Patent ID: 7992707

Claim:
A storage unit for an item having a head portion and an elongated handle portion extending therefrom, the storage unit comprising: a housing having a bottom wall, sidewalls connected to the bottom wall, and an open upper end; a container disposed within the housing being vertically slidable relative to the bottom wall of the housing, the container having a cavity with an opening at an upper end of the cavity for receiving the head portion of the item; and a cover comprising two or more rounded cover sections pivotally mounted between the container and the housing for movement between an open position exposing the upper end of the cavity of the container and a closed position closing the upper end of the cavity of the container from an outside environment, the cover sections being biased by a biasing means toward the open position, vertical downward movement of the container toward the bottom wall of the housing causing the cover sections to overcome the bias and rotate to the closed position, the cover sections in the closed position defining an aperture in the cover through which the handle portion of the item is to be extended, wherein an inner surface of the housing and an outer surface of the container define a receiving space in which the cover sections are received when rotated to the open position such that the outermost horizontal circumference of the storage unit is no larger in the open position than in the closed position.