AU2020273382B2

AU2020273382B2 - Storage Box

Info

Publication number: AU2020273382B2
Application number: AU2020273382A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Mu-Chuan Hsu
Original assignee: L&F Plastics Co Ltd
Current assignee: L&F Plastics Co Ltd
Priority date: 2019-12-10
Filing date: 2020-11-20
Publication date: 2022-06-02
Anticipated expiration: 2040-11-20
Also published as: TWI742483B; JP2021091479A; CN112938098A; TW202122314A; CN112938098B; AU2020273382A1; JP7153946B2; US20210171237A1

Abstract

A storage box is provided. The storage box includes a first box body including a first sidewall, a first bottom, a first accommodation space, a first 5 side opening and a first top edge located at a side of the first box body away from the first bottom; and a second box body including a second sidewall, a second bottom, a second accommodation space, a second side opening and a second top edge located at a side of the second box body away from the second bottom. A slide rail is formed from the second top edge towards the second 10 bottom. The first top edge abuts the slide rail. The storage box is formed by assembling the first and second box bodies so that the first and second side openings corresponds to each other, and the first and second top edges together form an opening of the storage box. 15 2/18 C-4

Description

2/18

C-4

P/00/011 Regulation 3.2 AUSTRALIA

Patents Act 1990

COMPLETE SPECIFICATION FORASTANDARDPATENT ORIGINAL TO BE COMPLETED BY APPLICANT

Invention Title: Storage Box

Name of Applicant: L&F Plastics, Co., Ltd.

Address for Service: A.P.T. Patent and Trade Mark Attorneys PO Box 833, Blackwood, SA 5051

The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to me/us:

la

STORAGE BOX

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE The present disclosure relates to a storage box, and more particularly to storage box formed by assembling two box bodies.

BACKGROUND In order to fulfill various storage needs of the users, the existing storage boxes or cases (referred to as "containers" hereinafter) of a same type or model are often designed to have a series of products with different sizes and volumes, for example, have the size of large, medium, small, extra-large or extra-small, etc. However, a user, may have different needs of the volume of the storage box according to different scenarios. For example, after purchasing a box of snacks (for example, twelves pineapple cakes), the user may store these snacks in a storage box and place the storage box in the living room. As the number of the snack reduces because of being consumed by visitors or family members, the arrangement of the snacks becomes aesthetically unpleasant. Therefore, containers having a volume that is not able to be adjusted may reduce the quality of life of the user or even affect the social image of the user. Besides, along with the increasing of the cost for living spaces, it is a waste of space when a container with a fixed volume is not filled with contents. Accordingly, there is a need to provide a container having a volume that is able to be adjusted easily and smoothly.

SUMMARY In response to the above-referenced inadequacies, the object of the present disclosure is to provide a storage box including a first box body and a second box body. The first box body includes a first sidewall, a first bottom, a first accommodation space, a first side opening located on a side of the first sidewall, and a first top edge located at a side of the first box body away from the first bottom. The second box body includes a second sidewall, a second bottom, a second accommodation space, a second side opening located at a side of the second sidewall and a second top edge located at a side of the second box body away from the second bottom. A slide rail is formed from the second top edge towards the second bottom, and the first top edge abuts the slide rail. The storage box is formed by assembling the first box body and the second body so that the first side opening corresponds to the second side opening, and the first top edge and the second top edge together form an opening of the storage box. The storage box has an accommodation space having a volume no larger than a sum of a volume of the first accommodation space and a volume of the second accommodation space. In one embodiment, a width of the first side opening is larger than a width of the second side opening. In one embodiment, a stopping portion is further formed inside of the first box body and adjacent to the first side opening; and a plurality of stopping ribs are further formed outside of the second box body and adjacent to the second side opening and the second top edge. The plurality of stopping ribs are arranged along a direction of the slide rail. In an embodiment, the first box body further includes a first neck edge and the second box body further includes a second neck edge; a width of the first neck edge is larger than a width of the second neck edge. In an embodiment, the first box body has a first limiting portion adjacently connected to the first neck edge, and the second box body has a first limiting structure extending from the second neck edge towards an outer side of the storage box. In an embodiment, a second limiting portion is projected from a location on the first bottom and adjacent to the first side opening towards an inner side of the storage box, and a second limiting structure is projected from a location on the second bottom and adjacent to the second side opening towards an outer side of the storage box. In an embodiment, a third top edge is formed at a side of the first top edge away from the first side opening and towards an inner side and the opening of the storage box, and when the first box body and the second box body are assembled, the third top edge and the second top edge together form the opening, and the third top edge is flush with the second top edge. In an embodiment, the first bottom and the second bottom both has a plurality of projecting portions. In an embodiment, the second top edge further has at least two hollow sections, the at least two hollow sections are at least distributed at two sides of the second side opening. In an embodiment, the storage box has an accommodation space having a volume no larger than a sum of a volume of the first accommodation space and a volume of the second accommodation space. In sum, by forming the storage box through assembling two box bodies, the present disclosure is able to achieve the effectiveness of adjusting the size (volume) of a space in a storage box. Therefore, the present disclosure may achieve the effectiveness of improving the quality of life of the user and saving living space by providing a storage box with an adjustable volume. In addition, based on the ergonomics designs described above, for example, positioning the stopping portions and stopping ribs at locations adjacent to the point of applications on the storage box, the user experience of the storage box of the present disclosure may be further improved.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The present disclosure will become more fully understood from the following detailed description and accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic view of the appearance of an embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 2 a schematic view of the appearance of an embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 3 is an exploded schematic view of an embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 4A is a partial enlarged view of part A of FIG. 3. FIG. 4B is a partial enlarged view of part B of FIG. 3. FIG. 4C is a partial sectional enlarged view of FIG. 3. FIG. 5 is a top view of the embodiment shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along the section line C-C of FIG. 5. FIG. 7 is a partial enlarged view of part D of FIG. 6. FIG. 8 is a side view of the embodiment shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view taken along the section line E-E of FIG. 8. FIG. 10 is a partial enlarged view of part F of FIG. 9. FIG. 11 is a bottom view of the embodiment shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 12 is a top view of the embodiment of the present disclosure shown in FIG. 2. FIG. 13 is a cross-sectional view taken along the section line G-G of FIG. 12. FIG. 14 is a partial enlarged view of part H of FIG. 13. FIG. 15 is a side view of the embodiment shown in FIG. 2. FIG. 16 is a cross-sectional view taken along the section ling I-I of FIG. 15. FIG. 17 is a partial enlarged view of part J of FIG. 16.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION The present disclosure is more particularly described in the following examples that are intended as illustrative only because numerous modifications and variations therein will be apparent to those skilled in the art. Like numbers in the drawings indicate like components throughout the views. As used in the description herein and throughout the claims that follow, unless the context clearly dictates otherwise, the meaning of "a","an", and "the" includes plural reference, and the meaning of in" includes "in" and "on". Titles or subtitles are used herein for the convenience of a reader, which shall have no influence on the scope of the present disclosure. The terms used herein generally have their ordinary meanings in the art. In the case of conflict, the present document, including any definitions given herein, will prevail. The same thing can be expressed in more than one way. Alternative language and synonyms can be used for any term(s) discussed herein, and no special significance is to be placed upon whether a term is elaborated or discussed herein. A recital of one or more synonyms does not exclude the use of other synonyms. The use of examples anywhere in this specification including examples of any terms is illustrative only, and in no way limits the scope and meaning of the present disclosure or of any exemplified term. Likewise, the present disclosure is not limited to various embodiments given herein. Numbering terms such as "first", "second" or "third" can be used to describe various components or the like, which are for distinguishing one component from another one only, and are not intended to, nor should be construed to impose any substantive limitations on the components or the like. In addition, the directional indications (such as front, rear, left, right, above, under, clockwise, counterclockwise, etc.) in the embodiments are only used to describe the relative positions or movements, etc. of multiple components under specific circumstances (such as those shown in the drawings), and when the circumstances are changed, the directional indications may be changed accordingly. Reference is made to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2. The storage box 100 provided by the present disclosure is a retractable storage box, and therefore, the size (volume) of the accommodation space thereof may be adjusted. The material of the storage box 100 may be, but is not limited to plastic materials. The form of the storage box 100 may be changed by the user according to actual needs. The form of the storage box 100 may include, but is not limited to the closed form (as shown in FIG. 1) and the expanded form (as shown in FIG. 2) FIG. 3 is an exploded schematic view of an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in Fig. 3, the storage box 100 includes a first box body 1 and a second box body 2. In the present disclosure, the storage box 100 may be formed by assembling the first body 1 with the second box body 2. The first box body includes a first sidewall 11, a first bottom 12 and a first accommodation space 13. In addition, a first side opening 14 is located at a side of the first sidewall 11, and a first top edge 15 is located at a side of the first box body which is away from the first bottom 12. In the present embodiment, the second box body 2 includes a second sidewall 21, a second bottom 22 and a second accommodation space 23. In addition, a second side opening 24 is located at a side of the second sidewall 21 and a second top edge 25 is located at a side of the second box body 2 which is away from the second bottom 22. It should be noticed that, the size (volume) of the first accommodation space 13 is defined by the areas of the first sidewall 11, the first bottom 12 and the first side opening 14. Similarly, the size (volume) of the second accommodation space 23 is defined by the areas of the second sidewall 21, the second bottom 22 and the second side opening 24. In other words, the first box body 1 and the second box body 2 each has a structure substantially similar to each other, and the structure includes a sidewall, a bottom and an accommodation space formed by the sidewall and the bottom. As shown in FIG. 5 and FIG. 12 which are the top views of the storage box 100, the first box body 1 and the second box body 2 each has a sidewall with a U-shape profile (the first sidewall 11 and the second sidewall 21) and a top edge on the sidewall (the first top edge 15 and the second top edge 25). As shown in Fig. 3, observing from the positions of the first side opening 14 or the second side opening 24, the first side opening 14 and the second side opening 24 each has a U-shape profile. It should be noticed that because the storage box 100 is formed by assembling the first box body 1 and the second box body 2, the width of the sidewall and the opening of one of the box bodies (for example, the first sidewall 11 and the first side opening 14 of the first box body 1) may be larger than that of the sidewall and the opening of the other box body (for example, the second sidewall 21 and the second side opening 24 of the second box body 2). FIG. 4C is a partial sectional enlarged view of FIG. 3. Reference is made to FIG. 3 and FIG. 4C. In addition to the first top edge 15 and the second top edge 25, the first box body 1 further includes a first neck edge 17 located on the first sidewall 11 and between the first top edge 15 and the first bottom 12. The first neck edge 17 is parallel to the first top edge 15. The second box body 2 further includes a second neck edge 27 located on the second sidewall 21 and between the second top edge 25 and the second bottom 22. The second neck edge 27 is parallel to the second top edge 25. The width of the first neck edge 17 is larger than the width of the second neck edge 27. The structures and configurations of the first neck edge 17 and the second neck edge 27 provide a function similar to that of a slide rail and may render the movement of the first box body 1 and the second box body 2 more smoothly. Reference is made to FIG. 3 which is a three-dimensional view, FIG. 4A, FIG. 4B and FIGS. 15 to 17. FIG. 4A is a partial enlarged view of part A of FIG. 3. FIGS. 15 to 17 are top view and sectional view respectively. A stopping portion 18A is further formed inside of the first box body 1 and adjacent to the first side opening 14. FIG. 4B is a partial enlarged view of part B of FIG. 3. A plurality of stopping ribs 28A are further formed outside of the second box body 2 and adjacent to the second side opening 24 and the second top edge 25. The plurality of stopping ribs 28A are arranged along a direction of a slide rail 251. Therefore, the stopping ribs 28A may be slightly fixed between two stopping ribs 28A (as shown in FIG. 17), and the storage box 100 may be temporarily maintain as a steady structure. When a user adjusts the relative position of the first box body 1 and the second box body 2 through the slide rail 251 to increase the size or volume of the accommodating space of the storage box 100 (as shown in FIG. 2), or reduce the size or volume of the accommodating space of the storage box 100 (the operation opposite to that shown in FIG. 2) (referred to as the "adjusting process" hereinafter), the accommodating space of the storage box 100 may be increased or reduced "quantitatively". It should be noticed that when the user performs the adjusting process to pull a part of the storage box 100, the palm of the hand or the fingers of the user may be close to the top edge (such as the first top edge 15, the second top edge 25, or a third top edge 16 which will be described later). Therefore, the force applied by the user (the vector) will expand along the entire structure of the storage box 100. Therefore, compared to a position adjacent to the point of application, at a position far away from the point of application, the direction of the force will depart significantly from the direction of the force originally applied by the user (the vector). If the stopping portion 18A and the stopping ribs 28A, which provide quantitative movement of the adjusting process and small resistance, are located at a location too far away from the point of application, the adjusting process may not be performed smoothly. In the present embodiment, based on ergonomic principle, the stopping portion 18A and the stopping ribs 28A of the first box body 1 and the second box body 2 are positioned at locations adjacent to the point of application on the storage box 100 during the adjusting process, and therefore, the storage box 100 may be expanded or contracted easily and smoothly.

In an embodiment, the first stopping portion 18A is disposed between the first neck edge 17 and the first top edge 15, and the stopping ribs 28A are disposed between the second top edge 25 and the second neck edge 27. Besides, the first box body 1 may have one, two or more first limiting portion 18B, and the second box body 2 may have one, two or more first limiting structure 28B. The fixing effect provided between the first limiting portion 18B and the first limiting structure 28B are slightly larger than the fixing effect provided between the stopping portion 18A and the stopping ribs 28A. For example, in an embodiment having one first limiting portion 18B and two first limiting structures 28B, because the first limiting structures 28B may prevent the first box body 1 and the second box body 2 from being easily assembled or disassembled, generally, when the two box bodies are assembled, the first limiting portion 18B is not located between the two first limiting structures 28B, thereby ensuring that the user may not use excess force while expanding or retracting (during the adjusting process of) the storage box 100. When the user accidentally applies excess force and such force causes the first limiting portion 18B to be freed from the first first limiting structures 28B, the first limiting structures 28B may generate a touch sensation to the user, such touch sensation is different from the touch sensation generated while the stopping portion 18A is moving between the plurality of stopping ribs 28A. Therefore, the user may pause or terminate the adjusting process. In addition, when the first limiting portion 18B is located between the two first limiting structures 28B, the storage box 100 temporarily forms a steady structure to ensure the containment of the contents in the storage box 100 and to prevent the contents from falling out of the storage box 100. In an embodiment, the first limiting portion 18B is disposed between the first neck edge 17 and the first top edge 15, and the first limiting structure 28B is disposed between the second top edge 25 and the second neck edge 27.

The mechanism related to the second limiting portion 18C, the second limiting structure 28C and the third limiting structure 28D are described herein. Specifically, the principle and mechanism of the second limiting portion 18C, the second limiting structure 28C and the third limiting structure 28D in the closed form, the expanded form and a form between the closed form and the expanded form are described herein. Reference is made to FIGS. 5 to 7 (the closed form), FIGS. 12 to 15 (the expanded form) and FIGS. 15 to 17 (the form between the closed form and the expanded form). The second limiting portion 18C is disposed on the first bottom 12 of the first box body 1 and projected from the first bottom 12 towards the first top edge. The second limiting portion 18C has a rib-shaped structure, and have a long axis direction perpendicular to the direction of the adjusting process (as shown by the arrow in FIG. 2). The second limiting structure 28C and the third limiting structure 28D are disposed on the second bottom 22 of the second box body 2 and projected from the second bottom 22 along a direction away from the second top edge 25. The second limiting structure 28C and the third limiting structure 28D may be rib structures parallel to the second limiting portion 18C, or may be formed by two or more projecting structures. Specifically, in the case that the limiting structure is formed by two or more projecting structures, the connecting line of these projecting structures are preferably parallel to the second limiting portion 18C. Generally, when the first box body 1 and the second box body 2 are assembled, the second limiting portion 18C is located between the second limiting structure 28C and the third limiting structure 28D. When the storage box 100 is retracted to the closed form (as shown in FIG. 5 to FIG. 7), the first bottom 12 adjacent to the second limiting portion 18C abuts the third limiting structure 28D (as shown in FIG. 7). On the other hand, when the storage box 100 is expanded to the expanded form (as shown in

FIG. 12 to FIG. 14), the second limiting portion 18C abuts the third limiting structure 28D (as shown in FIG. 14). During the adjusting process, the stopping portion 18A of the first sidewall 11 may contact with the stopping ribs 18A multiple times (as shown in FIG. 17). As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 3, in addition to the first top edge 15, in other embodiments, a third top edge 16 is located at a side of the first top edge 15 away from the first side opening 14, and the third top edge 16 is extended towards the inner side and the opening of the storage box 100. When the first box body 1 and the second box body 2 are assembled, the third top edge 16 and the second top edge 25 together form the opening of the storage box 100, and the third top edge 16 and the second top edge 25 are flushed with each other. When the storage box 100 is adjusted into the closed form, the second top edge 25 abuts the third top edge 16, and therefore terminates the adjusting process. As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 and FIG. 4C, the storage box 100 of the present disclosure has hollow sections 252 located on the second top edge 25. The hollow sections 252 are designed to allow the user to confirm the expand degree of the storage box 100. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 2, the first top edge 15 of the first box body 1 may be observed through one of the hollow sections 252. Therefore, the user may clearly observe the distance between the first box body 1 and the second box body 2. As shown in FIG. 1 and FIGS. 8 to 11, the second box body 2 has a second projecting structure 211 formed on the second sidewall 21 at two sides of the second side opening 24. When the storage box 100 is in the closed form, the second projecting structure 211 abuts the first sidewall 11 (as shown in FIG. 10). In addition, the first box body 1 has a first projecting structure 111 formed on the first sidewall 11 at two sides of the first side opening 14. When a plurality of storage boxes 100 are stacked together (not shown in the figures), an end of the second projecting structure 211 extending away from the second bottom 22 and an end of the first projecting structure 111 away from the first bottom 12 both abuts the first top edge 15 and the second top edge 25 of another storage box 100 beneath. Therefore, when a plurality of storage boxes 100 are stacked, two storage boxes 100 would not suck with each other and becoming hard to separate due to the weights of the storage boxes 100 which would cause the first sidewall 11 or the second sidewall 12 abut tightly with each other by the frictional force therebetween. As shown in FIG. 3, FIG. 9 and FIG. 16, the first bottom 12 of the first box body 1 and the second bottom 22 of the second box body 2 both has a plurality of projecting portions 3 for generating and maintaining a gap between the content in the storage box 100 and the first bottom 12 or the second bottom 22. Therefore, when a rigid object is contained in the storage box 100, only a part of the projecting portion 3 (for example, the apex of the projecting portion 3) may be subjected to wear and tear by the rigid object, and the integrity of the storage box 100 may be maintained. In sum, the storage box 100 is formed by assembling two box body and therefore has an adjustable size (volume) of the accommodation space thereof. Accordingly, a single storage box 100 may achieve the objects of providing multiple volumes, increasing the quality of life of the user and saving living space, etc. In addition, based on the ergonomics design described above, for example, disposing the stopping portion 18A and stopping ribs 28A at the locations adjacent to the point of application, the user experience of the storage box 100 may be further improved. The above embodiments were chosen and described in order to explain the principles of the disclosure and their practical application so as to enable others skilled in the art to utilize the disclosure and various embodiments and with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated. Alternative embodiments will become apparent to those skilled in the art to which the present disclosure pertains without departing from its spirit and scope.

Claims

CLAIMS What is claimed is: 1. A storage box, including: a first box body including a first sidewall, a first bottom, a first accommodation space, a first side opening located at a side of the first sidewall, and a first top edge located at a side of the first box body away from the first bottom; and a second box body including a second sidewall, a second bottom, a second accommodation space, a second side opening located at a side of the second sidewall and a second top edge located at a side of the second box body away from the second bottom, wherein a slide rail is formed from the second top edge towards the second bottom, and the first top edge abuts the slide rail; wherein the storage box is formed by assembling the first box body and

the second body in a manner that the first side opening corresponds to the

second side opening, and the first top edge and the second top edge

together form an opening of the storage box,

wherein the first box body has a first neck edge and at least two first limiting

portions adjacently connected to the first neck edge, and the second box body has

a second neck edge and a first limiting structure extending from the second neck

edge towards an outer side of the storage box; and

wherein the first bottom and the second bottom both has a plurality of

projecting portions.
2. The storage box according to Claim 1, wherein a width of the first side opening is larger than a width of the second side opening.
3. The storage box according to Claim 1, wherein a stopping portion is further formed inside of the first box body and adjacent to the first side opening; and a plurality of stopping ribs are further formed outside of the second box body and adjacent to the second side opening and the second top edge, the plurality of stopping ribs are arranged along a direction of the slide rail.
4. The storage box according to Claim 1, wherein a second limiting portion is projected from a location on the first bottom and adjacent to the first side opening towards an inner side of the storage box, and a second limiting structure is projected from a location on the second bottom and adjacent to the second side opening towards an outer side of the storage box.
5. The storage box according to Claim 1, wherein a third top edge is formed at a side of the first top edge away from the first side opening and towards an inner side and the opening of the storage box, and when the first box body and the second box body are assembled, the third top edge and the second top edge together form the opening, and the third top edge is flush with the second top edge.
6. The storage box according to Claim 1, wherein the second top edge further has at least two hollow sections, the at least two hollow sections are at least distributed at two sides of the second side opening.
7. The storage box according to Claim 1, wherein the storage box has an accommodation space having a volume no larger than a sum of a volume of the first accommodation space and a volume of the second accommodation space.