Container having a humidity control system

A container for holding various articles and which contains a moisture control system for reducing humidity within the container. The moisture control system prevents moisture from penetrating in the interior of the container and reduces humidity that enters the interior when the lid of the container has been opened. The moisture control system comprises a moisture cup that is received within an opening in the container, a desiccant holder that is carried by the cup, a mesh screen that is dimensioned to receive a desiccant and a top. The moisture cup performs three functions: (1) it prevents moisture from penetrating the interior of the container through the opening; (2) it directs moisture from within the interior of the container to the desiccant; and (3) it holds the desiccant. In order to more conveniently transport the detergent, a strap is attached on each side of the container.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
The present invention relates to containers designed to keep their contents 
dry. In particular, the present invention is a container having a humidity 
reduction control system that is especially suitable for granular 
materials. 
BACKGROUND 
Granular materials, if they absorb moisture from the air, may tend to form 
clumps or to "cake" and no longer flow well. Some granular materials 
suffer more from moisture absorption than others, particularly materials 
that dissolve in water such as chemical fertilizers and detergents. These 
are best kept in air tight containers and in low-humidity environments. 
Detergents are often kept in laundries, under sinks, in garages, in the 
trunks of vehicles and outside on back porches; these are clearly not 
low-humidity environments. Furthermore, their containers are usually made 
of cardboard perhaps coated with a moisture proof coating of plastic. 
However, once opened, the granules of detergent will absorb moisture from 
the air until the detergent cakes. Unusable in this form, the now-hardened 
detergent must be manually broken-apart into small granules to function as 
originally designed. There is a need for a container that will prevent or 
at least limit moisture absorption by such materials. 
Doing the laundry in a home or apartment is always a chore but doing 
laundry at a laundry room or self-service laundry is even more so. In a 
home, all of the supplies needed for doing the laundry are often kept in 
one place such as a laundry room. When doing laundry in a self-service 
laundry, these supplies must be taken along. In addition to the dirty 
clothes that have to be taken to the self-service laundry, all of the 
laundry supplies such as detergent, softener and bleach are required. 
Additionally, there is a need for coins or debit cards to operate the 
machines. 
There is a need for a suitable way to transport these items in a organized 
manner so that nothing is forgotten or lost in the process. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
According to its major aspects and broadly stated, the present invention is 
a container for holding various articles and which contains a moisture 
management system for reducing humidity within the container. The moisture 
management system prevents moisture from penetrating into the interior of 
the container, reduces humidity that has entered the interior when the lid 
of the container has been opened and traps moisture from the stored 
contents such that it may be removed. The moisture management system 
comprises a moisture cup that is received within an opening in the 
container, a desiccant holder that is carried by the cup, a mesh screen 
that is dimensioned to hold a desiccant pad so that moisture-laded air can 
reach it, and a top. The moisture management system performs three 
functions: (1) it prevents moisture from penetrating into the interior of 
the container through the opening; (2) it directs moisture-laden air from 
within the interior of the container to the desiccant so that the moisture 
can be later removed by removing the desiccant; and (3) it holds the 
desiccant. 
The container also includes pockets and slots for various articles that may 
be used in conjunction with the contents of the container, such as bleach, 
softener, coins, wash treatments or debit cards when the container is used 
to store laundry detergent. 
A major advantage of the present invention is the reduction of humidity 
within the container. As a result, the likelihood of moisture absorption 
by the detergent is minimized when stored within the container, 
particularly when the container is equipped with a desiccant. This 
advantage is derived from the moisture management system, a system that 
prevents moisture from entering the container when the lid is closed and 
allows the moisture that has entered when the lid was opened to be 
absorbed by a desiccant. 
A major feature of the present invention is the moisture cup, which 
performs the three functions indicated. 
In an embodiment suitable for use with laundry detergent, the present 
container provides compartments for all of the supplies, including coins 
and debit cards, needed to do the laundry, and has a carrying strap, an 
important group of features of this particular embodiment. 
Other features and advantages of the present invention will be apparent to 
those skilled in the art from a careful reading of the Detailed 
Description of a Preferred Embodiment presented below and accompanied by 
the drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
Referring now to the figures, the present invention is a container for 
holding granular material, preferably powdered laundry detergent. The 
container, generally referred to by reference number 10, has a system that 
reduces humidity within the interior of the container, so that the 
granularity of the detergent contained therein (not shown) is maintained. 
Although the present invention is discussed with reference to powered 
detergent, it will be appreciated that the container could house various 
articles, which would benefit from an environment with controlled, limited 
humidity. For example, the present container could be used to hold a wide 
variety of foodstuffs such as cereals, dried beans, crackers, dried 
fruits, dog biscuits, cooking spices, flour, rice, sugar, salt and coffee. 
The present container could also be used to hold granular chemical 
fertilizers. 
Container 10 has a front wall 20, a back wall 22, a side wall 24, a bottom 
wall 26 and a lid 28, which altogether define an interior 29. Although 
container 10 is preferably shaped in the form of a box, container 10 could 
take any shape. Container 10 could be formed from various materials, but 
is preferably made with a transparent or translucent plastic material. 
With either transparent or translucent walls, a user could easily appraise 
the quantity of detergent remaining within container 10. Exterior to 
container 10 may optionally contain a plurality of compartments 34 for 
holding articles other than detergent that are useful in laundering, such 
as softener, bleach and other pre-wash treatments. 
Lid 28 is used to close container 10 tightly when access to interior 29 is 
not needed, and preferably designed to stay with container 10 even when 
removed. For example, lid 28 is shown attached to back wall 22 using 
hinges 31 and secured to front wall 20 using latch 33. Optionally, a rim 
35 may surround the periphery of interior 29 in order to further 
contribute to a tight seal. 
Lid 28 has an opening 30 therethrough of sufficient dimension to 
accommodate moisture management system 100. Opening 30 has a gasket 32 
along the periphery so that moisture management system 100 can be secured 
to container 10 in a substantially air-tight manner. Gasket 32 could be 
formed from various resilient materials which would allow a substantially 
air-tight seal between moisture management system 100 and container 10, 
but is preferably formed from a natural or synthetic rubber material; 
however, lid 28 can be formed of a material that will both maintain the 
lid's 28 shape and provide the desired seal between lid 28 and cup 110. 
Lid 28 has at least one coin holder 50 on its surface and preferably two of 
them. Coin holder 50 is dimensioned to accommodate quarters and receives a 
detachable cover 52. For security purposes, cover 52 is preferably formed 
from an opaque material. 
In order to conveniently hold a debit card or ATM card, container 10 also 
has an ATM card slot 54 preferably on its sides 24 with sufficient 
dimension to accommodate such a card. A raised indentation 56 keeps the 
ATM card in slot 54. Depressing the side of the container immediately 
above raised indentation 56 allows enough space for the card to pulled 
free of slot 54. If optional compartments 34 extend from sides 24, 
preferably ATM slot 54 would be positioned on the side of compartments 34, 
as shown. 
Another type of slot, a strap slot 40, is preferably integrally formed in 
lid 28 on each side, which is of sufficient dimension to receive strap 42, 
so that container 10 could be conveniently transported. 
Moisture management system 100 is secured to lid 28 in a substantially 
airtight manner and comprises a cup 110, a desiccant holder 120, a mesh 
screen 130, a desiccant pad 140 and a top 150. Cup 1 10 has an outer wall 
111 of sufficient dimension to engage opening 30 in lid 28 and an inner 
wall 112 concentric to outer wall 111. Cup 110 has a plurality of passages 
118 formed between outer wall 111 and inner wall 112 to allow humidity to 
pass therethrough. A flange 116 runs along the exterior of outer wall 111 
in order to engage opening 30 to seal moisture management system 100 to 
lid 28. Desiccant holder 120 is dimensioned to fit within inner wall 112 
of cup 110. Desiccant holder 120 has pull tabs 124 integrally formed 
thereon to allow easy removal from cup 110 and holes 116 in the bottom 
through which extracted moisture from interior 29 of container 10 may 
pass. Mesh screen 130 is dimensioned to be received within desiccant 
holder 120. Preferably, mesh screen 130 is concave in shape and 
dimensioned so that a desiccant pad 140 can be held on mesh screen 130 
using a frictional fit. Desiccant pad 140 is preferably an air-permeable 
pouch containing calcium carbonate. 
In use, container 10 is filled with powered laundry detergent. Humidity 
within container 10 can pass upwardly through passages 118, then through 
mesh screen 130 to be absorbed by desiccant pad 140, as best seen in FIG. 
5. Extracted moisture drips from desiccant pad 140 through the holes in 
desiccant holder 120 and collects within the interior section of cup 110. 
Moisture management system 100 is removed as a unit, the desiccant 140 and 
holder 120 are next removed and any extracted liquid found within cup 110 
is discarded. 
It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that many changes and 
substitutions can be made to the preferred embodiment herein described 
without departing from the spirit and scope if the present invention.