System of constructing display racking and shelving

Claim 1

A system for joining two members comprising, a first member having opposing, uniformly spaced wall surfaces which define a receiving recess, a second member including a first pair of plates disposed in close, overlying relation, said plates being slidably receivable within said recess with at least a portion of the plates aligned with the wall surfaces of said recess, first means for moving said plates apart to cause said portions thereof to bear with sufficient frictional force against the opposing wall surfaces of said recess to prevent sLiding of said plates in said recess and to secure the first and second members together; said second member including a second pair of overlying plates one of which is rigidly connected to one plate of said first pair and the other of which is movable apart from the one plate of the second pair; and second means for moving the second pair of plates apart independently of the movement of the plates of said first pair.

Claim 2

A system for joining two members comprising, a first member having opposing, uniformly spaced wall surfaces which define a receiving recess, a second member including a first pair of plates disposed in close, overlying relation, said plates being slidably receivable within said recess with at least a portion of the plates aligned with the wall surfaces of said recess, first means for moving said plates apart to cause said portions thereof to bear with sufficient frictional force against the opposing wall surfaces of said recess to prevent sLiding of said plates in said recess and to secure the first and second members together; said second member including a second pair of overlying plates one of which is rigidly connected to one plate of said first pair and the other of which is movable apart from the one plate of the second pair; and second means for moving the second pair of plates apart independently of the movement of the plates of said first pair.

Claim 5

A system for rigidly joining elongated members comprising, at least two such members interconnected at a joining angle, the first of said members having opposing, uniformly spaced wall surfaces which define at least one lengthwise internal track, the second of said members having opposing, uniformly spaced internal wall surfaces which define at least one track adjacent to each connecting end thereof, a connector for joining said members comprising a pair of base plates and at least one pair of support plates connected to said base plates at said joining angle, the pairs of said base and support plates each lying in close, parallel overlying relation, the pair of said base plates being slidably received within a track in said first member and being movable to any position along the length of said track, the pair of support plates being slidably received within the track adjacent to a connecting end of said second member, and first and second means for independently separating edge portions of the plates of each pair of base and support plates generally perpendicular to said parallel direction to cause said edge portions of each of the base and support plates to bear independently of each other with sufficient frictional force against the opposing adjacent wall surfaces of respective tracks of said member to prevent slidable movement of said plates in said tracks.

Claim 6

A system for rigidly joining elongated members comprising, at least two such members interconnected at a joining angle, the first of said members having opposing, uniformly spaced wall surfaces which define at least one lengthwise internal track, the second of said members having opposing, uniformly spaced internal wall surfaces which define at least one track adjacent to each connecting end thereof, a connector for joining said members comprising a pair of base plates and at least one pair of support plates connected to said base plates at said joining angle, the pairs of said base and support plates each lying in close, parallel overlying relation, the pair of said base plates being slidably received within a track in said first member and being movable to any position along the length of said track, the pair of support plates being slidably received within the track adjacent to a connecting end of said second member, and first and second means for independently separating edge portions of the plates of each pair of base and support plates generally perpendicular to said parallel direction to cause said edge portions of each of the base and support plates to bear independently of each other with sufficient frictional force against the opposing adjacent wall surfaces of respective tracks of said member to prevent slidable movement of said plates in said tracks.

Claim 12

A system for rigidly joining elongated members comprising, at least two such members interconnected at a joining angle, the first of said members having opposing, uniformly spaced wall surfaces which define at least one lengthwise internal Track, the second of said members having opposing, uniformly spaced internal wall surfaces which define at least one track adjacent to each connecting end thereof, a connector for joining said members comprising a pair of base plates and at least one pair of support plates connected to said base plates at said joining angle, the pairs of said base and support plates each lying in close, parallel overlying relation and each defining a plurality of parallel opposing grooves in their facing surfaces, each groove having shallow inclined ends connected to a deeper center; a rotary member fitted within each groove for longitudinal movement therein, each said rotary members being at all times in contact simultaneously with the opposing grooves in each facing surface, the pair of said base plates being slidably received within a track in said first member and being movable to any position along the length of said track, the pair of support plates being slidably received within the track adjacent to a connecting end of said second member, and means for separating edge portions of the plates of each pair of base and support plates generally perpendicular to said parallel direction to cause said edge portions to bear with sufficient frictional force against the adjacent wall surfaces of respective tracks of said member to prevent slidable movement of said plates in said tracks; said means including means for moving said overlying plates in the direction of said grooves to cause said rotary members to ride upon an inclined end of each groove thereby forcing said pairs of plates apart in a direction perpendicular to the direction of movement of said plates.

Claim 13

A system for rigidly joining elongated members comprising, at least two such members interconnected at a joining angle, the first of said members having opposing, uniformly spaced wall surfaces which define at least one lengthwise internal Track, the second of said members having opposing, uniformly spaced internal wall surfaces which define at least one track adjacent to each connecting end thereof, a connector for joining said members comprising a pair of base plates and at least one pair of support plates connected to said base plates at said joining angle, the pairs of said base and support plates each lying in close, parallel overlying relation and each defining a plurality of parallel opposing grooves in their facing surfaces, each groove having shallow inclined ends connected to a deeper center; a rotary member fitted within each groove for longitudinal movement therein, each said rotary members being at all times in contact simultaneously with the opposing grooves in each facing surface, the pair of said base plates being slidably received within a track in said first member and being movable to any position along the length of said track, the pair of support plates being slidably received within the track adjacent to a connecting end of said second member, and means for separating edge portions of the plates of each pair of base and support plates generally perpendicular to said parallel direction to cause said edge portions to bear with sufficient frictional force against the adjacent wall surfaces of respective tracks of said member to prevent slidable movement of said plates in said tracks; said means including means for moving said overlying plates in the direction of said grooves to cause said rotary members to ride upon an inclined end of each groove thereby forcing said pairs of plates apart in a direction perpendicular to the direction of movement of said plates.

Claim 17

A system for rigidly joining members comprising at least two such members interconnected at a joining angle, the first of said members having opposing, uniformly spaced wall surfaces which define at least one lengthwise internal track, the second of said members having opposing, uniformly spaced internal wall surfaces which define at least one track adjacent to each connecting end thereof, a connector for joining said members comprising a pair of base plates and at least one pair of support plates connected to said base plates at said joining angle, the pairs of said base and support plates each lying in close, overlying relation, the pair of said base plates being slidably received within a track in said first member with at least a portion of the plates aligned with the opposing wall surfaces of the recess and being movable along said track, the pair of support plates being slidably received within the track adjacent to a connecting end of said second member with at least a portion of these plates aligned with the opposing wall surfaces of the recess, said base and support plates defining the entire external shape of said connector and being disposed completely within said first and second members, respectively, and first and second means for independently sepArating the plates of each pair of base and support plates, respectively, from each other to cause the plates of each pair to bear independently of the plates of the other pair with sufficient frictional force against the opposing adjacent wall surfaces of the respective tracks of said members to prevent sliding movement of said plates in said tracks.

Claim 18

A system for rigidly joining members comprising at least two such members interconnected at a joining angle, the first of said members having opposing, uniformly spaced wall surfaces which define at least one lengthwise internal track, the second of said members having opposing, uniformly spaced internal wall surfaces which define at least one track adjacent to each connecting end thereof, a connector for joining said members comprising a pair of base plates and at least one pair of support plates connected to said base plates at said joining angle, the pairs of said base and support plates each lying in close, overlying relation, the pair of said base plates being slidably received within a track in said first member with at least a portion of the plates aligned with the opposing wall surfaces of the recess and being movable along said track, the pair of support plates being slidably received within the track adjacent to a connecting end of said second member with at least a portion of these plates aligned with the opposing wall surfaces of the recess, said base and support plates defining the entire external shape of said connector and being disposed completely within said first and second members, respectively, and first and second means for independently sepArating the plates of each pair of base and support plates, respectively, from each other to cause the plates of each pair to bear independently of the plates of the other pair with sufficient frictional force against the opposing adjacent wall surfaces of the respective tracks of said members to prevent sliding movement of said plates in said tracks.

Claim 19

A system for rigidly joining elongated members comprising at least two such members interconnected at a joining angle, the first of said members having opposing, uniformly spaced wall surfaces which define at least one lengthwise internal track, the second of said members having opposing, uniformly spaced internal wall surfaces which define at least one track adjacent to each connecting end thereof, a connector for joining said members comprising a pair of base plates and at least one pair of support plates connected to said base plates at said joining angle, the pairs of said base and support plates each lying in close, parallel overlying relation, the pair of said base plates being slidably received within a track in said first member and being movable to any position along the length of said track, the pair of support plates of the second of said members being received within the track adjacent to a connecting end of said member, and means for separating edge portions of the plates of each pair of base and support plates generally perpendicular to said parallel direction to cause said edge portions to bear with sufficient frictional force against the adjacent wall surfaces of respective tracks of said member to prevent slidable movement of said plates in said tracks; each of said pairs of base and support plates defining a plurality of parallel opposing grooves in their facing surfaces, each groove having shallow inclined ends connected to a deeper center, a rotary member fitted within each groove for longitudinal movement therein, each said rotary members being at all times in contact simultaneously with the opposing grooves in each facing surface, and means for moving said overlying plates in the direction of said grooves to cause said rotary members to ride upon an inclined end of each groove thereby forcing said pairs of plates apart in a direction perpendicular to the direction of movement of said plates, said means for moving the overlying plates including a shaft, a circular eccentric section having an axis parallel to the axis of said shaft and disposed at a predetermined eccentric distance from the axis of said shaft, an aperature in one of said plates for receiving one end of said shaft for concentric rotation therein, a hexagonal member rotatably receiving said circular eccentric section therein, a hexagonal opening in said second plate slidably receiving said hexagonal member for movement in the longitudinal direction, said hexagonal opening being elongated in a transverse direction to provide a clearance equal to at least said predetermined eccentric distance whereby rotation of said shaft and eccentric section will effect longitudinal movement of said plates without transverse movement of said plates.

Claim 20

A system for rigidly joining elongated members comprising at least two such members interconnected at a joining angle, the first of said members having opposing, uniformly spaced wall surfaces which define at least one lengthwise internal track, the second of said members having opposing, uniformly spaced internal wall surfaces which define at least one track adjacent to each connecting end thereof, a connector for joining said members comprising a pair of base plates and at least one pair of support plates connected to said base plates at said joining angle, the pairs of said base and support plates each lying in close, parallel overlying relation, the pair of said base plates being slidably received within a track in said first member and being movable to any position along the length of said track, the pair of support plates of the second of said members being received within the track adjacent to a connecting end of said member, and means for separating edge portions of the plates of each pair of base and support plates generally perpendicular to said parallel direction to cause said edge portions to bear with sufficient frictional force against the adjacent wall surfaces of respective tracks of said member to prevent slidable movement of said plates in said tracks; each of said pairs of base and support plates defining a plurality of parallel opposing grooves in their facing surfaces, each groove having shallow inclined ends connected to a deeper center, a rotary member fitted within each groove for longitudinal movement therein, each said rotary members being at all times in contact simultaneously with the opposing grooves in each facing surface, and means for moving said overlying plates in the direction of said grooves to cause said rotary members to ride upon an inclined end of each groove thereby forcing said pairs of plates apart in a direction perpendicular to the direction of movement of said plates, said means for moving the overlying plates including a shaft, a circular eccentric section having an axis parallel to the axis of said shaft and disposed at a predetermined eccentric distance from the axis of said shaft, an aperature in one of said plates for receiving one end of said shaft for concentric rotation therein, a hexagonal member rotatably receiving said circular eccentric section therein, a hexagonal opening in said second plate slidably receiving said hexagonal member for movement in the longitudinal direction, said hexagonal opening being elongated in a transverse direction to provide a clearance equal to at least said predetermined eccentric distance whereby rotation of said shaft and eccentric section will effect longitudinal movement of said plates without transverse movement of said plates.