Abstract:
A shelf for a rack is adapted to be secured between two vertical supports and is composed of a plate ( 22 ) having multiple securing holes ( 221 ) and various storage devices detachably mounted on the plate ( 22 ). The storage devices have multiple feet to mount in the securing holes ( 211 ) and fasten to the plate by attachment devices to use space between adjacent shelves efficiently, whereby the rack has excellent flexibility for holding objects.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0001]    1. Field of the Invention  
           [0002]    The present invention relates to a shelf for a rack, and more particularly to a shelf with various storage devices to conveniently hold a variety of objects in an orderly manner.  
           [0003]    2. Description of Related Art  
           [0004]    How and where to store articles of daily use in an orderly manner is always an important consideration, especially for people who live in small houses or apartments. A rack having multiple shelves is always a help to people for storing articles of daily use to efficiently use available living space. Conventional racks usually have multiple shelves or boxes vertically stacked together and multiple rods extending between adjacent shelves or boxes to support the whole rack. The rods are usually the same size to limit production cost so the distance between adjacent shelves or boxes is the same. However, different types of objects cannot be efficiently stored on such racks. For example, a lot of space is wasted if the objects are much shorter than the distance between adjacent shelves. Additionally, the shelves or boxes of conventional racks cannot securely hold fragile objects such as dishes, bowls, wine glasses, etc. which are not suitable for storage on the racks. Therefore, the use of the conventional rack is limited to non-fragile objects such as cans, other groceries, linens, clothes, etc.  
           [0005]    Therefore, the present invention has arisen to mitigate and/or obviate the drawbacks of the conventional rack.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0006]    The main objective of the present invention is to provide a shelf for a rack on which multiple storage devices can be securely attached to efficiently use space between adjacent shelves and to enhance the use of the rack.  
           [0007]    Further benefits and advantages of the present invention will become apparent after a careful reading of the detailed description with appropriate reference to the accompanying drawings. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0008]    [0008]FIG. 1 is a perspective view of multiple shelves in accordance with the present invention mounted on a rack;  
         [0009]    [0009]FIG. 2 is an enlarged perspective view of a shelf in FIG. 1;  
         [0010]    [0010]FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the shelf in FIG. 2;  
         [0011]    [0011]FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the shelf in FIG. 2 with a first embodiment of a storage device in accordance with the present invention;  
         [0012]    [0012]FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the shelf in FIG. 2 with a second embodiment of the storage device in accordance with the present invention;  
         [0013]    [0013]FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the shelf in FIG. 2 with a third embodiment of the storage device in accordance with the present invention;  
         [0014]    [0014]FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the shelf in FIG. 2 with a fourth embodiment of the storage device in accordance with the present invention; and  
         [0015]    [0015]FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the shelf in FIG. 2 with a fifth embodiment of the storage device in accordance with the present invention. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
       [0016]    With reference to FIG. 1, at least one shelf ( 20 ) in accordance with the present invention is adapted to be mounted between two vertical supports ( 10 ) of a rack. Each vertical support ( 10 ) is composed of a foot ( 12 ), a top frame ( 13 ) and two support rods ( 11 ) erected vertically between the foot ( 12 ) and the top frame ( 13 ).  
         [0017]    With reference to FIGS. 2 and 3, each shelf ( 20 ) comprises a flat plate ( 22 ), two mounting-bars ( 30 ), multiple securing holes ( 221 ), two enlarged end brackets ( 21 ), at least two extending rods ( 23 ) and at least one storage device (not shown). The flat plate ( 22 ) has a front edge, a rear edge and two ends. The mounting-bars ( 30 ) are respectively mounted on opposite ends of the flat plate ( 22 ). The securing holes ( 221 ) are defined vertically through the plate ( 22 ). The enlarged end brackets ( 21 ) are mounted on opposite ends of the plate ( 22 ), and each enlarged end bracket ( 21 ) has two ends (not numbered), is composed of multiple plates and extends out from the front and rear edges of the plate ( 22 ). At least one rod-hole ( 210 ) is defined in each end of the enlarged end bracket ( 21 ), and an extending rod ( 23 ) passes through the rod-hole ( 210 ) to be attached to the front and rear edge of the plate ( 22 ). A strong back ( 24 ) corresponds and is secured to each enlarged end bracket ( 21 ) by means of screws. Additionally, each securing hole ( 221 ) defined in the plate is a countersunk hole with a through diameter and a larger diameter at the surface of the plate ( 22 ).  
         [0018]    Each mounting-bar ( 30 ) has two ends and is attached to the corresponding strong back ( 24 ) by means of screws ( 33 ). A hole ( 31 ) is defined in each end of each mounting-bar ( 30 ) to correspond to the support rod ( 11 ) of the vertical support ( 10 ). Additionally, four securing members (not shown) respectively corresponding to the holes ( 31 ) in the mounting-bars ( 30 ) are mounted in the support rods ( 11 ) to selectively mount the shelf ( 20 ) at a desired position in the rack ( 10 ).  
         [0019]    With reference to FIG. 4, a first embodiment of the storage device is a standing rack ( 50 ) having multiple layers and feet ( 51 ). The standing rack ( 50 ) attaches to the shelf ( 20 ) by inserting the feet ( 51 ) into corresponding securing holes ( 221 ) on the plate ( 22 ). An attachment fitting ( 40 ) is mounted on each foot ( 51 ) of the standing rack ( 50 ) and has a first section ( 41 ) and a second section ( 42 ) with different diameters. The diameter of the first section ( 41 ) corresponds to the through diameter of the hole ( 221 ), and the diameter of the second section ( 42 ) corresponds to the diameter of the hole ( 221 ) at the surface of the plate ( 22 ). The corresponding diameters make the standing rack ( 50 ) stable on the shelf ( 20 ).  
         [0020]    With reference to FIG. 5, a second embodiment of the storage device is a bookend ( 60 ). The bookend ( 60 ) has multiple feet ( 61 ) and is attached to the shelf ( 20 ) by inserting the feet ( 61 ) into corresponding securing holes ( 221 ) on the plate ( 22 ). An attachment fitting ( 40 ) as previously described is mounted on each foot ( 61 ) of the bookend ( 60 ) to correspond to the countersunk hole to make the bookend ( 60 ) stable on the shelf ( 20 ).  
         [0021]    With reference to FIG. 6, a third embodiment of the storage device is a hanging rack ( 80 ) having multiple layers and upright posts ( 81 ). The hanging rack ( 80 ) attaches to the shelf ( 20 ) by inserting the posts ( 81 ) into corresponding securing holes ( 221 ) on the plate ( 22 ). When the posts ( 81 ) of the hanging rack ( 80 ) are positioned in corresponding countersunk holes ( 221 ), a screw ( 70 ) with a head ( 71 ) is placed through the corresponding countersunk hole ( 221 ) and screwed into a threaded hole (not numbered) defined in the post ( 81 ).  
         [0022]    With reference to FIG. 7, a fourth embodiment of the storage device is a hanging wineglass rack ( 90 ). The hanging wineglass rack ( 90 ) has multiple upright posts (not shown) and is attached to the shelf ( 20 ) by inserting the posts into corresponding securing holes ( 221 ) in the plate ( 22 ). When the posts of the hanging wineglass track ( 90 ) are positioned in the countersunk holes ( 221 ), a screw ( 70 ) with a head is placed through the corresponding countersunk hole ( 221 ) and is screwed into a threaded hole defined in the post.  
         [0023]    With reference to FIG. 8, a fifth embodiment of the storage device is a cup hook ( 900 ) slidably mounted around the extending rods ( 23 ) on the plate ( 22 ).  
         [0024]    Although the invention has been explained in relation to its preferred embodiment, it is to be understood that many other possible modifications and variations can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as hereinafter claimed.