Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
IMP~OVED BRACKET ARRANGEMENT
1BAC3~CnOUND QF_THE_INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates in eeneral to the field
of bracket arrangements used with slotted wall system3 and in
particular to the field of bracket arrangements which are
vertically oriented relative to a slotted wall system which
slots are arranged in a vertical direction, in a horizontal
direction, or any angled direction therebetween. '`
2. Description of the Prior Art
10A3 relate~ to the present invention, the prior art is
exe~plified in my United States Patent No. 4,065,088, entitled
"Upright and Bracket Arrangement" issued 3)eoember 27, 1977. In
this patent I pointed out that many of the prior art brackets ~-
and wall systems utilized uprights having vertically spaced
15 notche3 for engaeing the brackets. I further noted in the prior r
art that such brackets and upright support members had limited
capability for adjusting the incline or the angle of the bracket
for supporting an inclined shelf. Also, that the position of
the bracket along the upright support member was restric,ted by
20 the number of and the SpaQing between the notches and did not l~
lock securely to the upright ~upport members. In overcoming r-
those problems of the prior art, I disclosed new and unique
upright support members and braoket arrangements which utilizes
a cam connector in conjunotion with a pair of vertically spaced
; 25 rods connected to and oriented transYerse to the plane of the
bracket. One of the rods fit within a vertical T-~haped slot of
the upright support member whlle the other fits agalnst the
. outside surface of the upright 3upport member. The cam
connector is also positioned in a vertically spaced relationship
30 with the ,t~o rods and oriented in a similar transverse
direction. When the cam connector is rotated it results in the
outs$de rod fitting firmly against the outside surface of the
upright support member and the inside rod fitting firmly against Fr
the inside surface of the cutout slot of the upright support
35 member such that the bracket is securely connected to the
upright support member. By simply angling the back edge of the
bracket and the horizontal position of the rods, a bracket ''
arrangement was disclosed which provides for mounting a bracket
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1 to an uprieht support ~Dember at any angle desired relative to
the horizontal. By attachin~ ~helves to the angled bracket~, a
shelf arran~ement re~ult3 havlng shelves which are also angled
to the horizontal; or, the brackets themselves can be of the so- _
5 called "waterfall" type which do not use shelves but provide for
hooking attach~ent of a number of ite~s thereto in a downwardly
angled manner.
~lhile my aforesaid patent provi~ed a bracket
arrangement which provided a simple and seoure bracke~t that may
10 be posit~oned horizontally or in any downwardly slanted or
inclined position, suah bracket arrangement is eenerally limited
for use with vertical upright support members. Today's
decorators and interior designer3 are utilizing wall panels
whioh incorporate slots in place of upright support members for L
15 use wlth brackets such that the entire wall panel becomes a
shelving arrangement. Such wall systems provide a much cleaner L
and aesthetically pleasine look than a plurality of uprieht
channels or support members faAtened to a wall in a side-by-side
array. Furthermore, the present-day slotted wall systems are
20 not necessarily arranged in a strictly horizontal or strictly
vertical direction. The slots are also provided diagonally at
various an61es relative to the horizontal or vertioal. In some
cases the slots may even be angled along two or more different
diagonal angles. The use of my aforementioned innovative
25 bracket arrangement functions very well with either the vertical
or horizontal slots of the modern-day slotted ~all 3ystems but
not necessarily so with the diaeonally slotted arrangements. On
the other hand, the previous prior art brackets are
substantially in appropriate in many ways for use with the
30 modern-day wall 3ystems.
~ccordingly, it is a primary object of the present
invention of the present invention to provide an improved L
bracket arrangement which may be used with a slotted wall 3ystem
having slots which range from the vertical to the horizontal and
35 at any diaeonal anele therebetween, whereby the plane o~ the
bracket i9 alone a vertical plane.
~nother object of the present invention i~ to provide
a bracket arrangement which may be sloped at any downward angle
relative to the horizontal and be applied to modern-day wall
40 slotted systems.
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1 Another object of the present invention is to provide
a bracket arrangement whereby a plurality of braclcets may be
orlented parallel to each other in a vertioal direction
regardless of the angle of the slots within a slotted wall
system so as to provide a horizontal shelf.
Another object of the present invention is to provide
a bracket arran~ement having bracXets orierted along vertical
plane~ within a diagonally or otherwise an~led slotted wall
system, yet which allows for ease of ~nstal~ation. j--
Yet another object of the present invent~on is to
provide a vertically oriented bracket arrangemert for a
diagonally or otherwise angled slotted wall system whioh allows
the looation of the brackets to be easily adjusted on site,
notwithstanding the angle of the slots of the wall system. ~i,
The above-stated obJects as well as other objeots
whioh although not speoifioally stated, but are intended to be
inoluded within the soope of the present invention, are
aoooDIplished by the present invention and will become apparent
from the hereinafter set forth Detailed Desoription of the
Invention, Drawings, and the Claims appended herewith.
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SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention comprises an improved bracket
arrangement for use with an angled, vertical, or horizontal
slotted wall system. The improved bracXet arrangement includes
a cam connector in conjunction with an adjustable bar vertically
spaced from the cam connector. The back of the bracket provides
support for the brac]cet by resting upon the outside surface of
the ~all system. In vertically arranged slotted wa~l systems,
a transversely positioned rad may be used to provide such bracket
support. ~he adjustable har is attached to the back edge of the
bracket by a fitting interconnected between the two mem~ers. The
adjustable bar is positionable such that it is transverse ~o the
axis of the slot within which it is to be placed, regardless of
the angle of the slot, while the bracket is oriented in a
vertical position. The cam connector provides a means to ~irmly
cinch the adjustable bar and either the back of the bracket or
the nonadjustable rod between two different but parallel surfaces
of the wall system so as to firmly connect the bracket thereto
in a vertical direction.
The adjustability provided by the adjustable bar allows
the use of a single bracket arrangement with an angled slotted
wall system having any number of differing or diagonally angled
slots regardless of the degree of angularity of the slots. The
improved bracket arrangement further provides for the vertical
connection of brackets which slope in a downwardly inclined
direction of any desired angle.
In accordance with one aspect of the invention there
is provided a bracket and slotted wall system comprising a wall
having at least one elongated slot extending along said wall and
in any direction therealong, said slot comprising an entrance
opening and an inside opening which is wider than said entrance
opening, and at least one flange member over said inside opening
extending from a side thereof to said entrance opening a bracket
attached to said at least one elongated slot, against said wall
and extending away from said wall, said bracket having a back
portion comprising a flat plate having a first axis along a plane
of said flat plate and a second axis perpendicular to the plane
of said flat plate positioning means attached to said back
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portion of said bracket and fitting within said inside opening
of said slot for positioning said bracket such that sa.id flat
plate is positioned vertically and said second axis is positioned
parallel to said wall, said positioning means comprising a bar
member, and means for attaching said bar member to said back
portion of said bracket for allowing said bar member to rotate
relative to said bracket, whereby the longitudinal axis of said
bax member may be positioned trans~erse to the lonyitudinal axis
of said slot to which the bracket is to be attached, and cam
means attached to said back portion of the bracket for fixedly
securing said bracket in said position against said wall by
clamping said flange member of the slot between said cam, a back
edge of said bracket and said positioning means.
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1 BRIEF_DESC~tIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 illustrates a number of different slot .
orientations which may be inoorporated within a wall panel
attached to a vertical wall, any of which the present improved
bracket arrangement may be used;
FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of any o~ the ~lots
of FIG. 1 taken along the line 2-2 thereof;
FIG, 3 i~ an isometric view of the improved bracket ~-
arrangement according to the present invention a~ ap~lied to an
10 angled ~lot of an angled slotted w~ll system; 7
FIG. 4 llluqtrate~ in an exploded Yiswl the dstails
o~ the bracket of FIG. 3;
FIG. 5 shows a cross-sectional view of another
embodiment Or the improved bracket arrangement according to the
15 present invention; ,;
FIG. 6 is an isometrlc view of the ad~ustable bar of
the embodiment of FIG. 5; and,
FIG. 7 is an lsometric view of the disk Or FIG. 5 used
to adJust the positlon of the bar of FIG. 5.
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1DEscnIpTIoN oF-THE-pREFERnED-EMBoDIMENTs
As required, detailed embodiments of the present
invention are disclosed herein; however, lt is to be understood
that the disclosed embodiments are merely exemplary of the
invention ~71~ich may be embodled in varlous forms. Therefore,
speciric structural and functional details disclosed herein are
not to be ~nterpreted as limiting, but merely a~ a ba~is for the
claims and a~ a representative ba3is for te~ching one sk~lled in
the art to variou~ly employ the present invention in virtually
any appropriately detailed structure.
Reference is now made to the drawings wherein like
characteristics and features o~ the pre~ant invention shown in
the various fi,gures are generally designated by the same
reference numerals. L-
15FIG. 1 is a schematic rendition of the various slot
orientations within a modern wall system 17 as used today by
many interior designers. The angled slots are, of course,
intended to be used with brackets which in turn may be used for
shelves or hooks or the like for the purpose of displaying
various and sundry goods attached to the wall. As used in this
specification, the phraseology "aneled slots" or any variation
thereof is intended to mean the slots within a wall or within a '
wall panel attaohed to a wall, with the longitudinal axis of the
slots oriented along any horizontal, vertical line or any
diagonally angled line therebetween. Hence, angled slots refer
to slots 23 within a wall or a wall panel 18 simllar to those
partially shown in FIG. 1 at locations A, B, C, D, and E or any
variation or combination thereof. In cross section, any one
slot 23 may be similar to a ~T~ slot as depicted in FIG. 2, an
"L" slot as depioted in FIG. 2A or any other such slot hav~ng a
narrow opening.
In FIGS. 2 and 2A where a wall panel 18 is shown L
attached to a wall 19, surface 20 comprises the front of the
wall panel 18 while surface 21 comprises the back surface of the
wall panel 18. The thickness 22 of wall panel 18 may be of the
order of five-eighths to seven-eights of an inch thick or even
thicker ir de~ired. The entrance or opening 24 to slot 23 is
narrower in width than the back portion 25 of slot 23. Opening ,,
24 i~ located relative to the back open portion 25 such that one ;,
40 or more overhanging flanges 26 are provided. Since a relatively
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l narrow openln~ portion 24 is all that is generally visible when
viewing the wall panel 18 from the outside thereof, the
arraneement of 910ts 23 within the wall panel 18 form a
geometric pattern which tends to be aesthetically pleasine.
Some examples of these patterns are shown in FIG. 1. Yet, such
slots 23 are extremely functional in enabling the attachment
thereto of a bracket arran6ement such as that disclosed.by the
present invention. Wall panel 18 is, as noted above, intended
to be placed aBainst any vertical wall 19 within a structure
lO which may thereafter be used for display purposes by àttaching a '!,
bracket arrangement thereto and placing goods on the bracket
arrangement.
Reference is now Made to FIGS. 3, 3~ and 4 of the
drawings which show various details of several embodiments of k.
the improved bracket arran~ement in an exploded view and as
applied to a diagonally or horizontally angled slot 23 of an
aneled slotted wall system 17. Bracket 30 may be used to
support a horizontal shel~ 31 or a plurality of hooks 32, with
the former beine shown in phantora in FIG. 4 bracket 30.
Accordingly, brackets 30 may comprise waterfall type of brackets
or "standard" shelf type brackets or any other type of well
known bracket. Brackets 30 may be attached to a wall panel 18
with the upper edge 33 positioned horizontally or inclined
downwardly at any desired vertical angle alon~ wall panel ~8.
The main plane of bracket 30 is, however, always positioned
alone a vertical plane perpendicular to wall panel 18. Since
back ed~e 34 rests a~ainst surface 20 of wall panel 18, one way
to anele bracket 30 downward is to make the included anele 29,
between back edge 34 and top edge 33, an acute angle. Hence,
the value of the included angle 29 between top edge 33 and back
edge 34 deter~ines the downward (or even upward) slope of
bracket 30. The.phantom line 34' in FIG. 3 illustrates the L
back edge of a bracket which is more downwardly sloping than
that provided by back edge 34 of bracket 30.
An adjustably positionable bar 3~ in combination with
screw 39 and connector post 40 comprise the means by which
bra¢ket 30 may be oriented in a vertical plane regardless of the
actual angle of slot 23 relative to wall panel 18. Connector
post 40 comprises a member which may be cylindrical or
rectangular having a slot 41 extending partially therethrough
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1 for receiving therein the back portion o~ bracket 30. Apertures
42 and 43 in post connector 40 and bracket 30, respectively,
allow for attachment of post connector 40 to bracket 30 by means
of a pin 44 which simultaneously fits within apertures 42 and
43. The point of connection of connector 40 to bracket 30 may
be extended from the back edge 34 as shown in FIG. 3 by means of
an extension 28 extendine from back edge 34. T~le extended
method of connectlng connector post 40 to brackets 30 i3 ~`
pr~ferred because ~t places connector post 4a within slot 23 and l"
therefore generally out of view, which is more esthetically
pleasing than if it were exposed. The len~th of oonnector post
40 is adjustable so that adjuatable bar 38 is correctly
positioned within slot 23 when back edge 34 i~ positioned up L
against surface 20 of wall panel 18.
A tapped blind hole 45 is provided longitudinally
through connector post 40 at the non-slotted end thereof.
Adjustable bar 38 ls attached to connector post 40 by means of
screw 39 which fits through aperture 46 and into threaded hole
45. Aperture 46 is a clearance hole and, accordingly, bar 38
may be rotated and fixed in place in any position relative to
the vertical plane of bracket 30. As also explained below, the
angle or fixed locatlon of adjustable bar relative to the
vertical plane of bracket 30 comprises the angle of slot 23
relative to a horizontal plane. In this manner, adjustable bar
38 is posltioned perpendicularly transverse to the lon~itudinal
axis of slot 23 while bracket 30 is positioned in a vertical
plane. This arrangement i9 shown ln FIG. 4 where angled slot 23
is a typieal diagonally oriented slot.
A ca~ means 50 ~s provided in bracket 30 to secure
bracket 30 to wall panel 18. Cam means 50 and adjustable bar 38
are spaced from each other alon~ the back edge 3l1 of bracket 30.
Cam means 50 is receivingly en~aged within a cir¢ular cutout 51
in back edge 34. Cam means 50 comprises a cylindrical member
havine a flat surface 53 extending along the length thereof. A
35 centrally located recessed eroove 52 extends around the r-
circumference of cam means 50 and i9 sized such that cam means
50 at groove 52 fits snugly within and is rotatable about cutout
51. A transverse ~lot 54 in cam means 50 provides a convenient L_.
means for insertion of a tip of a screw driver to cause cam l~
40 means 50 to be rotated within cutout 51 and thereby lock bracket l~r
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l 30 in slot 23. Such attachment also prevents the bracket from
being removed by unauthorized persons. Cam means 50 and cutout
51 are similar to the same features shown in my United States
Patent No. 4,065,088. Cam means 50 as uaed in the present
invention serves to look bracket 30 within slot 23 by a
combination of ad~ustable bar 38 and back edge 34, which bear,
respectively, a8ainst the inner sur~ace or surfaces 27 of slot
23 and the outer surface 20 ~r wall panel 18. An elastic "V" -
shaped member 55 may be attaohed to back edge 34 to p,revent the
bracket from marring the surfaoe o~ wall panel 18.
In FIG. 5 bracket 30 is shown in place in an an~led
slot 23 which is substantially horizontally oriented. The
relative locatlons of back edge 34 and adjustable bar 38 as
cinched in place by cam means 50 is shown. Also depicted is the
right angle relationship of the longitudinal axis of adju9table
bar 38 as compared to the longitudinal axis of slot 23. Such
arran~ement allows bracket 30 to be maintained at a perfectly
vertioal position. During installation of braoket 30 to slot
23, an exact degree of perpendicularly of adjustable bar 38
relative to slot 23 is not necessarily required. Because of
the difference in length between adjustable bar 38 and the width ' i~
of slot 23 at back portion 25 such differenoe in r-
perpendicularity i9 permissible. When installing braoket 30, '~
bar 38 is fixed in position relative to the angle of slot 23.
25 Bar 38 i9 then aligned with slot 23 and is inserted therein.
Then bracket 30 is rotated to a vertical position which orients
bar 38 transverse to slot 23. Then cam means 50 is rotated
thereby l'ocking bracket 30 in a ~ertical position.
In the event that slots 23 comprise an "L" type of
slot as shown in FIG. 2A, then the adjustable bar 38' s'hown in
FIG. 3A is to be used. Adjustable bar 38' comprises
approximately one-half Or bar 38 and extends only to one side of L
bracket 30. Adjustable bar 38' i~ attached to connector post 40
in the same manner as adjustable bar 38.
It is to be noted that the length of connector post 40
i and the thickness of adjwstable bars 38 and 38' are to be
consistent with the size of slot portions 25 and 25' and the
depth ther'eof within wall panel 18 so that a snue fit is
; effectuated between the back edge 34 of bracket 30 and the front
~ 40 face 20 of wall panel 1~
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In the event that bracket 30 is to be connected
to a vertically oriented slot 23, a fixed rod 36 (shown in
phantom in FIG. 3) may be advantageously used to prevent
back edge 34 from fitting within slot 23 and causing
5 bracket 30 to angle downward. Fixed rod 36 may be fitted
within an aperture 37 at the lower portion of the base of
bracket 30 at back edge 34. Fixed rod 36 extends
perpendicularly from aperture 37 on either side of bracket
30 by approximately the same length. The overall length
10 oE fixed rod 36 may be approximately three times the width
of opening 24 of slot 23. Fixed rod 36 may include a
knurled portion 35 which allows a light press fit of rod
36 in aperture 37 and, therefore, easy installation and
removal by hand. On the other hand, the non-use of a
15 fixed rod 36 in a vertically oriented slot 23 allows an
inclined position of bracket 30 which is advantageous when
the bracket is being used as a waterfall bracket.
sracket 30 may ccmprise a back portion 56 to
which is attached a front portion 57. Back portion 56 may
20 thus comprise a bracket adapter which allows any
appropriate front portion 57 to be attached thereto
consistent with the end use of the bracket. This allows
the inventive bracket arrangement to be used to hang
virtually any object to wall panel 18. For example, the
25 front portion 57 may comprise a waterfall type of bracket,
a slant type, display arms, etc.
FIGS. 6, 7 and 8 show another embodiment of the
improved bracket arrangement as provided by the present
invention. In this embodiment an adjustably positionable
30 bar 59 includes a bar portion 60 and a shaft portion, the
latter comprising a threaded end 61 and an intermediate
portion 63. Intermediate portion 63 has at least two
oppositely disposed flat surfaces 64 thereon. A post
connector 65 is fitted to bracket 66 within a cutout 67
35 provided in the upper back edge 68 thereof. Post
connector 65 includes a slot which fits over the thickness
of bracket 66 and is attached to bracket 66 by a pin 80 as
in the previous embodiment. In this embodiment, however,
post connector 65 does not fit within slot 23 and is,
40 therefore, exposed to view. The threaded end 62 of bar 59
is threadingly engaged within a threaded opening 69 in the
end of post connector 65. As in the previous embodimen-t,
a cam means 50 is used to firmly secure bracket 66 to wall
panel 18. Cam means 50
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1 aeain operates to hold bracket 66 in place by a combination of
the wedging provided by cam means 50, bar 59 and lower back edge
70 of bracket 66. !~
In the embodiment presented in FIGS. 6, 7 and 8 the
ad~ustability provided by the threaded shaft of b'ar 59
eliminates the need to pre-match the location and si~e of the
bar with the location and size of the slot 23. Bar 59 may
simply ~e rotated in or out o~ tllreaded hole 69 90 as to
position bar 59 up again~t surraces 2~ of slot 23,~when lower
10 back edge 70 is up against the outer sur~ace 20 of of wall panel ~_
1~. Then, cam means 50 may be rotated to firmly wedee bracket
66 in a fixed vertical position.
A circular plate member 74 is fitted to the
inter~nediate portion 62 of bar 59 for purposes of orienting bar
15 portion 60 transverse to the axis of slot 23 when bracket 66 is ~"
belng finally installed. Plate member 74 comprises a circular
disc having an elongated cutout 75 extendin~ radially from the
circumferential periphery thereof toward and slightly past he
center thereof. Thc widtb of cutout 75 is slightly greater than
the across-the-flats dimension between faces 64 of bar 59 so
that plate 74 may fit over the intermediate portion 63 of bar
59. Additional but smaller radial cutouts 76 are provided
around the circumferential of plate 74 as shown in FIG. 8 which
serve to allow plate 74 to be rotated by an appropriate tool
such as the tip of a screwdriver.
When installing the embodiment depicted in FIG. 6, bar
59 is threaded into post 65. Then, with the axis o~ bar portion
60 aligned with the axis of slot 23, braclcet 66 is moved toward
wall panel 18 and bar portion 60 is inserted into slot 23.
Bracket 66 is then oriented in a vertical position. Plate 74 is
then rotated sa as to rotate bar 59 until back edge 70 is up
against surface 20 of wall panel 18 and face 77 of bar portion
60 is up tight against surfaces 27 of slot 23. Then while still
holding bracket 66 in a vertioal position,-plate 74 is rotated
35 backward until bar portion 60 is substantially transverse to the ,
axis of slot 23. Cam means 50 is then rotated to the position
shown in FIG. 6, which action firms up the installed position of
bracket 66 vertically against wall panel 18.
It is to be noted that plate 74 ls convenient but not
40 essential to the embodiment of FIG. 6. Instead of usin~ plate ~_
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1 74 to rotate bar member 59, a suitably sized wrench may be used.
On the other hand, should plate 74 be utilized, it may also be ~_held captive over the intcrmedlate sha~t portion 63 by usine a
square hole 78 (FIG. 8~) in place of cutout 75.
In the event that slot 23 comprise~ a vertical slot
and it is not desirou~ to use a slanted bracket, a rod 36 may be
used at the bottom back edge 70 as in the previous embodiment.
Also, as in the previous embodiment, bracket 66 may comprise any L
o~ the well known brackets u~ed to display and ha~ng various ~,10 good~ to a wall arran~e~ent. r
While the invention has been described, disclosed,
illu~trated and ~hown in certain terms or certain embodiments or
modirications which is has assumed in practice, the scope of the
invention is not intended to be nor should it be deemed to be L
15 limlted thereby and such other modifications or embodiment~ as
may be suggested by the teachings herein are particularly
reYerved especially as they fall within the breadth and scope o~
the claims here appended.
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