Expandable remote control organizer

Abstract

A compartmentalized organizer for containing one or more remote controls. The organizer has a plurality of discrete compartments which may be substantially identical but variable with respect to size. Each compartment has a substantially rectangular shape, with both male and female connectors. The male connector is laterally disposed on the opposing side from the female connector allowing the compartments to be laterally arranged in releasably connectable fashion. The opposing exterior compartments have rounded outer edges with outward facing handles. The remotes are situated on the top panel of each compartment to allow line of sight transmission while still positioned on the compartment. The compartments may be packaged for sale in a vertically stacked arrangement and each compartment may have indicia for indicating the various devices associated with a particular remote control unit such as a cable box or DVD. Signaling means may be provided to allow for communication between compartments and the remote control containable therein.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention concerns organizing tools. More particularly, the invention is directed to an expandable organizer for containing remote controls.

2. Description of the Prior Art

Organizers for containing various household or office items are well known. These organizers are characterized by the provision of one or more compartments shaped to contain one or more target items. For example, letter holders for incoming mail have a series of vertical or horizontal separators so that mail received on different days can be separated until processed and filed.

With the proliferation of new consumer electronics, nearly all of which have a dedicated remote control, most households have several remote controls in a single room. For example, a TV remote, a cable box remote, a DVD remote, and a surround sound processor remote may be needed for a single room, and the resulting clutter often results in remotes being misplaced, stepped on, dropped, etc. Accordingly, a means for organizing several remote controls so that they can be accessible at all time is needed.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,761,010 discloses a medication organizing system for allowing patients to rapidly and easily prepare hermetically sealed dosage packages to set up their medication regime for a week, month, or longer period of time. The device includes seven hoppers to allow the patient to prepare a set of hermetically sealed medication packages for a given time for each day of the week.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,719,157 discloses an organizer for use in a closet which includes a row of side-by-side compartments at least partially formed from a flexible material. Each side-by-side compartment has a floor, a pair of side walls extending from the floor and a mouth between the side walls. The organizer further includes a suspender coupled to the row of side-by-side compartments. The suspender is configured and adapted to hang the plurality of compartments from the closet rod such that each mouth faces a forward horizontal direction perpendicular to the axis of the closet rod when the organizer is hung from the rod.

The present invention is directed to a compartmentalized organizer for containing one or more remote controls. The organizer has a plurality of discrete compartments which may be substantially identical. Each interior compartment has a substantially rectangular shape with both male and female connectors. The male connector is laterally disposed on the opposing side from the female connector allowing the compartments to be laterally arranged in releasably connectable fashion. The opposing exterior compartments have rounded outer edges with outward facing handles. The compartments may he packaged for sale in a vertically stacked arrangement and each compartment may have indicia for indicating the various devices associated with a particular remote control unit such as a cable box or DVD. Signaling means may be provided to allow for communication between compartments and the remote control containable therein.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is a major object of the invention to provide an organizer for remote controls.

It is another object of the invention to provide an organizer for remote controls comprised of a series of releasably attachable compartments.

It is another object of the invention to provide an organizer for remote controls which allows the remote to be operated while positioned on the organizer.

Finally, it is a general goal of the invention to provide improved elements and arrangements thereof in an apparatus for the purposes described which is dependable and fully effective in accomplishing its intended purposes.

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

The present invention meets or exceeds all the above objects and goals. Upon further study of the specification and appended claims, further objects and advantages of this invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Various other objects, features, and attendant advantages of the present invention will become more fully appreciated as the same becomes better understood when considered with the accompanying drawings, in which like reference characters designate the same or similar parts throughout the several views, and wherein:

FIG. 1 shows a plan view, partly in section, of a remote control organizer formed in accordance with the concept of the present invention.

FIG. 2 shows an edge view of the organizer of FIG. 1 illustrating the connecting element.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Referring now to FIGS. 1 and 2, the remote control organizer of the present invention, generally indicated by the numeral 10, is shown. It can be seen that the organizer 10 is comprised of a series of individual compartments 20 which may be variable in size and shape. Interior compartments 20 have two opposing lateral edges 22 which are preferably essentially straight to facilitate lateral arrangement of the compartments 20, but the outward facing edges 23 of the end compartments 20 are rounded for safety. Each compartment 20 includes a vertical wall portion 24 which extends around the periphery of the compartment 20, and a top panel upon 21 which a remote control 28 may be removably adhered. Situating the remote 28 on the top panel 21 allows each remote, which typically have line of sight IR transmitters, to be operated while still in the compartment. End compartments 20 are differentiated from interior compartments 20 in that the edges and corners are rounded and handles 25 are provided to facilitate lifting of the organizer 10.

In accordance with a first aspect of the invention, the compartments 20 are sized to “contain” an average sized remote control 28. However, remotes 28 vary greatly in size and accordingly the compartments 20 are preferably large enough to accommodate the largest sizes of remotes available, which are typically the “master” controllers such as those commonly sold at consumer electronics retail outlets or provided by cable and satellite TV providers. These master controllers are typically in the range of about 8 inches in length to 2½ inches wide, with varying degrees of thickness. Thus, compartments should be at least 8 by 3 inches, as a slight overhang will not affect the function of the compartment 20. The compartments 20 may be sold in packages of 6, in a vertically stacked arrangement to save space. The compartments 20 are provided with male and female connectors 30, 32 respectively to facilitate releasable connection of adjacent compartments. The connecters 30, 32 may be sized for snap fit or frictional engagement, or may be glued together for a permanent attachment. The end compartments 20 have either a male or female connector 30, 32 so they can be connected to each other and to avoid having an extra connector protruding proximate to the handle 25. Connectors 30, 32 must be sufficiently long to prevent twisting of the compartments 20. To that end, multiple connectors 30,32 may be provided along the edges of the compartments 20. Connectors 30, 32 may also be reinforced with metal to reduce the possibility of fatigue or failure from repeated connections. In accordance with another aspect of the invention, signaling means may be provided to allow communication between the remote 28 and its respective compartment 20.

An RF transmitter receiver arrangement may be used for signaling as would be apparent to one of skill in the art, with dedicated transmitters for each compartment and detachable receiver with audio transducers for each remote 28. Also, the compartments 20 may have indicia imprinted thereon to indicate the function that the device controlled by the remote 28 performs, e.g. the TV controller would be labeled TV etc.

The top surface 21 of each compartment 20 is provided with a releasable attachment means 36 which may be a permanent magnet, a piece of velcro, or other easily releasable connector arrangement. The attachment means 36 cooperates with a corresponding attachment means 38 secured to the remote control 28. The compartments 20 may be made of a magnetic material so that only the remote control 28 need have a magnet 38 attached. Attachment means 38 may be provided with an adhesive for attachment to each of the remotes. Attachment means 36 may be integrated with the compartment 20.

In operation, a user would purchase a set of compartments 20 in unattached condition. An attachment means 38 is then attached to each remote. The user would then arrange and attach the compartments 20 as necessary by aligning the attachment means 36,38, with each attached compartment 20 containing a single remote 28. The remaining unattached compartments 20 may be used as necessary when more remotes are acquired by the user. The user may then operate the remote 28 as normal, optionally removing the remote if desired.

From the foregoing description, one skilled in the art can easily ascertain the essential characteristics of this invention and, without departing from the spirit and scope thereof, can make various changes and modifications of the invention to adapt it to various usages and conditions.

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

Claims

1. An expandable remote control organizer for containing a plurality of remote control units, each remote control unit used for remotely controlling a selected one of a plurality of disparate electronic devices, comprising:

a plurality of individual compartments, including interior compartments and opposing end compartments, each of said interior compartments having a male and female connector disposed on opposing sides, each of said compartments adapted to secure a single remote control;

said plurality of compartments having a flat top surface to which a releasable connecting means is secured, and each of said compartments capable of being releasably connected to another of said compartments;

whereby a user may selectively attach said compartments to create an expandable organizer for all remote control units contained in a single room.

2. The organizer of claim 1 wherein said compartments may contain indicia to indicate which of said remote control units is to be contained therein.

3. The organizer of claim 1 including sealing means applied to said mail and female connectors to create a permanent attachment.

4. The organizer of claim 1 including signaling means contained within said compartment for signaling a particular one of said remote controls.