CA2055214C - Support rail - Google Patents
Support railInfo
- Publication number
- CA2055214C CA2055214C CA002055214A CA2055214A CA2055214C CA 2055214 C CA2055214 C CA 2055214C CA 002055214 A CA002055214 A CA 002055214A CA 2055214 A CA2055214 A CA 2055214A CA 2055214 C CA2055214 C CA 2055214C
- Authority
- CA
- Canada
- Prior art keywords
- support
- tray
- support rail
- rail
- divider member
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Expired - Fee Related
Links
Classifications
-
- A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
- A01—AGRICULTURE; FORESTRY; ANIMAL HUSBANDRY; HUNTING; TRAPPING; FISHING
- A01G—HORTICULTURE; CULTIVATION OF VEGETABLES, FLOWERS, RICE, FRUIT, VINES, HOPS OR SEAWEED; FORESTRY; WATERING
- A01G9/00—Cultivation in receptacles, forcing-frames or greenhouses; Edging for beds, lawn or the like
- A01G9/14—Greenhouses
- A01G9/1423—Greenhouse bench structures
-
- Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
- Y02—TECHNOLOGIES OR APPLICATIONS FOR MITIGATION OR ADAPTATION AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE
- Y02A—TECHNOLOGIES FOR ADAPTATION TO CLIMATE CHANGE
- Y02A40/00—Adaptation technologies in agriculture, forestry, livestock or agroalimentary production
- Y02A40/10—Adaptation technologies in agriculture, forestry, livestock or agroalimentary production in agriculture
- Y02A40/25—Greenhouse technology, e.g. cooling systems therefor
Landscapes
- Life Sciences & Earth Sciences (AREA)
- Environmental Sciences (AREA)
- Drawers Of Furniture (AREA)
- Mutual Connection Of Rods And Tubes (AREA)
- Accommodation For Nursing Or Treatment Tables (AREA)
- Cultivation Receptacles Or Flower-Pots, Or Pots For Seedlings (AREA)
Abstract
ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE
A support rail has a vertically disposed horizontally extending divider member from which a pair of tray support members extend. The top side of each tray support member defines a downwardly inclined tray supporting surface. At least one downwardly opening fastener receiving channel extends from the underside of the tray support members. A guide surface extends along the support rail at the juncture of each tray support member and the divider member.
A support rail has a vertically disposed horizontally extending divider member from which a pair of tray support members extend. The top side of each tray support member defines a downwardly inclined tray supporting surface. At least one downwardly opening fastener receiving channel extends from the underside of the tray support members. A guide surface extends along the support rail at the juncture of each tray support member and the divider member.
Description
20~214 RBP File No. 847-005 Title: Support Rail FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention generally relates to support rails such as used for supporting planting trays in greenhouses.
BACRGROUND OF THE INVENTION
One method of germinating seeds and initially growing seedlings utilizes generally rectangular planting trays having a large number of closely spaced depressions.
Each of the depressions is filled with a seeded soil plug and the planting trays are nurtured in a greenhouse until sprouted plants are formed and reach a certain level of maturity.
Typical seedling trays include openings in the bottom of the depressions for drainage and exposure to air. Furthermore, as the seedlings grow, the roots generally extend through the openings and beyond the tray.
In view of the openings in the tray, it is desirable to support the tray above any underlying surface to permit good air circulation, drainage and uninhibited root growth. One manner in which this may be accomplished is to support opposite edges of the planting tray on support rails to leave the underside of the support tray generally unobstructed.
A particularly useful rail is disclosed in United States Patent No. 4,434,576 which issued in March 6, 1984 to Owen Sowerwine. This previous support rail has a generally inverted Y shaped cross section. In use a planting tray is supported between two such rails, the upstanding portion of the Y shaped member separates ad~acent rows of trays and an outer edge of the tray is supported on the sloped portion of the Y.
There are two problems associated with this prior device. The first problem is that it does not include any affixing means and therefore requires nails to 205521~
be driven through the device to secure it. The nailheads may interfere with the sliding of trays along the device.
Furthermore, unless holes are drilled through the rail for mounting purposes, attempting to drive a nail through the rail may distort the rail.
The second problem with the prior support rail arises when planting trays are used that have an outwardly projecting lip along their upper edge for grasping and carrying purposes. As the prior rail has no provision for maintaining the side of the planting tray in a spaced apart relationship with the upstanding member, the lips of such trays may get caught up on the top of the upstanding member as the trays are placed on, or slid along the rails.
SUMNARY OF TH~ INVENTION
A support rail comprising:
a generally vertically disposed, horizontally extending divider member;
a pair of tray support members, each of said pair of tray support members extending along and from an opposite side of said divider member;
each said tray support member having a tray supporting surface on a top side thereof, said supporting surface being inclined downwardly from the horizontal;
25at least one downwardly opening fastener receiving channel extending downwardly from said tray support members; and, a guide surface extending along said support rail at the juncture of each said tray support member and said divider member.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Preferred embodiments of the invention are described below with reference to the attached drawings in which:
35Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a prior art device;
Fig. 2 is a plan view showing the use of the device;
Fig. 3 is a perspective view showing the mounting of a support rail according to the present invention;
Fig. 4 is a section on line 4-4 of Fig. 3; and, Fig. 5 shows a cross section through an alternate embodiment of a support rail according to the present invention.
DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODINENTS
Fig. 1 illustrates a prior support rail 10. The support rail 10 has a generally inverted Y shaped cross section having an upstanding portion 12 and sloped portions 14. A planting tray 16 is supported on one of the sloped portions 14 at an edge 18.
As can be seen in Fig. 1, the prior support rail 10 has no provision for receiving fasteners to secure the rail to an underlying member and also has no means to maintain a spaced apart relationship between the upstanding portion 12 and the planting tray 16.
Fig. 2 shows a typical support rail layout in which a number of parallel support rails 10 are mounted on rail supporting channels 20. The rail supporting channels 20 are further supported on support columns 22. Fig. 3 shows the relationship between a support rail 30 according to the present invention, a rail support channel 20 and a support column 22 in more detail.
Fig. 4 shows a cross section through a support rail 30 according to the present invention. The support rail 30 has a vertically disposed horizontally extending divider member 32. Tray support members 34 extend outwardly and downwardly from the bottom of the divider member 32. The top side of each of the tray support members 34 defines a tray supporting surface 36. The tray supporting surfaces 36 are inclined downwardly from the horizontal. The downward incline of the tray support members 34 enables them to support a planting tray 16 along a lower edge 18. This provides clearance between : ~, _ 4 _ ~~
the bottom of an innermost depression 19 of the planting tray 16 and the adjacent support surface 36.
Downwardly opening fastener receiving channels 38 extend downwardly from the underside 40 of the support members 38. The breadth of the fastener supporting channels 38 would typically be selected to accommodate a self tapping screw, such as shown at 42, of a suitable size.
In the embodiment illustrated in Fig. 4, the tray support members 34 have downwardly depending outer edges 44 having respective inner faces 46. Corresponding webs 48 extend downwardly from the supporting members 36 and run along and generally parallel to the edges 44.
Accordingly, the fastener receiving channels in the Fig.
4 embodiment are defined between the inner faces 46 of the edges 44 and the webs 48.
Other fastener receiving channel configurations than shown in Fig. 4 may be utilized. For example, Fig.
5 shows an alternate embodiment at 30a having a single centrally located fastener receiving channel 38a formed between a pair of webs 48a which depend from the underside of the tray support members 34a.
The rail 30 further includes a guide surface 50 which is defined by a broadened portion at the juncture of the divider member 32 and the tray support members 34.
Each of the guide surfaces 50 includes a generally vertically disposed outer face 52 which is joined to the divider member 32 by a tapered portion 54.
In use, when a tray is lowered onto the support rail 30, the edge 18 of the tray encounters the tapered portion 54 of the guide surface which urges the edge 18 away from the divider 32. When the edge 18 passes the tapered portion 54 and encounters the outer face 52 of the guide surface 50, the edge 18 slides down the outer face 52 to rest on the tray support surface 36. The guide surface 50 acts to keep the tray 16 in a spaced apart relationship with the divider member 32. In this manner, ~0~214 if the tray 16 has an outwardly extending lip, such as shown at 21, the possibility of interference between the lip 21 and the top of the divider 32 is minimized.
Furthermore, if the height of the tray is such that the lip 21 extends above the top of the divider member 32, the respective guide surfaces 50 will minimize the possibility of interference between opposed lips 21 on opposite sides of the divider member 32.
The amount of incline of the support surfaces 36 from the horizontal would be selected to provide adequate clearance between the bottom of the tray 16 and the tray supporting surface 36 while avoiding the tendency of the trays 16 to wedge between corresponding tray support members 34. The amount by which the support surfaces 36 incline from the horizontal would typically be in the range from 15 to 45 as shown at 56.
Support rails having configurations as i illustrated in Figs. 4 and 5 may be formed by extrusion from aluminum or other suitably strong extrudable materials.
The above description is intended in an illustrative rather than a restrictive sense. Variations to the specific embodiments described may be apparent to those skilled in the relevant arts without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention ~s defined in the claims set out below.
This invention generally relates to support rails such as used for supporting planting trays in greenhouses.
BACRGROUND OF THE INVENTION
One method of germinating seeds and initially growing seedlings utilizes generally rectangular planting trays having a large number of closely spaced depressions.
Each of the depressions is filled with a seeded soil plug and the planting trays are nurtured in a greenhouse until sprouted plants are formed and reach a certain level of maturity.
Typical seedling trays include openings in the bottom of the depressions for drainage and exposure to air. Furthermore, as the seedlings grow, the roots generally extend through the openings and beyond the tray.
In view of the openings in the tray, it is desirable to support the tray above any underlying surface to permit good air circulation, drainage and uninhibited root growth. One manner in which this may be accomplished is to support opposite edges of the planting tray on support rails to leave the underside of the support tray generally unobstructed.
A particularly useful rail is disclosed in United States Patent No. 4,434,576 which issued in March 6, 1984 to Owen Sowerwine. This previous support rail has a generally inverted Y shaped cross section. In use a planting tray is supported between two such rails, the upstanding portion of the Y shaped member separates ad~acent rows of trays and an outer edge of the tray is supported on the sloped portion of the Y.
There are two problems associated with this prior device. The first problem is that it does not include any affixing means and therefore requires nails to 205521~
be driven through the device to secure it. The nailheads may interfere with the sliding of trays along the device.
Furthermore, unless holes are drilled through the rail for mounting purposes, attempting to drive a nail through the rail may distort the rail.
The second problem with the prior support rail arises when planting trays are used that have an outwardly projecting lip along their upper edge for grasping and carrying purposes. As the prior rail has no provision for maintaining the side of the planting tray in a spaced apart relationship with the upstanding member, the lips of such trays may get caught up on the top of the upstanding member as the trays are placed on, or slid along the rails.
SUMNARY OF TH~ INVENTION
A support rail comprising:
a generally vertically disposed, horizontally extending divider member;
a pair of tray support members, each of said pair of tray support members extending along and from an opposite side of said divider member;
each said tray support member having a tray supporting surface on a top side thereof, said supporting surface being inclined downwardly from the horizontal;
25at least one downwardly opening fastener receiving channel extending downwardly from said tray support members; and, a guide surface extending along said support rail at the juncture of each said tray support member and said divider member.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Preferred embodiments of the invention are described below with reference to the attached drawings in which:
35Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a prior art device;
Fig. 2 is a plan view showing the use of the device;
Fig. 3 is a perspective view showing the mounting of a support rail according to the present invention;
Fig. 4 is a section on line 4-4 of Fig. 3; and, Fig. 5 shows a cross section through an alternate embodiment of a support rail according to the present invention.
DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODINENTS
Fig. 1 illustrates a prior support rail 10. The support rail 10 has a generally inverted Y shaped cross section having an upstanding portion 12 and sloped portions 14. A planting tray 16 is supported on one of the sloped portions 14 at an edge 18.
As can be seen in Fig. 1, the prior support rail 10 has no provision for receiving fasteners to secure the rail to an underlying member and also has no means to maintain a spaced apart relationship between the upstanding portion 12 and the planting tray 16.
Fig. 2 shows a typical support rail layout in which a number of parallel support rails 10 are mounted on rail supporting channels 20. The rail supporting channels 20 are further supported on support columns 22. Fig. 3 shows the relationship between a support rail 30 according to the present invention, a rail support channel 20 and a support column 22 in more detail.
Fig. 4 shows a cross section through a support rail 30 according to the present invention. The support rail 30 has a vertically disposed horizontally extending divider member 32. Tray support members 34 extend outwardly and downwardly from the bottom of the divider member 32. The top side of each of the tray support members 34 defines a tray supporting surface 36. The tray supporting surfaces 36 are inclined downwardly from the horizontal. The downward incline of the tray support members 34 enables them to support a planting tray 16 along a lower edge 18. This provides clearance between : ~, _ 4 _ ~~
the bottom of an innermost depression 19 of the planting tray 16 and the adjacent support surface 36.
Downwardly opening fastener receiving channels 38 extend downwardly from the underside 40 of the support members 38. The breadth of the fastener supporting channels 38 would typically be selected to accommodate a self tapping screw, such as shown at 42, of a suitable size.
In the embodiment illustrated in Fig. 4, the tray support members 34 have downwardly depending outer edges 44 having respective inner faces 46. Corresponding webs 48 extend downwardly from the supporting members 36 and run along and generally parallel to the edges 44.
Accordingly, the fastener receiving channels in the Fig.
4 embodiment are defined between the inner faces 46 of the edges 44 and the webs 48.
Other fastener receiving channel configurations than shown in Fig. 4 may be utilized. For example, Fig.
5 shows an alternate embodiment at 30a having a single centrally located fastener receiving channel 38a formed between a pair of webs 48a which depend from the underside of the tray support members 34a.
The rail 30 further includes a guide surface 50 which is defined by a broadened portion at the juncture of the divider member 32 and the tray support members 34.
Each of the guide surfaces 50 includes a generally vertically disposed outer face 52 which is joined to the divider member 32 by a tapered portion 54.
In use, when a tray is lowered onto the support rail 30, the edge 18 of the tray encounters the tapered portion 54 of the guide surface which urges the edge 18 away from the divider 32. When the edge 18 passes the tapered portion 54 and encounters the outer face 52 of the guide surface 50, the edge 18 slides down the outer face 52 to rest on the tray support surface 36. The guide surface 50 acts to keep the tray 16 in a spaced apart relationship with the divider member 32. In this manner, ~0~214 if the tray 16 has an outwardly extending lip, such as shown at 21, the possibility of interference between the lip 21 and the top of the divider 32 is minimized.
Furthermore, if the height of the tray is such that the lip 21 extends above the top of the divider member 32, the respective guide surfaces 50 will minimize the possibility of interference between opposed lips 21 on opposite sides of the divider member 32.
The amount of incline of the support surfaces 36 from the horizontal would be selected to provide adequate clearance between the bottom of the tray 16 and the tray supporting surface 36 while avoiding the tendency of the trays 16 to wedge between corresponding tray support members 34. The amount by which the support surfaces 36 incline from the horizontal would typically be in the range from 15 to 45 as shown at 56.
Support rails having configurations as i illustrated in Figs. 4 and 5 may be formed by extrusion from aluminum or other suitably strong extrudable materials.
The above description is intended in an illustrative rather than a restrictive sense. Variations to the specific embodiments described may be apparent to those skilled in the relevant arts without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention ~s defined in the claims set out below.
Claims (8)
1. A support rail comprising:
a generally vertically disposed, horizontally extending divider member;
a pair of tray support members, each of said pair of tray support members extending along and from an opposite side of said divider member;
each said tray support member having a tray supporting surface on a top side thereof, said supporting surface being inclined downwardly from the horizontal;
at least one downwardly opening fastener receiving channel extending downwardly from said tray support members; and, a guide surface extending along said support rail at the juncture of each said tray support member and said divider member.
a generally vertically disposed, horizontally extending divider member;
a pair of tray support members, each of said pair of tray support members extending along and from an opposite side of said divider member;
each said tray support member having a tray supporting surface on a top side thereof, said supporting surface being inclined downwardly from the horizontal;
at least one downwardly opening fastener receiving channel extending downwardly from said tray support members; and, a guide surface extending along said support rail at the juncture of each said tray support member and said divider member.
2. A support rail as claimed in claim 1 wherein said support members have downwardly extending generally vertically disposed outer edges extending therealong;
3. A support rail as claimed in claim 2 having a pair of said fastener receiving channels, each of said fastener receiving channels being defined between an inner face of a corresponding one of said outer edges and a respective web extending downwardly from the corresponding tray support members and extending along and generally parallel to said edge.
4. A support rail as claimed in claim 1, 2 or 3 wherein each said guide surface has a respective generally vertically disposed outer face joined to said divider member by a tapered portion.
5. A support rail as claimed in claim 1, 2 or 3 which has been formed by extrusion.
6. A support rail as claimed in claim 1, 2 or 3 wherein each said guide surface has a respective generally vertically disposed outer face joined to said divider member by respective tapered portion and wherein said rail has been formed by extrusion.
7. A support rail as claimed in claim 1, 2 or 3 wherein said support surfaces incline from the horizontal by an angle of from 15° to 45°.
8. A support rail as claimed in claim 1, 2 or 3 wherein each said guide surface has a respective generally vertically disposed outer face joined to said divider member by a tapered portion and wherein said support surfaces incline from the horizontal by an angle of from 15° to 45°.
Priority Applications (1)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA002055214A CA2055214C (en) | 1991-11-08 | 1991-11-08 | Support rail |
Applications Claiming Priority (1)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA002055214A CA2055214C (en) | 1991-11-08 | 1991-11-08 | Support rail |
Publications (2)
| Publication Number | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| CA2055214A1 CA2055214A1 (en) | 1992-12-18 |
| CA2055214C true CA2055214C (en) | 1994-04-26 |
Family
ID=4148729
Family Applications (1)
| Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA002055214A Expired - Fee Related CA2055214C (en) | 1991-11-08 | 1991-11-08 | Support rail |
Country Status (1)
| Country | Link |
|---|---|
| CA (1) | CA2055214C (en) |
Cited By (1)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NL2001570C2 (en) * | 2008-05-09 | 2009-11-11 | Totaal Techniek Frans Van Zaal | Method for constructing a culture and / or transport table, and culture and / or transport table. |
-
1991
- 1991-11-08 CA CA002055214A patent/CA2055214C/en not_active Expired - Fee Related
Cited By (2)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NL2001570C2 (en) * | 2008-05-09 | 2009-11-11 | Totaal Techniek Frans Van Zaal | Method for constructing a culture and / or transport table, and culture and / or transport table. |
| WO2009136790A1 (en) * | 2008-05-09 | 2009-11-12 | Totaal Techniek Frans Van Zaal B.V. | Method of constructing a cultivation and/or transport table, and cultivation and/or transport table |
Also Published As
| Publication number | Publication date |
|---|---|
| CA2055214A1 (en) | 1992-12-18 |
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Legal Events
| Date | Code | Title | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| EEER | Examination request | ||
| MKLA | Lapsed |