JP7748026B2 - Storage equipment - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to storage devices, and more specifically to storage devices that can be placed in drawers in the kitchen or elsewhere, allowing for efficient storage of cooking utensils and other items while creating space efficiently.

2. Description of the Related Art Drawers used in kitchen base cabinets are configured so that appropriate partition members or the like are arranged inside the drawers to allow various cooking utensils and the like to be stored separately.
A known example of a storage device to assist with this type of storage is the pocket described in Patent Document 1. This pocket is box-shaped with an open top, and the storage width within the pocket can be adjusted by inserting and removing plate-shaped partition members into ribs provided in the vertical direction on the inner surface of the opposing side walls.
Furthermore, Patent Document 2 discloses a pot lid storage device as a storage device that can be placed in the aforementioned drawer. This storage device has a first storage section and a second storage section that can store multiple pot lids so that they are approximately parallel to each other, and is designed so that when the gripping parts of the pot lids are supported so that the upper and lower surfaces of the pot lids face opposite directions, a space for grasping the gripping parts of the pot lids is formed between the upper surface of one pot lid and the gripping part of the other pot lid.

JP 2019-195390 A Patent No. 6501197

However, in the storage device described in Patent Document 1, the storage space within the pocket is divided by inserting a partition member between the ribs, and the storage width within the pocket is determined by the position of the ribs, making it impossible to divide the pocket at any desired position. Therefore, it is not possible to adjust the storage width to suit the size or thickness of the items to be stored. In such cases, for example, if the thickness of the items to be stored is relatively small compared to the storage width, the items may rattle or tip over within the pocket. Furthermore, when the partition member is not needed, it must be stored, which can be inconvenient as it can be difficult to locate it when needed.
Furthermore, the storage device described in Patent Document 2 is a specialized type that supports the handles of the pot lid on the first and second support parts without interfering with each other, and has the disadvantage that it is not suitable for storing items other than pot lids and lacks versatility.

[Objective of the Invention]
The present invention was devised in response to these inconveniences, and its purpose is to provide a storage device that can divide the space inside a container with a partition member and that can adjust the storage width steplessly to match the size, thickness, etc. of the items to be stored.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a versatile storage device that can slidably support a partition member by utilizing the structure inside the drawer, thereby simplifying the structure of the container itself.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention employs the configuration described in the claims. Specifically, the storage tool includes a container that has a generally rectangular outline in a plan view , is open at the top, and is placed in a kitchen drawer , a partition member that can be placed in the container, and a frame that is positioned outside the container and supports the partition member ,
The container has a cutout portion in the end wall on at least one end in the longitudinal direction, and the partition member is arranged so that it can be positioned inside or outside the container through the cutout portion, and is arranged so that it can slide in a direction to adjust the storage width within the container.

It is also preferable to adopt a configuration in which, when the partition member is placed inside the container, a non-partitioned space is formed between the inner surface of the container and one side end of the partition member.

Furthermore, the container can be placed in a specified drawer and be configured so that its position can be controlled using the front panel, rear panel, or side wall of the drawer and a frame supported by the drawer.

The present invention also provides a storage device to be placed in a kitchen drawer, the storage device having a front panel, a rear panel, left and right side panels, and a frame arranged along each of these panels,
A container having a generally rectangular outline in plan view;
a partition member having a plate-shaped partition surface disposed in a substantially vertical plane within the container and a hook portion provided at a side end of the partition surface,
The hook portion is slidably moved along the frame to adjust the storage width of the container ,
The container may have a shape with a notch in an end wall on at least one end side in the longitudinal direction, and the partition member may be provided so as to be positionable inside or outside the container through the notch .

According to the present invention, the partition member placed inside the container is slidably mounted, allowing the position of the partition member inside the container to be adjusted continuously in the sliding direction. Therefore, the storage width between the inner surface of the container and the partition member can be adjusted to suit the size of the items to be stored, allowing for effective use of the storage space.

Furthermore, by configuring the partition member to be supported by the frame, there is no need to provide a frame support portion on the container, allowing for a simpler container configuration.

Furthermore, in a configuration in which an unpartitioned space is formed between the inner surface of the container and one side edge of the partition member, an area with a relatively large storage width can be formed within the container, making it possible to store items according to that area, thereby diversifying storage options.

Furthermore, even if a partition member is not required inside the container, since the partition member is supported by the frame, it can be used in a general-purpose manner as a divider to separate storage space inside a drawer.
Furthermore, by utilizing components such as the drawer front panel and frame, the container can be kept at a fixed position within the drawer, so even if the center of gravity of the container is raised due to the objects stored inside, there is no risk of the container tipping over when the drawer is pulled out or put back in.
In addition, when the container has a shape with a notch in the end wall, the position of the container can be changed without removing the partition member.

1 is a schematic perspective view of a kitchen to which the storage tool is applied; Schematic plan view of the kitchen drawer. FIG. 3 is a right side view of FIG. 2 . FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view of a main part of a drawer in which storage items are placed. (A) is a plan view of the container, (B) is a front view of the container, and (C) is a right side view thereof. 1A is a front view of the partition member, and FIG. 1B is a right side view thereof.

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described with reference to the drawings. In this specification, unless otherwise specified, terms indicating position or direction are based on the kitchen shown in Figure 1 as viewed from the direction of arrow A, with the front side of the drawer (bottom center in Figure 2) being referred to as "front" and the rear side of the drawer (top center in Figure 2) being referred to as "rear." Furthermore, these terms indicating position or direction are merely used to facilitate understanding of the invention, and will necessarily change when the viewing direction is changed.

As shown in Figure 1, the kitchen 10 consists of a countertop 14 on which a sink 11 and cooking utensils 12 are placed, and a box-shaped cabinet 15 that supports the countertop 14. The cabinet 15 is equipped with multiple drawers 16 that can be moved forward and backward.

In Figure 1, the drawer 16 located below the cooking appliance 12 is composed of a bottom plate 20 that is rectangular in plan view, a front plate 21 and a rear plate 22 located at the front and rear ends of the bottom plate 20, side plates 23 located on the left and right sides of the bottom plate 20, a first frame 25 that spans the front-to-back direction above each side plate 23, and a second frame 26 that spans between the first frames 25 and is movable in the front-to-back direction along the first frames 25, as shown in Figures 2 to 4.
The drawer 16 has a front panel 21 whose vertical dimension, i.e., height, is greater than that of the rear panel 22. The first and second frames 25 and 26 are made of pipe material.
The height of the side plates 23 is set lower than the height of the rear plate 22 , and the first and second frames 25 , 26 are set at approximately the same height as the upper end of the rear plate 23 .
A resin cap 28 is attached to the rear plate 22, and the ends of the first frame 25 are fitted into this cap 28 and bearing pieces 29 provided on the inner surface of the front plate 21, respectively, to support the first frame 25.
In addition, end members 30 are attached to both ends of the second frame 26, and the end members 30 are configured to engage with the first frame 25 or to be penetrated by the first frame 25, thereby allowing the second frame 26 to move in the forward and backward directions along the first frame 25.

A container 33 constituting the storage equipment and a partition member 34 for partitioning the inside of the container 33 are arranged in the drawer 16 .
The container 33 is preferably made of a suitable resin material, such as a molded resin such as acrylic, and is shaped like a generally rectangular, open-topped box in a plan view. As shown in Figures 4 and 5, the container 33 is comprised of a bottom wall 35, a pair of side walls 37 rising from longitudinal ends of the bottom wall 35, and an end wall 38 positioned between the ends of the side walls 37 and having the same height as the side walls 37. One of the end walls 38 has a notch 39 extending vertically across its central portion. The width of the notch is preferably set to a width that allows a hook 42, described below, to slide freely.
The size of the container 33 in the present invention is not particularly limited, but as an example, the side wall 37 has a length of 320 mm, the end wall 38 has a width of 90 mm, and the height is 122.5 mm. The size of the container 33 may be determined depending on the bottom area or volume of the drawer 16. Note that the above dimensions of the container 33 are merely examples, but it is preferable that the upper edge of the container 33 be positioned at approximately the same height or higher as the axial centers of the first and second frames 25, 26.

The partition member 34 is made of an appropriate resin material. As shown in Figures 4 and 6, the partition member 34 is composed of a substantially rectangular partition surface 40 that is positioned in a substantially vertical plane during use, and a hook portion 42 provided at the top of one side end (base end) 40A of the partition surface 40. A protrusion 40C is provided at the lower end of a tip end 40B, which is the side end of the partition surface 40 opposite the base end 40A, and a lower edge 40D excluding the protrusion 40C is kept out of contact with the bottom wall 35 of the container 33, thereby allowing the partition surface 40 to be moved smoothly within the container 33.
The length of the partition surface 40 is set shorter than the length of the side wall 37 of the container 33. Specifically, it is set to approximately 258 mm. As a result, when the partition surface 40 is positioned inside the container 33 to partition the interior, a non-partitioned space C is formed between the tip 40B of the partition surface 40 and the inner surface of one end wall 38 of the container 33. The height of the partition surface 40 can be, for example, approximately 128 mm.
6, the hook portion 42 includes a base plate 42A located in a plane perpendicular to the partition surface 40, and a curved portion 42B that is continuous with the upper portion of the base plate 42 and has an inverted U-shape, and the curved portion 42B can slidably engage with the first and second frames 25, 26. The width of the hook portion 42 (the length in the left-right direction in FIG. 6(B)) is approximately 45 mm.

For example, as shown in Figure 4, the container 33 can be placed immediately behind the front panel 21 with its longitudinal direction facing left and right and with the cutout 39 facing the right side panel 23. Furthermore, as shown by the two-dot chain line in Figure 2, it can also be placed with its longitudinal direction facing forward and backward, or placed on the left side immediately behind the front panel 21.

In the above configuration, when storing items in the drawer 16, the container 33 can be placed immediately behind the front panel 21, as shown by the solid line in Figure 2. In this arrangement, the container 33 forms two storage spaces with a storage width in the front-to-rear direction, and an undivided space C is formed on the left side of the container 33. In this arrangement, the container 33 is sandwiched between the front panel 21 and the second frame 26, so there is no risk of the container 33 tipping over when the drawer 16 is inserted or removed.
As another example of the arrangement, for example, the container 33 can be arranged at the position shown by the two-dot chain line in Figure 2. In this arrangement, the container 33 has storage spaces with a storage width on both the left and right sides, and an undivided space C is formed on the upper side of the container 33 in the figure. In this arrangement, the container 33 has its longitudinal direction oriented in the front-to-rear direction, so it is naturally stable and there is no risk of it tipping over when the drawer is pulled out or put in.
Thus, according to this embodiment, by moving the hook portion 42, the storage width within the container 33 can be adjusted easily and quickly in a stepless manner, and storage can be performed without wasting space depending on the size, thickness, etc. of the items to be stored.

Although the best configurations and methods for carrying out the present invention have been disclosed above, the present invention is not limited to these.
That is, although the present invention has been particularly shown and described with respect to certain embodiments, those skilled in the art may make various modifications to the above-described embodiments without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention.

For example, in the above embodiment, the partition member 34 is made slidable by engaging the hook portions 42 with the first frame 25 and the second frame 26, but the partition member can also be made slidable by utilizing the end walls 38 of the container 33. In this case, it is possible to provide more freedom in the arrangement of the container 33 within the drawer 16.
Furthermore, although the notch 39 of the container 33 is provided on one end wall 38, it may be configured so that notches are provided on both end walls 38. This allows the container 33 to be positioned without considering its orientation in the longitudinal direction.
Furthermore, the partition member 34 may be made taller so that the hook portion 42 can be engaged with the first and second frames 25 and 26 without providing a notch in the container 33 .
Furthermore, the internal structure of the drawer shown in the above embodiment is not limited to the illustrated configuration example, and the addition of a partition wall or frame positioned in the middle is not prevented.

10...Kitchen, 15...Cabinet, 16...Drawer, 21...Front panel, 22...Rear panel, 23...Side panel, 25...First frame, 26...Second frame, 33...Container, 34...Partition member, 37...Side wall, 38...End wall, 39...Notch, 40...Partition surface, 40A...Side end (base end), 40B...Side end (tip end), 42...Hook portion, C...Non-partition space

Claims (4)

A storage device including a container having a generally rectangular outline in a plan view, an open top , and placed in a kitchen drawer , a partition member that can be placed in the container, and a frame that is positioned outside the container and supports the partition member ,
The container has a notch in an end wall on at least one longitudinal end side, and the partition member is arranged to be positionable inside or outside the container through the notch, and is arranged to be slidable in a direction to adjust the storage width within the container. 2. The storage device according to claim 1 , wherein, when the partition member is disposed in the container, a non-partitioned space is formed between the inner surface of the container and one side end of the partition member. The storage device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the container is placed in a specified drawer and is positionally adjustable using the front panel, rear panel, or side wall of the drawer and a frame supported by the drawer. A storage device to be placed in a kitchen drawer, the storage device having a front panel, a rear panel, left and right side panels, and a frame arranged along each of these panels,
A container having a generally rectangular outline in plan view;
a partition member having a plate-shaped partition surface disposed in a substantially vertical plane within the container and a hook portion provided at a side end of the partition surface,
The hook portion is slidably moved along the frame to adjust the storage width of the container ,
The container has a shape with a notch in at least one end wall in the longitudinal direction, and the partition member is arranged so as to be positionable inside or outside the container through the notch .