US2971658A - Drive-in storage rack - Google Patents

Description

Feb. 14, 1961 T. N. DALTRUI DRIVE-IN STORAGE RACK Filed Dec. 7, 1959 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR.

Feb. 14, 1961 T. N. DALTRUI 2,97

7 DRIVE-IN STORAGE RACK Filed Dec. 7, 1959 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 33' i x y ,3 INVENTOR.

59- i fl life ragg 1961 T. N. DALTRUI 2,971,658

DRIVE-IN STORAGE RACK Filed Dec. 7, 195 9 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR.

36 12077746 ZLCDHZ 2371/1 i ik am United States Patent DRIVE-1N STORAGE RACK Thomas N. DAltrui, 495 s. 21st St., Irvington 1 1, NJ.

Filed Dec. 7, 1959, Ser. No. 857,885

6 Claims. or. 211-147 The invention relates in general to storage racks such as are used in warehouses, chain store stockrooms and industrial plants to support vertical tiers of pallets, shelving, and the like, and has particular reference to storage racks of knock-down structure that are composed of identical units any number of which may be combined to form as many tiers and rows as may be required for the stock to be stored at any time.

Prior to my present invention, each storage rack unit of the kind just mentioned has comprised a cooperative pair of vertical frames and a pair of horizontal stringers or rails interconnecting the frames to form a rigid structure for the support of pallets or shelving. Within each unit, the upright frame component has included horizontally spaced front and rear posts that are permanently interconnected by suitable truss members. The front and rear posts have been provided with means by which the corresponding ends of the front and rear stringers of each mated pair may be detachably joined thereto at the same level.

A disadvantage of this storage rack construction is the fact that only one transverse row of combined units is accessible from the parallel aisle for the deposition of shelving or pallets loaded with stock due to the presence of the frame-interconnecting stringers.

it therefore is the primary object of my present invention to provide a knock-down storage rack structure which comprises improved units capable of being combined to form any desired number of front to rear as well as lateral rows of pallet-supporting means, which means do not extend laterally in spanning relation to side-by-side posts, whereby in use of the improved rack a fork truck may be driven in between the rows to any desired depth of penetration in order to make full use of the cubical storage space available.

To be more explicit, each storage rack unit constructed in accordance with my present invention comprises side-by-side upright frames including front and rear posts and demountable pallet-supporting brackets adapted to be connected with the posts at any selected level. The brackets carried by the front and rear posts of each upright frame project laterally inward toward the respective opposed front and rear brackets of the mated frame but to such a short extent that they will not interfere with front to rear passage of a fork lift truck and its pallet load between the frames.

Another object of the invention is to provide a frame post of novel construction which will not buckle under the excessive loads sometimes supported by the pallets that are rested upon the post-attached brackets.

A further object is to provide pallet-supporting brackets and frame posts having novel means by which the brackets may be braced against horizontal angular displacement and latched in assembled relation to said posts.

It is an object also to provide a novel wedge-lock device to prevent accidental disengagement of the bracket re C connector means from the frame posts whenever a fork lift truck, in the act of depositing a loaded pallet on one level set of brackets, thrusts the load too high and pushes upward against the installed brackets at the next higher level.

Another object is to provide a novel splicer member capable of being used to splice the upper end of each frame post rigidly in vertical alignment with a superimposed extension post.

A further object is to provide a step device that can be mounted detachably at any selected level in connection to the bracket-attaching entrance slots which are a basic feature of the frame postv construction.

Another object is the provision of novel means by which front-to-rear runners may be supported by the post-supported brackets of the respective upright frames of each storage rack unit.

A further object is to provide a novel leveler member to underlie the foot of each frame post.

Still further objects, advantages and features of the invention will become apparent as the following specific description is read in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a front elevation, partly broken away, of a storage rack composed of a cooperative set of posts and bracket members constructed and erected in accordanee with the present invention; Fig. 2 is a horizontal cross-section on line 22 of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is an exploded fragmentary front elevation, partly in section, of one post and a pair of oppositely facing bracket members in positions immediately preceding assembly with the post; Fig. 4 is a similar front elevation showing the bracket members completely assembled with the post; Fig. 5

.is a horizontal section on line 55 of Fig. 4 showing one bracket member completely assembled with the post and the other bracket member immediately following engagement of its attaching tongues with post slots and before being swung horizontally into completely assembled relation to the post; and Fig. 6 is a fragmentary rear elevation of a'post with a pair of oppositely facing bracket members in the assembled position shown in Fig. 4.

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary front elevation of a post with one bracket member in assembled relation thereto, showing an improved wedge-lock device applied thereto; and Fig. 8 is a vertical section on line 8-8 of Fig. 7.

Fig. 9 is a side elevational view of a post, partially broken away, showing a leveler member applied to the foot of the post in supporting relation thereto; and Fig. 10 is a horizontal section on line 10-1t) of Fig. 9.

Fig. 11 is a side elevational view of a self-supporting splicer member for temporarily uniting the abutting ends of aligned tiers of post sections; Fig. 12 is a fragmentary front elevation ,of two aligned tiers of post sections having the splicer member assembled therewith; and Fig. 13 is a horizontal cross-section on line 13--13 of Fig. 12.

Fig. 14 is a front elevational view similar to Fig. 12 of one of the posts, showing a step of cooperative construction applied in supported relation thereto; and Fig. 15 is a side elevation of the same.

Fig. 16 is a fragmentary front elevation of the front post of one upright frame, showing a pallet-supporting runner mounted on the righthand bracket thereof; and Fig. 17 is a fragmentary side elevation of the rear post of the opposite upright frame of the mated pair, showing the rear end portion of the pallet-supporting runner and bracket supported thereby.

Referring now in detail to the drawings, wherein like reference characters designate corresponding parts in the several views, a drive-in storage rack unit is illustrated in Figs. 1 to 6, inclusive. ,Due to the structural features of'this'unit, any selected number of units may be combined in obvious arrangements to enlarge the rack laterally and in depth, as will become more apparent as the description progresses.

'- Each rack unit comprises a pair of upright'frames'fll and dem ounta ble pallet-supporting brackets ,21 carried by said frames. As shown particularly in Fig. 2, each upright frame has mated front and rear posts 22 and 23, respectively, that are united rigidly byfront-to-rear truss fork lift truck (not shown) and loaded pallet P can be driven from front to rear in the space between frames with satisfactory clearance. the respective front and rear posts 22 and 23 of each upright frame may be immobilized in their carefully predetermined positions on the floor by leveler members 25, which may be secured to the floor'by bolts 26 (Fig. The specific function and construction of each leveler member will be described later herein.

- Each post 22 or 23 of an upright frame is formed from sheet metal of appropriate thickness, or gauge, by suitable mechanical process to give it tubular shape preferably of the novel cross-section shown in Figs. 2 and 5. This particular post form affords thegreat strength re- The lower ends or'feet of member 34, 34' lies'in a vertical plane parallel to the longitudinal axis of arm 33, 33. Connector-member 34, 34' is vertically elongated to an extent suflicient to span at least two vertically adjacent entrance slots 32-32 in any frame post 22 or 23. Projecting from connector member 34, 34 are at least two vertically co-planar tongues 38-38, 38'-38', which are vertically spaced appropriately for horizontal registration with any vertically adjacent pair of post entrance slots 32-32 (Fig. 3). These tongues 38-38, 3838 of the connector members 34, 34 of each pallet-supporting bracket 21, 21' are adapted to be engaged with a selected vertical pair of postentrance slots 32-32' by front to rear introduction to the front wall portions of said slots. For

anchoring engagement with the lower edges of the side Wall portions of the engaged slots, vertically aligned anchor slots 39-39, 39-39 are provided in the lower edges of tongues 38-38, 3838, respectively. To facilquired to support heavy loads of stored stocks of equipment and materials. As shown in Fig. 5 in particular, each post 22 or 23 has integral sidewalls 27-27, front wall 28, and rear reinforcing wall 29. Side walls 27- 27 are flat and parallel to each other and are joined by flat front wall 28, which is arranged at right-angles to said side walls. Rear reinforcing wall 29'is substantially V-shaped in cross section and preferably arranged outwardly convex to form a rearwardly presented corner 3Q-whose converging outer faces 31-31 constitute lockmg faces of a latch mechanism to be' described more fully later herein.

In the completed structure of an upright frame 20, it is preferred to arrange posts 22 and 23 with theirrespective front walls 28-28 at right angles to the general plane of said frame.

H Referring particularly to Fig. 1, it will be observed that portions of both front corners of each post 22, as well as post 23 (where front wall 28 merges with the respective itate introduction of tongues 38-38, 38'-38 into the respective engaged slots 32-32, the loweredge portions of said tongues are bent rearward to provide deflecting portions 40-40, 40'-40.

The right and left handedness of the cooperative two types of the respective pallet-supporting brackets 21-21 is represented particularly in Figs. 3 to 6. For instance, looking at Fig. 3, 'it willbe observed that the deflecting portions 40-40, 40'-40' of the connector tongues 38-38, 38'-38' of the respective brackets 21, 21 are bent rearward. Consequently, the bracket shown at the right could not be reversed in position horizontally and attached to the left side of the upright post. 1 In the same respect, the brace arms 35, of the respective righthand and left-hand bracket 21'- are rearwardly bent so that reversal of said brackets'is impossible.

Referring particularly to Fig. 5, it will be seen that each brace arm' 35, 35 is bent rearward at such-an angle to the axis of thehorizontal axis of the bracket arm 33, 33' that said brace arm will lie flat against side walls 27-27), are cut away at vertical intervals to 4 provide uniformly vertically spaced pairs of side-by-side vertically elongated and horizontally shallow rectangular entrance slots 32, each of which opens both forwardly through front wall 28 and laterally through the corre sponding side wall 27.

Referring now for example to Figs. 3 to 5 only, palletsupporting brackets 21, which are provided in multiples of four for each storage rack unit, are of two different types, i.e. right-hand 21 and left-hand 21', the necessity for which handedness will become apparent presently. Each bracket 21, or 21', respectively, comprises a horizontal arm 33, 33', a base-located connector member 34, 34' for direct attachment to one of the posts 22 or 23 of an upright frame 20, and a rearwardly extending brace arm 35, 35 having a latch hook 36, 36' at its free end. Horizontal arm 33, 33' may be of any desired form but it is preferred to make it from conventional channel-iron of C-shaped cross-section. The side flanges of each arm 33, 33' may be tapered at the free end thereof, as shown. post-abutment plate 37, 37' arranged at right angles to the longitudinal'axis of the arm is affixed, as by welding, to the web and flanges of the latter.- Connector member 34, 34' preferably is in the form of a flat plate which is welded to the base-end portion:

of arm 33, 33' in flat abutment against the outer face of its front flange. In otherwords, plate-form -conne'ctor the adjacent locking face 31 of the rear reinforcing wall 29 of the frame post to which said bracket is applied when the latter has been swung horizontally from its initial position (that of theleft-hand bracket 21') to the latched position (that of the right-hand bracket 21). The'angularly'bent latch hook 36, 36' provided at the free'end of each brace arm 35, 35' is intended to embrace the corner 30. To make this latching engagement of latch hook 36, '36 with corner 30 possible, plate- form connector member 34, 34 is cut away slightly between adjacent tongues 38-38, 38'-38' to provide a clearance space 41, 41' that is horizontally offset from the respective anchor slots 39-39, 39-39 (Figs. 3 and 4).

The mode of operation in completely assembling and dismantling a bracket 21 in relation to a post 22 or 23 should be understood by reference to the disclosure in Figs. 3 to 5. Consider, for example, the left-hand bracket 21. It is held in the elevated position shown in Fig. 3 with tongues 38'38' in registration with entrance slots 32-32 and said tongues are inserted in said slots (Fig. 5). Then, while purposely avoiding engagement of anchor slots 39'-39' with the lower edges of entrance slots 32-32, the bracket is forced against the post until clearance spaces 41'-41 bear against the exterior face of the frame post (Fig. 5). This movement will move anchor slots 39'39' inward beyond registration with the lower edges of entrance slots 32-32 momentarily for the purpose of increasing the swinging radius of latch hook 36' and permittingit to clear post corner 29. By swinging left-hand bracket 21' until latch hook 36' is over corner 29, subsequent outward pull on said bracket will cause latch hook 36' to embracingly engage corner 29 and will move anchor slots 39-39' into registration with the lower edges ofentrance slots 32-32. Bracket 21' is now lowered until anchor slots 39-39 are engaged with the lower edges of entrance slots 32-32, whereupon said This corresponds to the position of bracket 21 in Figs. 4 and 5. Dismantling is accomplished by reverse movements. The bracket 21' for example is first elevated to disengage the anchor slots 39'-39 from engagement with the lower edges of post entrance slots 32-32, and then pushed inward toward the post 22. until the front corner portions of the latter enter clearance spaces 41'41'. Thereupon, latch hook 36 will clear corner 29 and release bracket 21 for horizontal swinging movement and final withdrawal of tongues 3S38 from the engaged entrance slots 32-32. The mode of operation is similar for the corresponding parts of right-hand bracket 21.

To avoid interference between the brace arms 35, 35 of the respective right-hand and left-hand brackets 21-21 of a mated pair when latched to the rear corner 30 of a frame post 22 or 23, the said brace arms are vertically offset relative to each other as shown in Figs. 3, 4 and 6.

The connection of each pallet-supporting bracket 21 to the associated upright frame post 22 or 23 is reasonably secure against accidental dislodgment of tongues 38-38 from entrance slots 32-32, but I have provided a co-related wedge lock device 42 as an extra precaution. The reason for this is that it sometimes happens that the operator of a fork lift truck engaged in delivering a loaded pallet, or the like, to the four level brackets 21 of a storage rack unit will carelessly exert a careless upthrust against the next higher set of brackets 21 and thereby lift the connector tongues 38 thereof from anchored engagement with the corresponding post entrance slots 32. Such action can cause complete disconnection of the affected brackets and the spilling of any superimposed loaded pallet.

As shown in Figs. 7 and 8, the proposed wedge lock device 42 comprises a wedge body 43 of less vertical thickness than the space between the edge of a slot-engaged connector tongue 33 of each pallet-supporting bracket 22 or 23 and the top of the engaged post entrance slot 32. Wedge body 43 is substantially cubical in cross-section and, due to its shape and size, may be inserted freely into the space just mentioned, wherein it will serve to block the underlying connector tongue 38 against accidental upward displacement into releasable registration with the side wall portion of entrance slot 32. Means must be provided, in turn, to block wedge body 43 against accidental ejection from locking position after having been inserted therein. These means comprise four positioning and locking flanges which will now be described.

A short positioning and locking flange 44 projects downward from the rear side of wedge body 43 to such an extent that the combined vertical extent of said flange 44 and the vertical thickness of said wedge body is slightly less than the space between the upper edge of the post slot engaged connector tongue 38 and the upper edge of said slot to permit manual insertion and extraction of said wedge body. comparatively long and substantially coextensive parallel positioning and locking flanges 45 and 46, respectively, project upwardly from the inner 1 and outer sides of wedge body 43, the inner one of which is in vertical alignment with short flange 44. Another long flange 47 projects downward from the outer side of wedge body 43 in alignment with outer upwardly projecting flange 46. The horizontal spacing between positioning and locking flanges 45 and 46 and between positioning and locking flanges 44 and 47 is substantially equal to twice the thickness of each wall of post 22 or 23. The vertical distance between the respective lower and upper edges of inner positioning and locking flanges 44 and 45 greatly exceeds the space between the upper edge of a post entrance slot-engaged connector tongue 38 and the top of the engaged post entrance slot 32 in order to prevent accidental displacement of wedge lock device 42.

The wedge lock device 42 is applied by tilting its upper end toward the front face of the upright frame post 22 shape.

or 23, as the case may be, and thrusting inner upper long flange 45 inwardly through the appropriate front wall portion of entrance slot 32 until short flange 44 can be moved inwardly through the unobstructed portion of said entrance slot across the upper edge of the engaged bracket connector tongue 38. After this has been done, the lower end of wedge lock device 42 is swung inward tm ward the post and is lowered until wedge body 43 rests upon tongue 38 and short flange 44 is in depressed locking position bearing against the inner side face of said tongue. The result of this manipulation will be to lock the post-mounted pallet-supporting bracket 21 securely in position until purposely manually unlocked.

Because it sometimes is desirable to extend the frame posts 22 and 23 of one or more storage rack units upward to, or toward, the ceiling of a warehouse, I have provided a splicer member 48 shown separately in Fig. 11 and in installed position in Figs. 12 and 13 wherein it rigidly unites a frame post 22 or 23, or first" post, and a vertically aligned superimposed extension post 22. This splicer member 48 is of V-shaped horizontal cross-section and is adapted to be fitted inside the abutting ends of posts 22 and 22' in a position wherein it extends to equal distances within both posts. Splicer member 48 has side flanges 49-49, the angle between which is about the same as the angle of the back wall 29 of each post 22-22', and said side flanges are of such width that, when splicer member 48 is arranged inside the posts to be spliced in the position shown in Fig. 13 with its concave side opposed to the concave inner face of back wall 29, the free edges of its flanges 49-49 will fit in the angles between the back wall 29 and side walls 2727 of said posts and the common apex 50 of said splicer member 48 will bear against front wall 28 thereof. A rigid joint between abutting posts 22 and 22' is afforded by the splicer member structure just described, but said member must be prevented from slipping downward and causing the splice to fail. Therefore, I have positive sustaining means in the form of supporting lugs 51-51 which project horizontally forwardly from side flanges 49-49 of splicer member 48, to which latter said lugs may be affixed in suitable manner as by welding. An alternative mode of construction of supporting lugs 51-51 (not shown) would be to stamp them out of side flanges 49-49. Supporting lugs 51-51 are just long enough to penetrate the respective front corner slots 32-32 of posts 22 and 22 in order that they may rest upon the lower edges of said slots of first post 22.

I Incidentally, with the possible future employment of my splicer members 48 in mind, post sections are produced in such manner that at each end there are opened half slots 32-32 (Figs. 1 and 12). Then, each splicer member 43 has supporting lugs 49-49 of slightly greater vertical width than half the depth of a post slot 32 located substantially at the midpoint of said splicer member. Due to this dimensional relation, the supporting lugs 51-51 will overlap the joint between abutting ends of posts 22 and 22' and thereby increase the rigidity of the splice. To the same end, the horizontal spacing between supporting lugs 51-51 of each splicer member 48 just exceeds with normal clearances the horizontal distance between the front wall inner edges of slots 32-32 (Figs. 12 and 13).

In Figs. 1, 14 and 15, there is represented a step 52 that may be mounted detachably on any frame post 22 or 23 at any desired level to permit anyone to climb up the rack. This step comprises a horizontal body 53, which may be roughened on top as shown to prevent foot-slippage, and means engageable with any selected side-by-side pair of entrance slots 32 of a post 22 or 23. Body 53 preferably is in the form of a channel iron of inverted U- To the side flanges of body 53, a pair of flat connector plates 54-54 are afiixed, as by welding. These plates 54-54 lie in parallel vertical planes and have rearwardly projecting connector tongues 55-55 7, similar in construction to those employed on brackets 21 that are spaced horizontally to match the spacing of the side-by-side front wall portions of entrance slots 32 -32 in each framepo st 22 or 23. Connector tongues 55-55 have anchor slots 5556 in their lower edges for anchoring engagement with the lower edges of the post entrance slots 3232 in the usual manner.

Referring again tothe leveler members 25 disclosed in Figs. 1, 9 and lit may be explained in greater detail that each such leveler member comprises a flat floor plate 57 and a retaining wall 53 that rises from three sides of said fioor plate to permit assembly or separation by foreand-aft relative movement of said plate and a supported frame post 22 or 23. Thepurpose of this leveler member 25 is to afford solid support for any post that happens to require location over a low spot in the floor, which support is provided by inserting one or more shims inside said member 25 between the foot of the post and floor'plate 57.

In Figs. 16 and 17 there is illustrated a pallet-supporting device which supplements the cooperative arrangement of mated brackets 21. in this instance, mated front to rear runners 5959 are supported by the transversely opposed brackets 21 of the respective upright frames of each storage rack unit. Moreover, it is within the scope of my invention to utilize long runners to span the brackets of more than one unit whenever it becomes expedient to arrange several units in a long front to rear row. Each runner 59 is not directly mounted upon the supporting brackets 21. Instead, the runner 59 is mounted upon a cap 60 removably applied to the brackets 23.. Each cap 60 is in the form of a short piece of channel-iron of invetted U-shape and having dimensions that enable it to fiit with slight clearances over the top of each bracket 21. Each capo!) has a downwardly projecting securing pin 61 that engages a hole 62 provided in the cross web of a supporting bracket 21.

It should now be apparent that I have provided a very versatile storage rack composed of units whose structural elements make it possible to combine units in an over-all rack which may extend indefinitely in a lateral direction along an approach aisle and from front to rear in rows which may be entered and followed by a fork lift truck to utilize every cubic foot of the racks storage capacity.

While the invention has been illustrated and described with respect to only a few embodiments thereof, it will be understood that it is intended to cover all changes and modifications of the embodiments shown which do not constitute departures from the spirit of the invention and scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a drive-in storage rack, an upright frame post of tubular form including fiat parallel side walls, a flat front wall joining said side walls at right angles thereto to form front corners, and a substantially V-shaped rearwardly convex rear reinforcing wall joining said side walls to stiffen the post and prevent buckling of the side and front walls under load strains and to form an exterior corner having angularly arranged locking faces, portions of both front corners being cut away at vertical intervals to provide uniformly longitudinally spaced side-by-side vertically elongated and horizontally shallow rectangular entrance slots each of which opens at least laterally through the corresponding side wall; at least one horizontally propecting pallet-supporting bracket including: a horizontal arm having a base portion to abut a selected side wall of the upright post, and a flat connector plate projecting longitudinally from the front edge of said arm and being arranged in a vertical plane, said connector plate including plural vertically co-planar tongues projecting longitudinally from the base portion of said arm and being vertically spaced to correspond to the vertical spacingof adjacent post entrance slots, each tongue being dimensionedto fit with slight clearance in an engaged entrance slot and being provided with a vertical anchor slot projecting from the rear edge of the pallet-supporting" bracket arm for abutment against the adjacent locking face of the rear reinforcing wall of the upright post.

2. The invention defined in claim I, to which is'added a forwardly bent latch hook provided at the end of said race arm to engage the opposite locking face of said reinforcing wall, and thereby secure the post-engaged bracket in operative position against forwardly swinging displacement, the connector plate bein cut away slightly between adjacent tongues to provide a clearanc'espace horizontally offset from the anchor slots in the tongues whereby initial penetration of said tongues in the side wall slots of the upright post will exceed final penetration after the tongues have been lowered into anchor slot engagement with said side wall of the post in order to permit the latch hook of the brace arm to swing on a large radius and clear the corner of the rear reinforcing post wall. 3. The invention defined in claim 2, wherein there are two pallet-supporting brackets engaged with respective 1 front. corner slots at the same level, one bracket being rght-hand and the other left-hand, and whereinthe brace arm of the right-hand bracket is offset vertically from the brace arm of the left-hand bracket to avoid interference between the latch hooks thereof in their engagement with the corner of the rear reinforcing wall of the upright post.

4. in a storage rack, a hollow uprigrt frame post including flat parallel side walls and a flat front wall joining said side walls at right angles thereto to form front corners, said post having portions of both front corners cut away at vertical intervals to provide uniformly longitudinally spaced side-by-side vertically elongated and horizontally shallow rectangular entrance slots each of which opens forwardly through the front wall and laterally through the corresponding side wall; a horizontally pro jecting pallet-supporting bracket including a flat connector plate arranged in a vertical plane and having plural vertically co-planar tongues spaced vertically to correspond to the vertical spacing of adjacent post entrance slots, each tongue being slightly less in length than the horizontal width of the front wall portion of each entrance slot, slightly less in vertical width than the height of said slot, and slightly less in horizontal thickness than the horizontal depth of the side wall portion of said slot, whereby the respective tongues of the connector plate may be introduced directly by horizontal movement from front to rear into the respective engaged entrance slots through the front wall portions thereof until they overlie the lower edges of the respective side wall portions of said slots, each connector tongue being provided with a vertical anchor slot in its lower edge to embrace the lower edge of the side wall portion of the engaged entrance slot, and 'a removable wedge lock device applied to each post-engaged pallet-supporting bracket connector plate to prevent dislodgement of the tongues of said plate from post entrance slot engagement when the bracket is accidentally thrust upwardly, saidd wedge lock device comprising a wedge body of considerably less vertical thickness than the space between the top edge of a slotengaged tongue and the top of the slot inserted into said space to block upward displacement of the connector tongue from post slot engaged position, a short positioning and locking flange projecting downward from the inner side of the wedge body to such an extent that the combined vertical extent of said short locking flange and the vertical thickness of said wedge body is slightly less than the space between the upper edge of the post slot engaged connector tongue and the upper edge of said slot to permit manual insertion and extraction of the wedge body, comparatively long and substantially coextensive parallel positioning and locking flanges projecting upwardly from the inner and outer sides of the wedge body,

and a comparatively long positioning and locking flange projecting downwardly from the outer side of the wedge body parallel to said short inner flange and in vertical alignment with the outer upwardly projecting long flange, the horizontal spacing between the downwardly projecting positioning and locking flanges and between the upwardly projecting positioning and locking flanges being substantially equal to twice the thickness of the frame post wall to permit tilting of the wedge lock device during assembly with the rack and removal therefrom, and the vertical distance between the respective lower and upper edges of the inner positioning and locking flanges being greatly in excess of the space between upper edge of a post entrance slot-engaged connector tongue and the top of the engaged post entrance slot in order to prevent accidental displacement of the wedge lock device.

5. In a storage rack, the combination of a first upright frame post of tubular form including flat parallel side walls, a flat front wall joining said side walls at right angles thereto, and a substantially V-shaped rear wall joining said side walls to stifien the post and prevent buckling of the side and front walls under load stresses, an extension post superimposed upon said first post, and an elongated splicer member fitted inside the contiguous ends of said first and extension posts in overlapping relation to the abutting ends thereof, said splicer member being substantially V-shaped in cross-section and arranged with its common apex abutting the front Walls of said contiguous posts and the free vertical edges of its side flanges fitting in the corners between the rear Wall and the side walls of the posts, and sustaining lugs projecting forwardly from the middle portions of said side flanges to engage respective front wall slots of the posts.

6. The invention as defined in'claim 5, wherein the sustaining lugs are substantially equal in height to slightly more than one-half the height of each front wall slot of the posts.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 924,005 Schwieger June 8, 1909 1,473,817 Gorsline Nov. 13, 1923 1,764,766 White June 17, 1930 1,915,727 Friedemann June 27, 1933 2,086,026 Gedris July 6, 1937 2,107,660 Cichocki 2 Feb. 8, 1938 2,110,005 Rees Mar. 1, 1938 2,883,137 Weber Apr. 21, 1959 2,894,641 Edwards July 14, 1959 2,895,619 Frazier July 21, 1959

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