Patent ID: 8117970

Claim:
A storage system for suspending from an overhead structure, comprising: a deck for storing items; at least two beams supporting the deck, each of the at least two beams including a horizontal flat area on the upper surface of the beam for supporting the deck and a horizontal flat area on a lower surface of the beam; four vertical supports for supporting the at least two beams; at least one center support, the at least one center support being a vertical support and including an upper portion for attaching to a ceiling and a lower portion for supporting at least one of the beams, the lower portion of said center support including a horizontal flat portion that fits underneath the beam to support the beam by contact with the horizontal flat area on a lower surface of the beam; and the center support being positionable at any point along a continuous portion of at least one of the beams, the position along the beam not being limited by the location of particular features along the beam length, thereby providing additional support to the beam and the deck at a position determinable by the user; the deck supported by at least two beams located at opposite ends of the deck, each of the at least two beams includes including a lip that extends vertically upward from the horizontal flat area on the upper surface of the beam so that when the deck is supported by the beams, the deck is held between the inner surfaces of the opposing lips; and in which at least one of the two opposing beams is supported by the at least one center support, the center support being positioned at the outside edge of the supported beam on the opposite side of the lip of the supported beam from the deck, with the lower portion of said center support extending below the lip and supporting the beam.