US 4,478,337 · Granted 1984-10-23
The Telescoping Shelf That Adapts to Any Storage Space
Imagine a shelf system where one half slides into the other like a telescope, letting you adjust the depth to fit any cabinet or closet. The clever part: it has tracks and tiny air holes so products sit securely but can still get air circulation around them, and you can even tilt the whole thing to let gravity slide things toward you.
The plain-English version
What it protects
The claim covers a two-piece shelving system where one shelf member telescopes into another, with matching guide channels and track supports. What's protected here is the specific way the upstanding walls on one piece slide into the walls on the other piece to extend or compress the shelf length, plus the integrated air-circulation holes in the shelf floor and the removable track elements that hold products in place.
Why it matters
This patent locks down a practical solution to a real retail and storage problem: how to make adjustable shelving that works in spaces of different depths without requiring tools or complex assembly. The self-lubricating telescoping design and built-in air circulation were valuable features for grocery stores, pharmacies, and warehouses where product visibility and freshness matter. By combining adjustability with gravity-feed capability, it addressed efficiency in both storage and product rotation.
Real-world use
You'd see this in the back-of-store shelving at a grocery store or pharmacy, where employees can slide the shelves in or out to fit different aisle widths and tilt them slightly so products naturally roll forward as stock runs down.
Original USPTO abstract
A two-piece telescoping shelf adaptor construction adaptable to be supported on a shelf structure in a flat or inclined position and adjustable to accommodate varying shelf depths comprising first and second members each being formed having a similar number of spaced parallel adjacent guide channels extending thereacross, the first member having a front wall extending across the front edge thereof and the second member having a rear wall extending across the rear edge thereof, the guide channels each including a floor portion and spaced upstanding wall portions extending across the first and second members to form separators between the adjacent channels, the upstanding wall portions on the second member having cross-sectional shapes and being spaced to slidably receive and telescopingly cooperate with the upstanding wall portions on the first member whereby the first and second members can be moved relative to each other in order to achieve a desired length between the front wall of the first member and the rear wall of the second member, and at least one track member positioned in and extending along each of the channels in each of the first and second members to engage and support products positioned thereon, the floor portion associated with each of the adjacent guide channels also including a plurality of apertures located adjacent to the respective track members positioned therein for enabling air to pass therethrough for circulation around the rows of products positioned in each of the guide channels. These constructions can include self-lubricating tracks and can be used by inclining existing shelves to effect gravity feeding of products of various types, sizes and shapes.
Patent details
- Publication number
- US 4,478,337
- Filing date
- 1982-06-29
- Grant date
- 1984-10-23
- Assignee
- Paul Flum Ideas, Inc.
- Inventor(s)
- FLUM; PAUL
- CPC class
- A47B45/00
Want to file your own patent?
If you're designing a storage or retail fixture, check IsItPatented to see what shelving innovations are already protected before you engineer your own space-saving system.
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