Abstract:
A safety net system is configured for mounting to a rack having a pair of spaced apart upstanding posts, in which the upstanding posts have open tops and holes formed in side walls thereof. The safety net system includes a pair of spaced apart uprights, upper and lower mounts operably connecting each upright to a respective rack post and an upper element extending between and mounted to the uprights at about an upper portion of the uprights. A net extends between and is mounted to the uprights and mounted to the upper element. The net is removably mounted to the uprights and to the upper elements and the uprights are variably mountable to the rack posts to vary a height of the net above the posts.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION DATA 
     This application claims the benefit of priority of Provisional U.S. Patent Application Ser. No. 60/442,168, filed Jan. 23, 2003. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention is directed to a safety net. More particularly, the present invention pertains to a vertically adjustable safety net that is installed to storage units to prevent items from inadvertently falling from the storage unit. 
     Pallet racks and other storage systems have previously provided a primary storage support structure in large warehousing storage and distribution facilities. More recently, these types of storage systems have been incorporated into warehousing and generally accessible areas of commercial retail establishments, such as warehouse clubs, and the like. 
     In many such operations, forklifts or other vehicles are commonly employed to load and remove loaded pallets from pallet racks. As the size of these facilities has increased, the potential for accidentally dropping loads from these racks, or improperly loading the racks has likewise increased. Many facilities have employed safety netting systems to enhance safety. 
     Safety nets have included various designs. Such nets are installed at the back of the pallet racks to provide a safety barrier to prevent items from falling from the backs of racks. However, nets have not typically been installed at the front of such racks in that is it is often desired to access the racks frequently, and such nets increase the time necessary to remove and/or install the nets before and after accessing the racks. Those safety net systems that have been used at the front of racks are installed on the front of such racks, that is, on the “aisle” side of the racks. This poses problems with the use of certain access equipment (e.g., library ladders), and when used in a retail environment, with signage and the like. 
     Moreover, the safety net systems that have been employed in connection with pallet racks have tended to be custom designed and installed for each unique rack configuration and size. Because pallet rack systems tend to not be standardized in terms of shape, size and load ratings and tend to have different load distribution requirements, providing a safety net system which is adaptable for use with a wide variety of pallet rack systems has proved problematical. 
     Accordingly, there exists a need for a safety net of flexible design. Such a safety net system is readily adapted for use with a variety of rack sizes and configurations. More desirably, such a safety net system permits ready height adjustability and can be used with all types of access equipment and signage. 
     BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     A safety net system is configured for mounting to a rack that has a pair of spaced apart upstanding posts having open tops and holes formed in side walls thereof. The safety net system includes a pair of spaced apart uprights, upper and lower mounts operably connecting each upright to a respective rack post, an upper element, preferably a rigid element, that extends between and mounted is to the uprights at about an upper portion of the uprights and a net extending between and mounted to the uprights and mounted to the upper element. 
     The net is removably mounted to the uprights and to the upper elements. The uprights are variably mountable to the rack posts to vary a height of the net above the posts. In a preferred embodiment, the rack includes an upper rack beam and wherein the net is removably mounted to the upper rack beam. A plurality of closable loop elements, such as carabiners, can be used for removably mounting the net to the uprights. 
     In a current embodiment, the upper mount is formed as a U-shaped element having legs and a central connecting region. Fingers depend from the legs and are transverse to the central connecting portion, defining notches therein. The lower mount is formed as a pair of legs mounted to the uprights and mountable to the posts. 
     To facilitate installing the uprights to the posts, a lower portion of the upright, at a rear side thereof is open. The upper portion of the upright is closed for increased structural strength. 
     Various heights of the safety net system can be accommodated with a single size (height) by wrapping the net around the upper element to maintain the net in tension. The net can also be maintained in tension between the uprights. 
     The uprights can mount to a rear surface of the rack posts. This permits unobstructed use of signage and the like that mounts to the front of the rack. 
     These and other features and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following detailed description, in conjunction with the appended claims. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The benefits and advantages of the present invention will become more readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the relevant art after reviewing the following detailed description and accompanying drawings, wherein: 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective illustration of a safety net system embodying the principles of the present invention; 
         FIG. 2  is a perspective illustration similar to  FIG. 1  in which the safety net system is shown mounted to a conventional rack system; 
         FIG. 3  is a partial rear view of the rack of  FIG. 2  showing the installation of a net system upright installed to the rack upright; 
         FIG. 4  is a perspective illustration similar to  FIG. 2 ; 
         FIG. 5  is an enlarged illustration of the areas indicated in  FIG. 4 , showing an exemplary attachment of the net system upright to the rack upright. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     While the present invention is susceptible of embodiment in various forms, there is shown in the drawings and will hereinafter be described a presently preferred embodiment with the understanding that the present disclosure is to be considered an exemplification of the invention and is not intended to limit the invention to the specific embodiment illustrated. 
     It should be further understood that the title of this section of this specification, namely, “Detailed Description Of The Invention”, relates to a requirement of the United States Patent Office, and does not imply, nor should be inferred to limit the subject matter disclosed herein. 
     Referring now to the figures and in particular to  FIG. 1 , there is shown a safety net system  10  embodying the principles of the present invention. The net system  10  is shown freestanding, that is, without installation on an associated rack.  FIG. 2  illustrates the safety net system  10  installed on the uprights  1  of, for example, a pallet rack  2 . For purposes of the following description and to prevent confusion, the rack uprights  1  will be referred to as posts and the net system uprights  12  will be referred to as uprights. 
     Advantageously, as will be described herein, the present safety net system  10  permits readily adjusting the height of the net (e.g., by 2 inch increments) to achieve a desired or required net height. The present system  10  does so and also permits use with standard light-duty and heavy-duty rack systems  2 . Another important and novel feature is the continued ability to use signage at the front of the rack  2  to which the safety net system  10  is installed. 
     The safety net system  10  includes, generally, opposing uprights  12 , each having a plurality of openings  14  formed in a face or a flange  16  thereof. A cross-beam or tube  18  (i.e., round cross bar) extends between the uprights  12 , at about the top thereof. Alternately, although not shown, cables can be used to span the uprights  12  in lieu of a cross-beam or tube  18  at the top. 
     A net  20  extends between the uprights  12  on the sides and between an upper beam  3  of the rack  2  and the net system beam or tube on the bottom (if used)  22  and top  18 , respectively. At the uprights  12 , the net  20  is attached by threaded connectors or carabiners  24 . Carabiners  24 , as will be recognized by those skilled in the art, are closeable clips formed in a loop  26 . A threaded or snap-fastening portion opens to permit fastening an article to the clip and locks closed (by a spring, a snap-lock or mating threads) to secure the article to the loop  26 . The carabiner  24  permits securely holding the net  20  when the carabiner  24  is closed and readily removing the net  20  when the carabiner  24  is open. 
     Carabiners  24  are inserted into the spaced apart openings  14  in the uprights  12 . In this manner, the number of carabiners  24  that are used can be varied to accommodate different anticipated loads that are positioned “behind” the net  20 . That is, when a large or heavy load is on the rack  2  behind the net  20 , a larger number of carabiners  24  can be used to hold the net  20  to the uprights  12 . Conversely, when a smaller or lighter load is on the rack  2 , a lesser number of carabiners  24  can be used to secure the net  20  to the uprights  12 . 
     In a current embodiment, to secure the net  20  at the lower location, i.e., at the rack upper beam  3 , a carabiner  24  is welded or otherwise secured to a plate  28 , and a number of plates  28  are, in turn fastened (e.g., screwed) to the rack upper beam  3  for securing the lower edge of the net  20 . At the top, the net  20  is threaded over or weaved onto the upper support  18  (e.g., the upper tube). In the event that the net  20  is longer (in height) than the distance between the upper support  18  and the top rack beam  3 , the remaining net  20  section can be folded over the upper support  18 . As such, the net  20  does not have to be custom-made for each installation. Rather, a standard height net  20  can be used for a variety of installations. 
     The net system uprights  12  use a novel two-location attachment for securing the net system upright  12  to the rack posts  1 . This arrangement provides a number of distinct advantages over known safety systems. First, the present net system mount  30  permits vertically adjusting the height h of the net  20  between (it is anticipated) about 4 feet and about 8 feet upward from the upper mounting location (generally the rack upper beam  3 ). Moreover, in that the present mount arrangement  30  mounts the net system uprights  12  to the back face of the front of the rack  2 , commonly used access equipment, such as library ladders and the like can still be used, without interference from the net system  10 . Still another advantage is that sign systems that otherwise could not be used with net systems that mount to the front face of the rack can still be used, again without interference from the safety net system  10 . 
     An upper mount  32  is formed as a U-shaped element having upper leg portions  34  that are secured to the net system uprights  12 . The center connecting or U portion  36  of the upper mount  32  extends forwardly of the upright  12  to overlie the post  1 . The mount  32  is configured to secure to many standard size rack posts  1 , such as racks that are 1⅜ inches deep (light-duty racks) or 3 inches deep (heavy-duty racks). To this end, the mount  32  has depending fingers  38  that extend transverse to the U portion  36  that insert into the top  4  of the post  1  (see  FIG. 5 ). The fingers  38  define notches  40  into which the top  4  of the post  1  inserts. Engagement of the appropriate fingers  38  with the rear wall of the post  1  secures the upper mount  32  to the post  1  to, in turn, secure the upright  12  to the post  1 . In the event that other than standard depth rack posts  1  are used, additional depending fingers  38  (to define additional notches) can be formed on the upper mount  32  to accommodate these different sized posts. 
     A lower mount portion  42  is formed as a pair of legs  44  that extend transversely (e.g., forwardly) from the upright  12  at a lower portion of the upright  12 . Essentially, as seen in  FIG. 5 , the lower mount  42  is formed as individual legs  44  that are mounted to the sides of the upright  12 . The free ends  46  of the legs  44  are then fastened to the rack post  1  to secure the upright  12  to the post  1 . 
     As seen in  FIG. 3 , a lower portion  48  of the upright  12  has an open back portion, as indicated at  50 . The upper portion  52  of the upright  12 , on the other hand has a closed back. The open back  50  of the lower portion  48  permits “sliding” the upright  12  along the post  1  to a desired height to allow installation of the upright  12  over structural members (e.g., permits bypassing cross-bars, beams and angles, as indicated at  54 ) that may form part of the rack  1 . This permits vertical adjustment of the upright  12  on the rack  2 . The closed back of the upper portion  52  provides the structure and strength required for the safety net system  10 . The upright  12  has, as set forth above, a plurality of holes  14  for mounting the carabiners  24  thereto. In a current embodiment, the holes  14  are spaced about 2 inches on center along the length of the upright  12 . 
     In use, the present safety net system  10  can be readily “slid” to one side or the other by unfastening the carabiners  24  (for example carabiners  24   a ) on one side of the net  20  (that connect the net  20  to the upright  12 ) and the carabiners (e.g., carabiner  24   a ) along the rack upper beam  3 . A reverse procedure is then used to re-secure the net  20  to the rack  2 . Access to materials behind the net  20  near a corner is readily had by merely unfastening the appropriate carabiners. Alternately, a self-closing system can be used for the safety net system (along with the present adjustable mounting system), such as that disclosed in copending U.S. patent application to Padiak et al., U.S. Ser. No. 10/280,323, filed Oct. 25, 2002, entitled, Security Cover, the disclosure of which application is incorporated herein by reference. 
     The present safety net system  10  provides a number of advantages over known net systems. First, the system  10  design is flexible such that it can be used to provide safety nets  20  at heights h varying between (it is anticipated) four and eight feet above the rack  1  structure. This is readily accomplished by adjusting the height h at which the upright  12  is secure to the post  1 , and “wrapping” the unused net  20  (f necessary) over the upper tube  18 . Moreover, the present system  10  can be used, without modification or “customization”, for mounting to racks that employ different sizes of posts  1 , and importantly can be used, with rack systems  2  having signage mounted to the front thereof. 
     All patents referred to herein, are hereby incorporated herein by reference, whether or not specifically do so within the text of this disclosure. 
     In the present disclosure, the words “a” or “an” are to be taken to include both the singular and the plural. Conversely, any reference to plural items shall, where appropriate, include the singular. 
     From the foregoing it will be observed that numerous modifications and variations can be effectuated without departing from the true spirit and scope of the novel concepts of the present invention. It is to be understood that no limitation with respect to the specific embodiments illustrated is intended or should be inferred.