Patent Abstract:
A container having a generally circular bottom, an outer, continuous wall, a spring for supporting the outer wall in a generally cylindrical form, and a circular top with an opening therein through which articles to be stored or carried may pass through. The bottom is configured with a water drainage hole, so that water that does not escape through the mesh may nevertheless drain from the container. Internal partitions may be provided to help organize item to be carried or stored in the container.

Full Description:
[0001]     This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. 119(e) from provisional application Ser. No. 60/607,282 filed on Sep. 4, 2004, which is incorporated by reference herein, in its entirety. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]     1. Field of the Invention  
         [0003]     The present invention relates to collapsible containers. More particularly, it relates to containers that may be used to carry various small items such as those that may be used for personal hygiene, and may be exposed to a wet environment.  
         [0004]     2. Prior Art  
         [0005]     Generally, there have been a variety of containers that may be used to carry personal items. Some take up a relatively large space. Others are not suitable for use in wet environments.  
         [0006]     A typical situation in which a variety of personal items, such as personal care items, must be carried is the college dormitory. Often a group of students share a bathroom or shower. Students each have their own personal care items, such as razors, a toothbrush, soap, etc. There generally is no location to leave such items in a commonly used bathroom or shower, nor would students wish to do so.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0007]     It is an object of the invention to provide a collapsible container that can be used to store and to transport such personal items.  
         [0008]     It is a further object of the invention to provide such a container that is low in cost and usable in a wet environment.  
         [0009]     It is another object of the invention to provide a container that can be exposed to a stream of water, but in which the water will not accumulate.  
         [0010]     These objects and others are achieved in accordance with the invention by providing a container having a generally circular bottom, an outer, continuous wall, a spring for supporting the outer wall in a generally cylindrical form, and a circular top with an opening therein through which articles to be stored or carried may pass through. The bottom is configured with a water drainage hole, so that water that does not escape through the mesh may nevertheless drain from the container. The container may have a series of partitions, preferably of different sizes, for storing articles placed therein. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0011]     The foregoing aspects and other features of the present invention are explained in the following description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, wherein:  
         [0012]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of an apparatus in accordance with the invention.  
         [0013]      FIG. 2  is an additional, simplified, perspective view of an apparatus in accordance with  FIG. 1 .  
         [0014]      FIG. 3  is an additional, partial perspective view of an apparatus in accordance with  FIG. 1 .  
         [0015]      FIG. 4  is an additional, perspective view of an apparatus in accordance with  FIG. 1 , shown in its collapsed state.  
         [0016]      FIG. 5  is a perspective view of another embodiment of the invention with internal partitions.  
         [0017]      FIG. 6  is a plan view of the embodiment of  FIG. 5 . 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0018]     Referring to  FIG. 1 , there is shown a perspective view of a container  10  incorporating features of the present invention, in its expanded form, ready for use. Although the present invention will be described with reference to the embodiments shown in the drawings, it should be understood that the present invention can be embodied in many alternate forms of embodiments. In addition, any suitable size, shape or type of elements or materials could be used.  
         [0019]     The container  10  has a circular bottom  12  formed of a flexible material that may be, for example nylon, a vinyl, or other flexible fabric. At the center of bottom  12  is a grommet  13 , formed of, for example, a non-corroding metal, or a plastic material, that defines an opening  14  through which water may drain. It will be understood that when container  10  is used to hold items, such a personal care items, bottom  12  will be displaced slightly downward (in  FIG. 1 ) due to the weight of such items, and opening  14 , located at the center of bottom  12 , will be in an optimum position to provide excellent drainage.  
         [0020]     The outer cylindrical wall  16  of container  10  can be made of a mesh formed of, for example, nylon, having substantially circular openings with diameters of about 0.125 inches. It will be understood that such opening will facilitate drainage of water through the side of container  10 , rather than from the bottom. However, due to the flexible nature of the bottom, a concavity for the accumulation of water would be formed with any item stored therein. Thus opening  14  is still necessary to assure proper drainage. However, wall  16  may be made of a continuous fabric, without openings therein. The opening  14  in bottom  12  will still assure excellent drainage of water.  
         [0021]     Container  10  may be configured with a top  18  having a generally oval opening  20  formed therein through which the items to be stored or carried in container  10  may pass. Alternatively, the opening may encompass substantially the entire top.  
         [0022]     In that region where the periphery of top  20  connects to wall  16 , a continuous circular pocket  22  is formed. Further, in that region where the periphery of bottom  12  connects to wall  16 , a continuous circular pocket  24  is formed. The interiors of pocket  22  and pocket  24  are connected by a continuous pocket  26  (not shown in  FIG. 2 ) which may be sewn to the outside of wall  16  so as to spiral up wall  16  as shown in  FIG. 1 .  
         [0023]     Container  10  is maintained in the expanded state shown in  FIG. 1  by a spring wire (not shown). Two turns of one end of this spring are disposed in pocket  22 , and two turns of the other end of this spring are disposed in pocket  24 . Approximately two turns of the center of this spring are disposed in pocket  26 . A short length of plastic tubing (not shown) is disposed in each of pockets  22  and  24 . The respective ends of the wire are received in these lengths of tubing so that no sharp point is available to tear the fabric from which pockets  22  and  24  is formed. The fit into these tubings should be relatively tight to assure that there is little chance of their moving with respect to the wire so that the respective ends of the wire are removed from the tubing. On the other hand the fit should not be so tight as to make assembly unduly difficult.  
         [0024]     Container  10  may have a handle  28 , comprising, for example a textured nylon fabric, sewn to the joining region of top  20  and pocket  22 , at each end thereof. Further, for reasons of appearance, and to add a bit of strength, a fabric strip  30  may be sewn along the length of container  10  (preferably on the outside surface of wall  16 , but under pocket  26 , at the intersection of strip  30  and pocket  26 ), extending from pocket  22  to pocket  24 .  
         [0025]     Container  10  may be collapsed by merely pushing bottom  12  and top  20  toward one another. The spring is collapsed, and container  10  assumes a pancake shape shown in  FIG. 4 .  
         [0026]     For purposes of transportation for sale, or for transportation by, for example a student from home to college, container  10  may be kept in the collapsed state by using an elastic band (not shown). Alternatively, handle  28  may be made somewhat shorter than shown, and of an elastic material, and used for this purpose.  
         [0027]     While the container has been described with one opening  14 , it will be understood that bottom  12  may have a plurality of similar openings disposed in any one of several geometric arrays. The exact configuration is not critical, as long as adequate drainage of water is possible.  
         [0028]     The collapsible container in accordance with the invention may be constructed in a variety of sizes. In accordance with one embodiment, the container is approximately 7.5 inches in diameter and 11.75 inches in its expanded state shown in  FIG. 1 . It may be collapsed so that when in the state shown in  FIG. 4 , it is less than 0.5 inch high, thus facilitating storage, shipping in quantity, and carrying during a move from one location to another.  
         [0029]     The embodiment of the invention illustrated in  FIG. 5  and  FIG. 6  may be a container  50  of approximately eight inches in diameter and approximately six inches high, and having a handle  52 . A first vertical partition  54  generally separates the container  50  into a first compartment  56  and a second compartment shown generally as  58 , with compartment  56  being somewhat larger than compartment  58 . A second vertical partition  59  generally separates the second compartment  58  into a two compartments  60  and  62 , with compartment  60  being somewhat larger than compartment  62 . The result is that various items  70  ( FIG. 5 ), to be placed in container  50 , may be organized and stored in a compartment of the most appropriate size for the item. As for the previously described embodiment, a grommet  13 , formed of, for example, a non-corroding metal, or a plastic material, defines an opening  14  through which water may drain.  
         [0030]     It should be understood that the foregoing description is only illustrative of the invention. Various alternatives and modifications can be devised by those skilled in the art without departing from the invention. Accordingly, the present invention is intended to embrace all such alternatives, modifications and variances.

Technology Classification (CPC): 1