Shelf assembly system

• US 5,881,653 A
• Filed: 06/05/1997
• Issued: 03/16/1999
• Est. Priority Date: 06/05/1997
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Cabrio Design, LLC
• Original Assignee: Joel W. Pfister
• Inventors: Pfister, Joel W.
• Primary Examiner(s): Cuomo, Peter M.
• Assistant Examiner(s): TRAN, HANH VAN
• Application Number:
  US08/869,566
• Time in Patent Office: 649 Days
• Field of Search: 108/91, 108/106, 108/192, 108/193, 108/147.13, 211/187, 211/188, 211/126.2, 211/133.1, 403/371, 403/369, 403/368, 403/367
• US Class Current: 108/147.13
• CPC Class Codes: A47B 2230/15 Joining of sectional members by means of inner tensioning rods
• CPC Class Codes: A47B 87/0223 Shelves stackable by means of poles or tubular members as distance-holders therebetween

Abstract

Shelf assembly system for the rapid assembly of planar shelf boards having opposing interchangeable connector assemblies located at the ends of a leg where each connector assembly frictionally engages a bore in a planar shelf board. The interchangeable connector assemblies include tapered and split male and female connectors which mutually engage and compress inwardly toward each other and outwardly against the planar shelf board bore to secure the leg to each planar shelf board.

Claims

1. A leg assembly for a shelf assembly system, comprising:

a. an elongated leg of right circular cylindrical shape and having upper and lower ends;

b. a tubular male member having a smooth inner right circular cylindrical surface of a diameter substantially equal to the diameter of said leg and a smooth outer conical surface, thereby resulting in said tubular male member having a wall of a thickness which is greater at one end than at the other end, said tubular male member further having an inwardly directed annular lip at the end thereof of lesser wall thickness and a slit through said wall extending along its entire length including through said inwardly directed annular lip;

c. a tubular female member having a smooth inner conical surface and a smooth outer right circular cylindrical surface, thereby resulting in said tubular female member having a wall of a thickness which is greater at one end than at the other end, said tubular female member further having an outwardly directed annular lip at the end thereof of lesser wall thickness and a slit through said wall extending along its entire length including through said outwardly directed annular lip; and

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d. said tubular male member being sized to fit within said tubular female member with said smooth conical outer wall of said tubular male member mating with said smooth conical inner wall of said tubular female member.

2. The leg assembly for a shelf assembly system as defined in claim 1, wherein said elongated leg is made of anodized aluminum.

3. The leg assembly for a shelf assembly system as defined in claim 1, wherein said elongated leg is solid in cross section.

4. The leg assembly for a shelf assembly system as defined in claim 1, wherein said elongated leg is tubular.

5. The leg assembly for a shelf assembly system as defined in claim 4, and further including a cap for closing said upper end of said elongated tubular leg.

6. The leg assembly for a shelf assembly system as defined in claim 4, and further including a right circular cylindrical tubular insert for insertion into said lower end of said elongated tubular leg to receive a shaft of a glide or caster, said tubular insert having an outer end with an outwardly directed annular flange.

7. The leg assembly for a shelf assembly system as defined in claim 6, and further including a glide, said glide having a shaft for insertion into said tubular insert, a flange on said shaft for abutment against said outwardly directed annular flange of said tubular insert, and a low friction plastic member carried by said flange on said shaft.

8. The leg assembly for a shelf assembly system as defined in claim 6, and further including a caster, said caster having a shaft for insertion into said tubular insert, and a wheel attached to said shaft.

9. The leg assembly for a shelf assembly system as defined in claim 4, and further including a double male connector for insertion into said upper end of said elongated tubular leg for connecting another elongated tubular leg to the first-mentioned elongated tubular leg, said double male connector being of right circular cylindrical shape and having an outwardly extending peripheral flange at substantially the mid-section thereof which divides said double male connector into an upper cylindrical portion and a lower cylindrical portion.

10. The leg assembly for a shelf assembly system as defined in claim 9, wherein said peripheral flange of said double male connector has upper and lower surfaces, said lower surface including an annular recess.

11. The leg assembly for a shelf assembly system as defined in claim 4, and further including a stabilizer rod assembly for placement within said elongated tubular leg, said stabilizer rod assembly comprising an externally threaded rod having an upper end and a lower end, a tubular insert composed of two identical mating halves each consisting of an internally threaded semicylindrical stem having an outwardly extending semicircular flange at one end thereof and an internal cavity at the other end thereof, a nut for threading onto said lower end of said externally threaded rod, a cap having a central recess at the bottom of which is a central opening for receiving said upper end of said externally threaded rod, and an internally threaded cap nut for threading onto said upper end of said externally threaded rod, said cap nut being dimensioned to fit within said central recess of said cap.

12. A shelf assembly system, comprising:

a. a plurality of planar shelf boards including a lower shelf board and one or more upper shelf boards;

b. a plurality of right circular cylindrical holes extending through each planar shelf board for receipt of like leg assemblies to join the plurality of planar shelf boards together in stacked relationship;

c. a plurality of like leg assemblies joining said plurality of planar shelf boards together;

d. each leg assembly comprising;

(1) an elongated leg of right circular cylindrical shape and having upper and lower ends;

(2) a first tubular male member having a smooth inner right circular cylindrical surface of a diameter slightly larger than the diameter of said leg and a smooth outer conical surface, thereby resulting in said first tubular male member having a wall with a thickness which is greater at one end than at the other end, said first tubular male member further having an inwardly directed annular lip at the end thereof of lesser wall thickness and a slit through said wall extending along the entire length of said wall including through said inwardly directed annular lip;

(3) a first tubular female member having a smooth inner conical surface and a smooth outer right circular cylindrical surface of a diameter slightly less than the diameter of a said hole in a said planar shelf board, thereby resulting in said first tubular female member having a wall with a thickness which is greater at one end than at the other end, said first tubular female member further having an outwardly directed annular lip at the end thereof of lesser wall thickness and a slit through said wall extending along the entire length of said wall including through said outwardly directed annular lip;

(4) said first tubular male member being sized to fit within said first tubular female member with said smooth conical outer wall of said first tubular male member mating with said smooth conical inner wall of said first tubular female member;

(5) a second tubular male member identical to said first tubular male member;

(6) a second tubular female member identical to said first tubular female member;

(7) said second tubular male member being sized to fit within said second tubular female member with said smooth conical outer wall of said second tubular male member mating with said smooth conical inner wall of said second tubular female member;

e. individual first female tubular members of said plurality of leg assemblies being positioned within respective said holes in said lower planar shelf board with said outwardly extending annular lips in engagement with the upper surface of said lower planar shelf board;

f. individual second female tubular members of said plurality of leg assemblies being positioned within respective said holes in an upper planar shelf board with said outwardly extending annular lips in engagement with the undersurface of such upper planar shelf board;

g. individual elongated legs of said plurality of leg assemblies each having a said first tubular male member disposed over and about its lower end and a said second tubular male member disposed over and about its upper end with the inwardly extending annular lips of said first and second tubular male members in engagement with the end surfaces of the respective elongated legs; and

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h. each said first and second tubular male member smooth conical outer surface being wedged into engagement with a respective said first and second tubular female member smooth conical inner surface, thereby creating a stable shelf assembly system with said lower and upper planar shelf boards joined in stacked relationship.

13. A shelf assembly system comprising:

a. a lower shelf board and an upper shelf board;

b. each shelf board having a plurality of right circular cylindrical leg receiving holes extending through the thickness thereof;

c. each said hole being lined with a tubular female member having a cylindrical outer surface matching the cylindrical shape of the hole and having a conical inner surface;

d. a plurality of elongated legs corresponding in number to the number of leg receiving holes in an individual shelf board, each elongated leg having an upper end and a lower end;

e. individual tubular male members received over said upper and lower ends of each elongated leg, each tubular male member having a cylindrical inner surface and a conical outer surface; and

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f. each tubular male member at the upper end of each elongated leg being wedged into a respective tubular female member in said upper shelf board, and each tubular male member at the lower end of each elongated leg being wedged into a respective tubular female member in said lower shelf board.

14. The shelf assembly system as defined in claim 13, wherein both said lower shelf board and said upper shelf board are planar and of substantially rectangular shape, and wherein said plurality of leg receiving holes in each shelf board are four in number and are positioned at each of the four corners thereof inwardly of the perimeter thereof.

15. The shelf assembly system as defined in claim 13, wherein each of said elongated legs is tubular and of right circular cylindrical shape.

16. The shelf assembly system as defined in claim 13, wherein each said tubular female member lining the holes in said upper shelf board has an outwardly directed lip abutting the undersurface of said upper shelf board, and wherein each said tubular female member lining the holes in said lower shelf board has an outwardly directed lip abutting the top surface of said lower shelf board.

17. The shelf assembly system as defined in claim 13, wherein each said tubular male member received over said upper and lower ends of each elongated leg has an inwardly directed lip bearing against the associated end of each elongated leg.

18. The shelf assembly system as defined in claim 13, wherein each said tubular female member and each said tubular male member has a slit extending through the wall thereof along its entire length.