US2702649A - Adjustable container for service parts - Google Patents

Description

Feb. 22, 1955 A. K. NEILSON ADJUSTABLE CONTAINER FOR SERVICE PARTS Filed July 15, 1951 United States Patent ADJUSTABLE CONTAINER FOR SERVICE PARTS Allan K. Neilson, Detroit, Mich.

Application July 13, 1951, Serial No. 236,621

7 Claims. (Cl. 220-18) This invention relates to pivotal containers and particularly containers for service parts of machinery or appliances.

An object of the invention is to equip an open-topped container with a removable false bottom, adapted to be installed upon partially filling the container and serving as a support for the top portion of the container contents, whereby it is necessary to remove such false bottom following a predetermined depletion of the contents, thus warning an attendant that the container should be refilled.

Another object is to form said false bottom with a partially severed struck-up portion, facilitating installation and removal of the false bottom.

Another object is to pivotally mount said container for a limited up and down tilting relative to its support, to form such support with an abutment determining the lower limit of such tilting, and to equip an end portion of said false bottom with a spacer which may be interposed between the container and said abutment by inverting the false bottom and disposing it beneath the container, whereby a desired uptilted position of the container will be established, identifying the container as requiring refilling.

Another object is to adapt said spacer to further serve for spacing the false bottom predeterminedly above the true bottom of the container, when occupying the latter.

Another object is to dispose said support at the rear of the container, to mount said spacer on the rear end of said false bottom, and to adapt the front wall of the container to support the corresponding end of the false bottom, when installed in the container.

These and various other objects are attained by the construction hereinafter described and illustrated in the accompanying drawing, wherein:

Fig. l is a perspective view of the container and its support, omitting the false bottom.

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal vertical sectional view of the container in its lower limiting position, engaged with its support and having its false bottom installed.

Fig. 3 is a similar view showing the upper limiting position of the container, with the false bottom exteriorly applied to maintain such position.

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the false bottom in the inverted position which it occupies in Fig. 3.

In these views, the reference characters 1 and 2 respectively designate the front and back walls of an opentopped container of primarily rectangular form, such container further comprising parallel side walls 3 and a true bottom 4. A lower portion of the front wall (and preferably its lower half) forms a ninety-degree arc, merging into the bottom 4. The top portions of the side walls similarly form a pair of rearward extensions 5 from the container, and these are downwardly hooked to mount the container on a vertically upstanding flange 6a of a support such as a horizontally disposed angle bar 6. The notches 5a which give the extensions 5 a hook form are sufficiently wide to afford the container an up and down tilting through a desired angle as for example fifteen degrees, it being preferred that the container be approximately horizontal, as per Fig. 3, at the upper limit of such tilting. Thus the container will incline downwardly toward its front end at about fifteen degrees to the horizontal at the lower limit of its tilting travel. Said lower limit is established preferably by engagement of the wall 2 with the lower edge of the flange 6:: (Figs. 1 and 2).

A plate 7 is proportioned to removably fit in the container, in an upwardly spaced and substantially parallel relation to the bottom 4, preferably dividing the container into approximately equal upper and lower compartments. Said plate forms a false bottom, Whose front edge is adapted to seat on the arcuate portion of the wall 1 substantially at the juncture of such portion with the plane upper half of said wall. The rear end of said plate rigidly carries a leg 8 to abut the wall 2 and seat on the bottom 4. As illustrated, such leg is formed by downwardly bending a rearward extension from the plate 7 transversely to such plate. Said leg has its lower margin forwardly bent to form a foot 80, alfording the leg a substantial seat on the bottom 4.

The plate 7 has an alternative use position (Fig. 3), in which it is disposed beneath and against the bottom 4, with its leg 8 upwardly projecting rearward of the container, so as to adapt the foot 8a to serve as a spacer between the container and lower portion of the flange 6a, whereby the container may be retained in its raised position. When thus disposed, the plate accurately establishes the proper spacer position of the foot 8a and resists any tendency of the leg 8 to tilt responsive to to the compression stress imposed on said foot by the container. Also the plate forms a convenient means for manipulating the foot 80 to or from its proper spacer location.

Since the plate 7 has only slight clearance from the walls of the container when installed therein, it would be difiicult to remove the plate in absence of a handle thereon. As a simple and inexpensive means for equipping the plate with a handle, a strip 9 marginal to the front edge of the plate is struck up from the latter, being severed except at its ends from the plate and forming a grip by which the front end may be readily swung up to give ample access to its edge.

In use of the described container, it normally receives the plate '7, as a false bottom, such plate being inserted after loading the container with sufiicient service parts or other material to approximately fill the lower compartment. The material is initially kept clear of the wall 2, so as to avoid interference with positioning of the leg 8 against said wall, being pushed or shaken back after said leg is substantially in place. While a slight unoccupied space Will thus ordinarily be left in the lower compartment, this is of no importance. When the plate 7 is in place, as per Fig. 2, the upper compartment may then be filled. The primary utility of the described plate lies in the fact that it must be removed by the parts room attendant, following a predetermined depletion of the container contents, thus very definitely calling attention to fact that replenishment is necessary. The quantity of material occupying the lower compartment avoids necessity for immediate replenishment, this being desirable since, ordinarily, a few days may be required to fill the attendants order for further material.

Disposal of the plate 7 as per Fig. 3, upon its removal from a container, secures two distinct advantages. Thus such disposal assures a definite and readily accessible location of the plate, so that no time need be lost, when replacement of the plate in its normal position is again desirable. The uptilted position of the container maintained by the plate, when underlying the container, serves as a constant indication of the need for refilling and sharply distinguishes unduly depleted containers of a group from those requiring no attention. It is to be understood in this connection that a large number of the described containers will commonly be grouped upon the bar 6 or a set of such bars, providing storage for many different types of parts. The fact that the container is tilted downwardly at its forward end when its contents are adequate, facilitates access to and inspection of such contents.

Use of the described dual purpose plate 7 adds little to cost of the described container, and greatly increases assurance that refilling will be effected adequately in advance of complete depletion.

What I claim is:

1. In a pivotal container and its support, the combination with an open-topped container having a true bottom and front and back Walls, of a support positioned in exterior proximity to said back wall, means pivoting the container on said support affording an up and down tiltingofthe container, such support including an abutment limiting down tilting of the container; a'plate positioned alternatively within and beneath the containerand proportioned to form a false bottom for the container when therein, and means carried by said plate at an end thereof for spacing such end above the true bottom of the container when the plate is within the container, and for spacing the container forwardly from said abutment to maintain an up tilted position of the container 'when the plate is positioned beneath the container with said spacer means upwardly projecting in.

exterior proximity to the back wall of the container.

2.'A pivotal container and its support as set forth in claim 1, said spacer means extending between the container andsaid abutment and maintaining an uptilted position of the container, when said plate is predeterminedly positioned beneath the container.

3. A pivotal container and its support as set forth in claim 1, said spacer means comprising an end portion of said plate bent substantially transversely to the main body of the plate.

4. A pivotal container and its support as set forthin claim 3, said end portion being terminally bent in substantial parallelism with the main bodyof the plate.

5. In a pivotal container andfits support, the combination with an open-topped container having a true .bottom, a back wall and side walls, of supportpositioned in exterior proximity to said back wall, means pivoting the container on said support affording an up and down tilting of the container, such support including an abutment limiting down tilting of the container, a plate alternatively positioned within the container at an elevation above the true bottom and beneath the container in proximity thereto and in substantial parallelism to the 't'ruebot'tom, such plate being proportioned to form a false bottom for the container when therein, and an element carried by the plate at an end thereof and projecting upwardly from the plate in exterior proximity to said back wall, when the plate is predeterminedly disposed beneath the container, and reacting between the container and said abutmenrto space the container forwardl-y from said abutment and thereby maintain an uptil'ted position of the container.

6. In a pivotal container as set forth in claim 5, said element having 'a spacer-forming free extremity engaged between said abutment and the back wall of the container upon said predetermined disposal of the plate beneath the container. I

7. A pivotal container as set forth in claim 5, said plate being held in place, when disposed beneath the container, by the clamping coaction of the container and said abutment.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,059,350 Cockins Apr. 22, 1913 1,451,383 Wilson Apr. 10, 1923 1,813,670 Kessler July 7, 1931 2,287,610 Guidry June 23, 1942 2,317,067 Knaust Apr. 20, 1943 2,356,473 Saul,.]r. Aug. 22, 1944 2,369,335 Burman Feb. 13, 1945 2,580,041 Neilson 'Dec. 25, 1951 2,595,752 Batts May 6, 1952 FOREIGN PATENTS 160,132 Switzerland May 1, 1934 571,577 Great Britain Aug. 30, 1945

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