Abstract:
A compartmentalized organizer for accommodating one or more remote controls. The organizer has a plurality of discrete compartments which are substantially identical but variable with respect to size. Each compartment has a substantially rectangular shape, with both male and female connectors. The male connector is laterally disposed on the opposing side from the female connector allowing the compartments to be laterally arranged in releasably connectable fashion. The remotes are situated on the top panel of each compartment to allow line of sight transmission while still positioned on the compartment. Signaling means may be provided to allow for communication between compartments and the remote controls accommodated thereon.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001]     This application is a continuation-in-part application of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/980,343 filed on Nov. 2, 2004. 
     
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]     The present invention concerns organizing tools. More particularly, the invention is directed to an expandable organizer for accommodating remote controls thereon.  
       DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART  
       [0003]     Organizers for accommodating various household or office items are well known. These organizers are characterized by the provision of one or more compartments shaped to accommendate one or more target items. For example, letter holders for incoming male have a series of vertical or horizontal separators so that male received on different days can be separated until processed and filed.  
         [0004]     With the proliferation of new consumer electronics, nearly all of which have a dedicated remote control, most households have several remote controls in a single room. For example, a TV remote, a cable box remote, a DVD remote, and a surround sound processor remote may be needed for a single room, and the resulting clutter often results in remotes being misplaced, stepped on, dropped, etc. Accordingly, a means for organizing several remote controls so that they can be accessible at all time is needed.  
         [0005]     U.S. Pat. No. 6,761,010 discloses a medication organizing system for allowing patients to rapidly and easily prepare hermetically sealed dosage packages to set up their medication regime for a week, month, or longer period of time. The device includes seven hoppers to allow the patient to prepare a set of hermetically sealed medication packages for a given time for each day of the week.  
         [0006]     U.S. Pat. No. 6,719,157 discloses an organizer for use in a closet which includes a row of side-by-side compartments at least partially formed from a flexible material. Each side-by-side compartment has a floor, a pair of side walls extending from the floor and a mouth between the side walls. The organizer further includes a suspender coupled to the row of side-by-side compartments. The suspender is configured and adapted to hang the plurality of compartments from the closet rod such that each mouth faces a forward horizontal direction perpendicular to the axis of the closet rod when the organizer is hung from the rod.  
         [0007]     The present invention is directed to a compartmentalized organizer for accommodating one or more remote controls. The organizer has a plurality of discrete compartments which may be substantially identical. Each interior compartment has a substantially rectangular shape with both male and female connectors. The male connector is laterally disposed on the opposing side from the female connector allowing the compartments to be laterally arranged in releasably connectable fashion. The opposing exterior compartments have rounded outer edges with outward facing handles. The compartments may be packaged for sale in a vertically stacked arrangement and each compartment may have indicia for indicating the various devices associated with a particular remote control unit such as a cable box or DVD. Signaling means may be provided to allow for communication between compartments and the remote control accommodated therein.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0008]     It is a major object of the invention to provide an organizer for remote controls.  
         [0009]     It is another object of the invention to provide an organizer for remote controls comprised of a series of releasably attachable compartments.  
         [0010]     It is another object of the invention to provide an organizer for remote controls which allows the remote to be operated while positioned on the organizer.  
         [0011]     Finally, it is a general goal of the invention to provide improved elements and arrangements thereof in an apparatus for the purposes described which is dependable and fully effective in accomplishing its intended purposes.  
         [0012]     These and other objects of the present invention will become readily apparent upon further review of the following specification and drawings.  
         [0013]     The present invention meets or exceeds all the above objects and goals. Upon further study of the specification and appended claims, further objects and advantages of this invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0014]     Various other objects, features, and attendant advantages of the present invention will become more fully appreciated as the same becomes better understood when considered with the accompanying drawings, in which like reference characters designate the same or similar parts throughout the several views, and wherein:  
         [0015]      FIG. 1  shows a plan view, partly in section, of a first embodiment of a remote control organizer formed in accordance with the concept of the present invention.  
         [0016]      FIG. 2  shows an edge view of the organizer of  FIG. 1  illustrating a pair of connecting elements.  
         [0017]      FIG. 3  shows a plan view, partly in section, of a second embodiment of a remote control organizer formed in accordance with the concept of the present invention.  
         [0018]      FIG. 4  shows an edge view of the organizer of  FIG. 3  illustrating a pair of interlocking connectors.  
         [0019]     FIGS.  5 A-B show to variations of the pair of interlocking connectors in  FIG. 4 . 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0020]     Referring now to  FIGS. 1 and 2 , the remote control organizer of the present invention, generally indicated by the numeral  10 , is shown. It can be seen that the organizer  10  is comprised of a series of individual compartments  20  which may be variable in size and shape. Interior compartments  20  have two opposing lateral edges  22  which are preferably essentially straight to facilitate lateral arrangement of the compartments  20 , but the outward facing edges  23  of the end compartments  20  are rounded for safety. Each of the interior compartments  20  also has two opposing organizer edges  22 ″ which are preferably essentially straight to be assembled into edges of the organizer  10 . Each compartment  20  includes a vertical wall portion  24  which extends around the periphery of the compartment  20 , and a top panel upon  21  which a remote control  28  may be removably adhered. The organizer  10  so assembled is generally shaped like to tray to be place on any surface, e.g., a surface of a coffee table, a desk, etc., in the room where the to-be-remotely-controlled units placed. Situating the remote  28  on the top panel  21  allows each remote, which typically have line of sight IR transmitters, to be operated while still in the compartment. End compartments  20  are differentiated from interior compartments  20  in that the edges and corners are rounded and handles  25  are provided to facilitate lifting of the organizer  10 .  
         [0021]     In accordance with a first aspect of the invention, the compartments  20  are sized to “accommendate” an average sized remote control  28 . However, remotes  28  vary greatly in size and accordingly the compartments  20  are preferably large enough to accommodate the largest sizes of remotes available, which are typically the “master” controllers such as those commonly sold at consumer electronics retail outlets or provided by cable and satellite TV providers. These master controllers are typically in the range of about 8 inches in length to 2½ inches wide, with varying degrees of thickness. Thus, compartments should be at least 8 by 3 inches, as a slight overhang will not affect the function of the compartment  20 . The compartments  20  may be sold in packages of 6, in a vertically stacked arrangement to save space. The compartments  20  are provided with at least one pair of male and female connectors  30 ,  32  respectively to facilitate releasable connection of adjacent compartments. The connecters  30 ,  32  may be sized for snap fit or frictional engagement, or may be glued together for a permanent attachment. The end compartments  20  have either a male or female connector  30 ,  32  so they can be connected to each other and to avoid having an extra connector protruding proximate to the handle  25 . Connectors  30 ,  32  must be sufficiently long to prevent twisting of the compartments  20 . To that end, multiple pairs of connectors  30 ,  32  may be provided along the edges of the compartments  20 . Connectors  30 ,  32  may also be reinforced with metal to reduce the possibility of fatigue or failure from repeated connections.  
         [0022]     Instead of a rectangular-shaped connecting piece  30  or groove  32 , the second embodiment of the invention shown in  FIGS. 3-4 , deploys a male interlocking connector  130  and a female interlocking connector  132  to be interlocked with each other. The male interlocking connector  130  is a lateral protrusion out of the left lateral edge  122  of the interior compartment  120  having a general V-shaped cross-section with the bottom of the V connected with the left lateral edge  122 . The female interlocking connector  132  is a notch in the right lateral edge  122  of the interior compartment  120  having a general V-shaped cross-section with the top of the V buried inside the right lateral edge  122  for receiving the male interlocking connector  130  of another the interior compartment  120  slid therein from one of the organizer edges  122 ″ of the interior compartment  120 .  
         [0023]     FIGS.  5 A-B show to variations of the pair of interlocking connectors in  FIG. 4 . In  FIG. 5A  shows a male interlocking connector  130 ′ protruding out of the left lateral edge  122  of the interior compartment  120  having a general T-shaped cross-section with the bottom of the T connected with the left lateral edge  122 . A corresponding female interlocking connector  132 ′ is a groove in the right lateral edge  122  of the interior compartment  120  having a general T-shaped cross-section with the top of the T buried inside the right lateral edge  122  for receiving the male interlocking connector  130 ′ of another the interior compartment  120  to be slid therein from one of the organizer edges  122 ″ of the interior compartment  120 . Similarly,  FIG. 5B  shows a column-shaped male interlocking connector  130 ″ protruding out of the left lateral edge  122  of the interior compartment  120  with a narrow bottom connected with the left lateral edge  122  and a corresponding groove-shaped female interlocking connector  132 ″ in the right lateral edge  122 . Other shapes having a narrow end with a wide end or having a narrow end with a wide body section may be adopted as cross-sectional shapes for the pair of interlocking connectors.  
         [0024]     The organizer  10  of the invention has very few parts so as to be easily assembled and cleaned.  
         [0025]     In accordance with another aspect of the invention, the compartments  20  may have indicia attached or imprinted thereon to indicate the function that the device controlled by the remote  28  performs, e.g., an indicium  40  labeled with “TV” for accommodating a TV controller thereon, or labeled with “DVD” for accommodating a DVD controller, etc. Like the releasable attachment means  38  of the remote  28 , the indicium  40  may be a plastic tag attached on its back a permanent magnet, a piece of velcro, or other easily releasable connector arrangement. A corresponding attachment means is provided on the top surface  21 . If the compartments  20  is made of a magnetic material, the indicium  40  may be a tap made of a mixture of plastic and a magnetic material. The indicium  40  may be integrated with the compartment  20  (e.g., placed in a seat in the compartment  20 ) or integrally formed with the compartment  20  (e.g., embedded in the compartment  20 ). The thickness of the seat is kept as thin as 10 mm to ensure the indicium  40  does not pop out of the top surface  21 .  
         [0026]     At least one universal signaling means  146  may be provided to allow the organized  10  to communicate with the remotes  28 . Such universal signaling means may be modified from the component of the universal remote controller described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,549,143 which is hereby incorporated by reference to track one or all remotes  28 . The universal signaling means  146  may be as simple and small as a semiconductor chip embedded in the organizer  10  (e.g., in the end compartment  20 ) with a bottom thereon to be pressed to call up any remotes in the room. An RF transmitter receiver arrangement may be used for signaling as would be apparent to one of skill in the art, with dedicated transmitters for each compartment and detachable receiver with audio transducers for each remote  28 . The universal signaling means  146  may be as big as a business-card-sized calculator embedded in the organizer  10  with bottoms thereon to be programmed to call up a particular remote  28  in the room. Alternatively, each of a plurality of signaling means is provided to each of the compartments  20  to allow communication between each remote  28  and its respective compartment  20 .  
         [0027]     The top surface  21  of each compartment  20  is provided with a releasable attachment means  36  which may be a permanent magnet, a piece of Velcro®, or other easily releasable connector arrangement. The permanent magnets can be in any shape other than a 0.5 inch×0.5 inch square, e.g., a disk with a 0.75 inch diameter, and they can be made from ferrous, ceramic, or similar magnetic material. The permanent magnets of different compartments  20  can be oriented randomly, but preferably to adjacent magnets with an identical polarity. The attachment means  36  cooperates with a corresponding attachment means  38  secured to the remote control  28 . The compartments  20  may be made of a mixture of plastic and a magnetic material or coated with the mixture on the top surface  21  so that only the remote control  28  need have a magnet  38  attached. Alternatively, the compartments  20  may be made of wood, rubber, plastic, other synthetic resin material, aluminum, of other non-ferrous sheet metal and non-magnetic stainless steel, etc then coated with the mixture on the top surface  21 .  
         [0028]     The top surface  21  of the compartment  20  is preferably non-slip so that the remote  28  rests in a desired orientation without pivoting away when the organizer  10  is moved. Alternatively, the non-slip of the top surface  21  may be provided via a texture or slits thereon.  
         [0029]     Attachment means  38  may be provided with an adhesive for attachment to each of the remotes, Attachment means  36  may be integrated with the compartment  20  (e.g., placed in a seat  142  in the compartment  120  as shown in  FIGS. 3-4 ) or integrally formed with the compartment  20  (e.g., embedded in the compartment  20 ). The thickness of the seat  142  is kept as thin as 30 mm to reduce the gap between the remote  28  and the top surface  21  but still sufficiently connects and supports the remote  28 .  
         [0030]     In operation, a user would purchase a set of compartments  20  in unattached condition. An attachment means  3   8  is then attached to each remote. The user would then arrange and attach the compartments  20  as necessary by aligning the attachment means  36 ,  38 , with each attached compartment  20  accommodating a single remote  28 . The remaining unattached compartments  20  may be used as necessary when more remotes are acquired by the user. The user may then operate the remote  28  as normal, optionally removing the remote if desired.  
         [0031]     In one other embodiment, the organizer is formed in one-piece and shaped like to tray to be place on any surface.  
         [0032]     The principles, preferred embodiments and modes of operation of the present invention have been described in the foregoing specification. However, the invention which is intended to be protected is not limited to the particular embodiments disclosed. The embodiments described herein are illustrative rather than restrictive. Variations and changes may be made by others, and equivalents employed, without departing from the spirit of the present invention. Accordingly, it is expressly intended that all such variations, changes and equivalents which fall within the spirit and scope of the present invention as defined in the claims, be embraced thereby.