U.S. patent number 3,915,308 [Application Number 05/511,620] was granted by the patent office on 1975-10-28 for convertible tool storage rack.
Invention is credited to Harry Ratzloff, Jacob J. Reimer.
United States Patent |
3,915,308 |
Ratzloff , et al. |
October 28, 1975 |
Convertible tool storage rack
Abstract
A storage rack for attachment to a wall surface for the storage
of a wheelbarrow or, alternatively, an assortment of long-handled,
household tools such as rakes, shovels, mops, etc. A crossmember
mounts flexible, detachable bails positionable to best suit tool
storage purposes. An upright member is apertured to receive a tool
support member in a detachable, suspended manner positionable along
said member to best suit existing storage purposes. A modified bail
member is disclosed along with a modified support member both
particularly adapted for the storage of long-handled tools.
Inventors: |
Ratzloff; Harry (Salem, OR),
Reimer; Jacob J. (Hesston, KS) |
Family
ID: |
24035699 |
Appl.
No.: |
05/511,620 |
Filed: |
October 3, 1974 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
211/70.6;
248/201; 248/222.12; 248/222.41 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A47F
7/0028 (20130101); A47F 5/08 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
A47F
7/00 (20060101); A47F 5/08 (20060101); A47F
005/08 () |
Field of
Search: |
;211/23,24,88,89,6SK,6T,71 ;248/DIG.3,223,224,225,309,12,126,201
;24/73HH,73PF |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Foreign Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Frazier; Roy D.
Assistant Examiner: Hafer; Robert A.
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Givnan, Jr.; James D.
Claims
Having thus described the invention what is desired to be secured
under a Letters Patent is:
1. A wheelbarrow storage rack for wall attachment said rack being
convertible into a storage rack for garden tools, said rack
comprising,
a crossmember of channel construction apertured at uniform
intervals therealong,
an upright member extending perpendicularly downward from the
center of said crossmember and defining spaced apart openings
located along its lower portion, said upright member also being of
channel construction,
a connector plate overlying adjacent portions of said crossmember
and said upright member,
bail means of U-shape configuration having spaced apart flexible
leg members in inserted engagement with the apertures defined by
said crossmember, said bail means adapted to receive the spaced
apart handles of a wheelbarrow and confine same in an upright
stored position, each of said bail leg members terminating in
enlarged head portions for retained engagement with the crossmember
apertures, and
a wheelbarrow support member attached to the lower portion of said
upright member including rearwardly directed projections engaged
with selected pairs of openings in said upright member, said
wheelbarrow support member having an upwardly inclined frontal lip
confining the lower edge of the wheelbarrow tray against accidental
dislodgement.
2. The rack claimed in claim 1 wherein said crossmember apertures
are characterized by a laterally extending slotted extension for
reception of a bail leg.
3. The rack claimed in claim 1 wherein said bail means is of
elongate configuration engageable with said crossmember at points
oppositely spaced from the connector plate to confine the handle
portions of a variety of garden tools, and wherein said support
member is also of elongate construction substantially equal in
length to the elongate bail means permitting the rack to function
as a garden tool storage rack for multiple tools.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates generally to storage racks of the
type for mounting on a wall surface and more particularly to a rack
for supporting a wheelbarrow in an upright position with a modified
form of the rack adaptable for the support of household items such
as various types of garden implements.
Existing storage racks, that I am aware of, do not permit the
upright storage of a wheelbarrow but rather are limited simply to
the storage of household items. Storage of a wheelbarrow compactly
against a wall is not feasible for the reason that known racks rely
on handle engaging holders which are lightly spring biased and
capable of supporting only lightweight tools such as shovels,
rakes, hoes, etc. The spacing of a wheelbarrow's handle grips along
with their nonparallel relationship and wheelbarrow weight renders
existing racks unsuitable for wheelbarrow storage. Further, known
racks are not readily adaptable for the support of the many types
of garden tools normally found within a household garage or
toolshed.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention is embodied within a rack having horizontal
and vertical members each of which include readily detachable, tool
supporting members to permit the rack to be readily adapted for the
storage purposes intended.
The rack comprises a horizontal member adapted for wall attachment
having a series of spaced apart openings therealong shaped to
receive detachable bails which receive the handles of a wheelbarrow
or, alternatively, the handle end of a household garden tool. Said
bails are preferably of a flexible nature to enable positive
engagement with said horizontal member yet permitting convenient
detachment, repositioning or replacement. An upright member of the
rack is also wall mounted and defines openings therealong which may
selectively receive either a wheelbarrow supporting member or an
elongate tool supporting member. In conjunction with the latter, a
modified bail is disclosed for the orderly retention of a number of
garden tool handles. Said support members include rearwardly
extending projections for selective insertion within the apertures
in the upright member.
Important objectives of the present rack include the provision of a
rack particularly adapted for the storage of a wheelbarrow or,
alternatively, an assortment of garden tools, the provision of a
rack having differently configured bails for selective biased
engagement with a horizontal rack member to accommodate
wheelbarrows regardless of wheelbarrow handle spacing, the
provision of a rack including interchangeable support members to
best suit the storage task at hand, the provision of a rack readily
convertible from the storage of garden tools to a wheelbarrow and
vice versa all without removal of threaded fasteners. Additional
objects of the rack will become apparent from the following
description.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING
In the accompanying drawing:
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the present rack with a wheelbarrow
stored thereon shown in fragmentary broken lines,
FIG. 2 is a plan view of a bail for use with the rack,
FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken approximately along line 3--3 of
FIG. 1,
FIG. 4 is a fragmentary elevational view of a rack segment and
inserted bail end,
FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken approximately along line 5--5 of
FIG. 1 showing rack and support member details,
FIG. 6 is a plan view of a modified form of a bail,
FIG. 7 is a front elevational view of a modified support member,
and
FIG. 8 is a side elevational view of the support member taken from
the left hand side of FIG. 7.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
With continuing reference to the accompanying drawing wherein
applied reference numerals indicate parts similarly identified in
the following specification, the reference numeral 1 identifies a
horizontal crossmember preferably of channel iron construction for
securement to a wall surface by fasteners 2. Spaced at intervals
along said crossmember are openings 3 of the configuration seen in
FIG. 4 for the reception of bail members 4.
With attention to FIG. 2, a bail member, which may be of wire
construction, is shown having outwardly biased diverging legs 4A
terminating in enlarged head portions 5. The pair of heads 5 are
spaced a distance somewhat greater than the horizontal distance
between each opening 3 requiring inward biasing of the bail legs 4A
for registration of heads 5 with openings 3 in crossmember 1. The
flexible nature of the bail member permits such temporary flexing
for engagement purposes with subsequent release of the bail
resulting in locked engagement of bail legs 4A with slot-like
extensions 3A in openings 3. Conversely, bail release entails
simply the inward flexing of bail leg members 4A into alignment
with their respective openings 3 permitting outward extraction of
the bail for subsequent reattachment along the crossmember to best
suit existing tool storage purposes. Obviously, legs 4A could be of
converging configuration.
A connector plate at 6 is apertured to receive fasteners 7 and 8
securing an upright holder member 10 to crossmember 1. The
arrangement of fasteners 7 and 8 may be varied to permit certain of
said fasteners to additionally serve as wall attachment fasteners
as for example the use of wood screws passing through aligned
openings in connector plate 6 and crossmember 1.
With attention jointly to FIGS. 1 and 5, the lower portion of
vertical member 10 defines spaced apart openings 11 which receive a
wheelbarrow support member 12 and specifically attachment elements
13 and 14 integral with the back side of support member 12. While
the configuration of the support member is not critical to the
present invention a desirable objective is that it include a
barrier 15 formed by an upturned outer edge or lip portion which
serves to confine the wheelbarrow W, and specifically the
wheelbarrow pan against accidental dislodgement. A suitable
engagement between support member 15 and member 10 is embodied
within attachment elements having an angular prong as of the type
shown at 13 insertable through an opening 11 with a companion prong
at 14 being of straight configuration insertable within a subjacent
opening whereby the support member may bear asymmetrical loads
without tipping or dislodgement. A desirable advantage of such an
attachment for support member 12 is that such permits convenient
relocation of said member without the use of tools.
While the present holder is particularly useful for the storage of
a wheelbarrow shown in a fragmentary manner at W, it may be readily
converted into a storage rack for household tools normally stored
in a garage or toolshed and particularly those tools termed garden
tools. For such purposes, a single elongate bail at 16 is attached
to horizontal member 1 in the same manner above described in
connection with bail 4 with bail legs 16A being momentarily flexed
inwardly for passage of head portions at 17 through openings 3.
Projections at 18 on the bail serve to confine tool handles in
spaced relationship to one another.
In FIG. 7, a support member at 20 is shown for use in conjunction
with elongate bail 16 in the storage of a variety of tools. The
modified support member is very similar to support member 12 in
that it includes like projections at 21 and 22 for insertion within
openings 11. The horizontal portion of support member 20 is of
extended length to adequately receive and support several tools
such as shovels, rakes, hoes, etc.,.
While we have shown but a few embodiments of the invention it will
be apparent to those skilled in the art that the invention may be
embodied still otherwise without departing from the spirit and
scope of the invention.
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