AU2004100838A4 - An improved carry case for use on job sites - Google Patents

Description

AUSTRALIA &1^ PATENTS ACT 1990 ORIGINAL COMPLETE SPECIFICATION INNOVATION PATENT Invention title AN IMPROVED CARRY CASE FOR USE ON JOB SITES The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing known to me.

IP Australia SYD R I I 0 5 OCT 2004

J.

This invention relates to apparatus for storing and carrying O goods. More particularly, although not exclusively it S :discloses an improved cooler/briefcase for use on job sites.

00 For many site workers and itinerant workers it is necessary 00 to.carry arund a number of bulky job related items. For example, if in a..supervisory capacity a worker must maintain 0 a certain amount of paperwork :which has to be reviewed and ated on at least a daily basis. Such paperwork may for example include building plans, employee/contractor time sheets, vehicle log books and official documentation for mWorkcover and other insurances. Proper organisation and storage of this paperwork is necessary and requires the use of a briefcase filing system. Many site workers also find it necessary to bring food and beverages onto the workplace when no meal facilities are available and this further requires an insulated lunch box, cooler or the like. Lugging these separate containers around to and from job sites is cumbersome, awkward and can result in items being misplaced.

:It is therefore an object of this invention to ameliorate the aforementioned disadvantage and accordingly an improved form of carry case is disclosed for use by site workers, itinerant workers or other personnel, said case including a container for food and beverage items wherein a wall of said container forms an end panel for an attached document holding compartment, said compartment being.convertible between an open or expanded configuration of use for access to said -2documents and a space saving storage configuration closely 0 adjacent the side of said container.

Preferably the document holding compartment includes an outer 00 cover which is hinged along a.bottom edge of the 0 0 food/beverage container.

It is further preferred that the document holding compartment S:includes an expandible file or document indexing system.

It is further preferred that said cover is lockable in said c loed storage configuration.

It is further preferred that the food/beverage container is box.like: in shape and said wall is a recessed side wall of said container.

The currently preferred embodiment of the invention will now be described with reference to the attached drawings in which:figure 1 is a schematic perspective view of a carry case according to this concept, figure 2 is a front elevation view of the carry case of figure 1, and figures 3 and 4 are side elevation views of the carry case with the document compartment in the open and closed configurations.

0 Referring first to figures 1 and 2 the case may comprise a generally rectangular food container or cooler 1 with a 0 removable lid 2. Preferably the container is insulated and includes any interior fittings and partitions as may be O0 useful for packing beverages and food items such as 00 sandwiches etc. Although the invention is not restricted to any particular material for constructing the container a 0 lightweight and impact resistant plastic is preferred. A C :hinged:.handle 3 is also fitted across the top to faciliate carrying.

In.:accordance with this invention the container is fitted on one side with an expandable document storage file indicated generally as 4 in figure 3. One end of the file is formed by a recessed side wall 5 of the food/beverage container and the -other end comprises a rigid cover 6 which is hinged along its bottom edge 7 whereby said -file opens upwardly. The cover has a fastener or locking mechanism 8 of any suitable design to releasably hold it at the closed position of figure 4 where it abuts, and is parallel to, the exterior profile of the food storage container. In this closed configuration it is quite inconspicuous and adds little to the size of said container which can then, be carried and used in a normal S manner. When on-site paperwork is required: however the cover 6 can be opened as in figure 3 without disturbing the contents of the container 1. The expandable document files S 'preferably located in the compartment are.then fanned out as shown so that any documents arranged according to an indexing system are quickly located. On completion of the paperwork 0 I the refiled documents are protected against damage and loss by simply closing and locking the cover 6 back against the side of the food/beverage container.

00 00 It will thus be appreciated that this invention at least in the form of the example disclosed provides a novel and S improved form of carry case for intinerant or site workers.

Clearly however the example described is only the currently preferred form of the invention and a wide variety of modifications may be made which would be apparent to a person skilled in the art. For example the shape and configuration of the food/beverage container and the document holding compartment may be changed according to design preference.

The invention is also not limited to any particular material or mode of construction although a suitably low cost and impact resistant mouldable plastic is currently preferred.

Claims (3)

1. 2. The carry Case as claimed' in claim 1 wherein said ;docmehnt holding compartment includes an outer cover which is hinged along a bottom edge of said container.
2. 3. The carry case as claimed in claim 1 wherein said document. holding compartment includes an expandable file or document indexing system.
3. 4. The carry case as claimed in claim 2 wherein said wall of the container is recessed to form a cavity for the document holding compartment when in the closed configurastion. The carry case as claimed in claim 2 wherein at the storage configuration said cover is positioned parallel and closely adjacent to the exterior profile of the container. Dated this day of 0eZ- 2004 Matthew Benjamin By His :Patent Attorine MICHAEL ANDERSON-TAYLOR