US 5,738,019 · Granted 1998-04-14
The Adjustable Shelf Patent Behind Every Retail Display Stand
This patent describes a clever shelf system for store display racks that lets you pull shelves in and out, tilt them at different angles, and lock them in place wherever you want. It's the invisible engineering that makes retail displays flexible and customizable for different products.
The plain-English version
What it protects
The claim covers a removable shelf assembly that mounts onto slotted uprights using a two-part support system. What's protected is the ability to extend or retract the shelf via a manual locking mechanism, and the angled adjustability created by interlocking pegs and holes between the mounting pieces. Someone making an unauthorized copy would need to avoid this specific combination of extendable shelf geometry, the locking release mechanism, and the angular adjustment feature.
Why it matters
Retail displays are foundational infrastructure in stores worldwide, and this patent protects a key innovation in making them modular and adjustable. Rather than bolting shelves at fixed angles, this design lets retailers reconfigure their displays quickly to showcase different product sizes and shapes without tools or complex disassembly. That flexibility translates directly into merchandising efficiency and the ability to adapt displays for seasonal or promotional changes.
Real-world use
Every time you see a store rearrange its display shelves—tilting them to show sneakers at an angle or extending them to accommodate bulkier items—you're seeing this patent's logic in action.
Original USPTO abstract
An extendable shelf assembly is removably mounted on the slotted uprights of a display stand and comprises a shelf mounted on a shelf support, a shelf extender attached to said shelf and the shelf support and operable so that the shelf can be extended or retracted. A manually operable locking device permits the shelf to be extended or retracted and moved from one position to another when the locking device is released, the locking device retaining the shelf in its selected position when engaged. An angularly adjustable shelf support assembly which comprises a first mounting member with structure thereon for releasably attaching the member to a slotted upright and a second mounting member for attachment to the shelf to take the load thereof. The first and second mounting members have cooperating pegs and holes thereon so the angular orientation of the second member relative to the first member can be changed and further comprises securing apparatus to hold the first and second mounting members together in their selected angular orientation.
Patent details
- Publication number
- US 5,738,019
- Filing date
- 1994-10-31
- Grant date
- 1998-04-14
- Assignee
- Ppe Limited
- Inventor(s)
- PARKER; NIGEL IAN
- CPC class
- A47B57/16
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