Patent Application
20090090443
Not Applicable.
Not Applicable.
Not Applicable.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to storage containers for personal items and particularly to a slide out tray housed in a sleeve inside a purse having a hinged cover over an opening in the purse wall to admit the tray therethrough and a tray holding mechanism associated with the hinged cover for securing the tray in any of a variety of locations extending out of the purse to access items in the tray.
2. Description of Related Art Including Information Disclosed Under 37 CFR 1.97 and 1.98
There is generally a difficulty in finding items stored inside a purse and fumbling for needed items, such as keys or an ID or credit card when the items are needed. Prior art devices do not adequately solve the problem.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,463,993, issued Mar. 8, 1949 to Meyers, is for a handbag having an upper and lower compartments and a removable drawer in the lower compartment.
U.S. Pat. No. 246,179, issued Aug. 23, 1881 to Meaker, describes a pocket book or wallet which has a drawer that slides out of an end of the purse.
U.S. Pat. No. 285,305, issued Sep. 18, 1883 to Peirson, claims a traveling satchel which has an upper compartment and a lower compartment. The lower compartment houses a sliding drawer.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,559,307, issued Oct. 27, 1925 to Bernardo, provides a hand traveling bag having an upper and a lower compartment, which may be constructed with a slidable drawer in its lower compartment.
U.S. Pat. No. 659,058, issued Oct. 2, 1900 to Edlen, shows a surgeon's case having a slidable sterilizing pan in a lower compartment.
What is needed is a means for separating commonly needed items from other items stored in a purse and make the needed items readily accessible for use without fumbling through other items in the purse.
An object of the present invention is to provide a slide out tray housed in a sleeve inside a purse having a hinged cover over an opening in the purse wall to admit the tray therethrough and a tray holding mechanism associated with the hinged cover for securing the tray in any of a variety of locations extending out of the purse to access items in the tray that are frequently needed without having to fumble through all the items in the purse.
In brief, the slide out tray of the present invention housed in a rigid sleeve attached to a bottom of a purse to support items placed in the purse through the top of the purse and allow the tray to slide in and out of the purse within the sleeve. A hinged cover over an opening in the purse wall pivots to admit the tray therethrough and a tensioned tray holding mechanism associated with the hinged cover secures the tray in any of a variety of locations extending out of the purse to access items in the tray.
An advantage of the present invention is that it provides easy and rapid access to needed items in a purse without having to fumble through all the items in the purse and without spilling the items stored in the tray.
These and other details of my invention will be described in connection with the accompanying drawings, which are furnished only by way of illustration and not in limitation of the invention, and in which drawings:
In
The tray 30 has at least one and preferably a number of compartments 37 for receiving articles contained in a purse to slide the tray out of the purse to access the items in the tray without disturbing the other contents of the purse. The tray is slibably insertable through an opening 56 in an end wall 51 of the purse between a first position completely within the purse for storage of articles contained in the tray, as shown in
The sleeve 20 is attached horizontally to an inside portion of a purse 50, preferably to the bottom 55 of the purse by an adhesive, rivets or other fastening means. The sleeve 20 comprising an exterior surface 21 surrounding an interior space 22 for receiving the tray slidably inserted therein. The sleeve exterior surface 21 is sufficiently rigid to support any contents contained in the purse and prevent any articles in the purse from entering or bending the exterior surface. The sleeve having at least one end opening 23 communicating with the interior space 22 therein to receive the tray 30 slibably inserted therein. The at least one sleeve end opening 23 aligned with the purse tray receiving opening 56.
A door 40 normally covers the opening 56 on the wall of the purse 50, as shown in
A pull tab 32 or other device attached or built in to the front of the tray serves as a means for grasping the tray 30 to slide the tray out of the purse 50.
The tray 30 and sleeve 20 are fabricated of relatively rigid material which could be plastic or some type of fiber board and preferably covered on exposed surfaces by a tray covering material 31 matching the purse covering material 51. Partitions 36 dividing the tray 30 into separate compartments 37 may also be covered with material mating the purse covering material. The living hinge 45 may connect the door 40 with a sheet of door extension material 49 attached by adhesive or other means to the inside of the purse covering material 51.
In use, the door 40 is lifted, the tray 30 slid out of the sleeve 20, as in
It is understood that the preceding description is given merely by way of illustration and not in limitation of the invention and that various modifications may be made thereto without departing from the spirit of the invention as claimed.
