Patent Publication Number: US-2006016812-A1

Title: Spacer

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS  
      This application claims priority to prior ROC (Taiwan) Patent Application No. 093211507, filed Jul. 21, 2004; and China Patent Application No. 200420084546.1, filed Jul. 29, 2004. These applications are incorporated by reference herein in their entirety.  
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
      1. Field of the Invention  
      The present invention relates to spacers for containers. More particularly, the present invention relates to spacers that attach to a flange or rail of a container for spacing stacked containers from one another and supporting such stacked containers.  
      2. Description of Related Art  
      Once a container, such as a mesh container, is manufactured it must be packed, shipped and/or displayed for sale. Mesh containers, in particular, have walls that can be easily dented or damaged by handling. Damage is especially likely to occur when multiple containers are fitted together or nested in such a way that each subsequent container sits or nests within the preceeding container. This packing method is common in shipping to reduce shipping costs. Damage is also likely when containers have a predilection to bind together, such as when they are nested, so they are difficult to separate. This creates inconvenience to the handler, as well as greatly increasing the probability of damage to the containers. Damage can occur due to rubbing, binding or in attempting to separate bound containers.  
      Forming nesting devices to dispose between such nested containers to minimize damage is well known. U.S. Pat. No. 1,468,748 to Schuman discloses a nesting device that has a stepped wedge shape for holding nested receptacles so that the walls are kept from binding contact. The nesting device of Schuman is not releasably secured to the receptacles. As a result, this nesting device can be dislodged during shipping or packing, which is undesirable.  
      U.S. Pat. No. 3,358,878 to Ostborg et al. patent discloses an alternative nesting accessory with a body portion defining two short openings for accommodating the upper edge of cookware. The opening used depends on the diameter of the cookware. The Ostborg et al. nesting accessory further includes a leg portion extending downwardly away from the body portion and a foot portion angularly offset from the leg portion. Moreover, the Ostborg et al. nesting accessory is used such that cookware is stacked upon the leg and foot portions of the lower located nesting accessories. Consequently, the nesting accessories contact and bear upon the walls of the cookware which is undesirable for mesh containers whose walls could be damaged by such contact.  
      A need exists for a spacer for protecting the walls of containers, particularly mesh container, during packing, shipping, unpacking, and display while still allowing the convenience of nesting. There is also a need for a way to assure the spacers remain in place during shipping.  
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
      The present invention is directed to a spacer comprising a body portion and a post. The body portion has a generally U-shape defining an elongated slot. The post extends upwardly from an outer surface of the body portion. Upon attaching the spacer to a lower rail of a lower drawer, the rail is disposed within the elongated slot, and the post supports an upper drawer disposed above the lower drawer.  
      According to one aspect of the present invention, the body portion further includes a curved wall portion connected to an upper wall portion and a lower wall portion. In such an example, the body portion may further include a generally vertical wall portion connected to the upper wall portion and spaced from the lower wall portion for defining an opening in communication with the elongated slot.  
      In one example, a free end of the vertical wall portion is flush with an outer surface of the lower wall portion. In another example, the free end of the vertical wall portion extends beyond the outer surface of the lower wall portion.  
      In another example, the vertical wall portion further includes a hook portion.  
      In yet another example, the post further includes a cross-sectional shape selected from the group comprising: X-shaped, circular, square, rectangular, circular ring, square ring, or rectangular ring.  
      Additionally, the spacer of the present invention includes a single elongated slot.  
      The present invention is also directed to a combination of drawers and spacers. The spacers extend between stacked drawers and include body portions for contacting only the rail of such drawers. The spacers support the drawers using the rail. The spacers further include the elongated slot and post, previously discussed. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
      The present invention will be more fully appreciated as the same becomes understood from the following detailed description of the best mode presently contemplated for carrying out the present invention when viewed in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:  
       FIG. 1  is an exploded perspective view of a first example of a spacer of the present invention removed from a drawer;  
       FIG. 2  is an enlarged side view of the spacer in  FIG. 1 ;  
       FIG. 2A  shows top views of exemplary posts for spacers;  
       FIG. 3  is an exploded, perspective view of a lower drawer with a set of spacers and an upper drawer for stacking thereon;  
       FIG. 4  is an enlarged, cross-sectional view of a plurality of stacked drawers separated and supported by spacers of the present invention;  
       FIG. 5  is an enlarged, side view of a second exemplary spacer of the present invention;  
       FIG. 6  is an enlarged, side view of a third exemplary spacer of the present invention; and  
       FIG. 7  is an enlarged, side view of a fourth exemplary spacer of the present invention. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXAMPLES OF THE PRESENT INVENTION  
      Referring to  FIG. 1 , a portion of mesh drawer or container  10   a  is shown. Mesh drawer  10   a  includes sidewalls  12   a  and bottom wall  14   a  (see  FIG. 3 ). Upper end of sidewalls  12   a  further include continuous rail or rim  15   a . Details with respect to mesh drawer  10   a  and its construction and variations are disclosed in U.S. Patent Application No. ______, entitled, “METHOD FOR MAKING MESH CONTAINERS WITH A RAIL AND MESH CONTAINER FORMED THEREFROM;” filed ______; and naming inventors Hsi-Ming Cheng, R. Neal Post, and Christopher Hardy, this application being incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.  
      Referring to  FIGS. 1 and 2 , spacer  16   a  of the present invention is for use with mesh drawer  10   a . Spacer  16   a  includes body portion  18  and post  20  extending upwardly therefrom. Body portion  18  has a generally U-shape formed by upper wall portion  22  connected to curved end wall portion  24  and lower wall portion  26 . Generally vertical wall portion  28  is connected to upper wall portion  22  and spaced from bottom wall portion  26  to form opening  30  in communication with slot  32 . Thus, body portion  18  defines open-ended elongated slot  32 .  
      In this example, free end  28   a  of vertical wall portion  28  is flush with outer surface  26   a  of lower wall portion  26 .  
      Post  20  extends upwardly from outer surface  22   a  of upper wall portion  22 , and has length L. The post preferably has an X-shaped cross-section (as best seen in  FIG. 2A ). However, post  20  is not limited to this shape and may, for example, have other cross-sectional shapes such as solid circular, solid square or rectangular, circular ring, square ring or rectangular ring, as shown in  FIG. 2A .  
      In the present example, post  20  has free end  20   a  that is generally parallel to outer surface  22   a  of upper wall portion  22 .  
      Spacer  16   a  is preferably integrally formed from plastic using conventional techniques such as molding. The plastic selected should be able to perform as described below.  
      Spacer  16   a  is used with several other spacers  16   a , as shown in  FIG. 3 . These spacers  16   a  are connected to rail  15   a  of lower drawer  10   a  by passing rail  15   a  through opening  30  and into slot  32 , which is sized to receive rail  15   a  (as shown in  FIG. 4 ). During insertion, vertical wall portion  28  and/or lower wall portion  26  may move to allow rail  15   a  to enter slot  32 . Vertical and lower wall portions  28 , 26  return to their original position after such insertion due to the material and configuration of spacer  16   a . Additionally, vertical wall  28  contacts inner surface  15   a ′ (best seen in  FIG. 1 ) of rail  15   a  and exerts a force on spacers  16   a  so that spacers  16   a  are removably connected to rail  15   a . In the present example, post length L (see  FIG. 2 ) is such that gap g is defined between bottom walls  14   a  and  14   b.    
      As shown in  FIG. 4 , stacked drawers  10   a - f  are shown with respective spacers  16   a - f  connected to rails  15   a - f  thereof. When so stacked, post  18  of lower spacer  16   a  below drawer  10   b  contacts spacer  16   b  thereabove and so forth. As a result, spacers  16   a - f  do not contact the bottom or sidewalls of the drawers  10   a - f  which helps prevent damage to such containers.  
      Referring to  FIG. 5 , a second example of spacer  116  is shown. Spacer  116  is similar to spacer  16   a  except vertical wall portion  128  has a length greater than vertical wall portion  28  (see  FIG. 2 ) so that free end  128   a  extends distance d beneath outer surface  126   a  of lower wall portion  126 . Spacer  116  is used similar to spacer  16   a - f  as previously discussed. Lengthening vertical wall portion  128   a , however, improves the attachment of spacer  116  to drawers  10   a - f  so that spacer  116  is more difficult to remove therefrom.  
      Referring to  FIG. 6 , a third example of spacer  216  is shown. Spacer  216  is similar to spacer  116  except vertical wall portion  228  includes hook portion  228   b . Spacer  216  is used similar to spacers  16   a - f  as previously discussed. During use, hook portion  228   b  engages edge E of rail  15   f  (see  FIG. 4 ) to further secure spacer  216  thereto.  
      Additionally, free end  220   a  of post  220  is angled with respect to outer surface  228   a  of upper wall portion  228 . This allows spacer  216  to be used with drawer  210   a  which includes angled rail  215 . When spacer  216  is used with drawer  210   a , upon insertion spacer  216  upper portion moves inward along angled rail  215  in direction D 1  so that through use of hook portion  228   b  and angled free end  220   a  spacer  216  is removably locked into attachment with rail  215 . Upon such insertion, lower wall portion  226  moves away from upper wall portion  222 .  
      Referring to  FIG. 7 , a fourth example of spacer  316  is shown. Spacer  316  is similar to spacer  216  except lower wall portion  326  is angled with respect to upper wall portion  322 . Additionally, free end  320   a  of post  320  has an alternative angle as well. Spacer  316  works similarly to spacer  216 .  
      Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the conception, upon which this disclosure is based, may readily be utilized as a basis for designing other products for carrying out the several purposes of the present invention. It is important, therefore, that the claims be regarded as including such equivalent constructions insofar as they do not depart from the spirit and scope of the present invention as defined in the appended claims. Therefore, this invention is not to be limited to the specific examples depicted therein. For example, the features of one example disclosed above can be used with the features of another example. Alternatively, such spacers can be used with drawers formed of materials other than mesh, such as ceramic, glass, wood, plastic, or metal containers. The spacers of the present invention are particularly useful with such containers that nest (i.e., each subsequent container sits or nests within the preceeding container) when stacked. Additionally, such spacers may be used with drawers having openings in their sidewalls, such as open corners, as described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/972,308, entitled, “MESH CONTAINER, SYSTEM USING MESH CONTAINERS AND METHOD FOR MAKING MESH CONTAINERS;” filed Oct. 22, 2004; and naming inventors Hsi-Ming Cheng, R. Neal Post, and Christopher Hardy, and incorporated by reference in its entirety.  
      Further, the purpose of the Abstract is to enable the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, and the public generally, and especially the designers and practitioners in the art who are not familiar with patent or legal terms or phraseology, to determine quickly from a cursory inspection the nature and essence of the technical disclosure of the application. The Abstract is neither intended to define the invention of the application, which is measured solely by the claims, nor is intended to be limiting as to the scope of the invention in any way.