Patent Application
20120085759
The present invention relates to collapsible hanging containers with one or more compartments, and a method and device for connecting at least two such containers so that one hangs from the other.
Collapsible containers are known that have a plurality of vertical compartments. The compartments have bottoms formed by sheets of material or spring loop frames that stretch a sheet of fabric tight. The compartments are suspended vertically from each other by common walls formed by flexible material such as plastic, canvas or other sufficiently sturdy material. Such suspended shelves with spring-loop frames are described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,681,728. Such suspended shelves may have a hook or other connectors at the top to hang the compartments from a pole in a closet. Since the walls are flexible the walls can collapse to form a stack of shelving bottoms and tops connected by the collapsed walls.
Typically these hanging, collapsible containers come in two lengths, short and long. The short length is a little longer than a shirt on a hanger (about 28-29 inches) and the longer length is a little over twice that length. The shorter lengths are selected for use with clothes closets which typically have two clothes bars spaced vertically apart a distance large enough to hang two rows of shirts vertically above each other in the closet. The longer lengths are selected for use with clothes closets having a single bar for longer garments but low enough for persons to place a clothes hanger over the clothing bar.
But if the long garment clothing bar gets full then the long suspended container cannot be hung on the short garment bars because its bottom drags on the floor, and if the short clothing bar gets full the short suspended container can be hung on the long garment bar but that wastes the space below the short suspended container. Thus, consumers have to buy both short and long length containers, and hope they buy the correct number of each one. There is thus a need for a suspended container that could be used with any of the clothing bars in a closet.
The available suspended containers can sometimes rotate about a swivel hook at the top. But all compartments in the container must rotate together, when a user may want to rotate only some of the compartments. There is thus a need for a suspended container that can allow selective rotation of portions of the suspended container relative to other portions of the suspended container.
A suspended or hanging assembly of collapsible containers is provided having at least one shelf or bottom, and preferably a plurality of shelves or bottoms each formed of sheet material or spring loop frames or a mixture of the two. The shelves have common outer walls connecting the shelves vertically to form one or more compartments between the shelves. Vertical walls extending between one or more shelves can be provided as desired. The vertical walls are of flexible material so the container unit can collapse into a stack of shelving bottoms and tops. The top compartment has a top configured to be suspended, preferably by having a stiffened upper wall or top to which is connected one or more clothes hooks or other device configured to fasten to a clothing pole. The length of the hanging assembly is preferably short enough to hang from a short garment bar, and could be much shorter.
Preferably, the top of the top compartment and the bottom of the bottom compartment have a similar construction in which a sheet of material forms the top or bottom. At least one hole extends through the sheet of material with a grommet or other encircling device preferably reinforcing the edges of the hole. Advantageously there is a single hole at the center of the sheet of material, and less preferably there are two spaced apart holes along a major axis of the sheet of material. The sheet of material is strong enough to suspend the container unit when a hanger is passed through the one or more holes.
The hanger can comprise a typical curved hook-like hanger end, but with an opposing end forming a straight end having a connecting mechanism, such as a threaded connection in which a threaded nut inside a compartment of the hanging unit engages threads on the end of the hanger extending through one of the holes. Other fasteners can be used, including bayonet locks, snap rings, ring clamps, rods passed through holes in the hanger, and other connector mechanisms.
The bottom of the collapsible container has a similar sheet of material and hole or holes to releasably connect two short collapsible containers using one or more connectors. The connectors preferably comprise an externally threaded male fastener and an internally threaded female receiver, each having an enlarged head or flange larger than the hole through the top or bottom shelf. Advantageously, the female receiver has an internally threaded cylindrical tube forming a shank that is sized to fit through the holes with an enlarged head that does not fit through the holes. The holes in the top of one container and the bottom of another container are aligned and the male and female portions of the connector are passed through the holes to connect the bottom of an upper located container to the top of a lower located container. Advantageously the length of the shank on the male connector and female receiver are slightly longer than the distance between the abutting holes and any grommets or edge retainers along the edges of the holes, so there is a loose enough connection between the top of one container and the bottom of the other container to allow the lower container to rotate relative to the upper container—when the hole is at the center of the sheet of material. Alternatively, the connectors can securely connect the upper and lower containers so they rotate together, or two or more connectors can be used to join the containers.
Depending on the length of the collapsible containers, a plurality of containers can be connected top to bottom to vary the length of the collapsible containers. Depending on the number (one), location (center) and tightness (loose) of the connectors, one or more joined containers can rotate relative to other containers, thereby allowing access to different sides of one or more of the suspended containers.
There is thus advantageously provided a collapsible container assembly that includes a first stiff top panel defining a top panel perimeter and having a first centrally located hole through the top panel and a first stiff bottom panel axially aligned with and disposed in spaced relation to the bottom panel. The bottom panel defines a bottom panel perimeter. The bottom panel has a first centrally located hole therethrough. First flexible walls connect the top and bottom panels adjacent the panel perimeters. The walls define at least one opening to an interior space defined by the first walls and first panels.
This collapsible container may optionally, but preferably, include a second stiff top panel defining a second top panel perimeter. The second top panel has a second centrally located hole therethrough located to align with the first hole in the first bottom panel. A releasable connector passes through the aligned first and second holes to releasably fasten the first bottom panel to the first top panel. A second stiff bottom panel is axially aligned with and disposed in spaced relation to the second top panel. The second bottom panel defines a second bottom panel perimeter. Second flexible walls connect the second top and second bottom panels adjacent the second panel perimeters. The second walls form at least one opening to an interior space defined by the second walls and second panels.
The above embodiments can be further modified by providing at least one intermediate panel axially aligned with and disposed in spaced relation to the first top panel and the first bottom panel and having an intermediate panel perimeter connected to the walls. Also, a hook can extend through the first hole in the first top panel, where the hook is configured to hang onto a closet pole. Advantageously there is a liner, preferably a grommet, on at least one of the first and second holes and preferably on all of the holes.
The releasable connector preferably includes male fastener having a head too large to fit through the first or second holes in the joined panels, releasably engaging a female fastener having a head too large to fit through those same holes. A series of collapsible containers of different length can be connected in this way.
There is also provided a collapsible container assembly, comprising a plurality of collapsible containers each having a stiff top panel and a stiff bottom panel joined by flexible sides having an opening therein to allow access to a space defined by the top and bottom panels and the sides, with each top and bottom panel having a centrally located hole therethrough. A releasable connector extends through the hole through the bottom panel of one container and the hole through the top panel of another container to connect those bottom and top panels and to connect the containers associated with those connected bottom and top panels, so that the plurality of containers are connected by releasable connectors. This assembly can also optionally be provided with a hook passing through the hole in an unconnected top panel to hang over a closet pole. The releasable connector preferably comprises a male and female fastener, and more preferably allows relative rotation of the first and second containers about the releasable connector.
There is also provided a kit for a collapsible container. The kit comprises a first collapsible container, which in turn includes a first stiff top panel defining a top panel perimeter and having a first centrally located hole through the top panel. The kit also has a first stiff bottom panel axially aligned with and disposed in spaced relation to the bottom panel. The bottom panel defines a bottom panel perimeter. The bottom panel has a first centrally located hole therethrough. First flexible walls connect the top and bottom panels adjacent the panel perimeters. The walls define at least one opening to an interior space defined by the walls and panels. The kit also has a releasable fastener configured to extend through the first hole in the bottom panel to fasten two adjacent panels together. The kit preferably, but optionally has a hanger configured to pass through the first hole and has a hook portion configured to engage a closet pole.
The kit preferably, but optionally has the releasable fastener formed by a male fastener with a male head and a threaded shank and a female fastener having female head and a tubular portion with a recess configured to engage the shank. The tubular portion fits through first hole in the bottom panel with the heads configured so they do not fit through the first hole.
Advantageously, the kit has panels with liner on at least one of the first and second holes, and preferably with liners on all of the holes through which the hanger or releasable fasteners extend. Grommets are believed suitable for the liners.
The kit can include additional collapsible containers of similar construction, and additional connectors as needed to connect additional containers. The containers can have intermediate panels axially aligned with and disposed in spaced relation to the top panel and the bottom panel with the walls joined to or connected to the intermediate panel.
These as well as other features of the present invention will become more apparent upon reference to the drawings in which like numbers refer to like parts throughout, and in which:
Referring now to the drawings wherein the showings are for purposes of illustrating preferred embodiments of the hanging, collapsible container, and not for purposes of limiting the same,
The collapsible container 10 can contain one or more compartments. The container 10 has a top panel 12, a bottom panel 14, and may have optional intermediate panels 16, at least one and preferably two side walls 18 and an optional back wall 19. The walls 18, 19 may be formed of continuous or separate pieces of material, and may blend together as in the depicted circular construction, or may have defined corners or junctures as in a rectangular or square configuration. The number of walls will vary with the construction of the container 10. Optionally, one or more vertical divider panels 26 (
At the lower end of the container is the bottom panel 14 which defines a bottom panel perimeter 14a extending around an outer periphery of the bottom panel 14, with similar perimeters 12a and 16a extending around the top panel and any intermediate panels, respectively.
A tension loop 20 frame (
The compartments 22 have a top and bottom formed by various combinations of panels 12, 14, 16, and have sides formed by various combinations of sidewalls 18 and/or divider(s) 26. A portion of each compartment 22 is accessible from openings formed in the front, side walls 18 or back wall 19 so items and articles can be inserted into the compartment. The rear of the compartments is preferably, but optionally closed by back wall 19. The back wall 19 could be omitted to form a tube-like compartment extending through the container 10 with both ends of the compartment being open. An optional restraint 25 (
At the upper end is the top panel 12 which is spaced apart from and axially aligned with the bottom panel 14 along longitudinal axis 15. The top panel 12 is preferably, but optionally, oriented generally parallel to the bottom panel 14. The top panel 12 contains a sheet of material sufficiently strong to support the suspended container(s) 10, and may have one or more stiffeners (not shown) as needed to provide a sufficiently strong panel. Various fiberboards and plastics could be used, including high density polyethylene. Panels 12, 14 made of MDS fiberboard are believed suitable, and a 3 mm sheet of MDS fiberboard is believed suitable for circular panels 12, 14 about 30 cm in diameter (about 12 inches diameter). The panels 12, 14 are optionally enclosed in fabric, preferably the same fabric that is used to form side walls 18 and/or back wall 19. The intermediate panel 16 is also axially aligned with the top and bottom panels 12, 14 and is interposed between the top and bottom panels 12, 14. The intermediate panel 16 is preferably disposed in generally parallel arrangement relative to the top and bottom panel 12, 14.
The intermediate and divider panels 16, 26 and the side and back walls 18, 19 respectively, each have flexible material extending contiguously and uninterrupted over a substantial portion, and preferably all, of each one of the panels 16, 26, although openings may optionally be formed in the walls for access to the compartments 22. The material is preferably substantially uninterrupted in that one or more small openings 24 can be used, such as for ventilation or for viewing or access. Any such openings are preferably small relative to the size of the panel in which the openings are formed, with no single opening preferably more than 20% of the area of the panel. Moreover, the openings are such that they do not degrade to any appreciable extent the ability of the spring-loop frame or tension-loop frame 20 hold the material taut for its intended use as a floor or bottom of an intermediate compartment 22. Alternatively, sheets of material can be used as a floor or bottom of each compartment 22 rather than fabric held by tension-loop frames, but the access holes are still preferably small in size.
The side wall 18 and back 19 may be comprised of a single contiguous piece of flexible material such as fabric, nylon mesh, canvas, or plastic or they may be comprised of a plurality of sections of flexible material, with the top, bottom and intermediate panels 12, 14, 16 fastened to the walls 18, 19. Upper and lower edges of the side walls 18 are joined to the top, intermediate and bottom panels 12, 14, 16 at the respective ones of the top, intermediate and bottom panel perimeters 12a, 14a, 16a, such as by sewing. Alternate means of joining the top, intermediate and bottom panels 12, 14, 16 to the side walls 18 may be used. For example, the top, intermediate and bottom panels 12, 14, 16 may be joined to the side walls 18 by gluing or with mechanical fasteners.
Preferably, but optionally, the intermediate and bottom panels 14, 16 may each be fabricated from fabric mesh material, with strips of nylon fabric being used as hemming around the intermediate and bottom panel perimeters 14a, 16a. Alternatively, the intermediate and bottom panels 14, 16 may be fabricated entirely from nylon fabric for improved wear resistance against the soles of shoes that may be inserted into the compartments 22. The use of nylon fabric instead of fabric mesh material in the top, intermediate and bottom panels 14 may also retain dirt particles and/or debris carried on objects such as shoes that may be placed into the compartments 22. The use of nylon fabric may prevent such debris from falling into shoes resting in compartments 22 immediately below. Finally, the use of nylon fabric for the fabrication of the top, intermediate and bottom panels 12, 14, 16 may conceal the tension loops 20 such that the aesthetics of the collapsible container 10 may be enhanced.
As is depicted in
Optionally, a restraint 25 can extend across opening 24. The restraint 25 comprises a strip of material with opposing ends fastened to side walls 18 and optionally also fastened to divider(s) 26 if present. The restraint 25 could also optionally be fastened to the panel 16 forming the bottom of the compartment 22 or the top panel 12. The restraint 25 is fastened by sewing, gluing, melting, snaps, or other fastening means described herein or known in the art. The restraint 25 is preferably of the same material as the sidewalls 18.
Referring to
Referring briefly to
As is shown in
Each hanger element 30 extends through a hole 32 formed in the top panel 12 and in the stiffener panel 28, if included. The hanger elements 30 may be configured to be removably engaged to the horizontally-disposed pole 34 so the hanger 30 may be configured in a shape similar to the shape of a standard clothes hanger. If plural hangers are used, the spacing of the hanger elements 30 is preferably such that the vertical loads may be substantially evenly distributed to the side wall 18 and to any divider panel 26 of the collapsible container 10. Ideally, one or more hanger elements 30 are used, and the hangers are optionally mounted so they can swivel parallel to the plane of the top panel 12 to allow the hanger 30 to face any side of the container 10.
Referring to
The edge forming hole 32 is preferably reinforced and/or strengthened by a liner 46. A metal or plastic grommet or other hard casing material is believed suitable for liner 46. Plastic or metal plates clamping the top panel 12 between them and with hole 32 extending therethrough are also believed suitable for liner 46, and offer the advantage of spreading the load over the area of the plates which area can be increased to far exceed the area of a grommet and thus avoid pull-through of the connection. The top connector 44 may be sized to correspond with the size of the liner 46, or it may be larger in size in order to distribute the weight of the container 10 over the top panel 12. The hanger 30 is preferably removably fastened to the container 10 by top connector 44.
The bottom panel 14 also has one or more holes 32 with optional strengthening liners 46. Metal or plastic grommets are believed to provide suitable liners. The holes 32 in the top and bottom panels 12, 14 preferably coincide, but optionally the hole 32 in bottom panel 14 could comprise a single hole centered in the bottom panel 14 while the top panel 12 has plural holes for plural hangers 30.
To provide for adjustable length containers, two or more shorter containers 10 are connected using one of the holes 32 and a connector 48.
The connection of adjacent containers 10 is achieved by aligning the hole 32 in the bottom panel 14 of the upper container 10 with the corresponding hole 32 in the top panel 12 of the lower container 10. The connector 48 passes through these aligned holes 32 to fasten the containers 10 together and hang or suspend the lower container from the upper container and hanger 30 on that upper container.
Referring to
Advantageously, the holes 32 through which connector 48 passes are centrally located in panels 12, 14. If plural holes 32 and plural connectors 48 are used, the holes 32 are aligned. But if only one pair of holes 32 are used with connector 48, then the joined containers 10 can rotate separately or together, depending on the connector 40. If plural connectors are used or if a single connector 40 is configured to securely clamp the adjacent top panel 12 of the lower container 10 to the bottom panel 14 of the upper container, then the clamping causes the joined containers to rotate together. Alternatively, placing a second connector 48 through a second set of aligned holes 32 would restrain relative rotation of the containers joined by the pair of connectors 48. If the load placed in a lower container 10 is heavy then it may be desirable to use plural connectors 48 (
Conversely, if the connector 40 is configured to connect the adjacent top panel 12 of the lower container 10 to the bottom panel 14 of the upper container, loose enough to allow relative rotation of the adjacent panels 12, 14 then the lower container 10 can rotate relative to the upper container 10. This loose connection can be achieved by having the relative length of the connector parts or fasteners 50, 56 long enough so the connectors 48 do not clamp the adjacent panels 12, 14 together and instead allow them to separate enough so they rotate relative to each other. As appropriate, an adhesive may be applied to the mating threads on the connector parts or fasteners 50, 56 to prevent unintended loosening of the connector 48. Other thread locking means can be used in addition to adhesives, including lock nuts, lock washers, double nuts, interference fits, deformations of the receiver 56, set screws and other mechanisms to restrain unintended unthreading of joints.
Preferably the male fastener 50 has its head 54 abutting the bottom panel 14 of the upper joined container 10, with the threaded shank 52 passing through the aligned holes 32. The head 60 is preferably about the size of the grommet forming the hole liner 46 or slightly smaller to reduce snagging of materials placed on the bottom panel 14. A fastener head 54 of about 1.7 cm diameter is believed suitable when used with a grommet having a diameter of about 1.8 cm around a hole 32 about 1 cm diameter. The female receiver 56 preferably extends upward with the shank containing internal recess 58 passing through holes 32 to threadingly engage male shank 52 and with the female head 60 abutting the grommet forming liner 46 on the top panel 12 of the lower joined container 10. When the mating threads of male fastener 50 and female receiver 56 are fully engaged, the distance between the heads 54, 60 is about 2 cm. and that allows slight tilting out of a plane parallel to panels 12, 16, and allows relative rotation of the joined panels 12, 16 and the containers associated with those joined panels. The specific dimensions will vary with the size of the parts, specifically including the fasteners 50, 56 and hole liner 46 if present. If the connector 48 clamps the joined panels 12. 16 together tightly or if a second connector 48 joins the panels then no relative rotation occurs. If a single connector 48 joining the panels 12, 14 is used, and if the connection is loose enough to avoid friction binding, then relative rotation can occur between joined panels 12, 16 and the containers associated with each panel.
Advantageously, the head 60 of female receiver 56 is smaller than the abutting hole liner 46 so that the lower suspended container 10 can swivel about the smaller head 60. A head 60 with a diameter of about 1.1 cm is believed suitable with the preferred parts described in this paragraph. The larger head 54 prevents pull through of the connector 48, while the smaller head 60 facilitates swiveling and rotation of the lower joined container 10 but is strong enough to carry the weight on the lower joined container 10 and also prevent pull through. Preferably, but optionally, the portion of the hole liner 46 that abuts the female head 60 is inclined relative to the longitudinal axis of the shank and recess 58 to facilitate rotation of female head 60.
It is preferred for the holes 32 in panels 12, 14 to be similarly located, but not required. Thus, it may be advantageous to configure a container 10 having an upper panel 12 additional holes 32 to accommodate more hangers 30, than are found in bottom panel 14.
The containers 10 can be provided in a variety of configurations with varying numbers of intermediate panels 16 and compartments 22. A plurality of these variously configured containers 10 having holes 32 and optional liners 46 can be joined by connectors 48. The connectors 48 thus allow a wide variation in configuration of the compartments 22. For example,
The combined length of the short containers is relative to the available length below the pole 34 (
By providing access to one or more connectors 48, and hanger 30/44, and providing access to two or more of the containers 10, a kit may be compiled that allows various configurations of a suspended container, with the possibility of having portions of the suspended container rotate relative to other parts. Because the hanger 30/44 can be fastened to the top panel 12 of any container 10, the order of the containers can be varied. Because the heads 54, 60 on connector 48 are both flat, the heads do not limit the use of any compartment containing the connector 48 and head 54. The same applies to the head 60.
In use, a first container 10 is selected for use as an upper container and hanger 30 is fastened to the top panel 12 using connector 44. A second container 10 is selected for use as a lower (or intermediate) container and the top panel 12 of that second container is fastened to the bottom panel 14 of the first container using connector 48. If desired, the process can be repeated and a third container 10 can be selected and the upper panel 12 of the third container connected to the lower panel 14 of the second container. The connectors 48 can be selected or adjusted to permit relative rotation, preferably by leaving a small gap between the exterior surfaces of adjacent joined panels 12, 14. Alternatively, the connector 48 can clamp the adjacent panels 14, 16 tightly together and restrain relative rotation or two connectors 48 can join the adjacent panels 14, 16 to restrain relative rotation. The top and bottom panels are provided with sufficiently stiff panels as needed to support the weight for which the connected containers 10 and supports such as hook 30 are designed to carry.
There is thus provided a method and apparatus for joining suspended containers that allows various arrangements of shelves and compartments and that allows the option of having various portions of the suspended containers rotate relative to other portions.
The above description is given by way of example and not limitation. Given the above disclosure, one skilled in the art could devise variations that are within the scope and spirit of the invention, including various ways of releasably joining the adjacent panels 12, 14. Furthermore, the various features of this invention can be used alone, or in varying combinations with each other and are not intended to be limited to the specific combination described herein. Thus, the invention is not to be limited by the illustrated embodiments but is to be defined by the following claims when read in the broadest reasonable manner to preserve the validity of the claims.
