초록 ▼

A comprehensive storage and packaging system solution includes designs for container, closure, and holding apparatus. Container, closure and holding apparatus are interlocked together in mated combinations with interlocking connectors at connection hubs. This storage and packaging system includes de

A comprehensive storage and packaging system solution includes designs for container, closure, and holding apparatus. Container, closure and holding apparatus are interlocked together in mated combinations with interlocking connectors at connection hubs. This storage and packaging system includes design and methodology for secure and convenient collection, sorting, storage, presentation, and flexible transport of reclosable containers and the container's content. A plurality of container portability and secure transport is enhanced with the implementation of interlocking connection hubs. A single closed container joins into an interlocking container assembly at connection hubs. Container assemblies range from a single column, row or tube to an entire three dimensional spatial interlocking matrix. Use of the connection hubs with holding apparatus devices such as tote trays and carousel disks provide capabilities for the integration of containers, container assemblies, and holding apparatus or devices within this storage system solution. Modular design of holding apparatus provides for the controlled, organized, and flexible growth of this storage system solution. Together, functionally integrated containers, closures, and holding apparatus for this storage system solution provide for a well organized, convenient, portable, and user reconfigurable collection and worksite presentation of container contents including nuts, bolts, electrical connectors, tooling, hardware, and other collectables.

대표청구항 ▼

1. An interlocking assembly of containers, closures and a holding apparatus, the assembly comprising: a plurality of containers, each container including a container body having a first end formed to include an access opening, a second closed end, and a base located at the second end, the base inclu

1. An interlocking assembly of containers, closures and a holding apparatus, the assembly comprising: a plurality of containers, each container including a container body having a first end formed to include an access opening, a second closed end, and a base located at the second end, the base including a walled first connection hub having a plurality of spaced apart first locking members formed thereon;a plurality of closures configured to be repeatably removed from and securely fastened to the first ends of the containers to selectively open and close the access openings, each closure including a walled second connection hub having a plurality of spaced apart second locking members formed thereon, the second locking members of closures being configured to engage the first locking members of an adjacent container body upon insertion of the closure into the base of the adjacent container, mating of the first and second connection hubs, and upon rotation of the adjacent containers relative to each other to lock the adjacent containers together in a stacked orientation, the locked first and second locking members preventing unintentional rotation and disengagement of the closure relative to the adjacent container; anda holding apparatus including at least one third connection hub having a plurality of spaced apart locking members formed thereon, and wherein at least one of the first locking members on the first connection hub of the containers or at least one of the second locking members on the second connection hub of the closures cooperate with the locking members of at least one third connection hub to secure at least one of the containers and the closures to the holding apparatus, thereby securing at least one or a plurality of containers in the stacked orientation to the holding apparatus, the locked first and second locking members and locking members on the connection hub preventing unintentional rotation and disengagement of the closure or container relative to each other and relative to the adjacent holding apparatus while configured to be repeatably secured and removed, and wherein the closures are repeatably coupled to the containers, respectively, by child resistant closure fasteners, and wherein the first locking members include a threaded portion formed on the containers and the second locking members include a threaded portion formed on the closures. 2. The interlocking assembly of claim 1, wherein the bases of the containers include an outer rim which forms the walled first connection hub of the base, the first locking members being formed on an inner surface of the base outer rim, and wherein the second locking members are formed on an outer surface of the walled second connection hub of the closures. 3. The interlocking assembly of claim 2, wherein the first locking members formed on the inner surface of the base outer rim are male tabs and the second locking members formed on the outer surface of the closure are female hooks configured to repeatably engage the male tabs to lock the adjacent containers together in the stacked orientation. 4. The interlocking assembly of claim 2, wherein the first locking members formed on the inner surface of the base outer rim are female hooks and the second locking members formed on the outer surface of the closure are male tabs configured to repeatably engage the female hooks to lock the adjacent containers together in the stacked orientation. 5. The interlocking assembly of claim 1, wherein the bases of the containers each include an identically sized stud, each stud defining the walled first connection hub of the base having the plurality of spaced apart first locking members formed thereon, and wherein the second connection hub of the closures each include an identically sized receptor, each receptor having an inner wall with the second locking members formed thereon, each receptor being configured so that the first and second locking members repeatably engage each other upon insertion of the stud into the receptor and rotation of the adjacent containers relative to each other. 6. The interlocking container assembly of claim 5, wherein the identically sized studs are cylindrically shaped and include an outer wall having the plurality of spaced apart first locking members formed thereon, and wherein the receptors are also cylindrically shaped and have an inner wall defining a recess sized to repeatably receive the cylindrically shaped stud therein, the inner wall of the receptor being formed to include the plurality of second locking members thereon. 7. The interlocking assembly of claim 1, wherein the containers each include a threaded portion adjacent the access opening and the closures each include a threaded portion configured to repeatably engage the threaded portion of the containers, respectively, to secure the closures to the containers, and wherein the first and second locking members are child resistant fasteners. 8. The interlocking assembly of claim 1, wherein the closures are secured to the containers by relative rotation of the closures and the containers in a first direction, and wherein the second locking members of the closures are configured to repeatably engage the first locking members of the containers upon rotation of the adjacent containers and upon relative movement of the adjacent containers along a longitudinal axis of the adjacent containers in a second direction transverse to the first direction to lock the adjacent containers together in the stacked orientation. 9. The interlocking assembly of claim 1, wherein the containers each further comprise a spring member located adjacent the second end, the spring member being configured to provide a spring force against a closure coupled to the base to provide a child resistant closure in combination with the first and second locking members. 10. The interlocking assembly of claim 9, wherein the closures each further comprise a locking tab formed on the closure wall, the locking tab being movable simultaneously with the spring member being compressed to permit relative rotation of the adjacent stacked containers to unlock the adjacent containers. 11. The interlocking assembly of claim 1, wherein the holding apparatus is one of a tray, a tote hanging tray, a carousel disk, and a one or more surface plane object. 12. An interlocking container assembly comprising: at least first and second containers, each container including a container body having a first end formed to include an access opening, a second closed end, and a base located at the second end;at least first and second closures configured to be repeatably removed from and securely fastened to the first ends of the first and second containers, respectively, to selectively open and close the access openings;locking means formed on at least the base of the second container and the first closure for selectively locking the first and second containers together in a stacked orientation upon insertion of the first closure into the base of the second container and upon rotation of the first and second containers relative to each other, the locking means preventing unintentional rotation and disengagement of the first closure relative to the second container while permitting repeatable locking and unlocking of at least the first closure to the second container; anda holding apparatus including at least one connection hub, and wherein the locking means of at least one of the containers and the closures are configured to cooperate with the at least one connection hub to selectively secure at least one of the first and second containers and the first and second closures to the holding apparatus, thereby securing at least one or a plurality of the first and second containers in the stacked orientation to the holding apparatus, the locking means and the connection hub preventing unintentional rotation and disengagement of the closures and containers relative to each other and relative to the adjacent holding apparatus while configured to be repeatably secured and removed, wherein the first and second containers each include a longitudinal axis extending from the first open end to the second closed end, and further comprising means for biasing the first and second containers in a direction parallel to the longitudinal axis to hold the locking means in engagement with the connection hub, the first and second containers being movable along the longitudinal axis against the force of the biasing means to disengage of the locking means on the containers or closures from the connection hub, thereby permitting rotation of the first and second stacked containers relative to the connection hub to disengage the first and second containers from the connection hub. 13. An interlocking assembly of containers, closures and a holding apparatus, the assembly comprising: a plurality of containers, each container including a container body having a first end formed to include an access opening, a second closed end, and a base located at the second end, the base including a walled first connection hub having a plurality of spaced apart first locking members formed thereon;a plurality of closures configured to be repeatably removed from and securely fastened to the first ends of the containers to selectively open and close the access openings, each closure including a walled second connection hub having a plurality of spaced apart second locking members formed thereon, the second locking members of closures being configured to engage the first locking members of an adjacent container body upon insertion of the closure into the base of the adjacent container, mating of the first and second connection hubs, and upon rotation of the adjacent containers relative to each other to lock the adjacent containers together in a stacked orientation, the locked first and second locking members preventing unintentional rotation and disengagement of the closure relative to the adjacent container; anda holding apparatus including at least one third connection hub having a plurality of spaced apart locking members formed thereon, and wherein at least one of the first locking members on the first connection hub of the containers or at least one of the second locking members on the second connection hub of the closures cooperate with the locking members of at least one third connection hub to secure at least one of the containers and the closures to the holding apparatus, thereby securing at least one or a plurality of containers in the stacked orientation to the holding apparatus, the locked first and second locking members and locking members on the connection hub preventing unintentional rotation and disengagement of the closure or container relative to each other and relative to the adjacent holding apparatus while configured to be repeatably secured and removed, wherein the first connection hubs of the containers each include an identically sized first connector, each first connector defining the wall of the base having the plurality of spaced apart first locking members formed thereon, and wherein the second connection hub of the closures each include an identically sized second connector, each second connector having a wall with the second locking members formed thereon, the first and second connectors being configured to mate so that the first and second locking members repeatably engage each other upon insertion of one of the closures into the base of the adjacent container and upon rotation of the adjacent containers relative to each other to lock the adjacent second containers together in the stacked orientation, and wherein the containers have different sizes, the identically sized first connectors and identically sized second connectors permitting the different sized containers to be repeatably locked together in the stacked orientation. 14. The interlocking assembly of claim 13, wherein the closures are repeatably coupled to the containers, respectively, by child resistant closure fasteners, and wherein the first locking members include a threaded portion formed on the containers and the second locking members include a threaded portion formed on the closures. 15. The interlocking assembly of claim 13, wherein the closures have different sizes to repeatably mate with the different sized containers each of the closures including the identically sized second connectors to repeatably mate with the identically sized first connectors to permit the different sized containers having different sized closures to be selectively locked together in the stacked orientation. 16. An interlocking assembly of containers, closures and a holding apparatus, the assembly comprising: a plurality of containers, each container including a container body having a first end formed to include an access opening, a second closed end, and a base located at the second end, the base including a walled first connection hub having a plurality of spaced apart first locking members formed thereon;a plurality of closures configured to be repeatably removed from and securely fastened to the first ends of the containers to selectively open and close the access openings, each closure including a walled second connection hub having a plurality of spaced apart second locking members formed thereon, the second locking members of closures being configured to engage the first locking members of an adjacent container body upon insertion of the closure into the base of the adjacent container, mating of the first and second connection hubs, and upon rotation of the adjacent containers relative to each other to lock the adjacent containers together in a stacked orientation, the locked first and second locking members preventing unintentional rotation and disengagement of the closure relative to the adjacent container; anda holding apparatus including at least one third connection hub having a plurality of spaced apart locking members formed thereon, and wherein at least one of the first locking members on the first connection hub of the containers or at least one of the second locking members on the second connection hub of the closures cooperate with the locking members of at least one third connection hub to secure at least one of the containers and the closures to the holding apparatus, thereby securing at least one or a plurality of containers in the stacked orientation to the holding apparatus, the locked first and second locking members and locking members on the connection hub preventing unintentional rotation and disengagement of the closure or container relative to each other and relative to the adjacent holding apparatus while configured to be repeatably secured and removed, wherein the first connection hubs of the containers each include an identically sized first connector, each first connector defining the wall of the base having the plurality of spaced apart first locking members formed thereon, and wherein the second connection hub of the closures each include an identically sized second connector, each second connector having a wall with the second locking members formed thereon, the first and second connectors being configured to mate so that the first and second locking members repeatably engage each other upon insertion of one of the closures into the base of the adjacent container and upon rotation of the adjacent containers relative to each other to lock the adjacent second containers together in the stacked orientation, and wherein the identically sized first connectors are cylindrically shaped studs including an outer wall having the plurality of spaced apart first locking members formed thereon, and wherein the identically sized second connectors are cylindrically shaped receptors having an inner wall defining a recess sized to repeatably receive the cylindrically shaped stud therein, the inner wall of each receptor being formed to include the plurality of second locking members thereon. 17. An interlocking assembly of containers, closures and a holding apparatus, the assembly comprising: a plurality of containers, each container including a container body having a first end formed to include an access opening, a second closed end, and a base located at the second end, the base including a walled first connection hub having a plurality of spaced apart first locking members formed thereon;a plurality of closures configured to be repeatably removed from and securely fastened to the first ends of the containers to selectively open and close the access openings, each closure including a walled second connection hub having a plurality of spaced apart second locking members formed thereon, the second locking members of closures being configured to engage the first locking members of an adjacent container body upon insertion of the closure into the base of the adjacent container, mating of the first and second connection hubs, and upon rotation of the adjacent containers relative to each other to lock the adjacent containers together in a stacked orientation, the locked first and second locking members preventing unintentional rotation and disengagement of the closure relative to the adjacent container; anda holding apparatus including at least one third connection hub having a plurality of spaced apart locking members formed thereon, and wherein at least one of the first locking members on the first connection hub of the containers or at least one of the second locking members on the second connection hub of the closures cooperate with the locking members of at least one third connection hub to secure at least one of the containers and the closures to the holding apparatus, thereby securing at least one or a plurality of containers in the stacked orientation to the holding apparatus, the locked first and second locking members and locking members on the connection hub preventing unintentional rotation and disengagement of the closure or container relative to each other and relative to the adjacent holding apparatus while configured to be repeatable secured and removed, wherein the bases of the containers include an outer rim which forms the walled first connection hub of the base, the first locking members being formed on an inner surface of the base outer rim, and wherein the second locking members are formed on an outer surface of the walled second connection hub of the closures, and wherein the containers each include a longitudinal axis extending from the first open end to the second closed end, and the first locking members formed on the inner surface of the base outer rim are male tabs and the second locking members formed on the outer surface of the second walled connection hub of the closure are female hooks defining a notched portion configured to engage the male tabs on three sides of the tab to repeatably lock and repeatably unlock the containers together in the stacked orientation. 18. The interlocking assembly of claim 17, further comprising a spring configured to bias the closure relative to the container to hold the male tabs in the notched portions of the female hooks, the adjacent stacked containers being movable relative to each other along the longitudinal axis to disengage of the male tabs from the notched portions of the female hooks, thereby permitting rotation of the adjacent stacked containers relative to each other to repeatably disengage the containers from the stacked orientation.