bracket of  FIG. 6 ; 
       FIG. 9  is an exploded perspective view of a supporting bracket according to a further embodiment of the present invention; 
       FIG. 10  shows the use of the supporting brackets of  FIG. 9  to support a crossbar for holding suit hangers; and 
       FIG. 11  is an assembled, partially sectioned side view of the supporting bracket of  FIG. 9 . 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
   Please refer to  FIG. 1  that is an assembled front perspective view of a wall-mount rack  20 , on which supporting brackets  1  according to the present invention are used to support at least one shelf. The wall-mount rack  20  typically includes a horizontal bar  21 ; a plurality of vertical posts  22 , each of which having two vertical rows of hook holes  23  provided at a front side thereof; a plurality of supporting brackets  1 ; and various types of things holding members, such as metal wire shelves  30 , board-type shelves  40 , and slide-out baskets  50  (see  FIG. 7 ). The supporting brackets  1  are assembled to the vertical posts  22  for supporting the metal wire shelves  30 , the board-type shelves  40 , and/or the slide-out baskets  50  on the wall-mount rack  20 . 
   Please refer to  FIGS. 2 and 3 . The supporting bracket  1  of the present invention includes a bracket body  10 , and an elastic stopper  17  assembled to a rear end of the bracket body  10 . The bracket body  10  includes a narrow long rib portion  11  forming a lower side of the bracket body  10 , and two side wall portions  13 . The narrow long rib portion  11  linearly extends by a predetermined length, and has two narrow long lateral edges  12  (only one is shown in the drawings). The two side wall portions  13  are upward extended from the two narrow long lateral edges  12  of the rib portion  11  by a predetermined height, and are parallel to each other. The two side wall portions  13  are correspondingly provided on top edges with a plurality of retaining slots  14 ,  15 , into which an end of metal bars  31 ,  32  on a metal wire shelf  30  are disposed to thereby hold the metal wire shelf  30  in place on the supporting bracket  1 . Since each of the two side wall portions  13  of the bracket body  10  may hold one metal wire shelf  30  thereto, two metal wire shelves  30  may be supported on the supporting bracket  1  at two opposite lateral sides thereof. The elastic stopper  17  is disposed on the bracket body  10  behind the two rearmost retaining slots  14  on the side wall portions  13 , so as to normally block rearward openings of the two rearmost retaining slots  14  and prevent the metal bars  31  of the metal wire shelves  30  from moving out of the retaining slots  14 . 
   The metal wire shelf  30  is formed by welding intersected metal wires together. The metal bar  31  forms a rear edge of the metal wire shelf  30 , and the metal bars  32  are spaced intermediate transverse bars on the metal wire shelf  30  located between the metal bar  31  and a metal bar  33 , which forms a front edge of the metal wire shelf. Two longitudinal side metal bars  34  are located at two lateral sides of the metal wire shelf  30 . Two ends of the transverse metal bars  31 ,  32 ,  33  are perpendicularly welded to the two longitudinal side metal bars  34 . When one end of the metal bars  31  and  32  of the metal wire shelf  30  are received in the retaining slots  14  and  15 , respectively, on one of the two side wall portions  13  of the bracket body  10 , the side metal bar  34  corresponding to that end of the metal bars  31 ,  32  is pressed against an inner surface of that side wall portion  13 , preventing the metal wire shelf  30  from sidewardly separating from the bracket body  10 . 
   The two side wall portions  13  are provided at a rear end with two vertically spaced hooks  16  each. The hooks  16  at the rear ends of the two side wall portions  13  may be extended into and hooked to the hook holes  23  at the front side of the vertical post  22 , so as to hold the supporting bracket  1  to the wall-mount rack  20 . When the supporting bracket  1  has been fully assembled to the vertical post  22  of the wall-mount rack  20 , the top edges of the two side wall portions  13  are in or close to a horizontal position. The retaining slots  14 ,  15  on each of the two side wall portions  13  of the supporting bracket  1  are adapted to receive one end of the metal bars  31 ,  32 , respectively, on one metal wire shelf  30  and thereby provide a support to the metal wire shelf  30 . Therefore, each supporting bracket  1  is able to support two metal wire shelves  30  located at two opposite lateral sides of the bracket  1 . 
   The rearmost retaining slots  14  on the side wall portions  13  of the bracket body  10  have a rearward opening each. The elastic stopper  17  is disposed at a position adapted to partially block the rearward openings of the retaining slots  14 , so as to stop the metal bars  31  of the metal wire shelves  30  received in the retaining slots  14  from moving out of the retaining slots  14  via the rearward openings thereof. 
   Please refer to  FIG. 4 . The elastic stopper  17  includes a reversed U-shaped member  17   a , and an elastic element  17   b . The elastic element  17   b  normally pushes the reversed U-shaped member  17   a  upward to an elevated position just behind the retaining slots  14  to block the latter. A first rivet  17   e  immovably fixed on the bracket body  10  is extended into a long slot  17   d  formed on the reversed U-shaped member  17   a . A second rivet  17   f  immovably fixed to the reversed U-shaped member  17   a  is extended into an L-shaped guide slot  17   c  formed on the bracket body  10 , so that the reversed U-shaped member  17   a  may be moved upward and downward in the L-shaped guide slot  17   c  via the second rivet  17   f . The elastic element  17   b  is connected at two ends to the first and the second rivet  17   e ,  17   f , such that the reversed U-shaped member  17   a  may automatically restore to the elevated position. 
   A top  17   g  of the reversed U-shaped member  17   a  is a slightly forward and downward inclined surface. When an end of the metal bar  31  of the metal wire shelf  30  is pressed against the top  17   g  of the reversed U-shaped member  17   a , the metal bar  31  is brought to move forward along the top  17   g  while presses the whole reversed U-shaped member  17   a  downward due to the weight of the metal wire shelf  30 , and then automatically moves into the retaining slot  14 . At this point, the reversed U-shaped member  17   a  is automatically elevated by the elastic element  17   b  to block the rearward opening of the retaining slot  14  again and locate behind the metal bar  31 . Meanwhile, the ends of the metal bars  32  of the metal wire shelf  30  correspondingly sink into the retaining slots  15  on the bracket body  10 , making one lateral side of the metal wire shelf  30  stably held to and supported on the bracket  1 . When the two lateral sides of one metal wire shelf  30  are separately held to and supported on two adjacent supporting brackets  1 , the metal wire shelf  30  is assembled to the wall-mount rack  20  for use. When it is desired to dismount the metal wire shelf  30 , simply move the reversed U-shaped member  17   a  downward with the second rivet  17   f  located in a lower end of the L-shaped guide slot  17   c . At this point, the reversed U-shaped member  17   a  is held to a lowered position, and the metal bar  31  of the metal wire shelf  30  can be removed from the retaining slot  14  to dismount the metal wire shelf  30  from the wall-mount rack  20 . 
   In the illustrated embodiment of the present invention, there are two retaining slots  15  provided on the top edge of the side wall portions  13  of the bracket body  10 . Each of the retaining slots  15  is an L-shaped slot having an open-topped vertical section and a lower horizontal section. The metal bars  32  of the metal wire shelf  30  enter the L-shaped retaining slots  15  via the open-topped vertical section. When the metal wire shelf  30  is further forward pushed, the metal bars  32  are moved into the lower horizontal section of the retaining slots  15  to restrict the metal wire shelf  30  from moving upward. 
   A front end  18  of each of the side wall portions  13  on the bracket body  1  is adapted to support the front transverse metal bar  33  of the metal wire shelf  30  thereon. A protrusion  18   a  is formed closely behind the front end  18  to stop the metal bar  33  from moving rearward, so that the metal wire shelf  30  assembled to the wall-mount rack  20  is stably located in place. 
     FIG. 5  shows the use of the supporting bracket  1  of the present invention to support a board-type shelf  40  thereon. The board-type shelf  40  is provided along each lateral side of a lower bottom surface with a plurality of U-shaped metal bars  41  corresponding to the retaining slots  14 ,  15  on the side wall portions  13  of the bracket body  10 . The U-shaped metal bar  41  includes a horizontal bottom section  42  that is extended in a direction perpendicular to that of the retaining slots  14 ,  15 , and two vertical side sections  43 . When the board-type shelf  40  has been mounted to the supporting bracket  1  with the U-shaped metal bars  41  received in the retaining slots  14 ,  15 , outer ones of the vertical side sections  43  of the U-shaped metal bars  41  are pressed against the inner surface of the side wall portion  13  to stably hold the board-type shelf  40  to the bracket body  10  for use. 
   Please refer to  FIGS. 6 ,  7 , and  8 , in which a supporting bracket  1  according to another embodiment of the present invention is shown. The supporting bracket  1  in this another embodiment has a bracket body  10  similar to that in the preferred embodiment of  FIG. 2 , but further includes one or two rails  60  externally connected to a lateral side of the side wall portions  13  for supporting a slide-out basket  50  thereon. The side wall portions  13  of the bracket body  10  are correspondingly provided with a rear and a front insertion hole  19 . The rail  60  is provided at predetermined positions with two L-shaped hook tabs  61  corresponding to the rear and front insertion holes  19  on the side wall portions  13 . The rail  60  is connected to the bracket body  10  simply by inserting the two L-shaped tabs  61  into the two insertion holes  19 . Two rails  60  may be connected to the two side wall portions  13  on each bracket body  10 , so that a slide-out basket  50  or a drawer (not shown) may be supported on and between two rails  60  connected to two adjacent supporting brackets  1 . 
   Please refer to  FIGS. 9 ,  10 , and  11 , in which a supporting bracket  1  according to a further embodiment of the present invention is shown. The supporting bracket  1  in this further embodiment has a bracket body  10  similar to that in the preferred embodiment of  FIG. 2 , but further includes a hanger  70  connected to a lower side of the bracket body  10 . The narrow long rib portion  11  of the bracket body  10  is provided on a bottom at a predetermined position with a longitudinally extended narrow slot  101 . The hanger  70  is provided at a top with an upward projected tab  71 , which is extended in the same direction as that of the narrow long rib portion  11 , and is connected only at a near middle portion to the top of the hanger  70 , so that a front and a rear portion of the tab  71  are longitudinally projected from the near middle portion; and at a lower free end with a supporting recess  72 . The tab  71  has an overall length longer than that of the narrow slot  101 . The hanger  70  is connected to the lower side of the bracket body  10  by extending the front or the rear portion of the tab  71  through the narrow slot  101  first, and then shifting the tab  71  to one end of the narrow slot  101  to allow extending of the other end portion of the tab  71  into the narrow slot  101 , and then, the hanger  70  is moved for the two end portions of the tab  71  to rest on an inner side of the narrow slot  101 . A crossbar  73  may be horizontally rested on the supporting recesses  72  of at least two hangers  70  for holding a plurality of suit hangers (not shown) thereon. 
   With the above arrangements, a user may selectively mount metal wire shelves  30 , board-type shelves  40 , slide-out baskets  50 , or drawers on the wall-mount rack  20 , and/or support a crossbar  73  below the bracket bodies  10  for holding suit hangers thereon. Therefore, the supporting components for the wall-mount rack  20  are simplified in structure and reduced in quantity, making the wall-mount rack  20  more convenient for use and more neat in appearance to increase the commercial value thereof.