Abstract:
A system for organizing very similar articles in a container so that the user can readily identify the desired article. A “menu” may be used to readily identify the articles, which preferably are non-food, consumer items, such as bandages or first-aid supplies. The “menu” may be provided in the lid of the container. If desired, the “menu” may be fixedly provided in the lid of the container, such as on the interior-facing surface of a flip-top or hinged-lid of the container. The articles may be organized in an insert or tray that is removable from a shell portion of the container so the shell can be used for other purposes.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    The present invention relates to an organizer system designed to organize a plurality of different items that are very similar in appearance and to provide a user with guidance in identifying a desired one of the plurality of different items. The present invention further relates to a manner of facilitating identification of a desired one of a plurality of different items. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    Various organizer systems are known in the art for organizing different types of articles in an organizer or other type of holder or container or case. Such organizer systems generally organize the articles according to type, separating one from the other such as within different compartments. For instance, a plurality of similar articles may be placed in each compartment, the articles in one compartment differing from the articles in the other compartment so that the compartments serve to organize the articles by type. 
         [0003]    Difficulties arise with organizer systems for articles that are different from each other but which are not readily distinguishable from one another, either because of their appearance or because of their arrangement within the compartments. For instance, existing organizers that separate a plurality of different types of similar-looking articles (different articles that nonetheless are not readily distinguishable from one another) by grouping articles of the same type separately from articles of a different type have not been known to provide a ready means of readily distinguishing the different articles from one another. Thus, even though the user may feel assured that all articles in a given compartment are of a same type, the user may not know what that type of article actually is because such article is not readily distinguishable from an article or articles in other compartments in the organizer system. 
         [0004]    Moreover, various packagings are known for containing a plurality of different types of articles that are not readily distinguishable from one another in a manner that does not expose the articles for ready identification. For instance, articles that are not marked along a given side may be arranged with only such unmarked side readily visible. The articles must be individually removed from the packaging and examined to determine the identity of the article. Such packagings have not been known to provide a ready means of distinguishing the different articles from one another without removing the articles and examining the articles. Such problem is exacerbated when the articles are tightly packed in the packaging and need to be pulled out and examined to differentiate one article from the other, possibly disturbing the other articles in the packaging. Even more challenging are packages of different types of articles that do not bear any identifying indicia for differentiating among the different types of articles. One common example is a box of adhesive bandages containing different types of bandages, wherein the wrappers of the bandages do not specify the type of bandage therein. A user not only must remove the bandage from the box, but typically must also hold the bandage up to the light to see through the wrapper to identify the bandage. 
         [0005]    Such organizer systems and packagings have existed for many years without having presented a solution to the difficulties thereby presented in differentiating articles that are difficult to differentiate for the above-described reasons. Although it is recognized that boxes for food items may include menus identifying and differentiating the different types of food items contained therein, such menus have not been used for identifying and differentiating consumer items, such as bandages or first-aid supplies. More particularly, menus have not been used to identify and differentiate grouped articles, wherein the articles are not readily differentiable from one another. The present invention addresses the needs for identifying compartmentalized items and for differentiating among a plurality of groups of articles that are not otherwise readily differentiable from one another. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0006]    In accordance with the principles of the present invention, an organizer system is configured for organizing different articles that are not be readily distinguishable from one another so that the user can readily identify and select the desired article from the organizer system. In a preferred embodiment, the different articles are sorted by article type and each group of articles of the same type is stored in a separate compartment to separate the different types of articles from one another. The articles may be organized in an insert or tray that is removable from a shell portion of the container so the shell can be used for other purposes. Further in accordance with the principles of the present invention, a guide or chart or “menu” or other type of article identifying feature (hereinafter “menu” for the sake of convenience, without intent to limit) may be used to readily identify the articles contained in each of the various compartments. 
         [0007]    In order to assure that the menu is readily accessible and facilitates selection of the desired article to the greatest extent and ease, the menu may be coupled to the container. In one embodiment, the menu may be provided in the lid of the container. More particularly, if desired, the menu may be formed separately from yet fixedly provided within the lid of the container. 
         [0008]    In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, the organizer system may have a container with a hinged or flip-top lid that remains coupled with the holding portion of the container in which the articles are organized. The provision of a menu on the interior-facing surface of such lid is particularly helpful in assuring the menu is always readily accessible and arranged in close conjunction with the articles to be selected with the assistance of the menu. 
         [0009]    In accordance with another aspect of the invention, the compartments may be formed by an insert separate from the container of the organizer system. The container may be formed from a sturdier material than that of the insert so that it lasts longer, whereas the material of the insert may be formed from a material that is less expensive yet easier to form into the desired compartments. As such, when the articles contained and/or stored in the organizer system of the present invention have all been used or removed, a new insert containing the same articles as before or different articles may be placed into the container. Alternatively, the container may be used for other purposes without the insert and compartments. 
         [0010]    These and other features and advantages of the present invention will be readily apparent from the following detailed description of the invention, the scope of the invention being set out in the appended claims. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0011]    The detailed description will be better understood in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference characters represent like elements, as follows: 
           [0012]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of an organizer system formed in accordance with the principles of the present invention; 
           [0013]      FIG. 2  is a top plan view of an organizer system as in  FIG. 1  with the lid open and substantially horizontal; 
           [0014]      FIG. 3  is an exploded view of an embodiment of an organizer system formed in accordance with the principles of the present invention and in which compartments are formed by providing an insert element within a separately formed container shell, and a menu is formed separately from the container as well; and 
           [0015]      FIG. 4  is a top and side perspective view of an exemplary compartment insert showing the compartments formed therein. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0016]    An exemplary organizer system  100  formed in accordance with the principles of the present invention is illustrated in  FIG. 1 . Organizer system  100  includes a container  102  having a base  104  configured for containing and/or storing articles therein, the articles being accessible via open end  106  of base  104 . In accordance with the principles of the present invention, organizer system  100  is particularly designed to organize different articles to be contained and/or stored in base  104  so that a user may readily select the desired one of the various types of articles. In particular, it is preferable that organizer system  100  provide a manner of separating the articles by type for ready selection and removal from containment or storage within base  104 . Accordingly, interior  108  of base  104  preferably is provided with two or more compartments  110 , within each of which a different type of article or group of identical articles may be placed. Such compartments may be separated by dividing walls  112  or by any other element that serves to maintain different articles apart from one another. As will be described in further detail below, organizer system  100  may be formed specifically to contain and/or store articles in a manner that makes identification and differentiation of each article from the other difficult and inconvenient. Such intentional, typically undesirable, configuration may in fact be desirable for such reasons as space efficiency (resulting in cost savings in material as well) or for articles that are not readily distinguishable from one another anyway. 
         [0017]    As may be appreciated with reference to  FIG. 2 , compartments  110  may include a plurality of different compartments  110   a,    110   b,    110   c,    110   d,    110   e,    110   f,    110   g  (collectively, compartments “ 110 ”) formed in various shapes and/or dimensions (either the same or different) and arranged with respect to one another in a preferably neat and organized manner. For instance, compartments  110  may be shaped and/or dimensioned to accommodate the particular shape and/or dimension of the given article to be contained therein. Thus, a compartment such as compartment  110   a  may be particularly convenient for an article that is longer than half the width W of base  104 , as compartment  110   a  may extend the full width W of base  104 . As may be further appreciated with reference to  FIG. 2 , and particularly with reference to exemplary compartments  110   e  and  110   f,  compartments formed in accordance with the principles of the present invention need not have dividing walls  112  therebetween. Moreover, the relative sizes and/or dimensions of compartments  110  may alternatively or additionally be selected based on the number of articles to be accommodated therein. For instance, compartment  110   g  of  FIG. 2  may contain articles of essentially the same size as articles contained within any of compartments  110   d,    110   e,  or  110   f,  but is larger than those compartments to contain more of the given article to be received therein than the number of articles to be received within any of compartments  110   d,    110   e,  or  110   f  individually. It will be appreciated that the shapes, dimensions, sizes, and relative arrangement of compartments  110  with respect to one another is in no way limited by the illustrative arrangement in  FIG. 2 , such arrangement being merely one example of an arrangement of exemplary shaped and dimensioned and sized compartments  110 . 
         [0018]    Compartments  110  may be formed in any desired manner within base  104 . For instance, compartment walls  112  may be formed integrally with base  104 , such as by molding ribs or dividers into base  104  as a monolithic part of base  104 . However, to enhance versatility of organizer system  100 , compartments  110  may be formed as a separable, removable element insertable within a main “shell” portion of container  102 . For instance, a separate wall structure may be insertable into and readily removable from base  104  to form compartments  110  as desired. A wall structure separate from base  104  may be in any desired form, such as a grid formed from paperboard or cardboard (such as used to separate breakable bottles from one another in a carton). Alternatively, exemplary insert  120  of  FIGS. 3 and 4  may provide compartments  110  as separate parts selectively insertable into and removable from base  104 . Insert  120  may be in the form of a shell in which walls  112  of compartments  110  are formed and which may be separable and removable from base. A separately formed shell  120  providing interchangeability of compartments  110  provides an added benefit of permitting ready refilling of base  104  with another newly filled insert  120 , or a different insert (such as containing and/or storing different articles or having differently shaped compartments), and/or use of base  104  without any compartments therein (such as for purposes other than storing articles in separate compartments). 
         [0019]    Additionally, if compartments  110  are formed separately from base  104  of container  102  (such as in the form of separable walls  112  or a separate insert  120 ), then the material of container  102  need not be the same as the material of walls  112  and/or compartments  110  and/or may be formed using a different manufacturing method. For instance, base  104  may be formed from a durable material (to permit extended use of container  102  even after all articles contained and/or stored therein have been removed and/or expended). Materials that may be used to form container  102  and base  104  include, without limitation, polypropylene and acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) resins, selection being determined on any of a variety of factors such as durability, rigidity, cost, etc. It will be appreciated that the present invention is not limited to a particular method for manufacturing container  102 , and any desirable method (such as injection molding) may be used. Provision of compartments  110  via a separate insert  120  permits a less expensive material and/or method of manufacturing to be used for insert  120 , which may be particularly desirable if insert  120  is to be replaced while container  102  is to be reused. For instance, in one embodiment, insert  120  may be formed of a high impact polystyrene (HIPS) that is thermoformed into the desired shape. Of course, other materials and other methods of manufacturing (such as injection molding) may be used instead without affecting the scope of the present invention. 
         [0020]    Referring again to  FIGS. 1-3 , container  102  may be provided with a lid  130 , if desired, such as to protect articles contained and/or stored within base  104 , and/or to maintain the articles within container  102 . Lid  130  preferably is configured to fit over and to close open end  106  of base  104 . Although lid  130  is shown to conform to the cross-sectional shape of base  104  (as may be appreciated particularly with reference to  FIG. 2 ), such conforming shape is not necessary. 
         [0021]    Lid  130  may be fixedly coupled to base  104  of container  102  so that lid  130  remains with base  104  during the use and life of organizer system  100 . For instance, the exemplary lid  130  of  FIGS. 1-3  is hingedly coupled to base  104 . In particular, a living hinge couples lid  130  and base  104  together (so that lid  130  and base  104  may be molded as a single piece). However, it will be appreciated that any other manner of coupling lid  130  and base  104  may be used. It will further be appreciated that even though exemplary lid  130  is illustrated as coupled to base  104  of container  102 , lid  130  may be formed as a separate element that is completely removal from base  104  without any steps such as severing a connection therebetween. 
         [0022]    If desired, lid  130  may be formed with alignment elements to assist in aligning and/or maintaining lid  130  over open end  106  of base  104 . For instance, a raised surface or rib  132  may be provided on one of lid  130  and base  104  to fit into a recess  134  on the other of lid  130  and base  104 . As may be appreciated, such rib and recess combination assures a particular alignment when used. Moreover, such rib and recess combination may impart a greater degree of friction between lid  130  and base  104 , thereby maintaining lid  130  on base  104  in a closed configuration. 
         [0023]    If articles are to be contained and/or stored within organizer system  100  in an airtight manner, a seal may be formed to interact with lid and main body of container. Such seal may be formed in any desired manner known in the art, the precise embodiment not affecting the scope of the present invention. The interaction of rib  132  with recess  134  described above may suffice, or addition of further sealing elements may be appropriate, as would be within the ken of one of ordinary skill in the art. 
         [0024]    If desired, lid  130  may be formed with a closing mechanism that functions to maintain lid  130  in a closed position covering open end  106  of base  104  of container  102 . For instance, a latch may be provided in any of a variety of manners known to those of ordinary skill in the art. In the exemplary embodiment of  FIGS. 1-3 , a detent  136  and mating recess  138  may be provided on lid  130  and base  104  to interact with each other as an internal hinge that maintains lid  130  closed over open end  106  of base  104 . Although detent  136  may be provided on either one of lid  130  and base  104  and recess  138  may be provided on the other of lid  130  and base  104 , if detent  136  is provided on base  104 , and base  104  is formed of a relatively flexible material, then lid  130  may be opened by pressing on base wall  105  on which detent  136  is provided to release detent  136  from recess  138 . 
         [0025]    In accordance with the principles of the present invention, organizer system  100  is designed to address the unique disadvantages resulting from a plurality of different articles either being organized in a manner that interferes with ready differentiation of the articles, or being formed so that ready differentiation of the articles from one another is difficult, such as illustrated in the exemplary embodiment of  FIG. 5 . Specifically, articles  200  are arranged closely together in container  102  in a manner that does not permit ready identification of any individual article. The present invention intentionally disregards the disadvantages of such arrangement of articles  200  by providing a solution for readily identifying the articles despite such arrangement. In the exemplary embodiment of  FIGS. 14 , organizer system  100  includes (1) a container  102  that preferably is particularly designed to contain and/or store different types of articles in a manner that does not permit ready identification of a particular desired article, and (2) a guide, such as menu  140 , in conjunction with container  102  configured to assist a user in selecting a particular desired article from container  102 . More particularly, although it is acknowledged that it is known to provide organizer systems for separating similar articles that are not identical to each other into compartments for each of the different types of articles, such separation still does not on its own assist the user in identifying the desired article. Moreover, the illustrated embodiment of the present invention is configured intentionally to organize articles in an efficient, space-saving manner that has the disadvantage of making identification of each article inconvenient and difficult. Because of such configuration, organizer system  100  of the present invention is particularly well-suited for storing a variety of articles that either do not have any identifying or differentiating indicia on them (such adhesive bandages, gauze pads, or sanitary napkins, which typically have wrappers that do not identify the type of adhesive bandage or sanitary napkin therein), or do not have a surface with identifying indicia exposed to the user while the article is stored within container  102  (such as pain relievers or other medications in bottles with caps or lids that look similar when viewed from above; or stationery goods such as labels; or tea bags stacked on their ends). The latter types of articles generally are stacked edgewise, or in a manner presenting a side smaller in dimension than the other sides of the article and thus not amenable to bearing identifying indicia. Such articles may be tightly packed and must be individually drawn out of interior  106  of base  104  to be identified. The present invention is particularly designed for storing such articles and for providing a menu  140  that heretofore has not been provided in conjunction with such articles stored in such manner. Menu  140  facilitates ready selection of a desired one of a plurality of different types of articles without the need to remove and/or to examine the article. 
         [0026]    Given the nature of the articles for which organizer system  100  is particularly suited, no pictures are necessary on the menu since a picture likely will not provide useful information in any event. However, if desired, menu  140  may be configured to have regions corresponding (such as in shape and/or relative position) to compartments  110 , thus potentially further facilitating use of menu  140  in identifying a desired article. 
         [0027]    It is helpful to maintain such an uncommon menu (in that no pictures of the articles identified by the menu is provided) in a particular orientation to facilitate matching of items on the menu with articles within container  102 , and particularly within the individual compartments  110  therein. To further facilitate use, menu  140  may be coupled to organizer system  100 . In the embodiment illustrated in  FIGS. 1 and 2 , menu  140  may be coupled to container  102  to remain therewith in a particular orientation. Such positioning is in contrast with menus, such as used in boxes of chocolate, that are separate inserts provided within the box. Coupling of menu  140  with container  102  may be achieved in any of a desired number of manners, such as via lid  130  (lid  130  in turn being coupled to base  104  of container  102  either fixedly or removably), or by being fixed directly to base  104  (such as by being adhered to wall  105  of base  104 , such as if a lid is not provided). As such, menu  140  is always readily available for reference purposes. 
         [0028]    As a further feature of coupling menu  140  to container  102  via a fixedly coupled lid  130 , lid  130  may be provided in a manner that permits lid  130  to maintain itself in an open position. The manner of coupling lid  130  to base  104  may achieve such function in a variety of manners. For instance, a hinge that can maintain lid  130  in a fixed open position may be used. If a living hinge is used, such as living hinge  131  of  FIGS. 1-3 , then the material thereof may be selected to permit selective positioning and maintenance of the selected positioning (such as by virtue of a degree of memory in the material). One such material that permits repositioning of a living hinge is polypropylene, although other materials may be used in the present invention instead. Accordingly, lid  130  remains open on its own without the necessity of the user actively holding lid  130  open. A user thus may readily peruse menu  130  and select an article without worrying if lid  130  will close on its own. 
         [0029]    It will be appreciated that menu  140  may be formed in any desired manner with respect to container  102 . In the illustrated embodiment of  FIG. 3 , menu  140  is formed as a separate element that may then be secured to the interior surface  133  of lid  130 . An economical and efficient manner of forming a menu as an element separate from container  102  is by printing the graphics of menu  130  on paperboard (or another suitable material) and coupling menu  130  to interior surface  133  of lid  130 . Coupling may be achieved in any desired manner, such as by permanent adhesive, releasable adhesive, tape, etc. If replacement of insert  120  of the embodiment of  FIG. 3  is desirable, then releasable adhesive gives the added benefit of ready removal and replacement of menu  140  with another menu that corresponds to the replacement insert and the articles contained therein. Other manners of forming menu  140  are well within the scope of the present invention. For instance, the menu may be embossed, printed, and/or molded (using any know manner of embossing, imprinting, or molding) within interior surface  133  of lid  130 , thus forming an integral part of lid  130 . 
         [0030]    If a lid is not necessary for container  102 , it will be appreciated that the menu may be provided on a wall of container  102  so that the menu is readily available for reference purposes to assist a user in selecting a desired article from within base  104 . For instance, a menu may be provided on wall  105  of base  104  arranged to facilitate use of the menu in identifying a desired article within base  104 . 
         [0031]    In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, container  102  may be coupled to another container such as by means of coupling elements  150  as illustrated in the exemplary embodiment of  FIG. 3 . Coupling elements  150  may be formed in any desired manner to provide selective coupling and decoupling of containers together and apart from each other. The exemplary illustrated coupling elements  150  are formed by providing angularly outwardly extending wings on one side of the container (as illustrated in  FIG. 3 ) and angularly inwardly extending wings on the other side. The angularly outwardly extending wings of one container interengage with the angularly inwardly extending wings of another container by moving the containers with respect to each other in a vertical direction. If desired, a stop wall may be provided so that once two containers are coupled together, the stop wall prevents the containers from sliding apart from each other. 
         [0032]    While the foregoing description and drawings represent exemplary embodiments of the present invention, it will be understood that various additions, modifications and substitutions may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. In particular, it will be clear to those skilled in the art that the present invention may be embodied in other specific forms, structures, arrangements, proportions, and with other elements, materials, and components, without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics thereof. For instance, the shape and dimensions of the exemplary container shown in the FIGURES are illustrative only. Moreover, various modifications to the lid, such as manners of coupling the lid to the main body of the container, or the manner of maintaining the lid in the closed position, are within the scope of the present invention. It will be appreciated that the shape and dimensions of any of the elements of the present invention may be modified in any desired manner, such as to accommodate differently sized or shaped articles. One skilled in the art will appreciate that the invention may be used with many modifications of structure, arrangement, proportions, materials, and components and otherwise, used in the practice of the invention, which are particularly adapted to specific environments and operative requirements without departing from the principles of the present invention. For example, elements shown as integrally formed may be constructed of multiple parts or elements shown as multiple parts may be integrally formed, the operation of elements may be reversed or otherwise varied, the size or dimensions of the elements may be varied. The presently disclosed embodiments are therefore to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive, the scope of the invention being indicated by the appended claims, and not limited to the foregoing description.