Method of merchandising modular home storage containers to allow consumers to maximize storage space

[0001] The present invention relates to home storage containers and more particularly to a merchandising method which enables consumers to select from groups or containers, those particular containers which best fit their available storage shelf space.

[0002] Shelving, either stand alone or in a cabinet, available in households (including garages) for storing a variety of items and materials, generally conform to a group of standard depth dimensions, e.g., having depths of 8″, 10″, 12″, 14″, 18″ and 20″, with a variety of distances between adjacent shelves or heights from a lower to an upper shelf sometimes hereinafter referred to as shelf height space. Storage cabinets available in most home improvement stores include shelving having similar depths and shelf height spaces. A large variety of storage containers designed to be placed on shelves are available on the market. While such containers may fit on commonly available or standard shelves. As a general rule they do not optimize the use of the available shelf depth or height spacing. There has been no attempt to correlate the length or height of such containers with the standard shelving to enable a consumer to maximize his or her storage space.

[0003] There is a need for a user friendly modular storage system that will enable a home owner or renter to maximize the storage space available with standardized shelves.

[0004] To the above end, I have developed a method for allowing consumers to customize their available storage shelf space by providing a plurality of individual groups of empty storage containers designed to take advantage of the standard shelving depths and a variety of distances between adjacent shelves. Each container is in the form of a vessel having front, back and side walls extending upwardly from a bottom wall (preferably at an appropriate outwardly inclined draft angle to allow nesting and stacking) to a rim surrounding an open top and a removable lid or cover for closing the vessel.

[0005] The containers in each individual group have a uniform length which correlates with a standard shelving depth (e.g., slightly shorter to allow the closure of an associated cabinet door and/or accommodate a nailing flange), a uniform width (i.e., to provide a uniform footprint size to accommodate stacking and the use of a single sized lid) and a plurality of different heights (i.e., to allow the consumer to optimize the shelf height space. Preferably the heights of the containers are graduated so that the height of two or more shorter containers in a stacked condition will approximately be the height of a taller container. Preferably, the container rims extend outwardly from the upper end of at least two opposed walls to form convenient handles. In addition, latches are preferably pivotally mounted on the front and back walls of the container with the latches being arranged to snap over the lids to secure the contents within the container. Preferably information, e.g., in the form of a chart, is made available to prospective purchasers which correlate the lengths of the container groups with standard shelving depths along with available container heights.

[0006] The storage container merchandising method for aiding a customer to customize and maximize the use of his or her available storage space of the present invention may best be understood by reference to the following description taken in conjunction with the appended drawings.

[0020] Referring now to the drawings and particularly to FIGS. 1-5 a container 11 includes a vessel 13 and a cover or lid 15. The vessel and lid are preferably molded of a suitable plastic material such as polypropylene. The vessel is formed with front, back and side walls 13a, 13b and 13c, respectively, extending upwardly and outwardly at a molding draft angle θ such as 5°. from a bottom wall 13d to rim 13e surrounding an open top. The rim extends outwardly from the side walls and downwardly as illustrated to form an inverted u-shaped handle section 13f to accommodate a user's fingers for lifting and transporting purposes. The corners are formed with vertically oriented panels 13g for strength and decorative purposes. Latches 17 are hinged to a free end 13h of the rim on the front and back walls via axles 13i. A symbol identifying each group footprint size is molded into the bottom of the container, which for illustrative purposes is shown as 12.

[0021] The lid 15 is formed with a depressed central section 15a with undulating valleys 15b and peaks 15c with the peaks lying in a horizontal plane to accommodate the bottom wall of a container of the same group, i.e, having the same footprint for stacking purposes. See FIGS. 6-12. The central section 15a merges with an upwardly extending peripheral section 15d which mates with the vessel's rim 13e for closing the vessel. A symbol correlating the lid with a particular container group is molded into the lid, which for illustrative purposes is shown as 12.

[0022] Referring now to FIGS. 4 and 5, the latch 17 is in the form of an inverted U (in the closed position) with a laterally projecting leg 17a which fits over the vessel's rim 13e and the lid's peripheral section 15d, when the lid is closed, as is shown. The latch 17 is hinged to the rim 13 via axles 13i as pointed out previously.

[0023] As discussed earlier, I have found that conventional household shelving depths, particularly those in cabinets or in standard board sizes to be mounted by the customer, range in increments of about 2″ from an 8″ depth to at least a 20″ depth. While I have tailored the present method to those depths it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to those specific depths. Three groups of containers have been chosen to illustrate the invention, i.e., containers having footprints of a) 11.50″×9.50″ (container group 12), b) 13.50″×9.50″ (container group 14); and c) 15.50″×11.50″ (container group 16) for standard shelving depths of 12″, 14″ and 16″, respectively. See FIGS. 6-12. The length of the container is correlated to the shelf depth while accommodating the closure of a cabinet door or a lateral nailing flange at the back of a cabinet. It should be noted that the length of the container in each group is preferably less than the associated shelving depth by about 0″ to 1″ and most preferably about ¼″ to ½″. As is illustrated by the chart of FIG. 13 I have found it desirable to provide a ½″ clearance.

[0024] Referring now to FIGS. 6 and 7, group 12, for illustrative purposes only, includes four containers 12h₁, one container 12h₂ and one container 12h₃ having heights of 2½″, 5″ and 7½″, respectively, as shown. The height of the shortest container is preferably one-half the height of the next taller container. It should be noted that the overall height of stacked containers will be slightly less than the sum of their individual heights due to the depressed central lid sections 15a.

[0025] Referring to FIGS. 9 and 10, group 14, again for illustrative purposes, includes one container 14h₁, two containers 14h₂, one container 14h₃ and one container 14h₄, having heights of 2½″, 5″, 7½″ and 10″, respectively.

[0026] Referring to FIGS. 11 and 12, group 16 (like group 14), for illustrative purposes, includes one container 16h₃, two containers 16h₂, one container 16h₃, and one container 16h₄ having heights of 2½″, 5″, 7½″ and 10″, respectively. The specific dimensions given in FIGS. 6-13 are by way of example only.

[0027] FIG. 13 is a chart correlating seven container groups, i.e., Nos. 8-20, with standard shelving depths, i.e., 8″-20″, along with available container heights. This information is preferably made available to prospective purchasers, via a point of sale chart or specification sheets, to allow them to select those container lengths which best match their available shelving depths. The chart also provides the container heights which are available for each container group thereby allowing a customer to select those container heights which best fit their available shelf height spacing. The standard widths for each group of containers reduces the number of necessary lids while enabling a consumer to select the number of containers in a particular group to optimize the distance along the shelf or shelves. The darkened spaces illustrate a family of 24 containers within the seven groups which I have found particularly useful to the consumer.

[0028] There has thus been described novel merchandising method to aid consumers in maximizing the use of their available shelf storage space. Modifications of the method or system will undoubtedly occur to those skilled in the art without involving a departure from the spirit and scope of my invention as defined by the appended claims.