WO2020093182A1

WO2020093182A1 - Plastic box for storing personal items and method for attaching a handle to said box

Info

Publication number: WO2020093182A1
Application number: PCT/CL2019/050112
Authority: WO
Inventors: Pablo Wenborne Escobar; María Daniela EVANS ZALDÍVAR; Cristóbal Eduardo Vera Pino
Original assignee: Wenco S.A.
Priority date: 2018-11-09
Filing date: 2019-11-08
Publication date: 2020-05-14
Also published as: CL2018003181A1

Abstract

The invention relates to a plastic box for storing personal items and a method for attaching a handle to said box, with the latter being formed by a longitudinal channel (41) having at least one protrusion (46) inside and at least one means for engaging the handle in the form of a clip.

Description

PLASTIC BOX FOR THE STORAGE OF PERSONAL ITEMS AND

METHOD FOR ASSEMBLING A HANDLE IN SUCH BOX DESCRIPTIVE MEMORY

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is related to containers or boxes made of plastic material. In particular, with boxes with means for the storage and transportation of items such as tools, sporting goods, camping gear or any other that requires to be stored and transported safely and conveniently.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Storage boxes are well known in the state of the art, especially those frequently used for the transport and storage of relatively heavy tools, machinery or articles, which have means of movement to be transported by a person.

These boxes, usually known as "Heavy Duty", are made up of a container and covered by a hinged or completely removable lid, which has closing means and optionally systems that prevent its involuntary opening. At the rear lower end of the container, a pair of wheels are preferably located that allow the box to be moved comfortably on the ground, by means of a generally folded handle that emerges from the upper front to be able to be grasped by the user.

An example of this type of boxes is described in US 7854321, where a tool container is proposed that includes a base container, a cover, wheels, a removable tool tray and an extendable handle. The base container includes a space for storage and a top opening. For its part, the cover can be moved between a closed position and an open position and the wheels allow the transport of the whole. The removable tool tray is built and arranged to be removably carried by the base container. The extendable handle is operatively connected to the base container to facilitate inclined rolling transport of the tool container assembly. Additionally, the removable tool tray is built to latch securely on the handle when the handle is in an extended position.

Similarly, US 8851282 discloses a transportable tool box comprising a large compartment and two movable covers that slide over the top opening of the compartment between a closed position, where the covers extend over the top opening, and an open position where the two covers move from each other and expose the compartment to allow access to it. A locking arrangement is also provided to lock the compartmentalized covers in the closed position.

For its part, document US 2014197059 describes a tool box whose side walls include a tunnel or reinforced core on the upper edge that contributes to the stability and rigidity of the device, as well as the space to insert a removable U-shaped handle. The device also has wheels, padlocks and optionally a hole or opening through which a cable can pass even when the device is closed with the cover.

The state-of-the-art boxes described are generally made up of thick walls and have numerous reinforcing elements to grant a high resistance to the structure when it is subjected to blows, flexions or any mistreatment caused by the transport or storage of heavy products inside. .

Secondly, these types of boxes have been specifically designed for tool storage, with compartments and folding trays that require complex connection systems. Another disadvantage of the boxes of the state of the art, is associated with the fastening elements or metal handles that they use. Said handles are usually built with a rectangular profile and in some cases with a telescopic structure, which adds considerable weight to the box and, above all, complexity to its structure, since it requires reinforced channels and means to withstand the efforts produced by said handle on the means that support it. In addition, complex elements are used to lock the metal handle on the plastic means of the box, which is a significant complexity from the point of view of design and construction, as well as accessibility when it is required to remove the handle or repairs of the same.

These factors directly affect the use of a large amount of material to achieve the required strengths or to manufacture the accessory storage elements inside the box, which causes the final weight of the product as well as manufacturing costs to be very high. .

The present invention seeks precisely to reduce the use of material and the manufacturing costs involved in producing boxes such as those of the state of the art, by means of a simpler, lighter and more efficient product in constructive terms, focused to be used in storage and transport. of all kinds of items, but especially everyday items for personal, recreational, sports, leisure, etc.

It is a particular objective of the present invention to provide a box with a retractable clamping system simpler and more effective than those of the state of the art, which does not add unnecessary weight to the structure of the product, which is intuitive and easy to install and uninstall.

Other specific objectives of the present invention are to facilitate the drainage of liquids to prevent their accumulation and penetration into the box, as well as to provide simple means of securing the box during transport and making it difficult to open it without authorization.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION A plastic box is proposed for the storage of personal items, which is made up of:

- a container with a top opening;

- a lid;

- at least one means of closing the lid with the container;

- a pair of wheels located at the bottom rear of the container;

- a flange located on the upper perimeter of the container;

- an extensible handle that emerges from openings in the flange, wherein said handle comprises two parallel elongated portions;

where at the rear end of each parallel elongated portion of the handle a handle protrusion emerges configured to move inside a longitudinal channel of the flange, where said longitudinal channel has at least one shoulder and at least one hooking means inside. clip-on handle.

Through this configuration, a very simple structure is provided for housing the handle inside the container, which allows the handle to be assembled and disassembled easily, without using sophisticated tools and / or fastening means such as anchors that require a permanent or semi-permanent connection with the box, as observed in the state of the art.

This configuration also allows us to have a simple handle to manufacture, made up only of a metal tube, preferably with a circular profile and shaped like "[", so that when it is assembled in the box structure described above through the hooking means and works together with the projections, allows a very comfortable and effective extraction and insertion operation to move the box, without the need for complex elements such as telescopic means or handles with elaborate, thick and expensive shapes to manufacture. The container of the box proposed by the present invention is manufactured in a single piece and has thin thicknesses but with a resistant structure that allows minimizing the use of raw materials in order to reduce the weight of the product and decrease manufacturing costs. For this same reason, it is avoided to include in its interior accessory storage systems such as compartments or retractable trays such as those described in the state of the art, allowing a large storage capacity inside for the transport of all kinds of personal items.

The proposed box lid has also been designed to provide three main functions. The first is to allow the box to be attached to structures or vehicles through ties or straps. For this, the cover provides at least one transverse recess in the transverse direction that provides a suitable support surface for the clamping means.

Secondly, the lid comprises protrusions located on its upper face that engage with the base of a box in a stacked configuration, thus allowing safe storage and transportation of a set of boxes.

Third, the elements that make up the lid have been designed to quickly evacuate the water, preventing its accumulation and penetration into the box compartment.

According to a second aspect of the invention, a method is proposed for assembling a handle in a plastic box for the storage of personal items, which comprises the steps of:

a) Insert a handle diagonally at its rear end into a longitudinal channel inside a flange of a box container;

b) fitting elongated portions of the handle to at least one clip-shaped handle engagement means;

c) supporting handle protrusions on the lower edge of the longitudinal channel;

d) sliding the handle protrusions over the lower edge of the longitudinal channel. This method provides a quick and simple assembly of the handle on the edge of the recent one compared to those proposed in the state of the art.

These and other advantages will be appreciated in the embodiments of the invention illustrated in the figures described below.

DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

- Figure 1 illustrates the box of the present invention in a closed state.

- Figure 2 illustrates a profile view of the box of the present invention in a closed state.

- Figures 3 illustrates a perspective view of the body of the box of the present invention.

- Figures 4 illustrates a view of the handle of the box of the present invention.

- Figure 5 illustrates a detail of the handle clamping system inside the box.

- Figures 6a to 6d illustrate the assembly sequence of the handle on the body of the box of the present invention.

- Figure 7 illustrates in detail the lid of the box of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

According to the embodiment illustrated in Figure 1, the box of the present invention is made up of a container 10 preferably parallelepiped-shaped with an upper opening (not shown) and with solid walls. In its closed state, the container 10 comprises a lid 20 that closes the upper opening. Said lid is secured to the container by at least one closing means 21, which according to the illustrated modality consists of a "C" -shaped hook that is fixed to each upper edge of container 10 and that folds down on the upper face of the lid 20 to press it against the container. According to an alternative embodiment of the invention, the at least one closing means 21 can be located in any of the lateral edges of the box and / or be fixed to the lid, or consist of a fixed hinged means between the container and the cover so that the second one is foldable with respect to the first one.

The container 10 preferably has recesses 11 on its faces, so that pillars 12 are formed both at the vertices and in the intermediate portion of its walls that reinforce the structure. According to Figure 2, the box comprises an extendable handle 30 that emerges from openings in a flange 40 located in the upper perimeter of the container 10. In addition, in the lower rear part of the container a sack 14 is formed, inside which it locates a pair of wheels 50 joined by an axis and which are slightly raised with respect to the lower edge of the container 10, so that when the latter is supported against the floor, the wheels 50 are not supported and therefore do not allow the movement of the box. Said displacement is only achieved by grasping the handle 30 so that the inclination of the box with respect to the ground generates the contact of the wheels 50 with the latter, allowing the box to move and transport.

According to Figure 3, the handle 30 is in the form of "[" with two parallel elongated portions from whose rear end a handle protrusion 32 emerges in the vertical direction. Between each parallel portion, a perpendicular portion is provided that forms a handle 31 for grasping handle 30 by hand. According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, a grip means (not illustrated) such as a rubber surface or any other suitable to comfortably grip the handle is located in the center of the handle 31.

By means of Figure 4, the interior of the container 10 and especially the rim 40 is observed in more detail. The latter extends along the entire perimeter of the container and is only interrupted by the corner pillars 12. In addition, inside the rim 40 of the lateral sides of the container, a longitudinal channel 41 is located through which the handle moves, entering these through the openings 42. As can be seen in more detail in Figure 5, inside the longitudinal channel 41 there is at least one clip-shaped handle hooking means, which is composed of a rigid terminal 43 and a flexible terminal 44. Said Terminals have a wider head than their body, so that they prevent the handle from unintentionally detaching from the at least one handle engaging means. Thus, the only way to achieve this is by opening the flexible terminal 44 with respect to the rigid terminal 43, in order to generate enough space for the handle to move vertically. Preferably, the edge of the longitudinal channel comprises grooves 45 located parallel to the flexible terminal 44 that allow the head of the latter to open to provide the exit space for the handle 30. Figures 6a to 6d show in greater detail the sequence in which the handle 30 is inserted into the longitudinal channel 41 of the rim of the container (illustrated in section) and some additional means thereof.

According to Figure 6a, the handle 30 is inserted diagonally and at its rear end into the longitudinal channel 41 through the openings 42. Then, as illustrated in Figure 6b, the elongated portions of the handle fit into the first terminals (43, 44) closest to said openings 42.

Subsequently and according to Figure 6c, the elongated portions of the handle fit into the second terminals (43, 44) and the handle protrusions 32 rest on the lower edge of the longitudinal channel 41.

Figure 6c shows the handle 30 in a transport position, while Figure 6d shows the handle 30 in a closed position which is obtained by sliding the handle knobs 32 over the lower edge of the longitudinal channel 41 until the handle 31 stops with the front of the container 10.

As illustrated in Figures 6a to 6d, the longitudinal channel 41 has at least one shoulder 46 inside which acts as a guide first (see Figure 6b) so that the handle fits into the first terminals (43, 44) and secondly as a stop (see Figure 6c) to limit the movement of the handle 30 within the longitudinal channel 41, preventing the first from unintentionally detaching from the second.

According to the illustrated embodiment, there are two projections 46 inside the flange 40, one being located near the front face of the container and the other near the center of the container. The shoulders 46 have a horizontal triangular shape with the upper edge longer than the rear edge, the latter having a much steeper slope than the first. By such configuration, easy insertion of the handle into the rim of the container is achieved and a simple operating mechanism is obtained.

Figure 7 shows the characteristics of the lid 20 of the proposed box, which is made up of a lower lid portion 22 and an upper lid portion 23.

The upper lid portion 23 comprises lid ridges 24, consisting of elevations emerging from the upper surface of the lid, these preferably being six and each located at each corner and two at the center. Cap bumps

24 are spaced in such a way that they provide a surface to accommodate the base of a container of an identical box in a stacked configuration, preventing relative movement between the two elements.

According to the illustrated embodiment, the upper surface of the upper cover portion 23 has slopes and comprises at least one inverted "V" -shaped transverse recess 25 that on the one hand provides a surface suitable for receiving moorings (not illustrated) which cross the box in the transverse direction, to secure the box for example to a vehicle or to any other element or surface in order to prevent movement of the box. On the other hand, the inclination of the upper lid portion 23 and the inverted "V" shape of the at least one transverse recess

25 allow the liquid that accumulates on the lid, for example rain water, to be moved towards the lower lid portion 22, the upper surface of which is also inclined to evacuate any liquid outside the box. Finally, in the corners of the lower portion of the lid 22, lid perforations 26 are configured, which coincide with container perforations 15 (see figure 3) located in the corners of the container, which together provide a space to be inserted in them. Elastic type securing ties (“octopuses”) to secure the box or locking means such as padlocks, tapes or others to prevent unauthorized opening of the box lid.

Claims

1. Plastic box for the storage of personal items, which is made up of:

- a container (10) with a top opening;

- a cover (20);

- at least one means of closing (21) the lid (20) with the container (10);

- a pair of wheels (50) located at the bottom rear of the container

(10);

- a flange (40) located on the upper perimeter of the container (10);

- an extendable handle (30) emerging from openings in the flange

(40), wherein said handle (30) comprises two parallel elongated portions;

CHARACTERIZED in that at the rear end of each parallel elongated portion of the handle (30) a handle protrusion (32) emerges configured to move inside a longitudinal channel (41) of the flange (40), where said longitudinal channel (41) ) has inside at least one shoulder (46) and at least one clip-shaped handle hook means.

2. The box according to claim 1, CHARACTERIZED in that the at least one projection (46) has a horizontal triangular shape, with the upper edge longer than the posterior edge, the rear edge in turn having a much steeper slope than the upper edge.

3. The box according to any of the preceding claims, CHARACTERIZED in that the handle hooking means is composed of a rigid terminal (43) and a flexible terminal (44), where both terminals have a head wider than their body.

4. The box according to claim 3, CHARACTERIZED in that one edge of the longitudinal channel comprises grooves (45) located parallel to the flexible terminal

(44).

5. The box according to any of the preceding claims, CHARACTERIZED in that the lid (20) is formed by a lower lid portion (22) and an upper lid portion (23), where the latter comprises lid protrusions (24 ) and at least one inverted "V" shaped cross cut (25).

6. The box according to claim 5, CHARACTERIZED in that the upper surface of the lower lid portion (22) is inclined and because said lower lid portion (22) further comprises lid perforations (26) at their coinciding corners. with container perforations (15) located in the corners of the container (10).

7. The box according to any of the preceding claims,

CHARACTERIZED in that the at least one closing means (21) consists of a "C" shaped hook that is fixed to each upper edge of the container (10) and configured to fold down on the upper face of the lid (20).

8. The box according to any of the preceding claims,

CHARACTERIZED because the container (10) has recesses (11) in its faces and pillars (12) both in the vertices and in the intermediate portion of its walls.

9. The box according to any of the preceding claims,

CHARACTERIZED because the handle (30) is shaped like a “[“ and a handle (31).

10. The box according to any of the preceding claims,

CHARACTERIZED because the wheels (50) are located inside a bag (14) located in the lower rear part of the container, said wheels (50) being raised with respect to the lower edge of the container (10).

11. Method for assembling a handle (30) in a plastic box for the storage of personal items according to claims 1 to 10, CHARACTERIZED because it comprises the steps of:

a) Inserting a handle (30) diagonally at its rear end into a longitudinal channel (41) inside a flange (40) of a container (10) of the box; b) fitting elongated portions of the handle to at least one clip-shaped handle engagement means;

c) support knob protrusions (32) on the lower edge of the longitudinal channel

(41);

d) sliding the handle protuberances (32) over the lower edge of the longitudinal channel (41).

12. The method according to claim 11, CHARACTERIZED in that in step a) the handle is inserted through openings (42) of the flange (40).

The method according to claim 12, CHARACTERIZED in that in step b) the at least one clip-shaped handle hook means consists of first terminals (43, 44) closest to said openings (42).

14. The method according to claim 13, CHARACTERIZED in that prior to step c), the elongated portions of the handle fit into second terminals (43, 44).