Latch system for containers
First Claim
1. A latch system for stacked containers comprising:
- a plurality of bosses coupled to each of an upper container and a lower container, the upper container stackable on top of the lower container, the plurality of bosses including a pivot boss and a storage boss affixed to a side of each of the upper and lower containers each offset from a lower surface of each of the upper and lower containers by a same first distance and separated from one another by a second distance, the plurality of bosses further including a latch boss coupled to the side of each of the upper and lower containers and vertically aligned with the pivot boss of each of the upper and lower containers; and
a latch mechanism having a pivot end portion and a latch end portion, the pivot end portion having an opening sized to receive and pivotally affixed to the pivot boss of the upper container and rotate relative thereto, the latch end portion configured to biasly engage the latch boss of the lower container and the storage boss of the upper container,wherein the upper container is stacked on the lower container such that the pivot boss of the upper container and the latch boss of the lower container are separated by the second distance.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A latch system for stacked containers includes a plurality of bosses and a latch mechanism. The bosses are coupled to each of the stack containers and may include a pivot boss, a storage boss and a latch boss. The latch mechanism includes a pivot end portion, a flexible mid portion and a latch end portion. The pivot end portion is placed onto the pivot boss to allow rotation of the latch mechanism there about. In one embodiment, the pivot end portion includes a rounded inner diameter to permit both in-plane and out-of-plane rotation of the latch mechanism relative to the container. The latch end portion biasly engages either the storage boss of the same container or the latch boss of another container.
81 Citations
17 Claims
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1. A latch system for stacked containers comprising:
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a plurality of bosses coupled to each of an upper container and a lower container, the upper container stackable on top of the lower container, the plurality of bosses including a pivot boss and a storage boss affixed to a side of each of the upper and lower containers each offset from a lower surface of each of the upper and lower containers by a same first distance and separated from one another by a second distance, the plurality of bosses further including a latch boss coupled to the side of each of the upper and lower containers and vertically aligned with the pivot boss of each of the upper and lower containers; and a latch mechanism having a pivot end portion and a latch end portion, the pivot end portion having an opening sized to receive and pivotally affixed to the pivot boss of the upper container and rotate relative thereto, the latch end portion configured to biasly engage the latch boss of the lower container and the storage boss of the upper container, wherein the upper container is stacked on the lower container such that the pivot boss of the upper container and the latch boss of the lower container are separated by the second distance. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. A container system comprising:
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a first container having at least a pivot boss and a storage boss each affixed to a side of the first container and separated by a latch distance; a second container stacked with respect to the first container, the second container having a latch boss affixed to a side of the second container; and a latch mechanism having a pivot end portion and a latch end portion, the pivot end portion configured to receive the pivot boss and being pivotally affixed to the pivot boss, the latch end portion configured to biasly and selectively engage the storage boss of the first container or the latch boss of the second container when the latch mechanism is rotated about the pivot boss and the storage boss of the first container, wherein the pivot boss of the first container and the latch boss of the second container are separated by the latch distance. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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Specification