GB2230177A

GB2230177A - Portable tool box

Info

Publication number: GB2230177A
Application number: GB8908169A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Simon Peter Fisher
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1989-04-12
Filing date: 1989-04-12
Publication date: 1990-10-17
Also published as: GB8908169D0

Abstract

A tool box comprises a cabinet 1 with two doors 2, secured with hinges 3. Handles 4 releasably secure the doors to the cabinet and can be locked shut by inserting a padlock through lugs 5. Handle 6 secured to the cabinet by brackets 7 provides portability. The tool box comprises means for facilitating wall mounting of the box on one or more wall brackets, and means to allow tools to be retained in an orderly and accessible fashion. <IMAGE>

Description

PORTABLE TOOL BOX This invention relates to a portable tool box.

There are many different types of tool box on the market, however, most of the portable tool boxes are of the cantilever type, whereby when the tool box is opened by pulling the two handles apart, all the tools become accessible in their respective trays or compartments.

The cantilever type of tool box suffers from the following major disadvantages, thus, there is no facility to arrange the tools, within an individual tray or compartment, into any order since the tools will be lying flat and in close proximity to one another; it is difficult to place this type of tool box at a convenient height to access the tools within; and there is no security against unauthorised removal of this type of tool box.

With such an arrangement as that referred to above, it is difficult to see what tools one has and also the tools could be damaged through interaction with the other tools within the same tray or compartment.

There are tool chests or cabinets available which overcome the problem related to above but they are not portable and tend to be very expensive.

According to the present invention there is provided a portable tool box comprising a cabinet with one or more hinged doors, one or more wall brackets for facilitating wall mounting of said tool box, and means to allow tools to be retained in an orderly and accessible fashion.

In one embodiment of the invention the tool box comprises a cabinet with two hinged doors, said hinges extending fully from top to bottom of each door. Said doors are less than or equal in depth to the depth of the cabinet such that the doors can be fully opened against a wall, and said doors being strengthened enough to secure a large number of relatively light tools, for example, files, chisels, screwdrivers, etc.

The component panels of the cabinet and doors are joined by, for example, rivets, spot welding, nuts and bolts, screws, folding, or any combination of the above methods.

Means are provided to open and close the doors by a handle secured to each door, positioned such that when the doors are closed the two handles meet at the front centre of the tool box.

Said handles comprise a bracket, secured to the inside of each door, a vertical bar upon which a clip piece pivots, and a spring which provides the necessary tension in the handle for the door to close correctly. When the doors are closed the clip hooks onto a catch secured to the inside of the rear panel of the cabinet, said catch comprising two diametrically opposed slots cut into a straight bar to recieve the two clips.

If preferred, means are provided for releasably securing the doors with a magnet positioned on the inside of the outer edge of each door such that when the doors are closed each magnet closes with a similar magnet or piece of ferromagnetic material, suitably positioned on the cabinet.

If desired the magnets or ferromagnetic material are flush mounted to enable the doors to be closed fully with no space between the doors and cabinet.

If preferred, one or both of the doors can be fitted with a single rotating retainer, such that when the retainer is turned one way a catch will be released inside the cabinet so that the doors may be opened.

If desired, a lug with a hole in the centre, is provided for the purpose of padlocking the doors in position when the doors are closed, said lugs being positioned on each door such that when the doors are closed a padlock is inserted through both holes and locked.

If desired, means are provided for spreading the load from the door hinges onto the main cabinet structure, by fitting protrusions on the top inner edges of -the cabinet, such that when the doors are closed the inner top edges of said doors locate on the top of the said protrusions.

If desired, the doors are urged to stop in one or more preferred positions such that the doors subtend an angle of between zero and ninety degrees to a wall upon which the tool box is mounted.

In another embodiment of the invention, the tool box comprises a cabinet with a single hinged door which incorporates the same features as those relating to the embodiment of the invention related to above.

In any embodiment of the invention, means are provided for the mounting of the tool box on a wall, comprising one or more brackets screwed to the wall, which locate with holes in the rear panel of the tool box, said brackets being shaped with an apex that lines up with a locating mark on the top surface of the cabinet, and said brackets being shaped such that the tool box is supported away from the wall providing clearance of the bracket mounting screws.

If desired, means are provided to prevent the tool box from slipping off the bracket or brackets, such that the tool box has first to be lifted, and then moved away from a wall to release the tool box from the bracket or brackets.

If desired, means are provided for locking the tool box to a wall from the inside of the cabinet by providing for a hole located in the mounting bracket or brackets through which a padlock, bar or similar means, can be inserted, thus, preventing removal of the tool box from the wall.

In any embodiment of the invention, means are provided for transporting the tool box by a handle arrangement that is mounted on the top surface of the cabinet, said handle being positioned vertically above the centre of gravity of the tool box, and comprises two brackets supporting a hand grip, said brackets being secured, for example, by riveting, spot welding, screwed, bolted or press formed onto the top surface of the cabinet.

If preferred the handle is a bar spanning the width of the tool box, which is formed through a right angle at each end and pivotably secured to each side of the cabinet.

If preferred the handle arrangement is preformed into the top surface of the cabinet such that there are no external protrusions on the top surface of the cabinet for ease of stacking one tool box on top of another, said handle arrangement being inset and providing enough space for one hand.

If preferred the handle can be releasably secured to the top surface of the cabinet such that the handle can be relocated vertically above the centre of gravity of the tool box when fully laden.

If desired, means are provided to stabilise the tool box when supported on a surface, comprising one or more arms pivotably secured to the underside of the cabinet, and if desired the arms can be made to fit flush with the cabinet walls when not in use for ease of stacking one tool box on top of another.

In one embodiment of the tool box, the cabinet holds one lower full width drawer, one middle half width drawer, and one upper tray fitted with means to segregate tools to protect them against abrasive damage and provide easy selection of the tools in the tray.

The lower drawer related to above provides means for holding relatively heavy and large tools, said drawer having space above it on one side such that tools, for example, electric drills and other bulky items, can be stored upright. Other tools that could be held within this drawer are large G-clamps, wirebrush, malet, etc.

The middle drawer related to above provides means for storing awkward shaped items that would otherwise take up a large proportion of space, or cannot be stored in other parts of the tool box. Tools that could be held within this drawer are small G-clamps, tubes of glue, stanley knife, tape measure, hole saw, etc.

The upper tray related to above provides means for storing long flat tools or sets of tools, comprising a base with a matrix of slots to house vertical posts for the purpose of dividing tools up, said slots being arranged such that a number of permutations regarding the positioning of the vertical posts are available. Tools that could be held within this tray are sets of drill bits, large hacksaws, tennon saws, rivet guns, tap and die sets, large pliers, and tools in general that have a similarly large aspect ratio to those already mentioned.

Means are provided to slide any of the aforementioned drawers or trays out from the cabinet fully to provide easy access to any of the tools within, comprising two sets of runners, one either side of the drawers or trays, along which said drawers or trays slide, said runners being secured to the inside of the side panels of the cabinet.

If desired, means are provided to inhibit accidental removal of any drawer or tray, comprising end stops located on the inside of the front edge of the lower section of a runner, interacting with a similarly shaped end stop located on the outside edge towards the rear of any tray or drawer, said end stops being located such that in order to remove a drawer or tray from the cabinet, said drawer. or tray has to be first lifted at the front, and the pulled out from the cabinet.

Means are provided to releasably secure a large variety of tools within a door or doors, comprising a base secured to the inside of a door, said base having a matrix of holes against which a number of tool holding arrangements can be secured, said matrix of holes allowing a number of permutations relating to the positioning of the tool holding arrangements.

If preferred the base within a door is made of wood or other moisture absorbant material, providing means to dehumidify the interior of the tool box when closed, thus reducing corrosion of tools thereof.

If preferred the base within a door is releasably secured to the inside of a door by means of, for example, VELCRO loop and hook fasteners, or spring clips, or screws, or any other suitable means.

If desired a number of tool holding arrangements are provided, for example, plastic wallets for nails and screws; hooks for tools with holes in their handles; elasticated rubber grips; etc, said tool holding arrangements being releasably secured to the base within a door by means of screws or pins or similar inserted into one or more holes in the matrix.

A specific embodiment of the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings in which figure 1 shows the front view of the tool box as it would appear with both doors closed figure 2 shows the rear panel of the tool box figure 3 shows a bracket upon which the tool box is supported on a wall figure 4 illustrates the interior of the cabinet when fully opened and the tool securing arrangements of the tool box figure 5 illustrates an arrangement within the cabinet for holding long, narrow tools Referring to figure 1, the tool box comprises a cabinet 1 with two doors 2 hinged to the cabinet by means of hinges 3. Handles 4 releasably secure the two doors to the cabinet, and means are provided for preventing the doors from being opened by lugs 5 secured to the top of each door for insertion of a padlock or other locking means thereof.

A handle 6 is provided to facilitate the carrying of the tool box and is secured to the cabinet by fixings 7 positioned vertically in line with the centre of gravity of the tool box.

Referring to figure 2, feet 8 are provided to facilitate free standing of the tool box on a work surface or other without causing damage to said work surface.

The rear of the cabinet is shown with two holes 9 in the back panel to facilitate the mounting of the tool box on a wall.

Referring to figure 3, brackets 10 are provided with fixing holes 11 for fixing onto a wall, the shape of the brackets being as illustrated such that the tool box has to lifted up and then away from a wall on which it is mounted in order for the tool box to be released from the brackets, thus, ensuring that the tool box is securely supported along dips 12 and will not slip off the brackets. A hole 13 is provided in one or more of the brackets to facilitate the use of a padlock, bar or other means, to be secured from inside the cabinet, thus, providing locking means to prevent the tool box from being removed from the wall.

Referring to figure 4, full width drawer 14 is slideably secured in the cabinet by upper runner 15 and a slightly longer lower runner 16, both secured to the side panels of the cabinet.

Half width drawer 17 is slideably secured in the cabinet by the same means on the left-hand side as that referred to above for the full width drawer. Means are provided for slideably securing the right-hand side of the half width drawer by runner 18 which is secured to the rear panel of the cabinet.

Full width tray 19 is slideably secured in the cabinet by the same means as that securing the full width drawer referred to above.

End stops (not shown) are provided on the inner edge at the front of each of the lower runners, and on the outer edge at the rear of each tray or drawer, said end stops being positioned such that when any drawer or tray is pulled out to their full travel, they come to rest providing easy removal of any tool inside, without the need to remove the whole drawer or tray from the cabinet.

The runners 15 are shorter than the runners 16 to faciltate the removal of any of the drawers or trays from the cabinet by lifting their respective front edges to clear the end stops related to above. Runner 18 is arranged in a similar way to that of the upper and lower runners related to above.

Handle 4 comprises bracket 20 secured to the inside panel of the door and hook clip 21 is pivotably secured to the bracket by means of pivot pin 22 and kept in tension by retaining spring 23. When the doors are closed, the hook clip fastens onto a catch 24 protruding from the inside rear panel of the cabinet. The handle on the other door is shown partially and is a mirror image of the one described above.

Holes 25 set in a base 26 are provided on the inside of each door in the form of a matrix upon which various types of clips for holding small hand tools can be mounted of which 27 and 28 are two examples.

Marks 29 are provided on the upper surface of the cabinet to allow the fixing holes for the two brackets to be marked out easily on a wall on which the tool box is to be mounted, said marks intending to be lined up with the apex of each bracket.

Referring to figure 5, the full width tray 19 comprises a matrix of pairs of holes 30 set into a base 31 into which posts 32 are inserted, said pairs of holes being greater in number providing a choice as to where to fit the posts so as to accomodate any particular arrangement of tools, eg. saws and other tools with a similar aspect ratio.

Claims

1. A portable tool box comprising a cabinet with one or more hinged doors, one or more wall brackets for facilitating wall mounting of said tool box, and means to allow tools to be retained in an orderly and accessible fashion.

2. A portable tool box as claimed in claim 1, wherein one or more doors are fitted with a handle to facilitate opening and closing of the door or doors.

3. A portable tool box as claimed in claim 2, wherein means are provided for spreading the load on a door comprising suitable protrusions on the top inner edges of the cabinet such that when the the door is closed the inner top edge of the door rests on top of the protrusion.

4. A portable tool box as claimed in claim 2, wherein the handles are provided with a latching mechanism to latch a door to the cabinet thus preventing accidental opening of the door.

5. A portable tool box as claimed in claim 1, wherein a door is fitted with one or more magnets suitably arranged so that said magnet or magnets meet with similar magnet or magnets or metal strips positioned on the cabinet to secure said door or doors to the cabinet.

6. A portable tool box as claimed in claim 1, wherein two doors are provided with a lug on each through which a padlock can be secured in order that the doors may be locked.

7. A portable tool box as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein means are provided to allow one or more doors to stop in one or more preferred positions.

8. A portable tool box as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein one or more wall mounting brackets have a hole cut out through which a padlock or similar means can be secured to lock the portable tool box to the wall when hanging on the bracket or brackets.

9. A portable tool box as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein one or more mounting brackets are shaped such that when the portable tool box is mounted on said bracket or brackets the portable tool box cannot slip off and has to be lifted up before removing from the bracket or brackets.

10. A portable tool box as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein means are provided in the form of a carrying handle secured to the top or sides of the cabinet to facilitate carrying the portable tool box when not secured on one or more brackets.

11. A portable tool box as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein means are provided to stabilise the portable tool box when supported on a surface, comprising one or more arms pivotably secured in a suitable location to the cabinet.

12. A portable tool box as claims 2, 10 and 11, wherein any or all of the aforementioned handles or supporting arrangements can be flush mounted on the cabinet to facilitate the storing or transportation of the portable tool box.

13. A portable tool box as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the cabinet is fitted with one or more drawers such that large or bulky tools or items can be stored within the portable tool box.

14. A portable tool box as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the cabinet is fitted with one or more drawers such that small or odd shaped tools or items can be stored within the portable tool box.

15. A portable tool box as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the cabinet is fitted with one or more trays comprising a selection of slots into which vertical posts can be releasably secured in order that tools or items can be secured in an orderly fashion within the portable tool box such that the tools or items are seperated thus preventing damage by contact with each other and providing for easy extraction of the tools or items.

16. A portable tool box as claimed in claims 13, 14 and 15, wherein the cabinet is fitted with means to slide any of the drawers or trays in and out of the cabinet comprising runners secured to inside of the cabinet.

17. A portable tool box as claimed in claim 16, wherein means are provided to inhibit accidental removal of any of the drawers or trays comprising end stops suitably located on the end of each runner interacting with suitably located end stops on the edges of each of the drawers or trays.

18. A portable tool box as claimed in claims 16 and 17, wherein the runners are provided with means to allow extraction of a drawer or tray from the cabinet by lifting the drawer or tray clear of the end stops.

19. A portable tool box as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein means are provided to releasably secure a large variety of tools within a door comprising a base with a matrix of holes into which a number of tool holding arrangements can be secured in any permutation desired, said base being secured to inside of the door.

20. A portable tool box as claimed in claim 19, wherein the base within a door is made of wood or other moisture absorbant material, providing means to dehumidify the interior of the tool box when closed, thus reducing corrosion of tools thereof.