Patent Publication Number: US-6220461-B1

Title: Slant shelf system

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of Invention 
     The invention relates generally to store fixtures and, more particularly, to a slant shelf system that utilizes an adapter clip to secure a shelf to a slatwall so that the shelf may be slanted at multiple angles to provide easier overhead access. 
     2. Description of Prior Art 
     Ergonomically designed work environments reduce worker fatigue and the likelihood of injury. As a result, worker productivity is increased. Ergonomic considerations are thus receiving increased attention in the design of office furniture, machinery, vehicles, storage systems and the like. 
     A pharmacist or technician must access a variety of pharmaceuticals as he or she fills prescriptions and assists customers. From an ergonomic perspective, it is preferable that the pharmacist or technician not be required to bend or stretch to retrieve the pharmaceuticals. As a result, it is desirable to position the pharmaceuticals within easy reach of the pharmacist or technician. This may be accomplished by storing the pharmaceuticals on shelves mounted upon the pharmacy wall. 
     To optimize space in the pharmacy, it is often desirable to position some of the shelves above the head of the pharmacist or technician. It is preferable to tilt these shelves so that the pharmacist or technician may reach their contents without stretching. In other words, the shelves should be tilted to bring the pharmaceuticals placed thereon closer to the technician or pharmacist. 
     Tiltable shelving systems are known in the art. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,199,579 to Van Duyne discloses a shelf with a number of attaching devices secured to its backside. Each attaching device is constructed from a wire extrusion that fits through the openings of a shelf standard or the like. The wire is bent so that first and second stops are formed. The first stop engages the shelf standard so that the shelf is secured in a generally horizontal position. When the second stop is utilized, the shelf is tilted downwards. 
     A disadvantage of the attaching device of the Van Duyne &#39;579 patent, however, is that the number of angles at which the shelf may be tilted is limited. The embodiment illustrated in the patent, for example, provides only the horizontal position and one tilted position. Shelf systems that may be adjusted to a larger variety of angles allow shelves of varying depths to be used more effectively. While additional stops may be added to the attaching device of the Van Duyne &#39;579 patent, their number is severely limited by the size of the attaching device. More specifically, a length of wire may feature only a limited number of bends. Furthermore, the length of the wire forming the attaching device must be limited to allow the attaching device to engage the shelf standard. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 4,583,648 to Buffington et al. discloses a shelf with an attachment plate having arms extending therefrom. The arms feature notches that engage the openings of a shelf standard or the like. As with the Van Duyne &#39;579 patent, the number of tilt angles provided by the notched arms is restricted in that the arms may only accommodate a limited number of notches. Two notches for each arm are shown in the patent. The length of the arms must be limited to allow the shelf standard to be engaged. As a result, to obtain further tilt angles, the shelf of the Buffington &#39;648 patent must include pivots in addition to the notched attachment plate. The pivots increase the cost of manufacturing the shelf and the complexity of adjusting the shelf tilt angle. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 4,098,480 to Neumann discloses a shelf system that features shelf brackets with arm and tab portions joined by pivots. The arm portions of two shelf brackets cooperate to support the shelf while the tab portions engage a shelf standard or the like. The pivots allow the arms, and therefore the shelf, to tilt with respect to the tab portions and the shelf standard. A series of holes are placed through the tab and arm portions of a bracket. The holes align when the arm is positioned at various tilt angles. A pin is placed through the aligned holes to secure the arm in the selected tilt position. 
     While the Neumann &#39;480 patent allows a shelf to be tilted at a number of angles, the procedure to do so is somewhat awkward. More specifically, the user must position the arm in the desired position while aligning the holes in the arm and tab portions and insert the pin through the aligned holes. This procedure must be repeated for each bracket and there are at least two such brackets per shelf. As a result, adjusting a number of shelves can be time consuming. 
     The cost of manufacturing the brackets of the Neumann &#39;480 patent would also be relatively high as compared to simpler brackets in that the tab and arm portions would have to be secured together by a pivot. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     It is an object of the present invention to provide a slant shelf system with improved ergonomic features. 
     It is a further object of the present invention to provide a slant shelf system that provides a variety of shelf tilt angles. 
     It is another object of the present invention to provide a slant shelf system that allows shelf tilt angles to be easily adjusted. 
     It is still another object of the present invention to provide a slant shelf system with components that may be inexpensively and easily produced. 
     The present invention is directed to a slant shelf system. A slatwall features slats separated by a number of grooves. Each groove features two or more channels. An adapter clip includes a lip sized to engage each of the channels of the slatwall grooves. The adapter clip also features two or more slits. 
     A shelf features a rear wall, a front wall and a pair of side walls. A flange is attached to the upper edge of the rear wall. A pair of tabs extend downwards from the flange, each sized to engage one of the slits of an adapter clip. The shelf may be mounted via the adapter clips to the slatwall at various tilt angles by selectively positioning the lips of the adapter clips in the channels of the slatwall grooves. Additional various tilt angles may be achieved by selectively positioning the tabs of the shelf in each of the slits in the adapter clips. The adapter clip and shelf each may be inexpensively manufactured from a sheet of material such as metal. 
     The following detailed description of embodiments of the invention, taken in conjunction with the appended claims and accompanying drawings, provide a more complete understanding of the nature and scope of the invention. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a shelf suitable for use with an embodiment of the slant shelf system of the present invention; 
     FIG. 2 is a fractured side elevational view of the shelf of FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 3 is a rear elevational view of the shelf of FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 4 is a perspective view of an adapter clip suitable for use with an embodiment of the slant shelf system of the present invention; 
     FIG. 5 is a side elevational view of the adapter clip of FIG. 4; 
     FIGS. 6A-6D are side elevational views of the adapter clip of FIG. 4, fractured side elevational views of the shelf of FIG.  1  and partial sectional views of a slatwall suitable for use with an embodiment of the slant shelf system of the present invention illustrating various tilt configurations. 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     An embodiment of a shelf suitable for use with the slant shelf system of the present invention is indicated in general at  10  in FIGS. 1-3. The shelf features a bottom  12 , side walls  14  and  16  and front and rear walls  18  and  22 , respectively. The four walls are sized so that the appropriate products may be retained upon the shelf. Furthermore, rear wall  22  is taller than the front wall  18 . Accordingly, side walls  14  and  16  taper down towards the front wall. This allows an individual to more easily access products on the front of the shelf. The back wall features a flange  24  extending from its upper edge  26 . A pair of tabs  30   a  and  30   b  extend down from the flange. The function of the flange and tabs will be discussed below. 
     The shelf may be inexpensively constructed from a single sheet of bendable material such as 16 Gage Hot Rolled Steel. More specifically, the sheet may be cut so that the side walls, front wall and rear wall are defined and connected by their lower edges to the bottom  12 . The sheet of material may also be cut so that the rear wall includes an additional portion that may be folded to form the flange  24  and tabs  30   a  and  30   b . Accordingly, the four walls may be folded up around the bottom and the rear wall may be folded so that the flange and tabs are formed. 
     An adapter clip suitable for use with the shelf described above and the slant shelf system of the present invention is indicated in general at  40  in FIGS. 4 and 5. The clip features a lip  42 , a shelf-rest portion  43  and a lower portion  44 . An upper slit  46  and lower slit  48  are formed in the clip between the lip  42  and shelf-rest portion  43 . Upper and lower slits  46  and  48  are sized to receive one of the tabs of  30   a  or  30   b  of the shelf of FIGS. 1-3. Like the shelf, clip  40  may be inexpensively manufactured from of a bendable material such as 16 Gage Hot Rolled Steel. 
     The cross-section of a portion of a slatwall suitable for use with an embodiment of the slant shelf system of the present invention is indicated in general at  50  in FIGS. 6A-6D. The slatwall features a number of slats  52  separated by grooves  54 . Each groove features a front channel  56  and a rear channel  58 . As illustrated in FIGS. 6A-6D, the slat and groove pattern is preferably present on both sides of slatwall  50 . This allows both sides to support shelves if the slatwall is utilized in a free-standing configuration. The slatwall preferably is constructed of a strong material such as aluminum or metal. 
     The shelf of FIGS. 1-3, indicated in general at  10  in FIGS. 6A-6D, may be mounted in a horizontal fashion to slatwall  50  by inserting tabs  30   a  and  30   b  (FIGS. 1-3) into the rear channel  58 . Alternatively, the shelf may be slightly tilted by inserting the tabs into the front channel  56 . 
     FIGS. 6A-6D illustrate how the adapter clip  40  of FIGS. 4 and 5 may be utilized to achieve a variety of steeper tilt angles for shelf  10 . While two adapter clips are used to attach shelf  10 , that is, one for tab  30   a  and one for tab  30   b  (FIGS.  1 - 3 ), the process will be described with regard to a single adapter clip and tab  30   a  only in order to eliminate redundancy. 
     As shown in FIG. 6A, tilt angle α1 may be obtained by inserting the lip  42  of the adapter clip into the rear channel  58  of the slatwall. The lower portion  44  of the clip rests in the neighboring slatwall groove below. In FIG. 6A, the shelf is attached to the adapter clip by inserting its tab  30   a  into the upper slit  46  of the clip. As a result, the rear wall  22  of the shelf rests against the shelf-rest portion  43  of the adapter clip. As an example only, the configuration of FIG. 6A may provide a tilt angle α1 of approximately 15°. Differing angles may be obtained by adjusting the dimensions of front and rear channels  56  and  58  of the slatwall  50 , the lip  42  of the adapter clip and the flange  24  of the shelf  10 . 
     As illustrated in FIG. 6B, a steeper tilt angle, α2, may be achieved by moving the lip  42  of the adapter clip to the front channel  56  of the slatwall. In this position, the tab  30   a  of the shelf continues to rest in the upper slit  46  of the clip and the rear wall of the shelf continues to rest against the shelf-rest portion of the clip. As an example only, the configuration illustrated in FIG. 6B may provide a tilt angle α2 of approximately 20°. 
     FIG. 6C illustrates a configuration where the lip  42  of the adapter clip has been returned to the rear channel  58  of the slatwall  50 . The tab  30   a  of the shelf  10 , however, has been moved to the lower slit  48  of the adapter clip. As an example only, the configuration illustrated in FIG. 6C may provide a tilt angle α3 of approximately 25°. The additional tilt provided by moving the tab of the shelf to the lower adapter slit will depend upon the dimensions of the portion of the adapter between its upper and lower slits, indicated at  62  in FIG.  6 C. 
     The lip  42  of the adapter clip may be moved to the front channel  56  of the slatwall  50 , while the tab  30   a  of the shelf remains in the lower adapter slit  48 , to obtain an even steeper tilt angle α4. As an example only, the configuration illustrated in FIG. 6D may provide a tilt angle α4 of approximately 30°. 
     As a result, the shelving system of the present invention allows shelves to be mounted at tilt angles that are optimal for product retrieval by, for example, a pharmacist or technician. The pharmacist or technician thus may retrieve a product without excessive reaching or stretching. The steeper tilt angles are desirable when deeper shelves are used. 
     It should be noted that the adapter clip  40  of FIGS. 4 and 5 may include additional slits so that a greater number of shelf tilt angles may be obtained. Additional channels may also be added to the grooves of slatwall  50  of FIGS. 6A-6D for the same purpose. Furthermore, the width of the adapter clip and the slits therein may be increased so that a single clip may accommodate an entire shelf. 
     While the preferred embodiments of the invention have been shown and described, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that changes and modifications may be made therein without departing from the spirit of the invention, the scope of which is defined by the appended claims.