Case having casters

Abstract

A case for storage or transport includes a top side, a bottom side, a front side, a rear side, a right side, and a left side, an outermost portion of the bottom side defining a plane. The case further includes at least one wheel including a portion protruding outwardly from one of the front side and the rear side, wherein no portion of the wheel protrudes past the plane defined by the outermost portion of the bottom side.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority from provisional application Ser. No. 60/927,474, filed May 3, 2007, and which is incorporated herein by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The principles disclosed herein relate generally to stackable cases or containers used for storing and/or transporting items, and, more particularly, to cases or containers including casters for mobility.

BACKGROUND

Cases or containers for storing and/or transporting items are known in the art. Such cases come in a variety of shapes and sizes and are manufactured from a variety of materials including different types of polymers and metals, depending upon their intended use. Certain cases may include casters with wheels mounted thereon for mobility. Certain cases may be waterproof, providing a water-tight seal for the stored items therein. The storage cases may also be designed for stackability, wherein they may include intermating/interfitting features to provide stability when stacked on top of one another. Improvements in the design of storage cases are desired.

SUMMARY

According to one aspect of the disclosure, the principles disclosed herein relate to a case including casters for mobility, the casters protruding out only from a side of the case so as to allow the case to lay flat against a ground surface and so as to not interfere with the stackability of the cases.

In one particular aspect, the disclosure is directed to a case wherein the casters protrude out only from a rear side of the case and lie flush with the bottom side of the case, allowing the case to lay flat against a ground surface or another case. The casters are configured such that, when the front side of the case is tilted up with the use of a pull handle, the caster wheels make contact with the ground surface for providing full mobility of the case.

A variety of additional inventive aspects will be set forth in the description that follows. The inventive aspects can relate to individual features and combinations of features. It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory only and are not restrictive of the broad inventive concepts upon which the embodiments disclosed herein are based.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a front perspective view of a case having features that are examples of inventive aspects in accordance with the principles of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a rear elevational view of the case of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a front elevational view of the case of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a right side elevational view of the case of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 illustrates a front perspective view of two of the cases of FIG. 1 in a stacked configuration;

FIG. 6 illustrates a rear elevational view of the cases of FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 illustrates a right side elevational view of the cases of FIG. 5;

FIG. 8 is a front perspective view of a caster mountable on the case of FIG. 1, the caster having features that are examples of inventive aspects in accordance with the principles of the present disclosure;

FIG. 9 is a front elevational view of the caster of FIG. 8;

FIG. 10 is a rear elevational view of the caster of FIG. 8;

FIG. 11 is a side elevational view of the caster of FIG. 8, the portion of the caster wheel that is within the caster housing shown with hidden lines;

FIG. 12 is a top plan view of the caster of FIG. 8;

FIG. 13 is a bottom plan view of the caster of FIG. 8;

FIG. 14 is a front perspective view of the caster housing of the caster of FIG. 8;

FIG. 15 is a front elevational view of the caster housing of FIG. 14;

FIG. 16 is a side elevational view of the caster housing of FIG. 14;

FIG. 17 is a top plan view of the caster housing of FIG. 14;

FIG. 18 is a front elevational view of the caster wheel of the caster of FIG. 8;

FIG. 19 is a side elevational view of the caster wheel of FIG. 18; and

FIG. 20 is a top plan view of the caster wheel of FIG. 18.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

An example embodiment of a case having features that are examples of inventive aspects in accordance with the principles of the present disclosure is shown in FIGS. 1-4, designated generally at 10.

The case 10 includes a main body portion 12 for storing items and a cover portion 14 for sealably closing the main body 12. In the depicted embodiment, the case 10 includes latches 16 for latching the cover 14 to the main body 12. Other types of interlock structures for interlocking the cover 14 to the main body 12 are certainly possible. As depicted, the main body portion 12 and the cover portion 14 of the case 10 may include reinforcement or strength members 18 such as ribs for providing rigidity and strength to the case 10.

The case 10 includes a top side 20, a bottom side 22, a front side 24, a rear side 26, a right side 28, and a left side 30. In the depicted embodiment, the latches 16 are disposed on all four sides 24, 26, 28, 30 of the case 10. The case 10 includes a pair of lift handles 32 on the front side 24 and a pair of lift handles 34 on the rear side 26. Lift handles 32, 34 are hingedly attached to the front and rear sides and are used for lifting the case 10.

In the depicted embodiment of the case, the case 10 also includes structures for providing stability when two of the cases 10 are stacked on top of one another. For example, the cover 14 includes a plurality of bumps 36 on the top side 20 of the case 10. The main body portion 12 of the case 10 includes a plurality of slots (not shown) formed at the bottom side 22 of the case 10. The bumps 36 of the case 10 are configured to fit within the slots of an adjacent case 10 that is stacked on top thereof to provide stability. Two of the cases 10 are shown in a stacked configuration in FIGS. 5-7.

Still referring to FIGS. 1-4, the case 10 includes four casters 40 adjacent the rear side 26. Other numbers are certainly possible. In other embodiments, the casters 40 may be provided at both the rear side 26 and the front side 24 of the cases 10. Each caster 40 includes a caster housing 42 and a caster wheel 44. As shown in FIG. 4, the casters 40 and the main body 12 of the case 10 are designed such that the caster wheels 44 only protrude out from the rear side 26 of the case 10 and lie flush against the bottom side 22 of the case 10. This configuration allows the case 10 to be stacked on top of another case 10, as shown in FIGS. 5-7, or lay flat against a ground surface without any need for clearance for the casters 40. When two cases 10 are in a stacked configuration, as shown in FIGS. 5-7, the wheels 44 only protrude out from the rear side 26 of the case 10 and do not protrude out past a plane P defined by the bottom side 22 of the case 10.

Using a pull handle 46 that is located on the front side 24 of the case 10, when the front side 24 is lifted upwardly, the portions of the wheels 44 that protrude out from the rear side 26 of the case 10 make contact with the ground surface. In this manner, the cases 10 still provide for full mobility and can be rolled on the ground surface without the casters 40 interfering with the stackability of the cases 10.

One of the casters 40 is shown in greater detail in FIGS. 8-13. The caster 40 includes the caster housing 42 (shown in FIGS. 14-17) and the caster wheel 44 (shown in FIGS. 18-20) rotatably coupled to the caster housing 42. The caster housing 42 includes a mounting flange 48. The mounting flange 48 includes a front portion 50 and a bottom portion 52 that is oriented generally perpendicularly to the front portion 50. A pair of mounting holes 54 is provided on the front portion 50 of the flange 48 and a pair of mounting holes 56 is provided on the bottom portion 52 of the mounting flange 48.

One of the caster wheels 44 is shown in greater detail in FIGS. 18-20. The caster wheel 44 includes a polyurethane wheel portion 58, bearings 60, and spokes 62 (e.g., made out of polymer) connecting the bearings 60 to the wheel portion 58. The caster wheel 44 is coupled to the caster housing 42 using a machine screw (not shown) inserted through the bearings 60 of the caster wheel 44 and a jam nut (not shown) tightened to the end of the machine screw to hold the caster wheel 44 within the caster housing 42. It should be noted that the caster wheel 44 depicted herein is simply one example of a wide variety of wheels that are available in the art and that can be used with the caster housing 42 of the present disclosure. Other types of caster wheels and other types of fasteners used to fasten the caster wheels 44 to the caster housing 42 are certainly possible for use with the case 10 of the present disclosure.

Referring back to FIGS. 1-4, the case includes recesses (not shown) for receiving the casters 40. The recesses are shaped to accommodate the caster housings 42 and the portions of the caster wheels 44 that are within the caster housings 42 (i.e., the portions that do not protrude from the rear side of the case). When the casters 40 are mounted on the case 10 adjacent the rear side 26, the flanges 48 lie flush with the rear side 26 and the bottom side 22 of the case 10 so as to not protrude out therefrom.

When the casters 40 are mounted on the case 10, even though the wheels 44 do not protrude past the plane P defined by the bottom side 22 of the case 10, the wheels 44 are positioned close enough to the plane P such that lifting the front side 24 of the case 10 and tilting it brings the wheels 44 in contact with the ground surface for rolling the case 10.

Although in the foregoing description of the case 10, terms such as “top”, “bottom”, “front”, “back”, “right”, and “left” were used for ease of description and illustration, no restriction is intended by such use of the terms. The case 10 can be used in any orientation.

The above specification, examples and data provide a complete description of the inventive aspects of the disclosure. Many embodiments of the disclosure can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the inventive aspects of the disclosure.

Claims

1. A case for storage or transport, the case comprising:

a top side, a bottom side, a front side, a rear side, a right side, and a left side, an outermost portion of the bottom side defining a plane;

a wheel including a portion protruding outwardly from one of the front side and the rear side;

wherein no portion of the wheel protrudes past the plane defined by the outermost portion of the bottom side.

2. A case according to claim 1, wherein the case includes a box configuration with the top and bottom sides being perpendicular to the front, rear, right and left sides.

3. A case according to claim 1, further comprising two wheels protruding outwardly from the one of the front side and the rear side, wherein no portions of the wheels protrude past the place defined by the outermost portion of the bottom side.

4. A case according to claim 1, wherein the wheel lies flush with the plane defined by the outermost portion of the bottom side.

5. A case according to claim 1, further comprising a lift handle positioned at an opposite side from the wheel for lifting the case.

6. A case according to claim 5, further comprising a lift handle located on both the front and the rear side of the case for lifting the case.

7. A case according to claim 5, wherein the lift handle is positioned adjacent the bottom side of the case.

8. A case according to claim 1, further comprising a main body portion and a movable cover portion, wherein the main body portion and the cover portion include interlock structures for interlocking the cover portion to the main body portion.

9. A case according to claim 1, further comprising reinforcement members provided on the case for rigidity.

10. A case according to claim 1, further comprising a bump located on the top side of the case, the bump configured to be inserted into a slot defined on a bottom side of another adjacent case that is stacked on top of the case.

11. A case according to claim 10, further comprising a slot located on the bottom side of the case, the slot configured to receive an bump defined on a top side of another adjacent case that is positioned on the bottom of the case when the two cases are stacked.

12. A pair of stacked cases comprising:

a first case including a top side, a bottom side, a front side, a rear side, a right side, and a left side, an outermost portion of the bottom side defining a plane, a wheel protruding outwardly from one of the front side and the rear side, wherein no portion of the wheel protrudes past the plane defined by the outermost portion of the bottom side; and

the first case stacked on top of a second case.

13. A pair of stacked cases according to claim 12, wherein the wheel lies flush with the plane defined by the outermost portion of the bottom side of the first case.

14. A pair of stacked cases according to claim 12, wherein the second case includes a bump located on a top side of the second case and the first case includes a slot defined on the bottom side of the first case, the bump inserted into the slot when the first and second cases are in a stacked arrangement.

15. A method of using a transport case, the method comprising:

providing a case including a top side, a bottom side, a front side, a rear side, a right side, a left side, a wheel including a portion protruding outwardly from one of the front side and the rear side, and a lift handle positioned at an opposite side from the wheel, wherein the bottom side defines an outermost portion;

laying the case on a ground surface wherein the entire outermost portion of the bottom side contacts the ground without the wheel interfering with the ground surface;

lifting the side of the case including the lift handle using the lift handle, wherein the case is tilted until the wheel contacts the ground surface; and

rolling the case with the wheel rolling over the ground surface.

16. A method according to claim 15, wherein the case defines a box configuration.

17. A method according to claim 15, wherein the case includes a lift handle located on both the front and the rear side of the case.

18. A method according to claim 15, wherein the lift handle is positioned adjacent the bottom side of the case.

19. A method according to claim 15, further comprising lifting the case off the ground surface after rolling and stacking the case on top of another case, wherein the entire outermost portion of the bottom side of the case contacts a top side of the other case without the wheel interfering with the top side of the other case.

20. A method according to claim 15, wherein the case includes a main body portion and a movable cover portion, wherein the main body portion and the cover portion include interlock structures for interlocking the cover portion to the main body portion.