Shelving system

Claim 1

A system of shelving wherein identical shelves may be mounted interchangeably on supporting members having surfaces disposed at different angles relative to the horizontal, said system comprising: a first support having a planar front surface disposed at a first angle with respect to the horizontal and having a first series of uniformly spaced slots extending in the vertical direction on said surface; a second support having a planar front surface disposed at a second angle with respect to the horizontal, said second angle being different from said first angle, and having a second series of uniformly spaced slots extending in the vertical direction on said surface, the spacing of the slots in said second series being different from the spacing of the slots in said first series; and a shelf having at its rear a first tab provided with a projection extendible through one of said slots on either support and engageable with the rear wall of the support in which said one of said slots is located, said shelf also including first means adapted to abut the front surface of said first support, and a second tab located below said first tab, said second tab having a surface spaced horizontally away from said first means and adapted to abut the front surface of said second support, said tabs being spaced from each other in relation to the spacing of the slots on said supports, and said first means and said surface of said second tab being configured so that, when on the first support, said shelf is necessarily positioned with the first means abutting the front surface of said first support, and when on said second support, said shelf is necessarily positioned with said surface of said second tab abutting the front surface of said second support.

Claim 2

A system of shelving wherein identical shelves may be mounted interchangeably on supporting members having surfaces disposed at different angles relative to the horizontal, said system comprising: a first support having a planar front surface disposed at a first angle with respect to the horizontal and having a first series of uniformly spaced slots extending in the vertical direction on said surface; a second support having a planar front surface disposed at a second angle with respect to the horizontal, said second angle being different from said first angle, and having a second series of uniformly spaced slots extending in the vertical direction on said surface, the spacing of the slots in said second series being different from the spacing of the slots in said first series; and a shelf having at its rear a first tab provided with a projection extendible through one of said slots on either support and engageable with the rear wall of the support in which said one of said slots is located, said shelf also including first means adapted to abut the front surface of said first support, and a second tab located below said first tab, said second tab having a surface spaced horizontally away from said first means and adapted to abut the front surface of said second support, said tabs being spaced from each other in relation to the spacing of the slots on said supports, and said first means and said surface of said second tab being configured so that, when on the first support, said shelf is necessarily positioned with the first means abutting the front surface of said first support, and when on said second support, said shelf is necessarily positioned with said surface of said second tab abutting the front surface of said second support.

Claim 6

A system of shelving wherein identical shelves may be mounted interchangeably on supporting members having surfaces disposed at different angles relative to the horizontal, said system comprising: a first support having a planar front surface disposed at a first angle with respect to the horizontal and having a first series of uniformly spaced slots extending in the vertical direction on said surface; a second support having a planar front surface disposed at a second angle with respect to the horizontal, said second angle being different from said first angle, and having a second series of uniformly spaced slots extending in the vertical direction on said surface, the spacing of the slots in said second series being different from the spacing of the slots in said first series, and a shelf having at its rear a first tab provided with an upwardly extending projection extendible through one of said slots on either support, and engageable with the rear wall of the support in which said one of said slots is located, said shelf also having first means adapted to abut the front surface of said first support, and second and third tabs, below said first tab and spaced from each other and from said first tab in relation to the spacings of the slots on said supports to that, when said shelf is mounted on said first support, all three tabs extend fully through the slots on said first support and said first means abuts the front surface of said first support, and, when said shelf is mounted on said second support, said second and third tabs cannot extend fully through the slots on said second support, each of said second and third tabs comprising a projection extending rearwardly from said first means, and a heel extending downwardly from said projection and outwardly from said first means, the bottoms of said projections being spaced from the bottom of said first tab by integral multiples of the distance between the bottoms of adjacent slots in the second support and the heels of the second and third tabs being aligned with the intersection of the first tab and said first means, so that, when said shelf is mounted on said second support, the heels of the second and third tabs abut the front surface thereof, and said projections extend into and rest on the bottoms of their respective slots.

Claim 7

A system of shelving wherein identical shelves may be mounted interchangeably on supporting members having surfaces disposed at different angles relative to the horizontal, said system comprising: a first support having a planar front surface disposed at a first angle with respect to the horizontal and having a first series of uniformly spaced slots extending in the vertical direction on said surface; a second support having a planar front surface disposed at a second angle with respect to the horizontal, said second angle being different from said first angle, and having a second series of uniformly spaced slots extending in the vertical direction on said surface, the spacing of the slots in said second series being different from the spacing of the slots in said first series, and a shelf having at its rear a first tab provided with an upwardly extending projection extendible through one of said slots on either support, and engageable with the rear wall of the support in which said one of said slots is located, said shelf also having first means adapted to abut the front surface of said first support, and second and third tabs, below said first tab and spaced from each other and from said first tab in relation to the spacings of the slots on said supports to that, when said shelf is mounted on said first support, all three tabs extend fully through the slots on said first support and said first means abuts the front surface of said first support, and, when said shelf is mounted on said second support, said second and third tabs cannot extend fully through the slots on said second support, each of said second and third tabs comprising a projection extending rearwardly from said first means, and a heel extending downwardly from said projection and outwardly from said first means, the bottoms of said projections being spaced from the bottom of said first tab by integral multiples of the distance between the bottoms of adjacent slots in the second support and the heels of the second and third tabs being aligned with the intersection of the first tab and said first means, so that, when said shelf is mounted on said second support, the heels of the second and third tabs abut the front surface thereof, and said projections extend into and rest on the bottoms of their respective slots.