Abstract:
A toolbox that has an outer housing, an inner housing and a number of storage trays. The outer housing is removable from the inner housing. To use the toolbox, the outer housing is removed and placed on top of the inner housing. Then, alternate drawers are removed from the inner housing and placed in the upper housing. This creates a number of drawers that have spaces between them. The spaces are large enough to see into the drawers and to reach in and obtain tools. Once the tools have been positioned, they are readily accessible for use. When the job is done, the drawers are returned to the inner housing, the outer housing is removed and fitted over the inner housing for storage. Once locked into place, the complete toolbox can then be transported as desired.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application claims the benefit of provisional application Ser. No. 60/238,198 filed Oct. 4, 2000. 
    
    
     STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT 
     Not Applicable 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     This invention relates to portable stacking toolboxes and particularly to stacking toolboxes with removable, stackable drawers. 
     2. Description of the Prior Art 
     Portable toolboxes have existed since the earliest times that workers have had to carry tools. In the past, these have been simple, open boxes that have a handle. Overtime, these boxes became more elaborate with drawers, storage bins, peg boards, organizers and other features that make keeping and storing tools easier. Some examples of these types of toolboxes are found in the following U.S. Patents. U.S. Pat. No. 4,084,865 teaches a box that has either removable trays or a set of storage bins to hold and organize tools. U.S. Pat. No. 4,240,684 teaches a set of nested pyramidal shapes that have pegboards to hold a variety of tools and supplies. In use, the boxes can be opened to access the tools and for storage, the boxes can be nested together as secured. 
     U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,873,463, 4,460,085, 4,390,217, 4,294,348, and 4,303,158 disclose boxes that have hinged doors and lids that open to reveal storage compartments inside. 
     U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,550,828, 5,437,502, 5,833,333, and U.S. Pat. No. Des. D382,113 all disclose toolboxes that have removable lids that can be used a seats or stools. When the lids are removed, the interior tool storage is revealed, setting up the tools for use. U.S. Pat. No. 5,437,502 has a set of removable drawers installed that hold tools. This device is intended for use with ladders and the drawers are designed to hang over ladder rungs. 
     In another line of patents, stacking type tool and storage boxes can be found. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,186,479 teaches a cart that has storage shelves. U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,918,751 and 5,704,483 teach stacking type trays that can carry various items. Finally, U.S. Pat. No. Nos. 5,011,013,5,441,163, 5,540,329, and 5,669,498, teach storage containers, such as buckets, that have stacked storage trays within them. These trays can hold tools and other supplies and can be removed from the bucket as needed. 
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     Although all of these designs have merit, they also have problems. One major problem is that to use the tools, the trays must be spread over a large area for use. Not only does this take up a lot of space; it sometimes makes it difficult to get a desired tool. If the tool is at the bottom of the stack, the entire stack must be removed to get it. The instant invention eliminates the need to spread tools over a large area or to have to dig through stacks of tools to find the one that is needed at that time. The instant invention is a toolbox that has an outer housing, an inner housing and a number of storage drawers. The outer housing is removable from the inner housing. To use the toolbox, the outer housing is removed and placed on top of the inner housing. Then, alternate drawers are removed from the inner housing and placed in the upper housing. This creates a number of drawers that have spaces between them. The spaces are large enough to see into the drawers and to reach in and obtain tools. The set up is fast. Once the tools have been positioned, they are readily accessible for use. Moreover, they do not take up any more floor space that the area occupied by the toolbox itself. When the job is done, the drawers are returned to the inner housing, the outer housing is removed and fitted over the inner housing for storage. Once the outer housing is locked into place, the complete toolbox can then be transported as desired. 
     This design has a number of different forms, which are illustrated in the accompanying embodiments as described below: 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of the outer housing of the basic design, called the “regular” unit 
     FIG. 2 shows a perspective view of the regular unit opened 
     FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the regular unit with the top rotated and secured to the base. 
     FIG. 4 shows a perspective view of the outer housing of the design, called the rack unit. 
     FIG. 5 shows a perspective view of the rack unit opened 
     FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the rack unit with the top rotated and secured to the base, ready for use. 
     FIG. 7 shows a perspective view of the outer housing of the design, called the open top unit. 
     FIG. 8 Shows a perspective view of the open top unit opened 
     FIG. 9 is a perspective view of the open unit with the top rotated and secured to the base, ready for use. 
     FIG. 10 shows a perspective view of the “U” top unit opened. 
     FIG. 11 is a perspective view of the “U” top unit with the top rotated and secured to the base, ready for use. 
     FIG. 12 shows a perspective view of the vertical lift rack unit opened. 
     FIG. 13 is a perspective view of the “U” top unit with the top secured to the base, ready for use. 
     FIG. 14 shows a perspective view of the “flip top” unit opened. 
     FIG. 15 is a front view of the storage strays for the flip top unit stacked in the closed position. 
     FIG. 16 is a front view of the “flip top” unit with the top set in place and the trays installed, ready for use. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     Referring now to FIGS. 1,  2 , and  3 , FIG. 1 shows the inner case of the “regular” unit  1  with the trays installed. 
     As shown in the figures, the outer housing  2  has a handle center depression  3  to accommodate the handles  4  that are attached to the inner unit  5 . When the units are combined, the handles can be used to lift the toolbox. 
     At the top of the outer housing  2  are four corners  6  that hold one of the removable trays  10 , described below, when the box is on the open position. Note that the word trays and drawers in this specification are intended to be interchangeable. 
     The outer housing also has a set of rails  7  that are used to support the bottom of a second removable tray  10  when the box is in the open position. 
     At the bottom of the outer housing are four pegs  8  that fit in sockets  8   a  in the top and sockets  8   b  in bottom of the inner case. 
     FIG. 2 shows the inner case  5  with the outer case lifted off. This is the first stage of assembling the toolbox. The inner case  5  holds six trays that can hold tools and other supplies. Three of the six trays are removable. These trays are designated with the reference numeral  10 . Three of the trays are fixed. These are designated with the numeral  10   a . In the preferred embodiment, the removable trays are different sizes. However, the exact sizes and dimension of the trays and openings is a matter of choice. 
     The outer housing  2  is designed with a ½″ overhanging lip  20  to protect the unit from the weather. This lip fits over a vertical rim  21  (see FIG. 2) that is formed in all four corners of inner housing  5  to weather proof the unit when it is in the closed position. 
     The inner housing  5  has a set of parallel rails  15  that are support rails for the removable trays  10 . These trays sit on these rails when the unit is closed. 
     As shown in FIG. 3, each of the removable trays  10  has a handle  16  across the top for lifting the tray. Each removable tray also has a front handle  17 . In the preferred embodiment, this handle is a front-depression used for finger hold to grip the handle to remove the tray. 
     Each removable drawer can also has a pair of stops (not shown) on the bottom of the tray to guide the tray between the rails  15 . These stops also keep the tray from sliding out of the front or back of the box. These stops are common to the art. 
     To secure the unit when closed and opened, buckles are used. Reference numeral  22  indicates the top half of the buckles, which are recessed in the bottom wall of the outer housing as shown. Numeral  23  indicates the bottom half of the buckles as shown in FIG.  2 . Two pairs of buckles bottom  23  are located at the bottom front of the inner housing see e.g., FIG.  1 . Two additional pairs of buckle bottoms  23   a  are located on the top sides of the inner housing  5  as shown in FIG.  3 . These buckles are used to secure the outer housing to the inner housing in the open position, while the buckle bottoms located on the front bottom of the outer housing are used for when the box is closed. 
     As shown in FIG. 2, four corners  6   a  are also mounted to the top of the inner housing  5  as shown in FIG.  2 . These are used when the unit is opened. 
     As shown in FIGS. 1,  2  and  3 , to open unit, follow the following procedure: 
     1. Unlock the buckles  22  and  23  that hold the outer housing to the bottom of the inner case. 
     2. Slide the outer housing up and off the inner case. 
     This is the view shown in FIG.  2 . 
     3. Rotate the outer housing 90 degrees. 
     4. Place the bottom of the outer housing on top of the inner case. 
     5. Lock the buckles  22  and  23   a  between the bottom of the outer housing and the top of the inner case. 
     6. Slide out two of the removable trays  10  and place them in their respective positions in the outer housing (one on the top of the inner housing, one on rails  7 ). 
     7. Remove the last tray  10  and place it on top of the outer housing. 
     This is now the configuration shown in FIG.  3 . 
     The tools are now accessible in both the removable trays and the fixed trays. The added height of the toolbox makes finding, removing and replacing tools easy and fast. 
     To pack the unit for storage, reverse the steps described above. 
     This is the structure of the basic unit. Below are several embodiment that modify the structure somewhat, but still create a basic stacked tool box as described above. These variations are described below. 
     Rack Unit 
     The second embodiment is a modification that is a rack unit. 
     The rack unit  30  is shown in FIGS. 4,  5 , and  6 . 
     FIG. 4 shows the rack unit closed for storage. FIG. 5 shows the outer housing  31  of this unit lifted off the inner housing  32 . As shown, it differs from the first embodiment in that it has no closed sides. At the top of the unit are two handles  33 . At the top of the rack are also corners  34  that hold the bottom of one of the removable trays  35  when the unit is in the open position. Note that in this figure, the outer housing is rotated 90 degrees from bottom housing. This is the open position. For storage, the outer housing is rotated 90 degrees back, to align with the lower housing, as discussed below. 
     The outer housing has and rails  36  that support the bottom of two of the removable trays  35  when in the open position. Note that the trays  35  are rotated 90 degrees from the closed position (FIG. 4) when this device is set up (FIG.  6 ). 
     At the bottom of the outer housing is a hole  37  for a safety bolt  38  that secures the outer housing to the lower unit. A fixed nut  38   a  is used to secure the safety bolt. 
     At the bottom of the outer housing  31  are also pegs  39  that fit into sockets  39   a  (FIGS. 5 and 6) when the device is in the open position for stabilization. 
     The inner case  32  has identical front and back pieces. Note that the sidepieces are identical as well. 
     The sides  31   a  of the inner case have sockets  40  to secure pegs from the outer housing when the unit is in the closed position. Note that these sockets have small drain holes in their bottoms (not shown). 
     The inside of the inner case has a set of rails  41  that hold the movable bottom tray  35  when it is in the closed position. 
     A door  42  is recessed into the side for the outer housing rack clearance. 
     The door  42  has a flush mounted latch  43 . 
     Note that the hinge  44  on the front corner inner case unit  31  is recessed to allow door to be recessed in side of and in front of inner case unit 
     On the top of the inner case is a fixed nut  45  for a second safety bolt. 
     As shown in FIG. 6, the removable drawers  35  have a recessed handle  46  in the tray front and an identical handle in the back. 
     A top handle  47  is attached to the top of each tray  35  as shown. 
     Note that the inner housing  31  has three fixed trays  48 . These trays are fixed and used in the same manner as those of the regular unit. 
     Operation of this unit is identical to that of the regular unit. The only difference is that the handles  33  are designed as shown compared to the handles in the regular unit. 
     The Open Top Unit 
     Referring now to FIGS. 7,  8 , and  9 , details of the open top unit  50  are shown. FIG. 7 shows the inner case  51  with the trays  55  loaded, but the outer case  52  removed. 
     Referring now to FIG. 8, in this unit, the inner case  51  has an open top. The outer case  52  has a solid top that has a center handle  53 . Four corners  54  are shown on the top of the unit. Like the previous units, these corners hold one of the removable trays  55  when the case is opened. See FIG.  9 . 
     This unit also has a ½″ lip  56  is provided for weatherproofing. This weather proofing system is identical to that of the regular unit. 
     On the bottom of the outer housing are 4 pegs  57  that connect the outer housing to the inner case for storage and use. Slots  58  are placed in the inner housing as shown, to receive the pegs. Also as on the regular unit, adjacent to the pegs  57  is a set of upper buckles  59  used to secure the outer housing to the inner case. Lower buckles  59   a  are provided as on the regular unit. 
     Referring now to FIG. 9, the inner case has rails  60 . The rails support the trays when the unit is both opened and closed. 
     As shown in FIG. 9, at the bottom of the inner case is one tray  55  inner case. Above that is a second tray  55 . Above that is a third tray  55 . 
     Two handles  62  are recessed into inner case wall flush with outside surface as shown. 
     To open this unit for use, follow these steps: 
     1. Unbuckle bottom of the outer housing from the bottom of the inner case. 
     2. Lift the outer housing off the outer housing unit and place it aside from the inner case and onto the floor. 
     3. Lift the top two trays out of the inner case and place them onto the floor. 
     4. Replace one tray and place it on the top rails of the inner case. 
     5. Place the bottom of the outer housing on the top of the inner case (orientation of the outer housing is 90 degrees from closed position). 
     6. Attach buckles on the bottom of the outer housing to the top of the inner case. 
     7. Move the remaining tray from the floor to the top of the outer housing. 
     This is now the configuration shown in FIG. 9 
     8. Reverse process to close unit. 
     Note that this unit does not have any fixed shelves. 
     The U Top Unit 
     FIGS. 10 and 11 show details of the U top unit  70 . 
     FIG. 10 shows the outer housing  71 . Removed from the inner case  72 . In this view four trays  73  are shown in place within the inner case  72 . 
     The outer housing  71  has closed sides, an open front and back as shown. In this view, the outer housing has been lifted off the inner case, but it has not been turned. 
     Note that like the other units, the top of this unit has four corners  74  that hold the bottom of the top tray  73  when the unit is in the open position. Below the top surface is a ½″ weather lip-over lap  75  that fits over the inner case. The inner case also has a lip  76  to fit groove  75  in outer housing when the unit is in the closed position. This is the same feature as discussed above for the other units. 
     Also at the bottom of the unit are a set of pegs  77  that interlock the outer housing and the inner case. The inner case also has a set of sockets  78  to receive the pegs  77  from the outer housing when the unit is in the closed position. Again, these features are identical to those of the other units discussed above. 
     Next to the pegs  77  are the top halves  80  of a number of buckles that are used to close the box. The inner case also has a set of buckles  80   a  corresponding to the buckles  80  in the outer housing. At the top of the inner case are a number of buckle bottom halves  80   b  that attach to the outer housing in the open position. This again is like the embodiments mentioned above. 
     Referring now to FIG. 10, at the top of the inner case are four corners  81  that hold the bottom of a second tray when the unit is in the open position. See FIG.  11 . 
     As mentioned above, in FIG. 10, the inner case has four trays  73  installed. 
     To hold the trays in the open position, the inner case has rails  83  installed as shown. The trays placed on the rails may have stops placed on them as mentioned above. 
     Also as shown, the inner case also has a pair of handles  85  as shown. A handle  86  is also installed in the center of the outer case case. 
     FIG. 11 shows the unit opened with the e trays installed. Note how the uppermost trays fit into the corners on the tops of the inner and outer housing. 
     To open the U Top Unit perform the following steps: 
     1. Unlatch the buckles that connect the bottom of the outer housing to the bottom of the inner case. 
     2. Lift the outer housing above the inner case. 
     This point is illustrated in FIG.  10 . 
     3. Place the outer housing aside from the inner case on the floor. 
     4. Move the top three trays up and out of the front of the inner case and on to the floor. 
     5. Put a tray back into its position in the inner case above the bottom tray. 
     6. Rotate the outer housing 90 degrees from its closed position and put the bottom of the outer housing on the top of the inner case. 
     7. Attach buckles on the bottom of the outer housing to the top of the inner case. 
     8. Put a third tray on top of the outer housing (orientation the same as it was in the inner case). 
     9. Put the last tray inside the outer housing and on top of the inner case (orientation the same as it was in the inner case). 
     10. Reverse the process to close the unit. 
     This is the configuration shown in FIG.  11 . 
     Note that in this embodiment, the trays have handles  88  across the tops of the trays as shown. 
     Vertically Rising Rack Unit 
     FIGS. 12 and 13 illustrate a smaller version of the toolbox that holds two removable storage trays and has one fixed tray. In this embodiment, the outer housing is a rack  90 . The rack  90  has two side frames  91  and a top frame  92  as shown. Note that the center rail  92   a  on the rack top can be used as handle in raising and lowering rack. On the top frame are four corners  93  that, as in other embodiments, support one tray. On the bottom of the side frames  91  are the top half of buckles  94  for securing the rack when it is in the lowered or closed position. 
     FIG. 12 also shows the inner case  95 . This case has an open interior that holds two trays  96 . The top of the inner case also has four corners  97  for supporting a tray when in the open position. The top of the inner case also has a pair of handles  98  for carrying the unit. 
     On the sides of the inner case are four vertical rails  99  in which rack rides when the unit is closed. On one side of the inner case is a door  100 . FIGS. 12 and 13 shows the latch  101  for door. Note that in the preferred embodiment, the door swings 270 degrees to close over front of base unit. 
     The inner case also has the bottom half  94   a  of buckles  94  for securing rack in lowered position. 
     FIG. 13 shows the unit in the open position. Here, the support rails  102  for the trays are shown. These rails can have stops to prevent the trays from sliding out of the inner case, if desired. 
     The inner case has one fixed tray  103  built into base of the inner case as shown. Two removable trays  96  are shown in place ready for use. As before, these trays  96  have center handles  105  and pulls  106 . 
     The rack has spring-loaded clips (not shown) that are used to allow the rack to slide up from the inner case. This feature is discussed below. 
     To Open the vertically rising rack unit, the following procedure is used: 
     1) raise the rack until the rack supports (spring-loaded clips) open under rack bottom. 
     2) Open doors, swing doors 270 degrees. 
     3) Move one tray to the top of the base unit. 
     4) Move the second tray to the top of the rack. Note that in one embodiment, The upper tray must be rotated horizontally 90 degrees to fit in the support corners at the top or the rack. 
     To Close the vertically rising rack unit, the reverse procedure is used except that in the final step, to lower the rack, depress spring loaded rack clips to allow the rack to descend. 
     The final embodiment is called the flip top unit. This unit is different from the others because the outer case has only two sides and a bottom. The trays are designed to stack independent of the cases, so no rails or corners are needed. This unit has a lower container and a lid. 
     FIG. 14 shows details of the container  110  and the lid  111 . The lid  111  is designed to close the unit weather tight. The lid  111  has holes  112  for water drainage. 
     The lid has a handle  113  in a depression  114  in the lid. The handle is designed to be flush with top surface of lid in the closed position. 
     The lid  111  has two large head locking bolts  115  that are used to secure the lid to the container. In the preferred embodiment, these bolts are hand-tightened. 
     Stiffeners  116  are used to hold shape of vertical panels of the lid. 
     At the bottom of the lid (the top when it is flipped) are two additional large head locking bolts  117 , which are used to control vertical and horizontal movement of stacked trays when the unit is open. 
     Also located on the bottom of the lid  111  are the top half of buckles  118  to fasten down lid to base-closed position. 
     The inside top of the lid has cleats  119  to position the lower tray of the upper tray set when the unit is in the open position. 
     The lid also has a set of grooves  120  that fit a lip  121  in vertical sides of cabinet openings. 
     FIG. 14 also shows details of the base container  110 . Note that the base-may be fitted with 4 wheels (not shown) if desired. 
     At the top of the container are two fixed nuts  125  fixed in place that receive the locking bolts  115  that hold the lid in the closed and open positions, as discussed below. 
     At the top of the container  110  is a collar  126 . The container also has two handles  127  as shown. 
     The base of the container has the lower half  118   a  of buckles  118  to latch lid to base. 
     Referring now to FIGS. 15 and 16, details of the stacking tray set are shown. This unit has four stacking trays. In trays  130  there are pockets  131  that receive the down leg  132  of tray above. These pockets run the length the tray. Next to the pockets  131  are the up legs  133  from top of tray. 
     Pockets  131  and up legs  133  are located on both sides of the trays  130 . 
     Two trays  135  are also provided. These trays have a similar set of pockets and legs on them as shown. 
     FIG. 15 shows the trays in the closed position. Here, the down legs of trays  135  are shown fitting into the trays below them. 
     FIG. 16 shows the four trays in the open position with flip lid and base set In place. This figure shows how the down legs of the trays fit together with the up legs on the trays to from a two tray unit (it is possible to stack all four trays together independent of the lid and container, but this is not shown). In the figure there are two sets of stacked trays. One set is placed in the container as shown. 
     The FIGURE also shows the locking bolts  117  that are used to hold top tray set in place in the lid. These bolts control vertical and horizontal movement of the trays when in the lid. 
     FIG. 16 also shows the lid flipped over and rotated 90 degrees from its stored position. 
     When flipped locking bolts  115  and buckles  118  are used to secure the lid to the container. 
     To open the unit, first, the user slides the lid  111  from the container, after undoing the locking bolts and buckles. Next, the four trays are removed form the inside of the container. Two of the trays are assembled in the open stacked position and put back into the container. Next, the lid is flipped over and rotated 90 degrees and placed on the top of the container. Locking bolts are then used to secure the lid to the container. Next, the remaining trays are assembled into a stacked unit and are placed on the lid. Locking bolts  117  are used to secure these trays in place as shown. 
     The unit is then ready to use. To close the unit, follow the reverse procedure. 
     The present disclosure should not be construed in any limited sense other than that limited by the scope of the claims having regard to the teachings herein and the prior art being apparent with the preferred form of the invention disclosed herein and which reveals details of structure of a preferred form necessary for a better understanding of the invention and may be subject to change by skilled persons within the scope of the invention without departing from the concept thereof.