US2484996A - Rack - Google Patents

Description

Oct. l18, 1949. .Q T HATCH y2,484,996

RACK

Filed Sept. 9, 1946 o 00| |000 ty- -Qm of 4 o O o 4 4 4 l 1F L1' G\ i lV i y im 4 /1- :[f/ l [Eig i t i o 1/ r' l, l 'T :-Z a

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UNITED STATES PATENT oFFlcE;

RACK

Charles .T. Hatch, Albion, Mich., assignor to Union Steel Products Company, Albion, Mich.

Application September 9, 1946, Serial No. 695,745

This invention relates to improvements in a rack.

The principal objects of this invention are:

First, to provide a mounting for the shelves of a rack which-will permit-a series of vertically spaced shelves to be compactly arranged and to be individually tilted or raised at their forward edges and locked in raised position to provide space for loadingand lunloading.

Second, to provide a mounting structure for the several shelves of a rack adapted for use in bakeries for handling bread and the like which will permit the individual shelves to be easily and quickly raised to a rearwardly tilted position to `permiteaser access to the next lower shelf.

Other objects and advantages pertaining to the details and economies of the invention will be apparent from the description to follow.

The drawings, of which there is one sheet, illustrate a preferred form of the invention.

Fig. l is a fragmentary front elevational View of a bread rack having its shelves mounted therein according to my invention.

Fig. 2 is an end elevation partially broken away of the rack shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary view partially in cross section showing the details of the shelf mounting structure.

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary cross-sectional View along the plane II--4 in Fig. 3.

In many industries and businesses, particularly the baking business, it is desirable to provide racks, either stationary or movable, for cooling or storing or moving large numbers of small articles such as loaves of bread. For this purpose racks have been developed including a series of vertically spaced shelves, which when the shelves are fixed must not only be spaced to clear the loaves of bread or other objects placed on them, but must be spaced to permit convenient loading and unloading. If too closely arranged, loading and unloading becomes difficult and slow. My invention provides a rack with a plurality of shelves which are spaced only sufficiently to clear the work and are independently tiltable about their rear edges and easily locked in raised position so that easy access may be had to the entire shelf positioned below the tilted shelf.

The drawings illustrate a bread rack which, in this case, is of all metal construction consisting of forward uprights I and rear corner uprights 2 joined together in a suitable framework and mounted on casters 3 so that the rack may be conveniently moved between different parts of the 3 Claims. (Cl. 211--150) bakery. The rack is provided with a series of horizontal shelves 4, one of which is shown in raised position as at 5. The shelves are formed with metal end pieces 6 joined at the rear by the rearwardly and downwardly opening angle longitudinal members l. Suitable surface bars or panels, not shown, are supported onthe'framework of the shelves.

The end pieces 6 defined longitudinal slots 8 near the rear end of the shelves. The slots 8 are arranged to receive and be seated on the pins 9 on the rear corner uprights 2 for supporting the rear edges of the shelves.v The front edges of the shelves are supported by angle brackets I0 secured to the front uprights-I.

The rear uprights 2 are of forwardly facin channel section, the inner legs or flanges I I thereof being shorter than the outer legs or flanges I2 to which pins 9 are secured. The inner flanges II are notched as at I3 (see Fig. 3) just below each of the pins 9 forming a downwardly and rearwardly sloping stop surface I4 which is arranged to engage the upper surface of the rear cross member 'I when the shelf is tilted upwardly and slid backwardly on the pins 9. It should be noted that lifting the front of the shelf will create a natural gravity force for the shelf to slide back on the pins 9 as soon as the rear cross member has cleared the notches I3. The notches I3 are positioned with respect to the pins 9 so that the shelves may be tilted upwardly and locked with their front edges just below the horizontal position of the next higher shelf. Thus each shelf may be tilted independently of the other shelves inthe rack.

The shelf may be easily released and lowered to horizontal position by pulling forward on the forward edge and sliding the shelf along the pins 9 until the rear cross member I clears the notch I3. The tilting of the shelves as indicated at 5 permits easy access to the entire surface of the next lower shelf and is of great aid in speeding up the loading and unloading of the shelves. If desired, the shelves may be made removable from the rack by opening the slots 8 at the bottom.

My invention has been described as being applied to a metal rack of particular construction but obviously the locking features of my shelf could be applied to other types of rack and shelf construction without departing from the theory of my invention.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by letters Patent is:

1. In a rack the combination of a frame com--` prsing front and rear uprights, a plurality of shelves disposed in a vertical series and comprising, end members having longitudinal slots adjacent the rear ends and a rear longitudinal bar, said rear uprights being of forwardly facing channel section, pins on the outer legs of said uprights supportingly engaging said slots in said shelf end members, the inner legs of the rear uprights being substantially narrower than the outer legs, said inner legs having a pluralityi of notches formed therein adapted to receive the rear longitudinal bars of said shelves, when tha-z shelves are swung to a rearwardly tilted position, and supports for said front ends of said'A shelves mounted on said frontuprightsi-tof/coact;

with said pins in supporting theshelvesfiinthorifzontal position.

2. In combination with a rack having corner upright members, the rear -corner members-hav;-

ing forwardly opening channel shaped cross secl tionswith narrowedfrflanges-on the inner edges thereof, a plurality of pinsy extending through theouter. flanges. of said upright at spaced verticallintervals, a plurality of: shelf members havingside pieces. havinglslotsnear the` rear edges thereof andextending parallel to the surface of saidshelves, the rear. edges of said shelves being supported by said pins extending. through said slots, `rear cross pieces. for said shelves connecting,4 said side pieces, and supporting brackets securedto.saidforwarduprights and arranged to freely,A support the frontedgesof said shelves, said narrow ilanges of said rear uprights having forwardly. opening notches .having forwardly and upwardly sloping upper, edges..v formed therein below each of said pins and arranged to engage said rear cross pieces of said shelves when said shelves are tilted upwardly and slid backwardly on said pins.

3. In combination with a rack having corner upright members, the rear corner members having forwardly opening channel shaped cross sections with narrower flanges on the inner edges thereof, a plurality of pins secured to the outer anges vof said upright at spaced 'Vertical intervals, a plurality of shelf members having side pieces having horizontal slots near the rear edges thereof, the rear edges of said shelves being supported by said pins extending through said slots,

:rear cross pieces for said shelves connecting said side pieces, and supporting brackets secured to .said forward upright and arranged to support the front edges of said shelves, said narrow flanges-of said rear uprights having forwardly opening notches formed therein below said pins and arranged toengage said rear cross pieces of said shelves when said shelves are tilted upwardly and'slidvbackwardly on said pins, v

CHARLES T. HATCH.

REFERENCES CITED The, following references are of record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 291,030 Clapper Jan. 1, 1884 1,010,036 Foltz Nov. 28, 1911 1,856,935 Turner May 3, 1932 2,066,623 Hatch Jan. 5, 1 937

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