Multi-tray instrument case

Claim 2

A case for storing and transporting a plurality of delicate articles comprising a case body; a plurality of trays removably enclosed within said case body, each of said trays comprising a soft, elastically deformable pad and a substantially rigid framing element secured to and extending peripherally around said pad, said trays being stacked one on another with the bottom of the pad of a first tray situated in close proximity to the top of the pad of a second tray whereby articles supported on the pad of said second tray are cushioned and held in place by the pad of said first tray; and means for removing said trays from said case body as a unit, comprising a pair of handles secured to the lowermost of said trays.

Claim 3

The case of claim 1 wherein the pads in said trays are comprised of a foamed plastic.

Claim 4

The case of claim 1 wherein the top and bottom of a pad are each comprised of a layer of thin, flexible material.

Claim 5

The case of claim 1 wherein said case body comprises opposing top and bottom walls and first and second pairs of opposing side walls, said top wall being movable to open and close said case body and having a layer of soft, elastically deformable material secured to the underside thereof, said layer being operatively disposed when said case is closed proximate the uppermost of said trays to cushion and hold in place articles supported on the top of said uppermost tray.

Claim 6

The case of claim 4 wherein the pads in said trays and said layer of deformable material are comprised of a foamed plastic.

Claim 7

A case for storing and transporting a plurality of delicate articles comprising a rigid box-like enclosure having a bottom, sides and a lid that can be raised; soft, elastically deformable cushioning pads substantially covering the inside faces of said bottom and lid; and a stack of generally horizontal artical support trays extending substantially the distance between saiD pads, each of said trays comprising a soft, elastically deformable cushioning pad having exposed top and bottom faces proximately positioned to respectively adjacent pads, and a rigid framing element extending peripherally therearound, and each of said tray pads being stretchable out of the plane of the frame to which it is secured.

Claim 8

A case for storing and transporting a plurality of delicate articles comprising a rigid box-like enclosure having a bottom, sides and a lid that can be raised; soft, elastically deformable cushioning pads substantially covering the inside faces of said bottom and lid; and a stack of generally horizontal artical support trays extending substantially the distance between saiD pads, each of said trays comprising a soft, elastically deformable cushioning pad having exposed top and bottom faces proximately positioned to respectively adjacent pads, and a rigid framing element extending peripherally therearound, and each of said tray pads being stretchable out of the plane of the frame to which it is secured.

Claim 9

The case of claim 6 wherein said tray pads are comprised of foamed plastic.

Claim 10

The case of claim 6 wherein substantially the entire thickness of a tray pad consists of a single layer of foamed plastic.

Claim 11

A case for storing and transporting a plurality of delicate articles comprising a rigid box-like enclosure having a bottom, sides and a lid that can be raised; soft, elastically deformable cushioning pads substantially covering the inside faces of said bottom and lid; a stack of generally horizontal article support trays extending substantially the distance between said pads, each of said trays comprising a soft, elastically deformable cushioning pad having exposed top and bottom faces proximately positioned to respectively adjacent pads, and a rigid framing element extending peripherally therearound, and means for removing said stack as a unit, comprising a pair of oppositely disposed handles secured to the lowermost tray of said stack, and extending materially above said lowermost tray for accessibility.

Claim 12

A case for storing and transporting a plurality of delicate articles comprising a rigid box-like enclosure having a bottom, sides and a lid that can be raised; soft, elastically deformable cushioning pads substantially covering the inside faces of said bottom and lid; a stack of generally horizontal article support trays extending substantially the distance between said pads, each of said trays comprising a soft, elastically deformable cushioning pad having exposed top and bottom faces proximately positioned to respectively adjacent pads, and a rigid framing element extending peripherally therearound, and means for removing said stack as a unit, comprising a pair of oppositely disposed handles secured to the lowermost tray of said stack, and extending materially above said lowermost tray for accessibility.

Claim 13

A case for storing and transporting delicate articles, comprising a case body having a bottom and enclosing sides, support means in the bottom portion of the case body, and a plurality of collectively and individually removable trays arranged in a vertical stack on the support means, between the lower and upper limits of the sides of the case body, and each comprised of a substantially rigid framing element having a top and a bottom and a widely dimensioned vertical opening therein, and a continuously uninterrupted elastically deformable pad in the opening, the body of which pad substantially fills the opening and is peripherally interconnected with the framing element so as to be supportively retained in the opening with the upper and lower faces thereof extending across the opening substantially co-planar with the top and bottom of the element, said trays resting on top of one another in mutually adjacent relationship so that the upper face of each pad is proximate to the lower face of the pad immediately thereabove, and said support means operatively supporting the stack of pads so that articles interposed between each pair of pads will be cushioned and held in place by the respective pads.

Claim 14

A case for storing and transporting delicate articles, comprising a case body having a bottom and enclosing sides, support means in the bottom portion of the case body, and a plurality of collectively and individually removable trays arranged in a vertical stack on the support means, between the lower and upper limits of the sides of the case body, and each comprised of a substantially rigid framing element having a top and a bottom and a widely dimensioned vertical opening therein, and a continuously uninterrupted elastically deformable pad in the opening, the body of which pad substantially fills the opening and is peripherally interconnected with the framing element so as to be supportively retained in the opening with the upper and lower faces thereof extending across the opening substantially co-planar with the top and bottom of the element, said trays resting on top of one another in mutually adjacent relationship so that the upper face of each pad is proximate to the lower face of the pad immediately thereabove, and said support means operatively supporting the stack of pads so that articles interposed between each pair of pads will be cushioned and held in place by the respective pads.

Claim 15

The case according to claim 10 wherein the framing element of each tray has an upturned rim about the top thereof.

Claim 16

The case according to claim 11 wherein the rim of each tray is adapted so that the bottom of the tray immediately thereabove can rest on the pad of the respective tray, loosely within the rim thereof.

Claim 17

The case according to claim 10 wherein the framing element of each tray has an inturned flange about the bottom thereof.

Claim 18

The case according to claim 10 wherein the pads are adhesively bonded to the framing element of the respective trays.

Claim 19

The case according to claim 10 wherein the support means includes an elastically deformable pad having recesses for bulky articles in the upper surface thereof.

Claim 20

The case according to claim 10 further comprising a handle upstanding on one of the trays whereby the stack of trays can be manually grasped and lifted from the case body as a unit.

Claim 21

The case according to claim 10 further comprising a lid on the case body, said stack further comprising an additional tray which is arranged on top of the stack to project above the upper limit of the sides of the case body, said lid having an elastically deformable pad secured therein which is disposed in proximity to the additional tray to cushion and hold in place articles to be placed therebetween.

Claim 22

The case according to claim 17 wherein the lid is hingedly connected to the case body.