Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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SUPPORT BRACKET AND
KIT OF PARTS FOR A SUPPORT ASSEMBLY
FIELD
The present improvements relate generally to the field of support brackets for
supporting
assemblies used with shelves or the like.
SUMMARY
In accordance with one aspect, there is provided a support bracket for use
with a standard having
a front bracket mounting side and an open rear side, the support bracket
comprising : a support
portion; and a mounting portion made integral with the support portion, the
mounting portion
being configured and disposed to attach the support bracket to the front
bracket mounting side of
the standard, the mounting portion having a spike extending oppositely from
the support portion,
the spike being configured and disposed to protrude from the open rear side of
the standard and
penetrate into a wall when the support bracket is attached to the standard.
In accordance with another aspect, there is provided a kit of parts for
assembling a support
assembly, the kit comprising at least two standards each having a front
bracket mounting side
and an open rear side, and at least two support brackets, each support bracket
having a support
portion and a mounting portion made integral with the support portion, the
mounting portion
being configured and disposed to attach the support bracket to the front
bracket mounting side of
a respective standard, the mounting portion having a spike extending
oppositely from the support
portion, the spikes being configured and disposed to protrude from the open
rear side of the
respective standard and penetrate into a wall when the support brackets are
attached to the
respective standards.
In accordance with another aspect, there is provided a support bracket for use
with a standard
having a front bracket mounting side and an open rear side, the support
bracket comprising a
support portion, a mounting portion made integral with the support portion and
having a spike
extending therefrom, the mounting portion being configured and disposed to
attach the support
bracket to the front bracket mounting side of the standard into an attached
position in which the
spike protrudes from the open rear side of the standard.
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DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES
Further features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent
from the
following detailed description, taken in combination with the appended
figures, in which:
Fig. 1 A is a perspective view of an example of an improved support assembly
including a
fixture, a standard, and a support bracket;
Fig. 1B is a side elevation view of the support assembly of Fig. 1A;
Fig. 2A is a side elevation view of the support bracket of Fig. lA;
Fig. 2B is a top plan view of the support bracket of Fig. lA;
Fig. 3A is a rear view of the standard of Fig. 1 A;
Fig. 3B is a bottom plan view of the standard of Fig. 1 A;
Fig. 3C is a rear view of a blank for forming the standard of Fig. lA;
Fig. 4A is a perspective view of the support bracket and standard of Fig. 1A
prior to assembly;
Fig. 4B is an enlarged view of a portion of Fig. 4A;
Fig. 5A is a perspective view, partly sectioned, of the support bracket and
standard of Fig. lA
shown partly assembled;
Fig. 5B is an enlarged view of a portion of Fig. 5A;
Fig. 6A is a side cross-sectional view of the support bracket and standard of
Fig. lA shown
assembled; and
Fig. 6B is an enlarged view of a portion of Fig. 6A.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
Fig. 1 illustrates an example of an improved support assembly 10. The support
assembly 10
generally includes a fixture 12, a standard 14 and a support bracket 16.
Generally, at least one
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fixture, two standards and two support brackets are used to support a shelf or
the like (not
shown), which is then laid on the upper edge of the two support brackets.
In the illustrated support assembly 10, the fixture 12 is in the form of an
elongated strip and has a
somewhat V-shaped cross section defining a first flange 20 and a second flange
22. The first
flange 20 is secured to a wall 23 with fasteners 24, for instance screws or
nails. The second
flange 22 defines a slanted lip 22, which is upwardly oriented when the
fixture 12 is secured to
the wall 23. The standard 14 has a corresponding slanted notch 30 in an upper
end 32 and can be
suspended to the fixture 12 when the slanted lip 22 is engaged into the
slanted notch 30.
The support bracket 16 has two main parts, namely a support portion 40 having
an upper edge 42
adapted to receive the bottom of the shelf (not shown), and a mounting portion
44 designed to be
removably attachable to the standard 14. The support portion 40 gradually
tapers towards a
narrower front end 46.
As can be appreciated, the support bracket 16 further has a spike 48 extending
from the
mounting portion 44 opposite from the support portion 40. The function and
purpose of this
spike 48 will be explained hereafter.
Referring now to Fig. 2, the support bracket 16 is shown in greater detail.
The mounting portion
44 includes a first 50 and a second 52 mounting member designed to engage
respective slots
provided on the front of the standard 14, as described further below. The
first mounting member
50 has a hook 54 to longitudinally engage one of the slots of the standard 14.
The first mounting
member 50 also includes the spike 48. When assembled to the standard, the
first mounting
member 50 is an upper mounting member, and the second mounting member is a
lower
mounting member.
As shown in Figs. 3A and 3B, the standard 14 can be manufactured from a
metallic blank 60
which is shown unfolded in Fig. 3C. Likewise, the support bracket 16 (Fig. 1A)
can be made
from a flat piece of metal. The standard 14 has a left flange 62 and a right
flange 64 and further
has a front bracket mounting side 66 and an open rear side 68 (Fig.3B). The
front bracket
mounting side has a plurality of narrow rectangular slots 70, 71 adapted to
receive the first
mounting member and the second mounting member of the support bracket 16
(Fig.2). In the
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illustrated embodiment, the slanted notch 30 receiving the slanted lip of the
fixture 12 (Fig. 1)
includes a left notch 72 and a right notch 74 defined in respective left
flange 62 and right flange
64 of the blank 60.
Referring now to Figs. 4 to 6, steps of mounting the support bracket 16 to the
standard 14 are
illustrated. In Fig. 4, it is shown that the first mounting member 50 of the
support bracket 16 is
approached to a first slot 70 of the standard 14. In Fig. 5, the first
mounting member 50 is
engaged within the first slot 70 and the second mounting member 52 is oriented
towards a
second slot 71. In Fig. 6, both the first and second mounting members 50, 52
are engaged in the
first and second slot 70, 71, respectively. Fig. 6 also shows that the spike
48 extends past the
open rear side 68 of the standard 14 and protrudes therefrom once the support
bracket 16 is in
position. The hook 54 of the first mounting member 50 is then engaged into the
lower end of the
first slot 70. In this case, the support bracket 16 is mounted to the standard
14 first, and then the
slanted notch 30 of the standard 14 is engaged on to the slanted lip 22 of the
fixture 12 (see
Fig. 1) and the support bracket 16 is positioned against the wall 23. Once the
support bracket 16
is at the right position, pressure is applied to it and the spike enters the
wall 23 to thereafter
prevent the support bracket 16 from being displaced laterally and up and down.
As can be appreciated, the illustrated embodiment is only one example of the
improvements.
The support bracket can be manufactured and sold alone, or in a kit with one
or more standards.
Typically, two or more combinations of support bracket and standard can be
used to support a
shelf. Although the support bracket described was flat and made from a metal,
various shapes
and materials can alternately be used as it will appear to those skilled in
the art.
In the illustrated embodiment, the mating engagement between the mounting
portion of the
support bracket and the front mounting side of the standard was provided by
first and second
mounting members of the support bracket which engaged the first and second
slots of the
standard. Many alternate configurations are possible as it will appear to
those skilled in the art.
For example, only one or more than two mounting members and respective slots
can be used. As
another example, the support member can include two or more mounting members
arranged side
by side. Therefore, the corresponding slots of the standard are also arranged
side by side.
Furthermore, although the spike was described as being part of the first
mounting member, it
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could be part of the second mounting member instead, or both. Therefore, the
support member
can include more than one spike.
For the standard, many alternative embodiments are possible. For example,
although it was
described as being made from a folded blank of metal, various shapes and
materials can be used.
In the illustrated embodiment, the open rear side of the standard, which
allows the spike to
extend through to the wall, is completely open between the two flanges. In
other embodiments,
the open rear side can be partially closed, provided that it has at least an
open portion, a slot or a
hole through which the spike or spikes can extend into the wall.
Although it was described that the standard was suspended from the fixture
using a slanted notch
and slanted lip engagement, various alternatives will appear to those skilled
in the art, and the
standard may otherwise be affixed to the fixture, for instance using screws,
nails or the like.
Similarly, alternatives to the fixture can be readily devised.
As can be seen therefore, the examples described above and illustrated are
intended to be
exemplary only. The scope of the invention(s) is intended to be determined
solely by the
appended claims.
