JP7702745B2 - Storage container with legs - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a storage container with legs for home use, such as a laundry basket.

One proposed household storage container of this type is equipped with a pair of foldable legs for raising the height, so that laundry can be removed without straining the knees or lower back when used as a laundry basket (see Patent Document 1).

To explain this patent document 1 in detail, a frame-shaped bottom outer leg is attached vertically to the outer periphery of the bottom of an open-top storage body, while two lifting legs are rotatably attached to the left and right of the bottom outer leg at the bottom of the storage body. The left and right lifting legs are folded and rotated upward and placed along the bottom of the storage body within the bottom outer leg, so that the bottom outer leg touches the ground and the storage body is disposed in a low position. From the normal use mode, the left and right lifting legs are rotated downward to protrude below the bottom outer leg and open, so that the open lifting legs touch the ground and the storage body is disposed in a high position. (By selecting the lifting use mode, it becomes easy to take out items (laundry, etc.) from the storage body without bending the knees or waist significantly.)

Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 9-254993

In a structure with foldable and foldable legs as in Patent Document 1, when attempting to open the legs with the opening of the storage body facing up, the left and right legs are hidden by the bottom outer peripheral legs, making it difficult to open the legs although it looks good in normal use. Opening the legs can be made easier by lifting the storage body high and checking the bottom (legs) from below, or by turning the storage body upside down to check the bottom (legs), but it is a hassle to lift the storage body or turn it upside down each time.

In addition, the left and right legs of Patent Document 1 are formed into a U-shaped frame consisting of a pair of front and rear hanging leg rods whose upper ends are pivotally attached to the bottom of the storage body, and an erection rod that is erected between the lower ends of the front and rear hanging leg rods, and one of the left and right height-raising legs is configured as a large height-raising leg whose front-to-back width is greater than the front-to-back width of the other height-raising leg, and when the left and right height-raising legs are folded upward and pivoted to fit within the bottom outer peripheral legs, the front and rear hanging leg rods of one large height-raising leg are arranged inside the front and rear hanging leg rods of the other large height-raising leg, and the upper ends of the front and rear hanging leg rods of the other large height-raising leg are pivotally attached to the bottom of the storage body surrounded by the front and rear hanging leg rods and the erection rod of the one large height-raising leg. In other words, by making the left and right raising legs U-shaped and different sizes, one raising leg can be folded inside the other raising leg, making effective use of the narrow bottom space of the storage unit.

However, because this type of leg folding structure is used, when attempting to open the legs from the normal use mode (legs folded), if the other (smaller) lifting leg is rotated downward first to open the legs, then when attempting to rotate one (larger) lifting leg downward, the mounting rod of this one lifting leg will hit the other lifting leg (the upper part of the hanging leg rod), and it will not be able to rotate.

In other words, when opening the left and right lift-up legs, it is necessary to follow the procedure of first opening one (large) lift-up leg, and then opening the other lift-up leg. If this procedure is not followed, it is not possible to open both legs, and if the other (small) lift-up leg is accidentally opened first, it is necessary to return the other lift-up leg to its original folded state and then open the first lift-up leg and then the other lift-up leg, which is very cumbersome.

The present invention seeks to identify and solve these problems by providing a storage container with legs that retains the leg folding structure that effectively utilizes the narrow space at the bottom of the storage container, but allows one of the lifting legs to be seen through the leg opening cutout when the left and right lifting legs are folded, and allows one of the lifting legs to be easily opened through this leg opening cutout without lifting the storage container upwards or turning it upside down, thereby effectively preventing erroneous operation.

The gist of the present invention will be explained with reference to the attached drawings.

A frame-shaped bottom peripheral leg 2 is vertically attached to the outer periphery of the bottom of the top-opening storage body 1,
Raising legs 3 are rotatably provided at two positions on the left and right sides of the bottom outer peripheral leg 2 at the bottom of the storage body 1, and are configured to be switchable between a normal use mode A in which the left and right raising legs 3 are folded and rotated upward and placed within the bottom outer peripheral leg 2 along the bottom of the storage body 1, thereby causing the bottom outer peripheral leg 2 to touch the ground and disposing the storage body 1 in a low position, and a raised use mode B in which the left and right raising legs 3 are rotated downward from the normal use mode A to protrude below the bottom outer peripheral leg 2 and open, causing the open raising legs 3 to touch the ground and disposing the storage body 1 in a high position.
The left and right raising legs 3 are formed into a U-shaped frame body consisting of a pair of front and rear hanging leg rods 4 whose upper ends are pivotally attached to the bottom of the storage body 1 and a mounting rod 5 mounted between the lower ends of the front and rear hanging leg rods 4.
a storage container with legs, the storage container having a storage body 1 bottom surrounded by the front and rear suspension rods 4 and the erection rod 5, and wherein, when the left and right height-raising legs 3A are folded upward and rotated to be stored within the bottom outer peripheral leg 2, the front and rear suspension rods 4 of the other height-raising leg 3B are disposed inside the front and rear suspension rods 4 of the one large height-raising leg 3A, and the upper ends of the front and rear suspension rods 4 of the other height-raising leg 3B are pivotally attached to the bottom of the storage body 1 surrounded by the front and rear suspension rods 4 and the erection rod 5 of the one large height-raising leg 3A;
The bottom outer peripheral leg 2 is characterized in that, when the left and right height-raising legs 3 are folded upward and rotated to store them within the bottom outer peripheral leg 2, a leg-opening operation notch 6 is provided at the location where the front and rear hanging leg rods 4 of one of the large height-raising legs 3A are adjacent or at the location where the mounting rod 5 of one of the large height-raising legs 3A is adjacent, and one of the large height-raising legs 3A, which is stored within the bottom outer peripheral leg 2 and is located outside the other height-raising leg 3B, can be rotated downward by hand to open the legs.

The container with legs described in claim 1 is also characterized in that the long side of the bottom outer peripheral leg 2 is provided with a horizontally long cutout 6 for opening the legs, and the hanging leg rod 4 of one of the large raising legs 3A, which has been folded and rotated upward and stored within the bottom outer peripheral leg 2, is arranged in a position visible from the horizontally long cutout 6 for opening the legs.

The container relates to a storage container with legs as described in any one of claims 1 and 2, characterized in that the hanging leg rod 4 is provided with a finger hook 7 that faces the notch 6 for opening the legs when the large raising leg 3A is folded upward and rotated to be stored inside the bottom outer peripheral leg 2.

The finger hook portion 7 is formed as a long protruding strip along the length of the hanging leg rod 4. This relates to a storage container with legs as described in claim 3.

Since the present invention is configured as described above, it has a leg folding structure that effectively utilizes the narrow space at the bottom of the storage body, and can be used by switching between a normal use state in which the bottom outer periphery legs are grounded and the storage body is disposed at a low position, and a raised use state in which the left and right height-raising legs are rotated downward from this normal use state to protrude downward from the bottom outer periphery legs and open, so that the opened height-raising legs are grounded and the storage body is disposed at a high position. When opening the left and right height-raising legs to set the raised use state, it is necessary to first open one of the large height-raising legs and then open the other height-raising leg. However, when the left and right height-raising legs are opened upward on the bottom outer periphery legs, When the container is folded and rotated to fit inside the outer periphery of the bottom leg, a cutout for opening the legs is provided at the location where the front and rear hanging leg rods of one of the large raising legs are located or at the location where the mounting rod of one of the large raising legs is located, so the user can easily see the hanging leg rod of one of the large raising legs that should be opened first through the cutout for opening the legs without lifting the container high up or turning it upside down, and can manually rotate the one of the large raising legs that is stored inside the outer periphery of the bottom leg and located outside the other raising leg downward through this cutout for opening, resulting in a highly practical storage container with legs that can effectively prevent erroneous operation such as opening the other raising leg first.

The invention described in claim 2 provides a more practical storage container with legs that is easy to see one of the large legs for raising the height through the cutout for opening the legs and easy to open the legs by hand.

The inventions described in claims 3 and 4 provide a more practical storage container with legs, in which the fingers of the hand inserted through the leg opening cutout can be hooked on the finger loop to easily open one of the large legs for raising the height.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a normal use state of the present embodiment. FIG. 2 is a perspective view from below showing a normal use state of the present embodiment. FIG. 2 is a bottom view showing a normal use state of the present embodiment. FIG. 13 is an explanatory perspective view showing the state in which a hand (fingers) is hooked on one of the large height-raising legs (the finger hook portion) through the cutout portion for leg-opening operation in the normal use mode of this embodiment. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a raised use state of the present embodiment.

The optimal embodiment of the present invention will be briefly explained with reference to the drawings, showing the operation of the present invention.

The legged storage container of the present invention has a frame-shaped bottom outer leg 2 suspended from the outer periphery of the bottom of an open-top storage body 1, and the bottom outer leg 2 can be placed on the ground. At the same time, two lifting legs 3 are rotatably provided at the left and right of the bottom outer leg 2 at the bottom of the storage body 1. The left and right lifting legs 3 are folded and rotated upward and placed along the bottom of the storage body 1 within the bottom outer leg 2, so that the bottom outer leg 2 is placed on the ground and the storage body 1 is placed in a low position. The left and right lifting legs 3 are rotated downward from the normal use mode A to protrude below the bottom outer leg 2 and open, so that the open lifting legs 3 are placed on the ground and the storage body 1 is placed in a high position.

In addition, in order to effectively utilize the narrow space at the bottom of the storage body 1, the left and right height-raising legs 3 of the present invention are formed into a U-shaped frame-like body consisting of a pair of front and rear hanging leg rods 4 whose upper ends are pivotally attached to the bottom of the storage body 1, and an installation rod 5 that is installed between the lower ends of the front and rear hanging leg rods 4, and one of the left and right height-raising legs 3A is configured as a large height-raising leg 3A whose front-to-back width is larger than the front-to-back width of the other left or right height-raising leg 3B. Furthermore, when the left and right raising legs 3 are folded upward and rotated to be stored within the bottom outer peripheral legs 2, the front and rear hanging leg rods 4 of the other raising leg 3B are arranged inside the front and rear hanging leg rods 4 of one large raising leg 3A, and the upper ends of the front and rear hanging leg rods 4 of the other raising leg 3B are pivotally attached to the bottom of the storage body 1 surrounded by the front and rear hanging leg rods 4 and the erection rod 5 of one large raising leg 3A.

That is, in the present invention, as in the above Patent Document 1, when the left and right height-raising legs 3 are opened to set the height-raising use mode B, the left and right height-raising legs 3 cannot both be opened unless the procedure of first opening one of the large height-raising legs 3A and then opening the other height-raising leg 3B is followed. However, in order to prevent the other height-raising leg 3B from being opened first by mistake, the present invention provides a cutout 6 for opening the legs at the location where the front and rear hanging leg rods 4 of one of the large height-raising legs 3A are located or where the mounting rod 5 of one of the large height-raising legs 3A is located when the left and right height-raising legs 3 are folded upward and rotated to be stored in the bottom outer peripheral leg 2.

Therefore, in normal use mode A, the left and right lifting legs 3 are hidden within the bottom outer periphery leg 2 in the present invention as in Patent Document 1, but the hanging leg rod 4 or the erection rod 5 of one of the large lifting legs 3A can be seen through the leg opening operation cutout 6, so the user can easily confirm which large lifting leg 3A should be operated first without lifting the storage body 1 high or turning it upside down, and through this leg opening operation cutout 6, the user can manually rotate and move downward the one large lifting leg 3A (the hanging leg rod 4 or the erection rod 5) that is contained within the bottom outer periphery leg 2 and positioned outside the other lifting leg 3B to open it, effectively preventing erroneous operation in which the other lifting leg 3B is opened first.

Specific examples of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

This embodiment shows the case where it is applied to a laundry basket. A pair of left and right handles 8 are rotatably provided at the top opening of a top-opening box-shaped storage body 1, a frame-shaped bottom outer periphery leg 2 is suspended from the outer periphery of the bottom of the storage body 1, and a height-raising leg 3 is rotatably provided at two positions on the left and right within the bottom outer periphery leg 2. The storage body 1, handle 8, and height-raising leg 3 are all made of synthetic resin and are molded as a single unit.

Specifically, the storage body 1 of this embodiment is a cage-like container with many small openings 9 in the peripheral wall as shown in Figures 1 and 2, with the upper opening being configured as a container with a shape that is generally rectangular in plan view, and the shape of the bottom outer peripheral leg portion 2 is also formed into a generally rectangular frame shape in bottom view that matches the shape of the storage body 1. Reference numeral 10 in the figure denotes a handle hole that can be used for carrying. In this embodiment, the direction along the longitudinal direction of the upper opening of the storage body 1 is defined as the left-right direction of the storage body 1, and the direction along the lateral direction of the upper opening of the storage body 1 that is perpendicular to this is defined as the front-rear direction of the storage body 1, and will be described below.

The handle 8 in this embodiment is composed of a roughly U-shaped rod-like body consisting of a rod-shaped handle and rod-shaped arms connected at right angles to both ends of the handle, and is pivotally attached via the arms to the left and right of the upper opening of the storage body 1 so as to straddle the upper opening from front to back. It is configured to be switchable between a handle-used state in which the handles are bundled together (see imaginary lines in Figure 1) and a handle-folded state in which the left and right handles 8 are rotated outward toward each other and laid down roughly horizontally (see Figure 1).

The height-raising leg 3 in this embodiment is formed as a U-shaped rod-shaped body consisting of a pair of front and rear rod-shaped hanging leg rods 4 whose upper ends are pivotally attached to the bottom of the storage body 1, and a rod-shaped grounding installation rod 5 that is installed between the lower ends of the front and rear hanging leg rods 4, and is pivotally attached to two locations on the left and right of the bottom of the storage body 1 via the hanging leg rods 4. In the figure, the reference numeral 11 denotes a grounding protrusion that protrudes (integrally molded) from the front and rear of the installation rod 5, and in the height-raising use mode B described below, this grounding protrusion 11 comes into contact with the ground surface.

In addition, on the inside of the bottom outer peripheral leg 2 of the bottom of the storage body 1, a front right support part (not shown) is provided (molded integrally) on the front right end, and a front left support part (not shown) is provided (molded integrally) on the front left end. Meanwhile, in correspondence with the positions of the front right support part and the front left support part, a rear right support part (not shown) is provided (molded integrally) on the rear right end of the bottom of the storage body 1, and a rear left support part (not shown) is provided (molded integrally) on the rear left end. Both ends of the height-raising leg 3 are connected to the front right support part and the rear right support part. The tips (top ends) of the hanging legs 4 are pivotally attached to the right end of the bottom of the storage body 1 so that a height-raising leg 3 (one of the height-raising legs 3A) is provided to straddle the bottom from front to back, and the tips (top ends) of the hanging legs 4 at both ends of the height-raising leg 3 are pivotally attached to the front left pivot section and the rear left pivot section so that another height-raising leg 3 (the other height-raising leg 3B) is provided to straddle the bottom from front to back on the left end of the bottom of the storage body 1.

That is, one of the height-raising legs 3A and the other height-raising leg 3B are separately provided on the inside of the bottom outer leg 2 at the bottom of the storage body 1 so that they can be rotated and moved separately. The left and right height-raising legs 3 are folded and rotated upward and placed inside the bottom outer leg 2 along the bottom of the storage body 1, so that the bottom outer leg 2 touches the ground and the storage body 1 is disposed in a low position. In contrast, the left and right height-raising legs 3 are rotated downward from the normal use mode A to protrude downward and slightly outward from the bottom outer leg 2, so that the opened height-raising legs 3 (the grounding protrusions 11) touch the ground and the storage body 1 is disposed in a high position. This allows for switching between these two modes of use.

In addition, the one height-raising leg 3A and the other height-raising leg 3B are configured to have different front-to-back widths (the front-to-back opposing distance between the hanging leg rods 4 and the front-to-back length of the erection rod 5) as shown in Figures 2, 3, and 5. In other words, either the left or right height-raising leg 3A is configured as a large height-raising leg 3A whose front-to-back width is larger than the front-to-back width of the other left or right height-raising leg 3B, and when the left and right height-raising legs 3 are folded upward and rotated to be stored within the bottom outer peripheral leg 2, the front and back hanging leg rods 4 of the other height-raising leg 3B are arranged inside the front and back hanging leg rods 4 of one large height-raising leg 3A without contacting each other as shown in Figures 2 and 3. In both cases, the upper ends of the front and rear hanging leg rods 4 of the other raised leg 3B are pivotally attached to the front and rear positions of the bottom of the storage body 1 near the erection rod 5, surrounded by the front and rear hanging leg rods 4 and erection rod 5 of the folded large raised leg 3A (the front left pivot support and the rear left pivot support are provided in the front and rear positions of the bottom of the storage body 1 near the erection rod 5, surrounded by the front and rear hanging leg rods 4 and erection rod 5 of the folded large raised leg 3A).

Therefore, in this embodiment, the left and right height-raising legs 3 are different in size and one large height-raising leg 3B is folded inside the other large height-raising leg 3A, so that the narrow space at the bottom of the storage body 1 can be effectively utilized. On the other hand, when opening the left and right height-raising legs 3 to set the height-raising usage mode B, as in the above Patent Document 1, it is necessary to first open one of the large height-raising legs 3A, and then open the other height-raising leg 3B, otherwise both the left and right height-raising legs 3 cannot be opened.

Now, to explain the bottom outer periphery legs 2 in more detail, they are formed in a shape that hangs down slightly further than the left and right height-raising legs 3 when the left and right height-raising legs 3 are folded up and in the normal use mode A, and in this normal use mode A, the bottom outer periphery legs 2 are configured to come into contact with the ground surface.

In addition, when the left and right height-raising legs 3 are folded upward and rotated to be stored within the bottom outer peripheral leg 2 in this embodiment (when the normal use mode A is used), a leg-opening operation notch 6 is provided at the location where the front and rear hanging leg rods 4 of one of the large height-raising legs 3A, which is folded in a substantially horizontal state, are located, and one of the large height-raising legs 3A, which is stored within the bottom outer peripheral leg 2 and is located outside the other height-raising leg 3B, can be rotated downward by hand to open the legs via this leg-opening operation notch 6.

Although not shown, when the left and right height-raising legs 3 are folded upward and rotated to fit inside the bottom outer peripheral leg 2, a configuration may be adopted in which a leg-opening operation notch 6 is provided at the location where the mounting rod 5 of one of the large height-raising legs 3A is located, or a configuration may be adopted in which a leg-opening operation notch 6 is provided both at the location where the front and rear hanging leg rods 4 of one of the large height-raising legs 3A are located and at the location where the mounting rod 5 of one of the large height-raising legs 3A is located.

The leg opening cutout 6 is formed in the front and rear long sides of the bottom outer peripheral leg 2, and the front and rear hanging leg rods 4 of one of the large raising legs 3A in a substantially horizontally folded state are provided adjacent to the horizontally long leg opening cutout 6, so that the user can clearly see the front and rear hanging leg rods 4 of one of the large raising legs 3A from the outside of the bottom outer peripheral leg 2 through the wide horizontal opening leg opening cutout 6.

Therefore, in this embodiment, when opening the left and right height-raising legs 3 to the height-raising usage mode B as described above, the procedure of first opening one of the large height-raising legs 3A and then opening the other height-raising leg 3B must be followed in order for both the left and right height-raising legs 3 to be opened. However, when opening the legs, the user can easily confirm which of the large height-raising legs 3A should be opened first through the leg-opening operation notch 6 without lifting the storage body 1 high or turning it upside down. In addition, the user can insert his or her hand into the bottom outer peripheral leg 2 from either the front or rear of the leg-opening operation notch 6 and rotate the one of the large height-raising legs 3A, which is located outside the other height-raising leg 3B, downward to easily open it, effectively preventing erroneous opening of the other height-raising leg 3B first.

Furthermore, when one of the large raising legs 3A is folded upward and rotated to fit inside the bottom outer peripheral leg 2, finger hooks 7 are provided on the hanging leg rods 4 at the front and rear of the one of the large raising legs 3A, which are adjacent to the notch 6 for leg opening operation, so that the user can hook the fingers of his/her hand inserted through the notch 6 for leg opening operation on the finger hooks 7 to rotate the one of the large raising legs 3A downward (leg opening operation).

More specifically, when one of the large raising legs 3A is folded and rotated upwardly to be stored within the bottom outer peripheral leg 2, the finger hook 7 is provided on the side surface adjacent to the leg opening operation notch 6 of the hanging leg rod 4 of this large raising leg 3A, i.e., on the front side surface of the front hanging leg rod 4 and the rear side surface of the rear hanging leg rod 4 of the large raising leg 3A, and is formed (integrally molded) in a long convex shape along the length of the hanging leg rod 4, so that this finger hook 7 is exposed across the full width of the leg opening operation notch 6 and can be clearly seen from outside the bottom outer peripheral leg 2. In addition, this finger hook 7 is arranged in a position that is exposed below the leg opening cutout 6 when the large height-raising leg 3A is folded and stored inside the bottom outer leg 2, and is configured so that the fingers of the hand inserted through the leg opening cutout 6 can be easily hooked onto the finger hook 7 located on the lower side, making it easy to open the legs (see Figure 4).

In addition, in this embodiment, the other lifting leg 3B is also provided with the finger hook 7, so that after opening one of the large lifting legs 3A, the other lifting leg 3B can also be easily opened by hooking the fingers of the hand inserted through the leg opening cutout 6 on the finger hook 7.

The present invention is not limited to this embodiment, and the specific configuration of each component can be designed as appropriate.

1 Storage body 2 Bottom outer peripheral leg 3 Height-raising leg 3A One large height-raising leg 3B The other height-raising leg 4 Suspension leg rod 5 Erection rod 6 Notch for leg opening operation 7 Finger hook A Normal use mode B Height-raised use mode

Claims (4)

A frame-shaped bottom peripheral leg is vertically attached to the outer periphery of the bottom of the top-opening storage body,
Raising legs are rotatably provided at two positions on the left and right sides of the bottom outer peripheral leg at the bottom of the storage body, and the left and right raising legs are folded and rotated upward and placed within the bottom outer peripheral leg along the bottom of the storage body, thereby causing the bottom outer peripheral leg to touch the ground and disposing the storage body at a low position, and the left and right raising legs are rotated downward from the normal use mode to protrude below the bottom outer peripheral leg and open, causing the open raising legs to touch the ground and disposing the storage body at a high position, so that the storage body can be switched between these normal use mode and raised use mode.
The left and right raising legs are formed into a U-shaped frame body including a pair of front and rear hanging leg rods whose upper ends are pivotally attached to the bottom of the storage body, and an installation rod installed between the lower ends of the front and rear hanging leg rods,
a storage container with legs, wherein one of the left and right height-raising legs is configured as a large height-raising leg having a front-to-rear width larger than that of the other of the left and right height-raising legs, and when the left and right height-raising legs are folded upward and rotated to be stored within the bottom outer peripheral legs, the front and rear hanging leg rods of the other height-raising leg are arranged inside the front and rear hanging leg rods of one large height-raising leg, and upper ends of the front and rear hanging leg rods of the other height-raising leg are pivotally attached to a bottom of a storage body surrounded by the front and rear hanging leg rods of the one large height-raising leg and an erection rod,
A storage container with legs, characterized in that when the left and right height-raising legs are folded upward and rotated to store them within the bottom outer peripheral legs, a leg-opening operation notch is provided at the location where the front and rear hanging leg rods of one of the large height-raising legs are adjacent or at the location where the erection rod of one of the large height-raising legs is adjacent, and one of the large height-raising legs, which is stored within the bottom outer peripheral legs via this leg-opening operation notch and is positioned outside the other height-raising leg, can be rotated downward by hand to open the legs. A storage container with legs as described in claim 1, characterized in that a horizontally elongated cutout for the leg opening operation is provided on the long side of the bottom outer peripheral leg, and the hanging leg rod of one of the large height-raising legs that has been folded and rotated upward and stored within the bottom outer peripheral leg is arranged in a position visible from the horizontally elongated cutout for the leg opening operation. A storage container with legs according to any one of claims 1 and 2, characterized in that the hanging leg rod is provided with a finger hook that faces the leg opening cutout when the large height-raising leg is folded upward and rotated to be stored inside the bottom outer peripheral leg. The storage container with legs according to claim 3, characterized in that the finger hook portion is formed as a long protruding strip along the length of the hanging leg.

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