초록 ▼

A modular storage system employs flat-sided container modules that each have door/lid access on multiple sides thereof and are stackable atop one another in a stable manner by cooperating recesses and feet at the lid and bottom of the container module respectively. Securing clips can be employed to

A modular storage system employs flat-sided container modules that each have door/lid access on multiple sides thereof and are stackable atop one another in a stable manner by cooperating recesses and feet at the lid and bottom of the container module respectively. Securing clips can be employed to secure adjacent container modules together in various relative positions using pre-defined sets of clip-accommodating grooves in walls of the container modules. Accessories include a table-top module for creating a flat uninterrupted workspace atop a container module, a cooler tray insert for ice-cooled storage of food or beverage items within a container module, a vacuum sealed bag insert for collapsed air-tight storage within the container module, and shelving rack modules cooperatively stackable with the container modules for additional storage flexibility.

대표청구항 ▼

1. A modular storage system comprising: a plurality of container modules each comprising a container having: opposed first and second end walls at opposing ends of the container;opposed first and second side walls perpendicularly interconnecting the first and second end walls at opposing sides of th

1. A modular storage system comprising: a plurality of container modules each comprising a container having: opposed first and second end walls at opposing ends of the container;opposed first and second side walls perpendicularly interconnecting the first and second end walls at opposing sides of the container and with said end walls to delimit a rectangular area between said end walls and said side walls, the side walls being longer than the end walls in a direction around a perimeter of the rectangular area;a bottom wall spanning between the end walls and the side walls at lower ends of said end walls and said side walls; anda top wall residing opposite the bottom wall at a topside of the container and spanning between the end walls and the side walls at upper ends of said end walls and said side walls to cooperate with the bottom wall and the first, second, third and fourth side walls to delimit a rectangular interior volume of the container;the first end wall comprising an end door movable between open and closed positions respectively opening and closing an end door opening that is located at a respective one of the opposing ends of the container to enable access to the interior volume of the container through said end door opening when said end door is in the open position, said end door opening spanning a majority area of the first end wall;the first side wall comprising at least one side door movable between open and closed conditions respectively opening and closing a side door opening that is located at a respective one of the opposing sides of the container to enable access to the interior volume of the container through said side door opening when said at least one side door is in the open condition, said side door opening being wider than said end door opening in the direction around the perimeter of the rectangular area, said side door opening spanning a majority area of the first side wall; andthe top wall comprising a lid movable between open and closed states respectively opening and closing a lid opening located at the topside of the container to enable access to the interior volume of the container through said lid opening when said lid in the open state, said lid opening spanning a majority area of the top wall of the container;wherein the rectangular interior volume of each module is accessible via the side door regardless of an obstructed or accessible status of the lid and the end door, is accessible via the end door regardless of an obstructed or accessible status of the lid and the side door, and is accessible via the lid regardless of an obstructed or accessible status of the side door and the end door. 2. The modular storage system of claim 1 further comprising at least one rack module comprising a rectangular skeletal frame having upright frame members at four corners thereof, top and bottom side members running perpendicularly between two of the upright frame members on each of two opposing sides of the rack module, and top and bottom end members running perpendicularly between two of the upright frame members at each of two opposing ends of the rack module, each side of the rack being equal or similar in length to the opposing sides of each module and each end of the rack being equal or similar in length to the opposing ends of each module, whereby the rack module is stackable with each module with the four upright frame members of the rack module in general alignment with four corners of the module at which the end walls and side walls of the module meet. 3. The modular storage system of claim 1 wherein the top wall has four corners and a set of recesses opening into the top wall at an exterior side thereof at respective locations situated proximate the four corners of the top wall, and the bottom wall has four corners and a set of protruding feet on an exterior surface of the bottom wall at respective sites situated proximate the four corners of the bottom wall, the set of recesses and the set of protruding feet having aligned positions and matable sizes to enable stacking of the container modules atop one another with the protruding feet of one container module received in the recessed of another container module. 4. The modular storage system of claim 3 further comprising at least one rack module comprising a rectangular skeleton frame having upright frame members at four corners thereof, top and bottom side members running perpendicularly between two of the upright frame members on each of two opposing sides of the rack unit, and top and bottom end members running perpendicularly between two of the upright frame members at each of two opposing ends of the rack unit, each side of the rack being equal or similar in length to the opposing sides of each container module and each end of the rack being equal or similar in length to the opposing ends of each container module, the upright frame members having openings at top ends thereof that are sized for receipt of the protruding feet of any one of the container modules and bottom elements that are sized for receipt thereof within the recesses of said any one of the container modules, thereby enabling stacking of the rack module above or below said any one of the container modules. 5. The modular storage system of claim 4 wherein the upright frame members of the rack unit comprise tubing members, hollow interiors of which define the openings at the top ends of said upright frame members, and the bottom elements comprise foot members that have lesser cross-sectional area than said tubing members and that are attached to bottom ends of said tubing members. 6. The modular storage system of claim 3 comprising at least one set of filler units of similar shape and size to the set of recesses in each container module for selective insertion of said set of filler units into the recesses of one of the container modules to occupy said recesses during non-stacking use of said one of the container modules. 7. The modular storage system of claim 3 comprising at least one tabletop module having a flat upper surface and an opposing lower surface, and a set of foot members for selective insertion of said set of foot members into the recesses of one of the container modules to occupy said recesses and support the tabletop module in a positioned stacked atop said one of the container modules. 8. The modular storage system of claim 1 wherein the end door and the at least one side door comprise flat exterior faces free of any projecting features jutting outward therefrom to enable flush side-to-side, end-to-end and end-to-side placement of adjacent container modules with one another. 9. The modular storage system of claim 8 wherein the end door and the at least one side door comprise recessed handles. 10. The modular storage system of claim 8 wherein the end door and the at least one side door comprise movable locking members mounted in recessed areas accessible from outside the container and movable between locked positions engaging with frames of the first end wall and first side wall that close around the end wall opening and the side wall opening, and unlocked positions disengaged from said frames to enable locking and unlocking of said end door and said at least one side door. 11. The modular storage system of claim 10 wherein the movable locking members comprise slidable thumb latches. 12. The modular storage system of claim 1 wherein the second end wall and the second side wall are free of any openable and closable doors. 13. The modular storage system of claim 1 further comprising clips arranged for selecting coupling together of any two of the container modules in side-by-side, end-to-end or end-to-side relation by clipping over respective upward-facing edges of adjacent walls of said two of the container modules. 14. The modular storage system of claim 13 wherein each clip has a double-U shape embracing individually over the respective edge of each of the adjacent walls of said two of the container modules. 15. The modular storage system of claim 13 wherein each module comprises clip-accommodating grooves in the end walls and side walls, said grooves reaching downwardly from the upward facing edges at discrete predetermined positions around the rectangular area bound by said end walls and said side wall, the predetermined positions being such that alignment of a selected first groove on one of said two modules with a selected second groove on the other of said two modules places said modules in a predetermined alignment with one another in which the two modules can be secured by engagement of a respective one of the clips with the selected first and second grooves. 16. The modular storage system of claim 1 further comprising at least one cooler insert sized for placement within the rectangular interior volume of the container in a position lining interior surfaces of the end walls, the side walls and the bottom wall with an open upper end of the cooler insert accessible by opening of the lid of the container module, whereby the container module and the cooler insert form a cooler for ice-cooled storage food or beverage items within said cooler insert while maintaining the end walls, the side walls and the bottom wall in a dry state isolated from the ice. 17. The modular storage system of claim 1 wherein the end walls have flat exteriors, and the container module comprises recessed carry handles recessed into the end walls at the flat exteriors thereof, including a carry handle situated outwardly from the end door in a stationary perimeter-adjacent frame of the first end wall that borders the end door opening therein. 18. The modular storage system of claim 1 wherein the bottom wall is defined by a bottom wall panel that is separate and distinct from the side walls and the end walls, said side walls and said end walls being defined by separate and distinct side wall panels and end-wall panels respectively, the bottom wall panel comprising raised fastening bodies protruding from a flat upper surface of the bottom wall panel that defines a floor of the container's rectangular interior volume at positions adjacent to and spaced around a perimeter of the bottom wall panel, and the side wall panels and the end wall panels are joined to the bottom wall panels by fasteners engaged into the fastening bodies of the bottom wall panel through the side wall panels and the end wall panels near the lower ends thereof. 19. The modular storage system of claim 18 wherein the fastening bodies comprises pre-defined fastener holes and the fasteners comprises threaded fasteners engaged into said pre-defined fastener holes. 20. The modular storage system of claim 18 wherein the fastening bodies comprise four fastening bodies disposed adjacent four corners of the bottom wall panel, each of said four fastening bodies having one of the end wall panels and one of the side wall panels respectively fastened to said fastening body at two different sides of said fastening body.