Abstract:
An organizer has a circular wheel having sides that slope inward towards the bottom of the wheel. The said sides are joined to a central cylinder by at least two double-sided partitions joined at the top and open at the bottom, thereby forming at least two compartments within said circular wheel between the partitions, the sides, and the central cylinder. Each double-sided partition forms a channel under it that is open on the bottom and joins the center of the central cylinder to the outside of the wheel. The organizer also has a hub that formed of a band joined to a circular disc by a support that extends less than half way around the circumference of the disc. The band can be removably attached to the central cylinder.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   This invention relates to an organizer that can be used with a bucket. In particular, it relates to a nestable organizer having a wheel that is connected to a central hub, where the wheel has at least two compartments separated by double-sided partitions and the hub has an indentation into which a 2×4 can be inserted. 
   An organizer is a container for holding various objects, such as tools, parts, and materials. An organizer will typically have compartments or dividers to separate various items. Some can be easily carried and can be attached to ladders, furniture, etc. for easy access. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,547,098 discloses a “Container with Stackable Trays and Adjustable Partitions” which converts a bucket into “an organized receptacle for storing and dispensing small parts or objects.” U.S. Pat. No. 6,059,109 discloses a stackable “Article Storage Tray” that is insertable within the upper portion of an empty container such as a five gallon bucket; it can also be placed over the upper rim of the container. Also see U.S. Pat. No. 5,669,498, which discloses an organizer that has multiple stacking heights and can be used inside a bucket. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   The organizer of this invention is much more versatile and useful than previous organizers. It can be easily attached to a 2×4 or to the side of a bucket. The hub of the organizer can be removed and attached to the side of the wheel of the organizer. The organizer has at least two compartments, each of which can be divided into smaller compartments. The hub of an organizer can be inverted and attached to another organizer. The organizer can also be nested in three different modes, a very compact mode and two modes where the organizers are separated so that items can be placed in them. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       FIG. 1  is an isometric view of a certain presently preferred embodiment of an organizer according to this invention attached to a 2×4. 
       FIG. 2  is an isometric view of the top of the organizer of  FIG. 1 , showing the inside of the compartments. 
       FIG. 3  is an isometric view of the top of the organizer of  FIG. 1 , with the hub attached to the side of the wheel. 
       FIG. 4  is an isometric view of the side of two of the organizers of  FIG. 1 , with the hub of one organizer inverted and attached to a second organizer. 
       FIG. 5  is an isometric view of three of the organizers of  FIG. 1  attached to the side of a bucket. 
       FIGS. 6   a ,  6   b , and  6   c  are isometric views showing three modes in which the organizer of  FIG. 1  can be nested. 
       FIGS. 7   a  and  7   b  are isometric partially cut-away views showing two alternative means for attaching the hub to the wheel. 
   

   DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
   In  FIGS. 1 to 6 , organizer  1  has wheel  2  removably attached to hub  3 . While the organizers may be made of any size, they are preferably of a size suitable for use with buckets, such as a five gallon bucket, which may have a diameter at the top of about 11¼ inches and may be about 14 inches deep, a 4½ gallon bucket, which may have a diameter at the top of about 11½ inches and may be about 13 inches deep, or an extra high 5 gallon bucket, which may have a diameter at the top of about 11¼ inches and may be about 16 inches deep. If the outside diameter of the organizer is slightly less than the inside diameter of the bucket, 3 or more organizers can be nested and carried inside a bucket. Wheel  2  preferably has a diameter of about 9½ to about 11¼ inches with sides preferably about 3 to about 4 inches high so that one or more organizers will fit into a 5 gallon bucket. Wheel  2  is circular and has sides  4  that are sloped in towards the base of wheel  2 . Sides  4  should be sloped sufficiently, preferably at an angle from the vertical of about 8 to about 12 degrees, so that the organizers can be nested. 
   Wheel  2  has a central cylinder  5  that is open at both ends. Cylinder  5  is preferably sloped at an angle from the vertical of about 8 to about 12 degrees so that the organizers can be nested. Hub  3  is preferably sloped at the same angle as cylinder  5  so that it fits into the inside of cylinder  5 . Cylinder  5  is joined to sides  4  by three equally spaced apart partitions  6 . Each partition  6  has two sides that are joined at the top. Partitions  6  thereby create three compartments  7  between sides  4  and cylinder  5  and also create three channels  8 . Channels  8  are open to the outside of wheel  2 , are open to the inside of cylinder  5 , and are open at the bottom (see  FIG. 3 ). Channels  8  enable organizer  1  to be mounted on the side of bucket  9 , as shown in  FIG. 5 . In order for wheel  2  to be capable of being mounted on the side of a bucket, two of the channels  8  should be about 110 to about 130 degrees apart. While wheel  2  may have only two channels  8  (and therefore only 2 compartments  7  and only two partitions  6 ), it preferably has three, spaced 120 degrees apart, so that any two of the channels  8  will fit over the edge of a bucket. Channels  8  are preferably about 2½ inches to about 3½ deep and about 1 to about 2 inches wide. 
   Crossing the outside of the base of each compartment  7  are two grooves  10  and  11 . Groove  10  may be about ½ to about 1 inch deep and groove  11  may be about ⅛ to about ½ inches deep. Grooves  10  and  11  are slightly wider than the width of the top of partitions  6 , and are similarly shaped, so that 2 or more organizers can be nested in different modes. Referring to  FIG. 6   a , four organizers  1  are nested in the most compact mode by inserting the partitions of lower organizers into the channels of higher organizers. This high-compaction mode may be used to save storage space for shipment or while on retailer shelves. In  FIG. 6   b , four organizers  1  are nested in a less compact mode, where groves  10  of higher organizers rest on the top of partitions  6  of lower organizers. When stacked four deep, this medium compaction mode allows the rim of wheel  2  of the top most organizer to rest below the rim of a 4.5 gallon bucket. When stacked five deep, this medium compaction mode also allows the rim of wheel  2  of the top most organizer to rest below the rim of an extra deep 5 gallon bucket. In  FIG. 6   c , four organizers  1  are nested in the least compact mode, where grooves  11  of higher organizers rest on partitions  6  of lower organizers. This low compaction mode provides increased usable storage volume over the medium compaction mode and, when stacked four deep, allows the rim of wheel  2  of the top most organizer  1  to rest below the rim of a standard 5 gallon bucket. The relative height of the stack of organizers is important. If the rim of the top most wheel  2  extends above the rim of the bucket, the wheel  2  will have decreased contact with the inside wall of the bucket and may become unstable during transport. If the organizer extends too far above the rim of the bucket, the wheel  2  or the hub  3  may interfere with the operation of the bucket handle. Furthermore, if the rim of the top most wheel  2  is below the rim of the bucket, then the center hubs  3  may be removed or inverted and a lid may then be placed on the bucket for extended storage. Shorter or taller buckets are also envisioned with the height of the bucket being irrelevant to this invention. 
   Referring to  FIG. 3 , cylinder  5  has inwardly-extending rim  12 , leaving a central aperture  13  that may have a diameter of about 3½ to about 4½ inches. Hub  3  has a circular band  14  that is joined to a disc  15  by support  16 . Band  14  is provided with circumferential indentation  17  and has a sloped slit  18  therethrough, opposite support  16 . The inside diameter of circumferential indentation  17  is about the same as the diameter of rim  12 . To attach hub  3  to wheel  2 , band  14  is squeezed inwardly so that band  14  slides apart at slit  18 , thereby reducing the diameter of band  14  until it can be inserted into aperture  13  so that rim  12  fits inside circumferential indentation  17 ; when band  14  is no longer squeezed, it resumes its original shape, thereby holding hub  3  to wheel  2 . To remove hub  3  from wheel  2 , band  14  is squeezed and hub  3  is pulled out though aperture  13 . Hub  3  may be attached to wheel  2  in an upright position, as shown in  FIGS. 1 ,  2 ,  4 , and  6 , or in an inverted position, as shown in the upper organizer in  FIG. 4 . 
     FIGS. 7   a  and  7   b  show alternative means for attaching hub  3  to wheel  2 . In  FIG. 7   a , band  14  is unslotted, but has outwardly-extending tabs  19  that fit though slots  20  in rim  12  of wheel  2  (only a portion of which is shown), so that hub  3  may be inserted through aperture  13  from beneath wheel  2 , then rotated slightly to secure it to wheel  2 . In  FIG. 7   b , band  14  is unslotted, but male-threaded, and a correspondingly female-threaded nut  21  is also provided. Hub  3  may be inserted through aperture  13  from beneath wheel  2  and nut  21  may be screwed onto band  14  to secure hub  3  to wheel  2 . As still another alternative, the inside of rim  13  may be female threaded so that band  14  screws directly into rim  13 . 
   Support  16  extends less than half way around hub  3  in order to provide a slot in which a 2×4 may be inserted, as shown in  FIG. 1 . Support  16  is provided with a card slot  22  which forms a clip  23 , so that cards and other thin materials may be held. Also, when hub  3  is inverted, hub  3  may be attached over the edge of wheel  2 , as shown in  FIG. 3 , by inserting the edge into card slot  19 . 
   Disc  15  may have a number of apertures  24  therethrough for holding screwdrivers, scissors, or other tools, as shown in  FIG. 3 . Disc  15  also has an female threaded inversion screw hole  25  that extends most, but not all, of the way through disc  15 , and a smaller central hole  26  that extends the remaining distance through disc  15 . Inversion screw  27  has male threads that engage the threads of screw hole  25 . Screw  27  is provided with a central spike  28  at one end that can pass through central hole  26  in disc  15 . Organizer  1  may be attached to 2×4  29  (see  FIG. 1 ) by screwing inversion screw  27  into screw hole  25  using dual slotted screwdriver and Phillips screwdriver hole  30  until spike  28  engages 2×4  29 . Organizer  1  may also be attached to 2×4  29  by means of screw  31 , which is inserted through aperture  32  in support  16 . 
   Screw hole  25  is preferably about ¼ to about ¾ inches off-center in disc  15  to help alleviate torque transferred by twisting apart organizers that were joined together, as shown in  FIG. 4 , thereby reducing the stress on support  16 . The threads on screw hole  25  and screw  27  may be designed so that when two organizers are joined together, as shown in  FIG. 4 , the tops of their hubs will make contact when the hubs are aligned. 
   As shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2 , organizer  1  may be provided with three dividers  33  to divide compartments  7  into smaller compartments. Each divider  33  is provided with notches  34 , which may be inserted into slots  35  in the sides and the base of compartments  7 . Each divider  33  also has a channel  36  across it into which the raised portion of the base over groove  10  fits, so that the divider may be stored at the bottom of wheel  2  when not in use, as shown in  FIG. 2 . 
   The organizer is preferably made of plastic, such as polycarbonate, polyethylene, polypropylene, or polyvinyl chloride, but it may also be made of other materials, such as steel or aluminum. 
   The organizer may be used to hold screws, nails, and tools for those working up on a ladder or on framing. The organizers may be transported to the work site inside a bucket and then mounted on the ladder, on an open framing member, or on the side of the bucket. The organizers may be more permanent installed over a workbench or in a craft area. Several rows of horizontal 2×4s may be installed with several organizers mounted on each 2×. In the embodiment shown in  FIG. 4 , the organizer could be used to organize crafts or sewing supplies on a table or on a sewing machine. The organizers could be used in any configuration in an office environment or a school to organize office or school supplies, pens, pencils, rubber bands,