U.S. patent application number 10/295837 was filed with the patent office on 2004-05-20 for reinforcement kit for protecting pallet rack frame.
Invention is credited to MacDonald, Shawn D..
Application Number | 20040094496 10/295837 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 32297309 |
Filed Date | 2004-05-20 |
United States Patent
Application |
20040094496 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
MacDonald, Shawn D. |
May 20, 2004 |
Reinforcement kit for protecting pallet rack frame
Abstract
An integral pallet rack post reinforcement kit for protecting
the lower pallet rack frame from forklifts, etc. which takes the
place of the lower six to twelve inches of the front frame post and
fastened in its place. The kit is, for example, square tube welded
to a three-sided outer clamp which bears a front angle deflector.
These components are welded to a four inch by twelve inch by
three-eighths inch footplate with two three-quarter inch by five
inch by half inch wedge bolt anchors for attachment to the
warehouse floor. Accordingly, this footplate replaces the original
footplate. By using the reinforcement kit with the angle deflector,
frontal impacts are deflected off to one side. The front post of
the original pallet rack the present reinforcement kit would, over
time, fail from cyclical or repeated impacts.
Inventors: |
MacDonald, Shawn D.;
(Joliet, IL) |
Correspondence
Address: |
Richard C. Litman
LITMAN LAW OFFICES, LTD.
P.O. Box 15035
Arlington
VA
22215
US
|
Family ID: |
32297309 |
Appl. No.: |
10/295837 |
Filed: |
November 18, 2002 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
211/189 ;
211/183 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A47B 91/00 20130101;
B65G 2207/40 20130101; B65G 1/02 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
211/189 ;
211/183 |
International
Class: |
A47F 005/00 |
Claims
I claim:
1. An integral reinforcement kit for protecting pallet rack frame
comprising: an upright, vertically oriented clamp having an upper
portion and a lower portion: a rectangular anchor base having a
front portion a front end and a rear portion; said clamp being
supported by and extending vertically from said anchor base front
portion; and a leg support upright supported upon said front
portion of said anchor base and extending upward within clamp lower
portion; said integral reinforcement kit being made of a
substantially heavier gauge of metal than said pallet rack frame;
whereby said leg support upright supports a truncated lower upright
leg of a pallet rack; and whereby said upper portion of said clamp
engages said pallet rack so as to clamp said reinforcement kit to
said truncated lower pallet rack upright leg.
2. The reinforcement kit of claim 1, wherein said leg support has a
leg support cap located at the upper end thereof.
3. The reinforcement kit of claim 2, wherein said clamp is
"U"-shaped in cross section having a front wall and opposing side
walls.
4. The reinforcement kit of claim 3, wherein said front wall of
said clamp faces forward relative to said kit and extends upward
from a point near said front end of said anchor base, said opposing
side walls extending rearwardly therefrom.
5. The reinforcement kit of claim 4, wherein said leg support
upright extends rearwardly beyond said lower clamp portion.
6. The reinforcement kit of claim 5, wherein said leg support is
generally square in cross section.
7. The reinforcement kit of claim 6, wherein said pallet rack
upright is welded in place relative to said lower portion of said
clamp and said anchor base.
8. The reinforcement kit of claim 7, further comprising a
vertically oriented front deflector extending the substantial
length of said clamp and located on said front wall thereof.
9. The reinforcement kit of claim 8, wherein said front deflector
is an angle segment having two equal sides extending forward from
said clamp front wall and meeting at an apex spaced forward of and
generally bisecting said clamp.
10. The reinforcement kit of claim 9, wherein said deflector is a
right angle segment having a cap extending to said clamp front
wall.
11. The reinforcement kit of claim 5, wherein said rear portion of
said anchor base defines at least one anchor bolt bore for
receiving a respective floor anchor bolt.
12. The reinforcement kit of claim 5, wherein the remaining portion
of the pallet rack truncated upright leg is generally coextensive
with said leg support cap, said upper portion of said clamp
partially encasing said remaining portion, and said remaining
portion is welded to said upper portion of said clamp to form a
reinforced extension thereof.
13. The reinforcement kit of claim 12, wherein the remaining
portion of the pallet rack truncated upright leg has spaced bores
therealong and is generally coextensive with said leg support cap,
said clamp partially encasing said remaining portion and having
corresponding bores through said opposing walls for receiving leg
support bolts to thereby form a reinforced extension of said
truncated upright post.
14. The reinforcement kit of claim 1, wherein said truncated
upright leg with said reinforcement kit secured thereto is equal in
length to the remaining upright legs of the pallet rack.
15. In combination with a pallet rack having a truncated lower
upright leg, an integral reinforcement kit for protecting a pallet
rack frame comprising: an upright, vertically oriented clamp having
an upper portion and a lower portion: a rectangular anchor base
having a front portion a front end and a rear portion; said clamp
being supported by and extending vertically from said anchor base
front portion; and a leg support upright supported upon said front
portion of said anchor base and extending upward within clamp lower
portion; said integral reinforcement kit being made of a
substantially heavier gauge of metal than said pallet rack frame;
whereby said leg support upright supports a truncated lower upright
leg of a pallet rack; and whereby said upper portion of said clamp
engages said pallet rack so as to clamp said reinforcement kit to
said truncated lower pallet rack upright leg.
16. The combination of claim 15, wherein said leg support of said
reinforcement kit has a leg support cap located at the upper end
thereof.
17. The combination of claim 16, wherein said clamp of said
reinforcement kit is "U"-shaped in cross section having a front
wall and opposing side walls.
18. The combination of claim 17, wherein said front wall of said
clamp of said reinforcement kit faces forward relative to said kit
and extends upward from a point near said front end of said anchor
base, said opposing side walls extending rearwardly therefrom.
19. The combination of claim 18, wherein said leg support upright
of said reinforcement kit extends rearwardly beyond said lower
clamp portion.
20. The combination of claim 19, wherein said leg support of said
reinforcement kit is generally square in cross section.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] 1. Field of the Invention
[0002] The present invention relates to pallet racks. More
particularly, the present invention relates to pallet rack
reinforcement kits for protecting the lower pallet rack front
legs.
[0003] 2. Description of the Related Art
[0004] The use of pallet racks is common in warehouses a warehouse
stores. They are designed to receive product bearing pallets from a
fork lift truck. The normal use of fork lift trucks around the
pallet rack commonly results in damage to the lower front legs due
to collisions with forklift forks, tires, and outriggers. Storage
of pallets of materials in floor locations also results in damage
to the lower front legs. It would be desirable to provide an easily
installable, heavy duty reinforcement kit which may be installed in
the factory or in-place such as in a warehouse to protect the lower
legs of an industrial pallet rack frame from damage from placing
pallets of materials in floor locations on either side of the frame
and to protect the lower section of the front post from damage by
forklift forks, tires, and outriggers.
[0005] U.S. Pat. No. 6,298,537 B1, issued Oct. 9, 2001, to Dion,
describes a pallet rack repair kit for replacing the damaged lower
front post.
[0006] U.S. Pat. No. 4,239,122, issued Dec. 16, 1980, to Klein,
describes a reinforced pallet rack for resisting forklift impact,
bending, and deflection from fork lifts.
[0007] U.S. Pat. No. 4,113,110, issued Sep. 12, 1978, to Mittag,
describes a pallet rack and post protector assembly.
[0008] U.S. Pat. No. 5,369,925, issued Dec. 6, 1994, describes
pallet rack lower post protectors supported on the floor and
partially surrounding each post from damage by fork lifts.
[0009] U.S. Pat. No. 6,332,549 B1, issued to the present applicant
on Dec. 25, 2001, describes a repair kit for a damaged pallet rack
frame having front and intermediate uprights and upper and lower
cross members for attachment to an undamaged rear post.
[0010] Canadian Patent No. 2,280,645, published Feb. 25, 2001, to
Dion, describes a reinforcement unit for a pair of pallet rack
lower posts.
[0011] None of the above inventions and patents, taken either
singularly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant
invention as claimed. Thus, a reinforcement kit for protecting
pallet rack frame solving the aforementioned problems is
desired.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0012] The present invention is an integral pallet rack post
reinforcement kit for protecting the lower pallet rack frame from
forklifts, etc. The reinforcement is done by removing the six to
twelve inches of the front frame post and fastening the heavy gauge
reinforcement kit in its place. The reinforcement kit is, for
example, three inch by three inch by a quarter inch square tube
welded to a quarter inch, three-sided outer clamp which in turn is
welded to a two inch by two inch by quarter inch front angle
deflector. These components are welded to a four inch by twelve
inch by three-eighths inch footplate or anchor base with two
three-quarter inch by five inch by half inch wedge bolt anchors for
attachment to the warehouse floor. Accordingly, this footplate
replaces the original footplate. By using the reinforcement kit
with the angle deflector, frontal impacts are deflected off to one
side. The front post of the original pallet rack without the
reinforcement features of the present kit would, over time, fail
from cyclical or repeated impacts.
[0013] Accordingly, it is a principal object of the invention to
provide a heavy duty pallet rack lower post reinforcement kit.
[0014] It is another object of the invention to provide a pallet
rack post reinforcement kit which may be installed at the rack
factory or in-place in a warehouse.
[0015] It is a further object of the invention to provide a post
reinforcement kit as above which is simple in design and
installation.
[0016] Still another object of the invention is to provide a post
reinforcement kit as above which may replace the lower portion of a
damaged post in-place.
[0017] It is an object of the invention to provide improved
elements and arrangements thereof for the purposes described which
is inexpensive, dependable and fully effective in accomplishing its
intended purposes.
[0018] These and other objects of the present invention will become
readily apparent upon further review of the following specification
and drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0019] FIG. 1 is an environmental, front perspective view of a
reinforcement kit for protecting pallet rack frame according to the
present invention.
[0020] FIG. 2 is a rear perspective view of the kit of FIG. 1
having bolt attachment bores.
[0021] FIG. 3 is a front perspective view of the kit of FIG. 1.
[0022] FIG. 4 is an environmental rear perspective view of the kit
of FIG. 1 as welded in place.
[0023] FIG. 5 is an environmental front perspective view of kit of
FIG. 2 as bolted in place.
[0024] Similar reference characters denote corresponding features
consistently throughout the attached drawings.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0025] The present invention is an integral pallet rack post
reinforcement kit for protecting the lower pallet rack frame from
forklifts, etc. The reinforcement is done by removing from six to
twelve inches of the front frame upright post to form a truncated
upright post and fastening the reinforcement kit in its place.
[0026] Referring to the Figures, the inventive integral
reinforcement kit is generally referred to as 10. Reinforcement kit
10 includes a "U"-shaped upright clamp 12 for clamping to post
upright U of pallet rack P, the upright clamp 12 having an upper
end 14 and a lower end 16 resting on a rectangular base or anchor
18. The rectangular anchor base 18 has a front end portion 20
supporting upright clamp 12 and a rear end portion 22 and defining
one or more floor engagement bores to receive floor anchor
bolts.
[0027] Leg support upright tube 28 has an upper end 30 having a
post support cap 32, defining a clamp upper portion 33 extending to
upper end 14, and a lower end 34, defining a clamp lower portion 35
extending to anchor base 18, resting on the front portion 20 of
rectangular anchor base 18 and placed and sized to partially fit
within the clamp lower portion 35. The shortened end of pallet rack
post upright U rests on the post support cap 32, thus bearing the
weight of the loaded pallet rack P. The "U"-shaped upright clamp 12
has side walls 40 and a front wall 42 to which a front deflector 36
(preferably in the form of a right angle steel segment) extends
along its substantial length, having a deflector cap 37 covering
its upper end and extending downward around the base or anchor
front end 20 to the floor. The front deflector 36 is attached to
the front wall 42 of upright clamp 12 along vertical attachment
edges 38 near the respective edges of upright clamp front wall 42
and extends outward from the front wall 42, forming two equal
sides, to an apex formed by a vertical corner edge spaced apart
from and midway between attachment edges 38, bisecting front wall
42 so as to deflect an approaching forklift tine to one side to
protect the post structure.
[0028] The lower truncated end portion of post upright U is fitted
within and partially surrounded by the upper portion of upright
clamp 12 to which it may be welded as shown in FIGS. 1 and 4 at
weld lines 44 or attached by providing bores 46 in upright clamp
side walls which receive leg support bolts through aligned bores in
post upright U. Such bores are commonly provided in pallet rack
posts or uprights U at spaced intervals. Leg support front wall 52
is flush to the inside of upright clamp front wall 42 and leg
support side walls extend back substantially beyond the attached
upright clamp side walls 40 to end at leg support rear wall 50.
[0029] In operation, about 6 to 12 inches of the existing post
upright of the pallet rack is removed from the lower end thereof to
form the truncated post upright. The inventive integral
reinforcement kit, made of a substantially heavier gauge of steel
than the existing post upright and pallet rack frame is then placed
over the front and sides of the remaining pallet rack post or
upright such that "U"-shaped upright clamp 12 extends over and
partially around the remaining lower portion of pallet rack post
upright U and leg support cap 32, and leg support square upright 28
bears the weight supported by the end of the pallet rack post
upright U. The assembly is then welded or bolted together to form a
reinforced structure as describe above. The rectangular anchor base
is then bolted to the warehouse floor.
[0030] The reinforcement kit is, for example, three inch by three
inch by a quarter inch square tube welded to a quarter inch,
three-sided outer clamp which in turn is welded to a two inch by
two inch by quarter inch front angle deflector. These components
are welded to a four inch by twelve inch by three-eighths inch
footplate with two three-quarter inch by five inch by half inch
wedge bolt anchors for attachment to the warehouse floor.
Accordingly, this footplate replaces the original footplate. By
using the reinforcement kit with the angle deflector, frontal
impacts are deflected off to one side. The front post of the
original pallet rack without the reinforcement features of the
present kit would, over time, fail from cyclical or repeated
impacts. The integral reinforcement kit of the present invention is
made of any appropriate material, and preferably steel.
[0031] It is to be understood that the present invention is not
limited to the embodiments described above, but encompasses any and
all embodiments within the scope of the following claims.
* * * * *