CONTAINER AND DISPENSER FOR BARRETTES AND ACCESSORIES

Abstract

A storage container and dispenser provides specialized compartments for barrettes, hairbands, hairbeads, and other hair cosmetology accessories. An upper compartment provides a hairband bar and contains a port which passes downwardly into a hairbeads receptacle. The hairbeads receptacle has a pocketed sidewall door which swings outwardly and enables withdrawal of the hairbeads without spilling them from the container. Other drawers and compartments for various accessories are provided.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The following includes information that may be useful in understanding the present disclosure. It is not an admission that any of the information provided herein is prior art nor material to the presently described or claimed inventions, nor that any publication or document that is specifically or implicitly referenced is prior art.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates generally to the field of hair cosmetology of existing art and more specifically relates to a hair accessory storage container.

RELATED ART

Hair cosmetology can include a wide variety of accessories, tools, and products. Accordingly, there is a perceived need in the art for storage and dispensing solutions which enable individuals to conveniently store, organize, and retrieve cosmetology accessories as needed. In particular, small items such as beads and barrettes present a challenge in organization. These small items may need to be stored in large quantities and varieties to be used on a daily basis. Unfortunately, the small size and large quantity of such items leads to them being lost among larger items when stored in a bag, drawer, or other traditional storage solutions. Further, it is inconvenient to have to scrounge for small accessories in a large container ill-suited for the size and geometry of such accessories. A suitable solution is desired.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,991,118 to Brenda Phillips relates to an accessory holding device. The described accessory holding device is useful for holding a plurality of accessory devices, such as hair clips, bows, barrettes, ties, and other hair accessories; as well as various items of jewelry. Internal attachment members hold clip type devices, while various posts, suspension devices, flexible attachment members, drawers, and retainers are provided to accommodate a wide array of items. The device may be relatively open, formed only with a base and sides, or may be enclosed with top, back, and face plates, in differing embodiments. The device may be free-standing, and may have suction grips to enhance adhesion to various surfaces. It may also be provided with a mounting device so that the entire device may be hung on the wall, back of door, or other surface. The device may have mirrors on various surfaces and may be fitted with an interior light. This accessory holding device is representative of prior art storage solutions. A need for a superior alternative is perceived.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In view of the foregoing disadvantages inherent in the known hair accessory storage container art, the present disclosure provides a novel container and dispenser for barrettes and accessories. The general purpose of the present disclosure, which will be described subsequently in greater detail, is to provide a container and dispenser for barrettes and accessories.

A storage container and dispenser is disclosed herein. The storage container and dispenser provides specialized compartments for barrettes, hairbands, hairbeads, and other hair cosmetology accessories. An upper compartment provides a hairband bar and contains a port which passes downwardly into a hairbeads receptacle. The hairbeads receptacle has a pocketed sidewall door which swings outwardly and enables withdrawal of the hairbeads without spilling them from the container. Other drawers and compartments for various accessories are provided.

For purposes of summarizing the invention, certain aspects, advantages, and novel features of the invention have been described herein. It is to be understood that not necessarily all such advantages may be achieved in accordance with any one particular embodiment of the invention. Thus, the invention may be embodied or carried out in a manner that achieves or optimizes one advantage or group of advantages as taught herein without necessarily achieving other advantages as may be taught or suggested herein. The features of the invention which are believed to be novel are particularly pointed out and distinctly claimed in the concluding portion of the specification. These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the present invention will become better understood with reference to the following drawings and detailed description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The figures which accompany the written portion of this specification illustrate embodiments and methods of use for the present disclosure, a container and dispenser for barrettes and accessories, constructed and operative according to the teachings of the present disclosure.

FIG. 1 shows a storage device during stowed and closed condition, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 shows the storage device of FIG. 1 with several of the compartments in opened conditions, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the storage device of FIG. 1 detailing the interior beads-compartment, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 4 is a top perspective view of the storage device of FIG. 1 highlighting the opening and function of the hinged door, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 5 is a top perspective view of an alternative embodiment of the storage device of FIG. 1, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

The various embodiments of the present invention will hereinafter be described in conjunction with the appended drawings, wherein like designations denote like elements.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

As discussed above, embodiments of the present disclosure relate to a hair accessory storage container and more particularly to a container and dispenser for barrettes and accessories as used to improve the effective storage and dispensing of hair accessories.

Generally, the hair accessory storage container provides users with an improved storage container and dispensing means for hair accessories. The container includes separate compartments for each individual accessory, preventing users from having to sift through a drawer or cabinet filled with hair ties, bows, and more. Effectively, the compartmentalized container keeps hair accessories in a single, easily-accessible location at all times. The container also features a flip-out door to conveniently access beads at bottom of the container. In use, the container offers a more convenient hair accessory storage container for both adults and children. Barrettes Box is a modified storage container for hair accessories and beads. The container is comprised of a rectangular box with multiple compartments. The compartments hold an individual type of accessory for convenient access.

The box is intended to prevent hair accessories from being lost and disorganized. The compartment for beads can feature a rubber/plastic opening to prevent beads from falling out. A door at the bottom, featuring a hinge, can release the beads. The bead flap is accessible via hand, allowing users to place their hand through to get beads out. Lift-up doors may also be included with compartments for additional easy access. There can also be a specific area for hair bows. Each bow will have an easy constructed slot no matter the size, allowing users to simply slide the bow into place. The line of bow racks can be removed for large bows that have ties, especially for those without a clip. The bow drawer design offers ease and convenience when storing bows. The box may be available in various colors and sizes to accommodate all user needs and preferences. Exact size, measurement, construction, and design specifications may vary upon further development and manufacturing.

Referring now more specifically to the drawings by numerals of reference, there is shown in FIGS. 1-5, various views of a storage device 100.

FIG. 1 shows a storage device during a stowed and closed condition, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Here, the storage device may be beneficial for use by a user to effectively store and dispense hair accessories. Storage device 100 may include rectangular container 110 as shown. Rectangular container 110 may be defined by rectangular outer-sidewall 112 and rectangular base 114 coupled to rectangular outer-sidewall 112. Domed lid 140 may hingedly connect to rectangular container 110 and close or open a top of rectangular container 110. Domed lid 140 may include at least one latch 142 configured to releasably fasten domed lid 140 shut to rectangular sidewall 112. In some embodiments, at least one latch 142 may include at least one keyed lock. Further, domed lid 140 may include handle 144. Rectangular container 110 may include at least one drawer 130. At least one drawer 130 may pass though rectangular outer-sidewall 112 into an interior of rectangular container 110. The illustrated embodiment demonstrates a preferred arrangement of at least one drawer 130. A large drawer proximal to the base fills an entire top-view cross section of rectangular container 110. Two smaller drawers are stacked above the large drawer and do not fill the cross section. This arrangement leaves a void on at least one lateral side of the two smaller drawers. The drawers may ride on slides, in dovetails, or use other mechanisms to effect the necessary sliding actions of the drawers. In various embodiments, drawer pulls, latches, and/or locks may be implemented.

FIG. 2 shows the storage device of FIG. 1 with several of the compartments in opened conditions, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As illustrated, upwardly-opening compartment 116 may be disposed within rectangular container 110 opposite of rectangular base 114, such that upwardly-opening compartment 116 is situated above at least one drawer 130. (For the purposes of this specification, “upwardly” or “above” indicates towards the end having the domed lid, and “downwardly” or “beneath” indicated towards the base of the rectangular container.) Openable port 120 may perforate a floor 117 of upwardly-opening compartment 116. Preferably, upwardly-opening compartment 116 is substantially rectangular in shape. At least one drawer 130 may include a hair bow drawer containing at least one hair bow bar 132. At least one hair bow bar 132 is removable, making the drawer user-configurable for various purposes. Preferably, the hair bow drawer is the large drawer most proximal to rectangular base 114. Upwardly-opening compartment 116 contains at least one cylindrical headband-holder 160160, at least one cylindrical headband-holder 160 comprises an airspace circumscribing the cylindrical headband-holder enabling sufficient relief for headbands to be wrapped about the cylindrical headband-holder. The at least one cylindrical headband-holder 116 may be mounted to the rectangular sidewall 112 at either end.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the storage device of FIG. 1 detailing the interior beads-compartment, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Beads-compartment 118 is disposed beneath upwardly-opening compartment 116 and to one side of the small drawers of at least one drawer 130. As shown, at least one drawer 130 may include one of large drawer 134 and multiples of small drawer 136 in a preferred embodiment. Openable port 120 passes between and connects beads-compartment 118 and upwardly-opening compartment 116. In the illustrated embodiment, openable port 120 comprises circular aperture 122, and gasket 124. Gasket 124 fully fills circular aperture 122 and has at least one slit 126 (preferably two perpendicularly intersecting slits as illustrated) permitting passage of beads through the gasket 124 into beads-compartment 118. Gasket 124 is sufficiently flexible to deform and open at least one slit 126 when beads are pushed through it. Gasket 124 may be constructed of rubber, silicone, polymer, or other suitable materials. Upwardly-opening compartment 116 comprises a floor 117 opposing domed lid 140, and circular aperture 122 perforates the floor. In an alternative embodiment, openable port 120 may have a hinged trapdoor. Also in some embodiments, supplementary receptacle 192 may be provided to a side of the small drawers of at least one drawer 130 opposite that of beads-compartment 118.

FIG. 4 is a top perspective view of the storage device of FIG. 1 highlighting the opening and function of the hinged door, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Hinged door 150 may be disposed within and perforates rectangular container 110, hinged door 150 opening into beads-compartment 118 (FIG. 3) through rectangular sidewall 112 Hinged door 150 may include rectangular-panel 152, first-lateral-panel 154, and second-later-panel 156. Hinged door 150 may be coupled to rectangular sidewall 112 using traditional pin-and-barrel hinges, or may have integral pins which fit into recesses within rectangular sidewall 112, or may incorporate another solution. Given any mechanism, hinged door 150 should swing with a fulcrum along the bottom edge of hinged door 150. Rectangular-panel 152 may be able to interface with and fill a corresponding rectangular-opening 158 in the rectangular sidewall when hinged door 150 is closed. Rectangular-opening 158 may be in communication with beads-compartment 118 (FIG. 3), and rectangular-panel 152 may be characterized by a top-edge 159 disposed distally to rectangular base 114. First-lateral-panel 154 and a second-lateral panel 156 may parallel each other across rectangular-panel 152. Each of the first-lateral-panel 154 and second-lateral-panel 156 may have three edges. As such, each of the first-lateral-panel 154 and second-lateral-panel 156 may include first-edge 170 coupled to rectangular-panel 152, second-edge 172, and convexly-curved-edge 174. Convexly-curved edge 174 may follow the path of top-edge 159 as hinged door 150 is opened and closed, such that each of first-lateral-panel 154 and second-lateral-panel 156 provide lateral barriers to prevent beads from falling out of hinged door 150 when hinged door 150 is opened and beads-compartment 118 (FIG. 3) is filled with beads.

Hinged door 150 may further be defined by at least one stop 180, which may be disposed on either (or both) of the first-lateral-panel 154 and second-lateral-panel 156. At least one stop 180 may be coupled to second-edge 172, such that it projects outwardly and laterally from hinged door 150 and thereby impinges upon an inside of rectangular-sidewall 112 when hinged door 150 is opened to an extremity (extremity position illustrated in the close-up highlight of FIG. 4) and prevents hinged door 150 from being opened beyond the extremity.

FIG. 5 is a top perspective view of an alternative embodiment of the storage device of FIG. 1, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As before, openable port 120 comprises circular aperture 122. In the illustrated embodiment, openable port comprises removable circular plug 190. Circular plug 190 able to removably couple to and fill circular aperture 122. In yet another alternative embodiment, openable port 120 may comprise a hinged trapdoor.

The embodiments of the invention described herein are exemplary and numerous modifications, variations and rearrangements can be readily envisioned to achieve substantially equivalent results, all of which are intended to be embraced within the spirit and scope of the invention. Further, the purpose of the foregoing abstract is to enable the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and the public generally, and especially the scientist, engineers and practitioners in the art who are not familiar with patent or legal terms or phraseology, to determine quickly from a cursory inspection the nature and essence of the technical disclosure of the application.

Claims

1. A storage device comprising: a rectangular container including a rectangular outer-sidewall,a rectangular base coupled to the rectangular outer-sidewall,an upwardly-opening compartment opposite the rectangular base,a beads-compartment beneath the upwardly-opening compartment,a rectangular-opening perforating the rectangular outer-sidewall and opening into the beads-compartment,an openable port between and selectively connecting the beads-compartment and the upwardly-opening compartment,at least one drawer;a domed lid hingedly attached to the rectangular container and able to selectively open and close the upwardly-opening compartment; anda hinged door mounted in and able to selectively open and close the rectangular-opening.

2. The storage device of claim 1, wherein the rectangular container further comprises at least one latch configured to fasten the domed lid shut to the upwardly-opening compartment.

3. The storage device of claim 1, wherein the openable port comprises a circular aperture, anda gasket fully filling the circular aperture, the gasket having at least one slit permitting passage of beads through the gasket into the beads-compartment.

4. The storage device of claim 3, wherein the upwardly-opening compartment comprises a floor opposing the domed lid, and the circular aperture perforates the floor.

5. The storage device of claim 3, wherein the gasket comprises a material selected from the group consisting of rubber, silicone, and polymer.

6. The storage device of claim 1, wherein the openable port comprises a circular aperture, anda trapdoor configured to selectively shut the circular aperture.

7. The storage device of claim 1, wherein the openable port comprises a circular aperture, anda circular plug able to removably couple to and fill the circular aperture.

8. The storage device of claim 1, wherein the hinged door comprises a rectangular-panel able to interface with and fill the corresponding rectangular-opening in the rectangular outer-sidewall, the rectangular-panel having a top-edge disposed distally to the rectangular base;a first-lateral-panel and a second-lateral panel paralleling the first-lateral-panel across the rectangular-panel, each of the first-lateral-panel and the second-lateral-panel having three edges, each of the first-lateral-panel and the second-lateral-panel comprising a first-edge coupled to the rectangular-panel,a second-edge, anda convexly-curved-edge,such that the convexly-curved edge follows the path of the top-edge as the hinged door is opened and closed, and each of the first-lateral-panel and the second-lateral-panel provide lateral barriers to prevent beads from falling out of the hinged door when the hinged door is opened and the beads-compartment is filled with beads.

9. The storage device of claim 8, wherein the hinged door further comprises at least one stop disposed on any of the first-lateral-panel and the second-lateral-panel, the at least one stop being coupled to the second-edge, the at least one stop projecting outwardly from the hinged door such that it impinges upon an inside of the rectangular-sidewall when the hinged door is opened to an extremity and prevents the hinged door from being opened beyond the extremity.

10. The storage device of claim 1, wherein the at least one drawer comprises a hair bow drawer containing at least one hair bow bar.

11. The storage device of claim 1, wherein the upwardly-opening compartment contains at least one cylindrical headband-holder, the at least one cylindrical headband-holder comprises an airspace circumscribing the cylindrical headband-holder enabling sufficient relief for headbands to be wrapped about the cylindrical headband-holder within the upwardly-opening compartment when the domed lid is closed.

12. The storage device of claim 11, wherein the cylindrical headband-holder is mounted to the rectangular outer-sidewall at either end of the cylindrical headband-holder.

13. The storage device of claim 1, wherein the at least one drawer comprises a first-drawer proximal to the base;a second-drawer disposed above the first-drawer;a third-drawer disposed above the second-drawer;such that the second-drawer and the third-drawer are each narrower than the first-drawer, and the beads-compartment is disposed between the rectangular outer-sidewall and the combination of the second-drawer and the first-drawer.

14. A storage device comprising: a rectangular container including a rectangular outer-sidewall,a rectangular base coupled to the rectangular outer-sidewall,an upwardly-opening compartment opposite the rectangular base,a beads-compartment beneath the upwardly-opening compartment,a rectangular-opening perforating the rectangular outer-sidewall and opening into the beads-compartment,an openable port between and selectively connecting the beads-compartment and the upwardly-opening compartment,at least one drawer;a domed lid hingedly attached to the rectangular container and able to selectively open and close the upwardly-opening compartment; anda hinged door mounted in and able to selectively open and close the rectangular-opening;wherein the rectangular container further comprises at least one latch configured to fasten the domed lid shut to the upwardly-opening compartment;wherein the openable port comprises a circular aperture;wherein the upwardly-opening compartment comprises a floor opposing the domed lid, and the circular aperture perforates the floor;wherein the hinged door comprises a rectangular-panel able to interface with and fill the corresponding rectangular-opening in the rectangular outer-sidewall, the rectangular-panel having a top-edge disposed distally to the rectangular base,a first-lateral-panel and a second-lateral panel paralleling the first-lateral-panel across the rectangular-panel, each of the first-lateral-panel and the second-lateral-panel having three edges, each of the first-lateral-panel and the second-lateral-panel comprising a first-edge coupled to the rectangular-panel,a second-edge, anda convexly-curved-edge, andat least one stop disposed on any of the first-lateral-panel and the second-lateral-panel, the at least one stop being coupled to the second-edge, the at least one stop projecting outwardly from the hinged door such that it impinges upon an inside of the rectangular-sidewall when the hinged door is opened to an extremity and prevents the hinged door from being opened beyond the extremity,such that the convexly-curved edge follows the path of the top-edge as the hinged door is opened and closed, and each of the first-lateral-panel and the second-lateral-panel provide lateral barriers to prevent beads from falling out of the hinged door when the hinged door is opened and the beads-compartment is filled with beads;wherein the upwardly-opening compartment contains at least one cylindrical headband-holder, the at least one cylindrical headband-holder comprises an airspace circumscribing the cylindrical headband-holder enabling sufficient relief for headbands to be wrapped about the cylindrical headband-holder within the upwardly-opening compartment when the domed lid is closed;wherein the cylindrical headband-holder is mounted to the rectangular outer-sidewall at either end of the cylindrical headband-holder; andwherein the at least one drawer comprises a first-drawer proximal to the base, the first-drawer containing at least one hair bow bar,a second-drawer disposed above the first-drawer,a third-drawer disposed above the second-drawer,such that the second-drawer and the third-drawer are each narrower than the first-drawer, and the beads-compartment is disposed between the rectangular outer-sidewall and the combination of the second-drawer and the first-drawer.