SUPPORT RACK AND METHODS OF MAKING AND USE
A rack support and method of use. The support rack can include a plurality of support slats mounted to a support base. The support slats cooperatively provide a plurality of article mounting channels, and article mounts can be slidably mounted in the channels in order to provide a variety of orientations of the article mounts with respect to the support base. In one embodiment, the support channels are T-shaped, and the article mounts have T-shaped mounting ends that may slidably mount with the T-shaped support channels. Other support channel and mounting end shapes may be used. In some embodiments, the rack support may be used to store articles on a wall with increased article density, economy, reliability, safety, and/or useability.
This application claims priority through, and incorporates by reference in its entirety, the applicants' prior U.S. provisional patent application of the same title, Ser. No. 60/775,660, filed Feb. 21, 2006.
TECHNICAL FIELDThis disclosure relates to a support rack of the type mountable on a wall to store articles on the rack. The disclosure also relates to use of such a support rack.
INTRODUCTIONThe applicants, particularly Shane L. Ryan, invented the present invention and developed the prototype for presentation in connection with Shane's participation in the Invention Convention, at Roy Gomm Elementary School, Reno, Nev., in 2006. Shane presented the prototype to his sixth grade class and at the subsequent Invention Convention at the School. He received an A+, and “best of class” nomination from his teacher, Mr. Joseph Ernst, for his work and presentations regarding this invention.
BACKGROUNDStorage of items on walls has long presented a significant problem. In the home environment, for example, garage walls, among others, are commonly used to hang and store a wide variety of items. The types of goods involve may include lawn and garden tools, snow shovels, sporting goods, camping equipment, and many other things. A wide variety of wall storage systems have been developed as a result.
One prior art Rubbermaid™ system has provided a metal rail-based system. The metal rails are mountable horizontally along a wall, and metal article hanging hooks of various shapes and sizes can be slidably mounted to the rails. By use of multiple rails, hooks can be arranged at varying locations both horizontally along a wall and vertically with respect to each along multiple rails mounted one over the other vertically on the wall.
The Rubbermaid™ system is relatively heavy, expensive, and difficult to install. If the user desires to have multiple hooks space vertically from each other along a wall, the user must install multiple rails. If a particular vertical spacing will be need, the installer must determine that spacing in advance and maintain as the rails are mounted to the wall.
Storage of snow skis on a wall has long presented significant problems in particular. For example, a family or ski team may have a number of skiers who each have one or pairs of skis of varying lengths. The differing pairs of skis often have bindings mounted on them of varying length and thicknesses as well.
One common ski storage system has consisted of a single horizontally mounted board with a number of horizontally spaced wooden pegs extending perpendicularly from the board along the associated wall (see
Falling skis can do damage to the surrounding environment, including people in that environment. The skis can themselves be damaged too when they fall off the rack.
This board-and-peg ski storage system also commonly fails, as the wooden pegs break. This system can be similarly inefficient for wall storage of other types of articles either with or without skis on the rack.
SUMMARYThe applicants have invented a new support rack and methods of making and using the rack. The support rack includes a base system on which multiple mounting pegs, tools, or structures may be mounted to move in differing directions with respect to each other. In some embodiments, for example, the mounting structures may be adjustably mounted on the base system horizontally and vertically with respect to each other. The base system may be mounted to a wall, and articles of the same or varying shapes and sized may then be mounted to the support rack.
In certain embodiments, a plurality of support slats are mountable to the base system in parallel, with at least some adjacent pairs of slats spaced from each other to cooperatively form a mounting channel between the adjacent pair of slats and adjacent section of the base system. A plurality of mounting structures may be slidably mounted in these channels.
In some embodiments, the base system is a planar base section. In some embodiments, the support slats are T-shaped, as can be one or more associated mounting channels. One or more mounting structures may also have a T-shaped end for slidable mounting within the T-shaped channel(s).
In some embodiments, the base system, support slats, and mounting structures may be made of a wide variety of materials, such as, for example, one or more among wood, plastic, composite material, or metal.
In some embodiments, the mounting structure may consist of pegs having a variety of shapes, including straight arm pegs, u-shaped pegs, y-shaped pegs, or other configurations of varying lengths, widths, and heights. Alternatively, the mounting structure may comprise shelving mounted to slidable mounting structure, multiple pegs or arms extending from a mounting structure base. In the latter case, the pegs or arms may be adjustably mountable to the mounting structure or base to provide differing distances between the pegs or arms as desired. Mounting structures of varying types may be mixed and matched as desired.
In certain embodiments, not all mounting structure need be slidably mounted to the base system. Other types of mounting structures may be fixedly mounted if desired.
The support rack may be configured to matingly mount to a wall adjacent one ore more other support rack sections. The resulting support rack system may be expanded if desired. In certain embodiments, the individual support rack sections can be more easily packaged, shipped, assembled, mounted, repaired, or disassembled.
The support rack can be used to store articles on a wall. In some embodiments, the method of use can include assessing the size or weight of articles to be stored on the support rack and adjusting the location of the mounting structures, such as support pegs as an example, horizontally and vertically with respect to each other in order to mount articles on the board.
In certain embodiments, the method may be used to increase article storage density on a wall. In certain embodiments, the method may be one or more of more reliable, less dangerous, more economical, and more adjustable than other article storage methods.
This brief Summary recites certain aspects of various embodiments disclosed in this application. It is to be understood that a given embodiment need not include all such aspects or address issues noted in the Background above.
In addition, there are many other aspects and advantages of various embodiments. They will become apparent as this specification proceeds.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGSThe preferred and other embodiments are described with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:
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The components of the support rack 10 may have differing dimensions than the embodiments shown in
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One or more arcuate dowel-support depressions or channels, e.g., 124, 126, may be formed in the upper edge 128 of one or more support slats, e.g., 104. As shown in
In this embodiment, the support pegs (formed of the dowel base 132 and support dowel 130) are thus slidable laterally along the mating T-shaped channels between adjacent support slats except when the support dowel of the support peg is lowered into a mating support channel along an upper channel in the lower support slat. This orientation of the support peg can resist undesired lateral movement of the support peg within the T-shaped tool channel when the support peg is utilized to support one or more articles (such as, for example, when opposing ski tips of a pair of skis are mounted on and between two support pegs mounted in a tool channel for example) on the support rack. The vertical depth of the dowel-support depression of one or more of the dowel-support channels can be increased, including to form, for example, vertical or near vertical side walls in the depression, to increase the resistance the side walls of the depression will present to forces that may urge a dowel to move laterally with respect to the depression and associated channel.
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Adjustable two peg support structures may be provided in other ways if desired. Another such structure can have more than two, for example five or six if desired, dowel mounting passages along the face of the peg base. The dowels may therefore be mounted in the selected mounting passage to achieve the selected distance between the dowels. Fasteners may be used to secure to the dowels in the desired dowel mounting passages.
In addition, more than two dowels may be mounted to a peg support base if desired. Similarly, dowels or other structure, such as a shelf, may be integrally formed to extend from the slidably mountable support structure for the shelf or other article support section or member.
The components of the support rack may be made of materials other than wood, metal fasteners, and glue. For example, one or more among the rack base, support slats, and support pegs or similar structure or dowels may be made of one or more types of plastic, such as, for example polystyrene, polycarbonate, acrylic, etc. Doing so can, in some embodiments, provide one or all of a lighter, less costly, more durable, and more inexpensively shipped and/or easily assembled, mounted, and/or maintained support rack.
Alternatively, one or more of such components may be made of metal such as aluminum or other metal material. Doing so can, in some embodiments, provide a more durable support rack or a more aesthetically appealing support rack, depending on the aesthetic objective involved.
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These methods may include selection, mounting, and utilization of varying configurations of support pegs or other slidably mountable support structures as desired. These methods may also include, prior to or after mounting of the base section of the rack on a wall, selecting differing sized support slats or differently configured pegs or other slidably mountable support structure, in order provide differently configured support racks.
In this regard, the support slats may be mounted to a support base system in a variety of differing ways other than those identified above. The support base may include one or more, or a large number of, mounting passages, slots, support lips or ridges, or other structure; and the support slats may have mating pegs, clips, mounting lips or ridges, or other structure for mounting the support slats to the support base. For example, the support base may comprise a peg board type of structure, made out of sufficiently strong metal, plastic, or wood. Such structures can, in certain embodiments, render the support rack easier to assemble, modify to yield varying configurations, maintain, or disassemble.
In certain embodiments, the support racks can include other types of channels, such as vertical channels extending from one horizontal support channel to another. Such a vertical channel could allow moving a support peg or other structure from the one horizontal support channel to the other or yet additional horizontal support channels when desired or needed and, if desired, without requiring the user to move any or as many articles from the support rack as otherwise would be required to accomplish such movement.
The foregoing is a detailed description of varying embodiments. It is not itself limiting. Rather the scope of the invention is to be determined by reference to the claims as issued.
Claims
1. A support rack comprising in combination:
- a. a base section mountable to a wall;
- b. a plurality of support slats orientable with respect to the base section and each other to cooperatively provide a first support element mounting channel between one adjacent pair of said support slats and a second support element mounting channel between a second adjacent pair of support slats; and
- c. a plurality of article mounting elements slidably orientable in the first support element mounting channel or the second support element mounting channel.
2. The support rack of claim 1 wherein at least one article mounting element comprises a article mounting base element and a support arm being extendable from the article mounting base element with the article mounting base element being slidably mountable in the first support element mounting channel or the second support element mounting channel
3. The support rack of claim 1 wherein each article mounting element comprises a article mounting base element and a support arm extendable from the article mounting base element, the base article mounting base element being slidably mountable in the first support element mounting channel or the second support element mounting channel
4. The support rack of claim 3 wherein the article mounting base element is slidably mountable in both the first support element mounting channel and the second support element mounting channel.
5. The support rack of claim 1 wherein at least one among the first support element mounting channel and the second support element mounting channel comprise a generally T-shaped cross-section.
6. The support rack of claim 4 wherein the first support element mounting channel is parallel to the second support element mounting channel.
7. The support rack of claim 1 wherein at least one article mounting element comprises an article mounting base element and a plurality of support arms extendable from the article mounting base element, the article mounting base element being slidably mountable in the first support element mounting channel or the second support element mounting channel.
8. The support rack of claim 5 wherein at least one article mounting element comprises a article mounting base element and a plurality of support arms extendable from the article mounting base element, the article mounting base element being slidably mountable in the first support element mounting channel or the second support element mounting channel.
9. The support rack of claim 6 wherein at least one article mounting element comprises an article mounting base element and a plurality of support arms extendable the article mounting base element, the article mounting base element being slidably mountable in the first support element mounting channel of the second support element mounting channel.
10. The support rack of claim 7 wherein at least one among the plurality of support arms is adjustably extendable from the article mounting base element, whereby at least one support arm position may be adjusted with respect to a second support arm position among the plurality of support arms.
11. The support rack of claim 8 wherein at least one among the plurality of support arms is adjustably extendable from the article mounting base element, whereby the one support arm position may be adjusted with respect to a second support arm position among the plurality of support arms.
12. The support rack of claim 7 wherein at least one among the plurality of support arms is adjustably extendable from the article mounting base element, whereby at least one support arm position may be adjusted with respect to a second support arm position.
13. The support rack of claim 10 wherein at least one among the plurality of supports arms is adjustably orientable along a mounting slot in the article mounting base element.
14. The support rack of claim 11 wherein at least one among the plurality of supports arms is adjustably orientable along a mounting slot in the article mounting base element.
15. The support rack of claim 12 wherein at least one among the plurality of supports arms is adjustably orientable along a mounting slot in the article mounting base element.
16. A support rack comprising in combination:.
- a. a rigid rack base section removably mountable to a wall;
- b. a plurality of rigid support sections extending from or mountable to the rack base section spaced from each other to cooperatively provide at least a first article support mounting channel between one adjacent pair of said support sections; and
- c. a plurality of article support elements, each among the plurality of article support elements having a support element base and at least a first article support extendable from the support element base, the support element base being removably and slidably mounted or mountable in the first article support mounting channel and the first article support being extendable outwardly from the rack base section and one adjacent pair of support sections,
- whereby an article may be adjustably mounted to the first support element and thereby an associated wall.
17. The support rack of claim 16 wherein (i) the plurality of rigid support sections extend from or are mountable to the base section to also cooperatively provide a second article support mounting channel between a second adjacent pair of said support sections, and (ii) each support element base is also slidably mountable in the second support element mounting channel.
18. The support rack of claim 17 wherein the plurality of support sections cooperatively provide at least a third article support element mounting channel between a third adjacent pair of said support sections.
19. The support rack of claim 16 wherein at least one among the plurality of article support elements also comprises at least a second support extending or extendable from the support element base.
20. The support rack of claim 18 wherein each among the plurality of article support elements also comprises at least a second article support adjustably extendable from the support element base.
21. The support rack of claim 16 wherein the rack base section, plurality of support sections, and the plurality of article support elements comprise plastic.
22. The support rack of claim 17 wherein the rack base section, plurality of rigid support sections, and the plurality of article support elements comprise plastic.
23. The support rack of claim 18 wherein the rack base section, plurality of rigid support sections, and the plurality of article support elements comprise plastic.
24. The support rack of claim 19 wherein the rack base section, plurality of rigid support sections, and the plurality of article support elements comprise plastic.
25. The support rack of claim 20 wherein the rack base section, plurality of rigid support sections, and the plurality of article support elements comprise plastic.
Type: Application
Filed: Feb 21, 2007
Publication Date: Aug 23, 2007
Inventors: Shane Ryan (Reno, NV), Joanne Ryan (Reno, NV), Robert Ryan (Reno, NV)
Application Number: 11/677,500
International Classification: A47F 7/00 (20060101);