U.S. patent application number 10/195405 was filed with the patent office on 2003-10-23 for nesting rack.
Invention is credited to Bradea, Lucian, Murray, Patrick.
Application Number | 20030196975 10/195405 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 28796480 |
Filed Date | 2003-10-23 |
United States Patent
Application |
20030196975 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Murray, Patrick ; et
al. |
October 23, 2003 |
Nesting rack
Abstract
A bakery rack comprising a base frame supporting side frames and
a top frame, the base and top frames each comprising a pair of
spaced apart members connected by a cross brace extending from a
rear portion of one member to a front portion of the other member.
A plurality of racks can thus be stored in nested relation with a
portion of one rack disposed between the side frames of another
rack. The bakery rack is substantially laterally and vertically
symmetrical, and is easy and inexpensive to manufacture because it
utilizes substantially identical components for many different
purposes, while providing a nesting rack which takes up
significantly less storage space than a conventional rectangular
bakery rack.
Inventors: |
Murray, Patrick; (Kilbride,
CA) ; Bradea, Lucian; (Kitchener, CA) |
Correspondence
Address: |
Mark B. Eisen
Dimock Stratton Clarizio LLP
20 Queen Street West, Suite 3202
Box 102
Toronto
M5H 3R3
CA
|
Family ID: |
28796480 |
Appl. No.: |
10/195405 |
Filed: |
July 16, 2002 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
211/126.2 ;
211/194; 280/79.3 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A47B 57/10 20130101;
B62B 3/002 20130101; B62B 3/006 20130101; A47F 5/137 20130101; A47B
87/00 20130101; B62B 3/188 20130101; A21B 1/50 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
211/126.2 ;
211/194; 280/79.3 |
International
Class: |
A47F 005/00 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Apr 17, 2002 |
CA |
2,381886 |
Claims
I claim:
1. A rack, comprising a base frame comprising a pair of spaced
apart base members connected by a cross brace extending from a rear
portion of one base member to a front portion of the other base
member; side frames mounted to the base frame, each side frame
comprising a series of pan supports affixed in vertically spaced
relation to front and back risers; and a top frame mounted to the
side frames, comprising a pair of spaced apart top members
connected by a cross brace extending from a rear portion of one top
member to a front portion of the other top member; whereby a
plurality of racks can be stored in nested relation with a portion
of one rack disposed between the side frames of another rack.
2. The rack of claim 1 further comprising a secondary cross brace
extending between a rear portion of one side frame and a front
portion of the other side frame, at a position intermediate to the
top frame and the base frame.
3. The rack of claim 1 further comprising a truss extending between
a cross brace and the frame members to which the cross brace is
connected.
4. The rack of claim 1 comprising castors affixed to the base
frame.
5. The rack of claim 1 in which each side frame further comprises
an intermediate riser disposed between the front and rear
risers.
6. The rack of claim 5 in which the secondary cross brace is
affixed to side braces affixed to side braces respectively
extending between the front and intermediate risers of one frame
and the rear and intermediate risers of the other side frame.
7. The rack of claim 6 in which the secondary cross brace is
disposed in a bottom portion of the rack.
8. The rack of claim 7 in which the secondary cross brace is
disposed immediately beneath a pair of pan supports.
Description
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0001] This invention relates to racks. In particular, this
invention relates to a nesting rack which reduces storage space
requirements.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] So-called "bakery racks" are widely used in commercial
premises such as bakeries, to temporarily store products such as
baked goods. A typical bakery rack comprises a rectangular side
frames welded to a base frame mounted on castors, having a series
of pan supports vertically aligned on the sides of the frame. A pan
on which baked goods, for example pastries, are baked can be
removed from the oven and placed in the bakery rack for storage,
where the pan is supported along its side edges by the pan
supports.
[0003] Such bakery racks provide the advantages of being relatively
lightweight, since the baking pan itself forming a shelf when
placed on the pan supports and therefore built-in shelves are not
required. Further, the open design of bakery racks allows for baked
products to cool properly, without locking in moisture or
humidity.
[0004] However, bakery racks take up a significant amount of floor
space. An industrial or commercial premises such as a bakery may
require many bakery racks to handle the daily production and
inventory of baked goods, and at any particular point in time some
of the bakery racks will be in use and some will be in storage.
However, a conventional rectangular bakery rack takes up the same
amount of space whether it is in use or in storage. Bakery racks
are typically made from metal, for example aluminum, and are thus
heavy and usually quite bulky, so reorienting bakery racks for
stacking or to maximize space usage in a storage area is
unfeasible. As such, bakery racks must be left upright on the floor
even when not in use. In many industrial and especially commercial
premises, floor space is at a premium and at any time when a number
of bakery racks are in storage and not in use, a substantial amount
of floor space is wasted.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0005] The present invention provides a bakery rack having a
configuration which allows the bakery rack to abut another like
bakery rack in a nested relation when stored. Accordingly, while
the side-to-side space taken up by the stored bakery rack is the
same as in the case of any conventional rectangular bakery rack,
the front-to-back space required for storage is significantly
reduced where a number of bakery racks are stored nested one in the
other.
[0006] In the bakery rack according to a preferred embodiment of
the invention, a pair of substantially identical side frames on
which the pan supports are mounted, are in turn on a base
comprising base members which are substantially identical to one
another. The base members are also substantially identical to top
members ion a top frame affixed to the top of the bakery rack,
which helps to maintain the side frames in proper vertical
alignment. A cross brace extends between the rear end of one base
member and the front end of the other base member, and a cross
brace similarly extends between the rear end of one top member and
the front end of the other top member. Each cross brace is further
supported by truss members, to maintain the selected angular
orientation of the cross brace in the top or bottom frame. Also, in
the preferred embodiment a secondary cross brace extends between a
rear portion of one side frame and a front portion of the other
side frame.
[0007] A bakery rack according to one embodiment of the invention
is thus easy and inexpensive to manufacture, providing both lateral
and vertical symmetry and utilizing substantially identical
components for many different purposes. The invention at the same
time provides a nesting rack which takes up significantly less
storage space than a conventional rectangular bakery rack.
[0008] In a further embodiment of the invention, the top frame is
mounted inside the side frames, and the side frames have curved
shoulders.
[0009] The present invention thus provides a rack, comprising a
base frame comprising a pair of spaced apart base members connected
by a cross brace extending from a rear portion of one base member
to a front portion of the other base member; side frames mounted to
the base frame, each side frame comprising a series of pan supports
affixed in vertically spaced relation to front and back risers; and
a top frame mounted to the side frames, comprising a pair of spaced
apart top members connected by a cross brace extending from a rear
portion of one top member to a front portion of the other top
member; whereby a plurality of racks can be stored in nested
relation with a portion of one rack disposed between the side
frames of another rack.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0010] In drawings which illustrate by way of example only a
preferred embodiment of the invention,
[0011] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a bakery rack according to a
first embodiment of the invention.
[0012] FIG. 2 is a side elevation of the bakery rack of FIG. 1.
[0013] FIG. 3 is a front elevation of the bakery rack of FIG.
1.
[0014] FIG. 4 is a top plan view of the bakery rack of FIG. 1,
showing a plurality of bakery racks in nested relation.
[0015] FIG. 5 is a bottom plan view of the bakery rack of FIG.
1.
[0016] FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a further embodiment of a
bakery rack according to the invention.
[0017] FIG. 7 is a side elevation of the bakery rack of FIG. 6.
[0018] FIG. 8 is a front elevation of the bakery rack of FIG.
6.
[0019] FIG. 9 is a top plan view of the bakery rack of FIG. 6.
[0020] FIG. 10 is a bottom plan view of the bakery rack of FIG.
6.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0021] A first embodiment of the invention is illustrated in FIGS.
1 to 5. In this embodiment, the bakery rack 10 according to the
invention comprises a pair of side frames 20 mounted to a base 30
and capped by a top 40.
[0022] The side frames 20 are preferably substantially identical,
and each comprises front and back risers 22, 24 and an intermediate
riser 26 which is generally centred between the front and back
risers 22, 24. Affixed, for example welded, to the risers 22, 24,
26, are a series of pan supports 28 which may conventionally
comprise a supporting plate 28a depending substantially
orthogonally from a back plate 28b. In the preferred embodiment the
pan supports are substantially evenly spaced along the risers 22,
24, 26. All components of the side frames are preferably formed
from food grade stainless steel, but may alternatively be formed
from plastic or another suitable material.
[0023] The risers 22, 24, 26 are mounted on and affixed, for
example welded, to a base frame 30 comprising base members 32. The
base members 32 are preferably substantially identical, and each
has mounted to its underside at the front and rear ends,
respectively, a castor 34 to facilitate transporting the rack 10
about a commercial premises. The base members 32 are connected by a
cross brace 36 which is suitably affixed, for example welded, to a
rear portion of one base member 32 and a front portion of the other
base member 32. Trusses 38 are similarly affixed between the cross
brace 36 and each respective base member 32, to maintain the
selected angular orientation of the cross brace 36 relative to the
base members 32 and form a structurally secure, integrated base
frame 30.
[0024] In the embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 5, the risers
22, 24, 26 are affixed at their top ends to a top frame comprising
a pair of top members 42. The top members 42 are connected by a
cross brace 46, which is suitably affixed, for example welded, to a
rear portion of one top member 42 and a front portion of the other
top member 42. The top frame 40, which is thus substantially
identical to the bottom frame 30, serves to retain the top ends of
the side frames 20 in spaced apart relation and to hold the side
frames 20 in a vertical orientation.
[0025] In the preferred embodiment a secondary cross brace 50 is
affixed to side brace members 54, which are respectively affixed on
one side between the front riser 22 and the intermediate riser 26,
and on the other side between the rear riser 24 and the
intermediate riser 26. The secondary cross brace 50 is preferably
disposed in a bottom portion of the rack 10, and advantageously
immediately beneath a pair of pan supports 28 so as not to
interfere with the loading of the rack 10.
[0026] In use, the bakery rack 10 serves as a storage area for pans
2, which for example may be used for baking and subsequently
storing baked goods. The pan 2 is slid onto pan supports 28, as
shown in phantom in FIG. 2, and a series of pans 2 can thus be
stacked into the rack 10 for cooling and temporary storage of the
baked goods.
[0027] When the rack 10 is not in use, it can be wheeled up against
another rack so that the racks 10 abut in nested relation, as shown
in FIG. 4. This configuration occupies considerably less floor
space than the cumulative floor space occupied by each individual
rack 10.
[0028] A further embodiment of the invention is illustrated in
FIGS. 6 to 10. In this embodiment the top frame 40 is affixed to
interior surfaces of top rails 60. The ends of each top rail 60
join the front and rear risers 22, 24 at curved shoulder portions
62, so affixing the top frame 40 to the interior surfaces of the
top rails 60 allows for a more secure attachment between the top
and side frames 60, 20. The construction and use of this embodiment
of the invention are otherwise as previously described in relation
to the embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 5.
[0029] Various embodiments of the present invention having been
thus described in detail by way of example, it will be apparent to
those skilled in the art that variations and modifications may be
made without departing from the invention. The invention includes
all such variations and modifications as fall within the scope of
the appended claims.
* * * * *