GB2096683A - Improvements in or relating to clips - Google Patents

Abstract

A clip for connecting together two articles defining a generally octagonal opening therebetween, in particular for connecting together two wine racks (10, 12) of known constructions, comprises a generally octagonal clip member (32) having alternate major sides (34) with interspersed minor sides (36). Three of the major sides (34) comprise generally 'U'-shaped clip limbs, with the two opposed clip limbs being adapted to be clipped and secured to metal connecting strips (20) of the racks. The third, intermediate clip limb is adapted to be clipped and secured to the fourth major limb of an adjacent clip to provide an interconnected clip arrangement. An end clip (42) clips over the exposed major limb at the end of a row of clips. Rear clips (44) not shown are used to connect the rear of the racks together. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Improvements in or relating to clips Field of the Invention This invention relates to clips and is concerned particularly with a clip for connecting together two articles defining a generally octagonal opening therebetween the clip having particular application in connecting together two wine racks of known construction.

Background to the Invention There are several different types of wine rack currently available. One of these comprises an array of wooden rods or bars connected together at their front and rear ends by metal strips to form a grid-like assembly comprising a series of generally square section, elongate, open ended apertures each for receiving a wine bottle, the apparatuses being arranged in mutually perpendicular rows and columns.

The wooden rods are of square cross-section and are oriented to present diamond shaped end faces. At their front ends, the rods are connected by two sets of mutually perpendicular metal strips oriented with the plane of the strips extending perpendicularly to the end faces of the rods. The strips are let into cruciform slots in the end faces of the rods and so define a series of generally octagonal openings having alternate major sides formed by the edges of the metal strips with interspersed minor sides formed by the edges of the wooden rods. At their rear ends, the rods are connected by two further sets of mutually perpendicular metal strips, these strips being oriented with the plane of the strips extending parallel to the end faces of the rods and being nailed thereto.

Racks of such construction are available made up in a variety of sizes, e.g. defining 2 x 4 apertures, 3 x 4 apertures, 6 x 6 apertures etc., and can also be bought in kit form for selfassembly.

These racks provide an attractive and space efficient means of storing bottles and are very popular.

One drawback with racks of such construction, however, is that they are not adapted to be stacked on top of one another. This is because of the irregular, non-planar nature of the side faces of the racks. In practice, the racks can be placed on top of one another, in slightly laterally offset relationship, but as well as the loss of a potential row of storage spaces, this leads to a rather unstable arrangement -- a most undesirable state of affairs for storage of wine bottles, which are fragile and valuable.

As a result, difficulties can arise when a rack which was initially of appropriate capacity is "grown out off". Because of the unsuitability of stacking the racks, it is sometimes necessary to buy a new, larger rack and to discard the now obsolete initial rack.

It is accordingly an object of the present invention to provide means enabling stacking of wine racks of such construction, in the form of a clip for connecting together two articles defining a generally octagonal opening therebetween. The clip of the invention is not limited to use for connection of wine racks but is generally applicable to connection of articles defining an octagonal opening therebetween.

The Invention According to one aspect of the present invention there is provided a clip for connecting together two articles defining a generally octagonal opening therebetween, two opposed sides of the opening being constituted by a respective strut of each article, the clip comprising an octagonal member the configuration of which conforms to the configuration of the octagonal opening, the member including opposed clip limbs each adapted to be clipped and secured to a respective opposed strut of one of the articles in order to connect the articles rigidly together.

It will be apparent that a clip in accordance with the invention finds ready application in securing together wine racks of the constructions discussed above. For this purpose a clip is used having a configuration conforming to that of the octagonal openings at the front ends of the racks to be joined. The two racks are placed in appropriate relationship to define therebetween a further octagonal opening or row of openings of similar size to those of the racks, and the racks are secured together by use of one or more clips, as appropriate of the present invention, with the or each clip having its clip limbs secured to two opposed metal strips of the racks.

In most cases, wine racks to be secured together will define therebetween a row of octagonal openings, e.g. say 4 or 6, rather than a single opening. In this case, each opening in the row may be treated independently by use of a basic clip in accordance with the present invention, having two opposed clip limbs.

Preferably, however, in this case clips are used which include a third clip limb located between the two opposed clip limbs and at right angles thereto, with a plane limb opposed to the third clip limb.

Such clips are used in a similar manner to the basic clips, but must be fitted in a specified order, starting at one end of a row of openings between two wine racks to be joined. The first clip to be fitted is located at this position and is oriented with its third clip limb located at the outer side of the opening, and is then fitted to the racks in this orientation. Further clips are fitted to successive openings, with the clips in the same orientation so that the third clip limb of the second and subsequently fitted clips clips over and is secured to the plane limb of the preceding clip. In this way the clips are interlocked with one another, forming a stronger resulting structure.

The plane limb of such clips may comprise a plane elongate strip of material. For manufacturing reasons it may be convenient for this strip to be split, e.g. at its mid-point. This is because a clip of such configuration may be readily formed by appropriate cutting and bending of a plane strip of material without requiring any joining.

For use with clips having a split plane limb there is conveniently provided an end clip adapted to be clipped over the plane limb of the last of a series of clips applied to. say, a pair of wine racks, with the end clip covering the split so as to increase the structural strength and rigidity of the resulting assembly and also to present an attractive appearance conforming to that of the surrounding clips.

When securing together wine racks of the construction discussed, further clips are preferably also provided for securing together the rear ends of the racks. Because of the different configuration of the rear of the racks, clips of different configuration must accordingly be used. The rear clips conveniently comprise an elongate member having two outer clip portions adapted to be clipped and secured to the metal connecting strips at the rear ends of the racks, a central portion having a length equal to that of the exposed length of each rack-connecting strip section, and two spacer sections, one on each side of the central section, for accommodating the wooden rods of the rack.

In use, at least two such rear clips are used when assembling two wine racks, one clip being fitted to each outer edge of the assembly, and, if desired, one or more clips being located at intermediate locations for additional rigidity and strength.

The clips may be made of any suitable rigid material, e.g. metal or rigid plastics, preferably the clips are of a material which matches or complements the articles to be joined. For example, in the case of clips for joining wine racks, the clips are preferably made of the same type of metal as the connecting strips, this generally being bright spangled galvanised steel.

The clip limbs of the clips are conveniently in the form of generally 'U'-shaped elements.

The clips may be formed by any suitable technique. in the case of metal clips with 'U'-shaped clip elements, these may conveniently be formed by simple cutting and bending steps.

In a further aspect, the present invention provides a kit of parts for connecting together two wine racks of the construction discussed above, comprising a plurality of octagonal clips in accordance with the present invention; an end clip (if appropriate); and at least two rear clips.

The invention will be further described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings.

in the Drawings Fig. 1 is a fragmentary front perspective view illustrating part of two wine racks connected by means of octagonal clips in accordance with the present invention and an end clip; Fig. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the octagonal clips and end clip shown in Fig. 1, illustrating the manner of assembly, shown on an enlarged scale; Fig. 3 is a fragmentary rear view of the wine rack shown in Fig. 1, illustrating the rear clips, shown on a reduced scale; and Fig. 4 is a perspective view of a rear clip, as illustrated in Fig. 3, shown on an enlarged scale.

Detailed Description of the Drawings Referring to the drawings, Figs. 1 and 3 illustrate part of two wine racks 10 and 12 of known construction, as described above. Each rack thus comprises an array of wooden rods or bars 14 arranged in a series of mutually perpendicular rows and columns. The rods 14 are connected together at their front and rear ends by metal strips to form a grid-like assembly comprising a series of generally square section, elongate, open-ended apertures 16, each adapted to receive a wine bottle (not shown), the apertures 1 6 being arranged in mutually perpendicular rows and columns.

The wooden rods 14 are of square crosssection, having sides of 1 1/1 6" (27 mm) and being 88" (220 mm) long in the illustrated embodiment. As shown, the rods 1 4 are oriented so as to present diamond shaped end faces 1 8.

As shown in Fig. 1, at their front ends the rods 14 are connected by two sets of mutually perpendicular metal strips 20, 22. In the illustrated embodiment the strips are of bright spangled galvanised steel 11/16" (18 mm) wide.

The strips 20, 22 are oriented with their planes extending perpendicularly to the end faces of the rods 14, with the strips let into cruciform slots 24 in the front end faces of the rods.

In this way, a series of generally octagonal openings are defined at the front ends of the apertures 16, the openings having alternative major sides approximately 2 5/16" (58.7 mm) long formed by the edges of the metal strips 20, 22, with interspersed minor sides 1 1/1 6" (27 mm) long formed by the edges of the wooden rods 14.

As shown in Fig. 3 at the rear ends the rods 14 are connected by two further sets of metal strips 26, 28. These strips are similarly made of bright spangled galvanised steel 11/16" (18 mm) wide.

The strips 26, 28 are oriented with the planes thereof extending parallel to the end faces of the rods and are secured to the rear end faces by means of nails 30.

Referring now to Figs. 1 and 2, there are illustrated a number of octagonal clips 32 in accordance with the present invention. As best shown in Fig. 2, each clip 32 comprises a generally octagonal member having a configuration confirming to that of the octagonal opening at the front of the racks 10 and 12, i.e.

having alternate major sides 34 approximately 2 5/16" (58.7 mm) long with interspersed minor sides 26 11/1 6" (27 mm) long.

Three of the major sides 34 are in the form of clip limbs comprising a folded over extension portion 38 forming a generally 'U'-shaped clip configuration. The fourth major side, and also the four minor sides, are in the form of plane strips, with the fourth major side including a centrally located slit 40.

In this embodiment the clips 32 are of slit coil bright spangled galvanised steel to match the metal connecting strips, 20, 22, 26, 28 of the wine racks to be joined thereby. In addition the clips 32 are dimensioned to conform to those of the strips, having a maximum overall width of 11/16" (18 mm).

The clips 32 of the illustrated configuration can be readily formed from a plane metal strip by a pressing operation to cut out appropriately shaped extension portions 38, followed by a folding operation to produce the three clip limbs and also to form the octagonal configuration.

In use, the two racks 10 and 12 to be joined are placed in appropriate relationship to define therebetween a row of octagonal openings of similar size to the rack openings, i.e. in relative positions as shown in Fig. 1, a first clip, say clip 32a in Fig. 1, is then located adjacent to one end of the row of openings between the racks, oriented with its fourth, plane major side located inwardly of the outer edge of the row of openings.

The clip is then secured to the two racks by use of the opposed clip limbs, the clip limbs being clipped over and secured to the opposed vertical strips 20 of the racks.

A further clip, say clip 32b in Figs. 1 and 2, is then secured in similar manner to the racks at the octagonal opening adjacent to the first clip 32a. In this case, however, as well as clipping the opposed clip limbs to the strips 20, the third intermediate clip limb of the clip 32b is also clipped over and secured to the fourth major plane limb of the first clip 32a. The process is repeated with further clip 32c, and in this way the two wine racks 10 and 12 are connected to one another by means of a series of interlocked clips 32.

In order to finish off the front connection an end clip 42 is provided. As best seen in Fig. 2, the end clip 42 is a 'U'-shaped metal member, again formed of bright spangled galvanised steel to match the other metal components, having a length and overall width corresponding to those of the major sides of the octagonal clip members 32.

The end clip 42 is adapted to be clipped over the fourth planed major side of the octagonal clip 32c in order to cover the gap 40 to provide a neat appearance and firm fixing.

The rear of the racks 10 and 12 are preferably also secured together. Because of the different construction at the rear of the racks, clips of different configuration must be used for this purpose. Suitable rear clips 44 are illustrated in Figs. 3 and 4.

Each rear clip 44 comprises an elongate metal member approximately 108" (270 mm) long having three generally 'U'-shaped clip portions 46 each 38111 (79.4 mm) long with two interspersed spacer regions 48 each 41t (19 mm) long. The two outer clip portions 46 are adapted to be clipped over and fitted to strips 28 of the racks 10 and 12 to be joined with the intermediate clip portion constituting a continuation of the two adjacent strips 28. The spacer portions throughout 48 accommodate the rods 14.

In use, one clip 44 is fitted at each end of the gap between the racks 10 and 12, as illustrated in Fig. 3. If desired, one or more further such clips may be fitted to intermediate strips 28 for further reinforcement.

The end clips 42 and rear clips 44 may be formed in similar manner to the octagonal clips 32, i.e. by cutting and bending steps.

It will be clear that by using an appropriate selection of clips as described above two or more wine racks such as 10 and 12 may be secured together to build up a larger rack of desired size and shape from smaller units. In this way, the difficulties hitherto encountered when attempting to stack wine racks of the construction described may be overcome.

Clips in accordance with the invention are also useful in connection of wine racks of the same general configuration as described above but of different details construction. For example similar racks are known in which the wooden rods are of square cross-section having sides of 8" (22.2 mm) and being 74" (196.9 mm) long. In this case, only a small change in the dimensions of the octagonal clips is required.

Clips in accordance with the present invention may similarly be used, with appropriate modifications if necessary, for other applications in which two articles defining a generally octagonal opening therebetween are to be joined.

Claims (12)

1. A clip for connecting together two articles defining a generally octagonal opening therebetween, two opposed sides of the opening being constituted by a respective strut of each article, the clip comprising an octagonal member the configuration of which conforms to the configuration of the octagonal opening, the member including opposed clip limbs each adapted to be clipped and secured to a respective opposed strut of one of the articles in order to connect the articles rigidly together.

2. A clip according to claim 1, wherein the member includes a third clip limb located between the two opposed clip limbs and at right angles thereto, with a plane limb opposed to the third clip limb.

3. A clip according to claim 2, wherein the plane limb comprises a plane elongate strip.

4. A clip according to claim 3, wherein the plane elongate strip is split.

5. A clip according to claim 4, further comprising an end clip adapted to be clipped over the plane limb of the octagonal member.

6. A clip according to any one of the preceding claims, formed of metal.

7. A clip according to claim 6, formed of bright spangled galvanised steel.

8. A clip according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the clip limbs are in the form of generally 'U'-shaped elements.

9. A clip according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the clip is formed by cutting and bending steps.

10. A clip for connecting together two articles defining a generally octagonal opening therebetween, two opposed sides of the opening being constituted by a respective strut of each article, substantially as herein described with reference to, and as shown in, the accompanying drawings.

11. A kit of parts for connecting together two wine racks of conventional construction, the wine rack including an array of generally octagonal openings, comprising a plurality of octagonal clips in accordance with any one of the preceding claims; an end clip, if appropriate; and at least two rear clips for connecting the rear of the racks together.

12. A kit of parts for connecting together two wine racks of conventional construction, the wine racks including an array of generally octagonal openings, substantially as herein described with reference to, and as shown in, the accompanying drawings.