GB2444602A - Modular stacking storage system - Google Patents

Abstract

A modular storage system consists of individual blocks or sections which are interlinked by cooperating edge formations 16 to assemble into a storage rack having an array of holes enabling the housing of cylindrical objects, for example wine bottles.

Description

AN IMPROVED MODULAR STORAGE RACK

This invention relates to an improved form of modular storage rack, which can be used for stonng cylindncal objects

I EXISTING ART

1 1 GB2001 847 descnbes a modular bottle container in which a number of parts interlock to via means of an L' shaped slot to complete a circle encasing the bottle This process forms the front of the holder and the process must be repeated to form the rear face. The two completed faces are then clipped together to form a complete unit In the example offered some 24 parts are required to encase the first bottle Subsequent parts can be added to encase further bottles 1 2 Au2006200724 Al describes a modular bottle rack, utilising several plastic components A square frame with an aperture to take a bottle is placed at front and rear, these are conjoined by four corner struts (actually 2 pieces that look like four) stretching from front to rear to form a skeletal case in which the bottle is placed All parts clip together to form an individual unit, several of which can be clipped together to form a larger storage unit holding many bottles 1.3 GB238202t describes a bottle rack that places several moulded and drilled hubs above and below the bottle into which rods or struts which support the bottles are placed The rack is expanded by adding more hubs and struts 1 4 US4715503 descnbes a timber lattice shaped wine rack. Timber battens are crossed at the face and the rear and are also jointed at cross points to accept struts running front to back. This forms a completed unit onto which other units may be stacked 1 5 US D48896.4 S describes an ornamental stackable bottle rack made up of individual jigsaw piece shaped units that interlock to form a larger storage unit. Each block or unit is bored several times in order to accept bottles Each unit is identically shaped and affixes to the next block by means of a modified dovetail arrangement

2 PROBLEMS IN PRIOR ART

2 1 Most employ an overly complex design requiring different components to be joined together in order to make a unit for housing the bottle Complex joints and fiddly parts, make the assembly of each rather more difficult than might be ideal for an average member of the public In order to produce the final item most will require involved methods of manufacture. The aesthetics of most of the prior art is also not ideal.

2.2 Most look rather industrial, so not suitable for an elegant domestic environment 2.3 GB2001 847 Assembly of this item could be quite difficult and would require a good amount of manual dexterity. Some 24 pieces are required to hold the first bottle, and although subsequent bottles would require less pieces the process for construction would still be complicated It is possible that the L' shaped joints could be badly finished or even break off dunng assembly It is doubtful that the finished item would have any aesthetic value 2 4 AU20062007 24 Al This requires four parts, two square front and rear frames and two side struts, to be clipped together to form storage for one bottle Each unit is then clipped to the next unit via small plastic lugs Jointing lugs may be broken Construction of a completed rack may take some time It is assumed that this rack is for commercial purposes and as such it has a distinctly utilitarian look about it 2 5 GB2382021 employs dnlled hubs into which dowel stretchers are fitted It is assumed that construction requires that the dowel parts be fully located into their respective holes If this is not done correctly the resulting rack would be out of shape and potentially unstable.

2 6 US4715503 requires the manufacture of several different shaped slotted timber battens that have to be assembled in the correct order in order to make up the whole rack This again would require some level of constructional skill and involved instructions from the maunfacturer The size of the finished rack is limited by the length of the timber battens It seems as thought the rack can only be expanded by completing a further rack and simply placing this onto or by the side of the first rack At this point there may be problems with stability.

2 7 US D488964. Due to its large size and unusual shape finding a suitable place to locate this product may prove difficult. It does not offer a flexible storage system as the storage can only be expanded in multiples of 6 bottles, ie, the capacity of one block Further, ,when built up, the extremities of the rack would always form an unusual shape. The unit could also require a large amount of material to mould each block Transport weight might be problematic Given its unusual shape stability might also be a problem 3' THE PRESENT INVENTION 3 1 The subject of the present invention is a block, which can be made of any suitable ngid material, that can be stacked in any number of configurations, allowing cylindrical component storage in any shape, and additionally allowing very elegant appearance 3 1 1 According to the present invention, there are provided blocks, of substantially square section of sufficient length to house the body of the cylindncal object being stored Radii are cut into the sides, to form approximately a quarter of the circumference of the cylindrical object being stored.

3 1.2 The corners are cut to make connecting features, consisting of grooves and angled projections The grooves are cut into the top and bottom sides into the part, and the projections are also on the top and bottom of the part, pointing up from the top of the block and down from the bottom of the block 3 1 3 The dimensions are such that if two blocks are laid next to each other, with a correctly proportioned gap in between, a third block can be laid on top of them, directly over the gap created between the first two, the projection on the two corners of the top block mating with the grooves on the lower blocks that are closest to the centre of the arrangement 3 1 4 By this method, the blocks can be stacked as wide and as high as desired, making an infinitely flexible storage arrangement, to fit whatever space is available 3 1.5 The radius on the projection can be arranged such that it is smaller than the radius on the groove, which allows for manufacturing tolerances in the positions of the grooves and protrusions 3 1 6 There is also provided an end section, which is constructed using a single block, but cutting it vertically in half More matenal may be removed for aesthetics or to save material These allow the open ends of the arrangement to be closed and supported 3 2 The blocks have the advantages that they do not need any tools or fiddly assembly techniques, as the layer above can be very simply stacked on the layer below. If necessary the layer above does not have to cover the full width of the layer below; it can start and finish some blocks away from the end of the layer underneath 3 3 The corner joint design allows each subsequent block to effectively tie in' the row below, thus stabilising the whole stack.

3 4 The advantages of stacking are applicable to applications where aesthetics are not important 3.5 The finish of the blocks can be made such that they look very elegant, and can be made economically by a number of manufacturing techniques 3 6 The angles and dimensions of the construction can be vaned to allow clipping together or slide together interlocking of the blocks if that was required 3 7 If storage for transportation is an important factor for the application, the design can be adapted to a "flat pack" approach 4 THE INVENTION MAY BE BETTER UNDERSTOOD BY LOOKING AT A DESIGN THAT EMBODIES THE INVENTION.

4 1 While the invention may have many applications for the storage of cylindncal objects, it is explained by descnbing an embodiment optimised for the storage of wine bottles.

4.2 Refer to the figures; 4 2 1 Figure 1 shows an individual block.

4 2.2 Figure 2 shows an example of the geometry of the section All dimensions are in mm.

4.2.3 Figure 3 shows 4 blocks and a detail view of the join between them, and the circle made when they are joined 4 2 4 Figure 4 shows stacked blocks, with wine bottles, to show the application of the particular embodiment, and some of the possible variations in the way the parts can be stacked 4.2.5 Figure 5 shows an example of the invention made by an extrusion process and cut to length.

4.2 6 Figure 6 shows a variation of the dimensions that would allow interlocking for slide-together or interlocking construction 4 2 7 Figure 7 shows an adaptation of the design that allows flat packing.

4.2.8 Figure 8 shows the parts in figure 7 stacked for storage and transport 4.2 9 Figure 9 shows a geometry vanahon of the design, providing a hexagonal storage formation, increasing the storage capacrty available. 2.

4 3 Refer to figure 1, which shows an embodiment of the invention adapted for the storage of wine made in solid form, as would be suited for manufacture in wood, for example pine.

4 3 1 The block in figure 1 could be machined from standard 4" square wood section, which is a standard material, size, so minumising the machining required to make the parts, and minimising matenal cost and wastage.

4 3.2 It will be dear to a person skilled in the art that the block could be made by many other manufactunng methods, including extrusion, using for example plastic or aluminium (where it may be advantageous for the centre of the block to be hollowed out, see figure 5 for an example), or machined from solid block, or moulded from thermoplastic or thermosetling plastic, or cast from clay or resin, or any other suitable method 4 4 A block is shown with radii (1) cut into each side of the section forming approximately a quarter of the circumference of the size of bottle to be housed with a reasonable clearance to allow for vanations in bottle sizes and also for the removal of the bottle from the rack 4 4.1 The corners of the section have v shaped grooves (2a), (2b), in top of the block and (2c) and (2d) in the bottom of the block 4 4 2 The corners of the block have V shaped protrusions, outside of the grooves, (3a) and (3b) from the top of the block and (3c) and (3d) from the bottom of the block 4 5 Refer to figure 2, which shows an example of the detail geometry of the individual block, optimised for manufacture in wood for storage of wine.

4 6 Figure 3 shows how the blocks may be stacked, a broader understanding of which may be gained by the following detailed examination of the geometry in figure 2 4 6.1 The part is symmeincal about the horizontal and vertical centre-lines.

4 6 2 The key to the shape are the construction lines arranged around the profile A square of construction lines (4)is arranged around the part to define the geometry. This square is arranged at 45 degrees from both the horizontal and vertical axis, and from the sides of the section 4 6 3 A radius R45 is struck, centred on the corners of this square, onto each face of the section This radius is defined by the diameter of the largest bottle to be stored, plus a clearance to account for tolerances, so the bottle can be freely inserted and removed from the assembled rack.

4 6 4 The size of the radius R45 relative to the size of the square of construction lines (4) defines the width available for the engaging features If the radius is smaller, then there is more room for the engaging features, but the overall size of the construction lines (4) and therefore the block has to be larger to accommodate the same size bottle 4.6 5 The size shown in figure 2 is in the right region for construction from pine wood Stronger materials could have a smaller construction line square relative to the radius 4.7 There is a connecting feature at each corner of the block 4.7 1 Four joining points (6) are located close to a point where the construction lines (4) and a line from the centre of the section to the centre of the sides of the square (4) coincide These points define where the blocks join when they interlock 4 7.2 Two contact faces on each corner, an outer contact face (7), and an inner contact face (5) are the faces which come into contact, or come closest to contact when a block is stacked on top of two below 4 7 3 When stacked, for example, if the bottom right corner of one block is stacked onto the top left corner of the block below, the tip (10) fits into the groove (9) of the block underneath, contact point (6) will be in contact with or adjacent to (6a), (5) will be in contact with or adjacent to (7a), (7) will be in contact with or adjacent to (5a) 4 7 4 The faces (5) and (7) have to be parallel to one another, and an equal perpendicular distance from the contact point (6). In figure 2, they are shown parallel to the construction line (4), but they may be angled, typically with the nght top of face 5 rotated anti-clockwise, according to the application.

4 7 5 The geometry of the block is such that when stacked on one another, the openings in the stack are dose to perfectly circular, creating the openings into which bottles can be placed This is because the contact points (6) on the top and bottom are 90 degrees apart, when measured from the radius R45 This can be seen in figure 3 and figure 4 4.7.6 The radius of (9), 2mm is larger than the radius of the protrusion (1 Oa), 1mm The resulting effect of the radius at the bottom of the groove (7) being bigger than the radius in on the protrusion (10) can be seen in the detail view in figure 3 If there are inaccuracies in the position of the connection features, the gaps (11), (12) and (13) shown in figure 3, which are present on each connection, allow some room to move This allows a stack with a lot of parts to stay even and level if there are inaccuracies in manufacture or movement in the material as might be encountered with wood 4 7 7 If the manufacturing method does not have inaccuracies, or if the inaccuracies are small, the radius (9) can be close to or equal to the radius (10) 4 7 8 The angle on the mating face including the connection point (6) is shown angled at 20 degrees This angle can be varied according to the material and application, but 20 degrees has been shown to aid stability in a wooden construction for storage of wine bottles.

4 8 Figure 4 shows an assembled stack, with wine bottles stored It will be evident that the stack requires no construction, as the blocks will simply stack on the row below, as long as the blocks below are placed roughly at the correct spacing This makes the blocks very simple for anyone to stack, as they require no technical skill or ability 4 9 The stability of the built up stack is good, as the weight of the blocks and the contents above helps to lock the parts together.

4 10 The construction in wood will give an elegant appearance with standard profile machining, and cutting to length, giving a product that will look attractive and stylish in a domestic sethng, for example in a kitchen or dining room 4 11 It can be seen that although the embodiment described simply allows blocks to be stacked one on top 01 another the angles and radii could be varied to allow interlocking at the connection points, by use of a key instead of v shaped features An example of this construction is shown in figure 6 4 11.1 It will be clear to a person skilled in the art, that the construction shown in figure 6 could be vaned to allow either sliding together, or, alternatively, the dimensions of the key and the mating groove could be varied to allow the parts to be snapped together 4.11.2 Either of these can be achieved by varying the radii and angles shown in figure 2 The advantage of stacking with no skill would be reduced, but may be offset in particular applications by the need for the stack to be positively locked together 4.12 In order to provide a convenient means of closing the open ends of a stack of blocks, an end-piece (14) in figure 4 would allow the blocks at the end of a stack to be supported and finish the stack off.

4.12.1 The end-piece is made by culling the sides off a block The part shown has a straight cut, but obviously the profile on the outside can be vaned, to suit aesthetic consideration and manufacturing requirements.

4 13 The combination of parts allows for a very flexible construction. Figure 4 shows a number of methods of stacking that are possible, and also shows wine bottles stored in the stack 4 14 Due to the variety of ways in which the blocks can be assembled wine storage can be obtained in places that would otherwise prove impractical, such as a work-surface with the underside of a staircase above it, or around irregular obstructions.

4 15 Figure 7 shows a version of the design that has been adapted for flat pack" By the addition of dovetails, the block can be made in 2 parts each of which is the same Dovetail join or similar (15) would allow two parts to make one block The same parts are shown in figure 8, stacked, as they would be for storage. If this embodiment was adopted, the dimensions of the connecting parts would be optimised to make packed storage more efficient 4 16 Figure 9 shows the same geometry in a flattened' shape This shape allows for an increased storage capacity over larger surface areas, due to the bottles' being arranged in a hexagonal rather than square format.

Claims (3)

1. Claims I. A Modular Storage System consisting of Individual Bkcks.

   l3locks stack in an interlinked' Structure, forming an array of 1-loles.

   These enable the Housing of Cylindrical Objects (Wine Bottles dc).
2. 2 A Modular Storage System according to Claim 1, in which the Blocks assemble to create an Array of Circular Holes in a I)iamond Pattern
3. 3. A Modular Storage System according to Claim I, in which the Blocks assemble to create an Array of Circular Holes in a Hexagonal Pattern.