Storage container
AssigneeToyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America, Inc.
InventorsNicholas Earl Merkel, Roy Thorsell
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A storage container having a pivotable door pivotable between an open and closed position is provided. The storage container includes a housing configured to hold the pivotable door and a biasing member operable to bias the pivotable door between the open and closed position. A mount is disposed on the pivotable door. The mount includes a loading member. The biasing member is operatively connected to the mount. The biasing member is configured to engage the loading member so as to retain the biasing member in a fixed position with respect to the pivotable door prior to assembling the pivotable door to the housing. A method for installing or assembling a storage container having a pivotable door is also provided.
Claims12
A storage container having a pivotable door pivotable between an open and closed position, the storage container comprising:
- a housing configured to hold the pivotable door having a pair of first side walls, a first front wall spaced apart and opposite a first back wall, each of the pair of first side walls spaced apart from each other, the first front and back walls extending between each of the pair of first side walls, a window disposed on the first back wall;
- a biasing member operable to bias the pivotable door between the open and closed position with respect to the housing;
- and
- a mount and a loading member spaced apart from the mount, both the mount and the loading member disposed on the pivotable door, the biasing member operatively connected to the mount, the biasing member configured to engage the loading member, the mount and loading member working in concert so as to hold the biasing member in a compressed position when mounting the pivotable door to the storage container, the window dimensioned to receive a first portion of the biasing member so as to allow the biasing member to be removed from the loading member so as to facilitate the assembly of the pivotable door to the housing.
A method of assembling a storage container, the storage container having a housing, a pivotable door pivotably disposed within the housing, the pivotable door having a first front wall spaced apart a first back wall, and a pair of side walls spaced apart from each other and extending between the first front and first back walls, the pivotable door pivotable between an open position and a closed position, a mount, and a biasing member mounted to the mount and operatively connected to the pivotable door and configured to urge the pivotable door into the open position, the housing configured to hold the pivotable door, the method comprising the steps of:
- providing a loading member operable to restrain the biasing member;
- providing a window on the first back wall, the window dimensioned as to receive a first portion of the biasing member;
- engaging the biasing member to the loading member so as restrain the biasing member from biasing the pivotable door;
- installing the pivotable door to the housing;
- and
- engaging the first portion of the biasing member so as to disengage the first portion of the biasing member from the pivotable door.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.