US3626487A — Fire and vermin resistant storage structure havin…

Claim 1

Independent Claim 328 words

In a storage structure having at least two uprights and a crossbeam releasably and adjustably mounted on said uprights, each of said uprights having a front web plate and means including holes providing access at spaced intervals into the interior of the upright through the web plate; the improvement comprising: a support clip mounted on each end of said beam for engaging said upright and spanning across said access means, at least one bearing pin protruding from said clip and snugly engaging in one of said holes, primary locking means rotatably carried on said clip for projecting through a selected one of said accEss holes and engaging the interior of said web plate upon rotation for releasably securing said beam thereto, said primary locking means including a locking device having a shank journaled in said clip, an eccentrically offset head on one end of said shank for engaging said web plate interior upon rotation of said shank, and an arm on the other end of said shank for rotating said shank to cause said head to selectively engage and disengage said web plate interior, and secondary locking means carried on said clip and projecting through a selected other one of said access holes, said secondary locking means including a locking pin with a shoulder, said locking pin being offset with respect to its associated hole by a distance corresponding substantially to the radial dimension of said shoulder, said clip having an edge spaced from said locking shoulder with said edge being engageable against the outside of said front flange and said locking shoulder being engageable against the inside thereof to enable said clip and beam to be inclined with respect to said upright thereby to facilitate connection and disconnection of the beams and the uprights, said locking shoulder being engageable against the inside of the front flange after snug engagement of the bearing pin in its associated hole and when the beam is torqued on its longitudinal axis.

Claim 2

Dependent Claim 328 words

In a storage structure having at least two uprights and a crossbeam releasably and adjustably mounted on said uprights, each of said uprights having a front web plate and means including holes providing access at spaced intervals into the interior of the upright through the web plate; the improvement comprising: a support clip mounted on each end of said beam for engaging said upright and spanning across said access means, at least one bearing pin protruding from said clip and snugly engaging in one of said holes, primary locking means rotatably carried on said clip for projecting through a selected one of said accEss holes and engaging the interior of said web plate upon rotation for releasably securing said beam thereto, said primary locking means including a locking device having a shank journaled in said clip, an eccentrically offset head on one end of said shank for engaging said web plate interior upon rotation of said shank, and an arm on the other end of said shank for rotating said shank to cause said head to selectively engage and disengage said web plate interior, and secondary locking means carried on said clip and projecting through a selected other one of said access holes, said secondary locking means including a locking pin with a shoulder, said locking pin being offset with respect to its associated hole by a distance corresponding substantially to the radial dimension of said shoulder, said clip having an edge spaced from said locking shoulder with said edge being engageable against the outside of said front flange and said locking shoulder being engageable against the inside thereof to enable said clip and beam to be inclined with respect to said upright thereby to facilitate connection and disconnection of the beams and the uprights, said locking shoulder being engageable against the inside of the front flange after snug engagement of the bearing pin in its associated hole and when the beam is torqued on its longitudinal axis.

Claim 3

Dependent Claim 53 words

Apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said primary locking means includes a resilient arm on the outside of said clip for rotating said primary locking means, said arm having an inturned free end portion releasably engageable in keeper means carried by said locking-pin to thereby prevent inadvertent rotation of said primary locking means.

Claim 4

Dependent Claim 84 words

Apparatus according to claim 2 wherein said locking device has a base portion on said shank disposed on the exterior of said clip, and including a retainer having a bifurcated portion engaging said base portion to limit the axial displacement of said shank on said clip, said bifurcations being disposed to limit transaxial displacement of said shank, and means to secure said retainer to said clip, whereby said locking device is secured against inadvertent disengagement from the clip on the end of the beam.

Claim 5

Dependent Claim 89 words

Apparatus according to claim 3 wherein said retainer comprises a spring element having a bifurcated portion disposed on opposite sides of said shank and between said clip and said base portion, said spring element being flexible intermediate said mounting means and said shank to enable said shank to be displaced axially and its head to clear the front of said clip and said bifurcations on said element being disposed to permit transaxial displacement of said shank in a direction to allow removal of the locking device from the clip.

Claim 6

Dependent Claim 228 words

A storage structure comprising: end frames each having a pair of hollow closed tubular uprights with each upright having a web plate and a pair of side flanges integral with said web plate, at least one hollow closed tubular beam spanning between said end frames, closure means extending across the tops and bottoms of said uprights and across the ends of said beam to close the interiors thereof, removable means providing access openings into the interior of said uprights at spaced intervals along their lengths, said access-providing means being formed in said web plate and including a series of holes disposed in parallel rows and knockouts within said holes, a support clip mounted on each end of said beam for engaging said upright and spanning across at least one row of said access means, said support clip engaging flush against said web plate, and locking means carried on each support clip to protrude through open ones of said access openings and engage the interior of said uprights for releasably securing said beam thereto, said knockouts being located with respect to the plane of the web to provide a substantially smooth outer surface, whereby the closed tubular elements of said storage structure are resistant to infiltratioN and inhabitation by vermin and whereby the beam may be mounted in different vertical locations upon removal of said knockouts from selected holes.

Claim 7

Dependent Claim 228 words

A storage structure comprising: end frames each having a pair of hollow closed tubular uprights with each upright having a web plate and a pair of side flanges integral with said web plate, at least one hollow closed tubular beam spanning between said end frames, closure means extending across the tops and bottoms of said uprights and across the ends of said beam to close the interiors thereof, removable means providing access openings into the interior of said uprights at spaced intervals along their lengths, said access-providing means being formed in said web plate and including a series of holes disposed in parallel rows and knockouts within said holes, a support clip mounted on each end of said beam for engaging said upright and spanning across at least one row of said access means, said support clip engaging flush against said web plate, and locking means carried on each support clip to protrude through open ones of said access openings and engage the interior of said uprights for releasably securing said beam thereto, said knockouts being located with respect to the plane of the web to provide a substantially smooth outer surface, whereby the closed tubular elements of said storage structure are resistant to infiltratioN and inhabitation by vermin and whereby the beam may be mounted in different vertical locations upon removal of said knockouts from selected holes.

Claim 8

Dependent Claim 21 words

A structure according to claim 5 wherein said access providing means includes a removable resilient plug to close said selected holes.

Claim 9

Dependent Claim 63 words

A structure according to claim 5 wherein the side flanges of at least one of said uprights have inturned lips coextensive in length therewith and disposed in edgewise abutting relation to form said column with a rectangular tubular cross section, and including means spanning across said abutting lips to maintain said lips in said relation and to close the interior of said upright.

Claim 10

Dependent Claim 36 words

A structure according to claim 7 including bracing extending between adjacent uprights in said end frames and secured to said lips to form a free-standing structure, and said lip-spanning means including a layer of sealing material.

Annuity Stage	Window Opens	Payment Deadline	Surcharge Period Until	Estimated Fee	Status
3.5 Years (Year 4)	1974-12-06	1975-06-07	1975-12-07	$2000.00	Window Closed / Lapsed
7.5 Years (Year 8)	1978-12-06	1979-06-07	1979-12-07	$3760.00	Window Closed / Lapsed
11.5 Years (Year 12)	1982-12-06	1983-06-07	1983-12-07	$7700.00	Window Closed / Lapsed

Fire and vermin resistant storage structure having fail-safe features

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