Modular rack assembly

Claim 2

A modular rack assembly for storing and shipping massive metal articles comprising, a rectangular shaped rigid metal base including a pair of oppositely disposed side rails, a pair of oppositely disposed end rails, and a vertically disposed leg member fixed at each corner of said base, each of said leg members including means providing a vertically extending leg groove open in a direction facing the opposite end of said base and in substantial vertical alignment with a leg groove at the opposite end of said base, an upstanding metal post member at each corner of said rack assembly and means engaging each of said post members with the leg member at that corner to support said post members above said leg members, each of said post members including means providing a vertically extending groove open in a direction facing the opposite end of said rack assembly and in substantial vertical alignment with the leg groove therebelow to provide a pair of open interfacing vertically aligned grooves extending along a substantial length of said leg members and post members at each side of the rack assembly, and a plurality of wooden boards disposed along each side of said rack assembly to provide a load bearing wall at each respective side thereof, the plurality of boards at each respective side being superimposed one on top of another with each successive board supported on its edge above a preceding board and with the opposite ends of each board laterally supported by the means providing said pair of grooves at that side of said rack assembly.

Claim 3

A modular metal rack assembly for storing and shipping massive metal articles comprising, a rectangular shaped base including a pair of oppositely disposed horizontally extending side rails, a pair of oppositely disposed horizontally extending end rails, and a vertically disposed leg member fixed at each corner of said base and extending above said side and end rails, each of said leg members including means providing a vertically extending leg groove open in a direction facing the opposite end of said base and in substantial vertical alignment with a leg groove at the opposite end of said base, an upstanding post member at each corner of said rack and means engaging each of said post members with the leg member at that corner to support said post members above said leg members, each of said post members including means providing a vertically extending groove open in a direction facing the opposite end of said rack assembly and in substantial vertical alignment with the leg groove provided by the leg member supporting that post member to provide a vertically extending continuation of each of said leg grooves, said leg grooves and said continuations thereby providing a pair of open interfacing vertically aligned grooves at each side of the rack assembly whereby at least one side member may be disposed on its edge along each side of said rack assembly with the opposite ends of each side member slidably received in said pair of grooves provided at that side of the rack assembly and laterally supported by said means providing said grooves.

Claim 4

A modular metal rack assembly for storing and shipping massive metal articles comprising, a rectangular shaped base including a pair of oppositely disposed horizontally extending side rails, a pair of oppositely disposed horizontally extending end rails, and a vertically disposed leg member fixed at each corner of said base and extending above said side and end rails, each of said leg members including means providing a vertically extending leg groove open in a direction facing the opposite end of said base and in substantial vertical alignment with a leg groove at the opposite end of said base, an upstanding post member at each corner of said rack and means engaging each of said post members with the leg member at that corner to support said post members above said leg members, each of said post members including means providing a vertically extending groove open in a direction facing the opposite end of said rack assembly and in substantial vertical alignment with the leg groove provided by the leg member supporting that post member to provide a vertically extending continuation of each of said leg grooves, said leg grooves and said continuations thereby providing a pair of open interfacing vertically aligned grooves at each side of the rack assembly whereby at least one side member may be disposed on its edge along each side of said rack assembly with the opposite ends of each side member slidably received in said pair of grooves provided at that side of the rack assembly and laterally supported by said means providing said grooves.

Claim 5

The modular metal rack assembly defined by claim 2 wherein the pair of upstanding post members provided at each end of said rack are fixed together in parallel spaced relation in alignment with the leg members provided at each end of said base and a channel shaped metal element is fixed to each respective post member along a substantial length thereof to provide said vertically extending groove.

Claim 6

The modular metal rack assembly defined by claim 3 wherein a channel shaped metal element is fixed to each leg member along a substantial length thereof to provide a vertically extending leg groove of substantially rectangular cross section.

Claim 7

The modular metal rack assembly defined by claim 2 wherein a plurality of side members are disposed along each side of said rack assembly to provide a pair of oppositely disposed load bearing side walls, the side members at each respective side of the rack assembly being superimposed one on top of another with each successive side member supported on its edge above the preceding side member and with the opposite ends of each side member laterally supported by the means providing said pair of open interfacing vertically aligned grooves at that side of said rack assemBly.

Claim 8

The modular rack assembly defined by claim 5 wherein the plurality of side members provided along each side of said rack assembly supports at least one massive metal article disposed horizontally thereacross and at least one additional side member is disposed on edge along each side of said rack assembly, the lower edge of each said additional side member being supported by said massive metal article and the opposite ends of each said additional side member being laterally supported by the means providing said pair of open interfacing vertically aligned grooves at that side of said rack assembly.

Claim 9

The modular rack assembly of claim 5 wherein said side members are comprised of a plurality of wooden boards disposed on edge to support a heavy durable metal article without damaging the surface thereof.

Claim 10

A modular rack assembly for storing and shipping a plurality of massive metal articles comprising, a rectangular shaped rigid metal base including a pair of oppositely disposed horizontally extending side rails, a pair of oppositely disposed horizontally extending end rails, and a vertically disposed leg member fixed at each corner of said base and extending above said rails, a pair of rectangular shaped metal end frames, each end frame including a pair of post members fixed together in parallel spaced relation and each post member including means providing a vertically extending groove open in a direction facing the opposite end of said base, the upper ends of said leg members and the lower ends of said post members being respectively provided with first and second means for slidably receiving said end of one of said members within said end of the other of said members in telescopic relation, said post members of each end frame being spaced to vertically align said post members of each end frame with a pair of said leg members at opposite ends of said base and to align each of the grooves included with the post members of one end frame with one of the grooves included with the post members of the other end frame to provide a pair of open interfacing vertically aligned grooves at each side of the rack assembly when the post members of each end frame are telescopically engaged with a pair of leg members at opposite ends of said base, and at least one side member disposed along each side of the rack assembly, the opposite ends of each side member being slidably received in said pair of grooves provided at that side of the rack assembly and being laterally supported by said means providing said pair of grooves.

Claim 11

A modular rack assembly for storing and shipping a plurality of massive metal articles comprising, a rectangular shaped rigid metal base including a pair of oppositely disposed horizontally extending side rails, a pair of oppositely disposed horizontally extending end rails, and a vertically disposed leg member fixed at each corner of said base and extending above said rails, a pair of rectangular shaped metal end frames, each end frame including a pair of post members fixed together in parallel spaced relation and each post member including means providing a vertically extending groove open in a direction facing the opposite end of said base, the upper ends of said leg members and the lower ends of said post members being respectively provided with first and second means for slidably receiving said end of one of said members within said end of the other of said members in telescopic relation, said post members of each end frame being spaced to vertically align said post members of each end frame with a pair of said leg members at opposite ends of said base and to align each of the grooves included with the post members of one end frame with one of the grooves included with the post members of the other end frame to provide a pair of open interfacing vertically aligned grooves at each side of the rack assembly when the post members of each end frame are telescopically engaged with a pair of leg members at opposite ends of said base, and at least one side member disposed along each side of the rack assembly, the opposite ends of each side member being slidably received in said pair of grooves provided at that side of the rack assembly and being laterally supported by said means providing said pair of grooves.

Claim 12

The modular rack assembly of claim 8 wherein said means providing said vertically extending groove to each of said post members comprises a channel shaped element fixed to each respective post member and extending along a substantial length thereof.

Claim 13

The modular rack assembly defined in claim 8 wherein each of said leg members include means providing a vertically extending leg groove open in a direction facing the opposite end of said base and said means providing each of said leg grooves is disposed in vertical alignment with the means providing said vertically extending groove to the post member telescopically engaged with that respective leg member to provide a pair of open interfacing leg grooves at each side of the base in substantial vertical alignment with the pair of grooves provided at that side of the rack assembly by said post members.

Claim 14

The modular rack assembly defined by claim 10 wherein said means providing said vertically extending groove to each of said post members and said means providing a vertically extending leg groove to each of said leg members are comprised of a formed metal element fixed to each respective post member or leg member along a substantial length thereof to provide a vertically extending groove of substantially rectangular cross section.

Claim 15

The modular rack assembly defined by claim 8 wherein said base rails and leg members are hollow metal tubular members of rectangular cRoss section fixed together at each corner of said base and reinforced at each corner by a formed gusset plate two intersecting edges of which are respectively welded to the outer surface of a side rail and the side surface of a leg member at that corner of said base, that portion of the gusset plate which extends toward the leg member at the opposite end of said base being formed outwardly to space the interior surface of said gusset plate outward of said side surface of said leg member, and said post members of said end frames are formed from the same tubular stock as said leg members and are of a length less than the length of said side rails to enable said end frames to be stored horizontally one on top of the other on said base with said post members supported by said side rails between the leg members at each end of said base and restrained from substantial lateral movement by said outwardly formed gusset plates which provide lateral clearance at each side of the rack assembly.

Claim 16

The modular rack assembly defined by claim 12 wherein each of the tubular post members are reinforced by a metal band positioned around and fixed to the external surface thereof and said gusset plates are formed to space their respective interior surfaces a sufficient distance outward from the side surface of its respective leg member to accommodate the thickness of said band when said end frames are stored between said gusset plates.