Abstract:
A point-of-sale storage device for an electronic heating pad includes a storage tube and a lid that removably attaches to the storage tube. The storage tube may be clear plastic, and coloring may be added to distinguish different models of electronic heating pads. A method for storing the electronic heating pad includes coiling a cord and controller assembly attached to the pad, placing the coiled cord and controller assembly along an edge of the pad parallel to straight sections of heating wire within the pad, rolling the pad in a direction so as to roll the pad around the coiled cord and controller assembly, inserting the rolled pad into the storage tube, and closing the storage tube with the lid. Optionally, the rolled pad may be inserted into a cloth sleeve prior to inserting the rolled pad covered with the cloth sleeve into the storage tube.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to storage devices, including point-of-sale containers, and more specifically a storage container for an electronic heating pad. 
     BACKGROUND INFORMATION 
     Point-of-sale storage devices are well-known in the art. Just about any container can qualify as a point-of-sale storage device. However, most point-of-sale containers are designed to protect their contents and be durable. Cardboard boxes are common point-of-sale containers because they are inexpensive, receive printing well, provide a rigid structure for protection, and are durable. Plastic is also commonly used to construct point-of-sale containers because it may be used to make containers that are air-tight, waterproof, rigid or flexible, and shaped into almost anything. Furthermore, many point-of-sale containers function as storage devices for their contents after purchase. 
     For example, tennis balls frequently are sold in rigid, clear plastic tubes that have been pressure-sealed to keep the balls from going flat prior to use. The pressurization often is accomplished by a metal cap having a peel-away center that is removed upon opening, permanently depressurizing the tube. Although the tube will not keep the balls from going flat once the tube has been opened and depressurized, the tube may be used to store the balls between uses by virtue of a plastic lid that usually covers the metal cap at the point of purchase. By contrast, were the plastic lid not to accompany the tube, the tube would not be useful as a storage device once opened because the peel-away center is permanently separated from the rim of the metal cap. Storing the balls in the tube conveniently prevents the balls from rolling and bouncing between uses, but it does little to protect the balls from deterioration (e.g., going flat). 
     Although the way in which tennis balls are stored may not greatly affect their performance, the same is not true of electronic heating pads. Heating pads tend to be cumbersome to store. Storage of heating pads often results in pad damage as consumers repeatedly fold the pads to store them, causing wire breakage and damage to the internal structure of the heating pad. Wire breakage may eventually result in a temporary short circuit that may cause a burn mark or melt spot at the pad. 
     Previous attempts to solve this problem have involved the design of rectangular hinged cases to store the pad in a confined area of a predetermined size. Unfortunately, such rectangular packaging attempts usually resulted again in customers making sharp folds while trying to press the pads into the rectangular shapes in hurried attempts to store the pad after use. Previous packaging attempts also have not provided desirable methods of storing the cord or controller attached to the pad. Customers frequently pushed the cord and controller into the package after the pad has been inserted. This also may result in failures at the cord where the cord exits from the pad due to the amount of force being applied in trying to repack the cord assembly into the pad box. 
     It would therefore be desirable to create a novel point-of-sale container capable of storing an electronic heating pad that would avoid many of the disadvantages associated with previous heating pad storage containers. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to an electronic heating pad storage container having a tube and a lid. In particular, the invention provides a storage tube for use as a point-of-sale container for an electronic heating pad. Use of a storage tube allows a consumer to roll up the electronic heating pad without applying sharp bends or creases to the pad prior to insertion of the rolled pad into the tube. Forming the pad into a tubular roll also permits a consumer conveniently to tuck the cord assembly with the controller into the center of the rolled up pad. Optionally, the rolled pad may be inserted into a cloth sleeve closed at one end and having a drawstring at the open end prior to inserting the sleeve into the storage tube. Once the rolled pad is inserted into the storage tube, the storage tube may be closed with a push-in end cap, a screw-top or a snap-on lid. Use of such a storage tube should lengthen the useful life of a pad and avoid the damaging handling of the pad that may result in short circuits, wire breakage, electrical burns, or pad failure. The overall benefits may include greater customer satisfaction and fewer product returns. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an exemplary electronic heating pad with an attached cord and controller assembly. 
     FIG. 2 is a perspective view of an exemplary electronic heating pad storage container according to an embodiment of the present invention in a closed condition. 
     FIG. 3 is a perspective view of an exemplary electronic heating pad storage container according to an embodiment of the present invention in an open condition. 
     FIGS. 4A-4B show perspective views of exemplary electronic heating pad storage containers having, respectively, a circular cross-section and an oval-shaped cross-section, according to embodiments of the present invention in the closed condition. 
     FIGS. 5A-5B show, respectively, perspective views of an exemplary lid having a rectangular outer surface and a stack of exemplary electronic heating pad storage containers having lids in the closed condition and closed ends with rectangular outer surfaces, according to embodiments of the present invention. 
     FIG. 6 is a perspective view of an exemplary electronic heating pad storage container lid having a hook according to an embodiment of the present invention. 
     FIG. 7 is a perspective view of an exemplary electronic heating pad cloth sleeve having a drawstring according to an embodiment of the present invention. 
     Other features and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following description of the exemplary embodiments thereof, and from the claims. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an exemplary electronic heating pad  10  with an attached cord  11  and controller  12  assembly. The cord  11  exits the pad  10  at a connection  13 . Within the pad  10 , the cord  11  is coupled to heating wires  14  woven into the pad&#39;s  10  fabric  15 . As with typical electronic heating pads, the pad  10  has heating wires  14  that have predominantly parallel sections  16  within the fabric  15  along a width  17  but that have curves  18  as the wires  14  progress back and forth along a length  19  of the pad  10 . 
     Preferably, the pad  10  should be rolled so that wires  14  are bent as little as possible so as to minimize the likelihood that wires  14  would break or incur damage as a result of the rolling. In FIG. 1, therefore, the pad  10  preferably would be rolled along its length  19  so that its width  17  remains as straight as possible, as shown in FIG.  2 . Similarly, the cord  11  and controller  12  preferably are bent as little as possible, so the cord  11  and controller  12  are coiled along width  17 . The coiled cord  11  and controller  12  preferably are placed along the width  17  opposite the connection  13  so as to avoid excessively bending the connection  13 . However, the coiled cord  11  and controller  12  may nonetheless be placed along the width  17  next to the connection  13 . 
     Additionally, it also would be satisfactory to roll the pad At  10  widthwise so that the length  19  remains straight. When rolled widthwise, the coiled cord  11  and controller  12  likewise may be placed along the length  19 . While it may be satisfactory to roll the pad  10  widthwise, the pad  10  likely may fit into a storage container  20  only when rolled in a specific direction. For example, if the storage container  20  is as long as the width  17 , but the length  19  is longer than the container  20 , then rolling the pad  10  widthwise will cause part of the pad  10  to stick out of the container, preventing its closure. Likewise, assuming the container  20  is as long as the length  19  and that the length  19  is longer than the width  17 , then the container  20  may not be wide enough across to accommodate a pad  10  that has been rolled lengthwise if the container  20  were designed for a pad  10  that has been rolled widthwise. The exception is of course if the pad  10  is an even square, i.e., the width  17  equals the length  19 , in which case the pad  10  may be rolled in either direction and still fit into the container  20 . Naturally, the tube  21  could also be long enough and wide enough across to accommodate the pad  10  after having been rolled either lengthwise or widthwise, though such a tube  21  may occupy more space than desired. 
     FIG. 2 is a perspective view of an exemplary electronic heating pad storage container  20  in a closed condition according to an embodiment of the present invention. Storage container  20  may include a tube  21  and a lid  22 . The tube  21  preferably is a little longer than width  17  to easily accommodate a rolled pad  23 , rolled lengthwise. Similarly, the tube  21  should be wider than a loosely rolled pad  23 , rolled lengthwise, to ensure an easy fit without needing to roll the pad  10  too tightly. The lid  22  as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 represents a snap-on lid, but other types of lids are also appropriate, as discussed below. 
     The storage container  20  may be constructed of any suitable materials. Similarly, it is understood that any feasible combination of types of tube  21  and lid  22  may be used in accordance with the present invention. For example, the storage tube  21  could be made of corrugated cardboard having plastic push-in end caps; metal having a metal or plastic screw-top; or plastic having a plastic snap-on or hinged lid. Preferably, the storage tube  21  is made of rigid, clear plastic, which would permit printed sales sheets and product information sheets to be seen through the storage tube  21 . 
     By comparison, FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the exemplary storage container  20  in an open condition according to an embodiment of the present invention. Preferably, the cord  11  and controller  12  are coiled along the width  17  opposite the connection  13  and form a center  24  of the rolled pad  23 . The rolled pad  23  may then be inserted into tube  21 , preferably with the connection  13  near the lid  22  to keep the connection  13  visible and avoid unknowingly bending the connection  13  too much. 
     While the storage tube  21  may be cylindrical having a circular cross-section  27  as shown in FIG. 4A, it may be advantageous to have a non-circular cross-section, such as an oval-shaped cross-section  28 , as shown in FIG.  4 B. An oval-shaped cross-sectional tube  21  has the advantage of having lids  22  that only fit when inserted in one of two ways that align the oval-shaped cross-sections  28 . This may be advantageous if the lids  22  have printed material that should be presented in a specific direction for easier reading. Moreover, tube  21  may have a variety of non-circular cross-sections, such as pentagonal, hexagonal, heptagonal, octagonal, etc. The basic limitation is that the tube  21  should be shaped to receive easily a rolled pad  23 . As such, the cross-section will have either no distinct angles, such as with ovals and circles, or angles greater than 90 degrees, such as with pentagons and hexagons. 
     Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 5A, the lids  22  may have rectangular outer surfaces  22   a  to facilitate stacking and add stability. The rectangular outer surfaces  22   a  preferably would appear on both ends of the tube  21  to provide symmetry, as shown in FIG.  5 B. When intended to be stored horizontally lengthwise, the rectangular outer surface  22   a  will prevent the storage container  20  from rolling, which a tube  21  of circular cross-section  27  may be prone to do. Furthermore, by virtue of the fact that the rectangular outer surface  22   a  has flat edges  22   b , one storage container  20  may be stacked atop or beside another storage container  20 , such as in FIG.  5 B. Likewise, a rectangular outer surface would have a larger surface area than just the cross-section of the tube  21 , so the tubes  21  would not crush each other during shipping. 
     In the event that the storage tube  21  has a non-circular cross-section with angular outer surfaces, i.e., distinct, flat faces, such as a pentagon or hexagon, for example, then the tube  21  also will be less likely to roll than a tube  21  having a circular cross-section. Instead of rectangular outer surfaces, a tube  21  having, for example, a hexagonal cross-section, may have a lid  22  that has angular outer surfaces which are also hexagonal in nature. A hexagonal tube and angular outer surfaces would also facilitate stacking in much the same way that rectangular outer surfaces improve stacking. The rectangular outer surfaces, however, would inhibit rolling of the tube  21  the most. 
     Insofar as the storage container  20  need not be stacked at the point of sale, the container  20  may have a hanging support, such as a hook  29  attached to the outer surface of the lid  22 , as shown in FIG. 6, to facilitate hanging of the container  20  at the point of sale. The support may be attached by means known in the art, such as gluing, piercing, molding or melting. Moreover, the support may be attached anywhere on the lid  22  or the tube  21 , not just centrally on the outer surface, as long as the support may withstand the weight of the tube  21 , lid  22 , and rolled pad  23 . Analogously, the hanging support may be any structure designed to be attached to a display to hang the container  20 . The hanging support may be, for example, a loop, a bulb, or a clamp, instead of a hook  29 . 
     Optionally, a cloth sleeve  25  as shown in FIG. 7 may be used to facilitate handling of the rolled pad  23 . The cloth sleeve  25  may be made of any suitable fabric, for example, cotton, silk, polyester, nylon, acetate, lycra, spandex, or blends of these. The rolled pad  23  first may be inserted into the cloth sleeve  25 , and second, the rolled pad  23  covered by the cloth sleeve  25  may be inserted into tube  21 . In order to better view the rolled pad  23 , the rolled pad  23  in FIG. 3 is depicted as having been inserted in the tube  21  without using the cloth sleeve  25 . Sleeve  25  may have a drawstring  26  with which the sleeve  25  may be closed. The drawstring  26  also may be pulled to help remove from the tube  21  a rolled pad  23  covered by the sleeve  25 . 
     As discussed above, the rolled pad  23  optionally may be inserted into the cloth sleeve  25  prior to being inserted into the storage tube  21 . Cloth sleeves  25  of varying colors may be used to distinguish different models of electronic heating pads  10 . Likewise, coloring may be added to the clear plastic for aesthetic reasons or to highlight features of various models and act as a simple method of coding the models. Transparent plastic storage tubes  21  of varying colors may reinforce consumer selection at the point of purchase. Additionally, transparent plastic storage tubes  21 , whether colored or clear, may permit consumers to view the actual texture and fabric  15  of the various types of heating pads  10  without opening the tubes  21  and handling the product, which may result in damage and warranty returns from the retailer. If a cloth sleeve  25  is used, a portion of the pad  10  may need to be exposed outside the sleeve  25  to reveal the texture and fabric  15  of the pad  10 . 
     A number of embodiments of the present invention have been described above. Nevertheless, it will be understood that various modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, other embodiments may be within the scope of the following claims. It is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense. It is also understood that the following claims are intended to cover all of the generic and specific features of the invention herein described and all statements of the scope of the invention, expressed or implied.