Abstract:
A ceiling storage unit including: at least four brackets attachable to a ceiling; at least four support posts, each support post attachable to a bracket; a frame comprising at least two cross-beams attachable at their ends to the support posts; a shelf panel positioned on and supported by the frame; and at least two braces, each brace attachable at its ends to at least two support posts for supporting long items to be stored, wherein the positions of the braces and the frame along the support posts are adjustable.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED PATENT APPLICATION 
       [0001]    This application claims priority to and the benefit of U.S. Patent Application No. 61/050,991, filed on May 6, 2008, in the United States Patent and Trademark Office, the entire content of which is incorporated herein by reference. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    The present invention relates to a loft storage rack. While there are a variety of loft storage racks that have been designed to store various items, they are not easily configurable for storing awkwardly shaped items that may exceed the dimensions of the storage rack, such as skis, in a convenient manner. Further, conventional loft storage racks are not formed of a simple construction and may be expensive to manufacture and difficult to assemble and adjust. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0003]    An embodiment of the present invention provides a ceiling storage unit including: at least four brackets attachable to a ceiling; at least four support posts, each support post attachable to a bracket; a frame comprising at least two cross-beams attachable at their ends to the support posts; a shelf panel positioned on and supported by the frame; and at least two braces, each brace attachable at its ends to at least two support posts for supporting long items to be stored, wherein the positions of the braces and the frame along the support posts are adjustable. 
         [0004]    The at least two braces may be at an elevation below the elevation of the frame and shelf panel. The at least two braces may be at an elevation above the elevation of the frame and shelf panel. 
         [0005]    The support posts may include an upper support post attachable to the bracket and a lower support post section attachable to the upper support post. The upper support post may be adjustably attachable to the lower support post with a fastener. The upper and lower support post sections may be L-shaped. The upper and lower support post sections may include slots along their lengths so that the positions of the lower support post, the frame and the braces may be adjusted. The slots may have a double sided keyhole shape with a larger mid-slot opening and smaller end-slot openings. 
         [0006]    The shelf panel may include a solid panel. The solid panel include sheet metal, particle board, or plastic. The shelf panel may include a wire shelf panel. 
         [0007]    The braces may have an L-shaped cross-sectional configuration. The cross-beams may be boltlessly attachable to the support posts. The braces may be boltlessly attachable to the support posts. The braces may have a v-shaped section. The braces may have a square-shaped section. The braces may have a curved section. 
         [0008]    The ceiling storage unit may be attachable to an uneven ceiling. 
     
    
     
       DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0009]    The accompanying drawings, together with the specification, illustrate exemplary embodiments of the present invention, and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the present invention. 
           [0010]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a ceiling storage system according to an embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0011]      FIG. 2  is a perspective view of a ceiling storage system according to another embodiment of the present invention. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0012]    In the following detailed description, only certain exemplary embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described, simply by way of illustration. As those skilled in the art would realize, the described embodiments may be modified in various different ways, all without departing from the spirit or scope of the present invention. Accordingly, the drawings and description are to be regarded as illustrative in nature and not restrictive. Like reference numerals designate like elements throughout the specification. 
         [0013]    As shown in  FIG. 1 , according to an embodiment of the present invention; a ceiling storage system may be mounted from a ceiling to conveniently store awkwardly shaped objects. The ceiling storage system may include at least one substantially horizontal shelf panel  12  that is supported by a frame  13  which, in turn, is supported by substantially vertical support posts  20 ,  22 . The frame  13  is formed of substantially horizontal cross-beams  15 , which are boltlessly attached at their ends to the support posts  20 ,  22 . The shelf panel  12 , which may be any suitably rigid material such as particle board, plastic, composite material, sheet metal, a metal mesh, metal wire or the like, may be mounted on or within the frame. A pair of opposing substantially horizontal braces  28  are boltlessly mounted to the support posts  20 ,  22  at an elevation below the shelf panel. 
         [0014]    The cross-sectional configuration of the braces  28  may be any suitable cross-sectional configuration. An example of a suitable cross-sectional configuration is an L-shaped cross-sectional configuration which provides a generally flat horizontal top surface. 
         [0015]    The cross-sectional shape of the cross-beams  15  may be any suitable shape, such as an L-shape, that is capable of receiving the shelf panel. Another example of a cross-beam  15  configuration is a “Z-beam” configuration as described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/854,500, filed Sep. 12, 2007, the entire content of which is incorporated herein by reference. 
         [0016]    Further, the dimensions of the ceiling storage system may be adjusted to suit the needs of the user. For example, the ceiling storage system may be made larger to store larger items. Also, the ceiling storage system may be made smaller so that it may be mounted in rooms with less available space. Further, the ceiling storage system may be made shorter to be mounted in rooms with lower ceilings, or taller to be mounted in rooms with higher ceilings or to accommodate taller items for storage. 
         [0017]    According to an embodiment of the present invention, the ceiling storage system may be mounted to the ceiling by attaching L-shaped brackets  14  to a part of the ceiling that is capable of bearing a load, such as a beam  10 , by inserting any suitable fastener  16 , such as screws or bolts, through holes in the brackets  14  and into the beam  10 . Upper support post sections  20 , which may have any suitable cross-sectional configuration such as an L-shaped cross-sectional configuration, are attached to the brackets  14  by inserting any suitable fastener  18 , such as screws or pins, through holes in the brackets  14  and holes in the upper support posts  20 . The lower support post sections  22 , which may also have any suitable cross-sectional configuration such as an L-shaped cross-section configuration, may be attached to the upper support post sections by any suitable fastener  24 . 
         [0018]    For example, the support posts  20 ,  22  may include multiple double sided keyhole slots  21 ,  23 , respectively, along the length of the support posts  20 ,  22  having a larger mid-slot opening and smaller end-slot openings. The upper support posts  20  and the lower support posts  22  may be positioned so that they overlap, and a fastener  24 , such as a bolt or a pin, may be inserted through the slots  21  on the upper support posts  20  and the slots  23  on the lower support posts  22 , and secured with a nut or clip to attach the upper support posts  20  to the lower support posts  22 . The fastener  24  may be positioned in the lower end-slot opening of the slot  21  of the upper support post  20  and in the upper end-slot opening of the slot  23  of the lower support post  22 . It is understood that the slots may have other shapes, such as wedge, key-hole, diamond, oval or the like. 
         [0019]    According to an embodiment of the present invention, the frame  13  that supports the shelf panel  12  may be formed by attaching the cross-beams  15  to the support posts  20 ,  22  by inserting a slot engaging member, e.g. rivets, at the end of the cross beams into the enlarged portion of the slots and seating the rivets into the lower narrower portion of the slots  21 ,  23  of the support posts  20 ,  22 . The shelf panel  12  may then be positioned on the frame  13  so that items may be stored on the shelf panel  12 . 
         [0020]    Due to the slots  21 ,  23  being positioned along the length of the support beams  20 ,  22 , respectively, the ceiling storage system may be configured and adjusted in various different ways. As a result, the ceiling storage system may be mounted on ceilings that are not level. Further, the shelf panel  12  may be raised or lowered, depending on the items to be stored on the shelf panel  12  and the available space in the location where the ceiling storage system is mounted. 
         [0021]    According to an embodiment of the present invention, brace supports  28  may be mounted to the support posts  20 ,  22  by any suitable means, such as by boltless attachment. For example, the brace supports  28  may include slot engaging rivets at their ends which are inserted through and seated in the lower portions of the slots  21 ,  23  of the support posts  20 ,  22 . 
         [0022]    As shown in  FIG. 1 , according to an embodiment of the present invention, the braces  28  are mounted to the lower support posts  22  beneath the frame  13 . However, as shown in  FIG. 2 , the braces  28  may be mounted to the lower support posts  22  above the frame  13  if desired. Further, though the braces  28  are shown mounted on opposite sides of the frame  13  from each other, braces  28  may be mounted on adjacent sides of the frame  13  or on all sides of the frame  13 . 
         [0023]    Awkwardly shaped objects may be conveniently stored on the ceiling storage system by mounting at least two brace supports  28  on the support posts  20 ,  22  and by positioning the awkwardly shaped objects on the brace supports  28 . These awkwardly shaped objects may include long objects, such as skis, lumber, rakes, shovels, hockey sticks, crutches, pipes, surfboard or the like. The position of the braces  28  and frame  13  may be easily adjusted to the most convenient position for the objects to be stored. 
         [0024]    It is to be understood that a variety of modifications can be made to the ceiling storage system components without departing from the scope of the invention. For example, the braces  28  may be curved or bowed or have multiple curvatures or angles, e.g. V-shaped or square-shaped sections to accommodate specific objects. 
         [0025]    It is further understood that the invention is not limited to any particular style of support post, cross-beam, or brace support, but they may have any suitable cross-sectional shape, such as L-shaped, flat, or rectangular. Further the support posts, cross-beams, and brace supports may be formed of any suitable rigid material, such as metal or plastic. 
         [0026]    While the present invention has been described in connection with certain exemplary embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments, but, on the contrary, is intended to cover various modifications and equivalent arrangements thereof.