Abstract:
A scoop retention device is provided, comprising: a first length of flexible tubing having openings at each of first and second ends, the first length of tubing being configured to receive and retain a handle of a scoop within the first opening; a first magnet secured within the opening at the second end of the first length of tubing and having an exposed surface associated with a first magnetic polarity; and a second magnet securable to the inside of a container having a surface associated with a second magnetic polarity opposite the first polarity and facing the inside of the container; whereby, the scoop is removably secured to the inside of the container by magnetic attraction between the first and second magnets.

Description:
RELATED APPLICATION DATA 
     The present application is related to commonly-assigned and co-pending U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/947,439, entitled SCOOP RETAINING DEVICE and filed on Mar. 4, 2014, which application is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. 
    
    
     TECHNICAL FIELD 
     The present invention relates generally to keeping scoops easily available within a container. 
     BACKGROUND ART 
     Powdered, granulated or other such substances, such as protein, rice, seeds, coffee, chemical, or hair product, is often sold in containers that require some form of scoop for product retrieval. When the scoop becomes buried or lost in the granulated or powdered substance, it is not immediately available when desired or required and thus requires searching through the substance. This is very frustrating to the user, a dread of every day, maybe unforeseen until the moment of attempted retrieval. Some industries, such as hair and beauty products, require the user to mix (for example, hair color modifier) the product by inverting the closed container at least one time before product retrieval. The scoop then becomes buried and the hair stylist must now waste the customer&#39;s and his/her time to dig through the product to retrieve the scoop, and then wash and dry his/her hands. It will be appreciated that searching through the powder, protein, rice, seeds, coffee, chemical, or other substance is unsanitary and requires hand washing after the scoop is retrieved. When the substance is available for public use, such as powdered protein in a gym, hands should ideally be washed before the scoop is retrieved, as well as after, although this is rarely done. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     An embodiment of the present invention provides a scoop retention device, comprising: a first length of flexible tubing having openings at each of first and second ends, the first length of tubing being configured to receive and retain a handle of a scoop within the first opening; a first magnet secured within the opening at the second end of the first length of tubing and having an exposed surface associated with a first magnetic polarity; and a second magnet securable to the inside of a container having a surface associated with a second magnetic polarity opposite the first polarity and facing the inside of the container; whereby, the scoop is removably secured to the inside of the container by magnetic attraction between the first and second magnets. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  illustrates an embodiment of the scoop retention device of the present invention; 
         FIG. 2A  illustrates one portion of the scoop retention device of  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 2B  illustrates the magnet of the scoop retention device of  FIG. 1  secured to the inside of a container; 
         FIG. 3A  is a top view of an alternative embodiment in which a magnet is embedded into the side of a container; 
         FIG. 3B  is a perspective view of the alternative embodiment of  FIG. 3A ; 
         FIG. 4  illustrates the scoop retention device of  FIG. 1  secured to a scoop; and 
         FIG. 5  illustrates a scoop with the scoop retention device of  FIG. 1  removably secured to the inside of a container. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     The described features, structures, or characteristics of the invention may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments. In the following description, numerous specific details are provided to provide a thorough understanding of embodiments of the invention. One skilled in the relevant art will recognize, however, that the invention can be practiced without one or more of the specific details, or with other methods, components and so forth. In other instances, well-known structures, materials, or operations are not shown or described in detail to avoid obscuring aspects of the invention. 
     For purposes of convenience, the term “contents” is used herein generically to refer to any scoopable product or substance such as, but without limitation, the aforementioned protein, rice, seeds, coffee, chemical, or hair product. 
       FIG. 1  illustrates an embodiment of the scoop retention device  100  of the present invention. The device  100  includes a first portion  110 , to which a scoop is secured, and a second portion  120 , which mounts to an inside wall of a container. 
     The first portion  110  includes a length of flexible tubing  112 , having an opening at each end  112 A,  112 B (see also  FIG. 2A ). The opening at one end  112 A of the tubing  112  is stretched and a magnet  114  inserted within the opening so that it is flush with the end  112 A. The end  112 A of the tubing  112  is then released and allowed to close tightly around the magnet  114 . In one embodiment, after the magnet  114  has been inserted into the opening, a second, shorter length of flexible tubing  116  is stretched and the end  112 A is inserted into the second tubing  116 . The second tubing  116  is allowed to close tightly around the end  112 A and serves as a retaining ring or collar around the end  112 A to prevent the magnet  114  from slipping out of the tubing  112 . The exposed surface  114 A of the magnet  114  is of a first magnetic polarity; i.e., either north or south be covered with a thin layer of inert material. 
     The second portion  120  of the scoop retention device  100  includes a second magnet  122  and a section of double-sided tape  124  (see also  FIG. 2B ). One side  124 A of the tape  124  is secured to one surface  122 A of the second magnet  122  with the opposite surface  122 B having the opposite polarity as the exposed surface  114 A of the magnet  114 ; i.e., either south or north. In the embodiment of  FIG. 2 , the opposite surface  122 B facing the inside of the container  10  may be exposed. The other side  124 B of the tape  124  is protected by a liner that may be peeled off by the consumer. The consumer may then secure the magnet  122  to an inside wall  12  of a container  10  ( FIG. 2B ) by pressing the magnet  122  and tape  124  to the wall  12 . The magnet  122  may also be molded into plastic with the double-sided tape  124  secured to the back surface of the plastic. Preferably, the magnet  122  is mounted on an area of the inside wall  12  which has a clean, smooth surface and is close to the top of the container  10 . Although the second portion  120  of the scoop retention device  100  is described and illustrated as being attached to the inside wall  12  of the container, it may instead be attached to the outside of the container  10 , to the underside of the lid of the container  10 , or to a wall or other surface outside the container  10 . 
     In an alternative embodiment, illustrated in  FIGS. 3A and 3B , a container  20  may be manufactured with magnet  130  embedded in the wall  22 , in a smooth area near the top of the container. The surface of the magnet  130  having the polarity opposite the polarity of the exposed surface  114 A of the first magnet  114  faces the inside of the container  20 . The container  20  may be sold without any contents, fillable by the purchaser of the container  20 , such as a consumer or a company supplying the contents. The container  20  may include a scoop  30  with the first portion  110  of the retention device  100  already secured to the handle  32 . To prevent the scoop  30  from moving around inside the container  20  during shipping and handling, the scoop  30  may be secured to the inside wall with a tear-off or breakable tab or other such means. 
     To attach a scoop  30  to the retention device  100 , the opening of the tube  112  at the end  112 B opposite the end  112 A with the magnet  114  is stretched and the end of the handle  32  of the scoop  30  is inserted. The tubing is then allowed to close tightly around the handle  32 , securing it within the tubing  112 , as illustrated in  FIG. 4 . 
     Referring to  FIG. 5 , to attach the scoop to the inside wall  12  of the container  10 , the user moves the end  112 B of the tubing  112  in which the first magnet  114  is secured close to, or against, the exposed surface  122 B of the magnet  122  that is secured to the inside wall  12  of the container  10 . Attraction between the opposite poles of the two magnets  114 ,  122  causes the first and second magnets  114 ,  122  to “stick” to each other, keeping the scoop  30  near the top of the container  10  and within easy reach of the user. To scoop out contents  14  of the container  10 , the user may pull the scoop  30  off of the second magnet  122 , scoop contents  14  from the container  10 , then replace the first portion  110  of the retention device  100  onto the second magnet  122 . It will be appreciated that the scoop  30  will not become buried in the contents  14  so that unsanitary digging to retrieve it is not necessary. 
     The dimensions of the tubing  112 , the first magnet  114 , the collar  116 , the second magnet  122 , and the double-sided tape  124  are not critical. In one embodiment, the approximate dimensions are:
         Tubing  112 : 1.375 inches long, 0.25 inches inner diameter (ID), 0.025 inches wall thickness.   Collar  116 : 0.375 inches long, 0.125 inches ID, 0.042 inches wall thickness.   First magnet  114 : 6.35 mm square, 9.5 mm thick;   Second magnet  122 : 8.5 mm by 12.5 mm, 2.4 mm thick.       

     The double-sided tape  124  may have somewhat larger surface dimensions than the second magnet to provide a larger adhesive area against the inside wall  12  of the container  10 , for example 0.875 inches long, 0.5 inches wide. Double-sided or #4932™ VHB™ tape, item #4952, has been found to provide consistently strong and long-lasting adhesive strength to secure the magnet  122  to the inside wall  12  of the container  10 . Other tapes or adhesives may be used instead. 
     The tubing  112  and  116  may be any appropriate tubing. However, high-quality latex tubing has been found to have the stretch quality needed to stretch the openings  112 A,  112 B of the tubing  112  and stretch the collar tubing  116  to insert the magnet  114  and scoop handle  32 , respectively. The latex tubing has also been found to have a high enough coefficient of friction to prevent the magnet  114  and scoop handle  32  from slipping out of the tubing  112  without supplemental adhesives. Furthermore, such a material is inert and non-leaching, and thus will not contaminate the contents of the container  10 . 
     The magnets  114 ,  122  may be made from any appropriate magnetic material. However, neodymium magnets of, for example, grade  42  or  48 , with a nickel/copper/nickel coating has been found to have sufficient magnetic strength to hold the scoop  30  to the second magnet  122  but without requiring the user to use excessive force to remove the scoop  30  from the second magnet  122 , which could cause the double-sided tape  124  to peel away from the inside wall  12  or cause the handle  32  of the scoop  30  to be pulled out from the tubing  112 . 
     The description of the present invention has been presented for purposes of illustration and description, but is not intended to be exhaustive or limited to the invention in the form disclosed. Many modifications and variations will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art. The embodiment was chosen and described in order to best explain the principles of the invention, the practical application, and to enable others of ordinary skill in the art to understand the invention for various embodiments with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated.