A spill-resistant carrying apparatus includes a platform having a top surface and a bottom surface supported on legs. The platform includes one or more cavities which each have a set of female threads disposed into the bottom surface, and a set of male threads disposed into and extending from the top surface. In one embodiment, the male threads are oriented substantially adjacent to the female threads. The platform may further be configured with a lip disposed along a periphery of the platform and extending to a height greater than a height of the top surface.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a novel spill-resistant carrying apparatus, and more particularly to a container carrying unit which functions as a stand and incorporates a spill-resistant design.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

In the plumbing and electrician industries, for example, polyvinyl chloride (PVC) pipe is a commonly used material. Its flexibility, durability and low cost make PVC pipe an ideal material for use in many plumbing and electrician applications. Additionally, handy-men and landscapers routinely use PVC pipe in their trades as well. PVC is also commonly used as an insulating conduit for electric wires. While other types of plastic pipe usable in these contexts have included chlorinated polyvinyl chloride (CPVC), polyethylene and acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) pipe, PVC is still the most ubiquitously used piping material.

Perhaps the main drawback of using plastic pipe is that a two-step process is required to effectively join two pieces of plastic pipe and/or plastic fittings. This two-step process begins with the application of a primer to the surface of a first piece of plastic pipe. The primer serves to “soften” the pipe's surface making it more receptive to the formation of an adhesive bond. Once primed, a cement or other adhesive may then be applied to the pipe's surface. This first piece of pipe may then be joined to a second piece, typically by way of a plastic fitting, by inserting a male end into a female end. This two-step process is often carried out on both the male and female ends of the piping material to the joining step.

As is commonly known in the field, the aforementioned pipe preparation process tends to lead to unnecessary clutter due to the need to carry around two separate containers—one for the primer and one for the cement. When working in confined areas, as is typically required in the plumbing industry, efficiency of space is at a premium. Moreover, working with separate containers of primer and cement in confined areas tends to cause excess spillage. The only solution known to exist heretofore is the use of duck tape to secure the two containers together in a very makeshift fashion. While this approach may reduce the amount of clutter somewhat, it fails to address the spillage issue. As such, there is a need in the art for a spill-resistant carrying apparatus for containers which overcomes one or more of the aforementioned drawbacks.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Disclosed and claimed herein is a spill-resistant carrying apparatus. In one embodiment, the apparatus comprises a substantially planar surface having a top surface and a bottom surface, wherein the substantially planar surface is supported by a plurality of legs at a first height. The apparatus further includes a lip disposed along a circumference of the top surface and extending to a second height that is greater than the first height, and a first and second cavity disposed along the substantially planar top surface. In one embodiment, the first and second cavities each include a set of internal threads extending into the bottom surface and configured to receive a threaded container opening, as well as a set of external threads extending into the top surface, adjacent to the set of internal threads, and configured to receive a threaded lid.

Other aspects, features, and techniques of the invention will be apparent to one skilled in the relevant art in view of the following description of the exemplary embodiments of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS

One aspect of the invention is to provide an apparatus for integrating two or more containers into a convenient carrying unit. In one embodiment, no modification to the containers are required. The carrying unit may further function as a stand for the containers, and may optionally incorporate a spill-resistant design, as disclosed and described below.

The invention has particular applicability to the plumbing industry, although it may be equally applicable to numerous other industries such as electrician, handy-men and landscaper industries. One application of the invention is to provide an apparatus which combines the commonly-used PVC primer and PVC cement into a single integrated carrying unit, which optionally functions to limit excess spillage.

The following disclosure assumes that the containers to be integrated have been designed with a threaded cap of some sort, as is typically the case with PVC primer and PVC cement products. Such threaded caps are typically designed in accordance with the National pipe thread (NPT) U.S. standard for tapered threads, the details of which are beyond this disclosure. While PVC primer and cement products are currently manufactured accordingly to universal thread sizes, the present disclosure is not specific to any particular thread standard, and is equally applicable to any threaded cap or lid design.

Referring now to the figures,FIG. 1is a perspective view of a container carrying apparatus100designed in accordance with one embodiment of the invention. While the apparatus itself may be manufactured from a hard plastic material, it may equally be fabricated from any other rigid material capable of supporting the weight of one or more containers. It should further be understood that the physical dimensions of the apparatus100may vary based on, for example, the size of the containers to be coupled thereto and/or operating-space-imposed constraints. For example, PVC primer and cement products are typically sold in standard sizes for both residential uses and commercial uses.

As shown, apparatus100includes two or more legs110a-110dso as to function as a stand for the containers to be integrated thereto. While a fourth leg100dis not visible inFIG. 1, the depicted embodiment of the apparatus100is a four-legged design. It should of course be appreciated that more or fewer legs may similarly be used in accordance with the principles of the invention.

Continuing to refer toFIG. 1, apparatus100is further comprised of a top surface120surrounded by a lip130. In one embodiment, the top surface120is substantially planar and parallel to the plane on which the legs110a-110dsit. As will be described in more detail below, lip130functions to limit the amount of spillage which may occur. While in one embodiment the lip is approximately ¼ inch in vertical height, it may be higher or lower depending on the amount of spillage to be contained.

The apparatus100ofFIG. 1is further depicted as including cavities140and145. In one embodiment, these cavities140and145may each function to receive a corresponding container. By way of a non-limiting example, one of the cavities140and145may be configured to receive a container of PVC primer, while the other may be configured to receive a container of PVC cement. It should of course be appreciated that any other type of container may similarly be received into cavities140and145. Moreover, it should be appreciated that apparatus100may include more than two cavities.

In the embodiment ofFIG. 1, each of the depicted cavities140and145includes two sets of threads. In particular, threads150aand160aare male/external threads, while threads150band160bare female/internal threads. In one embodiment, the internal threads150band160bare designed to accommodate matching external threads on the opening of a container (e.g., can of PVC primer, can of PVC cement, etc.), while the external threads150aand160amay be designed to accommodate matching internal threads of a cap of the aforementioned container. In other words, the internal threads150band160bof the apparatus may have an inside diameter which corresponds to the outside diameter of the external threads150aand160a. Moreover, the vertical height of the external threads150aand160amay be approximately equal to that of the lip130, or may be alternatively higher or lower than the lip130.

In this fashion, one or more containers, by way of the cavities140and145, may be coupled to the apparatus100by screwing the threaded openings of the containers into the internal threads150band160b. The container openings may then be sealed by screwing the container's own lid (or another lid) onto the external threads150aand160a. In this fashion, the containers may be integrated into a single unit without any modifications being made to the containers or their caps. It is particularly preferable to avoid modifications to the cap in the PVC primer and cement context since those caps are often designed with an integrated swab.

As previously mentioned, the apparatus may further include lip130which is designed to limit spillage. In the case where a container has been coupled to the apparatus100via internal threads150bor160b, any liquid contained in such container is susceptible of being spilled. By having a lip130extending around the periphery of the top surface120, most spills can be contained. For plumbers, electricians, handymen and landscapers this means that PVC primer and cement spillages will be significantly reduced.

In addition to spillage containment, the apparatus100may enable otherwise spilled liquids to remain useful, thereby reducing costs associated with such spillages. For example, spilled PVC primer which is contained on the top surface by lip130will remain usable since no contamination has occurred. That is, primer and/or cement may be swabbed from the top surface130for application to plastic pipe just the same.

Referring now toFIG. 2, depicted is a top view of another embodiment of the apparatus100ofFIG. 1. As shown, apparatus200has the same leg design as above with four legs110a-110dextending from the four corners of the apparatus200. Moreover, apparatus200includes the same cavities design as in the embodiment ofFIG. 1. However, unlike the aforementioned embodiment, the top surface120of apparatus200has been separated into a series of spill zones170a-170fwhich are defined by a series of spill guards180a-180g. In one embodiment, these spill guards180a-180gare comprised of a raised portion vertically extending from the top surface120to some vertical height there above, such as for example the height of the lip130. However, in another embodiment the spill guards180a-180gmay be higher or lower than the lip130. Also, while apparatus200is shown as having six spill zones170a-170f, it should equally be appreciated that there may be more or fewer spill zones170a-170f.

In one embodiment, the spill guards180a-180gfunction to compartmentalize any spillage which may occur across the top surface120from any containers which may have been coupled to the apparatus as described above. In this fashion spillage can be further contained. Moreover, use of the spill guards180a-180gmay prevent the liquid spilled from one attached container to mix with the liquid attached to a second attached container, thereby maintaining the usefulness of spilled liquids as described above.

Referring now toFIG. 3, depicted is a cross sectional view of the apparatus100ofFIG. 1. As shown, the lip130of apparatus100provides a raised barrier disposed along the periphery of the top surface120to capture any spillage which may occur. Cavities140and145are also shown as including both internal threads150band160b, as well as external threads150aand160a. As described above, the internal threads150band160bmay be designed to accommodate the external threads of a container's opening. Similarly, external threads150aand160amay be designed to accommodate the internal threads of the container's lid or cap.

Referring now toFIG. 4, depicted is another embodiment of the container carrying apparatus ofFIG. 1which incorporates a carrying handle. In this embodiment, container carrying apparatus400comprises a handle410which is hingeably attached to a first and second sides of the apparatus400. That is, the carrying handle410is connected to the apparatus400via a swiveling connection in order to maintain the horizontal orientation of the apparatus400during transport, for example. It should further be appreciated that the handle410may be attached to any two opposite sides of the apparatus so as to maintain a horizontal orientation during transport.

Additionally, the apparatus400may be optionally configured with fasteners420. In one embodiment, the fasteners420may function to hang or hook the apparatus400to a ladder, scaffolding or the like. In this fashion, the invention provides a spill-resistant carrying mechanism for two or more individual containers.