US20040188322A1

US20040188322A1 - Toolbox for displaying and storing tool heads

Info

Publication number: US20040188322A1
Application number: US10/400,204
Authority: US
Inventors: Kun-Chen Chen
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2003-03-26
Filing date: 2003-03-26
Publication date: 2004-09-30

Abstract

A toolbox for displaying and storage tool heads consists of a box (10), a lid (20) pivotally connected the box (10), multiple storage racks (30) rotatably mounted inside the box (10) and a gang bar (40) engaging the storage racks (30). The multiple storage racks (30) are tilted by the gang bar (40) in unison to allow tool heads out to be removed from the toolbox conveniently. Additionally, the lid (20) can be pivoted to a back position of the box (10) to serve as a stand so the toolbox can display the tool heads.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a toolbox, and more particularly to a toolbox for displaying and storing tool heads, which makes inserting, selecting and removing tool heads convenient.

2. Description of Related Art

Conventional toolboxes for general use are well known and typically include a base in the form of an open-topped box and a lid pivotally attached to the box, with a clip or other means to hold the lid shut. A first type of conventional toolbox typically contains multiple compartments to accommodate various tools and components, such as a tool heads, bits, etc. A second type of toolbox further contains at least one removable tray with a number of recesses to hold tool heads, bits, etc. in the tray.

However, conventional toolboxes do not have features to efficiently arrange tool heads or bits so a person can conveniently select or remove an appropriate tool from the toolbox. When tool heads are stored in the compartments in the first type of toolbox, finding a particular tool head among numerous similar tool heads is difficult. When the tool heads are individually embedded in conformal recesses in the trays of the second type of toolbox, removing a desired tool head from its conformal recess in each tray is difficult.

The present invention has arisen to mitigate or obviate the disadvantages of the conventional toolboxes.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The main objective of the present invention is to provide a toolbox for displaying and storing tool heads that makes selecting or removing tool heads convenient.

Further benefits and advantages of the present invention will become apparent after a careful reading of the detailed description with appropriate reference to the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of toolbox for displaying and storing tool heads in accordance with the present invention; [0009]
FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the toolbox in FIG. 1 with a lid pivoted to serve as a stand; [0010]
FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the toolbox in FIG. 1 with multiple storage racks pivoted; [0011]
FIG. 4 is perspective view of the toolbox in FIG. 1 with the storage racks adjusted to accommodate large tool heads; [0012]
FIG. 5 is an enlarged operational cross-sectional side plan view of the toolbox in FIG. 1 with a gang bar in combination with a storage rack; and [0013]
FIG. 6 is an enlarged operational cross-sectional side plan view of the toolbox in FIG. 5 with the gang bar driving the storage rack.[0014]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

With reference to FIGS. 1 and 2, a toolbox for displaying and storing tool heads in accordance with the present invention comprises a box ([0015] 10), a lid (20), multiple storage racks (30), a gang bar (40) and a storage bin (19).
The box ([0016] 10) is rectangular and has a top (not numbered), a bottom (not numbered), two opposite sides (not numbered), a back (not numbered), and an open front (not numbered). With further reference to FIG. 5, the top has an inside (not numbered), an outside (not numbered), a front edge (not numbered), a handle (11), two lips (not numbered), a central notch (18) and a tongue hole (17). The handle (11) is formed on the outside of the top so a person can carry the toolbox, and the two lips are formed on the top on opposite sides of the handle (11). The two opposite sides have respectively opposite and parallel inner walls (not numbered) inside the rectangular box (10). Each inner wall has multiple cylindrical notches (15) corresponding to cylindrical notches (15) on the opposite inner wall near the open front of the box (10). The central notch (18) is defined in the top of the box (10) at the front edge. The tongue hole (17) is defined in the front edge of the top of the box (10) just below the central notch (18).
The storage bin ([0017] 19) is pivotally mounted inside the box (10) at the bottom and has an inside and a gang bar bracket (49). The gang bar bracket (49) is mounted inside the storage bin (19) and corresponds to the central notch (18) and the tongue hole (17) in the top of the box (10). The storage bin (19) can hold hand tools such as an electric drill, electric screwdriver, electric grinder, etc to use the tool heads.
The lid ([0018] 20) is made of transparent material such as plastic, is pivotally attached to the sides of the box (10) and has a top edge (not numbered), a bottom edge (not numbered), two opposite pivot wings (22), a bottom edge cutout (not numbered) and two clamps (13). The transparent material allows a person to examine the contents of the toolbox without opening the lid (20). The two pivot wings (22) are formed respectively on and extend from the bottom edge of the lid (20) perpendicular to the lid (20) on opposite sides of the bottom edge cutout. The bottom edge cutout allows the lid (20) to be pivoted around the bottom of the box (10) and abut the back of the box (10) so the lid (20) serves as a stand when the lid (20) is completely open.
Still with further reference to FIG. 5, the multiple storage racks ([0019] 30) are pivotally mounted inside the box (10), and each storage rack (30) is a hollow box with two opposite side faces (not shown), a top face (not numbered), a bottom face (not numbered) and an inclined recess (32). Multiple retaining holes (not numbered) are defined in the top face of the storage rack (30) to accommodate shafts of various tool heads. A cylindrical stub (36) is formed near the bottom face on each side face of the storage rack (30) to engage the corresponding cylindrical notch (15) in the box (10). Therefore, each storage rack (30) pivots around the cylindrical stub (36) inside the box (10) to permit the top face to tilt outward. The inclined recess (32) has two opposite sidewalls, faces the open front of the box(10) and is longitudinally defined in a middle of each storage rack (30) to receive the gang bar (40) when the storage rack (30) tilts outward. The opposite sidewalls of the inclined recess (32) are adjacent to the gang bar (40) and have a stub (34) formed on each sidewall near the top face to engage with the gang bar (40).
The gang bar ([0020] 40) is a strip with two edges, a top end and a bottom end movably mounted in the box (10) and has multiple notches (not numbered), a tongue (46) and a tab (48). The notches are formed on edges of the gang bar (40) to engage the stubs (34) on the storage racks (30). The tongue (46) protrudes from the top end of the gang bar (40) toward the box (10) to engage the tongue hole (17) to hold the gang bar (40) and the storage racks (30) in a stored position. The tab (48) protrudes upwardly into the central notch (18) in the front edge of the top of the box (10) so the gang bar (40) can disengage the tongue (46) from the tongue hole (17) by pulling the tab (48) outward. The bottom end of the gang bar (40) is mounted pivotally in the gang bar bracket (49). Therefore, the gang bar (40) can be additionally pulled out and down at the bottom end by pivotally pulling out the storage bin (19) when pulling the top end of the gang bar (40) to make all storage racks (30) tilt smoothly together.
With further reference to FIGS. 3 and 6, when the gang bar ([0021] 40) is pulled outwardly to make the tongue (46) disengage from the tongue hole (17), the whole gang bar (40) moves to a lower and outer position and tilts the storage racks (30) in unison. Thereby, the top face of the storage racks (30) with tool heads are tilted outward and the tool heads are not hidden inside the box (10) so a person can conveniently select and remove the desired tool head.
With reference to FIG. 4, the storage racks ([0022] 30) can be adjusted to allow large tool heads to be mounted in the box (10) since the cylindrical stubs (34) on each storage rack (30) can be selectively engaged with different pairs of cylindrical notches (15) based on a persons needs.
Although the invention has been explained in relation to its preferred embodiment, many other possible modifications and variations can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as hereinafter claimed. [0023]

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. A toolbox for displaying and storing tool heads, the toolbox comprising:

a box (10) with a top, a bottom with two side-walls, two opposite sides, an open front, and inner walls, wherein the box (10) has multiple paired cylindrical notches (15) defined in the inner walls of the box (10) near the opening front;

a lid (20) pivotally mounted at the bottom of the box (10) to cover the open front and having two opposite pivot wings (22) respectively attaching to the side-walls of the bottom of the box (10) to construct a bottom edge cutout between the opposite pivot wings (22) to allow the lid (20) passing through the bottom of the box (10) when the lid (20) rotates relative to the box (10);

multiple storage racks (30) with two opposite side faces, a top face and a bottom face pivotally attached inside the box (10), wherein each storage rack (30) has

multiple retaining holes defined on the top face;

a cylindrical stub (36) formed near the bottom face on each side face and correspondingly engaged with one of the cylindrical notches (15);

an inclined recess (32) with two opposite sidewalls facing to the open front of the box (10) and longitudinally defined in the storage rack (30); and

a stub (34) formed on each sidewall of the inclined recess (32)

near the top face; and

a gang bar (40) with two edges, a top end detachably attached to the box (10) and a bottom end pivotally connected to the box (10), the gang bar (10) having

multiple notches (42) formed on the edges to engage with the stubs (34) on the storage racks (30); and

a tab (48) protruding beyond the top of the box (10).

2. The toolbox for displaying and storing tool heads as claimed in claim 1, wherein the box (10) further comprises a storage bin (19) pivotally mounted at the bottom.

3. The toolbox for displaying and storing tool heads as claimed in claim 2, wherein the storage bin (19) further comprises a gang bar bracket (49) formed inside the storage bin (19) and pivotally engaged with the bottom end of the gang bar (40) so as to pivotally connect the gang bar (40) to the box (10) through the storage bin (19).

4. The toolbox for displaying and storing tool heads as claimed in claim 1, wherein the box (10) further comprises

a tongue hole (17) defined in the top of the box (10); and

a central notch (18) defined in the top of the box (10) right up to the tongue hole (17); and

the gang bar (40) further has a tongue (46) protruding from the top end of the gang bar (40) to detachably engage the tongue hole (17) on the box (10).

5. The toolbox for displaying and storing tool heads as claimed in claim 2, wherein the box (10) further comprises

a tongue hole (17) defined in the top of the box (10); and

6. The toolbox for displaying and storing tool heads as claimed in claim 3, wherein the box (10) further comprises

a tongue hole (17) defined in the top of the box (10); and

7. The toolbox for displaying and storing tool heads as claimed in claim 6, wherein the box (10) further comprises a handle (11) formed on the top of the box (10).

8. The toolbox for displaying and storing tool heads as claimed in claim 7, wherein the box (10) further comprises two lips respectively formed on the top on opposite sides of the handle (11); and

the lid (20) further comprises two clamps (13) mounted on the top edge of the lid (20); and

two lips formed on the top of the box (10) to respectively engage with the clamps (13) on the lid (20).