Glass Storage and Transport Rack with Pivoting Arms

Abstract

The present invention is operable to store or transport one or more sheets of any material, including fragile materials. The present invention may be utilized to store or transport a wide variety of materials including, panes of glass, laminated glass, insulated glass, plastic sheets, or any other rigid panels of any material. The transport rack includes slots wherein one or more glass panes may be loaded and supported. One or more rotatable gripping arms may be utilized to support the one or more panes of glass positioned within the slots. Cushioning material may cover or coat the supporting members and/or gripping arm. One or more glass panes positioned in the transport rack may be protected from breakage during storage or transport.

Description

FIELD OF INVENTION

This invention relates in general to the field of a storage and transport rack for storing and/or transporting one or more glass sheets.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The storage and transport of sheets or panels of fragile materials, such as glass sheets, can be difficult because such materials can easily break due to impact or other reasons. It can be beneficial to store and transport sheets or panels of fragile materials in an upright position, as the pressure created by stacking these materials, such as stacking horizontally, can create a force capable of cracking or breaking the materials. As such materials are required to be transferred and stored regularly the prior art includes several suggested storage and transport systems to address this problem.

U.S. Patent Application No. 2004/0238465 discloses a rack for storing panels, comprising a base having a top surface, a rear structure vertically extending from the base, a plurality of supports in at least one of the top surfaces of the base and the rear structure for supporting the panels in a vertical position, and a plurality of non-pivotable arms extending from the rear structure for engaging top edges of the panels to retain the panels in the vertical position. The vertical structure and base include slots wherein a panel or pane of glass may be positioned. The arms function with a locking pin to hold the panels in place.

U.S. Patent Application No. 2006/0196838 discloses a rack for storing at least one panel, comprising a base having a top surface, a rear structure vertically extending from the base, at least one support in at least one of the top surfaces of the base and the rear structure for supporting the panel in a vertical position, and at least one arm including a connecting member connecting the arm to the rear structure, a retaining member engaging a top edge of the panel to retain the panel in the vertical position, and a flexible portion between the connecting member and the retaining member. The vertical structure and base include slots wherein a panel or pane of glass may be positioned. The arms are comprised of a flexible rod and slideable retaining member. The slideable retaining members may engage with the panels. Moreover, each slideable retaining member may be slideably moved so as to be positioned along the flexible rod at various locations.

U.S. Patent Application No. 2006/0213846 discloses a storage rack for storing a plurality of articles such as glass sheets. The storage rack includes a substantially horizontal portion, and a substantially vertical portion. The substantially horizontal portion of the rack includes one or more flexible supports, each of which includes at least one channel defined therein. Along at least part of the channel, a plurality of slits are provided in the flexible support so as to define a plurality of flexible lips or tabs. The lips or tabs are designed so that when a glass sheet is inserted into the channel, the lips or tabs support the sheet against movement in multiple directions.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In one aspect, the present disclosure relates to a rack for transporting one or more sheets of material, comprising: a base member; a vertical member attached to the base member; and one or more slot members forming one or more slots, said one or more slots members having a cushioning material attached thereto, and said one or more slot members being attached to the base member and being operable to receive at least one of the one or more sheets of material in one of the one or more slots whereby the at least one sheet of material is held in position by at least one of the one or more slot members; and whereby the one or more sheets of material are protected from damage while positioned in the one or more slots.

In another aspect, the present disclosure relates to a method for transporting and storing one or more sheets of material in a rack, comprising the steps of: loading at least one of the one or more sheets of material in the rack, said rack being formed of: a base member; a vertical member attached to the base member; one or more rotatable arms attached to the vertical member in a rotatable manner, said one or more rotatable arms having cushioning material attached thereto at the end distant from the vertical member; and one or more slot members forming one or more slots, said one or more slots members having a cushioning material attached thereto, and said one or more slot members being attached to the base member and being operable to receive at least one of the one or more sheets of material in one of the one or more slots whereby the at least one sheet of material is held in position by at least one of the one or more slot members; and positioning the at least one of the one or more sheets of material within at least one of the one or more slots, whereby the at least one of the one or more sheets of material is positioned between the one or more slot members; and rotating at least one of the one or more rotatable arms to position the arm to support the at least one of the one or more sheets of material, whereby the cushioning material attached to the at least one of the one or more rotatable arms contacts the at least one of the one or more sheets of material; and whereby the at least one of the one or more sheets of material is positioned in the rack and is supported therein in a manner that averts breakage or damage to the at least one of the one or more sheets of material.

In this respect, before explaining at least one embodiment of the invention in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and to the arrangements of the components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. The invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced and carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein are for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention will be better understood and objects of the invention will become apparent when consideration is given to the following detailed description thereof. Such description makes reference to the annexed drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a side perspective view of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side perspective view of the present invention having a sheet of glass positioned therein.

FIG. 3a is a top view of a slotted support bearing bar of the present invention.

FIG. 3b is a side view of a slotted support bearing bar of the present invention.

FIG. 3c is a top view of a slotted support bearing bar for monolithic (mono) glass (e.g., a single pane of glass) of the present invention.

FIG. 4a is a top view of a vertical support for mono glass of the present invention.

FIG. 4b is a top view of a vertical support of the present invention.

FIG. 4c is a side view of a vertical support of the present invention.

FIG. 5a is a top view of a glass support base for mono glass of the present invention.

FIG. 5b is a top view of a glass support base of the present invention.

FIG. 5c is a side view of a glass support base of the present invention.

FIG. 6a is a top view of a glass support assembly for mono glass of the present invention.

FIG. 6b is a side view of a glass support assembly attachment means for mono glass of the present invention.

FIG. 6c is a top view of a glass support assembly of the present invention.

FIG. 6d is a side view of a glass support assembly attachment means of the present invention.

FIG. 6e is a side view of a glass support assembly of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of an embodiment of the present invention have an adjustable base member.

In the drawings, embodiments of the invention are illustrated by way of example. It is to be expressly understood that the description and drawings are only for the purpose of illustration and as an aid to understanding, and are not intended as a definition of the limits of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

The present invention is operable to store or transport one or more sheets of any material, including fragile materials. The present invention may be utilized to store or transport a wide variety of materials including, panes of glass, laminated glass, insulated glass, plastic sheets, or any other rigid panels of any material. All references to panes of glass herein should therefore be understood to include sheets of other types of rigid materials formed into sheets or panes, including any fragile materials.

The present invention is a rack for storing and transporting one or more panes of glass. The rack includes a base having a structure extending vertically therefrom at one end. The upper surface of the base and the interior surface of the vertically extending structure include one or more supporting members for supporting panes of glass. Said supporting members may be covered or coated with a cushioning material. The combined supporting members and cushioning material attached thereto may be expandable and retractable so as to receive varying thicknesses of glass panes and to securely hold one or more glass panes within or between the supporting members. One or more gripping arms may further be attached to the vertical structure of the rack and said arms may be storable in manner whereby the gripping arms may be blocked from contact with the panes of glass. The gripping arms may be rotatable so as to rotate from a storage position to a holding position, whereby the gripping arms may contact one or more panes of glass to support the one or more panes of glass positioned within the supporting members in a manner whereby the one or more panes of glass may be supported to avert breakage during storage and/or transport.

The present invention may be utilized to store or transport glass panes, other fragile materials, or any other forms of materials having a planar configuration. The present invention may also be utilized to store or transport a variety of heights, lengths and thicknesses of planar materials, such glass panes. The present disclosure will reference glass panes or glass sheets for ease of disclosure, but any reference to glass panels or glass sheets may be read to encompass any planar material.

The supporting members may include a series of supporting members, each being configured to support the glass panes at various positions. The positions of the supporting members may be fixed within the rack of the present invention, but the positions of the contact of the supporting members with a pane of glass will depend upon the length, height and thickness of the pane.

In an embodiment of the present invention the gripping arms may be a series of gripping arms that are pivotally secured to a horizontal bar located near the top of the vertical structure of the present invention. The gripping arms may be formed of a rigid material. Each gripping arm may be operable to engage with one or more panes of glass positioned in the slots in the base of the rack. The slots may be formed to secure, support and otherwise hold a monolithic glass (e.g., single pane of glass) or multiple glass (e.g., multiple panes of glass). The gripping arms may engage with the one or more panes of glass in a manner that stabilizes the top of the glass pane and holds it in a particular position. The arms include a gripping means that facilitates contact with an edge of one or more glass panes. The section of the gripping means that contacts the one or more panes of glass may be covered or coated with a cushioning material that is capable of expanding and retracting. The cushioning material may receive varying thickness of glass panes and hold these securely along the edge where the gripping arm contacts the glass panes.

The gripping arms may pivot to 360 degrees of motion or virtually 360 degrees of motion. The gripping arms may be stored in a position whereby the gripping arms are restrained or blocked from contacting the one or more panes of glass in the rack of the present invention when the arms are in the storage position. In one embodiment of the present invention the gripping arms may be stored at the exterior surface of the vertical structure. In this storage position the gripping arms may be restrained from contact with the glass panes by barriers built into the vertical structure. The gripping arms may pivot from the storage position to engage with panes of glass of varying heights.

The present invention may offer benefits over the prior art. One benefit of the present invention is that it may reduce breakage or damage to sheets of glass occurring during transport and/or storage. Cushioning material may coat or cover the surfaces that come into contact with any sheet of glass positioned within the rack of the present invention. The cushioning material may be operable to absorb any shocks, vibrations or force that may be exerted upon the glass such as, for example any shock, vibrations or force created by movement of the rack as may occur if the rack is moved or hit by some other object. The present invention may further engage the glass sheet along three edges and thereby increase the stability of the glass while it is positioned within the rack of the present invention.

An additional benefit of the present invention may be that the transported glass sheets may be of varying height, length or thicknesses and the rack will be able to hold each of these in position by way of a combination of supporting members and gripping arms. In particular the transport rack may be capable of transporting or storing made to order glass which may have a wide range of dimensions and thicknesses. Another benefit is that the point or points where the one or more glass panes contact the rack may be coated by a cushioning material that possesses good shock resistance and vibration dampening and stability characteristics. In particular, the transport rack may hold panes of glass in place within a slot and prevent lateral movement of the glass during storage and/or transport. Generally, the transport rack may diminish the occasions when the glass is handled and thereby prevent scratches and breakage of the glass during storage and/or transport.

Yet another benefit of the present invention may be that the transport rack is a single unit. The elimination of removable modular components reduces the time required to load and unload the glass and eliminates unnecessary rearrangement and storage of transport rack equipment.

Still another benefit of the present invention may be that the transport rack may prevent damage to any coating applied to coated glass that is stored and/or transported in the transport rack. The transport rack may prevent the coated glass from being scratched during transport, storage and any loading or unloading of the coated glass.

Another benefit of the present invention is that the slots of the transport rack may be numbered or otherwise ordered in an identifiable manner. Therefore it may be possible to load glass into specific slots and/or identify the specific slot where a pane of glass is ordered. In this manner glass having a particular dimension and/or thickness, such as made to order glass, can be easily identified as being loaded into a particular slot. Additionally, glass can be loaded in to particular slots so that the glass is in a sequential order. The sequential order may represent the order that the glass will be unloaded in, or the order the glass is to be installed in, etc.

The present invention, as shown in FIG. 1, may be a rack 10 comprising a base member 14 and a vertical member 16. The vertical member may be positioned at one end of a rectangular base member in a perpendicular or near perpendicular manner. The vertical member may be formed for an outer frame, including two parallel or near parallel side posts 20 and a top post joining the side posts. The top post may be joined to the side posts by way of a locknut 58 inserted through the side post and into the top post, or any attachment means. A head cap screw 57 may further be utilized to attach the top post and the side posts. The side posts and top post may be formed of any metal or other rigid material. One or more additional cross posts 12 may be positioned between the side posts.

The top post may be round or other shape to facilitate the attachment of one or more rotatable gripping arms 55. The gripping arms may be formed to include a rounded edge having a hole therein shaped to encircle the top post and whereby the gripping arm may rotate and/or pivot around the top post. A skilled reader will recognize that the rounded edge and rotation of the gripping arm around the top post may be facilitated by a variety of means. The gripping arms may be rotatable 360 degrees around the top post, or virtually 360 degrees around the top post. The gripping arms may be positioned to hang from the top post and the rotation path of the gripping arms may be restrained from rotating in the direction of the cross posts by the cross posts. A skilled reader will recognize that embodiments of the present invention may not include any arms, or the transport rack may be utilized to store and/or transport glass without the use of any arms included in the invention.

As shown in FIGS. 4a-4c, the supporting members of the vertical member may include vertical supporting members having slots therein. The vertical supporting members may alight one or more glass panes vertically and thereby prevent lateral movement of the one or more glass panes during storage and/or transport. The slots may be formed to varying widths to facilitate the storage and transport of one or more panes of glass within one slot, and various widths of glass. The vertical supporting members may form a slotted support capable of holding any glass pane or multiple glass panes. The width of the slot may vary so as to hold glass panes of varying thickness, or to hold single vs. multiple glass panes. Vertical supporting members may include one or more slots 40 and each slot may have inclined sides, as shown in FIG. 4c. The slots may be formed to varying widths to facilitate the storage and transport of one or more panes of glass within one slot, and various widths of glass. As shown in FIG. 4b, the vertical supporting members may be attached to the vertical member by way of an attachment means, such as a screw. A skilled reader will recognize that other attachment means may be utilized.

As shown in FIG. 1, supporting members that are support assembly members 21 may also be attached to the vertical member. As shown in FIGS. 6a-6e, support assembly members may be formed of a material that is flexible, such as plastic. The support assembly members may also be coated by a cushioning material, for example, such as a foamed skinned urethane or any thermoset polyurethane.

In particular, foamed skinned urethane cushioning material may be manufactured through a thermoset process called reaction injection moulding. The foamed skinned urethane may be a tough, wear resistant and dimensionally stable product. In one embodiment of the present invention, the foamed skinned urethane cushioning material may have a physically tough skin with a cell foam interior processed for a targeted density and compression. The skin may prevent cuts and abrasions upon the glass pane loaded between the support assembly members. The skin may further provide a smooth and tacky surface. The foam within the skin may be designed to compress sufficiently so that a range of glass pane thicknesses may be loaded between the support assembly members. The foam may further decompress when one or more glass panes are loaded between the support assembly members and the decompressed foam may apply force to mechanically hold the glass pane in a position between the support assembly members.

The foam skinned urethane cushioning material may also be attached to the ends of the gripping arms where the gripping arms come into contact with the glass panes. The combination of the support assembly members, mounted on the base and/or the vertical section of the rack, and the pivotally rotatable arms therefore may secure the one or more glass panes for storage and/or transport and prevent breakage and/or damage of the one or more glass panes. A skilled reader will recognize that a variety of cushioning materials may be utilized in the present invention. A skilled reader will also recognize that cushioning material may be attached to other elements of the present invention to improve the invention's overall ability to protect the one or more glass panes stored or transported in the transport rack from damage or breakage.

The support assembly members units 62 may also be shaped to cushion the movement of the panes of glass and absorption of the force of vibration of such movement. Slots 60 may be formed between support assembly members units. As shown in FIGS. 6a and 6c, the support assembly members may be attached to the vertical member by way of an attachment means, such as a screw. A skilled reader will recognize that other attachment means may be utilized.

The base member may be rectangular and may have one or more types of supporting members attached thereto. The supporting members may include bearing bar members 22, as shown in FIGS. 3a-3c, having slots 30 therein. The slots may be formed to varying widths to facilitate the storage and transport of one or more panes of glass within one slot, and various widths of glass. The bearing bar members may form a slotted support capable of holding any glass pane or multiple glass panes. The width of the slot may vary so as to hold glass panes of varying thickness, or to hold single vs. multiple glass panes. As shown in FIGS. 3a and 3c, the bearing bar members may be attached to the base member by way of an attachment means, such as a screw. A skilled reader will recognize that other attachment means may be utilized.

Additional types of supporting members may be attached to the base member, such as support assembly members 21, as described above and shown in FIGS. 6a-6e. The support assembly members may be attached to the base member by way of an attachment means, such as a screw. A skilled reader will recognize that other attachment means may be utilized.

A skilled reader will recognize that other types of supporting members may further be utilized in the present invention. Such supporting members may include slots formed to a particular shape capable of facilitating support of one or more glass panes positioned within the slots in a particular manner. The supporting members may form a slotted support capable of holding any glass pane or multiple glass panes. The width of the slot may vary so as to hold glass panes of varying thickness, or to hold single vs. multiple glass panes. For example, supporting members may include support base members as shown in FIGS. 5a-5c. Support base members may have slots 50 having higher sides formed of flexible material, such as plastic, that may reach higher up the sides of the glass pane and thereby provide support to a higher position on the one or more glass panes positioned within the slot. As shown in FIGS. 5a and 5b, the support base members may be attached to the vertical member and/or base member by way of an attachment means, such as a screw. The supporting members may be formed of a variety of materials, for example, such as plastic. The base component of the support base members may be over-molded and thereby be altered to a support member akin to those shown in FIGS. 6a-6e. A skilled reader will recognize that other attachment means may be utilized. One or more supporting members may be further attached to the frame of the base member and/or vertical member by way of a shoulder bolt 54, as shown in FIG. 1, or other attachment means, to facilitate further stability of the rack.

Collectively the supporting members of the base member and vertical member facilitate the positioning of glass panes. The slots of the supporting members, even those of different types, may be aligned so that one or more panes of glass may be positioned within the slots. This positioning of the glass panes may have the effect of protecting the glass pane from undue breakage, by limiting and cushioning the movement of the glass panes within the rack. The aligned slots may further be numbered or otherwise labeled, so that the storage position of one or more panes of glass within the rack may be easily identified.

Once a glass pane is positioned within the rack of the present invention, one or more gripping arms may be rotated to a position whereby it has contact with one or more panes of glass, as shown in FIG. 2. The gripping arm 56 may have a gripping edge 52 positioned on the edge of the gripping arm that contacts the one or more panes of glass. For example, a gripping edge may have a slot cut therein and the slot may be covered or coated with cushioning material. The one or more panes of glass may be fit within the slot in the gripping edge. The gripping arm and gripping edge may thereby function to stabilize the one or more panes of glass in their position within the supporting members. The gripping edge may additionally absorb any shocks, vibrations or force exerted upon the glass pane. The gripping arm may function to avert breakage of the one or more panes of glass.

In one embodiment of the present invention the gripping edge may incorporate a pivoting tip. For example, the whole of the gripping edge may be pivotable, or a portion of the pivoting tip may be pivotable. The pivotable tip of the gripping edge may facilitate horizontal alignment with the top of the one or more glass panes that the gripping edge contacts. The pivoting tip may further be covered or coated with cushioning material. The cushioning material may further have a tacky surface whereby the cushioning material may grip the one or more glass panels where the pivoting tip contacts said glass panel(s). The grip achieved on the one or more glass panels may facilitate an increased stability of the glass panel within its position in the rack of the present invention.

In one embodiment of the present invention the one or more gripping arms may be extendable. An extendable gripping arm may be formed to include a shaft having multiple sections. These sections may be of varying widths, whereby the section of the smallest width may fit within a section with a wider width. Thus, one or more sections of the shaft may be fit within other sections of the shaft. These sections may be extended in a telescoping manner to extend the length of the shaft. The extendable gripping arm may be locked by way of a locking pin to be held at a specific state of extension or in a non-extended state. The extending gripping arm may be extended or retracted to particular lengths to facilitate the arm coming into contact with the one or more panels of glass at a particular position on the edge of the glass panel(s). This facilitates utility of present invention with a wide variety of sizes of glass panels.

In another embodiment of the present invention, when a gripping arm is not in contact with one or more panes of glass, the arm may be held in position hanging so as to be restrained from rotating into the area where glass is positioned by the one or more cross posts. The gripping arm may be locked into this position by a locking pin.

In one embodiment of the present invention the base member may be on an incline. The incline may be such that the base member rises away from the vertical member. The incline may have the result of causing the one or more panes of glass positioned in the rack to lean towards the vertical member. This may increase the stability of the one or more panes of glass positioned within the rack.

As described above, cushioning material may be utilized to cover or coat sections of the present invention, such as the gripping edge of the gripping arm, and the supporting members. The cushioning material may be any material capable of providing shock resistance and vibration dampening properties, such as, for example foam materials or rubber materials. The cushioning material may have a tacky surface, to facilitate a grip between the one or more glass panels positioned upon the cushioning material and the cushioning material. The tacky surface may facilitate additional stability of the one or more glass panels within a position in the rack of the present invention. The tacky surface cushioning material may be of several materials, such as, for example thermoset polyurethane having a tacky integral skin surface.

In one embodiment of the present invention the cushioning material may be thermoset polyurethane. In another embodiment of the present invention may be a foamed skinned urethane described above. The cushioning material may be attached to elements of the invention through a variety of means, by adherence (e.g., by glue, etc.), by moulding, by injection, by attachment (e.g., by screws, nails, etc.), by coating, or any other means whereby the cushioning material is joined, permanently or non-permanently, to one or more elements of the invention.

Additional means of lessening the effect of any force exerted upon the rack having the potential to causing vibration or movement of the one or more glass panes positioned within the rack may be incorporated in the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, one or more plastic extrusions 42 may utilized in the construction of the base member and/or vertical member, to provide cushioning between elements of the invention and thereby dampen vibrations. Additionally, or alternatively, high-density polyethylene may be utilized to shape some elements of the invention, or may be positioned in the construction of the base member and/or vertical member, to provide cushioning between elements of the invention and thereby dampen vibrations. The general effect of the inclusion of such materials in the present invention, either as elements, or between elements, is to decrease the any shocks, vibrations or force exerted upon the glass panes and thereby avert breakage.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the slots in the base member and/or the slots in the vertical member may be positioned on an angle. The slots in the base member and/or the slots in the vertical member may be adjustable to be positioned on an angle that permits the glass panels may be slid onto the rack and into the slots of the rack with minimal resistance. For example, as shown in FIG. 7, a rack 70 may include slots in the base member that are adjustable. The base member slots may be operable so as to swivel. The swivel movement of the base member may be controlled by way of one or more adjustment means, such as, for example one or more handles 72 connected to one or more of the slots. A skilled reader will recognize that a variety of adjustment means may be utilized in the present invention.

The slots of the base member 74 may be operable to swivel in a variety of manners, such as, for example a swivel mounting may be attached to the bottom of one or more C-channels. Said C-channels may have one or more slots mounted thereon. Said slots may have cushioning material attached thereto. A skilled reader will recognize that other configurations may be included in the present invention to cause the slots to swivel.

As an example of the adjustment and/or swivel function of an embodiment of the present invention, the slots may be rotated to be angled so that the front of the slots of the base member are lower than the back of the slots of the base member. A skilled reader will recognize that a variety of angles of the slots of the base member may achieve this positioning. When the slots of the base member are angled towards the front of the base member one or more glass panels may be slid into one or more slots in the rack. The angle of the slots may facilitate sliding the one or more glass panels into the one or more slots with virtually no resistance. Once the one or more glass panels are loaded into the rack and are positioned within the one or more slots the slots may be adjusted, such as for example by swiveling, so that the slots are in a level position, or the slots are angled to be lower in the back of the base member and higher in the front of the base member. The swiveling to achieve this angle may cause the slots to engage the one or more glass panels loaded in the rack. A skilled reader will recognize that an adjustable or swiveling embodiment of the present invention may involve a variety of configurations.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the rack may be positioned on the bed of a trailer, such as the trailer bed of a transport truck. The rack may have elements to facilitate the lifting of the rack onto and off of a trailer bed. The cushioning effect of the present invention may be designed to withstand the shock, vibrations or force exerted upon the one or more glass panes positioned within the rack during travel, such as bumps due to uneven pavement, as well those caused by loading and unloading the rack from the trailer bed.

It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that other variations of the embodiments described herein may also be practiced without departing from the scope of the invention. Other modifications are therefore possible.

Claims

1) A rack for transporting one or more sheets of material, comprising: whereby the one or more sheets of material are protected from damage while positioned in the one or more slots.

a) a base member;

b) a vertical member attached to the base member; and

c) one or more slot members forming one or more slots, said one or more slots members having a cushioning material attached thereto, and said one or more slot members being attached to the base member and being operable to receive at least one of the one or more sheets of material in one of the one or more slots whereby the at least one sheet of material is held in position by at least one of the one or more slot members; and

2) The rack of claim 1, further comprising one or more vertical slot members being attached to the vertical member to form one or more vertical slots, said one or more vertical slots being aligned with the one or more slots of the base member.

3) The rack of claim 1, further comprising one or more rotatable arms attached to the vertical member being rotatable to varying positions, and at least one of the one or more rotatable arms contacting the one or more glass panes positioned within one of the one or more slots and holding the one or more glass panes in position.

4) The rack of claim 3, further comprising the one or more rotatable arms having the cushioning material attached thereto where the rotatable arms contact the at least one sheet of material.

5) The rack of claim 3, further comprising the one or more rotatable arms having a pivotable tip that contacts the at least one sheet of material, said pivotable tip having cushioning material attached thereto, whereby the cushioning material contacts the at least one sheet of material.

6) The rack of claim 3, further comprising a vertical member having a bar at its uppermost end, and said one or more rotatable arms being attached to the bar in a manner whereby the rotatable arms rotate around the bar.

7) The rack of claim 3, further comprising one or more rotatable arms being rotatable from a storage position to a holding position, whereby the one or more rotatable arms grip the at least one sheet of material positioned in the one or more slots when the one or more rotatable arms are in the holding position.

8) The rack of claim 3, further comprising a vertical member having at least one restraining element operable to restrain the one or more rotatable arms from contacting the at least one sheet of material when the one or more rotatable arms are in the storage position.

9) The rack of claim 3, further comprising at least one of the one or more rotatable arms being adjustable, by way of an adjustment means incorporated in the one or more rotatable arms, whereby the one or more rotatable arms may contact and hold in a position within the one or more slots the at least one sheet of material and said at least one sheet of material may be of variant vertical heights.

10) The rack of claim 1, wherein at least one of the one or more slot members or one or more vertical slot members may be formed of a flexible material.

11) The rack of claim 10, wherein the flexible material is high-density polyethylene.

12) The rack of claim 1, wherein the cushioning material is retractable when force is exerted thereon, and expandable when force is not exerted thereon, whereby the cushioning material expands and retracts to support the at least one sheet of material being of variant thicknesses within the one or more slots and between the one or more slot members.

13) The rack of claim 1, wherein the cushioning material is foamed skinned urethane manufactured by a thermoset process of reaction injection moulding.

14) The rack of claim 1, wherein the cushioning material has a tacky surface, whereby the cushioning material grips the at least one sheet of material positioned within the one or more slots.

15) The rack of claim 1, wherein the base member is operable to swivel in a manner to incline the base member on an angle, whereby the angle of the base member facilitates ease of loading the at least one sheet of material onto the rack.

16) The rack of claim 14, wherein the base member is adjustable to be swiveled to varying inclined positions by way of an adjustment means.

17) The rack of claim 1, wherein the at least one sheet of material is a fragile material including at least one of the following: glass panes, laminated glass, insulated glass, plastic sheets, rigid panels of any material.

18) A method for transporting and storing one or more sheets of material in a rack, comprising the steps of: whereby the at least one of the one or more sheets of material is positioned in the rack and is supported therein in a manner that averts breakage or damage to the at least one of the one or more sheets of material.

a) loading at least one of the one or more sheets of material in the rack, said rack being formed of: i) a base member; ii) a vertical member attached to the base member; iii) one or more rotatable arms attached to the vertical member in a rotatable manner, said one or more rotatable arms having cushioning material attached thereto at the end distant from the vertical member; and iv) one or more slot members forming one or more slots, said one or more slots members having a cushioning material attached thereto, and said one or more slot members being attached to the base member and being operable to receive at least one of the one or more sheets of material in one of the one or more slots whereby the at least one sheet of material is held in position by at least one of the one or more slot members; and

b) positioning the at least one of the one or more sheets of material within at least one of the one or more slots, whereby the at least one of the one or more sheets of material is positioned between the one or more slot members; and

c) rotating at least one of the one or more rotatable arms to position the arm to support the at least one of the one or more sheets of material, whereby the cushioning material attached to the at least one of the one or more rotatable arms contacts the at least one of the one or more sheets of material; and

19) The method of claim 18, further comprising the step of adjusting the incline angle of the base member, whereby the ease of loading the at least one of the one or more sheets of material into the rack is increased.