Shelving unit with capacity increasing shelving

Abstract

A shelving unit includes a plurality of posts, a plurality of shelf-supporting beams attached to the plurality of posts to form a shelf support frame, and a shelf. The shelf has a plurality of sides seated on the shelf support frame. The plurality of the sides of the shelf includes a depending flange. At least one of the depending flanges extends downwardly along a respective shelf-supporting beam between about 30% and about 100% of the height of the shelf-supporting beam. Another shelf unit is further disclosed where the shelves include a color that corresponds to a color-coded system for organizing the storage of items on the shelving unit. A method of organizing a shelving unit utilizing the color-coded shelf system is also disclosed.

Claims

1. A shelving unit, comprising: a plurality of posts, wherein each post is adapted to be supported at a bottom end thereof by an underlying surface; a plurality of shelf-supporting beams attached to the plurality of posts to form a shelf support frame; and a single monolithic shelf having a plurality of sides seated on the shelf support frame, wherein each of the sides of the shelf includes a depending flange, wherein each of the depending flanges extends downwardly along a respective shelf-supporting beam between 30% and 100% of a height of the shelf-supporting beam.

2. The shelving unit of claim 1, wherein the plurality of shelf-supporting beams further comprises: a front shelf-supporting beam; a rear shelf-supporting beam; and a pair of side shelf-supporting beams.

3. The shelving unit of claim 1, wherein the shelf includes a wire rack.

4. The shelving unit of claim 1, wherein the shelf includes a generally planar portion, and wherein the depending flanges extend from the generally planar portion at an angle between 75 degrees to 90 degrees.

5. The shelving unit of claim 1, wherein the shelving unit includes a plurality of shelf support frames and a plurality of shelves engaged with a respective shelf support frame.

6. The shelving unit of claim 1, wherein the at least one of the depending flanges extends downwardly along a respective shelf-supporting beam between 50% and 100% of the height of the shelf-supporting beam.

7. The shelving unit of claim 6, wherein the at least one of the depending flanges extends downwardly along a respective shelf-supporting beam 50% of the height of the shelf-supporting beam.

8. The shelving unit of claim 1, wherein the plurality of self-supporting beams are attached to the plurality of posts by means of releasable fastening means.

9. The shelving unit of claim 8, wherein the releasable fastening means comprises: a plurality of locking pins; and a plurality of corresponding keyholes, wherein the locking pins are configured to be inserted into and received by the corresponding keyholes in order to lock the shelf-supporting beams in place.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) Various additional features and advantages of the invention will become more apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art upon review of the following detailed description of one or more illustrative embodiments taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate one or more embodiments of the invention and, together with the general description given above and the detailed description given below, serve to explain the one or more embodiments of the invention.

(2) FIG. 1 is an isometric view of an exemplary shelving unit in accordance with an embodiment of the invention;

(3) FIG. 2 is a perspective view of an individual shelf of the shelving unit of FIG. 1;

(4) FIG. 3 is an exploded view of the shelf of FIG. 2; and

(5) FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of a corner portion of the shelf of FIG. 2.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

(6) As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a shelving unit 10 includes four corner posts 12 arranged in a generally rectangular configuration. A front pair of corner posts 12 cooperate to carry a front horizontal shelf-supporting beam 14, a rear pair of corner posts 12 cooperate to carry a rear horizontal shelf-supporting beam 16, and corresponding pairs of front and rear corner posts 12 cooperate to carry side horizontal shelf-supporting beams 18, 20. The horizontal shelf-supporting beams 14, 16, 18, 20 are configured to support a shelf 22. In an exemplary embodiment, the horizontal shelf-supporting beams 14, 16, 18, 20 are configured to be selectively coupled to the posts 12 via releasable fastening means. By way of example and without limitation, each of the horizontal shelf-supporting beams 14, 16, 18, 20 may include one or more locking pins 24 that are configured to be received within corresponding keyholes 26 that are distributed along the length of the corner posts 12. The coupling of the horizontal shelf-supporting beams 14, 16, 18, 20 to the corner posts 12 may be adjustable such that the number of horizontal shelf-supporting beams 14, 16, 18, 20 and their respective heights along the posts 12 may be varied as desired. The illustrated shelving unit 10 in includes five horizontal shelves 22, such that a total of five sets of front, rear, and side horizontal shelf-supporting beams 14, 16, 18, 20 are used. However, it will be appreciated that any number of shelves 22 and corresponding horizontal shelf-supporting beams 14, 16, 18, 20 may be used, as may be desired.

(7) As shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, each horizontal shelf-supporting beam 14, 16, 18, 20 has two locking pins 24 located at each of the terminal ends of the shelf-supporting beams 14, 16, 18, 20 that corresponds to keyholes 26 on the corner posts 12 for a coupling therebetween. The locking pins 24 of the shelf-supporting beams 14, 16, 18, 20 have radially enlarged head portions sized to sufficiently facilitate coupling of the shelf-supporting beams 14, 16, 18, 20 to the posts 12 via the keyholes 26. However, it will be understood that other suitable configurations of the locking pins 24 and keyholes 26 could also be used without departing from the scope of the invention. For achieving the coupling, each locking pin 24 is inserted into and received by a corresponding keyhole 26 of the respective front and rear sets of corner posts 12. As shown in the exemplary embodiment, the radially enlarged portion of the locking pin 24 may then be moved to a lower position along a narrowed portion of the respective keyhole 26 in order to lock the shelf-supporting beams 14, 16, 18, 20 in place. Each of the terminal ends of the shelf-supporting beams are coupled to a corner post 12 to create a level, horizontal structure, for supporting a shelf 22.

(8) In an exemplary embodiment, one or more of the shelves 22 of the shelving unit 10, and preferably each of the shelves 22 of the shelving unit 10, may be configured as a wire rack, including a plurality of elongate members 28, 30 extending in generally orthogonal directions to form a grid configuration 32 having generally rectangular or square voids. The shelf 22 includes a generally planar portion 34 and depending tabs or flanges 36 formed by the elongate members 28, 30 but extending downwardly from the planar portion 34. In one embodiment, the depending flanges 36 may extend downwardly from the planar portion 34 at an angle of about 90 degrees. In an alternative embodiment, the depending flanges 36 may form an acute angle relative to the planar portion (e.g., so that the depending flanges 36 are directed inwardly toward the center of the shelf 22) between, for example and without limitation, 75 degrees and 90 degrees. Other acute angles may also be possible, however. As explained in more detail below, the depending flanges 36 are configured to interact with the shelf-supporting beams 14, 16, 18, 20 in such a way as to increase the load-carrying capacity of the shelf 22 and the shelving unit 10.

(9) To this end and in one aspect of the present invention, the flanges 36 may depend from each of the sides of the shelf 22 (e.g., from each of the four sides of the rectangular shelf 22). Thus, not only do the front and rear sides of the shelf 22 include a depending flange 36, but the lateral sides of the shelf 22 also include depending flanges 36. As illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 4, the shelves 22 are configured to engage with the shelf-supporting beams 14, 16, 18, 20 so that the flanges 36 are disposed outboard of the shelf-supporting beams 14, 16, 18, 20. The flanges 36 seat the shelves 22 on the shelf-supporting beams 14, 16, 18, 20 so that lateral movements of the shelves 22 relative to the shelf-supporting beams 14, 16, 18, 20 are generally restricted. Upward vertical movement of the shelves 22 relative to the shelf-supporting beams 14, 16, 18, 20 is generally not prohibited, however. Instead, the load carried by the shelves 22 generally presses the shelves 22 to the tops of the shelf-supporting beams 14, 16, 18, 20 (e.g., typically no external fastener). The shelves 22 include a gap or cutout 38 to provide for the corner posts 12.

(10) In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, a relationship may exist between the length of the flanges 36 of the shelf 22 and the height of the shelf-supporting beams 14, 16, 18, 20 that support the shelf 22. By way of example and without limitation, in one embodiment, the flanges 36 extend downwardly along the outer wall 40 of the shelf-supporting beams 14, 16, 18, 20 between about 30% to about 100% of the height of the shelf-supporting beams 14, 16, 18, 20. In a preferred embodiment, the flanges 36 extend downwardly along the outer wall 40 of the shelf-supporting beams 14, 16, 18, 20 between about 50% to about 100% of the height of the shelf-supporting beams 14, 16, 18, 20. In another preferred embodiment, flanges 36 extend downwardly along the outer wall 40 of the shelf-supporting beams 14, 16, 18, 20 for about 50% of the height of the shelf-supporting beams 14, 16, 18, 20. In this embodiment, for example and without limitation, the flanges 36 extend to about the midpoint of the shelf-supporting beams 14, 16, 18, 20.

(11) Applicant believes that such embodiments, wherein the flanges extend downwardly along the shelf-supporting beams 14, 16, 18, 20 for about 50% or more of the height of the shelf-supporting beams 14, 16, 18, 20, provide certain benefits that increase the load-bearing capacity of the shelves 22. In this regard, as loads are applied to the shelf 22, such as by loading heavy items onto the shelf 22, an initial amount of deformation causes the flanges 36 to more deeply engage or grip to the shelf-supporting beams 14, 16, 18, 20 thereby preventing further undesirable movement of the shelf 22 downwardly within the frame formed by the shelf-supporting beams 14, 16, 18, 20 (e.g., prevent shelf fall through). Moreover, it is believed that the extended length of the flanges 36 along the shelf-supporting beams 14, 16, 18, 20 more uniformly distributes the forces acting on the shelf-supporting beams 14, 16, 18, 20, thereby limiting the amount of twist or other movement of the support beams 14, 16, 18, 20 away from their original positions. These aspects, alone or in combination with each other, provide for an increase in the loads carried by the shelves 22.

(12) As discussed above, shelving units, such as shelving unit 10, are used to store a wide variety of items in a space-efficient manner. However, such storage can quickly become disorganized, making the location of a desired item frustrating and time consuming. In another aspect of the present invention, such shortcomings may be addressed through the use of a color-coded system that enhances the organization of the various items on the shelving unit. By way of example and without limitation, in an embodiment shelving unit 10 includes five shelves 22. In an embodiment, the wire deck that forms the shelves 22 may be color coded. For example and without limitation, the lower most shelf 22 may be red, the next shelf 22 up may be yellow, followed by shelves 22 being green, blue, and orange. Of course, any array of colors may be used on the shelves so long as the various shelves 22 may be easily visually differentiated from each other. Additionally or alternatively, items may be stored in bins or totes on the shelves 22 that have the color-code associated therewith. For example and without limitation, the lids of the bins may be colored to match the colored shelf.

(13) With the shelves 22 of the shelving unit 10 (e.g., and/or the bins stored thereon) being colored, a user may assign certain categories of items to certain colors and then store corresponding items on the shelf having that certain color. By way of example and without limitation, a user may assign sporting equipment to the color red, and then store sporting equipment on the shelf 22 having a red color. A user may likewise assign automotive items, holiday decorations, tools, etc. a certain color and store those items on a correspondingly colored shelf. In this way, when a user wants a certain item, they only need to know the color assigned to that item and to locate the shelf having that color. Such a color-coded system improves the organization of items to be stored and allows a user to locate a desired item more quickly and without the frustration accompanied by scouring a disorganized shelving unit.

(14) While the present invention has been illustrated by the description of various embodiments thereof, and while the embodiments have been described in considerable detail, it is not intended to restrict or in any way limit the scope of the appended claims to such detail. Thus, the various features discussed herein may be used alone or in any combination. Additional advantages and modifications will readily appear to those skilled in the art. The invention in its broader aspects is therefore not limited to the specific details and illustrative examples shown and described. Accordingly, departures may be made from such details without departing from the scope of the general inventive concept.