Patent Document

RELATED APPLICATION 
     This application is a continuation-in-part application of U.S. Ser. No. 10/000,621 filed on Nov. 1, 2001 in the name of Cash et al. and entitled “Tool Rack Organizer”, now abandoned. 
    
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to tool storage and, in particular, to a compact tool rack for the storage and organization of tools and equipment. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Various tools and equipment are required for the maintenance and landscaping of a household and grounds. Many are elongated and bulky and pose difficulties in storage within a garage or utility enclosure. More often, than not, the items are stored in available corners or niches in commingled order, making organization and retrieval difficult. Unlike small hand tools where a multiplicity of organized enclosures are available, typical household tools and equipment are large and diverse in size and shape. Accordingly, mobile tool cabinets as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,221,132 to Combs et al. cannot be utilized. Similarly, wall mounted magnetic holders as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,682,698 to Handler et al. provide inadequate strength for large items such as rakes, shovels and the like. 
     Tool organizers specifically adapted to these tools and equipment have generally taken a linear format wherein the items are arranged in serial side-by-side relationship. For instance, U.S. Pat. No. 5,143,228 to Arnold discloses a garden equipment support rack wherein a wire frame, mounted on a wall, includes a pair of linearly spaced hooks for supporting the tool. U.S. Pat. No. 5,778,092 to Teeny discloses a wire frame rack having a plurality of linearly spaced pockets for aligning the handles of elongate articles. Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 2,587,226 to Rodman discloses a random tool rack having spaced hooks for supporting handled tools. Additionally, U.S. Pat. No. 5,411,191 to Bunn discloses a rack for a pickup truck wherein the handles of the tools are supported in a series of aligned cylindrical members. While the foregoing approaches provide for adequate organization and storage, a multiplicity of tools requires considerable lineal space, which is not always available. 
     Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an organizing and storing device for compactly holding elongated implements. 
     Another object is to provide a tool organizer having a plurality of rows of tool supports that may be individually accessed. 
     A further object is to provide a tool organizer having rows of pivotal arms supporting elongated tools that may be selectively pivoted to store and access the desired implement. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The foregoing objects are accomplished by a tool rack organizer having a support assembly including rows of horizontal arms normally disposed in parallel spaced relation to a storage wall. The outer arms are pivotally connected to the support assembly for independent movement between a closed position and an open position. The arms are provided with a series of longitudinally spaced opening for attaching implement hooks to thereby hang customary tools, equipment and other implements. The organizer, with the compact rows of hooks, provides a compact rack arrangement for storing and accessing a multiplicity of tools in a minimum of wall space. 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     The above and other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent upon reading the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which: 
     FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a tool rack organizer, in accordance with one embodiment of the invention, attached to a mounting surface and carrying various articles; 
     FIG. 2 is a front perspective view of the tool rack organizer of FIG. 1 with the support arms in the closed position; 
     FIG. 3 is a front perspective view of the tool rack organizer of FIG. 1 with the support arms in the partially opened position; 
     FIG. 4 is a front perspective view of the tool rack organizer of FIG. 1 with the support arms in the fully opened positions; 
     FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view of the tool rack organizer of FIG. 1 illustrating the organizer components; 
     FIG. 6 is a top view of a tool rack organizer in accordance with another embodiment of the invention; 
     FIG. 7 is a front view of the tool rack organizer of FIG. 6; 
     FIG. 8 is a side view of the tool rack organizer of FIG. 6; 
     FIG. 9 is a cross sectional view taken along line  9 — 9  of FIG. 7 showing the support arm assembly and illustrating the open position of the support arm in dashed lines; 
     FIG. 10 is a cross sectional view taken along line  10 — 10  of FIG. 6 showing the support arm assembly; 
     FIG. 11 is a fragmentary front view of the base leg illustrating the mounting hook; and 
     FIG. 12 is a cross sectional view taken along line  12 — 12  of FIG.  11 . 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     Referring to FIGS. 1 through 5 for illustrating one preferred embodiment, there is shown a tool rack organizer  10  mounted on a vertical support surface  12 , such as a garage or storage wall, and supporting and organizing various articles  14  typically housed therein such as lawn and garden implement, tools and the like. 
     The organizer  10  includes a support bracket assembly  20  supporting an inner or rear arm  22 , a middle arm  24  and an outer or front arm  26  aligned in horizontal rows parallel to the surface  12 . As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the organizer has a closed storage position whereat the arms are in vertically aligned, uniformly horizontally transversely spaced relationship. As shown in FIG. 3, the outer arm  26  may be pivoted outwardly to a partially opened position to gain access to the middle arm  24 . As shown in FIG. 4, thereafter the middle arm  24  may pivoted outwardly to a fully opened position to gain access to the articles on the inner arm  22 . 
     The support bracket assembly  20  is attached to the support surface  12  and typically the studs therebehind by suitable threaded fasteners  28 . 
     Referring additionally to FIG. 5, the support bracket assembly  20  includes a support plate  30  having a triangular base leg  32  fastened to the surface  12  and a triangular front leg  34  integrally connected and transversely disposed with respect thereto. Both legs are provided with mounting holes  36  for attachment to adjacent support surfaces with the fasteners  28 . It will be appreciated that the support bracket assembly  20  may also be corner mounted or along a side wall using the front leg  34  as the mounting surface. Moreover, the organizer may be assembled and mounted as a mirror image of the orientation shown in FIG.  1 . 
     A U-shaped mounting bracket  40  is centrally attached to the support plate  30  by suitable means such as weldments. The bracket  40  includes a rectangular horizontal top plate  42  interconnected with a rectangular bottom plate  44  by a rectangular vertical center plate  46 . The inner side of the center plate  46  is forwardly spaced from the base leg  32  to establish therebetween a rectangular slot for receiving the inner end of the rear arm  22 . The outer side of the center plate  46  is spaced inwardly from the outer sides of the plates  42  and  44  for receiving the inner ends of the middle arm  24  and outer arm  26 . 
     The arms  22 ,  24  and  26  are formed of rectangular tubing and include a longitudinal series of hook mounting holes  50  on the front and rear walls for supporting conventional peg-board type mounting hooks  51 . 
     The rear arm  22  is formed of a single length of tubing and includes vertically aligned cylindrical bushing  52  at the inner end having a sliding fit within the inner slot in the mounting bracket  40 . A bolt  54  extends through apertures in the plates  42 ,  44  and bushings  52  and threaded to nut  56  to fixedly capture the inner end of the rear arm  22  fixedly locating the arm adjacent the surface  12 . 
     The middle arm  24  is formed of a single length of tubing and includes vertically aligned cylindrical bushing  60  at the inner end having a sliding fit within the outer slot in the mounting bracket  30 . A bolt  62  extends through apertures in the outer front edges of the plates  42 ,  44  and the bushing  60  and threaded to nut  64  to pivotally support the inner end of the middle arm  24 . The upper end of the bushing  60  includes a detent sector  66  having a series of indents that cooperate with an upper detent ball assembly  68  threaded in a nut in the upper plate  42  to establish detented positions for the middle arm as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4. Accordingly, the middle arm is pivotal about a vertical axis  69  (FIG.  3  and located at the various detent positions 
     The outer arm  26  is generally L-shaped having an outer portion  70  and an inner portion  72  transverse thereto, both formed of rectangular tubing. The outer portion  70  is comparable to the rear and middle arms including the aligned mounting holes  50 . The inner portion  72  includes vertically aligned cylindrical bushing  74  at the inner end having a sliding fit within the outer slot in the mounting bracket  30 . A bolt  76  extends through apertures in the outer front edges of the plates  42 ,  44 , aligned with and outward of the apertures for the middle arm, and bushing  74  and threaded to nut  78  to pivotally support the inner end of the middle leg  24 . The lower end of the bushing  74  includes a detent sector  80  having a series of indents that cooperate with an upper detent ball assembly  82  threaded into a nut on the lower plate  44  to establish detented positions for the outer arm as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4. The outer or front arm  26  is thus pivotable about a vertical axis  83  (FIG. 3) through the detented positions. 
     In use, the organizer may be mounted at a convenient location with the arms horizontally aligned. The organizer may be selectively assembled in either left hand or right hand orientations. The mounting hooks may be arrayed on the arms to receive associated articles for storage. The outer and middle arms may be selectively pivoted to separately and selectively present the arm carrying a desired article for storage or removal. After completion, the arms may be returned to the compact closed position. 
     A further embodiment of the invention is shown in FIGS. 6 through 12. Therein, FIG. 6 illustrates a tool rack organizer  110  mounted on a vertical surface  112 , such as a garage storage wall, for the compact storage and easy accessibility of a variety of tools and implements of the type commonly used in the maintenance of a household and grounds. For example, the organizer  110  may hold various handled lawn tools, such as hoes and rakes, and home tools, such as hammers and hand tools. It will also be appreciated that the organizer may be beneficially used in connection with businesses and trades in a commercial setting for the storage of equipment used in such pursuits. 
     More particularly, the organizer  110  comprises a rack assembly  120  attached to the wall  112  at a rectangular mounting plate  122  and vertically reinforced by triangulated leg assemblies  124  (FIG.  8 ). The rack assembly  120  includes a fixed inner support arm  126 , a pair of pivotal middle support arms  134 , and a pair of outer support arms  136 . The arms  134  and  136  are pivotable between the closed position shown in solid lines and the open position shown by dashed lines. The inner arm  126  is an elongated rectangular tube that is attached by suitable means, such as welds, at a rear surface to the front surface of the mounting plate  122 . The rack assembly  120  includes a pair of longitudinally spaced, frontally and outwardly diverging support brackets  128  attached at rear ends to the outer ends of the base arm  126 . 
     Each support bracket  128  includes in spaced relation a middle support plate assembly  130  and an outer support plate assembly  132 , respectively pivotally carrying in transversely aligned and parallel spaced relationship arms  134 ,  136 . The arms  134 ,  136  are connected at inner ends to the support brackets  128  by vertical pin connections  138  and  139 , respectively, with the pin connection  139  lying longitudinally and frontally outward of the pin connection  138 . The rack arms  134 ,  136  are disposed in pivotal in non-overlapping, phase opposition for movement between the closed storage position shown in solid lines and the open handling position shown in dashed lines. The side brackets  128  are outwardly inclined with respect to the base arm  126  in the range of about 30° to 70°, to allow full non-interfering pivotal movement between storage and open positions. A divergence around 45° to 60° is preferred. For compactness, a spacing of about 4 to 12 inches is preferred. 
     The arms  126 ,  134  and  136 , and the side brackets  128  are formed of rectangular galvanized steel tubing, or like construction components suitable for the application. The inner arm  126  is attached to the mounting plate  122  by welds  140 . The ends of the inner arm  126  are beveled for attachment to the inner sidewalls of the side brackets  128 . The mounting plate  122  is provided with a longitudinal series of apertures  140  for receiving conventional and suitable fasteners  142  for attaching the organizer  110  at a desired and convenient location on the vertical surface  112 . The front vertical surface of the inner arm  126  is provided with a longitudinal series of attachment holes  144  for receiving conventional mounting hooks  146  for suspending the tools and equipment. Suitable hooks may be of the two-leg type used for pegboard applications, in which instance the hole spacing is appropriate for selective, variable location on the inner arm  126 . 
     Referring to FIGS. 9 and 10, the side brackets  130  include support arm holder  130 ,  132  for pivotally supporting the arms  136 ,  136 . Each support arm holder includes an upper support plate assembly  150  including a a top plate  152  attached to the top surface of the side bracket  128  and a bottom plate  154  attached to the bottom surface of the side bracket  128 . The top plate  152  and the bottom plate  154  are interconnected at the rear margins by a vertical rear sidewall  156 . The plates  152 ,  154  and the sidewall  156  form inwardly and frontally opening pockets for slidably receiving the inner ends of the arms. The plates  152 ,  154  and the inner ends of the arms are provided with aligned vertical apertures for receiving the shanks of the pivotal connectors  138 . A suitable connector is an appropriately sized threaded fastener  158  (FIG.  10 ). To maintain the arms in the desired storage or handling position, as shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, a detent  160  is provided in the bottom plate  154  having a detent head  162  at the top surface thereof. In the closed storage position, the detent head  162  engages the front wall of the arms to resist outer pivoting. In the open handling positions, the detent head  162  engages the rear wall the arms to maintain the extended position. As illustrated, a threaded fastener is a suitable mechanism. The position of the detents may vary to prescribe the desired angularity of the rack arms in the handling position. 
     The inner opposed ends of the arms  134 ,  136  are slightly spaced in the closed positions and may be covered with suitable end caps, if desired. The front walls of the arms are provided with a longitudinal series of holes for receiving the aforementioned mounting hooks. 
     Referring to FIG. 8, the leg assemblies  124  includes a support strut  170  connected at a lower end to a base plate  172  at bracket  174  and connected at an upper end to the front lower wall of the side bracket  128  at bracket  176 . The base plate  172  is fixedly connected to the support surface  112  by threaded fasteners  178 . The length of the strut  170  may be provided with axial adjustability, for horizontally orienting and structurally supporting the legs  128  in operative position. 
     In use, with the organizer attached at a desired location on the surface  112 , the hooks  144  are attached at desired locations on the support arms for the convenient mounting of the user&#39;s equipment. Thereafter, the arms are folded to the closed storage position and disposed in parallel rows. When a desired item is required, the arms are opened as required to gain access and removal, and the opened arms returned to storage positions. The sequence is reversed for return storage of the items. 
     Having thus described a presently preferred embodiment of the present invention, it will now be appreciated that the objects of the invention have been fully achieved, and it will be understood by those skilled in the art that many changes in construction and widely differing embodiments and applications of the invention will suggest themselves without departing from the sprit and scope of the present invention. The disclosures and description herein are intended to be illustrative and are not in any sense limiting of the invention, which is defined solely in accordance with the following claims.

Technology Category: 7