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Patent Searching and Data


Title:
CABINET
Document Type and Number:
WIPO Patent Application WO/2005/064110
Kind Code:
A1
Abstract:
Disclosed is a cabinet which is compatible with modular shelving systems having uprights (30) with slots (31) nor­mally used to hold brackets which carry shelves. The cabinet has left and right side panels (10, 20) each with hooks (11) for engaging the slots (31) of the uprights (30). The side panels support top and bottom shelves (40, 50). Sliding front doors (60, 70) close a cabinet compartment formed between the side panels and top and bottom shelves. The shelves (40, 50) are of identical construction each having upwardly and down­wardly open grooves (43, 44, 53, 54) serving as guide rails for the sliding doors (60, 70).

Inventors:
BOHNACKER ULRICH (CH)
Application Number:
PCT/EP2003/014846
Publication Date:
July 14, 2005
Filing Date:
December 23, 2003
Export Citation:
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Assignee:
TEGOMETALL INT AG (CH)
BOHNACKER ULRICH (CH)
International Classes:
A47B95/00; A47F5/10; F16B12/50; E06B3/46; (IPC1-7): E06B3/46; A47B95/00
Foreign References:
US4733841A1988-03-29
US4826115A1989-05-02
EP0080669A21983-06-08
US3601462A1971-08-24
GB1281521A1972-07-12
EP0873703A21998-10-28
Attorney, Agent or Firm:
STREHL, SCHÜBEL-HOPF & PARTNER (München, DE)
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Claims:
Claims
1. A cabinet comprising : left and right side panels (10, 20) each with hooks (11) for engaging holes (31) of shelving uprights (30), top and bottom shelves (40,50) to be supported by the side panels, and a front door (60, 70) for closing a compartment formed between the side panels and top and bottom shelves.
2. A cabinet according to claim 1, wherein the front door is a sliding door (60, 70).
3. A cabinet according to claim 2, wherein said sliding door (60, 70) is supported and guided in an'upwardly open groove (53) in the bottom shelve (50) and is guided in a downwardly open groove (44) in the top shelf (40).
4. A cabinet according to any of claims 1 to 3, wherein the top and bottom shelves (40, 50) are identical.
5. A cabinet according to claim 4, wherein the top and bot tom shelves (40,50) have a Zshaped crosssection in a plane perpendicular to their front edges, to provide said upwardly open groove (43, 53) and said downwardly open groove (44, 54).
6. A cabinet according to any of claims 1 to 5, wherein the top and bottom shelves (40, 50) each have side flanges (41, 51) supported by said side panels (10,20).
7. A cabinet according to claim 6, wherein said side panels (10,20) each have a substantially horizontal slit (13) for engagement by the side flanges (51) of the bottom shelf (50), and an, upper edge (12) for supporting said side flanges (41) of said top shelf (40).
8. A cabinet according to any of claims 1 to 7, comprising a further shelf (80) supported by said side panels (10, 20) within said compartment.
9. A cabinet according to any of claims 1 to 8, comprising a retaining member (90) for locking the upper shelf (40) against it being lifted relative to the side panels (10,20) or uprights (30).
Description:
Cabinet The invention relates to. a cabinet suitable for use in modular shelving systems.

Shelving as used for the storage and display of goods in shops, warehouses, stores and stockrooms is often made from sheet metal in a modular system. It includes uprights with slots for engagement by hooks of brackets and back panels.

The brackets carry shelves. The uprights, back panels, brack-' ets and shelves are typically cut or punched out from sheet metal and then bent to the desired shape. This results in an economical but rugged shelving system of modular construc- tion. An example of a shelving system of this type is disclosed in EP-A-0 873 703.

The. compartments in the shelving described above are open for easy access by the customers or clerks in the shop or store. It is sometimes desirable, however, to shield goods from customers' views or to present the goods so that they can be viewed but not touched. Cupboards, showcases and cabi- nets (all generally called cabinets in the following) which have previously been used for that purpose do not integrate well with modular shelving systems as described above or are. relatively expansive.

It is therefore an object of the invention to provide a cabinet which is economical to manufacture, robust and can be easily integrated with modular shelving systems of the type described above.

This object is solved by a cabinet as set forth in claim 1. The subclaims'are directed to preferred embodiments of the invention.

The cabinet of claim 1 can be easily integrated into conventional shelving because the side panels have hooks for engaging holes or slots of shelving uprights. The left-side panel and the right side panel are preferably each made of a single workpiece, preferably a piece of sheet metal. Each provides a sidewall to the compartment and carries two shelves, one above the other, to form a compartment there- between. The compartment is closed, on the front of the cabi- net by a front door. The front door is preferably also punched or cut out from sheet metal but. may also be made of glass or resin, preferably a transparent resin such as acrylic resin. Also the shelves are preferably made from sheet metal to combine economic manufacture with high load' carrying capabilities.

The cabinet may or may not have a back panel to close the rear side of the compartment. For example, if the uprights are mounted to a wall, an additional back panel may be unnecessary. However, if the uprights are solely supported on base legs, a back panel may be useful'to prevent access to the compartment and to stabilise the uprights from swinging left and right.

The features of a sliding front door in accordance with claims 2 and 3 make for a compact design which is easy and economical to manufacture.

The features of claims 4 to 8 each contribute to an eco- nomical but robust construction of. the top and bottom shelves of'the cabinet. Preferably, these, shelves are identical to those conventionally used in modular shelving systems of the type described above (see EP-A-0 873 703). Such shelves have an upwardly open groove running along'their front edge. to provide some reinforcement. This groove is used as a rail to support and guide a sliding front door on the bottom shelve of a cabinet according to an embodiment of the invention.

Also, shelves of this type typically have a front flange inclined so as to face forwardly/upwardly for holding ticket strips, price tags or similar signs. The space between the front flange and the upwardly open groove forms a downwardly open groove which is used as a rail to guide the upper edge of the sliding front door by the top shelve of a cabinet according to an embodiment of the invention.

The cabinet may be designed for assembly without tools, its parts being held in place by frictional forces and forces of gravity alone. In certain uses, however, this can have the disadvantage that it is susceptible to being tampered with by 'a customer. In particular, if the top shelf of a cabinet is simply placed with its side flanges on the left and right side panels, it may be lifted off to gain access to the cabi- net compartment. Further, in an arrangement where a down- wardly open groove of the top shelf provides a rail for the slide door of the cabinet, lifting the top shelf may dis- engage the door from the groove and make the door come loose and fall off from the cabinet. To prevent this, the embodi- ment of claim 9 comprises a retaining member for locking the upper shelf against it being lifted relative to the side panels or'uprights. ; Preferred embodiments of the invention will now be explained in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein : Fig. 1 shows a perspective view of a cabinet in accordance with an embodiment of the invention, Fig. 2 shows a plan view of a side panel in a modifi- cation of the embodiment of Fig. 1, Fig. 3 is a schematic plan view of a cabinet includ- in'thé side panel of Fig. 3, Fig. 4'shows a retaining member for use to prevent the top shelf from being lifted off from the cabinet, and Fig. 5 shows the retaining member of Fig. 4 as assem- bled in a cabinet according to an embodiment of the inven- tion.

The cabinet shown in Fig. 1 comprises a left side panel 10 having a row of hooks 11 along its vertical rear edge for engaging holes or slots 31 of an upright 30. Likewise, the cabinet comprises a right side panel 20 with hooks (invisible in Figure 1) for engaging slots 31 of another upright 30. The side panels 10 and 20 are identical or at least mirror- symmetrical one to each other. The uprights 30 are of the type conventionally used to carry brackets for supporting shelves in a modular shelving system, the brackets having hooks for engaging the slots 31 of the uprights 30.

The cabinet further comprises an upper shelf 40 having side, flanges 41 along both its left and right side edges. The side flanges 41 rest on the horizontal upper edges of the side panels 10,20 for the side panels to support the top shelf 40. The top shelf 40 also has a forwardly/upwardly facing front flange 42 along its horizontal. front edge for carrying ticket strips, price tags or other signs (not shown).

The cabinet further comprises a lower shelf 50 identical with the upper shelf 40. The lower shelf 50 is supported by the side panels 10,20 in that its side flanges 51 are received within horizontal slits of the side panels 10,20 as will be explained in more detail below with reference to Figs. 2 and 3. The front flange of the bottom shelf 50 is designated by reference numeral 52.

. The top and bottom shelves 40,50 are each formed with an upwardly open groove 43,53 and a downwardly. open groove (invisible in Fig. 1) running parallel to their front edges behind the front flanges 42,52. The upwardly open groove 53 of the bottom shelf 50 and the downwardly open groove (hidden in Fig. 1 behind'the front flange 42) of the top shelf 40 form guide rails for sliding front doors 60, 70. Front door 60 has a handle 61 and front door 70 has a lock 71 for closing and locking the cabinet.

The rear side of the cabinet is closed by a back panel 100 having hooks (not shown) for engaging the slots 31 of the uprights 30 as is known in conventional shelving.

Fig. 2 shows a plan view of a modified embodiment of the left side panel 10 of Fig. 1. Like features in both Figures are designated by like reference numerals. The left side panel 10 of Fig. 2 resembles that of Fig. 1 in that it has a row of hooks 11 along its vertical rear edge. Just as the side panel 10 of Fig. 1, the one of Fig. 2 also has a hori- zontal upper edge 12 for supporting the top shelf 14 and a horizontal slit 13 close to its lower edge. The horizontal slit 13 is open towards the rear edge of the side panel 10 and extends nearly all the way through the same towards its front edge.

The side panel 10 of Fig. 2 differs from the side panel 10 of Fig. 1 in that it has a further horizontal slit 14 for carrying a further shelf 80 within the compartment of the cabinet as shown in Fig. 3.

Fig. 3 is a schematical plan view of the left side panel 10 as used in a cabinet including the top shelf 40, the bot- tom shelf 50, the sliding front doors 60,70 and the further shelf 80 which are all shown in cross-section in a, plane par- allel to the side panel 10, i. e. a plane perpendicular to the front edges of the shelves 40, 50, 80. The further shelf 80 is less deep than but otherwise has the same basic construc- tion as the top'and bottom shelves 40,50, and comprises a side flange 81, a front flange 82 and an upwardly open groove 83.

While the side flange 41 of the top shelf 40 rests on the upper edge 12 of the side panel 10, the side flanges 51, 81 of the bottom and further shelves 50, 80 are received within the slits 13, 14, to support the shelves 40, 50, 80.

The shelves 40 ; 50,80 are made of sheet metal with a zigzag or Z-shaped cross-section so as to form upwardly open grooves 43,53, 83 and downwardly open grooves 44,54, 84 just behind the front flanges 42,52, 82.'The grooves reinforce the shelves and serve as guide rails for the sliding front doors 60, 70 as follows: the upwardly open groove 53 of the bottom shelf 50 receives and supports the horizontal lower edges of the doors 60,70 while the downwardly open groove 44 of the top shelf 40 receives and guides the horizontal upper edges of the doors 60,70. The doors partly overlap but the grooves 53,44 are wide enough and the doors 60,70 are thin enough to allow easy sliding of the doors when opened or closed.

As also shown in Fig. 3, there are U-shaped reinforce- ment profiles 45, 85, 55 welded from below against. the lower surfaces of the shelves 40, 50, 80. The reinforcement pro- files 45,55, 85 and further grooves 46,56, 86 along the rear edges of the shelves 40, 50, 80 increase the load carry- ing capabilities.

Views of the right side panel 20 which correspond to Fig. 2 and 3 would be mirror-inverted but otherwise identical to Fig. 2 and 3 and. are thus omitted.

To prevent the top shelf. 40 from being lifted off from the upper edge 12 of the side panels 10,20, it is secured to each of the side panels 10,20 by a respective retaining mem- ber 90 as shown in Figs. 4 and 5. The retaining member 90 is L-shaped with first and second legs 91,92. The first leg 91 has a screw hole 93 corresponding to a screw hole 15 in each of the side panels 10, 20 close to a reinforcement profile 45 of the top shelf 40. The second leg 92 is integrally formed with a hook 94.

Fig. 5 is a perspective view from within the cabinet compartment showing how the retaining member 90 is used to lock the top shelf 40 to the right side panel 20. Another retaining member (not shown) is used to lock the top shelf 40 in the same way to the left side panel 10. The hook 94 engages a hole 47 provided in the bottom of the reinforcement profile 45 to connect the retaining member 90 to the top. shelf 40. On the other hand, the retaining member 90 is fixed to the side panel 20 by means of a screw and nut 95 in con- junction with the screw holes 93, 15. Except for fastening the screw and nut 95, assembly of the entire cabinet can be made without tools.

The side panels 10, 20, the shelves 40,50, 80, the front doors 60, 70 and the back panel 100 are each made by cutting or punching from sheet metal. The side and front flanges 41,51, 81, 42, 52, 82 and the grooves 43, 53, 83, 44, 54,84 of the shelves 40, 50, 80 are obtained by bending the sheet metal. As can best be seen from Fig. 2, the side panels 10,20 are each integrally manufactured from one piece of sheet metal. Further, the top and bottom shelves 40,50 are of identical construction. All this contributes to economical manufacturing of a robust cabinet.

Moreover, the shelves 40,50 and 80 are of the type which can be placed on conventional brackets which can be mounted in a conventional way to the uprights 30 by engage- ment of hooks of the brackets with the slots 31 of the uprights 30. This reduces the number of different'parts to be produced and allows for the uprights 30 to carry conventional brackets and shelves in addition to one or more cabinets. The cabinets of the embodiments are compatible with conventional shelving and can be mixed with conventional shelving parts to form a modular system.

If transparency is desired, the front doors 60 and/or 70 can also be made of glass or acrylic resin. Since glass or acrylic resin will usually be thicker than sheet metal, it would then be advisable to provide the upper and lower edges of such transparent doors with frame members having fins slim enough to be easily received by the grooves 44 and 53. Such frame members are unnecessary, however, if the top and bottom shelves 40,50 are modified so as to have grooves 44,53 wide enough to accommodate-door panels of acrylic resin or glass.

In another modification, the further slit 40 could be omitted and the further shelf 80 instead placed on horizontal ridges welded to the inner faces of the side panels 10 and 20. The further shelf 80 could also be replaced by one made of acrylic resin or glass.