Locking device and container with locking device

Abstract

The present invention discloses a locking device and a container with the locking device. The locking device is arranged at a side opening of a container body and includes: a handle, a locking member, and a return spring. The handle is pivotally arranged at the top of the container body and can rotate relative to the top. The handle has a driving portion. The locking member is strip-shaped, and its two ends are respectively pivotally connected to the top and bottom of the container body and can approach or move away from the side opening. The upper end portion of the locking member is adjacent to the driving portion. The return spring is arranged on the handle. When the handle rotates from a horizontal position to an upright position, the driving portion rotates together and drives the upper end portion, so that the locking member rotates to approach the side opening. The present invention also provides a container with the aforementioned locking device. The present invention solves the problems that existing containers need to perform an additional locking step and are prone to damage after long-term use.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a locking device and a container having the locking device, and more particularly to a locking device interlocked with a handle and a container having the aforementioned locking device. Background Art

[0002] Generally, for such containers mainly used for loading tray trays (a kind of tray commonly used for supporting electronic components), wafer trays or various sheet-like objects, a plurality of horizontal accommodation grooves are symmetrically arranged on the opposite inner side walls, and these plurality of accommodation grooves are arranged in the vertical direction on the side walls, and the sheet-like objects are respectively placed in each accommodation groove.

[0003] After the plate-like object or sheet-like object is inserted from the side opening, it is necessary to manually activate the locking device or make the automatic instrument perform an additional locking step. However, such a locking device has a complex structure and is prone to damage after long-term use. Summary of the Invention

[0004] The purpose of the present invention is to solve various problems of the existing container locking, and to provide a locking device and a container having the locking device. When the handle of the container is lifted, the locking device can be activated simultaneously to automatically close the side opening, avoiding the loading object from falling from the side opening of the container during personnel handling.

[0005] To achieve the above and other purposes, the present invention provides a locking device disposed at the side opening of a container body, which includes: a handle pivotally provided at the top of the container body and rotatable relative to the top, the handle having a driving portion; a locking member in a long strip shape, both ends of the locking member are pivotally connected to the top and bottom of the container body and can approach or move away from the side opening, and the upper end portion of the locking member is adjacent to the driving portion; and a return spring disposed on the handle. When the handle rotates from the horizontal position to the upright position, the driving portion rotates together and drives the upper end portion, so that the locking member rotates close to the side opening.

[0006] Optionally, the locking member is in a long strip column shape, the upper end portion is parallel to the top of the container body, and the driving portion is disposed between the upper end portion and the top of the container body.

[0007] Optionally, it further includes a movement limiting member located within the movement range of the upper end portion, the height of the movement limiting member is higher than the lowest position of the upper end portion, and when the handle rotates from the horizontal position to the upright position, the height of the movement limiting member is lower than the lowest position of the upper end portion to allow the locking member to rotate close to the side opening.

[0008] Optionally, the movement restricting member is a convex portion provided on the handle, the convex portion being within the movement range of the upper end portion. When the handle is in the horizontal position, the height of the convex portion is higher than the lowest position of the upper end portion. When the handle rotates from the horizontal position to the upright position, the height of the convex portion is lower than the lowest position of the upper end portion, allowing the locking member to rotate closer to the side opening.

[0009] Optionally, the movement restricting member is a guiding block fixedly provided at the top of the container body and below the upper end portion. The guiding block has a vertex, the height of the vertex being higher than the lowest position of the upper end portion. When the handle rotates from the horizontal position to the upright position, the driving portion drives the upper end portion over the vertex.

[0010] Optionally, a clamping portion is further included, provided on one side of the guiding block. The clamping portion and the guiding block clamp to form a restricted space to restrict the movement of the upper end portion.

[0011] Optionally, a handle angle limiter is further included, provided on the handle. The handle angle limiter restricts the rotation angle of the handle within the range of 0 degrees to 120 degrees.

[0012] Optionally, the handle has a lifting portion, a pivoting portion, and the driving portion connected in sequence. The pivoting portion is horizontally pivoted to the top of the container body. The driving portion is adjacent to the outer edge of the container body and is connected to the pivoting portion at an angle. When the handle rotates from the horizontal position to the upright position, the driving portion moves from a position adjacent to the outer edge of the container body towards the side opening.

[0013] Optionally, a handle angle limiter is further included, provided at the connection between the lifting portion and the pivoting portion. The handle angle limiter has a groove facing the lifting portion to allow the lifting portion to rotate within a certain angle range.

[0014] The present invention further provides a container, comprising: a container body having at least one side opening; and the locking device as described above.

[0015] Thus, the locking device of the present invention and the container having the locking device have a simple and lightweight structure, are not easily damaged, are easy to operate, can achieve the function of automatically closing the side opening when the handle is lifted, reduce the locking procedure, and prevent the loaded items from falling out of the side opening when the container is carried.

[0016] To further understand the features and technical content of the present invention, please refer to the following detailed description of the invention and the drawings. However, these descriptions and drawings are only used to illustrate the present invention and do not impose any limitation on the protection scope of the present invention. Description of the Drawings

[0017] Figure 1Schematic perspective view of a container with a locking device according to the first embodiment of the present invention;

[0018] Figure 2 Exploded view of a container with a locking device according to the first embodiment of the present invention;

[0019] Figure 3 Partial enlarged schematic view of a container with a locking device according to the first embodiment of the present invention Figure 1 ;

[0020] Figure 4 Partial enlarged schematic view of a container with a locking device according to the first embodiment of the present invention Figure 2 ;

[0021] Figure 5 Schematic pivoting view of the handle according to the first embodiment of the present invention;

[0022] Figure 6 Partial enlarged schematic view of the container according to the second embodiment of the present invention Figure 1 ;

[0023] Figure 7 Schematic pivoting view of the handle according to the second embodiment of the present invention;

[0024] Figure 8 Partial enlarged schematic view of the container according to the second embodiment of the present invention Figure 2 ;

[0025] Figure 9 Schematic locking view of the locking member according to the second embodiment of the present invention;

[0026] Figure 10 Schematic unlocking view of the locking member according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

[0027] Reference numerals:

[0028] 100 Locking device

[0029] 200 Container

[0030] 1 Container body

[0031] 11 Side opening

[0032] 12 Top

[0033] 2 Handle

[0034] 21 Carrying handle part

[0035] 22 Pivoting part

[0036] 23 Driving part

[0037] 24 Protrusion

[0038] 3 Locking member

[0039] 31 Upper end portion

[0040] 4 Guide block

[0041] 41 First side

[0042] 42 Second side

[0043] 43 Vertex

[0044] 5 Handle angle limiter

[0045] 51 Groove

[0046] 6 Clamping portion

[0047] 7 Return spring

[0048] S Limiting space Detailed implementation manner

[0049] In order to fully understand the present invention, through the following specific embodiments and in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, the present invention will be further described in detail. Those skilled in the art can understand the purpose, features and effects of the present invention from the content disclosed in this specification. It should be noted that the present invention can be implemented or applied through other different specific embodiments, and various details in this specification can also be modified and changed based on different viewpoints and applications without departing from the spirit of the present invention. In addition, the drawings of the present invention are only simple schematic illustrations and are not drawn according to actual dimensions. The following embodiments will further detail the related technical content of the present invention, but the disclosed content is not intended to limit the claims of the present invention. The description is as follows:

[0050] As Figures 1 to 2 shown, the container 200 of the first embodiment of the present invention includes: a container body 1 and a locking device 100.

[0051] The container body 1 has at least one side opening 11 and a top 12, and the container body 1 is used for accommodating, but not limited to, a plurality of sheets.

[0052] The locking device 100 is disposed at the side opening 11, and the locking device 100 includes: a handle 2, a locking member 3 and a return spring 7.

[0053] The handle 2 is pivotally provided on the top 12 of the container body 1 and can rotate relative to the top 12, and the handle 2 has a driving portion 23.

[0054] The locking member 3 is in a strip shape, and both ends of the locking member 3 are respectively pivotally connected to the top 12 and the bottom (relative to the top 12) of the container body 1 and can approach or depart from the side opening 11. The upper end portion 31 of the locking member 3 is adjacent to the driving portion 23.

[0055] The handle 2 can be pivoted by automated equipment or manually, such as Figure 3 shown, the handle 2 lies flat (or close to) the top 12 of the container body 1, that is, the handle 2 is normally in a horizontal position. When the handle 2 is in the horizontal position, at this time the locking member 3 has not been driven, the locking member 3 is located outside the side opening 11 (or an unrestricted position), and the locking member 3 does not prevent objects from entering and exiting the side opening 11.

[0056] Also, such as Figure 4 shown, when the handle 2 is pulled upward (which can be manual, or preferably performed by an automated machine), at this time the handle 2 flips, from Figure 3 the horizontal position rotates to Figure 4 the upright position. At this time, the driving portion 23 of the handle 2 rotates together and drives the upper end portion 31 of the locking member 3. After the upper end portion 31 is pushed by the driving portion 23, the locking member 3 rotates and approaches the side opening 11 from the outside of the side opening 11. At this time, the locking member 3 is located in the exit direction of the side opening 11. Therefore, the long strip-shaped locking member 3 can block the objects stored inside the container body 1 from falling outwards, and is particularly suitable for blocking sheet-like objects extending horizontally (X-Y plane). The shape and style of the driving portion 23 can be curved, arc-shaped, or other forms that can drive the locking member 3 to move.

[0057] In this embodiment, the locking member 3 is a long strip-shaped column connecting the top 12 and the bottom of the container body 1, and the upper end portion 31 is parallel to the top 12 of the container body 1. The driving portion 23 is arranged between the upper end portion 31 and the top 12. When the locking member 3 moves to the side opening 11, it can prevent the sheet-like objects inside the container body 1 from falling out. However, the present invention is not limited thereto. The driving portion 23 and the locking member 3 can be changed into other shapes or forms, as long as the technology of driving the locking member 3 to rotate close to the side opening 11 by rotating the handle 2 is within the concept of the present invention. Further, the column-shaped locking member 3 can further drive other devices, such as adding a door panel to close the side opening 11 with a larger area of the door panel.

[0058] The return spring 7 is arranged on the handle 2 and accommodated in the handle angle limiter 5, preferably arranged on the opposite side of the driving portion 23 to avoid interference. The return spring 7 can assist the handle 2 to lie flat on the top 12 normally, and after the external force on the handle 2 is lost, it returns from the upright position to the horizontal position.

[0059] In summary, the locking device 100 of the present invention and the container 200 having the locking device 100 have a simple and lightweight structure, are not easily damaged, are easy to operate, can achieve the function of automatically closing the side opening 11 by lifting the handle 2, reduce the locking procedure, and avoid the loaded items from falling out of the side opening 11 when carrying the container.

[0060] In one embodiment, the latching device 100 further includes a movement restricting member. The movement restricting member is located within the movement range of the upper end portion 31, and the height of the movement restricting member is higher than the lowest position of the upper end portion 31. When the handle 2 rotates from the horizontal position to the upright position, the height of the movement restricting member is lower than the lowest position of the upper end portion 31, allowing the latch 3 to rotate closer to the side opening 11. The movement restricting member can have various embodiments. Two embodiments will be presented below, and the present invention is not limited thereto.

[0061] In this embodiment, the movement restricting member is a guiding block 4. The guiding block 4 is fixedly provided at the top 12 of the container body 1 and is located below the upper end portion 31. The guiding block 4 has a vertex 43, and the height of the vertex 43 is higher than the lowest position of the upper end portion 31. That is, the guiding block 4 can use the height of the vertex 43 to restrict the upper end portion 31 from normally (such as Figure 3 , when not driven by the driving portion 23) being located on the first side 41 of the guiding block 4, preventing the latch 3 from rotating unexpectedly. As Figure 4 shown, when the handle 2 rotates from the horizontal position to the upright position, the driving portion 23 drives the upper end portion 31 to move. At this time, the guiding block 4 and the upper end portion 31 are slightly elastically deformed, forcing the upper end portion 31 to cross over the vertex 43 and come to the second side 42 of the guiding block 4. At this time, the guiding block 4 can also restrict the upper end portion 31 from crossing over the vertex 43, preventing the latch 3 from unexpectedly pivoting outwards to release the latching of the side opening 11. To release the latching of the side opening 11 by the latch 3, after the handle 2 returns to the horizontal position again, the latch 3 can be manually or preferably by an automated machine to move the upper end portion 31 to cross over the vertex 43 and come to the first side 41 of the guiding block 4.

[0062] In this embodiment, the guiding block 4 is triangular, and the first side 41 and the second side 42 are slopes, making the guiding block 4 an asymmetric obtuse triangle. However, the present invention is not limited thereto. The guiding block 4 can be other geometric shapes, such as circular arcs, and the first side 41 and the second side 42 are arcs. The guiding block 4 can also be a polygon.

[0063] Furthermore, as Figures 1 to 4 shown, the latching device 100 further includes a clamping portion 6, which is provided on the first side 41 of the guiding block 4. The clamping portion 6 and the guiding block 4 clamp to form a restricting space S to restrict the movement of the upper end portion 31. In other words, when the handle 2 is in Figure 3 the horizontal position, the upper end portion 31 is not only located on the first side 41 but also clamped in the restricting space S by the clamping portion 6, preventing the latch 3 from further pivoting outwards, avoiding damage to the latch 3 due to excessive unexpected pivoting.

[0064] Furthermore, the rotational movement of the latch 3 can move within a range of 135 degrees, preferably 0 degrees to 90 degrees, but the present invention is not limited thereto.

[0065] Further, as Figures 1 to 5 shown, the handle 2 has a carrying handle portion 21, a pivoting portion 22 and the aforementioned driving portion 23 connected in sequence. The carrying handle portion 21 is bent to form a pullable handle. The pivoting portion 22 is horizontally pivoted to the top 12 of the container body 1, and the driving portion 23 is adjacent to the outer edge of the container body 1 and is connected to the pivoting portion 22 at an angle. Referring to Figure 5 , when the handle 2 rotates from the horizontal position to the upright position, the driving portion 23 moves from a position adjacent to the outer edge of the container body 1 towards the center of the container body 1, that is, a movement vector in the X direction is generated to drive the upper end portion 31 to pivot towards the side opening 11.

[0066] Further, as Figures 1 to 4 shown, the locking device 100 further includes a handle angle limiter 5, which is arranged at the connection between the carrying handle portion 21 and the pivoting portion 22. The handle angle limiter 5 has a groove 51 facing the carrying handle portion 21 to allow the carrying handle portion 21 to rotate within a certain angle range. In this embodiment, it is set that the carrying handle portion 21 can rotate within a range from 0 degrees (horizontal to the top 12) to 120 degrees, preferably from 0 degrees to 100 degrees, and optimally from 0 degrees to 90 degrees to prevent the return spring 7 from breaking due to fatigue. However, the present invention is not limited thereto. When the carrying handle portion 21 abuts against the handle angle limiter 5, it cannot continue to rotate, achieving the effect of limiting the rotation angle. However, the present invention is not limited thereto, and the handle angle limiter 5 can have other forms to cooperate with different designs of the handle 2. Even for the same handle 2, the handle angle limiter 5 can also have other structures or shapes. For example, the handle angle limiter 5 can also be changed to be arranged on the top block of the handle 2. The top block protrudes outward from the handle 2, and preferably is arranged near the pivoting portion 22 or other pivoting positions. When the top block rotates and abuts against the top 12 of the container body 1, the possibility of the handle 2 continuing to rotate is restricted.

[0067] Further, as Figures 6 to 10 shown, the present invention further provides a second embodiment. The difference between the second embodiment and the first embodiment is that the form of the movement restricting member of the locking device 100 in the second embodiment is a convex portion 24 provided on the handle 2.

[0068] The convex portion 24 is located within the movement range of the upper end portion 31 and can protrude outward from the pivoting portion 22 or the driving portion 23. The basic function of the convex portion 24 is the same as that of the guiding block 4, both of which are to prevent the random movement of the locking member 3.

[0069] As Figure 6 shown, when the handle 2 is in the horizontal position, the height of the convex portion 24 is higher than the lowest position of the upper end portion 31 to prevent the locking member 3 from rotating unexpectedly. As Figure 7As shown, when the handle 2 rotates from the horizontal position to the upright position, at this time, due to the rotation, the convex part 24 is lower in height than the lowest position of the upper end part 31, thus allowing the driving part 23 to drive the upper end part 31 to move to a position close to the side opening 11.

[0070] As Figure 8 shown, a return spring 7 is provided at a position on the opposite side of the locking member 3 of the second embodiment locking device 100. The return spring 7 assists the handle 2 to lie flat on the top 12 normally, and after the external force on the handle 2 is lost, it returns from the upright position to the horizontal position.

[0071] As Figure 9 shown, once the external force for lifting the handle 2 is lost, the elastic potential energy stored in the return spring 7 immediately returns the handle 2 to the horizontal position, and the return of the handle 2 does not drive the rotation of the locking member 3. Also, the height of the convex part 24 is higher than the lowest position of the upper end part 31 again, thus being able to limit the outward rotation of the locking member 3 and prevent the locking member 3 from unexpectedly releasing the locking of the side opening 11. To release the locking of the side opening 11 by the locking member 3, while the handle 2 rotates to the upright position again, the locking member 3 can be toggled manually or by an automated machine to rotate the locking member 3 outward to release the locking of the side opening 11.

[0072] Or, as Figure 10 shown, the overall length of the locking member 3 can be greater than the maximum height of the container body 1, and both ends of the locking member 3 are hooked to hook the top 12 and the bottom of the container body 1 and can pivot relative to each other. The upper end part 31 of the locking member 3 is normally affected by gravity and adheres to the top 12 of the container body 1, and the other end of the locking member 3 is separated from the bottom of the container body 1 by a certain distance. Therefore, the other end of the locking member 3 can be lifted upward or the upper end part 31 can be pulled upward to make the lowest height of the upper end part 31 temporarily higher than the convex part 24, so that the locking member 3 can rotate outward to release the locking of the side opening 11.

[0073] The present invention has been disclosed above with preferred embodiments. However, those skilled in the art should understand that the said embodiments are only used to depict the present invention and should not be construed as limiting the scope of the present invention. It should be noted that all equivalent changes and substitutions to the said embodiments should be set to be covered within the scope of the present invention. Therefore, the protection scope of the present invention shall be subject to the content defined by the claims.

Claims

1. A locking device is provided at the side opening of the container body, characterized in that, The latching device includes: A handle pivotally provided at the top of the container body and rotatable relative to the top, the handle having a driving portion; A latching member in a long strip shape, both ends of the latching member being pivotally connected to the top and bottom of the container body respectively and being able to approach or move away from the side opening, the upper end portion of the latching member being adjacent to the driving portion, and the driving portion being provided between the upper end portion and the top of the container body; A return spring provided on the handle; Wherein, when the handle rotates from the horizontal position to the upright position, the driving portion rotates together and drives the upper end portion, so that the latching member rotates close to the side opening; A movement limiting member, the movement limiting member being a convex portion provided on the handle, the convex portion being located within the movement range of the upper end portion, when the handle is in the horizontal position, the height of the convex portion is higher than the lowest position of the upper end portion, and when the handle rotates from the horizontal position to the upright position, the height of the convex portion is lower than the lowest position of the upper end portion to allow the latching member to rotate close to the side opening; and A handle angle limiter provided on the handle, the handle angle limiter limiting the rotation angle of the handle within the range of 0 degrees to 120 degrees.

2. The latching device according to claim 1, wherein, The latching member is in a long strip column shape, and the upper end portion is parallel to the top of the container body.

3. The latching device according to claim 2, characterized in that, The movement limiting member is a guiding block fixedly provided at the top of the container body and located below the upper end portion, the guiding block having a vertex, the height of the vertex being higher than the lowest position of the upper end portion, and when the handle rotates from the horizontal position to the upright position, the driving portion drives the upper end portion to cross over the vertex.

4. The latching device according to claim 3, characterized in that, It further includes a clamping portion provided on one side of the guiding block, and the clamping portion and the guiding block clamp to form a limiting space to limit the movement of the upper end portion.

5. The latching device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The handle has a handle portion, a pivot portion and the driving portion connected in sequence, the pivot portion being horizontally pivotally connected to the top of the container body, the driving portion being adjacent to the outer edge of the container body and connecting the pivot portion at an angle, and when the handle rotates from the horizontal position to the upright position, the driving portion moves from a position adjacent to the outer edge of the container body towards the side opening.

6. The latching device according to claim 5, characterized in that, The handle angle limiter is provided at the connection between the handle portion and the pivot portion, and the handle angle limiter has a groove facing the handle portion to allow the handle portion to rotate within a certain angle range.

7. A container, characterized in that, The container includes: A container body having at least one side opening; and The latching device according to any one of claims 1 to 6.

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