Patent Application
20220144492
Field of the invention: This invention relates to the general field of containers, and more specifically to the specific field of containers with internal hooks from which a variety of tools can be stored.
Brief Description of Invention. The present invention is a storage container with a hook at the top or mouth of the container. The hook at the top is intended to hold devices such as spoons, scoops, droppers, funnels, and other tools needed to gather the substances stored in the container. The hook at the top of the container can hold the aforementioned tool or tools at the top of the container, keeping the tool up and away from the substance in the container as well as keeping the tool or tools in place during shipping or excess movement, that may otherwise cause the tool to fall in to the substances, rendering it covered in said substance and making the tool or tools discovery and or retrieval difficult or impossible.
Statement of the Problem. Tools use with containers often get lost externally or fall into the contents of the container and are buried. In addition, tools stored outside may bring in contaminants with them when they are use.
The current invention provides just such a solution by having a hook on the inside of the container that allows a user to hang one or more tools internally, within the container.
The invention is a container with one or more internal hooks from which one or more tools can be stored.
There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, the more important features of the invention in order that the detailed description thereof may be better understood, and in order that the present contribution to the art may be better appreciated. There are additional features of the invention that will be described hereinafter and which will form the subject matter of the claims appended hereto. The features listed herein and other features, aspects and advantages of the present invention will become better understood with reference to the following description and appended claims. The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute part of this specification, illustrate embodiments of the invention and, together with the description, explain the principles of the invention.
It should be understood the while the preferred embodiments of the invention are described in some detail herein, the present disclosure is made by way of example only and that variations and changes thereto are possible without departing from the subject matter coming within the scope of the following claims, and a reasonable equivalency thereof, which claims I regard as my invention.
One preferred form of the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
The present invention is a storage container with a hook at the top or mouth of the container. The hook at the top is intended to hold devices such as spoons, scoops, droppers, funnels, and other tools needed to gather the substances stored in the container. The hook at the top of the container can hold the aforementioned tool or tools at the top of the container, keeping the tool up and away from the substance in the container as well as keeping the tool or tools in place during shipping or excess movement, that may otherwise cause the tool to fall in to the substances, rendering it covered in said substance and making the tool or tools discovery and or retrieval difficult or impossible.
The present invention has its hook inside the container, with the tip of the hook's orientation just below the top of the container. The hooks orientation just below the top of the lid allows for the container to be sealed, without the hook interfering with standard methods of container sealant. If the container is sealed or not, the orientation of the hooks tip is as such that the lid, when attached, is so close to the tip of the hook that tools that are looped over the hook cannot be removed from the hook when the lid is attached. When the lid of said container is removed, it then exposes the negative space necessary for a tool that has been looped over the hook to then move in to the newly exposed negative space, allowing the tool to be removed from the hook.
The shape and size of the hook is also important, as different sizes and shapes of hooks can be used for different anticipated tools. The hook has a hook base that connects with the inner wall of the container. It then curves up to a hook tip 7. The “size” of the hook is measured by the distance the tip 7 is away from the side of the container (the “hook width”) and the distance that the tip 7 is above the hook base (the part that connects to the side of the containers), which is called the “hook elevation”. The curvature of the hook is measure by the radius of a circle that would include the arc of the hook, so the larger the radius, the more gradual the curvature of the hook.
The size and shape of the hook is of particular importance. If the hook is too small, the tool can easily slip off; if it is too large, the hook will obstruct access to the contents of the container. As mentioned previously, the “size” of the hook is measured by the distance the tip 7 is away from the side of the container (the “hook width”) and the distance that the tip 7 is above the hook base (the part that connects to the side of the containers), which is called the “hook elevation”. The curvature of the hook is measure by the radius of a circle that would include the arc of the hook, so the larger the radius, the more gradual the curvature of the hook.
Experience has found that a hook width of less than 1″ but greater than 0.5″ provided a hook that is wide enough to retain a tool, but not too wide such that is blocks easy access to the contents of the container. A hook elevation of less than 0.5″ generally results in the tool falling off when the container is moved, but a hook elevation of greater than 1″ can result in the tool being submerged in the contents of the container. The curvature of the hook has to be enough to retain the tool(s), but not so extreme as to prevent a user from easily accessing the tool, with a range of a radius between 1″ and 2″ being ideal.
In a preferred embodiment, a container device is presented, where the container device comprises a container, a lid, and one or more tools, where the container comprises a bottom, a cylindrical container side portion, and a lip portion, where the lip portion comprises a plurality of container threads, where the plurality of container threads are located on an outside lip portion, and where the lip comprises a hook, where the hook is located on an inside lip portion, where the lid comprises a top and a cylindrical lid side portion, where the cylindrical lip side portion comprises a plurality of lip threads is located on an inside cylindrical lip side portion,
where the one or more tools each comprises a tool end, where the tool end comprises a functional tool, and a hanging end, where the hanging end comprises an open loop, where the open loop fits over the hook such that the one or more tools hangs on an inside of the container, and can be removed through a rotation of the one or more tools in a circular manner to disengage the loop from the hook.
In this embodiment, the hook has a hook width, where the hook width measures a distance between the tip and an inner edge of the container, and hook elevation, where the hook elevation means a height between a hook base and the tip, and a hook curvature, where the hook curvature is a part of an imaginary circle drawn from an imaginary point, where a hook radius is measured from the imaginary point to an inner surface of the hook. The embodiment also has one or more tools that may include a scoop, a measuring spoon, and/or a dropper tool.
In terms of the casting and shape of the hook, it is anticipated that the hook can be both cast along with the container as one unit, or attached later one. The shape and curvature of the hook is also important, and one embodiment contemplates that the hook width is less than 1″, where the hook elevation is greater than 0.5″ and where the hook radius is between 1″ and 2″. Another embodiment calls for a hook width is less than 0.5″, where the hook elevation is greater than 0.5″ and where the hook radius is between 1.5″ and 2″, while a third embodiment states that the hook width is less than 1″, where the hook elevation is greater than 0.5″ and where the hook radius is between 1″ and 2″. A final embodiment has the hook width is less than 1″, where the hook elevation is less than 0.75″ and where the hook radius is between 1.5″ and 2.25″.
The advantages of the present invention include, without limitation, the easy location of a tool that may or may not be used in conjunction with the substance inside the jug. The tool is easy to discover, being located at the top of the container, making it plainly visible and instinctively simple to remove form the hook by simply lifting the loop from the hook. While the tools are not a part of the inventions scope, the intent for the hook in the container is that it is a secure place to attach a tool with a loop or similar shape that keeps the tool secured to the hook.
In broad embodiment, the present invention is a container with at least one hook inside, that hook being located toward the top of the container. The hook is intended to, but not limited to, being used to secure a tool or tools to the hook or hooks.
While the foregoing written description of the invention enables one of ordinary skill to make and use what is considered presently to be the best mode thereof, those of ordinary skill will understand and appreciate the existence of variations, combinations, and equivalents of the specific embodiment, method, and examples herein. The invention should therefore not be limited by the above described embodiment, method, and examples, but by all embodiments and methods within the scope and spirit of the invention.
Many aspects of the invention can be better understood with references made to the drawings below. The components in the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale. Instead, emphasis is placed upon clearly illustrating the components of the present invention. Moreover, like reference numerals designate corresponding parts through the several views in the drawings. Before explaining at least one embodiment of the invention, it is to be understood that the embodiments of the invention are not limited in their application to the details of construction and to the arrangement of the components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. The embodiments of the invention are capable of being practiced and carried out in various ways. In addition, the phraseology and terminology employed herein are for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting.
It should be understood that while the preferred embodiments of the invention are described in some detail herein, the present disclosure is made by way of example only and that variations and changes thereto are possible without departing from the subject matter coming within the scope of the following claims, and a reasonable equivalency thereof, which claims I regard as my invention.
All the material in this patent document is subject to copyright protection under the copyright laws of the United States and other countries. The copyright owner has no objection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent document or the patent disclosure, as it appears in official governmental records but, otherwise, all other copyright rights whatsoever are reserved.
