US3410231A - Closet shelf assembly - Google Patents

Description

Nov. 12 1968 w. N. FLETCHER CLOSET SHELF ASSEMBLY Filed May 12, 1966 United States Patent 3,410,231 CLOSET SHELF ASSEMBLY William N. Fletcher, Lathrup Village, Micl1., assignor to Ternes Steel Company, Roseville, Mich, a corporation of Michigan Filed May 12, 1966, Ser. No. 549,602 8 Claims. (Cl. 108-30) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A shelf construction comprises a telescopic support bar affixed to the front edge of a shelf board and secured by sharp cleats formed on wall brackets to horizontal shelves formed on such brackets, the brackets having sharp cleats to penetrate the walls and hold the assembly in place.

It is the object of this invention to provide a shelf assembly that is simple in construction, adapted for compact shipment as a kit, easy to install, adjustable to various width closets, strong enough to provide a great resistance to sagging of the shelf, positively braced against pull-out from the wall, and preferably includes a flange for supporting coat hangers as an added feature of the structure. The invention accomplishes this by means of a telescopic support bar afiixable to the front of the shelf board and adapted to hold end brackets in place on opposite walls, the brackets having means for attachment to the board and walls.

The invention as illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is a front elevational view of a preferred form of shelf assembly according to this invention.

FIGURE 2 is a side elevation taken from the right of FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 3 is an enlarged partial section along the line 3-3 of FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 4 is a section along the line 44 of FIGURE 3 and in addition showing the shelf assembly secured to a wall of a closet.

The shelf assembly construction 1 comprises a flat rectangular shelf board 3 which has a vertical front edge 5 to which is attached an adjustable hanger and support bracket assembly 7. The board 3 has vertical side edges 9 and 11 to which are attached shelf support brackets 13 and 15 which, in turn, are attached to the walls 17 of the closet and provide the means for supporting the entire assembly 1.

The shelf board 3 is preferably a particle board that is dunensionally stable and which doesnt warp, crack, splint, or have knots, such material being fabricated and available on the open market, the material Novoply sold by United States Plywood Corporation being suitable. The shelf assembly 1 may be shipped as a standard size kit and the board 3 can then be readily cut to the desired length, depending on closet width, at the site of installation.

The hanger support bracket 7 comprises two sections 7a and 7b which telescope together making the bracket 7, as a whole, adjustable in length to suit the width of the closet. Prior to shipment the section 7a is preferably secured to the board 3 while the section 7b is shipped assembled but not fastened for attachment at the site of installation. The sections 7a and 7b are rolled from thin sheet steel into the shape best seen in FIGURE 3 and their combined length is sufficient to span closets of widely varying widths up to the length of shelf 3 that may be adequately supported without sagging. The sections overlap at 19 to a greater or lesser degree depending upon the closet width when their shelf engaging sections 21 are se- Patented Nov. 12, 1968 cured to the front face 5 of the shelf 3 by means of screws 23 that extend through suitable holes in the sections 21. The top edges of each bracket section 7a and 7b has a right angle flange 25 which fits on the top surface 27 of the shelf and helps to square up the assembly of shelf and bracket. Extending away from the bracket section 23 at an angle is a section 29 and it is reversely bent at 31 into a section 33 that terminates in another reversely bent curved section 35. As seen in FIGURE 2 the section 35 serves as a bar for the hooks of coat hangers 37. The shape of the hanger bar 7 and its attachment to the shelf 3 is such as to provide a relatively large moment of inertia to increase the rigidity of the shelf assembly and prevent it from sagging.

The end support brackets 13 and 15 are stamped from a flat piece of steel so that each has an upper flat vertical face at 39 and a bottom flat vertical face at 41, which form a flange or flat section that fits flush against the vertical surface of the wall 17. Between the upper and lower faces 39 and 41 the metal is rolled into a shelf support section which includes the horizontal portion 45 which extends at a right angle from the upper face 39 and the inclined section 47 which extends at an angle to the lower face 41. As can be seen in FIGURE 4 the ends of the shelf 3 rest upon and are supported by the bracket section 45. Shifting of the board along the surface 45 is prevented by spurs or tangs 49 which are sheared out of the face 39 to project at an angle to it, being in the form of a triangle so that they will slice into the ends of the board 3 when it is pressed down on the shelf 45.

In addition to screws 51 which extend through holes in lower section 41, the brackets 13 and 15 are secured to the wall surface by triangularly shaped cleats or tangs 53 and 55 that are sheared out of the vertical face 39 of each bracket to extend in the same plane as the horizontal shelf section 45. The cleats 53 at opposite ends of the brackets are slightly longer than the intermediate cleats 55 and the points thereof will engage the face of wall 17 first, after which horizontal pressure on the bracket will force the cleats 53 and then the cleats 55 into the wall to furnish support for the bracket, as seen in FIGURE 4.

The ends of the section 39 of the brackets 13 and 15 are pointed as seen at 5'7 and project a slight distance beyond the front edge of the shelf board 3 to provide shoulders for abutment with the outer ends of the hanger bracket sections 7a and 7b. When the hanger support bar section 7b is adjusted to closet width and then screwed to the shelf board 3, it along with section 7a and the board 3 act as a solid strut between the two wall brackets 13 and 15 to positively prevent either of them from pulling out of the walls 17.

In use, the various parts are shipped as a kit with the bar section 7a attached to the shelf board 3. When it is desired to install the shelf the wall brackets 13 and 15 are secured to the walls 17 and the distance between them measured. The board 3 is cut to this length and pressed down on tangs 49 to seat on surfaces 45. Then the bar section 7b is telescoped over section 7a until it engages end 57 and screwed to the front face 5 of the shelf 3. The shelf assembly is then firmly anchored in place on the walls 17 and ready for use.

Modifications may be made in the structure shown without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

I claim:

1. A shelf support bracket for attachment to a vertical Wall comprising a one piece sheet metal member having a vertical flange section to fit against a wall, said member being deformed to provide a channel section of triangular cross section intermediate the top and bottom of the flange section, said channel section having a top surface that extends at a right angle to said flange section and forms a shelf supporting surface, said flange section having at least one spur sheared out of it and extending at an angle to it for embedding in the end of a board sup ported on the shelf, said flange section having at least a pair of sharp cleats sheared out of it and extending at a right angle to it and in a direction opposite to that of said shelf surface and adapted to penetrate a wall and attach the bracket thereto.

2. In a shelf construction for extension between and attachment to spaced vertical walls including an elongated shelf board adapted to extend between said walls and be supported in a horizontal position, a board supporting bracket for supporting each end of the board and for attachment to a Wall, and a board support bar affixed to the front of the board and having a fixed length and having its opposite ends in juxtaposition respectively with said brackets when said brackets are attached to said walls and serving by abutment with said brackets to prevent them from disconnection with said walls, each said bracket comprising a member having a flat section to fit flush against a wall and a horizontal shelf section integral with but extending at a right angle to said flat section, each said bracket member having at least one vertical section integral with and extending at an angle to said flat section and located above said horizontal shelf section and embedded in the end of the board when the board rests on said shelf section.

3. The invention as set forth in claim 2 wherein said vertical section is tapered in width with the widest portion at the bottom thereof to facilitate penetration of the end of the board by the vertical section.

4. In a shelf construction for extension between and attachment to spaced vertical walls including an elongated shelf board adapted to extend between said walls and be supported in a horizontal position, a board supporting bracket for supporting each end of the board and for attachment to a wall, and a board support bar affixed to the front of the board and having a fixed length and having its opposite ends in juxtaposition respectively with said brackets when said brackets are attached to said walls and serving by abutment with said brackets to prevent them from disconnection with said walls, each said bracket comprising a member having a flat section to fit flush against a wall and a horizontal shelf section integral with but extending at a right angle to said flat section, each said bracket member having a pointed horizontal wall penetrating section integral with and extending at a right angle to said flat section and in a direction opposite to that of the shelf section, each said bracket member having a first pair of equal length pointed wall penetrating sections adjacent each end of the bracket and a second pair of shorter pointed wall penetrating sections intermediate said first pair.

5. In a shelf construction for extension between and attachment to spaced vertical walls including an elongated shelf board adapted to extend between said walls and be supported in a horizontal position, a board supporting bracket for supporting each end of the board and for attachment to a wall, and a board support bar aflixed to the front of the board and having a fixed length and having its opposite ends in juxtaposition respectively with said brackets when said brackets are attached to said walls and serving by abutment with said brackets to prevent them from disconnection with said walls, said board support bar comprising two overlapping sections adjustable in overall length, each said bracket having a member with a flat section to fit flush against a wall and a horizontal shelf section extending at a right angle to said flat section, said bracket having at least one vertical section extending at an angle to said flat section and embedded in the end of the board when the board rests on the shelf section, said bracket having a pair of pointed horizontal wall penetrating sections extending at a right angle to said flat section and in a direction opposite to that of the shelf section.

6. In a shelf construction for extension between and attachment to spaced vertical walls including an elongated shelf board adapted to extend between said walls and be supported in a horizontal position, a board supporting bracket for supporting each end of the board and for attachment to a wall, and a board support bar atfixed to the front of the board and having a fixed length and having its opposite ends in juxtaposition respectively with said brackets when said brackets are attached to said Walls and serving by abutment with said brackets to prevent them from disconnection with said walls, each said bracket comprising a one-piece sheet metal member having a vertical flange section to fit against a wall, said member being deformed to provide a channel section of triangular cross section intermediate the top and bottom of the flange section, said channel section having a top surface that extends at a right angle to said flange section and forming a shelf supporting surface.

7. The invention as set forth in claim 6 wherein said support bar comprises two overlapping sections adjustable in overall length.

8. The invention as set forth in claim 1 wherein said flange section includes at least one additional sheared-out sharp cleat extending parallel to said pair of cleats and shorter in length, the cleats in said pair being of equal length.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,793,036 2/ 1931 Whitney 21 1- 123 2,870,916 1/ 1959 La Bonia 108-30 3,120,309 2/ 1964 Goettl 211-123 3,207,100 9/ 1965 Peacock 248248 X 2,720,316 10/1955 Glascott 211-123 X FOREIGN PATENTS 2,398 Great Britain.

CHANCELLOR E. HARRIS, Primary Examiner.

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