Abstract:
A telescopic tool support comprises a seat having a first top wall and two opposite first sidewalls, a top cover at least partially enclosing the seat and having a second top wall and two opposite second sidewalls, and an adjustable locking device adapted to couple the top cover to the seat, wherein the adjustable locking device has at least one locking tab, at least one engagement-actuating device, and at least one coupling device. The at least one coupling device couples or decouples the seat and the top cover by at least one locking tab preferably resiliently connected to the seat. The at least one engagement-actuating device is moveable between an unlocked position and a locked position, and is configured for, when it is at said locked position, enabling the coupling of said coupling device under the aid of said locking tab so as to have the top cover and the seat engaged at a desired coupling location; and for, when it is at said unlocked position, enabling the decoupling of said coupling device so as to allow the sliding of the top cover with respect to the seat. When the at least one engagement-actuating device is at the unlocked position, the tool support can be telescoped so as to adjust the accommodation size, and when the at least one engagement-actuating device is at a locked position, the top cover cannot move with respect to the seat such that the accommodation size of the tool support is maintained.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001]     1. Field of the Invention  
         [0002]     The present invention relates to a size-adjustable telescopic tool support comprising a seat and a top cover, in which the top cover is moveable with respect to the seat to adjust the accommodation space of the telescopic tool support, so as to carry tools of various sizes.  
         [0003]     2. Description of the Prior Art  
         [0004]     A tool support known in the art conventionally comprises a box provided with a fastener disposed on the outer surface of its top cover to fix hand tools of a specific size to the fastener and align them with each other, such that it is convenient to display, take out and carry the hand tools. However, the size of the conventional tool support cannot be adjusted, such that it can only be used for storing hand tools of specific sizes. Hand tools that do not match the size of the tool support cannot be properly stored/supported.  
         [0005]     Under the circumstances, if the user only has a tool support of a fixed size that can accommodate specific combinations of tools and he/she wish to store/carry tools of other sizes for the hand tool with a length smaller than that of the tool support, the accommodation space of the tool support may be too large compared with the size of the hand tool, thus causing a waste of space; and for the hand tool with a length greater that of the tool support, the accommodation space of the tool support may be too small compared with the size of the hand tool, and thus cannot carry the hand tool properly. If the user wishes to carry a combination of various hand tools, it is needed to prepare several tool supports of various sizes so that hand tools can be stored/supported in appropriate tool supports.  
         [0006]     In view of the above, various sizes of tool supports should be manufactured to accommodate different packages of hand tool sets, and this inevitably results in the addition in manufacturing processes and costs.  
         [0007]     In this regard, carrying hand tools of various sizes by using a single tool support is an important task to be achieved by the present invention.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0008]     The present invention discloses a tool support comprising a seat and a top cover, in which the top cover at least partially encloses the seat, and can be moveably adjusted with respect to the seat to extend or retract the entire accommodation size of the tool support so as to accommodate various sizes of hand tools.  
         [0009]     A telescopic tool support according to the present invention comprises a seat, a top cover partially enclosing the seat and being slidable therewith, and an adjustable, telescopic locking device adaptable for not only engaging the seat and the top cover but also locking the engagement at a desired coupling location.  
         [0010]     According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the adjustable, telescopic locking device has at least one locking tab and at least one engagement-actuating device. The at least one locking tab is disposed on the seat, and separated from the top cover. The engagement-actuating device is disposed on the inner side of the at least one locking tab. A coupling device is provided between the at least one locking tab and the top cover, and particularly, the coupling device is in the form of a toothed structure consisting of at least one tooth on said at least one locking tab and a corresponding rack on the top cover. The at least one tooth and the corresponding rack can be engaged with each other. With the engagement-actuating device, the at least one tooth on the at least one locking tab can be pushed to engage with the rack of the top cover to avoid the top cover to slide with respect to the seat. When the tool support is to be extended or retracted back, the engagement-actuating device should be unlocked first so as to allow the top cover to be adjusted to the required position; and when the engagement-actuating device is locked, the top cover and the seat are fixed together.  
         [0011]     The above engagement-actuating device can be in the form of a latching device, an eccentric engagement-actuating member, a supporting rod, an elastic engagement-actuating ring, or the like, which enables the coupling device between the seat and the top cover.  
         [0012]     In a further embodiment of the present invention, the telescopic locking device has at least one locking tab which is disposed on the seat and engaged with said top cover. A coupling device is provided between said at least one locking tab and the top cover, and particularly, the coupling device is in the form of at least one tooth on said at least one locking tab and a rack of the top cover at the corresponding position of the at least one locking tab. The at least one tooth and the rack can be engaged with each other, such that the top cover is fixed to the seat and will not slide relatively. When the tool support is to be telescoped, an external force is applied to the at least one locking tab to bend the same inward, such that it is separated with the top cover, and at this time the top cover can be adjusted to a desired position. After the external force is removed, the at least one locking tab can be returned to the engaged state, such that the top cover and the seat are fixed with each other and will not slide with respect to each other.  
         [0013]     In order to avoid the locking tab to be fatigue or broken due to the over bending, a stopper is disposed on the inner side of the locking tab to prevent the locking tab from being overbent. It can be appreciated that those skilled in the art may think of some other alternatives to prevent the locking tab from being overbent without using the stopper.  
         [0014]     In the above two embodiments, the coupling device can be disposed on the side surface or top surface of the top cover and the seat, and the coupling device is not limited to the combination of tooth and rack. Those skilled in the art can appreciate that the coupling device is used for engaging purposes and can be easily modified to accomplish the purposes of the present invention.  
         [0015]     With the present, multi-section adjustment of a tool support can be achieved to meet the accommodation requirement of hand tools of various sizes. The accommodation size of the tool support can therefore be reduced to facilitate carrying. The telescopic tool support of the present invention can also be arranged with other tool sets to form a new tool kit, or be placed in a bigger tool set.  
         [0016]     The features of the present invention can be better understood by referring to the accompanying drawings and the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments.  
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0017]      FIG. 1  is an exploded view of a telescopic tool support of the present invention;  
         [0018]      FIG. 2A  is another exploded view of the tool support;  
         [0019]      FIG. 2B  is a partially enlarged view of a sleeve of the tool support;  
         [0020]      FIGS. 3A, 3B ,  3 C are schematic sectional views of the exemplary implementations of the locking tab connected to the seat;  
         [0021]      FIG. 3D  is a three-dimensional schematic view of  FIG. 3C ;  
         [0022]      FIGS. 4A, 4B ,  4 C and  4 D are schematic sectional views of the tool support in the retracted and extended states;  
         [0023]      FIG. 5  is a partially enlarged view of a local structure showing the adjustable locking device to be disposed on the side surface of the tool support;  
         [0024]      FIGS. 6A and 6B  are schematic sectional top views of another embodiment of the engagement-actuating device;  
         [0025]      FIGS. 7A and 7B  are schematic sectional side views of a further embodiment of the engagement-actuating device;  
         [0026]      FIGS. 8A and 8B  are schematic sectional top views of a further embodiment of the engagement-actuating device;  
         [0027]      FIGS. 9A and 9B  are schematic sectional top views of the stopper used in the present invention;  
         [0028]      FIG. 10  is a combinational view of the tool support and the hand tool set; and  
         [0029]      FIG. 11  is a reference view of the tool support combined with other tool sets. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION  
       [0030]     As shown in  FIG. 1  and  FIG. 2A , a first embodiment of the present invention comprises a seat  10 , a top cover  20  and an adjustable locking device. The top cover  20  at least partially (partly or fully) encloses the seat  10  and the adjustable locking device is adapted to couple the top cover  20  to the seat  10 . The seat  10  has a first top wall  11  and two opposite first sidewalls  12 , and the top cover  20  has a second top wall  21  and two opposite second sidewalls  22 . The adjustable locking device is adaptable for engaging the top cover  20  with said seat  10  and locking the engagement therebetween at a desired coupling location, which comprises at least one locking tab  13 , at least one engagement-actuating device, and at least one coupling device for coupling or decoupling the seat  10  and the top cover  20  by the engagement-actuating device. In an embodiment of the present invention, the at least one locking tab  13  is in the form of two locking tabs  13  disposed on the first top wall  11 , with each of the two locking tabs  13  being provided with an engagement-actuating device. The hand tools can be either kept on the top cover  20  or stored in the seat  10 .  
         [0031]     The locking tabs  13  are separated from the second top wall  21  when they are not actuated by the engagement-actuating devices. A toothed structure  14 , preferably in the form of at least one tooth  14 , is disposed on each of the locking tabs  13  ( FIG. 1  illustrates an embodiment of locking tabs  13  with a toothed structure  14  having three inter-connected teeth connected to each other). The second top wall  21  is provided with a pair of racks  23  corresponding to the locking tabs  13 . The racks  23  can be in the form of a toothed structure with teeth that are connected to each other, spaced with each other or grouped into segments. The toothed structure  14  and racks  23  work as the coupling device which provides the engagement between seat  10  and top cover  20 . The locking tab  13  can be an elastic or resilient element resiliently connected to the first top wall  11  or a single rigid member connected to the first top wall  11  (see  FIG. 3A  to  FIG. 3D ). In the embodiment of  FIG. 3A  to  FIG. 3D , a spring member  131  is disposed between each locking tab  13  and the first top wall  11 , such that said locking tab  13  is connected to the first top wall  11  by said spring member  131 . The locking tab  13  can also be connected to the first top wall  11  by a pivot device. Preferably, an elastomer is disposed between the locking tab  13  and the first top wall  11 , such that the locking tab  13  and the first top wall  11  are elastically or resiliently connected to each other. Preferably, as shown in  FIG. 3B , the locking tab  13  and the first top wall  11  can also be connected by a joint structure  132  consisting of male and female arcuated members, and provided with an L-shaped spring member  133 . More preferably, as shown in  FIGS. 3C and 3D , the locking tab  13  and the first top wall  11  can be connected by a pivot structure  134 , and provided with a spring  135 . With the elasticity of the locking tab  13 , or the arrangement of the elastomers such as spring member and springs, the locking tab  13  can be bent due to the external force, and can return to the original state after the external force is removed.  
         [0032]     Accordingly, when the locking tab  13  is in an engaging position, the toothed structure  14  is engaged with the rack  23 , such that the top cover  20  cannot slide with respect to the seat  10 . In other words, the coupling device constituted by the toothed structure  14  and rack  23  enables the coupling between the seat  10  and the top cover  20  under the aid of the engagement-actuating device. When the locking tab  13  is in an disengaging position, the toothed structure  14  is disengaged with the rack  23 , such that the top cover  20  can slide with respect to the seat  10  and the accommodation size of the telescopic tool support can be adjusted. In other words, the coupling device constituted by the toothed structure  14  and rack  23  enables the decoupling between the seat  10  and the top cover  20  by releasing the engagement-actuating device. It is known to those skilled in the art that the engagement between the locking tab  13  and second top wall  21  is not limited to the combination of tooth and rack, and can be achieved by other coupling devices, such as a combination of interfered tooth and rack, a combination of a protrudent round ball and a corresponding circular hole, and a combination of a catch protrusion and a corresponding catch hole. The examples of the engagement-actuating device would be given in detail below.  
         [0033]     Preferably, to ensure that the locking tab  13  and the second top wall  21  are in an engaged state such that the toothed structure  14  and the rack  23  are engaged with each other to couple the top cover  20  to the seat  10 , an engagement-actuating device is disposed on the inner side of the locking tab  13  to fix the locking tab  13  in an engaged state, and to prevent the locking tab  13  from being separated from the second top wall  21 . Referring to  FIG. 2 , the seat  10  further comprises a front-end wall  15  provided with two fixing holes  16 . The engagement-actuating device is in the form of a latching device  30  having a sleeve  31  and a latch  32 . The partially enlarged view of the sleeve  31  is shown in  FIG. 2B . As shown in  FIGS. 2A and 2B , each latching device  30  is disposed on a side of a corresponding locking tab  13 , and the latch  32  can slide along the sleeve  31  between an unlocked position and a locked position. The two fixing holes  16  are disposed respectively at the front-end wall  15  with respect to the axial direction of the latch  32 . When the latch  32  is at the unlocked position, the latch  32  is not in the fixing hole  16 , and the locking tab  13  can therefore be separated from the second top wall  21 , such that the toothed structure  14  is disengaged from the rack  23 , and that the top cover  20  can slide with respect to the seat  10 . When the latch  32  is at the locked position, the latch  32  is inserted into the fixing hole  16 , and the locking tab  13  cannot be separated from the second top wall  21 , such that and the toothed structure  14  is engaged with the rack  23 , and that the top cover  20  and the seat  10  are engaged with each other.  
         [0034]      FIGS. 4A  to  4 D are schematic views showing the steps of adjusting the desired accommodation size of a telescopic tool support of the present invention.  FIG. 4A  illustrates the telescopic tool support of the present invention at a totally retracted state with a minimum accommodation size. As shown in  FIG. 4A , when the telescopic tool support is at a totally retracted state, the latching device  30  is at the locked position with the latch  32  in the fixing hole  16 . At the same time, the toothed structure  14  on the locking tab  13  and the rack  23  on the second top wall  22  are engaged with each other. Since the locking tab  13  is locked by latch  32  and cannot be separated from the rack  23 , the top cover  20  cannot move with respect to the seat  10 , and the telescopic tool support with its minimum accommodation size can be used to store/support tools. As shown in  FIGS. 4B and 4C , the accommodation size of the telescopic tool support can be extended by first unlocking the latch  32  and then moving the seat  10  and top cover  20  away from each other. More specifically, as shown in  FIG. 4B , the latch  32  is moved to an unlocked position (such as by removing the latch  32  out of the fixing hole  16 ). At this time, the locking tab  13  can be bent inward (i.e., away from the rack  23 ), such that the toothed structure  14  on the elastic locking tab  13  can be separated from the rack  23  on the second top wall  21  due to the nature of the resilient property, and thereby the top cover  20  can be moved with respect to the seat  10 . As further shown in  FIG. 4C , the telescopic tool support can then be adjusted to a desired accommodation size by moving the top cover  20  and the seat  10  away from each other until said desired accommodation size is achieved/set. As further shown in  FIG. 4D , when the telescopic tool support is adjusted to said desired accommodation size, the toothed structure  14  and the rack  23  are again engaged with each other and the latching device  30  is again returned to its locked position by inserting the latch  32  into the fixing hole  16 .  
         [0035]      FIG. 5  is a modified embodiment of the adjustable locking device of  FIGS. 1-4D  which disposed on the side surface of the telescopic tool support. In this modified embodiment, said at least one locking tab  13  is provided on at least one of the first sidewall  12 , and separated from the second sidewall  22 . The toothed structure  14  is disposed on the outer surface of each said at least one locking tab  13 , and the rack  23  is disposed on the inner surface of second sidewall  22  with respect to the toothed structure  14 . Preferably, the latching device  30  is disposed on the inner surface of the at least one locking tab  13  to lock the engagement of the locking tab  13  and the second sidewall  22 . The other elements are arranged in a way similar to  FIGS. 1-4D .  
         [0036]     According to a further modified embodiment of the present invention, the engagement-actuating device can be in the form of one or preferably two eccentric engagement-actuating members  40 , as shown in  FIGS. 6A and 6B . The adjustable locking device is disposed on the side surface of the telescopic tool support, and the one or preferably two eccentric engagement-actuating members  40  are preferably disposed on or below the first top wall  11 . Each of the engagement-actuating members  40  has an ejecting rod  41  and an eccentric pivot  42  disposed on the ejecting rod  41 , and can eccentricly rotate between an unlocked position and a locked position around the eccentric pivot  41 . Referring to  FIG. 6A , when the ejecting rod  41  eccentricly rotates to the locked position, the engagement-actuating members  40  are adapted to push each of the locking tabs  13  so as to allow the toothed structure  14  thereof to be engaged with the rack  23  such that the top cover  20  cannot move with respect to the seat  10 . Referring to  FIG. 6B , when the ejecting rod  41  eccentricly rotates to the unlocked position, the engagement-actuating member  40  will not push the corresponding locking tab  13 , and the toothed structure  14  is separated from the rack  23  due to the nature of the resilient property of tab  13 , such that the top cover  20  can move with respect to the seat  10 .  
         [0037]     If the adjustable locking device described previously is arranged at the side surface of the telescopic tool support, the eccentric engagement-actuating members  40  can be provided at either on the inner surface of the first sidewall  12  or on the inner surface of the front-end wall  15  so as to push the locking tab  13 .  
         [0038]     As shown in  FIGS. 7A and 7B , the engagement-actuating device may alternatively comprise one or preferably a pair of supporting rods  50 . According to a preferred embodiment, the adjustable locking device is disposed on the top surface of the telescopic tool support. The one or paired supporting rods  50  are disposed to contact a predetermined location (preferably at the front end) of the locking tabs  13  of the first top wall  11 . The supporting rod  50  is adapted to move between an unlocked position and a locked position. An inwardly extending flange  17  can be further provided at the lower end of the front-end wall  15 . Each of the supporting rods  50  can move between an unlocked position and a locked position around a pivot connecting to the first top wall  11 . Referring to  FIG. 7A , when the supporting rod  50  is at the locked position, the bottom end of the supporting rod  50  is engaged with the flange  17  and locked thereby. Accordingly, each of the locking tabs  13  cannot be separated from the second top wall  21 , and the toothed structure  14  is engaged with the rack  23 , such that the top cover  20  cannot move with respect to the seat  10 . Referring to  FIG. 7B , when the supporting rod  50  is at the unlocked position, the bottom end of the supporting rod  50  will not engage the flange  17 . Accordingly, each of the locking tabs  13  can be separated from the second top wall  21 , and the toothed structure  14  is not engaged with the rack  23 , such that the top cover  20  can move with respect to the seat  10 .  
         [0039]     Alternatively, the adjustable locking device described in the foregoing paragraph can also be disposed on the side surface of the telescopic tool box. In this case, two supporting rods  50  are preferably disposed on respective front-ends of the first sidewalls  12 , and the bottom end of the supporting rods  50  can abut opposite first sidewalls  12  so as to push the locking tabs  13 .  
         [0040]     Preferably, the engagement-actuating device can be in the form of an elastic engagement-actuating ring  60 , as shown in  FIGS. 8A and 8B . The adjustable locking device is preferably disposed on the side surface of the telescopic tool support, and the elastic engagement-actuating ring  60  is preferably disposed between the paired locking tabs  13 . The elastic engagement-actuating ring  60  can provide a pushing force to actuate the locking tabs  13  to engage with respective second sidewalls  22 . As particularly shown in  FIG. 8A , the locking tabs  13  are actuated by the pushing force of the elastic engagement-actuating ring  60  such that each locking tab  13  is engaged with corresponding second sidewall  22  in a way that the toothed structure  14  thereof is engaged with the rack  23 . Therefore, the top cover  20  cannot move with respect to the seat  10 . Referring to  FIG. 8B , if an external force is applied to push the elastic engagement-actuating ring  60  inward, the locking tab  13  is separated from the second sidewall  22  due to the nature of the resilient property, and the toothed structure  14  is disengaged from the rack  23 , such that the top cover  20  can move with respect to the seat  10 .  
         [0041]      FIGS. 9A and 9B  relate to another embodiment of the present invention, in which the adjustable locking device is disposed on the side surface of the telescopic tool support. According to this specific embodiment, the two locking tabs  13  are engaged with respective second sidewalls  22 . To disengage the locking tabs  13  from the second sidewalls  22 , respective external forces should be applied to draw the locking tabs  13  inward, such that the locking tabs  13  can be bent inward with the toothed structure  14 , thereby disengaged from the rack  23 . Preferably, in order to prevent the locking tab  13  from being fatigue or broken due to over-bending by the excessive external force, two stoppers  70  are disposed on the inner surface of the first top wall  11 . The stoppers  70  are capable of limiting the movement of the locking tabs  13  when they are bent inward to a certain extent. Referring to  FIG. 9A , each locking tab  13  and the corresponding second sidewall  22  are in an engaged state with the toothed structure  14  engaged with the rack  23 , such that the top cover  20  cannot move with respect to the seat  10 . Referring to  FIG. 9B , if an external force is applied to bend the locking tab  13  inward, at most to the position of each stopper  70 , the locking tab  13  can be separated from the second sidewall  22  with the toothed structure  14  disengaging from the rack  23 , such that the top cover  20  can move with respect to the seat  10 .  
         [0042]     The adjustable locking device described in the foregoing paragraph can also be disposed on the top surface of the telescopic tool support. In this case, the paired stoppers  70  are disposed respectively on the two first sidewalls  12  to prevent the locking tabs  13  from being overbent.  
         [0043]     As shown in  FIG. 10 , the telescopic, adjustable tool support according to the present invention can be provided with a plurality of snaps  80  on the outer surface of the top cover  20  for holding hand tools  81 ,  82  of different sizes. The telescopic tool support can also be adjusted to a suitable accommodation size as desired, or combined with other tool sets  83 , to increase the practicability of the tool support, as shown in  FIG. 11 .  
         [0044]     The aforementioned explanations are directed to the descriptions of preferred embodiments according to the present invention. Since this invention is not limited to the specific details described in connection with the preferred embodiments, changes and implementations to certain features of the preferred embodiments without altering the overall basic functions of the present invention are contemplated within the scope of the appended claims.