Patent ID: 6343708
Filing Date: 2002-02-05
Classification: B25H,B65D

Abstract:
A storage container assembly comprising:a plurality of substantially rectangular open-topped inner containers, each said inner container having a bottom defined by a planar rectangular bottom wall, a pair of opposed substantially identical end walls extending perpendicularly upwardly from the bottom wall of the respective inner container and a pair of opposed substantially rectangular sidewalls extending perpendicularly upwardly from the bottom wall of the respective inner container, each of said side and end walls of each of said open-topped inner containers having a top edge, said top edges of said side and end walls defining an open top for each said open-topped inner container, each said inner container defining an outside width substantially equal to a selected width dimension and an outside length substantially equal to a selected integer multiple of the selected width dimension, the outside width adjacent the bottom wall of each said container being greater than an inside width adjacent said top edges of said container to prevent said containers from nesting in one another, each said inner container further defining a height equal to a selected height dimension; and a substantially rectangular open-topped outer container unitarily molded from a plastic material and having a bottom wall with an inner surface, a pair of opposed rectangular end walls extending perpendicularly from the bottom wall of the outer container and a pair of opposed rectangular sidewalls extending perpendicularly from the bottom wall of the outer container, the side walls being spaced from one another by substantially twice the selected width dimension, the end walls being spaced from one another by a selected integer multiple of the selected width dimension, a hand grip opening formed in each of the end walls of the outer container at locations centrally between the respective sidewalls, each hand grip opening having opposed upper and lower surfaces, the upper surface of each hand grip opening being more than twice the selected height dimension from the inner surface of the bottom wall of the outer container; and wherein the inner containers define a lower tier of inner containers slidably supported on the inner surface of the bottom wall of the outer container and an upper tier of inner containers having the planar bottom walls slidably supported on the lower tier of inner containers and thereby disposed lower than the upper surface of the hand grip openings, thereby facilitating access to contents of the respective inner containers.