Tool organizer for hand tools

A tool organizer for placing on a structure and supporting a variety of handheld tools and other small objects. The organizer has a flat body with a central opening to fit over the supporting structure. A plurality of tool receiving openings and/or cutouts is formed in the body to accommodate and retain variously sized and shaped tool suspended on the tool body. The tool body may be supported on a conventional open top container, such as evacuation fluid drum, or can be attached to a free standing upright structure mounted on rollers to facilitate moving of the tool organizer upon demand. The tool organizer is particularly useful for retaining pliers, wrenches and other similar hand-held tools thereon.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring now to the drawings in more detail, numeral 10 designates the tool organizer in accordance with the first embodiment of the present invention. The tool organizer 10 has a flat main body 12 with a central opening 14 . The body 12 has a top surface 16 defined by a circumferential edge 18 . In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, a plurality of cutouts are formed in the edge 18 spaced about the circumference of the edge and sized to accommodate different types of hand tools. For instance, cutout 20 is sized to retain a hand-held grease gun or similar size tool. The cutouts 22 are sized to accommodate swivel type oil filter wrenches; cutouts 24 are sized and shaped to retain pliers-type oil filter wrenches; and cutouts 26 are sized and shaped to retain combination wrenches. Of course other tools may be secured within the slots, or cutouts 20 , 22 , 24 , and 26 , so long as these tools have similar physical dimensions to fit into the provided slots. Depending on the demands of the job, the slots, or cutouts 20 - 26 can support American, as well as metric calibrated tools. A secondary cutout 15 is formed in the body 10 adjacent the central opening 14 . The secondary cutout 15 communicates with the opening 14 . The cutout 15 allows the tool organizer 10 to accommodate a drain hose, if provided on the drum lid. The size of the opening 14 is large enough to fit snugly around the partially outwardly convex portion of the drum lid. A plurality of smaller opening 28 is formed around the central opening 14 . The openings 28 are sized to receive bolts or screws for securing the main body 10 on the lid of an oil evacuation drum. In the embodiment of FIG. 2 , the main tool organizer body is designated by numeral 30 . Similarly to the body 12 , the main body 30 is provided with a plurality of cutouts, or slots 32 formed in a peripheral edge 34 of the body 30 . Each slot 32 has an outer portion 36 , which is directed radially towards the central opening 38 of the body 30 and an inner portion 40 , which extends at an angle to the outer portion 36 . The cutouts 32 are adapted to accommodate combination wrenches or similar tools. The user positions the wrenches by pushing them first into the outer portion 36 and then moving them into the angularly oriented inner portion 40 . In this manner, the hand tools are more securely engaged with the tool organizer and are prevented from falling out. A plurality of variously-shaped and sized openings are formed in the body 30 a distance away from the peripheral edge 34 . Some of the openings, such as openings 42 are designed to accommodate and retain swivel-type oil filter wrenches, or similar tools. Openings 44 may be formed in one or more rows; these openings are sized and shaped to retain pliers-type oil filter wrenches or similar tools. A larger round opening 46 is designed to accommodate a handle of a grease gun, or similarly-sized tool. Similarly to the body 12 , the body 30 is provided with a secondary cutout 39 , which communicates with the central opening 38 to receive the drain hose. Also, a plurality of openings 48 allows securing of the body 30 on top of a fluid evacuation drum with the help of bolts, or screws. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 3 , the main body of the tool organizer of the present invention is designated by numeral 50 . Similarly to the embodiments shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 , the main body 50 is provided with a central opening to allow positioning of the body 50 on a standard fluid evacuation drum. A secondary cutout 53 is similar in function to the cutouts 15 and 39 . The small openings 54 are similar in design and function to the openings 28 and 48 . Unlike the bodies 12 and 30 , the main body 50 does not have peripheral cutouts. Instead, the body 50 is provided with one or more rows of through openings spaced adjacent the peripheral edge 56 of the body 50 . A larger round opening 58 is designed to accommodate a handle of a grease gun; smaller round openings 60 retain pliers type oil filter wrenches; openings 62 accommodate a variety of hand-held tools, such as combination wrenches, hammers, etc.; and openings 64 may be used to accommodate swivel type oil filter wrenches and the like. As shown in FIG. 3 , the openings 60 may be spaced in one or more rows, one closer to the peripheral edge 56 , and another—closer to the central opening 60 . Depending on a particular type of job to be performed, the openings may be spaced in any desired configuration about the body 50 . FIG. 4 illustrates still another embodiment of the tool organizer of the present invention, which is adapted for being supported by a conventional collection drum. In this embodiment, similar to the embodiment of FIG. 3 , the body 66 of the tool organizer is provided with a central opening 68 , a secondary cutout 69 in communication with the central opening 68 to accommodate a drain hose, and a plurality of small openings 70 spaced around the opening 68 . The tool-receiving openings are spaced around the circumference of the body 66 , along the edge 72 . In this embodiment, the tool-receiving openings are spaced in one row. One of the openings, opening 74 , may be used to retain a grease gun; openings 76 may be used for retaining swivel type oil filter wrenches, and openings 78 may be used to retain combination wrenches and the like. The tool-receiving openings and slots formed in the bodies of the tool organizers leave a large top surface area of the main body free from obstructions and apertures. This area may be used for placing small tools, bolts, nails, rags and other irregular items in close proximity to the user. FIG. 6 illustrates an example of how a tool organizer body may be mounted on a conventional oil evacuation drum 80 . Of course, the drum 80 can be a drum adapted to collect evacuated oil, transmission fluid, and other changeable liquids. As shown in the drawing, the oil drum 80 is provided with a top lid 82 that carries a primary oil evacuation conduit 84 with a funnel 86 . The tool organizer body 50 is placed over the lid 82 before the funnel 86 is connected with the tube 84 to rest on top of the lid 82 and to extend outwardly from the periphery of the lid 82 . As will be appreciated, FIG. 6 illustrates the tool organizer body 50 positioned on the drum 80 . However, any of the embodiments shown in FIGS. 1 - 4 may be positioned on the drum 80 and secured thereon for holding the tools in close proximity to an operator. FIG. 5 illustrates a free standing tool organizer of the present invention. The tool organizer 90 comprises a main body 92 mounted on an upright support 94 . The support 94 is hollow with an open bottom end 96 . The end 96 is mounted over an upwardly extending pin 95 attached to a center of a bottom tray 98 . The bottom tray 98 carries a plurality of rollers 100 secured to a bottom surface thereof to allow for easy moving of the tool organizer 90 around a workshop of job site. The main body 92 may be of a design of any of the embodiments shown in FIGS. 1 - 4 . It may be provided with a plurality of various size and shape openings 104 , or with cutouts, or any combination of cutouts and openings, as desired. If desired, the body 92 may be detachably secured on the upright post 94 . The post 94 is detachably secured on the pin 95 , allowing to store and transport the tool organizer 90 in a limited space. If desired, the post 94 may be fixedly attached to the tray 98 , making the tool organizer 90 a single structure. The tray 98 is provided with one or more dividing walls 106 that extend from a top surface 108 of the tray 98 upwardly, separating the tray 98 into a number of compartments. Cans and other types of containers may be placed on the tray 98 and be separated by the dividing walls 106 . The tray 98 is provided with an upwardly extending lip 110 that helps retain the items that may slide on the surface 108 from falling out of the tray 98 . Some conventional evacuation oil drums are provided with lids that have a peripheral flat portion and an outwardly convex center portion. The evacuation tubes and other conduit connections are usually attached to the lid. The openings 14 , 38 , 52 and 68 are designed to fit over the lid portion that has a partially outwardly convex lid fitted with an evacuation tube. The size and shape of the openings 14 , 38 , 52 and 68 can be easily modified depending on the type of drum with which the tool organizers of the present invention will work. Generally, no attachment means are necessary for the tool organizer pin to stay in place on top of the drum lid 82 . However, in some instances, especially when particularly heavy or bulky tools must be used for the job, the body of the tool organizer may become unbalanced and shift its position in relation to the drum 80 . To prevent disengagement or misalignment of the main body in relation to the drum 80 , the several attachment screws may be provided. The attachment screws engage the outer rim of the drum 80 and ensure that any possible imbalance of the tool organizer body does not lead to overturning of the tool organizer. The openings 28 , 48 , 54 and 70 are adapted to receive four such attachment screws, which can be as simple as sheet metal screws, inserted through the body to keep the tool organizer in place. The use of the securing screws is optional. The top surface of the main body being flat, offers additional surface for storing rags, screws, and other small items that are used during the job. The body of the tool organizer can be constructed from fiberglass, wood, and other materials that are not easily breakable and can withstand the physical stresses associated with suspension of numerous tools from the main body. The tool organizer of the present invention can be easily modified to accommodate various types of containers and lids. The tool organizer can be easily disengaged or detached from the lid and placed on another oil evacuation drum. It is envisioned that the tool organizer of the present invention be made from a number of non-corrosive materials that can be cleaned, if desired, of grease that will tend to accumulate on its surface. The size of the tool organizer can be easily adapted to accommodate the size of the lid and the peripheral dimensions of the drum. The tool organizer can be placed on other structures, pedestals, etc. to allow suspension of a variety of small tools and objects therefrom. It is envisioned that the central opening made in the organizer body may be used for centering the body on the structure with the help of a peg, rod or bolt, if desired. Many other changes and modifications can be made in the design of the present invention without departing from the spirit thereof. I, therefore, pray that my rights to the present invention be limited only by the scope of the appended claims.