Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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SUSPENDABLE HINGED LOCKABLE LID STORAGE BOX
Background of the Invention
While numerous object holders with hinged tops
5 have been used and proposed, none have provided versatility
and utility in temporary storage use, in displaying objects
for selection or otherwise accomplishing storage and
exhibition during active use.
10 Summary of the Invention
Broadly, the present invention comprises a
storage box unit with a chamber housing for temporary and
permanent storage of objects such as diskettes, cassettes or
other relatively thin planar objects and a lid hinged to the
5 chamber to provide a closed storage box whose contents are
readily accessible. The hinged lid is connected to the
housing by means of pivot pins to provide a closed position,
a first open position in which the lid is held at an angle
to the horizontal and a second fully opened lock position.
It is a feature that the box unit is lockable by
a key-operated plastic molded deflectable lock.
It is a feature of the storage box unit that it
can be suspended between two (2) spaced-apart supports such
as the sides of a drawer.
Brief Description of the Drawings
Fig. l is a perspective view of the unit with the
lid in a first open position;
Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the unit with the
lid in a second open lock position;
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Fig. 3 is a perspective view showing the unit
suspended on the sides of a desk drawer;
Fig. 4 is a partial view of the lid pivot and
stop arrangement;
Fig. 5 is a partial view showing the lock
arrangement for locking the lid in its second suspendable
open position;
Fig. 6 is a partial view of the chamber back wall
and showing the lock tab on the lid in its second open lock
position;
Fig. 7 is a top plan view of the unit in its
second open position; and
Fig. 8 is a back end elevational view of the unit
with the lid closed.
Fig. 9 is an enlarged partial sectional view of
an alternative unit latch including key;
Fig. 9a is a plan view of the key;
Fig. 10 is a partial sectional view along line
10-10 of Fig. 9;
Fig. 11 is a vertical sectional view through the
alternative latch;
Fig. 12 is a sectional view along line 10-10 of
Fig. 9:
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Fig. 13 is similar to Fig. 10 in which the lock
has been partially turned; and
Fig. 14 is similar to Fig. 10 and 13 and enlarged
5 in which the lock has been turned to the fully locked
position.
Description of the Preferred Embodiment
In Figs. 1-8, storage tray unit 10 includes
object holding chamber body 11 and enclosure lid 12
pivotally connected about pivot arrangement 13 for holding
lid 12 in a first angled position using stop means 14
comprising skirt stop portions l9a, l9b (Figs. 4, 5 and 8)
and in a second generally horizontal locked position
utilizing lock arrangement 16 (Figs. 6 and 8). Objects
readily storable in unit 10 are computer diskettes, mini
data cartridges or other similarly-shaped planar objects.
Body 11, which is preferably molded as a complete
unitary piece of plastic material (but may be assembled from
two or more parts) includes body skirts lla, llb and front
generally horizontal protruding support lip element llc.
Adjacent lip llc is generally vertical body portion 15.
Back vertical wall lld has upper curved portion lle, back
skirt 19 depending from portion lle and spaced from wall
lld. Skirt 19 includes right and left depending skirt stop
portions l9a, l9b. Also shown in Fig. 8 is centered lock
tab hood 21 with angled panel 21a, and end panels 21b and
21c. Angled panel 2la has lower lip 2ld which catches lid
lock tab 36 as further explained (Figs. 6 and 8). Also
shown projecting from body wall lld are outwardly protruding
spaced-apart ribs 44a, 44b. Body 11 includes on its bottom
support floor llf having parallel spaced-apart depressed
slots 23a-23g for receiving movable divider frame 24.
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Divider frame 24, with window opening 24a, carries a
projection (not shown) at its base to support frame 24
vertically, as shown in Fig. 1, in any selection slot 23a-
23d. Body chamber opening 15a lies substantially in a plane
5 parallel to floor llf.
Enclosure lid 12 includes planar member 12a, side
pieces 12b, 12c and shallow border lip 12d. Unit latch
tongue 20 includes slot 20a for snap engagement with
10 projection 25 on body lip llc. Planar pieces 12b and 12c
extend below planar member 12a forming left and right
sloping ledges 12e and 12f (not shown) for assisting in
maintaining unit 10 between two (2) selected spaced-apart
hanger members. Also formed in lid 12 are two track sets
26, 27 for temporary usage of objects 30 as vertically
supported. Track set 27 includes rails 27a-27d at an angle
to planar lid member 12a and set 26 has rails 26a-26d
perpendicular to planar member 12a.
Pivot arrangement 13 includes right and left
2 chamber body protrusions 18a, 18b about which round holes
31a, 31b in lid side pieces 12a, 12b rotate to position lid
12 at selected positions. Supporting lid 12 in its first
open position (Fig. 1) are spaced-apart deflectable finger
stop means 32a, 32b integrally formed in and at right angles
25 to lid 12 (Fig. 8) which rest against skirt body stop
portions l9a, l9b in the first stop position (Fig. 4). When
lid 12 is moved from the position shown in Fig. 1 in the
direction of arrow A, lid fingers 32a, 32b deflect and ride
outwardly briefly along the surface of stop portions l9a,
3~ l9b as fingers 32a, 32b and stop portions l9a, l9b bend and
otherwise distort thus permitting lid 12 to move past stop
means 14 and downwardly. As lid 12 is further moved in
direction A, the second, fully open lock position shown in
Fig. 2, is reached.
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Turning to Figs. 6, 7 and 8, lock arrangement 16
includes deflectable lid tab 36 having on its underside U-
shaped lip ridge 36a and ridge surface 36b (Fig. 6) for
engagement with hood angled panel 21a. Tab 36 having lid
5 slots 12f, 12g on either side deflects until its U-shaped
ridge 36a engages the inside surface of panel 21a. In this
latched position, unit 10 can be suspended between spaced-
apart locations with the end of member 12a and body lip llc
resting on spaced-apart surfaces such as drawer sides 41, 42
10 of drawer 43 (Fig. 3). By deflecting lid tab 36, the
locking arrangement 16 is moved to its unlocked position.
The purpose of ribs 44a, 44b is to remove the clearance
between the lid tab 36 and the outside of body wall lld,
when lid 12 is in the 180- open second latched position.
Lid fingers 32a and 32b press against ribs 44a, 44b, causing
fingers 32a, 32b to deflect as the latch engages (Fig. 6).
This creates a tension (or pre-load) between the lid 12 and
the body 11 so that there is no looseness at lock latch
arrangement 16. Also shown in Fig. 3 are a stack of objects
30 with forward end object 30a and rearward end object 30b.
Turning finally to Figs. 9-14, an alternative latch
and key system 55 is shown positioned in a modified lid 12' of
a modified body lip llc' in which lid 12' and lip llc' carries
latch button 50 having an upper key-turnable section 51,
25 middle section 52 and depending lower lock portion 53
including stem 53a and S-shaped flexible lock piece 53b.
Button 50 and middle section 52, which is preferably molded of
flexible plastic material, is snap-fitted into circular hole
47 at the bottom of recess 12r in lid 12'. Button 50 is
30 rotatable in such snap-fit position between the bottom surface
51a of key-turnable section 51; the upper surface 52a of
middle section 52 and lid 12'. ~ey-turnable section 51 is
sized and shaped so that it cannot, as housed in lid recess
12r for security reasons, be turned using one's fingers.
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.
Key-turnable section 51 can only be turned by key 46 having
key body 46a, key handle 46b, key recess 46c including key
recess projection 46d which mates with complementing section
recess 51b (see Figs. 9 and 9a).
Chamber housing lip llc' includes cylindrical lock
recess 48, lid lock element 60 including half-moon spaced
apart hollows 49a and 49b (see Figs. 10, 13 and 14). To
accomplish locking, cylinder button 50 is turned until S-
10 shaped lock piece 53b is oriented as shown in Fig. 10 and lid12' is closed as shown in Figs. 9-10 with lid 12' and lip llc'
in abutting position. As lid 12' is closed S-shaped lock
piece 53b moves downwardly into lock recess 48 to a position
opposite hollowed dividers 49a, b (Figs. 9 and 10). The
limits of turning of cylinder button 51 are determined by
stationary raised lid stops 62, 62a spaced-apart on recess
bottom 120 of lid 12' (see Fig. 12) and stop surfaces on the
bottom portion section 61 of key-turnable of section 51. In
particular, bottom 61 is configured with spaced-apart stop-
engaging surfaces 61e, d, f and g. Surfaces 61e, d, f and g
20 are spaced apart and located so that bottom section 61 and,
therefore, button 50 itself, can be turned only ninety (9o)
degrees to the left and only ninety (90) degrees back to the
right.
Also on the bottom portion of 61, two protrusions
"X" and "Y" are formed (Fig. 12). These protrusions engage
the stationary stops 62 and 62a in a temporary lock "open"
position and provide alignment of the S-shaped lock piece 53b
to the lock recess 48. When the key-turnable section 52 is
30 rotated with the key 46 the detents are overcome and the S-
shaped lock is allowed to engage.
During the turning clockwise (as viewed from above)
of bottom section 61 as so limited, flexible lock piece 53b
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including its s-wings 65a, 65b engage irregularly curved walls
66a, 66b of hollow cam elements 49a, b and since flexible
piece S3b is longer (see length L of Fig. 10) than the maximum
distance between entrance portions 51c and 51d of walls 66a,
5 66b, lock piece s-wings 65a and 65b are caused to compress and
deform (Fig. 13). Once turning of ninety (90) degrees to the
lock position is complete (Fig. 14), s-wings 65a, 65b restore
themselves without compression and fit, with some clearance,
between walls 66a, 66b in a restored non flexed condition
l0 (Fig. 14). To unlock lid 12', cylinder button 50 is rotated
ninety (90) degrees in the opposite direction since stops 61e,
d, f and g prevent any other movement, and s-wings 65a, 65b
are again compressed until the unlock position of Fig. 10 is
reached.
In the operation of the tray unit 10, its flat-
bottomed body 11 can be placed on any generally horizontal
surface and with lid 12 opened to a first 120 angled
position due to the shape, proportion and weight of body 11
and lid 12, unit 10 remains stable even when weight is added
as objects are moved from body 11 to tracks 26, 27 on lid 12
for display and active use. Unit 10 also can be used by
fully opening lid 12 until the lock arrangement 16 and tab
36 move behind panel 21a to snap to its lock position
permitting unit 10 to be suspended in such second open
position between two spaced-apart support pieces 41, 42
(Fig. 3). In its suspended position chamber opening 15a and
lid planar support element portion 12a lie generally in a
plane.
Lock arrangement 16 is strong enough to withstand
the weight of the objects stored in body 11 and on the lid
12 and other forces applied to it in normal use as the
objects are added and removed but does not exhibit such
strength that forces on body 11 and lid 12 move them toward
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a closed position readily deflecting or distorting tab 36 to
move lock arrangement 16 to its open unlock position.
