Composite organizer shelf

• US 4,997,094 A
• Filed: 08/09/1989
• Issued: 03/05/1991
• Est. Priority Date: 08/09/1989
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Display Industries LLC
• Original Assignee: MEAD Corporation (Meadwestvaco Corporation)
• Inventors: Parham, Dennis E., Spamer, William S.
• Primary Examiner(s): Gibson, Jr., Robert W.
• Application Number:
  US07/391,424
• Time in Patent Office: 573 Days
• Field of Search: 211/59.2, 211/184, 211/133, 211/175, 211/189, 211/153, 248/220.3
• US Class Current: 211/153
• CPC Class Codes: A47F 1/12 dispensing from the side of an approximately horizontal stack A47F1/087 takes precedence

Abstract

A composite organizer shelf for supporting and displaying articles includes main and auxiliary support units each of which includes a rectangular panel element having front, rear and opposed side edges, at least one edge of the main support unit being of a complementary configuration to one edge of the auxiliary support unit, and disjointable coupling means for securing the one edge of each of the rectangular planar elements together so as to increase the effective area of the composite shelf. Since disjointable coupling means is used, the auxiliary rectangular planar element may be removed if need be so as to restore the shelf to the size of the main rectangular planar element.

Claims

1. A composite shelf for supporting and displaying articles and comprising a main support unit including a main rectangular planar element having front, rear and opposed side edges, an auxiliary support unit including an auxiliary rectangular planar element having front, rear and opposed side edges one of which is of a configuration which is complementary to one edge of said main rectangular planar element, disjointable coupling means for securing said one edge of said main rectangular planar element to said one edge of said auxiliary rectangular planar element in response to relative movement of said main and said auxiliary planar elements in a direction substantially perpendicular to the planes thereof, and secondary securing means for releasably opposing uncoupling relative movement of said main and of said auxiliary planar elements.

2. A composite shelf according to claim 1 wherein the front edge of said auxiliary rectangular planar element is disjointably coupled with the rear edge of said main rectangular planar element.

3. A composite shelf according to claim 1 wherein a side edge of said auxiliary rectangular planar element is disjointably coupled with a side edge of said main rectangular planar element.

4. A composite shelf according to claim 1 wherein said secondary securing means includes a latch element yieldably mounted on one of said support units and arranged for latching engagement and disengagement with a part of the other of said support units.

5. A composite shelf according to claim 4 wherein said latch element is mounted on said auxiliary support unit and arranged to cooperate with a part of said main support unit.

6. A composite shelf according to claim 1 wherein said disjointable coupling means comprises a socket formed in one of said rectangular planar elements near said one edge thereof, and a passageway between said socket and said one edge, a post, and means connecting said post to said one edge of the other of said rectangular planar elements, said connecting means being of smaller transverse dimension than the transverse dimension of said post, said post being disposed in said socket when said support units are coupled together.

7. A composite shelf according to claim 1 wherein said disjointable coupling means comprises a socket formed in one of said rectangular planar elements near said one edge thereof and a channel of smaller transverse dimension than the transverse dimension of said socket and forming a passageway between said socket and said one edge, a standoff stud projecting from said one edge of the other of said rectangular planar elements, and a post secured to said standoff stud, said standoff stud being of smaller transverse dimension than the transverse dimension of said post and said standoff stud being disposed in said channel and said post being disposed in said socket when said support units are coupled together.

8. A composite shelf according to claim 7 wherein said socket and said channel are formed in said main rectangular planar element and said stud and said post project from said auxiliary rectangular planar element.

9. A composite shelf according to claim 8 wherein said socket and said channel project downwardly from the top surface of said main rectangular planar element.

10. A composite shelf according to claim 8 wherein the upper surfaces of said stud and of said post are flush with the upper surface of said auxiliary rectangular planar element.

11. A composite shelf according to claim 6 wherein said socket and said post are of circular cross section.

12. A composite shelf according to claim 6 wherein said socket and said post are of cylindrical configuration.

13. A composite shelf according to claim 12 wherein the axes of said socket and of said post are normal to said main and said auxiliary rectangular planar elements respectively.

14. A composite shelf according to claim 1 wherein a second edge of said auxiliary rectangular planar element is of a complementary configuration to an edge of a second rectangular planar element.

15. A composite shelf according to claim 14 wherein said second edge of said auxiliary rectangular planar element is the rear edge of said auxiliary rectangular planar element.

16. A composite shelf for supporting and displaying articles and comprising a main support unit including a main rectangular planar element having front, rear and opposed side edges, an auxiliary support unit including an auxiliary rectangular planar element having front, rear and opposed side edges one of which is of a configuration which is complementary to one edge of said main rectangular planar element, disjointable coupling means for securing said one edge of said main rectangular planar element to said one edge of said auxiliary rectangular planar element, and secondary securing means supplementing the coupling of said main and auxiliary planar elements and including a latch element mounted on one of said support units and arranged for latching engagement with a part of the other of said support units.