Patent ID: 8511488

Claim:
A shelving system and accompanying protective covering system comprising: a wire rack comprising at least two adjacent, parallel, spaced-apart support rods and a plurality of parallel, spaced-apart, support wires fastened at right angles to said support rods; an upper surface protective covering system comprising: a substantially rigid base positioned above the wire rack and having an upper surface and a lower surface, the lower surface abutting the wire rack, the substantially rigid base having at least two apertures extending completely through the substantially rigid base from the upper surface to the lower surface, each of the at least two apertures receiving a fastening member, each one of the fastening members positioned between the upper surface of the substantially rigid base and only one of the plurality of support wires of the wire rack, each one of the fastening members attaching directly to only one of the plurality of support wires, the fastening members securing the substantially rigid base to the wire rack, the fastening members comprising: an upper head member and a lower member, the upper head member comprising an upper portion and a lower portion, wherein the lower portion directly contacts the upper surface of the substantially rigid base and does not contact the support wires, the upper head member being formed as a circular disc, having a diameter greater than a width of the lower member, the diameter of the upper head member being greater than a diameter of each of the at least two apertures, the lower member comprising: an upper section and a diamond-shaped lower section, the lower member sized to fit through one of the at least two apertures, the upper section having a length equal to or greater than a thickness of the substantially rigid base, the diamond-shaped lower section having a first prong and a second prong, the first prong and the second prong defining a hollow diamond-shaped aperture therebetween, the hollow diamond-shaped aperture accessible by only one of the plurality of support wires through a v-shaped opening and sized to removably and lockingly completely surround only one of the plurality of support wires, the v-shaped opening being formed when the first prong and the second prong are in contact when at rest, the v-shaped opening configured to receive and snap over only one of the plurality of support wires when the first prong and the second prong are urged apart.