Apparatus and method for stowing utility carts

Abstract

A rack for stowing wheeled utility carts may include a deck surface on which a plurality of carts may be at least partially received and a wheel stop surface adapted to engage a wheel on the carts to inhibit rolling movement of the carts. The rack may also include a plurality of support rails extending above the deck surface, a first locator carried by at least one of the support rails and adapted to facilitate positioning a separate stowage rack on top of said stowage rack, and a second locator adapted to communicate with a first locator of another stowage rack to facilitate positioning said stowage rack above another stowage rack. Accordingly, several wheeled carts can be releasably retained on the rack, and several racks can be stacked one on top of another to permit stowing a plurality of carts in a relatively small floor space or area.

1 . A stackable rack for stowing utility carts having a plurality of wheels, the rack comprising: 
 a deck surface on which a plurality of utility carts may be at least partially received and having a wheel stop surface adapted to engage a wheel on said utility cart to inhibit rolling movement of the utility cart;    a plurality of support rails extending upwardly relative to the deck surface;    a first locator carried by at least one of the support rails and adapted to facilitate positioning a separate stowage rack on top of said stowage rack; and    a second locator adapted to communicate with a first locator of another stowage rack to facilitate positioning said stowage rack above another stowage rack.    
   
   
       2 . The rack of  claim 1  wherein said wheel stop surface is defined by a gap located in the deck surface, said gap having a width less than a diameter of a wheel for receiving a portion of the wheel therein.  
   
   
       3 . The rack of  claim 2  wherein the deck has front and rear ends and a pair of opposed sides extending between the front and rear ends, and wherein the gap is generally equidistant between the front and rear ends.  
   
   
       4 . The rack of  claim 2  wherein the deck has front and rear ends and a pair of opposed sides extending between the front and rear ends, and wherein said gap is disposed closer to one of the front and rear ends than the other of the ends.  
   
   
       5 . The rack of  claim 1  further comprising a pair of fork guide members extending from the deck surface, and wherein the deck has front and rear ends and a pair of opposed sides extending between the front and rear ends, and the fork guide members are centrally located between the sides and are spaced relative to one another to receive a pair of forks on a fork lift to facilitate handling of the rack.  
   
   
       6 . The rack of  claim 1  wherein the first and second locators are complementarily formed to provide a secure connection between them.  
   
   
       7 . The rack of  claim 1  wherein one of the first and second locators is at least partially received in the other of the first and second locators.  
   
   
       8 . The rack of  claim 7  wherein one of the first and second locators includes an opening and the other of the first and second locators includes a protrusion adapted to be received in an opening.  
   
   
       9 . The rack of  claim 1  wherein the wheel stop surface includes at least one protrusion.  
   
   
       10 . The rack of  claim 1  wherein the cart includes a frame that has four sides and supports that prevent utility carts from moving off the rack through three sides of the rack, and the frame has an open fourth side through which the carts may be loaded into and unloaded from the cart, and the wheel stop surface opposes movement of the carts through the open side.  
   
   
       11 . The rack of  claim 1  wherein a separate second locator is provided for each support rail, a separate first locator is provided for each support rail and each first locator is adapted to communicate with a corresponding second locator of an adjacent rack when one rack is stacked on another rack.  
   
   
       12 . The rack of  claim 1  wherein more than one wheel stop surface is provided with each wheel stop surface adapted to engage a different wheel of a utility cart.  
   
   
       13 . The rack of  claim 12  wherein one wheel stop surface is adapted to engage a wheel adjacent to one end of a utility cart and another wheel stop surface is adapted to engage a wheel adjacent to an opposite end of the utility cart when the utility cart is fully loaded onto the rack.  
   
   
       14 . A rack for storing utility carts having at least one wheel, comprising: 
 a frame having a plurality of supports that define a plurality of sides with all but one of the sides closed to movement of utility carts therethrough;    a deck carried by the frame and adapted to receive a plurality of utility carts thereon;    a wheel stop carried by one or both of the deck and the frame and adapted to engage at least one wheel of each cart received on the deck to inhibit movement of each cart on the deck through said one of the sides of the frame;    at least one first locator carried by the frame; and    at least one second locator carried by one or both of the deck and the frame and adapted to cooperate with a first locator of a second rack when the second rack is stacked on said rack.    
   
   
       15 . The rack of  claim 14  wherein said wheel stop surface is defined by a gap located in the deck surface, said gap having a width less than a diameter of a wheel for receiving a portion of the wheel therein.  
   
   
       16 . The rack of  claim 14  wherein the first and second locators are complementarily formed to provide a secure connection between them when a cart is stacked on another cart.  
   
   
       17 . The rack of  claim 14  wherein the wheel stop includes at least one protrusion.  
   
   
       18 . The rack of  claim 14  wherein the frame includes four support rails, a separate second locator is provided for each support rail, a separate first locator is provided for each support rail and each first locator is adapted to communicate with a corresponding second locator of an adjacent rack when one rack is stacked on another rack.  
   
   
       19 . The rack of  claim 14  wherein more than one wheel stop is provided with each wheel stop surface adapted to engage a different wheel of a utility cart.  
   
   
       20 . A method of stowing wheeled utility carts, comprising: 
 providing a plurality of stackable stowage racks each having a deck surface and a plurality of support rails extending from said deck surface wherein said deck surface has a wheel stop surface adapted to engage a wheel on said utility carts to inhibit said utility carts from rolling movement along said deck surface;    rolling a predetermined number of said utility carts onto said deck surface to bring said wheel on each of said carts into engagement with said wheel stop surface; and    stacking a fully loaded one of said stowage racks on top of another stowage rack.