Storage rack

Claim 2

A storage rack comprising (a) a post having a side face, (b) a beam in the front of the rack which beam is supported by the post, said beam having a front face in which there is an opening in the portion thereof toward the post, which opening has ends at different distances from the post and has a lower edge including two separate lower portions at different distances from the post, which lower portions form sharp angles with the vertical edges of an intermediate higher portion separating them, and said opening extending a substantial amount away from the post beyond the further away of the two lower portions to form an extended end portion having a bottom edge located above the lower edge of the two separate lower portions, (c) the beam including a portion adjacent to the side face of the post, and the adjacent portions of the beam and the side face of the post each having an aperture therein, and (d) a beam lock key including a portion extending in front of the beam, a portion extending through the opening in the front of the beam and a portion further back than the opening and extending from that opening at least into the aperture in the beam, the portion in front of the beam extending substantially further away from the post than the portion of the key which passes through the opening in the front of the beam, (e) the key having one position in which the portion of the key passing through the opening in the front of the beam rests in the one of the two lower portions of the lower edge of the opening which is further from the post, the portion of the key in front of the beam is in front of and substantially hides said extended end portion of the opening and the portion of the key further back than the opening stops short of the aperture in the post, and does not lack the beam against substantial upward movement relative to the post which would create a danger of displacement of the beam or its load, and the key having another position in which the portion of the key that extends through the opening in the front of the beam rests in the other of the two lower portions of its lower edge, the portion of the key in front of the beam stops substantially short of said extended end portion, and leaves said extended end portion well visible, and the portion of the key further back than the opening extends through the apertures in the post and the beam and locks the beam against substantial upward movement relative to the post which would create a danger of displacement of the beam or its load, the key being in the form of an elongated strip of material having throughout its length a thickness dimension which is less than the distance between the intermediate higher portion of the lower edge and the upper edge of the opening, and having a longitudinally intermediate portion which has a width dimension less than the distance between the upper edge and the lower portions of the lower edge of the opening and having portions respectively positioned longitudinally in each direction from said longitudinally intermediate portion which each have a width dimension greater than the distance between the upper edge and the lower portions of the lower edge of the opening.

Claim 3

A storage rack of claim 1 in which the key is in the form of a strip having its greater cross sectional dimension in the upright direction.

Claim 4

A storage rack of claim 1, in which the beam is supported by the post by means of structure from the beam extending into the front of the post and requiring upward movement for removal from the position in which the support is effected.

Claim 5

A rack setup comprising (a) two upright posts spaced from each other and having upright walls approximately facing one another, which walls are hereinafter called the side walls, and upright walls approximately facing in a direction from which access will be normally had to the rack setup and which direction they are facing is hereinafter called the frOnt, (b) at least one approximately horizontal beam extending between the posts, with posts and beam having cooperating means to support the beam from the posts, the beam having a face toward the front and the vertically intermediate part of that front beam face being recessed so as to be substantially behind the top and bottom of that front face, said recessed portion of that beam front face having walls forming a hole toward each end of the beam, said hole extending in an approximately horizontal direction and having a portion in a direction toward the end of the beam and a portion located in a direction away from the end of the beam where it is substantially lower than in an intermediate portion between them, the hole bottom between these two lower portions and the intermediate higher portion extending in sharply upstanding direction between the respective levels, and the hole having a further portion in the direction away from the beam end relative to all the foregoing bottom portions whose bottom is again higher after another sharply upstanding step upward, said beam having upstanding end walls facing the side walls of the posts, each of which upstanding end walls of the beam extends inward of the end face in an intermediate area to form an inward protuberance which includes a hole, (c) the adjacent side wall of the post in each case having a hole in approximate registry with the corresponding end wall hole in the beam, (d) and strip members each extending through a different pair of beam holes mentioned above, the holes in each pair being in each case one an end wall hole and the other the beam front wall hole toward that end, the strip being in each case in the form of a strip whose approximate longitudinal dimension is through the respective holes, whose greater cross-sectional dimension is approximately vertical and whose lesser cross-sectional direction is approximately horizontal, and which, starting the enumeration away from the beam end through which it extends, includes a head planar member located in front of the recessed portion of the beam and approximately parallel thereto and of a size when in an appropriate position to substantially cover the further portion of the hole above mentioned, a neck extending through the hole in the front face of the beam and having a bottom edge higher than the bottom edge of the head portion and the connecting planar member of bottom edge between them being sharply upstanding, an intermediate planar portion having a bottom edge below that of the neck with another sharply upstanding edge portion between them, and a locking end at least the end portion of which is tapered to reduce its vertical cross-section toward its end, which locking end extends through the hole in the end face of the beam, (e) each strip having two positions, a locking and a non-locking one, fixed by the neck''s position being in one or the the other of the bottommost portions of the hole in the front of the beam, the locking position being the one where the neck is in the bottommost portion of that hole which is nearer the end of the beam and the strip in such position also extending at least into the hole in the side face of the post and the head end of the strip being toward the beam end of at least a substantial part of the further portion of the hole in the front of the beam and leaving at least that part of it uncovered and readily visible from the front as a hole entirely clear from the strip, and the non-locking position being one where the neck is in the bottommost position of the front of the beam which is further from the end of the beam and the locking end of the strip in such position being entirely short of the hole in the side face of the post and the strip in its various portions including especially the two planar portions, together with the neck, being such as to be in front of or visible a limited distance behind the hole in the front of the beam substantially throughout the entire extent of that hole.

Claim 6

A rack setup comprising (a) two upright posts spaced from each other and having upright walls approximately facing one another, which walls are hereinafter called the side walls, and upright walls approximately facing in a direction from which access will be normally had to the rack setup and which direction they are facing is hereinafter called the frOnt, (b) at least one approximately horizontal beam extending between the posts, with posts and beam having cooperating means to support the beam from the posts, the beam having a face toward the front and the vertically intermediate part of that front beam face being recessed so as to be substantially behind the top and bottom of that front face, said recessed portion of that beam front face having walls forming a hole toward each end of the beam, said hole extending in an approximately horizontal direction and having a portion in a direction toward the end of the beam and a portion located in a direction away from the end of the beam where it is substantially lower than in an intermediate portion between them, the hole bottom between these two lower portions and the intermediate higher portion extending in sharply upstanding direction between the respective levels, and the hole having a further portion in the direction away from the beam end relative to all the foregoing bottom portions whose bottom is again higher after another sharply upstanding step upward, said beam having upstanding end walls facing the side walls of the posts, each of which upstanding end walls of the beam extends inward of the end face in an intermediate area to form an inward protuberance which includes a hole, (c) the adjacent side wall of the post in each case having a hole in approximate registry with the corresponding end wall hole in the beam, (d) and strip members each extending through a different pair of beam holes mentioned above, the holes in each pair being in each case one an end wall hole and the other the beam front wall hole toward that end, the strip being in each case in the form of a strip whose approximate longitudinal dimension is through the respective holes, whose greater cross-sectional dimension is approximately vertical and whose lesser cross-sectional direction is approximately horizontal, and which, starting the enumeration away from the beam end through which it extends, includes a head planar member located in front of the recessed portion of the beam and approximately parallel thereto and of a size when in an appropriate position to substantially cover the further portion of the hole above mentioned, a neck extending through the hole in the front face of the beam and having a bottom edge higher than the bottom edge of the head portion and the connecting planar member of bottom edge between them being sharply upstanding, an intermediate planar portion having a bottom edge below that of the neck with another sharply upstanding edge portion between them, and a locking end at least the end portion of which is tapered to reduce its vertical cross-section toward its end, which locking end extends through the hole in the end face of the beam, (e) each strip having two positions, a locking and a non-locking one, fixed by the neck''s position being in one or the the other of the bottommost portions of the hole in the front of the beam, the locking position being the one where the neck is in the bottommost portion of that hole which is nearer the end of the beam and the strip in such position also extending at least into the hole in the side face of the post and the head end of the strip being toward the beam end of at least a substantial part of the further portion of the hole in the front of the beam and leaving at least that part of it uncovered and readily visible from the front as a hole entirely clear from the strip, and the non-locking position being one where the neck is in the bottommost position of the front of the beam which is further from the end of the beam and the locking end of the strip in such position being entirely short of the hole in the side face of the post and the strip in its various portions including especially the two planar portions, together with the neck, being such as to be in front of or visible a limited distance behind the hole in the front of the beam substantially throughout the entire extent of that hole.

Claim 7

A storage rack comprising (a) a plurality of upright posts in pairs, each post of a pair connected to the other by braces, (b) horizontal beams extending between corresponding posts in adjacent pairs and having support members at each end connecting them for the beam''s support to the respective posts, the direction in each post away the other post of the pair and the direction in each beam away from the beam between the other posts of two pairs being designated as the outward direction, each beam having an outward face recessed inwardly, the recessed portion of the outward face having two extended holes, one near each end of the beam, these holes each having a bottom which is relatively low for a stretch nearest the end of the beam, then enumerating in the direction away from that end, an upward step and a relatively high portion for a stretch, a downward step with a relatively low portion thereafter for a stretch, and then an upward step with a relatively high portion thereafter for a stretch and each beam having end faces recessed in a direction toward the opposite end face and having a vertical slot-type hole in each recess, the posts each having adjacent the end faces a vertical slot-type hole in a position approximately corresponding to that in the end face nearby, (c) strip members each held in the beam in limitedly movable positions respectively near each beam end, with each strip member having a sharply constricted neck positioned longitudinally between two larger portions, with the greater cross-sectional dimension of each strip member being upright and each strip member having an end outside the beam in the vicinity of the hole in the recessed face of the beam, its neck passing through that hole and its other end extending at least into the hole in the end of the beam, each strip member having one position in which that other end extends through that recessed hole in the beam end and at least into the corresponding hole in the post, the neck rests in the lower portion of the beam''s outside hole which is nearer the beam end and the end of the strip away from the beam end leaves the end of that hole away from the beam end uncovered, and another position in which the end of the strip toward the beam end does not extend into the hole in the post but clears from the post, the neck of the strip is in the lower portion of the hole in the recessed outer face of the beam which is further from the end of the beam and the end of the strip away from the end of the beam covers the end of that hole away from the beam, with the rest of the strip in front and in back and through that hole substantially completely obscuring the view through that hole, and the strip and end holes in post and beam having relative dimensions and positions preventing the strip from carrying out any support function for the beam as far as the beam''s support by the post is concerned.

Claim 8

A storage rack comprising (a) a plurality of upright posts in pairs, each post of a pair connected to the other by braces, (b) horizontal beams extending between corresponding posts in adjacent pairs and having support members at each end connecting them for the beam''s support to the respective posts, the direction in each post away the other post of the pair and the direction in each beam away from the beam between the other posts of two pairs being designated as the outward direction, each beam having an outward face recessed inwardly, the recessed portion of the outward face having two extended holes, one near each end of the beam, these holes each having a bottom which is relatively low for a stretch nearest the end of the beam, then enumerating in the direction away from that end, an upward step and a relatively high portion for a stretch, a downward step with a relatively low portion thereafter for a stretch, and then an upward step with a relatively high portion thereafter for a stretch and each beam having end faces recessed in a direction toward the opposite end face and having a vertical slot-type hole in each recess, the posts each having adjacent the end faces a vertical slot-type hole in a position approximately corresponding to that in the end face nearby, (c) strip members each held in the beam in limitedly movable positions respectively near each beam end, with each strip member having a sharply constricted neck positioned longitudinally between two larger portions, with the greater cross-sectional dimension of each strip member being upright and each strip member having an end outside the beam in the vicinity of the hole in the recessed face of the beam, its neck passing through that hole and its other end extending at least into the hole in the end of the beam, each strip member having one position in which that other end extends through that recessed hole in the beam end and at least into the corresponding hole in the post, the neck rests in the lower portion of the beam''s outside hole which is nearer the beam end and the end of the strip away from the beam end leaves the end of that hole away from the beam end uncovered, and another position in which the end of the strip toward the beam end does not extend into the hole in the post but clears from the post, the neck of the strip is in the lower portion of the hole in the recessed outer face of the beam which is further from the end of the beam and the end of the strip away from the end of the beam covers the end of that hole away from the beam, with the rest of the strip in front and in back and through that hole substantially completely obscuring the view through that hole, and the strip and end holes in post and beam having relative dimensions and positions preventing the strip from carrying out any support function for the beam as far as the beam''s support by the post is concerned.

Claim 9

A storage rack comprising (a) a post setup including a side face, (b) a beam at least partly supported by the post setup, which beam has an outside face visible from the front, part of which face is recessed relative to the rest, and an end face adjacent the side face of the post setup a portion of which end face is recessed in a direction toward the opposite end face, and (c) a safety lock means to keep the beam on the post setup and forming no part of the way by which the beam is at least partly supported by the post setup, which safety lock means includes (1) an opening in the recessed part of the outside face near the end of the beam toward the post setup, which opening has a bottom which when described in a direction starting from that end starts horizontally at a relatively low point, then has a step upward to a horizontal higher portion, then a step downward to a horizontal relatively low portion, and then a step upward to a horizontal portion higher than any before, (2) a rectangular opening in the recessed portion of the end face of the beam, (3) a rectangular opening in the side face of the post setup which opening is lArger than that in the end face of the beam and registers with it, and (4) a strip-shaped key extending longitudinally from an end immediately in front of the recessed part of the visible outside face of the beam through the opening in that outside face and at least into the opening in the end face of the beam, the key having its larger cross-sectional dimension vertical and its smaller cross-sectional dimension horizontal and including, when described starting at the end away from the beam end and proceeding in the direction toward it, first a flat plate parallel to and outside the outside face but at least mainly included in its recess, which plate is large enough when in proper position to substantially cover the whole end of the outside face opening which is above the highest horizontal bottom portion of that opening, then a neck having a bottom higher than the plate which neck extends through the outside face opening, then another plate and finally a portion whose top and bottom edges taper toward each other near that end of the key, the key having a locking position in which its neck is resting in the low bottom portion of the outside face opening which is nearer the beam end face, its tapered end extends at least into the side face opening of the post setup, and the key''s plate at the other end leaves at least an extended portion of that other end of the outer face opening visible, and the key having an unlocked position in which the neck of the key is resting in the other low bottom portion of the outside face opening, its tapered end terminates short of the side face opening of the post setup, and its plate at the other end substantially covers and obscures the part of the end of the outer face opening which is above that opening''s highest bottom edge.

Claim 10

A storage rack comprising (a) a post setup including a side face, (b) a beam at least partly supported by the post setup, which beam has an outside face visible from the front, part of which face is recessed relative to the rest, and an end face adjacent the side face of the post setup a portion of which end face is recessed in a direction toward the opposite end face, and (c) a safety lock means to keep the beam on the post setup and forming no part of the way by which the beam is at least partly supported by the post setup, which safety lock means includes (1) an opening in the recessed part of the outside face near the end of the beam toward the post setup, which opening has a bottom which when described in a direction starting from that end starts horizontally at a relatively low point, then has a step upward to a horizontal higher portion, then a step downward to a horizontal relatively low portion, and then a step upward to a horizontal portion higher than any before, (2) a rectangular opening in the recessed portion of the end face of the beam, (3) a rectangular opening in the side face of the post setup which opening is lArger than that in the end face of the beam and registers with it, and (4) a strip-shaped key extending longitudinally from an end immediately in front of the recessed part of the visible outside face of the beam through the opening in that outside face and at least into the opening in the end face of the beam, the key having its larger cross-sectional dimension vertical and its smaller cross-sectional dimension horizontal and including, when described starting at the end away from the beam end and proceeding in the direction toward it, first a flat plate parallel to and outside the outside face but at least mainly included in its recess, which plate is large enough when in proper position to substantially cover the whole end of the outside face opening which is above the highest horizontal bottom portion of that opening, then a neck having a bottom higher than the plate which neck extends through the outside face opening, then another plate and finally a portion whose top and bottom edges taper toward each other near that end of the key, the key having a locking position in which its neck is resting in the low bottom portion of the outside face opening which is nearer the beam end face, its tapered end extends at least into the side face opening of the post setup, and the key''s plate at the other end leaves at least an extended portion of that other end of the outer face opening visible, and the key having an unlocked position in which the neck of the key is resting in the other low bottom portion of the outside face opening, its tapered end terminates short of the side face opening of the post setup, and its plate at the other end substantially covers and obscures the part of the end of the outer face opening which is above that opening''s highest bottom edge.