EP0078176B1

EP0078176B1 - Load support arrangement

Info

Publication number: EP0078176B1
Application number: EP82305676A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Leslie John Chapman
Original assignee: Keith Hancock Structures Ltd
Current assignee: Keith Hancock Structures Ltd
Priority date: 1981-10-26
Filing date: 1982-10-26
Publication date: 1986-05-28
Also published as: ATE19928T1; EP0078176A1; DE3271428D1

Abstract

In a load support arrangement providing a cantilever arm for use in racking or as a shelf or like load support, an upright is provided by a rolled steel "I" beam (1) to the flanges (4 and 5) of which is clamped the cantilever arm (3) provided by two connected U-section steel channels (7 and 8). A firm connection between the cantilever arm (3) and the I beam (1) is provided by two U-shaped members (11 and 12) welded to the steel channels and having V-shaped notches clamped into biting engagement with the flanges (4 and 5) by means of a clamping bolt (20).

Description

This invention relates to a load support arrangement and is particularly, though not exclusively, applicable to shelf storage systems based on a cantilever support.
In the provision of shelving systems for storage, in order to impart flexibility to the system, there are provided upright members to which a cantilever unit is secured so as to be adjustable. With a cantilever system, it is necessary for the cantilever arms to be secured at the support end and the arms have been made adjustable by providing either a finite number of different positions at which the cantilever arms can be fixed or, where completely variable adjustment is required, the fixing has relied upon simple clamping arrangement to hold it in place.
The first system has the disadvantage of only relatively small numbers of adjustment positions while the latter system has the disadvantage of requiring the use of relatively strong clamps to avoid any slipping of the cantilever arm or in requiring set screwlike arrangements, whereby slipping is prevented by the fact that the screw makes a dent into the vertical support.
Even then, the security of the cantilever arm depends upon the tightness of the clamp or screw and the weight of the load which is placed thereon.
In E.P. 0068812 we have proposed an arrangement in which the weight of the load has been used to increase security of the arm and additionally a frictional wedging arrangement for the arm has been incorporated in the system.
While the above construction has proved eminently satisfactory for use in the storage of relatively large and heavy loads, the cost of such an arrangement is only justified where loads to be stored are above a minimum size or weight.
As an alternative to the frictionally locked system referred to above, other cantilever systems are known wherein location of the cantilever arm in position is achieved by means of a permanent deformation of flanges of the upright by elements of the cantilever arm that affect a biting action upon the upright. For example, in FR-E-95 446, there is shown an arrangement comprising an upright having a pair of oppositely extending flanges along its longitudinal length, a pair of elongate elements connected together to form a cantilever arm, means fastened to said elongate elements and providing for each element a pair of spaced V-spaced recesses engageable with a corresponding flange of said upright, and means for advancing said pairs of recesses towards one another to engage the flanges of the upright whilst causing the cantilever arm to take up an approximately horizontal position when assembled.
However, this construction is again required to be of relatively heavy gauge metal, and requires extensive fabrication, including the requirement that faces of weld metal be deposited to provide the biting edges for deforming flanges of the upright. Moreover, although each elongate element of the cantilever arm has two V-shaped recesses, effective biting action is achieved only at one edge of one of the recesses.
Accordingly, the known arrangement referred to does not meet the requirement for a support arrangement which is of high security but is capable of being constructed economically to serve the purpose of storing loads of relatively light weight.
It is accordingly an object of the present invention to provide a racking arrangement involving the cantilever support system, such that the cantilever arms are infinitely adjustable with high security, but are of relatively simple construction and, in particular, capable of being constructed of relatively frghf gauge material, thus providing a lower cost assembly for the storage of lighter weight loads.
In accordance with the invention this object is achieved by a support arrangement of the kind outlined above, which is characterised in that each said pair of V-shaped recesses are formed by notches respectively cut into the edges of two sheet metal portions fastened to each said elongate element in such an alignment that, when assembled to locate the cantilever arm in the said approximately horizontal position, said two sheet metal portions lie in planes which extend substantially at right angles to the longitudinal axes of said flanges of the upright, and edges of said sheet metal portions defining the notches serve to bite into the flanges of the upright.
Preferably, the width of the "V" at the open end of each said recess is larger than the thickness of the flange of said upright and the thickness of the "V" at its other end is less than the thickness of the flange and the said pair of elongate elements are connected, adjacent said sheet metal portions, by means of a nut and bolt arrangement whereby the spacing between the elongate elements can be reduced to advance said "V" shaped recesses into biting engagement with the flanges of the upright.
The invention will now be described in greater detail, by way of example, with reference to the drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of one form of support arrangement in accordance with the invention;
Figure 2 is an enlarged plan view of the arrangement of Figure 1, and
Figure 3 is an enlarged perspective view of the attachment part of the arm.

Referring particularly to Figure 1, there is shown a perspective view of a load arrangement in accordance with the invention. This comprises an "I" section upright 1 which is supported on a base member, which may be a similar "I" beam extending horizontally at the bottom of the beam 1 and not shown here.
A steel cantilever arm 3 is supported on this "I" section upright 1 (suitably a rolled steel beam) by means of the two flanges 4 and 5 which are adjacent to each other and provide guide elements for the cantilever arm 3.
The cantilever arm 3 suitably comprises two arm elements 7 and 8 which, as shown, are of channel form or "U"-shaped in cross-section. These arm elements 7 and 8 are connected together at one end by a nut and bolt arrangement 10.
At the upright end, each arm element 7 or 8 is provided with a pair of U-shaped bracket members 11 and 12, each of which is suitably welded to its associated arm element 7 or 8.
As can be seen particularly from Figure 3, these U-shaped bracket members 11, 12 have a rectangular base portion 14 and two upstanding substantially triangular members 15 and 16. The centre or apex portions of these triangles have a V-shaped recess 18 therein into each of which a flange 4 or 5 is to seat (Figure 2). The two arm elements 7 and 8 are connected together at their upright end by means of a nut and bolt arrangement 20.
As can be seen from Figure 2, the dimensions of the V-shaped recesses 18 are such that they have wider mouths than the width of the appropriate flange 4 or 5 but they narrow as they proceed inwardly to a dimension in which they are narrower than the width of the flange 4 or 5. Thus, when the opposing pairs of brackets 11 and 12 are brought together around the flanges 4 and 5 of the I beam, the sides of each V-shaped recesses 18 will bite into a flange 4 or 5 and thus secure the arm 3 in place. Additionally to this gripping feature, due to the fact that there are two V-shaped recesses in each bracket, spaced apart vertically of the upright, the weight of the cantilever arm 3 any any load which is placed thereon will cause a skewing of the. brackets 11 and 12 so that engagement of the back slope of the V of the upper V slot 18 and the front slope of the lower V-shaped slots 18 with the flanges 4 and 5 will be increased, thus providing initial location of the cantilever arm 3 as will be described hereafter. The operation of assembling a cantilever arm to an upright will now be described:

With the upright 1 located in the correct position, the nut and bolt arrangement 20 is removed from the arm and the nut and bolt 10 is located to allow the necessary parting of the arms 7 and 8. These arms are then pushed around the I beam so that the flanges 4 and 5 are seated in the V-shaped grooves 18. With the arrangement held in position in this way, the nut and bolt arrangement 20 is threaded through the appropriate apertures in the arms 7 and 8 (and the brackets 11 and 12) and is finger tightened to initially hold the arms 7 and 8 against upright 1. At this time, the nut and bolt arrangement 10 may also be tightened. With the arrangement in this position, the arm 3 may be moved up and down the upright 1 for final adjustment to the correct position. When it has arrived in its correct position, the arm 3 will be located here by the action of the weight of the arm acting to skew the brackets 11 and 12 as described above. All that then remains is to tighten up the nut and bolt 20 thoroughly so as to force the flanges 4 and 5 hard into the grooves 18, the sides of the grooves 18 biting into the ends of the flanges 4 and 5 and providing a lock for the cantilever arm of high security. The nut and bolt arrangement 10 can be tightened at this time if it has not been carried out previously.

It will be appreciated that various modifications may be made to the above described embodiment, without departing from the scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims. For example, while a V-shaped slot has been proposed, it is not essential that the base of the V be pointed providing that suitable slanting of the sides is achieved. In certain circumstances, this slanting of the sides could be used even with a curve rather than straight edge to the "V".
While the brackets have been indicated as being welded to the arm elements, they may of course be fixed by other means such as nuts and bolts or rivets. The sloping sides of the brackets 11 and 12 adjacent to the "V"-shape slot 18 are not essential and could be replaced by straight edges parallel to the elements 7 and 8. Alternatively other configurations can be used to provide the V-shaped slot in the appropriate position. It will of course be appreciated that the invention is not limited to use with an "I" beam upright, the only requirement being that the upright has suitable parallel flanges extending on opposite sides thereof. Thus, for example, a "T" shaped beam could be used. The arm elements 7 and 8, while shown of U-shaped construction, could be of any other suitable form desired, for example "L"- shaped or tubular. The securing of the elements 7 and 8 at their free ends could be achieved, instead of by means of the nut and bolt 10, by means of a hinge arrangement so that assembly of the beam on the upright is somewhat simplified. Although the construction, is described as being of steel, any other suitable material could be used. It should be particularly noted, in connection with the specifically described embodiment, that the U-shaped members 11 and 12 are made of a material that is relatively thin in relation to the thickness of the flanges 4 and 5 of the "I" beam, and that is also harder than the material of the "I" beam in order to enable the appropriate biting action to take place.
It will be noted that while it is the intention to provide a substantially horizontal cantilever arm, it is usual to provide an upward inclination of the arm so that it becomes horizontal under load. If the arm then drops below the horizontal, the arm is overloaded.

Claims

1. A support arrangement comprising an upright (1) having a pair of oppositely extending flanges (4, 5) along its longitudinal length, a pair of elongate elements (7, 8) connected together to form a cantilever arm, means (11, 12) fastened to said elongate elements (7, 8) and providing for each element a pair of spaced V-shaped recesses (18) engageable with a corresponding flange of said upright (4, 5), and means (20) for advancing said pairs of recesses (18) towards one another to engage the flanges (4, 5) of the upright (1) whilst causing the cantilever arm (7, 8) to take up an approximately horizontal position when assembled; characterised in that each said pair of V-shaped recesses (18) are formed by notches (18) respectively cut into the edges of two sheet metal portions (15, 16) fastened to each said elongate element (7, 8) in such an alignment that, when assembled to locate the cantilever arm (7, 8) in the said approximately horizontal position, said two sheet metal portions lie in planes which extend substantially at right angles to the longitudinal axes of said flanges (4, 5) of the upright (1), and edges of said sheet metal portions defining the notches serve to bite into the flanges of the upright.

2. A support arrangement as claimed in Claim 1, characterised in that the width of the "V" at the open end of each said recess (18) is larger than the thickness of the flange (4, 5) of said upright (1) and that the thickness of the "V" at its other end is less than the thickness of the flange (4, 5), and that the said pair of elongate elements (7, 8) are connected, adjacent said sheet metal portions (15, 16), by means of a nut and bolt arrangement (20) whereby the spacing between the elongate elements (7, 8) can be reduced to advance said "V" shaped recesses (18) into biting engagement with the flanges (4, 5) of the upright (1).