Corner attachment for lightweight steel shelving

Claim 2

A metal shelving assembly including: a shelf member having a planar top portion and a plurality of depending peripheral flanges; a pair of said flanges being positioned in predetermined intersecting planes at a corner of said shelf to define a vertically extending recessed cut-out corner opening; said pair of flanges each having an inside wall provided with apertures spaced from said cut-out corner and each of said apertures having an upstanding edge nearest said cut-out corner; a support column having a pair of side walls intersecting in planes substantially parallel to said recessed cut-out corner opening with an aperture at the corner juncture thereof; a headed fastening member having a shank and adapted to engage within said aperture of said support column in a first lateral supporting relationship; clip means having a central wall member adapted to span between the inside walls of said pair of flanges in the plane of said upstanding edges of said apertures; tab means extending from each side of said central wall member for engagement in supporting and aligning relationship within said apertures of said pair of shelf flanges and said central wall member having an inverted key-hole slot therein, the upper opening of which is adapted to engage around the shank portion of said fastening member and the lower, larger opening of which is oriented from the plane of said upper opening to pass over the head of said fastening member in its first lateral supporting position as said shelf corner and clip means are lowered thereover to hold said cut-out corner in an aligned relationship with said pair of sidewalls of said support column, whereby tightening of said fastening member within said aperture of said support column brings said tab means into engagement with the upstanding edges of said apertures in said flanges thereby forcing said cut-out corner into rigid, square-abutting relationship with said support column.

Claim 3

A metal shelving assembly in accordance with claim 1 in which: said central wall portion is inclined away from said cut-out corner recess at the bottom; and the periphery of said small upper opening of said aperture is defined by a substantially flat embossment in said central wall portion the plane of which lies sUbstantially perpendicular to the axis of said aperture in said support column.

Claim 4

A metal shelving assembly in accordance with claim 1 in which: said tab means include projecting tab members adapted to be engaged around said upstanding edges of said retaining apertures; and at least two of said upstanding edges of said retaining apertures on opposite sides of said cut-out corner opening are spaced from each other a distance sufficiently greater than the effective distance between said tab members that the ends of said flanges retain said clip means therein against displacement forces and are drawn into engaging abuttment with the side walls of said support column upon tightening said fastening means.

Claim 5

A metal shelving assembly in accordance with claim 3, in which: said pair of flanges of said shelf member have flexible squared ends adapted to engage flush against the side walls of said support column; said retaining apertures comprise elongated slots within said inner walls and spaced from said squared ends; and said spaced tab members of said clip member comprise flat hook members adapted to engage in sequence within said retaining apertures with the hook portions thereof snap-fitting over the upstanding edges of said slots to retain said clip member thereon against displacement forces and in a position to draw said flanges into abutting relationship with the sides of said column upon tightening said fastening member.

Claim 6

A metal shelving assembly in accordance with claim 3 in which: said clip member is provided with a pair of upper and lower reinforcing flanges directed away from said cut-out corner recess; and said spaced tab members are carried at the extended ends of the lowermost of said flanges.

Claim 7

A metal shelving assembly including: a rectangular shelf member having a planar top portion, depending box side flanges and depending end flanges, each of which include an inner wall; said shelf member having cut-out corners presenting squared ends of said flanges; said inner walls of said shelf flanges at each corner having slots therein spaced from said squared ends; support columns for said shelf member each having a pair of side walls intersecting in planes conforming to the squared ends of said flanges and provided with an aperture at the juncture of said side walls adapted to receive the threaded shank end of a headed fastening screw member in supported relationship; clip members for said shelf member adapted to span across and engage between a side and an end flange at each of said corners; said clip members each having an intermediate wall member with top and bottom elongated flange members directed from the said side thereof away from said cut-out corner and having extended ends beyond the sides of said intermediate wall member; said intermediate wall member being inclined and said top and bottom flange members being offset such that the inner edge of the bottom flange is spaced away from said cut-out corner a distance greater than the inner edge of said top flange; an inverted key-slot opening in said intermediate wall member adapted to receive said fastening screw; said key-slot opening comprising an upper vertically oriented slot defined by a U-shaped embossed wall portion extending transverse the axis of the aperture in said support column; said slot communicating with a lower opening in said inclined wall member having an effective diameter greater than the head of said screw and thereby being open on a vertical axis to receive the head of said screw member; the extended ends of said top flange member having respective end means conforming to the contours of the inside junctures of said shelf flanges and the top planar portion thereof in a supporting and squaring relationship; the extended ends of said bottom flange including flat hooks opening toward said cut-out corner and adapted to engage within the slots in said inner walls of said shelf flanges The effective distance between the ends of said hooks being less than the effective diagonal distance between the innermost ends of said slots whereby said clip member is retained against displacement forces during engagement with and disengagement from said fastening screw.

Claim 8

A metal shelving assembly including: a rectangular shelf member having a planar top portion, depending box side flanges and depending end flanges, each of which include an inner wall; said shelf member having cut-out corners presenting squared ends of said flanges; said inner walls of said shelf flanges at each corner having slots therein spaced from said squared ends; support columns for said shelf member each having a pair of side walls intersecting in planes conforming to the squared ends of said flanges and provided with an aperture at the juncture of said side walls adapted to receive the threaded shank end of a headed fastening screw member in supported relationship; clip members for said shelf member adapted to span across and engage between a side and an end flange at each of said corners; said clip members each having an intermediate wall member with top and bottom elongated flange members directed from the said side thereof away from said cut-out corner and having extended ends beyond the sides of said intermediate wall member; said intermediate wall member being inclined and said top and bottom flange members being offset such that the inner edge of the bottom flange is spaced away from said cut-out corner a distance greater than the inner edge of said top flange; an inverted key-slot opening in said intermediate wall member adapted to receive said fastening screw; said key-slot opening comprising an upper vertically oriented slot defined by a U-shaped embossed wall portion extending transverse the axis of the aperture in said support column; said slot communicating with a lower opening in said inclined wall member having an effective diameter greater than the head of said screw and thereby being open on a vertical axis to receive the head of said screw member; the extended ends of said top flange member having respective end means conforming to the contours of the inside junctures of said shelf flanges and the top planar portion thereof in a supporting and squaring relationship; the extended ends of said bottom flange including flat hooks opening toward said cut-out corner and adapted to engage within the slots in said inner walls of said shelf flanges The effective distance between the ends of said hooks being less than the effective diagonal distance between the innermost ends of said slots whereby said clip member is retained against displacement forces during engagement with and disengagement from said fastening screw.