Object of invention and brief description of the invention It is an object of the invention to make possible a component system of this kind by which one can build various types of fittings and furniture for shops and public areas as well as for homes. This is provided for by a system that comprises sheet elements of grate sheet metal with two parallel edges folded at right angle so that the edges have at least one row of holes to permit for the sheets to be screwed together in pairs with the folded edges overlapping to form a beam-like element, the sheet elements being available in various lengths. It is advantageous that the system also comprises distance elements that fit between the ends of two sheets put together. The distance elements have transverse holes that permit for the sheets to be screwed together and they have also holes for screwing one end of the two sheets to one side of two other sheets screwed together in the same way.

The invention is defined by the claims.

Brief description of the drawings The invention will be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, which show examples of components that may be part of a component system in accordance with the invention.

Figure 1 shows, in a perspective view, a metal sheet with folded edges.

Figure 2 shows an end block intended to be used together with metal sheets according to figure 1.

Figure 3 shows, in a perspective view and with some part removed, a unit consisting of two sheets in accordance with figure 1 and an end block in accordance with figure 2.

'Figure 4 shows two units in accordance with figure 3 coupled together.

Figure 5 shows a part of a unit in accordance with figure 3 and a screw and a distance sleeve.

Figure 6 shows another example of two units in accordance with figure 3 coupled together.

'Figure 7 shows a desk in a front view.

'Figure 8 shows the desk of figure 7 in a top view.

'Figure 9 shows a set of shelves in a front view.

'Figure 10 shows a set of shelves similar to the one in figure 9 while being mounted.

Figure 11 shows, in an end view, two sheets according to figure 1 screwed together.

Description of preferred embodiments of the invention Figure 1 shows a metal sheet 11 that is perforated over its entire surface with rectangular, square; holes so that it has the form of a grate. This grate sheet 11 has two parallel edges 13,14 folded at right angles so that they have a row of holes as shown or more than one row; one row is preferred.

Figure 3 shows two identical sheets of figure 1 put together with their edges overlapping. They are fixed to each other by non-illustrated screws and nuts through holes in a parallelepipedic end block 16 that has its length adapted to fill the entire space between the overlapping folded edges of the two sheets 11. The end block 16 is shown separately in figure 2. It has two through bores 17,18 between its thin long sides and two through bores 21,22 between its wide long sides. The distance between the bores 17 and 18 as well as between the bores 21 and 22 are multiples of the pitch between the holes in the sheets so that the bores of the end block will always be adjacent holes in the sheets. The distance from one short side to the hole 17 is the same as the distance from the other short side to the hole 22, and the distances from the short sides to the holes 21,22 are also equal. The end block can be sawed from a wood fibre board, but it can also be of other material.

Figure 4 shows a connection at right angle between two units 26,28 of the kind shown in figure 3. The vertical unit 26 has an end block 27 and the horizontal unit 28 has an end block 29. The positions of the holes in the end blocks as described make it possible to position the units 26,28 so that their ends meet as shown. One of the units 26,28 can alternatively be displaced sideways relative to the other unit. In both cases, the holes in the blocks will be coaxial so that the units can be screwed together as indicated. The screws are screwed into sleeve-like nuts positioned in adjacent holes in the other block in a conventional way.

Figure 4 can for example show the upper corner of a set of book shelves or any other set of shelves or display stand. The intermediate shelves can be fixed without the side units having blocks adjacent the shelves. Instead, there can be distance sleeves around the screws as shown in figure 5. The figure shows a part of the vertical unit 26 in figure 4 and a screw 35 is shown, which is screwed into the end block of a horizontal shelf that is to be fixed to the vertical unit 26. There is a square distance sleeve 36 that can be moved through the square hole 37 in the outer sheet 38 of the unit 26. When this distance sleeve 36 is between the two sheets of the unit 26, it will fall down as shown in the figure and it will secure the distance between the two sheets of the unit 26.

Figure 6 shows an example of a vertical unit 40 with a rigid foot 41 that makes the unit stand by itself. Under the vertical unit 40, the foot has a block 42 identical with the end blocks 43,44,45. The blocks 40 and 44 are screwed together in the way described with reference to figure 4.

The desk shown in figures 7 and 8 has four legs 51,52,53,54, each consisting of four sheets of the kind shown in figure 1 screwed together to form a square. In this embodiment, the holes in the folded edges of the sheets are used when the sheets are screwed together. The legs have the advantage of being stable in all directions and the desk will therefore be very stable. Usually, three legs will be sufficient for a desk. Stable pedestal tables can also be made and stable stools can be made in the same way. Two end blocks of the kind shown in figure 2 can for example be used as a foot for the a leg if they are screwed to two of the sides of the leg. Square foots can also be used as shown in figure 7 and they can for example be made of wood. A pedestal 55 for a computer tower 56 and a pedestal of drawers are also shown in the figures. These two pedestals may have sides of single grate sheet or double grate sheet as shown in figure 3 and they may have backs of wood fibre board. Sliding lists for drawers and shelves can easily be mounted on the sheets. When the sides consist of single grate sheet, the folded edges of the sheets can be screwed with wood screw directly to the board at the back.

Figure 9 shows a set of shelves in a front view and screwed together as described.

By using sleeves 36 shown in figure 5, one can easily move the shelves and also mount them obliquely ; the later mounting may be desirably for example for display stands.

Figure 10 shows two parts 60,61 of a set of shelves of the kind shown in figure 9 before they are mounted. Their sides adjacent each other consist of a single sheets 62,63 of the kind shown in figure 1 and the shelves have end blocks of the same kind as the horizontal unit 28, the shelf 28, in figure 4. In this case, the end blocks, which correspond to the end block 29 in figure 4, are screwed to the single sheets 62,63 in the way shown in figure 11. In order for screwing the sheets 62,63 together in this way, one fixes nuts on the inner one of the two overlapping folded edges that are to be screwed together. The nuts can be special nuts that clamp in the holes, or alternatively, ordinary nuts can be cemented to the edge.

By screwing together the folded edges of two sheets put together in the way shown in figure 11, one will get a rigid unit that is stiff both against bending and torsion if the edges are screwed together at several points along their length. Such a unit can be used for example as a vertical display stand if its bottom end is fixed to a stable foot.

Although the number of components is low in the system according to the invention, the versatility of the system is high as can be understood from the illustrated examples. The grate sheets may for example be only in two widths and five lengths. It is also easy to cut a sheet that is too long since the cut can follow a row of holes.

The grate sheet is aesthetically appealing and it has all the holes that can ever be needed in order to permit full freedom to build for example fittings for shops and offices. No holes need to be drilled. The components can therefore be reused for completely different fittings, furniture or the like and you cannot see that they have been used once before.