AU2002100418A4 - Storage assembly - Google Patents

Description

AUSTRALIA

PATENTS ACT 1990 COMPLETE

SPECIFICATION

INNOVATION

PATENT

Storage Assembly." The following statement is a full description of this invention, includig the best method of performing it known to me: STORAGE ASSEMBLY Field of the Invention This invention relates to a storage assembly which includes a support assembly for allowing a car bonnet to be driven under the support assembly.

Background of the Invention In many Australian inner city suburbs the lack of available free laud has forced property developers to build high rise multiple dwellings to make maximum use of the small amount of land available. Often these high rise dwellings have relatively little storage space. Nevertheless, as it is common for such dwellings to include covered parking for one or two cars, it is possible to use such parking spaces for storage of items. However, such additional storage space associated with car parking is not readily useable if it is used for parking a car as the car takes up most of the available space. Furthernore, as car parking spaces are often open plan, they represent a substantial security hazard for owners wishing to store items in their own car parking spaces.

There is therefore a need for an approach which yields a useable amount of storage space even when a car is parked. It is further preferable that the storage space be lockable so as to provide some security for the owner.

Disclosure of the Invention The invention provides in one aspect a storage assembly comprising: a support assembly having a free space thereunder suitable to fit the bonnet of a car driven under the support assembly, a storage container mounted on the support assembly, an access opening for the storage container in a vertical side of the storage container, and a door mounted by hinge means on the storage container for opening and closing the access opening, Wherein the storage container comprises walls of sheet metal and the walls of sheet metal are reinforced by reinforcing mecans comprising at least one of a frame and bent regions of the sheet metal.

Suitably, the storage container has a generally box-like shape, It may have a rectangular footprint.

The door may comprise sheet metal, It may include reinforcing in the form of a frame. The framec may comprise a rectangular frame formed on square section tubular steel.

The reinforcing means in the walls Of sheet metal may comprise bent regions of the sheet Metal. They may comprise a Plurality Of elongate ribs. They may comprise channel shaped sections at the edges of individual pieces of sheet metal. The pieces of sheet metal may be joined together by conventional fastening means such as rivets, bolts or screws, The door may be Mounted so as to allow it to be pivoted upwardly to open the access Opening- It may be Pivoted upwardly so that it can make an angle of at least 7h 0 with the vertical after Pivoting from a vertical configuration where it closes off the access opening.

One Or more strut means may be provided to assist with opening and closing the door.

The strut means may also hold the door open. Suitably the strut means comprise at least one and more preferably two gas struts. The gas struts may be attached to a side of the access Opening at one end and to the door at its other end, They may be attached to the door by a bracket fitted to the door. The struts may pivot between 250 and 350 over the range through which the door may be pivoted.

Preferred aspects of the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Brief Description of the Drawings Figure 1 shows an isometric view of a storage assembly according to the invention; Figure 2 shows a plan view of the vertical walls making up the back and sides of a storage container used for the invention; Figure 3 shows an isometric, fragmentary exploded view of side, end walls base, access opening and frame surrounding the access opening of a storage container used for the invention; Figure 4 shows a frame for a door for closing the access opening; is Figure 5 shows a front elevational view of the storage container of Figures 1, 2 and 3; Figure 6 shows a fragmentary elevational side view of a door for closing off the access opening; and Figure 7 shows an isometric view of a bracket for use with the strut shown in Figure 6.

Detailed Description of the Drawings The various elements identified in the drawings are listed in the following integer list.

Integer List 1 Storage assembly 3 Support assembly 5 Legs 7 Reinforcing struts 9 Top Base 11 Storage container 12 Front 13 Rear wall 514 Side wall Door 16 Panel 17 Rib 19 Channel section T0 21 Channel section 23 Complementary profile 24 Rivet Access opening 27 Vertical frame mnember 29 Upper framne member 31 Lower fr-ame, member 33 Perimeter flange Locking plate 36 Locking plate 37 Door frame 38 Hole 39 Horizontal member 41 Vertical member 43 Handle 45 Hinge 47 Gas strut 49 Mounting bracket Referring to Figures 1 to 7 of the accompanying drawings the storage assembly generally designed 1. as shown in Figure 1 includes a support assembly 3 for supporting a storage container 11. It is noted that Figure 1, for simplicity, does not show some of the detailed features of the storage container which are described with reference to other drawings. It should be assumed that these detailed features are included in the storage assembly shown in Figure 1, The support assembly is designed so that it provides a space underneath which the bonnet of a car may be driven. Thus the storage assembly may be put in the forward portion of a car parking space without detracting from the amount of space available for a car to park.

To this end, the support assembly includes legs 5 provided on opposite sides of the assembly and arranged so as to leave a gap underneath the support assembly Reinforcing struts '7 serve to brace the support assembly 3.

The storage container 11I includes a top 9 and a base 10 both of rectangular shape.

The front of the storage conitainer 12 includes a door 15 for closing off the access opening The storage container also includes a rear wall 13 and two side walls 14 as shown in Figures 2and 3.

The rear wall 13 and side wall 14 are formed of sheet metal as are the top 9 base and door The rear wall is formed of two panels 16 of sheet metal whereas the side walls are each formed of a single panel. The sheet metal may comprise steel. The steel may have been treated with a zinc and/or colorbond coating as required.

Vertically extending ribs 17 are provided in the panels forming the rear arid side walls to reinforce them. These ribs may be formed by bending the sheet metal in a conventional stamping or forming process for sheet metal. Further bent regions of the panels 16 are formed at the ends thereof. These comprise channel sections 19 and channel sections 21.

The channel sections 19 may be joined together by conventional mneans such as rivets and the channel sections 21 may be joined to the complementary profile sections 23 formed at the ends of the side walls 14. Apart from providing a strong region whereby the side and back walls may be joined, the complementary profile sections 23 lend stiffness to the corners of the container. The complementary profile sections may again be formed using standard metal forming techniques such as rolling.

The opposite vertical sides of the side walls 14 are formed as vertical frame members 27 formed integrally from the sheet of metal comprising each side wall in the configuration shown to form the vertical frame members 27.

The vertical frame members 27 join with the upper frame member 29 and lower frame member 31. They are also formed of bent sheet metal to impart rigidity, and are arranged to surround the access opening 25 of' the container. Both the top 9 and base of the container are also formed of sheet metal. The sheet metal has been bent around its edges to form the perimeter flange 33. The perimeter flange 33 may be joined to the walls of the storage container and the upper and lower frame members by conventional means such as rivets 24, Two locking plates 35 are attached to the lower frame member and two corresponding locking plates 36 are attached to the bottom of the door 35. The arrangement is such that the hole 38 in the lower locking plate is in line with a corresponding hole in the locking plate 36 when the door is closed so that a padlock may be inserted through the overlapped holes to close the door.

The door includes a door frame 37 formed of two parallel horizontal members 39 and three vertical members 41 welded together in the configuration shown in Figure 4.

Again a sheet of metal forming the front of the door may simply be riveted to the door frame.

The door includes a handle 43. A number of binges 45 as shown in Figures 5 and 6 serve to pivotally suspend the door from the upper frame member 29.

Two gas struts 47 are provided on either side of the door, only one being shown in Figure 6 for ease of illustration. The gas struts are mounted at one end to the door by a mounting bracket 49 and at the other end to the vertical framne members 27 on either side of the access opening. The gas strut mounting arrangement is configured so that the gas strut can hold the door open when it is raised to its most open position.

Generally this will mean that the door will make an angle of at least 700 more preferably 800 withl respect to the vertical. Applicants have found that the best support and feel for the gas strut they have used in supporting the door and assisting with opening and closing of the door involves an arrangement where the gas stint pivots through an angle of between 25' and 35' over the range through which the door may be pivoted. This is represented by the angle shown in Figure 6. More preferably, the angle should fall between 27* and A storage assembly constructed as shown in the accompanying drawings has a numiber of advantages. By allowing parking of a car underneath the storage assembly efficient use of parking space is facilitated even when such space is used for parking of a car.

The use of sheet metal reinforced in the manner described is conducive to ease of manufacture and is economically advantageous.

As standard processes currently available throughout the metal forming industry can be used to fonrn and fabricate the components of the storage assembly, no major investment in equipment is required to produce storage assemblies according to the invention. The particular configuration and choice of gas strut arrangement has been found to be very effective in assisting with opening and closing of a door typically weighing about 21kg and with holding the door open when this is required. The addition of the locking plates 35 and 36 to the door and access opening fr-ame provides a ready means whereby the contents of the storage assembly may be easily secured using a conventional padlock to lock the storage container.

It is to be understood that the word comprising as used throughout the specification is to be interpreted in its inclusive form ie. use of the word comprising does not exclude the addition of other elements.

It is to be understood that various modifications of and/or additions to the invention can be made without departing from the basic nature of the invention. These modifications and/or additions are therefbre considered to fall within the scope of the invention.

Claims (2)

1. 2. A storage assembly according to claim 1 wherein, the storage container has a generally box like shape, the reinforcing means comprise bent regions forned as a plurality of elongate ribs, and the door is mounted so as to allow the door to be pivoted upwardly to open the access openig. 3, A storage assembly according to claim 1 or claim 2 comprising holding mneans for holding the door open when the door has been pivoted away from registry wit the access opening.
2. 4. A storage assembly according to claim 3 as appended to claim 2 wherein the holding meas comprise at least one gas strut attached to a side of the access opening at one end and to a bracket fitted to the door at its other end, and the arrangement is such that the door may be pivoted through a range of at least 70 degrees between opening and shutting and the strut pivots between 25 and 35 degrees over the range through which the door may be pivoted. A storage assembly according to claim 1 substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings. Dated this 28th day of May 2002 Extra Store Pty Ltd by their patent attorneys Morcom Pernat