U.S. patent application number 10/723539 was filed with the patent office on 2005-05-26 for container for holding punches and dies.
This patent application is currently assigned to NATOLI ENGINEERING COMPANY, INC.. Invention is credited to Bender, Jason, Natoli, Michael E., Sperry, Randy.
Application Number | 20050109649 10/723539 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 34592303 |
Filed Date | 2005-05-26 |
United States Patent
Application |
20050109649 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Natoli, Michael E. ; et
al. |
May 26, 2005 |
Container for holding punches and dies
Abstract
A transport container for storing and transporting punches and
dies having a hollow housing for receiving an insert housing that
creates a first compartment for receiving punches and defining a
second compartment for receiving dies where access to the second
compartment is provided by a retractable door pivotally mounted to
an end wall of the housing.
Inventors: |
Natoli, Michael E.; (Eureka,
MO) ; Bender, Jason; (Mount Pleasant, IA) ;
Sperry, Randy; (Burlington, IA) |
Correspondence
Address: |
ZARLEY LAW FIRM P.L.C.
CAPITAL SQUARE
400 LOCUST, SUITE 200
DES MOINES
IA
50309-2350
US
|
Assignee: |
NATOLI ENGINEERING COMPANY,
INC.
St. Charles
MO
|
Family ID: |
34592303 |
Appl. No.: |
10/723539 |
Filed: |
November 26, 2003 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
206/372 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B25H 3/003 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
206/372 |
International
Class: |
B65D 085/28 |
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A container for storing and transporting punches and dies
comprising: a housing having a bottom wall, side walls, end walls,
and an open top that form a hollow interior for receiving an
insert; the insert creating a first compartment and defining a
second compartment within the hollow interior of the housing; and a
retractable door positioned on an end wall of the housing to
provide access to the second compartment.
2. The container of claim 1 wherein the insert is adapted to
receive punches.
3. The container of claim 1 wherein the second compartment is
adapted to receive dies.
4. The container of claim 3 wherein the bottom wall of the housing
is sloped to facilitate the unloading of dies.
5. The container of claim 1 wherein the housing is translucent.
6. The container of claim 1 further comprising a lid pivotally
connected to the open top of the container.
7. The container of claim 6 wherein the lid is translucent.
8. The container of claim 6 wherein the lid has a plurality of
recesses.
9. A housing insert for placement in a container for storing and
transporting punches and dies comprising: a first and a second half
detachably joined together along a vertical parting plane such that
when joined the halves form a substantially hollow interior and a
top wall having a plurality of apertures for receiving the punches;
and a means for releasably securing the insert within the
container.
10. The housing insert of claim 9 wherein the apertures have a
keyhole entry and sloped portions.
11. The housing insert of claim 9 wherein at least one aperture is
adapted to receive a desicant tablet.
12. The housing insert of claim 9 wherein the plurality of
apertures have support members to facilitate holding the
punches.
13. The insert of claim 9 wherein the first and second halves are
detachably joined by at least one latch securably connected to the
first half of the insert engaging an opening in the second half of
the insert.
14. A container for storing and transporting punches and dies
comprising: a plurality of housings having hollow interiors for
receiving inserts; said inserts creating a first compartment and
defining a second compartment within each housing; a retractable
door pivotally connected and positioned to an end wall of each
housing to provide access to the second compartment; and each
housing being detachably connected to at least one other
housing.
15. The container of claim 14 wherein at least one housing has a
handle securably attached thereto.
16. The container of claim 14 wherein a first housing has a clasp
that releasably engages a slot of a second housing.
17. The container of claim 16 wherein a retaining lock is
associated with the slot of the second housing and releasably
secures the first and second housings together.
18. The container of claim 14 wherein each housing has a lid
pivotally connected to a top opening of the housing and having a
plurality of notches that are formed to receive a protrusion
extending from a bottom wall of a separate housing to facilitate
the stacking of the separate housing on top of the lid of the
housing.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] Containers for storing punches and dies for use in the
manufacture of pharmaceuticals are well known in the art. Desirable
is a container that can securely hold the punches and dies while at
the same time ensure the cleanliness of the equipment. Present
containers, however, do not securely hold the punches and dies in
place during transport, nor do they provide easy access to separate
compartments within the container that store the punches and the
dies. In addition, present containers are limited with respect to
capacity and do not allow flexibility for adapting the container
for applications requiring a greater number of punches and dies.
Therefore, a need exists for an improved container for storing and
transporting punches and dies.
[0002] A principle object of the present invention is to provide a
punch and die transport container that improves upon the state of
the art.
[0003] A further object of the present invention is to provide a
punch and die container that uses an insert that can be easily
removed for cleaning purposes.
[0004] Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a
punch and die transport container that is able to hold a desicant
tablet to maintain the cleanliness of the container.
[0005] Still another object of the present invention is to provide
a punch and die transport container that utilizes a lid to access a
first compartment holding punches and a door to access dies from a
second compartment.
[0006] Another object of the present invention is to provide a
punch and die transport container that uses a plurality of
containers that interconnect vertically and horizontally allowing
several containers to be stored in a compact space.
[0007] Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a
plurality of punch and die containers that interlock so that the
size of the container can be adjusted.
[0008] Still another object of the present invention is to provide
a punch and die transport container that is translucent so that an
individual can determine the amount of punches and dies in a
container without having to open the container.
[0009] These and other objects, features, or advantages of the
present invention will become apparent from the specification and
claims.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0010] The container of the present invention comprises a housing
having a hollow interior that partially receives an insert housing.
The insert housing creates a first compartment and defines a second
compartment as the remaining portion of the hollow interior of the
container. The insert, or first compartment is adapted to receive
and orient punches and can be easily accessed by opening a lid on
the top of the container. The second compartment is partially
defined by a sloped bottom floor of the housing and is adapted to
hold dies that can be accessed via a retractable door. The insert
is comprised of two detachably connected halves that when placed
together form a plurality of apertures that receive punches.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0011] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the container and insert
wherein the side of the container has been removed;
[0012] FIG. 2 is a plan view of the top of the insert;
[0013] FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a series of containers
detachably joined to one another.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0014] Referring to the drawings, the container 10 of the present
invention has a housing 12 having side walls 14, end walls 16, a
bottom 18, and an open top 20 that form a hollow interior. The
bottom 18 of the housing 12 is slanted from one end to the other.
The bottom 18 also has protrusions 22 that extend downwardly from
the bottom wall 18. Pivotally connected to one end 16 of the
housing 12 at the top 20 is a lid 24. The lid 24 is preferably
translucent to allow visual access into the housing 12. Likewise,
the housing 12 is preferably translucent to provide visual access
to the interior. The lid 24 is releasably held in a closed position
by any conventional manner such as by a latch 26. Also preferred is
that the lid 24 have notches 28 formed to receive protrusions 22.
The lid also preferably has a plurality of recesses 30 for purposes
to be described.
[0015] Extending from the interior of side walls 14 are a plurality
of protrusions 32 formed to receive an insert housing 34. The
insert 34 comprises a first compartment 36 and defines a second
compartment 38 in the hollow interior of the housing 12 that
remains after insertion. Pivotally connected to the end wall 14
near the bottom 18 is a door 40 that provides access to the second
compartment 38. The door 40 is preferably translucent to allow
visual access to the second compartment 38.
[0016] The insert 34 is comprised of a first half 42 and a second
half 44 that are detachably joined together along a vertical
parting plane 46 to form the first compartment 36. While the first
half 42 and the second half 44 can be joined in any conventional
manner, preferred is that the halves be folded along a seam (not
shown) that joins at least a portion of the bottom 62 of each of
the halves. The halves 42 and 44 are further detachably joined by a
latch 52 that extends from one half 42 and engages a retaining slot
54 connected to the other half 44.
[0017] When joined, the halves 42 and 44 form an insert housing 34
having a top 56, side walls 58, end walls 60, and a bottom 62. The
top 56 has a plurality of apertures 64 for receiving punches 65.
The apertures 64 have a pair of slots 66 oppositely disposed from
one another to form a key hole entry. Extending around the
apertures 64 from the slots 66 are sloped portions 68. Also,
extending upwardly from the slots 66 of the apertures are support
members 69.
[0018] The sides 58 of the insert 34 preferably have partially
curved outer and inner surfaces 70 formed to securely receive a
punch 65. The ends of the side walls 58 also have slots 72 formed
to receive the protrusions 32 from the side walls 14 of the
container housing 12. Mounted near the top of the end walls 60 are
clips 74 which are used to releasably secure the insert 34 within
the container housing 12.
[0019] To increase the capacity of the container, a plurality of
housings 12 are releasably joined together. While the housings 12
can be joined in any conventional manner, preferred is the use of
clasp 76 and a pair of dowels 78 that extend outwardly from the
side wall 14 of a housing 12. The clasp 76 is received in a
retaining slot 80 located on the side wall 14 of a separate housing
12, and the dowels 78 are received in openings 82. A retaining lock
84, located on the end wall 16 of the housing 12 engages clasp 76
through slot 80 to releasably secure one housing to another. When a
plurality of housings are joined together, the housings on the ends
have a handle 86 mounted to the exterior side wall 14 of the end
housing 12 as shown in FIG. 3.
[0020] In operation, the first half 42 and the second half 44 are
detachably joined to form the insert housing 34. The insert 34 is
then slidably placed within housing 12 by aligning the protrusions
32 of the housing 12 with the slots 72. The clip 74 engages the
interior of the end wall 16 of the housing such that the insert 34
is releasably secured within the housing 12. The insert 34 is
inserted a sufficient depth such that space within the hollow
interior of housing 12 below the insert 34 forms the second
compartment 38.
[0021] A plurality of punches 65 are inserted through the apertures
64 of the insert 34 for storage and transportation within the first
compartment 36. The design of the slots 66 along with the sloped
portions 68 and the support members 69 orient the punches 65 and
assist in maintaining them in a vertical upright position.
Likewise, a plurality of dies 86 are inserted through door 40 for
storage within the second compartment 38. The bottom 18 of housing
12 slopes downwardly toward the door 40 to facilitate unloading of
the dies when needed. In an alternative embodiment, the punches and
dies are retained in the first compartment 36 while a removable
cleaning tray is placed in the second compartment 38.
[0022] In place of punches 65, desicant tablets 88 are inserted in
some of the apertures 64 to absorb moisture which assists in
preventing the collection of dirt particles for maintaining a clean
container. The tablets 88 extend from the first compartment 36
through the bottom 62 of the insert 34 and into the second
compartment 38 to absorb moisture from both compartment. Also, the
detachable first half 42 and second half 44 allow easy access to
the interior of the insert 34 for cleaning and sterilization.
[0023] To increase the capacity of the container 10, a plurality of
housings 12 are detachably joined together through use of the clasp
76 and dowels 78 as received in slot 80 and openings 82. The
handles 86 mounted on the exterior side walls 14 of the end
housings 12 facilitate the carrying of the container 10. Likewise,
notches 28 on the lid 24 of one housing 12 receive the protrusions
22 from another housing to facilitate stacking of one container on
top of another. Also, the recesses 30 receive straps or banding
(not shown) which further bind the housings 12 together and assist
in the ease of transporting the containers.
[0024] From the proceeding description, it can be seen that this
invention improves upon the state of art and meets the outlined
objectives.
* * * * *