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.

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Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

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.

FIELD

The present invention relates in general to shelving, and in particular, to a beverage rack-forming assembly.

BACKGROUND

Alcoholic 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.

SUMMARY

An 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.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows a beverage rack assembly in accordance with one embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing two sticks of different length and a riser that attaches to the coupling of those sticks in accordance with one embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing four appendages on one end of a riser in accordance with one embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a rack made of sticks of the same length with a bottle inserted into the enclosure in accordance with one embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a rack made of sticks of four different lengths in accordance with one embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a flow diagram showing a method of construction of a beverage rack assembly in accordance with one embodiment.

FIGS. 7A-7E are diagrams illustrating various stages of assembly of a rack in accordance with one embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a support block in accordance with one embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing two support blocks integrated into a rack in accordance with one embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a wall attachment assembly for use in securing a rack to a wall in accordance with one embodiment.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing three risers resting on three anchors in accordance with one embodiment.

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing a riser that includes a hole used for attachment in accordance with one embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

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. FIG. 1 shows a beverage rack assembly 10 (also referred to as “rack” in the description below) in accordance with one embodiment. The rack 10 is assembled from a plurality of sticks 11, 12 that form two lattices 13, 14, which are in turn joined together by a plurality of risers 15.

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. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing two sticks 11, 12 of different length and a riser 15 that attaches to the coupling 18 of those sticks in accordance with one embodiment. The sticks 11, 12 within the same lattice 13, 14 can be of different sizes and of with different numbers of slots 21, but each stick 11, 12 includes at least two slots 21. The sticks 11, 12 in the two lattices 13, 14 are interchangeable and either of the lattices 13, 14 can be formed out of sticks 11, 12 included in the other lattice 13, 14. Despite the differences in length of the sticks 11, 12, the sizes of the slots 21 in all of the sticks are the same, allowing the sticks 12, 13 of different lengths to couple to each other. As shown with reference to FIG. 7A, the coupling 18 is formed when two of the sticks 11, 12, are positioned perpendicularly to each other, with one slot 21 on one of the sticks 11, 12 facing one slot 21 on another one of the sticks 11, 12. When pressed together, the portion of one stick 11, 12 overlying the slot 21 of that stick 11, 12 that is being coupled is secured within the slot 21 of the second stick 11, 12, and vice-versa, thus forming the coupling 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. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing four appendages 22 on one end of a riser 15 in accordance with one embodiment. The four appendages 22 are triangular-prism shaped and together they form a cross-shaped slot 30 that receives portions of two of the sticks 11, 12 proximate to the slots 21 by which the two sticks are coupled. The portions of the two sticks within the cross-shaped slots are secured between the flat sides of the triangular-prism shaped appendages 22, keeping the riser 15 securely in place. Each of the couplings 18 are thus secured within the appendages 22 of one of the risers 15, thus preventing the coupled sticks 18 from accidentally uncoupling. However, if necessary, the coupled sticks 11, 12 can be pulled out from a riser 15, and then uncoupled from each other, allowing for an easy disassembly of the rack 10. In a further embodiment, different shapes of the appendages 22 are possible.

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. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a rack 10 made of sticks 11 of the same length with a bottle 23 inserted into the enclosure 16 in accordance with one embodiment. Each of the lattices 12, 14 is made off four sticks 11 with two slots 21 in each, with the two lattices being joined by four risers 15 that form a single enclosure 16 into which the bottle 23 is inserted. The support structures 19 on which the rack 10 can be set are identical on all sides, each support structure 19 being formed by two stick ends 17 from each of the lattices 13, 14. Thus, the rack 10 can be set on the ground on any of the four sides.

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. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a rack 10 made of sticks 11, 25, 26, 27, 28 of four different lengths in accordance with one embodiment. The sticks 11, 25, 26, 27, 28 in the rack 10 includes two, four, six, eight, and nine slots 21 respectively, with all of the sticks 11, 25, 26, 27, 28 being capable of coupling with each other. By increasing the number of sticks 11, 25, 26, 27, 28 and the length of the sticks 11, 25, 26, 27, 28, a desired number of enclosures 16 can be further created. As this embodiment of the rack 10 is large, to impart more stability to the rack 10, the support structure 19 includes not only the portions 17 of the sticks extending beyond the most terminal couplings 18, but also a base 24 that is attached to those stick portions 17. With a possible exception of the sticks 11, 25, 26, 27 that connect to the base 24 (if they are fixedly attached) or the use of additional stabilizers described below with reference to FIGS. 8-12, the rack 10 can be entirely disassembled by taking apart the risers 15 and the sticks 11, 25, 26, 27, 28, allowing to easily transport the rack 10 and then reassemble the rack 10 at a new location.

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. FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a support block 50 in accordance with one embodiment. As can be seen with reference to FIG. 8, the support block 50 can be shaped substantially as an isosceles trapezoid prism, though other shapes of the support block 50 are possible. The support block 50 includes a hole 51 through which the support block 50 is removably attached to one of the risers 15 in the bottom portion of the rack 10. FIG. 9 is a diagram showing two support blocks 50 integrated into a rack 10 in accordance with one embodiment. As can be seen with reference to FIG. 9, the support blocks 50 are attached under (relative to the orientation shown with relative to FIG. 9) the risers 15 at the bottom portion of the rack 10. As the support block 50 reaches the same level as the ends of the sticks that contact the surface upon which the rack is set and has a large surface area in contact with the ground (compared to the surface of the sticks in contact with the ground), the support block 50 absorbs a significant portion of the weight that would otherwise be on the sticks, thus decreasing the likelihood of the sticks breaking and increasing the stability of the rack 10. While two of the support blocks 50 are shown as being used to enhance the stability of the rack (being attached under the left-most and the right-most portions of the rack 10), other numbers of support blocks 50 are possible.

As can be seen with reference to FIG. 12, the risers 15 that attach to the support blocks 50 can also include a hole 53 through which one of the support blocks 50 is attached to that riser 15. FIG. 12 is a diagram showing a riser 15 that includes a hole 53 used for attachment in accordance with one embodiment. While only one hole 53 is shown with reference to FIG. 12, in a further embodiment, the risers 15 to which the support block 50 attach can include multiple holes 53 for attachment and the support block 50 could include a corresponding number of holes 51. Further, as only those of the risers that are used in the bottom portion of the rack 10 need the hole 53, some of the risers 15 that are used to make a rack 10 can be without the hole 53 and others would have the hole 51. In addition, as further described below, the risers 15 with one or more holes 53 as shown with reference to FIG. 12 can be used for attachment to anchors of a wall mount.

Returning to FIG. 9, The risers 15 and the support blocks 53 can be attached to each other through the holes 51, 53 in a number of ways. For example, if the holes 53 are though holes, a fastener (shown with reference to FIG. 11), such as a bolt can be inserted through the entirety of the holes 50, 53, and secured within the holes 51, 53 with a nut attached to an end of the fastener. Alternatively, if one of the holes 51, 53 is a blind hole and another is a though hole, the blind hole could be threaded, and the fastener (such as a screw) would pass through one of the holes 51, 53, and would be secured within the threaded portion of the blind hole. Further, at least one of the holes 51, 53 can include a counterbore that would allow the head of the fastener (or other protruding part associated with the fastener, such as a nut used with the fastener) to be flush with (or below) the surface of the support block 50 or of the riser 15. That way, the fastener would not be in contact with the ground surface (if the protruding part of the fastener is closest to the support block 50) or a beverage bottle (if the protruding part is closest to the riser 15).

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. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a wall attachment assembly 60 for use in securing a rack 10 to a wall in accordance with one embodiment. The assembly includes a wall mount 61 that includes one or more slots 62 into which one or more wall fasteners 63 (such as support screws that screw into wall studs or bolts that couple to wall anchors, though other kinds of wall fasteners 63 are also possible) can be placed to secure the wall mount 61 to a wall. The slots 62 allow to position the wall fasteners in a desired spot, improving the convenience and versatility of the assembly 60. While two slots 62 are shown with reference to FIG. 10, in a further embodiment, another number of slots could be present on the wall mount 61. The wall mount 61 can be wooden, though other materials or combination of materials are also possible.

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 FIG. 12) can be secured to with a fastener (such as a bolt and a nut combination, or a screw, or another kind of fastener). Similarly to what is described above with reference to FIG. 9, the kind of fastener used to secure a riser 15 to an anchor 64 depends on the whether the holes 67, 53 are through holes or at least one hole 67, 53 is a blind hole with threads. Similarly to what is described above with reference to FIG. 9, either the hole 67 in the anchor 64 or in the riser 15 being attached to the anchor 64 can include a counter bore. Not every anchor 64 attached to the same wall mount 61 needs to have the same combination or quantity of plates 65, 66 or holes 67. For example, as shown with reference to FIG. 10, two of the anchors have two plates 65, 66 with a hole 67 placed between and a hole 67 being placed behind one of them while a third one of the anchors 64 has only two plates 65, 66 and no holes 67. The multiple holes 67 on the same anchor 64 can all be used for attachment, or some of the holes 67 can be selected for attachments based on their position while others would remain unconnected to a riser. Other combinations of plates 65, 66 and holes 67 are possible. For example, an anchor 64 could other number of holes 67. In a still further embodiment, an anchor 64 could have neither holes 67 nor plates 65, 66 and the risers 15 could simply rest on the anchors 65. Further, while three anchors 65 are shown with reference to FIG. 10, other numbers of anchors 64 are also possible.

Securing some of the risers 15 to the anchors 64 helps to stabilize the rack as a whole. FIG. 11 is a diagram showing three risers 15 resting on three anchors 64 in accordance with one embodiment. For the sake of clarity of illustration, FIG. 11 does not show the remainder of the rack 10 into which the risers are integrated, but FIG. 11 does show the placement of the risers 15 as they would be when integrated into a rack 10. As can be seen with reference to FIG. 11, a riser 15 can be include one or more holes 53 through which the riser 15 is attached to an anchor 64 by a fastener 69. The presence of multiple holes 53 allows to either attach the riser 15 to a corresponding anchor at multiple places or choose the most appropriate hole 53 for attachment. Further, not all holes 53 have to be used for the attachment, as seen with reference to FIG. 11.

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. FIG. 6 is a flow diagram showing a method 40 of construction of a beverage rack assembly in accordance with one embodiment. FIGS. 7A-7E are diagrams illustrating various stages of assembly of a rack 10 in accordance with one embodiment. Initially, one of the lattices 13, 14 is formed by coupling multiple sticks 11, 12, 25, 26, 27, 28 together (step 41). An example of a created lattice 13, 14 is shown with reference to FIG. 7B. Two sticks 11, 12, 25, 26, 27, 28 are coupled together by placing them perpendicular to each other so that the slots 21 of the two sticks 11, 12, 25, 26, 27, 28 are aligned and facing each other, and then pressing onto the two sticks so that the portion of one stick 11, 12, 25, 26, 27, 28 overlying that stick's slot 21 enters into the second stick's slot 21. As the sticks are perpendicular to each other, pressing the sticks 11, 12, 25, 26, 27, 28 together also results in the portion of the second stick 11, 12, 25, 26, 27, 28 overlying the second stick's slot entering the first stick's slot 21. The sticks 11, 12, 25, 26, 27, 28 being inserted into each other's slots 21 prevents the sticks from moving relative to each other. The width of the sticks 11, 12, 25, 26, 27, 28 and the size of the slots 21 are close enough so that the sticks 11, 12, 25, 26, 27, 28 being inserted into each others' slots 21 locks the sticks together securely, requiring conscious effort from a human to pull them apart. As can be seen with reference to FIG. 6A, the sticks can be pressed together using two human thumbs 29, which can apply enough force to press the sticks into tight-fitting slots 21. Applying pressure by the two thumbs 29 to different points of the sticks helps to avoid breaking the sticks. While sticks 11, 12 are shown with reference to FIG. 7A, sticks of other size can similarly be coupled, and racks of other sizes can be similarly constructed.

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 FIG. 7C, the risers 15 are attached to the lattice 13, 14 by sliding them at an angle, with the cross-shaped slot 30 on the riser's end being slid onto one of the couplings 18 and the surrounding portions of the sticks 11, 12, 25, 26, 27, 28. As the fit between the four appendages 22 and the coupling 18 (as well as proximate portions of the sticks 11, 12, 25, 26, 27, 28 that come into contact with the riser 15) is tight, each riser 15 is securely attached to the lattice 13, 14 and a conscious human effort is required to pull them apart. While the risers 15 can be attached to the lattice 13, 14 in any order, in one embodiment, the first riser 15 is attached to the center of the lattice 13, 14, and other risers 15 are added subsequently.

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 FIG. 7D, each of the sticks 11, 12, 25, 26, 27, 28 is inserted into cross-shaped slots 30 of multiple risers 15, with the number of risers 15 into which a stick 11, 12, 25, 26, 27, 28 is inserted being equal to the number of the slots 21 in that stick.

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 FIG. 7E, the slots of the second set of sticks 11, 12, 25, 26, 27, 28 are facing downwards, with one of the slots 21 being inserted into the cross-shaped slot 30 of each of the risers. As the slots 21 of the first set of sticks 11, 12, 25, 26, 27, 28 face upwards and the slots of the second set of sticks face downwards, when the slots 21 of both sets of sticks 11, 12, 25, 26, 27, 28 are inserted into the cross-shaped slots 30 of the risers, the slots 21 form the couplings 18 in the same way as described above.

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.

Patent History
Publication number: 20220022645
Type: Application
Filed: Apr 19, 2021
Publication Date: Jan 27, 2022
Inventor: Gregory Allan Van Pelt (Marysville, WA)
Application Number: 17/234,106
Classifications
International Classification: A47B 73/00 (20060101); A47B 47/04 (20060101);