U.S. patent application number 11/232670 was filed with the patent office on 2007-03-22 for adjustable compartmented container for articles.
Invention is credited to William Patterson.
Application Number | 20070062839 11/232670 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 37882977 |
Filed Date | 2007-03-22 |
United States Patent
Application |
20070062839 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Patterson; William |
March 22, 2007 |
Adjustable compartmented container for articles
Abstract
An adjustable compartmented container for articles is disclosed,
having primary and secondary partitioning members. The location of
the primary partitioning members is adjustable via notches in the
body of the container, and the location of the secondary
partitioning members is adjustable via notches in the primary
partitioning members. The length of the secondary partitioning
members is adjustable, and the container and primary partitioning
members have beveled top surfaces--i.e., they are shorter at the
front and taller at the rear.
Inventors: |
Patterson; William;
(Millersville, MD) |
Correspondence
Address: |
JOHN ALEXANDER GALBREATH
2516 CHESTNUT WOODS CT
REISTERSTOWN
MD
21136
US
|
Family ID: |
37882977 |
Appl. No.: |
11/232670 |
Filed: |
September 22, 2005 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
206/523 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B65D 25/06 20130101;
B25H 3/02 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
206/523 |
International
Class: |
B65D 81/02 20060101
B65D081/02 |
Claims
1. A compartmented container for articles, comprising: (a) a front
interior surface, rear interior surface, and side interior
surfaces, said interior surfaces having a plurality of container
notches located thereon, said container notches extending downward
from the top edges of said interior surfaces; (b) at least one
primary partition having two ends, each said end adapted for
removable engagement with one of said container notches, said
primary partition also having a plurality of primary partition
notches located thereon, said primary partition notches extending
downward from a top edge of said primary partition and passing only
partially therethrough; (c) at least one secondary partition having
two ends, each said end adapted for removable engagement with one
of said primary partition notches or one of said container notches;
whereby articles may be conveniently stored in adjustable-size
compartments.
2. The compartmented container of claim 1, wherein the heights of
said side interior surfaces and said primary partition increase
from said front interior surface to said rear interior surface.
3. The compartmented container of claim 1, wherein said secondary
partition is length-adjustable.
4. The compartmented container of claim 3, wherein said secondary
partition has a plurality of score lines located thereon, extending
from a top edge to a bottom edge of said secondary partition.
5. The compartmented container of claim 4, wherein said container
also comprises a foam block having at least one opening
thereon.
6. The compartmented container of claim 1, wherein said container
notches include a plurality of side interior surface notches of
equal length, extending downward from a top edge of one of said
side interior surfaces of said container.
7. The compartmented container of claim 1, wherein said container
notches include a plurality of side interior surface notches of
unequal length, extending downward from a top edge of one of said
side interior surfaces of said container.
8. The compartmented container of claim 1, wherein said container
also comprises a lid.
9. The compartmented container of claim 1, wherein at least one of
said front, rear, or side interior surfaces comprises an adjustment
panel lining an inside surface of said container.
10. The compartmented container of claim 1, wherein said container
also comprises at least one third partition having a notch thereon
adapted to receive an insert, and at least one said insert.
11. A compartmented container for articles, comprising: (a) a front
wall, rear wall, and side walls, said walls having a plurality of
container notches located thereon, said container notches extending
downward from the top edges of said container; (b) at least one
primary partition adapted for adjustable, removable engagement with
said container notches on said front and rear walls, said primary
partition also having a plurality of primary partition notches
located thereon, said primary partition notches extending downward
from a top edge of said primary partition and passing only
partially therethrough; (c) at least one secondary partition
adapted for adjustable, removable engagement with one of said
primary partition notches or one of said container notches on said
side walls; whereby articles may be conveniently stored in
adjustable-size compartments.
12. The compartmented container of claim 11, wherein the heights of
said side walls and said primary partition increase from said front
wall to said rear wall.
13. The compartmented container of claim 11, wherein said secondary
partition is length-adjustable.
14. The compartmented container of claim 13, wherein said secondary
partition has a plurality of score lines located thereon, extending
from a top edge to a bottom edge of said secondary partition.
15. The compartmented container of claim 14, wherein said container
also comprises a foam block having at least one opening
thereon.
16. The compartmented container of claim 11, wherein said container
notches include a plurality of side wall notches of equal length,
extending downward from a top edge of one of said side walls of
said container.
17. The compartmented container of claim 11, wherein said container
notches include a plurality of side wall notches of unequal length,
extending downward from a top edge of one of said side walls of
said container.
18. The compartmented container of claim 11, wherein said container
also comprises a lid.
19. The compartmented container of claim 11, wherein at least one
of said front, rear, or side walls includes an adjustment panel
lining an inside surface of said container.
20. The compartmented container of claim 11, wherein said container
also comprises at least one third partition having a notch thereon
adapted to receive an insert, and at least one said insert.
Description
BACKGROUND
[0001] 1. Field of the Invention
[0002] The invention is in the area of adjustable compartmented
containers for articles.
[0003] 2. Description of the Related Art
[0004] U.S. Pat. No. 4,807,760 to Sussman, discloses a
compartmented tray for cosmetics. However, the location of
Sussman's single main separator is not adjustable via notches in
the tray wall, the length of his horizontal partitions is not
adjustable, and his tray (including the main separator) does not
have a beveled top surface--i.e., shorter at the front and taller
at the rear. In contrast, the invention discloses all these
features.
[0005] U.S. Pat. No. 5,148,942 to Snook, U.S. Pat. No. 6,692,091 to
Mulaw, U.S. Pat. No. 4,838,445 to Lanius, U.S. Pat. No. 2,985,333
to Kirkman, and U.S. Pat. No. 4,577,773 to Bitel disclose
compartmented organizers. However, these devices do not show main
separators that themselves can be adjusted by positioning them in
various notches in the box or container. Instead, the main
separator position is fixed.
[0006] U.S. Pat. No. D169,743 to Fritz, U.S. Pat. No. 4,602,715 to
Sarver, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,390,815 to Spiegel show adjustable
compartmented containers. However, in these devices the main
separators have a different notch structure than in the invention.
In these devices, both the main separators and the partitions have
through-notches that extend partway down the separators and
partitions, such that the separators and partitions "nest" into
each other at each intersection point in a significantly different
way than in the invention. Said another way, although these devices
show separators whose location can be adjusted via notches in the
container wall, the way the separators and partitions fit together
is significantly different than in the invention.
[0007] U.S. Pat. No. 4,261,465 to Thomas shows a container for
circuit boards. In Thomas's device, the horizontal compartmenting
members are not partitions, but are instead circuit boards of
varying length. Said another way, Thomas does not have partitions
that fit into notched main separators, as in the invention.
Instead, the horizontal members are circuit boards, which are the
very items the container is designed to hold.
[0008] U.S. Pat. No. 4,717,020 to Viira, U.S. Pat. No. 5,456,358 to
Schmidt, and U.S. Pat. No. 4,266,835 to Schmidt also show various
toolboxes, but none of these devices disclose partitions that are
adjustable via notches in the box and/or the partitions themselves,
as in the invention. U.S. Pat. No. 6,712,224 to Ling discloses a
tool rack assembly; however, this device is not a container and
does not have both primary and secondary partitioning members as in
the invention.
[0009] Finally, U.S. Pat. No. 5,050,768 to Alden, U.S. Pat. No.
6,073,794 to Bidot, U.S. Pat. No. 4,844,305 to McKneely, U.S. Pat.
No. 6,059,108 to Schiltz, and U.S. Pat. No. 1,081,674 to Klenk also
show various containers, but none of these devices has the specific
features of the invention as claimed.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0010] The invention is an adjustable compartmented container for
articles, wherein the location of the primary partitioning members
is adjustable via notches in the body of the container, and the
location of the secondary partitioning members is adjustable via
notches in the primary partitioning members. The length of the
secondary partitioning members is adjustable, and the container and
primary partitioning members have beveled top surfaces--i.e., they
are shorter at the front and taller at the rear.
[0011] Several objects and advantages of the invention are:
[0012] It is an object of the invention to provide a superior means
of organizing and containing articles such as tools. In addition to
tools, the following non-limiting list of applications is
presented: sundries such as those that are typically stored in an
overnight bag; items used by paramedics or other medical personnel;
items used by military personnel; items typically stored in a brief
case; and various chemicals and liquids.
[0013] It is a further object of the invention to provide a
compartmented container with partitions that can be easily adjusted
to fit many differently-sized and shaped items.
[0014] The adjustable compartmented container of the invention has
many advantages, including the following:
[0015] The articles are held in generally a vertical position for
easy retrieval and replacement, and for efficient space
utilization. The generally vertical positioning also has the
benefit of keeping stored liquids from spilling.
[0016] The sides of the container, and the primary partitions, have
beveled top surfaces--i.e., they are shorter at the front and
taller at the rear. This "tiering" allows for better visual
inspection of the container's contents and easier retrieval and
replacement of the items. Said another way, this feature makes it
very easy for the user to quickly find a particular item, or to
quickly see that a particular item is missing from the container.
In addition, because the compartments have varying depth, from
less-deep compartments at the front of the container to
compartments of greater depth at the rear of the container, shorter
items can be stored toward the front of the container and taller
items can be stored toward the rear of the container.
[0017] The expanded polystyrene block located in the middle forward
edge of the container allows for easy storage and retrieval of
smaller items, for example a pocket knife, awl, tape measure,
center punch, etc.
[0018] Further objects and advantages of the invention will become
apparent from a consideration of the ensuing description and
drawings.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0019] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the container, without any
partitions in place.
[0020] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the container, further
illustrating its adjustable primary partitions.
[0021] FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the container, further
illustrating its adjustable secondary and third partitions and
other features.
[0022] FIG. 4 is a side view of a primary partition and the notches
located thereon.
[0023] FIG. 5 is a front view of a secondary partition and the
score lines located thereon.
[0024] FIG. 6 is a top view of a third partition having notches
adapted to receive inserts.
[0025] FIG. 7 is a side view of an alternate embodiment primary
partition and the unequal-length notches located thereon.
[0026] FIG. 8 is a perspective view of an alternative embodiment,
wherein adjustment notches are not built into the interior walls of
the container.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0027] The following provides a list of the reference characters
used in the drawings: [0028] 10. Container [0029] 11. Front wall
[0030] 12. Rear wall [0031] 13a&b. Side walls [0032] 14. Lid
[0033] 15. Front wall notches [0034] 16. Rear wall notches [0035]
17. Side wall notches [0036] 18. Primary partition [0037] 19.
Primary partition notches [0038] 20. Secondary partition [0039] 21.
Score line [0040] 22. Foam block [0041] 23. Front adjustment panel
[0042] 24. Rear adjustment panel [0043] 25a&b. Side adjustment
panels [0044] 26. Third partition [0045] 27. Insert
[0046] As shown in FIG. 1, the invention comprises a compartmented
container 10. Container 10 has a front wall 11, a taller rear wall
12, and two side walls 13a&b. A lid 14 is attached to container
10 at the top of rear wall 12, using any suitable attachment means
known in the art. Side walls 13a&b are shorter where they join
front wall 11 and taller where they join rear wall 12.
[0047] The interior surface of front wall 11 has a plurality of
front wall notches 15 located thereon. Front wall notches 15 extend
substantially from the top to the bottom of front wall 11.
Similarly, the interior surface of rear wall 12 has a plurality of
rear wall notches 16 located thereon. Rear wall notches 16 extend
substantially from the top to the bottom of rear wall 12. Front
wall notches 15 and rear wall notches 16 are substantially
vertical.
[0048] The interior surfaces of side walls 13a&b each have a
plurality of side wall notches 17 located thereon. Proximate to
front wall 11, side wall notches 17 extend substantially from the
top to the bottom of side walls 13a&b. Side wall notches 17 are
also substantially vertical. Side wall notches 17 are of
substantially equal length across the extent of side walls
13a&b from front wall 11 to rear wall 12, such that further
back from front wall 11, side wall notches 17 do not extend fully
to the bottom of side walls 13a&b. Rather, the bottoms of side
wall notches 17, from the front-wall-proximate portion to the
rear-wall-proximate portion of side walls 13a&b, slope upwards
in the same manner as the top surface of side walls 13a&b.
[0049] As shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, primary partitions 18 extend from
front wall 11 to rear wall 12, and opposing ends of primary
partitions 18 fit into front wall notches 15 and rear wall notches
16 respectively. A plurality of primary partition notches 19 are
located on each side surface of primary partition 18. Primary
partition notches 19 are substantially vertical. Primary partition
notches 19 are of substantially equal length across the extent of
primary partition 18 from the front-wall-proximate portion to the
rear-wall-proximate portion, such that further back from the
front-wall-proximate portion, primary partition notches 19 do not
extend fully to the bottom of primary partition 18. Rather, the
bottoms of primary partition notches 19, from the
front-wall-proximate portion to the rear-wall-proximate portion of
primary partition 18, slope upwards in the same manner as the top
surface of primary partition 18. It can be appreciated, from the
earlier description of side wall notches 17 on side walls
13a&b, that FIG. 4 also generally illustrates the interior
surface of side wall 13a, and that a mirror image of FIG. 4 would
also generally illustrate the interior surface of side wall
13b.
[0050] As shown in FIG. 3, a secondary partition 20 extends between
two primary partitions 18, and is substantially perpendicular to
the primary partitions 18. Opposing ends of secondary partition 20
fit into primary partition notches 19 on each of the two primary
partitions 18. Another secondary partition 20 extends between a
primary partition 18 and side wall 13a, and is substantially
perpendicular to primary partition 18 and side wall 13a. One end of
this secondary partition 20 fits into a primary partition notch 19
on the primary partition 18, and the other end fits into side wall
notch 17 on side wall 13a. Secondary partition 20 fits down into
two primary partition notches 19, or one primary partition notch 19
and a side wall notch 17, until secondary partition 20 reaches the
bottom of the notches--at which point the top edge of secondary
partition 20 is ideally (although not necessarily) in line with the
top edge of primary partition 18 and/or side wall 13a or b.
[0051] As shown in FIGS. 3 and 5, secondary partition 20 has a
plurality of score lines 21 located thereon. Secondary partition 20
is scored partly through along score lines 21, so that the length
of secondary partition 20 may be adjusted to fit the distance
between two primary partitions 18, or between a primary partition
18 and a side wall 13a or b, by breaking off a portion of secondary
partition 20 along score line 21.
[0052] A foam block 22, constructed of expanded polystyrene or
another suitable material, is located between two primary
partitions 18 near front wall 11. Foam block 22 has various holes
and slots located thereon for storage of small items such as a
pocket knife, awl, tape measure, center punch, etc.
[0053] The positions of primary partitions 18, and thus the size of
the compartments they create, can be adjusted by placing primary
partitions 18 in different front wall notches 15 and corresponding
rear wall notches 16. Similarly, the positions of secondary
partitions 20, and thus the size of the compartments they create,
can be adjusted by placing secondary partitions 20 in different
primary partition notches 19 and/or side wall notches 17.
[0054] FIGS. 3 and 6 show a third partition 26, having notches
thereon adapted to receive at least one insert 27. The notches are
substantially vertical, and extend substantially from the top to
the bottom of third partition 26. The notches are T-shaped, as is
the corresponding end of the insert. Insert 27, when engaged with
third partition 26, is substantially perpendicular to third
partition 25. Third partition 26, when used with one or more
inserts 27, is useful for further separating a compartment to store
items such as a set of screwdrivers. Third partition 26 fits into
the notches on primary partition 18 and/or side walls 13a or b, in
a similar manner as secondary partition 20.
[0055] FIG. 7 shows an alternative embodiment, wherein the primary
partition notches 19 located on primary partition 18 are not of
equal length, but rather all extend from the top to the bottom of
primary partition 18. It is also understood the interior surfaces
of side walls 13a&b may also be notched in such a manner, i.e.,
with unequal-length notches. In this alternative embodiment, a
plurality of differently-heighted secondary partitions 20 are
required to fully fill primary partition notches 19 and/or side
wall notches 17 from top to bottom. Said another way, those
secondary partitions 20 inserted toward front wall 11 would be
shorter than those secondary partitions 20 inserted toward rear
wall 12. Equal-height secondary partitions 20 could be used, if all
were of a height suitable for insertion toward front wall 11;
however, when inserted toward rear wall 12, such secondary
partitions 20 would fall below the top of primary partitions 18
and/or side walls 13a&b.
[0056] FIG. 8 shows an alternative embodiment wherein front wall
notches 15, rear wall notches 16, and side wall notches 17 are not
built into the interior surfaces of container 10, but instead are
located on a front adjustment panel 23, a rear adjustment panel 24,
and side adjustment panels 25a&b respectively. In this
embodiment, the adjustment panels line the interior of container 10
and thus provide partition adjustment capability.
[0057] While the above descriptions contain many specificities,
these shall not be construed as limitations on the scope of the
invention, but rather as exemplifications of embodiments thereof.
Many other variations are possible without departing from the
spirit of the invention. Examples of just a few of the possible
variations follow:
[0058] The amount of separation between notches (and thus the
number of notches) on the interior surface of the container, and on
the primary partitions, can vary. More notches of course yields
more adjustability, and fewer notches yield less adjustability.
Spacing the notches about 3/16 inch apart gives a good degree of
adjustability.
[0059] The orientation of the notches in the container, primary
partition, and third partition can be other than the substantially
vertical orientation shown in the various embodiments. For example,
the notches may be at an angle to the vertical plane.
[0060] Similarly, the amount of separation between score lines (and
thus the number of score lines) on the secondary partitions can
vary. More score lines yields more adjustability.
[0061] The dimensions of the container, including its height,
width, depth, etc., can be different than that shown in the various
embodiments.
[0062] The location of the foam block within the container can
vary.
[0063] The number of primary, secondary, third partitions, and
inserts can vary from the number illustrated. There may be one or
more of each of these partitions/inserts, or alternatively a
particular partition/insert may be eliminated.
[0064] The slope of the container from front to rear--i.e., the
degree to which the rear is taller than the front--can be different
than the slope shown in the various embodiments.
[0065] Although the primary and secondary partitions, when engaged
together, are shown as substantially perpendicular to each other.
However, this does not have to be the case--instead, the primary
and secondary partitions may be at an angle to each other, with the
notches constructed so as to allow such positioning. The same holds
true for the positioning between third partitions and primary
partitions, and third partitions and inserts.
[0066] The third partition may alternatively have "inserts" that
are permanently fixed to it, rather than removable via T-shaped
notches as shown. In this alternative embodiment, the "inserts"
would be permanently attached members, substantially perpendicular
to the third partition.
[0067] The foam block, shown for clarity in FIG. 3 with its top
surface level with the top edge of the container, may instead be
positioned lower in the container. This lower positioning allows
room for various small tools, etc. to be inserted into the foam
block, and not protrude over the top edge of the container.
[0068] Accordingly, the scope of the invention should be determined
not by the embodiments illustrated, but by the appended claims and
their legal equivalents.
* * * * *