GB2203132A - Multi-level storage container - Google Patents

Abstract

A multi-level storage container comprises a plurality of superimposed trays 12-18 for holding articles, means joining the trays on an eccentrically located vertical axis about which the trays are at least partially rotatable and means for locking the trays together when they are in register with each other. <IMAGE>

Description

MULTI LEVEL STORAGE CONTAINER FIELD OF THE INVENTIDN This invention relstes to a multi-level storage container for holding small articles such as fishing tackle, items of hardware such as nails and the like but more particularly to such a container for use as a sewing box.

SUMMARY CF THE INVENTION A multi-level storage container according to the invention includes a plurality of superimposed trays for holding articles, means joining the trays on sn eccentricall located vertical axis about which the trays are at least pertially rotatable and means for locking the trays together when they are in register with eacn other.

Further according to the invention the tray joining means are a socket and spigot which are in axial register on each tray with the Socket on each tray of the container engaged with a spilt on the adjacent tray so that the sockets and spigots from e composits shaft on the vertical axis.

In one form of the invention, the composite shaft is hollow and the locking means is a locking bar whicn is located in the shaft and maovable in an axial direction between e first position in which it locks the trays together when they are in register ant a second position in which the trays are free to rotate about the snaft axis relatively to each other. Conveniently the container includes means for holding the locking bar in either of its two positions in the shaft.

Still further according to the invention the bore in each tray spigot carries an inwardly projecting formation which in the first position of the locking bar is engaged with a formation On the bar to prevent rotation of the tray about the shaft axis and which in the second position of the bar is clear of the bar fornetion.

In a preferred form of the invention eech tray is closed, when the trays are in register by the tray above it, and tha container includes a closure member for the upper tray in the stack. The container closure member preferably includes a handle which is movable, on a pivot axis which intersects an axis on the centre of the trays when in register and the shaft axis, between a first position in which it lies on the closure meeker and a second position in which it is upright on the closure member with the handle including means which is engaged with the locking bar for moving the locking bar to its first position when the handle is in its second position and to its second position when the handle is in its first position.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION DF THE DRAWINCS An embodiment of the invention is now described by way of example only with reference to the drawings in which: Figure 1 is a perspective view from above of the container of the invention, Figure 2 is a plan view of the container of Figure 1 with its handle lowered and its trays horizontally displaced from each other Figure 3 is a plan of one of the container trays, Figure 4 is a sectioned sidle elevation of the Figure 3 tray, Figure 5 is a fragmentary sectional side elevation of tw joined trays of the container, Figure 6 is a fras7nentary plan view of one of the trays of Figure 5 which is shown sectioned on the line 6-6 in Figure 5, Figure 7 is e perspective view of the container locking bar, and Figure B is a fragmentary perspective view of one end of the container handle and the upper end of the Figure 7 locking bar.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT The container of the invention is shown in Figures 1 and 2 cf the drawings to consist of an upper closure member 10, four trays 12, 14, 16 and 18 and a base member 20.

The six elements of the container are horizontally rotatable relatively to each other about the axis of a vertical shaft 22 which is indicated in dotted lines in Figure 2. The trays 12 to 18 and perhaps the members 10 and 20 carry formations, not shown, on the upper edges of their rims or on the undersides of their bases for preventing the trays from being rotatec to a position in whicn any one of them is exactly 180 out of phase with the closure member 10.The purpose of limiting complete rotation of the trays about the axis of the shaft 22 is explained below The closure member 10 carries 8 handle 2k which is rotatable between the upright Figure 1 position and the lowered Figure 2 position, in whicn it is located in a recess in the closure member, on a pivot axis which intersects the axis of the shaft 22 and the central axis of the closure member.

The base member 20 of the container is, to minimize the moulds necessary in the manufacture of the container, identical to the closure member 10 but obviously does not include the handle 24. Although the base member 20 could be made to be rotatable relatively to the tray IS this would serve no purpose and the two elements are conveniently fixed together. To minimize the possibility of the container toppling, when one or more of the loaded trays is sufficiently displaced from the centre of gravity of the container, the base is weighted in any suitable manner.

As is seen from Figure 3, 4 and 5 the trays each carry e central upwardly directed socket 26 which may be used to locate removable compartmented sewing paraphenalia trays 26, three of which are shown in Figure 3. The inner wall 30 of each tray carries a number of radially inwardly projecting formations 32. Each of the formations 32 hes a flat upper surface which lies on a plane just slightly above the upper level of the central socket 26.

As is apparent from Figures 3 and 4, each tray could, if desired, carry two layers of trays 28 with a maximum of three trays in the loer layer and two in the upper layer.

The lower trays 26 rest on the base of the tray between the formations 32 and the socket 26. The upper trays 28 rest on the radial flange of a removable spacer 34 which is located in the smaller diameter socket 26 and the upper faces of the formations 32. If only one or two trays 28 are located 'n either layer they are rotatable in the tray in the plane of that layer about either the socket 26 or the spacer 34.

For holding cotton reels, the bases of three of the lower layer trays 26 in one of the container trays could carry upwardly directed pegs for location in the cotton real bores. Obviously, the upper layer of trays 28 in this container tray would need to be omitted to accommodate the cotton reels.

Each of the trays 12 to is additionally carries, about the axis of the shaft 22, on upwardly directed spigot 36 Ond a downwardly directed socket 38. The spigot end socket are hollow with their bores in axial register and in communication with one enother.

As is seen in Figure 5, the container of the invention is assembled by locating the spigot 36 of one tray in the socket 38 of the tray above it to provide the composite shaft 22. The tray spigots 36 are B nice fit in the sockets 38 so that while the sockets are rotatable on the spigots there is no play in a transverse direction between the two components. The bore of each of the tray spigots carries near its central zone two opposite inwardly directed formations 40 which are seen in plan in Figure 6.

The trays and the closure member of the container are held together by the locking bar u2 of Figure 7. The locking bar consists of four substantially cruciform formations 44 which are separated from each other and an end stop 46 by cylindrical bar portions 46, The upper end of the locking bar carries, on the upper elongate bar portion, a lug SO which includes an elonsste: slot 52.

The formations 44, as is more clearly seen in Figure 6 each consist of four almost radially directed vanes 54 the free ends of which are shaped complimentally to the inner surface of the spigot bores. One face of each vane 54 is co planar with the bar exis and the other face is tangental to the projected circumference of the cylindrical bar portions 46. As is seen in Figure 6, the spigot formations 4û are shaped to be 8 nice fit between the faces of two opposite pairs of vanes 54 of the formations 44.

The length of the three upper formations 44 corresponds to the distance which separates the formations 40 in the shaft 22. The distance which separates the formations on the bar 48 corresponds substantially to the vertical height of the formations 40.

The locking bar 42 is fed into the shaft 22 from the underside cf the container, while the container trays, and so the formations 40, are in axial register. It is important that the lccking bar is so orientated that when the lug 50 projects from the upper end of the spigot of the tray 12 the flat faces of the lug 50, are normal to the handle pivot axis as shown in Figure 8.

As is seen in Figure e, the free ends of the handle 24 carry trunnion formations 56. The handle trunnions engage, by deformation of the handle, in inverted U-shaped apertures, nct shown, & the inner rim 56 of the container closure member 10 (see Figure 1) with the radiused underside of the handle ends bearing on the upper surface of the recessed portion of the close member. As is seen in Figure 8 the handle trunnion 56 on the left hand handle end, as seen in Figures 1 and 2, carries an eccentric outwardly directed stud 60 which is located in the slot 52 of the locking bar lug 5 when the handle trunnion is located in its pivot aperture.

The container is now assembled and the base member 20 is ,attached to the underside of the tray 18 with its socket 38 located in the base member With the handle 24 of the container in the raised Figure 1 position the trunnion stud 60 is at its highest position and in the right hand portion of the lug slot 52, In this raised position the upper portion of each of the locking bar formations 44 is located between the formations 40 in each of the tray spigots 36, as seen in Figure 6, and the stop 46, which is located in the socket of the tray 18 and is of e larger diameter than that of the composite shaft 22, bears on the lip between the socket and spigot of the tray 18 to hold the container components together.

Because the locking bar is held against rotation on its axis, by the face of the handle trunnion which bars against the face of the bar lug 50 and the stud 60 which is locate in the slot 52, the vanes 54 on the formations 4 of the bar which are no located between the shaft formations EG, lock the container trays against rotaticn about the axis of the shaft 22.

When the handle 24 is lowered to its Figure 2 position the stud 60 in Figure 8 is rotated through 90 in an anti-clockwise direction to transfer to the left in the slot 52 and lower the locking bar. In so doing, the vanes 54 of the formations 44 are lowered out of contact with the formations 40 which are each now in horizontal register with the cylindrical bar portions 48 between the formations 44 and the trays are now rotatable relatively to one another and the locking bar on the axis of the shaft 22.

As-will be appreciated from Figure 5, as each tray and so its formations 40 are rotated relatively to the locking bar the undersides of the formations 40 will, with careful dimensioning of the locking bar, bear on the upper surfaces of the vanes 54 of the formations 44 to lend horizontal support to the tray as it is rotated. This is s until the trays are positioned 180 relative to the closure memoer. however, the stops on the rims or undersides of the trays, as mentioned above, prevent rotation of the trays to the unsupported 180 position.

To again lock the trays against rotation they are merely rotated into vertical register. as shwon in Figure 1, axially to align the lacking bar vanes 54, with the spaces between the formations 40 end the handle is raised into the Figure 1 position to lift the locking bar.

The invention is not limited to the precise details as herain described. For example the locking bar and its fcrrrations could have a Number cf configurations provided that it performs its locking and unlocking function as described above Additionally the ste 46 on the lower end of the locking bar could bk threadedly engaged with the cylindrical portion of the locking bar spo that it may be adjusted on the roc in an axial direction to remove any play that may exist in sn axial direction when the handle is raised to lock the trays together.

Claims (1)

1. A multi-level storage container comprising a plurality of superimposed trays for holding articles, means joining the trays on an eccentrically located vertical axis about which the trays are at least partially rotatable and means for locking the trays together when the are in register with each other.

2. A container according to Claim 1, wherein the tray joining means are a socket and spigot which are in axial register on each tray with the socket on each tray rjf title container engaged with a spigot on the adjacent tray so that. the sockets ana spigots form a composite shaft on the vertical axis.

2. A container according to Claim 2, wherein the composite shaft is hollow and the locking means is a locking bar which is located in the shaft and movable in an axial direction between a first position in which it locks the trays together when they are in register and a second position in which the trays are free to rotate about the shaft axis relatively to each other.

4. A container according to Claim 3, wherein the container includes means for holding the locking bar in either of its tuo posItIons in the shaft.

A container according to Claim 3, wherein the bore in each tray spigot carries an inwardly projecting formation which in the first position of the locating bar is engaged with a formation on the bar to prevent rotation of the tray about the shaft axis and which in the secona position or the bar is clear of the bar formation.

6. A container according to Claim 1, wherein each tra is closed, when the tray are in register, by the tray above it, and the container includes a closure member for the upper tra in the stack.

7. A container according to Claim 6, wherein the closure member includes a handle which is movable on a pivot axis which intersects the shaft axis and an axis on the centre of the trays when in register between a first position in which it lies on the closure member and a second position in which it is upright on the closure member, the handle including means which is engaged with the locking bar for moving the locking bar to its first position when the handle is in its second position and to its second position tflen the handle iO in its first position.