Flexible storage container

The present invention would be a tubular bag or container constructed of transparent plastic. The bag or container would include two end mounted holes and two side mounted holes which are carved into the bag or container, allowing easy access. Elastic bands would circumferentially surround the holes and when the elastic bands would be expanded, a user could insert large items into the bag or container to store these items for a particular length of time. As an option, the present invention could be manufactured in a variety of sizes and from different materials, such as nylon or any other washable fabric.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
 The present invention is that of a new and improved flexible storage
 container.
 DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART
 There are a wide variety of inventions in the prior art that discuss
 storage containers. One example is U.S. Pat. No. 5,487,467, issued to
 Sherman, which discloses a receptacle for plastic shopping bags and like
 articles comprising an upper member having the general structure and
 appearance of an upper portion of a doll body, and a lower element
 structured and disposed for receiving articles therein.
 U.S. Pat. No. 5,451,108, issued to Anderson, discloses a container that
 compromises a tubular body for bags of one size and having an inlet and
 outlet aperture, and at least one pocket for bags of a different size, the
 pocket also having an inlet and outlet aperture.
 U.S. Pat. No. 5,341,933, issued to Willows, discloses a storage and
 dispensing device for storing plastic shopping bags and holding them ready
 for retrieval, and comprises a tube of cloth fabric having an entry
 opening at the top and a dispensing opening at the bottom.
 U.S. Pat. No. 5,288,150, issued to Bearman, discloses a tote bag having a
 mesh inner liner with a primary opening for depositing articles therein
 and an outer lining attached to the inner lining, the outer lining having
 a primary opening and a secondary opening.
 U.S. Pat. No. 5,285,927, issued to Pruitt, discloses a container/dispenser
 that is used for plastic shopping bags which comprises a walled vessel
 having an open top and an open bottom to which is secured a converging
 lower section formed of flexible walls with an internal friction surface
 terminating in the small opening.
 U.S. Pat. No. 5,197,631, issued to Mishima, discloses a mechanism for
 automatically pushing up tissues which includes a box and a pusher.
 U.S. Pat. No. 5,042,687, issued to McKinley, discloses a plastic shopping
 bag container that is used to store randomly disposed shopping bags with a
 lower horizontal slot for removal of the stored bags.
 U.S. Pat. No. 4,684,036, issued to Brewer, discloses a cup dispensing
 system that employs a housing having a pair of walls with relatively rigid
 inwardly inclined portions for supporting a stack of cups and enabling
 individual dispensing of cups.
 U.S. Pat. No. 3,708,005, issued to Crain, discloses a device which provides
 a means for carrying large bulky shirts without unduly wrinkling or
 compressing them.
 U.S. Pat. No. 3,356,120, issued to Nohmura, discloses a flexible container
 formed by a sheath of windings of a flexible material, embedded in a
 flexible casing constructed by coating the sheath with a flexible coating
 material and having a mouthpiece in both the upper and lower openings.
 U.S. Pat. No. 3,228,556, issued to Nonestied, discloses a dispensing device
 and more particularly relates to a device for dispensing tokens or markers
 used in games of amusement such as lotto, bingo, or the like.
 Although a wide variety of inventions that are used to store various
 devices exist in the prior art, no one invention includes all of the
 features of the present invention, or is substantially similar to the
 present invention.
 SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
 The present invention would be a tubular bag or container constructed of
 transparent plastic. The bag or container would include two-end mounted
 holes and two side-mounted holes which are carved into the bag or
 container, allowing easy access. Elastic bands would circumferentially
 surround the holes and when the elastic bands would be expanded, a user
 would be able to obtain large items such as toys or shoes located within
 the bag or container. In addition, a user could insert large items into
 the bag or container to store these items for a particular length of time.
 As an option, the present invention could be manufactured in a variety of
 sizes and from different materials, such as nylon or any other washable
 fabric. The bag or container itself could also be manufactured in a number
 of colors and designs, including logos for sports teams.
 It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a new and
 improved storage container.
 It is another object of the present invention to provide a new and improved
 storage container that is flexible.
 It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a new and
 improved storage container that can be easily and efficiently
 manufactured.
 It is still another object of the present invention to provide a new and
 improved storage container that can be used to store a wide variety of
 products.
 It is still another object of the present invention to provide a new and
 improved storage container that would allow easy access to the contents of
 the storage container.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
 Referring now to the present invention, FIG. 1 shows a side view of
 container 6. Container 6 would be a tubular bag constructed of transparent
 plastic. Container 6 would be roughly in the shape of a sock. Container 6
 has a top-mounted hole 26, a bottom-mounted hole 27 and two side-mounted
 holes 28 and 29.
 Top-mounted hole 26 is circumferentially surrounded by elastic band 4,
 which is kept in place by stitching 3. Top-mounted hole 26 is also
 surrounded by decorative side panel 5, which comprises extra fabric
 attached to container 6.
 Bottom-mounted hole 27 is circumferentially surrounded by elastic band 12,
 which is kept in place by stitching 20. Bottom-mounted hole 27 is also
 surrounded by decorative side panel 21, which comprises extra fabric
 attached to container 6.
 Side-mounted hole 28 is circumferentially surrounded by elastic band 8,
 which is kept in place by stitching 7. Side-mounted hole 28 is also
 surrounded by decorative side panel 9, which comprises extra fabric
 attached to container 6.
 Side-mounted hole 29 is circumferentially surrounded by elastic band 18,
 which is kept in place by stitching 16. Side-mounted hole 29 is also
 surrounded by decorative side panel 17, which comprises extra fabric
 attached to container 6.
 Container 6 can be used to store or contain certain items when any of the
 elastic bands of the present invention are expanded. Shown as examples of
 possible items that the present invention could contain are toy ball 10,
 which is completely contained within the present invention, and bag 14,
 which is shown being removed from container 6 through elastic band 12.
 Container 6 also has a top mounted elastic loop 2, which would allow
 container 6 to be mounted in a wide variety of places. In FIG. 1,
 container 6 is shown attached to post 1 by hanging elastic loop 2 on post
 1.
 FIG. 2 shows a closeup side view of side-mounted hole 28, with elastic band
 8, stitching 7, and side panel 9. The other three elastic bands and
 associated parts on the present invention are identical to the parts shown
 in FIG. 2.
 FIG. 3 shows elastic loop 2 attached to container 6. Elastic loop 2 is made
 from elastic and has two ends, first end 30 and second end 32. First end
 30 and second end 32 are preferably attached to the top of container 6 by
 an "X" pattern of stitching that is used in conjunction with perimeter
 stitching.