WO2002016232A1

WO2002016232A1 - Adjustable vertical storage rack

Info

Publication number: WO2002016232A1
Application number: PCT/GB2001/003691
Authority: WO
Inventors: Michael Ernest Dewar
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2000-08-18
Filing date: 2001-08-17
Publication date: 2002-02-28
Anticipated expiration: 2003-02-18
Also published as: GB0120156D0; AU2001278630A1; GB2365755B; GB0020428D0; GB2365755A

Abstract

This invention relates to storage racks, for example storage racks for compact discs. The rack includes a housing (1), and a plurality of storage elements (2), the storage elements (2), being a sliding fit within the housing (1). When within the housing, the storage elements are constrained in a vertical stack and each storage element (2), apart from the lowermost element in the housing, is supported within the housing (1), by and is slidable upon the storage element immediately below. Each storage element has a storage recess in which an item to be stored can be located. This rack allows the easy insertion of a storage element and item at any point within the vertical stack contained within the housing by the pivoting action of the stacked storage elements.

Description

ADJUSTABLE VERTICAL STORAGE RACK

Technical Field

This invention relates to storage racks. In particular, this invention relates to a storage rack for storing digital data discs such as compact discs (CDs) , the rack allowing easy insertion of a CD at any point in the rack.

Background Art

Many items of a uniform shape are stored in racks which comprise a number of vertically arranged shelves or containers, each item being located on its own shelf or in its own container. Such racks have the advantage that an individual item can be located easily, can be removed without disturbing the others and can be reliably replaced in the same position.

However, there are various disadvantages associated with such racks . Firstly, if the items are arranged in a particular order, it is not possible to add a new item in the middle of the sequence without moving a large number of items or shelves individually into new positions. For example, many people keep CD collections in which they organise the CDs alphabetically by artist name in a rack. Upon purchasing a new CD, they have to move, one by one, all of the CDs before or after the point at which the new CD is to be inserted in the rack to create space for the new disc so as to maintain the alphabetical sequence.

Secondly, it is not possible to increase the size of an individual shelf or container to accommodate a larger item. For example, many CDs are now sold in pairs or even in threes and are packaged together in a case which is thicker than normal CD cases.

The present invention aims to ameliorate the above mentioned problems.

Summary of the Invention

Accordingly, the present invention provides a storage rack comprising a housing and a plurality of storage elements, each storage element having a storage recess for accommodating an item to be stored, and being a sliding fit within the housing such that the plurality of storage elements are constrained in a vertical stack characterised in that each storage element apart from the lowermost element in the housing is, in use, supported within said housing by and is slidable upon the storage element immediately below.

This arrangement ensures that a storage element containing an item to be stored can easily be inserted into the rack at any position without any restraint imposed by fixed shelving or the like.

Preferably, each storage element has a storage recess having a back-stop against which, in use, the item to be stored, e.g. a CD, abuts. Each of the plurality of storage elements may have the same depth recess or there may be a variety of different depth recesses.

Preferably, at least one elongated member extends rearwardly from each storage element with respect to the back-stop. The back-stop may extend across the entire recess or may be discontinuous .

There may be a single elongated member extending substantially centrally from the rear of a storage element or, more preferably, there are two elongated members extending rearwardly from either side of the back-stop.

In most preferred embodiments, the storage recess is defined by a support surface and two side walls and the side walls extend rearwardly from the support surface to form the two elongated members. The side walls may extend along the entire side of the support surface or may be discontinuous.

The elongated members act such that, upon insertion of a storage element at an insertion point, pivoting of all storage elements positioned vertically above said insertion point about the ends of their respective elongated members is facilitated.

In order to increase even further the ease with which the storage elements can pivot, the end of each elongated member is preferably rounded. The elongated members act to facilitate pivoting in the following manner.

If a user wishes to insert a storage element into a rack at a certain position (hereinafter called the insertion point) within the vertical stack of storage elements already constrained within the housing, the user manually lifts all of the storage elements above the insertion point such that they each pivot on the end(s) of their respective elongated member (s) to create a "wedge-shaped" opening. The storage element to be inserted in pushed into the opening and the end (s) of its elongated member (s) contact the underside of the storage element immediately above the insertion point at a point hereinafter referred to as the contact point . Providing that the contact point is further towards the rear of the housing than the centre of gravity of the stack of storage elements above the insertion point, the stack of storage elements above the insertion point will pivot about the contact point and fall into place on top of the newly inserted storage element thus creating a suitable opening into which the newly inserted element can be pushed.

In circumstances where the contact point is not initially further towards the rear of the housing than the centre of gravity, the user can continue to push the storage element towards the rear of the housing until the centre of gravity passes over the contact point and the stack of storage elements above the insertion point falls into place.

Thus, it can be seen, that it is ideal to have the centre of gravity of the vertical stack of storage element and thus the centre of gravity of each individual storage element located as far towards the front of the housing (or storage element) as possible. By providing an elongated member on each storage element, the effective length of the storage element is increased whilst the contribution of the elongated member to weight of the storage element (especially when the storage element contains the item to be stored) is minimal. This has the effect that the centre of gravity of each storage element is shifted relatively closer to the front of the housing (or storage element) thus facilitating the pivoting of each storage element and thus the stack of storage elements above the insertion point about the contact point.

In most preferred embodiments, each storage element preferably has, in use, i.e. when it contains an item to be stored, a centre of gravity located at a distance X from the front of said recess where L/4 ≤ X ≤ L/2.2 where L is the combined length of the recess and the elongated member. Preferably each storage element has a centre of gravity located at a distance X from the front of said recess where L/4 < X < L/2.2 where L is the combined length of the recess and the elongated member when it does not contain an item to be stored.

The rounded end(s) of the elongated member (s) at the contact point also facilitates the pivoting of the stack of storage elements above the insertion point as they fall into place.

In order to facilitate the insertion of a storage element into a stack, the vertical height of the housing is, preferably, greater than the maximum possible vertical height of the stack of storage elements. This ensures that there is always sufficient room for the storage elements above the insertion point to be pivoted to create space for the newly inserted element.

As stated above, the storage recess is preferably defined by a support surface and two side walls. In this case, each storage element apart from the lowermost element in the housing is, in use, supported within said housing on and is slidable upon the side walls of the storage element immediately below. In most preferred embodiments, the storage element has a handle for facilitating insertion and removal of the element in the housing. This handle may be provided as a projection extending from the front of the storage recess, e.g. from the support surface. In preferred embodiments, the storage rack further includes retaining means for releaseably retaining the plurality of storage elements in the housing. In some preferred embodiments, the retaining means includes at least one vertical groove in the housing which cooperates with a respective depressible projection on each storage element thus allowing each element to move vertically within said housing but maintaining it in the housing until sufficient force is applied to depress the projections. In especially preferred embodiments, there are two grooves, one running along each inside edge of the housing side walls and each storage element has two depressible projections, one for cooperation with each groove .

In other preferred embodiments, the housing has at least one ridge which cooperates with a respective groove on each storage element thus allowing each element to move vertically within the housing, but maintaining it in the housing until sufficient force is applied to pull the ridge out of the groove. In especially preferred embodiments, there are two ridges, one running along each inside edge of the housing side walls and each storage element has two grooves, one for cooperation with each ridge. In most preferred embodiments, the ridges run along the inside walls at the rear of the housing and the grooves are provided on the elongated members of each storage element . Preferably, each housing includes connection means for connection to other similar housings. For example, a number of housings can be arranged side by side or one on top of another. The connection means secure the housings together to ensure that they are maintained in position.

The storage rack of the present invention can be formed of any material but in preferred embodiments, the housing and/or the storage elements are formed of injection moulded plastics.

Preferably, all of the storage elements are identical to one another.

In especially preferred embodiments, the storage element has a recess which is adjustable in height to allow larger items e.g. double CDs to be stored. In embodiments where the recess is defined by a support surface and two side walls, one element may be inverted and supported on a second element, the side walls contacting each other. This "double" storage element can be used to accommodate larger items and can be inserted into a stack of storage elements in the same manner as a normal, single element.

Additionally/alternatively the storage elements may not be identical but may be provided with a variety of different recess heights to accommodate variously sized items .

A specific embodiment of the invention will now be described by way of an example only. In this embodiment, the items to be stored are compact disc (CDs) . Brief Description of the Drawings

In the accompanying drawings : -

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the assembled rack with three CDs inserted in the uppermost three positions. Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the storage rack housing.

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of a single storage element .

Fig. 4 is a cross-section through part of the rack to show how the elements are arranged to accommodate a CD.

Fig. 5 is a diagrammatic side view to show how a new element is inserted into the rack.

Fig. 6 is a cross-section through part of the rack to show how the elements may be arranged to accommodate a double-sized CD.

Detailed Description of the Drawings

Referring to Figures 1 to 3, the rack comprises a housing 1 within which a number of storage elements 2 are stacked in vertical alignment, each element being a sliding fit within the housing. The three uppermost storage elements each contain a CD 3.

The housing preferably has a vertical dimension 4, of 259mm, a horizontal dimension 6, of 138mm and a depth of 165mm (these are external measurements) . It can be seen that there is a head-space of 0.7cm above the uppermost storage element and this is to allow the lifting of the stack for insertion of a new element.

A storage element is shown in Figure 3 and comprises a support plate, a back-stop 15 and two side walls 5, all defining a storage recess in which a CD can be stored. Each side wall 5 extends rearwardly from the support plate to form two elongated members 8.

The length, L, i.e. the combined length of the recess and elongated members is 165mm whilst the centre of gravity of the storage element is at a distance, X, of 65mm from the front of the recess.

The number of elements 2 which can be accommodated in the rack depends on the vertical dimension 4 of the housing unit and the height of the side wall 5 of the element. Typically 16 elements can be accommodated in a single rack.

When fully inserted into the housing the semicircular ends of the elongated members 8 of an element 2 touch the rear wall 18 (shown in Fig. 5) of the housing 1. An element may be removably restrained within the housing 1 by means of depressable, spring-return projections 9 on the side walls 5 of the element which engage with grooves 10 (only one visible in Fig. 2) on the walls 7 of the housing. This arrangement ensures that a storage element can only be removed from the housing by a force sufficient to depress the projections 9 but offers no impediment to vertical movement of the element within the housing. Although the projections are shown positioned towards one end of the side walls 5, they can be in any position on the element and can have various shapes and dimensions.

As shown in Fig. 4 the lowermost element 11 is supported by the base 12 of the housing. The element 13 above is supported by the top 14 of the side wall 5 of the lowermost element 11 and all storage elements above are similarly supported by the element immediately beneath. The vertical dimension of the side wall 5 is such that the space between the lower element 11 and the element above 13 forms a storage recess within which a CD 3 may be placed. When a CD is slid into a storage recess its movement is stopped by the back-stop 15 of the recess, shown in Fig. 3, in a position such that the CD projects beyond the housing 1 as. shown in Fig. 1, so that the CD may be grasped by its front corners for removal . Thus it can be seen that a CD can easily be removed without needing to remove the storage element containing the CD.

The procedure by which a new element is inserted into the housing is shown in Fig. 5. In Fig. 5A the CDs above the desired insertion point are lifted up (as shown by arrow 16) by the front edge of the element 17 immediately above the insertion point. Prevented from sliding to the right (in Fig. 5A) by the rear wall 18 of the housing, each storage element rotates about the centre 19 of the semicircular ends of its elongated members 8. The element 20 which is to be inserted is slid over the element 21 immediately below the insertion point in the direction shown by arrow 22 until its elongated members touch the overlying element 17 at the contact point 23. The front edge of the element 17 is then released and the element 20 is pushed further in the direction 22 until the centre of mass 24 of the overlying stack of storage elements is to the left (in Fig. 5A) of the contact point 23. At that time, as shown in Fig. 5B, the overlying elements pivot in an anticlockwise direction as shown by arrow 25 about the contact point 23 until they are horizontal. The element 20 can then be slid fully home in the direction 22.

Fig. 6 shows how a slot large enough for a double CD 26 may be formed by inserting an inverted storage element 27 above a normally orientated element 28.

This embodiment is described by way of example only and various modifications will be apparent to those skilled in the art.

Claims

Claims :

1. A storage rack comprising a housing (1) and a plurality of storage elements (2), each storage element having a storage recess for accommodating an item to be stored, and being a sliding fit within the housing (1) such that the plurality of storage elements (2) are constrained in a vertical stack characterised in that each storage element apart from the lowermost element in the housing is, in use, supported within said housing by and is slidable upon the storage element immediately below.

2. A storage rack according to claim 1 wherein said storage recess has a back-stop (15) against which, in use, the item to be stored abuts, and said storage element has at least one elongated member (8) extending rearwardly with respect to said back-stop (15) .

3. A storage rack according to claim 2 wherein the rear end of said at least one elongated member (8) is rounded to facilitate said pivoting of the storage element (2) about said end.

4. A storage rack according to claim 2 or 3 wherein the storage element has, in use when containing an item to be stored, a centre of gravity located at a distance X from the front of said recess where L/4 ≤ X ≤ L/2.2 where L is the combined length of said recess and said elongated member (8) .

5. A storage rack according to claim 2 or 3 wherein the storage element has a centre of gravity located at a distance X from the front of said recess where L/4 < X < L/2.2 where L is the combined length of said recess and said elongated member (8) .

6. A storage rack according to any one of the preceding claims wherein said storage recess is defined by a support surface and two side walls (5) , such that each storage element (2) apart from the lowermost element in the housing is, in use, supported within said housing on and is slidable upon the side walls (5) of the storage element immediately below.

7. A storage element according to claim 6 when dependent on any one of claims 2 to 5 wherein each storage element includes two of said elongated members (8) formed by extension of each side wall (5) .

8. A storage rack according to any one of the preceding claims further including retaining means (10, 9) for releaseably retaining said plurality of storage elements in said housing.

9. A storage rack according to claim 6 wherein said retaining means includes at least one vertical groove (10) or ridge in said housing which cooperates with a depressible projection (9) or groove respectively on each storage element (2) thus allowing each element to move vertically within said housing (1) .

10. A storage rack according to any one of the preceding claims wherein said housing includes connection means to connect said housing to similar such housings to form a composite structure.

11. A storage rack according to any one of the preceding claims wherein said housing is formed of injection- moulded plastics material.

12. A storage rack according to any one of the preceding claims wherein said plurality of storage elements is formed of injection moulded plastics.

13. A storage rack according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the storage recess is adjustable in height.

14. A storage rack according to claim 13 wherein one storage element is invertible upon a second storage element to form a storage recess of double height.

15. A storage rack according to any one of the preceding claims wherein all of the storage elements are identical.

16. A storage rack according to any one of the preceding claims wherein each storage element has a handle portion for facilitating removal of said element from the housing.

17. A storage rack according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the maximum height of the aligned vertical stack of storage elements is less than the vertical dimension of the housing to allow for lifting of the vertical stack within the housing on insertion of a storage element.

18. A storage rack according to any one of the preceding claims wherein said storage element is dimensioned to accommodate, in use, a digital data disc.

19. A storage rack according to claim 18 wherein said storage element is dimensioned to accommodate, in use, a compact disc (CD) .

20. A storage rack according to any one of the preceding claims further including a digital data disc accommodated in at least one of said storage elements.

21. A storage rack substantially as any one embodiment described herein with reference to the accompanying figures .