Storage organizer system and means for installing the same

A storage organizer system and method of installation in which the system is formed of a plurality of panels arranged parallel to each other and extend from a support wall. An elongated rail is mounted horizontally on said support wall and has a projection extending upwardly and away from said wall. Each of the panels have a cut out shaped to receive the rail projection whereby the panels are first hung on the rail and thereafter support elements are mounted between the panels. Preferably the end panels are mounted on the rail with one side abutting one of spaced walls extending perpendicular from the support wall so as to prevent the end walls from spreading whereby the support elements can be cut to exact length and wedged between the panels to provide a right-to-left tight fit.

This invention relates to a storage organizer system and means for 
installing the same. This system can be used as a closet organizer or for 
storing in different places such as a garage, basement, pantry or laundry. 
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
The present day trend for storing articles such as clothing, household 
articles and tools is to provide a knockdown system which includes a 
number of upright or vertical panels between which are mounting shelving, 
clothes rods and frequently drawers The shelves are adjustable and many 
different arrangements are provided for such as double hanging rods, 
shelving at the lower portion of the panels and clothes rods over the 
shelves and single rods mounted at the top of the panels for hanging long 
items, such as coats, etc. Although the organizing systems have become 
very popular, many of them are quite expensive and difficult to install 
within the storage space such as closets. To my knowledge, no inexpensive, 
easily installed storage system was conceived prior to this present 
invention. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
The above need for a low cost storage organizer system which can be easily 
installed within a relatively short time as compared to other wall mounted 
or floor mounted storage organizers is met by this invention. The 
installation of the organizer of this invention can be done by 
do-it-yourselfers, contractors or closet contractors in a relatively short 
time. 
In accordance with this invention, I provide a storage organizer system and 
the means for installing the same which serves the same purpose as other 
present day organizers but includes a unique construction which can be 
sold as a knockdown unit and easily installed. This system includes a 
horizontal rail adapted to be mounted on the wall in the storage space. 
This rail includes a projection extending upwardly and away from the wall 
and is mounted horizontally on the wall. The system also includes several 
panels, the number depending upon the desired storage configuration. Each 
of the panels have any edge abutting the wall with a cutout shaped to be 
received by the projection of the horizontal rail. Thus the upright panels 
are hung on the rail so as to project perpendicular from the wall. The 
panels are spaced to receive therebetween support members such as shelves, 
drawers, and rods. The upright panels can be slid along the rail to proper 
spacing in order to accommodate the previously cut shelves or drawers. The 
rods can be cut or telescoped to the proper length so as to fit snugly 
between selected ones of the upright panels. 
Preferably, at least three upright panels are provided including two end 
panels and one or more intermediate panels. The end panels are preferably 
mounted against the side wall of the storage compartment such as a closet 
and the intermediate panels are mounted between the two side panels. In 
using at least three panels, two of the panels are spaced to correspond 
with the length of the shelves and the width of the drawers. The support 
rods are cut to just the right length to provide a tight fit between the 
other two panels so as to hold the panels, shelves, and drawings in place. 
In accordance with the method of this invention, the rail is first secured 
to the wall, the vertical or upright panels are hung on the rail with a 
spacing to fit the shelf lengths and/or drawer widths The shelves and 
drawers are mounted between two of the vertical panels The closet rods are 
then cut to the desired length so as to provide a tight fit to prevent the 
panels or rods from shifting. In some instances where a shelf is provided 
above closet rods, the shelf has to be cut to also provide a tight fit. 
In accordance with this invention, I have provided a low cost storage 
organizer system that is simple and easy to install and in which the 
shelves can be adjusted vertically and horizontally. This system can be 
removed and reinstalled at another location such as a new home. It is very 
simple system in which the only fasteners are those which secure the 
horizontal rail to the wall of the storage space. Other features and 
advantages of the invention will become evident from the detailed 
description of the preferred embodiment as described hereinbelow.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
Referring to the drawings, FIGS. 1 and 2, disclose a specific storage 
organizer which illustrates the system of this invention. This storage 
organizer includes a plurality of upright panels including the end panels 
1 and 2 between which are located intermediate panels 3, 4 and 5. All of 
these upright panels are mounted on the support rail 6 attached to the 
wall as specifically disclosed in FIGS. 1 and 2. The two side panels 1 and 
2 are mounted immediately adjacent and abutting the side walls 8 and 9, 
respectively. The upright panel 3 is mounted on rail 6 a distance from 
panel 1 to accommodate the shelf or top 10a and shelves 10b, 10c, 10d and 
10e. Top or shelf 11a and shelves 11b, 11c, 11d and 11e are mounted 
between the upright panels 4 and 5. Mounted between upright panels 2 and 5 
is the shelf or top 12a, shelf 12 and the rod 13. The last compartment in 
this system is located between the upright panels 3 and 4. This 
compartment includes the two rods 14a and 14b. 
The system provides storage for clothing or other items on the shelving 
10b, 10c, 10d and 10e above the floor, the hanging of clothes on rods 14a 
and 14b above the floor, the storage of clothing on shelving 11b, 11c, 11d 
and 11e also above the floor and the storage of clothing on the shelving 
12 and the hanging of clothing on rod 13. It is important that this entire 
unit is entirely supported by the rail 6 as will be described hereinafter. 
Referring to each of the components forming up this system, rail 6, as 
disclosed more specifically in FIGS. 6, 7, and 8, includes an elongated, 
metal rail having two legs 16 and 17 arranged at an angle approximately 
50.degree. from each other. The leg 16 has a plurality of spaced openings 
18 through which screws 19 are inserted for securing the rail to the studs 
of the wall 7. There are a sufficient number of these openings so that at 
least one of them can be aligned with each of the studs in the wall. The 
mounting or support rails 6 are generally 4 or 8 feet in length and in 
order to use several rails to accommodate greater lengths of organizer 
systems, one end of the rail has a truncated shaped extension 20 while the 
other end has a correspondingly shaped cutout or recess 21 for receiving 
an extension 20 of an adjacent end of the rail as disclosed in FIG. 6. The 
mounting rail is constructed of 12 gauge steel 1 1/2" wide and bent at its 
longitudinal center to produce the two legs 16 and 17. 
The vertical panels are identical. They are preferably 48" long, 12" wide 
and 5/8" thick laminated panels, although the panels could be made of 
solid wood or any other material and be of different lengths and widths. 
Two vertical rows of 32 mm holes 22 are provided on each side of the 
panels, as disclosed in FIGS. 1, 3, 4 and 5. These holes are provided to 
receive rod end supports 23 and shelf pins 24 which will be described in 
greater detail hereinafter. 
Of extreme importance to this invention is the cutout 25 in the edge 26 of 
each panel that abuts against the wall 7. This cutout 25, as disclosed in 
FIGS. 1-10, is substantially triangular in shape and has the two elongated 
sides 27 and 28. The angles between these two sides are such as to 
accommodate and receive the leg 17 of rail 6. Thus, the side 27 of cutout 
25 approximates the angle between the legs 16 and 17 of rail 6 which is 
approximately 50.degree.. The side 28 of cutout 25 is such as to eliminate 
any interference between the side 28 and the rail 6. Thus, as will be seen 
in FIG. 8, it extends approximately from the end of leg 17 to just below 
the end of leg 16 of rail 6. The cutout 25 can take many different 
configurations without departing from the spirit of this invention. One 
example of a different configuration is shown in FIG. 11 wherein the 
cutout 25a is formed by a router so as to provide the side 27a supported 
by leg 17 of the rail 6. 
It will be seen from this description and particularly from FIGS. 8 and 11 
that each of the panels 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 are hung on the leg 17 of rail 6 
in the manner as disclosed in FIG. 5 so that, as disclosed in FIG. 8, the 
edge 26 of the panels abut against the wall 7. 
The shelves 10a, 10b, 10c, 10d, 10e, 11a, 11b, 11c, 11d, 11e, 12 and 15 are 
mounted between their respective panels in a conventional way. These 
shelves are constructed of laminated wood, solid wood or any other 
material. They are mounted on the panels and can be adjustable vertically 
thereon by changing the position of shelf pins 30 which are also 
conventional elements that are supported in the openings 22 by pin 31 
(FIG. 8). As best disclosed in FIG. 3, the shelf pins are mounted in 
horizontally-aligned holes or openings 22. 
The closet rods 13, 14a and 14b are supported on the upright panels by the 
rod end supports 32, shown in greater detail in FIGS. 9 and 10. Rod end 
supports 32 include the base 33 having the pins 34 extending from one side 
thereof and a rod support flange 35 extending from the opposite side 
thereof. Flange 35 is U-shaped to receive a rod such as rod 13. Rod end 
support 32 is mounted on the panels by the two pins 34 extending into 
spaced openings or holes 22 and the rod 13 is supported in the saddle 
portion of the U-shaped flange 35. 
Having described all the components of my invention, the method of 
installation of my organizer system will now be described. 
METHOD OF INSTALLATION 
The installation of my organizer system is extremely simple as compared to 
other systems of this type. It starts by establishing the height at which 
the entire system is to be hung above the floor. Once this distance has 
been established (which is suggested to be 80"), by the use of a level, a 
line is drawn on the closet wall 80" above the floor, and the rail 6 is 
then mounted to the studs of the wall 7 above the line making sure that 
the screws are secured in the studs. In most instances, two or more 
sections of the rail are utilized and they are connected together as 
disclosed in FIG. 6, the projection 20 of one end or one rail extending 
into the recess 21 of an adjacent rail. However, if 8 foot rails are used 
generally only one is required The vertical panels 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 are 
then hung on the mounting rail 6. Preferably the end panels 1 and 2 are 
mounted adjacent the sidewalls 8 and 9. Panel 3 is hung on the rail at a 
predetermined distance established by the length of the shelves 10a, 10b, 
10c, 10d and 10e . These shelves can then be mounted between panels 1 and 
3 by means of the shelf pins 24 inserted into the desired openings to give 
the desired spacing between the shelves which can be varied by time to 
time. Next, panel 5 is spaced a distance from panel 2 as determined by the 
length of shelves 12 and 12a and these shelves can be mounted between the 
panels 2 and 5 by means of shelf pins 24. The rod 13 is also supported 
between the panels 2 and 5 by means of the rod end supports 32. Care 
should be taken that the rod 13 is of proper length to correspond with the 
lengths of the shelves 12 and 12a so that the panels 2 and 5 are parallel 
to each other. 
Panel 4 is next adjusted along the rail 6 so as to be spaced from panel 5 a 
distance determined by the length of the shelves 11a, 11b, 11c, 11d and 
11e. The shelf pins 24 are then inserted in appropriate openings 22 and 
shelves 11a, 11b, 11c, 11d and 11e are supported thereon. 
The last and final installation steps in the configuration as disclosed is 
to insert the rod end support pins 34 into openings near the top and 
bottom of the panels 3 and 4. The rods 14a and 14b are then carefully cut 
to the proper length so that there will be a snug fit within the rod end 
supports between the panels 3 and 4. This snug or tight fit exerts a force 
on the panels 3 and 4 so as to prevent shifting of the panels. It should 
be understood that with such a tight fit, the force exerted on panel 4 is 
transmitted to panel 5 and in turn is transmitted to panel 2 and the 
sidewall 9. Correspondingly, the force exerted on panel 3 is exerted on 
panel 1 and the sidewall 8. This provides a very sturdy and secure 
organizer system because of the tight fit left to right which holds the 
horizontal members in place. 
It should be clear from the above description that my storage organizer 
system, particularly useful in closets, has a low initial cost because of 
the lack of any requirement for any expensive brackets or other support 
elements. It is less expensive because of the low installation time as 
compared to the wall mounted or floor mounted organizer panels. It is so 
simple to install that it can be done by do-it-yourselfers as well as 
contractors or closet contractors. All the parts can be assembled very 
easily in a relatively small package. Further, it provides fully 
adjustable vertical and horizontal storage depending upon the components 
selected. It can be removed very easily by disassembling and reinstalling 
in another location. 
It should be understood that although I have described my invention in 
conjunction with a clothes closet, my system can be used for storage 
organization in garages, basements, pantries, linen closets and laundries. 
Although I have described a preferred embodiment of my invention, it should 
be understood that several different embodiments and modifications can be 
made without departing from the real spirit of this invention. Therefore, 
this invention should be limited only as set forth in the following 
appended claims.