Grace's Jewlery Box

Abstract

There is a jewelry box, including: a storage box; a first door hingedly coupled to the storage box; a base coupled to first door; a first vane rotatably coupled to the base; and/or a plurality of apertures, through the first vane, configured to receive jewelry. The first vane rotates about an axis that is substantially parallel to an axis of rotation of the first door. The base includes a substantially flat member coupled to a bottom of the first door and substantially orthogonal thereto. There is a second door hingedly coupled to the storage box and there is a shelf revealed upon opening of the second door upon which jewelry may be stored. The shelf is oriented at about a 68 degree angle relative to vertical when the jewelry box is in use.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates generally to storage devices and, more particularly, to jewelry boxes.

2. Description of the Related Art

It is typical for a consumer to acquire, such as through gifts and purchases, a wide assortment of jewelry, including but not limited to earrings, rings, bracelets, and necklaces. It is important to such a consumer to be able to store, protect, display, and select from such an assortment, as particular pieces within the assortment may be suited for different times, occasions, outfits, etc. Accordingly, there are storage devices, namely jewelry boxes, for storing, protecting, displaying, and/or selecting pieces of jewelry.

For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,425,647 to Pothin discloses a rotatable jewelry cabinet is provided with numerous mechanisms for holding and displaying large quantities of jewelry by providing a domed enclosed structure with four curved glass doors, an upper service tray and a lower service tray for receiving numerous bottles of creams, lotions, cosmetic and nail polish bottles and the like, a plurality of hooks depending from the top of the interior of the rotatable jewelry cabinet for hanging necklaces and bracelets therefrom, a plurality of circular curtain walls containing apertures adapted to receive pierced earrings within the apertures or clip earrings directly on the curtain walls, and finally, a plurality of wedge shaped drawers located in the base of the cabinet for receiving other miscellaneous items which cannot be otherwise secured.

In another example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,880,484 to Sicina discloses a jewelry box having a closed top and a closed bottom with a rotating shaft and display panels disposed therein. The display panels include hooks upon which jewelry may be disposed.

Further, U.S. Pat. No. 4,775,053 to Geiger discloses a jewelry rack including a framework of attractive vertical and horizontal wooden bars. The horizontal bars are provided with hooks for hanging such items as rings and necklaces. In one embodiment, the vertical bars are drilled with small holes for receiving the shafts of pierced type earrings. In another embodiment, a block of plastic material covered with cloth is utilized to removably receive the shafts of the pierced type earrings. A mirror may be used in conjunction with the jewelry rack. The horizontal bars are offset so that a lower horizontal bar does not interfere with items hung from a higher bar. The jewelry rack may be hung from a wall, or it may include removable stands for supporting it in an upright attitude on a horizontal surface.

In many examples, jewelry boxes fail to properly store, organize, display, and/or present jewelry. Further, jewelry boxes typically complicate taking off and/or putting on jewelry by requiring motions and/or actions not adapted to natural movements made while putting on or taking off jewelry. Also, jewelry boxes often fail to take good advantage of space.

What is needed is a jewelry box that solves one or more of the problems described herein and/or one or more problems that may come to the attention of one skilled in the art upon becoming familiar with this specification.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention has been developed in response to the present state of the art, and in particular, in response to the problems and needs in the art that have not yet been fully solved by currently available jewelry boxes. Accordingly, the present invention has been developed to provide a jewelry box for storing jewelry.

In one embodiment there is a jewelry box for storing jewelry. The jewelry box may include: a storage box; a first door hingedly coupled to the storage box; a base coupled to first door; a first vane rotatably coupled to the base; and/or a plurality of apertures, through the first vane, configured to receive jewelry. The first vane may rotate about an axis that is substantially parallel to an axis of rotation of the first door. The base may include a substantially flat member coupled to a bottom of the first door and substantially orthogonal thereto. There may be a second door hingedly coupled to the storage box and there may be a shelf revealed upon opening of the second door upon which jewelry may be stored. The shelf may be oriented at about a 68 degree angle relative to vertical when the jewelry box is in use. The shelf may be integral with and/or coupled to the second door.

Reference throughout this specification to features, advantages, or similar language does not imply that all of the features and advantages that may be realized with the present invention should be or are in any single embodiment of the invention. Rather, language referring to the features and advantages is understood to mean that a specific feature, advantage, or characteristic described in connection with an embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the present invention. Thus, discussion of the features and advantages, and similar language, throughout this specification may, but do not necessarily, refer to the same embodiment.

Furthermore, the described features, advantages, and characteristics of the invention may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments. One skilled in the relevant art will recognize that the invention can be practiced without one or more of the specific features or advantages of a particular embodiment. In other instances, additional features and advantages may be recognized in certain embodiments that may not be present in all embodiments of the invention.

These features and advantages of the present invention will become more fully apparent from the following description and appended claims, or may be learned by the practice of the invention as set forth hereinafter.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In order for the advantages of the invention to be readily understood, a more particular description of the invention briefly described above will be rendered by reference to specific embodiments that are illustrated in the appended drawings. Understanding that these drawings depict only typical embodiments of the invention and are not therefore to be considered to be limiting of its scope, the invention will be described and explained with additional specificity and detail through the use of the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGS. 1-3 illustrate a front perspective view of a jewelry box according to one embodiment of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

For the purposes of promoting an understanding of the principles of the invention, reference will now be made to the exemplary embodiments illustrated in the drawings, and specific language will be used to describe the same. It will nevertheless be understood that no limitation of the scope of the invention is thereby intended. Any alterations and further modifications of the inventive features illustrated herein, and any additional applications of the principles of the invention as illustrated herein, which would occur to one skilled in the relevant art and having possession of this disclosure, are to be considered within the scope of the invention.

Reference throughout this specification to “one embodiment,” “an embodiment,” or similar language means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the present invention. Thus, appearances of the phrases “one embodiment,” “an embodiment,” and similar language throughout this specification may, but do not necessarily, all refer to the same embodiment, different embodiments, or component parts of the same or different illustrated invention. Additionally, reference to the wording “an embodiment,” or the like, for two or more features, elements, etc. does not mean that the features are related, dissimilar, the same, etc. The use of the term “an embodiment,” or similar wording, is merely a convenient phrase to indicate optional features, which may or may not be part of the invention as claimed.

Each statement of an embodiment is to be considered independent of any other statement of an embodiment despite any use of similar or identical language characterizing each embodiment. Therefore, where one embodiment is identified as “another embodiment,” the identified embodiment is independent of any other embodiments characterized by the language “another embodiment.” The independent embodiments are considered to be able to be combined in whole or in part one with another as the claims and/or art may direct, either directly or indirectly, implicitly or explicitly.

Finally, the fact that the wording “an embodiment,” or the like, does not appear at the beginning of every sentence in the specification, such as is the practice of some practitioners, is merely a convenience for the reader's clarity. However, it is the intention of this application to incorporate by reference the phrasing “an embodiment,” and the like, at the beginning of every sentence herein where logically possible and appropriate.

Turning to the figures, there is shown a jewelry box 100 according to one embodiment of the invention. In particular, there is shown a storage box 120; a first door 112 hingedly coupled to the storage box 120; a base 114 coupled to first door 112; a first vane 118 rotatably coupled to the base 112; and a plurality of apertures 119, through the first vane 118, configured to receive jewelry. The illustrated first door 112 opens and closes as shown by arrows 140. The illustrated storage box includes a floor 122.

The illustrated first vane, panel, leaf, or page 118 rotates about an axis 116 that is substantially parallel to an axis of rotation of the first door 112. The illustrated first vane 118 is coupled to a rod 116 extending substantially perpendicularly from the base 114. In the illustration there is a plurality of vanes or a storage tree 118 coupled to the first door 112 by the base 114. In one example, the base 114 may be a curved rod between the plurality of vanes 118 and the first door 112. The illustrated base 114 includes a substantially flat member 114 coupled to a bottom of the first door 112 and substantially orthogonal thereto. It is preferred that the storage box 120 and first door 112 include a curved front 210 cross-section configured to maximize space usage in accordance with the rotatable vane(s) 118. It is preferred that the apertures 119 be disposed over the entire area of the vane 118 and be disposed in an array. Further, it is preferred that the apertures 119 have a minimum diameter larger than a typical diameter of an earring stud. There is also shown a window 117 that is a large aperture through the first vane 118. The window 117 may be circumscribed by a plurality of apertures 119. The window 117 may provide a location wherein earring, especially French-hook earrings, may dangle freely.

There is shown a second door 136 hingedly coupled to the storage box 120 and includes a shelf 230 and 232 revealed upon opening of the second door 136 upon which jewelry, such as but not limited to rings, may be stored. The illustrated shelf 230 and 232 is oriented at about a 68 degree angle relative to vertical when the jewelry box is in use. Accordingly, there is a pocket portion 232 wherein items may be nestled. The illustrated second door 136 is part of a second storage system 130 including a side member 132 to which the second door 136 may removably couple and to which the second door 136 is hingedly coupled. The illustrated second door 136 is removably coupled to the side member 132 by a clasp 134 including a first clasp member 234 and a second clasp member 236. It is envisioned that the structure of the second storage system 130 may be repeated about an embodiment of the invention, such as but not limited to including a third storage system on an opposite side of the embodiment as the second storage system 130.

In operation, a user may store jewelry within an embodiment of the invention. In particular, a user may couple item(s) to the vane, such as but not limited to coupling matching earrings through one or more apertures 119. Further, a user may rest jewelry within a shelf 230 and 232. Advantageously, a user may have quick access to organized and stored jewelry by using the present invention. Further, the jewelry may be stored within the invention and protected from dust and light. Still further, because of the configuration of the invention, a user may store a great deal of jewelry in a small space and still have efficient visual access to all the jewelry.

It is understood that the above-described preferred embodiments are only illustrative of the application of the principles of the present invention. The present invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from its spirit or essential characteristics. The described embodiment is to be considered in all respects only as illustrative and not restrictive. The scope of the invention is, therefore, indicated by the appended claim rather than by the foregoing description. All changes which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are to be embraced within their scope.

Thus, while the present invention has been fully described above with particularity and detail in connection with what is presently deemed to be the most practical and preferred embodiment of the invention, it will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art that numerous modifications, including, but not limited to, variations in size, materials, shape, form, function and manner of operation, assembly and use may be made, without departing from the principles and concepts of the invention as set forth in the claims.

Claims

1. A jewelry box for storing jewelry, comprising:

a storage box;

a first door hingedly coupled to the storage box;

a base coupled to first door;

a first vane rotatably coupled to the base; and

a plurality of apertures, through the first vane, configured to receive jewelry.

2. The jewelry box of claim 1, wherein the first vane rotates about an axis that is substantially parallel to an axis of rotation of the first door.

3. The jewelry box of claim 2, wherein the base comprises a substantially flat member coupled to a bottom of the first door and substantially orthogonal thereto.

4. The jewelry box of claim 3, further comprising a second door hingedly coupled to the storage box and a shelf revealed upon opening of the second door upon which jewelry may be stored.

5. The jewelry box of claim 4, wherein the shelf is oriented at about a 68 degree angle relative to vertical when the jewelry box is in use.

6. A jewelry box for storing jewelry, consisting essentially of:

a storage box;

a first door hingedly coupled to the storage box;

a base coupled to first door;

a first vane rotatably coupled to the base; and

a plurality of apertures, through the first vane, configured to receive jewelry.

7. The jewelry box of claim 6, wherein the first vane rotates about an axis that is substantially parallel to an axis of rotation of the first door.

8. The jewelry box of claim 7, wherein the base comprises a substantially flat member coupled to a bottom of the first door and substantially orthogonal thereto.