CLEANING SUPPLIES CADDY
A cleaning supplies caddy for holding a number of cleaning supplies. The caddy includes a base for supporting the cleaning supplies and a cover adapted to fit on the base having one or more cover walls at least partially defining a cover cavity therein in which the cleaning supplies are receivable. The base includes one or more base securing elements, and the cover has one or more cover securing elements, for cooperating with the base securing element(s) to secure the base and the cover together.
This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/118,502, filed on Nov. 28, 2008, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated herein by reference.
FIELD OF THE INVENTIONThe present invention is a cleaning supplies caddy for holding a number of cleaning supplies.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONCaddies for storing and transporting cleaning supplies are well known in the art. However, the known cleaning supplies caddies have some disadvantages.
For instance, when the prior art caddy is temporarily left unattended or is not in use, the cleaning supplies positioned therein are readily available to anyone. This is undesirable because, among other things, the cleaning supplies typically include materials which are potentially harmful to human beings (e.g., poisonous if ingested), and those such as children who may unintentionally harm themselves or others with such materials should not have access to such materials.
In addition, the known cleaning supplies caddy typically is not suitable for marketing the caddy as a part of a kit, e.g., a cleaning kit including the caddy and cleaning supplies therein. In the prior art, such a cleaning kit typically is required to be packaged in various packaging materials, resulting in significant waste when the packaging is discarded and also adding to the cost of the kit.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONFor the foregoing reasons, there is a need for a cleaning supplies caddy that addresses or at least mitigates one or more of the disadvantages of the prior art.
In its broad aspect, the invention provides a cleaning supplies caddy for holding a number of cleaning supplies. The caddy includes a base for supporting the cleaning supplies, and a cover adapted to fit on the base having one or more cover walls at least partially defining a cover cavity therein in which the cleaning supplies are receivable. The base includes one or more base securing elements, and the cover has one or more cover securing elements, for cooperating with the base securing element(s) to secure the base and the cover together.
In another aspect, the cover wall is substantially continuous and additionally defines a support region for supporting the cover in an inverted position so that, when removed from the base, the cover is positionable on the support region to contain a liquid in the cover cavity.
In yet another aspect, the support region has a main surface and a number of buttons protruding therefrom for supporting the cover, when the cover is inverted.
In one embodiment, the cleaning supplies caddy of the invention preferably includes one or more labels for providing point of purchase information.
In yet another aspect, the cover is at least partially non-opaque, to permit at least partial observation of the cover cavity.
In accordance with another broad aspect of the invention, the cleaning supplies caddy includes a number of cleaning supplies, a base for supporting the cleaning supplies, and a cover adapted to fit on the base having one or more cover walls at least partially defining a cover cavity therein, the cleaning supplies being receivable in the cover cavity. The base has one or more base securing elements, and the cover includes one or more cover securing elements, for cooperating with the base securing element(s) to secure the base and the cover together.
In accordance with another broad aspect of the invention, the base includes base securing elements positioned at the first and second ends of the base respectively, and the cover includes cover securing elements positioned at the first and second ends of the cover respectively. The cleaning supplies caddy preferably also includes a handle having an elongate body portion extending between first and second ends thereof, and mounting elements positioned at the first and second ends respectively of the body portion, for securing the first and second ends of the body portion to the respective cover securing elements. The body portion also includes latch elements at the first and second ends thereof respectively. When the cover is on the base, the body portion is movable between a locked condition, in which the latch elements disposed at each of the first and second ends of the body portion engage the base securing elements at the first and second ends of the base respectively, to hold the cover securing elements and the base securing elements together for securing the cover and the base together, and an unlocked condition, in which the latch elements are disengaged from the base securing elements, to permit removal of the cover from the base.
The invention will be better understood with reference to the attached drawings, in which:
Reference is first made to
As shown in
Preferably, the support region 25 includes a main surface 76 and a number of buttons 64 protruding therefrom for supporting the cover 10, when the cover 10 is inverted. The main surface 76 preferably is substantially planar and the buttons 64 preferably each protrude from the main surface 76 by approximately the same distance, so that the inverted cover 15 is stable when located on a substantially flat surface. Retailers and wholesalers of the caddy 5 may wish to stack a number of the caddies 5, e.g., in a retail display, and the buttons 64 may also be used in that regard. The buttons 64 preferably are positioned for alignment with indentations (not shown) in the base 10 in which the buttons 64 are respectively receivable, for stacking.
As can be seen in
In one embodiment, the base 10 preferably includes one or more first apertures 70 and the cover 15 includes one or more corresponding second apertures 72 (
It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that it may be desirable to lock the cover 15 and the base 10 together for a variety of purposes, and in different contexts. For instance, the cleaning supplies caddy 5 may be offered for sale (i.e., at retail) with cleaning supplies 8 therein. The cleaning supplies may be, for example, intended for a specific purpose (i.e., cleaning an automobile, or dishwashing while camping) or they may be intended for general household use. When the caddy with the cleaning supplies therein is offered for sale, the retailer may prefer to have the base and the cover locked together with a suitable locking element 68 such as a cable tie lock, to prevent theft of cleaning supplies while the caddy is displayed.
Those skilled in the art will also appreciate that the user may also wish to lock the base and the cover, e.g., to prevent unauthorized access to the cleaning supplies in the home. Users may wish to employ varying degrees of security, e.g., “child resistant” to “child proof”. For instance, the user may wish to prevent a small child from having access to the cleaning supplies, or the user may wish to prevent an older child from having such access. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that any suitable locking element 68 may be used to lock the base and the cover together. Also, those skilled in the art will appreciate that, depending on the circumstances, the cover and the base may include as many alignable pairs of apertures spaced apart from each other, with locking elements 68 positioned therein, as are desirable in the circumstances. It is anticipated that, in most cases, only one pair of such apertures is sufficient.
As can be seen, for example, in
Preferably, the base 10 additionally includes one or more base walls 13 at least partially defining a base cavity 14, and a number of interior walls 26 connected with the base wall 13. The interior walls 26 at least partially extend into the base cavity 14 to define a number of compartments 74 in which the cleaning supplies 8 are respectively receivable. The compartments 74 preferably are configured for receiving predetermined cleaning supplies. Examples of typical cleaning supplies 8 are shown in
Preferably, the caddy 5 also includes a latch element 28 mounted on a selected one of the cover securing element 24 and the base securing element 22 movable between an engaged position (
In one embodiment, the latch element 28 includes a tab 42 with a mating surface 32 thereon and the other of the cover securing element 24 and the base securing element 22 includes a lip 34 (
In one embodiment, the tab 42 of the latch element 28 is mounted on the cover securing element 24, as shown in
As can be seen in
It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the caddy 5 may be made of any suitable material or materials. For example, a suitable material is a plastic polymer. The base and/or the cover may be formed with a number of additional features. For instance, the base preferably includes a channel 34 integrally formed in the base 10 (
As can be seen in
In use, the caddy 5 may be closed (i.e., the cover is mounted on the base and the latch element engaged) and locked, for instance, by positioning the locking element 68 through the first and second apertures, as shown in
After purchase, when the user wishes to obtain access to the cleaning supplies in the caddy, the locking element(s) 68 is unlocked and the cover is removed from the base. Once the cover is removed, the user has access to the cleaning supplies 8. Also, the removed cover may be inverted, and used as a pail. After use, the cleaning supplies are positioned on the base, and the cover is replaced on the base. The user may also lock the cover and the base together, also as described above.
As noted above, the cleaning supplies caddy may be sold with cleaning supplies in it for specific purposes. The caddy will not open easily (i.e., the cover is not easily removed from the base), and this has the added benefit that the cleaning supplies are contained inside the cover and the base if the cleaning supplies caddy falls over or is overturned, limiting the extent to which the spilled cleaning supplies spread.
An alternative embodiment of the cleaning supplies caddy 305 is illustrated in
The base 310 preferably includes a frame 327 in which the cleaning supplies 8 are positionable. Preferably, the frame 327 defines openings 329 in which the elements or parts of the cleaning supplies 8 are respectively receivable. As can be seen in
Additional embodiments of the invention are shown in
In another embodiment, a cleaning supplies caddy 105 includes a cover 115 which is at least partially non-opaque, to permit at least partial observation of the cover cavity 117 (
Preferably, the base 110 includes a number of interior walls 126 connected with the base wall 113. The interior walls 126 at least partially extend into the base cavity 114 to define a number of compartments 174 in which the cleaning supplies 8 are respectively receivable. It is also preferred that the caddy 105 includes one or more labels 162 positioned on the base 110 for providing point of purchase information. It will be understood that, alternatively, some or all of the labels 162 may be located on the cover 115.
In another embodiment shown in
When the cover is mounted on the base, the body portion 282 preferably is movable between a locked condition (
As can be seen in
As can be seen in
As can be seen in
It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the invention can take many forms, and that such forms are within the scope of the invention as described above. The foregoing descriptions are exemplary and their scope should not be limited to the preferred versions contained herein.
Claims
1. A cleaning supplies caddy for holding a plurality of cleaning supplies, the caddy comprising:
- a base for supporting the cleaning supplies;
- a cover adapted to fit on the base comprising at least one cover wall at least partially defining a cover cavity therein in which the cleaning supplies are receivable;
- the base comprising at least one base securing element; and
- the cover comprising at least one cover securing element, for cooperating with said at least one base securing element to secure the base and the cover together.
2. A cleaning supplies caddy according to claim 1 in which said at least one cover wall is substantially continuous and additionally defines a support region for supporting the cover in an inverted position such that, when removed from the base, the cover is positionable on the support region to contain a liquid in the cover cavity.
3. A cleaning supplies caddy according to claim 2 in which the support region comprises a main surface and a plurality of buttons protruding therefrom for supporting the cover, when the cover is inverted.
4. A cleaning supplies caddy according to claim 1 in which:
- the base and the cover both extend between first and second ends thereof respectively;
- cover securing elements are positioned at each of the first and second ends of the cover respectively; and
- base securing elements are positioned at the first and second ends of the base for cooperation with the cover securing elements respectively.
5. A cleaning supplies caddy according to claim 1 in which:
- the base comprises at least one first aperture;
- the cover comprises at least one second aperture positioned to register with said at least one first aperture when the cover is secured to the base; and
- the caddy additionally comprises a locking element at least partially positionable in said at least one first aperture and said at least one second aperture when the cover is secured to the base, to permit the locking element to lock the base and the cover together.
6. A cleaning supplies caddy according to claim 1 additionally comprising at least one label for providing point of purchase information.
7. A cleaning supplies caddy according to claim 1 in which the base additionally comprises:
- at least one base wall at least partially defining a base cavity; and
- a plurality of interior walls connected with said at least one base wall, the interior walls at least partially extending into the base cavity to define a plurality of compartments in which the cleaning supplies are respectively receivable.
8. A cleaning supplies caddy according to claim 1 additionally comprising:
- a latch element mounted on selected one of said at least one cover securing element and said at least one base securing element movable between an engaged position, in which the latch element engages the other of said at least one cover securing element and said at least one base securing element to connect the base and the cover together, and a disengaged position, in which the latch element and the other of said at least one cover securing element and said at least one base securing element are disengaged from each other to permit removal of the cover from the base.
9. A cleaning supplies caddy according to claim 8 in which:
- the latch element comprises a tab with a mating surface thereon;
- the other of said at least one cover securing element and said at least one base securing element comprises a lip;
- when the cover is mounted on the base, the tab is movable to an engaged condition in which the mating surface is engaged with the lip, to connect the cover and the base together; and
- the tab is movable between the engaged condition and a disengaged condition, in which the mating surface and the lip are disengaged to permit removal of the cover from the base.
10. A cleaning supplies caddy according to claim 1 in which the cover is at least partially non-opaque, to permit at least partial observation of the cover cavity.
11. A cleaning supplies caddy according to claim 1 in which:
- the base and the cover both extend between first and second ends respectively;
- the cleaning supplies caddy additionally comprises a handle, the handle comprising an elongate body portion extending between first and second ends thereof;
- cover securing elements are positioned at the first and second ends of the cover, and base securing elements are positioned on the base at the first and second ends thereof for cooperation with the cover securing elements when the cover is on the base;
- the handle includes mounting elements positioned at the first and second ends of the body portion, for securing the first and second ends of the body portion to the cover securing elements at the first and second ends of the cover respectively; and
- when the cover is on the base, the body portion is movable between a locked condition, in which latch elements disposed at each of the first and second ends of the body portion engage the base securing elements at the first and second ends of the base respectively, to hold the cover securing element and the base securing element together at each said end respectively for securing the cover and the base together, and an unlocked condition, in which the latch elements are disengaged from the base securing elements respectively, to permit removal of the cover from the base.
12. A cleaning supplies caddy for holding a plurality of cleaning supplies, the caddy comprising:
- a base for supporting the cleaning supplies;
- a cover adapted to fit on the base comprising at least one cover wall at least partially defining a cover cavity therein in which the cleaning supplies are receivable;
- the base comprising at least one base securing element;
- the cover comprising at least one cover securing element, for cooperating with said at least one base securing element to secure the base and the cover together; and
- said at least one cover wall being substantially continuous and additionally defining a support region for supporting the cover in an inverted position such that, when removed from the base, the cover is positionable on the support region to contain a liquid in the cover cavity.
13. A cleaning supplies caddy according to claim 12 in which the support region comprises a main surface and a plurality of buttons protruding therefrom for supporting the cover, when the cover is inverted.
14. A cleaning supplies caddy comprising:
- a plurality of cleaning supplies;
- a base for supporting the cleaning supplies;
- a cover adapted to fit on the base comprising at least one cover wall at least partially defining a cover cavity therein, the cleaning supplies being receivable in the cover cavity;
- the base comprising at least one base securing element; and
- the cover comprising at least one cover securing element, for cooperating with said at least one base securing element to secure the base and the cover together.
15. A cleaning supplies caddy for holding a plurality of cleaning supplies, the caddy comprising:
- a base comprising at least one base wall defining a base cavity therein, the base extending between first and second ends thereof;
- a cover adapted to fit on the base comprising at least one cover wall defining a cover cavity therein, the cover extending between first and second ends thereof, and the base cavity and the cover cavity being in communication when the cover is on the base such that the cleaning supplies are receivable therein;
- the base comprising base securing elements positioned at the first and second ends of the base respectively;
- the cover comprising cover securing elements positioned at the first and second ends of the cover respectively;
- a handle comprising: an elongate body portion extending between first and second ends thereof; mounting elements positioned at the first and second ends respectively of the body portion, for securing the first and second ends of the body portion to the respective cover securing elements;
- the body portion comprising latch elements at the first and second ends thereof respectively; and
- when the cover is on the base, the body portion is movable between a locked condition, in which the latch elements disposed at each of the first and second ends of the body portion engage the base securing elements at the first and second ends of the base respectively, to hold the cover securing elements and the base securing elements together for securing the cover and the base together, and an unlocked condition, in which the latch elements are disengaged from the base securing elements, to permit removal of the cover from the base.
16. A cleaning supplies caddy according to claim 15 in which:
- the base comprises at least one first aperture;
- the cover comprises at least one second aperture positioned to register with said at least one first aperture when the cover is mounted on the base; and
- the caddy additionally comprises a locking element at least partially positionable in said at least one first aperture and said at least one second aperture when the cover is mounted on the base, to permit the locking element to lock the base and the cover together.
17. A cleaning supplies caddy according to claim 15 in which the base additionally comprises a plurality of interior walls connected with said at least one base wall, the interior walls at least partially extending into the base cavity to define a plurality of compartments in which the cleaning supplies are respectively receivable.
18. A cleaning supplies caddy according to claim 15 in which the cover is at least partially non-opaque, to permit at least partial observation of the base cavity and the lower cavity when the cover is mounted on the base.
19. A cleaning supplies caddy according to claim 18 in which the base additionally comprises a plurality of interior walls connected with said at least one base wall, the interior walls at least partially extending into the base cavity to define a plurality of compartments in which the cleaning supplies are respectively receivable.
20. A cleaning supplies caddy according to claim 19 additionally comprising at least one label for providing point of purchase information.
Type: Application
Filed: Nov 30, 2009
Publication Date: Jun 3, 2010
Inventor: Scott W. Allan (Kitchener)
Application Number: 12/627,451