U.S. patent application number 12/254833 was filed with the patent office on 2010-04-22 for combination storage rack.
Invention is credited to WEN-TSAN WANG.
Application Number | 20100096352 12/254833 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 42107812 |
Filed Date | 2010-04-22 |
United States Patent
Application |
20100096352 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
WANG; WEN-TSAN |
April 22, 2010 |
COMBINATION STORAGE RACK
Abstract
A combination storage rack includes a plurality of upright
supports each formed of a plurality of bamboo rods equiangularly
arranged around the periphery and a plurality of spacer blocks
fixedly mounted in the bamboo rods at different elevations to keep
the bamboo rods apart from one another, a plurality of tapered
locating members respectively fastened to the upright supports and
supported on the spacer blocks, and a plurality of rack panels that
have tapered through holes for the passing of the upright supports
and for engagement with the tapered locating blocks.
Inventors: |
WANG; WEN-TSAN; (Taipei
City, TW) |
Correspondence
Address: |
LEONG C LEI
PMB # 1008, 1867 YGNACIO VALLEY ROAD
WALNUT CREEK
CA
94598
US
|
Family ID: |
42107812 |
Appl. No.: |
12/254833 |
Filed: |
October 20, 2008 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
211/187 ;
211/153 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A47B 47/045 20130101;
A47B 87/0223 20130101; A47B 57/545 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
211/187 ;
211/153 |
International
Class: |
A47B 47/04 20060101
A47B047/04; A47F 5/08 20060101 A47F005/08 |
Claims
1. A combination storage rack comprising: a plurality of upright
supports, each said upright support comprising a plurality of
bamboo rods equiangularly arranged around the periphery and a
plurality of spacer blocks fixedly mounted in said bamboo rods at
different elevations to keep said bamboo rods apart from one
another; a plurality of tapered locating members respectively
fastened to said upright supports and supported on said spacer
blocks; and a plurality of rack panels horizontally fastened to
said tapered locating blocks and said upright supports at different
elevations, each said rack panel comprising a plurality of tapered
through holes cut through top and bottom sides thereof for the
passing of said upright supports and for engagement with said
tapered locating blocks.
2. The combination storage rack as claimed in claim 1, wherein each
said upright support comprises four rectangular bamboo rods
arranged in four corners in a parallel manner; said spacer blocks
are fixedly mounted in the bamboo rods such that the cross section
of each said upright support at each said spacer block shows a
substantially shaped configuration; said tapered locating blocks
are shaped like a truncated cone, each formed of two symmetrical
halves, each half of each said tapered locating block comprising
two vertical mounting grooves adapted for receiving two bamboo rods
of one said upright support, and a mounting rib defined between
said two vertical mounting grooves and adapted for engaging into
the space between the two bamboo rods that are engaged into the two
vertical mounting grooves of one said tapered locating block.
3. The combination storage rack as claimed in claim 1, wherein each
said spacer block comprises a plurality of vertical mounting
grooves equiangularly spaced around the periphery thereof; the
bamboo rods of each said upright support are respectively fastened
to the vertical mounting grooves of the spacer blocks of the
respective upright support and kept in flush with the periphery of
the associating spacer blocks; each said tapered locating block is
formed of two symmetrical halves that fit over the periphery of the
associating upright support, each half of each said tapered
locating block comprising at least one mounting rib protruded from
an inside wall thereof and fitted in the gap between two bamboo
rods of the associating upright support.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] (a) Technical Field of the Invention
[0002] The present invention relates to a storage rack and more
particularly, to a combination storage rack that uses multi-angle
upright supports with tapered locating blocks to support rack
panels.
[0003] (b) Description of the Prior Art
[0004] Wood, plastics, and many other materials are selectively
used for making display racks, storage racks or partition screens.
In order to show an antique sense of beauty, bamboo or wood
material is the best choice for making storage racks.
[0005] Conventionally, a bamboo or wooden storage rack is comprised
of a plurality of upright supports and a plurality of rack panels
horizontal fastened to the upright supports at different elevations
for holding things. The rack panels are affixed to the upright
supports with screws or with screw bolts and nuts. It is quite
inconvenient to assemble or disassemble this design of bamboo or
wooden storage rack i.e., this design does not lend itself to the
DIY concept.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0006] The primary purpose of the present invention is to provide a
combination storage rack which can easily and rapidly be assembled
and disassembled.
[0007] To achieve this and other objects of the combination storage
rack comprises a plurality of upright supports each formed of a
plurality of bamboo rods equiangularly arranged around the
periphery and a plurality of spacer blocks fixedly mounted in the
bamboo rods at different elevations to keep the bamboo rods apart
from one another, a plurality of tapered locating members
respectively fastened to the upright supports and supported on the
spacer blocks, and a plurality of rack panels that have tapered
through holes for the passing of the upright supports and for
engagement with the tapered locating blocks.
[0008] In one embodiment of the present invention, each upright
support comprises four rectangular bamboo rods arranged in four
corners in a parallel manner. Further, the spacer blocks are
fixedly mounted in the bamboo rods such that the cross section of
each upright support at each spacer block shows a substantially
shaped configuration. Further, the tapered locating blocks are
shaped like a truncated cone, each formed of two symmetrical
halves. Each half of each tapered locating block comprises two
vertical mounting grooves adapted for receiving two bamboo rods of
one upright support, and a mounting rib defined between the two
vertical mounting grooves and adapted for engaging into the space
between the two bamboo rods that are engaged into the two vertical
mounting grooves of one tapered locating block.
[0009] In another embodiment of the present invention, each spacer
block comprises a plurality of vertical mounting grooves
equiangularly spaced around the periphery thereof. Further, the
bamboo rods of each upright support are respectively fastened to
the vertical mounting grooves of the spacer blocks of the
respective upright support and kept in flush with the periphery of
the associating spacer blocks. Further, each tapered locating block
is formed of two symmetrical halves that fit over the periphery of
the associating upright support. Each half of each tapered locating
block comprises at least one mounting rib protruded from an inside
wall thereof and fitted in the gap between two bamboo rods of the
associating upright support.
[0010] By means of the aforesaid arrangement, the upright supports,
the tapered locating blocks and the rack panels can easily and
detachably be fastened together, forming a storage rack without any
tool or fastening devices. When not in use, the rack panels and the
tapered locating blocks can be directly detached from the upright
supports without any tool. Therefore, the design of the present
invention lends itself very well to the DIY concept.
[0011] The foregoing object and summary provide only a brief
introduction to the present invention. To fully appreciate these
and other objects of the present invention as well as the invention
itself, all of which will become apparent to those skilled in the
art, the following detailed description of the invention and the
claims should be read in conjunction with the accompanying
drawings. Throughout the specification and drawings identical
reference numerals refer to identical or similar parts.
[0012] Many other advantages and features of the present invention
will become manifest to those versed in the art upon making
reference to the detailed description and the accompanying sheets
of drawings in which a preferred structural embodiment
incorporating the principles of the present invention is shown by
way of illustrative example.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0013] FIG. 1 is an exploded view of a part of a combination
storage rack in accordance with a first embodiment of the present
invention, showing the structure of the upright support and the
tapered locating block.
[0014] FIG. 2 is an elevational assembly view of FIG. 1.
[0015] FIG. 3 is a schematic elevational assembly view of the
combination storage rack according to the first embodiment of the
present invention.
[0016] FIG. 4 is a schematic sectional lateral view of a part of
the first embodiment of the present invention, showing tapered
locating blocks fastened to upright supports before mounting of a
rack panel.
[0017] FIG. 5 is a sectional lateral plain view of a part of the
first embodiment of the present invention, showing rack panels
fastened to the upright supports and supported on tapered locating
blocks at the upright supports.
[0018] FIG. 6 is an elevational view of the combination storage
rack according to the first embodiment of the present
invention.
[0019] FIG. 7 is an exploded view of an upright support of a
combination storage rack in accordance with a second embodiment of
the present invention.
[0020] FIG. 8 corresponds to FIG. 7, showing the relationship
between the two symmetrical halves of one tapered locating block
and the upright support.
[0021] FIG. 9 is an elevational assembly view of FIG. 8.
[0022] FIG. 10 is an elevational view of the combination storage
rack according to the second embodiment of the present
invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0023] The following descriptions are of exemplary embodiments
only, and are not intended to limit the scope, applicability or
configuration of the invention in any way. Rather, the following
description provides a convenient illustration for implementing
exemplary embodiments of the invention. Various changes to the
described embodiments may be made in the function and arrangement
of the elements described without departing from the scope of the
invention as set forth in the appended claims.
[0024] Referring to the annexed drawings in detail, a combination
storage rack in accordance with the present invention is shown
comprising a plurality of upright supports 1 (see FIG. 1), a
plurality of tapered locating blocks 2 (see FIGS. 1 and 2), and a
plurality of rack panels 3 (see FIG. 3).
[0025] Each upright support 1 comprises four rectangular bamboo
rods 11 arranged in four corners in a parallel manner, and a
plurality of spacer blocks 12 fixedly mounted in the bamboo rods 11
at different elevations and alternatively extending in X-axis and
Y-axis directions to space the bamboo rods 11 from one another.
When viewed from one end, each upright support 1 shows a
substantially shaped configuration. Further, the spacer blocks 12
can be affixed to the bamboo rods 11 by means of adhesive bonding
or fastening means.
[0026] The tapered locating blocks 2 are shaped like a truncated
cone, each formed of two symmetrical halves 21. Each half 21 has
two vertical mounting grooves 212 adapted for receiving two bamboo
rods 11 of one upright support 1, and a mounting rib 211 defined
between the two vertical mounting grooves 212 and adapted for
engaging into the space between the two bamboo rods 11 that are
engaged into the two vertical mounting grooves 212.
[0027] The rack panels 3, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, are
rectangular panels formed of a bamboo frame and a plurality of
bamboo strips, each having a tapered through hole 31 in each of the
four corners thereof. The tapered through hole 31 has a diameter
fitting the tapered locating blocks 2 and gradually reduced from
the bottom side of the respective rack panel toward the top
side.
[0028] During installation, the tapered locating blocks 2 are
respectively fastened to the upright supports 1 by means of forcing
the vertical mounting grooves 212 of the two symmetrical halves 21
of each tapered locating block 2 into engagement with the bamboo
rods 11 of each respective upright support 1, and respectively
stopped at the top side of the spacer blocks 12 (as shown in FIGS.
1 and 2). After one respective locating block 2 has been fastened
to each of the four upright supports 1 and supported on the
respective lowest spacer block 12 of the associating upright
support 1, the four upright supports 1 are respectively inserted
through the four tapered through hole 31 of one rack panel 3 to
have the four tapered through hole 31 be respectively forced into
positive engagement with the lowest spacer block 12 of each of the
four upright supports 1, and thereafter the other locating blocks 2
and the other rack panels 3 are installed in the same manner in a
proper order (see FIGS. 3-6). Further, hanging rods 4 are
respectively horizontally connected between two upright supports 1
for hanging things.
[0029] FIGS. 7 10 show a combination storage rack in accordance
with a second embodiment of the present invention. According to
this second embodiment, each upright support 1 comprises a
plurality of bamboo rods 11 and a plurality of spacer blocks 12A.
The spacer blocks 12A are flat circular blocks, each having a
plurality of mounting grooves 12B cut through the top and bottom
sides thereof and equiangularly spaced around the periphery. The
bamboo rods 11 are respectively attached to the mounting grooves
12B of the spacer blocks 12A and kept in flush with the periphery
of the spacer blocks 12A. Further, the two symmetrical halves 21 of
each tapered locating block 2 fit over the periphery of each
upright support 1, each having at least one, for example, one
mounting rib 211 engaged into the space between two adjacent bamboo
rods 11. After installation of the tapered locating blocks 2 in the
upright supports 1, the tapered locating blocks 2 are respectively
supported on the spacer blocks 12A to hold the rack panels 3 firmly
at different elevations (see FIG. 10).
[0030] It will be understood that each of the elements described
above, or two or more together may also find a useful application
in other types of methods differing from the type described
above.
[0031] While certain novel features of this invention have been
shown and described and are pointed out in the annexed claim, it is
not intended to be limited to the details above, since it will be
understood that various omissions, modifications, substitutions and
changes in the forms and details of the device illustrated and in
its operation can be made by those skilled in the art without
departing in any way from the spirit of the present invention.
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