US3525442A

US3525442A - Cantilever rack

Info

Publication number: US3525442A
Application number: US717072A
Authority: US
Inventors: William H Novales
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1968-03-27
Filing date: 1968-03-27
Publication date: 1970-08-25
Anticipated expiration: 1987-08-25

Description

Aug. 25, 1970 Filed March 27, 1968 w. H. NovALr-:s

CANTILVER RACK 3 Sheets-@Sheet 1 ,mi nl WILL/AM H. NOVL ES mm M @Mr/5f( A T TORNEYS l Aug.i25,"1f9'u0 w. H. NQVALES l 3,525,442

CANTILEVER nyAcx Filed March 27, 1958l 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR.

WIL L/AM H. NOVALES WMM 7%@ ATTORNEYS United States Patent O Int. Cl. A47b 96/12, 96/14 U.S. Cl. 211--176 6 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A cantilever rack having one or more rectangular vertical columns with horizontal arms extending therefrom wherein the column has a series of holes on one face of the column and the arm has a flat plate adapted to lie against the face of the column with a pin extending therefrom adapted to extend into one of said holes, the cantilever arm having extensions formed of angle iron extending on both sides of and beyond the column with means on the side of the column opposite the pin for fastening the two arms together. The fastening means can comprise a tapered pin passing through holes in the extensions or can comprise a bar held by lugs on the extension or an angle iron may be bolted to the extensions to form the holding means.

CROSS REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATION This application is a continuation in part of Ser. No. 549,620 filed May l2, 1966, now abandoned.

BACKGROUND OF T HE INVENTION Field of the invention Cantilever arm storage rack.

Description of the prior art The closest prior art known is that cited in the above identified parent application.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION This application relates to storage racks commonly known as cantilever adjustable arm racks which consist of a plurality of steel columns with horizontal arms fastened thereto which are used for storage purposes. Such racks are frequently used to permit the lift truck storage of long parts or commodities such as pipe, plywood and the like. Such racks are also frequently provided with shelf members extending along the arms to permit the storage of articles of various sizes. Such racks must be made very strong since they are frequently used for the storage of heavy articles. Further, such racks are ordinarily made so that they can be easily adjusted to permit storage of articles of various sizes. Conventionally the columns in such racks are punched with a plurality of holes on either side of the columns into which single arms can be hooked or a similar pattern of holes punched in the back of the column so that double arms can be hooked into the racks. Such arms are conventionally locked into the holes by means of studs welded on the arms or by means of a wedge inserted into rectangular slots in the column. The column is ordinarily welded or otherwise fastened to a base which is slightly longer than the arms of the rack.

Most of the racks heretofore known of this description have subjected the column to tearing action caused by the arms tending to rotate as a load is applied to the arm, placing the metal in tension. This has required that the columns be made of heavy gage material to resist the tearing action.

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In accordance with the present invention a superior form of cantilever adjustable arm rack is provided having easy means of adjustment of the rack on the column.

Another object of this invention is to provide a structure wherein the arm ts over the column so that pressure on the arm tends to compress the column rather than tearing it. In this manner, a rack having a given capacity can be made with lighter gage columns.

Still another object of this invention is to provide for bracing of the several columns by using a similar fastener to hold the braces which fastening may or may nor be part of an arm. The bracing of this type of rack is rather critical when one considers that the columns may be 20 feet tall with a plurality of arms on each column supporting as much as 20 tons.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a front elevation of a cantilever adjustable arm rack embodying the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side elevation of the rack shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged detailed view on the line 3 3 of FIG. l.

FIG. 4 is a section on the line 4-4 of FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective View of a brace member embodying the present invention.

FIG. 6 is an enlarged partial view of an arm of simplied design adapted for relatively light storage.

FIG. 7 is an exploded view showing another embodiment of the invention wherein a bar operating against lugs locks the column in place.

FIG. 8 is an assembled side elevation of the device shown in FIG. 7.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing the use of an angle iron to lock the arms in place.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring now to the drawings by reference characters the rack of the present invention comprises a plurality of

columns

6, 8, 10, and 12 each of said columns being generally rectangular in cross section, as is best seen in FIG. 5 and each having a plurality of holes 14, punched at regular intervals in the front face of the column. The columns are provided with a base member 16 having gusset plates 18 the whole being assembled by Welding, bolting or other suitable means. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 2, double columns having posts l6 and 6A are employed with tie members 20 welded to the columns at suitable intervals to hold them in iixed relationship. However, the physical structure of the column itself does not form part of the invention and it is obvious that only single columns might be employed such as when it is desired to have the arms of a rack extend from a wall with storage substantially against the wall.

The adjustable arms are generally designated 22 and may be of tapered configuration as is shown in FIG. 2. Preferably the arms are of a box structure having at least side members as at 24 and a top member 28. In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the arms are provided with a flat plate member 30 which is adapted to lie ilush against a column and which has a pin 32 extending therefrom, said pin being adapted to tit in one of the holes 14 on one of the columns. This plate is suitably secured into the -end of the box member by welding. Attached near the end of the arm 22 are the

extension members

34 and 36 which extend on either side of the column as is best seen in FIG. 4 and extend beyond the column as is shown in FIG. 3. The

extensions

34 and 36 are made of angle iron Ihaving two webs at to each other, one of the webs 38 lying flush against the side wall of the column While the other web 40 extends outwardly at 90 therefrom. The extension members overlap the arms a suitable length for the necessary strength. Further, gussets 25 may be welded between the arms and the extensions for added strength.

Side webs

34 and 36 have holes 42 Itherein, preferably with the center line of the hole lined approximately with the back face of the column. A half round tapered wedge 44 completes the assembly. Thus to place the arm on the rack it is only necessary to move the arm to the desired location and push the pin 32 into the desired hole 14. The tapered pin 44 is then driven into the holes 42 locking the structure firmly in place. It will be seen that as a load is applied to the arm, the base is given a twisting motion and that the column is loaded in compression, not in tension. Thus, there is no tearing movement on the column and a relatively light gage column is enabled to support a relatively heavy load.

One form of brace support is shown in FIG. 5. This comprises two side members generally designated 46 and 48 each of which is made of angle iron having a horizontal web 50 and a vertical web 52. The side members are connected together by a face plate 54 having a pin 56 extending inwardly therefrom. The horizontal members have suitable holes 58 so that a cross brace 60 can be fastened thereto by suitable means such as bolt 62. The vertical members have holes 64 so that a bolt or other suitable fastening means 66 can be inserted therein to lock the brace support to the post 6. It will be recognized that the structure shown in FIG. is substantially that shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 except that the supporting arm s lacking. Indeed, the structure shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 can also be used to support a horizontal brace as well as forming part of a support arm for holding commodities. Thus the

Webs

34 and 36 may have

suitable holes

35 and 37 therein to which can be fastened a cross brace 61 as is shown in phantom in FIG. 3.

The structures thus far described have been relatively heavy duty units but for the storage of relatively light and particularly bulky commodities, a lighter duty structure such as that shown in FIG. l6 may be employed. In accordance With this embodiment of the invention, arm 63 has

flat extension members

65 and 67 thereon which may be further reinforced by means 0f a gusset 70. A face plate 72 having pin 74 is employed as before and the

arms

65 and 67 have suitable holes 76 to which a half round tapered pin 78 can be inserted.

It should be noted that the inwardly extending pins, i.e. 32, 56, and 74 are not primarily load supporting pins but rather are merely locating pins to hold the arm lightly at the desired place on the column. Primarily the load support cornes through the fact that as a load is applied to the arm it tends to twist, compressing the column and causing the arm to tighten its grip of the column.

In some instances, it is preferred to not employ the tapered pin 78 but instead use other means to lock the arm to the column.

Referring now to FIGS. 7 and 8, arm 124 is provided with extensions generally designated 134 made of angle iron each of which has a side web 138 and a top web 140. The arm is provided with a pin 156 adapted to mate with a hole 114 in the column 106. On the top web, lugs 141 and 143 are attached by any suitable means, such as Welding. A cross member 145 is provided and, as can best be seen in FIG. 8, it is merely necessary to place the pin 156 in an appropriate hole with the arms extending beyond the column and then drop the cross member 145 in place where it locks the arm securely against the

lugs

141 and 143. Preferably the cross member 145 has

end members

147 and 149 to securely lock the cross member in place and prevent it from sliding out. This is particularly valuable if the rack may be subjected to vibrations as might be encountered in an industrial plant or during an earthquake.

It is preferred that the extensions 134 be set at a slight angle to the arm 124, i.e. the angle between the end of the arm 124 and the member 134 is slightly greater than Thus, referring to FIG. 8, if the angle A is made about 92, a more secure locking action is achieved. The arm is placed on the column and the member 145 dropped in place and then as a load is applied to the arm 124, a wedging action occurs insuring a tight structure. Thus when the arm 124 is first put into place, the end 130 thereof will be in contact with the column only at its top and will be slightly away from the column at the bottom of the member. Then, as the member 145 is slipped into place and a weight is placed on arm 124, arm 124 will move down slightly to assume the horizontal position whereupon the end will come into full contact with the column throughout its height and the cross member will be locked securely in place insuring a tight structure.

Another method of locking the arms in place is shown in FIG. 9. Here' an angle iron 160 having one web 162 in contact with the column and a second web 164 in contact with the top faces of the extensions 134 is fastened by bolts 166 to the latter. The angle iron 160 may be a short piece, as is shown in FIG. 9 which is merely long enough to span the webs or it may be a portion of a long piece of angle iron running from one column to the next, providing bracing between the columns.

Although this invention can =be made with various sizes of material, in one practical embodiment of the invention, the columns consisted of a pair of ten foot 2 x 4 structural rectangular tubing with 7A6 inch holes drilled on 3 inch center on one of the two inch surfaces on eac'h of the columns. The arms were made of 2 x 4 tubing 48 inches long having a /lg inch steel plate welded to one end of the tube. This plate had a 3%; inch diameter pin welded on as is shown at 32. The side members consisted of two pieces each 7 inches long of angle iron 11/2 inches by 2 inches by 1A inch which were welded to the 2 x 4 tubing. Two triangular pieces of gusset plate 1%6" thick were then welded to the tubing and to the angle iron immediately below the angle leg.

It is obvious that many variations can be made in the exact structure shown without departing from the spirit of this invention.

I claim:

1. In a cantilever rack including a rectangular vertical column and a horizontal arm extending therefrom the improvement comprising:

(a) a plurality of holes in a rst face of the vertical column;

(b) a at vertical plate on the horizontal arm, said plate being adapted to lie flush with said rst face of said column;

(c) a pin on said plate, said pin extending into one of said holes;

(d) extensions on the horizontal arm, said extensions lying on opposite sides of the column and extending beyond said column each of said extensions comprising an angle iron having two webs at right angles to each other, with one of said webs lying flush with the side wall of the column and the other web extending at right angles to the column, and

(e) fastening means extending between the said extensions, said means being flush with said column.

2. The structure of claim 1 wherein said fastening means includes:

(a) holes in said extensions, said holes having a center line substantially even with a second face on said column;

(b) said second face being opposite said first face; and

(c) a tapered pin passing through the holes in said extensions and locking against said second face.

3. The structure of claim 1 wherein a plurality of columns are employed with horizontal brace members extending between the columns, said brace members being fastened to the column by a structure having in combination:

(a) a flat vertical plate with a pin extending therefrom;

v(b) said at plate being adapted to lie against said first face of said column with the pin extending into one of the holes in the column;

(c) extensions on said plate, said extensions lying on opposite sides of said columns and extending beyond a second face opposite the first face;

(d) holes in said extensions with a pin passing through said holes lying against said second face and locking the structure to the column; and

(e) a horizontal brace member attached to the upper side of said extensions.

4. The structure of claim 1 wherein said fastening means includes:

(a) lugs extending upwardly from the webs extending at right angles to the column, said lugs being located beyond the column and spaced therefrom, and

(b) a cross member extending between the lugs and occupying the space between the lugs and the column.

5. The structure of claim 1 wherein said fastening CII means includes an angle iron bolted to the webs which extend at right angles to the column.

6. The structure of claim 1 wherein the extensions form an angle of about 92 with the plate.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS ROY D. FRAZIER, Primary Examiner U.S. C1. X.R.