Patent Description:
Such a modular storage system is already known from <CIT>.

Tool storage units are often used to transport tools and tool accessories. Some storage units are designed to incorporate into a modular storage system. Within a modular storage system, different units, devices and/or containers may provide varying functions, such as being adapted to vacuum debris and waste.

According to an embodiment, this disclosure relates to a modular storage system, such as a container assembly, that includes a vacuum and a first utility module, with the vacuum being coupled to a top of the first utility module. The vacuum includes a motor and a housing. The housing includes a front wall, a rear wall opposite the front wall, the rear wall separated from the front wall by a first depth in a first direction, two sidewalls extending between the front wall and the rear wall, an internal compartment located within the housing, an inlet through which debris enters the internal compartment when the motor is operating, an outlet through which air exits the internal compartment when the motor is operating, and a first plurality of coupling mechanisms located along a bottom surface of the housing. The first utility module includes a second plurality of coupling mechanisms, one or more of the second plurality of coupling mechanisms configured to detachably engage with the first plurality of coupling mechanisms. The first utility module extends a second depth in the first direction that is at least twice the first depth. This combination of dimensions permits additional devices, such as a modular tool storage device, to also be coupled to the top of the first utility module.

According to an embodiment, this disclosure relates to a vacuum configured to be coupled to a tool storage device, the vacuum including a base, a top panel opposite the base, a housing and a hose. The housing includes a first lateral wall that extends from the base to the top panel. The first lateral wall includes an operating switch and a coupling lock, and defines an inlet for the vacuum. The coupling lock is configured to facilitate coupling the vacuum with another housing, such as of a storage container, that the vacuum is placed on. The hose is coupled to the inlet and is configured to couple to a rib that protrudes from the first lateral wall.

According to an embodiment, this disclosure relates a vacuum including a motor, a hose, a housing and an operating switch. The housing includes a bottom panel, a top panel, the top panel including a plurality of coupling mechanisms configured to couple the vacuum to a utility module, an internal compartment located within the housing, a first lateral wall extending upwards from the bottom panel, an inlet extending through the first lateral wall through which debris enters the internal compartment when the motor is operating, and a recess configured to receive the hose. The operating switch is coupled to the first lateral wall. The operating switch configured to toggle whether the motor is operating.

According to an embodiment, this disclosure relates to a vacuum that includes a base, a top panel opposite the base, a housing, and a hose. The housing defines an inlet for the vacuum. The housing has a first lateral wall that extends from the base to the top panel. The first lateral wall defines a recess that comprises a rib that couples to the rib. In a specific embodiment three lateral walls of the housing have a recess that each comprise a rib that couples to the hose.

According to an embodiment, this disclosure relates to a vacuum including a base, a top panel opposite the base, a housing and a handle. The housing defines an inlet for the vacuum and has two opposing lateral walls that extend from the base to the top panel. The handle is pivotally coupled to the housing and actuates between a first position and a second position. When the handle is in the first position the end of the handle extends past the first lateral wall, and when the handle is in the second position the end of the handle extends past the second lateral wall. In a specific embodiment the base and the top panel each define interface(s) to couple the vacuum to a container.

According to an embodiment, this disclosure relates to a vacuum including a motor, a housing and a handle. The housing includes a bottom panel, a plurality of coupling mechanisms extending from the bottom panel configured to couple the vacuum to a utility module, a front wall extending upwards from the bottom panel, a rear wall opposite the front wall and extending upwards from the bottom panel, an internal compartment located within the housing, an inlet through which debris enters the internal compartment when the motor is operating, and an outlet through which air exits the internal compartment when the motor is operating. The handle is pivotally coupled to the housing. The handle actuates between a first position and a second position. When the handle is in the first position an end of the handle extends past the front wall, and when the handle is in the second position the end of the handle extends past the rear wall.

Additional features and advantages will be set forth in the detailed description which follows, and, in part, will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art from the description or recognized by practicing the embodiments as described in the written description included, as well as the appended drawings. It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary.

The accompanying drawings are included to provide further understanding and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification. The drawings illustrate one or more embodiments and, together with the description, serve to explain principles and operation of the various embodiments.

In order to better understand the subject matter that is disclosed herein and to exemplify how it may be carried out in practice, embodiments will now be described, by way of non-limiting examples only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:.

Referring generally to the figures, various embodiments of a stackable tool storage related device, container or unit are shown. One or more of the devices are configured to selectively couple and decouple with storage units. In a specific embodiment, a vacuum that can be used to collect and store waste is provided with modular coupling structures that allow for the vacuum to be coupled to/stacked with stackable tool storage related devices. As compared to a vacuum unit that does not incorporate into a modular storage system, one advantage of this design is the vacuum unit can be easily transported with other modular storage units. As discussed in more detail below, the modular vacuum discussed herein includes one or more feature, such as location of exterior vacuum controls/mechanisms, hose storage features, handle storage features, etc., that Applicant has determined provide for a variety of advantages for a vacuum used with a modular tool storage system. In one embodiment, the modular vacuum is configured with an operating switch and an inlet located on the same wall of the vacuum, thereby allowing the vacuum to be incorporated into a modular system while still providing access to the hose and operating switch for their use. In another embodiment, a handle pivotally coupled to the vacuum can be positioned to either side of the vacuum, thereby providing flexibility to how the vacuum can be incorporated into and positioned within a modular system.

Referring to <FIG>, a device, such as a utility module for suctioning up debris and liquids, depicted as vacuum <NUM>, is shown according to an exemplary embodiment. An operating switch, shown as switch <NUM>, controls the operation of vacuum <NUM>, such as being configured to toggle whether the vacuum <NUM> is operating (e. g, turned on or off). Top panel <NUM> is secured to upper housing <NUM> via top lid latch <NUM>, and upper housing <NUM> and lower housing <NUM> are secured together via a canister latch <NUM>. When vacuum <NUM> is not in use and/or being transported, hose <NUM> is secured to upper housing <NUM>. In a specific embodiment, housing <NUM> includes upper housing <NUM> and lower housing <NUM>.

First plurality of coupling mechanisms <NUM> are located along a bottom surface <NUM> of lower housing <NUM>. Top panel <NUM> includes a plurality of coupling mechanisms <NUM>. Plurality of coupling mechanisms <NUM> and first plurality of coupling mechanisms <NUM> permit vacuum <NUM> to couple to a utility module, such as a modular storage unit, via an interface compatible with the coupling mechanism(s) described in International Patent Application No. <CIT>, In another specific embodiment, a storage device that includes features described in this disclosure has coupling interfaces on both the top and bottom that permit the storage device to couple to a modular storage unit via an interface compatible with the coupling mechanism(s) described in International Patent Application No. <CIT>. Lock <NUM> secures vacuum <NUM> to another modular storage unit that vacuum <NUM> is placed on.

Handle <NUM> is pivotally coupled to upper housing <NUM> of housing <NUM>, and permits the carrying of vacuum <NUM>. Vacuum <NUM> ejects air through blower port <NUM>, and the debris gathered by vacuum <NUM> is stored in canister <NUM>. In the specific embodiment shown, canister <NUM> has a volume capacity of two gallons, although other volumes could be utilized and still practice this disclosure.

In a specific embodiment switch <NUM>, lock <NUM>, and hose <NUM> are coupled to the same wall of vacuum <NUM>, e.g., first lateral wall <NUM>. This positioning permits easier and more intuitive interactions, while permitting positioning of vacuum <NUM> on other modular storage units so that each of switch <NUM>, lock <NUM>, and hose <NUM> are fully accessible.

In a specific embodiment, bottom panel <NUM> includes plurality of coupling mechanisms <NUM> extending from bottom surface <NUM> of bottom panel <NUM>. Housing <NUM> includes front wall <NUM>, rear wall <NUM> opposite front wall <NUM>, two sidewalls, shown as first lateral wall <NUM> and second lateral wall <NUM> opposite first lateral wall <NUM>, each of the two sidewalls extending between the front wall <NUM> and the rear wall <NUM>. Front wall <NUM> extends upwards from bottom panel <NUM>, rear wall <NUM> extends upwards from bottom panel <NUM> opposite front wall <NUM>, first lateral wall <NUM> extends upwards from bottom panel <NUM> and extends from the front wall <NUM> to the rear wall <NUM>, and second lateral wall <NUM> extends upwards from bottom panel <NUM> opposite first lateral wall <NUM> and extends between front wall <NUM> and rear wall <NUM>.

Turning to <FIG>, various aspects of accessories for use with vacuum <NUM> are shown. Top panel <NUM> is pivotally coupled to upper housing <NUM>. When top panel <NUM> is pivoted opened, panel <NUM> within vacuum <NUM> is exposed. Panel <NUM> is inside vacuum <NUM> and defines several compartments <NUM>, <NUM> and <NUM> to house battery <NUM>, vacuum crevice tool <NUM>, and vacuum utility tool <NUM>, respectively. When top panel <NUM> is closed and affixed above upper housing <NUM>, top panel <NUM> protects battery <NUM>, vacuum crevice tool <NUM>, and vacuum utility tool <NUM>. In a specific embodiment compartment <NUM> is sized to conform to keep-out zone requirements, such as by having widths <NUM> and <NUM> of <NUM> between battery <NUM> and sidewalls of compartment <NUM>.

Turning to <FIG>, various aspects of components and the functionality of vacuum <NUM> are depicted. Vacuum <NUM> includes motor <NUM> disposed within the housing <NUM>. Upper housing <NUM> is detachable from lower housing <NUM>, such as when latch <NUM> is decoupled, to expose internal compartment <NUM>, which is located within housing <NUM>. Lower housing <NUM> defines canister <NUM>, which in a specific embodiment has a volume of <NUM> gallons. Debris enters internal compartment <NUM> through inlet <NUM> when the motor is operating, and debris exits internal compartment <NUM> through outlet <NUM> when the motor is operating. Hose <NUM> is coupled to inlet <NUM>, thereby providing a fluid connection between hose <NUM> and internal compartment <NUM>. When vacuum <NUM> is in use, air and debris enters canister <NUM> via hose <NUM> and transits inlet <NUM>. The air and debris then transit opening <NUM> and generally follows air flow <NUM> through a filter <NUM> into air flow tunnel <NUM> and exits blower port <NUM> and subsequently outlet <NUM>. In a specific embodiment, inlet <NUM> is defined within first lateral wall <NUM> and extends through first lateral wall <NUM>, and outlet <NUM> is defined within second lateral wall <NUM> and extends through second lateral wall <NUM>. In a specific embodiment, a switch, shown as rubber switch <NUM>, controls primary control board <NUM> to control operation of vacuum <NUM>, providing power from battery <NUM> to motor <NUM>. In a specific embodiment motor <NUM> is a brushless DC motor, battery <NUM> is a <NUM> AH Lithium battery that couples to and provides power to electric power tools, and filter <NUM> is a HEPA filter.

Turning to <FIG>, various aspects of hose <NUM> are shown. In a specific embodiment, end <NUM> of hose <NUM> extends six feet from vacuum <NUM>. When not in use, hose <NUM> is secured to ribs <NUM> that are coupled to upper housing <NUM>. The plurality of ribs <NUM> protrude into recess <NUM>, and the plurality of ribs <NUM> are configured to receive hose <NUM>. The diameter <NUM> of ribs <NUM> is sized to provide a friction fit for hose <NUM> when hose <NUM> is secured within ribs <NUM>, such as, for example, if diameter <NUM> of ribs <NUM> is slightly less than a diameter of hose <NUM>. In a specific embodiment, hose <NUM> is positionable entirely within recess <NUM> within housing <NUM>, such as within first lateral wall <NUM>, so that hose <NUM> does not extend outside of recess <NUM> and past first lateral wall <NUM>.

In various embodiments, recess <NUM> is configured to receive hose <NUM>. In a specific embodiment vacuum <NUM> comprises four lateral walls <NUM>, of which recess <NUM> is defined within first lateral wall <NUM>, front wall <NUM>, and second lateral wall <NUM>. The fourth lateral wall <NUM>, rear wall <NUM>, does not define recess <NUM> (e.g., recess <NUM> does not extend through rear wall <NUM>, in a specific embodiment). In a specific embodiment, recess <NUM> is defined within front wall <NUM>. In a specific embodiment, recess <NUM> is defined within front wall <NUM> and first lateral wall <NUM>. In a specific embodiment, recess <NUM> is defined within first lateral wall <NUM>, and inlet <NUM> is defined within first lateral wall <NUM>. As shown in subsequent figures, restricting hose <NUM> to at most three of lateral walls <NUM> in various embodiments permits hose <NUM> to be fully accessible even when vacuum <NUM> is placed next to another module storage unit (such as shown in <FIG>).

In various other embodiments, only one or two of lateral walls <NUM> include recess <NUM> within which ribs <NUM> are located. In various other embodiments, ribs <NUM> are not located within recess <NUM> and instead protrude outwardly from lateral walls <NUM>.

Turning to <FIG>, various aspects of coupling vacuum <NUM> to other modular storage units are shown. In various embodiments, modular storage system <NUM> includes vacuum <NUM>, one or more utility modules, shown as first modular storage device <NUM>, and a utility module on the bottom, shown as base storage unit <NUM>. Base storage unit <NUM> includes a second plurality of coupling mechanisms <NUM>. One or more of second plurality of coupling mechanisms <NUM> are configured to detachably engage with first plurality of coupling mechanisms <NUM>.

In one specific situation, vacuum <NUM> is coupled to a top <NUM> of base storage unit <NUM>, such as for example plurality of coupling mechanisms <NUM> of vacuum <NUM> are coupled to a plurality of coupling mechanisms <NUM> extending from top <NUM> of storage unit <NUM>, and a locking mechanism, shown as coupling lock <NUM>, couples vacuum <NUM> to base storage unit <NUM>. It is contemplated herein that coupling mechanisms <NUM> are compatible with the coupling mechanism(s) described in International Patent Application No. <CIT>. Vacuum <NUM> has a depth <NUM> that is half of the depth <NUM> of base storage unit <NUM>. This combination of dimensions of vacuum <NUM> and base storage unit <NUM> permits other utility modules, shown as modular storage devices <NUM>, to couple to the top of base storage unit <NUM> adjacent to vacuum <NUM>. In a specific configuration, rear wall <NUM> faces towards modular storage device <NUM> and/or a plurality of modular storage device <NUM> (shown <FIG>).

One or more modular storage devices <NUM> are coupled to the other half of base storage unit <NUM>. In a specific arrangement of devices, an additional base storage unit <NUM> is coupled to the top of vacuum <NUM> and the top of modular storage devices <NUM> shown in <FIG>.

Handle <NUM> is positionable in a first position <NUM> and a second position <NUM>, permitting flexibility in the arrangement of vacuum <NUM> on base storage unit <NUM>. When handle <NUM> is positioned in first position <NUM>, hose <NUM> is on the side of vacuum <NUM> facing towards modular storage devices <NUM> so that end <NUM> of handle <NUM> extends past front wall <NUM> and does not interfere with modular storage devices <NUM> adjacent rear wall <NUM> coupling to base storage unit <NUM>. When handle <NUM> is positioned in second position <NUM>, end <NUM> of handle <NUM> extends past rear wall <NUM> and does not interfere with modular storage devices <NUM> adjacent front wall <NUM> coupling to base storage unit <NUM>. As a result of the configuration shown in <FIG>, hose <NUM> can be retrieved from the recess while vacuum <NUM> and modular storage device <NUM> are both coupled to a top of the base utility module <NUM>. As another example, in <FIG> hose <NUM> is on the side of vacuum <NUM> facing away from modular storage devices <NUM>, so handle <NUM> is rotated to second position <NUM> so that handle <NUM> does not interfere with modular storage devices <NUM> coupling to base storage unit <NUM>.

Turning to <FIG>, in a specific embodiment, vacuum has a height <NUM> between <NUM> and <NUM>, and more particularly between <NUM> and <NUM>, and more particularly between <NUM> and <NUM>, and more specifically of <NUM>, a depth <NUM> between <NUM> and <NUM>, and more particularly between <NUM> and <NUM>, and more particularly between <NUM> and <NUM>, and more specifically of <NUM>, and a width <NUM> between <NUM> and <NUM>, and more particularly between <NUM> and <NUM>, and more particularly between <NUM> and <NUM>, and more specifically of <NUM>. Rear wall <NUM> of vacuum <NUM> is separated from front wall <NUM> by a first depth <NUM> in a first direction <NUM>. Base storage unit <NUM> extends depth <NUM> in direction <NUM>. In a specific embodiment, depth <NUM> of base storage unit <NUM> is at least twice depth <NUM> of vacuum <NUM>.

In a specific of vacuum <NUM>, the ratio of height <NUM> to depth <NUM> is between <NUM>:<NUM> and <NUM>:<NUM>, and more particularly between <NUM>:<NUM> and <NUM>:<NUM>, and more particularly between <NUM>:<NUM> and <NUM>:<NUM>, and more specifically <NUM>:<NUM>. In a specific embodiment of vacuum <NUM>, the ratio of width <NUM> to height <NUM> is between <NUM>:<NUM> and <NUM>:<NUM>, and more particularly between <NUM>:<NUM> and <NUM>:<NUM>, and more particularly between <NUM>:<NUM> and <NUM>:<NUM>, and more specifically <NUM>: <NUM>. In a specific embodiment of vacuum <NUM>, the ratio of width <NUM> to depth <NUM> is between <NUM>:<NUM> and <NUM>:<NUM>, and more particularly between <NUM>:<NUM> and <NUM>:<NUM>, and more particularly between <NUM>:<NUM> and <NUM>:<NUM> and more specifically <NUM>:<NUM>.

The term 'utility module' as used herein in its broad meaning and is meant to denote a variety of articles such as, storage containers, travel luggage, tool boxes, organizers, compacted work benches, cable storage, tools (e.g. hand tools, power generators and power sources), communication modules, carrying platforms, locomotion platforms, etc., of any shape and size, and wherein any utility module can be detachably attached to any other utility module.

It should be understood that the figures illustrate the exemplary embodiments in detail, and it should be understood that the present application is not limited to the details or methodology set forth in the description or illustrated in the figures. It should also be understood that the terminology is for description purposes only and should not be regarded as limiting.

Claim 1:
A modular storage system comprising:
a vacuum (<NUM>) comprising:
a motor (<NUM>);
a hose (<NUM>);
a housing (<NUM>) comprising:
a front wall (<NUM>);
a rear wall (<NUM>) opposite the front wall (<NUM>), the rear wall (<NUM>) separated from the front wall (<NUM>) by a first depth in a first direction;
two sidewalls (<NUM>, <NUM>) extending between the front wall (<NUM>) and the rear wall (<NUM>);
an internal compartment (<NUM>) located within the housing (<NUM>);
an inlet (<NUM>) through which debris enters the internal compartment (<NUM>) when the motor (<NUM>) is operating;
an outlet (<NUM>) through which air exits the internal compartment (<NUM>) when the motor (<NUM>) is operating;
a recess (<NUM>) defined by at least one of the two sidewalls (<NUM>, <NUM>), the recess (<NUM>) configured to receive the hose (<NUM>);
a plurality of ribs (<NUM>) protruding into the recess (<NUM>), wherein the plurality of ribs (<NUM>) are configured to receive the hose (<NUM>); and
a first plurality of coupling mechanisms (<NUM>) located along a bottom surface (<NUM>) of the housing (<NUM>); and
a first utility module (<NUM>) comprising a second plurality of coupling mechanisms (<NUM>), one or more of the second plurality of coupling mechanisms (<NUM>) configured to detachably engage with the first plurality of coupling mechanisms (<NUM>), the first utility module (<NUM>) extending a second depth in the first direction that is at least twice the first depth.