COMBINATION STORAGE RACK
A combination storage rack includes a plurality of upright supports each formed of a plurality of bamboo rods equiangularly arranged around the periphery and a plurality of spacer blocks fixedly mounted in the bamboo rods at different elevations to keep the bamboo rods apart from one another, a plurality of tapered locating members respectively fastened to the upright supports and supported on the spacer blocks, and a plurality of rack panels that have tapered through holes for the passing of the upright supports and for engagement with the tapered locating blocks.
(a) Technical Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a storage rack and more particularly, to a combination storage rack that uses multi-angle upright supports with tapered locating blocks to support rack panels.
(b) Description of the Prior Art
Wood, plastics, and many other materials are selectively used for making display racks, storage racks or partition screens. In order to show an antique sense of beauty, bamboo or wood material is the best choice for making storage racks.
Conventionally, a bamboo or wooden storage rack is comprised of a plurality of upright supports and a plurality of rack panels horizontal fastened to the upright supports at different elevations for holding things. The rack panels are affixed to the upright supports with screws or with screw bolts and nuts. It is quite inconvenient to assemble or disassemble this design of bamboo or wooden storage rack i.e., this design does not lend itself to the DIY concept.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONThe primary purpose of the present invention is to provide a combination storage rack which can easily and rapidly be assembled and disassembled.
To achieve this and other objects of the combination storage rack comprises a plurality of upright supports each formed of a plurality of bamboo rods equiangularly arranged around the periphery and a plurality of spacer blocks fixedly mounted in the bamboo rods at different elevations to keep the bamboo rods apart from one another, a plurality of tapered locating members respectively fastened to the upright supports and supported on the spacer blocks, and a plurality of rack panels that have tapered through holes for the passing of the upright supports and for engagement with the tapered locating blocks.
In one embodiment of the present invention, each upright support comprises four rectangular bamboo rods arranged in four corners in a parallel manner. Further, the spacer blocks are fixedly mounted in the bamboo rods such that the cross section of each upright support at each spacer block shows a substantially shaped configuration. Further, the tapered locating blocks are shaped like a truncated cone, each formed of two symmetrical halves. Each half of each tapered locating block comprises two vertical mounting grooves adapted for receiving two bamboo rods of one upright support, and a mounting rib defined between the two vertical mounting grooves and adapted for engaging into the space between the two bamboo rods that are engaged into the two vertical mounting grooves of one tapered locating block.
In another embodiment of the present invention, each spacer block comprises a plurality of vertical mounting grooves equiangularly spaced around the periphery thereof. Further, the bamboo rods of each upright support are respectively fastened to the vertical mounting grooves of the spacer blocks of the respective upright support and kept in flush with the periphery of the associating spacer blocks. Further, each tapered locating block is formed of two symmetrical halves that fit over the periphery of the associating upright support. Each half of each tapered locating block comprises at least one mounting rib protruded from an inside wall thereof and fitted in the gap between two bamboo rods of the associating upright support.
By means of the aforesaid arrangement, the upright supports, the tapered locating blocks and the rack panels can easily and detachably be fastened together, forming a storage rack without any tool or fastening devices. When not in use, the rack panels and the tapered locating blocks can be directly detached from the upright supports without any tool. Therefore, the design of the present invention lends itself very well to the DIY concept.
The foregoing object and summary provide only a brief introduction to the present invention. To fully appreciate these and other objects of the present invention as well as the invention itself, all of which will become apparent to those skilled in the art, the following detailed description of the invention and the claims should be read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. Throughout the specification and drawings identical reference numerals refer to identical or similar parts.
Many other advantages and features of the present invention will become manifest to those versed in the art upon making reference to the detailed description and the accompanying sheets of drawings in which a preferred structural embodiment incorporating the principles of the present invention is shown by way of illustrative example.
The following descriptions are of exemplary embodiments only, and are not intended to limit the scope, applicability or configuration of the invention in any way. Rather, the following description provides a convenient illustration for implementing exemplary embodiments of the invention. Various changes to the described embodiments may be made in the function and arrangement of the elements described without departing from the scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims.
Referring to the annexed drawings in detail, a combination storage rack in accordance with the present invention is shown comprising a plurality of upright supports 1 (see
Each upright support 1 comprises four rectangular bamboo rods 11 arranged in four corners in a parallel manner, and a plurality of spacer blocks 12 fixedly mounted in the bamboo rods 11 at different elevations and alternatively extending in X-axis and Y-axis directions to space the bamboo rods 11 from one another. When viewed from one end, each upright support 1 shows a substantially shaped configuration. Further, the spacer blocks 12 can be affixed to the bamboo rods 11 by means of adhesive bonding or fastening means.
The tapered locating blocks 2 are shaped like a truncated cone, each formed of two symmetrical halves 21. Each half 21 has two vertical mounting grooves 212 adapted for receiving two bamboo rods 11 of one upright support 1, and a mounting rib 211 defined between the two vertical mounting grooves 212 and adapted for engaging into the space between the two bamboo rods 11 that are engaged into the two vertical mounting grooves 212.
The rack panels 3, as shown in
During installation, the tapered locating blocks 2 are respectively fastened to the upright supports 1 by means of forcing the vertical mounting grooves 212 of the two symmetrical halves 21 of each tapered locating block 2 into engagement with the bamboo rods 11 of each respective upright support 1, and respectively stopped at the top side of the spacer blocks 12 (as shown in
It will be understood that each of the elements described above, or two or more together may also find a useful application in other types of methods differing from the type described above.
While certain novel features of this invention have been shown and described and are pointed out in the annexed claim, it is not intended to be limited to the details above, since it will be understood that various omissions, modifications, substitutions and changes in the forms and details of the device illustrated and in its operation can be made by those skilled in the art without departing in any way from the spirit of the present invention.
Claims
1. A combination storage rack comprising:
- a plurality of upright supports, each said upright support comprising a plurality of bamboo rods equiangularly arranged around the periphery and a plurality of spacer blocks fixedly mounted in said bamboo rods at different elevations to keep said bamboo rods apart from one another;
- a plurality of tapered locating members respectively fastened to said upright supports and supported on said spacer blocks; and
- a plurality of rack panels horizontally fastened to said tapered locating blocks and said upright supports at different elevations, each said rack panel comprising a plurality of tapered through holes cut through top and bottom sides thereof for the passing of said upright supports and for engagement with said tapered locating blocks.
2. The combination storage rack as claimed in claim 1, wherein each said upright support comprises four rectangular bamboo rods arranged in four corners in a parallel manner; said spacer blocks are fixedly mounted in the bamboo rods such that the cross section of each said upright support at each said spacer block shows a substantially shaped configuration; said tapered locating blocks are shaped like a truncated cone, each formed of two symmetrical halves, each half of each said tapered locating block comprising two vertical mounting grooves adapted for receiving two bamboo rods of one said upright support, and a mounting rib defined between said two vertical mounting grooves and adapted for engaging into the space between the two bamboo rods that are engaged into the two vertical mounting grooves of one said tapered locating block.
3. The combination storage rack as claimed in claim 1, wherein each said spacer block comprises a plurality of vertical mounting grooves equiangularly spaced around the periphery thereof; the bamboo rods of each said upright support are respectively fastened to the vertical mounting grooves of the spacer blocks of the respective upright support and kept in flush with the periphery of the associating spacer blocks; each said tapered locating block is formed of two symmetrical halves that fit over the periphery of the associating upright support, each half of each said tapered locating block comprising at least one mounting rib protruded from an inside wall thereof and fitted in the gap between two bamboo rods of the associating upright support.
Type: Application
Filed: Oct 20, 2008
Publication Date: Apr 22, 2010
Inventor: WEN-TSAN WANG (Taipei City)
Application Number: 12/254,833
International Classification: A47B 47/04 (20060101); A47F 5/08 (20060101);