STORAGE RACK TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to a rack for storing items in a vertical stack, particularly (without prejudice to the generality) compact discs in cases.
BACKGROUND Storage racks presently on the market for use with compact discs come in a range of shapes and materials. The most popular tend to be formed of metal or wood.
The present invention seeks to provide a new and inventive form of storage rack.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention proposes a storage rack which comprises a pair of spaced generally planar upright side panels having front and rear edges and a set of transverse shelf members containing slots to receive the side panels.
The front portions of the shelf members are preferably located in notches in the front edges of the side panels.
Preferably the shelf members are each provided with spacing means for spacing its rear portion from the shelf member immediately below. Such spacing means preferably comprises a flap. The flap preferably comprises a tab for reception in a slot in the shelf member immediately below.
The shelf members are preferably downwardly incline in a rearward direction.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The following description and the accompanying drawings referred to therein are included by way of non-limiting example in order to illustrate how the invention may be put into practice. In the drawings: Figure 1 is a general front view of a storage rack in accordance with the invention, Figure 2 is a general rear view of the rack, shown partially dis- assembled, Figure 3 is a plan view of one of the shelf members included in the rack, Figure 4 is a side view of the rack in the course of assembly, and Figures 5 and 6 show extended forms of the rack, in front view.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Referring to Fig. s 1 and 2, the storage rack shown in the drawings is designed to hold compact discs in cases, but a similar form of rack could hold other flat items such as tape cassettes or magazines for example.
The rack comprises a pair of side panels 1 and 2, a set of shelf members 3, a top member 4 and a front panel 5. The rack is formed entirely of fluted (corrugated) cardboard, the side and front panels being formed of thicker card (e. g. 3.2 mm flute board) whilst the transverse components 3 and 4 are formed of thicker card (e. g. 1.8 mm E flute board). It will be appreciated however that the rack could also be formed of other foldable and creasable sheet material, e. g. solid cardboard or plastics sheet, and at least some of the components could, if desired, be formed of other stiff sheet such as plywood or sheet metal.
The side panels 1 and 2 are of similar shape, being substantially rectangular with parallel front and rear edges 7 and 8 and parallel top and bottom edges 9 and 10. Since the panels are required to support most of the weight of items held in the rack the flutes are preferably arranged to run vertically. As well as providing increased rigidity this also reduces wear and tear on the bottom ends of the side panels. In addition, the side panels may be folded into a double or triple thickness and glued for increased strength, although this may not be necessary for racks intended to hold a small number of lightweight items. By positioning the folds at the front of the rack fewer fluted edges are visible in the completed rack. The front edges 7 of the side panels are formed with a series of equally spaced notches 11 which are just wide enough to receive the thickness of the shelf members 3.
The shelf members 3 and top member 4 are preferably formed with their flutes running in a front-rear direction. As shown in Fig. 3, the shelf members each have a pair of parallel slots 12 and 13 adjacent to the sides of the shelf member, and a shorter slot 14 extending adjacent to the rear of the shelf member. The length of the parallel slots 12 and 13 is just sufficient to allow the side members 1 and 2 to slide through the slots with their edges 7 and 8 normal to the shelf member. The rear edge of all but the lowermost shelf member 3a is provided with a downwardly-extending flap 15, formed by creasing the board, which in turn is formed with a tab 16 on its lower edge. In assembling the rack the lowermost shelf member 3a is first slid onto the side members 1 and 2 in a horizontal position until the shelf member is positioned opposite the lowermost notches 11. The member is then slid rearwardly so that the front of the shelf member locates in the notches, and at the same time, the rear of the shelf member is moved downwards until the rear of the slots 12 and 13 contact the rear edges 8 of the side panels to limit further downward movement. (See Fig. 4.) The next and succeeding shelf members 3 are each engaged with the next pair of notches 11 in a similar manner, but in this case the tab 16 is inserted in the rear slot 14 of the shelf member immediately below. The tabs thus prevent the flaps 15 from moving rearwardly so that the flaps form firm rear watts for the compartments formed between the shelf members. However, it will be noted that items placed in the rack will contact the tabs 16 rather than the rear flaps 15, so that the tabs accurately position the items for optimum ease of access. The flaps 15 ensure accurate spacing between the rear regions of the shelf members and support each shelf member from the one below.
As shown in Fig. 2, the top member 4 is a modified form of shelf member, which again includes parallel slots 12 and 13 for the side panels, a rear slot 14 and a rear flap 15 with a tab 16. However, the front of the shelf member is creased and extended to form from a short upwardly extending front wall 20, a top wall 21 which contacts the top edges 9 of the side panels, and a downwardly extending rear wall 22. The lower edge of this rear wall 22 is again formed with a tab 23 which is located in the rear slot 14 of the same shelf member.
Although not shown, the corners of the tabs 16 could be rounded or chamfered to assist their insertion into the slots 14.
Referring back to Fig. 1, the front panel 5 may again be of double or triple thickness if desired, and is shaped to cover the space below the front of the lowermost shelf member 3a. Again, the flutes preferably run vertically for strength and reduce damage to the bottom edge of the panel, although this is not essential. A pair of parallel slits 28 and 29 in the top edge of the panel receive the side walls 1 and 2 with an interference action and a pair of co-operating slits 30 and 31 in the lower edge of the side panels 1 and 2 receive the front panel 5, again with an interference fit.
When an item such as a CD-ROM case is slid into the compartment formed between a pair of shelves its weight is supported on the shelf immediately below and is, in turn, transferred to the side panels 1 and 2. The rack is surprisingly strong and stable, yet it is very lightweight, is inexpensive to manufacture, and can be supplie in a convenient flat-pack form which is very easy to assemble.
It will be appreciated that the rack could be designed to have more or fewer shelf members as required. In addition, the transverse members of the rack could be extended laterally to carry two or more items side-by-side, with intermediate upright dividing panels being provided in a similar manner to the side panels. Examples of such two and three column racks are shown in Fig. s 5 and 6 respectively.
It will be appreciated that the features disclosed herein may be present in any feasible combination. Whilst the above description lays emphasis on those areas which, in combination, are believed to be new, protection is claimed for any inventive combination of the features disclosed herein.
