Hat box

Abstract

The hat box is a generally square or rectangular box with a lid dimensioned and configured for holding a hat. The hat box is provided with windows for viewing the contents of the box without having to open the lid. The hat box is further provided with a card holder and an identification card held by the card holder for identifying the contents and/or owner of the hat box. A pouch on the underside of the lid of the box provides a convenient place to store spare cards. The sidewalls and the bottom of the box are provided with pairs of slits for accommodating a flexible strap, which is wrapped around the box and tied over the top of the box. The strap keeps the lid on and serves as a handle for carrying the box, and may be used to bundle a plurality of boxes together.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to storage containers, and more particularly to a hat box with various novel features to facilitate identification of the contents and transport of a plurality of the boxes.

2. Description of the Related Art

Dress hats are very expensive. In addition, a different hat may be needed to coordinate with each dress or suit. Dress hats cannot be stored on hat racks, or left lying loose on shelves, because they can collect dust or become soiled, and cannot be cleaned easily. Therefore, dress hats are usually stored and transported in hat boxes, which may be stored in stacks or on individual shelves in closets that are so equipped. Quite often when hats are stored in hat boxes, it becomes necessary to open each box to locate the particular hat that is desired, particularly if all of the boxes have the same size, shape and/or appearance.

If one has a number of dress hats, it may become inconvenient when traveling, as hat boxes are too bulky to be carried around easily. Similarly, shipping dress hats and moving hat boxes around in warehouses or in retail storage rooms can be cumbersome if hat boxes need to be manipulated individually. Consequently, there is a need for a way to stack hat boxes for storage and transport while being able to quickly locate and identify a desired hat in the stack without opening each box.

Thus, a hat box solving the aforementioned problems is desired.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The hat box is a generally square or rectangular box with a lid dimensioned and configured for holding a hat, although the box may be used for storing other articles, if desired. The hat box is provided with Windows for viewing the contents of the box without having to open the lid. The hat box is further provided with a card holder and an identification card held by the card holder for identifying the contents and/or owner of the hat box. A pouch on the underside of the lid of the box provides a convenient place to store spare cards. The sidewalls and the bottom of the box are provided with pairs of slits for accommodating a flexible strap, which is wrapped around the box and tied over the top of the box. The strap keeps the lid on and serves as a handle for carrying the box, and may be used to bundle a plurality of boxes together.

These and other features of the present invention will become readily apparent upon further review of the following specification and drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a hat box according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a front view of the hat box according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a side view of the hat box according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a rear view of the hat box according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a top view showing the lid of the hat box according to the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a bottom view of the hat box according to the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a bottom view of the lid of the hat box according to the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a rear view of a plurality of hat boxes according to the present invention stacked atop one another and bound with a single strap for storage or transport.

Similar reference characters denote corresponding features consistently throughout the attached drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Referring to FIGS. 1-7, the present invention is a generally square or rectangular hat box 100 having a front wall 102, a right sidewall 104, a left sidewall 106, a rear wall 108, and a bottom wall 116. As shown in FIG. 2, the front wall 102 is rectangular with a centrally located rectangular window 110 and a card holder 128 positioned in the lower right corner. A pair of slits are formed in the front wall 102 above and below the rectangular window 110. Each pair of slits forms a loop 120 for receiving a first flexible strap 122.

As shown in FIG. 3, the right sidewall 104 and the left sidewall 106 are rectangular with a centrally located square-shaped windows 112 and 114, respectively, and a pair of slits above and below the square shaped windows forming loops 120 for receiving a second flexible strap 124. As shown in FIG. 4, rear wall 108 is rectangular with two pairs of slits equally spaced across the central area of the rear wall 108, forming loops 120 for receiving the first flexible strap 122. A card holder 130 is positioned in the lower right corner of rear wall 108.

Referring to FIG. 6, bottom wall 116 is square-shaped and has three pairs of slits forming loops 120 equally spaced along a central area in a first direction for receiving the first flexible strap 122 and two pairs of slits forming loops 120 that are equally spaced along a central area in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction for receiving the second flexible strap 124.

Referring to FIG. 5, the lid 118 is square-shaped and includes a third note holder 132 positioned on one corner. The first flexible strap 122 and second flexible strap 124 are passed through the loops 120 and tied in a bow 126 over the lid 118 to keep the lid 118 on the box 100. Alternatively, each strap 122 and 124 may be elastic and have a loop formed on one end and a hook attached to the opposite end so that the strap 122 or 124 may be wrapped around the box 100 and the hook secured to loop to secure the strap 122 or 124 around the box 100. Referring to FIG. 7, a card pouch 136 is centrally positioned on the inside of the lid 118 for storing unused or spare identification cards, note cards, or labels.

As shown in FIG. 8, a plurality of boxes 100 may be stacked one atop another and secured by passing straps 122 and 124 through the loops 120 on the bottom wall 116 of the lowest box and through the loops 120 formed in the lateral walls 102, 104, 106 and 108 of each of the boxes 100, securing the straps 122 and 124 in a bow 126 or otherwise above the lid 118 of the uppermost box 100 in order to bind the stack of boxes 100 into a single bundle for storage or transport.

Box 100 is preferably formed of a cardboard material with the windows 110, 112 and 114 being formed from a transparent plastic material. The box 100 is preferably dimensioned and configured for holding a hat, although the box may be used for storage of other articles, if desired.

It is to be understood that the present invention is not limited to the embodiment described above, but encompasses any and all embodiments within the scope of the following claims.

Claims

1. A hat box, comprising:

a front wall; a rear wall, left and right sidewalls, and a bottom wall joined together to define a box having an open top, the box being dimensioned and configured for holding a hat therein, the front and rear walls and the left and right sidewalls each having a transparent window defined therein for viewing articles contained in the box, the front and rear walls and left and right sidewalls each having a first pair of slits formed therein defining a first loop above the transparent window for viewing contents of the box and a second pair of slits formed therein defining a second loop below the transparent window, the bottom wall having a plurality of pairs of slits defined therein defining a plurality of orthogonally disposed loops; and

a lid removably disposed on the box to cover the open top.

2. The hat box according to claim 1, further comprising a first flexible strap extending through the loops defined on said front wall, said bottom wall and said rear wall, the first strap having opposing ends secured to one another over said lid.

3. The hat box according to claim 2, further comprising a second flexible strap extending through the loops defined on said right sidewall, said bottom wall and said left sidewall, the second strap having opposing ends secured to one another over said lid.

4. The hat box according to claim 1, further comprising a first card holder disposed on said front wall, a second card holder disposed on said rear wall and a third card holder disposed on top of said lid.

5. The hat box according to claim 4, further comprising identification cards disposed in said card holders for identifying the contents and owner of the box.

6. The hat box according to claim 5, further comprising a pouch disposed under said lid and a plurality of spare identification cards disposed in the pouch.