Patent ID: 7866504

Claim:
A storage apparatus, comprising: a container body having a top opening; a first engagement member provided at an outer lower side of the container body; a lid member for opening and closing the top opening of the container body, wherein the lid member is held in a pivotal manner to the container body; an arm extending downward from the lid member; a second engagement member provided on the arm and being engageable with the first engagement member; a shaft for pivotally supporting the arm to the container body; an urging member for urging the lid member upward; an arc-shaped slot formed on the container body into which the shaft is fitted to pivotally hold the arm; and a descent slot that branches away from the arc-shaped slot and extends downward by a short distance in a radially inward direction of the arc-shaped slot, wherein the descent slot extends in a vertical direction when the lid member is in a closed position, the container body further includes a receiver, which is brought into contact with the lid member to support the lid member when the shaft moves relatively within the slot so that the lid member is moved downward, the receiver is located directly above the shaft and extends horizontally over a range of positions, and the receiver extends in a direction opposite to a direction in which the lid member moves when the lid member pivots to an open position from a location directly above the shaft, the first and second engagement members form a push-lock mechanism to enable the lid member to be locked in the closed position and to enable the lid member to be unlocked to the open position, and when no excessive load is applied to the lid member from above while the lid member covers the top opening of the container body, the lid member is in a floating state in which the lid member is spaced apart from the receiver, and when an excessive load is applied to the lid member from above while the lid member covers the top opening of the container body and the excessive load is larger than a force applied by the urging member to the lid member, the shaft moves downward and the lid member contacts the receiver such that the arm and the shaft do not receive the excessive load and are prevented from deforming, and the first engagement member is disengaged from the second engagement member so that the lid member moves from the closed position to the open position.