Patent Application
20110220604
The present invention generally relates to a collapsible rack, and more particularly to a collapsible rack that can be expanded for use and selectively collapsed into a stacked flat configuration for ease of transportation and storage.
A rack for receiving articles to be stored or positioned thereon is often made of wood or plastics and is constructed with a plurality of properly secured frames and shelves mounted to the frames to receive articles to be positioned thereon. The conventional rack is of a fixed structure where the frames and the shelves are fixedly mounted together, making it difficult to transport, for the transportation of the conventional rack is an effort consuming job, which often require assistance from other persons. Further, when not in use, the conventional rack takes a great amount of space and since its size is fixed and cannot be reduced, storage of the conventional rack requires quite an amount of space. In view of these problems, the present invention aims to provide a collapsible rack that overcomes such drawbacks.
The primary objective of the present invention is to provide a structure of collapsible rack, which is expandable to receive and hold articles positioned thereon and is selectively collapsed into a stacked flat configuration to facility transportation and storage by reducing the amount of space occupied thereby.
According to the present invention, a collapsible rack comprises symmetrically arranged support frames, each of which is composed of a plurality of vertical bars and a plurality of horizontal bars, and top and bottom frames connected between the support frames in a movable manner. Each of the top and bottom frames is composed of movable left and right boards that are connected to each other. The left and right boards have front and rear faces that define recessed channels and a plurality of spaced fitting holes is defined in the channels. A plurality of straight bars is provided, each forming a plurality of pegs. The top and bottom frames are of movability to allow the top and bottom frames to be collapsed downward and upward to a stacked flat configuration when the rack is not in use, so as to facilitate storage and transportation. When the rack is to be used, the top and bottom frames are expanded and the straight bars are set to have the pegs fit in the fitting holes defined in the left and right boards to fix the top and bottom frames in the expanded position, so that the top and bottom frames can receive and support articles positioned thereon.
In the rack so formed as discussed above, connectors are set to connect between the top and bottom frames and the support frames and between the left and right boards of the top and bottom frames in a movable manner. The connectors comprise hinges or other openable/closable connection devices.
The foregoing objectives and summary provide only a brief introduction to the present invention. To fully appreciate these and other objects of the present invention as well as the invention itself, all of which will become apparent to those skilled in the art, the following detailed description of the invention and the claims should be read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. Throughout the specification and drawings identical reference numerals refer to identical or similar parts.
Many other advantages and features of the present invention will become manifest to those versed in the art upon making reference to the detailed description and the accompanying sheets of drawings in which a preferred structural embodiment incorporating the principles of the present invention is shown by way of illustrative example.
The following descriptions are exemplary embodiments only, and are not intended to limit the scope, applicability or configuration of the invention in any way. Rather, the following description provides a convenient illustration for implementing exemplary embodiments of the invention. Various changes to the described embodiments may be made in the function and arrangement of the elements described without departing from the scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims.
Referring to
Front and rear faces of the left and right boards 21, 22 of the top and bottom frames 2 respectively form recessed channels 211, 221, and in each of the channels 211, 221, a plurality of spaced fitting holes 212, 222 is defined.
A plurality of straight bars 4 is provided, each having a length substantially corresponding to the total length of the channels 211, 221 formed in the front and rear faces of the left and right boards 21, 22 of each top or bottom frame 2. Each straight bar 4 forms a plurality of pegs 41 corresponding to the fitting holes 212, 222.
A rack can be formed by assembling the above discussed components together, wherein the movability of the top and bottom frames 2 allows the top and bottom frames 2 to be collapsed downward and upward to a stacked flat configuration when the rack is not in use, so as to facilitate storage and transportation. When the rack is to be used, the top and bottom frames 2 are expanded and the straight bars 4 are at least partially set into the channels 211, 221 with the pegs 41 fit in the fitting holes 212, 222 defined in the left and right boards 21, 22 to fix the top and bottom frames 2 in the expanded position, whereby the top and bottom frames 2 may receive and support articles positioned thereon. Or alternatively, the retention bars 13 may receive and support flat boards 14 positioned thereon to constitute a plurality of vertically spaced shelves for supporting articles thereon.
Referring to
Referring to
The side frames 7, of which the number is two in the embodiment illustrated, are each composed of left and right sub-frames 71, 72, which are connected to each other in a movable manner. The left and right sub-frames 71, 72 are connected to each other by connectors 8 to form a movable configuration. The left and right sub-frames 71, 72 have inside surfaces to which horizontally extending elongate ribs 711, 721 are mounted.
A plurality of flat boards 9 is provided but only one is visible in the drawings. Each of the flat boards 9 has a bottom to which elongate ribs 91 are mounted close to opposite side edges thereof. Also, pegs 92 are provided on the bottom along front and rear edge of the flat board 9 to correspond to the fitting holes 521, 621 that are defined in the horizontal bars 52, 62 of the front and rear frames 5, 6.
A rack is formed by assembling the above discussed components together, wherein the movability of the front and rear frames 5, 6 and the side frames 7 allows the rack to be collapsed into a stacked flat configuration, when the rack is not in use, so as to facilitate storage and transportation of the rack. When the rack is to be used, the front and rear frames 5, 6 and the side frames 7 are expanded and the flat boards 9 are set to have the pegs 92 fit into the fitting holes 521, 621 of the horizontal bars 52, 62 so that he flat boards 9 are securely fixed on the horizontal bars 52, 62 with the elongate ribs 711, 721 mounted to the inside surfaces of the left and right sub-frames 71, 72 serving as stops to hold the boards 9 in position whereby the flat boards 9 may stably receive articles to be positioned thereon and supported thereby.
While certain novel features of this invention have been shown and described and are pointed out in the annexed claim, it is not intended to be limited to the details above, since it will be understood that various omissions, modifications, substitutions and changes in the forms and details of the device illustrated and in its operation can be made by those skilled in the art without departing in any way from the spirit of the present invention.
