Abstract
In the counter-top fabrication business, the biggest and most serious problem is the movement of material. The biggest reason for concern is that kitchen countertop pieces, on average, weigh 200 to 400 pounds while islands can weigh up to 1200 pounds. The racks used to transport pieces are normally 4 to 8 inches tall off the ground which is just enough room for the forks of a forklift to raise the rack. Therefore, installers must squat all the way to the ground to lift the pieces. The invention we created is an easy lift kit raising the height of the countertop material as high as possible on the rack while still being able to travel safe. We are lifting the rack as high as possible to get reach what OSHA calls the power zone for lifting. We have invented six different designs to accomplish this goal.
Claims
1. A lift kit system for racks, comprised: metal supports bolted and or welded together to lift racks off the ground to reach what OSHA calls the power zone for safe lifting.
2. A lift kit system in claim #1, including: a lift kit with six distinct configurations engineered for existing racks including; a box and forklift brace design; a box design, a leg up design; an upper angled design; a lower angled design; and an angle to forklift braced design.
3. A lift kit system in #1, further comprised: of sleeves in each corner to mount safety stops for use on trailers and wheels for use off-trailer.
4. A lift kit system, comprised: of metal supports bolted and or welded together to raise racks high enough to clear side rails of trailer.
5. A lift kit system in claim #4, comprised: of lift points for forklift to raise racks above side rails on trailers for safe and quick loading and unloading.
Description
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
[0011] FIG. 1. Side view with existing rack installed
[0012] FIG. 2. Cross view of set of extensions with bottom of existing rack connected
[0013] FIG. 3. Side view of box design with U-bolt
[0014] FIG. 4. Side view of box design with no forklift plate
[0015] FIG. 5. Side view of box design with forklift brackets
[0016] FIG. 6. Side view with leg up design
[0017] FIG. 7. Side view with angle brace with lower support bar
[0018] FIG. 8. Side view with angle brace with upper support bar
[0019] FIG. 9. Front view of boxed design with nuts and bolts
[0020] FIG. 10. Front view boxed design with U-bolts
[0021] FIG. 11. Front view of triangle frame with U-bolts
[0022] FIG. 12. Front view of 45-degree angle design with nuts and bolts
[0023] FIG. 13. Top view of pair of easy lift kit
[0024] FIG. 1. [0025] 1) Side view of easy lift kit [0026] 2) Existing rack that mounts on easy lift kit [0027] 3) Optional wheels
[0028] FIG. 2. [0029] 1) Lower support bar that sits on floor maximizing surface on floor [0030] 2) Upper bar to existing rack [0031] 3) Side upright supports [0032] 4) Corner piece anchor [0033] 5) Corner piece leg [0034] 6) Bolt holding corner together [0035] 7) Gussets [0036] 8) Side forklift slot [0037] 9) Top inside center plate [0038] 10) Top outer plate [0039] 11) Top U-bolts [0040] 12) Lower mounting plate [0041] 13) Lower base of existing rack sitting on frame [0042] 14) Fold-down step
[0043] FIG. 3. [0044] 1) Square tubing for corner to add stability [0045] 2) Leg anchor mounted to secondary tube [0046] 3) Welded top plate for mounting the top corner of rack leg allowing the lift kit to be bolted together [0047] 4) Bolt through frame leg securing center to both sides [0048] 5) Wheel with adapter used in place of leg extension [0049] 6) Upright support bar where center mounting plate is welded [0050] 7) Mounting plate for center top U-bolt [0051] 8) Center top U-bolts [0052] 9) Lower support bar that sits on floor maximizing surface on floor [0053] 10) Upper support bar where side and mid-bars are attached [0054] 11) Top spacer mounted below forklift plate because some racks have legs that are four inches tall, and the plate is 3 inch. So, to attach the U-bolt to the plate, a quarter-inch spacer is needed [0055] 12) Bottom plate with holes mounted below forklift plate which allows U-bolts to be secured to plate [0056] 13) U-bolt through forklift plate and bottom plate to secure kit [0057] 14) Gussets providing extra bracing support in corners [0058] 15) Bottom of existing rack sitting on floor maximizing surface area contact
[0059] FIG. 4. [0060] 1) Square tubing for corner to add stability [0061] 2) Leg anchor mounted to secondary tube [0062] 3) Welded top plate for mounting the top corner of rack leg allowing the lift kit to be bolted together [0063] 4) Bolt through frame leg securing center to both sides [0064] 5) Wheel with adapter used in place of leg extension [0065] 6) Upright support bar where center mounting plate is welded [0066] 7) Center mounting plate [0067] 8) Bolts through center mounting plate [0068] 9) Lower support bar that sits on floor maximizing surface on floor [0069] 10) Upper support bar where side and mid-bars are attached [0070] 11) Top spacer mounted below forklift plate because some racks have legs that are four inches tall, and the plate is 3 inch. So, to attach the U-bolt to the plate, a quarter-inch spacer is needed [0071] 12) Bottom plate with holes mounted below forklift plate which allows U-bolts to be secured to plate [0072] 13) U-bolt through forklift plate and bottom plate to secure kit [0073] 14) Gussets providing extra bracing support in corners [0074] 15) Bottom of existing rack sitting on floor maximizing surface area contact
[0075] FIG. 5. [0076] 1) Square tubing for corner to add stability [0077] 2) Leg anchor mounted to secondary tube [0078] 3) Top of tubing for existing rack to sit in [0079] 4) Bolt through frame leg securing center to both sides [0080] 5) Wheel with adapter used in place of leg extension [0081] 6) Upright support bar where center mounting plate is welded [0082] 7) Center mounting plate [0083] 8) Bolts through center mounting plate [0084] 9) Lower support bar that sits on floor maximizing surface on floor [0085] 10) Upper support bar where side and mid-bars are attached [0086] 11) Gussets [0087] 12) Bolt attaching drop-down leg
[0088] FIG. 6. [0089] 1) Square tubing for corner to add stability [0090] 2) Leg anchor mounted to secondary tube [0091] 3) Top of tubing for existing rack to sit in [0092] 4) Bolt through frame leg securing center to both sides [0093] 5) Wheel with adapter used in place of leg extension [0094] 6) Upright support bar where center mounting plate is welded [0095] 7) Mounting plate for center top U-bolt [0096] 8) Hole for center bolts [0097] 9) Lower support bar that sits on floor maximizing surface on floor [0098] 10) Gussets [0099] 11) Bolt attaching drop-down leg
[0100] FIG. 7. [0101] 1) Square tubing for corner to add stability [0102] 2) Leg anchor mounted to secondary tube [0103] 3) Top of tubing for existing rack to sit in [0104] 4) Bolt through frame leg securing center to both sides [0105] 5) Wheel with adapter used in place of leg extension [0106] 6) Lower angled support leg [0107] 7) Center mounting plate [0108] 8) Bolts through center mounting plate [0109] 9) Lower support bar that sits on floor maximizing surface on floor [0110] 10) Gussets [0111] 11) Bolt attaching drop-down leg
[0112] FIG. 8. [0113] 1) Square tubing for corner to add stability [0114] 2) Leg anchor mounted to secondary tube [0115] 3) Top of tubing for existing rack to sit in [0116] 4) Bolt through frame leg securing center to both sides [0117] 5) Wheel with adapter used in place of leg extension [0118] 6) Upper angled support leg [0119] 7) Center mounting plate [0120] 8) Bolts through center mounting plate [0121] 9) Upper support bar where side and mid-bars are attached [0122] 10) Gussets [0123] 11) Bolt attaching drop-down leg
[0124] FIG. 9. [0125] 1) Existing side leg [0126] 2) Inside upper support [0127] 3) Bolt holding end and side together [0128] 4) Upper mounting plate [0129] 5) Lower mounting plate [0130] 6) Top upper mounting plate [0131] 7) Upper bottom mounting plate [0132] 8) Inside mounting support [0133] 9) Existing rack [0134] 10) Existing forklift hook [0135] 11) Fold-down step [0136] 12) Bolt going through top plate
[0137] FIG. 10. [0138] 1) Existing side leg [0139] 2) Inside upper support [0140] 3) U-bolt holding end and side together [0141] 4) Upper mounting plate [0142] 5) Lower mounting plate [0143] 6) Top U-bolt [0144] 7) Lower bottom mounting plate [0145] 8) Inside mounting support [0146] 9) Existing rack [0147] 10) Existing forklift hook [0148] 11) Fold-down step
[0149] FIG. 11. [0150] 1) Existing side leg [0151] 2) Inside upper support [0152] 3) U-bolt holding end and side together [0153] 4) Upper mounting plate [0154] 5) Angled support bar [0155] 6) Top U-bolt [0156] 7) Lower bottom mounting plate [0157] 8) Existing rack [0158] 9) Existing forklift hook
[0159] FIG. 12. [0160] 1) Existing side leg [0161] 2) Inside upper support [0162] 3) Nut and bolt holding end and side together [0163] 4) Upper support beam [0164] 5) Angled support bar [0165] 6) Top mounting plate [0166] 7) Bolt through top mounting plate [0167] 8) Existing rack [0168] 9) Existing forklift hook [0169] 10) Single-hole upper mounting plate
[0170] FIG. 13. [0171] 1) Upper support bar [0172] 2) Nut and bolt through top corner plate securing end and side piece together. [0173] 3) Upper U-Bolt [0174] 4) Lower mounting plate for U-bolt [0175] 5) Mounting plate for U-bolt [0176] 6) Side U-bolt [0177] 7) Upper centered mounting plates
