Wire Shelving Assembly With Hooked Nesting Side Supports
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing shelving systems are difficult to assemble due to the complexity of associating shelves with side supporting members and are bulky when disassembled, making transportation and storage inefficient.
Innovation Solution
A shelving system featuring metallic wire shelves with hooking and counter means that allow for easy, stable connection to supporting members, where the shelves can be disassembled to fit within each other, reducing bulkiness by designing the supporting members to fit inside the shelves, and using angled connections to facilitate smooth assembly and disassembly.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If traditional connecting mechanisms are used to associate shelves with supporting members, then the connection is stable, but the assembly procedure becomes complicated and requires high manual ability
Solution Approach 1:
The connecting mechanism is divided into two separate components: hooking means (U-shaped) attached to the supporting member, and counter hooking means (with filiform member) attached to the shelf. This segmentation allows each component to be simple in design while achieving stable connection when assembled together, eliminating the need for complex single-piece connecting mechanisms.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of using complex locking mechanisms that require precise sequencing, the patent inverts the approach by using simple hooking elements that engage through a straightforward insertion motion. The filiform member of the counter hooking means simply passes through the U-shaped hooking means, reversing the traditional approach of requiring complex assembly sequences.
2Stability of the object's composition
If shelves are designed with rigid supporting structures, then the shelves are stable during use, but the disassembled system becomes bulky affecting transportation and storage
Solution Approach 1:
The supporting members are designed to be inserted within the shelves when disassembled, creating a nested configuration. This nesting principle reduces the overall volume of the disassembled system by 20%, allowing stable supporting members to be compactly stored within the shelf structure itself during transportation and storage.
3Reliability
If multiple connecting points are provided on each supporting member, then the shelf connection is more stable, but the assembly procedure becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
Each supporting member has multiple U-shaped hooking means positioned at different heights, but each individual hooking means is a simple U-shaped component. The counter hooking means on the shelf similarly has multiple simple filiform members. This segmentation maintains connection stability through multiple points while keeping each individual connecting element simple and the assembly procedure straightforward.
Data Source
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AI summary
Shelving system of the kind comprising: - a first and a second side supporting member (1, 2) for a plurality of shelves (3), - said shelves being implemented with metallic wires constrained therebetween so as to form a net-like structure and comprising a bottom wall (3C) and at least two side walls (3D) parallel therebetween and substantially perpendicular to said bottom wall (3C), - said supporting members (1, 2) and shelves (3) comprising, respectively, means (4) and counter means (5) for connecting removably said shelves (3) to said supporting members (1, 2); characterized in that: - the connecting means (4) provides: at least a hooking member (5) shaped so as to limit a seat (9) having in section a substantially U shape wherein the connecting counter means (5) provided in each shelf can be inserted, - said counter means comprising at the angles of each shelf at least a first substantially filiform and vertical member (10A), - said seat (9) of the hooking members (1, 2) is sized so as to allow inserting with friction said first filiform member (10 A) and so that a tract of said first member remains in contact with the inner surface of said seat when the shelf is connected to the supporting members, - and said counter means (5) providing at said angled portion (10 A) a second portion (15 A) apt to abut against an inner face of the supporting members (1, 2) when the shelves are associated to said members.