Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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HEAVY DVTY UNIVERSAL
ADJ~STABLE SLIDER FOR FOOD SERVICE CART
Back~round of the Invention
Field o~ the Invention
This invention relate~ to food service carts and,
more particularly, to adjustable slides for accepting
food trays or pans.
Background Art
Food preparation operations catering to large volume
clients such as hotels, restaurants, hospi~als and the
like, generally use stainless steel food sexvice carts.
The carts are wheel equipped and insulated to maintain
conditions in the food storage space to preserve the warm
or cold s~ate of the food between the time of loading in
lS the food preparation area and the time of delivery to the
ultimate consumer.
Normally, these carts are provided with internal
upright structural columns which carry horizontal
supports called slides or sliders, which accept and
_d support trays or pans upon which the food is placed.
After being filled, the cart doors are closed and sealed
and the carts loaded upon trucks for delivery to the
consumer. At the point of destination the carts are
unloaded and wheeled to a convenient point for
~5 distribution of the contents.
Several serious problems have occurred with such
operations which, to date, have not been adequ~tely dealt
with by prior art designers. During handling, the filled
carts may tip or be jostled which oft times causes the
slides to dislodge, dumping the food contents into
adjacent pans or ~he bottom of the cart. Permanent
mounting of the slides to prevent dislodging precludes
adjustability of the sliders which seriously compromises
the versatility of the carts to carry the usually
employed different sizes of food trays.
Another drawback with the prior structures is that
the slider mounting elements are prone to failure under
the substantial weight of the filled pans and trays. A
typical mounting structure for each slider uses two ta~s
struck directly from the material o~ the slider, each tab
opening and being directed transversely from the other.
Preferably one of ~he tabs is extendable horizontally
into a slot in one of the uprights and upon being fully
seated situates a downwardly opening tab in alignment
with a slot into which it can be dropped. If either tab
breaks or dislodges, the entire slide fails. If
vibration raises the downwaxdly open tab sufficiently to
clear its upright slot, the entire slider may become
dislodged.
Another serious deficiency in the art is in the area
of the slide type termed ~universal" in the field. The
universal slide normally defines a two shelf support,
with each shelf capable of accommodating different width
trays or pans~ Heretofore, each universal type slider
has been suspended from the uprights in cantilever-type
fashion. To avoid unwanted flexing of the free end as
might release the trays, the entire slider has generally
been formed from a heavy gauge material. The use of a
heavy material undesirably adds to the weight of ~he
cabinet, complicatës handling and increases the cost of
manufacturing. Alternatively, braces might be bolted,
welded, or otherwise secured to reinforce the slide
shelves, additionally adding to weight and cost undesirably.
The present invention is specifically directed -to
overcoming one or more of the problems in the prior art
structures that are enumerated above.
Summary of the Invention
Thus broadly, the invention pertains to a one-piece,
universal type sheet metal slider for a food service cart
of the type having a cabinet with inside, facing walls to
which a plurality of the sliders are mountable for slidably
accepting food trays. The slider includes a first, flat
shelf for supporting an end of a tray having a first width,
with the first shelf having opposite ends, and a second
shelf is parallel to the first shelf for supporting an end
of a tray having a second width less than the first width.
A panel portion connects between the first and second
shelves and is substantially at righ-t angles thereto, and a
gusset is integral with and folded perpendicularly to the
plane of the first shelf in depending fashion at one end
of the first shelf and has oppositely facing first and
second edges. The first gusset edge is situated adjacent
the panel, with the second gusset edge being situated
adjacent one of the facing walls, so that the gusset simul-
taneously reinforces one end of the first shelf and limits
movement of the panel toward one of the facing walls. Means
~S detachably mount the slider to one of the facing walls.
More particularly, each slider is preferably formed from
a single blank of relatively thin gauge bendable material.
The blank is preformed with a substantially rectangular body
having a mounting tab and gusset plate extending lengthwise
beyond each opposite end of the body.
3a
The body is bent about a series of lengthwise,
parallel fold lines to define a flat face for enga~ement
with a vertical column wall of the cart and a first
horizontal shelf offse~ from and continued into a second,
lower shelf, which terminates at the free end of the
slider. A mounting tab is bent at a right angle to the
plane of the vertical face at each end of the body. To
reinforce the shelves, the gusset at each end of the body
is folded under the first shelf and bears between the
column wall of the cart and the offset between shelves,
providing a positive deterent to collapse of the
outermost shelf of the slider under influence of a loaded
food tray supported upon that shelf.
The principal objective of the invention is to
provide a universai-type slider that is rugged yet which
can be simply formed from a single blank of thin material
without the provision of separate reinforcing elements or
the performance of separate welding steps.
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It is another aspect of ~he invention to provide a
mounting tab that cooperates with ~he remainder of the
slidPr structure to positively loca~e the slider on the
cart yet permit manual repositioniong of the same within
the cart to properly accept food trays, pans and racks of
differing size and configuration.
To accomplish ~he foregoing, ~he mounting tab
comprises an elonyate body spaced from the rectangular
hlank body by a stem which makes a T-shape with the tab
bod~. A leading edge of each tab is airected into a slot
in a cart upright and advanced upwardly suf ficiently to
present the trailing edge of the tab at the bottom of the
slot. The enti~e slider is then pivoted toward the
upright and dropped down to capture the wall of the
1~ uprig~t bet~een the vertical face of the slider and a
facing edge of the tab body.
Accordingly, horizontal shifting of the slider is
prohibited without vertically shifting the slider
relative to the mounting upright to disengage the tabs.
The weight of the food on the sliders prevents this
vertical shifting as well as preventing disengagement of
the slider from the column under vibrational movement of
the slider in an up and down direction.
A further object is to provide a slider both
universal in use, and easily installed and removed for
cleaning as well as being readily formable from materials
preferred for use in food handling e~uipment.
_ief Description of the Drawings
Fig. 1 is a front perspective view of an open food
service cart incorporating tray bearing sliders according
to the present invention:
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Fig. 2 is a plan view of a blank used to form each
of thP sliders;
Fig. 3 is an enlarged, fragmentary perspective view
of one end of the sliders formed from the blank of Fig.
2;
Fig. 4 is a fragmentary, sectional view of one of
the sliders partially inserted into a mounting upright on
the cart; and
Fig. 5 is a fragmentary, sectional view of one of
the sliders fully seated in the mounting upright.
Detailed Descr_ption of the Drawin~s
A food service cart, to which the present invention
is adaptable, is illustrated in Fig. 1 at 10. ~he cart
10 comprises a cubical cabinet 1~ defined by side walls
14, 16, top wall 18~ bottom wall 19 and rear wall 20.
The open front edge 22 of the cabinet 12 is seal~d by a
hinged door 24. The walls 14, 16, 18, 19, 20 and door 24
are preerably ~ade from stainless steel and insulated to
maintain conditions within the cabinet consistent with
the preservation of food stored in the cabinet 12.
The cabinet is mobilized by providing a wheeled
platform 26. Handling of the cart is facilitated by
mounting a handle 28 on at least one of the side walls
14, 16.
~5 The cabinet is framed internally. The frame
includes uprights or columns 30, 32 at the front and
rear, of the cabinet, respectively for accepting the tray
supportin~ sliders 34. Vertically spaced slots 36 are
provided in each of the uprights at corresponding heights
on the four uprights 30, 32. The sliders 34 on opposite
side walls 14, 16 are mirror images of each other and
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located a~ the same height to maintain the trays 3B
carrying the food horizontally, levelly situated.
Figs. 3 and 5 best illustrate the construction of
the universal slider. The slider 34 comprises a vertical
wall 40 which bears facially against the adjacent wall
surface 42 of the uprights 30, 32. Beneath the wall 40
is a first horizontal shel~ 43 and a second~ lower,
horizontal shelf 45 connected by a vertical panel 47.
Food pans and trays are generally rectangular. The
1~ supporting axea of ~he shelves is such that a flange on
the pan or ray may rest upon one set of shelves or the
other with sufficient looseness to allow the pan or tray
to be manually pushed into the cart by sliding the ~lange
over the suppoxting shelves. The upright sur~aces 40 or
4~ serve to retain the food pan or tray against excessive
movement once inserted in the cart. A tray or pan of
narrower width can be confined on the second shelves,
whereas it would otherwise shift freely and undesirably
between the cabinet side walls 14, 16 on the first
shelves 43.
To form the sliders 34 according to the present
invention, a blank, as depicted in Fig. 2 at 49, is cut
~rom a stainless steel sheet on the order of 16 gauge
thickness. The blank 49 comprises a substantially
~5 rectangular body 51 with mounting tabs 53 and gussets 55
extending lengthwise beyond the ends 57, 59 of the body
51. First, second, third and fourth fold lines are
indicated by dotted lengthwise lines on the blank and
respectively desig~ated 61, 63, 65, 67.
The vertical wall 40 is defined between the first
and second fold lines; the first shelf 43 between the
second and third lines; the panel 47 between the third
and fourth lines; and the second shelf 45 beyond the
fourth line. The blank is folded about ~he first,
second, third and f~ur~h fold lines in stepwise fashion
to arrive at ~he Fig. 3 configuration for the body 51.
An upper reinforcing flange 69 is folded about the first
line 61 into parallel relationship with the first shelf
43. The flange 69 xeinforces the wall 40 against
defelction from a load applied to the shelves as well as
providing a shelf for large food tray receipt, if
desired.
The gussets 55 comprise an exten~ion of the first
shelf beyond the ends 57, 59. The degree of extension
lengthwise of the body 51 beyond the ends 57, 59, which
represents the length of the gusset on the formed slider,
is a matter of choice. Pxeferably, to maximize support
and minimize the amount of material, the gusset height is
equal to the width of the panel 47 between the third and
fourth fold lines. It can be seen most clearly in Fig. 5
that, with the gusset bent downwardly and perpendicular
to the plane of the first shelf 43, the gusset edges 71,
~ 73 align closely with the upright face 75 of the panel 47
and the upright wall surface 42 on the upright.
Consequently, downward bending of the shelf 43 is
prohibited by the gusset bearing on the surface 42. At
the same time, downward deflection of the second shelf 45
~5 is arrested upon the offset surface 75 encountering the
edge 71 of the gusset.
A desirable feature of the invention is ~hat a
rugged slider can be formed from a thin gauge material
without welding or using fasteners. The formation of the
slider involves simply stamping a blank and folding the
blank in a prescribed manner.
The mounting tabs 53 are used to anchor the sliders
to the uprights. Each mounting tab comprises an elongate
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body 77 having a leading edge or nose 79 and a trailin~
edge 81. The vertical wall 40 is Pxtended beyond the
ends 57, 59 of the blank to define a stem 83 which
defines a T-shape with the body and spaces the t~b body
77 from the er)ds 57, 59 of the rectangular blank body 51.
To assemble the slider, the slider is dispo~ed at an
angle with respec~ to the upright 30 as indicated in Fi~.
4. The rounded nose 79 of each tab is introduced to a
slo~ and ex~ended until the upper edge 83 of the slot
abuts the juncture of the stem and the leading portion 85
of the body 77. The entire slider is pivoted about the
point of abutment in the direction of the arrow 87 in .
Fig. 4 to direct the trailing edge 81 of the body 77
~ehind the inside surface 89 of the upright, at which
point the surface 92 of the face 40 facially abuts the
wall 42 of the upright. The slider is locked by dropping
the slider downwardly to its Fig. 5 position. In this
position, the wall 95 of the upright is captured closely
between the wall 92 of the wall 40 and the mounting tab
body 77.
The slider is positively captured because the
mounting tabs cannot be removed without tilting the
slider away from the uprights. Because the weight of the
loaded trays bears the sliders toward their locked
~5 position, the likelihood of inadvertently freeing the
~liders is reduced.
The foregoing detailed description was made for
purposes of demonstratin~ the structure and operation of
the invention, with no unnecessary limitations to be
understood therefrom.
