Abstract:
A rack to hold pre-designed containers such as jars, cans, powered drink tubs and the like, or custom designed containers that specifically interact with the rack. The rack has one or more pairs of resilient arms extending out from a back panel, at about 90 degrees, to form container holders. Each of the resilient top arms has formed protrusions or indents that interact with opposing protrusions or indents within the container lid. The bottom arm is designed to interact with the shape of the base of the container.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
     This application claims the benefit of priority pursuant to 35 USC §119(e)(1) from the provisional patent application filed pursuant to 35 USC §111(b), Ser. No. 60/123,593, on Mar. 10, 1999. 
    
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     This invention relates to racks for holding small containers. Specifically, the invention relates to a rack designed to mount to a wall or other fixed surface hold containers with various lid and base configurations that interact with the rack. 
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART 
     Various types of container holders are available, none of which specifically hold the container by means of a top and bottom retainer specifically designed to fit the shape and recesses of either the top and/or bottom of the container. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     In accordance with the present invention, the disclosed container rack is formed or molded in such a way as to receive and maintain a container in its upright position through the use of retaining arms. The arms extend from the back of the unit in a slightly less than 90 degree angle to provide a spring loading effect. The portion of the holding arms that are in contact with the container are molded with bumps, ridges, bars, recesses, or other shapes as fit the design of the container being retained. 
     In an alternate embodiment the back of the rack can be formed in two pieces with each of the pieces containing slots. These slots enable the distance between the top and bottom arms to be varied. The arms can also contain slots to enable the bottom arm receiving member and the top arm interaction member to be adjustable along the length of the arm to accommodate variable depth containers. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING 
     The advantages of the instant disclosure will become more apparent when read with the specification and the drawings, wherein: 
     FIG. 1 is a perspective side view of an empty rack constructed in accordance with the present invention; 
     FIG. 2 is a top view of the rack of FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 3 is a side view of the rack of FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 4 is rear view of the rack; 
     FIG. 5 is a perspective top view of the rack of FIG. 1 holding the containers; 
     FIG. 6 is a side view of an alternate embodiment wherein the top arm protrusion serves as a closure lid to the container; 
     FIG. 7 is a side view of an alternate embodiment wherein the lid has multiple small indents and the top arm has multiple interacting protrusions; 
     FIG. 8 is a side view of an alternate embodiment wherein the lid is provided with a protrusion and the top arm provided with the receiving recess; 
     FIG. 9 is a side view of an alternate embodiment wherein the lid has a single indent and the top arm has a single protrusion; 
     FIG. 10 is a perspective view of an adjustable rack; 
     FIG. 11 is a side view of the rack of FIG.  10 ; 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention provides a method of holding one or more containers in an easily accessible manner. The disclosed design provides the advantage that the containers are easier to grip for removal from, and replacement to, the rack. Further, the pressure required to remove the containers from the disclosed rack is even, since the pressure applied by the rack to maintain the containers in position is evenly distributed. This is unlike racks that grip the containers only at the top or sides, where pressure must be applied toward the clipped area. The even top and bottom pressure exerted by the disclosed rack makes it easier for children and people with arthritis to grip and remove the container. It should be noted that the drawings show the rack in use with three containers, but it should not be construed as a limiting factor, since the rack can be produced as a single or multiple unit. 
     The rack  10  in FIG. 1 is made of durable, resilient material having sufficient strength and flexibility to permit containers to be repeatedly inserted and removed without cracking or distorting the arms of the rack  10 . The top arms  12  and bottom arms  14  extend from the back  16  at an angle of about in the range of 90 degree, however the exact angles will be dependent upon the containers. The containers are held by the pair of opposing arms  12  and  14 , which form a spring. The top and bottom arms  12  and  14  contain locking or receiving disks, or other protrusions,  18  and  20  that match the top and bottom indentations in the center of the container. These locking disks or protrusions  18  and  20  are molded in or attached and extend toward the top and bottom arms  12  and  14  and, in combination, lock the container in place. The locking disks or protrusions  18  and  20  are seen more clearly from the side view of FIG.  3 . The placement and design of the locking disks  18  and  20 , in alignment with the depression in the top and bottom of the container, are clearly illustrated in FIGS. 6-9. These figures further show how one or more recesses can replace the locking disks or protrusions  18  and  20  to enable containers having indentations or ridges to interact with the top arms. It should be noted that the containers for use with the disclosed rack usually contain either a recess or a protrusion in the lid. The lid and the arm must interact, enabling the container to fit snugly into the opposing projection or hollow in the center of the container. The top and bottom arms  12  and  14  can be molded to form a receiving plate or, as illustrated, the disks or protrusions  18  and  20  can be attached or molded to both the bottom and top arms  12  and  14 . It should be noted that the disks or protrusions  18  and  20  can be attached or molded to both the bottom and top arms  12  and  14  attaching the disks or protrusions  18  and  20  onto the arms  12  and  14 , does not necessarily indicate that the disks or protrusions  18  and  20  are separate pieces, but rather that the thickness is greater than when the plate is molded as part of the bottom or top arm. The additional depth created by the placement of the disks or protrusions  18  and  20  onto the top and bottom arms  12  and  14  is easily seen in FIG.  3 . 
     In the preferred embodiment the back  16  of the rack  10  has mounting keyholes  22 , or the equivalent, to mount the rack  9  to surfaces such as walls, cabinets, peg boards and counter tops. Other means for mounting the rack can also be incorporated, such as Velcro®, adhesives, tape, screws, or other mechanical fasteners. The rack  10 , as illustrated, is provided with cutouts  24  to reduce the amount of material used and therefore the weight. In some embodiments, where the rack  10  is being used for heavier weight materials, the cutouts  24  can be eliminated. 
     The illustrated design in FIGS. 1-5 is for a specific design of containers, which are illustrated placed within the rack  10  in FIG.  5 . As illustrated in FIGS. 6-10, altering the configuration of the top and bottom arms to accommodate a specific container design can easily be accomplished and further alterations will be obvious to those in the art. The disclosed rack is advantageous in use with baby products and can be easily used in the shower to hold hair and body care products. The easy insertion and removal of the containers makes use of the disclosed rack and coordinating containers ideal for use in times when other activities are involved that may hamper handling the containers, such as changing a baby. An example of a system  50  that is applicable for use with coordinating bottles is illustrated in FIG.  6 . The top arm  54  is provided with a flange  52  that is dimensioned to coordinate with the outlet  60  of the bottle  58 . The fit between the flange  52  and the outlet  60  must be sufficiently tight to prevent the product contained within the bottle  58  from evaporating. The bottom plate  56  is dimensioned to receive the base of the bottle  58  as disclosed heretofore. The system  50  is an illustration of the coordination between the racks and the bottles and is not intended to limit the configuration or dimension of either the bottles or the rack. 
     In FIG. 7 the bottle lid  70  has three indentations  72  that are matched by the ridges  74  within the top arm  76 . In FIG. 8 the container lid  80  is designed with a peak  82  that interacts with the peak  84  of the top arm  86 . In FIG. 9 the indentation  98  in the in the container  92  and the indentation  97  within the lid  90  are approximately equal, as can be seen by the top protrusion  94  and bottom protrusion  96 . The containers illustrated in FIGS. 7-9 are examples and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. 
     In order to enable a single rack to accommodate various sized containers, the rack  110  of FIGS. 10 and 11 has an adjustable back and locking bases. The top portion  112  forms the upper back panel  130  and the top arms  132 . The bottom portion  114  forms the lower back panel  136  and bottom arms  134 . The basic configuration is the same as described heretofore, with the gripping means being on the top and bottom of the device. The top arms  132  and bottom arms  134  are manufactured with adjustment slots  120 . The top locking bases  116  and bottom locking bases  118  are maintained in place through the use of locking bolts  122  or other means. As shown in FIG. 11, the locking bolts  122  extend through the arms  132  and  134  into locking disks  116  and  118 . The length of the locking bolts  122  must enable the bolts to be tightened to lock the bases  116  and  118  into position without breaking through the disks  116  and  118 . The circumference of the locking bolts must be proportional to the notches to enable the bolts to slide within the notch without excessive side to side movement. Locking bolts  122  are used herein as examples of locking methods, and other locking devices, such as snap locks, can be substituted. 
     The upper back panel  130  and lower back panel  136  are dimensioned to overlap and are connected through use of a pair of slots  124  and locking bolts  126 . In the event the length of the rack is dramatically increased, the number of notch and locking bolt combinations must also be increased to maintain stability. The slots  124  can be placed in one or both the upper back panel  130  and the lower back panel  136 . Use of the slots  124  in both panels provides additional size variation, however they must be positioned to enable interaction. Other methods of locking the sliding elements in the desired position will be obvious to those skilled in the art. Although the slots  120  are illustrated manufactured within the top and bottom arms  132  and  134 , the slots can be placed in the locking disks. Further, although the locking disks illustrated in FIGS. 10 and 11 are flat, it should be noted that the recess and protrusions noted heretofore can be incorporated with this embodiment. Although both the back and the arms are illustrated herein as being adjustable, the design can readily be modified to provide adjustability in only the arms or the back. 
     The above description of the invention is intended to be illustrative and not limiting. Various changes or modifications in the embodiments described will occur to those skilled in the art. These can be made without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention.