BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0002] Modular arrangement of shelves is common in the shelving industry. With the large number of types of shelves available to customers, manufacturers face tough competition distinguishing their particular shelves from that of their competitors'. Obviously, the manufacturer wishes for his shelf to incorporate unique features that make it more appealing to consumers and retailers.

[0003] When a shelf is sold assembled, it takes up much space. Because retailers have limited space to display items, such as shelving units, the retailer often displays a model of only the most profitable items in his inventory. Sometimes only a picture of an item may be displayed. Some retailers may even relegate items only to their catalog or advertisement.

[0004] Where the item takes up what is considered too much space in inventory, the retailer may not even keep the item in stock. He may order it only at the request of a customer. In this situation, if the customer finds the waiting period for a product unacceptable, the consumer may forego the purchase.

[0005] Shelving units that are unassembled take up much less space and are easier to put on a retailer's floor, and place in inventory. However, the customer may be discouraged from purchasing an unassembled shelving unit where his vision of how the shelving unit will look is based on a graphic representation or picture of the shelving unit that is on a shipping container that he sees at the time of purchase.

[0006] Where a shelving unit can be displayed in its unassembled state, where it takes up much less space in its unassembled state over its assembled state, where it can be envisioned as it will appear when complete, and where it is easy to assemble, it will have a much greater chance of being in stock at the retailer, displayed by the retailer, and purchased by the customer. Nesting serves this purpose.

[0007] There are many designs for assembly of unassembled shelves. One of the easiest is through the use of a simple connector. There are also numerous types of connectors. However, the tradeoff for ease of assembly is often loss of strength. The connection is a weak point. When the shelf is disturbed or toppled, there is a chance for the shelves to disassemble. Even where the connection is tight, disassembly is a possibility without additional forces holding the connected shelf legs together. Therefore, there is a need for a quick and easy to assemble stackable shelving system that will maintain its assembled state, even when toppled, and a connector that provides the required strength. Hence, the present invention provides not only a friction-fitted connector, but also a connection that is reinforced by a vacuum.

[0008] U.S. Pat. No. 4,444,320 to Chap, issued on Apr. 24, 1984, discloses a stackable shelf unit. A portion of the legs of the shelf unit is offset so that the legs may engage the shelf below it. Because there is no connector as in the present invention, the legs of the upper shelf unit may slide past the lower shelf unit if there is too much weight added to an upper shelf unit or if the upper shelf is not properly aligned. In addition, because there is no connector where the upper and lower shelves are rigidly connected, the shelve may disengage if bumped or knocked over.

[0009] U.S. Pat. No. 4,155,311 to Jackovin, issued on May 22, 1979, discloses a stackable modular shelf apparatus. A series of individual rectangular frames are connected by clips to form the actual frame of the shelf. In addition, the clips are used to hold into place the unit's horizontal surface. However, unlike the '311 patent, where the frame of the modular shelf apparatus must be assembled before individual units can be modularly connected, each unit of the present invention is presented as a single shelf unit. In addition, these shelves cannot be stacked in a manner such that they can be displaced while taking less room than an assembled shelf. Also, the connector is not reinforced by a vacuum to provide additional strength and prevent undesired disassembly.

[0010] U.S. Pat. No. 4,117,783 to Eckel, issued on Oct. 3, 1978, discloses a module storage unit. Each of the modules is of a frame that has open sides, front, bottom and top. The corner of the frames has openings. The frames are connected with a series of studs through the openings in the corner of the frames. However, unlike the present invention, the modules described in the '783 invention do not have an actual shelf to place objects on. It is a frame that still requires a horizontal shelf to place objects. In addition, the construction of the '783 invention requires connection through the use of studs. The present invention requires interconnection through a tube-type or male/female-type connector arrangement.

[0011] U.S. Pat. No. 6,230,909 to Suter, issued on May 15, 2001, discloses a modular shelving assembly. Each of the modules is a U-shape base unit. The base units can be placed so that they overlap and are staggered, thereby forming different size and shapes of the modular shelving assembly. Interconnection between the base units is via pins. The present invention does not use pins. The present invention shelves are interconnected via tubing that decreases chance of accidental disassembly with a vacuum. In addition, the '909 patent does not allow for easy stacking and storage of the of the assembly when stored.

[0012] U.S. Pat. No. 6,260,448 to Yang, issued on Jul. 17, 2001, discloses a modular shelving assembly. In the '448 patent the shelves are assembled by a series of pins. The pins can be locked into place making the unit more stable. Also, the legs and shelves are separate devices, whereas in the present invention the legs and shelves are a single unit. Therefore, assembly is required to build each module of the '448 patent. However, in the present invention, each shelving unit is assembled, making assembly of a series of shelves much quicker and easier. Also, the present invention uses tubing, instead of pins, to interconnect the shelving units.

[0013] U.S. Pat. No. 3,115,106 to Gersch, issued on Dec. 24, 1963, discloses a modular display rack. The racks are vertically interconnected via sockets. The bottoms of the legs of one rack are placed in the sockets of the rack below it. In the present invention, the tubing that is used to connect the shelves is only present when there is a desire to connect the shelves vertically. The tubing is not permanently affixed to the shelving. It may be used as required. Also, assembly is required for each rack in the '106 patent. Therefore, the rack cannot be easily disassembled and reassembled when use is required. In addition, the rack of the '106 patent can not be interconnected when inverted, whereas the shelf in the present invention can be interconnected to form a different arrangement.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0014] The present invention presents a device and method for stacking shelves to a desired arrangement. The shelving unit may be packaged in a nested configuration at the manufacturing plant in such a way that it takes up a small portion of the space that would be needed if it were assembled; making shipping, storage and displaying of the shelving unit easier and less costly. In addition, when packaged, it can be packaged such that a customer can ascertain how it will appear when assembled, and the amount of skill that will be required for assembly. After purchase, the present invention maintains its desired feature of ease of assembly/disassembly for required use, and minimal space for storage of the shelving unit when it is not needed.

[0015] The shelving units are easily stored in a small area when unassembled. The shelving units can be assembled through the use of a chambered connector tube where the top nipple of the leg of one shelving unit is inserted into one chambered end of the tubing. The bottom nipple of the leg of another shelving unit is inserted into the opposing chambered end of the tubing. In addition, the shelving unit may be coated in a material such that when the shelf legs are inserted in each end of the tubing, a vacuum is formed to prevent the shelf legs from accidentally being removed from the tubing. Also, the connection between the shelving units may be such that the shelf legs are designed as female connections and the connector is the male connector that is inserted into the shelf legs to connect two shelving units together, or a variation where the tops of the shelf legs are male ends and the bottoms are female, and vice versa. The connection may be assisted by a tube-type connector.

[0016] An object of the present invention is to provide a shelving unit that can easily be packaged such that it takes up a portion of the space that it would require if it were assembled.

[0017] Another object of the invention is to provide readily available shelves that occupy a small area when unassembled in a nested configuration for storage and shipping.

[0018] Another object of the invention is to provide a shelving unit where the method of assembly is easily ascertained with basic instructions.

[0019] Yet another object of the invention is to provide a shelving unit that projects how the unit will appear when assembled by viewing it in its unassembled state.

[0020] Another object of the invention is to provide a design where the connector not only provides a friction fitting, but also provides a fitting that is reinforced with a vacuum.

[0021] Still another object of the present invention is to provide a design where that shelving unit can be assembled in a unique configuration to meet the user's requirements.

[0022] Numerous other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become readily apparent through the detailed description of the preferred embodiment, drawings and the claims.