NZ195503A - Cantilever storage rack with u-shape brackets - Google Patents

Description

1 Q ^ ^ 8 WoriHrCtatW ComoSeta Specification Filed: ^P.'//.' Ciass: W&A7/?P.L QMWt/M Publication Dste: . .T.3.FE.B.1984, P.O. No: So N.Z.

NEW ZEALAND ■Patents Act. 1953 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION "COLUMN CONSTRUCTION FOR CANTILEVER STORAGE R&CK." We, PALM3R-SHILE COMPANY, a corporation organised and existing under the laws of the State of Michigan, United States of America, of 16000 Fullerton Avenue, Detroit, Michigan 48227, United States of America. do hereby declare the invention, for which we pray that a Patent may be granted to us , and the method by which it is to be performed, to be particularly described in and by the following statement _ 1 .

(Followed by IS.) v \ f955n i The invention relates to cantilever storage racks of the type used in industrial environments, and more particularly to cantilever storage racks which use rectangular cross section columns and arms with U-shaped brackets embracing the columns, the arms being adjustable in height by the insertion of pins through apertures in the brackets and columns.

United States Patent Specification No 3,212,648 shows a cantilever rack for use in industrial environments for storage, of relatively heavy material such as bars or tubes. The rack utilizes columns of rectangular cross sectional shape and arms having U-shaped brackets embracing the columns. Pins extend through aligned apertures in the brackets and columns so that the weight of the material on the arms tends to compress and bend the columns.

-- It is sometimes necessary to provide higher load capacity for these racks. One method of doing this is to increase the thickness of the metal utilized to fabricate the column. In the aforementioned United States Patent Specification 3,212,648, the rectangular column is fabricated of two symmetrical sections of generally channel shape, with inturned flanges secured together by welding. The bends in the channels are conventionally formed by presses. These presses are of limited capacity and sometimes not capable of bending metal of heavy gauge. Moreover, as the rated capacity becomes higher, it is expensive - la - 195593 to provide the total weight of steel required in such columns. Heavier gauge columns of conventional design would require greater width in a direction parallel to the column webs, in order to accommodate the press dies. The bending radii at the corners of said heavier gauge parts would also have to be larger, which means that the apertures for the pins must be placed further back from the column web.

It has been suggested as an alternative construction that four bars of rectangular cross section be inserted in the column immediately inside the webs and in between the inturned flanges. These stiffening bars however require many welds, some of which are difficult to produce because the location is inaccessible.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a column construction for cantilever storage racks of the type described above, which is especially useful for heavy loads and avoids the necessity of making the columns wider or using an excess amount of metal.

It is another object to provide a column construction which can be manufactured using bending presses of limited capacity.

It is a further object to provide a cantilever rack i 95503 c'olunn construction which requires a minimum number of parts and welds, thus reducing labor and manufacturing costs as well as fabrication time.

In one broad aspect, the invention provides a cantilever storage rack of the type having arras with U shaped brackets embracing a rectangular column and connected thereto by pins passing through apertures in the column and brackets, the column construction comprising two channel shaped members of relatively thin gauge metal, each channel shaped member having a relatively wide web and relatively shallow flanges, rows of apertures in said webs adjacent said flanges for receiving said pins, and plates substantially thicker than the gauges of said channel shaped members overlapping portions of the outsides of said flanges to form the webs of said column, the width of said plates being less than the distance between the outside surfaces of the webs of said channel shaped members to thereby provide recesses defined by the side edges of the plates and the portions of the last mentioned flanges not overlapped by said plates, the said portions not overlapped being in excess of the bending radii between the webs and flanges of the U shaped brackets and permitting the flanges of the U shaped brackets to closely embrace the sides of the column, said plates being welded to said flanges.

According to a second broad aspect the invention provides a cantilever storage rack for industrial use comprising a base, a column mounted on said base, said column having a pair of oppositely facing webs and sides connecting said webs, said sides having vertically spaced rows of aligned apertures, a cantilever arm extending from said column, a U shaped bracket secured to the inner end of said arm and embracing said column, the web of said bracket facing the web of said column, a pin extending through aligned apertures in the flanges of said bracket and the sides of said column, the column being fabricated of a pair of channel shaped members having relatively wide webs forming the sides of said column and relatively narrow 3 i95503 flanges extending toward each other, said channel shaped members being of relatively thin gauge metal, a pair of metal plates of relatively thick gauge overlapping portions of the outside surfaces of said flanges of the channel shaped members, the width of said plates being less than the distance between the outside surfaces of the webs of said channel shaped members to thereby provide recesses defined by the side edges of the plates and the portions of the last mentioned flanges not overlapped by said plates, the said portions not overlapped being in excess of the bending radii between the web and flanges of the U shaped bracket and permitting the flanges of the U shaped bracket to closely embrace the sides of the column, and welds connecting said plates to said channel shaped members whereby said plates form the webs of said column.

In the following more detailed description of the invention reference will be made to the accompanying drawings in which:— Figure 1 is a side elevational view of a cantilever storage rack made according to this invention; Figure 2 is a sectional view of the column showing its construction, taken along the line 2-2 of Figure 1; and N.Z. PATENT OFFICE 2 6SEP1983 RECEIVED 1955 3 3 Figure 3 is a sectional view of a modified form of the column in which the flanges of the channel shaped members have abutting inturned ends.

The cantilever rack is generally indicated at 11 and comprises a plurality of spaced parallel bases 12 on which are mounted upstanding columns 13. The columns are tapered upwardly and support cantilever arms generally indicated at 14 on the opposite sides thereof. Each column is of rectangular cross, sectional shape, having a pair of oppositely facing webs generally indicated at 15 which are relatively narrow, and sides generally indicated at 16 and 17 which are relatively wide. A plurality of pairs of vertically spaced apertures 18 are formed in column 13 inside webs 15.

Each cantilever arm 14 is provided with a U-shaped bracket generally indicated at 19 secured to its inner end. The bracket is adapted to embrace web 15 of column 13 with the flanges 21 of the bracket overlapping the sides 16 and 17 of the column. Each bracket is provided with a pair of aligned apertures 22 which are adapted to receive a pin 23, the pin also passing through aligned apertures 18 in the column to secure the arm thereto. Further particulars of the aperture and pin construction are described in the aforementioned United States Patent Specification 3,212,648.

It will be noted that the load on any given arm 14 will tend to bend column 13 about the bending axis indicated in dot dash lines at 24 in Figure 2, this axis being that about which the bending moment of inertia is measured. According to the invention, column 13 is fabricated of a pair of channel shaped side members indicated — f 0 ^ ^ Hi -t at 25 and 26 and a pair of end members or plates indicated generally at 27 and 28. Each side member 25 and 26 has a relatively wide web 29 and relatively short flanges 31 and 32. The channel shaped members are fabricated of a relatively thin gauge metal, that is, stock which is substantially thinner than the gauge of members 27 and 28. The corners 33 of members 25 and 26 have relatively short radii which may be formed by a conventional bending press.

Members 27 and 28 on the other hand are of relatively thick gauge metal and comprise plates of rectangular cross sectional ' shape. The width of these plates is somewhat less than the distance between the outer surfaces of webs 29. Welds 34 are used to secure the edges of plates 27 and 28 to flanges 31 and 32. These welds leave the outer surfaces of the plates clear for the reception of brackets 19.

It will be noted that only four parts are needed to manufacture column 13, and also that only four welds are required to secure the components together. Parts 16 and 17 may be fabricated using bending presses of limited capacity. When assembled, the major metal section of the column will be a substantial distance from axis 24, thus providing a relatively high moment of inertia for the column section and adding to its strength for a given weight of metal. Because the gauges of parts 16 and 17 is relatively thin, radii 33 may be small and apertures 18 may thus be located in their normal position with respect to the webs of a column. The welds used to secure the parts together are all easily accessible and may thus be fabricated with a minimum of effort.

Comparing the cost of manufacturing a column according to the present invention with that of a conventionally shaped column but with heavier gauge parts, it has been found that the advantages 1 O ^ f*) of the present invention increase for higher load capacities. The thickness of plates 27 and 28 for example could vary from one-quarter inch to one and one-half inches, and when relatively-thick plates are used, the total cost is lower as compared with a heavier gauge column of conventional design. The depth of the column, that is, the distance between the outer surfaces of the two plates 27 and 28, could of course be varied but will, in any event, be substantially greater than the width of the column between the outer surfaces of webs 29.

Figure 3 shows a modified form of the invention which utilizes channel shaped side members similar to those shown in the Baker et al patent, that is, having abutting inturned ends at the inner ends of the flanges. The column is generally indicated at 101 and comprises a pair of channel shaped members generally indicated at 102 and 103. Each channel shaped member has a web 104 which is relatively wide and a pair of flanges 10S. The flanges have inturned ends 106, and the ends of both members 102 and 103 abut each other. Welds 107 are placed along the juncture of these inturned ends, these welds being flush with the outer surfaces of webs 105 so as not to interfere with the placement of the outer plates.

The pair of outer plates 108 and 109 are secured to the outer surfaces of flanges 105. As before, the width of these plates is somewhat less than the distance between the outer surfaces of webs 104. The thickness of plates 108 and 109 is substantially greater than that of channel shaped members 102 and 103. Welds 111 are formed along the side edges of plates 108 and 109 to secure these plates to flanges 105. The welds are so formed so not to interfere with the mounting of bracket 112 of the column. 1 q -s; q ^ While it will be apparent that the preferred embodiments of the invention disclosed are well calculated to fulfill the objects above stated, it will be appreciated that the invention is susceptible to modification, variation and change without departing from the proper scope or fair meaning of the subjoined claims •; o !■; s f)7 i / jjjj

Claims (8)

WHAT WE CLAIM IS:

1. A cantilever storage rack of the type having arms with -U shaped brackets embracing a rectangular column and connected thereto by pins passing through apertures in the column and brackets, the column construction comprising two channel shaped members of relatively thin gauge metal, each channel shaped member having a relatively wide web and relatively shallow flanges, rows of apertures in said webs adjacent said flanges for receiving said pins, and plates substantially thicker than the gauges of said channel shaped members overlapping portions of the outsides of said flanges to form the webs of said column, the width of said plates being less than the distance between the outside surfaces of the webs of said channel shaped members to thereby provide recesses defined by the side edges of the plates and the portions of the last mentioned flanges not overlapped by said plates, the said portions not overlapped being in excess of the bending radii between the webs and flanges of the u shaped brackets and permitting the flanges of the U shaped brackets to closely embrace the sides of the column, said plates being welded to said flanges.

2. A rack according to claim 1, said flanges of the two channel shaped members facing and being spaced from each other.

3. The rack according to claim 1, said flanges of said channel shaped members having inturned inner ends, the inturned ends of the two channel shaped members abutting each other, and welds along the junctures of said inturned ends.

4. A cantilever storage rack for industrial use comprising a base, a column mounted on said base, said column having a pair of oppositely facing webs and sides connecting said webs, said sides having vertically spaced rows of aligned apertures, - 9 - N.Z. PATENT OFFICE 2 6 SEP 1983 DECEIVED i 95503 a cantilever arm extending from said column, a IJ shaped bracket secured to the inner end of said arm and embracing said column, the web of said bracket facing the web of said column, a pin extending through aligned apertures in the flanges of said bracket and the sides of said column, the column being fabricated of a pair of channel shaped members having relatively wide webs forming the sides of said column and relatively narrow flanges extending toward each other, said channel shaped members being of relatively thin gauge metal, a pair of metal plates of relatively thick gauge overlapping portions of the outside surfaces of said flanges of the channel shaped members, the width of said plates being less than the distance between the outside surfaces of the webs of said channel shaped members to thereby provide recesses defined by the side edges of the plates and the portions of the last mentioned flanges not overlapped by said plates, the said portions not overlapped being in excess of the bending radii between the web and flanges of the U shaped bracket and permitting the flanges of the U shaped bracket to closely embrace the sides of the column, and welds connecting said plates to said channel shaped members, whereby said plates form the webs of said said column.

5. The rack according to claim 4, said flanges of the channel shaped members extending toward but being spaced from each other.

6. The rack according to claim 4, the flanges of said channel shaped members extending toward each other and having inturned ends which abut each other, and welds along the juncture of said inturned ends. - 10 - N.Z.PATENT OFFICE 26SEP1983 REC-IV" • 195503

7. A column construction for a cantilever storage rack substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

8. A cantilever storage rack comprising a column mounted on a base substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings. PALMER—SHILE COMPANY By Their Attorneys HENRY HKGHES LIMITED -JINX PATENT OFF 26SEP1983 PiCS received