Storage rack

Abstract

A storage rack comprises a pair of spaced-apart front and rear upright supports. A plurality of generally horizontal front and rear cross-beams extend between the front and rear upright supports, wherein the cross beams have pairs of slots along their length. A pair of spaced apart rails extend from a front cross beam to an associated rear cross beam, each of said rails comprising a generally flat support wall, a guide wall extending upwardly from the support wall and a downwardly depending tab at each end of the support wall. The tabs snap into the slots in the front and rear cross-beams. A plurality of storage units are slidably mounted on the rails of a pair of rails and are movable from a stored position between the front and rear cross-beams and a forward position wherein at least a portion of the storage unit extends forwardly beyond the front cross-beam. The storage unit comprises a stop to prevent forward movement beyond the forward position.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S)

This United States patent application claims the priority benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/658,786, filed Mar. 4, 2005, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Bin storage racks generally of the type of the present invention are known. Such storage racks comprise a frame comprising upright supports along with front and rear cross-beams and side stabilizing beams. Each shelf comprises a front cross-beam, rear cross-beam and a pair of side stabilizing beams and a solid panel, e.g., particle board, metal panel, or the like mounted on the cross-beams and stabilizing beams. To form separate spaces for storage units, a plastic sheet is mounted on the panel and provides spaced-apart raised ribs or the like which extend from the front of the shelf to the back and define separate spaces for each storage unit.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The invention provides a storage rack where in each “shelf” comprises front and rear cross-beams and at least one pair, preferably a plurality of pairs, of rails extending between the front and rear cross-beams. Each pair of rails has an associated right and left rail. The rails of an associated pair are spaced apart to provide sliding surfaces for the lateral edges of the bottom surface of a storage unit, e.g. a storage bin or other container, wine rack unit and the like.

The storage rack is preferably of a boltless constructional and may be stationary or movable on rollers. The dimensions of the rack as well as the number and spacing of the shelves is not critical and is a matter of choice. Likewise the spacing between the rails of an associated pair and between associated pairs is not critical and depends on the size and number of storage units desired. The rack may comprise one or more solid extendable shelf, to provide a surface to work, to rest a storage unit removal from the rack or the like.

Preferred rails comprise a generally horizontal support wall on which the bottom surface of the storage unit can slide and a vertical guide wall to restrain lateral or sideways movement of the storage unit. Additionally, it is preferred that the rails be reversible such that the rail can be used as either the right or left rail of an associated pair. Preferably the ends of the rail comprises downwardly depending tabs that fit into slots in the front and rear cross-beams of the shelves. Particularly preferred rails have end tabs that “snap” into slots in the front and rear cross-beams so as to be held securely in place, yet still be removable. Exemplary tabs that “snap” into slots have a sinusoidal shape are particularly preferred.

In preferred embodiments, the invention includes a storage rack in combination with one or more storage units. Preferred storage units comprise bins that cooperate with the rack to slide forward from a stored position to a forward position where the bin preferably tilts downwardly for easy access to the interior without dislodging the bin from the rack. The bins may be of various shapes and sizes as desired. Preferred bins may have “stops” at their rear walls to prevent the bins from unintentionally sliding completely out of the rack. The stop may be a separate piece attached to the rear wall of the bin or may be integral with the rest of the bin. A flange forming a slot may be provided on the bin rear wall to allow the bin to be removed from the rack and thereafter be mounted on a side or front rail. The flange may be a separate piece, as shown, or an integral part of the bin.

Alternative storage units may be designed to hold one or more specific individual items, e.g., wine bottles, tools, etc. Storage rack generally of the type of the present invention

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The figures attached hereto show the following:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a preferred storage rack.

FIG. 2A-2C are enlarged perspective views showing the tab of a rail being inserted into a slot of a cross-beam; FIG. 2D is an enlarged perspective view from below showing the tab of a rail inserted through a slot of a cross-beam.

FIG. 3A-3C are top, side and end views of a preferred cross beam.

FIG. 4A-4B are top and side views of a preferred rail; FIG. 4C is an enlarged side view of an end of the rail in FIGS. 4A and 4B showing a preferred tab; FIG. 4D is a perspective view of the rail in FIGS. 4A and 4B.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged perspective view of the tab of a rail inserted into a slot of a preferred rear cross-beam.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a preferred storage rack comprising a solid top panel.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a preferred storage rack comprising a top grate and rollers and showing a plurality of storage bins in their stored positions and a single bin on its forward, downwardly tilted position.

FIG. 8A is a perspective view of another preferred storage rack comprising upright supports that have solid exterior walls and inner walls with keyholes; FIG. 8B is a cross-sectional view of an upright support of FIG. 8A.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of a preferred storage bin.

FIG. 10 is a side view of the rearward portion of a preferred storage bin showing a raised stop.

FIG. 11 is a perspective view of a preferred storage bin in its forward position with its stop extending into the channel formed by the outer and inner walls of a front cross-beam

FIG. 12 is a perspective view of a preferred storage rack with a storage bin mounted on a cross-beam extending between front and rear upright supports.

FIG. 13 is a perspective view of a preferred storage rack showing a storage bin sitting on a solid extendable shelf.

FIG. 14 is a perspective view of another preferred storage bin.

FIG. 15 is a perspective view of the storage bin of FIG. 9 including interior dividers.

FIG. 16 is a perspective view of another preferred storage bin of FIG. 14 including interior dividers.

FIGS. 17A and 17B are perspective views of a storage unit designed to hold three wine bottles.

FIG. 18 is a front view of a storage unit designed to hold three wine bottles.

FIG. 19 is a front view of a preferred storage rack including a plurality of storage units of FIG. 18.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

A preferred storage rack 100 is shown in FIG. 1. The storage rack includes left and right front upright supports 102, 104, and left and right rear upright supports 106, 108. Front cross-beams 110 extend laterally from left front upright support 102 to the right front upright support 104. Rear cross-beams 112 extend laterally from the left rear upright support 106 to the right rear upright support 108. The cross-beams 110 and 112 are vertically spaced according to the desired space between shelves of the storage rack 100. The dimensions of the rack as well as the number and spacing of the shelves are not critical and are a matter of choice. In the preferred embodiment shown, the storage rack is of a boltless construction.

With reference to FIG. 2A-2D, the upright supports include keyhole 117 having a large, generally circular upper portion 118 and lower, narrower slot portion 120. The keyholes 117 receive and seat rivets 119 at the ends of cross-beams 110, 112, as described below.

Preferably the front and rear cross beams 110 and 112 have the same construction. A preferred construction is shown in FIGS. 3A to 3C. The cross-beam comprises an outer wall 122 and an inner wall 124 extending inwardly from the upper edge of the outer wall 122. The outer wall 122 and inner wall have a generally L-shaped or, more preferably, V-shaped cross-sectional configuration, and form an interior channel 127. The cross-beam comprises slots 128, preferably at the junction of the outer wall 122 and inner wall 124, for receiving tabs of the rails 114 and 116, as described below.

At each end, the cross-beams 110, 112 have an anchoring rivet 130 extending outwardly from the outer wall 122. The rivet 130 includes a shaft 132, preferably cylindrical, and an enlarged head 134, preferably circular, at the end of the shaft remote from the outer wall 122 for engagement with the upright support. The diameter and length of the rivet shaft are selected to be slightly less than the width and thickness of the slot portion of a keyhole 117 as shown in FIG. 2A-2C. The diameter of the head portion 134 of the rivet is less than that of the upper portion 118 of the keyhole 117, but greater than the width of the slot portion 119. The cross-beam 110 may include more than one rivet on each end.

With reference to FIG. 4, the cross-beams 110 and 112 are anchored to the upright supports 102, 104, 106, and 108 by passing the head 134 of rivet 130 through the large upper portion 118 of a keyhole 117 and lowering the cross-beam and rivet 130 until the shaft 132 of the rivet 130 seats in the lower slot portion 119 of the keyhole 117. In this arrangement, the end of the outer wall of the cross beam 110, 112 engages the inner surface of the upright support, e.g. 106 and the head 134 of the rivet 130 engages the outer surface of the upright support 106 when the rivet 130 is seated within the slot portion of the keyhole 117, to thereby prevent or at least reduce rotation of the crossbeam 110, 112.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, there are upper and lower side stabilizing beams 111 and 113 connecting the top and bottom ends of the upright supports 102, 104, 106 and 108. A top panel 107 (FIG. 6) or grate 109 (FIG. 6) may be present if desired. The storage rack may be stationary as shown in FIG. 1 or movable on rollers 140 as shown in FIG. 7. Doors (not shown) could be provided to further secure the contents of the storage rack.

In the preferred embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 a plurality of pairs of rails extend between the front and rear cross-beams 110 and 112. Each pair of rails has an associated left rail 114 and right rail 116. The rails 114 and 116 of an associated pair are spaced apart to provide sliding surfaces for the lateral edges of the bottom surface of a storage unit, as described below.

With reference to FIG. 4A-4D, the rail 114 or 116 (FIG. 1) includes a generally flat, horizontal support wall 134 for supporting and forming the sliding surface for a storage unit and a generally vertical guide wall 136 to restrain lateral or sideways movement of the storage unit. The ends of the rail include downwardly extending tabs 138 that fit into the slots 128 in the front and rear cross-beams 110, 112 (see FIG. 2C) of the shelves. Preferably, the tabs 138 have an inwardly curved portion, and more preferably at least one inwardly curved portion (e.g., 139 in FIG. 4C) and at least one outwardly curved portion (e.g., 141 in FIG. 4C) forming a sinusoidal shape, and are capable of snapping into the slots 128 so as to be held securely in place, yet still be removable. A particularly preferred rail comprises a support wall having a width of about 0.5 inch, a guide wall having a vertical height of about 0.4 inch and a tab having a width of about 0.5 inch and a length of about 0.75 inch. Obviously, other dimensions can be used or desired. The rails are preferably reversible, meaning that any rail can be used as either the right rail 116 or left rail 114 of an associated pair.

The spacing between the guide walls of the rails 114, 116 of an associated pair is selected to be a little greater than the width of the bottom surface of a storage unit. The spacing between associated pairs is not critical and depends on the size and number of storage units desired (e.g., see FIG. 7). While not presently preferred, the right rail of one pair can be combined with the left rail of an adjacent pair into a single structure having, for example an inverted “T” shape.

With reference to FIGS. 2A-2D, the engagement between a cross-beam, e.g. 110, and a rail e.g., 116 is shown. Specifically, the downwardly extending tab 138 of a rail is introduced into a slot 128 and downward pressure is applied to the end of the rail. The tab 138 flexes outwardly as the tab 138 snaps into place with the support wall 134 of the rail resting on the cross-beam 110. The tabs 138 are sufficiently flexible to allow manual engagement and disengagement of the rails 114, 116 to the cross-beams 110, 112.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the front and rear cross beams are at about the same elevation and the rails are generally horizontal front to rear. In an alternate preferred embodiment, the rails are canted slightly downwardly from front to rear. In such an embodiment, the incline of the rails helps to prevent unwanted forward movement of a storage unit supported by the rails. The rear cross beam comprises a stop to prevent the storage unit from sliding rearwardly past the rear cross-beam.

In a particularly preferred embodiment as shown in FIG. 5, the rear cross beam 312 comprises an outer wall 322 and an inner wall 324 extending inwardly from the lower edge of the outer wall 322. The outer wall 322 and inner wall have a generally L-shaped or, more preferably, V-shaped cross-sectional configuration, and form an interior channel 327. The cross-beam comprises slots 328, preferably at the junction of the outer wall 322 and inner wall 324, for receiving tabs 138 of the rails 114 and 116. In such an embodiment, the outer wall of the rear cross beam form a stop preventing a storage unit from sliding rearwardly past the rear cross-beam 312.

Preferably, the front cross-beam 110 (not shown) and rear-cross beam 312 have the same construction. In the embodiment of FIG. 5, the rear cross-beam and front cross-beam are at the same elevation and are of the same construction, the rear cross-beam 312 being reversed in orientation as compared with the front cross-beam 110.

It is understood that a variety of modifications can be made to the storage rack without departing from the scope of the invention. For example, instead of an open top as shown in FIG. 1, there may be a solid panel 107, as shown in FIG. 6 or a grated panel 109 shown in FIG. 7. While preferred, the storage rack need not be boltless. That is, for example, the cross-beams nay be attached to the upright supports by bolts, screws, or any other suitable means.

If desired, the keyholes 117 need not be visible. Rather, the upright supports 102, 104, 106 and 108 may be constructed to hide the keyholes 117 as shown in FIG. 8. In this embodiment, the exterior walls 103 and 105 of the upright support double back to form a pair of interior walls 107 and 109 as shown in FIG. 8B. The key holes 117 are located in these inner walls.

In the preferred embodiment of FIG. 6, the storage rack is shown in combination with a plurality of storage units, such as bins. Other storage units, e.g., wine rack units, and the like may be present if desired. Preferred storage units are bins 200 that cooperate with the rack to slide forward from a stored position, shown generally in FIG. 7, to a forward position, also shown in FIG. 7, where the bin 200 extends outwardly of the rack and tilts downwardly to a forward tilted position for easy access without dislodging from the storage rack.

The bins may be of various shapes and sizes as desired. With reference to FIG. 9, a preferred bin 200 includes a bottom wall 202, a front wall 204 that is angled forward to allow access into the bin side walls 206, 208 which extend to a rear wall 210. Particularly preferred bins 200 have stops 212 at the rear wall 210 to prevent the bins from unintentionally sliding out of the rack. The stops 212 may be located toward the rear of the side walls 206, 208 and/or the rear wall 210. The stops 212 extend upwardly to engage a front cross beam when pulled forwardly. The stop 212 may be a separate piece attached to the side and rear walls as shown in FIG. 10 of the bin or may be integral with the rest of the bin. The stop 212 is preferably sized to be received into the V-shaped channel 127 of the front cross beam 110 (see FIG. 11). The bin 200 also includes a flange 214 forming a slot 216 on the rear wall 210, as shown in FIG. 9, to allow the bin to be removed from the rack and thereafter be mounted on a side or a front rail as shown in FIG. 12. The flange 214 may be an integral part of the bin, as shown, or may be a separate piece that attaches thereto.

With reference again to FIG. 7, the bins 200 are placed in the shelves on the rails 114, 116. A bottom surface of the bottom 202 of the bin rests on the support walls 134 of the rails 114, 116 (see FIG. 3). The bin 200 slides on the support walls 134, lateral movement of the bins 200 is restricted by the vertical guide walls 136 of the rails (see FIG. 3). In the embodiment of FIG. 5, the outer wall 122 of the rear cross-beam 112 (see FIG. 3) forms a barrier to the rear wall 210 of the storage bin 200, preventing it from exiting the rear of the storage rack.

As shown in FIG. 7, the bin 200 can move to a forward tilting position from the forward position. The front of the bin tips downwardly while the bottom surface of the bottom 202 of the bin 200 maintains contact with the storage rack 100 as shown in FIG. 11. The stop 212 is received by the V-shaped channel 127 of the upper front cross-beam 110. The bin eventually rests in the forward tilted position, allowing the operator easy access to the contents of the bin 200, as shown in FIG. 7.

If desired, the operator can remove the bin 200 from the storage rack when the bin is in the forward position by lifting and rotating the bin 200 until the bottom surface of the bottom 202 clears the front cross-beam 110 of the shelf in which the bin 200 is disposed. The bin 200 is then slightly lowered until the stop 212 is lower than the outer wall 122 of the front cross-beam 110. The detached bin can then be carried about for ease of use. The bin 200 is returned to the rack by placing the stop 212 behind the outer wall 122 of the upper front cross-beam 110A, lifting up on the bin until it can pass over the front cross-beam 110 and onto the rails 114, 116, and pushing the bin 200 back into the stored position.

With reference to FIG. 13, the rack may include one or more solid extendable shelves 300 to provide a surface to work, to rest a storage unit removed from the rack, or the like. The solid extendable shelves 300 may be connected to the storage rack 100 by methods that are known in the art. In one embodiment, side rails 304 extend between the front upright supports 102, 104 and the rear upright supports 106, 108. The operator may desire to remove a particular storage bin 200 and mount it on a side rail, as shown in FIG. 12, or other area of the storage rack for easy access. The flange 214 is set behind the side rail 304, and the side rail 304 engages the slot 216. The rear wall 210 of the bin 200 rests against another side rail 304 or a right or left rail 114 or 116 of the storage rack 100.

With reference to FIGS. 9 and 14, the bottom and/or side walls of storage bins 200 may include pairs of generally parallel, inwardly protruding ridges 400 forming slots 401 there between. As shown in FIGS. 15 and 16, dividers 402 are placed into the slots formed by the ridges 400 in any direction according to placement of the ridges. The panels create separate storage areas.

With reference to FIGS. 17, 18 and 19, alternative storage units 500 may be designed to hold one or more individual items, e.g., wine bottles, tools, etc. The storage unit 500 includes a top surface 502 that corresponds to the shape of the individual items, e.g. wine bottles 503, to be stored and a flat bottom surface 504 that is supported by and slides on the rails 114, 116 (see FIG. 1). The alternative storage units may include any of the features discussed herein.

While the invention has been described in its preferred embodiments, it is to be understood that the words which have been used are words of description and not of limitation. Therefore, changes may be made within the scope of the appended claims without departing from the true spirit and scope of the invention.

Claims

1. A storage rack comprising:

a front cross beam having at least one pair of slots;

a rear cross beam associated with the front cross beam, said rear cross beam having at least one pair of slots associated with a pair of slots in the front cross beam;

a pair of spaced apart rails extending in a generally parallel orientation from the front cross beam to the rear cross beam, each of said rails comprising a generally flat support wall, an outer guide wall extending upwardly from the support wall along at least a substantial portion of the length of the support wall, and a downwardly depending tab at each end of the support wall, each tab removably extending into a slot in one of the front and rear cross beams.

2. A storage rack according to claim 1 wherein the at least one front cross beam and associated rear cross beam are at about the same elevation.

3. A storage rack according to claim 1 wherein the front cross beam is at a higher elevation than its associated rear cross beam.

4. A storage rack according to claim 1 wherein the front cross beam has an outer wall having a top edge and forming a generally vertical front face and an inner wall extending rearwardly from the top edge of the first wall.

6. A storage rack according to claim 1 wherein the rear cross beam has a generally vertical outer wall with a bottom edge and an inner wall extending forwardly from the bottom edge of the outer wall.

7. A storage rack according to claim 1 wherein the front ends of the rails are at an elevation higher than the rear ends of the rails.

8. A storage rack according to claim 1 wherein at least one of the front and rear tabs of a rail has an inwardly curved portion.

9. A storage rack according to claim 1 wherein at least one of the front and rear tabs have a sinusoidal shape.

10. A storage rack comprising:

a pair of spaced-apart front upright supports;

a pair of spaced-apart rear upright supports;

a plurality of generally horizontal front cross-beams extending between the front upright supports, at least one of said front cross beams having at least one pair of slots;

a plurality of generally horizontal rear cross-beams extending between the rear upright supports, at least one of said rear cross beams comprising at least one pair of slots and being associated with a front cross-beam that comprises at least one pair of slots;

a pair of spaced apart rails extending in a generally parallel to each other from a front cross beam to an associated rear cross beam, each of said rails comprising a generally flat support wall, a guide wall extending upwardly from the support wall along at least a substantial portion of the length of the support wall, and a downwardly depending tab at each end of the support wall, each tab removably extending into a slot in a front cross-beam and an associated rear cross beam; and

at least one storage unit slidably mounted on the support walls of a pair of rails extending between a front cross-beam and a rear cross-beam, said storage unit being movable from a stored position between the front cross-beam and the rear-cross-beam and a forward position wherein at least a portion of the storage unit extends forwardly beyond the front cross-beam.

11. A storage rack according to claim 10 wherein at least one of the front cross beams comprises an outer wall having a top edge and forming a generally vertical front face and an inner wall extending rearwardly and downwardly from the top edge of the first wall.

12. A storage rack according to claim 10 wherein the rear cross beam has a generally vertical outer wall with a bottom edge and an inner wall extending forwardly and upwardly from the bottom edge of the outer wall.

13. A storage rack according to claim 10 wherein at least one rail pair extends rearwardly and downwardly from a front cross-beam to a rear cross-beam.

14. A storage rack according to claim 10 wherein at least one of the front and rear tabs of a rail has an inwardly curved portion.

15. A storage rack according to claim 10 wherein at least one of the front and rear tabs of a rail has a sinusoidal shape.

16. A storage rack according to claim 10 wherein the storage unit comprises a container having a bottom wall a front wall, two side walls and a rear wall and wherein the at least one of the rearward portion of a side wall and the rear wall comprises an upwardly extending stop that engages a front cross-beam when the storage unit is in its forward position.

17. A storage rack according to claim 10 wherein the storage unit comprises a holder having a contour designed for receiving a wine bottle.