Patent Publication Number: US-2015060321-A1

Title: Connecting assembly and storage unit assembly with the same

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application claims priority to Chinese Patent Application No. 201310398570.6 filed on Sep. 5, 2013 in the China Intellectual Property Office, the contents of which are incorporated by reference herein. 
     FIELD 
     The subject matter herein generally relates to connecting assemblies, and particularly, to a connecting assembly capable of connecting two stackable storage units. 
     BACKGROUND 
     In a workshop, stackable storage units need to be stacked together and transported to different locations. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       Implementations of the present technology will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the attached figures. 
         FIG. 1  is an isometric view showing an embodiment of a storage unit assembly. 
         FIG. 2  is an isometric view showing an embodiment of an inner view of a first stackable storage unit of the storage unit assembly of  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 3  is an isometric view showing an embodiment of a connecting assembly of the storage unit assembly of  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 4  is an exploded, isometric view showing the connecting assembly of  FIG. 3 . 
         FIG. 5  is a partial cross-sectional view of the connecting assembly of  FIG. 3 . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     It will be appreciated that for simplicity and clarity of illustration, where appropriate, reference numerals have been repeated among the different figures to indicate corresponding or analogous elements. In addition, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the embodiments described herein. However, it will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that the embodiments described herein can be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, methods, procedures and components have not been described in detail so as not to obscure the related relevant feature being described. The drawings are not necessarily to scale and the proportions of certain parts may be exaggerated to better illustrate details and features. The description is not to be considered as limiting the scope of the embodiments described herein. 
     Several definitions that apply throughout this disclosure will now be presented. 
     The term “coupled” is defined as connected, whether directly or indirectly through intervening components, and is not necessarily limited to physical connections. The connection can be such that the objects are permanently connected or releasably connected. The term “substantially” is defined to be essentially conforming to the particular dimension, shape or other word that substantially modifies, such that the component need not be exact. For example, substantially cylindrical means that the object resembles a cylinder, but can have one or more deviations from a true cylinder. The term “comprising” means “including, but not necessarily limited to”; it specifically indicates open-ended inclusion or membership in a so-described combination, group, series and the like. 
     Embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in relation to the accompanying drawings. 
       FIGS. 1-2  illustrate an embodiment of a storage unit assembly  100 . The storage unit assembly  100  can include a first stackable storage unit  10 , a second stackable storage unit  20 , and at least one connecting assembly  30 . The second stackable storage unit  20  can be stacked on the first stackable storage unit  10 . The at least one connecting assembly  30  can connect the second stackable storage unit  20  to the first stackable storage unit  10  when the second stackable storage unit  20  is stacked on the first stackable storage unit  10 . 
     The first stackable storage unit  10  and the second stackable storage unit  20  have a same structure. For simplicity, the first stackable storage unit  10  will be described below in detail, it is understood that the structure of the second stackable storage unit  20  is analogous with the first stackable storage unit  10 . The first stackable storage unit  10  can be a substantially rectangular parallelepiped. For simplicity, one connecting assembly  30  will be described in detail below. It is understood that the connecting assemblies  30  included in the storage unit assembly  100  are mutually analogous. 
       FIGS. 3-5  illustrate that the connecting assembly  30  can include a first connecting device  40 , a second connecting device  50 , a guide member  60 , and a locking assembly  70 . 
     The first connecting device  40  can include a first vertical connecting member  41  and two first horizontal connecting members  42 . The first vertical connecting member  41  and the two first horizontal connecting members  42  can be connected to each other and be substantially perpendicularly to each other. In the embodiment, the first horizontal connecting members  42  can be connected to the top of the first vertical connecting member  41 . The first vertical connecting member  41  can define a first through hole  43  extending along the height of the first vertical connecting member  41 . The top of the first vertical connecting member  41  can have a first supporting member  44 . The first supporting member  44  can include a portion protruding from the top of the first vertical connecting member  41 , can include a gap defined in the top of the first vertical connecting member  41 , or can include a flat surface. 
     The second connecting device  50  can include a second vertical connecting member  51  and two second horizontal connecting members  52 . The second vertical connecting member  51  and the second horizontal connecting members  52  can be connected to each other and be substantially perpendicularly to each other. In the embodiment, the two second horizontal connecting members  52  can be connected to the bottom of the second vertical connecting member  51 . The second vertical connecting member  51  can define a second through hole  53  extending along the height of the second vertical connecting member  51 . The second vertical connecting member  51  can further include a latching member  54 . The latching member  54  can protrude from the inner surface of the second vertical connecting member  51  and extend into the second through hole  53 . In the embodiment, the bottom of the second vertical connecting member  51  can have a second supporting member  55  matching with the first supporting member  44 . When the first supporting member  44  includes a portion protruding from the top of the first vertical connecting member  41 , the second supporting member  55  includes a gap defined in the bottom of the second vertical connecting member  51 . When the first supporting member  44  includes a gap defined in the top of the first vertical connecting member  41 , the second supporting member  55  includes a portion protruding from the bottom of the second vertical connecting member  51 . When the first supporting member  44  includes a flat surface, the second supporting member  55  includes a flat surface. 
     The guide member  60  can extend upward from the bottom of the first stackable storage unit  10  and is fixed to the first stackable storage unit  10 . The guide member  60  can include an open top end  61  and an open bottom end  62 . The guide member  60  can be hollow. The bottom of the first vertical connecting member  41  can be inserted into the guide member  60  through the open top end  61 , thus the first connecting device  40  is fixed to the first stackable storage unit  10 . The second connecting device  50  is fixed to the second stackable storage unit  20 . In the embodiment, the top of the second vertical connecting member  51  can be inserted into another guide member  60  of another connecting assembly  30  through the open bottom end  62  of another guide member  60 . The guide member  60  can define a guiding slot  63 . The guiding slot  63  can include a first guiding slot  64  and a second guiding slot  65  coupled to the first guiding slot  64 . In the embodiment, the guide member  60  can include a first sidewall  66  and a second sidewall  67 . The first sidewall  66  can define a first guiding slot  64 . The second sidewall  67  can define a second guiding slot  65 . In the embodiment, the first guiding slot  64  and the second guiding slot  65  can be substantially perpendicular to each other and are coupled to each other to form an inverted L-shaped slot. 
     The locking assembly  70  can be slidable and received in the guide member  60 . The locking assembly  70  can include a bar  71 , a locking block  72 , and a sliding block  73 . In the embodiment, the bar  71  can include a first sleeve  711  and a second sleeve  712 . The diameter of the second sleeve  712  can be less than the diameter of the first sleeve  711  and the second sleeve  712  can be partially fixed in the first sleeve  711 . The locking block  72  can be attached to the top end of the second sleeve  712  and cooperate with the second sleeve  712  to form an inverted step shape. In the embodiment, a size of the locking block  72  can be less than a size of the first through hole  43  and can be less than a size of the second through hole  53 . The sliding block  73  can protrude from the lateral side of the first sleeve  711 . The sliding block  73  can be partially received in the guiding slot  63  and partially exposed from the guiding slot  63 , thus the sliding block  73  can be operated by a user. In the initial state, the sliding block  73  is received in the first guiding slot  64 . 
     When connecting the second stackable storage unit  20  to the first stackable storage unit  10 , the second stackable storage unit  20  is stacked on the first stackable storage unit  10 , the second through hole  53  of the second connecting device  50  can be aligned with the first through hole  43  of the first connecting device  40  (see  FIG. 3 ). The sliding block  73  is pushed until moved to an intersection of the first guiding slot  64  and the second guiding slot  65  along the first guiding slot  64 . The sliding block  65  can push the locking block  72  to pass through the first through hole  43  of the first connecting device  40  and be received in the second through hole  53  of the second connecting device  50 . At this time, the bottom of the locking block  72  can be located above the top of the latching member  54  of the second connecting device  50 . The sliding block  73  is pushed again until moved to a first predetermined position along the second guiding slot  65 . In the embodiment, the first predetermined position is the end of the second guiding slot  65 . The locking block  72  can be brought by the sliding block  73  to engage with the latching member  54  of the second connecting device  50 . Thus, the second connecting device  50  can be connected to the first connecting device  40 , and the second stackable storage unit  20  can be accordingly latched to the first stackable storage unit  10  through the connecting assembly  30  (see  FIG. 5 ). 
     When separating the second stackable storage unit  20  from the first stackable storage unit  10 , the sliding block  73  is pushed until moved to the intersection of the first guiding slot  64  and the second guiding slot  65  along the second guiding slot  65 . The locking block  72  can be brought by the sliding block  73  to move to disengage from the latching member  54  of the second connecting device  50 . The sliding block  73  is pushed again until moved to a second predetermined position along the first guiding slot  64 . In the embodiment, the second predetermined position is the end of the first guiding slot  64 . The locking block  72  can be brought by the sliding block  73  to pass through the second through hole  53  of the second connecting device  50  and be received in the first through hole  43  of the first connecting device  40 . Thus, the second stackable storage unit  20  can be detached from the first stackable storage unit  10 . 
     The embodiments shown and described above are only examples. Even though numerous characteristics and advantages of the present technology have been set forth in the foregoing description, together with details of the structure and function of the present disclosure, the disclosure is illustrative only, and changes may be made in the detail, including in matters of shape, size and arrangement of the parts within the principles of the present disclosure up to, and including, the full extent established by the broad general meaning of the terms used in the claims.