Technical field The present invention relates to a mounting device for mounting a supporting element at any height on an upright provided with openings, which mounting device is constructed with at least one hook-shaped device intended to be inserted and fixed in an opening in the upright.

Background art Uprights which have a front surface that is provided with openings are used in many connections such as framework uprights for mounting, for example, shelves, with self-supporting brackets being mounted directly into the openings in the uprights.

In such connections there is also a need to be able to mount other supporting elements on the uprights. One example is in shops and the like, where there is a requirement to mount projecting arms, for example to carry various advertisements in the form of banners on uprights provided with openings, which uprights are also used to carry shelves.

There are also similar needs in other connections, where, for example, walls or boards with mounting openings are used.

EP 0908125 A1 describes a device for fixing a supporting element to, for example, an upright provided with openings. The device comprises for this purpose a plurality of interacting components, which can be moved relative to each other by means of a threaded connection in order to secure a supporting arm to, for example, an upright.

As a result of the relatively large number of components in the known device, this is relatively expensive to manufacture and install.

DE 2159001 describes a simpler type of fitting for mounting in openings in, for example, uprights. The fitting comprises hooks pointing upward, which can be pivoted into an opening in an upright and retain the fitting, so that this forms a wedge-shaped channel on the front of the upright. If this channel were to be used to receive a wedge-shaped shank of a supporting element, there would, depending upon the shape and dimensions of the shank and the opening, be a danger that the fitting could be pivoted out again and released from the upright.

Object of the invention An object of the present invention is to achieve a mounting device of the general kind that is described in DE 2159001 and which is very simple and cheap to manufacture and also simple to use, while at the same time it provides a secure fixing of a supporting element to an upright provided with openings, independent of the shapes and dimensions of the supporting element and the openings.

According to the invention, this is achieved by means of a mounting device that forms a mounting channel for receiving and fixing a shank of a supporting element and that can be hooked fast into an opening in an upright in such a way that it cannot be released as a result of a force exerted by the said shank.

To achieve a secure fixing of a supporting element to an upright, an efficient fixing wedge effect between the mounting device and the supporting element can thus be used.

A mounting device of the type described in the first paragraph is thus constructed according to the invention with such a shape that, after mounting in an opening in the upright, it forms a through channel which is located on the front of the upright and runs essentially vertically, with one of the channel walls being formed by the front surface of the upright. The special characteristic of the mounting device is thus that the said hook-shaped device points downward, so that the mounting device can be hooked fast over a lower edge of the respective opening in the upright.

A mounting device of this type can be manufactured very simply and makes possible a secure mounting of a supporting element by means of a mounting shank that can be inserted in the said channel. It is preferable for the distance between the front surface of the upright and the opposite wall of the channel to be greater at the upper opening of the channel than at the lower opening, to create a wedge-shaped channel. This can, for example, receive a part of a supporting element intended to be mounted in the channel, which part is wedge-shaped in a corresponding way.

This design means that a mounting shank on the supporting element can be inserted down into the channel and pressed fast between the front surface of the upright and the opposite wall of the channel by means of the wedge effect.

Further characteristics of a mounting device according to the invention and of a supporting element for mounting by means of such a mounting device are described in the following patent claims. The invention will be described in greater detail below with reference to the embodiment shown solely as an example in the attached drawings.

Brief description of the figures Figure 1 shows a flat plate blank for a mounting device according to the invention.

Figures 2,3 and 4 show a mounting device produced by bending the blank in Figure 1, viewed in perspective, from above and from the side respectively.

Figures 5 and 6 show a supporting element according to the invention viewed from the side and viewed in perspective respectively, which supporting element is intended to be mounted in a mounting device according to Figure 2.

Figures 7, 8 and 9 show different stages during the mounting of a mounting device and associated supporting element according to the invention.

Figure 10 is a cross section through an upright on which a mounting device and a supporting element according to the invention are mounted.

Detailed description of the preferred embodiment Figure 1 shows a flat plate blank 1 with an essentially T-shape. Two projections obtained by pressing out are designated 2. The blank is intended to be bent along the broken lines 3.

By bending the blank along the lines 3, a mounting device 10 is obtained according to Figures 2-4. This consists of two opposite side walls 4 and a front wall 5 connecting these together, which between them form an essentially U-shaped channel. The rear parts of the side walls 4 form two essentially parallel hook elements 6. The projections 2 are located on the opposing inner surfaces of the hook elements.

As a result of the central part of the blank 1 being narrower at the bottom than at the top, see Figure 1, the channel formed between the side walls 4 will be somewhat wedge-shaped, as can be seen in Figure 4.

Figures 5 and 6 show an example of a supporting element 11 intended to be mounted, for example, on an upright by means of a mounting device according to Figures 2-4. The supporting element shown has a bracket-like shape with two shanks 7, 8. The shank 7 is intended to support the required element, for example a tubular supporting arm for supporting an advertisement which is threaded onto the shank 7. The shank 7 can, however, be designed for other purposes and, for example, used as a supporting bracket.

The second shank 8 is intended to be mounted in the mounting device 10 according to Figures 2-4, by being inserted down into the channel formed between the side walls 4 of the mounting device. The mounting shank 8 has therefore suitably a shape corresponding to the wedge shape of the channel. The projection 9 is intended to prevent the shank 8 being able to be drawn up out of the channel after it has been mounted in the channel.

Figures 7-9 show how a mounting device 10 according to the invention is used for fixing a supporting element 11 to an upright 13 provided with openings 12. The upright 13 can be of the type that, for example, is used as uprights for shelves in, for example, shops and warehouses. Before mounting a supporting element 11 on an upright 13, the mounting shank 8 of the supporting element is first inserted into the U-shaped channel of the mounting device 10, see Figure 7. The projections 2 prevent the supporting element being unintentionally separated from the mounting device thereafter. The mounting device 10 is then inserted with its hook element 6 into an opening 12 in the upright 13, see Figure 8. The supporting element 11 is thereafter pressed downward, as illustrated in Figure 9, until its mounting shank 8 is wedged fast in the wedge-shaped channel that is formed on the front of the upright 1 and delimited by the front surface 14 of the upright and the side walls 4 and front wall 5 of the mounting device 10.

Figure 10 shows more clearly how the wedge-shaped mounting shank 8 of the supporting element 11 is wedged fast against the front surface 14 of the upright 13 as a result of the wedge-shaped channel in the mounting device 10 becoming narrower toward the bottom. The supporting element is thus fixed very securely relative to the upright 13 and can thereafter be used to support a required element.

The supporting element 11 can, however, be released simply when so required, for example to mount it in another opening in the upright 13, by exerting an upward-directed force on the lower projection 9.

The invention has been described above in connection with the embodiment that is shown in the drawings solely as an example. This can, however, be varied in several respects within the framework of the following patent claims. Thus, for example, the shape of the parts of both the mounting device and the supporting element can be changed while retaining the wedge effect between the supporting element, mounting device and upright that is used for fixing the supporting element. The mounting device can, of course, be used for mounting in other objects provided with openings than tubular uprights, for example boards provided with holes. In addition to one common opening intended to receive both hook elements of a mounting device, two separate openings can also be used. The hook elements can also be bent, so that they are located closer to each other. If required, the lower projection on the mounting shank can then be omitted to make it easier to insert the shank into the mounting device.

In addition to the supporting element and the mounting channel in the mounting device having rectangular cross sections, other cross-sectional shapes can be used.

The mounting device can also be used for mounting supporting elements that are not conical. Nor does the channel in the mounting device need to be conical, particularly if the supporting element has a conical fixing part. In addition to being constructed of steel plate, the supporting element can be constructed of a suitable plastic material and can be manufactured in the required shape or bent from a flat blank.