Personal Item Holder

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Technical Field

The present invention relates to a device for holding personal items. More specifically, the present invention relates to a device for individually and separately holding numerous items.

2. Background Art

Various attempts have been made to provide display units capable of displaying items, such as jewelry, to allow visual inspection and selection by a person. Generally, the display unit uses the item's fastener, in the case of jewelry, to facilitate attachment to a support structure. Such attachment is awkward to manipulate during the attachment and detachment steps.

One example of such an organizer is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,671,849, to Bacon, which discloses a display unit for the removable attachment of holder units that can retain small objects. The device functions by utilizing holder units that are affixed, via hook-and-loop fasteners, to a support surface. The device is designed so that the items can be removed easily and with little force. There is not sufficient strength of the holder units to maintain a larger item, such as a purse. Additionally, the entire device is rather flexible and is not designed to hold items that are heavy. This limits the use of the device to lightweight items such as jewelry.

Detachable holders are known in the art that act to hold the item or items while allowing attachment to a display box. Generally, these holders are attachable only at predetermined locations, as exampled by elevated slats on the display box. User selected random placement is not permitted with such configurations.

Other attempts at creating organization for personal items include the use of drawer organizers or under-bed storage organizers. These organizers are not easily utilized, as they require a substantial amount of room in which to organize the items. Further, it is often difficult to view all of the items that are being organized because of the large amount of space that the organizer occupies. There is, therefore, a need for personal item organizers that do not require a large amount of space, are easy to use, and enable the user to easily view the items that are being organized.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to the present invention, there is provided a personal item holder having a backing, a framing device for providing support and shape to the backing, attachment devices for attaching the personal items to the backing, and mounts attached to the backing for mounting the holder.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Other advantages of the present invention are readily appreciated as the same becomes better understood by reference to the following detailed description when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a front view of the device of the present invention with a pocket at the top of the device;

FIG. 2 is a front view of the fastening device used to maintain an item within the device of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a front view of the device of the present invention with a pocket at the bottom of the device;

FIG. 4 is a detailed view of the top portion of the holder of the present invention; and

FIG. 5 is a side view of the hanging device of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Generally, the present invention provides a holder for maintaining numerous individual items. The holder is generally shown as 10 in the figures. The holder 10 is preferably used to organize and present items such as purses or other items capable of being maintained by the holder 10 of the present invention.

A preferred embodiment of the device 10 of the present invention includes a backing 12, support devices 161 hanging devices 18, and fasteners 22. The backing 12 is preferably formed of a single piece of material. The backing 12 is the base upon which all other parts of the holder are affixed; therefore, the backing 12 must be formed of a sturdy material capable of withstanding the attachment of the remaining parts of the holder 10. Examples of such materials are well known to those of skill in the art. One example of such a material is canvas. Other materials exhibiting similar resilient properties can also be used without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

Additionally, the device 10 can include crosspieces 14. The crosspieces 14 are pieces of material to which the fasteners 22 are affixed. The crosspieces 14 are preferably formed of the same material as the backing 12, but can be formed of other materials without departing from the spirit of the present invention. Examples of such materials are well known to those of skill in the art. The crosspieces 14 are affixed to the backing 12 at regular intervals, such that through-pockets 28 are formed between the affixing locations. It is at the location of the through-pockets 28 that the fasteners 22 are attached.

The fasteners 22 (also referred to as attaching devices) can either be attached to the crosspieces 14 at the through-pockets 28, or the fasteners 22 can be attached directly to the backing 12. The fasteners 22 can be formed of any material capable of being easily opened and closed, while also being able to support the weight of an object that is held within the fastener 22. The fastener 22 is preferably a rectangular piece of material that includes a closing device 24,26 at each end of the fastener 22, such that when the fastener 22 is closed, a loop is formed for holding the item in place. The closing device 24,26 can be any device having the above characteristics known to those of skill in the art. Preferably, the closing device 24,26 is a hook-and-loop fastener.

The holder 10 of the present invention also includes a frame/support device 16. At least one support device 16 forms the frame and is used in each holder 10 in order for the holder 10 to maintain the proper shape when being hung. Preferably, at least three support devices 16 are used in the holder 10 of the present invention. The support devices 16 are spaced apart from one another at regular intervals, thereby ensuring proper shape when the holder 10 is hung. The support devices 16 are made of resilient materials such as a resilient plastic or a metal. The resilient materials are preferably lightweight so as to prevent weighing down the holder 10 or making the holder 10 difficult to either hang or stay hung.

The holder 10 is hung using wall mounting devices 18. The wall mounting devices 18 can be grommets through which hooks, nails, or other similar devices can be placed to attach the holder 10 to a wall or door. Alternatively, the wall mounting devices 18 can be openings through which over-the-door supports are placed, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5. The over-the-door supports can be affixed at the top of the holder 10, or at the same location as the grommets or other wall mounting devices 18 are affixed. FIG. 4 shows a detailed view of the top portion of the holder 10 and FIG. 5 shows a detail of one such over-the-door mounting device 18. As shown in FIG. 5, the mounting device 18 can be generally U-shaped, but could also be J-shaped without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

The holder 10 can also include at least one pocket or pouch 20 for holding additional small items that cannot be maintained with the fasteners 22. The pocket 20 can be located at any position on the holder 10 without departing from the spirit of the present invention. Also, multiple pockets 20 of varying shapes can be included in the holder 10. Preferably, the pocket 20 is rectangular shaped, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 3. In order to form a more rigid pocket, the pocket can be formed of a rigid material that is covered by material identical to that of the holder 10. For example, the pocket 10 can be formed of a cardboard material that is covered by canvas. The pocket 10 can be manufactured using techniques known to those of skill in the art. The pocket can either be entirely formed of canvas, and then have pieces of cardboard inserted into sleeves within the canvas or the pocket can be formed of cardboard and then the canvas is attached to the formed pocket 20. Alternatively, the holder 10 can be comprised entirely of pockets or pouches 20.

More specifically, the present invention relates to a device or holder 10 that can be hung on a door or mounted on a wall. In the preferred embodiment, the holder 10 includes a canvas backing 12 having fabric webbing crosspieces 14 sewn onto the canvas backing 12. The canvas backing 12 also includes horizontal supports 16 at the top, middle, and bottom of the holder 10. The horizontal supports can be, but are not limited to, flat, metal, or plastic bars. The canvas backing 12 further includes grommeted openings 18 at the top and bottom for attachment to a wall, door, or any other suitable surface. At least one pouch 20 is fixedly attached to the bottom of the canvas backing 12 for the storage of items such as, but not limited to, purses, wallets, small bags, sunglasses, sunglass cases, cell phones and cases, makeup bags, and PDAs.

Referring to FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, a purse 30 can be attached to the holder by fasteners 22. The fasteners 22 can be any fastening devices known to those of skill in the art. Preferably, the fasteners 22 are hook-and-loop fasteners having a first side 24 of loops and a second side 26 of hooks that are placed though holes 28 created by open spaces between the canvas backing 12 and the fabric webbing crosspieces 14. Alternatively, the fasteners 22 can be buttons or snaps.

Throughout this application, author and year and patents by number reference various publications, including United States patents. Full citations for the publications are listed below. The disclosures of these publications and patents in their entireties are hereby incorporated by reference into this application in order to more fully describe the state of the art to which this invention pertains.

The invention has been described in an illustrative manner, and it is to be understood that the terminology that has been used is intended to be in the nature of words of description rather than of limitation.

Obviously, many modifications and variations of the present invention are possible in light of the above teachings. It is, therefore, to be understood that within the scope of the appended claims, the invention can be practiced otherwise than as specifically described.