Canister holder and decorating method

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Many consumer products are sold in containers. Some of these containers provided consumers with ready access to the products inside, such that the consumers are able to dispense the products directly from the containers. For example, many cleaning towlettes, also referred to simply as “wipes,” are sold in containers having openings that allow easy access to the wipes. One goal of such containers is to allow the consumer to grab a wipe without having to remove a lid from the container. Often the container is also useful to keep the wipes somewhat moist or coated with a cleaning solution. While these containers offer easy access to the wipes, the appearance of the containers is often unsightly or inconsistent with the overall interior decorating or color theme of the kitchen or home. There is a long-felt need for an improved means to dispense consumer products in a way that promotes a color or decorating theme.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The above advantages as well as other advantages not specifically enumerated are achieved by a decorating component. The decorating component has a side portion. The side portion of the decorating component has a major dimension. The decorating component is adapted to receive a container having a side portion having a major dimension. The major dimension of the side portion of the decorating component is greater than the major dimension of the side portion of the container.

There is also provided a method decorating an environment. The method includes providing a container having a side portion with a major dimension. The method includes providing a canister having a side portion with a major dimension greater than the major dimension of the container, and placing the container in the canister.

Various advantages of this invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment, when read in light of the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a side view in elevation of a prior art container and a canister holder in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross sectional view in elevation of the canister holder of FIG. 1 supporting the prior art container.

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the canister holder and prior art container of FIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Preliminarily, it should be noted that certain terms used herein are used to facilitate the description of the invention. Unless otherwise specified or made apparent by the context of the discussion, such terms and other directional terms should be interpreted with reference to the figure(s) under discussion. Such terms are not intended as a limitation on the position in which the invention or components may be used. Indeed, it is contemplated that the components of the invention may be easily positioned in any desired orientation for use. Likewise, numerical terms are not intended as a limitation or to imply a sequence, unless otherwise specified or made apparent by the context of the discussion.

Referring now to the drawings, there is illustrated in FIGS. 1 through 3 a canister, indicated generally at 20, according to the invention. The canister 20 is a holder for a container, indicated generally at 24. The illustrated canister 20 includes a base portion 28 and a side portion 32. The base portion 28 is secured to the side portion 32. The illustrated canister 20 is generally cylindrical with a hollow central portion 34. The canister is a decorating component.

The illustrated base portion 28 of the canister 20 is generally round. The base portion 28 has a major dimension D2. When the base portion 28 is generally round, the major dimension D2 is the diameter of the base portion 28. The base portion 28 may also be generally angular, such as for example square.

The major dimension D2 is understood the be the largest linear measure of the base portion 28. The side portion 32 of the canister 20 has a major dimension H2. The major dimension H2 is understood the be the largest linear measure of the side portion 32.

The prior art container 24 includes a base portion 36, a side portion 40 and a lid portion 44. The base portion 36 is secured to the side portion 40. The illustrated container 24 is generally cylindrical and holds a supply of towlettes 60, also referred to simply as “wipes.” The base portion 36 has a major dimension D1. When the base portion 36 is generally round, the major dimension D1 is the diameter of the base portion 36. The major dimension D1 is understood the be the largest linear measure of the base portion 36. The side portion 40 of the container 24 has a major dimension H1. The major dimension H1 is understood the be the largest linear measure of the side portion 40.

The lid portion 44 is secured to the side portion 40. The lid portion 44 includes an opening 48 and a cover 52. The cover 52 is provided to selectively obstruct the opening 48 of the lid portion 44. It will be appreciated that a wipe 60 may be selectively removed from the opening 48 in the lid portion 44 of the container 24. The illustrated wipes 60 are shown stacked in the container 24. The container 24 may alternatively hold any suitable product, including but not limited to cleaning products.

It will be noted that the canister 20 is adapted to receive the container 24. It will be noted that the side portion 40 of the container 24 and the side portion 32 of the canister 20 are spaced apart from each other, as best seen in FIG. 3. It will also be noted that the major dimension H2 of the canister 20 is greater than the major dimension H1 of the container 24. The difference between the major dimension H2 and the major dimension H1 is the dimension H3, as best seen in FIG. 2. The illustrated dimension H3 is less than the major dimension H2 and the major dimension H1. The ratio of the dimension H3 to the major dimension H2 may be within the range of from about 1:8 to 1:14. The ratio of the dimension H3 to the major dimension H2 may be about 1:12.

In use, the container 24 is placed in the canister 20. The canister 20 is employed to selectively hide the side portion 40 of the container 24. The side portion 32 of the canister 20 may be decorated to accommodate the overall interior decorating or color theme of the kitchen or home. For example, the side portion 32 of the canister 20 may be the same color as a kitchen counter top or refrigerator. Likewise, the side portion 32 of the canister 20 may be a complimentary color or pattern for a wallpaper design or the like.

The canister 20 is preferably taller than the container 24. The canister 20 is preferably not so much taller than the container 24 that removal of the wipes 60 from the container 24 is inconvenient. The major dimension H2 of the side portion 32 of the canister 20 may be selected to selectively allow a portion of the wipes 60 to extend from the canister 20.

Alternate embodiments of the invention are contemplated. The container and canister employed need not be generally cylindrical. The base portions and side portions may assume any suitable contour. It will be noted that the side portion of the canister may be colored, adorned, or otherwise decorated to accommodate a wide variety of aesthetically pleasing profiles and tastes.

The invention may be adapted to fit a wide variety of containers and canisters. It will be appreciated that the components of the invention may be easily modified as needed to accommodate varying sizes and shapes of containers and canisters. The invention is useful for improving the appearance of the environment in when it is employed by selectively hiding unsightly containers.

The principle and mode of operation of this invention have been described in its preferred embodiments. However, it should be noted that this invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically illustrated and described without departing from its scope.