Patent Publication Number: US-2005121403-A1

Title: Stick organizer

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
      The present invention relates to the field of stick organizers and, more particularly, hockey stick organizers.  
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
      The storage of hockey sticks is a problem for the average household. Hockey sticks have angled blades and do not store easily in a corner or against a wall. Their shape causes them to continually slide down onto the floor and create a hazard for a person to stumble or trip over.  
      There are known devices for storing or organizing hockey sticks but they are either too complicated to use, too expensive to manufacture or purchase or require too much physical space in the average household. Young people, particularly children, are not likely to take the time or effort required to use a device that is complicated to use.  
      There is, therefore, a need for a hockey stick organizer that will hold a number of hockey sticks yet is simple to install and use as well as being inexpensive to manufacture and purchase.  
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
      The present invention is concerned with a hockey stick organizer that attaches to a wall and will simply and effectively store a number of hockey sticks.  
      The present invention is a tubular sleeve that has a passageway that extends from one end of the sleeve to the other. The passageway is preferably D-shaped or circular in cross-section although other cross-sectional shapes, such as rectangular or triangular, may be used. The sleeve itself is preferably made of plastic, such as polyvinylchloride (“PVC”) and may be manufactured using an extrusion or injection molding process.  
      The sleeve is of an appropriate length and is preferably 12 to 18 inches in length. The sleeve is attached to a wall with the passageway substantially vertical although the sleeve can be tilted off vertical if vertical storage of hockey sticks is not required.  
      Hockey sticks are inserted into the top end of the sleeve, butt end first, so that the butt end will rest on the floor and the blades of the sticks are sticking upright out of the sleeve. The sleeve is mounted on the wall at an appropriate height to prevent the sticks from falling over or sliding out from the bottom of the sleeve and to keep the sticks secure against the wall.  
      The sleeve has a cross-sectional area of a size that will accommodate a number of sticks thereby allowing sticks to be added to or removed from the sleeve without dislodging other sticks held by the sleeve.  
      The sleeve may be mounted to a wall in a number of ways. In one embodiment, the sleeve is attached to a wall using two screws, one at the top and bottom ends of the sleeve, extending through the sidewall from the passageway into the wall. In another embodiment, a mounting block having a dovetail recess is screwed to a wall and a corresponding mounting plate having a dovetail key is attached to the sleeve. The dovetail key releasably attaches to and interlocks with the dovetail recess of the mounting block. In this embodiment, the sleeve clips onto the mounting block to hold sticks during the hockey season and may be removed from the mounting block once the hockey season has ended.  
      Broadly stated, the present invention is a stick organizer comprising a sleeve having first and second ends, each end having an opening, said sleeve having a sidewall defining a passageway extending there between said openings, and means for attaching said sleeve to a wall, whereupon attaching said sleeve to said wall at a predetermined height off of a floor such that said passageway is substantially vertical, and whereupon placing a stick through said passageway of said sleeve, said stick having an end resting on said floor, said sleeve keeps said stick from falling down. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       FIG. 1  is an isometric view of a first embodiment of the present invention.  
       FIG. 2  is an isometric view of a second embodiment of the present invention.  
       FIG. 3  is an isometric view of a third embodiment of the present invention.  
       FIG. 4  is an isometric view of a fourth embodiment of the present invention.  
       FIG. 5A  is an isometric view of the mounting block used in a preferred embodiment of the present invention.  
       FIG. 5B  is an isometric view of the mounting plate used in a preferred embodiment of the present invention.  
       FIG. 6  is a top plan view of a preferred embodiment of the present invention.  
       FIG. 7  is an isometric view of a fifth embodiment of the present invention.  
       FIG. 8  is an isometric view of a sixth embodiment of the present invention.  
       FIG. 9  is an isometric view of the present invention mounted on a wall and supporting a number of hockey sticks. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT  
      The present invention is concerned with a hockey stick organizer that attaches to a wall. Referring to  FIG. 1 , the preferred embodiment of organizer  10  is shown. Organizer  10  comprises of a half circular of D-shaped sleeve  12  that forms passageway  13 . Sleeve  12  has back wall  15  adjoining front sidewall  17 .  
      Sleeve  12  is preferably made of a high-impact resistant plastic. Sleeve  12  may be injection molded or a piece of extruded plastic, both methods of construction well known to those skilled in the art. Preferably, sleeve  12  is  12  to  18  inches in length.  
      Passageway  13  is of a cross-sectional area suitable for accommodating a number of hockey sticks and allows easy insertion and removal of sticks from organizer  10 . Back  15  of sleeve  12  is preferably 4 to 6 inches wide with frontwall  17  having a radius of 3 to 4 inches.  
      Sleeve  12  may be mounted to a wall using screws. Backwall  15  has mounting holes  14 , near the top and bottom, for a fastener  16  to pass through and into the wall to secure sleeve  12 .  
      Referring to  FIG. 2 , an alternate embodiment of sleeve  12  is shown having mounting tabs  18  on the top and bottom edges of back  15 . Each tab  18  has a mounting hole  20 . By including tabs  18  on back  15 , fastener  16  may be driven straight into the wall through mounting holes  20 .  
      Referring to  FIG. 3 , another preferred embodiment of the present invention is shown. In this embodiment, organizer  10  has a sleeve  22  that is circular in cross-section and has two mounting holes  26  for fastener  16 . To allow unobstructed access to holes  26 , sleeve  22  has cutaways  24  to allow a screwdriver to engage fastener  16  straight on instead of at an angle.  
      Referring to  FIG. 4 , another embodiment of the present invention is shown with sleeve  22  having mounting tabs  28 , each tab  28  having a mounting hole  30  for receiving a fastener  16 . Tabs  28  extend beyond the top and bottom edges of sleeve  22  to allow unobstructed access to fastener  16 .  
      Referring to  FIGS. 5A, 5B  and  6 , another preferred embodiment of mounting organizer  10  is shown. A mounting block  32  is provided which has a dovetail recess  34 . Block  32  is mounted to a wall with fastener  16  passing through holes  36  and  40 . Hole  40  is located in relief of  38  on the front service of block  32 . A corresponding plate  42  having a dovetail key  44  is attached to backwall  15  of sleeve  12 . Plate  42  may be attached using adhesive or may be formed with sleeve  12  during the injection molding process.  
      As shown in  FIG. 6 , sleeve  12  is releasably attached to block  32  by sliding key  44  of plate  42  into recess  34  thereby securing sleeve  12  to the wall. During hockey season, sleeve  12  is attached to block  32  to hold hockey sticks and when the season is over, sleeve  12  is simply lifted up and removed from block  32  for storage.  
      To store hockey sticks using organizer  10 , a hockey stick is inserted, butt end first, into passageway  13  from the top until the butt end is resting on the floor. Organizer  10  is mounted to the wall at a height suitable for supporting the hockey stick. Preferably, organizer  10  is mounted at a height approximately 35 to 40 inches from the floor. This is illustrated in  FIG. 9 .  
      The preferred embodiment of the present invention utilizes a D-shaped or circular sleeve but other cross-sectional shapes may be used as well. Sleeve  12  may be triangular, as shown in  FIG. 7 , or rectangular as shown in  FIG. 8 .  
      While the present invention was intended for use in organizing hockey sticks, the present invention will also have use in organizing other stick-like objects such as canes, walking sticks, umbrellas, poles and loose golf clubs, to name but a few.  
      Although a few preferred embodiments have been shown and described, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that various change and modifications might be made without departing from the scope of the invention. The terms and expressions in the preceding specification have been used therein as terms of description and not of limitation, and there is no intention in the use of such terms and expressions of excluding equivalents of the features shown and described or portions thereof, it being recognized as the scope of the invention as defined and limited only by the claims that follow.