Abstract:
A universal shelf bracket composed of three basic interlocking components held together and adjusted by a screw and rectangular nut. The bracket engages a pair of vertically aligned slots in a vertical wall and can be adjusted to fit a variety of slot spacings and depths. The bracket is constructed so that its tabs are both flush with the same outer wall while still allowing the bracket to fit squarely in the slots. Left and right brackets can be constructed so that two brackets can be engaged to one common pair of vertically aligned slots.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     This invention relates to a bracket that hooks into store uprights and more particularly a universal upright interface bracket used to support a variety of different shelving. signs, peg hooks, and other various point-of-sale elements in display case uprights. 
     2. DESCRIPTION OF THE RELATED ART 
     Upright interface brackets are used in standard store gondola, dairy case, and frozen food display case uprights. Uprights from different manufacturers have different slot configurations into which shelving is affixed by means of different sized brackets. This is due to proprietary and evolutionary design processes, as well as varying design trends, which have been introduced to meet customer requirements for hook prices and functions. 
     A continuing and strong need exists to vastly improve the functionality of standard store shelving. This is being driven by the desire to increase shelf space utilization, to alter existing spaces to handle new and different packaging, and to embellish sections of shelf space, setting them apart from other areas of the store, all while maintaining efficiency and cost effectiveness. Because of this need, upgrade and retrofit point-of-sale programs are growing in importance and, as a result, many different types of display cases, each with its own slot configuration, must be used together. This causes an obvious problem, namely the need to keep many different shelf brackets in stock. This is both financially and temporally inefficient. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     This problem is solved by the use of a universal upright interface bracket which can be fitted to the wide variety of differing slot configurations present in a given store. The invention is composed of three interlocking components--a fixed bracket member, a sliding bracket member, and a sliding shim--held together by a locking assembly. The fixed and sliding bracket members each have a vertical tab which are vertically aligned when the brackets are fitted together. The tabs interface with slots in a slotted vertical wall. The sliding bracket member can be adjusted vertically with respect to the fixed bracket member along a guide. This allows the bracket to accommodate shelving standards with a variety of slot spacings. The sliding shim fits between the fixed and sliding bracket members and can be adjusted horizontally along guides in the fixed bracket member. This allows the sliding bracket to be snugly fitted into a wide variety of slot depths. 
     The locking assembly, composed of a screw and rectangular nut, has a dual purpose. The nut is fitted into the fixed and sliding bracket members to prevent the sliding bracket member from sliding so far as to disengage from the fixed bracket member. The screw is passed through the nut and used to fix the position of the sliding shim against the outer wall of the slot. 
     The tabs and guides of the fixed and sliding bracket members are offset from their respective bodies so that the vertically aligned tabs are flush with one wall of the assembled bracket while still allowing the bracket to fit squarely in the slots. Because of this asymmetry, left and right oriented brackets can be made so that they fit in one common pair of vertically aligned slots. 
     Because the components of the bracket interlock easily, they can be integrated before assembly into other elements of a point-of-sale unit such as a shelf or peg bar prior to painting, plating, etcetera. For example, one of the bracket members could be welded to a shelf bottom and painted. Then, after finishing, the bracket can be assembled. 
     OBJECTS AND ADVANTAGES 
     A primary object of the invention is to meet the need for a single upright display bracket which can be used with the wide variety of slot configurations present in current store display uprights. 
     Another object of the present invention is to provide an improved bracket which will eliminate the need to stock many different bracket types, thereby lowering storage costs. 
     A further object of the present invention is to provide an improved bracket which is simple to fabricate and easy to assemble allowing integration with other display components before assembly. 
     Yet another object of the present invention is to provide an improved bracket in which the tabs are offset from the body of the bracket so as to be flush with one of its sides, allowing left and right brackets to be used side by side in a single pair of vertically aligned slots. 
     Other objects, features, and advantages will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon careful consideration of the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment of the invention. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a right side perspective view of a fixed bracket member; 
     FIG. 2 is a right side perspective view of a sliding bracket member; 
     FIG. 3 is a right side perspective exploded view of the locking assembly; 
     FIG. 4 is a right side perspective view of the sliding shim; 
     FIG. 5 is a right side exploded perspective view of the bracket prior to assembly; 
     FIG. 6 is a view similar to FIG. 5 showing the locking assembly about to be placed in position in a nearly assembled bracket and illustrating the bracket&#39;s two dimensional movement; 
     FIG. 6a is a front view of a fully assembled bracket; and 
     FIG. 6b is a right side elevational view of the assembled bracket with parts shown in phantom and engaging a pair of vertical slots in an upright wall shown in perspective and in cross-section. 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     Turning to the drawings and in particular FIGS. 1 through 4, the universal upright interface bracket consists of 4 basic components: a fixed bracket member 10, a sliding bracket member 12, a locking assembly 14 and a sliding shim 16. A right handed upright bracket will be described. 
     The fixed bracket member 10 (FIG. 1) has three distinct regions: an upper vertical portion 18, a middle horizontal portion 20, and a lower vertical portion 22. The three regions may be formed from a single piece where the upper and lower vertical portions lie in parallel planes and are connected by and are substantially perpendicular to the middle horizontal portion. The upper vertical portion is composed of a rectangular body 23 with a top surface 24, and having a tab 26 extending rearwardly and downwardly. A downwardly opening channel 34 is defined by the fixed bracket vertical back surface 28, the fixed bracket tab inner horizontal surface 30, and the fixed bracket tab inner vertical surface 32. 
     The middle horizontal portion 20 shares back surface 28 with the upper and lower vertical portions and has a centrally located finger slot 36 running from front to back. The lower vertical portion 22 consists of a rectangular body 37 with the back surface 28. It has a finger portion 38 at its bottom bent outward to the right and then downwards forming an angle-iron type construct. At the top and bottom of the rectangular body 37 are upper and lower horizontal guides 40, 42 running from front to back. There is also a forwardly, centrally located vertical slot 44. 
     The sliding bracket member 12 (FIG. 2) is composed of a vertical rectangular body 46 having a vertical back surface 48. It is bent at the bottom to form a horizontal foot portion 50 extending perpendicularly to the left. Extending rearwardly and downwardly from the back of the middle of the rectangular body is a tab portion 52 having an inner horizontal surface 54 and an inner vertical surface 56. A downwardly opening channel 58 is defined by the vertical back surface 48, the tab inner horizontal surface 54, and the tab inner vertical surface 56. At the top of the rectangular body is a finger portion 60 bent outward to the left and then upwards forming an angle-iron type construct. In the middle of the rectangular body is a forwardly, centrally located vertical guide 62 with upper and lower inner surfaces 64, 66. In the foot portion is a centrally located finger slot 68 running from front to back. 
     The locking assembly 14 (FIG. 3) is composed of a screw 70 and a rectangular nut 72 with an upper surface 74 and a lower surface 76. The height and width of the fixed bracket vertical slot 44 (FIGS. 1, 5) should be just larger than the height and depth of the nut so when the nut is inserted in the slot it fits snugly. The width of the sliding bracket vertical guide 62 (FIGS. 2, 5) should be just wider than the depth of the nut. The height of the slot should be significantly more than that of the nut so when the nut is inserted into the guide, it can be freely moved vertically along the length of the guide with minimal front to back movement. 
     The sliding shim 16 (FIG. 4) is a vertical body 78 having the appearance of a right-angled `C` with the open end of the `C`, the shim channel 80, facing forwards. The channel has an inner vertical surface 82 and a height larger than that of the nut 72. The shim also has an outer vertical back wall 84. Extending outward to the left from the top and bottom of the sliding shim, perpendicular to the shim body, are forwardly located upper and lower shim finger portions 86, 88. 
     The bracket is assembled so that the sliding shim 16 is sandwiched between the fixed and sliding bracket members 10, 12 (FIGS. 5, 6). The upper and lower shim finger portions 86, 88 are inserted in the upper and lower fixed bracket horizontal guides 40, 42 so the shim body 78 is adjacent and parallel to the fixed bracket member lower vertical portion 22 . The fixed bracket upper and lower horizontal guides 40,42 have heights just larger than that of the upper and lower shim finger portions 86, 88 while the length of the guides is significantly longer than the front-to-back length of the finger portions. The guides are positioned so that each shim finger portion can be inserted in its corresponding horizontal guide, and the shim can move front to back when seated in the guides with minimal vertical movement. The vertical position and depth of the shim channel 80 is chosen so that when the shim is seated in the fixed bracket horizontal guides 40, 42, the channel is aligned with the fixed bracket vertical slot 44 and the slot is not covered by the shim body 78 at any point along the shim&#39;s full range of motion within the horizontal guides. The sliding and fixed bracket members 10,12 are fitted together by inserting the fixed bracket finger portion 38 into the sliding bracket finger guide 68 while simultaneously inserting the sliding bracket finger portion 60 into the fixed bracket finger slot 36. The bracket finger portions have sufficient vertical length to allow substantial vertical motion of the sliding bracket member 10 with respect to the fixed bracket member 12 without the bracket members disengaging. The bracket finger slots 36, 68 and bracket finger members 38, 60 are positioned on the bracket members so that when the bracket members are engaged, the fixed bracket vertical slot 44 and sliding bracket vertical guide 62 are aligned. The positions of the bracket finger slots 36, 68 and horizontal extensions of the bracket finger portions 38, 60 are chosen so that when the fixed and sliding bracket members are engaged, the fixed bracket upper vertical portion 18 and the sliding bracket body 46 and thus the fixed bracket tab 26 and sliding bracket tab 52 lie in the same plane (FIGS. 6, 6a). The rearward extension of the fixed bracket tab 26 and then sliding bracket tab 52 is chosen so that when the fixed and sliding bracket members are engaged, the fixed bracket tab inner vertical surface 32 and the sliding bracket tab inner vertical surface 56 lie along the same vertical axis. 
     The rectangular nut 72 (FIGS. 5, 6a) is fitted snugly in the fixed bracket vertical slot 44 passing through the shim channel 80 and into the sliding bracket vertical guide 62. The nut is positioned so that a screw passing rearwardly through the nut will lie in the plane of the shim body 78 (FIG. 6a). The insertion of the screw 70 into the nut keeps the nut positioned between the two bracket members while the walls of the shim channel prevent the nut from rotating. The vertical length of the sliding bracket vertical guide 62 (FIG. 6b) is just short enough so that when the sliding bracket member 12 is moved downwards in relation to the fixed bracket member 10, the sliding bracket vertical guide upper inner surface 64 hits the nut&#39;s upper surface 74 just before the bracket members would disengage. The position of the screw 70 in the nut is used to limit how far forward within the horizontal guides 40, 42 the sliding shim 16 can travel. The sliding shim can move forward until the shim channel inner vertical surface 82 hits the tip of the screw. A downward opening adjustable channel 90 (FIG. 6b) is then defined by the outer vertical shim wall 84, the sliding bracket tab inner horizontal surface 54 and the sliding bracket tab inner vertical surface 56. 
     The assembled bracket (FIG. 6b) is secured to a vertical slotted wall 92 having a front surface 94, a back surface 96 and a thickness 98. The bracket is secured within a pair of vertically aligned slots in the wall--an upper slot 100 having inner bottom surface 102 and a lower slot 104 having inner bottom surface 106, both slots having a depth equal to the wall thickness. 
     The fixed bracket tab 26 is seated in the upper slot 100 so that the tab&#39;s inner horizontal surface 30 rest on the slot&#39;s bottom surface 102 and the tab&#39;s inner vertical surface 32 abuts the back of the vertical slotted wall 96. The upper tab is held in place via a cantilever force. The width of the fixed bracket channel 34 is substantially greater than the thickness of the vertical wall 98 allowing the tab to be easily seated and removed. 
     The sliding bracket member 12 is adjusted vertically with respect to the fixed bracket member 10 so that sliding bracket tab 52 engages the lower slot 104 and the sliding bracket tab&#39;s inner horizontal surface 54 rests on the slot&#39;s bottom surface 106. The width of the sliding bracket channel 58 is substantially greater than the thickness of the vertical wall 98. The depth of the adjustable channel 90 is reduced moving the sliding shim 16 back so the outer vertical shim wall 84 abuts the front surface of the vertical slotted wall 94 and the sliding bracket tab&#39;s inner vertical surface 56 abuts the back surface of the vertical slotted wall 96 forming a snug fit. The screw 70 is adjusted until the its end hits the shim channel inner vertical surface 82, holding the shim in position and locking the assembled universal upright bracket in place. 
     A left handed upright bracket can be constructed in a similar manner. The bracket member tabs would then lie along the plane of an outer wall formed by the left handed fixed bracket member&#39;s upper vertical portion 18&#39; and the left handed sliding bracket member&#39;s body 46&#39;. Left and right handed universal upright brackets can be placed side by side so that the fixed bracket member&#39;s upper vertical portions and the sliding bracket member&#39;s bodies are flush with each other and the left and right bracket&#39;s tabs are flush and aligned with each other. In this configuration, a left and right upright bracket can engaged a single pair of vertically aligned slots in a vertical slot wall. 
     It should be understood, of course, that the specific form of the invention herein illustrated and described is intended to be representative only, as certain changes may be made therein without departing from the clear teachings of the disclosure. Accordingly, reference should be made to the following appended claims in determining the full scope of the invention.