Patent Application
20180044062
The disclosure relates to containment devices and more particularly pertains to a new containment device for allowing utilization of space adjacent to a bottom surface of shelving.
An embodiment of the disclosure meets the needs presented above by generally comprising a container including a bottom wall and a perimeter wall that is attached to and extends upwardly from the perimeter wall. The perimeter wall has an upper edge defining an access opening extending into the container. A receiving mount has an upper wall with an upper surface. The receiving mount includes a first mating member. A second mating member is attached to the container. The second mating member releasably engages the first mating member such that the upper wall is positioned over the container when the upper wall is horizontally oriented. A coupler is attached to the upper surface of the upper wall. The coupler is configured to releasably adhere to a bottom surface of a shelf. The coupler comprises a residue free material such that no residue remains on the shelf when the coupler is removed from the shelf. The coupler comprises a silicone rubber pad.
There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, the more important features of the disclosure in order that the detailed description thereof that follows may be better understood, and in order that the present contribution to the art may be better appreciated. There are additional features of the disclosure that will be described hereinafter and which will form the subject matter of the claims appended hereto.
The objects of the disclosure, along with the various features of novelty which characterize the disclosure, are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this disclosure.
The disclosure will be better understood and objects other than those set forth above will become apparent when consideration is given to the following detailed description thereof. Such description makes reference to the annexed drawings wherein:
With reference now to the drawings, and in particular to
As best illustrated in
As best shown in
A second mating member 40 is attached to the container 12. The second mating member 40 releasably engages the first mating member 30 such that the upper wall 26 is positioned over the container 12 when the upper wall 26 is horizontally oriented. The second mating member 40 may comprise one or more shoulders 42 positioned on the container 12 and configured to releasably engage the ledges 36. The second mating member 40 may be positioned on the perimeter wall 16 adjacent to the upper edge 18 and extend completely around the container 12 or may include a pair of shoulders 42 positioned on opposite sides of the container 12. Alternatively, the second mating member 40 may be formed by a peripheral edge of the cover 22.
A coupler 44 is attached to the upper surface 28 of the upper wall 26 and is configured to releasably adhere to a bottom surface 52 of a shelf 50. The shelf 50 may be any conventional shelf however typically the shelf will be one found within a refrigerator and be comprised of a smooth plastic material. The coupler 44 comprises a residue free material such that no residue remains on the shelf 50 when the coupler 44 is removed from the shelf 50. More particularly, the couple 44r may comprise a silicone rubber pad. Such materials are known to have adhering properties which allow them to be adhered to many different types of surfaces due to the frictional characteristics of silicone rubbers. Since a glue is not being utilized, no residue will remain when the coupler 44 is removed from the shelve 50 and it may be re-used as long as it is retained in a cleaned condition. A removable backing 46 may be positioned on the coupler 44 to prevent debris, dust and the like from adhering to the coupler. The coupler 44 may be non-removably or removably coupled to the receiving mount 24.
In use, the coupler 44 is attached to the bottom surface 52 of a shelf 50 such that the receiving mount 24 is secured to the shelf 50. The receiving mount 24 will be positioned such that an open space between the ledges 36 faces outwardly. The ledges 36 may be continued to include a rear ledge 38 which will prevent the second mating 40 member from being fully extended through the receiving mount 24. The user then utilizes the container 12 in a conventional manner, using the cover 22 if desired, and then slides the container 12 into the receiving member 24 so that the first 30 and second 40 mating members engage and suspend the container 12 from the shelf 50 as shown in
With respect to the above description then, it is to be realized that the optimum dimensional relationships for the parts of an embodiment enabled by the disclosure, to include variations in size, materials, shape, form, function and manner of operation, assembly and use, are deemed readily apparent and obvious to one skilled in the art, and all equivalent relationships to those illustrated in the drawings and described in the specification are intended to be encompassed by an embodiment of the disclosure.
Therefore, the foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the disclosure. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the disclosure to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the disclosure. In this patent document, the word “comprising” is used in its non-limiting sense to mean that items following the word are included, but items not specifically mentioned are not excluded. A reference to an element by the indefinite article “a” does not exclude the possibility that more than one of the element is present, unless the context clearly requires that there be only one of the elements.
