BEVERAGE RACK-FORMING ASSEMBLY
A beverage rack assembly is provided that is lightweight, easy to assemble and disassemble, and can be set in multiple orientations to accommodate various environments. The rack assembly includes two lattices that are made out of sticks coupled to each other at slots in the sticks. The lattices are joined together by risers that include two ends, each of the ends including four appendages shaped as triangular-prisms, and that attach to the two lattices at each of the stick couplings. Portions of the sticks that extend beyond the terminal couplings together form support structures on multiple sides of the rack that allow the rack to be set at various orientations. The rack is made out lightweight materials, such as wood or plastic, further contributing to the portability of the rack and the rack's components. Further, the rack includes additional stabilizing elements that improve strength and stability of the rack.
This patent application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/940,345, filed Jul. 27, 2020, pending, the priority date of which is claimed and the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference.
FIELDThe present invention relates in general to shelving, and in particular, to a beverage rack-forming assembly.
BACKGROUNDAlcoholic beverages, such as wine, can spend a long time in bottles before they are consumed. Some wines, such as certain sparkling wines, undergo secondary fermentation while inside the bottles even before they are sold to consumers. Even when ready for consumption, some wine bottles, especially of fine wines, are stored for an extended period of time prior to being consumed to allow for long-term aging processes to occur. Regardless of whether wine bottles are stored during the winemaking process, after the winemaking process is complete but before being sold to consumers, or by consumers, as the bottles are highly breakable, storing them requires an arrangement that both holds the bottles in a fixed, secure, position and does not occupy an exorbitant amount of space. Accordingly, wine makers, wine sellers, and wine consumers turn to wine racks for storage of wine bottles, especially large quantities of such bottles. Such wine racks generally include a set of shelves that maintain bottles in particular positions when the bottles are inserted into the shelves.
While useful for safely storing large numbers of wine bottles, existing wine racks come with a number of drawbacks. In particular, especially large wine racks designed to hold a large number of bottles, are difficult to transport. Further, due to their size and shape, they can be difficult to move even within a single building, requiring multiple people to maneuver them through doorways. Such large racks also tend to be heavy, further complicating the task of transporting them, even within a single building. Similarly, transporting large wine racks over long distances can require a dedicated truck that is both large enough to fit the rack and has a powerful enough engine to move the weight of the rack. In addition, such racks are generally useful only when positioned in a particular orientation, requiring a dedicated and fixed amount of space in a room for their storage.
Efforts have been made to make wine racks more portable, but such efforts have not been adequate so far. For example, Vinotemp® 12-Bottle Trellis Wine Rack, manufactured by Vinotemp International, Inc. of Rancho Dominguez, Calif., has a capacity of 12 bottles. The rack is assembled by initially combining several metal strips with notches into a partial trellis, inserting dowels into the partially completed metal trellis, completing the trellis with addition of more metal strips, and inserting additional dowels into the metal strips. Subsequently, additional metal strips that do not have any notches are placed on ends of the dowels opposite to the ends which are inserted into the trellis, and are secured into the dowels with nails that are hammered into pre-made holes in the dowels. The overall shape of the rack is a cube, meaning that the rack occupies the same amount of space regardless of how the rack is positioned, limiting where the rack can be positioned. Further, the use of nails makes a safe disassembly of such a rack problematic, if it all possible, meaning that the rack may still be too bulky to be transported by a single person in certain situations. Further, the use of metal strips increases the weight of such a rack, further decreasing the rack's portability.
Accordingly, there is a need for a beverage rack that is portable, easy to assemble and disassemble, is stable enough to support a large number of bottles if necessary, and that can be effectively used when positioned in multiple orientations.
SUMMARYAn assembly is provided that forms a beverage rack that is lightweight, easy to assemble and disassemble, and can be set in multiple orientations to accommodate various environments. The rack assembly includes two lattices that are made out of sticks coupled to each other at slots in the sticks. The lattices are joined together by risers that include two ends, each of the ends including four appendages shaped as triangular-prisms, and that attach to the two lattices at each of the stick couplings. Portions of the sticks that extend beyond the terminal couplings together form support structures on multiple sides of the rack that allow the rack to be set at various orientations. The rack is made out lightweight materials, such as wood or plastic, further contributing to the portability of the rack and the rack's components. Further, the rack can include additional stabilizing elements that improve strength and stability of the rack, such as support blocks and a wall mounting assembly.
In one embodiment, a beverage-rack-forming assembly is provided. The assembly includes a plurality of first sticks shaped to form a first lattice, each of the plurality of first sticks comprising at least two slots, wherein each of the slots of each of the first sticks in the first lattice is shaped to couple to one of the slots in another one of the first sticks in the first lattice; a plurality of second sticks shaped to form a second lattice, each of the second sticks comprising at least two slots, wherein each slot of each of the second sticks in the second lattice is coupled to one of the slots in another one of the second sticks in the second lattice; and a plurality of risers each comprising two ends, each of the ends of each riser comprising four appendages and an X-shaped slot configured to receive overlapping portions of two corresponding first sticks where corresponding slots of the two corresponding first sticks engage each other or overlapping portions of two corresponding second sticks where corresponding slots of the two corresponding second sticks engage each other, wherein each of the risers is shaped to removably attach to the first lattice and to the second lattice by the two ends of each riser respectively, wherein the first lattice, the second lattice, and the risers are shaped to define at least one diamond shaped compartment into which at least one beverage bottle can be placed, wherein a bottom portion of the first lattice and a bottom portion of the second lattice are shaped to rest upon a ground surface.
Still other embodiments of the present invention will become readily apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description, wherein is described embodiments of the invention by way of illustrating the best mode contemplated for carrying out the invention. As will be realized, the invention is capable of other and different embodiments and its several details are capable of modifications in various obvious respects, all without departing from the spirit and the scope of the present invention. Accordingly, the drawings and detailed description are to be regarded as illustrative in nature and not as restrictive.
Portability of a beverage rack can be improved by making the rack easy to assemble and disassemble. While in the description below, the described rack is referred to as a wine rack, the described rack could also be used for storage of bottles of other alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages. Further, the components described below can be provided as partially or completely assembled, or as a multiplicity of components that need to be assembled to form a rack.
The risers 15 in turn define enclosures 16 (also referred to as compartments 16) into which bottles of wine (or other beverages) can be inserted, with each enclosure 16 being defined by four of the risers 15 secured between the two lattices 13, 14. As further described below, the sticks 11, 12 in the lattices 13, 14 are coupled to each other at slots on the sticks 11, 12, with portions 17 of the sticks extending beyond the terminal couplings 18. These portions 17 form support structures 19 on which the rack 10 can be set and which contact the ground on which the rack 10 is set. As these support structures 19 are present on all sides of the racks 10, the rack 10 can be stably set horizontally or vertically, thus being able to fit into a wide variety of living or storage spaces. All of the components of the rack 10 are made out of lightweight materials, such as wood or plastic, further increasing the rack portability.
The presence of slots in the sticks allows the sticks to couple to each other and for risers 15 to attach to those couplings 18.
The coupling 18 includes the portions of the sticks 11, 12 that are secured within each other's slots 21. A riser 15 removably attaches to one of the couplings 18 and portions of the sticks 11, 12 that are proximate to that couplings 18. In particular, each riser 15 includes two ends that each have four appendages 22 that trap portions of the sticks 11, 12 between them.
As mentioned above, the sticks 11, 12 within the same lattice 13, 14 can be of different lengths and have different numbers (both odd and even numbers) of slots 21. When sticks 11, 12 with differing numbers of slots 21 are present within a single lattice 13, 14, the number of sticks 12, 13 with each number of slots 21 within that lattice is even. Likewise, the two lattices 13, 14 within a single rack 10 have an equal number of sticks 11, 12 with each numbers of slots 21. Likewise, only sticks of the same length may be used to create one of the racks 10.
As the width of the sticks and the size of the slots 21 is the same regardless of the length of the sticks, sticks of different lengths can be coupled to each other, allowing for creation of racks 10 of different proportions.
As the number of compartments 16 grows, the weight of the bottles in those compartments can create significant strain on the sticks 11, 12, 25, 26, 27, 28, especially those of those sticks that contact the surface on which the rack is set. Thus, a rack that houses a hundred bottles can easily be supporting 400 pounds of weight, which increase the chance of a rack 10 tipping over or breaking. The stability and strength of the rack 10 can be bolstered by attaching a support block to risers in the bottom portion of the rack 10.
As can be seen with reference to
Returning to
In addition or alternatively to attaching support modules to the rack 10, the rack 10 could also be removably secured to a wall to further increase the stability.
Also attachable to the wall mount 61 (such as with bolts, though other attachment techniques are possible) are one or more anchors 64. The anchors 64 can be metal though other materials or combination of materials are also possible. The wall mount 61 is mounted to a wall at a level so that the attached anchors 64 are at a level that allows some of the risers 15 integrated into the rack 10 to rest on the anchors 64 when the rack 10 is placed against the wall mount 61. In addition to taking off some of the weight of the bottles from the rack 10, having the risers 15 rest against the anchors 64 helps to immobilize the rack 10, decreasing the possibility that the rack 10 will tip over. The immobilization is improved by placing one or more plates 65, 66 of material with a high friction coefficient, such as cork or rubber (though other materials are also possible), which opposes the risers 15 from slipping off from the plates 65, 66. In addition or alternatively to immobilizing the rack 10 using the plates 65, 66 the anchors 64 can include one or more holes 67 through which the riser 15 that also has a hole 53 (such as shown with reference to
Securing some of the risers 15 to the anchors 64 helps to stabilize the rack as a whole.
Unless a rack integrates a base 24, support block 50, or a wall mounting assembly 60, assembly and disassembly of a rack 10 can be performed without any tools, allowing a single person without any specialized skill to move a rack 10 to a desired location.
Once one lattice 13, 14 is completed, the lattice 13, 14 is laid out on a hard surface and risers 15 are attached to the lattice at each of the stick coupling 18 (step 42). As shown with reference to
Once the risers 15 are attached to the lattice 13, 14, a first set of sticks 11,12, 25, 26, 27, 28 is inserted into the cross-shaped slots 30 on the end of all of the risers 15 opposite to the end that is attached to the lattice 13, 14 (step 43). When inserted, one of the slots 21 of each of the sticks 11, 12, 25, 26, 27, 28 is located within the cross-shaped slot 30 of each of the risers 15, with all of the slots 21 facing upwards. As shown with reference to
After the first step of sticks 11, 12, 25, 26, 27, 28 is inserted into the risers 15, a second set of sticks is inserted into the cross-shaped slots 30 of the risers perpendicularly to the first set of sticks, thus completing the second lattice 13, 14 (step 44). As can be seen with reference to
Optionally, a base 24 is attached to ends 17 of some of the sticks 11, 12, 25, 26, 27, 28 to impart more stability to the rack 10 (step 46). Also optionally, at least one of a wall mount assembly 60 or one or more support blocks 50 are attached to one or more of the risers 15 within the rack 10 to further improve the strength and stability of the rack 10 ending the method 40 (step 45).
While the invention has been particularly shown and described as referenced to the embodiments thereof, those skilled in the art will understand that the foregoing and other changes in form and detail may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.
Claims
1. A beverage-rack-forming assembly, comprising:
- a plurality of first sticks shaped to form a first lattice, each of the plurality of first sticks comprising at least two slots, wherein each of the slots of each of the first sticks in the first lattice is shaped to couple to one of the slots in another one of the first sticks in the first lattice;
- a plurality of second sticks shaped to form a second lattice, each of the second sticks comprising at least two slots, wherein each slot of each of the second sticks in the second lattice is coupled to one of the slots in another one of the second sticks in the second lattice; and
- a plurality of risers each comprising two ends, each of the ends of each riser comprising four appendages and an X-shaped slot configured to receive overlapping portions of two corresponding first sticks where corresponding slots of the two corresponding first sticks engage each other or overlapping portions of two corresponding second sticks where corresponding slots of the two corresponding second sticks engage each other,
- wherein each of the risers is shaped to removably attach to the first lattice and to the second lattice by the two ends of each riser respectively, wherein the first lattice, the second lattice, and the risers are shaped to define at least one diamond shaped compartment into which at least one beverage bottle can be placed, wherein a bottom portion of the first lattice and a bottom portion of the second lattice are shaped to rest upon a ground surface.
2. An assembly according to claim 1, further comprising:
- one or more support blocks shaped to removably attach to one or more of the risers engaged to the bottom portion of the first lattice and the second lattice, wherein the support blocks rest upon the ground surface when engaged to the risers.
3. An assembly according to claim 2, further comprising:
- a hole within one of the support blocks and a hole within one of the one or more risers, wherein the one or more support blocks and the one or more risers are engageable to each other through the holes.
4. An assembly according to claim 3, wherein the support block holes and the riser holes each comprise one of a through hole and a blind hole.
5. An assembly according to claim 2, wherein the one or more support blocks are substantially isosceles trapezoid prism shaped.
6. An assembly according to claim 1, further comprising:
- a wall attachment assembly, comprising: a wall mount comprising one or more slots within which one or more wall fasteners for securing the wall mount to a wall can be placed, wherein the wall fasteners are movable within the slots when the wall mount is not secured to a wall using the wall fasteners; a plurality of anchors attachable to the wall mount, wherein each of the anchors are shaped to support one of the risers when the risers are attached to the first lattice and the second lattice, the anchors are attached to the wall mount, and the wall mount is attached to the wall.
7. An assembly according to claim 6, further comprising:
- one or more plates, each attached to one of the anchors, wherein friction of each of the supported risers against at least one of the plates opposes the supported risers from sliding off from the plates.
8. An assembly according to claim 7, wherein at least one of the anchors and at least one of the risers supported each comprise a hole through which they are attached to each other.
9. An assembly according to claim 8, wherein the one or more plates comprise at least two plates on at least some of the anchors and the holes on those anchors are located between the at least two plates.
10. An assembly according to claim 8, wherein the plates are made of cork.
11. An assembly according to claim 6, wherein at least one of the anchors and at least one of the risers supported each comprise a hole through which they are attached to each other.
12. An assembly according to claim 1, wherein the first sticks, the second sticks, and the risers are made of at least one of wood and plastic.
13. An assembly according to claim 1, wherein all sides of the first lattice are suitable for placement as the bottom surface of the first lattice and all sides of the second lattice are suitable for placement as the bottom surface of the second lattice.
14. An assembly according to claim 1, further comprising:
- a base attachable to the bottom portion of the first lattice and the second lattice.
15. An assembly according to claim 1, wherein each of the appendages are triangular prism shaped.
16. An assembly according to claim 1, wherein the at least one compartment is defined by four of the risers.
17. An assembly according to claim 1, wherein the quantity of the first sticks is equal to the quantity of the second sticks.
18. An assembly according to claim 1, wherein a number of the slots in some of the first sticks differs from a number of the slots in other ones of the first sticks and wherein a number of the slots in some of the second sticks differs from a number of the slots in other ones of the second sticks.
19. An assembly according to claim 17, wherein a size of the slots in all of the first sticks is equal and wherein a size of the slots in all of the second sticks is equal.
20. An assembly according to claim 17, wherein a length of some of the first sticks differs from a length of other ones of the first sticks and wherein a length of some of the second sticks differs from a length of other ones of the second sticks.
Type: Application
Filed: Apr 19, 2021
Publication Date: Jan 27, 2022
Inventor: Gregory Allan Van Pelt (Marysville, WA)
Application Number: 17/234,106