ARTICLE HOLDER

Abstract

One embodiment of an article holder includes a track member that may have an elongated slot. The article holder may also have a base member that may be slidably carried along the elongated slot. Further, the base member may be capable of spinning at an axis thereof. The article holder may also have a plurality of arms that may extend outwardly from the base member. Each arm may be capable of holding one or more articles.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/192,269 filed on Sep. 17, 2008, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference.

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

The present disclosure generally relates to article holders, and more particularly to an article holder for kitchen shelves.

BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURE

Articles, such as coffee mugs and teacups, are stored in kitchen shelves either by hanging the articles on individual hooks or by stacking articles on top of one another. Sometimes, such articles are also placed in an unorganized manner on kitchen countertops.

A series of hooks may be individually installed across a bottom surface of a cabinet shelf. Each hook may held in a fixed position on the bottom surface of the shelf by one or more screw fasteners. Hooks and articles suspended therefrom may block a person's access to other hooks and articles suspended deeper within the cabinet. In addition, installation of every hook onto the kitchen shelf may be tedious and time consuming.

SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE

One embodiment of an article holder includes a track member that may have an elongated slot. The article holder may also have a base member that may be slidably carried along the elongated slot. Further, the base member may be capable of spinning at an axis thereof. The article holder may also have a plurality of arms that may extend outwardly from the base member. Each arm may be capable of holding one or more articles.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The advantages and features of the present disclosure will become better understood with reference to the following detailed description and claims taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein like elements are identified with like symbols, and in which: holder; and

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of one embodiment of an article

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the article holder of FIG. 1 in utility state.

Like reference numerals refer to like parts throughout the description of the drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DISCLOSURE

For a thorough understanding of the present disclosure, reference is to be made to the following detailed description, including the appended claims, in connection with the above-described drawings. Although the present disclosure is described in connection with exemplary embodiments, the present disclosure is not intended to be limited to the specific forms set forth herein. It is understood that various omissions and substitutions of equivalents are contemplated as circumstances may suggest or render expedient, but these are intended to cover the application or implementation without departing from the spirit or scope of the claims of the present disclosure. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology used herein is for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting. The use of “including,” “comprising,” or “having” and variations thereof herein is meant to encompass the items listed thereafter and equivalents thereof as well as additional items.

The term “first,” “second,” and the like, herein do not denote any order, elevation or importance, but rather are used to distinguish placement of one element over another. Further, the terms, “a” and “an” herein do not denote a limitation of quantity, but rather denote the presence of at least one of the referenced item. Unless limited otherwise, the terms “attached,” “connected,” “coupled,” and variations thereof herein are used broadly and encompass direct and indirect attachments, connections, and couplings.

The present disclosure provides an article holder that may hold articles, such as handled teacups and handled coffee mugs. The article holder may be attached to an underside of a shelf of a kitchen for holding the articles or other suitable mounting surfaces.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, one embodiment of an article holder 100 may include a track member 102, which in one form may be a longitudinal planar member. However, the track member 102 may be configured to assume any other shape. The track member 102 may have a first end portion 110, a second end portion 112 and an elongated slot 108 extending between the first and second end portions 110, 112. The first and second end portions 110, 112 may have a plurality of through holes 114 for receiving a plurality of screw members 116 or other fasteners, which may secure the track member 102 to a shelf, such as a kitchen shelf 200. However, the track member 102 may be secured to the kitchen shelf 200 by other fastening methods.

The article holder 100 may further include a base member 104, which may have a periphery and may be slidably carried by or slidably coupled to the elongated slot 108 of the track member 102. The base member 104 may require a slidable coupling mechanism for enabling a slidable coupling with the elongated slot 108. This slidable coupling mechanism may include a hook like structure (not shown) capable of being received by the elongated slot 108. Alternatively, the slidable coupling mechanism may include any other configuration known in the art.

The base member 104 may be further capable of spinning at an axis thereof. Specifically, the base member 104 may be capable of spinning around a central axis “X” extending perpendicularly from the base member 104. The base member 104 may require a spinning mechanism to spin around the central axis “X”. The spinning mechanism may include mating surfaces of a rotor and a stator to enable spinning of the base member 104. Alternatively, the spinning mechanism may include any other configuration known in the art. The base member 104 in one form may have a circular shape. Of course, the base member 104 may instead have a noncircular shape.

The article holder 100 may further include a plurality of arms 106, such as six arms, that may extend outwardly from the base member 104. Specifically, the arms 106 may extend outwardly from a periphery of the base member 104 in an evenly spaced apart manner from one another. Further, each arm 106 may be capable of holding at least one article 202, which may include, but not be limited to, teacups and coffee mugs, as shown in FIG. 2. Each arm 106 in one form may be curved upwardly at a free end portion 118 thereof for holding the article 202. Alternatively, each arm 106 may assume any other shape. Further, the article holder 100 may have more or less than six arms.

In use, the first end portion 110 of the track member 102 may be carried by a front portion of the shelf adjacent to a front edge of the same. The second end portion 112 may be carried by a middle or rear portion of the shelf, which may be spaced apart from the front edge. The base member 104 may be slid within the elongated slot 108 toward the front edge by a distance that may, for example, suspend a portion of the arms 106 toward or beyond the front edge of the shelf. This portion of arms may receive articles, such as cups. The base member 104 may then be spun to suspend another portion of the arms toward or beyond the front edge of the shelf, such that these arms may receive other articles. Thereafter, the base member 104 may be slid toward the second end portion 114 to, for example, store the articles within the cabinet and allow a door of the cabinet to close.

The article holder 100 may be made of a light weight material coated in rubber. Specifically, the track member 102, the base member 104, and the arms 106 may be made of stainless steel coated in rubber to, for example, reduce corrosion and limit sliding of the base member on the track member. However, the track member 102, the base member 104, and the arms 106 may instead be made of other metals, plastic, wood or other suitable materials. Further, the article holder 100 may have a single tiered configuration. Of course, the article holder may have two base members, such as the base member 104, and have a double tiered configuration that provides independent spinning of both of the base members.

The present disclosure provides an article holder, such as the article holder 100, which offers the following advantages. The article holder may hold articles, such as handled cups and handled mugs. The article holder has a simple structural configuration and is cost-effective. Further, a base member, such as the base member 104 of the article holder 100, may be slid to and fro on a track member, such as the track member 102 of the article holder 100, and may spin along an axis, such as the central axis “X”. Such sliding and spinning of the base member enable a user to easily access articles, such as the at least one article 202, hung on a plurality of arms, such as the plurality of arms 106. In addition, the article holder has a compact structure, which enables the article holder to be conveniently arranged and installed at any suitable location in a kitchen shelf while occupying less space.

The foregoing descriptions of specific embodiments of the present disclosure have been presented for purposes of illustration and description. They are not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the present disclosure to the precise forms disclosed, and obviously many modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teaching. The embodiments were chosen and described in order to best explain the principles of the present disclosure and its practical application, to thereby enable others skilled in the art to best utilize the present disclosure and various embodiments with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated. It is understood that various omission and substitutions of equivalents are contemplated as circumstance may suggest or render expedient, but such are intended to cover the application or implementation without departing from the spirit or scope of the claims of the present disclosure.

Claims

1. An article holder comprising:

a track member having an elongated slot;

a base member slidably coupled to the elongated slot of the track member, the base member capable of spinning at an axis thereof; and

a plurality of arms extending outwardly from the base member, each arm of the plurality of arms being capable of holding at least one article.

2. The article holder of claim 1, wherein the track member further comprises a plurality of through holes configured thereon for securing the track member to a shelf via a plurality of screw members.

3. The article holder of claim 1, wherein each arm of the plurality of arms is curved upwardly at a free end portion thereof for holding the at least one article.

4. The article holder of claim 1, wherein the plurality of arms is evenly spaced apart.

5. The article holder of claim 1, wherein the track member is made of stainless steel.

6. The article holder of claim 5, wherein the track member is coated in rubber.

7. The article holder of claim 1, wherein the base member is made of stainless steel.

8. The article holder of claim 7, wherein the base member is coated in rubber.

9. The article holder of claim 1, wherein the plurality of arms is made of stainless steel.

10. The article holder of claim 9, wherein the plurality of arms is coated in rubber.