CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
This application claims priority of Chinese Application No. 200820140370.5, filed on Nov. 14, 2008.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a storage device, more particularly to a storage device facilitating storage of different kinds of articles.
2. Description of the Related Art
When taking care of their babies, parents have to prepare different kinds of articles, such as feeding bottles, diapers, baby wipes, toys, baby powder, and so on. Many parents leave some frequently used articles at corners of a baby crib for convenience sake. However, these items not only occupy the inner space of the baby crib for babies to move, but may be damaged since they are easily accessed by the babies.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,699,564 discloses a conventional storage device for storing articles of babies therein. As illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2, the conventional storage device 1 comprises an exterior container 11 formed with a pair of spaced-apart apertures 111, an internal bag 12 disposed within the exterior container 11 and formed with a pair of spaced-apart apertures 121, and a pair of straps 13. Each of the straps 13 extends through a respective one of the apertures 111 in the exterior container 11 and a respective one of the apertures 121 in the internal bag 12, and has opposite ends connected respectively to a male buckle part 14 and a female buckle part 15. In use, the straps 13 are looped over a frame 21 of the baby crib 2 with the male buckle parts 14 engaging respectively the female buckle parts 15, thereby hanging securely the conventional storage device 1 on the baby crib 2.
However, since all kinds of articles are stored in the same interior bag 12 without classification, it is not convenient for parents to access a specific one of the articles.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Therefore, the object of the present invention is to provide a storage device facilitating storage and access of different articles for baby care.
Accordingly, a storage device of the present invention comprises a supporting frame, a storage unit, a partitioning component, and an elongated connecting belt. The supporting frame includes a hanger and is formed with an engaging hole. The storage unit is coupled detachably to the supporting frame, and includes a bottom wall and a surrounding wall extending upwardly from a periphery of the bottom wall and cooperating with the bottom wall to define a storage space. The partitioning component is disposed in the storage unit for dividing the storage space into at least two compartments. The connecting belt is for connecting the partitioning component to the supporting frame.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent in the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment with reference to the accompanying drawings, of which:
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a baby crib mounted with a conventional storage device that is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,699,564;
FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the conventional storage device disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,699,564;
FIG. 3 is an assembled perspective view of a preferred embodiment of a storage device according to the invention;
FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a supporting frame of the preferred embodiment;
FIG. 5 is a partly cutaway perspective view of the preferred embodiment;
FIG. 6 is a fragmentary sectional view of the preferred embodiment taken along line VI-VI in FIG. 3;
FIG. 7 is a fragmentary exploded sectional view of a hanger and a storage unit;
FIG. 8 is a fragmentary assembled sectional view of the hanger and the storage unit;
FIG. 9 is a perspective view of a baby crib mounted with the preferred embodiment; and
FIG. 10 is a perspective view of a chair mounted with the preferred embodiment.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the preferred embodiment of a storage device 3 according to the present invention comprises a supporting frame 4, a storage unit 5 coupled detachably to the supporting frame 4, a partitioning component 55, and a connecting belt 6.
In this embodiment, the supporting frame 4 is formed as an elongated loop, and includes a frame body 40 that has a pair of parallel elongated front and rear side parts 41, 47, and a pair of spaced-apart curved side parts 42 interconnecting the front and rear side parts 41, 47. The supporting frame 4 further includes a pair of hangers 43 and a positioning plate 44. The hangers 43 are mounted to the rear side part 47 and are spaced apart from each other. In this embodiment, each of the hangers 43 has a fixed end 431 connected fixedly to the rear side part 47 of the frame body 40, and a hook end 432 opposite to the fixed end 431. The positioning plate 44 is connected fixedly to the frame body 40 and is formed with an engaging hole 441.
Referring to FIG. 3, in this embodiment, the storage unit 5 is made of a flexible material, such as canvas, plastic cloth, and so on. The storage unit 5 includes a bottom wall 51, a surrounding wall 52, and a top wall 53. The surrounding wall 52 extends upwardly from a periphery of the bottom wall 51, has a top portion 520 vertically opposite to the bottom wall 51, cooperates with the bottom wall 51 to define a storage space 54, and is formed with an opening 56 that is in spatial communication with the storage space 54. With further reference to FIGS. 7 and 8, the top portion 520 of the surrounding wall 52 has a top edge 525, and an inner surface 527 that confronts the storage space 54. The top portion 520 further has a pair of spaced-apart through holes 521 adjacent to the top edge 525. In this embodiment, the storage unit 5 further includes a plurality of couplers 522 mounted on the inner surface 527 for clamping resiliently the supporting frame 4 thereon. The top wall 53 is connected to the top edge 525 of the surrounding wall 52, and is provided with different sizes of storage bags 571 that extend downwardly into the storage space 54.
As shown in FIGS. 3 and 5, the partitioning component 55 is disposed in the storage space 54 for dividing the storage space 54 into a plurality of compartments, and each compartment has an easy and individual access through the opening 56 on the surrounding wall 52. In this embodiment, the partitioning component 55 includes a first partitioning wall 551 extending vertically and connected to the bottom wall 51 and the surrounding wall 52 of the storage unit 5, and a second partitioning wall 552 extending horizontally and connected to the surrounding wall 52 and the first partitioning wall 551. The first partitioning wall 551 has a top end formed with a tubular sleeve portion 553.
Referring to FIGS. 5 and 6, the connecting belt 6 extends through the sleeve portion 553 of the first partitioning wall 551 of the partitioning component 55. The connecting belt 6 may be made of a flexible material, such as non-woven fabrics, or of a stiff material, such as plastic. The connecting belt 6 has a first positioning end 61, and a second positioning end 62 that is opposite to the first positioning end 61 and that is provided with a positioning hook.
The storage device 3 of the preferred embodiment can be easily assembled and disassembled, as described hereinafter. As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, when assembling the storage device 3 of the preferred embodiment, the first positioning end 61 of the connecting belt 6 is first extended through the engaging hole 441 in the positioning plate 44 which is connected to the rear side part 47 of the supporting frame 4. Next, the positioning hook of the second positioning end 62 of the connecting belt 6 is coupled to the front side part 41 of the frame body 40 of the supporting frame 4, such that the looped first positioning end 61 engages the positioning plate 44 of the supporting frame 4, thereby tightening the connecting belt 6 between the front and rear side parts 41, 47. In particular, the first positioning end 61 of the connecting belt 6 is folded and stitched to form a loop after being extended through the engaging hole 441 in the positioning plate 44 to prevent separation of the first positioning end 61 from the engaging hole 441, thereby ensuring a better connection therebetween. Afterward, with further reference to FIGS. 7 and 8, the hook ends 432 of the hangers 43 of the supporting frame 4 are extended respectively through the through holes 521 in the top portion 520 of the surrounding wall 52 of the storage unit 5, and the couplers 522 are coupled on the rear side part 47 of the supporting frame 4, followed by covering the top wall 53 and the surrounding wall 52 on the supporting frame 4, thereby finishing the assembling process.
On the contrary, the storage device 3 of the preferred embodiment can be disassembled by disengaging the couplers 522 of the storage unit 5 from the supporting frame 4, uncovering the frame body 40, disengaging the second positioning end 62 of the connecting belt 6 from the frame body 40, and removing the first positioning end 61 of the connecting belt 6 from the positioning plate 44 of the supporting frame 4. The removed storage unit 5 can be folded, thereby facilitating storage of the storage device 3 of the present invention.
Referring to FIG. 9, in use, the storage device 3 of the present invention can be hung on a frame structure 71 of a baby crib 7 through the hangers 43. The storage device 3 can also be hung on other kinds of furniture. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 10, the storage device 3 can be hung on a backrest of a highchair for babies.
Compared to the prior art, the partitioning component 55 divides the storage space 54 into the compartments, such that different kinds of baby care articles can be stored orderly in the different compartments. Therefore, parents can easily access a desired one of the baby care articles.
While the present invention has been described in connection with what is considered the most practical and preferred embodiment, it is understood that this invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiment but is intended to cover various arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and equivalent arrangements.
Patent Application
20100122962
