TW201609504A - A lid and a storage system - Google Patents

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to a lid for a container. The lid is adapted to be fitted on the top of a container and has a generally rectangular shape with two pairs of opposing and parallel edges, defining four corners and extending at least partly in a main plane in between the edges. In the vicinity of each of the four corners, the lid comprises at least a first and a second corner support, wherein the first corner support comprises two support surfaces rising a first step from the main plane, and where the second corner support comprises two support surfaces rising an additional second step from the main plane. The distance between the second corner supports of two diagonally opposing corners is greater than the distance between the first corner supports of said diagonally opposing corners. Thereby the lid can prevent containers with different bottom surface sizes from slipping sideways when stacked on top of the lid.

Description

Cover and storage system

The invention relates to a cover for a container, the cover being adapted to be fitted onto the top of the container, for example to form an enclosed space. The cover has a generally rectangular shape with two pairs of opposing and parallel edges to define four corners and extend at least partially in a major plane between the edges. The invention also relates to a storage system comprising such a cover and first and second containers.

Such covers and containers can be manufactured by injection molding of plastic materials and are well known for use in storing various articles. The container can be suspended in a drawer frame. Containers with assembled lids can also be stacked as a storage system to store more items for a given floor surface area. A common problem with such storage systems is to improve stack functionality.

Accordingly, one of the objects of the present invention is to obtain a cover or storage system of the type mentioned at the outset which has improved stacking characteristics.

This object is defined by the cover and the claim item defined in item 1 of the claim. The six defined storage systems are reached. More specifically, the cover of the type mentioned at the outset includes at least a first corner support and a second corner support in the vicinity of each of the four corners. The first corner support includes two support surfaces of the first level from the main plane, and the second corner support includes two additional support surfaces of the second level from the main plane. The distance between the second corner supports of the two diagonally opposite corners is greater than the distance between the first diagonal support of the two diagonally opposite corners.

This means that a container having two different bottom dimensions can be placed on top of the lid and can prevent the container from sliding in the direction of the major plane. Thereby improving stacking functionality.

When at least two containers having different bottom dimensions are used in the system, the distance between the two diagonally opposite corners of the first corner support of the cover corresponds to between the two corners of the bottom surface of the first container The diagonal distance and the distance between the two diagonally opposite corners of the second corner support correspond to the diagonal distance between the two corners of the bottom surface of the second container.

The cover and/or container may be made of an injection molded plastic material such as polypropylene (PP).

A third corner support can be provided for each corner of the cover, the third corner support including two additional support surfaces of the third level from the main plane of the cover. This allows containers having a third bottom surface size to be stacked on the cover in the same manner.

The surface of each corner support can be joined in the corners.

A definition can be defined between the support surfaces of the first and second corner supports The raised surface of the main plane. This surface can carry a stacked type of container having a larger bottom surface.

1‧‧‧ cover

Group of 5‧‧

7‧‧‧First corner support

9‧‧‧second corner support

11‧‧‧First support surface

13‧‧‧Second support surface

15‧‧‧ corner

17‧‧‧Support surface

18‧‧‧ surface

19‧‧‧Support surface

21‧‧‧ Container

23‧‧‧ Container

25‧‧‧ Container

D1‧‧‧ distance

D2‧‧‧ distance

Figure 1 shows a top view of the cover.

Figure 2 shows an enlarged portion of the cover of Figure 1 at its corner.

Figure 3 shows a stack of three containers.

4 through 7 show enlarged portions of the stack of Fig. 3.

The present invention relates to a modular storage system including a drawer frame and a container. Such systems have benefits such as being configurable in a variety of ways when compared to conventional drawers to meet the needs of the end user. Drawer racks with metal wire and net baskets have been widely appreciated by users, and users have been able to select baskets of wires and nets of different sizes according to their needs.

From the manufacturer's point of view, since the empty container can be nested within other empty containers, and because the drawer frame can be easily assembled by the end user, the involved components have allowed for efficient dispensing. This of course reduces the cost of the final system.

It is proposed to include a plastic container with a lid in this type of storage system as a supplement to the wire and mesh container. This will make this type of storage system more versatile.

For large-scale manufacturing by injection molding, plastic containers are relatively easy Suitable. Unlike a mesh or wire container, the plastic container can be made as a diffusion tight, and when the cover is attached to the container, it becomes stackable, allowing several containers to be stored therein. Objects can be stored on small floor surfaces. If the storage system is used, for example, in a closet, this allows the user to, for example, replace the contents of the closet by season to season.

For example, during non-seasonal periods, winter clothing can be stored in another location, and thanks to the more or less diffuse sealing characteristics of the container, winter clothing can be protected from moisture and the like. These containers can be substituted for other containers in the drawer frame when the laundry is needed again. Such a process is more efficient than moving the garment from the drawer to another box back and forth. The present invention provides a solution that makes plastic containers more suitable for use in this type of storage system, thereby helping to achieve the goal of a more efficient and versatile storage system.

Figure 1 shows a top view of the cover 1 to which the cover 1 can be attached. The container and the lid can be manufactured by injection molding a plastic material such as polypropylene (PP). As seen in Figure 1, the cover has a rectangular shape with two oppositely facing edges and defines four corners. The cover extends at least approximately in the major plane between the edges, i.e., its top surface may be more or less flat, with the exception of the features provided at the edges for attaching the cover to the container. The cover 1 comprises a plurality of sets of 5 corner supports, as will now be described in detail. A set of corner supports are shown in detail in Figure 2 depicting an enlarged portion of the cover in Figure 1, and in Figures 4 and 5 depicting a perspective view of a set of corner supports.

The set comprises two corner supports 7, 9 wherein each support There are two support surfaces, the two support surfaces being erected from the main plane of the cover. Thus, the first corner support 7 comprises a first support surface 11 and a second support surface 13 which erect, for example, a first level of about 7 mm from the main plane of the cover. As shown, they can be perpendicular to each other to enable support of the containers stacked on the lid on either side of the corner. The first surface 11 is substantially parallel to the adjacent long sides of the cover, and the second surface 13 is substantially parallel to the adjacent short sides of the cover. The corner support is thus formed as a piece that has a remainder of the cover as a protrusion, and the thickness of the cover article can be uniform in its major plane, including the support.

The surfaces may abut each other as depicted and form a corner 15. However, this does not mean that it is necessary. The corner support may have two surfaces that can abut against the side and/or bottom edges of the container at the bottom corner of the container when the container is stacked on the cover and as understood by those skilled in the art. This can be done in a way other than the one depicted. For example, it will be possible to erect two cylindrical portions from the main plane of the cover, one on each side of the corner of the container. The side walls on each side of the corner are then able to abut against the circumference of each cylinder.

As depicted, the cover is further provided with a second corner support 9 comprising two support surfaces 17, 19 erected from the main plane, for example, an additional second level of about 7 mm. This corner support 9 is located closer to the corner of the cover than the first corner support. The support surfaces 17, 19 of the second corner support 9 can be arranged in the same manner as the corresponding surfaces 11, 13 of the first corner support 7, in addition. As shown, the first corner support 7 of the first level is erected from the main plane of the cover, and An additional second level of second corner support 9 is erected to achieve a class shape, and the box laterally supported by the second corner support 9 is reliable on the surface 18, the hierarchy, which is tied to the first and second The support surfaces of the corner supports 7, 9 rise from the main plane. This surface 18 can be substantially parallel to the major plane of the cover.

As shown in Figure 1, the distance d2 between the two diagonally opposite corners of the second corner support is greater than the distance d1 between the two diagonally opposite corners of the first corner support. This means that the cover system is adapted to allow containers having different bottom dimensions to be stacked on top of the cover and to prevent these containers from sliding in a particular direction along the plane of the cover or about an axis perpendicular to the cover Sliding on the ground.

The bottom surface of the container is conveniently made smaller than the open top of the container and has a sloped wall to allow the container to be nested. The stacking of containers with lids allows for more items to be stored for a given floor area.

Figure 3 shows a stack of three containers, each having a lid. The same top and bottom containers 21, 23 are larger, more specifically higher, than the container 25 at the middle of the stack. The walls erected from the bottom of each container have substantially the same outward angle of inclination, and the containers have approximately the same dimensions at the open top such that the same cover can be assembled to the respective containers. Therefore, the intermediate container 25 will have a larger base area than the other containers. In an enlarged view, Figure 6 shows that the first corner support prevents a relatively high lateral sliding of the container with a smaller bottom surface. Figure 7 depicts the second corner support preventing lateral sliding of the shorter container with a larger bottom surface. As shown, the container rests against interconnecting the first and second corner supports On the surface.

The invention is not limited to the examples described above, and may be varied and changed in various ways within the scope of the appended claims. For example, containers having equal heights of mutually different wall slopes will have different bottom dimensions. Likewise, the side walls can be curved or can have a stepped shape that increases in size from the bottom toward the top opening. Furthermore, this is not necessary even if the main plane of the cover is depicted as being flat. The major planes can have different types of surface structures and can be recessed inwardly, for example, in a variety of ways that do not affect the container being stacked thereon.

7‧‧‧First corner support

9‧‧‧second corner support

11‧‧‧First support surface

13‧‧‧Second support surface

15‧‧‧ corner

17‧‧‧Support surface

19‧‧‧Support surface

Claims (6)

A cover (1) for a container adapted to be fitted to the top of a container to form a closed space, the cover having a generally rectangular shape with two pairs of opposite and parallel edges to define Four corners, and the cover extends at least partially in a major plane between the edges, wherein the cover includes at least a first corner support in the vicinity of each of the four corners (7) and a second corner support (9), wherein the first corner support comprises two support surfaces (11, 13) of a first level erected from the main plane, and the second corner support (9) ) comprising two additional support surfaces (15, 17) erecting from the main plane, and wherein the distance (d2) between the two diagonally opposite corners of the second corner supports is greater than The distance (d1) between the first corner supports of the two diagonally opposite corners. The cover body of claim 1, wherein the cover body is made by injection molding a plastic material. The cover of claim 1 or 2, wherein each corner of the cover comprises a third corner support, the third corner support comprising an additional erection from the main plane of the cover Two support surfaces of the third level. The cover of claim 1, wherein for each corner support, the two support surfaces are joined in a corner (15). The cover of claim 1, wherein the support surfaces of the first and second corner supports (7, 9) are defined between the support surfaces A surface (18) that is raised from the main plane. A storage system comprising first and second containers and a cover adapted to be attached to any of the containers and having a generally rectangular shape having two pairs of opposing and parallel edges, To define four corners, and the cover extends at least partially in a major plane between the edges, wherein the first container has a substantially rectangular bottom surface defining four corners, the second The container has a substantially rectangular bottom surface that is larger than the bottom surface of the first container and defines four corners, the cover including at least a first corner support at each of the four corners of the cover and a second corner support, wherein the first corner support comprises two support surfaces of a first level erected from the main plane, and the second corner support comprises two additional second levels of erection from the main plane a support surface, and wherein a distance between the first corner supports of the two diagonally opposite corners of the cover corresponds to a diagonal distance between two corners of the bottom surface of the first container And two The distance between the diagonally opposite corners of the support member such second corner corresponding to the diagonal distance between the bottom surface of the second container in the two corners.