Abstract:
Several embodiments of shelving systems are disclosed in which goods can be shipped to a store and may be ready to display. Customers may select goods from the shelving systems directly. When the goods are depleted, the shelving system may be disassembled into a more compact state for efficient storage and shipping back to the warehouse or supplier.

Description:
BACKGROUND 
       [0001]    Many grocery store goods are shipped in boxes and/or on pallets. At the store, the goods must be removed from the boxes and or pallets and placed on a shelf for selection by the customers. Moving the goods to the shelves requires additional effort and expense. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0002]    Several embodiments of shelving systems are disclosed in which goods can be shipped to a store and may be ready to display. Customers may select goods from the shelving systems directly. When the goods are depleted, the shelving system may be disassembled into a more compact state for efficient storage and shipping back to the warehouse or supplier. 
         [0003]    In one embodiment, a tray having side walls extending upward from a base may be stacked with spacers comprising side walls, but no base. This provides increased space for accommodating goods in the trays and provides increased accessibility for customers to view and remove goods from the trays. 
         [0004]    In another embodiment, a bin has a base and side walls extending upward from the base. Openings or collars project outward from upper edges of the side walls. Elongated supports connect to the side walls via the collars. 
         [0005]    In another embodiment, a plurality of walls extend upward from a deck. A plurality of support surfaces are formed on the walls. An elongated support extends upward of the deck spaced away from the walls. A tray is stacked on the support surfaces and the elongated support. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0006]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a shelving system according to a first embodiment. 
           [0007]      FIG. 2  is a bottom perspective view of the shelving system of  FIG. 1 . 
           [0008]      FIG. 3  is a front view of the shelving system of  FIG. 1 . 
           [0009]      FIG. 4  is an exterior perspective view of one of the spacers of  FIG. 1 . 
           [0010]      FIG. 5  is an interior perspective view of the spacer of  FIG. 4 . 
           [0011]      FIG. 6  is a perspective view of a shelving system according to a second embodiment with one shelving unit. 
           [0012]      FIG. 7  is a rear perspective view of the shelving system of  FIG. 6 . 
           [0013]      FIG. 8  is an exploded view of the shelving system of  FIG. 6 . 
           [0014]      FIG. 9  is a rear view of the shelving system of  FIG. 8 . 
           [0015]      FIG. 10  shows the shelving system of  FIG. 6  with a second bin stacked on the first bin. 
           [0016]      FIG. 11  is a perspective view of a shelving system according to a third embodiment. 
           [0017]      FIG. 12  shows the shelving system of  FIG. 11  without the trays. 
           [0018]      FIGS. 13 and 14  are exploded views of the shelving system of  FIG. 11  with one shelving unit. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0019]    Collapsible shelving according to a first embodiment is shown in  FIG. 1 .  FIG. 1  illustrates two known plastic trays, in particular, plastic bakery trays  10  stacked with spacers  42 . This can quickly provide shelving in a store with improved visibility and access to the goods for the customer. 
         [0020]    As is known, each tray  10  includes a base  12  and side walls  14  extending upward from side edges of the base  12 . A front wall  16  extends upward from a front edge of the base  12 . A rear wall  18  extends upward from a rear edge of the base  12 . The front wall  16  and rear wall  18  are significantly shorter than the side walls  14 . Stacking feet  20  and a center projection  22  project outward from a lower portion of each side wall  14 . The stacking feet  20  include a downward projection  28  at an outer edge thereof. Complementary low stacking recesses  24  and high stacking recesses  26  are formed at an upper edge of each side wall  14 , such that the tray  10  can stack at two different heights on an identical tray in either the aligned or the 180° orientation. A center receptacle  30  is defined on each side wall for receiving the center projection  22  of the tray  10  stacked thereon. A rail  32  projects upward along the length of each side wall  14 . The rail  32  is aligned just inward of the downward projections  28  of the feet  20 . Again, trays  10  of the type shown in  FIG. 1  are known and other types of trays could also be used. 
         [0021]    As shown the trays  10  can be used in combination with spacers  42  stacked in-between to form temporary shelving. Each spacer  42  is inserted between a side wall  14  of an upper tray  10  and a side wall  14  of a lower tray  10  to provide greater distance between the bases  12  of the two trays  10 . The trays  10  then provide increased visibility and accessibility to items in the trays  10 . Alternatively, the trays  10  can then accommodate larger (or more) goods. The spacers  42  in this example generally comprise a single wall which is generally structurally identical (but they only need to be complementary) to the side walls  14  of the trays  10  without the intervening front and rear walls  16 ,  18  or base  12 . The spacer  42  may be injection-molded as a single piece of plastic. 
         [0022]    Optionally, one or more rails (not shown) could be added to interconnect upper ends of the spacers  42 . Alternatively, or additionally, one or two lower rails may extend across between the lower ends of the spacers  42  at the front and/or rear of the spacer. Alternatively, something comparable to one of the front or rear wall of the tray  10  could connect the spacers, providing accessibility only through the other side of the trays  10 . In that case, the two spacers and the single wall could be integrally molded as a single piece. 
         [0023]      FIG. 2  is a bottom perspective view of the trays  10  and spacers  42  of  FIG. 1 .  FIG. 3  is a front view of the trays  10  and spacers  42  of  FIG. 1 . 
         [0024]      FIG. 4  is an outer perspective view of one of the spacers  42 . The spacer  42  includes guide feet  50  and a center projection  52  identical or at least compatible with the guide feet  50  and center projection  22  of the tray  10  of  FIG. 1 . The stacking feet  50  each include a downward projection  58  at an outer edge thereof. A rail  62  extends the length of the upper edge of the spacer  42 . The rail  62  is aligned just inward of the downward projections  58  of the feet  50 . 
         [0025]      FIG. 5  is an inner perspective view of the spacer  42 . The spacer  42  may also include low stacking recesses  54  and high stacking recesses  56  for providing multiple stacking height capability with the trays  10 , but alternatively a single height could be provided. 
         [0026]    Flanges  64  may project inward from each end of the spacer  42  for stability. 
         [0027]    Referring again to  FIG. 1 , it should be understood that several more spacers and trays  10  would be stacked thereon to create a set of shelving. In this manner, goods can be shipped to a store in the trays  10 . Several such stacks of trays  10  and spacers  42  could be loaded onto a pallet and shipped to a store. At the store, customers could view and select goods from the shelves (the trays  10 ) on the pallet. When empty, the spacers  42  can be placed in the trays  10  and the trays  10  can be cross-stacked with one another to minimize volume in returning the empty trays  10  for reuse to the warehouse. 
         [0028]      FIG. 6-9  illustrate a shelving system  110  according to a second embodiment. Referring to  FIGS. 6 and 7 , a pallet  80  includes an upper deck  82  and a plurality of feet or columns  84  supporting the upper deck  82  above the floor. Several shelving units (one shown) each including a platform  112 , elongated supports  118  and bin  120 , can be stacked on the pallet deck  82 . For example, each shelving unit can occupy one quarter of the pallet deck  82 . 
         [0029]    The platform  112  may be secured to the deck  82  by connectors extending through the platform  112  and into the deck  82  (such as screws  117  through holes in the base  116  of the platform  112  screwed into the deck  82  of the pallet  80 , as shown in  FIGS. 8 and 9 ). The platform  112  includes a raised perimeter  114  having apertures  115  formed at each corner. A base surface  116  ( FIG. 8 ) is defined within the perimeter  114  of the platform  112 . A plurality of elongated supports  118 , in this example cylindrical tubes  118 , are inserted into the apertures  115  in the corners of the perimeter  114 . 
         [0030]    The tubes  118  support a bin  120 . The bin  120  includes a base  121  and side walls  122  extending up from side edges of the base  121 . In this embodiment, the side walls  122  extend upward from adjacent side edges of the base, but alternatively could be from opposed side edges of the base  121 , or from three edges of the base  121 . Collars  123  project outward proximate upper edges of the side walls  122  and receive the tubes  118 , which extend through the collars  123  at some distance above the bin  120 . Side flanges  125  may project inward from the side walls  122  partially across the front opening to the bin  120 . The bin  120  may include short front wall  124 , leaving large openings at the front of the bin  120  for product accessibility. 
         [0031]    As shown in  FIGS. 8 and 9 , a bracket  130  having apertures  132  can be placed on the bin  120  for additional support of the tubes  118 . Referring to  FIG. 10 , additional bins  120  can be stacked on top of the bin  120  by extending the tubes  118  through the collars  123 . The bracket  130  prevents the upper bin  120  from sliding down into a nesting position with the lower bin  120 . Several layers of such bins  120  create a set of shelves in each quadrant of the pallet deck  82 . 
         [0032]    With such arrangement, goods can be loaded into the bins  120  on the pallet  80  and shipped to a store. The pallet  80  and bins  120  can be placed on the store floor where customers can remove products from the bins through the front opening (at each corner). When empty, the shelving can be disassembled and the empty bins  120  can be nested within one another, i.e., with the base  121  of each bin  120  received between the side walls  122  of the bin  120  below. The tubes  118  are also disassembled to occupy less volume. The disassembled shelving can then be returned to the warehouse or distribution facility for reassembly and reuse. Everything in this embodiment can be formed of plastic, including the pallet  80  (which is known), the platform  112 , the bin  120  and the tubes  118  (extruded). 
         [0033]    A shelving system  210  according to a third embodiment is shown in  FIGS. 11-14 . The shelving system  210  includes four quarter-pallet shelving units  212 , each having perpendicular vertical walls  214  extending outward from a center. The walls  214  are secured to a base of each shelving unit  212 . The shelving unites  212  are secured to the deck  82  of a pallet  80 , dividing the pallet deck  82  into four (not-necessarily equal) areas. Partial shelves  218  connect adjacent surfaces of adjacent walls  214  and provide support surfaces. An elongated support, such as a post or pole  220 , extends upward from the corner of the base  222 . The pole  220  includes a plurality of vertically spaced support surfaces  224 . The pole  220  may be retractable (e.g., telescoping) or may be formed in connectable sections. Trays, such as plastic tray  10 A (or tray  10  of  FIG. 1 ), can be stacked on the shelves  218  and supported by the support surfaces  224  on the pole  220  to form a temporary shelving unit. Upper portions  230  of the wall  214  can carry ads or information about the products in the trays  10 A. As shown in  FIG. 13 , projections downward from the base  222  can be received in the feet openings in the deck  82  of the nestable pallet  80  for increased stability. 
         [0034]    Again, goods can be shipped to a store in the trays  10 A on the pallet  80 . At the store, customers can remove goods from the trays  10 A for purchase. When empty, the trays  10 A can be stacked and the walls  214  can be folded together and laid flat. The poles  220  can be removed. The disassembled shelving unit can be shipped back to the warehouse or distribution facility for reuse. 
         [0035]    In accordance with the provisions of the patent statutes and jurisprudence, exemplary configurations described above are considered to represent a preferred embodiment of the invention. However, it should be noted that the invention can be practiced otherwise than as specifically illustrated and described without departing from its spirit or scope.