Note : Les descriptions sont présentées dans la langue officielle dans laquelle elles ont été soumises.
CA 02187411 1999-02-03
A rack for receiving objects delivering liquids and dirts
This invention relates to a rack for receiving objects
delivering liquids and dirts: that is liquids and/or dirts.
This invention relates in particular to such a rack to
be used for wet overshoes and the like, and for growing
plants, and being particularly useful as overshoe racks for
boots, shoes, rubbers, overshoes, flower pots and other
containers for gardening and the like.
United States patent 3,587,864 dated June 28, 1971 as
invented by Henri Deslisle, describes a boot rack for dripp-
ing overshoes, boots and the like, which is a housing having
1
CA 02187411 1999-02-03
a boot receiving base panel, and an inclined overshoe recei-
ving panel extending above the base panel and fixed to the
opposite sidewalls of the housing.
The aim of this invention is to have a light rack for
receiving objects containing liquids and/or dirts,
and particularly such racks:
that are modular,
quickly stackable at will,
having the least structure to ensure lightness in
weight of the racks and to allow sun immersion if desired,
and yet ensuring that no liquid and/or dirt from ob-
jects delivering liquids and/or dirts on the rack of one
module, will fall onto and over the objects delivering
liquids and/or dirts on the rack of a lower module; these
objects delivering liquids and/or dirts, wether boots,
shoes, rubbers, overshoes, flower pots and other containers
for gardening and the like are placed on trays of the racks
being substantially horizontal.
Broadly stated the invention is directed to a rack for
receiving objects delivering liquids and dirts: that is
liquids and/or dirts, comprising:
a stackable module,
said stackable module having:
2
CA 02187411 1999-02-03
two longitudinal walls, said two longitudinal walls
being spaced one from the other and facing one another,
and bridging lateral walls across said two longitudinal
walls whereby said longitudinal walls cooperate with said
lateral walls to define at least one substantially vertical
passage,
said longitudinal and said lateral walls defining at
least one vertical passage, having opposite ends,
a tray outwardly projected from one of said two lon-
gitudinal walls, between said opposite ends of said walls
defining at least one vertical passage,
said tray having an inclined bottom, for said bottom to
direct liquids and dirts towards said one of said two lon-
gitudinal walls,
and a perforated plate for receiving objects delivering
liquids and dirts, supported by said tray, over said in-
clined bottom of said tray,
said perforated plate being substantially horizontal,
a way to exit said liquids with dirts from said in-
clined bottom of said tray adjacent to said one of said two
longitudinal walls defining at least one substantially
vertical passage, through said one of said two longitudinal
3
CA 02187411 1999-02-03
walls, and between said opposite ends of said walls, and
into said at least one vertical passage, for said liquids
and dirts to be displaced from said tray through said one of
said two longitudinal walls and to fall through said at
least one vertical passage,
said stackable module having a substantially T-shaped
cross-section, said T-shaped cross-section having a top, a
bottom and a central portion running from said top to said
bottom:
said bridging lateral walls with said two longitudinal
walls thus defining the top of said substantially T-shaped
cross-section of said stackable module,
and said tray with said perforated plate defining the
central portion running from the bottom to the top of said
substantially T-shaped cross-section of said stackable modu-
le,
and said walls defining at least one vertical passage,
defining a coupling, at at least one of said opposite ends,
for said walls defining at least one vertical passage, to
enable bridging at said coupling with another module having
substantially similar walls defining at least one vertical
passage, at said other of said opposite ends of said walls
defining at least one vertical passage of said other module,
and thereby said modules being stackable via said lon-
4
CA 02187411 1999-02-03
gitudinal and said lateral walls defining at least one
vertical passage, having opposite ends.
In a preferred embodiment, the invention is directed to
a rack for receiving objects delivering liquids and dirts,
comprising:
a stackable module,
said stackable module having:
opposite front and rear ends,
l0
two longitudinal walls, said two longitudinal walls
being spaced one from the other and facing one another,
and bridging lateral walls across said two longitudinal
walls whereby said longitudinal walls cooperate with said
lateral walls to define at least one substantially vertical
passage, near said rear end,
said longitudinal and said lateral walls defining at
least one vertical passage, having opposite upper and lower
ends,
a tray outwardly projected from one of said two lon-
gitudinal walls, between said opposite ends of said walls
defining at least one vertical passage, towards said front
end,
said tray having an inclined bottom, for said bottom to
direct liquids and dirts towards said one of said two lon-
5
CA 02187411 1999-02-03
gitudinal walls,
and a perforated plate, for receiving objects deliver-
ing liquids and dirts, supported by said tray, over said
inclined bottom of said tray,
said perforated plate being substantially horizontal,
a way to exit said liquids and dirts from said inclined
bottom of said tray adjacent to said one of said two lon-
gitudinal walls defining at least one substantially vertical
passage, through said one of said two longitudinal walls,
and between said opposite ends of said walls, and into said
at least one vertical passage, for said liquids and dirts to
be displaced from said tray through said one of said two
longitudinal walls and to fall through said at least one
vertical passage,
said stackable module having a substantially T-shaped
cross-section, said T-shaped cross-section having a top, a
bottom and a central portion running from said top to said
bottom:
said bridging lateral walls with said two longitudinal
walls thus defining the top of said substantially T-shaped
cross-section of said stackable module,
and said tray with said perforated plate defining the
central portion running from the bottom to the top of said
substantially T-shaped cross-section of said stackable modu-
6
CA 02187411 1999-02-03
le,
and said walls defining at least one vertical passage,
defining a male of a male-female coupling, at one of the op-
posite ends, and a female for said male-female coupling at
the other of the opposite ends,
for coupling with another module having similar walls defin-
ing at least one vertical passage and similar male-female
coupling, at said other of said opposite ends of said verti-
cal passage of said other module having said female of said
male-female coupling, for coupling two of said modules,
and thereby said walls defining said at least one
vertical passage of said stackable module being solely
responsible for supporting said tray, and for directing,
between said walls liquids and dirts away from the tray of
that stackable module, said module being stackable.
In a preferred embodiment, the coupling at said op-
posite ends is a male end portion at one of said opposite
ends, and a female portion at the other of said opposite
ends.
Further embodiments of the invention will be described
herein below.
7
CA 02187411 1999-02-03
In the drawings which illustrate some of the preferred
ways of carrying out the invention,
Figure 1 is a side, cross-section view taken along line
1-1 of Figure 2, of a rack for receiving objects delivering
liquids and dirts;
Figure 2 of a scale smaller than in Figure 1, is a top
view taken along line A-A of Figure 1, with only a portion
of a perforated plate for receiving objects delivering
liquids and dirts;
Figure 3 of a scale similar to Figure 2, is a top view
taken along line B-B of Figure 1 with only a portion of a
perforated plate for receiving objects delivering liquids
and dirts;
Figure 4 is an enlarged circular section view, taken
from the circular portion 4 of Figure 1;
Figure 5 is a view similar to that of Figure 4, but
illustrating another coupling for the opposite ends of the
wall portions defining vertical passages;
Figure 6 of a scale similar to Figure 2, is a cross-
section view, of another perforated plate;
Figure 7a is an enlarged circular section view, taken
from the circular portion 7 of Figure 1;
Figure 7b is a view similar to that of Figure 7a, but
illustrating another coupling for the opposite ends of the
wall portions defining vertical passages;
Figure 7c is a view similar to that of Figure 7a, but
8
CA 02187411 1999-02-03
illustrating another coupling for the opposite ends of the
wall portions defining vertical passages;
Figure 8 is an enlarged circular section view, taken
from the circular portion 8 of Figure 1, illustrating an-
other means to support the stackable modules;
Figure 9 is an enlarged circular section view, taken
from the circular portion 9 of Figure 1, illustrating a
means of releasably holding the tray to the walls defining
at least one substantially vertical passage.
As shown in Figure 1, a rack 10 for receiving objects
delivering liquids and dirts, comprises at least one stack-
able module such as 20, and 30, having a T-shaped cross-
section. Objects that are delivering liquids and dirts are
for instance boots, shoes, rubbers, overshoes, flower pots,
and other containers for gardening and the like.
The stackable module such as 20 or 30, for instance 20,
has: walls, for instance 20a or 30a, as shown in Figures 1
and 2, two longitudinal walls spaced one from the other and
facing one another, and bridging lateral walls, whereby said
longitudinal walls cooperate with said lateral walls to
define at least one substantially vertical passage, for in-
stance 20b or 30b. The walls defining at least one vertical
passage, have opposite ends, for instance 20a' and 20a " , or
30a' and 30a" .
A tray, 20c or 30c, is outwardly projected from one of
9
CA 02187411 1999-02-03
said two longitudinal walls 20a or 30a, between said op-
posite ends of said walls defining at least one vertical
passage, the tray has an inclined bottom 20d or 30d. A
perforated plate 20e or 30e which is substantially horizon-
tal, that is somewhat horizontal, for receiving objects
delivering liquids and dirts, is supported by the tray,
wether mounted within or above the tray 20c and preferably
removably mounted, but over the inclined bottom 20d of the
tray 20c. Mounting may be made in numerous ways: For in-
stance, by providing outwardly projected ribs within the
upper portion of the trays, as shown at 20f and 20g, Figure
2. The perforated plate may be a grid as shown at 30e,
Figure 3 or have various perforations, some of which being
illustrated in plate 20e, Figure 2. The plate may simply
have a U-shaped cross-section, as shown at 120e, Figure 6,
and thereby avoiding ribs for the mounting, the free ends of
the inverted U-shaped plate resting against the outer sides
of the tray. The perforated plate may be a single plate or a
plate segmented into a plurality of plates, and thus the
word plate in the expression: "perforated plate" implies
singular as well as plural throughout the specification
including the claims.
A way is provided to exit liquids and dirts from the
inclined bottom of the tray, through the walls defining the
vertical passage, and within the at least one vertical
CA 02187411 1999-02-03
passage: Conveniently one of the longitudinal walls of the
walls 20a, defining the substantially vertical passage 2ob,
is absent, cut out, perforated, such as at 20j or provided
with a drain, to open in the tray 20c, and particularly
adjacent to the inclined bottom 20d of the tray 20c, and
similarly 30j for tray 30c.
The tray with the at least one vertical passage, de-
fines the substantially T-shaped cross-section of a module.
The walls such as 20a defining the at least one verti-
cal passage, defines a coupling at at least one of the op-
posite ends of the vertical passage, for said at least one
of the opposite ends of the vertical passage, to enable
coupling with another similar vertical passage of another
module, and thereby the modules being stackable:
For instance, one coupling is by outwardly reducing the
walls defining the vertical passage, at one of the opposite
ends, as shown at 20a ", or 30a ", for entering into another
similar vertical passage of another module, at said other of
the opposite ends of the vertical passage of said another
module, as shown at 30a' or 40a', for coupling two of the
vertical passages and the walls defining those passages, and
thereby the modules such as 20 and 30 being stackable, with
a male-female coupling.
Thus, the walls defining said vertical passage of a
11
CA 02187411 1999-02-03
stackable module are solely responsible for supporting the
trays, and for directing liquids and dirts away from the
trays of the stackable modules to the vertical passage of
another module, these modules being stackable.
In a preferred embodiment, the vertical passage and the
walls defining them are tightly fit as to be releasably held
by friction engagement. However, in another preferred em-
bodiment, as shown in Figures 1 and 4, the opposite ends of
the vertical passage are provided with means to releasably
hold said vertical passage of one of said stackable module
to a vertical passage of another stackable module, for
temporary coupling, or relessably holding the vertical pas-
sage of two of said stackable modules: For instance, the
walls or one of the walls being reduced or tapered at one of
the opposite ends are provided with at least one outwardly
biassing tongue, such as 20k, and 201 (Figure 2),
and at the other opposite end, said walls are provided
with a complementary slot such as 30m for 20k, or as shown
at 4om, 40n (Figure 3), for receiving an outwardly biassing
tongue, of another stackable module, and thereby temporary
coupling two stackable modules upon a mere snap-on action of
the vertical passage of two of said stackable modules.
Still instead, as shown in Figure 5 the walls such as
20a, or 30a defining a male-female coupling at one of the
opposite ends is provided with an outwardly projected boss
12
CA 02187411 1999-02-03
or mating projection 20ak, and at the other opposite end,
said walls are provided with a complementary hole or de-
pression 30 am, for receiving an outwardly projected boss,
of another stackable module, and thereby temporary coupling
two stackable modules upon a mere snap-on action of the
vertical passage of two of said stackable modules.
In this way, these racks may be made by extrusion with
a minimum amount of plastic material, since sides are not
required to support the trays. Examples of plastic materials
but not limited thereto include polyethylene, polyvinyl-
chloride, ABS, and other plastic extrudable materials. Thus
the tray of the stackable module are made to be integral
with the walls defining a substantially vertical passage.
Furthermore, these racks enable sun or light radiation
without interference along 3 sides: for instance the two
opposite sides and the front. Furthermore the liquids and
dirts from one module, are prevented from falling over the
perforated plate of a lower module there under, and on
objects delivering liquids and dirts standing on said plate.
Preferably, the walls defining the vertical passage
have the one end short and the other end long, so that the
weight of the tray and its content are supported by the
short end only or the walls defining the vertical passage of
the tray and the walls defining the vertical passages of
other trays thereunder as the case may be.
13
CA 02187411 1999-02-03
In another embodiment, as shown in Figure 7a, the walls
at one of the opposite ends, such as the free end of the
inclined bottom 20d of tray 20 (Figure 1), define an out-
wardly broadening sleeve 120d, that sleeve to slide over and
to tightly fit over, an other end of the walls defining at
least one substantial vertical passage on another module
such as 130 similar to 30, for temporary coupling two verti-
cal passages of two modules upon a mere snap-on action of
the vertical passages. That sleeve 120d is also provided
with a lip 120d' running over the end of the walls 130, in
order to prevent water leakage between the walls 130 and the
sleeve 120d.
That sleeve such as 220d as shown in Figure 7b, may be
provided with a rib 230a at the end of the walls 230 other-
wise similar to 130, and a correspondingly groove arrange-
ment 220d " in the sleeve 220d otherwise similar to 120d,
with lip 220d'.
That sleeve such as 320d as shown in Figure 7c, may be
provided with a sealing O-ring 340 for liquid tight arrange-
ment, with a groove 330a near the end of the walls 330
otherwise similar to 130, and a correspondingly groove
arrangement 3204 " in the sleeve 320d otherwise similar to
120d, with lip 320'.
14
CA 02187411 1999-02-03
Support module
Preferably the stackable module or modules end into a
support module for example 40 having walls 40a defining at
least one vertical passage 40b. The vertical passage has one
end for example 40a' for receiving one of the opposite ends
of the vertical passage of the at least one stackable
module,
and means to collect said liquids and flirts from said
vertical passage of said support module:
The means to collect the liquids and flirts from the
vertical passage of the support module, may simply be a pan
40.
The means to collect the liquids and flirts from the
vertical passage of the support module, may simply be a
perforated floor 80 leading to a sewer, as shown in Figure
8.
Preferably, the support module has:
opposite front and rear ends, two longitudinal walls
adjacent to said rear end, spaced one from the other and
facing one another, and bridging lateral walls across,
whereby said
walls such as 40a defining a substantially vertical
passage such as 40b, near said rear end, said walls having
upper and lower ends,
CA 02187411 1999-02-03
said vertical passage, having opposite ends, such as
40a' and 40a" ,
a tray 40c outwardly projected from said walls 40a,
towards said front end, between the opposite ends of the
longitudinal wall,
said tray having a bottom 40d , and legs 40x and 40y
for seating said support module 40,
and a perforated plate 40e, for receiving objects
delivering liquids and dirts, supported by said tray, over
said bottom of said tray, said plate being substantially
horizontal,
a way to exit said liquids and dirts from said vertical
passage and from said tray of said support module, towards a
collecting means:,
and said walls defining said vertical passage such as
40a', being defined to receive the walls of one of the op-
posite ends of the vertical passage of a stackable module,
such as 20a " or 30a " , for coupling the vertical passage of
said support module 40 to that of a stackable module, such
as 20 or 30,
and thereby the walls defining the vertical passages
being solely responsible for supporting the trays, and for
directing liquids and dirts from the trays of that stackable
modules, to the vertical passage of the support module, to
be sent to a means to collect said liquids and dirts.
16
CA 02187411 1999-02-03
In a particular embodiment the tray 40d which is arched
(Fig. 1), extends under the vertical passage such as 40b,
and is integral with the walls of the vertical passage of
the support module, and the bottom of the tray, such as
40d, is perforated acting as a funnel, in order to deliver
the liquids and dirts to a collecting pan to be positioned
thereunder, or the tray may be bottomless and the liquids
and dirts be running directly into the pan. The tray having
integral therewith the leg 40y. If desired the support
module may be provided with a base 40u and/or sides such as
40v, and 40w joining the legs 40x, 40y. The sides such as
40y being integral with the base 40u and the legs 40x and
40y.
If desired, the uppermost portion of the walls defining
the vertical passage may be provided with a cap 50.
As can be easily seen, the walls defining at least one
substantially vertical passage, may be closed at one end,
for instance instead of a cap 50, a tray may be provided
with a top wall integral with the walls such as 30a'.
Also as shown in Figure 2, instead of a single vertical
passage, a plurality of vertical passages such as 20b',
20b" , 20b" ' , 20b" ", (Figure 2) , may be provided.
The tray may also be provided with ribs, or walls which
may also act to support the perforated plate.
The trays need not be integral with the walls defining
17
CA 02187411 1999-02-03
the at least one vertical passage: For instance, as shown in
Figures 1 and 9, these walls may define a slot such 30s with
adjacent opposite grooves such as 30g' and 30g " , adjacent
to the slot 30s, to receive a tray 30 having free ends 30f'
and 30f " , via the free ends of the tray 30.
While some of the preferred embodiments have been
described herein above, it is to be understood that the
invention is not to be construed as limited to these prefer-
red embodiments, as many modifications and variations are
possible within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.
18
