WO2009065165A1

WO2009065165A1 - Organiser assembly for holding items

Info

Publication number: WO2009065165A1
Application number: PCT/AU2008/001651
Authority: WO
Inventors: John Tutuvanu
Original assignee: John Tutuvanu
Priority date: 2007-11-20
Filing date: 2009-01-07
Publication date: 2009-05-28
Also published as: US20100252513A1

Abstract

The assembly comprises a plurality of hollow tubular or similarly shaped members, having an open end, and support means adapted to support the tubular or similarly shaped members in a space or on a surface of a display or storage unit. The tubular or similarly shaped members are each configured to hold a folded or rolled item in their hollow and arranged so that a person can insert folded or rolled items into the tubular or similarly shaped members through their open end for holding therein and selectively remove there from any of the folded or rolled items held in the tubular or similarly shaped members. Preferably, said tubular or similarly shaped members are formed with different hollow dimensions and arranged into groups according to their hollow dimensions.

Description

ORGANISER ASSEMBLY FOR HOLDING ITEMS

TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION

THIS INVENTION relates to an organiser assembly for holding items, and in particular but not limited thereto the assembly is mountable in a space or on a surface of a storage or display apparatus.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Items such as clothes and towels are generally stored on shelves or in drawers. The clothes and towels are usually ironed and/or folded neatly and stacked orderly in vertical piles on the shelves or in the drawers. When a person needs to pick one of such items, it is inevitable that the pile where the item is picked from is disturbed. At times, neighboring piles would also be disturbed. The disturbance causes the disturbed items to be partly or fully unfolded and the corresponding pile to become unorderly.

The applicant has noted that at home young children continually get themselves into trouble. Their parent or parents would iron and fold their clothes and stack them neatly in piles in their drawers or on shelves in their bedrooms. When searching for an item of clothing, children when pulling out a selected piece of clothing would invariably undo all the hard work of the parent or parents. The result is that after they have taken away a chosen item of clothing, they would invariably leave behind an untidy mess. This leads to continuous frustration within the family.

Most young children cause such a mess because of a variety of reasons i.e. they are in a rush or it may be that their motor skills at an early age are still developing. The same can also be said of the elderly at the other end of the age spectrum. Elderly people too have problems in picking a certain item of clothing from a pile of clothes that have already been neatly ironed or folded. This could lead to unnecessary frustration and extra work in tidying up; not only for themselves but also for care givers. Furthering our scope for this invention, the same above frustrations and difficulties can be experienced by people who are physically handicapped.

OBJECT OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the present invention to provide an organiser assembly to alleviate or to at least reduce to a certain level one or more of the prior art disadvantages.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In one aspect therefore the present invention resides in an organiser assembly for holding foldable items. The assembly comprises a plurality of hollow tubular or similarly shaped members, having an open end, and support means adapted to support the tubular or similarly shaped members in a space or on a surface of a display or storage unit. The tubular or similarly shaped members are each configured to hold a folded or rolled item in their hollow and arranged so that a person can insert folded or rolled items into the tubular or similarly shaped members through their open end for holding therein and selectively remove there from any of the folded or rolled items held in the tubular or similarly shaped members.

Preferably, said tubular or similarly shaped members are formed with different hollow dimensions and arranged into groups according to their hollow dimensions.

The storage unit may be a wardrobe, a cabinet or a shelving unit. The display unit may be a display table, a show case or a display shelf.

The support means may be walls and/or partitions and/or shelves of said display or storage unit. It is preferred said support means includes one or more support panels adapted to be fixed in said space or to said surface. Each said panel is formed with apertures sized to support individual tubular or similarly shaped members therein. The organiser assembly according to the present invention makes it easy for children to find any foldable item such as clothing at a glance (visual management). The assembly enables them to pull out the item they want without messing up all the other items in the storage or display unit.

The assembly of the present invention also makes it easier for children to keep their own rooms tidy (low maintenance), and reduces the stress level parents are enduring. There would be no more hidden disaster areas in drawers. Children would be happier because they are able to tidy their rooms a lot quicker. Younger children (8 year old boy and 5 year girl old) who do not have the necessary motor skill levels to fold clothes neatly, could easily roll their clothes and put them into the tubular or similar shaped members.

The assembly of the present invention would also provide great benefit to the elderly, who with decreasing motor skills, also struggle to store/retrieve clothes, bath towels etc.

The applicant has also noted that in many low cost clothing stores, similar items are folded and arranged in stacked piles on tables and/or shelves. When customers take an item from a pile, some items in this pile are inevitably disturbed. Shop attendants need to spend considerable time re-folding the disturbed items and re-arranging them into orderly stacks. Samples of clothing could be hung in a wardrobe type unit to one side for customer fitting, while the tubular or similarly shaped members organiser assembly invention hold those clothing for sale organised in their various sizes.

The assembly of the present invention could also be effectively utilised in hospitals, hotels and like institutions.

In another aspect therefore the present invention resides in a storage unit having one or more organiser assemblies as hereinbefore described. In a further aspect therefore the present invention resides in a display unit having one or more organiser assemblies as hereinbefore described.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In order that the present invention can be readily understood and put into practical effect the description will hereinafter refer to the accompanying drawings which will illustrate non limiting embodiments of the present invention and wherein:

Figure 1 is a partial cut-away perspective view of a storage unit having an embodiment of the organiser assembly according to the present invention;

Figure 2, 3, and 4 is an exploded partial perspective view of the assembly shown in Figure 1 ;

Figure 5 is a perspective view of a wardrobe having another embodiment of the organiser assembly according to the present invention;

Figure 6 is a perspective view of a towel storage unit having a further embodiment of the organiser assembly according to the present invention; and

Figure 7 is a perspective view of a shelf unit having yet another further embodiment of the organiser assembly according to the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPION OF THE DRAWINGS

Referring to the drawings and initially to Figure 1, there is shown an embodiment of the organiser assembly 10 according to the present invention arranged in the form of a combination storage unit 100. The storage unit 100 has a clothes hanging section 102 with a suspended rod 104 in its hanging space 106, a first shelving section 107 and a second shelving section 108. The second shelving section has partitions 110 dividing the shelf section into three shelving zones 112.

The assembly 10 is arranged in the first shelving section 107 and it has a set of stand alone hollow tubular or similar like members 12 in the form of tubes Each tubular or similar like member 12 has an open end 13. The tubular or similar like member 12 in this embodiment are of the same size. But it is understood that the tubular or similar like members 12 can have varying sizes or shapes to accommodate different size/ type of items such as clothing and towels. These tubular or similar like members 12 are held in place by a solid support panel 14 (see Figure 2) at the front and another solid support panel (not shown) at the back of the first shelving section 107. Each support panel is formed with apertures 16 pre-cut into them to hold the tubular or similar like members 12 in place.

This solid support panel 14 (Figure 2) may be made of different material i.e. wood, plastic/resin type moulding, or any metal material. The support panel 14 can also be of varying thickness (Figure 3), this being dependent on the design. The solid support panel 14 may be of varying shapes: triangular, square, rectangular, pentagon, hexagonal, octagonal (Figure 4); and any other polygon shape that may also be suited to being utilised in the design.

The support panel is deliberately solid around the various apertures to ensure rubbish; dust and/or foreign material do not accumulate between the tubular or similar like members.

The pre-cut apertures 16 may also be of varying shapes: triangular, square, rectangular, pentagon, hexagonal, octagonal; and any other polygon shape that may be suited to the shape of the tubes being utilised in the design. (Figures 2, 3, and 4) Or it may be a mixture of these shapes and in varying arrangement according to the tubular or similar like members used. The pre-cut apertures 16 may also be of varying sizes, dependent on the type/size of clothing it is to house. These pre-cut apertures 16 may have the smaller sizes at the top of the support panel 14, medium size apertures 16 in the middle and larger size aperture 16 at the bottom. (Figure 3) This arrangement may also be inverted with the larger apertures 16 at the top of the support panel 14 and the smaller aperture 16 at the bottom, again dependent on the design. Or the sizes of the aperture 16 may be a mixture in their arrangement. In use, clothes 18 are rolled into a cylindrical shape and placed into the tubular or similar like members 12. One item of clothing per tubular member.

The applicant's research by measuring a number of items of rolled common clothing shows that tubular members of 15 cm diameter can hold most common clothing items. For example, the following clothing items were rolled into a cylindrical shape and measured:

• Jeans and cargo pants type shorts;

• Track suit pants;

• Jerseys/hoodies

(All of the above fit into a tube of 15cm diameter)

• T-shirts, shirts/blouses, singlets

(All of the above fit into a tube of 12cm in diameter)

The first shelving section 107 also has two wire baskets 20: one for underwear and the other for socks, scarves etc. The gaps in the wire baskets provide the user opportunity to visually check the items without opening the baskets. A netting 114 (nylon or light aluminium lattice) is placed across the back of the first shelving section 107 to prevent clothing items 18 slipping through. The netting 114 also prevents dust/rubbish or foreign material building up in the tubes, as well as enabling light to enter the tubes from the back for inspection purposes. This netting maybe removed for cleaning purposes.

The shelving zones 112 are 20cm high and are provided for storage of shoes. A tall boy (not shown) at one end may also be attached to hang formal, outing wear.

The assembly 10 could be made out of plastic moulding for a certain segment of the market. Alternatively, the assembly 10 could be built out of a combination of wood i.e. mahogany, teak; for the panels and light, silver aluminium tubes. A mirror could be attached above the assembly 10. Figure 5 shows a wardrobe/ cupboard unit 120 having another embodiment of the organiser assembly 10 according to the present invention! This shows that units of the organiser assembly 10 can be designed to fit into existing shelving

Figure 6 shows a towel storage unit 130 formed of a boxed shape container 132 and another embodiment of the organiser assembly 10 according to the present invention. The container 132 is fixed to a wall surface by means of support brackets 134. This could be used in hotels and hospitals.

Shown in Figure 7 is a wall unit 140 having a first shelving section 107 and a second shelving section 108. The first shelving section 107 has an organiser assembly 10 according to the present invention.

The assembly 10 provides:

• Visual management - finding items of clothing quickly and efficiently.

• Low maintenance- users i.e. children, find it easier to put their clothes away, parents/ carers can easily monitor the tidiness of a room.

Utility in various other applications i.e. to store bath towels, linen.

• Utility in department stores, where large numbers of clothing are put out for display on tables - the assembly would ensure less time by store workers on tidying piles of clothes and more effort placed on making sales.

• The assembly could be utilised in organisations that store vast numbers of linen, towels, or other similar items i.e. hotels, motels, hospitals.

Whilst the above has been given by way of illustrative example of the present invention, many variations and modifications thereto will be apparent to those skilled in the art, without departing from the broad ambit and scope of the invention as herein set forth in the following claims.

Claims

CLAIMS Prior Art:An International Type Search Article 15(5) was requested on the 31 January 2008 Reference 07P094: R: ME for patent application number 2007906345 in the name of John Tutuvanu. This search undertaken by IP Australia uncovered the following prior art/ documents considered to be relevant: a) AU 1983 13578 A (VALENTIN J) 18 October 1984 - whole document; b) US 4567989 A (HURST Jr) 4 February 1986 - whole document; c) DE 29801206 U (LEE J) 12 March 1998 - whole document; d) FR 2688127 A (ESTABLIS SEMENTS GEORGES DAVID) 10 September 1993 - whole document; e) GB 2282962 A (THORNE A) 26 April 1995 - whole document.All of the above prior art were designed for the storage of wine bottles or such like products. These prior art use varying methods; to hold/ lock the hollow cylinder like members for housing these wine bottles, together:• Female/ male part couplings;• Groove type methods;• Clip in type attachments;• Interdigitated lockable attachments;• Frame consisting of pipes or rods placed horizontally and vertically and at right angles to each other.This patent application claims novelty owing to the aspect of design that uses a support panel with pre-cut apertures that support the plurality of hollow tubular or similarly shaped members and holds them in place.Claims:

1. In one aspect therefore the present invention resides in an organiser assembly for holding foldable items.

2. The assembly comprises a plurality of hollow tubular or similarly shaped members, having an open end, and support means adapted to suppqrj; the tubular or similar shaped members in a space or on a surface of a display or storage unit.

3. The tubular or similarly shaped members are each configured to hold a folded or rolled item in their hollow and arranged so that a person can insert folded or rolled items into the tubular or similarly shaped members through their open end for holding therein and selectively remove there from any of the folded or rolled items held in the tubular members.

4. Preferably, said tubular or similarly shaped members are formed with different hollow dimensions and arranged into groups according to their hollow dimensions.

5. The storage unit may be a wardrobe, a cabinet or a shelving unit. The display unit may be a display table, a show case or a display shelf. In another aspect therefore the present invention resides in a storage unit having one or more organiser assemblies as hereinbefore described.

6. The support means may be walls and/or partitions and/or shelves of said display or storage unit. It is preferred said support means includes one or more support panels adapted to be fixed in said space or to said surface.

7. These tubular or similarly shaped members are held in place by a solid support panel at the front and another solid support panel at the back of the first shelving section.

8. Each of these support panels, as described in 7 above, is formed with apertures pre-cut into them to hold the tubular members in place.

9. This solid support panel may be made of different material i.e. wood, plastic/resin type moulding, or any metal material.

10. The support panel can also be of varying thickness, this being dependent on the design.

11. The solid support panel may be of varying shapes: triangular, square, rectangular, pentagon, hexagonal, octagonal; and any other polygon shape that may also be suited to being utilised in the design.

12. The support panel is deliberately solid around the pre-cut apertures to ensure rubbish, dust or any other foreign material do not get between the tubular or similar shaped members.

13. The pre-cut apertures contained within the solid support panel may also be of varying shapes: triangular, square, rectangular, pentagon, hexagonal, octagonal; and any other polygon shape that may be suited to the shape of the tubes being utilised in the design. Or it may be a mixture of these shapes and in varying arrangement according to the tubular members used.

14. The pre-cut apertures may also be of varying sizes, dependent on the size of the tubular or similar shaped members it has to hold in place. These pre-cut apertures may have the smaller sizes at the top of the support panel medium size apertures in the middle and larger size aperture at the bottom. This arrangement may also be inverted with the larger apertures at the top of the support panel and the smaller apertures at the bottom, again dependent on the design and/ or tubular or similar shaped members it has to hold in place. Or the sizes of the aperture may be a mixture in their arrangement.

15. The rear support panel of this assembly as described above may be covered with a netting type material which will prevent the entry of foreign material from the rear of the tubular or similar shaped members, but allowing a degree of light in.

16. The organiser assembly also has two wire baskets: one for underwear and the other for socks, scarves etc. The gaps in the wire baskets provide the user opportunity to visually check the items without opening the baskets.