SIDE-MOUNTED COLLAPSIBLE TRAY

Abstract

A collapsible tray for mounting on an apparatus sidewall. The collapsible tray includes a first plate member and a second plate member hingedly attached to the first plate member. The collapsible tray also includes a tray hingedly attached to the second plate member and is hingedly supported by the apparatus sidewall. The tray is lockable in a first position where the tray is substantially perpendicular to the sidewall of the apparatus and collapsible to a second position where the tray hangs downward and substantially parallel the apparatus sidewall.

Claims

1. A collapsible tray for mounting on an apparatus sidewall, the collapsible tray comprising: a first plate member; a second plate member hingedly attached to the first plate member; and a tray hingedly attached to the second plate member and is hingedly supported by the apparatus sidewall, the tray lockable in a first position where the tray is substantially perpendicular to the sidewall of the apparatus and collapsible to a second position where the tray hangs downward and substantially parallel the apparatus sidewall.

2. The collapsible tray of claim 1 further comprising a mounting apparatus that is securable to the apparatus sidewall.

3. The collapsible tray of claim 2 wherein the mounting apparatus includes a channel that an engagement end of the first plate member engages when the tray of the collapsible tray is in the first or second position.

4. The collapsible tray of claim 2 wherein the tray is hingedly attached to the mounting apparatus.

5. The collapsible tray of claim 1 further comprising a flange portion that extends from the second plate member to engage an inside part of the first plate member when the tray is in the first position to prevent rotation between the first and second plate members from rotating past a predetermined position.

6. The collapsible tray of claim 5 wherein the second plate element is hingely attached to an underside part of the tray at a hinged connection point.

7. The collapsible tray of claim 6 wherein the hinged connection point is closer to the apparatus sidewall than a combination of a length of the second plate member and a length of the flange portion.

8. The collapsible tray of claim 1 wherein an angle between an inner side of the first plate member and an inner side of the second plate member when the tray is in the first position is between 90 degrees and 180 degrees.

9. The collapsible tray of claim 8 wherein the angle between the inner side of the first plate member and the inner side of the second plate member when the tray is in the first position is between 135 degrees and 180 degrees.

10. The collapsible tray of claim 1 further comprising a support plate that is hingedly supported by the sidewall apparatus to engage the first plate member.

11. The collapsible tray of claim 3 further comprising a support plate that is hingedly supported by the sidewall apparatus to engage the first plate member.

12. The collapsible tray of claim 11 wherein the support plate engages an outer side of the first plate member.

13. The collapsible tray of claim 12 wherein the support plate is under rotational tension to force the support plate upwards and towards the apparatus sidewall to force the first plate member towards the apparatus sidewall when the tray is in the second position.

14. The collapsible tray of claim 13 wherein the support plate is hingedly attached to the apparatus sidewall.

15. The collapsible tray of claim 13 wherein the support plate is hingedly attached to the channel.

16. The collapsible tray of claim 5 wherein the flange portion has a bend portion therein to contribute to structural integrity of the collapsible tray when the tray is in the first position.

17. The collapsible tray of claim 16 wherein the bend portion of the flange portion is similar to an angle between inner sides of the first and second plate members.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0007] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a collapsible tray in an open position constructed in accordance with the disclosure.

[0008] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the collapsible tray in a collapsed position constructed in accordance with the disclosure.

[0009] FIGS. 3A-3D show perspective views of the collapsible tray moving between the open and collapsed positions constructed in accordance with the disclosure.

[0010] FIGS. 4A-4C show perspective views of the collapsible tray from an underside angle constructed in accordance with the disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DISCLOSURE

[0011] The present disclosure relates to a collapsible tray 10 that is mountable to an apparatus sidewall 12 wherein the apparatus can be a tool chest, cabinet or any other apparatus where it is desirable and possible for the collapsible tray 10 to be attached thereto. The collapsible tray 10 can include a mounting apparatus 14 for attachment of the collapsible tray 10 to the apparatus sidewall 12, a tray 16 for supporting objects to be placed on the tray 16 and an actuation apparatus 18 that controls the operability of the collapsible tray 10.

[0012] The mounting apparatus 14 can include any features necessary to provide the desired functionality to the collapsible tray 10. In one embodiment, the mounting apparatus 14 includes a channel 20 attached to the mounting apparatus 14 for engaging the actuation apparatus 18. The channel 20 can be attached to a mounting plate 22 in another embodiment. In this embodiment, the mounting plate 22 can be hingedly attached to the tray 16 on an upper end 24 of the mounting plate 22. If no mounting plate 22 is incorporated into the mounting apparatus, 14 then the tray 16 can be hingedly attached to the apparatus sidewall 12.

[0013] The actuation apparatus 18 can include a first plate member 26 and a second plate member 28 hingedly attached to the first plate member 26. The first plate element 26 includes an engagement end 30 for insertion into the channel 20 of the mounting apparatus 14 during operation of the actuation apparatus 18 and a hinged end 32 for engagement with a hinged end 34 of the second plate element 28. The second plate element 28 also includes a tray end 36 that is in hinged engagement with the tray 16. In one embodiment, the first and second plate elements 26 and 28 can have sections removed such that the plate elements 26 and 28 are not completely solid. The first and second plate elements 26 and 28 can have any desired size and shape such that operation of the collapsible tray 10 occurs as designed.

[0014] The second plate element 28 can be hingedly attached to the tray 16 at any place on an underside part 38 of the tray 16 such that the operability of the collapsible tray 10 occurs as desired. The tray 16 can have an outer edge 40 that defines the part of the tray 16 farthest from the apparatus sidewall 12 when the collapsible tray 10 is in the usable position. The second plate element 28 can include a flange portion 42 that extends therefrom that engages an inner side 44 of the first plate element 26 to prevent the hinged relationship between the two plate elements 26 and 28 from rotating beyond a desired distance. The flange portion 42 can be secured to an inner side 46 of the second plate element 28 so that the flange portion 42 does not disrupt the hinged operation between the two plate elements 26 and 28 except for limiting the amount of rotation between the plate elements 26 and 28 as discussed herein.

[0015] In one embodiment, when it is desirable for the collapsible tray 10 to fold completely up against the apparatus sidewall 12, the position of the hinged connection 48 between the tray end 36 of the second plate element 28 and the underside 38 of the tray 38 is dependent upon the distance the flange portion 42 extends from the hinged end 34 of the second plate element 28 and beyond the hinged connection 50 between the two plate elements 26 and 28. The length of the flange portion 42 that extends beyond the second plate element 28 and the length of the second plate element 28 cannot be longer than the length of the tray 16 (distance from the apparatus sidewall 12 to the outer edge 40 of the tray 16. Therefore, the hinged connection 48 cannot be further from the apparatus sidewall 12 than the length of the flange portion 42 that extends beyond the second plate element 28 and the length of the second plate element 28. The length of the second plate element 28 is the distance from the hinged connections of the second plate element 28.

[0016] The flange portion 42 can be any size and shape such that it prevents rotation of the hinged operation of the hinged connection 50 at the desired position. In a further embodiment, the flange portion 42 can include a bend 52 therein. The bend 52 in the flange portion 42 is made at a desired angle to match the angle between the first and second plate elements 26 and 28 when the collapsible tray 10 is in the open and useable position. The bend 52 allows more of the flange portion 42 to engage with more of the inners sides 44 and 46 of the plate members 26 and 28, respectively. When the collapsible tray 10 is in the open and usable position, the angle between the inner side 44 of the first plate element 26 and the inner side 46 of the second plate element 28 is greater than 90 and less than 180. In another embodiment, the angle between the inner side 44 of the first plate element 26 and the inner side 46 of the second plate element 28 is greater than 135 and less than 180.

[0017] The actuation apparatus 18 also includes a support plate 54 that can be hingedly attached to the apparatus sidewall 12 or the mounting apparatus 14 to provide support to the first plate member 26 when the collapsible tray 10 is in the open/usable position. The support plate 54 can have any size and shape such that the collapsible tray 10 can operated as described herein. In one embodiment, the support plate 54 is mounted such that it can freely rotate outward from the apparatus sidewall 12 to a certain point as the actuation apparatus 18 is manipulated to move the collapsible tray 10 from a collapsed position to the open/usable position. At the point where the support plate 54 can no longer rotate outward from the apparatus sidewall, a large part of the support plate 54 is engaged with the outer side 56 of the first plate member 26. The support plate 54 engages the outer side 56 of the first plate member 26 to provide additional support to the actuation apparatus 18 when the collapsible tray 10 was in the open/usable position.

[0018] In another embodiment, the support plate 54 can be set under tension so that the support plate 54 is forced towards the apparatus sidewall 12 so that the support plate 54 can force the first plate member 26 towards the apparatus sidewall 12 when the collapsible tray 10 is in the collapsed position. The tension on the support plate 54 also causes the engagement end 26 of the first plate member 26 to stay in the channel 20 of the mounting apparatus 14 when the collapsible tray 10 is moved between the collapsed position and the open/usable position. The tension can be provided to the collapsible tray 10 via the hinged connection 58 between the support plate 54 and the apparatus sidewall 12 or the mounting apparatus 14, or by some other means. It should be understood and appreciated that the tension can be applied to the support plate 54 in any manner known in the art.

[0019] The present disclosure is also directed to a method of supporting objects on the tray 16 of the collapsible tray 10. The tray 16 can be raised and lowered by manipulating the actuation apparatus 18 to move the collapsible tray 10 between the collapsed position and the open/usable position. The collapsible tray 10 can be moved from the collapsed position to the open/usable position by grabbing the tray 16 and rotating it towards and beyond a horizontally disposed position. At some point, the tray 16 will be rotated far enough that the angle between the first and second tray elements 26 and 28 becomes less than 180, which permits the actuation apparatus 18 to be able to support the tray 16 in a horizontal position without collapsing. When it is desirable to move the collapsible tray 10 from the open/usable position back to the collapsed position, the hinged connection 50 between the first and second plate members 26 and 28 has to be forced upwards and back towards the apparatus sidewall 12 (i.e., to where the angle between the plate members 26 and 28 is greater than 180), which will allow the tray 16 to rotate back towards the apparatus sidewall 12. The movement of the collapsible tray 10 to the collapsed position can be made easier by lifting up on the tray 16.

[0020] The present disclosure is also directed to a method of mounting the collapsible tray 12 to the apparatus sidewall 12 and a method of making the collapsible tray 10.

[0021] From the above description, it is clear that the present invention is well-adapted to carry out the objectives and to attain the advantages mentioned herein as well as those inherent in the invention. While presently preferred embodiments of the invention have been described for purposes of this disclosure, it will be understood that numerous changes may be made which will readily suggest themselves to those skilled in the art and which are accomplished within the spirit of the invention disclosed and claimed.