US-12622534-B2 - Retail shelving system

US12622534B2US 12622534 B2US12622534 B2US 12622534B2US-12622534-B2

Abstract

A shelving system is provided. The shelving system includes an upper rail, and optionally a lower rail, from which one or more upright supports extend. The upright supports are slidable within the upper and lower rails so that a user may vary their location. A shelf mounts to the upright supports. The shelf includes interlocking deck panels and selectively removable support bars so that it may be assembled onto the upright supports.

Inventors

Shane Obitts
Billy Mertz
Matt Grubbs

Assignees

Shane Obitts
Billy Mertz
Matt Grubbs

Dates

Publication Date: 20260512
Application Date: 20241206

Claims (5)

1 . A shelf comprising: a frame including: a first support bar extending parallel to a horizontal axis; a second support bar extending parallel to the horizontal axis, the second support bar spaced along an axis being perpendicular to the horizontal axis from the first support bar; and a first deck panel being supported by the first and second support bars, the first deck panel being plastic, the first deck panel having: a first width measured parallel to the horizontal axis and a depth measured perpendicular to the horizontal axis; a front end and a rear end, the depth extending between the front end and rear end; an upper support surface configured to support merchandise and a bottom surface opposed to the upper support surface, the bottom surface facing the first and second support bars, the upper support surface extending horizontally between a first edge and a second edge, the second edge being horizontally spaced from the first edge along the horizontal axis, the first and second edges extending between the front and rear ends of the first deck panel; a first section of wall portions extending a first distance from the bottom surface and a second section of wall portions extending a second distance from the bottom surface, the first and second sections of wall portions being spaced apart forming a first channel therebetween, the first channel configured to receive the first support bar; a first projection extending from the bottom surface a third distance, the third distance being less than the first and second distances, the first projection being positioned proximate the first edge, the first projection being elongated parallel to the first and second edges, the first projection being, at least in part, laterally spaced from the first section of wall portions and the second section of wall portions, a first recessed region being formed between the first projection and at least one of the first section of wall portions and the second section of wall portions in which the bottom surface is exposed; and a second projection extending from the bottom surface a fourth distance, the fourth distance being less than the first and second distances, the second projection being positioned proximate the second edge, the second section of wall portions being positioned laterally between the first and second projections, the second projection being elongated parallel to the first and second edges, the second projection being, at least in part, laterally spaced from the first section of wall portions and the second section of wall portions, a second recessed region being formed between the second projection and at least one of the first section of wall portions and the second section of wall portions in which the bottom surface is exposed; wherein: the first channel defines a central axis that is perpendicular to the first and second edges and positioned between the first and second sections of wall portions; and the central axis intersects both the first and second projections.
2 . The shelf of claim 1 , wherein the first deck panel includes intermediate ribbing extending from the bottom surface a fifth distance, the fifth distance being less than the first and second distances, the intermediate ribbing being located within the first channel and extending between the first section of wall portions and the second section of wall portions.
3 . The shelf of claim 1 , further comprising a second deck panel identical to the first deck panel, the second deck panel being horizontally adjacent the first deck panel, the second deck panel being supported by the first and second support bars, the first projection of the first deck panel contacting the second projection of the second deck panel.
4 . The shelf of claim 1 , wherein: the portion of the first projection that is laterally spaced from the first and second sections of wall portions is laterally spaced along the horizontal axis and the portion of the second projection that is laterally spaced from the first and second sections of wall portions is laterally spaced along the horizontal axis; the first and second sections of wall portions are positioned horizontally between the first and second projections.
5 . The shelf of claim 4 , wherein: the first recessed region is positioned horizontally between the first projection and at least one of the first section of wall portions and the second section of wall portions along the horizontal axis with a portion of the bottom surface being exposed in the horizontal space between the first projection and the at least one of the first section of wall portions and the second section of wall portions; and the second recessed region is positioned horizontally between the second projection and at least one of the first section of wall portions and the second section of wall portions along the horizontal axis with a portion of the bottom surface being exposed in the horizontal space between the second projection and the at least one of the first section of wall portions and the second section of wall portions.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED PATENT APPLICATIONS This patent application is a Continuation of co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 17/826,769, filed May 27, 2022, which is now pending, which is a Continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/222,722, filed Dec. 17, 2018, which issued as U.S. Pat. No. 11,369,215 on Jun. 28, 2022, the entire teachings and disclosure of all applications are incorporated herein by reference thereto. FIELD OF THE INVENTION This invention generally relates to retail displays, and more particularly to retail shelving systems. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Retail shelving is a staple in the retail merchandise environment. While such shelving comes in many forms, it generally includes a vertical support structure which supports one or more shelves extending outwardly from the vertical structure. The vertical structure is typically a wall-like structure and contains integrated mounting rails, referred to in in the industry as gondola uprights, which the shelves mount to. However, the vertical structure and its gondola uprights offer minimal customization for mounting the shelves in a variety of arrangements. Further, certain retail displays may not include their own integrated gondola uprights. For non-limiting example, a refrigerated case for containing produce may not have integrated gondola uprights for a variety of reasons, one being that it may not have been originally designed to incorporate gondola mounted shelves, another being that such cases are typically designed to only accept the case manufacturers shelving and thus does not offer any customization. In such an instance, a separate grid structure that may contain gondola uprights is first mounted to a back wall of the refrigerated case. Thereafter, shelving can be mounted to this grid structure, ultimately to present a shelving arrangement similar to that for displaying non-refrigerated items. While such a configuration has a distinct advantage of allowing the retailer to introduce a shelving arrangement in a display not originally designed for shelving, it is not without its drawbacks. Indeed, the grid structure is a relatively large welded structure. Because it is welded, shipping this large structure in its pre-assembled state can be costly and cumbersome. Further, because the grid structure is a welded structure, its gondola uprights are fixed. Such grid systems typically include five fixed gondola uprights. However, the particular shelving configuration selected by the end user may necessitate the use of less than all five gondola uprights, leaving the remaining gondola uprights unused yet part of the assembly. Furthermore, the welding process necessitate the use of robust materials, which in turn results in a relatively heavy structure that tends to be difficult to install. Yet further, the shelves of such shelving systems also present several drawbacks. These shelves are typically steel structures which can corrode over time and which are heavy making them difficult to remove for cleaning. One alternative has been to utilize aluminum shelving instead, but this material results in a more costly system. Also, such steel or aluminum shelves do not meet the requirements for NSF Certification by NSF International, which is a highly desired certification in certain retail display applications in which the shelving surface comes into direct contact with the product being merchandised. Accordingly, there is a need in the art for a retail shelving system which addresses the above drawbacks of existing shelving systems. The invention provides such a retail shelving system. These and other advantages of the invention, as well as additional inventive features, will be apparent from the description of the invention provided herein. BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In one aspect, the invention provides shelving system. An embodiment of such a shelving system includes an upper rail defining an upper channel. The upper rail is configured to mount to a support structure. This embodiment also includes at least one upright support. The at least one upright support has an upper end and a lower end. The upper end is received in the upper channel. The lower end is received in the lower channel. The at least one upright support is slidable in the upper channel. This embodiment also includes at least one shelf mounted to the at least one upright supports. In embodiments according to this aspect, the upper rail includes a mounting shelf. The at least to upright supports include a channel for receiving the mounting shelf. In embodiments according to this aspect, the shelving system also includes a lower rail defining a lower channel configured to mount to the support structure separately from the upper rail. The lower rail includes a bottom wall and a lip depending upwardly from the bottom wall which bound the lower channel. The lip of the lower rail includes at least one access opening. The at least one access opening allowing acces