U.S. patent application number 11/714788 was filed with the patent office on 2008-08-07 for sectional combination rack.
This patent application is currently assigned to YOUNG MAX ENTERPRISES CO., LTD.. Invention is credited to Chun-Liang Chen.
Application Number | 20080185357 11/714788 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 39227999 |
Filed Date | 2008-08-07 |
United States Patent
Application |
20080185357 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Chen; Chun-Liang |
August 7, 2008 |
Sectional combination rack
Abstract
A sectional combination rack is composed of a standing post, at
least one shelf holder, and at least one shelf. The standing post
includes a plurality of axially spaced annular grooves each
horizontally formed around outer circumference of the standing
post. The at least one shelf holder is composed of a plurality of
mated halves combined together, each of which has a flange formed
at an inner side thereof. Each of the flanges can be engaged into
the corresponding annular groove. The mated halves are arranged
along the annular pieces respectively, each having at least one
fastening portion axially extending along the standing post. The
shelf is mounted to the shelf holder, having a plurality of
fastened portions. The fastened portions can be engaged into the
fastening portions respectively.
Inventors: |
Chen; Chun-Liang; (Changhua
County, TW) |
Correspondence
Address: |
BACON & THOMAS, PLLC
625 SLATERS LANE, FOURTH FLOOR
ALEXANDRIA
VA
22314
US
|
Assignee: |
YOUNG MAX ENTERPRISES CO.,
LTD.
Changhua County
TW
|
Family ID: |
39227999 |
Appl. No.: |
11/714788 |
Filed: |
March 7, 2007 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
211/187 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A47B 57/34 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
211/187 |
International
Class: |
A47B 57/08 20060101
A47B057/08 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Feb 6, 2007 |
TW |
96202283 |
Claims
1. A sectional combination rack comprising: a standing post having
a plurality of axially spaced annular grooves each horizontally
formed around outer circumference thereof; a shelf holder having a
plurality of mated halves combined together, each of said mated
halves having a flange formed at an inner side thereof, said
flanges being engaged into said annular grooves respectively, said
mated halves axially extending along said standing post, each of
said mated halves externally having at least one fastening portion
axially extending along said standing post; and a shelf mounted to
said shelf holder and having a plurality of fastened portions
capable of being engaged into said fastening grooves.
2. The rack as defined in claim 1, wherein said shelf holder
comprises a first mated half and a second mated half, said first
mated half having two lugs, said second mated half having two
recesses for engaging said two lugs therein.
3. The rack as defined in claim 1, wherein each of said mated
halves comprises at least one stop portion formed at a bottom end
thereof and located at an end of said fastening portion for
limiting movement of said fastened portions.
4. The rack as defined in claim 1, wherein each of said fastening
portions is tapered to gradually shrink from top to bottom.
5. The rack as defined in claim 1, wherein said shelf is a
basket.
6. The rack as defined in claim 1, wherein each of said fastened
portions is a straight bar.
7. The rack as defined in claim 1, wherein said shelf further
comprises an opening located between said two adjacent fastened
portions, said opening being wider than outer diameter of said
standing post.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] 1. Field of the Invention
[0002] The present invention relates generally to combination
racks, and more particularly, to a sectional combination rack.
[0003] 2. Description of the Related Art
[0004] As disclosed in Taiwan Patent Publication No. M303663, a
conventional combination rack includes a post, a shelf holder
mounted to the post, and a shelf mounted to the post and the shelf
holder. The shelf holder is composed of a lower sleeve, an anti-run
piece, and an upper sleeve. The upper and lower sleeves are
interconnected to be fixed to the post. The anti-run piece is
mounted to the lower sleeve and closely engages the post, for
providing a friction and thus preventing the shelf holder from
slipping along the post. An assembling portion is located outside
the upper sleeve for mounting the shelf. In light of this, the
combination rack can be dissembled and assembled.
[0005] However, the anti-run piece will deteriorate gradually after
used for a while, such that the anti-run capability will be reduced
to disable the shelf holder from firmly held but to enable the
shelf holder to slip along the post, thus flawing the conventional
combination rack for unfirm structure. Further, the shelf keeps
pulling the shelf holder and will enable the upper and lower
sleeves to become gradually disengaged from each other. In
addition, since hooked to the shelf holder, the shelf is slightly
forced upward to much tend to disengage from the shelf holder, thus
flawing the conventional combination rack for imperfect
positioning.
[0006] To improve the aforementioned drawbacks, a conventional
shelf holder for a multiple-shelf rack, as disclosed in Taiwan
Patent Early Publication No. 200642637, composed of a post, a
connection holder mounted to the post, a shelf, and a sleeve
mounted to the shelf was proposed. The shelf is sleeved onto the
connection holder by means of the sleeve to prevent the shelf from
disengagement from the post. However, the conventional shelf holder
still has the drawback of inconvenient assembly because of too many
components and complicated installation.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0007] The primary objective of the present invention is to provide
a sectional combination rack which is structurally simplified to
have low production cost.
[0008] The foregoing objective of the present invention is attained
by the sectional combination rack is composed of a standing post,
at least one shelf holder, and at least one shelf. The standing
post includes a plurality of axially spaced annular grooves each
horizontally formed around outer circumference of the standing
post. The at least one shelf holder is composed of a plurality of
mated halves combined together, each of which has a flange formed
at an inner side thereof. Each of the flanges can be engaged into
the corresponding annular groove. The mated halves are arranged
along the annular pieces respectively, each having at least one
fastening portion axially extending along the standing post. The
shelf is mounted to the shelf holder, having a plurality of
fastened portions. The fastened portions can be engaged into the
fastening portions respectively.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0009] FIG. 1 is an exploded view of a first preferred embodiment
of the present invention.
[0010] FIG. 2 is a side view of the first preferred embodiment of
the present invention.
[0011] FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along a line 3-3 indicated
in FIG. 1.
[0012] FIG. 4 is a top view of the first preferred embodiment of
the present invention.
[0013] FIG. 5 is a top view of a second preferred embodiment of the
present invention.
[0014] FIG. 6 is a side view of the second preferred embodiment of
the present invention being assembled.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0015] Referring to FIGS. 1-4, a sectional combination rack 10
constructed according to a first preferred embodiment of the
present invention is composed of a standing post 20, a shelf holder
30, and a shelf 40.
[0016] The standing post 20 includes a plurality of annular grooves
22 each horizontally formed around outer circumference thereof. The
annular groves 22 are arranged one by one along an imaginary
longitudinal axis thereof, and each two adjacent annular grooves 22
are spaced from each other for a predetermined interval.
[0017] The shelf holder 30 is composed of an arched first mated
half 31 and an arched second mated half 32, both of which are
combined together. The first mated half 31 has a flange 33, two
lugs 34, and two fastening portions 35. The flange 33 is located at
an inner side of the first mated half 31 and each can be engaged
into the corresponding annular groove 22. The two lugs 34 are
located at two opposite sides of the first mated half 31. The two
fastening portions 35 are located outside the first mated half 31,
axially extending along the standing post 20. Each of the two
fastening portions 35 is tapered, gradually shrinking from top to
bottom. The second mated half 32 has a flange 36, two lugs 37, and
a fastening portion 38. The flange 36 is located at an inner side
of the second mated half 32 and each can be engaged into the
annular groove 22. The two lugs 37 are located at two opposite
sides of the second mated half 32 for engaging the two lugs 34 of
the first mated half 31 to enable the shelf holder 30 to annularly
wrap the standing post 20. The fastening portion 38 is located
outside the second mated half 32, axially extending along the
standing post 20. The fastening portion 38 is tapered, gradually
shrinking from top to bottom. The two mated halves 31 and 32
further includes three stop portions formed at respective bottom
ends of said fastening portions 35 and 38.
[0018] The shelf 40 is a basket, having a plurality of fastened
portions 42. The fastened portions 42 are straight bars and can be
engaged into the fastening portions 35 and 38 to enable the shelf
40 to be mounted to the shelf holder 30. The fastened portions 42
will become tight along with the shrinking fastening portions 35
and 38. When fully engaged into the fastening portions 35 and 38,
the fastened portions 42 contact against the stop portions 39 to
limit further movement of the fastened portions 42.
[0019] In light of the above-mentioned structure, when a user
intends to assemble the rack 10, the user can do so according to
the following steps.
[0020] A. First, adjust the locations of the first and second mated
halves 31 and 32 to engage the flanges 33 and 36 into the
corresponding annular grooves 22 respectively. Next, engage the lug
34 of the first mated half 31 into the recess 37 of the second
mated half 32 to fasten the shelf holder 30 to the standing post 20
to be located as high as the user desires.
[0021] B. Second, align the fastened portions 42 of the shelf 40
with the fastening portions 35 and 38 and enable the fastened
portions 42 to pass downward through the top side of the standing
post 20 and to be held in the fastening portions 35 and 38. When
the fastened portions 42 are being gradually held into the
fastening portions 35 and 38, since the fastening portions 35 and
38 will become tight along the shrinking fastening portions 35 and
38, the fastened portions 42 are being gradually held by the shelf
holder 30 to enable the flanges 33 and 36 to be securely engaged
into the annular grooves 22. Accordingly, the present invention can
structurally prevent the shelf 40 forced upward from easy
disengagement.
[0022] C. When the fastened portions 42 are fully engaged into the
fastening portions 35 and 38, the fastened portions 42 contact
against the stop portions 39 to limit further movement of the
fastened portions 42. In light of this, the user can accomplish the
assembly of the rack 10.
[0023] In addition, the respective numbers of the shelf holder 30
and the shelf 40 are subject to the user's need to enable the rack
10 to be applicable to different environments. Referring to FIGS. 5
and 6, a sectional combination rack 12 constructed according to a
second preferred embodiment of the present invention is similar to
that of the first embodiment, likewise composed of a standing post
20, a shelf holder 30, and a shelf 40A, but different in that the
shelf 40A further includes an opening 44 located between the two
adjacent fastened portions 42 and the opening 44 is wider than
outer diameter of the standing post 20.
[0024] In light of the structure of the second embodiment, while
intending to install the shelf 40A onto the standing post 20, the
user can align an upper part of the shelf holder 30 with the
opening 44 and horizontally drive the stand bar 20 to move toward
the opening 44 and to pass through the opening 44, such that the
shelf 40A can directly reach where is close to the shelf holder 30.
Accordingly, the user does not have to move the shelf 40A to pass
through one of two ends of the standing post 20 for engaging the
fastened portions 42 into the fastening portions 35 and 38 but
directly move the shelf 40A toward where the fastening portions 35
and 38 are located to engage the fastened portions 42 into the
fastening portions 35 and 38. In other words, the rack 12 of the
second embodiment can be assembled within the smaller space. On the
contrary, when the user intends to remove the shelf 40A from the
standing post 20, the same effect can be done. Therefore, the rack
12 of the second embodiment not only attains the same effect but
also further simplifies the installation of the rack 12.
[0025] In conclusion, the present invention includes the following
advantages.
[0026] 1. The present invention can simplify the structure of the
rack to enable easily processing the components at the first time
without the second time, shorten the time that the components are
made, and reduce the materials, thus decreasing the production
cost.
[0027] 2. The present invention simplifies the installation and the
quantity of the components to be easily assembled and conveniently
dissembled.
[0028] Although the present invention has been described with
respect to specific preferred embodiments thereof, it is no way
limited to the details of the illustrated structures but changes
and modifications may be made within the scope of the appended
claims.
* * * * *