DESCRIPTION

The present invention refers to a high load capacity, modular shelving structure. As is known, there are numerous types of shelving made up of shelves and legs for supporting the latter available on the market today.

In some types, the shelving is made of plastic, while in others the shelving is made of metal.

In the case of plastic shelving, if the shelves are subjected to an excessive load, they undergo deformation, which, if high deflection values are reached, brings about an inclination of the axis of the seats for housing the legs, which, as they bend, lead to the collapsing of the entire shelving structure.

As a result, numerous stiffening ribs are provided on the underside of the shelves and the ribs are also made of plastic and are suitable for increasing the load capacity of the shelves.

However, as is to be expected, the increase in the number of ribs, like the increase in the thicknesses thereof and/or of the shelves, leads to a resulting increase in the use of plastic and therefore to an increase in weight, which results in higher production and transportation costs, in addition to possibly making assembly less manageable for the user.

Metal inserts have been used to resolve the above-mentioned problem and to increase the load capacity of the plastic shelves. They are inserted during the shelf production process and thus remain solidly incoiporated in the plastic in a virtually permanent manner. However, although it solves the problem of increasing the load capacity of the plastic shelves, this solution leads to another problem concerning waste disposal and recycling.

In fact, as mentioned above, the metal inserts that are inserted during the shelf production process remain solidly incorporated in the plastic and therefore disposal and recycling of the plastic and metal separately is no longer possible.

Therefore, the task of the present invention is to eliminate the drawbacks of the prior art mentioned above.

Within the scope of this task, an aim of the invention is to realize a modular shelving structure that makes it possible to increase the load capacity of the shelves made of plastic.

A further aim of the present invention is to realize a high load capacity modular shelving structure that is easy to assemble and disassemble, and that enables practical disposal and recycling of the various components at the end of the product's life cycle.

The task, as well as these and other aims, according to the present invention, are achieved by realizing a high load capacity modular shelving structure comprising a set of shelves made of a plastic material, each shelf comprising a supporting surface, seats for engaging respective supporting legs, and a plurality of stiffening ribs on the underside of the supporting surface, characterized in that each shelf comprises, on the underside of the supporting surface, at least one beam extending longitudinally in a manner suitable for realizing at least two lateral cavities, there also being provided means for stiffening said at least one beam removably associated therewith by means of a rotational movement, and snap-fitting means for retaining said stiffening means on at least one side of said beam.

Other characteristics of the present invention are also defined in the claims herein below.

The stiffening means is preferably made of metal .

Advantageously, the invention combines the typical advantages of plastic shelving, including easy assembly and user safety, with the advantages of metal shelving, including high load capacity and limited packaging dimensions.

Further characteristics and advantages will become more evident from the detailed description of the reinforced plastic shelf for shelving according to the invention, which is illustrated by way of approximate example in the attached figures, of which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view, from below, of the shelf without stiffening means. Figures 2, 3 and 4 are perspective views, from below, of the shelf appearing in Figure 1 , showing the sequence for insertion of the stiffening means.

Figure 5 is a perspective view, from below, of the shelf of Figure 1 , prior to insertion of the supplementary locking element.

Figures 6 and 7 are perspective views of the shelf of Figure 1 , from below and seen in cross-section, respectively, with the supplementary locking element in the insertion stage.

Figure 8 is a side elevation view of the shelf of Figure 1 , seen in cross-section. Figure 9 is a side elevation view of the shelf of Figure 1 , seen in another cross- section. Figure 10 is an enlargement of a detail from Figure 9.

Figures 11a, l ib and 1 1c are perspective views of the metal sections for stiffening the shelf.

With reference to the figures cited, the high load capacity modular shelving structure comprises a set of shelves 1 made of a plastic material and having a supporting surface 5, seats 2 for engaging respective supporting legs, and a plurality of stiffening ribs 4 on the underside of the supporting surface 5.

The shelf 1 has one or more beams 8 under the supporting surface 5, particularly two beams 8 that extend longitudinally and realize two lateral cavities 9.

Advantageously, metal stiffening means 10 is removably associated with each beam 8 by means of a rotational movement.

Snap-fitting means 12 for retaining the stiffening means 10 are also advantageously provided on at least one side of the beam 8.

The two beams 8 are T-shaped and delimit a central cavity 16 comprised between the two lateral cavities 9.

One inner side 18 of each beam 8 faces the central cavity 16 and the metal section 13 is associable with the inner side 18.

The inner side of each beam 8 defines a main surface 21 and a secondary surface 23 perpendicular to the main surface 21.

The stiffening means 10 comprises a section 13 preferably made of metal. The number of metal sections that can be associated with the beam 8 varies according to the shelving unit.

The metal section 13 has a "C" shape and is therefore realized in such a manner as to comprise a main surface 14 suitable for engaging with the main surface 21 of the inner side of the beam 8 and two secondary surfaces 15 that are perpendicular to the main surface 14 and suitable for engaging with the snap-fitting means 12 present on the secondary surface 23 of the inner side of the beam 8 and on the inner side 32 of the supporting surface 5.

The metal section 13 is preferably formed from shaped sheet metal.

Advantageously, the components of the disassembled shelving can be housed in the cavities created by the beams 8, thus making it possible to reduce the packaging dimensions and simplify the logistics of warehousing and transportation.

Given the particular structure of the shelving, the stiffening of the shelving during assembly can be realized in a simple manner.

Specifically, during the assembly process, the user positions the metal section 13 at the inner side 18 of each beam 8.

More specifically, the user first positions one of the two secondaiy surfaces 15 of the metal section 13 against the portion of the inner side 32 of the supporting surface 5 comprised between the beam 8 and the snap-fitting means 12.

By rotating the metal section 13 about an axis of rotation parallel to the longitudinal axis of the metal section 13, the main surface 14 of the section 13 comes to rest against the main surface 21 of the inner side 18 of the beam 8 and the other secondaiy surface 15 of the section 13 comes to rest against the secondary surface 23 of the beam 8 until it engages with the snap-fitting mean 12.

In further detail, the snap-fitting means 12 comprise one or more first ridges 33 and one or more second ridges 34 of a length shorter than the length of the beams 8.

The first ridges 33 and the second ridges 34 extend parallel to each inner side 18 of the beams 8.

In particular, the first ridges 33 and the second ridges 34 are spaced away from the inner side 18 of the beam 8 by a distance substantially equal to the width of the secondary surfaces 15 of the metal section 13.

The first ridges 33 are supported along the free longitudinal edge of the secondary surface 23 of the inner side 18 of the beam 8.

The second ridges 34 are supported by the inner side 32 of the supporting surface 5.

Advantageously, the supporting surface 5, the ribs, the beams 8 and the snap- fitting means 12 are realized as a single piece.

The shelving structure advantageously further comprises a supplementary locking element 24 for the metal section 13.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention illustrated in Figures 5, 6 and 7, the supplementary locking element 24 is transversely and interlockingly associated with the beams 8.

In particular, the locking element 24 has a longitudinal body 25, the underside of which has a longitudinal protrusion 26 that is shorter in length.

The longitudinal body has bent ends 27 on the side where the protrusion 26 is present.

The locking element 24 has seats 30 for connecting with the beams 8 and the seats are delimited between corresponding ends 27, 28 of the longitudinal body 25 and of the protrusion 26 on the underside.

The distance between the coiTesponding ends of the longitudinal body 25 and of the protrusion 26 on the underside is substantially equal to the width of the beams 8 so as to make the connection by means of interlocking shapes.

Owing to this particular structure, the locking element 24 stably keeps the metal sections 13 inserted in each beam 8 in the correct position.

Lastly, the shelf has openings 35 serving for moulding the ridges 33, 34, and weight-relief holes 36.

The shelving structure in accordance with the present invention ultimately makes it possible to construct high load capacity shelving that combines the advantages of a product made entirely of plastic, including easy assembly and user safety, with the advantages of a product made entirely of metal, including high load capacity and limited dimensions of the packaged components.

In practice, the dimensions can vary in any manner, according to needs and the state of the art.