Abstract:
An organizer has a rod-like support serving as a jewelry organizer, holder, and/or display device closed at each end, and having a closing mechanism which can be opened and closed to allow addition or removal of items from the rod-like support. The items can include bracelets, bangles, watches, necklaces, rings and the like. The rod-like storage device has two L-shaped paired rods with an opening therebetween. The closing mechanism in a preferred embodiment includes a slot in one of the rods and a mating projection in the other one of the rods. This allows items to be easily slipped onto the rod once it has been opened and maintained on the storage rod when the rod is closed. In one embodiment of the device a paired storage rod in two portions is mounted on an elongated strip.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application claims the benefit of applicant&#39;s prior application 62/115,835, Open and Close, Bracelet, Watch and Ring Organizer or Display, filed on Feb. 13, 2015. This application incorporates by reference U.S. Provisional Patent application 62/115,835, Open and Close Bracelet, watch and ring organizer or display, filed on 13 Feb. 2015. 
    
    
     STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT 
     Not Applicable. 
     SEQUENCE LISTING 
     Not Applicable. 
     Personal items or accessories, such as rings, bracelets, bangles, necklaces, watches and the like are often difficult to store and retrieve. One of the most common ways to store and display these personal items involves slipping them over an open rod-like storage device, often a simple wooden peg with one free end and with the other end secured to a door. Another common method for storage of personal items is the classic jewelry chest. Many people accumulate large numbers of these personal items and convenient, safe storage is always something of a problem. 
     It is especially difficult to conveniently store bracelets or bangles [a rigid bracelet] in a jewelry chest as these items tend to be considerably larger than other personal items such as earrings, rings or even watches. In addition, bracelets and bangles are often of more delicate construction. Many if not most, bracelets, bangles, rings and watches are continuous—that is, they comprise continuous, closed circles or loops and cannot be opened or closed. This construction can cause problems when attempting to secure these items over a closed rod-type storage unit—that is, a rod-type storage unit which is closed at each end. Even personal items that can be opened and closed can be difficult to secure on a rod-type storage unit since many of these items tend to be rather delicate and fragile. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     A wide variety of devices have been provided over the years to conveniently store and retrieve personal items. These range from simple pegs with an open or free end and with the other end secured to a convenient surface such as the back of a closet door. In addition cup hooks screwed into a board, wall or door and also quite common storage devices. And, of course, the classic jewelry chest has been used for centuries as a jewelry storage device. Pegs or rods have to be individually mounted to the desired surface. In addition, the personal items may easily be dislodged from the peg or rod. These same problems occur when using cup hooks for storage. In addition, these personal items are often fragile and can easily be damaged or destroyed by a metal cup hook. It is also easy to dislodge a personal item from one cup hook when removing another personal item from an adjacent cup hook. Jewelry chests can also be problematic in that it is difficult to store larger items such as bracelets, bangles and necklaces in a jewelry chest because of size restraints. It is not unusual to have a bracelet or bangle exceed 4 inches in diameter and an inch in width. In addition, bracelets and bangles are often made of very thin metal and, consequently rather fragile. The same could be said of earrings, since many of them are also rather large and delicate. The size of a personal item can make it difficult to conveniently store the personal items in the typical jewelry box. In addition, it is always difficult to avoid damaging larger personal items when opening and closing drawers and/or doors in a jewelry box. 
     It is often quite convenient to store bracelets, bangles, watches and rings on a rod-like storage device. If the rod is securely mounted at one end and free at the other, the bracelet, bangle, watch or ring may simply be slipped onto the free end of the rod for storage and then removed when desired. The rod-like storage device often has to be mounted at an angle or provided with an enlarged tip to keep the personal item on the rod-like storage device. In other words, such rods are often generally vertical or mounted at a significant angle to the horizontal such that gravity will assist in keeping the personal items on the rod-like storage device. 
     Various devices have been provided in the prior art to resolve these issues and provide for more convenient storage and retrieval of personal items. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,691,118 to Phillips discloses an accessory holding device for holding a plurality of accessory devices such as hair clips, bows, barrettes, ties and other hair accessories as well as various items of jewelry. The device comprises a plurality of rod-like members closed at both ends which provide storage for items which may be clipped onto the rod-like storage members. In addition, open-ended rods are provided for slip-on storage of continuous items such as bracelets, bangles and/or rings. Internal attachment members, drawers, and retainers are provided to accommodate a wide array of items. The device may be relatively open, formed only with a base and sides, or be enclosed with top, back, and face plates, in differing embodiments. The device may also be provided with a mounting device so that the entire device may be hung on the wall, the back of a door, or other surfaces. The Phillips device does not provide for the rod-like storage members to open such that continuous items like bracelets, bangles, rings and watches may be easily mounted on and/or removed from the rod-like storage members. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 6,158,578 to Greiner discloses a jewelry holder with at least two movable and interchangeable stands and a base. The base may be in the form of a box with a slidable drawer in which a ring holder platform may be inserted. The base has a plurality of grooves to receive jewelry stands. The jewelry stands have various configurations to hold earrings, necklaces and bracelets. According to a third aspect of the invention there is provided a ring holder having a platform and a plurality of mounds integrally formed on the platform. The mounds have a shape that allows rings to be stored thereon. One embodiment of the Greiner jewelry holder provides open-ended rod-like storage members for storage of continuous items like bracelets, bangles, rings, or watches; however, the Greiner holder does not does not provide for the rod-like storage members to be closed at each end so that items mounted thereon cannot fall off the rod-like storage member. Nor does the Greiner holder provide for rod-like storage members which can be opened and closed such that continuous items like bracelets, bangles, rings and watches may be easily mounted on and/or removed from the rod-like storage members. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 7,891,506 to Kornowski discloses a jewelry holder and display comprising an upstanding post the lower end of which is secured to a circular base which, in turn, is rotatably supported on a larger diameter primary base such that the upstanding stem can be readily rotated about its longitudinal axis. The stem supports radially located extending pegs and also supports at its upper end a generally cylindrical cup-shaped receptacle member having a plurality of radially extending pegs selectively secured to its outer circumference for supporting jewelry items such as bracelets, bangles, watches, necklaces and the like. All of the Kornowski rod-like support members are pegs mounted at one end and open at the other such that jewelry items can fall off the peg. The Kornowski holder does not provide for rod-like storage members which can be opened and closed such that continuous items like bracelets, bangles, rings and watches may be easily mounted on and/or removed from the rod-like storage members. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 4,775,053 to Geiger discloses a jewelry rack or holder comprising a framework of attractive vertical and horizontal wooden bars. The horizontal bars are provided with hooks for hanging small items such as rings and necklaces. In one embodiment, the vertical bars are provided with small drilled holes for receiving the shafts of pierced-type earrings. In another embodiment, a block of plastic material covered with cloth is utilized to removably secure the shafts of pierced-type earrings. The jewelry rack may be hung from a wall or it may include removable stands for supporting it in an upright attitude on a horizontal surface. The Geiger jewelry rack does not provide for rod-like storage members which can be opened and closed such that continuous items like bracelets, bangles, rings and watches may be easily mounted on and/or removed from the rod-like storage members. 
     U.S. Pat. No. D270,220 to Cuminale discloses an ornamental design for a bracelet display stand. The Cuminale invention provides for a base with two horizontal rods mounted on supports extending upwards from the base. The rods are closed at each end and appear to be capable of supporting continuous jewelry items like bracelets or bangles. Since the Cuminale patent is a design patent, there is no written description of how the apparatus is made or intended to be used other than a very brief description of the drawings. There is simply no information provided in Cuminale as to how bracelets, bangles, etc are inserted onto the display stand. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention provides for a rod-like jewelry organizer, holder and/or display closed at each end to maintain the items on the holder/display unit. In its most basic form, the invention comprises two paired storage rods which are cantilevered to each end of an elongated mounting strip. The open end of each paired rod extends towards the middle of the elongated strip. A sliding cover is secured to one of the paired rods and permits the rods to be secured together into a single elongated rod when the cover is in the closed position. When the cover is in the open position, a gap exists between the paired rods permitting continuous items of jewelry to be slipped onto the storage rods. The invention will provide for convenient storage and retrieval of a large number of continuous items of jewelry such as bracelets, bangles, watches, necklaces, rings and the like. This is accomplished by providing a rod-like storage device which is closed at both ends of the rod so that items stored on the rod cannot fall off the rod, and providing the device with an opening means so that items can easily be slipped onto the rod once it has been opened. Although the invention is directed towards the storage and/or display of continuous personal items of jewelry it should be understood that the invention is equally useful for storing non-continuous personal items—items that can themselves be opened or closed. The invention may also be used for the storage and/or display of other items, for example rubber bands, O-rings or the like. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a view of a typical prior art peg storage device for suspending continuous personal items. 
         FIG. 2  is a side view of a first embodiment of the invention. 
         FIG. 3  is a plan view taken along section B-B of  FIG. 2 . 
         FIG. 3A  is a side view showing the embodiment of  FIG. 2  mounted on individual stands with continuous personal items stored thereon. 
         FIG. 4  is a side view of the embodiment of  FIG. 2  mounted on a wooden support. 
         FIG. 5  is an enlarged detail side view of the closing mechanism shown in the area A of  FIG. 4 . 
         FIG. 6  is enlarged detail plan view of the closing mechanism as shown from the perspective of the arrow D in  FIG. 5 . 
         FIG. 7  is another enlarged detail plan view of the closing mechanism as shown from the perspective of arrow C in  FIG. 5 . 
         FIG. 8  is a cross-section enlarged detail view of the closing mechanism along the section E-E of  FIG. 7 . 
         FIG. 9  is a side view of a second embodiment of the invention. 
         FIG. 10  is a view taken from the perspective of arrows F-F of  FIG. 9 . 
         FIG. 11  is a side view of a third embodiment of the invention. 
         FIG. 12  is a plan view taken from the perspective of arrows G-G of  FIG. 11 . 
         FIG. 13  is a side view of the embodiment of  FIG. 11  mounted on a wooden support member. 
         FIG. 14  is a plan view of a fourth embodiment of the invention. 
         FIG. 15  is a side view of the embodiment of the invention shown in  FIG. 14 . 
         FIG. 16  is another side view of the embodiment of the invention shown in  FIG. 14  with the sliding cover partially open. 
         FIG. 17  is another side view of the embodiment of the invention shown in  FIG. 14  with the sliding cover fully open to receive a piece of continuous jewelry such as a bracelet, bangle, ring or watch. 
         FIG. 18  is a cross section of the closing mechanism of the fourth embodiment taken along section H-H of  FIG. 17 . 
         FIG. 19  is another partial sectional view of the embodiment of the invention shown in  FIG. 17  along the section H-H showing the sliding cover fully closed and encompassing both portions of the rod-like storage device of the invention. 
         FIG. 20  is a side view of a fifth embodiment of the invention. 
         FIG. 21  is a view taken along section I-I of  FIG. 20 . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     Typical prior art, peg-type and rod-type storage devices are shown in  FIG. 1 , comprising a mounting board  1  with peg  3  and rod  5  secured thereon. Board  1  would normally be secured to any suitable vertical surface [not shown]. Continuous personal items such as bracelets, bangles, rings or watches are merely slipped over the open end of peg  3  to store and/or display them. Peg  3  is tapered and has an enlarged portion  4  at the free end to assist in maintaining the personal items on the peg. An even more simple example of a prior art storage device is rod  5  which is mounted at one end to board  1 . Rod  5  is not tapered. Again, as for peg  3 , the continuous personal items are merely slipped over the open end of peg  5 . Since there is nothing at the free end of rod  5  to aid in keeping the continuous personal items on the rod, the rod will often be mounted at a slight upward angle [not shown in the drawings] to aid in maintaining the continuous personal items on rod  5 . 
     A first embodiment of the invention is shown in  FIG. 2 . Storage device  10  is shown in a side view and comprises a left-hand “L”-shaped storage rod  22  with an enlarged mounting area  12  at one end. Storage device  10  also comprises a right-hand “L”-shaped storage rod  24  with an enlarged mounting area  14  at one end and a closing mechanism  20  pivotally mounted to the other end of storage rod  24 . Storage rods  22  and  24  can be of any desired cross-section such as square, oval, circular, irregular and etc. Storage rods  22  and  24  can be of solid construction but can also be hollow tubes for lightness. Rods  22  and  24  are of substantially constant cross-section. This makes it easier to slide continuous personal items when mounted on the storage device  10 . Storage device  10  may be made of any suitable material, such as a polymer or metal. 
       FIG. 3  shows a plan view of enlarged mounting area  12  taken from the perspective of arrows B-B of  FIG. 2 . Enlarged mounting area  12  is roughly square and has multiple holes  16 ,  16 ′,  16 ″ and  16 ′″ bored therein. These holes are sized to accept a mounting screw [not shown in  FIG. 3 ] to permit storage device  10  to be secured to a convenient surface. 
       FIG. 3A  shows a side view of the storage device  10  of  FIG. 2  with “L”-shaped storage rod  22  being mounted on a base  11 . “L”-shaped storage rod  24  is mounted on a separate base  13 . The material that bases  11  and  13  are made from is selected such that each “L”-shaped storage rod  22  and  24  will stand erect on its own. To use the storage device  10  mounted on bases  11  and  13  each base-mounted storage rod  22  and  24  is placed upon a suitable surface  19 . The storage rods  22  and  24  are then moved into alignment such that closing mechanism  20  may be secured in the slot [not shown in  FIG. 3A ] in storage rod  22 . In this configuration, continuous personal items  15  may be inserted onto storage device  10  by moving closing mechanism  20  to the open position shown in  FIG. 3A . When all of the desired continuous personal items are inserted onto storage device  10 , the closing mechanism  20  will be moved to the closed position where the free end of closing mechanism  20  is secured to storage rod  22 . As is shown in  FIG. 5 , closing mechanism  20 , when in the closed position, forms a smooth, continuous top surface with storage rods  22  and  24  such that bracelets, etc. can be easily slid from one storage rod to the other. In addition, when it is desired to remove a particular personal item, it is not necessary to remove any other items to remove the desired item—in contrast to many other prior art jewelry organizer designs. 
       FIG. 4  shows a side view of the storage device  10  mounted onto a support block  26  by screws  17 ,  17 ′,  17 ″ and  17 ′″. To use storage device  10  to store continuous personal items such as bracelets, bangles, necklaces, rings and/or watches, the left-hand storage rod  22  and right-hand storage rod  24  are secured to any convenient surface such as wooden block  26  as shown in  FIG. 4 . In  FIG. 4 , screws  17 ,  17 ′,  17 ″ and  17 ′″ are used in cooperation with the holes in enlarged mounting areas  12  and  14  to secure the storage rods  22  and  24  to wooden support block  26 . It is to be understood that the support rods  22  and  24  have to be secured to wooden support block  26  in an aligned manner and spaced appropriately to permit closing mechanism  20  to cooperate with and be received in slot  32  of storage rod  22  as shown in  FIG. 7 , below, to open and close storage device  10  such that continuous personal items may be inserted and removed from storage device  10 . The support block is shown in  FIG. 4  as being made of wood, but any other suitable material could be used. For example, the support block could be metal, a polymer, or stone. In these situations, a different fastening means might have to be used to secure enlarged mounting areas  12  and  14  to the support block, for example, welding, or an adhesive. 
       FIG. 5  shows a side view of the closing mechanism as shown in area A of  FIG. 4 . Storage device  10  is closed by closing mechanism  20  which is a rod, pivotally mounted to one end of storage rod  24  and received [in the closed position as shown herein] in a slot [not shown in  FIG. 5 ] in the end of storage rod  22 . Member  20  is pivotally mounted to storage rod  24  by pin  28 . It should be noted that when closing mechanism  20  is moved to the closed position, there the top surface of closing mechanism  20  aligns with the top surfaces of storage rod  22  and storage rod  24  such that a continuous surface is formed across the gap between storage rods  22  and  24 . This construction makes it easy to slide continuous personal items from one storage rod to the other, and it makes usage of the storage device safer since many continuous personal items such as bracelets, bangles, rings, necklaces and/or rings are rather fragile. Thus, this construction, lessens the risk of a personal item being snagged and damaged in using the storage device. 
       FIG. 6  shows a plan view of the closing mechanism shown from the perspective of arrow D in  FIG. 5 . Storage rod  24  has a slot  27  cut in the end opposite from the enlarged mounting area  14 . Closing mechanism  20  has a reduced size portion  29  on the right-hand portion thereof. This portion  29  is bored for a hole which will accept pin  28  to pivotally mount the closing mechanism  20  to storage rod  24 . 
       FIG. 7  shows a plan view of the closing mechanism of  FIG. 5  from the perspective of arrow C. Storage rod  22  has a slot  32  cut at the end thereof opposite from enlarged mounting area  12 . Closing mechanism  20  has a reduced size portion  31  on the left-hand portion of the closing member. This portion  31  is sized to fit within slot  32 . Portion  31  is secured within slot  32  when in the position shown in  FIGS. 7 and 8 . 
       FIG. 8  shows a cross-sectional view along section E-E of  FIG. 7  and illustrates how portion  31  is secured in slot  32 . Reduced size portion  31  is made from a ferrous material and is held in the position shown in  FIG. 8  by means of a magnet  34 . Other mechanisms [not shown in the drawings] may be used to secure portion  31  within slot  32  in the closed position shown in  FIGS. 7 and 8 . For example, a spring-loaded, ball-type detent cooperating with a depression in portion  31  could be used to secure portion  31 . Indeed, any mechanism that is relatively inexpensive and simple in operation could be used to secure portion  31 . 
       FIG. 9  shows a side view of the second embodiment of the invention. Storage device  20  is similar to storage device  10  of  FIGS. 2-8  except it is mounted on a continuous strip  36  and assembled into a single unit—unlike storage device  10 . Storage device  20  comprises a left-hand storage rod  22 ′ secured at one end thereof to the left-hand portion of continuous strip  36  with the opposite end of storage rod  22 ′ being freely supported. Right-hand storage rod  24 ′ is secured at one end thereof to the right-hand portion of continuous strip  36  with the opposite end of storage rod  24 ′ being freely supported. Closing mechanism  20 ′ is pivotally mounted to the free end of right-hand storage rod  24 ′ 
       FIG. 10  shows a plan view from the perspective of arrows F-F in  FIG. 9  and illustrates how continuous strip  36  may be used to mount storage device  20  to a convenient surface. Continuous strip  36  has a series of screw-mounting holes [ 38 ,  39 ,  40 ,  41 ,  38 ′,  39 ′,  40 ′ and  41 ′] bored in the right-hand and left-hand ends thereof. Screws [not shown in  FIG. 10 ] may be used in cooperation with the screw-mounting holes to secure storage device  20  to any convenient surface. 
       FIG. 11  shows a side view of a third embodiment of the invention. Storage device  30  comprises separate left-hand and right-hand generally “L”-shaped storage rods,  43  and  44  respectively. Left-hand storage rod  43  comprises a generally horizontal leg  45  and a generally vertical leg  48 . Leg  48  is secured at one end to enlarged mounting area  49  with the other end thereof being joined to the left-hand end of horizontal leg  45 . The right-hand end of horizontal leg  45  is freely supported. Right-hand storage rod  44  comprises a generally horizontal leg  46  and a generally vertical leg  51 . Leg  51  is secured at one end to enlarged mounting area  52  with the other end thereof being joined to the right-hand end of horizontal leg  46 . The left-hand end of horizontal leg  46  is freely supported. The closing mechanism for storage device  30  comprises a sliding cover  47  which is slidably secured to the left-hand end of horizontal leg  46 . Sliding cover  47  is a hollow cylinder whose inside diameter is slightly larger than the outside diameter of horizontal legs  45  and  46 . It should be noted that the rods comprising legs  45 ,  46 ,  48  and  51  are all of constant cross-section. When the cross-section chosen for these legs is circular, this would mean that these legs would be of constant cross-section. 
     The third embodiment of the invention as shown in  FIG. 11 , like the embodiment shown in  FIG. 2 , can be mounted to any convenient support. Both “L”-shaped support rod  43  and  44  may have a support base much as bases  11  and  13  shown in  FIG. 3A . An alternate construction would be to have a single support base large enough to secure both support rod  43  and  44  such as wooden block  59  as shown in  FIG. 13  for use. The means used to mount storage device  30  to the support are screws or like fasteners cooperating with holes in enlarged mounting areas  49  and  52 . A plan view of enlarged mounting area  49  is shown in  FIG. 12 , from the perspective of arrows G, G in  FIG. 11 . This view shows mounting holes  54 ,  54 ′,  54 ″ and  54 ′″ bored in enlarged mounting area  49 . It should be noted that support base  59  may be made of materials other than wood. Indeed, a number of suitable materials could be used. A few examples of suitable materials are metal, a polymer, or stone. 
       FIG. 13  shows a side view of the storage device  30  mounted for use. To use storage device  30  to store continuous personal items such as bracelets, bangles, necklaces, rings and/or watches, the left-hand storage rod  43  and right-hand storage rod  44  are secured to any convenient surface such as wooden block  59  by screws  50 ,  50 ′,  50 ″ and  50 ′″ as shown in  FIG. 13 . In  FIG. 13 , the screws are used in cooperation with the holes in enlarged mounting areas  49  and  52  to secure the storage rods  43  and  44  to wooden support block  59 . It is to be understood that the storage rods  43  and  44  have to be secured to wooden support block  59  in an aligned manner and spaced appropriately to permit sliding cover  47  to cooperate with and to slide onto and off of the free end of leg  45  as shown in  FIG. 13  in order to open and close storage device  30  such that continuous personal items may be inserted and removed from storage device  30 . 
     Legs  45 ,  46 ,  48  and  51  can be of solid or tubular construction and can be of any desired cross-section, similar to storage device  10  as discussed supra, but are shown as being of circular cross-section in the figures. Storage device  30  can be made from any suitable material such as a polymer or metal. 
     A major advantage of all the embodiments of the inventive storage device is that a large number of continuous personal items such as bracelets, bangles, necklaces, rings and/or watches may be mounted on the storage device for storage and display. In addition, when it is desired to remove a particular item, it is not necessary to remove any other items to remove the desired item in contrast to many other prior art jewelry organizer designs. By way of example, the unique construction of the storage device of the invention permits free horizontal left and right movement of all of the mounted personal items such that the particular desired item may be isolated next to the closing mechanism. the closing mechanism is then actuated to open the storage device and the desired item is removed. Once the desired item has been removed, the closing mechanism may be closed. In this manner of operation, it is not necessary to remove more items than the one desired—thus saving a good deal of time and effort. In addition, since many of these personal items are rather fragile in nature, there is less chance of damage to the mounted personal items since only the desired one need be removed. 
       FIG. 14  shows a plan view of a fourth embodiment of the invention.  FIGS. 15, 16 and 17  show a side view of the fourth embodiment of  FIG. 14 . The four figures will be described together since they all show the same embodiment. It is to be understood that not all of the elements described below are shown in each figure. 
     Storage device  40  comprises left-hand and right-hand generally “L”-shaped storage rods,  65  and  67  respectively. Left-hand storage rod  65  comprises a generally horizontal leg  62  and a generally vertical leg  63 . Leg  63  is secured at one end to enlarged mounting area  68  with the other end thereof being joined to the left-hand end of horizontal leg  62 . The right-hand end of horizontal leg  62  is freely supported. Right-hand storage rod  67  comprises a generally horizontal leg  64  and a generally vertical leg  63 ′. Leg  63 ′ is secured at one end to enlarged mounting area  66  with the other end thereof being joined to the right-hand end of horizontal leg  64 . Vertical legs  63 ′ and  63  are securely fastened at the lower ends thereof to the upper surface of enlarged mounting areas  66  and  68 , respectively, by welding or other conventional fastening processes. The upper end of vertical leg  63  is secured to the left end of horizontal leg  62  by welding or other conventional fastening means. The upper end of vertical leg  63 ′ is secured to the right hand end of horizontal leg  64  The right-hand end of horizontal leg  62  and the left-hand end of horizontal leg  64  are freely supported. This provides a cantilever mounting for horizontal legs  62  and  64 . 
     It should be noted that instead of having vertical legs  63  and  63 ′ joined to horizontal legs  62  and  64  by welding or other conventional fastening means, the legs may be made of one continuous piece of tubing with a bend where the right-angle joint is shown in the Figures [this would be similar to the construction shown in  FIGS. 2, 4 and 9 ]. For example, left-hand storage rod  65  could be made from a single continuous piece of tubing with a bend where the right angle joint between vertical leg  63  and horizontal leg  62  is currently shown. In similar fashion, right-hand storage rod  64  could also be made of a continuous piece of tubing with a bend. 
     Horizontal legs  62  and  64  do not extend to and meet in the center of storage device  40  and so provide an opening [not shown in  FIGS. 14 and 15 ] through which a continuous personal item such as a bracelet, bangle, necklace, ring and/or watch may be mounted on storage rods  65  and  67 . The closing mechanism for storage device  40  comprises a sliding cover  60  which is slidably secured to the free end of horizontal leg  64 . Sliding cover  60  is a hollow cylinder whose inside diameter is slightly larger than the outside diameter of horizontal legs  62  and  64 . Sliding cover  60  is secured to horizontal leg  64  but can slide to the left and right to open and close storage device  40 . This sliding action is illustrated in  FIGS. 16 and 17  wherein opening  69  is partially open in  FIG. 16  and completely open in  FIG. 17 . 
     Storage device  40  also comprises support strip  61  with three enlarged mounting areas  66 ,  68  and  70  thereon. Mounting areas  66  and  68  are each shown [in  FIG. 14 ] with multiple mounting holes  78 ,  78 ′,  78 ″,  78 ′″,  80 ,  80 ,  80 ″ and  80 ′″ therein to receive screws so as to mount storage device  40  to a convenient surface such as a horizontal block or to a convenient vertical surface such as a closet door [not shown]. In addition, mounting area  70  has at least one hole for a mounting screw which is not shown in the figures. 
       FIG. 18  shows one manner in which cover  60  may be secured onto horizontal rod  64 .  FIG. 18  is a plan view taken along section H-H of  FIG. 17 . The elements of  FIGS. 14-17  that are repeated in  FIG. 18  carry the same numbering. Sliding cover  60  is shown in the fully open position [slid as far to the right as possible] in  FIG. 18 . Horizontal rod  64  is shown as a hollow tube in  FIG. 18  closed at the left-hand end by plate  78  secured in the end of horizontal rod  64 . Stopped slot  74  is milled or otherwise formed in the side wall of horizontal rod  64 . Pin  72  is mounted in cover  60  and is carried in stopped slot  74  such that it can slide to the left or to the right but will retain cover  60  on horizontal rod  64 . Thus, the interaction of pin  72  with the two ends of stopped slot  74  provide for the left-right sliding movement of cover  60  and also secure cover  60  to rod-like member  64 . 
       FIG. 19  is a sectional view taken along section H-H of  FIG. 17 . The elements of  FIGS. 14-18  that are repeated in  FIG. 19  carry the same numbering. Plate  74  is secured to and closes the right end of horizontal rod  62 . Cover  60  is shown slid all the way down as shown in  FIG. 19 . In this position, cover  60  closes opening  69  such that items mounted on the storage device cannot fall off. It should be noted that pin  72  is now at the bottom end [in  FIG. 19 ] of stopped slot  74 . The bottom end [in  FIG. 19 ] of cover  60  now encompasses the top [ FIG. 19 ] end of horizontal rod  62  thus closing opening  69 . 
     Distance X as shown in  FIG. 19  shows the extent of opening  69 . Distance X is such that when cover  60  is slid fully open as shown in  FIG. 17 , there is an opening of approximately 2 inches available to slip wide continuous items of jewelry on storage device  40  although this opening could obviously be greater or less than 2 inches, if desired. Distance Y as shown in  FIG. 7  indicates how far cover  60  slides over the end of horizontal rod  62 . This distance is shown as being equal to approximately two [2] diameters of horizontal rod  62  although distance Y could be more or less, if desired. It is important that cover  60  slide far enough onto horizontal rod  62  to secure the assembly together without excessive wobbling so that jewelry items may easily be placed upon and removed from storage device  40 . The materials used to construct storage device  40  and the thicknesses of the various components are selected, again, to provide for a light-weight storage device yet to provide ample strength and rigidity when the unit is being manipulated. It is envisaged that storage device  40  will be constructed primarily of metal, although any other suitable material [such as a suitable polymer] may be used. 
     Device  80  as shown in  FIG. 20  is a plan view of a fifth embodiment of the invention. Device  80  comprises multiple, “L”-shaped left-hand storage rod members  62 ′,  62 ″,  62 ′″,  62 ″″ and  62 ′″″ a vertical, strip-like member  88 . Device  80  also comprises multiple, “L”-shaped right-hand storage rod members,  64 ′,  64 ″,  64 ′″,  64 ″″ and  64 ′″″ mounted on vertical strip-like member  82 . Sliding covers  81 ,  81 ′,  81 ″,  81 ′″ and  81 ″″ are mounted on the horizontal rod members  64 ′,  64 ″,  64 ′″,  64 ″″ and  64 ′″″ in a similar manner to that shown in  FIGS. 18 and 19  to permit the covers to be slid to the right and/or the left to open and close the storage rod members so that continuous personal items may be slipped onto the storage rod members and stored/displayed thereon. Strip-like members  80  and  82  are joined at the upper end by a horizontal strip-like member  96  and also joined by spaced horizontal strip-like members  84 ,  90 ,  92 ,  94  and  95 . The purpose of horizontal strip-like members  84 ,  90 ,  92 ,  94 ,  95  and  96  is to secure the assembly together without excessive wobbling such that jewelry items may be easily mounted on and removed from storage device  80  and such that the entire storage device  80  may be fastened to a convenient vertical surface such as a closet door or the like. To this end, hanging members  98  and  98 ′ are secured to member  96  to permit storage device  80  to be hung over the top of a closet door. In addition, device  80  can be mounted to any suitable surface by emplacing suitable fasteners in fastener holes  105 ,  105 ′,  105 ″,  105 ′″,  105 ″″, and/or  105 ′″″. A suitable fastener for fastening device  80  on a wooden surface might be wood screws [not shown in  FIG. 20 ]. Other types of surfaces might call for other types of suitable fasteners although metal screws could be used to mount device  80  on a metal surface. It should be noted that when using the fastener holes to fasten device  80  onto a surface, hanging members  98  and  98 ′ would probably need to be removed. 
       FIG. 20  shows several continuous bracelets [not numbered in the figures] and/or bangles mounted to storage rod member  62 ′. Several smaller items such as rings [not numbered in the figures] are shown as being mounted on storage rod member  62 ″. It is obvious from  FIG. 20  that a large number of continuous jewelry items can be easily stored and displayed on storage device  80 . Because each storage rod member is closed at both ends, the items mounted on storage device  80  are secure and will not fall off the storage device. However, using a simple sliding movement of the various items mounted on the device and then opening the particular rod-like member where the item desired is located by sliding the cover to the right, a particular item may easily be removed without removing any of the other items. 
       FIG. 21  shows a view of hanging member  98 ′ as shown from the perspective of arrows I-I of  FIG. 20 . Hanging member  98 ′ is secured to horizontal strip-like member  96  by any suitable fastening means [such as by welding, etc.]. Hanging member  98 ′ has a horizontal portion  100  joined at the left end to the top end of vertical portion of member  98 ′ and at the right end thereof to another vertical portion  102  which portion extends downwardly at substantially a right angle to horizontal member  100  as shown in  FIG. 21 . The length of horizontal member  100  is selected to be slightly greater that the thickness of a standard interior door. This construction will permit device  80  to be hung over the upper edge of a door such as a closet door such that device  80  may be mounted to the inside surface of a door for convenience. Hanging member  98  is constructed in substantially the same manner as hanging member  98 ′. 
     Many other configurations of the storage devices  10 ,  20 ,  30 ,  40  and  80  according to the invention are possible. The implementations described herein are only examples and other implementations are within the scope of the claims.