Adjustable shelf assembly

Claim 1

A shelf assembly comprising a front corner post having a plurality of holes along the length thereof, a shelf adapted to be positioned in a horizontal attitude, said shelf having a front edge and a rear edge, said shelf comprising a grid formed from a plurality of transverse members and a plurality of longitudinal members connected to said transverse members, latch structure connected with said shelf adjacent said front corner post, said latch structure comprising a flex arm connected at one end to said shelf and formed by one of said longitudinal members which has an end not connected to an outermost transverse member and hence is free to flex in the plane of said shelf, and a latch finger forming an extension of said flex arm and extending perpendicularly to the free end thereof, said flex arm being disposed generally parallel to the front edge of said shelf in a connect position at which said latch finger is received in said corner post hole, and said latch finger being retracted from that corner post hole in response to a force exerted on said flex arm in a direction generally normal to the front edge of said shelf, thereby permitting said shelf to be easily assembled with or disassembled from said front corner post by exerting manually a force on said flex arm in said generally normal force direction, a portion of said longitudinal members establishing a hand grip which can be manually engaged by one of the fingers and thumb of an installer's hand, one of said longitudinal support members comprising a front band of substantial vertical rigidity, said flex arm being formed integral with one of said longitudinal support members other than said front band, said latch finger passing through a dog leg at the corner of said shelf formed from said front band, thereby providing vertical force stability to said latch finger.