Patent Publication Number: US-10327546-B2

Title: Rotatable and configurable storage tree

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application claims priority under 35 USC § 120 from U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/351330, filed on Jun. 17, 2016, in the United Stated Patent and Trademark Office, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein in its entirety by reference. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present general inventive concept relates to a rotatable and portable storage tree (e.g., craft tree) having a plurality of panels for storage. 
     2. Description of the Related Art 
     Artists (e.g., painters, sculptors, stained glass workers, sketchers, etc.), craftsmen (e.g., crafters, woodworkers, carvers, etc.), mechanics, seamstresses, engineers, and chefs all share a commonality of requiring various tools and/or utensils to properly and successfully perform their work. For example, in order for a painter to paint a portrait, the painter may require materials such as paper, pencils, erasers, paint, brushes, a stapler, a camera, gloves, charcoal, glitter, etc. However, the aforementioned materials are typically not stored in a single location. More specifically, most people would store paper in a cabinet, erasers in a desk drawer, pencils in a pencil holder on a desktop, paint on a shelf, brushes in a brush-case, a stapler on a desktop, a camera in a closet, gloves in a dresser-drawer, charcoal in a box, and glitter in a jar. Therefore, when the painter desires to paint the portrait, he/she is required to collect the aforementioned materials from each of the different locations, and place the materials on a table, for example. This results in inconvenience and an inefficient use of time for the painter, as the painter must first go to each location to collect the required materials, and then organize the materials on the table for use. Moreover, this waste of time may cause added stress, fatigue, and frustration for the painter, thereby distracting and clouding the painter&#39;s mind, and accordingly, affecting his/her capacity for artistic creativity. Therefore, it would be convenient for the painter to have an art-supply storage system that allows for convenient storage and easy access of all art-supplies needed to produce a work of art. Also, it would be convenient if the art-supply storage system included an organizational system that allowed the painter to quickly locate a tool, utensil, material, etc., which is needed to perform a particular task at a particular moment. 
     Similarly, a mechanic working on a car engine may require various tools to fix the engine, including, for example, a screwdriver, a wrench, nuts/bolts, a power drill, motor oil, a saw, etc. The aforementioned tools may be stored in various places, such as toolboxes, shelves, drawers, etc., thereby again, making it inconvenient and inefficient for the mechanic to properly and quickly fix the car engine. Also, tools such as the power drill may be too large to fit inside a drawer or toolbox, and accordingly must be stored elsewhere, such as a wall-hook, peg-board, or shelf. Although the peg-board solution, for example, allows the mechanic to easily find the tools hung thereon, the peg-board is an unaesthetic and inefficient use of wall-space. Moreover, tools placed within a toolbox are typically mixed up inside the box, making it difficult for the mechanic to locate a particular tool, and can even get damaged as a result of being mixed together. Therefore, it would be convenient for the mechanic to have a tool storage system that allows for convenient storage of all tools needed to perform mechanic-related tasks. Also, it would be convenient if the tool storage system included an organizational system that allowed the mechanic to quickly locate a tool that is needed to perform a particular task at a particular moment. 
     Since the time when human beings first developed tools, a convenient way to organize and store the tools needed to perform a specific task has been a necessity. Prior art methods of organizing and storing tools are numerous including bags, belts, pails, etc. Some tool users keep their tools in boxes. Early tool boxes were made of wood. While these wooden tool boxes enabled tools to be kept in a single location and protected, wooden tool boxes did not present a convenient way to organize tools so that the tool required at a particular time could be easily identified and located. Many tools were simply dumped into a box and the person needing a specific tool had to rummage through all of the tools in the box or selectively remove tools one by one until the right tool was found for the job at hand. 
     The development of sophisticated manufacturing techniques has enabled low cost tools of all shapes and sizes to be made available to users. However, with more tools available to users the problem of storing and organizing all of the tools in a user&#39;s possession is exacerbated. 
     To this day, many conventional tool boxes simply include a removable tray sized to fit into the top of a tool box. By using the removable tray, smaller hand tools such as wrenches and screwdrivers can be separated from larger, less frequently used tools such as hammers and pipe wrenches. These larger tools are typically stored in the bottom of the tool box. For the sophisticated builder, car mechanic or repairman, a tool box with a simple tray insert is insufficient to organize all the different types of tools that might be necessary to complete a job. Moreover, a mechanic with a large collection of different tools will have a difficult time finding the right tool for the job in a tool box having only a top tray, thereby wasting valuable time and energy. 
     To organize and hold the many tools used by a mechanic, builder or repairman, chest-type metal tool boxes were developed. These prior art chest-type tool boxes can be from three feet to six feet in height. In each chest-type tool box are a number of different sized drawers into which even the heaviest tools can be placed for storage and protection. Some of these prior art tool boxes are made to be movable by the use of casters. However, large prior art chest-type tool boxes are too big to fit into tight spaces and cannot be rolled into spaces with a low overhead such as underneath a car or a truck. Moreover, the tools in chest-type tool boxes are stored inside the drawers, out of sight from the mechanic. Unless the mechanic has memorized the drawer location for each tool, the mechanic must open each drawer and then examine the contents of each drawer to find the right tool. This effort to find the right tool for a job requires the mechanic to leave a job in progress, walk over to the tool box and locate the right tool. 
     What is needed in the art is a tool organizing system which can be moved alongside a workman to the job site that will provide easy access to a large selection of tools. In addition, the tool organizing system should be able to fit in tight spaces as well as spaces with a low overhead and still present needed tools to the mechanic so that the mechanic does not have to dig through an unorganized pile of tools to find the right tool for the task at hand. 
     Furthermore, for a user with mobility problems and who can&#39;t keep getting up and down, it would be convenient to have all tools, utensils, items, and materials disposed in one storage area to limit the amount of times the user needs to get up and/or move to different locations to obtain the necessary tools, utensils, items, and materials. 
     Therefore, it would be desirable to have a compact, portable, changeable, and aesthetically-pleasing organizing system that allows a user to conveniently store, categorize, locate, and access tools, utensils, items, equipment, and materials based on the user&#39;s preference. 
     SUMMARY 
     The present general inventive concept provides a rotatable and portable storage tree (e.g., craft tree) having a plurality of panels for storage. 
     Additional features and utilities of the present general inventive concept will be set forth in part in the description which follows and, in part, will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by practice of the general inventive concept. 
     The foregoing and/or other features and utilities of the present general inventive concept may be achieved by providing a storage tree, including a rotatable base, a center post attached to a center portion of the base, a plurality of outer posts attached to the base at outer portions of the base, and a plurality of panels disposed between each of the plurality of outer posts and the center post. 
     The storage tree may further include an upper lateral bar disposed between the center post and one of the plurality of outer posts such that the center post is connected to the one of the plurality or outer posts at upper portions thereof. 
     The storage tree may further include an lower lateral bar disposed between the center post and the one of the plurality of outer posts such that the center post is connected to the one of the plurality or outer posts at lower portions thereof, and a fabric panel draped over the upper lateral bar and wrapped around a lower lateral bar, such that the fabric is connected at a lower portion of the fabric panel. 
     The fabric panel may be connected at the lower portion of the fabric panel using at least one of snaps, pins, VELCRO, buttons, zippers, and thread. 
     The center post may include at least one panel receiving groove and at least one of the plurality of outer posts comprises at least one panel receiving groove facing the at least one panel receiving groove of the center post. 
     The at least one of the plurality of panels may be disposed within the at least one panel receiving groove of the center post and at least one panel receiving groove of the at least one of the plurality of outer posts. 
     The at least one of the plurality of panels may a fabric panel and at least another one of the plurality of panels may be a peg board comprising holes. 
     The rotatable base may include a plurality of wheels to allow the storage tree to move laterally, a base bottom attached to the plurality of wheels, a turntable rotatably connected to the base bottom, and a base top fixed to the turntable to allow the storage tree to rotate without movement from the plurality of wheels. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       These and/or other features and utilities of the present general inventive concept will become apparent and more readily appreciated from the following description of the embodiments, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings of which: 
         FIG. 1  is an angled view schematically illustrating a storage tree, according to an exemplary embodiment of the present general inventive concept; 
         FIG. 2A  is a side view schematically illustrating the storage tree of  FIG. 1 , according to an exemplary embodiment of the present general inventive concept; 
         FIG. 2B  is another side view schematically illustrating the storage tree of  FIG. 2A  rotated clockwise by ninety degrees, according to an exemplary embodiment of the present general inventive concept; 
         FIG. 3A  is a top view schematically illustrating the storage tree, according to an exemplary embodiment of the present general inventive concept; 
         FIG. 3B  is a bottom view schematically illustrating the storage tree, according to an exemplary embodiment of the present general inventive concept; 
         FIG. 4  is a close-up view of a plurality of wheels, according to an exemplary embodiment of the present general inventive concept; 
         FIG. 5A  is a close-up view of the lateral bar in an expanded state, according to an exemplary embodiment of the present general inventive concept; and 
         FIG. 5B  is a close-up view of the lateral bar in a contracted state, according to an exemplary embodiment of the present general inventive concept. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Various example embodiments (a.k.a., exemplary embodiments) will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings in which some example embodiments are illustrated. In the figures, the thicknesses of lines, layers and/or regions may be exaggerated for clarity. 
     Accordingly, while example embodiments are capable of various modifications and alternative forms, embodiments thereof are shown by way of example in the figures and will herein be described in detail. It should be understood, however, that there is no intent to limit example embodiments to the particular forms disclosed, but on the contrary, example embodiments are to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the scope of the disclosure. Like numbers refer to like or similar elements throughout the description of the figures. 
     It will be understood that when an element is referred to as being “connected” or “coupled” to another element, it can be directly connected or coupled to the other element or intervening elements may be present. In contrast, when an element is referred to as being “directly connected” or “directly coupled” to another element, there are no intervening elements present. Other words used to describe the relationship between elements should be interpreted in a like fashion (e.g., “between” versus “directly between,” “adjacent” versus “directly adjacent,” etc.). 
     The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of example embodiments. As used herein, the singular forms “a,” “an” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises,” “comprising,” “includes” and/or “including,” when used herein, specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components and/or groups thereof. 
     Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientific terms) used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which example embodiments belong. It will be further understood that terms, e.g., those defined in commonly used dictionaries, should be interpreted as having a meaning that is consistent with their meaning in the context of the relevant art. However, should the present disclosure give a specific meaning to a term deviating from a meaning commonly understood by one of ordinary skill, this meaning is to be taken into account in the specific context this definition is given herein. 
       FIG. 1  is an angled view schematically illustrating a storage tree  100 , according to an exemplary embodiment of the present general inventive concept. 
       FIG. 2A  is a side view schematically illustrating the storage tree  100  of  FIG. 1 , according to an exemplary embodiment of the present general inventive concept. 
       FIGS. 2B  is another side view schematically illustrating the storage tree  100  of  FIG. 2A  rotated clockwise by ninety degrees, according to an exemplary embodiment of the present general inventive concept. 
     Referring to  FIGS. 1, 2A, and 2B , the storage tree  100  may include a base  110 , a center post  120 , a plurality of outer posts  130 , and at least one panel  140 . 
       FIG. 3A  is a top view schematically illustrating the storage tree  100 , according to an exemplary embodiment of the present general inventive concept. 
       FIG. 3B  is a bottom view schematically illustrating the storage tree  100 , according to an exemplary embodiment of the present general inventive concept. 
     Referring to  FIGS. 1, 2A, 2B, 3A, and 3B , the base  110  may include a stationary portion  111 , a rotatable portion  112 , a rotation brake  113 , and a plurality of wheels  114 . The rotatable portion  112  may rotate with respect to the stationary portion  111 , to allow the user to rotate the storage tree  100  without moving the storage tree  100  in a lateral direction. In other words, the storage tree  100  is designed to be rotatable even without wheels. 
     The rotatable portion  112  of the base  110  may include two parts, namely a base top  112   a  and a turntable  112   b , while the stationary portion  111  of the base  110  may be a base bottom  111 . A top surface of the turntable  112   b  may be connected to a bottom surface of the base top  112   a , while a bottom surface of the turntable  112   b  may be connected to a top surface of the base bottom  111 . In other words, the turntable  112   b  may be disposed between the base top  112   a  and the base bottom  111 . As a result, the base bottom  111  may remain stationary while the base top  112   a  rotates. The base  110  may have a circular shape, an octagonal shape, or a square shape, but is not limited thereto. 
     Optionally, as illustrated in  FIGS. 2A and 2B , a motor  115  including circuitry and/or a computer to receive commands may be installed within the base  110  to allow the base to turn automatically via remote control, button, voice command, or mobile device, such as a cell phone, but is not limited thereto. 
     The base  110  may also include a molding  116  (or other mechanism to act as a wall) disposed around an outer circumference of the base  110 , thereby preventing objects disposed on the base  110  from falling off the base  110  as the storage tree  100  spins. 
     The rotation brake  113  may prevent the rotatable portion  112  from rotating with respect to the stationary portion  111 . The rotation brake  113  may include a pin  113   a  insertable into a hole  113   b  in the base  110 , to prevent the rotatable portion  112  from rotating. More specifically, the base top  112   a  and the base bottom  111  may have a series of holes  113   b  to allow a pin  113   a  to be inserted therethrough when the holes  113   b  are in line with respect to each other. 
       FIG. 4  is a close-up view of a plurality of wheels  114 , according to an exemplary embodiment of the present general inventive concept. 
     Referring to  FIG. 4 , at least one of the plurality of wheels  114  may include a brake  114   a  to prevent the storage tree  110  from moving in lateral directions. The brake  114   a  may lock the wheel  114 , in order to prevent the wheel  114  from rotating. The plurality of wheels may be provided in sets of  3 ,  4 ,  5 , or more wheels, based on a user&#39;s preference. 
     Referring to  FIGS. 1, 2A, and 2B , the center post  120  and the plurality of outer posts  130  may each have a rectangular shape, a square shape, an octagonal shape, or a circular shape, but are not limited thereto. 
     Optional hooks may be attached to the center post  120  and/or the plurality of outer posts  130  for additional storage capabilities. 
     For ease of explanation, an embodiment of the present general inventive concept will be described to include one center post  120  having a shape of a rectangular prism, four outer posts  130  each having a shape of rectangular prisms, and a circular base  110  to which one end of each of the four outer posts  130  and the center post  120  are attached. The four outer posts  130  and the center post  120  may be attached to the base  110  using screws, bolts, glue, or any other type of attachment and securing mechanism known to one of ordinary skill in the art. Although the present embodiment of the present general inventive concept includes four outer posts  130 , the present general inventive concept is not limited thereto, and may include 2, 3, or more outer posts  130 . 
     The four outer posts  130  may be equidistant from each other, and may be disposed and attached at outer circumferential portions of the base  110 . The center post  120  may have panel receiving grooves  121  on each of its lateral faces. Each of the four outer posts  130  may also have a panel receiving groove  131  on lateral faces thereof that face the center post  120 . As a result, a panel  140  can be slid between one of the outer posts  130  and the center post  120 , and thus secured therebetween. A lateral post  150  may extend horizontally across a top surface of the panels  140  in order to prevent the panels  140  from being removed, and to stabilize the out posts  130  and the center post  120  with respect to the base  110 . There may be a plurality of lateral posts  150  to secure the outer posts  130  to the center post  120 . The lateral post  150  may also be removable. 
     Alternatively, a removable round upper cover (not illustrated) may be included to secure the outer posts  130  to the center post  120  for stability, such that the round upper cover slides into top portions of each of the outer posts  130  and center post  120 . 
     As illustrated in  FIG. 2A and 2B , the panels  140  may include panels made from wood, metal, plastic, fabric, or any other material able to support objects disposed thereupon. As illustrated in  FIG. 2A , the panels  140  may include a peg board (i.e., a board with holed allowing pegs or hooks to be inserted in the holes, a cork board, a bulletin board, installed pegs, a thread rack, shelving, a chalk board, a dry-erase board, grommets, hooks, hangers, VELCRO, pockets, or any other type of mechanism to store objects thereupon or therein. Also, the aforementioned objects included in or on the panel  140  may be installed using magnets. More specifically, for example, a dry-erase board may be attached to the panel using a magnet when the panel is made of magnetic material, or alternatively, the panel  140  may be painted with magnetic paint. 
     The panels  140  allow a user to hang items thereupon or store items therein, including, but not limited to, tools, utensils, containers, thread, projects, crafts, and paper. 
     As illustrated in  FIGS. 2A and 2B , the panel receiving grooves  121  and  131  may be formed to also receive additional removable panels  140 , to allow a user to use a peg board  140   a  on one side and a chalk board  140   b  and a paint rack  140   c  on another side, for example. 
     Alternatively, the center post  120  may have lateral bar receiving holes  122  on each of its lateral faces, preferably near top and bottom portions of the center post  120 . Each of the outer posts  130  may also have lateral bar receiving holes  132  on lateral faces thereof that face the center post  120  and correspond to the lateral bar receiving holes  122  of the center post. As a result, an upper lateral bar  160   a  can be inserted into an upper lateral bar receiving hole  122   a  of the center post  120  and a lateral bar receiving hole  132   a  of one of the plurality of outer posts  130 , for example, and thus secured therebetween. 
     Optionally, a lower lateral bar  160   b  can be inserted in a lower lateral bar receiving hole  122   b  of the center post  120  and a lower lateral bar receiving hole  132   b  of one of the plurality of outer posts  130 , for example, and thus secured therebetween. 
     Although  FIGS. 1 through 2B  illustrate two panels that are peg boards inserted into panel receiving grooves and two panels including the lateral bars, fabric, and lateral bar receiving holes, any combination of panels may be included in the present general inventive concept, thereby allowing for any combination and/or number of of peg boards, panel receiving grooves, lateral bars, fabric, and lateral bar receiving holes. In other words, every post may include panel receiving grooves and lateral bar receiving holes to allow a user to configure and modify the storage tree  100  as desired. 
       FIG. 5A  is a close-up view of the lateral bar  160   a  in an expanded state, according to an exemplary embodiment of the present general inventive concept. 
       FIG. 5B  is a close-up view of the lateral bar  160   a  in a contracted state, according to an exemplary embodiment of the present general inventive concept. 
     Referring to  FIGS. 1, 2A, 2B, 5A, and 5B , the upper and lower lateral bars  160   a  and  160   b , respectively, may include two separate enjoined pieces that are independently movable with respect to each other via a mechanism, such as a spring disposed therewithin, to allow the upper and lower lateral bars  160   a  and  160   b , respectively, to contract slightly in order to be insertable within the upper and lower lateral bar receiving holes  122   a ,  132   a ,  122   b , and  132   b , respectively. 
     Referring specifically to  FIG. 5A , the lateral bar  160   a  may include a first half  161   a  and a second half  162   a  having a portion disposed within the first half  161   a . The first half  161   a  may be connected to the second half  162   a  by a spring  163 . In  FIG. 5A , the spring is in an expanded and relaxed state. 
     In  FIG. 5B , a user may press the first half  161   a  towards the second half  162   a , such that the spring  163  is contracted, thus allowing ends of the lateral bar  160   a  to be inserted within the lateral bar receiving holes  122   a  and  132   a , respectively. 
     The upper and lower lateral bars  160   a  and  160   b , respectively, allow for installation of fabric panels  140  as an alternative to solid panels. For example, a fabric panel  140  may be draped over an upper lateral bar  160   a  and wrapped around a lower lateral bar  160   b , such that the fabric may be connected (joined together) at a lower portion thereof. The fabric may be connected using snaps, pins, VELCRO, buttons, zippers, thread, or any other type of connection mechanism. 
     The fabric panels  140  may be removable to allow for easy removal for washing and cleaning. 
     The fabric panel  140  may also include pockets  141  to store items therein. The pockets may be closable using snaps, pins, VELCRO, buttons, zippers, thread, or any other type of closing mechanism. Also, the pockets  141  may include lid portions  142  to allow the pockets to be closed. The pockets  141  can be constructed out of various materials. 
     Alternatively, the fabric panel  140  and/or pockets  141  may be made out of a transparent and/or translucent plastic, to allow a user to easily view items stored within the transparent and/or translucent pockets. 
     The upper lateral bars  160   a  may also be included without the fabric panels  140 , in order to allow items, such as clothing, to be hung thereupon. For example, if a user is designing a dress for a woman, the dress can be hung from a hanger hanging on an upper lateral bar  160   a , in order to allow the user to work on the dress while having easy and convenient access to items stored on other panels, such as thread, needles, buttons, sequins, glitter, rulers, measuring tape, chalk, or whatever other items are necessary to complete the dress. 
     A cover (not illustrated) can be included to cover the entire storage tree  100 , and can be made of plastic, fabric, wood, metal, or any other material usable to cover the storage tree  100 . 
     Although a few embodiments of the present general inventive concept have been shown and described, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that changes may be made in these embodiments without departing from the principles and spirit of the general inventive concept, the scope of which is defined in the appended claims and their equivalents.