Actuatable coupling unit and system of modular actuatable coupling units
AssigneePhil Mauer and Associates Inc.
InventorMichael D. TAYLOR
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
The present disclosure provides an actuatable coupling unit for use with shipping containers. The coupling units include a post for receiving a storage item and a plurality of tubes having support arms, the tubes surrounding the post and the arms configured to carry an item. A tension mechanism is also provided, which serves to automatically rotate the tubes and arms when weight is placed on the adjacent lower tube. Indeed, movement of one of the tubes in an up and down direction correspondingly engages with and rotates the adjacent tubes to make shipping simpler.
Claims18
An actuatable coupling unit for storing an item, the actuatable
- coupling unit comprising:
- a post for receiving the item;
- a plurality of tubes surrounding the post, each one of the plurality of tubes having an arm to support the storage item;
- a tension mechanism positioned in the post and operatively engaged with the plurality of tubes, the tension mechanism to bias the plurality of tubes in a direction,
- wherein movement of one of the plurality of tubes in the direction correspondingly engages with and rotates another one of the plurality of tubes.
A storage system comprising:
- a frame;
- a plurality of interconnected actuatable coupling units, the actuatable coupling units further comprising:
- a post;
- tubes surrounding the post, each one of the plurality of tubes having an arm to support the storage item;
- a tension mechanism positioned in the post and operatively engaged with the plurality of tubes, wherein the tension mechanism biases the plurality of tubes in a direction,
- wherein movement of one of the plurality of tubes in the direction correspondingly engages with and rotates another one of the plurality of tubes,
- wherein the plurality of interconnected coupling units cooperates with one another to support items in the storage system.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.