U.S. patent number 3,570,682 [Application Number 04/839,373] was granted by the patent office on 1971-03-16 for rack and shelving system.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Elliott-Williams Company, Inc.. Invention is credited to Michael M. Elliott.
United States Patent |
3,570,682 |
Elliott |
March 16, 1971 |
RACK AND SHELVING SYSTEM
Abstract
A rack system for receiving and supporting items such as trays,
pans, shelves, and the like comprising at least two pairs of
vertically extending standards and a plurality of guide members
extending between and connected to each pair of standards. Each end
of each guide member is formed to provide upper and lower hook
portions which engage, respectively, vertically spaced apart
notches in a flange of the standard to which the end is connected.
Each standard is preferably provided with a base plate so that it
can be rigidly fastened to a floor. The upper end of each standard
is preferably connected to a ceiling by means of a connector plate.
Each standard is preferably a channel member, both flanges of which
are provided with notches arranged to engage the said hook portions
of a guide member.
Inventors: |
Elliott; Michael M.
(Indianapolis, IN) |
Assignee: |
Elliott-Williams Company, Inc.
(Indianapolis, IN)
|
Family
ID: |
25279557 |
Appl.
No.: |
04/839,373 |
Filed: |
July 7, 1969 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
211/126.15;
211/187 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A47B
57/425 (20130101); A47B 96/14 (20130101); A47B
57/08 (20130101); A47B 88/43 (20170101) |
Current International
Class: |
A47B
57/08 (20060101); A47B 88/04 (20060101); A47B
57/42 (20060101); A47B 57/00 (20060101); A47B
96/14 (20060101); A47B 96/00 (20060101); A47f
003/14 () |
Field of
Search: |
;211/126,162
;108/105,106,107,108,109,110 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Byers, Jr.; Nile C.
Claims
I claim:
1. A rack system for receiving and supporting items such as pans,
shelves, and the like comprising at least two pairs of vertically
extending standards, each standard including at least one
vertically extending flange having a plurality of vertically spaced
apart, horizontally extending notches provided therein, the flanges
of each pair of standards lying generally in a common plane with
the notches extending into the facing edges of the flanges and with
corresponding notches in said flanges positioned at substantially
the same elevation, a plurality of elongated guide members, each
guide member extending between and connected to the flanges of one
of said pairs of standards, each guide member providing an upwardly
and longitudinally extending first flange portion and a forwardly
and longitudinally extending second flange portion, each first
flange portion providing, at each of its ends, an upper hook
portion including a rearwardly and longitudinally extending third
flange portion and, at the rear edge of said third flange portion,
an upwardly and longitudinally extending fourth flange portion, and
a lower hook portion including a rearwardly and longitudinally
extending fifth flange portion and, at the rear edge of said fifth
flange portion, a downwardly and longitudinally extending sixth
flange portion, the upper and lower hook portions at each end of
each guide member being engaged respectively in two of said notches
in the flange of said standard to which the end of said guide
member is connected, the upper and lower hook portion at each end
of each guide member and the notches in which said hook portions
are engaged being spaced apart and proportioned and designed so
that said hook portions are disengaged from said notches by lifting
the end of said guide member to elevate the lower edge of the sixth
flange portion of said lower hook portion at that end above the
lower edge of the notch in which said lower hook portion is engaged
and then rocking said guide member about a longitudinally extending
axis until the rearward edge of said third flange portion and the
lower edge of said fourth flange portion of said upper hook portion
can be moved forwardly through the notch in which the upper hook
portion is engaged.
2. The system of claim 1 in which each standard is adapted, at its
lower end, to be supported by and connected to a floor and, at its
upper end, to be connected to a ceiling.
3. The system of claim 2 in which each standard includes a
vertically extending channel member, at least one flange of which
is provided with said notches, each channel member having a
perforation in its upper end, and including a horizontally
extending perforated base plate rigidly fastened to the lower end
of each standard to provide means for connecting the standard to a
floor, and a connector plate for fastening the upper end of each
standard to a ceiling, each connector plate providing a downwardly
extending tongue having a perforation arranged to register with the
perforation in the standard to which the plate is fastened, and a
fastener element extending through the registering perforations of
each connector plate and the standard connected thereto.
4. The system of claim 1 in which said two pairs of vertically
extending standards are arranged side by side so that each guide
member extending between one pair of standards will be parallel
with and at the same elevation as a corresponding guide member
extending between the other pair of standards, such corresponding
guide members being allochirally arranged so that their second
flange portions provide parallel runners on which a tray, shelf, or
the like can be mounted.
5. The system of claim 4 including a plurality of shelf members,
each shelf member being mounted on and supported by the second
flange portions of corresponding guide members, each shelf member
being generally rectangular and provided with down-turned flanges
extending along its edges which extend perpendicularly to the
second flange portions on which the shelf member is mounted, said
down-turned flanges of each shelf member engaging the opposite ends
of the second flange portions on which the shelf member is mounted
to prevent sliding movement of the shelf member.
6. The system of claim 5 in which said shelf members are formed
from a sheet of resin bonded fiber glass and each shelf member is
formed to provide spaced apart ridges extending across said shelf
member and parallel to its said down-turned edges.
7. The system of claim 4 in which the second flange portion of each
of said allochirally arranged corresponding guide members is
provided with a turned up, longitudinally extending outer edge
portion, said edge portions providing runners for engaging the
sides of shelves, trays, pans and the like.
8. The system of claim 1 in which each of said standards includes a
vertically extending channel member, the vertically extending
flanges of which are provided with said notches, whereby said guide
members can be connected to either flange of each standard so that
each standard can be used to support guide members having second
flange portions extending outwardly to one side and guide members
having second flange portions extending outwardly to the opposite
side.
9. The system of claim 1 in which each of said guide members is a
section of an aluminum extrusion formed to provide said first,
second, third, fourth, fifth and sixth flange portions.
Description
It is a primary object of my invention to provide a rack system for
receiving and supporting items such as pans, trays, shelves, and
the like, which system is ideally suited for use in a storage area
such as a walk-in refrigerator or freezer. My rack system comprises
a plurality of vertically extending standards, each of which is
connected at its base to the floor and, at its upper end, to the
ceiling. These standards are proportioned and designed so that a
plurality of horizontally extending guide members or guide rails
can be mounted on the standards to provide a plurality of laterally
spaced apart, horizontally extending runners for supporting
opposite side edges of trays, pans, shelves and the like.
The ordinary or conventional commercial food tray or bun pan as
used in bakeries, restaurants, cafeterias and the like is a simple,
flat, rectangular sheet metal pan having an upwardly and outwardly
inclined flange about its perimeter, the upper edge of the flange
being provided with an outwardly and downwardly turned lip or rim.
These trays and pans have different depths, depending upon their
intended use. A typical bun pan or cake pan may be, for instance,
approximately 1 inch deep while a steam table or roast pan may be
more than 6 inches deep. There have been many attempts throughout
the food equipment industry to standardize on the size of trays and
pans. These attempts have not been completely successful and,
consequently, it has been a problem in the past to provide a rack
system which will accommodate all of the pans and trays being used
by restaurants. Thus, one object of my invention is to provide a
rack system which is designed to support the wide variety of trays
and pans being used in restaurants.
Another object of my invention is to provide a rack system which
can be easily installed in a confined area, such as a walk-in
refrigerator, with simple and readily available hand tools. It is
my concept to provide vertically extending standards which are
uniform in size and shape and which can be arranged in pairs and
fastened to the floor and to the ceiling of a walk-in refrigerator.
Each of these standards is formed with at least one vertically
extending flange which is provided with vertically spaced apart,
horizontally extending notches entering its outer edge. Two pairs
of such standards are arranged so that the flanges of each pair lie
generally in a common plane with the notches extending into the
facing edges of the flanges and with corresponding notches in the
flanges positioned at substantially the same elevation. I then
provide a plurality of guide members proportioned and designed to
extend between each pair of standards and to be removably connected
thereto by means of the notches. Specifically, I provide a
plurality of guide members, each of which is formed with an
upwardly and longitudinally extending first flange portion and
forwardly and longitudinally extending second flange portion. Each
first flange portion provides, at each of its ends, an upper hook
portion and a lower hook portion proportioned and designed
respectively to engage two spaced apart notches in a flange of a
standard. These hook portions and the notches in which they are
engaged are proportioned and designed so that the end of a guide
member can be disconnected from the standard to which it is
connected only by lifting the guide member vertically upwardly to
disengage its lower hook portion and then rocking it about a
longitudinally extending axis to disengage its upper hook
portion.
Other objects and features of my invention will become apparent as
this description progresses.
To the accomplishment of the above and related objects, my
invention may be embodied in the forms illustrated in the
accompanying drawings, attention being called to the fact, however,
that the drawings are illustrative only, and that change may be
made in the specific constructions illustrated and described, so
long as the scope of the appended claims is not violated.
In the drawings:
FIG. 1 is a fragmentary, sectional, elevational view of a walk-in
refrigerator showing my rack system disposed therein;
FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view, partially broken away,
showing my preferred standard and the means by which it is
connected to a floor and to a ceiling;
FIG. 3 is a diagrammatical view showing how two pairs of my
standards and guide members may be arranged to support the ends of
a conventional bun pan;
FIG. 4 is another diagrammatical view showing how two pairs of my
standards and guide members may be arranged to support the sides of
such a bun pan;
FIG. 5 is a fragmentary perspective view showing two pairs of my
standards, guide members extending between each pair and a shelf
mounted on corresponding guide members;
FIG. 6 is a fragmentary, sectional view showing the manner in which
guide members may be connected to each of the flanges of a
standard;
FIG. 7 is a sectional view taken from FIG. 5 generally along the
line 7-7;
FIG. 8 is a sectional view taken from FIG. 5 generally along the
line 8-8;
FIG. 9 is a fragmentary perspective view of a guide member;
FIG. 10 is a fragmentary elevational view showing how the guide
member of FIG. 9 is removably connected to a standard;
FIG. 11 is a fragmentary sectional view showing the guide member of
FIG. 9 supporting the edge of a pan;
FIG. 12 is a fragmentary sectional view showing a different type of
guide member which provides a generally flat flange-type runner for
supporting the lateral edge of a pan; and
FIG. 13 is another fragmentary, sectional view showing still
another guide member which provides a flange arranged either to
support the rim of a pan or the lateral edge of the bottom of a
pan.
Referring now to the drawings, it will be seen that, in FIG. 1, I
have illustrated a walk-in refrigerator 10 including four walls 12
and a door 14. In this refrigerator 10, I have arranged a plurality
of vertically extending standards 16, each of which is fastened to
the floor and to the ceiling. Referring to FIG. 2, it will be seen
that my preferred standard 16 is a channel member 18 formed to have
a connecting web 20 and a pair of vertically extending flanges 22.
I prefer that the channel member 18 be an extruded aluminum channel
member. It will be seen that the web 20 and the portions of the
flanges 22 adjacent the web are considerably thicker than the
distal edges of the flanges 22. This thickness provides the
necessary strength.
I prefer to weld or otherwise rigidly to fasten a base plate 24 to
the bottom end of each standard 16, this base plate being
perforated as indicated at 26. The bottom end of the standard can
be mounted on and connected to a floor by driving fastening
elements through the perforations 26. The base 24 may be a flat,
aluminum plate which is, for instance, 3 inches by 3 inches square.
Such a plate will provide a suitable bearing surface for a standard
16 used in a conventional walk-in refrigerator application.
I prefer to provide a perforation 28 in the upper end of the web 20
of each standard 16. Then, I provide a connector plate 30 which is
perforated as indicated at 32 and which is fastened to the ceiling
of a walk-in refrigerator to be in vertical registry with the base
plate 24. My illustrative connector plate 30 is pierced and formed
to provide a turned-down tongue 34 having a vertically elongated
perforation as indicated at 36. This tongue 34 extends against the
inside surface of the web 20 so that the perforations 28, 36 are in
registry. I then provide a stainless steel screw 38 which extends
through the perforations 28, 36 and a nut 40 engaging the screw
rigidly to fasten the upper end of the standard 16 to the ceiling
to which the connector plate 30 is fastened. It will be appreciated
that the function of the connector plate 30 is to hold the upper
end of the standard 16 against transverse movement. The weight
which is applied to the standard 16 is applied to the base plate 24
which is mounted upon the floor. The perforation 36 is elongated to
provide for slight variations in the height of the ceiling.
The standards 16 are used in pairs with the flanges 22 of each pair
of standards lying generally in common planes. This is best seen in
FIGS. 3 and 4. Each flange 22 is provided with a plurality of
vertically spaced apart, horizontally extending notches 44 as best
seen in FIG. 2. These notches 44 enter the facing edges of the
aligned flanges 22 of a pair of standards 16. The notches 44 are
provided in pairs in each flange 22 with each pair of notches, such
as indicated at 44a in FIG. 2, being spaced apart and proportioned
and designed to engage, respectively, upper and lower hook portions
on an end of a guide member 42.
Referring now to FIG. 9, it will be seen that each guide member 42
is preferably an extrusion formed to provide an upwardly and
longitudinally extending first flange portion 46 and a forwardly
and longitudinally extending second flange portion 48. Each first
flange portion 46 provides, at least at each of its ends and
preferably throughout its length, a rearwardly and longitudinally
extending third flange portion 50 and, at the rear edge of the
third flange portion, an upwardly and longitudinally extending
fourth flange portion 52, and, below the third flange portion, a
rearwardly and longitudinally extending fifth flange portion 54
and, at the rear edge of the fifth flange portion, a downwardly and
longitudinally extending sixth flange portion 56. These flange
portions provide an upper hook portion 58 and a lower hook portion
60. The upper hook portion 58 engages the upper notch of a pair of
notches 44 and the lower hook portion 60 engages the lower notch of
the pair.
Referring now to FIGS. 10 and 11, the manner in which the end of a
guide member 42 is connected to a flange 22 will be discussed. In
FIG. 11, the guide member 42 is shown in its locked position on a
flange 22 with a pan P supported on the outer, turned-up edge
portion 72 of the first flange portion 48. It will be seen that the
distance between the rearwardly facing surface of the first flange
portion 46 and the forwardly facing surfaces of the fourth flange
portion 52 and sixth flange portion 56 is equal to, or just
slightly greater, on the order of a few thousandths of an inch,
than the thickness of the flange 22 engaged by these surfaces.
Thus, in order to disconnect the guide member 42 from the flange
22, it will be necessary to move the end of the guide member 42
vertically upwardly to the point where the lower edge of the flange
portion 56 providing the hook portion 60 is above the lower edge of
the notch 44a which is engaged by the lower hook portion. Then, as
shown in FIG. 10, the guide member can be rocked about a
longitudinally extending axis until the rearward edge of the third
flange portion 50 and lower edge of the fourth flange portion 52
providing the upper hook portion 58 can be moved forwardly through
the notch 44a in which the upper hook portion is engaged, this
rocking movement being indicated by the arrow 70. It will be seen
that, when the member 42 is rocked from its illustrated broken-line
position to its illustrated solid-line position, the upper hook
portion 58 can be removed from the notch 44a in which it is
engaged.
It will be appreciated that it takes a positive action to
disconnect an end of a member 42 from a flange 22, the positive
action including a vertical lifting movement and then a rocking
movement. Thus, the members 42 will not be accidentally
disconnected from their supporting standards 16.
As stated previously, each standard 16 is a channel member
providing a pair of vertically extending flanges 22, each of which
is provided with notches 44. Thus, as clearly seen in FIG. 6, each
standard can be used as a common standard for two stalls or
cubicles of a rack system. That is, members 42 can be connected to
one flange 22 of a standard 16 to have their second flange portions
48 extending outwardly in one direction and other members 42 can be
connected to the other flange 22 of the standard to have their
second flange portions 48 extending outwardly in the opposite
direction. These second flange portions 48 provide runners on which
the edges of pans, trays, shelves or the like are slidably
mounted.
Referring to FIG. 5, it will be seen that I have shown a shelf
member 78 mounted upon a pair of guide members 42, each of which is
supported by a pair of standards 16. In the illustrative and
preferred embodiment, this shelf member 78 is provided with
downwardly turned flanges 80, 82 (FIG. 8) which extend
perpendicularly to the guide members 42 on which the shelf member
is mounted and which engage the ends of the guide members to
prevent movement of the shelf member along the guide members. The
shelf member 78 is also preferably provided with strengthening
ridges 84 which extend in a direction parallel to the flanges 80,
82. I prefer that the shelf members 78 be constructed from resin
bonded fiber glass sheets so that they will be strong, durable and
easy to clean. The shelf members are made a part of my rack system
to provide means for supporting pots, pans, frozen food packages,
etc. which are not of such configuration that they can be slidably
supported on the guide members 42. The ridges 84 reduce the
frictional contact of the bottom of a pan or container with the
shelf member 78 to make it easier to remove the pan or container
from the shelf member.
Further, when the shelf members 78 are fabricated from fiber glass,
they can be cut and trimmed easily during the installation of the
rack system.
Referring to FIGS. 1, 3 and 4, it will be seen that standards 16
and guide members 42 can be arranged to provide a rack system to
meet the demands of a particular restaurant or cafeteria kitchen.
For instance, in the lower, left-hand portion of FIG. 1 and in FIG.
4, I show standards 16 and guide members 42 arranged slidably to
support the long edges of a conventional bun pan which may be,
conventionally, 18 inches by 26 inches, the spacing between the
standards being indicated at 66, 68. In the lower, right-hand
portion of FIG. 1 and in FIG. 3, I show standards 16 and guide
members 42 arranged slidably to support the short edges of a
rectangular pan, the spacing between these standards being
indicated at 62, 64. The standards 16 will preferably be identical
and the extrusions providing the guide members 42 will preferably
be identical in cross section but cut to the desired length.
Since pans conventionally used in restaurants have standard depths,
I have found that a spacing of 2 inches between each pair of
notches, such as indicated at 44a in FIG. 2, is ideal. I prefer
that the center-to-center distance between the notches 44 of a pair
be 11/8 inches. I further prefer that the horizontal width of the
notches 44 be approximately seven-eighths inch. The guide members
42, of course, are dimensioned to mate with the pairs of notches
44.
It is the second flange portion 48 of each guide member 42 which
provides a runner for slidably engaging the lateral edge or rim of
a pan. Each guide member 42 extending between a pair of standards
16 will be parallel with, and at the same elevation as a
corresponding guide member extending between a second pair of
standards 16, such corresponding guide members being allochirally
arranged so that their second flange portions 48 provide parallel
runners for supporting opposite lateral edges of a pan. As best
seen in FIGS. 9, 10 and 11, one type of guide member 42 which I may
provide is proportioned and designed so that its second flange
portion 48 is formed with a turned-up edge portion 72 providing a
runner for engaging the downturned lip or rim of a pan P. This edge
portion 72 is turned up preferably at an angle which is somewhere
between 45.degree. and 90.degree.. In FIG. 11, the edge portion 72
is shown in solid lines at approximately 75.degree. and in broken
lines at approximately 90.degree..
In FIG. 13, I show another guide member 42' proportioned and
designed so that its second flange portion 48' is formed with a
turned-up edge portion 72'. This edge portion 72' is turned up at
an angle which is somewhere between 0.degree. and 45.degree.. The
guide member 42' may be used to support the lip of a pan P as
illustrated in solid lines or the lateral edge of the bottom of a
pan P as illustrated in broken lines. It will be appreciated that
the guide member 42' provides a degree of versatility in that it
can be used slidably to support pans which are of different
widths.
Further, in FIG. 12, I show a guide member 42" which is formed to
have a flat second flange portion 48". This flat flange portion 48"
may be used to support the bottoms of larger pans P or the
down-turned lips of slightly smaller pans.
While I have illustrated and described my rack system for use in
kitchen environments, it will be appreciated that my rack system
concept may be used in any storage area and particularly where it
is desired slidably to support items by their edges.
* * * * *