Cantilever Rack

Abstract

A rack structure having a horizontal cantilever arm which is adapted for rapid positioning on a vertical standard. The construction of the arm is such that it can be snapped into place on the standard without requiring any tools or fasteners.

Description

This invention relates to storage racks and more particularly to cantilever rack structures.

With floor space for storage purposes becoming increasingly more expensive, emphasis is being given to more efficient rack structures. Rack structures are desired by industry which are capable of simple and rapid assembly, and which can be disassembled and/or adjusted when desired. Cantilever racks provide efficient and versatile storage for many industries, and through their use it is often possible to make excellent utilization of scarce floor space.

It is an object of this invention to provide an improved cantilever rack structure. A further object is to provide an improved arm assembly for a cantilever rack. Another object is to provide an improved cantilever rack wherein the support arms can be attached without the use of additional parts.

Other objects of the invention will become apparent from the following detailed description when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a partially exploded perspective view of a cantilever rack structure incorporating various features of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a bottom view, partially in cross section, taken generally along line 2--2 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a side elevational view of the structure of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary top view, enlarged in size, showing the structure of FIG. 1 as the cantilever arm is in the initial stage of attachment;

FIG. 5 is a view taken generally along line 5--5 of FIG. 3 showing a later stage of the attachment than that shown in FIG. 4; and

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary exploded view of an alternate embodiment of a cantilever rack structure.

Very generally, a cantilever rack structure 11 is shown in FIG. 1 which includes a horizontal base 13 which supports a column or standard 15 in an upright position upon which column is mounted one or more horizontal cantilever arms 17. The cantilever arm 17 includes two elongated tubular members 19 and 21, to the inner ends of which are affixed a pair of righthand and lefthand brackets 25 and 27, respectively. The elongated tubular members 19,21 are joined in the region generally adjacent the outer ends thereof, as by lines of weld 23, and they are unconnected adjacent their inner ends. Thus, the brackets 25,27 may be resiliently spread apart under force to an open condition in order to attach the cantilever arm 17 in desired position on the vertical standard 15. When the arm 17 is in its desired erected position, the bracket-carrying ends of the tubular members 19,21 are allowed to snap back together, completing the attachment. In the illustrated embodiment, the brackets 25,27 circumscribe a portion of the standard 15 and effectively transfer the load from the cantilever arm 17 to the standard.

More particularly, the base 13 is provided with an upstanding tubular sleeve portion 29 which is adapted to receive the lower end of the standard 15 and support the standard in an upstanding position. The sleeve 29 has a rectangular interior opening that is proportioned to receive and fit closely about a portion of the periphery of the standard 15.

The illustrated standard 15 may be thought of as comprising a pair of opposed C-shaped channel portions 33 and 35 interconnected by web members 37, so that the cross section of the standard has the outline of an "I." Each channel portion furnishes a mounting surface for the bracket-carrying cantilever arms 17. Usually, a plurality of cantilever arms 17 will be mounted on the forward channel portion 33 and on the rear channel portion 35 so that the arms extend forward and rearward from the standard in opposite directions. In many instances, two cantilever arms 17 will be mounted at the same horizontal level.

The front C-shaped channel portion 33 includes a front wall 39, a right sidewall 41, a left sidewall 43, and right 45 and left 47 rear re-entrant walls which extend from each sidewall, respectively, in the same direction as the front wall 39 extends. The right rear re-entrant wall 45 of the channel portion 33 (and the corresponding wall of the channel portion 35) is provided with a series of apertures 49 disposed in vertical alignment with one another and spaced a predetermined distance apart.

The two elongated members 19 and 21 should be each generally tubular in shape, as other structural shapes can result in the creation of torsion forces upon loading that will spread the unconnected bracket-carrying ends of the elongated members and cause detachment and/or falling of the cantilever arms 17. The elongated members 19,21 are preferably steel tubes which are rigidly affixed to each other at a location generally adjacent the outer ends thereof by spaced lines of weld 23a,23b or by some other suitable method of joinder, thereby causing the members to normally lie in contiguous relationship along their entire lengths.

The distance D (FIG. 3) over which the joinder is effected will vary depending upon the length of the members 19 and 21, the size and shape thereof, the weight of the metal stock and other factors which will influence the resiliency. Usually, the joinder of the members 19,21 does not extend to the inner half of the cantilever arm 17; however, it is difficult to specify the length of joinder because of the variables involved. The unconnected portions should be of sufficient length to permit the bracket-carrying ends to be spread apart with the application of reasonable force, while the joinder over a finite distance D should provide sufficient residual biasing force in the arm 17 that the elongated members 19,21 will snap to their contiguous arrangement as soon as the spreading force is removed. Usually the members 19,21 will be unconnected for a distance of at least about 20 to 40 inches from the inner end of the arm 17 where the brackets 25,27 are located, and the joinder should preferably span a distance at least about 10 percent of the length of the tubular members. In the illustrated embodiment, the joinder is by spaced lines of weld 23a and 23b, disposed top and bottom of the arm 17; however, bolts or other attaching means could also be used at the same locations. Obviously, the top and bottom weld lines could be continuous, but such additional strength is not deemed necessary.

The righthand bracket 25 and the lefthand bracket 27 are suitably attached, as by welding, to the unconnected inner ends of the tubular members 19,21, and they serve to attach or mount the cantilever arm 17 on the standard. The brackets 25,27 extend slightly above and to a greater distance below the upper and lower surface of the tubular members 19 and 21 and thereby provide an extended surface to abut the surface of the front wall 39 of the standard 15. The bracket 25 has a pair of parallel flanges 51 and 53 interconnected by a perpendicular web 55, thus having the general shape of a U. The bracket 27 has similar front and rear flanges 57,59 interconnected by a web 61. A stud or lug 63 proportioned to fit into the apertures 49 in the standard extends forward from the rear flange 53 of the righthand bracket 25. In the illustrated embodiment, the lug 63 is punched from the rear flange 53. To locate the cantilever arm 17 at the desired horizontal level on the standard, the stud 63 is aligned with the appropriate aperture 49, and then mounting is carried out as described hereinafter.

Decking supports are provided on both ends of the cantilever arm 17. At the outer end of the arm, there is a single support 65 having support surfaces 65a located on both sides of the arm 17 and an upper abutment 65b. On the inner ends of the tubular members 19 and 21, there are affixed a righthand support 67 and a lefthand support 69. The righthand support 67 has a lower 67a and an upper 67b support surface; the left support 69 is correspondingly formed to have lower 69a and upper 65b support surfaces. The inner rear corner of the upper shelf support 67b (see FIG. 4) is slightly cutoff to provide clearance, as described later in detail.

These support surfaces are designed to provide support for shelving material, such as wooden planks or decking. A storage rack installation will generally have a number of aligned vertical standards 15 each having horizontal arms 17 mounted at the same vertical levels. The front shelf support surfaces 65a correspond in vertical level with the rear shelf support surface 67a and may be used to support stringers or a skeleton deck frame extending between adjacent cantilever arms 17, which in turn will support horizontal shelving as a part of the rack structure. Such stringers or frames would usually have an upper surface that would be flush with the upper surface of the cantilever arm 17 and the support surfaces 67b and 69b so that decking can provide a continuous flat surface extending for a substantial distance. When such an arrangement is used, the upstanding abutments 65b are used to prevent such decking from shifting forward.

Referring to FIG. 3, it is noted that when the cantilever arm 17 is attached to the vertical standard 15 and is unloaded, the outer end of the arm lies slightly vertically above the inner end of the arm which is attached to the standard. This slight angle of slope compensates for the deflection the arm will undergo so that it will be in horizontal alignment when fully loaded, and in the illustrated embodiment, a 3/8-inch rise is provided for each 12 inches of length.

The decking supports 67 and 69 double as braces at the points of interconnection between the elongated members 19,21 and their respective brackets 25,27. The inner ends of the elongated members are suitably affixed perpendicularly to the front flanges 51,57 of the brackets, as by welding. To brace this connection, the supports 67 and 69 are provided with flanges 67c and 69c which underlie the respective elongated members 19,21 and extend diagonally from points on the undersurface of the members to a location near the lower end of the bracket front flanges 51,57. The supports 67 and 69 are appropriately welded to the elongated members 19,21 and to the brackets 25,27, as for example along both the upper and lower edges of the diagonal flanges 67c and 69c. Additional welding is generally provided between the upper portion of the supports 67,69 and the sidewalls of the elongated tubes 19,21. This bracing strengthens the interconnection between the elongated tubes 19,21 and the brackets 25,27 and assists in the transfer of the supported load from the cantilevered arms 17 to the vertical standard 15 via the brackets.

To attach the arm 17 to the vertical standard 15, the bracket-carrying ends of the resilient tubular members 19,21 are spread apart to an open condition. As shown stepwise in FIGS. 4 and 5, the righthand and lefthand brackets 25 and 27 can be separated sufficiently so that they will move into a partially circumscribing position about the front channel portion 33 of the vertical standard. As soon as the spreading force on the elongated members 19,21 is released, the brackets 25,27 will snap into a closed position about the front channel portion 33 as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2.

When the brackets are positioned on the standard, the lug 63 is interengaged with the appropriate aperture 49 in the right rear reentrant surface 45 of the standard and holds the cantilever arm 17 in place even when there is no load on the arm. When a load is placed on the cantilever arm 17, a moment force in a vertical plane is imparted to the brackets 25, 27 which presses the lower portion of the interior surfaces of the bracket front flanges 51,57 against the front wall 39 of the standard and presses the upper portions of the rear flanges 53,59 against the rear-facing surfaces of the re-entrant walls 45,47 of the standard adjacent which they lie. The forces thus developed between these surfaces and the engagement of the lug 63 in the aperture 49 prevent relative vertical movement and support the cantilever arm 17 in position at the desired vertical height on the standard 15.

The interengagement of the brackets 25,27 and the standard 15 are conveniently availed of to spread the inner ends of the elongated tubes 19,21 sufficiently horizontally apart to permit attachment. Referring to FIGS. 4 and 5, the cantilever arm 17 is initially located at the desired vertical level on the standard 15 but disposed at an angle counterclockwise from the load-bearing position it will ultimately assume. The lug 63 is loosely engaged in the appropriate aperture 49. The arm 17 is then rotated clockwise, generally pivoting about the lug 63 and the side edge of the flange 53, causing first the corner of shelf support 69b, and subsequently the vertical side edge of the flange 59 of the bracket 27, to bear against the front wall 39 of the standard. The continued clockwise rotational movement of the cantilever arm 17 causes the edge of the bracket front flange 59 to slide around the front lefthand edge of the standard 15 onto the sidewall 43 (as depicted in FIG. 5), forcing the inner ends of elongated tube 19,21 to which the brackets 25 and 27 are attached to be spread apart.

More particularly, the force acting against corner of support flange 69b is substantial (because of the leverage provided by the length of the arm 17), and the support 69 and the tube 21 to which it is welded is caused to move horizontally away from bracket 25. The corner slides along the front wall 39, spreading the brackets and the elongated members 19,21 until the corner of the support 69b projects beyond the front surface 39 of the standard, at which time the edge of bracket rear flange 59 contacts the front surface 43. The vertical edge of bracket rear flange 59 slides along the front surface 39 until it passes the lefthand edge, as depicted in FIG. 5, and then it slides along sidewall 43 until it reaches the rear edge thereof, at which time the bracket 27 snaps into place with the flange 59 lying adjacent the rear surface 47 of the standard. When the bracket 27 snaps into the closed condition, the attachment of the arm 17 is complete. The cantilever arm 17 can be removed from the standard 15 by inserting a simple tool between the inner portions of the elongated members 19,21 and using it to spread the members apart while rotating the cantilever arm in a counter-clockwise direction.

From this description, it may be seen that the present invention provides an improved cantilever rack structure which provides versatile shelving support and which is capable of simple and rapid assembly and disassembly. The structure requires no loose parts for the attachment of the arms and thereby facilitates efficient erection and subsequent adjustment.

Depicted in FIG. 6 is an alternative embodiment that might be employed as a part of a rack structure utilizing this general concept. FIG. 6 illustrates a vertical standard 101 and a cantilever arm 103 which are shown as a part of an exploded perspective view. The vertical standard 101 is a tubular structure of generally rectangular cross section having four walls which are termed, for purposes of description, a front wall 105, a rear wall 107 and a pair of sidewalls 109 and 111. The attachment of the cantilever arm 103 to the standard 101 is carried out via the provision of rows of rectangular apertures 113 disposed in the sidewalls 109 and 111. The apertures 113 in each row are spaced vertically apart a uniform distance, and each of the rows is located a uniform distance from either the front wall 105 or the rear wall 107.

The cantilever arm 103 includes a pair of elongated rectangular tubes 115 and 117 which are welded together near the outer ends thereof in precisely the same manner as the tubes 19 and 21 illustrated in FIG. 1. A righthand supporting bracket 119 and a lefthand supporting bracket 121 are respectively welded to the inner ends of the elongated tubes 115 and 117. The righthand bracket 119 has a front flange 123, a side flange 125 that is generally perpendicular thereto and a series of re-entrant lugs 127 which extend generally transverse to the side flange 125. The lugs 127 are proportioned and are spaced uniform distances apart so as to be received by the rectangular apertures 113 disposed in the sidewall 109 of the standard 101. The lefthand bracket 121 is similarly constructed having a front flange 129 and a substantially perpendicular side flange 131 which carries a plurality of re-entrant lugs 133 along its rear vertical edge, which lugs are proportioned and spaced to be received by the apertures 113 in the sidewall 111.

Accordingly, when it is desired to attach the cantilever arm 103 to the standard 101, one set of the lugs, for example, the lugs 133, are placed in registration with the apertures 113 in the sidewall 111. The cantilever arm 103 is then rotated counterclockwise so that the vertical edges of the three lugs 127 slide along the surface of the front wall 105 of the standard. After the lugs 127 pass the side edge, further rotation of the cantilever arm 103 causes them to slide rearward along the sidewall 109 until they reach the apertures 113, at which time they will snap into place, thus completing attachment of the cantilever arm 103 to the standard 101.

When the cantilever arm 103 is loaded, the load is transferred to the brackets 119 and 121 causing the lower portions of the front flanges 123 and 129 to be pressed against the front wall 105 of the standard and the uppermost of the re-entrant lugs 127,133 to bear against the corresponding edges of the apertures 113. Suitable supports (not shown) may be used to brace the connection between the tubes 115,117 and the brackets 119,121 and to also provide surfaces upon which decking can be supported.

While particular embodiments of the invention have been illustrated and described, it should be apparent that various modifications may be made thereto without departing from the scope of the invention which is defined by the claims appended hereinafter. For example, in the structure shown in FIGS. 1 through 5, instead of disposing the lug 63 in the rear flange 53 of the bracket, a lug may be disposed in the side flange 55 of the bracket 25 with the apertures 49 then being appropriately located in the sidewall 41 of the standard. Similarly, an additional lug could be located in the side flange 61 of the bracket 27 with apertures being similarly provided in the adjacent sidewall 43 of the standard. By providing lugs in both brackets, it would then be possible to attach the cantilever arm 17 to the standard 15 by beginning from either side and rotating the arm appropriately; in which instance, the corner of the support flange 69b (see FIG. 4) would be cut off similar to the flange 67b to provide clearance when the cantilever arm is installed from the side opposite to that shown in FIG. 4.

Various of the features of the invention are set forth in the following claims.

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. A cantilever storage rack structure comprising an elongated vertical standard having a front surface, a pair of side surfaces extending rearward from said front surface and a re-entrant surface extending inward from the rear end of each of said side surfaces, and a cantilever support arm having an inner end for attachment to said standard so that it extends from said front surface thereof and an outer end that will be spaced from said standard, which arm includes a pair of elongated generally horizontal tubular members and means joining said elongated members together at at least spaced points generally adjacent said outer end of said support arm and thereby causing said elongated members to normally lie in contiguous relationship at said inner end of said support arm, and which support arm also includes a bracket affixed to the inner end of each of said elongated tubular members for attaching said support arm to said standard, said brackets each having a first flange portion for abutting said front surface of said standard when attached thereto, a second portion extending rearward from said first flange and a re-entrant flange element extending from said second bracket portion in the same direction as said first flange and generally abutting said re-entrant flange of said standard, said elongated members being unconnected to each other for a substantial distance adjacent the inner end of said support arm and the free edges of said re-entrant flange elements being so spaced apart that, when one said flange element is located in contact with one said re-entrant surface of said standard and said cantilever arm is rotated, said tubular members are resiliently spread apart as a result of said rotation to an open condition and thereafter snap back together in partially circumscribing relationship about said standard at a location intermediate its upper and lower ends, said support arm tubular members even when loaded remaining in said snapped together condition without additional attachment.

2. A structure in accordance with claim 1 wherein said standard and at least one of said brackets are provided with interengaging means, said interengaging means preventing downward movement of said support arm when attached to said standard.

3. A structure in accordance with claim 2 wherein said interengaging means includes an aperture and a protuberance, said protuberance being adapted to be received in said aperture.

4. A structure in accordance with claim 1 wherein said standard has a pair of side surfaces which extend rearward from said front surface which side surfaces of said standard are provided with apertures and wherein said reentrant means on said bracket comprises lugs which are received by said apertures.

5. A structure in accordance with claim 1 wherein said re-entrant surfaces are substantially parallel to said front surface of said standard and wherein said first flange portion and said re-entrant flange of said bracket are likewise substantially parallel.

6. A structure in accordance with claim 1 wherein said elongated members are unconnected for a distance from the midpoint to the inner end of said support arm.

7. A structure in accordance with claim 6 wherein said points of joinder of said elongated members span a distance at least equal to about 10 percent of the length of said elongated members.

8. A structure in accordance with claim 1 wherein said arm includes brace means near the inner end thereof which extends diagonally downward from each of said elongated members to said bracket and also provides a support surface to retain horizontal decking.

9. A structure in accordance with claim 1 wherein said standard has the cross sectional shape of the general outline of an "I."