Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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The present invention relates to a shelving
structure, more particularly, to a vertical framework extend-
able in both latera} and longitudinal directions. The shelving
structure of the present invention can be assembled without
any additional members such as screws or bolts and without
the aid of tools other than a small mallet.
There have been proposed various types of knockdown
shelving structures. For example, U.S. Patent No. 3,244,127
issued April 5, 1966 to Robert J. Evans discloses a knockdown
type cantilever shelving. Shelvings can be installed at the
both sides o~ the central posts. The shelving is extendable
longitudinally but i~ is not extendable in front to rear
direction. U.S. Patent No. 3,693,556 issued September 26,
1972 to Pierre Rous discloses sectional shelvings employing
vertical uprights, each upright consisting of a member having
in horizontal section or cross-sectional view the general
shape of ~ hollow "T" of which the wing correspondlng to the
upper branch of the T is adapted to be positioned on the
corresponding face of the 6helving, the two walls of the
central leg of the T const~tuting this hollow section being
provided with a series of regularly spaced perforations
throughout the height or length of the upright. The sec~ional
shelvings according to Patent No. 3,693,556 i8 extendable
in longitudinal direction only. The Rous U.S. Patent No.
3,487,790 issued January 6, 1970 is also of that type.
U.S. Patent No. 3,672,515 issued June 27, 1972
to Pierre Rous discloses a shelving structure which is
extendable both in the longitudinal and in the front-to-rear
directions. The shelving structure of Patent No. 3,672,515
employs uprights interconnected by lo~gitudinal and
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cross members having at both ends thereof a fastenlng inner
plate which has a pair of fastening lugs adapted to fit the
perforations provided in the corresponding upright.
The principal object of the present invention is
to provide a knockdown type shelving structure which is
extendable in both lateral and longitudinal directions and
which can be easily assembled or disassembled without any
additional members and without any specialized tools.
Another object of the present invention is to
provide such a shelving structure as above which is adaptable
for assembling heavy duty storage racks of various sizes.
In accordance with the present invention there is
provided a vertical framework structure extendable in both
lateral and longitudinal directions comprising a plurality
of vertical columns, each column being a tubular member
having a rectangular cross-section thereby forming four
vertical faces consisting of a front face, a back face and
a pair of side faces, each side face being provided with a
series of pairs of spaced mounting slots, the mounting slots
being horizontally and vertically aligned; at least one
lateral bracing member extending horizontally between a pair
of front and rear vertical columns, each end of said lateral
bracing member being formed with at least two mounting lugs
pro~ecting at right angles to the plane of the bracing
member, arranged in vertical alignment and spaced apart
vertically a distance e~ual to the spacing of the mounting
slots on the column.
In a further aspect the present invention provides
such a structure wherein said lateral bracing member has at
a side surface thereof one or more upwardly extending shelf
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support flanges, and said structure further comprising at least
one rectangular horizontal shelf member made of sheet metal
and extending longitudinally between one lateral bracing member
and the next lateral bracing member thereby forming a shelf
structure, said rectangular horizontal shelf member having a
downwardly extending lateral and longitudinal periphery, the
longitudinally opposite ends of said rectangular horizontal
shelf member being adapted to engage with flanges of the
horizontal lateral bracing members.
The present invention further provides in the
embodiments which form the subject of the present specification
a vertical framework structure extendable in both lateral and
longitudinal directions including, in combination: at least
four vertical columns, each column being a tubular member
having a rectangular cross-section thereby forming four vertical
faces consisting of a front face, a back face and a pair of
side faces, each side face and one of the front face or the
back face being provided with a series of pairs of spaced
mounting slots, the mounting slots being both horizontally and
vertically aligned; at least two lateral bracing members
extending horizontally between and connected to a pair of
front and rear vertical columns, and at least two additional
lateral bracing members extending horizontally between and
connected to a second pair of front and rear vertical columns,
each end of said lateral bracing members being formed with
at least two mounting lugs projecting at right angles to the
plane of the bracing member, arranged in vertical alignment with
and spaced apart vertically a distance equal to the vertical
spacing of the mounting slots on each of the vertical columns,
at least one mounting lug having a locking means at the lower
portion thereof; and at least two longitudinal bracing members
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extending hori-~ontally between and connected to one of the front
or rear and the other of the front or rear vertical columns
of the pairs of vertical columns, each of the said longitudinal
bracing members being formed with at least two mounting lugs
projected at right angles to the plane of the longitudinal
member, arranged in vertical alignment with and spaced apart
vertically a distance equal to the vertical spacing of mounting
slots on the front face or the rear face of the vertical columns,
at least one mounting lug having a locking means at the lower
portion thereof.
In one embodiment of such a structure there is
provided for each of said lateral bracing members an upper and
lower shoulder substantially at right angles with respect to
the plane of the bracing member such that when the adjacent
mounting lugs engage the correspondingly vertically aligned
mounting slots a rigid fit is established between the shoulders,
lugs and vertical column surfaces engaged by the shoulders.
In another aspect this invention provides a vertical
framework shelving structure as set out above, wherein each
lug locking member forms with the adjacent bracing member part
a tapered slot narrowing down to the thickness of the wall
material of the vertical column, and making a press fit with the
wall of the vertical column.
In a further aspect the invention provides such a
structure including at least one rectangular horizontal shelf
member extending longitudinally between one lateral bracing
member and the next lateral bracing member thereby forming a
shelf structure, the rectangular horizontal shelf member having
downwardly extending lateral and longitudinally opposite ends
adapted to engage with the shelf supporing flanges.
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In a further aspect the invention provides, in a
vertical framework structure extendable in both lateral and
longitudinal directions, in combination, at least four vertical
columns, each column-being a tubular member having a
rectangular cross-section thereby forming four vertical faces
consisting of a front face, a back face and a pair of side faces,
each side face and one of the front face or the back face being
provided with a series of pairs of spaced mounting slots, the
mounting slots being both horizontally and vertically aligned;
at least two sets of lateral bracing members arranged in
opposing pairs extending horizontally between and connected to
a pair of front and rear vertical columns, and a second set of
two lateral bracing members arranged in pairs extending
horizontally between and connected to a second pair of front
and rear vertical columns, each end of said lateral bracing
members being formed with at least two mounting lugs projecting
at right angles to the plane of the bracing member, arranged in
vertical alignment with and spaced apart vertically a distance
equal to the vertical spacing of the mounting slots on the
vertical columns, at least one mounting lug having a locking
means at the lower portion thereof; and at least two longitudinal
bracing members extending horizontally between and connected to
one of the front or rear and the other of the front or rear
vertical columns of the pairs of vertical columns, each of the
said longitudinal bracing members being formed with at least
two mounting lugs projecting at right angles to the plane of the
longitudinal member, arranged in vertical alignment with and
spaced apart vertically a distance equal to the vertical spacing
of the mounting slots on the vertical columns, at least one
mounting lug having a locking means at the lower portion thereof.
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In another aspect the invention provides such a
structure wherein the vertically and horizontally aligned pairs
of slots are provided on all four faces of the vertical ~:
columns.
Other objects and features of this invention will
more fully become apparent in view of the following detailed .
description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings
illustrating preferred embodiments.
Figure 1 is a perspective view of a portion of a
vertical framework structure of an embodiment of this invention;
Figure 2 is a fragmentary perspective view showing
a column together with a pair of bracing members secured to
said column, of the embodiment shown in Figure l;
Figure 3 is a cross-section along the lines 3-3 in
Figure 2;
Figure 4 is a perspective view of one of the bracing
members of the embodiment illustrated in Figures 1 and 2;
Figure 5 is a fragmentary perspective upside down
view of one of the rectangular horizontal shelf members
illustrated in Figure l;
Figure 6 is an exploded perspective view of an
assembled shelf structure made from parts as shown in Figures
1 to 5.
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Now referring to the drawings, the vertical frame-
work structure of this embodiment of the invention comprises
a plurality of vertical columns 10. Each co?umn is a tubular
member having a rectangular cross-section framing four verti-
cal faces consisting of a front face, a back face and a pair
of side faces. The side faces are provided with a series
of pairs of spaced mounting slots 11. The front face is
also preferably provided with such slots, and most preferably
all four faces are so provided. EacA horizontal pair of the
mounting slots ll are aligned and each vertical pair of the
mounting slots are also aligned. Horizontal lateral bracing
members 12 interconnect the vertical columns and provide
shelf support. Each lateral ~racing member 12 has at the
; both ends thereof a pair of mounting lugs 13 projecting at right angles to the plane of the bracing member. The pair
of mounting lugs are spaced apart vertically a distance equal
to the spacing of the mounting slots 11 of the column.
Moreover, as shown in FIG. 6, even if the framework is not
to be further expanded longitudinally, the lateral members 12
are advantageously attached in pairs to both side faces of
the two columns 10 at each vertical level. This arrangement
creates a rigid end frame that provides overall stability
in the framework structure.
In a preferred embodiment the vertical columns
are longitudinally interconnected for better rigidity by one
or more bracing members having a similar structure to the
bracing members 12 but without shelf support flanges 14. As
shown in Figure 6, a longitudinal bracing member 44 is
installed at the bottom of the vertical framework structure.
Bracing member 44 is of such a depth that it is provided with
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three lugs 13 on each end, thus providing greater rigidity
to the resulting structure. Such longitudinal bracing
members may be made to any desired depth, and provided at
each end with a suitable number of lugs 13 fitted to slots 11.
Longitudinal bracing member 45 is narrower, and has only
two lugs 13 at each end. This may well be sufficient for
most purposes. In particular, in the embodiment shown in
Figure 6, a bracing member 45 has been installed at the
level of the first shelf above the ground, in which case it
strengthens the shelf and protects the edge of the shelf
against careless workmen who may tend to use it as a step.
Any workman standing on the first shelf up from the ground
will stand on longitudinal bracing member 45 and take the
load away from the edge of the second shelf. As can be seen
from Figure 6 in particular the framework may be made in
any number of multiples, and may extend indefinitely in the
longitudinal direction or for that matter in the lateral direc-
tion.
The longitudinal bracing members such as members 44
and 45 provide very good rigidity to the structure and helps
to avoid the disadvantages of the prior art, namely the need
for supplementary bracing, bolting or welding of members,
or the provision of back panels on shelves for rigidity. Thus
the present invention may provide a clean and simple structure,
easily assembled without the need of special tools, easily
disassemblable, and not requiring the complicated and diffi-
cult reinforcement and bracing means of the prior art. Some
such bracing may be desirPd in certain particular circumstances
but the structure as shown in Figure 6 for example is
comparatively strong and rigid. -~
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A typical structure constructed along the lines
of Figure 6 may have eight levels a foot apart, for a total
height of approximately eight feet. It is found expedient
to provide such a structure with a top longitudinal bracing
member 45 and a bottom longitudinal bracing member 44 on
the back and front of the structure, and this is found to
give sufficient rigidity for most uses.
As shown in Pigure 2 the bracing member 12 locks
onto the column 10 by means of lugs 13 which are perpendicular
to the plane of the lateral bracing member 12. The distance
between the lugs 13 and the adjacent upper and lower shoulders 19
of the bracing member 12 is held to close tolerance (within
0.005 in. of the distance between the front or back face of
the column and the near edge of the vertical slots 11) so
that when the lugs 13 are pressed into place there is a tight
fit between the shoulders and lugs and the surfaces of the
column which they span and engage. The combination of this
very rigid and easily mounted and dismounted connection means
with the rectangular column 10 i8 not shown in the prior art and
provides a v~ry effective structure for many uses.
The column lO and bracing members 12 may be made
of any suitable material, such as galvanized or painted cold
rolled steel. Eighteen gauge steel has been found to be
suitable, with seventeen gauge, a slightly heavier material,
being found advantageous for heavier loads.
The column 10 may have an open slot along the back
face, with (FIG. 1) or without (FIG. 2) paired slots 11
thereon. The provision of an open slot in the back provides
a possibility of slipping a sheet of metal down into the
slot to bridge adjacent columns in the lateral direction,
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namely to form partitions or strengthening members where
desired, extending from the front of the shelf to the back.
Where this is not desired, or where maximum column strength
is required the slot at the back may be absent and the edges
of the column may meet. For maximum strength the edges should
be welded to form a unitary rectangular, preferably square,
post. It has been found useful to provide the columns 10 in
a size of 2.5 centimeters and 4 centimeters square.
Each mounting lug 13 has a locking means formed
by a downward projection 20 at the lower portion thereof which
has a slanted edge that engages the bottom edge of the ~lot 11
and draws the vertical surface of the member 12 tightly
against the side face of the column. When higher strength
is unnecessary, the locking means may be provided on only
either one of the pair of mounting lugs. The lateral
bracing member 12 in this embodiment is provided with at
least one upwardly extending shelf support flange 14 having
a S-letter shaped cross section on which a shelf 15 may be
mounted.
The shelf support flanges 14 may be eliminated
; from the horizontal lateral bracing member 12 when the
vertical framework structure is employed ~ithout shelves.
In a preferred form, the lateral bracing me~ber 12 has at
each end thereof an upwardly extending shelf support flange
17 which is shorter in lateral length than the flange 14.
The presence of this flange 17 gives stability to the support
of the shelf and allows it to support even a substantially
off-center load. In this embodiment there is adjacent
to the flange 17 a hole 16, which is provided for manufactur-
ing convenience.
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In Figure 5, there is shown upside down, in
perspective, a shelf structure of one ~bodiment of this
invention. In this embodiment the shelf is formed from
a single metal sheet. The folded-in flap 21 together with
the adjacent edge of end panel 42 enable tight engagement
of the shelf 15 with a shelf supporting flange 14. ~igher
strength is provided by inwardly extending side flanges 22
and upwardly extending further flanges 43 in this embodiment.
The width of a shelf lS can be varied depending on the
application thereof.
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