Ladies' gift wrap desk

Abstract

A gift wrap desk enabling the storage of gift packaging, scrapbooking, stationary, and craft materials and supplies and the facilitation of their use in gift wrapping a package. The disclosed gift wrap desk provides a furniture style workstation, suitable for display in the home so necessary wrapping materials and supplies are made readily available in one location. A flat work surface with a built-in wrapping paper cutter is provided adjacent a hinged tray for holding a roll of wrapping paper. Also included are divided, organized storage areas for rolls of wrapping paper, gift bags, gift boxes, ribbons, greeting cards, bows, and other gift packaging, scrapbooking, stationary, and craft materials and supplies.

Description

REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of Provisional U.S. Patent Application Ser. No. 60/909,962 filed Apr. 4, 2007 by the present inventor.

FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH

Not Applicable

BACKGROUND

Field

The present invention relates to a multipurpose structure for storage and organization of gift packaging materials, stationery, scrapbooking, and craft supplies; more particularly, a structure configured to store rolls of wrapping paper, boxes, bags, ribbons, bows, greeting cards, scrapbooking albums and supplies, and other materials necessary for crafts.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The purpose of this invention is to honor the role of the lady of the house by providing a beautiful piece of furniture that both celebrates and facilitates her duties as greeting card sender, gift giver, and memory keeper for the family. The product is a petite desk that is attractive enough to be displayed in the living room or family room. It is functional enough to store and organize her greeting cards, gift wrapping materials, and scrapbooking supplies. The desk also serves as a convenient workstation for the aforementioned activities.

Unfortunately, storage of gift packaging materials and supplies is challenging because of the awkward shape and size of wrapping paper rolls and the myriad of supplies needed to package a gift. Time is wasted because to wrap a gift or compose a gift bag, send a card, or work on a scrapbook all the necessary materials and supplies must be gathered from their storing place(s); moved to a clean, flat surface; and put away when finished. Money is wasted because poor storage can lead to lost or damaged materials and supplies. Due to its configuration, this multipurpose desk can store all the materials and supplies she needs to package gifts, send greeting cards, and scrapbook her family's memories. She may even have room for her crafts too.

Other attempts to provide a structure for the storage and organization of gift packaging materials, stationary, scrapbooking, and craft supplies are represented in the following U.S. patent-related references.

1. 60/06502—Wrapping Station System and Method

2. 2006/0219580—Portable Gift Wrapping Center for Storing Wrapping and Stationary Supplies and Facilitating the Use Thereof

3. 2006/0037873—Combination Gift Wrap Storage Organizer and Wrapping Table

4. 2006/016153—Gift Wrap Dispensing, Storage and Organizing Unit

5. U.S. Pat. No. 7,111,727—Roll Holding System

6. 2001/0040111—Gift Wrap Organizer

7. 2004/0129123—Gift Wrap Work Station

Available products only address part of the problem, but do not provide a true solution.

The main shortcomings of prior art products are that they are not large enough, organized enough, nor comprehensive enough to offer complete storage of gift packaging materials and supplies. Further, while their portability is presented as an asset, in practice, portability is actually a drawback. In short, the needs of ladies desiring to store and organize gift wrapping materials for convenient use have been overlooked.

Other prior art products simply are not big enough. Wrapping paper comes in different sizes. The largest rolls may be up to 40 inches wide. Most prior art products cannot accommodate 40 inch rolls of wrapping paper. Moreover, some prior art products can only hold a few rolls. The average woman generally keeps about nine rolls of wrapping paper. Some women have twenty or more rolls of wrapping paper. Further, wrapping paper and items used with wrapping paper can be damaged when the user attempts to store too much in too small of an apparatus.

Prior art products do not have adequate mechanisms for organizing the materials and supplies. This lack of organizational spaces wastes time when trying to package and wrap gifts. In addition, this lack of organizational space can lead to damage of the wrapping paper and associated supplies. Few prior art products, if any, offer an organized system for cards or tags to go with a wrapped gift. Most prior art products have only one place for each group of supplies, thus making it difficult to see what is available. For example, there may be no divider or special space to separate out the gift bags. Consequently, user must take both the wrapping paper and the gift bags all out of the prior art product to determine if what is needed is available. Because of the portability aspect of prior art products (i.e. the prior art product had to be retrieved from under a bed, the back of a closet, or from the garage), the process of setting up to gift wrap a package can be quite a chore. Potentially, this could be frustrating if the supplies needed are not found. Also, without separators or dividers heavier articles such as albums, scissors, and large wrapping paper rolls can crush more delicate articles, such as ribbons, bows, and pictures.

Prior art products are not adequately comprehensive. Specifically, most prior art products do not have enough space for all the wrapping paper, ribbons, bows, bags, boxes, cards, tape, scissors, and tags to be conveniently stored in one location. Thus, multiple prior art products must be purchased to store gift packaging supplies and materials. This purchase of multiple prior art products often leads to their being stored in separate locations. Further, prior art gift wrap storage products do not offer needed accessories such as a built in cutter, ruler, card organizer and ribbon/bow organizer.

Some prior art devices are portable. These portable devices take up valuable storage space in the closet, garage, and/or under the bed. Time and energy are wasted finding, lifting, dragging, pushing, or pulling the apparatus to where it is to be used. Then, an appropriate location to package a gift or work on a craft must be found or the workstation must be set up. When finished, the apparatus must be packed up and put away. Accordingly, there remains a need in the art for a gift wrap desk that both stores and enables use of gift wrap materials in a single location.

SUMMARY

The gift wrap desk of the present invention provides storage and use of gift wrap materials in a single location.

It is an object of the invention to provide a structure made of wood and other materials that may be displayed in the living room, bedroom, or multi-purpose room in the home. Because of the size of the disclosed invention, which is smaller than commonly available desks sized for a woman, the gift wrap desk of the present invention can sit in place of a sofa table behind a loveseat, or at the foot of a bed. When not in use, the flat surface on the top of the disclosed gift wrap desk may be used to display pictures, books, art, or other decorations.

It is another object of the invention to provide a flat work surface with a tray at the top of the gift wrap desk to hold a roll of wrapping paper along with a built-in cutter that enables clean, straight cutting of the wrapping paper held in the tray. When not in use, the tray folds on top of the gift wrap desk and covers the cutter. The tray may be decorative on the outside to contribute to the appearance of the gift wrap desk. When covering the cutter, the tray adds to the safety of the gift wrap desk by hiding the cutter from children.

It is another object of the invention to provide storage for approximately twenty rolls of wrapping paper of various sizes including rolls 40 inches long. The rolls of wrapping paper are stored in a compartment under the lifting lid that makes up the flat surface of the gift wrap desk. The underside of the lifting lid includes a compartment to store smaller rolls of wrapping paper. When the lid is lifted, more rolls of wrapping paper become visible. This compartment for smaller rolls of wrapping paper enables the user to quickly find and take out the appropriate roll for the package being wrapped.

It is another object of the invention to provide a vertical, divided area for the storage of flattened or folded gift bags and boxes. The area for the storage of flattened gift bags and boxes has grooves so that a partition may slide in and be used to divide the boxes from the bags in a proportion best suited for the user. Further, labeled dividers for the bags will be provided for ease of organization. Such ease of organization will expedite determining if the user has the necessary size and style of bag available needed for a particular occasion. This bag and box storage area may also be used for scrapbook albums and pages.

It is another object of the invention to provide a knee space so the gift wrap desk can be used in either a standing or sitting position.

It is another object of the invention to provide a storage area for ribbons either in the form of a ribbon drawer with four divided areas for ribbon storage and dispensing or ribbon dowels located on the inside of a door covering a storage area. Each will have a dowel that keeps the ribbons in place while being dispensed.

It is another object of the invention to provide a card organizer. The card organizer may include card dividers with pre-printed and blank labels. Preprinted labels will include the months of the year, holidays, and occasions.

It is another object of the invention to provide a bow drawer. By separating the delicate bows from the rest of the supplies, there is less chance of damage to the delicate bows. The dimensions of the bow drawer enable the storage of craft or scrapbooking supplies.

It is another object of the invention to provide an accessory drawer for any additional materials or supplies. In particular, a special receptacle for scissors, tape dispenser, and writing instruments may be provided in this drawer. The special receptacle may also hang on the outside of the drawer. Such positioning of the special receptacle will allow the most needed supplies to be handy at all times.

It is another object of the invention to provide doors of the gift wrap desk to cover storage areas on the front. These doors will be both decorative and functional. The insides of both doors will have rods for hanging tissue paper and/or ribbon spools. One of the doors may be used for mounting of a memory or reminder board.

It is another object of the invention to provide for other uses. Some examples of such other uses are storage and workspace for a computer, computer supplies, needlework, sewing supplies or partially completed knitting/crocheting projects, etc.

In accordance with the present invention, there is provided a gift wrap desk for readily available, protective, aesthetically pleasing, comprehensive storage of gift packaging materials, scrapbooking, stationary, and craft materials and supplies and the facilitation of their use in a standing or sitting position.

The disclosed gift wrap desk offers an attractive workstation, suitable for display in the home so that necessary materials and supplies are not hidden away in remote storage areas but instead are quickly available when needed. Also provided by the disclosed invention is a flat work surface with a built-in cutter and tray for holding a roll of wrapping paper. Still further provided by the disclosed invention is a plurality of divided, organized storage areas for rolls of wrapping paper, gift bags, gift boxes, ribbons, greeting cards, bows, and other gift packaging, scrapbooking, stationary and craft materials and supplies.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING/FIGURES

A better understanding of the present invention may be obtained by reference to the accompanying drawing figures, when considered in conjunction with the subsequent, description of the embodiments in which:

FIG. 1 is a front perspective view of the gift packaging materials storage and package wrapping facilitation structure according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a front perspective view of the gift packaging materials storage and package wrapping facilitation structure in its opened configuration;

FIG. 3a is a top plan view of the gift packaging materials storage and package wrapping facilitation structure showing the lid with the tray open and cutter with ruler visible;

FIG. 3b is a top plan view of the gift packaging materials storage and package wrapping facilitation structure showing the lid with the tray closed covering the cutter with ruler;

FIG. 4a is a right side elevational view showing the front door open and laying flush against the side with bars for hanging tissue paper visible; and

FIG. 4b is a right side elevational view showing the front door closed.

DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

For purposes of clarity and brevity, like elements and components will bear the same designations and numbering throughout the drawing figures.

FIG. 1 is a front perspective view of the multipurpose gift packaging, stationary, scrapbooking, craft storage and package wrapping facilitation structure 100 of the present invention. The gift wrap desk is shown with everything closed. The tray 10, affixed with a hinge on the back side of the lid 12 and the top of the back panel 48, covers the top back part of the lid 12. The doors are affixed on the outer front corners of the gift wrap desk 100 to the left side panel 52 and the right side panel 50. The feet 16 are attached at the four bottom corners of the gift wrap desk 100.

FIG. 2 is a front perspective view of a multipurpose gift wrap storage and package wrapping facilitation structure 100 according to an alternate embodiment of the present invention showing the interior. The tray 10 is open, uncovering the top back part of the lid 12 and resting against the back panel 48. The lid 12 is shown lifted. The roll storage compartment 18 is visible below the lid 12. The roll holder 20 is affixed to the under side of the lid 12. The left door 14 and the right door 14 are open, swinging away from the center. The five tissue bars 26 are affixed horizontally to the inside of each door 14.

On the left side is a gift bag/box compartment 28. The gift bag/box compartment 28 has grooves, spaced apart and cut into the top and bottom. These grooves enable the gift bag/box partition 42 to be positioned as needed within a selected pair of grooves. The gift bag/box partition 42 may be a thin piece of Plexiglas or other light, sturdy, see-through material that fits into the grooves in the gift bag/box compartment 28.

To the right of the gift bag/box compartment 28 is a knee space 30. The knee space 30 is defined on the left by the gift bag/box compartment 28, on the top by the bottom of the roll storage compartment 18, and on the right by the drawers. To the right of the knee space 30 and under the roll storage compartment 18 are three drawers. The top drawer is the accessories drawer 32. Drawer 32 houses the interior/exterior tray 34 which is affixed on the inside front of the accessories drawer 32 by an arm that extends over the top of the drawer and holds the interior/exterior tray 34 outside the accessories drawer 32 even when the drawer is closed. The interior/exterior tray 34 may be made of a light weight material. The interior/exterior tray 34 has a dowel that holds two rolls of scotch tape, a pair of scissors, and a pen.

Below the accessories drawer 32 is the card organizer drawer 36.

Below the card organizer drawer 36 is the ribbon drawer 38. There is a ribbon partition 40 that slides into a pair of grooves present on both sides inside the ribbon drawer 38. The ribbon partition 40 is made of either thin pieces of wood or other lightweight material to stand vertically in the ribbon drawer 38. Up to three ribbon partitions may be used. Within each partitioned area of the ribbon drawer 38 are grooves built into the sides of the ribbon drawer 38 for a ribbon dowel 44 to slide into. The grooves for the ribbon dowel 44, unlike those of the ribbon partition 40 which go all the way to the floor of the ribbon drawer 38, go only about halfway down the sides of the ribbon drawer 38. There are a sufficient number of grooves for one ribbon dowel 44 within each partitioned area of the ribbon drawer 38. Below the ribbon drawer 38 is the bow drawer 46.

An alternate embodiment of the present invention would remove the ribbon drawer 38 and use the tissue bars 26 on the inside left door 14 as ribbon holders.

In operation the user will first open the front doors then use the hand hole cut into the front of the roll storage compartment 18 to lift the lid 12. The user will have stored in the roll storage compartment 18 up to twenty or more rolls of wrapping paper including those up to 40 inches wide. The user will have an excellent view of their rolls of wrapping paper because one row of their wrapping paper will be on the floor of the roll storage compartment 18 and another row will be held by the roll holder 20 on the underside of the lid 12. The view allows the user to see as many rolls of wrapping paper at once as possible, then enabling choosing the best roll of wrapping paper for wrapping a gift. A user could pull up any average sized chair and put her legs comfortably under the roll storage compartment 18 in the knee space 30 or stand while wrapping a gift.

If necessary, a user could pull a gift box from the gift bag/box compartment 28 on the left side and insert a gift. The user could also wrap the gift inside the box with tissue paper retrieved from one of the bars located on the inside of the doors which are now swung open.

Once the user removes the chosen roll of wrapping paper from the roll storage compartment 18 or the roll holder 20, the user will close the lid 12 and place the roll of wrapping paper in the tray 10 with the wrapping paper being dispensed from the underside of the roll. The user will pull the appropriate measure of wrapping paper from the roll held in the tray 10 then place the gift on top of the dispensed wrapping paper and use the cutter 22 to cut a straight edge in the wrapping paper. The tray 10 will hold the wrapping paper while the user continues to package the gift. This is handy in case the user needs to wrap more gifts with the same wrapping paper and prevents placing the roll of wrapping paper on the floor where it could get damaged.

The user may then pull out the interior/exterior tray 34 from the accessories drawer 32, and then shut the accessories drawer 32. The interior/exterior tray 34 may hang outside the accessories drawer 32 making the scissors, tape, and writing instruments available throughout the package wrapping process. After wrapping the package, the user may decorate the package with ribbon and bows. To complete the gift wrapped package, the user would select a card from the card organizer drawer 36 and place it on the lid 12 and obtain a writing instrument from the interior/exterior tray 34. When finished, the user will either replace the roll of wrapping paper into the roll storage compartment 18, roll holder 20, or leave it in the tray 10. The user may then open the accessories drawer 32 and push the interior/exterior tray 34 back into the accessories drawer 32. When finished, the user will close the accessories drawer 32, and any other drawers that may have been opened. Both the left door 14 and right door 14 are moved to a closed position.

In operation the user could also compose a gift bag. To compose a gift bag, the user opens the left door 14 and right door 14, and pulls the appropriate gift bag from the gift bag/box compartment 28 and places the gift bag on the lid 12. From inside the right door 14 the user pulls some tissue paper from the tissue bars 26. The user then opens the card drawer and pulls out an appropriate card and places the card on the lid 12. The accessories drawer 32 is now opened to pull out a writing instrument and place it on the lid 12. Once the user places the gift inside the gift bag and adds tissue paper to the top of the gift bag, the user completes the card and returns the writing instrument to the accessories drawer 32. If desired, the user can pull some ribbon from the ribbon drawer 38 and add it to the bag as well as any additional decorations stored in the accessories drawer 32 such as stickers, etc.

In operation the user may find multiple uses for the gift packaging storage and package wrapping facilitation structure. The roll storage compartment 18, gift bag/box compartment 28, and drawers could easily be used for storing scrapbooking, stationary, or other craft supplies.

FIG. 3a is a top plan view of the gift packaging materials storage and wrapping facilitation structure in FIG. 2 showing the lid 12 with the tray 10 open and cutter 22 with ruler 24 visible. In FIG. 3a the lid 12 is shown in its closed position. As such, the lid 12 functions as a flat surface on which the user can work. The tray 10 is the same width as the lid 12. The tray 10 may be sized to accommodate one roll of wrapping paper up to 40 inches wide and with a diameter of 2.25 inches. The cutter 22 consists of a thin, straight channel running 40 inches horizontally across the lid 12. It will have a blade set in the channel and held in place with a stopper on the top and bottom. The bottom stopper keeps the blade from coming out of the channel from the top. The top stopper is held by the user when sliding the blade to cut the wrapping paper. The top stopper is both decorative as well as functional. The top stopper also keeps the blade from falling through into the roll storage compartment 18. The ruler 24 is inset into the lid 12 above and below the slot of the cutter 22. The top may be used to measure inches and the bottom may be used to measure centimeters. The ruler 24 starts at zero and goes up to the width of a roll of wrapping paper.

In operation, the user places a roll of wrapping paper in the tray 10 with the paper pulling out from underneath the roll. The user then pulls the wrapping paper down and across the lid 12. The gift is placed on the wrapping paper, and then the cutter 22 is run horizontally across the lid 12 to create a clean, straight cut.

In an alternate embodiment of the present invention the cutter 22 is attached to the lip of the lid 12. In operation, the user closes the tray 10 with some wrapping paper sticking out of the bottom. The user then pulls the desired amount of wrapping paper from the roll.

FIG. 3b is a top plan view of a gift packaging materials storage and wrapping facilitation structure illustrated in FIG. 1 showing the lid 12 with the tray 10 closed covering both the cutter 22 with ruler 24. In operation, the tray 10, with or without a roll of wrapping paper in it, may be closed onto the lid 12. This closing of the tray 10 onto the lid 12 protects people, particularly children, from playing with the cutter 22 when it is not in use. The tray 10 also serves as a decorative lip on the back of the lid 12.

FIG. 4a is a right side elevational view of the structure shown in FIG. 3a with the front door 14 open and laying flush against the side with the tissue bars 26 visible. In an alternate embodiment of the present invention the right door 14 can be swung open, but not lay flush against the side of the structure. The tissue bars 26 will run horizontally across the inside of the door 14. The tissue paper bars will be suspended in place by two small hanging bars which are affixed to the inside of the door 14. This positioning of the two small hanging bars allows the weight of the tissue paper hung over the tissue bar to hold the tissue paper in place when the door 14 is opened. Similarly, the pressure of the spools of ribbon pressing against the inside of the door 14 will offer some resistance to the spools of ribbon so they do not spin on their own and unravel the ribbon.

FIG. 4b is a right side elevational view of the structure shown in FIG. 3b with the right door 14 closed and the tray 10 closed.

Since other modifications and changes varied to fit particular operating requirements and environments will be apparent to those skilled in the art, the invention is not considered limited to the example chosen for purposes of disclosure, and covers all changes and modifications which do not constitute departures from the true spirit and scope of this invention.

Claims

1. A gift wrap storage and package wrapping facilitation structure comprising:

one or more storage spaces for containing gift wrap;

a tray for holding and enabling the unrolling of a length of gift wrap from a roll of gift wrap;

a flat surface positioned adjacent to said tray for positioning said unrolled length of gift wrap with respect to the package to be wrapped;

a cutter positioned in close proximity to said tray for removing said length of gift wrap from said roll of gift wrap;

a plurality of storage spaces for accessories used in gift wrapping.

2. The gift wrap storage and package wrapping facilitation structure as defined in claim 1 wherein said tray is hingedly mounted for folding onto said flat surface.

3. The gift wrap storage and package wrapping facilitation structure as defined in claim 1 wherein said plurality of storage spaces enable storage near said flat surface of one or more of ribbons, bows, cards, writing implements and scissors.

4. The gift wrap storage and package wrapping facilitation structure as defined in claim 1 further including doors with hang rods for tissue gift wrap.

5. The gift wrap storage and package wrapping facilitation structure as defined in claim 1 wherein said one or more storage areas may accommodate the storage of one or more of gift bags and folded up packages.

6. A workstation for enabling the wrapping of packages to be used as gifts, said workstation comprising:

a flat surface on which to position a piece of gift wrap under the package to be wrapped;

a tray for positioning a roll of gift wrap in close proximity to said flat surface;

a cutter for cutting the desired length of gift from said roll of gift wrap to be positioned on said flat surface;

one or more storage areas for said rolls of gift wrap;

one or more spaces for storing supplies used along with gift wrap to include ribbons, bows, and cards.

7. The workstation as defined in claim 6 wherein said tray is hingedly mounted alongside said flat surface.

8. The workstation as defined in claim 6 further including hang bars for tissue paper to be used in the wrapping of a gift.

9. The workstation as defined in claim 6 further including an area for the storage of gift bags or flattened boxes.

10. A piece of furniture enabling the storage and protection of gift wrap supplies and the gift wrapping of packages, said piece of furniture comprising:

an area for storing one or more rolls of wrapping paper;

a tray for holding a roll of wrapping paper removed from said area for storing one or more rolls of wrapping paper;

a cutter for positioned to enable the removal of a section of wrapping paper unrolled from said roll of wrapping paper in said tray;

a flat surface on which said section of wrapping paper may be placed under the package for subsequent covering of the package;

an area for storing one or more accessories used in the wrapping of packages in close proximity to said flat surface to enable the selection and placement of one or more of a ribbon, a bow and a card on the wrapped package.

11. The piece of furniture as defined in claim 10 wherein said tray is hingedly mounted adjacent to said flat surface.

12. The piece of furniture as defined in claim 10 further enabling the storage of package wrapping tissue on hang rods.

13. The piece of furniture as defined in claim 10 further enabling the storage of substantially flat items such as folded gift bags or folded boxes.

14. The piece of furniture as defined in claim 10 further including a knee space enabling a user to sit in a chair and wrap a package placed on said flat surface.