Patent ID: 8371457

Claim:
A collapsible storage rack comprising: first and second rack members, with the first rack member including a body that presents opposite ends and extends along a lateral direction between the ends, at least one of said rack members including a storage element that projects in a forward direction perpendicular to the lateral direction and is operable to support a stored item in front of the rack, said rack members shiftable along an upright extension direction perpendicular to the forward and lateral directions, said rack members shiftable relative to each other into and out of a collapsed condition; and a linkage assembly shiftably interconnecting the rack members and permitting shifting movement of the rack members into and out of the collapsed condition, said linkage assembly including oppositely spaced first and second foldable arms each pivotally attached to the first rack member about a fore-and-aft axis adjacent to corresponding ends and pivotal into and out of a folded position corresponding with the collapsed condition, said foldable arms being attached between the rack members along the forward direction, with the arms folding in front of the first rack member and folding behind the second rack member in the folded position, said rack members shiftable relative to each other between an extended condition and the collapsed condition, with the rack members being shifted away from each other when shifted from the collapsed condition to the extended condition, said body presenting a lateral axis and the foldable arms projecting along an upright path from the body in an unfolded position corresponding to the extended condition, each of said foldable aims presenting an arm axis, with the arm axes being substantially aligned with the lateral axis in the folded position, each of said arm axes and the lateral axis cooperatively presenting an acute angle in the extended condition, with collapsing movement of the rack members toward each other causing the arms to return to the folded position, said body including a laterally extending central flange, with the foldable arms being pivotally attached to the central flange, said body including a laterally extending transverse flange attached to the central flange, with the transverse flange projecting forwardly of the central flange, said foldable arms engaging the transverse flange in the extended condition.