Supports – Brackets – Of wire
Reexamination Certificate
1997-09-26
2001-04-17
King, Anita M. (Department: 3632)
Supports
Brackets
Of wire
C248S295110
Reexamination Certificate
active
06216993
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a modular storage system, and more particularly to a wall or ceiling mounted system for mounting storage boxes on a rail system.
2. Description of Related Art
It is an axiom of modern life that storage needs expand to equal and exceed the amount of storage space available. In the office and in the home, various systems have been developed over the years to store materials. Filing cabinets are utilized for papers which need to be frequently accessed, and storage drawers are similarly used. Store rooms, garages, file rooms and document rooms are also equipped with shelves on which cardboard boxes are placed, with stored material inside the cardboard boxes. When the shelves are full, or until they are built, a common method of storage is to put materials to be stored in cardboard boxes, and stack the cardboard boxes in stacks. This has the advantage of being cheap and easy to do, but has the disadvantage that you may have to unstack the entire stack of boxes to find objects which are located in the bottom box. If you don't have a record of what is in each box, you may have to open each box searching for the material to be retrieved from storage.
Bookshelves also have the disadvantage that whether they are filled with boxes or totally empty, the bookshelves occupy an entire area, such as a wall, and essentially prevents that wall from being used for anything else.
What is needed is a storage system which mounts easily to an unused space, such as a wall or a ceiling, but when not in use allows that space to be utilized for other purposes. What is also needed is a storage system which is modular, so that storage boxes may be opened and inspected without having to unstack a vertical stack of boxes. Such a modular system also has to be adjustable, to account for various sizes of boxes. What is also needed is a way to determine the contents of a particular box without having to open the lid of that box or unstack a stack of boxes. It would also be desirable to be able to view the contents of a box or open a particular storage box by accessing the side of a box facing the user, rather than having to open the flaps on the top or removing a lid from the top of the box.
Accordingly, it is an object of the invention to provide a storage system which mounts to an unused space, such as a wall or a ceiling. It is also an object of this invention that the storage system be modular and provide storage boxes which are not stacked upon each other, but may be individually viewed and opened to remove stored contents. It is a further object of the invention to provide a modular storage system which is adjustable, so that boxes of various sizes may be utilized and when not necessary, storage boxes may be removed from the system. It is a further object of the invention to provide a modular storage box which allows the contents of a particular box to be viewed, and for the box to be opened and the contents removed or added to without having to unstack other boxes.
Additional objects, advantages and novel features of the invention will be set forth in part in the description as follows, and in part will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon examination of the following, or may be learned by practice of the invention. The objects and advantages of the invention may be realized and attained by means of the instrumentalities and combinations particularly pointed out in the appended claims.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
According to the present invention, the foregoing and other objects and advantages are obtained by a modular storage system which includes one or more storage containers or boxes, a support rail, and a means of attaching storage boxes to the support rails. The support rails are attached to a wall or ceiling. One way of attaching the storage boxes to a support rail is by the use of one or more cantilevered hooks. These hooks are inserted into a recess in the support rail, and when pressure is applied at one end of a hook, the other end of the hook locks in place inside the support rail. The support rail can be oriented either horizontally or vertically on a wall, or horizontally on a ceiling, with its attached storage boxes which form an array of storage boxes. In one version of this invention, the storage boxes are used with a rigid frame which is mounted on the edges of the storage box. A door can be utilized which fits in the rigid frame which is removable and openable. Being able to open the door, or see through the door if it is transparent, allows easy identification of the contents of the storage box, and easy access to the contents. The rigid frame would typically be mounted onto the storage box by a strap which attaches to one edge of the rigid frame, wraps around three sides of the box, and attaches to a side of the rigid frame opposite the side to which the strap was first attached. Mounted integrally with this strap is a top edge bracket assembly. The top edge bracket assembly is basically an L-shaped bracket which mounts on the top of the rear edge of the storage box and attaches to the strap. The strap can be configured to be two straps, each of which attach to an edge of the top edge bracket assembly. The top edge bracket assembly has a hanging loop by which the storage box is attached to one of the cantilevered hooks. The top edge bracket assembly also has a rail guide which is used for orienting the top edge bracket and therefore the storage box to the support rail.
The modular storage system described above can also include one or more rigid support sections which can be mounted on the under side of the storage box for providing additional strength and rigidity to the storage box. This allows the storage box, by use of the rigid support sections, to support a heavier weight without deforming. Optionally, several rigid support sections could be mounted on the under side of a storage box by the use of flexible straps. One or more rigid support sections could also be mounted on the top side of the storage box, and could be linked with the rigid support sections on the under side of the storage box by a loop of flexible strap material. Such strap material could also have a closure, buckle or other means of adjusting and securing the flexible strap. The rigid support sections could consist of two pieces which telescope one into the other and are adjustable for length.
In another version of the modular storage system, rather than providing support to the storage box by the attachment of a top edge bracket assembly, and using the hanging loop from the top edge bracket assembly to attach to a cantilevered hook, another method of attachment is also possible. A top suspension handle can be utilized which is a generally U-shaped handle which attaches to the top of the storage box by a strap which encircles the storage box and secures the storage box to the top suspension handle. One or more rigid support sections can be utilized with this embodiment of the invention, either mounted below or above the storage box, as previously described.
Still other objects advantages of the present invention will become readily apparent to those skilled in this art from the following detailed description wherein I have shown and described only the preferred embodiment of the invention, simply by way of illustration of the best mode contemplated by carrying out my invention. As will be realized, the invention is capable of modification in various obvious respects all without departing from the invention. Accordingly, the drawing and description are to be regarded as illustrative in nature, and not as restrictive.
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patent: 4273394 (1981-06-01), Chandler
patent: 4627539 (1986-12-01), Chang et al.
patent: 4697776 (1987-10-01
Dykas Frank J.
King Anita M.
Shaver Robert L.
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