Patent Application
20230365301
The present invention relates generally to storage apparatus. More specifically, the present invention relates to a storage apparatus specifically adapted for holding decorative elements such as rhinestones.
In recent years, the use of decorative elements such as rhinestones to adorn various items and create appealing visual effects has grown in popularity both with casual hobbyists and with sellers who create artwork pieces by adhering the stones to a base.
The process involves arranging large numbers of rhinestone pieces with flat backs and distinctive colours onto a base. Each rhinestone is picked up individually, has adhesive or heat applied to the flat back, and is added to the “painting”. Other types of elements can also be used besides rhinestones, but these are the most popular.
As each decorative element is small relative to the human hand, the process requires a high level of precision and can be slow, particularly as a large proportion of the elements will be oriented upside down and require flipping before they can be used. To counteract this, flipping trays were developed, which use a number of parallel ridged protrusions which are dimensioned such that rhinestones of a corresponding size for the spacing between protrusions will be flipped into the correct orientation when they are shaken on top of the tray.
While these trays are useful, they leave various problems unsolved. Firstly, trays have uniform spacing between ridges, so are only effective on flat-backed elements of a certain size. Multiple trays are required to cover an artist's needs. Furthermore, the trays are small, and thus fail to function as a workspace.
The trays also fail to incorporate any storage mechanism for holding decorative elements between sessions, meaning that multiple containers and trays need to be carried around by the artist. ON a similar note, the lack of ability to enclose the interior volume of the trays means that decorative elements often spill out during shaking.
It is within this context that the present invention is provided.
The present disclosure provides a storage apparatus for decorative items that doubles up as a work station and flipping tray for flat-backed elements such as rhinestones. The apparatus comprises an open-topped base portion with parallel ridged protrusions running along the bottom at precisely positioned spacing, and is divided into different sections with each section having a respective spacing. Removable dividers and a removable lid allow for flexible and organised storage and transport of the decorative elements to be used, with different sizes of element able to be stored in their respective sections. This increases the efficiency of an artist's work, prevents items falling out during transit or shaking, and reduces the number of items they must carry with them.
Thus, according to one aspect of the present disclosure there is provided a storage apparatus for decorative elements, the storage apparatus comprising: an open-topped base portion, an interior volume of the base portion having a plurality of straight ridged protrusions running parallel to one another along a bottom surface, wherein the base portion comprises two or more sections, with each section having a respective spacing distance between ridged protrusions in that section; one or more detachable divider pieces configured to slot into the base portion to form walls between the one or more sections; and a removeable lid configured to detachably cover the open top of the base portion.
In some embodiments, the base portion of square or rectangular in shape and has four side walls. The ridged protrusions may run parallel to a first pair of opposing side walls, and a second pair of side walls may have formed therein one or more corresponding indents for receiving and interlocking with the divider pieces.
The second pair of side walls may also each have three indents formed therein for separating the base portion into four sections, each section having a different spacing distance between its ridged protrusions.
Also, the base portion may be configured to slidably receive the lid along a pair of tracks set into an upper end of the first pair of side walls.
In some embodiments, the spacing distance between each ridged protrusion is chosen so as to accommodate standard rhinestone decorative element sizes.
In some embodiments, the lid comprises a gripping handle.
Various embodiments of the invention are disclosed in the following detailed description and accompanying drawings.
Common reference numerals are used throughout the figures and the detailed description to indicate like elements. One skilled in the art will readily recognize that the above figures are examples and that other architectures, modes of operation, orders of operation, and elements/functions can be provided and implemented without departing from the characteristics and features of the invention, as set forth in the claims.
The following is a detailed description of exemplary embodiments to illustrate the principles of the invention. The embodiments are provided to illustrate aspects of the invention, but the invention is not limited to any embodiment. The scope of the invention encompasses numerous alternatives, modifications and equivalent; it is limited only by the claims.
Numerous specific details are set forth in the following description in order to provide a thorough understanding of the invention. However, the invention may be practiced according to the claims without some or all of these specific details. For the purpose of clarity, technical material that is known in the technical fields related to the invention has not been described in detail so that the invention is not unnecessarily obscured.
The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the invention. As used herein, the term “and/or” includes any combinations of one or more of the associated listed items. As used herein, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well as the singular forms, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises” and/or “comprising,” when used in this specification, specify the presence of stated features, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof.
Referring to
As can be seen, the storage apparatus provides a large work area compared to prior art designs, with an open-topped base portion having a front wall 102, two side walls 104, and a rear wall 106. The bottom of the base portion 108 has a plurality of ridged protrusions 110 which run parallel to one another and parallel to the side walls 104 in the present example.
The ridged protrusions are precisely spaced from one another to accommodate standard sized flat-backed decorative elements, with different sections of the base portion having different spacing to accommodate different sizes, such that any shaking actions will cause decorative elements resting between ridged protrusions in the appropriate section will be trapped and flipped into the correct orientation, ready for use.
A plurality of removable dividers 112 are provided that form walls between the different sections. They can be used to keep decorative elements organised into appropriate sections and removed when the artist desires a larger workspace, making the storage apparatus a flexible all-in-one solution. In the present example the dividers slot into corresponding indents 114 formed in the front wall 102 and rear wall 106. As can be seen form
These dividers 112 provide a significant improvement compared to prior art solutions, which are limited in their ability to adequately orientate a mixture of different embellishment sizes due to the uniform one size fits all spacing of columns.
The extensive work area provided by effectively having multiple flipping trays combined into one which can be fully utilised when the dividers are removed also increases work time by reducing the amount of reloads needed.
Referring to
This ability to both store and organise decorative embellishments drastically improves the convenience and portability of the storage apparatus compared to prior solutions. The lid also enables a user to prevent items from spilling out when they are shaking them into the correct orientation.
Though not illustrated, to make it easier to empty the apparatus, doors or a plug can be added to the front of the apparatus to make for easy removal of embellishments.
The dimensions of the apparatus sections can be reconfigured to allow various numbers of embellishments in each section. The orientation/style of columns can be altered into parallel rows, nested squares, or other suitable shapes.
To create this apparatus, one may use digital callipers to measure standard sizes of the type of embellishments to be used. For the present example, the components listed in
To use the apparatus, one would place a desired amount of embellishments in an appropriate section of the apparatus based on the size then insert the lid into lid guide. Next, one would gently shake apparatus from side to side to achieve orientation and alignment of embellishments. One would then remove the lid and use a pickup tool for embellishment extraction. For storage or transit, one would insert the lid into the lid guides again to close it.
Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical terms) used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one having ordinary skill in the art to which this invention belongs. It will be further understood that terms, such as those defined in commonly used dictionaries, should be interpreted as having a meaning that is consistent with their meaning in the context of the relevant art and the present disclosure and will not be interpreted in an idealized or overly formal sense unless expressly so defined herein.
The disclosed embodiments are illustrative, not restrictive. While specific configurations of the storage apparatus have been described in a specific manner referring to the illustrated embodiments, it is understood that the present invention can be applied to a wide variety of solutions which fit within the scope and spirit of the claims. There are many alternative ways of implementing the invention.
It is to be understood that the embodiments of the invention herein described are merely illustrative of the application of the principles of the invention. Reference herein to details of the illustrated embodiments is not intended to limit the scope of the claims, which themselves recite those features regarded as essential to the invention.
This application claims the benefit and priority of US provisional application U.S. 63/062,183, filed Aug. 6, 2020.
