GB2045600A - Storage shelf for cellars and small garages - Google Patents

Abstract

A storage shelf, which can be fitted close to the ceiling of a cellar or a small garage for one or two private cars, comprises two beams (1) secured by means of brackets (18) to opposite walls, and support boards (5) extending from the one beam to the other, the support boards being rendered accessible by virtue of being displaceable transversely of their length along the beams. For this purpose, the boards may have side edges, rollers or wheels which engage track portions of the rails. The beams may each consist of two parts (3, 4) which can be pushed telescopically into each other in the longitudinal direction. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Storage shelf for cellars and small garages The invention relates to a storage shelf for fitting close to the ceiling of a cellar or of a small garage for one or two private cars as associated with, in particular, one-and-two family dwellings, which shelf consists of at least two beams, which can be secured by means of brackets between opposite walls and at a distance from the ceiling, and of support boards extending from one beam to the other.

Cellars and garages usually suffer from lack of space. The floor and the walls are overfilled even if shelves or suspension means are secured in front of or on the walls. However, useful space is often available below the ceiling and forwardly of the shelves.

There are many particularly bulky articles that are used only during one season of the year or a brief period of the year, e.g. skis, ski sticks, children's sleighs, camping equipment, sky-boards, surfing boards, rubber dinghies, garden tools and so on. These remain unused for months on end and therefore require storage space. In addition, there is a large number of less lengthy or less bulky articles which likewise require additional storage area.

Some people have tried to deal with this problem by providing at least two beams, which can be secured by means of brackets between the side walls and at a distance from the ceiling and, in some instances, by fitting supporting boards extending transversely of the beams. Depending upon the distance between the beams and the length of the supporting boards, it is possible to place skis, gardening equipment and the like on the beams or supporting boards. Then, however, the stored items are difficult to reach. Only a limited portion of the possible storage space below the ceiling can be used if the items stored therein are to be reached easily.

The object of the invention is to provide an improved storage shelf which can be simple to fit.

According to the invention there is provided a storage shelf for fitting close to the ceiling of a cellar or of a small garage for one or two private cars and consisting of at least two beams. which can be secured by means of brackets between opposite walls and at a distance from the ceiling, and of support boards extending from one beam to the other, wherein rails are provided on mutually facing sides of adjacent beams, which are of sheet metal and the support boards have at their end-faces slide edges, rollers or wheels which engage in the rails.

The storage shelf is preferably secured to the opposite side walls of the cellar or garage and just below the ceiling. The sectional beams can be at a relatively short distance below the ceiling if only narrow articles, such as skis, are to be supported, provided that the beams are not too far apart. The supporting boards then have, at their ends, angled plates, on the free ends of which the slide edges or rollers are provided, so that the surface of each board is further away from the ceiling than are the rails, and so room is obtained for the storage of containers and the like. It is of course possible to dispense with such angling or bending of the ends of the supporting boards if it is required to store articles having a depth not greater than that of the sectional beams.If the sectional beams are fitted at a distance of more than 30 to 40cm from the ceiling so as to give a depth of storage space of, say, 40 to 70cm and head-room of 1.90 to 2.0 metres, articles of corresponding height can be accommodated. The displaceable supporting boards should be limited to a number such that, when adjacent boards are pushed apart from each other as far as possible, there is sufficient space between them to enable the stored articles to be readily removed from the boards. In one of their practical forms, the supporting boards are expediently in widths of 30cm to approximately 50cm maximum.

Their length can be 1 to 2 metres, depending upon what reinforcement they have and what load they are to carry.

The sectional beams, extending from one side wall to the other, are expediently made from two halves, insertable one into the other, and in particular two mutually facing upon sectional parts of U-shaped or C-shaped crosssection, so that during assembly there is the greatest possible freedom in adapting them to the existing structure, i.e. to the distance between the side walls, with the result that it is unnecessary to cut the sectional parts to length. The sectional beam parts are preferably in the form of elements of U-shaped crosssection having angled edges, one limb of the U being shorter than the other by an amount equal to twice the thickness of the sheet metal, so that they can be nested one within the other. The sectional parts then form a box section in the overlapping zone.The use of sectional beams means that they can be produced from sheet metal by rolling or other methods, and considerable stability can be achieved. Furthermore, all of the sectional parts can be identical in cross-section so as to be assembled with corresponding surface areas in contact. For the purpose of bridging the gap between the side walls, two sectional beam parts will generally suffice. For larger distances between the two side walls it is also expedient to use three sectional parts, the median one of which overlaps the two outer parts over a great distance so as to provide maximum rigidity in the zone of the greatest bending moment.With sectional parts of this kind, the rails for the dispensible supporting boards, instead of being screwed on or otherwise attached, are formed integrally with the angled edges, to the rear of which the boards engage by way of their side edges, rollers or wheels.

The formation of the sectional beam parts as at least two bars of U-shaped cross-section offers the advantage that angle brackets of relatively simple shape can be used for securing the beam parts to the walls, since these brackets then require to have only one horizontal arm, to the upper surface of which is screwed the upper limb of the sectional part, the opening of which faces sideways.

The sectional beam parts can be interconnected by screwing together the narrow and wide limbs of each of them which are brought ta bear against each other in the median zone by sliding one sectional part into the other.

These parts then only need to be screwed together in the zone of the overlap so that they are joined together by a clamp fit. To reinforce the sectional beams, rectangular wooden battens can be fitted inside them.

However, this step is necessary only when extremely large distances between walls have to be bridged in double garages. The sectional beams are preferably fitted to the side walls by means of angle brackets so that they can be secured at any required distance apart.

In one form of the storage shelf, long wallbracket sections can be secured to the angle brackets, which sections expediently extend from one angle bracket to another and, by way af their limbs that are parallel to the wall, extend below the angle brackets, while they have, at their lower edge, a suspension limb which forms a sharp angle with the limb fitted to the wall. Implements and boards, for example, garden tools, brooms and the like can be hung from these long wall-bracket sections.

The U-section beams are so fitted that the open sides of each two mutually facing beams are presented to each other. Thus, boards can be laid on the lower limbs. The web of each adjacent nested sectional beam part must then face the adjacent sectional beam, so that a board cannot be fitted in the lower limb in that area. However if three sectional beam parts are used for bridging the distance between the side walls, then when the storage shelf in accordance with the invention is used in garages, the two outer sectional beam parts are expediently fitted with their open sides facing each other, so that support boards can he inserted in the zone alongside the side walls.

If the support boards do not need to be particularly readily displaceable, they may be formed without special slide means. Nevertheless, the invention provides for the use of slide edges, skids, rollers or wheels.

An embodiment of the invention will now be described in greater detail by reference to the attached drawing, in which: Figure 1 is a perspective general view of a storage shelf in accordance with the invention in a garage; Figure 2 is a perspective view of two sectional beams and a displaceable support board fitted between them; Figure 3 is a side view of the section beam of Fig. 2, secured to a wall by means of an angle bracket, and Figure 4 is a cross-section through a sectional beam part along the line IV-IV of Fig.

3.

The storage shelf consists of two sectional beams 1, which, by means of angle brackets 2, are secured in parallel and spaced relationship to each other to the side walls of a garage. Each sectional beam 1 consists of two parts 3 and 4 which can be pushed one into the other and which are each constituted by bars of U shaped cross section open at one side. The sectional beams are formed by bending sheet metal. Adjoining the web 6 of each sectional bar are limbs 8 and 9 bent at right angles from the web. To enable the sectional bars 3 and 4 to be pushed one into the other so that they face each other in a nesting arrangement, one of the limbs, limb 9,is shorter than the other limb 8 by an amount equal to twice the thickness of the sheet metal.The two limbs 8 and 9 each have an angled edge 10 for guiding slidable support boards 5 fitted between the section beams 1, which boards, at their lateral ends and by way of slide edges 20 in the form of an edge bent through a given angle, engage over the angled edge 10 of each af the sectional bars. Along the limbs 8 and 9 are drilled holes 11 by means of which they can be interconnected with the aid of bolts 1 3 and nuts 14, with washers 15 interposed. Since the two sectional beam parts 3 and 4 are telescopically adjustable in length, they can be readily adapted to suit the distance between the walls. There is added stiffness in the median zone where the bending moment is at its greatest.

As shown in Cross-section in Fig. 2, the angle brackets 2 each comprise an arm 16 which is parallel to a wall and whereby the bracket can be attached to the side wall by means af two bolts; each angle bracket 2 also has a horizontally projecting arm 1 8 which extends below the narrow limb 9 of the sectional beam part 3 and is secured by means af a bolt 19 and a lock nut. Also, from one angle bracket to the other their extends a long wall-bracket section 23 consisting of an arm 24 parallel with the wall and of a suspension arm 25 which forms a sharp angle with the arm 24 laid against the wall. The arm 24 extends downwardly beyond the angle bracket 2 and together with the latter is bolted to the wall Here, equipment and tools, as shown in Fig. 1, can be hung up.

As shown in Fig. 2, the support boards 5 may be in the form of sheet-metal dishes having at each of their two end faces an angled portion 26, at the upper edge of which is provided either a further angled edge 20 which engages to the rear of the angled edge 10 of the sectional beam part 4, or spaced rollers which run on the lower flange 9 of the sectional beam part 4. The angled portions 26 and the vertical end walls can be of considerably greater length than is shown in Figs. 1 and 4 so as to provide a deeper storage space. If long articles such as bars or skis (see Fig. 1) are to be laid on the sectional beams, the distance between the sectional beams on the one hand and the roof on the other must be selected accordingly. Generally, care should be taken to ensure that the headroom is not less than 1.90 metres.The width of the support boards 5, displaceable in the rails formed by the flanges 9, should be from about 30cm to a maximum of 50cm so as to ensure ready accessability from the side. More than the one support board, shown in Fig. 1, can be provided. However, the number of boards should be small enough to enable them to be readily reached from the side when they are pushed apart.

As shown particularly clearly in Fig. 1, garden implements, tools and similar articles can be suspended from the arm 25 of the long wall-bracket section 23. Openings can be cut in the arm 25 so that the handles of spades and the like can be hung therefrom, or suspension ropes can be passed round the hook-like projections formed between adjacent openings. Rakes can be directly suspended by their prongs, whereas for accommodating tools it is possible to provide angled strips 27 of sheet metal (see Fig. 1) which have outwardly bent portions into which tools such as screwdrivers can be inserted. What are known as meathooks can also be suspended from the arms so that items of clothing can be hung therefrom. Also, an entire rack 28, as shown on the left in Fig. 1, can be hung from the arm 1 6 of each of the long wall-bracket sections.

The storage shelf in accordance with the invention can also be used in spaces of greater width if the end faces of the sectional beams are additionally secured by means of brackets extending downwards from the ceil ing. The support boards may be made of wire or may have transparent ends so as to facilitate the viewing of their contents.

Claims (6)

1. A storage shelf for fitting close to the ceiling of a cellar or of a small garage for one or two private cars and consisting of at least two beams, which can be secured by means of brackets between opposite walls and at a distance from the ceiling, and of the support boards extending from one beam to the other, wherein rails are provided on mutually facing sides of adjacent beams, which are of sheet metal and the support board have at their end-faces slide edges, rollers or wheels which engage in the rails.

2. A storage shelf according to Claim 1, wherein each sectional beam consists of at least two parts which are insertable one into the other in the longitudinal direction.

3. A storage self according to Claim 1 or Claim 2, wherein each sectional beam part is a U-shaped sectional bar with angled edges, one limb, the limb of each bar being shorter than its other limb by an amount equal to twice the thickness of the sheet metal.

4. A storage shelf according to any one of Claims 1 to 3, wherein the sectional beams can be secured to the side walls by means of angle brackets which, in each case, engage one of the limbs of a sectional beam.

5. A storage shelf according to Claim 4, wherein long wall-bracket sections are provided which can be secured to the angle brackets, which sections have a suspension arm which forms a sharp angle with the wallmounted arm.

6. A storage shelf substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.