Shelving Units And Accessories

Abstract

Shelving units and accessories are disclosed that provide a secure storage of articles. One accessory is a wall having a panel and a bracket. The panel has horizontal rods and the bracket has a first and second aperture. The first and second apertures are sized and dimensioned to receive at least one horizontal rod. The bracket further includes a rivet for mounting the wall onto a storage unit. Another accessory is a container having a bracket with a hooked end portion. The hooked end portion is sized and dimensioned to receive a cross beam of the storage unit.

Description

[0001]This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 61 / 928,490, filed Jan. 17, 2014, the entire content of which is incorporated herein by reference. All extrinsic materials identified herein are incorporated by reference in their entirety.FIELD OF THE INVENTION[0002]The field of the invention is shelving units with accessories that are repositionable and removable from the storage unit.BACKGROUND[0003]The background description includes information that may be useful in understanding the present invention. It is not an admission that any of the information provided herein is prior art or relevant to the presently claimed invention, or that any publication specifically or implicitly referenced is prior art.[0004]All publications identified herein are incorporated by reference to the same extent as if each individual publication or patent application were specifically and individually indicated to be incorporated by reference. Where a definition or use of ...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0010]The inventive subject matter provides apparatus, systems and methods in which storage capacities can be increased to accommodate a plurality of articles in a safe and secure manner. One manner of improving storage units is by providing a wall to reduce the risk of articles falling from the storage unit. By reducing the chances that articles will fall from the storage unit, users can place more items within the storage unit comfortably since they are secured by the wall.

[0016]Similarly, while a single panel is discussed above, it is contemplated that more panels can be included. For example, a second panel having a second plurality of horizontal rods can be used. The bracket is sized and dimensioned to simultaneously hold the first and second panel by receiving at least one of the plurality of horizontal rods of the first panel using the first aperture while also receiving at least one of the second plurality of horizontal rods of the second panel using the second aperture. Thus, the first and second panels can be attached via a bracket to create a longer wall.

[0018]Viewed from another perspective, the hooked end defines a gap that is larger than the thickness of a portion (e.g., a lip, a flange, etc.) of the cross beam it receives. In some preferred embodiments, the gap is no more than 50%, more preferably no more than 25% and even more preferably no more than 15% larger than the thickness of the lip or flange such that undesired movement of the container relative to the storage rack is prevented.

[0019]Additionally or alternatively, other stabilizing means can be provided. For example, the storage rack could comprise a shelf that is placed relative to the lip or flange of the cross beam such that the shelf prevents a rotation of the bracket and container relative to the cross beam.

Problems solved by technology

The storage capacity of conventional storage racks is limited by the number of shelves, the height, width and length of the storage rack, and other factors.

However, adding additional full length shelves may not accommodate taller articles stored on the shelves (i.e., taller articles may not permit additional full length shelves to be installed between two existing adjacent shelves), and storage racks having larger dimensions may not be idea where there is a space limitation.

Unfortunately, an increased storage capacity of one shelf requires a decreased storage capacity of at least one other shelf.

Unfortunately, this typically requires an increase of the height along the entire length of the storage rack, or an increase of the length along the entire height of the storage rack.

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