Claims
- 1. A tray organizer adapted to stack and nest with another tray organizer of identical configuration, the tray organizer comprising:
- a bottom connected to a surrounding side wall extending upwardly therefrom and defining a central cavity therewith, the side wall having an upper rim;
- a plurality of outwardly facing cavities formed at spaced intervals along the side wall and extending substantially from the bottom to the upper rim, each cavity having an open end proximate the bottom, an opposed end bounded by a guiding surface projecting inwardly from the rim, the guiding surface terminating in a lower surface stepped down therefrom; and
- a plurality of recesses formed in a region of the side wall proximate the bottom;
- the cavities and recesses being arranged and configured so that in a first stacked position the bottom of an upper tray organizer rests on the lower surfaces of a lower tray organizer, and in a second stacked position the recesses of the upper tray organizer removably engage the lower surfaces of the lower tray organizer.
- 2. The tray organizer of claim 1, wherein the guiding surfaces are substantially parallel to the bottom.
- 3. The tray organizer of claim 1, wherein the lower surfaces are substantially parallel to the bottom.
- 4. The tray organizer of claim 1, further comprising a plurality of compartments bounded within the central cavity by dividing means extending thereacross and peripherally bounded by a portion of the surrounding wall intersected by the dividing means, each dividing means having a lower margin proximate the bottom and a distal upper margin.
- 5. The tray organizer of claim 4, wherein the dividing means are of substantially equal height.
- 6. The tray organizer of claim 4, wherein the upper margin of at least one of the dividing means lies proximate but below the upper rim.
- 7. The tray organizer of claim 4, wherein each dividing means comprises a pair of side panels joined by a web to form a generally channel-shaped cavity peripherally bounded by a portion of the side wall thereby defining a rib, and further wherein at least two ribs of an upper tray organizer engage respective upper margins of a lower tray organizer when the upper tray organizer is nested within the lower tray organizer.
- 8. The tray organizer of claim 7, wherein the webs are narrower than the ribs.
- 9. The tray organizer of claim 1, further comprising a pair of dividing means extending substantially at right angle across the central cavity.
- 10. The tray organizer of claim 4, further comprising a handle extending upwardly from the upper margins of two dividing means, the handle having a lower portion and a distal upper portion.
- 11. The tray organizer of claim 10, wherein each dividing means comprises a pair of side panels joined by a web thereby forming a generally channel-shaped cavity, the handle of a lower tray organizer being substantially received in the channel-shaped cavity of an upper tray organizer when the upper tray organizer is nested within the lower tray organizer.
- 12. The tray organizer of claim 10, wherein each dividing means comprises a pair of side panels joined by a web thereby forming a generally channel-shaped cavity, the upper portion of the handle of a lower tray organizer being received in the channel-shaped cavity of an upper tray organizer and extending above the upper margins of the upper tray organizer when the upper tray organizer is nested within the lower tray organizer.
- 13. The tray organizer of claim 4, wherein at least one of the dividing means includes measuring indicia.
- 14. The tray organizer of claim 4, wherein at least one of the dividing means includes a plurality of sizing apertures.
- 15. The tray organizer of claim 1, wherein the organizer has a substantially circular configuration.
- 16. The tray organizer of claim 1, wherein the organizer is made of moldable material.
- 17. A tray organizer adapted to stack in at least two positions and nest with a tray organizer of similar configuration, the tray organizer comprising:
- a receptacle defined by a bottom joined to a surrounding side wall extending upwardly therefrom and having an upper rim;
- at least four dividing means disposed across the receptacle, each dividing means having a lower margin and a distal upper margin and comprising a pair of side panels upstanding from the bottom and joined by a web to form a generally channel-shaped cavity, each channel-shaped cavity being peripherally bounded by a rib formed from a portion of the side wall; and
- a plurality of outwardly facing cavities formed at spaced intervals along the side wall and extending substantially from the bottom to the upper rim, each cavity having an open end proximate the bottom and an opposed end bounded by a guiding surface projecting inwardly from the rim, the guiding surface terminating in a lower surface stepped down therefrom;
- whereby in a nested configuration the ribs of an upper tray organizer engage the upper margins of a lower tray organizer.
- 18. The tray organizer of claim 17, further comprising a handle projecting upwardly from the webs of two substantially aligned dividing means, the handle having a lower portion and a distal upper portion, the upper portion of the handle of the lower tray organizer extending above the upper margins of the upper tray organizer when the upper tray organizer is nested within the lower tray organizer.
- 19. The tray organizer of claim 17, further wherein the outwardly facing cavities are formed along the side wall such that in a first stacked position the bottom of the upper tray organizer rests on the lower surfaces of the lower tray organizer.
- 20. The tray organizer of claim 19, further comprising a plurality of recesses formed in a region of the side wall proximate the bottom, the recesses of the upper tray organizer removably engaging the lower surfaces of the lower tray organizer when the upper and lower tray organizers are in a second stacked position.
- 21. An upper tray organizer adapted to nest or stack with a lower tray organizer, the upper and lower tray organizers being substantially identical, each tray organizer comprising:
- a bottom connected to a surrounding side wall extending upwardly therefrom and defining a central cavity therewith, the side wall having an upper rim;
- a plurality of outwardly facing cavities formed at spaced intervals along the side wall and extending substantially from the bottom to the upper rim, each cavity having an open end proximate the bottom, an opposed end bounded by a guiding surface projecting inwardly from the rim, the guiding surface terminating in a lower surface stepped down therefrom; and
- a plurality of recesses formed in a region of the side wall proximate the bottom;
- the cavities and recesses being arranged and configured so that in a first stacked position the bottom of the upper tray organizer rests on the lower surfaces of the lower tray organizer, and in a second stacked position the recesses of the upper tray organizer removably engage the lower surfaces of the lower tray organizer.
- 22. The tray organizer of claim 21, further comprising a plurality of compartments bounded within the central cavity by dividing means extending thereacross and peripherally bounded by a portion of the surrounding wall intersected by the dividing means, each dividing means having a lower margin proximate the bottom and a distal upper margin, each dividing means comprising a pair of side panels joined by a web to form a generally channel-shaped cavity peripherally bounded by a rib, the ribs of the upper tray organizer engaging the upper margins of the lower tray organizer when the upper tray organizer is nested within the lower tray organizer.
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
This is a continuation application of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/377,980 of Fierek et al. filed Jan. 25, 1995, which is hereby abandoned, and which is a continuation application of co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 29/027,649 filed on Aug. 26, 1994.
US Referenced Citations (17)
Foreign Referenced Citations (1)
Number |
Date |
Country |
2263101 |
Jul 1993 |
GBX |
Non-Patent Literature Citations (1)
Entry |
Parachute Bag at p. 4 of Portable Products Inc.'s Catalog. |
Continuations (2)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
377980 |
Jan 1995 |
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Parent |
27649 |
Aug 1994 |
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