Patent Application
20060108306
This invention pertains to a storage rack of a type comprising a front beam, a back beam, and a roller track, which comprises two side rails and a series of rollers journalled between the side rails.
Commonly, in a storage rack of the type noted above, the front beam has a recess, which opens upwardly and backwardly and which defines an upwardly facing ledge of the front beam, and the back beam has a recess, which opens upwardly and frontwardly and which defines an upwardly facing ledge of the back beam. Commonly, moreover, the roller track comprises two side rails, each of which has a front end and a back end, and the roller track further comprises a series of rollers, each of which is journalled between the side rails.
As exemplified in U.S. Pat. No. 6,102,185, in a storage rack of the type noted above, the side rails are contoured to fit recesses defined by the front and back beams. As exemplified in U.S. Pat. No. 6,431,808 B1, in a storage rack of the type noted above, the roller track is mounted to the front and back beams via hooks, which are hooked over the front and back beams.
As exemplified in U.S. Pat. No. 6,641,352 B2, in a storage rack of the type noted above, the roller track is mounted to each of the front and back beams via a mounting support, which defines a so-called “multi-positional slot well” receiving a cross bolt in a selected one of several discrete positions.
Broadly, as contemplated by this invention, the roller track further comprises a front bracket and a back bracket. The front bracket, which is attached to the front end of one of the side rails, defines a flange, which projects frontwardly and is adapted to rest on the upwardly facing ledge of the front beam. The back bracket, which is attached to the back end of one of the side rails, defines a flange, which projects frontwardly and is adapted to rest on the upwardly facing ledge of the back beam. Preferably, the front bracket is one of two front brackets, each of which is attached to an associated one of the side rails, and the back bracket is one of two back brackets, each of which is attached to an associated one of the side rails.
Preferably, each bracket is attached to a given end of an associated one of the side rails so as to be continuously adjustable within a limited range of spacings of the flange of said bracket from the given end of the associated one of the side rails. Preferably, each bracket is attached thereto via bolts passing through holes in the associated one of the side rails and passing through elongate slots in said bracket, so as to be continuously adjustable within a limited range of spacings of the flange of said bracket from the given end of the associated one of the side rails. Preferably, for each bracket, two bolts are used, each of which passes through one of a pair of said holes in the associated one of the side rails and through one of a pair of said slots in said bracket.
As illustrated, a storage rack 10 of the type noted above comprises a front beam 20, a back beam 30, and a roller track 40. Except for their orientations, the front beam 20 and the back beam 30 are similar to each other and to the front and back beams of the storage rack illustrated and described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,431,808 B1, supra.
Thus, the front beam 20 is formed so as to have a recess 22, which opens upwardly and backwardly and which defines an upwardly facing, generally horizontal ledge 24. Also, the back beam 30 is formed so as to have a recess 32, which opens upwardly and backwardly and which defines an upwardly facing, generally horizontal ledge 34.
The roller track 40 comprises two side rails 42, each of which has a front end 44 and a back end 46. The roller track 40 further comprises a series of rollers 50, each of which is journalled between the side rails 40. Except as illustrated and described herein, the roller track 40 is similar to the roller track of the storage rack illustrated and described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,431,808 B1, supra.
As contemplated by this invention, the storage rack 10 comprises two front brackets 60 and two back brackets 70. Each front bracket 60 is attached to the front end 44 of an associated one of the side rails 40. Each back bracket 70 is attached to the back end 46 of an associated one of the side rails 42. The front brackets 60 are opposite-handed but otherwise similar to each other. The back brackets 70 are opposite-handed but otherwise similar to each other. Each front bracket 60 is similar to one but not both of the back brackets 70 and vice-versa.
Each front bracket 60 has a side plate 62, which fits alongside an outer surface of an associated rail 42, near its front end 44, a front plate 64, which is turned inwardly from a front edge of the side plate 62, and a flange 66, which projects frontwardly from an upper edge of the front plate 64 and which is adapted to rest on the upwardly facing ledge 24 of the front beam 20. Each back bracket 70 has a side plate 72, which fits alongside an outer surface of an associated rail 42, near its back end 46, a back plate 74, which is turned inwardly from a back edge of the side plate 72, and a flange 76, which projects frontwardly from an upper edge of the back plate 74 and which is adapted to rest on the upwardly facing ledge 34 of the back beam 30.
As exemplified by the back bracket 70 illustrated in
Thus, each bracket 60, 70, can be separately and continuously adjusted within a limited range of spacings of the flange 66, 76, of said bracket 60, 70, from the nearer end 42, 44, of the associated rail 42, whereby to accommodate a similar range of spacings between the beams 20, 30, of the storage rack 10. The limited range is defined by the elongate slots 88 in the side plate 62, 72, of said bracket 60, 70.
