Abstract:
A jewelry chest and box for storing jewelry having a plurality of compartments to store jewelry items of various configurations. The jewelry chest includes pivoting cabinets having earring stands that are slidably received in the cabinets. Drawers are located under the cabinets and have various compartments to hold jewelry items such as bracelets, rings and pins. The jewelry box has a bottom tray and an upper tray each having divided compartments. The upper tray is preferably slidably mounted in the box and preferably can be removed from the box. The upper tray has a projection to assist a user in sliding the tray or removing the tray from the box.

Description:
RELATED APPLICATION 
   The present application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/952,378 entitled “Jewelry Chest and Box with Slidable Features” filed on Sep. 13, 2001 now abandoned, incorporated herein by reference. 

   FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
   The present invention relates to a jewelry chest and box with unique slidable features. While several different kinds of jewelry chests and boxes are known, there is a need for a jewelry chest and box that are convenient to use and allow a user to easily view and select jewelry. 
   BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   One type of a known jewelry holder is in the form of a container with relatively high sides and back walls and a top that is hinged to the back wall to permit access into the container. Earring stands are fixed to the bottom of the container. A particular problem with this type of jewelry holder is that it is very difficult to insert and remove the jewelry from the stands because the side walls and hinged top limit the amount of space available. 
   Yet another type of jewelry holder proposes racks that slide into a box-like container having a single open side. Again, a problem with this type of jewelry holder is that because the racks are designed as an integral part of the box-like container when the racks are removed from the container, the racks cannot be placed on a horizontal surface without falling over. In addition, because there is only one open side, access to the jewelry located inside the container is limited. 
   U.S. Pat. No. 5,762,184, invented by the present inventor and hereby incorporated by reference discloses a jewelry holder with a plurality of movable earring stands that are positioned on a base. The base is in the form of a box with an open front that slidably receives a drawer. The top of the base is provided with a plurality of grooves that slidably receive the earring stands. The stands include a pair of supports joined by a substantially horizontal cross-piece that has at least one aperture sized to receive a post or stem of an earring. The stands include a base that is sized to slidably fit within the grooves in the base. Alternatively, clip-on earrings may be directly clipped onto the crosspiece. The drawer is limited in the amount of jewelry it can store. 
   Thus, it is desirable to provide a jewelry chest that can hold a large amount of jewelry in an organized fashion that allows a user to have direct and easy access to the jewelry contained therein. In addition, it is desirable to provide a jewelry chest and box that makes visual inspection of the items contained therein easy. In addition, it is desirable to provide a jewelry chest and box that groups like items together. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       FIG. 1  is a front elevational view of a jewelry chest according to a first preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
       FIG. 2  is a perspective view of the jewelry chest shown in  FIG. 1  with the door and drawer pulled out of the chest. 
       FIG. 3  is a front elevational view of the jewelry chest shown in  FIG. 1  closed. 
       FIG. 4  is a side view of the jewelry chest shown in  FIG. 1 . 
       FIG. 5  is a perspective view of a jewelry box according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
       FIG. 6  is a partial cross-sectional view of the side wall of the jewelry box shown in  FIG. 5  according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
       FIG. 7  is a partial cross-sectional view of the side wall of the jewelry box shown in  FIG. 5  according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
       FIG. 8  is a perspective view of the jewelry box shown in  FIG. 5  with the lid open and the top sliding drawer removed. 
       FIG. 9  is a top view of the top sliding drawer. 
       FIG. 10  is a cross-sectional view of the drawer shown in  FIG. 9  taken along lines  10 — 10 . 
       FIG. 11  is a cross-sectional view of the drawer shown in  FIG. 9 , taken along line  11 — 11 . 
       FIG. 12  is a perspective view of the jewelry box shown in  FIG. 5  closed. 
       FIG. 13  is a perspective view of the jewelry chest shown in  FIG. 1  with a mirror disposed thereon. 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     FIG. 1  is a front elevational view of a jewelry chest according to a first preferred embodiment of the invention. The jewelry chest  10  has two doors  12 , and a plurality of drawers  14  located underneath the two doors. The jewelry chest  10  is shown with one of the doors  12  swung open. The jewelry chest  10  has a back wall  19  with a necklace rack  18  secured thereto. The necklace rack  18  has a plurality of hooks  21  on which necklaces can be hung. The doors  12  each form a cabinet as can be seen in  FIG. 2  in which a plurality of sliding earring stands  20  are mounted. More particularly, the sliding earring stands  20  can be slid out of the cabinet formed in the door  12 . The sliding earring stands are seen from one end in  FIG. 2  and from one side in  FIG. 1 . Now referring to  FIG. 1  and to  FIG. 2 , the sliding earring stands  20  are mounted in grooves/tracks  22  formed in the bottom of the door. U.S. Pat. No. 5,762,184 entitled “Jewelry Holder with at Least One Moveable Stand”, by the present inventor which is incorporated herein by reference, discloses sliding earring stands that are the same as those incorporated into the doors. The sliding earring stands  20  each have a plurality of crosspieces  24  formed extending between pillars  13 . Each cross piece has a plurality of holes  15  in which pierced earrings can be mounted. In addition, clip on earrings can be mounted directly to the crosspiece  24 . The sliding earring stands, when removed from the cabinet, are self-supporting, in other words the earring stands can stand on their own on a relatively flat surface when removed from the grooves or tracks  22  in the door  12 . 
   The drawers  14  have handles  23  which allow the user to slide a drawer  14  in and out of the chest  10 . The number of drawers  14  provided in the chest  10  can vary and the present invention is not limited to the particular embodiment shown. In addition, the chest  10  may be provided in which no drawers are present and the chest consists of the doors  12  with the earring stands. 
     FIG. 2  is a perspective view of the jewelry chest  10  shown in  FIG. 1  with one of the front doors  12  open and one drawer  14  pulled out of the chest. From this view the ends of the plurality of sliding earring stands  20  can be seen mounted in the door  12 . The doors  12  are rotatably secured in the housing of the chest by hinges  17 . A drawer  14  is shown open. Storage compartments such as a ring section  26  can be placed in the drawer. Alternatively, the storage compartments may be formed as an integral part of the drawer and not changeable by the user. The ring section  26  is preferably a soft, foam-like material in which slits  27  are formed. The slits  27  accommodate rings so that they can be mounted therein. The other drawers  14  may also hold rings or they may have compartments to hold larger items such as bracelets, brooches and necklaces. The drawers  14  can be customized by forming the storage compartments as stand alone units which can be dropped into a drawer according to a user&#39;s needs and preferences. 
     FIG. 3  is a front elevational view of the jewelry chest  10  shown in  FIG. 1  with all the doors and drawers closed. Handles  30  are formed on the doors to swing open or pivot the doors.  FIG. 4  is a side view of the jewelry chest  10  shown in  FIG. 1 . 
   The walls and floors of the compartments of the jewelry chest are preferably lined with an anti-tarnish cloth  33 , such as Glendale Polish Cloth, which is commercially available from Fifield Inc. of Hingham, Mass., or Silversmith&#39;s Cloth available from W.J. Hagerty and Sons, South Bend, Ind. The anti-tarnish cloth  33  allows the jewelry to be placed in the chest  10  while reducing the risk of tarnish to the jewelry items. 
   In a preferred embodiment, the jewelry chest is formed of plastic and is about one foot wide, one foot high and about nine inches deep. Of course, the preferred embodiment of the chest is not limited in size and other dimensions may be used depending on the quantity of jewelry to be held. Alternatively, the chest can be made of various materials such as acrylic, polystyrene, polypropylene and wood. 
     FIG. 5  is a jewelry box  100  according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. The jewelry box  100  includes a base  102  and a lid  104 . The base is formed by a bottom  106 , a front and a back side  108  and a left and a right side  110 . Formed along the front and back sides  108  and left and right sides  110  is a rim  111 .  FIG. 6  is a partial cross-sectional view of the side wall of the jewelry box shown in  FIG. 5  according to a preferred embodiment of the invention. It can be seen that the rim  111  projects from the side wall  110  and is of sufficient size and strength to hold a sliding earring tray  114 .  FIG. 7  is a partial cross-sectional view of the side wall of the jewelry box shown in  FIG. 5  according to another preferred embodiment of the present invention. In the preferred embodiment, the rim  111  is formed by an inner box  113  located in the base  102 . The inner box  113  has walls  115  that extend partially up the front, back, left and right walls  108 ,  110 , respectively. 
   Located within the base  102  is a first sliding tray  112  and a top sliding tray  114 . Alternatively, there may be only one top sliding tray  114 . The bottom sliding tray  112  has a plurality of compartments as will be described with respect to  FIG. 8 . The top sliding tray  114  has a plurality of compartments  113  that are designed to hold small jewelry items such as earrings. The top sliding tray  114  is supported by the rim  111  formed along the front and back walls  108  and left and right side walls  110 . The top sliding tray  114  can be pushed along the rim so that it slides over the bottom sliding tray  112 . In addition the top sliding tray can be removed from the jewelry box  100  altogether. Preferably, the top sliding tray  114  is provided with a projection  121  that can be used by the user to slide the top tray  114  or remove it from the chest. The projection  121  may be foldable so as to not interfere with closing the lid  104 . Alternatively the projection would not protrude above the top of the side walls  110  so as to not interfere with the lid  104 . 
   If a bottom tray  112  is provided, it may also be provided with a similar projection (not shown). Because of space limitations, if a bottom tray is provided with a projection, the projection may be foldable so that when it is not needed, it can be folded out of the way of the top tray  114 . Alternatively, the projection of the bottom tray  112  may be configured so that it does not protrude above the side walls of the bottom tray  112 , to allow the top tray  114  to slide above the bottom tray  112 . 
     FIG. 9  is a top view of a top sliding tray according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. For simplicity purposes, individual storage compartments are not illustrated.  FIGS. 10 and 11  are cross-sectional views of the tray shown in  FIG. 9  taken along lines  10 — 10  and  11 — 11 , respectively. Preferably, the projection  121  is located in the center of the top tray, although it does not have to be located in the center. The projection  121  is preferably in the shape of a loop as can be seen in  FIG. 11 . The projection is preferably made of the same material as the sliding top tray  114 . It will be appreciated that the projection  121  may have other shapes besides a loop. For example, it can be a handle of a knob or any shape that allows a user the ability to grasp the projection  121 . 
     FIG. 8  is a perspective view of the jewelry box  100  shown in  FIG. 5  with the top sliding tray  114  removed. As can be seen from  FIG. 8 , the bottom sliding tray  112  has a plurality of compartments  128  which can hold larger jewelry items such as cuff links, necklaces, etc. Next to that is a bracelet holder  124  which has a plurality of slots  126  which can accommodate bracelets therein. Located adjacent to the bracelet holder  124  is a ring holder  120 . The ring holder  120  has a plurality of slots  122  which can accommodate rings therein. If the rim is formed according to  FIG. 6  then, like the top sliding tray  114  shown in  FIG. 5 , the bottom sliding tray  112  can slide from left to right and vice versa along the bottom  106  of the base  102 . If the rim is formed according to  FIG. 7  then the bottom tray  112  is formed in the inner box  113  and is stationary. In  FIG. 8 , the lid  104  of the jewelry box  100  is shown with an optional mirror  105 . 
     FIG. 12  is a perspective view of the jewelry box  100  shown in  FIG. 5  with the lid closed. When the lid  104  of the jewelry box  100  is closed, it has a nice sleek design which can be placed in a drawer, put on top of a dresser, or incorporated into a closet organizer, for example.  FIG. 12  is a perspective view of the jewelry box shown in  FIG. 5  closed. 
   The jewelry box  100  shown in  FIGS. 5–12  is preferably made of plastic but may be made of various materials such as acrylic, polystyrene, polypropylene and wood. The walls and floors of the compartments in the top and bottom sliding trays  112 ,  114  respectively and the lid  104  and bottom  106  of the box are preferably lined with the same anti-tarnish material that was described with respect to the jewelry chest shown in  FIGS. 1–4 . The jewelry box  100  in  FIGS. 5–12  preferably has a width measured from the left side wall  110  to the right side wall  110  of about 14 inches. It has a depth measured from the front wall  108  to the back wall  108  of about 9 inches. The jewelry box has a height measured from the bottom  106  of the base  102  to the lid  104  of preferably 3 inches. Of course, those of ordinary skill in the art will realize that other dimensions may be used depending on the quantity of jewelry items that the box is designed to hold. 
     FIG. 13  is a perspective view of a jewelry chest according to another preferred embodiment of the present invention. The jewelry chest  210  is similar to that shown in  FIGS. 1–4  with the exception that it includes a pivoting lid  250 . Preferably on an interior surface of the lid  250  is a mirror shown in dashed lines  260 . Although the mirror is shown as rectangular in shape it may have other shapes such as square, round or oval, for example. 
   It should be understood that a wide range of changes and modifications can be made to the embodiment described above. It is therefore intended that the foregoing description illustrates rather than limits this invention, and that it is the following claims, including all equivalents, which define the invention.