US4685574A — Shelf-supported expandable gravity feed system

Claim 1

Independent Claim 84 words

A gravity feed system comprising: a pair of side members, each side member including a support track, a wall, and two end members, each of said end members being corrugated on at least one side; and two fastening means removably interconnectable with said end members, each fastening means having at least one corrugated side which cooperates with the corrugated sides of the end members on a pair of side members, so that said side members can be secured in parallel relationship to each other.

Claim 2

Dependent Claim 84 words

A gravity feed system comprising: a pair of side members, each side member including a support track, a wall, and two end members, each of said end members being corrugated on at least one side; and two fastening means removably interconnectable with said end members, each fastening means having at least one corrugated side which cooperates with the corrugated sides of the end members on a pair of side members, so that said side members can be secured in parallel relationship to each other.

Claim 3

Dependent Claim 48 words

The gravity feed system of claim 1 wherein each of said fastening means includes two parallel wall members which define a channel therebetween, and at least one of said wall members is corrugated on an inner side so that said end members are slidably received within said channel.

Claim 4

Dependent Claim 27 words

The gravity feed system of claim 1 wherein said side member includes a middle member and two support tracks, one on each side of the middle member.

Claim 5

Dependent Claim 36 words

The gravity feed system of claim 1 wherein: each of said fastening means includes a locking flange; and each of said end members includes locking flange receiving means for securing said fasteners to said end members.

Claim 6

Dependent Claim 26 words

The gravity feed system of claim 1 wherein the system is angularly supported by a pair of angular base members supporting each of said side members.

Claim 7

Dependent Claim 21 words

The gravity feed system of claim 1 wherein the wall includes an upper and lower channel, separated by a connecting rib.

Claim 8

Dependent Claim 36 words

The gravity feed system of claim 1 wherein each of said end members contains a locking flange; and each of said fastening means includes locking flange receiving means for securing said fasteners to said end members.

Claim 9

Dependent Claim 110 words

An expandable gravity feed system unit comprising: a pair of side members, each side member including a support track, a wall, and two end members, each of said end members being corrugated on at least one side with a ridge groove construction; and a pair of fastening means for removably interconnecting said end members at a variety of locations thereby preventing lateral movement of said side members with respect to each other, said fastening means including two wall members which define a channel therebetween, and at least one of said wall members being corrugated on an inner side so that said wall member includes a plurality of ridges and grooves.

Claim 10

Dependent Claim 110 words

An expandable gravity feed system unit comprising: a pair of side members, each side member including a support track, a wall, and two end members, each of said end members being corrugated on at least one side with a ridge groove construction; and a pair of fastening means for removably interconnecting said end members at a variety of locations thereby preventing lateral movement of said side members with respect to each other, said fastening means including two wall members which define a channel therebetween, and at least one of said wall members being corrugated on an inner side so that said wall member includes a plurality of ridges and grooves.

Claim 11

Dependent Claim 155 words

An expandable gravity feed system comprising: two side members, each side member including a middle member and a ribbed support track on opposing sides of said middle member, an end member on both ends of said support tracks, each of said end members being corrugated on at least one side with a ridge groove construction; said middle member including a pair of parallel, vertical walls, joined by a connecting rib, said walls and connecting rib defining an upper channel and a lower channel in said middle member; and a pair of fastening means for removably interconnecting said end members at a variety of locations thereby preventing lateral movement of said side members with respect to each other, said fastening means including two wall members which define a channel therebetween, and at least one of said wall members being corrugated on an inner side so that said wall member includes a plurality of ridges and grooves.

Claim 12

Dependent Claim 155 words

An expandable gravity feed system comprising: two side members, each side member including a middle member and a ribbed support track on opposing sides of said middle member, an end member on both ends of said support tracks, each of said end members being corrugated on at least one side with a ridge groove construction; said middle member including a pair of parallel, vertical walls, joined by a connecting rib, said walls and connecting rib defining an upper channel and a lower channel in said middle member; and a pair of fastening means for removably interconnecting said end members at a variety of locations thereby preventing lateral movement of said side members with respect to each other, said fastening means including two wall members which define a channel therebetween, and at least one of said wall members being corrugated on an inner side so that said wall member includes a plurality of ridges and grooves.

Claim 13

Dependent Claim 35 words

The expandable gravity feed system of claim 9 further comprising a pair of angular base members wherein each of said base members is removably received by the lower channel of one of said middle members.

Claim 14

Dependent Claim 32 words

The expandable gravity feed system of claim 9 further comprising a pair of vertical separators wherein each vertical separator is removably received by the upper channel of each of said middle members.

Claim 15

Dependent Claim 38 words

The expandable gravity feed system of claim 9 wherein each of said end members includes a locking flange; and each of said fastening means includes a locking flange receiving means for securing said fasteners to said end members.

Claim 16

Dependent Claim 127 words

An expandable shelf unit comprising: two side members, each side member including a ribbed support track, a wall, and two end members, each of said end members being corrugated on at least one side thereby defining a plurality of ridges and grooves; at least one pair of fastening means for removably interconnecting said side members, said fastening means including a pair of wall members which define a channel therebetween, and at least one of said wall members being corrugated on its inner side thereby defining a plurality of ridges and grooves so that when said side members are interconnected a ridge of each of said end members is received within a separate groove of said fastener; and locking means for securing said fasteners to said end member.

Claim 17

Dependent Claim 127 words

An expandable shelf unit comprising: two side members, each side member including a ribbed support track, a wall, and two end members, each of said end members being corrugated on at least one side thereby defining a plurality of ridges and grooves; at least one pair of fastening means for removably interconnecting said side members, said fastening means including a pair of wall members which define a channel therebetween, and at least one of said wall members being corrugated on its inner side thereby defining a plurality of ridges and grooves so that when said side members are interconnected a ridge of each of said end members is received within a separate groove of said fastener; and locking means for securing said fasteners to said end member.

Claim 18

Dependent Claim 32 words

The expandable gravity feed system of claim 13, wherein each side member includes a stop means for preventing a container from sliding down said support tracks and falling over said fastener means.

Claim 19

Dependent Claim 31 words

The expandable gravity feed system of claim 13, further ocmprising a filler wire positioned between said channels of said fastener means, preventing a container from falling between said ribbed support tracks.

Claim 20

Dependent Claim 71 words

The gravity feed system of claim 1 further comprising means for dividing the gravity feed system so that each of said side members can support a separate row of containers, said dividing means including a wall and ribbed support tracks on opposite sides of said wall, and said dividing means being secured to the two fastening means between a pair of side members and in parallel relationship to the side members.

Claim 21

Dependent Claim 34 words

The expandable gravity feed system of claim 1 wherein the distance between said interconnected side members may be increased or decreased by varying the location of said fastening means relative to the end members.

Claim 22

Dependent Claim 38 words

The expandable gravity feed system of claim 1 further comprising a stop means for preventing a container from sliding down said support tracks and falling over said fastening means, said stop means being secured to a fastening means.

Claim 23

Dependent Claim 67 words

The expandable gravity feed system of claim 1 wherein one of said side members includes hook means for securing a side member of an additional gravity feed unit in parallel relationship to it, and said side members further include a locking tab and slot configuration for securing said side members to each other in parallel relationship to form a plurality of side by side gravity feed units.

Claim 24

Dependent Claim 34 words

The expandable gravity feed system of claim 8 wherein the distance between said interconnected side members may be varied by placing the ridges of said fastening means in various grooves in said end members.

Claim 25

Dependent Claim 100 words

An expandable gravity feed system unit comprising: two side members, each side member including a ribbed support track, a wall, and two end members, each of said end members being corrugated on at least one side so that said end member includes a plurality of ridges and grooves; and a plurality of paired fastening means for removably interconnecting said end members at a variety of locations, each of said pairs of fastening means being of differing lengths so that the distance between said side members when they are interconnected may be varied by utilizing a different pair of fastening means.

Claim 26

Dependent Claim 100 words

An expandable gravity feed system unit comprising: two side members, each side member including a ribbed support track, a wall, and two end members, each of said end members being corrugated on at least one side so that said end member includes a plurality of ridges and grooves; and a plurality of paired fastening means for removably interconnecting said end members at a variety of locations, each of said pairs of fastening means being of differing lengths so that the distance between said side members when they are interconnected may be varied by utilizing a different pair of fastening means.

Annuity Stage	Window Opens	Payment Deadline	Surcharge Period Until	Estimated Fee	Status
3.5 Years (Year 4)	1990-08-10	1991-02-09	1991-08-11	$2000.00	Window Closed / Lapsed
7.5 Years (Year 8)	1994-08-10	1995-02-09	1995-08-11	$3760.00	Window Closed / Lapsed
11.5 Years (Year 12)	1998-08-10	1999-02-09	1999-08-11	$7700.00	Window Closed / Lapsed

Shelf-supported expandable gravity feed system

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