1. Field of the Invention
This application relates to a storage container. More particularly, this application relates to a storage container for organization of small craft items.
2. Description of Related Art
People who work with beads either as a hobby or in their profession may accumulate hundreds of different designs and types of beads which vary by color and size as well as material. It is difficult to easily store the multitude of types of beads such that they are all visually accessible and easily retrievable to the person during use, as well as providing containers that are easily transportable.
U.S. Patent Publication No. 2005/0178693 to Gupta discloses a beadwork kit, a lap desk for bead working, a bead stringing tray and a weaving tray, the trays being interchangeable in the kit and desk and also being capable of being used alone. The kit has a case having a cover and a base. The cover includes a plurality of compartments within which beads containers are received. A further compartment is provided for holding scissors or other tools. The base also includes a storage compartment which underlies a beadwork tray. The beading tray is for engaging beads in a straight line such as for making bracelets, necklaces, with a plurality of grooves therein which may include indicia associated therewith for determining the final length of the project.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,493,102 to Belokin discloses a tackle and utility box formed of a pair of substantially identically shaped molded members having converging top and bottom walls and integral side and end walls with matching inner open sides, hinged to each other along one edge so that in a closed position the molded members adjoin at their open sides to form an enclosure and in open position the sides of the members fold out into a flat base with the open inner skies directed upwardly at an angle to each other. At least one compartmented tray is included, hinged at its bottom across the open inner side of one of the molded members. In the closed position, the sides of the hinged compartmented trays serve as covers for the fixed compartments in both molded members and in open position the trays can be rotated to provide access to the compartments.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,806,670 to Harlan discloses a multi-compartment pillbox with compartment size as chosen by the user, snap shut lids to close all compartments, and a boatlike structure to aid in filling each compartment. The unit may be manufactured using clear or colored plastic. The rounded bottoms in the compartments are a necessity for easy removal of pills.
U.S. Patent Publication No. 2005/0269231 to White discloses a container useful for both packaging a device and for transferring the device from the container to its place of use with a minimum amount of contamination of the user by the device. The container has a first container portion and a second container portion. One of the container portions is provided with a grip that is graspable by a user's hand and a holder for holding the device using the same portion of the container to permit that portion of the container to be gripped and used to transfer the device from the container to another location without having to directly contact the device. Corner indentations are designed to provide a convenient location to grasp the first container portion between two finger of one hand when opening or closing the container.
Although the above described containers are suitable for various purposes, they do not offer specific features that are directed to the storage, transport and easy removal of small craft products such as beads.
One object of the present invention is to provide a storage container which allows a person to easily organize, transport and visually distinguish many different types and colors of beads at one time. The present invention allows benders to organize components by color, giving them the flexibility to find the right sized container for every bead in their collection.
Another object of the prevent invention is to provide a convenient way to store bead projects safely until completion which is also transportable.
The present invention addresses the aforementioned concerns by providing storage containers of various sizes and an outer tray for the storage of a plurality of beads and for the separation of many kinds of beads. Multiple storage containers of various sizes are positioned in the outer tray. The tray and storage containers are made from a clear plastic material to provide visual access to a multitude of beads stored therein.
The storage containers have large rounded corners to easily remove small objects.
The containers lay on their sides so the contents are visible through the transparent container walls and the clear tray lid. The containers are oriented so that the lid of each container is not facing upwards, rather the containers rest in the tray with their lids positioned facing the user. This orientation allows the user to see through the transparent walls of the container and view the contents as opposed to looking through the lids of each container.
In another aspect of the invention, in order to easily extract a single container from the tray, each container has thumb scoops and grip wing features on its front and back sides. The grip wings are part of the container and the lifting force is not in the opening direction of the lid, thus keeping the lid securely dosed while lifting the container from the tray. If the lids were positioned upwards, these grip wings on the lid might cause the lid to open inadvertently and release all the contents.
The present invention can be best understood through the following description and accompanying drawings, wherein:
Referring to
For the purpose of illustrating the salient features of the present invention, tray 12 and storage containers 14 are described in conjunction with the storage of craft products, such as small colored beads. However, it is understood that the presently described tray 12 and storage containers 14 can be used with a wide variety of small craft items.
Tray 12 is ideally made from a sturdy polymer material and may either be opaque, translucent or clear. However, storage containers 14 are ideally made from a transparent polymer so that a user may easily identify the material inside.
According to the present arrangement, tray 12 may be sized to include any configuration of the various sized storage containers 14. Tray 12 may be in any size and depth that is suitable for bead storage e.g. a depth of several inches and a dimension of 6″×6″ up to 24″×24.″
For example, in one preferred embodiment, as shown in
In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, a lid 15 of tray 12 and the walls of containers 14 are made of a clear transparent material such as clear polymer. Lids 16 of containers 14, however may be either transparent or opaque. As such, the content of containers 14 can be viewed through the transparent lid 15 of tray 12 and the transparent walls of containers 14.
Referring to
As shown in
Referring now to
Referring to
As shown in
As shown in
As noted above, although such a tray 12 and containers 14 are directed in a preferred embodiment for use in storage of beads, it is understood that such tray 12 and containers 14 may likewise be used to hold temporarily strung beads, pendants, oversized beads, bottles of resin, jars of modge podge, rods of glass, glue guns, soldering iron, blocks of polymer clay and all oversized materials.
While only certain features of the invention have been illustrated and described herein, many modifications, substitutions, changes or equivalents will now occur to those skilled in the art. It is therefore, to be understood that this application is intended to cover all such modifications and changes that fall within the true spirit of the invention.
This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/436,044, filed on Jan. 25, 2011, the entirety of which is incorporated by reference.
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3493102 | Belokin, Jr. | Feb 1970 | A |
5011018 | Keffeler | Apr 1991 | A |
5806670 | Harlan et al. | Sep 1998 | A |
6015064 | Liu | Jan 2000 | A |
6213304 | Juliussen | Apr 2001 | B1 |
6386209 | Yuhara et al. | May 2002 | B1 |
6471060 | Leyshon | Oct 2002 | B1 |
6612454 | Lin | Sep 2003 | B1 |
D525777 | Priebe et al. | Aug 2006 | S |
7357250 | Hagemann et al. | Apr 2008 | B2 |
20050178693 | Gupta | Aug 2005 | A1 |
20050269231 | White et al. | Dec 2005 | A1 |
20060070900 | Brunson et al. | Apr 2006 | A1 |
Number | Date | Country | |
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20120187020 A1 | Jul 2012 | US |
Number | Date | Country | |
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61436044 | Jan 2011 | US |