Floating shelf bracket with welded rods
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Solution Overview
Problem
There is a trade-off between weight-supporting strength and visibility in wall-mounted shelf brackets, as conspicuous brackets are often bulkier and less visible, making it difficult to find solutions that offer both high weight-bearing capacity and low visibility for floating shelves.
Innovation Solution
A bracket design featuring a solid metal plate with elongate rods secured by circumferential welds, providing increased weight-bearing capacity while minimizing visibility, with apertures for fasteners to secure the bracket to the wall and a shelf that can hide the bracket from view.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If the bracket is designed to support higher weight, then the weight-bearing capacity is improved, but the bracket becomes bulkier and more visible
Solution Approach 1:
The bracket is divided into two separate components: a flat plate for mounting to the wall and elongate rods for supporting the shelf. This segmentation allows the load-bearing function to be concentrated in the rods while the plate remains flat and minimally visible against the wall surface.
Solution Approach 2:
The bracket transitions from a traditional two-dimensional flat bracket design to a three-dimensional structure using elongate rods that extend perpendicular from the wall. This dimensional change allows the support function to be achieved in space while maintaining a minimal visual profile when viewed from the front.
2Strength
If the bracket is made more visible, then the weight-bearing capacity is improved, but the aesthetic appearance deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
By separating the mounting function (flat plate) from the support function (elongate rods), the design achieves high strength through the rods while the flat plate remains minimally visible against the wall, thereby maintaining aesthetic appearance without compromising manufacturing strength.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The design achieves a high ratio of weight-supporting capacity to visibility, allowing for the installation of heavy shelves with minimal bracket visibility, addressing the challenge of finding brackets that balance strength and aesthetics.
Implementation Method 1
A bracket is provided for mounting a shelf to a flat vertical surface, such as a wall. The bracket can have a high ratio of weight-supporting capacity to visibility relative to some other wall-mountable shelf-supports.
Data Source
AI summary
A bracket for a floating shelf comprises a solid plate with a planar back side to abut to a wall. A plurality of circular apertures extends through the solid plate. A plurality of rods is secured to the solid plate and extend therefrom, with each rod having a proximal end received within a different one of the plurality of circular apertures. The proximal ends of the plurality of rods are flush with the planar back side of the solid plate and the wall. An array of counterbore slots or bores with enlarged openings extend through the solid plate and is arranged in series and extend laterally from one lateral side of the solid plate to an opposite lateral side of the solid plate.