TECHNOLOGICAL FIELD

The disclosed subject matter pertains to a stackable container system for storing, transporting or distributing and, in particular, to a container system where each container is a drawer housing assembly.

BACKGROUND

Secure and stable transportation and holding of items, especially in small dimensions, in a container requires container systems provided with securing means. One such container presented in Figs. 1A and IB is in the form of a compartmentalized base drawer and a cover. The cover in this example is slid into a rail system provided at the upper rim of the drawer. Fig. IB illustrates a direction of unintentional disengagement of the cover and the respective rail system on the drawer, e.g. due to improper transportation, storage, impact on the container, etc.

Other prior art storage or drawer systems are known. For example CA2708722A is directed to storage systems for small parts and tools, comprised of vertically stackable drawer units which interlock so as to form a stack of drawers, or individually detach so as to be portable.

US5147120A is directed to modular units which are stackable to form various types of multiple -unit bureaus, dressing tables, office desks and other types of drawer, shelf and rack furniture for rooms or closets. The modular units are single or multiple drawer, shelf or rack sections of furniture. Brace-legs at corners can be positioned sequentially, end-to-end vertically to position the bureau units firmly in a stack and to bear the load-weight of the drawers, shelves and cabinets together with contents on each without transmitting the load-weight to walls of the bureau units.

ES1056686U is directed to a stackable container, preferably of rectangular straight prismatic configuration, consisting of an outer cage, stackable drawer and an internal, removable and insertable drawer by sliding on the cage through one of its smaller walls, which cage is formed by two flat bases and parallel to an upper and a lower, intermediate and four columns coincident with the vertical edges, defining the cage and internal longitudinal engageable drawer guides for the sliding on the cage of said drawer, while their bases are provided with coupling means for stacking the containers, characterized in that the upper base of each cage also has round corners so that many small walls protruding axially and peripherally through the interior of which tightly engage the corners of the lower base of a container in a position coinciding superimposed, and because of the inner surface of said upper base projections protruding transversely aligned, sized and positioned so as to act as stops limiting the extraction of the drawer, are enabled to hit the back wall of the drawer, in its position of maximum extraction.

Acknowledgement of the above references herein is not to be inferred as meaning that these are in any way relevant to the patentability of the presently disclosed subject matter.

GENERAL DESCRIPTION

The disclosed subject matter is directed to a stackable container system. The container system comprises a housing and a drawer. The drawer is configured for slidable securement within the housing. The container system comprises at least one locking mechanism for arresting the drawer and the housing so as to prevent spontaneous displacement thereof. Wherein, the drawer is provided with at least one locking member configured to lock against a like drawer when stacked thereupon; and wherein, the housing is provided with at least one locking member configured to lock against a like housing, respectively, when stacked thereupon.

The container system can be used to hold any suitable article, depending on the size and dimensions of the container system. The container systems can be made of plastic material. It will be appreciated that any suitable material can be used for the purpose of manufacturing the same.

One example of an article is a cutting insert. Such inserts require proper storing so as not to damage their cutting properties and as such, securement of these inserts within their holding drawers is of importance. The secure holding of the articles within the container system is achieved in accordance with an example at various complementary levels, so that even if one locking mechanism unintentionally disengages, the remaining one or more mechanisms will continue to prevent spontaneous opening of the container system.

Moreover, it is often the case that a multiple number of inserts is to be stored in the same container, and relative movement of these needs to be restrained. The container system can thus be compartmentalized into sections, each configured to hold one or more articles.

When several like container systems are provided, these are configured for interlocked stacking on each other, while allowing secure withdrawal of the drawers upon unlocking of the one or more locking mechanisms. It will be appreciated that interlocked stacking facilitates stability of the stacked system, preventing unintentional relative movement of the stacked container systems, e.g. during transport thereof.

In addition, the drawer of the container system is configured for interlocked stacking over a like drawer, thus minimizing space on a work surface or during storage thereof.

Any one or more of the following features, designs and configurations can be incorporated in a container system according to the present disclosure, independently or in various combinations thereof:

the drawer has two side walls, a front wall, a rear wall, and a bottom wall, together defining an open-top drawer having at least one storage compartment. the locking mechanism comprises at least one outwardly projecting knob fitted at the at least one of the two side walls.

the at least one knob provides for the gripping surface to the drawer, at least one outer edge of the bottom wall of the drawer comprises at least one outwardly projecting locking support.

at least one top edge of the two side walls is provided with inwardly facing projections at a location substantially parallel with that of the at least one locking support configured for locking the at least one locking support against the corresponding protrusion.

an outer surface of the bottom wall of the drawer comprises at least one arresting member configured to arrest at least a portion of the drawer respective to the housing.

the housing is configured with at least one receiving member for snuggly receiving and securing the knobs therewithin. the housing is configured with at least one receiving member for snuggly receiving and securing the knobs therewithin, and wherein the at least one receiving member is a cut out section in a side wall of the housing, such that the cut out section is further provided with at least one restricting member configured to limit the unintentional displacement of the at least one knob therefrom.

the restricting member is a detachable plate configured for removal upon first desired displacement of the drawer with respect to the housing.

the housing is configured with at least one rail member configured to slidingly receive therein the at least one locking support of the drawer.

the at least one locking member provided at the housing to lock against a like housing, when stacked thereupon is at least one outwardly protruding movement arresting element configured to lock against a receiving arresting element provided at the opposite side of the like housing thus preventing relative movement of two like housings when stacked.

a bottom side of the housing is further provided with an opening configured for engaging the arresting members by edges thereof.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In order to better understand the subject matter that is disclosed herein and to exemplify how it may be carried out in practice, embodiments will now be described, by way of non-limiting examples only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figs. 1A and IB illustrate a prior art container in a perspective side view and an enlargement of a portion marked A in Fig. 1A, respectively, showing in a cross section the cover engaged with the drawer;

Fig. 2 is a side perspective view of a container system in accordance with one example of the disclosed subject matter;

Figs. 3A to 3C illustrate a side perspective view of a container system, a cross section taken along A- A, and a cross section along B-B in Fig. 3 A, respectively, in accordance with another example of the disclosed subject matter; Figs. 4A to 4D illustrate a side perspective view of a container system, with Fig. 4D illustrating an enlargement of a portion marked B taken at a cross section along lines C-C in Fig. 4A, and Figs. 4B and 4C illustrating in a perspective back side view of the operational steps in releasing a drawer from a housing, respectively, in accordance with yet another example of the disclosed subject matter;

Figs. 5A to 5C illustrate in Fig. 5A a bottom perspective view of the container system of Fig. 2, with an example of a securing system provided at the bottom portion of the drawer; Figs. 5B and 5C illustrating the system in a side perspective view showing consecutive steps of releasing the drawer from the housing;

Fig. 6 is a bottom perspective view of the drawer in accordance with an example of the disclosed subject matter;

Figs. 7A and 7B are a perspective and a side cross section of two drawers as illustrated in Fig. 6, respectively with one drawer stacked and interlocked on top of a like drawer;

Figs. 8A and 8B are a perspective and a side cross section of a housing of Fig. 2, with two like housings stacked in an interlocking manner; and

Figs. 9A to 9C illustrate a container system in accordance with another example of the disclosed subject matter.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

The disclosed subject matter is directed to a container system generally designated 100 which is configured for holding and transporting items therein. The container system can be used to hold any suitable article, depending on the size and dimensions of the container system. Although the container systems that will be described hereinafter are made of plastic, any suitable material can be used for the purpose of manufacturing the same.

In accordance with an example of the disclosed subject matter illustrated in Fig. 2 there is disclosed a container system 100 comprising housing 140 and a drawer 120, the drawer 120 slidably securable within the housing. To prevent spontaneous disengagement of the drawer 120 from the housing 140, the container system 100 is further provided with at least one locking mechanism 150 (and/or 350) for arresting the drawer 120 within the housing 140 as will be discussed herein. In accordance with the disclosed subject matter, the drawer 120 (best seen in Fig. 6) has two side walls 174A and 174B, a front wall 170, and a rear wall 176, and a bottom wall 172, together defining an open-top drawer having at least one storage compartment. As seen in Figs. 5 and 7, the storage compartment is optionally further compartmentalized, e.g. by partitions 121 which can be either an integral part of the drawer or detachably attachable partitions. It will be appreciated that this is an optional feature and the space can be either devoid of any such compartmentalization or divided into smaller or larger compartments.

The front ends of the side walls 174A and 174B are each fitted with an outwardly projecting knob 124. The knobs are provided as part of an arresting mechanism 150. In addition, the knobs provide for the gripping surface when pulling/pushing the drawer respective to the housing.

The outer edges of the bottom wall 172 of the drawer 120 are provided with outwardly projecting _ and angled towards the outer edge members 122 constituting the locking supports of the drawer to like drawer as will be discussed with reference to Fig. 7B. The top edge 175 of the two side walls 174A and 174B is provided with inwardly facing projections 123 (best seen in Fig. 7A), at locations substantially parallel with those of members 122. When the drawers 120 are stacked one over the other, as seen in Fig. 7 A and 7B, the locking supports 122 lock against the corresponding protrusions 123 (e.g. by interlocking). This requires applying force to remove the top drawer from the bottom one and further prevents unintentional displacement or movement of the drawer one with respect to the other. It will be appreciated that other locking mechanisms can be used, e.g. snap locking, latching, etc.

In addition, the outwards facing surface of the bottom wall 127 can be provided with additional arresting members 129 as per the example illustrated in Figs. 5A-5B. These arresting members 129 (in this example three of them) prevent sliding/displacement of the drawer within the respective housing 140 and further provide for gradual sliding/opening of the drawer to expose a desired and predetermined part of the storage compartment in accordance with the location of the arresting members 129 (as will be further discussed with reference to Figs. 5B and 5C).

The housing 140 will now be described with reference to Figs. 2, 5 and 8. It will be appreciated that throughout the description and the drawings, elements in housings 240, 340, 440 which are similar to those in housing 140, are referenced by the same numerals upped by 100, 200, 300, respectively. As seen in Fig. 2, the housing 140 has two side walls 160A and 160B, a bottom surface 164 (best seen in Figs. 3B, 5A, 8A) and a top surface 162.

As seen in Fig. 2 for example, the side walls 160A (and 160B not seen) are provided at the front ends thereof with cut out section 144 sized to allow the knobs 124 to be snuggly received through the cut out section 144 (i.e. the height of the knob h is slightly smaller than the height H of the opening 144). In addition, as a securing arrangement, the cut out section is provided with two opposite slide restricting members 148, which limit the height H of the cut out section 144, such that the height H' between the slide restricting members 148 is smaller than the height h (H'<h<H). This structure arrests the drawer within the housing, by preventing the spontaneous movement of the drawer, i.e. by arresting the knobs 124 in the cut out section 144 by the members 148. To pull the drawer out or to push it in, force needs to be applied sufficient for the knob to pass/slide over the members 148. Fig. 3 illustrates a different type of arresting element 248 for the drawer 120. In accordance with this example, the arresting element 248 is a detachable perforated plate which is removed upon first desired displacement of the drawer 120 with respect to the housing 240.

As best seen in Fig. 3C, the bottom wall of the housing 120 is provided with two U shaped rails 242, positioned and structured to slidingly receive therein the locking supports 122 of the drawer 120. As seen in Fig. 3C, the rails 242 protrude downwards from the bottom surface 264, e.g. the central portion of the surface is indented inwards such that it is flush against the bottom surface 127 of the drawer. In addition, the top surface 162/262/362 is provided with an outwardly protruding movement arresting frame like structure 146, 246, 346. In this example the frame 146, 246, 346 is a continuous rectangularly shaped rim outwardly protruding from the top surface, nevertheless, other shapes are envisioned, such as any polygonal shape, with either a continuous or a segmented rim. It will be appreciated that the frame can be circular, again either continuous or segmented. The bottom surface of the housing as seen in Fig. 3B (in cross section) or in Fig. 5A is provided with outwardly protruding rim member 247, shaped to correspond to the shape of the arresting frame structure 146, 246, 346 however, being slightly larger in its diameter/width/length, so as to snugly fit over the frame 146, 246, 346, thus preventing relative movement of two like housings when stacked (seen in Figs. 8A and 8B) in both the direction of arrow X and arrow Y. As with the rim 146, this rim can also be segmented and non continuous. The contours of the shapes of the rims 146, 147, are illustrated using dashed lines in Figs. 5A and 5B, respectively. It will be appreciated that in the example illustrated in Figs. 3B, 5 A and 8A, the rectangular rim member 247 is constituted by an inner wall of the protruding rails 142/242 and two linking members 11 and 12, which together form the rim 147. As further seen in Fig. 8B, when stacked, the rim 146 is receivable within the rim 147, with the rails 142 flush mounted over the top surface 162 of the housing 140. Although not illustrated, it will be appreciated that when the rim 146 is of a circular shape, the stacked housings can be rotated one with respect to the other, as long as the rim 147 is sized and shaped to circumscribe the rim 146 or alternatively the rim 147 sized and shaped to inscribe the rim 146.

Figs. 9A to 9C illustrate the container system 400, where the main difference between the systems 100, 200 and 300 and the illustrated example resides in the provision of movement arresting locking system. In this example, the locking system comprises outwardly protruding studs 463 provided at the bottom wall of the housing (outwardly facing side thereof) whilst the top wall 462 of the housing (the outwardly facing surface thereof) is provided with corresponding receiving opening 465 configured to engage the studs 463 (shaped and sized as such) and thus arresting the relative movement of the two like housings (e.g. fig. 9C) stacked one over the other. While in this example the studs are in the form of outwardly protruding bulges, these can be of any geometrical configuration and can be formed either during the molding process of the housing or separately attached to the housing. In accordance with this latter example, the protrusions can be formed from a material different from that of the housing.

Turning back to the previous examples, the bottom side of the housing is further provided with an optional opening O, seen, e.g. in Figs. 5A and 8A. In accordance with an example this opening is provided for the visualization of the position of the three arresting members 129a,b,c on the bottom surface of the drawer 120 as seen in Fig. 5A. In accordance with this example and as illustrated in Figs. 5B and 5C, the drawer can be pulled from the housing 140 in several steps, e.g. two in this example, opening the drawer to allow access to the desired portion of the storage compartment with the arresting member 129 preventing any further unintentional relative movement in either in or out directions as it encounters the edge of the opening. This feature combination of the opening O and the members 129, along with the slide restricting members 148 and the knobs 124, act as locking/arresting mechanism preventing spontaneous relative movement of the drawer with respect to the housing. Thus, even if one locking mechanism (e.g. member 148 vis a vis the knob 124) is disengaged, the remaining one or more mechanisms will continue to prevent spontaneous opening of the container system (e.g. the members 129 vis a vis the edge of the opening). While this example illustrates an opening in a substantially rectangular shape, other designs are envisioned, e.g. one or a multiple elongate opening extending, e.g. between the rails 242, e.g. to snap lock the arresting members 129 when passed therethrough. Alternatively, the arresting member 129 can be provided on the side wall of the drawer 120 and one or more openings can be provided on the respective side of the housing, so as to allow for gradual opening of the drawer where Fig. 5B shows the position where member 129b meets the edge 145 of the bottom wall 164 and 5C shows the position where member 129c arrests against the edge 145. This feature not only arrests the movement of the drawer respective to the housing, but further allows opening of the drawer at a predetermined length, as defined by the position of the arresting member 129 respective to the corresponding locking window/edge of the opening.

Reference is now made to Figs. 4A to 4D, illustrating a container system 300 in accordance with the disclosed subject matter. The elements of the drawer and the housing are similar to those of systems 100 and 200, with the difference residing in the provision of an additional locking mechanism 390 configured for locking the drawer 120 against the housing 340. In accordance with this example, the locking mechanism 390 is in the form of a pivotable drawer restraining member 354 articulated through a hinge 354 to the top wall 362 of the housing 340. The locking mechanism is provided at the rear end of the housing, with the restraining member provided with a downwardly extending locking extension 352, such that the rear portion of the extension prevents inward motion of the drawer 120 when pulled in the direction of arrow I. To release the drawer and allow it to move in the direction of arrow I (e.g. as seen in Fig. 4C), the locking mechanism 390 is pivoted in the direction of arrow D, the rear end thereof is thus lifted, lifting the locking extension 352, and clearing the path for the rear wall 176 of the drawer 120 to move inwards I. Following this step, the locking mechanism 390 is released, resuming its original position, with its edges flush against the edge 356 of the top side 362. It will be appreciated that while the locking mechanism comprises two indents for the ease of pivoting, any other shapes are envisioned, e.g. snap lock, high friction protrusions, etc.