ASSEMBLY THEREFOR

Field of the Invention

The invention relates to modular storage systems having storage bins.

Background of the Invention

Huliot Marketing (1994) Ltd., Kibbutz Sdeh Nehemia, Israel manufactures a wide array of modular storage systems having one or more storage bins. The modular storage systems are suitable for direct wall mounting or mounting on one or more support rails. When more than one storage bin is used in a modular storage system, the storage bins may be arranged either side-by-side horizontally or vertically stacked. The support rails can be directly wall mounted or alternatively form part of a hanging frame, a single sided stand, a double sided stand, a table stand, a portable frame, and the like. The storage bins are mounted on the support rails by means of fastening screws and fastening elements. The use of fastening screws and fastening elements for mounting purposes requires the use of a screwdriver and is time consuming and cumbersome.

Summary of the Invention

The present invention is directed toward modular storage systems employing discrete one-piece stud-like fasteners for readily mounting one or more storage bins onto at least two spaced apart support rails. The discrete stud-like fasteners replace hitherto employed fastening screws and fastening elements and do not require the use of a screw driver. The discrete stud-like fasteners can be made of any suitable rigid material including inter alia plastics, polymers, metal, or any combination thereof. The stud-like fasteners are inserted through a storage bin's hanging slots from its rear side into the storage bin cavity in an opposite manner to hitherto employed fastening screws. The stud-like fasteners afford more efficient mounting of storage bins compared to hitherto employed fastening screws and fastening elements. Moreover, the stud-like fasteners afford a low cost alternative to the hitherto described fastening screws and fastening elements. The stud-like fasteners are designed for mounting additional storage bins on existing support rails.

Brief Description of Drawings

In order to understand the invention and to see how it can be carried out in practice, a preferred embodiment will now be described, by way of a non- limiting example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which similar parts are likewise numbered, and in which:

Fig. 1 shows a front perspective view of a conventional modular storage system including a support structure having a pair of spaced apart support rails, a storage bin, a pair of fastening screws and a pair of fastening elements;

Fig. 2 is a transverse cross section of Figure l 's support rail along line A-A in Figure 1;

Fig. 3 is a close up view of an inverted keyhole shaped hanging slot of Figure l 's storage bin;

Fig. 4 is a transverse cross section of Figure l 's support rail along line A-A in Figure 1 showing the use of the fastening screw and the fastening element for mounting the storage bin on the support rail;

Fig. 5 shows a perspective view of a discrete one-piece stud-like fastener in accordance with the present invention;

Fig. 6 shows a side elevation view of Figure 5's fastener;

Fig. 7 shows a front perspective view of a modular storage system including a support structure, a storage bin, and a pair of discrete stud-like fasteners; and

Fig. 8 is a transverse cross section of Figure 7's support rail along line B-B in Figure 7 showing the use of the fastener for mounting the storage bin on the support rail. Detailed Description of Drawings

Figure 1 show a conventional modular storage system 10 including a support structure 20, a storage bin 40 and a pair of fastening screws 11 and a pair of fastening elements 12 for mounting the storage bin 40 on the support structure 20. The support structure 20 includes a pair of spaced apart upright vertical support rails 21, a horizontal upper support member 22 and a horizontal base support member 23. The base member 23 may be configured for use in a stationary modular storage system, or alternatively, in a portable modular storage system.

Figure 2 shows the support rails 21 have a generally U-shaped transverse cross-section and include a front support rail wall 24, a rear support rail wall 26 and a pair of opposite side support rail walls 27 extending between the front support rail wall 24 and the rear support rail wall 26. The front support rail wall 24 has opposite internal and external surfaces 24A and 24B respectively facing towards and away from the rear support rail wall 26.

The support rail walls 24, 26 and 27 define a rail channel 28 having a narrow upright rail slot 29 formed in the front support rail wall 24. The rail channel 28 has a channel width Wl. The fastening elements 12 intended for being snugly received in the rail channels 28 for sliding down therealong also have a width Wl. The front support rail wall 24 has a wall thickness Tl and the rail slot 29 has a slot width W2 where W1>W2.

The storage bin 40 is preferably made from plastic and includes a shell 41 including a top storage bin wall 42, a bottom storage bin wall 43, a pair of side storage bin walls 44, and a rear storage bin wall 46. The storage bin 40 includes three compartment drawers 47 for storage purposes. The compartment drawers 47 are removable for inter alia assembly purposes for mounting the storage bin 40 on the support structure 20.

The rear storage bin wall 46 has a wall thickness T2 and opposite internal and external rear storage bin surfaces 46A and 46B respectively facing away from and towards the support structure 20 on mounting the storage bin 40 thereon (see Figure 4). The rear storage bin wall 46 is formed with a pair of spaced apart throughgoing hanging slots 48 for registration with the pair of spaced apart upright vertical support rails 21.

Figure 3 shows the hanging slots 48 have an inverted keyhole shape including a lowermost circular aperture 48A and an elongated upright narrow aperture 48B. The aperture 48A has a diameter Dl. The aperture 48B has a width W3 where W2>W3 and D1>W3.

Assembly of the modular storage system 10 is as follows:

A user removes the compartment drawers 47 from the storage bin 40 to afford access to the throughgoing hanging slots 48. The user pushes the fastening screws 11 through the hanging slots 48 and screw engages the fastening elements 12 facing the external rear storage bin surface 46B. The user holds the storage bin 40 above the support structure 20 such that the fastening elements 12 are in registration with the support rails 21. The user lowers the storage bin 40 such that the fastening elements 12 slide down the rail channels 28. The user can proceed to tighten the fastening screws 11 such that their heads bear against the internal rear storage bin surface 46A and the fastening elements 12 bear against the internal surfaces 24A (see Figure 4).

Figures 5 and 6 show a discrete one-piece stud-like fastener 60 to replace a fastening screw 11 and a fastening element 12 for mounting the storage bin 40 on the support structure 20. The stud-like fastener 60 has a rotation axis 61 and includes a rail channel head 62, an intermediate shank 63, and a storage bin tip 64. The stud-like fasteners 60 do not have to be rotational bodies as long as their component parts satisfy the dimension constraints as described below.

The rail channel head 62 is preferably disk-like with a diameter D2 equal to the channel width Wl for enabling snug receiving of the rail channel head 62 in a rail channel 28. The rail channel head 62 has a leading surface 62A for bearing against a front support rail wall's internal surface 24A. The diameter D2 is greater than the aperture diameter Dl to prevent the fastener 60 being able to transverse a hanging slot 48. The intermediate shank 63 has an overall length LI equal to the wall thicknesses Tl and T2 and a diameter D3 equal to the aperture width W3. The intermediate shank 63 preferably includes a rail slot disk 66 adjacent the rail channel head 62 and having a diameter D4 equal to the slot width W2 for enabling snug insertion of the rail slot disk 66 in a rail slot 29. The rail slot disk 66 has a length L2 equal to the wall thickness Tl.

The storage bin tip 64 has a fmsto-conical shape converging away from the rail channel head 62. The storage bin tip 64 has a trailing surface 64A for bearing against the internal rear storage bin surface 46A. The trailing surface 64A has a diameter D5 equal to the diameter Dl for enabling insertion of the storage bin tip 64 through a lowermost circular aperture 48A.

Figures 7 and 8 show a modular storage system 70 similar to the module storage system 10 except that the former uses a pair of discrete stud-like fasteners 60 instead of the pair of fastening screws 11 and the pair of fastening elements 12 for mounting the storage bin 40 on the support structure 20.

Assembly of the modular storage system 70 is as follows:

A user inserts a first fastener's storage bin tip 64 through a first hanging slot's aperture 48 and a second fastener's storage bin tip 64 through a second hanging slot's aperture 48 into the shell 41. Their rail slot heads 62 stop against the external rear storage bin surface 46B. The user holds the storage bin 40 above the support structure 20 and aligns the fasteners 60 with the support rails 21. The user slides the storage bin 40 down onto the support structure 20 ensuring that the rail channel heads 62 slide down into the rail channels 28 and the rail slot disks 66 slide down along the rail slots 29.

While the invention has been described with respect to a limited number of embodiments, it will be appreciated that many variations, modifications, and other applications of the invention can be made within the scope of the appended claims.