Title: Modular storage units for bicycles or the like

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1. A sub-combination of a modular unit for storing a plurality of bicycles or the like in a linear array on a substrate whereby each bicycle is stored in an individual selectively closable locker, said sub-combination comprising:

a. a first plurality of identical upstanding horizontally elongated rectangular-shaped planar walls having vertical ends and horizontal sides, said walls being equally spaced from each other by a given distance in parallel array with their horizontal sides extending normally to a given line passing through the centers thereof.

b. a plurality of pairs of identical vertically extending tubular posts, each pair of said posts being associated with a different one of said first plurality of walls and each post of each pair being rigidly connected to the one of said first plurality of walls associated therewith along a different one of said vertical ends thereof;

c. a plurality of pairs of identical vertically elongated generally rectangular-shaped planar end walls having vertical sides and horizontal ends, each pair of said end walls being associated with a different one of said first plurality of walls and each end wall of each pair having one of its vertical sides rigidly connected to a different one of said pair of posts with said horizontal ends of said pair of end walls extending normally to said horizontal sides of said one of said first plurality of walls associated therewith in opposite directions therefrom;

d. a plurality of pairs of identical vertically elongated generally rectangular-shaped planar doors having vertical sides and horizontal ends, each pair of said doors being associated with a different one of said first plurality of walls and each door of each pair being hinged along one of its vertical sides to the free vertical side of a different one of said end walls, each of said doors and the one of said end walls associated therewith having a total horizontal extent substantially equal to said given distance by which said first plurality of walls are spaced from each other and the horizontal ends of said end walls having a length less than one-half of the length of the horizontal ends of said doors;

e. a second plurality of identical upstanding horizontally elongated rectangular-shaped planar walls having vertical ends and horizontal sides, each of said second plurality of walls being positioned between a different pair of said first plurality of walls with one of its vertical ends rigidly connected to the hinged joint between an end wall and door associated with one of said pair of said first plurality of walls and its other end rigidly connected to the hinged joint between an end wall and door associated with the other of said pair of said first plurality of walls;

f. a plurality of identical elongated rectangular-shaped planar top walls each having horizontal sides equal in length to the horizontal sides of said first plurality of walls and horizontal ends substantially equal in length to said given distance by which said first plurality of walls are spaced from each other, each of said plurality of top walls being associated with a different pair of said first plurality of walls with each horizontal side of each top wall rigidly connected to a different one of said pair of said first plurality of walls associated therewith; and

g. means for rigidly connecting each of said first plurality of walls to said substrate.

2. A modular unit including the sub-combination as claimed in claim 1 and further including:

a first pair of upstanding horizontally elongated rectangular-shaped planar walls having vertical ends and horizonal sides and being identical to said walls of said first plurality of walls, each of said first pair of walls having a vertically extending tubular post rigidly connected thereto along one vertical end thereof, and each of said first pair of walls having one vertical side of a vertically elongated generally rectangular-shaped planar end wall having vertical sides and horizontal ends identical to said end walls of said plurality thereof rigidly connected to the other vertical end thereof with said horizontal ends of said end wall extending normally to said horizontal side of said wall and with a vertically elongated generally rectangular-shaped planar door having vertical sides and horizontal ends identical to said doors of said plurality of doors hinged along one of its vertical sides to the free vertical side of said end wall;

each of said first pair of walls being positioned in said parallel array with said first plurality of walls at a different end thereof and spaced from the one of said plurality of walls adjacent thereto in said array by said given distance with the end wall connected thereto extending toward said array;

a further pair of identical upstanding horizontally elongated rectangular-shaped planar walls having vertical ends and horizontal sides identical to said second plurality of walls, each of said second pair of walls being positioned between a different one of said first pair of walls and the one of said plurality of walls adjacent thereto in said array with one of its vertical ends rigidly connected to the hinged joint between the end wall and door associated with said one of said first pair of walls associated therewith and the other of its vertical ends rigidly connected to the hinged joint between the end wall and door of said adjacent one of said plurality of walls in said parallel array;

and a further pair of top walls having horizontal side and end walls identical to said plurality of top walls each of said further pair of top walls being associated with a different one of said first pair of walls with one horizontal side thereof rigidly connected to the one of said first pair of walls associated therewith and the other horizontal side thereof rigidly connected to the adjacent one of said first plurality of walls in said array.

3. A modular unit as claimed in claim 2 wherein a locking means is included in each post of said plurality of pairs of tubular posts for engagement with the free side of the door of said plurality of pairs of doors associated therewith.

4. A modular unit as claimed in claim 2 wherein said means for connecting each of said first plurality of walls to said substrate comprises an angle and bracket means.

5. A modular unit as claimed in claim 2 wherein each post of said plurality of pairs of posts is a tubular extrusion including an externally open channel extending vertically along said post for receiving a vertical end of one of said first plurality of walls to provide said rigid connection therebetween.

6. A modular unit as claimed in claim 2 wherein each post of said plurality of pairs of posts has an externally open channel member rigidly mounted thereon and extending vertically along said post to receive a vertical side of one of said plurality of pairs of end walls.

7. A modular unit as claimed in claim 2 wherein said hinged joint between associated ones of said plurality of pairs of doors and said plurality of pairs of end walls comprises an elongated single channel extrusion hinged to a further elongated extrusion, said further extension being a double channel extrusion having a first channel opening normally of said hinged joint and a second channel opening at an obtuse angle with respect to the opening of said first channel, said single channel receiving the vertical side of said associated door, said first channel of said double channel extrusion receiving the vertical side of said associated end wall and said second channel of said double channel extrusion receiving the vertical end of one of said second plurality of walls.

8. A modular unit as claimed in claim 2 wherein said other vertical edge of each of said first pair of walls is rigidly connected to said vertical side of said end wall by means of an elongated double channel extrusion having channels opening at right angles to each other.

9. A modular unit as claimed in claim 2 wherein each horizontal side of each of said plurality of top walls is rigidly connected to the horizontal side of the one of said pair of said first plurality of walls associated therewith by means of an elongated double channel extrusion having channels opening at right angles to each other.

10. A modular unit as claimed in claim 3 wherein said locking means included in each post of said plurality of pairs of tubular posts comprises a coin-operated lock mechanism having a bolt which is selectively engagable with the free end of the door associated therewith upon insertion of a coin.

11. A modular unit as claimed in claim 10 wherein the free side of said door is provided with an elongated slide member mounted for vertical sliding movement with respect to said door and having a plurality of dogs selectively engagable with a plurality of dog receiving notches provided on said post and said bolt engages means provided on said slide member for fixing said slide member with the dogs thereof in locking engagement with the notches of said post.

12. A modular unit for storing a plurality of bicycles or the like in a linear array on a substrate whereby each bicycle is stored in an individual selectively closeable locker, said unit comprising:

a. a pair of identical upstanding horizontally elongated rectangular-shaped planar sidewalls having vertical ends and horizontal sides;

b. a first pair of identical vertically extending tubular posts, each post of said first pair of posts being rigidly connected to a different one of said pair of said sidewalls along one vertical end thereof;

c. a first pair of identical vertically elongated generally rectangular-shaped planar end walls having vertical sides and horizontal ends, each end wall of said first pair of end walls being associated with a different one of said pair of sidewalls and each end wall of said pair of end walls having one of its vertical sides rigidly connected to a different one of said pair of posts with said horizontal ends of said pair of end walls extending normally to said horizontal sides of said one of said pair of side walls associated therewith;

d. a first pair of identical vertically elongated generally rectangular-shaped planar doors having vertical sides and horizontal ends, each door of said first pair of doors being associated with a different one of said first pair of end walls and each door of said first pair of doors being hinged along one of its vertical sides to the free vertical side of said one of said first pair of end walls associated therewith;

e. a pair of identical upstanding horizontally elongated rectangular-shaped planar divider walls having vertical ends and horizontal sides, each divider wall of said pair of divider walls being associated with a different one of said pair of side walls with one of its vertical ends rigidly connected to the hinged joint between the one of said first pair of end walls and the one of said first pair of doors associated with the one of said pair of sidewalls with which said divider wall is associated;

f. an upstanding horizontally elongated rectangular-shaped planar common wall having vertical ends and horizontal sides identical to each of said pair of identical side walls;

g. a second pair of identical vertically extending tubular posts, each post of said second pair of posts being rigidly connected to a different one of said vertical ends of said common wall;

h. a second pair of said identical vertically elongated generally rectangular-shaped planar end walls having vertical sides and horizontal ends, each end wall of said second pair of end walls having one of its vertical sides rigidly connected to a different one of said second pair of posts with said horizontal ends of said pair of end walls extending normally to said horizontal sides of said common wall in opposite directions therefrom;

i. a second pair of said identical vertically elongated generally rectangular-shaped planar doors having vertical sides and horizontal ends, each door of said second pair of doors being hinged along one of its vertical sides to the free vertical side of a different one of said second pair of end walls and the horizontal ends of said first and second pairs of end walls having a length less than one-half of the length of the horizontal ends of said doors;

j. said pair of side walls and said common wall being equally spaced from each other by a given distance equal to the total of the length of the horizontal end of one of said identical end walls and the length of the horizontal end of one of said identical doors, said pair of sidewalls and said common wall being arranged in parallel array with said common wall interposed between said pair of side walls and with the horizontal sides of said common wall and side walls extending normally to a given line passing through the center thereof and with the free end of each of said pair of dividing walls rigidly connected to the hinged joint between a different one of said second pair of end walls and a different one of said second pair of doors;

k. a pair of identical elongated rectangular-shaped planar top walls each having horizontal sides equal in length to the horizontal sides of said first pair of side walls and horizontal ends substantially equal in length to said given distance by which each of said first pair of side walls is spaced from said common wall, each of said pair of top walls being associated with a different one of said pair of side walls with one horizontal side of each of said pair of top walls rigidly connected to said common wall and the other horizontal side of each of said pair of top walls rigidly connected to the one of said pair of side walls associated therewith; and

l. means for rigidly connecting each of said pair of side walls to said substrate.

Other info:

Inventors: Wolverton, Richard A. (Walnut Creek, CA, US)
Cooper, Gordon H. (Concord, CA, US)

Application Number: 500388
Filing Date: 1974-08-26
Publication_date: 1976-07-06
Assignee:
Primary Class(es): 52/236.1 52/282.1
Other Classes:
US Patent Ref:

1378417	May, 1921	Lee	52/33.
1893956	Jan, 1933	Michaels	52/282.
1910550	May, 1933	Kaser	312/217.
1981710	Nov, 1934	Rix	220/84.
2578644	Dec, 1951	Mautner	220/84.
2642197	Jun, 1953	Hainsworth	52/33.
2643171	Jun, 1953	Sterba	312/198.
2892581	Jun, 1959	Amatel	229/90.
3042470	Jul, 1962	Money	312/198.
3150903	Sep, 1964	Chapman	220/84.
3257154	Jun, 1966	Lewis	52/79.
3316041	Apr, 1967	Nelson	220/84.
3380768	Apr, 1968	Wolfensberger	52/282.
3388944	Jun, 1968	Crehore	52/280.
3603054	Sep, 1971	Didry	52/280.
3682523	Aug, 1972	Esposito	312/198.
3710736	Jan, 1973	Biondi	52/40.

Other Refs: 561,119730,879643,994342,834655367,456

Oct, 1957	BE
Aug, 1932	FR
Sep, 1928	FR
Oct, 1921	DD
Jan, 1896	UK
Feb, 1932	UK

Primary Examiner: Purser, Ernest R.
Assistant Examiner: Raduazo, Henry
Attorney: Phillips, Moore, Weissenberger Lempio & Strabala