Patent Application
20050023175
Wire frame bins are commonly used for storing items. These bins may or may not have a fabric bottom and sides. It is desirable to be able to stack these bins one on top of another once they are filled. However, when this is done the frame must be configured such that the bottom of each bin projects slightly into the top of the next lower bin, in order to provide stability to the stack, and yet the bottom of each bin must not project too far into the top of the next lower bin or the contents of the bin could be damaged. While there are numerous prior art storage bins which stack in this manner, many of them are configured to both stack and nest and all of them are relatively complex. As a result, they are also relatively expensive.
The subject invention provides an inexpensive storage bin which can be stacked one on top of another by providing a rectangular wire top element and a rectangular wire bottom element which will fit snugly into the top element. The top and bottom elements are joined together by a plurality of side elements, with one side element extending between each corner of the top and bottom elements. The side elements may be releasably attached to the top and bottom elements to allow the bin to be collapsed so that it can be shipped flat. A fabric cover may extend across the bottom element and between the side elements.
The foregoing and other objectives, features, and advantages of the invention will be more readily understood upon consideration of the following detailed description of the invention, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
Referring now to
To ensure that the upper bin is not cocked, which would allow its bottom element to extend past the top element of a bin it is stacked on, corner elements 20 extend across each corner of the top element 14. The corner elements are made from the same wire as the other frame elements and are attached to the bottom surface of the top element, by means such as welding.
Located on opposite sides of the top element are U-shaped handles 22. In practice the handles and the sides of the top element that are located beside the handles are made from a first piece of wire formed into a rectangular shape, and the two sides of the top element that are adjacent to the handle are welded to the first piece of wire, as can be seen in
In the embodiment illustrated the bottom of the bottom element 16 and the space between the side elements 18 are covered with a fabric cover 24 to allow items to be carried in the bin. However, instead of a fabric cover, wire cross bars (not shown) can extend across the bottom element and between the top and bottom elements between the side elements, to create a bin that is made entirely from welded wire elements.
In an alternative embodiment of the invention, shown in
Rods 26 having openings 28 in each end which slidably receive the studs extend between each mating pair of studs to provide the side elements. In a preferred embodiment the stubs are made from the same wire as the top and bottom elements and the rods are hollow tubular cylinders having a slightly larger outside diameter than this wire.
As can be seen in the drawings, the frame 12 of the subject invention allows the bottom of one bin to be placed squarely and solidly into the top of the lower bin so that the bins can be stacked.
The terms and expressions which have been employed in the foregoing specification are used therein as terms of description and not of limitation, and there is no intention, in the use of such terms and expressions, of excluding equivalents of the features shown and described or portions thereof, it being recognized that the scope of the invention is defined and limited only by the claims which follow.
