US 6,234,328 · Granted 2001-05-22
The Adjustable Shelf Patent That Powers Modern Retail Displays
Imagine a bookshelf or store display where you can slide shelves up and down and adjust them to different angles—all while heavy stacks of books stay perfectly in place. This patent covers the clever track system and weighted pusher mechanism that make that possible, keeping display items from tumbling forward no matter how the shelf tilts.
The plain-English version
What it protects
The claim covers a shelf assembly with vertical and horizontal tracks that allow a support bracket to move up and down a slotted wall. What's protected here is the specific combination of the adjustable shelf bar, the weighted pusher that slides within the shelf's tracks, and the front plate that stops the pusher from sliding off the end while supporting stacked display material. Anyone making an adjustable shelf system with this exact track-and-pusher mechanism would be infringing on the protected design.
Why it matters
This patent solves a real retail and storage problem: how to create flexible, angle-adjustable shelving that keeps heavy stacked items secure without requiring constant manual adjustment or risk of items falling. The track-based system with a weighted pusher is a mechanical solution that became standard in retail displays, library shelving, and adjustable storage furniture. It allowed manufacturers to offer customers more control over shelf positioning while maintaining safety and stability.
Real-world use
You'd see this system in bookstores, retail displays, and adjustable shelving units where items are stacked and the shelf needs to tilt or adjust height without the merchandise sliding forward.
Original USPTO abstract
The invention relates to an adjustable shelf system having a shelf with a series of tracks. Connected to the shelf is at least one adjustable support bracket. The support bracket is adjustable because it has a series of vertical tracks connected to a series of horizontal tracks. A shelf bar is slidable within these tracks and allows the shelf to be adjusted based upon its angle and spacing from a slotted wall. Display material can be placed on the shelf in a stack and supported by a weighted pusher. The weighted pusher supports these books by sliding within the tracks of the shelf to a front plate. The front plate is designed to support this display material and also stop the pusher from sliding off an end of the track.
Patent details
- Publication number
- US 6,234,328
- Filing date
- 1999-09-24
- Grant date
- 2001-05-22
- Assignee
- Ndr Corporation
- Inventor(s)
- MASON TIMOTHY L.
- CPC class
- A47F5/0037
Want to file your own patent?
If you're designing a storage or display furniture idea of your own, search our patent database to see how adjustable shelf systems are already protected—it could save you from reinventing something patented decades ago.
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