Double-sided storage container

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

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STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

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THE NAMES OF THE PARTIES TO A JOINT RESEARCH AGREEMENT

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INCORPORATION-BY-REFERENCE OF MATERIAL SUBMITTED ON A COMPACT DISC OR AS A TEXT FILE VIA THE OFFICE ELECTRONIC FILING SYSTEM

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STATEMENT REGARDING PRIOR DISCLOSURES BY THE INVENTOR OR JOINT INVENTOR

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BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

(1) Field of the Invention

The disclosure relates to storage containers and more particularly pertains to a new double-sided storage container for allowing users to access items at either end of the container.

(2) Description of Related Art Including Information Disclosed Under 37 CFR 1.97 and 1.98

The prior art relates to storage containers. The prior art, as best understood, does not disclose a double-sided storage container with an open-ended container body and a pair of cover assemblies positioned one at each of the open ends to permit a user to selectively open and close either of the open ends to access items positioned adjacent either of the open ends.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An embodiment of the disclosure meets the needs presented above in a double-sided storage container generally comprising an open-ended container body and a pair of cover assemblies. The open-ended container body includes side walls connected together at angles to one another and a pair of open ends. The pair of cover assemblies are positioned one at each of the open ends to permit a user to selectively open and close either of the open ends to access items positioned adjacent either of the open ends. Each of the cover assemblies includes a lip surrounding the perimeter of its corresponding open end and extending from and transvers to the side walls to an outer lip edge. Each of the cover assemblies also includes a lid that includes a planar body and a securing assembly detachably securing the planar body to the lip to cover its corresponding open end. The securing assembly includes a bracket designed to fit onto and under the lip and movable retaining clips designed to releasably lock the lid and the lip together.

There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, the more important features of the disclosure in order that the detailed description thereof that follows may be better understood, and in order that the present contribution to the art may be better appreciated. There are additional features of the disclosure that will be described hereinafter and which will form the subject matter of the claims appended hereto.

The objects of the disclosure, along with the various features of novelty which characterize the disclosure, are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this disclosure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING(S)

The disclosure will be better understood and objects other than those set forth above will become apparent when consideration is given to the following detailed description thereof. Such description makes reference to the annexed drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a double-sided storage container according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 2 is a side view of an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of a portion of an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 4 is an exploded view of an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 5 is a side view of an embodiment of the disclosure in use.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of an alternative embodiment of the disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

With reference now to the drawings, and in particular to FIGS. 1 through 6 thereof, a new double-sided storage container embodying the principles and concepts of an embodiment of the disclosure and generally designated by the reference numeral 10 will be described.

As best illustrated in FIGS. 1 through 6, the double-sided storage container 10 generally comprises an open-ended container body 12 and a pair of cover assemblies 14. The open-ended container body 12 includes side walls 16 connected together at angles to one another and a pair of open ends 18. The pair of cover assemblies 14 are positioned one at each of the open ends 18 to permit a user to selectively open and close either of the open ends 18 to access items positioned adjacent either of the open ends 18. Each of the cover assemblies 14 includes a lip 20 surrounding the perimeter of its corresponding open end 18 and extending from and transvers to the side walls 16 to an outer lip edge 22. Each of the cover assemblies 14 also includes a lid 24 that includes a planar body 26 and a securing assembly detachably securing the planar body 26 to the lip 20 to cover its corresponding open end 18. The securing assembly includes a bracket 28 designed to fit onto and under the lip 20 and movable retaining clips 30 designed to releasably lock the lid 24 and the lip 20 together.

The planar body 26 extends to an outer body edge 32 that essentially follows the outer lip edge 22 to form an essentially flat support surface regardless of which of the open ends 18 is oriented above the other. This allows the storage container 10 to rest essentially flat on a support surface, such as a floor or the ground, as shown in FIG. 5. In addition, the storage containers 10 are stackable since both ends of the container have the planar body 26.

As best seen in FIG. 2, the bracket 28 includes a first leg portion 34 extending down past the outer lip edge 22 and a second leg portion 36 extending inwardly and engaging an inner side of the lip 20. The bracket 28 thereby holds the lip 20 and lid 24 together. Because of the bracket 28 design, the lid 24 must be slid across the open end 18 to place the bracket 28 onto the lip 20 and lid 24. As best seen in FIG. 3, the retaining clips 30 include a hinge 38 pivotably attached to the outer body edge 32, a clip 20 body extending downwardly from the hinge 38 and past the outer lip edge 22, and a first mating member 40 extending inwardly under the lip 20 and releasably engaged with a second mating member 42 positioned on the inner side of the lip 20. The first mating member 40 has a projection and the second mating member 42 is a groove that interact together in a releasable snap-fit connection. However, FIG. 3 shows an exemplary embodiment and other types of clips or locking connections are within the scope of the disclosure.

The lip 20 has four sides positioned at angles to one another in a square or rectangular configuration. As shown in FIG. 1, the storage container 10 includes a pair of the retaining brackets 28 positioned on a first pair of the sides and the retaining clips 30 on a second pair of the sides. The first pair of the sides are connected at a corner, and the pair of retaining brackets 28 are connected together to form an angled retaining bracket. In one possible embodiment, the retaining bracket 28 is positioned on one of the sides and three groups of the retaining clips 30 are positioned on the other three of the sides. In another possible embodiment, the double-sided storage container 10 includes three of the retaining brackets 28 positioned on three of the sides and the retaining clips 30 are positioned on the other of the sides. The combination of the retaining bracket 28 and the retaining clips 30 provides a secure connection that can be quickly connected and disconnected.

As shown in FIGS. 3, each of the cover assemblies 14 includes a seal assembly positioned between the lid 24 and the lip 20. The seal assembly includes a recess 44 positioned in one of the lip 20 and the lid 24 and a rubber gasket 46 seated in the recess 44. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 3, the recess 44 is on an outer side of the lip 20.

In one possible embodiment, the container body 12 is rectangular and has a height in the range of approximately 15-25 inches, a length in the range of approximately 26-38 inches, and a width in the range of approximately 15-25 inches. Each of the container body 12 and the lid 24 is made of transparent material, at least in part, so that a user can see the contents of the storage container 10. Each of the container body 12, the lip 20, and the lid 24 is made of high-strength plastic for durability. FIGS. 1 through 5 show the container body 12 wherein the width is greater than the height, whereas FIG. 6 shows an alternative design of the container body 12 wherein the height is greater than the width.

The double-sided storage container 10 allows a user to access items from either end of the container body 12. In standard containers for storage, only one end is open. If the user wishes to retrieve items from the bottom closed end of the container, then the user must remove or dig through the items near the open end 18, which can be a problem if the items are heavy or there are a great number of items closely packed together. The double-sided storage container 10 allows a user to place one end up and access items near that end, as shown in FIG. 5. In use, the user first places a first lid 24 over a first open end 18 of the container body 12 by sliding its bracket 28 onto the lip 20 and releasably locking its retaining clips 30. The user then turns over the container body 12 and places the first lid 24 on a ground or floor surface. The user then places items in the container body 12 through a second open end 18 of the container body 12. The user then places a second lid 24 over the second open end 18 of the container body 12 by sliding its bracket 28 onto the lip 20 and releasably locking its retaining clips 30. The container body 12 is now closed at both ends. The user can now selectively turn up the first open end 18 or the second open end 18 to access items positioned adjacent the selected one of the first open end 18 or the second open end 18.

With respect to the above description then, it is to be realized that the optimum dimensional relationships for the parts of an embodiment enabled by the disclosure, to include variations in size, materials, shape, form, function and manner of operation, assembly and use, are deemed readily apparent and obvious to one skilled in the art, and all equivalent relationships to those illustrated in the drawings and described in the specification are intended to be encompassed by an embodiment of the disclosure.

Therefore, the foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the disclosure. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the disclosure to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the disclosure. In this patent document, the word “comprising” is used in its non-limiting sense to mean that items following the word are included, but items not specifically mentioned are not excluded. A reference to an clement by the indefinite article “a” does not exclude the possibility that more than one of the element is present, unless the context clearly requires that there be only one of the elements.