Sliding bookcase which can be expanded in the longitudinal direction

Abstract

 Sliding bookcase comprising a fixed body (10) consisting of two shoulders (11), two cross-pieces, i.e. an upper cross-piece and lower cross-piece (12, 13), and at least one shelf (14) arranged between said shoulders (11), there being provided a sliding body (20) formed by a shoulder (21), which has fixed to its opposite ends a transverse surface (22,23) provided with longitudinal guide means (24,25) designed to co-operate with corresponding rails (12a) fixed to the cross-pieces (12,13) of the fixed body (10), and by at least one shelf (30) designed to perform a translatory movement in both directions guided by said at least one shelf (14) of the fixed body (10).

Description

[0001] The present invention relates to a bookcase which can be expanded in the longitudinal direction.

[0002] It is known in the technical sector relating to the manufacture of furniture and the like that there exists the need to adapt said furniture so that it is able to occupy a larger or smaller amount of space depending on the actual use made of it and depending on the space which is available for its positioning, which space may vary over time.

[0003] An example of this need is provided by bookcases which are normally designed with dimensions for the specific width which is available at the time of assembly and which pose a problem should their overall dimensions need to be subsequently varied in order to make them longer or shorter.

[0004] The technical problem which is posed, therefore, is that of providing a bookcase which is able to vary its lengthwise dimensions in a simple and easy manner also so that the end user is not obliged to call upon the assistance of specialized personnel.

[0005] Within the scope of this problem a further requirement is that the bookcase should consist of modular elements which can be joined together and that the aesthetic appearance of the bookcase should retain its unified nature also after lengthening thereof, so as not to have unaesthetic additions which differ substantially from the design of furniture.

[0006] These technical problems are solved according to the present invention by a bookcase comprising a fixed body consisting of two shoulders, two cross-pieces, i.e. an upper one and lower one, and at least one shelf arranged between said shoulders, there being provided a sliding body formed by a shoulder, which has fixed to its opposite ends a transverse surface provided with longitudinal guide means which are designed to co-operate with corresponding rails which are fixed to the cross-pieces of the fixed body, and by at least one shelf which is designed to perform a translatory movement in both directions guided by said at least one shelf of the fixed body.

[0007] Further details may be obtained from the following description of a non-limiting example of embodiment of the invention provided with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

• Figure 1 shows a perspective view of the bookcase according to the invention in the closed configuration;
• Figure 2 shows a perspective view of the bookcase according to the invention with the sliding body pulled out;
• Figure 3 shows a cross-section along a plane indicated by III-III in Fig. 1;
• Figure 4 shows a cross-section along a plane indicated by IV-IV in Fig. 3;
• Figure 5 shows a cross-sectional detail, on a larger scale, of the upper part and lower part;
• Figure 6 shows a view of the detail of the shoulder supporting the fixed shelves;
• Figure 7 shows a view of the detail of the elements supporting the movable shelves;
• Figure 8 shows a view of the linear illuminating bodies associated with the bookcase; and
• Figure 9 shows a view of the bookcase which can be expanded laterally.

[0008] A bookcase according to the invention comprises essentially a fixed body 10 consisting of two side shoulders 11 and two cross-pieces, i.e. an upper cross-piece 12 and lower cross-piece 13, and a movable body 20 able to perform a sliding translatory movement inside the fixed body 10, as will emerge in greater detail below.

[0009] The side shoulders 11 of the fixed body are in turn formed by two uprights 11a and by a plurality of tubular cross-pieces 11b which connect the uprights together.

[0010] The upper cross-piece 12 and the lower cross-piece 13 have, fastened to them, two guides in the form of an overturned "U" 12a which are arranged in the longitudinal direction and which slidably support two slides connected to the movable body and described below.

[0011] The fixed body 10 has, fitted to it, at least one shelf 14 with longitudinal side edges 14a which are folded inwards so as to form a guide 14b for the shelves 30 connected to the sliding body 20.

[0012] The sliding body 20 is in turn formed by a shoulder 21 which has connected, at its opposite ends, two surfaces forming respectively an upper cross-piece 22 and a lower cross-piece 23, forming as a whole a "C", the horizontal arms of which slide longitudinally inside the fixed body 10.

[0013] The respective external surfaces of the two movable cross-pieces 22 and 23 have two pairs of longitudinal projections 24 which have, fixed onto one of their surfaces, a longitudinal slide 25 which travels on the guides 12a in the form of an overturned "U" which are fixed to the body 10 of the bookcase.

[0014] Each shoulder 21 (Fig. 7) has, mounted on it, two metal strips 26 which are provided with threaded holes 26a into which special fork members 27 are fixed, said members being designed to receive the transverse edge of each shelf 30 so as to support it and keep it perpendicular to the shoulder 21, while making the structure rigid.

[0015] All the shelves 14 (Fig. 6) have a transverse edge shaped with projecting frets 14c which form brackets for resting on the tubular cross-pieces 11b, said frets defining corresponding seats 14d.

[0016] The particular fretted shape allows two consecutive and coplanar shelves 30 to be joined together in the longitudinal direction without interrupting the continuity of the surface.

[0017] The upper front part of the bookcase (Fig. 9) also has, fitted to it, linear illuminating bodies 50 which may be extended in the longitudinal direction by means of suitable joining and support elements in the form of a "T", 51, or "L" ,52, thus allowing the extension of the illuminating part to be adapted to the extension of the bookcase without unaesthetic interruptions.

[0018] It is also envisaged that the external surface of said sliding body is provided with a concealed handle for gripping and pulling out the body itself.

[0019] It is therefore obvious how the bookcase according to the invention may be lengthened laterally so as to adapt the bookcase to the specific requirements and how the modularity of the structure allows the overall extension to be multiplied retaining in this case the possibility of extension for only one or both the opposite end modules.

Claims

1. Sliding bookcase comprising a fixed body (10) consisting of two shoulders (11), two cross-pieces, i.e. an upper cross-piece and lower cross-piece (12, 13), and at least one shelf (14) arranged between said shoulders (11), characterized in that it comprises a sliding body (20) formed by a shoulder (21), which has fixed to its opposite ends a transverse surface (22,23) provided with longitudinal guide means (24,25) which are designed to co-operate with corresponding rails (12a) fixed to the cross-pieces (12, 13) of the fixed body (10), and by at least one shelf (30) able to perform a translatory movement in both directions guided by said at least one shelf (14) of the fixed body (10).

2. Sliding bookcase according to Claim 1, characterized in that said shoulders (11) of the fixed body are formed by uprights (11a) which are connected together in the transverse direction by tubular elements (11b).

3. Sliding bookcase according to Claim 1, characterized in that said guide rails fixed to the upper and lower cross-pieces (12,13) of the fixed body (10) consist of sections in the form of an overturned "U".

4. Sliding bookcase according to Claim 1, characterized in that said transverse upper and lower end surfaces (22,23) of the sliding body (20) have pairs of longitudinal projections (24).

5. Sliding bookcase according to Claims 1 and 4, characterized in that at least one projection of each pair has, fixed to it, a slide (25) able to slide on said rails (12a).

6. Sliding bookcase according to Claim 1, characterized in that said at least one transverse shelf (14) joined to the fixed body (10) has longitudinal edges (14a) which are folded inwards so as to form guides (14b) for sliding of corresponding shelves (30) fixed to the sliding shoulder (21).

7. Sliding bookcase according to Claim 1, characterized in that each shoulder (21) of the sliding body (20) has metal strips (26) with threaded holes (26a) for engagement with corresponding fork-type fixing means (27) supporting a transverse edge of the movable shelves (30).

8. Sliding bookcase according to Claim 1, characterized in that each shelf (14) fixed to the body (10) has transverse edges shaped in the manner of projecting brackets (14c) resting on the said transverse tubular elements (11).

9. Sliding bookcase according to Claim 1, characterized in that said brackets (14c) of the shelves (14) define corresponding seats (14d) for receiving the brackets of adjacent and coplanar shelves so as to form a continuous connection in the longitudinal direction.

10. Sliding bookcase according to Claim 1, characterized in that it comprises substantially linear illuminating bodies which are supported by elements in the form of an "L" or a "T" which are joined to the fixed body of the bookcase.

11. Sliding bookcase according to Claim 1, characterized in that the external surface of said sliding body is provided with a concealed handle for gripping and pulling out the body itself.

Drawing