Rack Assembly

Abstract

A storage rack includes a pair of upright members adapted to adjustably support, in a cantilever manner, a plurality of shelf elements. Each upright comprises a pair of half channel sections forming hook cavities at each corner of the uprights to permit attachment of up to four shelf elements to each upright while a separate lock bar on each shelf engageable within one said cavity, allows independent vertical adjustment of each shelf.

Description

This invention relates generally, to a storage rack, and more particularly, to a rack structure comprising a pair of vertically disposed uprights adapted to adjustably support a plurality of shelf elements and wherein the basic components comprising each individual rack assembly may be ganged to provide a unitary assembly including any number of individual rack units.

It is well known to provide rack assemblies comprising a pair of spaced-apart uprights suitably supported by floor-engaging standards and wherein one or more shelf elements may be adjustably positioned between the uprights. The present arrangement offers an improved construction involving a unique channel assembly for each of the uprights comprising a pair of half channel sections which cooperate with a locking device at each end of the shelf elements for securing these elements at the desired elevation. Each upright member is constructed to permit attachment of a shelf element to each corner thereof such that a total of four shelf elements may be independently supported by each upright for individual vertical adjustment thereon.

In the present instance, the rack assembly may comprise, on the one hand, two uprights each of which is supported by means of a main support beam extending substantially in only one direction from its point of attachment to the upright so that the rack may be placed substantially flush against a wall while permitting subsequent ready adjustment of all shelf elements attached thereto without the necessity of moving the rack assembly from its position adjacent the wall. On the other hand, the very same construction may be readily adapted to provide a double-faced rack assembly for use in a position well spaced from any walls merely by the addition of an alternate support beam to each of the supporting standards. Thereafter, it is only necessary to quickly attach the desired number of shelf elements to the opposite face of the upright to obtain a double-faced assembly.

Accordingly, one of the primary objects of the present invention is to provide an improved rack assembly including a pair of vertically disposed upright constructed to permit ready attachment and removal of shelf elements thereto and also permitting vertical adjustment thereof.

A further object of the present invention is to provide an improved rack assembly for the adjustable support of shelf elements and including an upright member having a plurality of hook cavities therein adjacent opposite corners thereof to permit independent attachment of at least a pair of shelf elements thereto.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide an improved rack assembly including shelf elements adjustably supported on spaced-apart uprights, which uprights are attached to horizontally disposed standards and wherein said standards may be readily modified to provide a rack assembly for flush mounting against a wall or as a double-faced assembly well spaced from any walls.

With these and other objects in view which will more readily appear as the nature of the invention is better understood, the invention consists in the novel construction, combination, and arrangement of parts hereinafter more fully described, illustrated, and claimed.

A preferred embodiment of the present invention is shown in the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the rack assembly of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged horizontal sectional view taken along the line 2--2 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary side elevation, partly in section, taken along the line 3--3 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged transverse sectional view taken along the line 4--4 of FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view illustrating the adjustable locking mechanism for attaching the shelving elements to the upright members.

FIG. 6 is a horizontal sectional view taken along the line 6--6 of FIG. 3.

Similar reference characters designate corresponding parts throughout the several figures of the drawings.

Referring now to the drawings, particularly FIG. 1, the present invention will be seen to comprise a rack assembly including a plurality of upright members 1, each of which is disposed in a vertical position and retained therein by means of a standard, generally designated S. Adapted to span the distance between each pair of adjacent uprights 1 are a plurality of shelf elements 2. Preferably a first shelf element is attached to the uprights 1 at a point immediately adjacent the standard S and thus serves to rigidly interlock the respective uprights 1 at the lower portion of the rack assembly while any number of additional shelves 2 may be selectively installed and locked at the desired position throughout the remaining portion of the uprights 1. The arrangement shown in FIG. 1 discloses both a laterally ganged and double-faced installation wherein the standards extend forwardly and rearwardly from each upright 1 substantially an equal distance and shelf elements 2 are mounted on opposite faces of each of the uprights on the one hand, and also are mounted adjacent to one another on the other hand.

The specific construction of each standard S may vary from that disclosed in the present drawings. However, it is desirable to utilize an arrangement generally similar to that shown in order to permit the ready modification of the rack assembly from a single-faced device to a double-faced assembly. As will be seen most clearly in FIG. 3 of the drawings, the standard S includes a main support beam 3, preferably of hollow construction with a box-like configuration, and having a forward end wall 4 closing the outermost portion of the hollow support beam 3. The beam extends rearwardly a slight distance beyond the rear face of the upright 1 and terminates with a vertically disposed rear edge 5. The bottom 6 of the upright 1 is suitably attached to the upper portion of the main support beam 3 such as by welding thereto. Mounted upon the lower surface of the main support beam at a point adjacent the rear edge 5 is a central adjustable glide 7, while a similar adjustable glide 8 is mounted to the undersurface of the forward portion of the support beam 3 adjacent the end wall 4 thereof. The construction of these glides is well known in the art and means must be provided to permit the ready removal and attachment of at least the central adjustable glide 7 for reasons which will become apparent immediately hereinafter.

In the case of a single-faced installation, wherein the rack assembly is intended to be placed immediately adjacent a wall and shelf elements 2 will be mounted only on one face of the uprights, the main support beam 3 may be closed at its rear opening by means of any suitable removable end cap 9, preferably of plastic, enclosing the rear of the support beam to preclude the entrance of dirt or other foreign material into the beam interior and also serving as anti-scuff bumper means when the unit abuts a wall.

Modification of a single-faced assembly in order to achieve a double-faced arrangement, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, is readily accomplished by removing the aforedescribed end cap 9 and attaching the alternate support beam 10. This alternate support beam is of similar construction as the main support beam 3 and also includes an outboard adjustable glide 8 at the free end thereof while its opposite open end is provided with a telescopic portion 11 adapted to provide a close sliding fit within the interior of the rear portion of the main support beam 3 whereby, when the alternate support beam 10 is combined with the main support beam 3, as shown in FIG. 3, any suitable means such as the fasteners 12 may be employed to lock the two support beams 3 and 10 together.

The construction of each of the upright members 1 will be understood to be the same whether the rack assembly is employed in the single-faced or double-faced configuration. Each upright comprises a pair of imperforate half channel sections 13-13 secured in back-to-back relationship when viewed from the front or rear of the rack assembly and as shown most clearly in FIGS. 2 and 6. Each half section comprises a pair of opposite end walls 14 having an inwardly directed catch flange 15 at its outer edge. Medially disposed between each pair of end walls 14 is an intermediate web 16 in turn joined to an inner wall 17 at each edge thereof parallel to the end walls. The opposite edge of each inner wall 17 is connected to an inside wall 18 parallel to the webs 16 whereby each end wall 14, inside wall 18 and inner wall 17 cooperate to define a hook cavity 19 at four points about the periphery of the upright member 1.

From the above description, it will be seen that each upright in effect provides four different quadrants having a similar construction and which are intended to cooperate with anywhere from one to four different shelf elements 2 to provide support therefor. This cooperation between the upright channel 1 and shelf elements 2 will be most apparent from a consideration of FIGS. 2 and 3 of the drawings.

Each shelf element 2 includes a horizontally disposed platform 20 having an outer flange 21 along one longitudinal edge thereof and an inner wall 22 depending from the opposite longitudinal edge thereof adjacent a pair of spaced-apart uprights 1. Side walls 23 depend from the two lateral edges of the platform 20 and include bottom flanges 24 cooperating with bottom flanges 25 on the inner walls 22 and bottom flanges 26 on the outer flanges 21 to provide a rigid construction for each shelf element.

Rigidly attached at each rear corner of the shelf 2 is a shelf mounting bracket generally designated 27 and which includes a pair of edge flanges 28 affixed to the side wall 23 and inner wall 22 of the shelf, respectively. The shelf mounting bracket 27 is provided with a central web 29 preferably disposed at a 45.degree. angle with respect to the edge flanges 28--28 and connected thereto by means of a pair of adjacent angled side arms 30. As will be seen in FIG. 2, the corner portions of the inner wall 22 and side wall 23, as well as the remaining structure of each shelf in this area, are notched or foreshortened in order to permit a mating fit between this area of the shelf and the juxtaposed portion of the upright members 1. Each shelf mounting bracket 27 carries a lock bar generally designated 30' and which is adjustably connected to the mounting bracket 27 by means of a stud 31 freely disposed through an opening in the central web 29 of the mounting bracket so that the free end thereof may receive any suitable fastening element such as the wing-nut 32 shown in the drawings. The lock bar 30' includes a base plate 33 which carries the stud 31 and an intermediate plate 34 disposed normal to one edge of the base plate 33. Angled inwardly from the opposite edge of the intermediate plate 34 is a hook arm 35 having its free edge spaced from the opposed surface of the base plate 33 to permit access to the catch opening 36 formed within the confines of the components of the lock bar.

The manner of attachment of the shelf elements to the uprights will now be readily appreciated. When the two rear corners of a shelf are positioned adjacent a pair of respective spaced apart upright members 1--1, the hook arms 35 are inserted into the respective cavities 19 of the juxtaposed uprights and engage behind the catch flanges 15 on the end walls 14 of the channel half sections. When the shelf has been vertically positioned to the desired location, it is then only necessary to tighten the fastening element 32 in order to draw the lock bar towards the shelf mounting bracket 27 until the free edges 22a and 23a of the shelf inner wall and side wall tightly engage the intermediate web 16 and end wall 14, respectively, of the upright member.

Claims

I claim:

1. A storage rack comprising, at least two spaced-apart upright members, support means at the bottom of said members, engageable with a floor, a shelf element disposed between and connected to said upright members at adjacent corners thereof, said shelf element including a vertical inner wall and a pair of adjacent vertical sidewalls disposed normal to said inner wall, the ends of said inner wall and the adjacent ends of said sidewalls provided with free edges engageable with said upright members, each said upright member including a pair of half channel sections connected in back-to-back realtionship, each said section having an end wall engageable with said free edge of one said shelf element sidewall and also having an intermediate web disposed normal to said end wall and engageable with said free edge of one end of said shelf element inner wall, said section including an inside wall parallel to said web and intermediate said end wall and web to define a hook cavity therebetween extending substantially the height of said upright member, said hook cavity bounded by a catch flange directed rearwardly from said end wall to said web, lock means on said shelf element adjacent said inner wall and side wall free edges, said lock means including an adjustable lock bar carried by said shelf element insertable within said channel section cavity and vertically displaceable therein to selectively position said shelf element, said lock bar having a hook arm disposed behind said catch flange and directed towards said channel section end wall, and releasable fastener means on said lock bar to clamp said lock bar against said channel section catch flange to rigidly abut the shelf element free edges to said channel section end wall and web.

2. A storage rack, according to claim 1, wherein each said half-channel section includes two said end walls and hook cavities with said web intermediate said two hook cavities.

3. A storage rack according to claim 1 wherein, said lock means includes a mounting bracket affixed to said shelf element at each end thereof and provided with an opening, said fastener means including a stud extending from said lock bar through said bracket opening and a nut on said stud movable to urge said lock bar toward said bracket.

4. A storage rack according to claim 1 wherein, said support means includes a beam extending substantially in one direction from said upright members and said shelf element is disposed above said beam.

5. A storage rack according to claim 4 wherein, said beam is substantially hollow and one end thereof adjacent said upright member is provided with an opening, and an end cap removably attached over said beam opening.

6. A storage rack according to claim 5 including, a second beam having a telescopic portion insertable through said beam opening when said end cap is removed.

7. A storage rack according to claim 5 including, adjustable glides attached to the undersurface of said beam adjacent the ends thereof.

8. A storage rack according to claim 1 wherein, said support means includes a pair of beams interlocked to each other and extending in opposite directions from each said upright member, and one of said shelf elements is disposed above each said beams.