Technical field The present invention relates to a receptacle for comforters, comprising a tube adapted for substantially vertical mounting, of which the upper tube-mouth is intended for insertion of comforters and the lower tube-mouth is intended for picking out the comforters.

Prior art When a small child drops a comforter, it may end up anywhere in a home, such as in the child's bed or on the floor. The parent collects the comforter from the floor or from the bed during cleaning or when making the bed, rinses it and puts it in a suitable place. When the parent later is about to give a comforter to the child, she/he must be able to find it. The problem with handling a child's comforters in this way is that the comforters can be difficult to find when they are needed, as well as being unprotected and contaminated. One reason for the difficulty in finding them is that it can be difficult to remember where you have put a comforter, since you often put them in different places each time. It is especially difficult if the child's other parent has collected the comforters and has put them in a suitable place, which is unknown to the first parent. Another reason is that the search for the comforter may take place in darkness and that you don't want to light any lamp and risk to awaken the child even more. Further aggravating circumstances in the searching for comforters are if the child is crying, or if the searching takes place at night when the parent is sleepy.

Receptacles designed as vertically mounted tubes/boxes with an output in the lower end-part of the tube are previously

known, e. g. by patent documents WO 96/31182, DE 443209, GB 2158045 and DE 19521776. None of these receptacles is however designed for continuous insertion and removal of comforters, said comforters being transported down to the opening and remaining there without falling out, while they are easy to pick out from the opening, even for a child.

Summary of the invention The aim of the present invention is to solve the above mentioned problems by achieving a receptacle for comforters, in which the comforters may be placed after being collected during cleaning or when making the beds, and after being rinsed, if necessary. In this receptacle they should be easy to find and pick out even for a child, and be protected from contamination.

The invented receptacle presents a good solution to the above mentioned problems. The characteristic features of the invention are disclosed in the following claims.

The invented device consists of a receptacle for the storing of comforters, comprising a tube adapted for substantially vertical mounting, an upper tube-mouth in which the comforters are inserted, and a lower from which they are picked out. The lower end-part of the tube is bent upwards, and the tube is designed to resemble an elephant's trunk.

The lower tube-mouth is further provided with a flap limiting the opening and preventing the comforters from falling out.

Provided that the comforters are supplied in the upper mouth of the tube, this solution facilitates that a comforter is always easily available in the lower mouth of the tube, where it quickly can be found by a parent or by the child itself.

In order to avoid that the comforters are stuck in the tube, the tube may be slightly cone-shaped, with the wider part of the tube oriented upwards when mounted.

For the suspension of the receptacle, it is provided with at least one attachment device, which is pressed securely in a corresponding attachment device in a head part or suspension part. This head part is mounted for example on a wall at a suitable height, or on a baby's crib, and because of the attachment devices the receptacle is easy to press securely on and to remove from the head part for cleaning or to be completely replaced. The head part or the suspension part is designed to resemble an elephant's head, and provided with eyes, ear and a mouth, whereby the head part and the receptacle together form an elephant's head with a trunk.

For the hygienic purposes, it is vital that the comforters are protected from contamination in the receptacle. This protection may be improved by providing the upper mouth of the tube with an openable lid.

To further facilitate the insertion and the picking out of the comforters, the edges of the mouths of the tube may be provided with protecting rubber edgings. In addition, the rubber edging on the lower mouth of the tube contributes to the retaining of the comforters in the receptacle.

Since the receptacle is designed to resemble an elephant's trunk, and the suspension part and the receptacle together form an elephant's head with a trunk, an user-friendly and pleasing design is obtained, facilitating the use thereof, especially for children.

Brief description of the drawings The invention is described in more detail below, with reference to the enclosed drawing, of which figure 1 shows a front view or the receptacle, figure 2 shows a side view of the receptacle, figure 3 shows a front view of the receptacle attached to a head part, and figure 4 shows a side view of the receptacle, attached to a head part, and provided with an openable lid.

Detailed description of the invention The invention is disclosed with reference to figure 1-4, in which the tube 1 is shaped as an elephant's trunk, and the head part or suspension part 2 is shaped as an elephant's head.

Figure 1 shows the receptacle 1 shaped as a trunk and adapted for vertical hanging. The upper mouth 3 of the trunk is intended for refilling of comforters and the lower mouth 4 of the trunk is intended for picking out the comforters. The trunk may have a length of 20-40 centimetres, and have room for up to twenty comforters, and advantageously be made of a plastic material. The lower mouth of the tube is provided with a flap 13 limiting the opening and preventing the comforters from falling out. Both the upper and the lower mouth of the tube are provided with protecting rubber edgings 12.

Figure 2 shows a side view of the receptacle 1 shaped as a trunk, whereby the attachment device 5 and the upward bend 6 of the lower end-part of the receptacle are clearly revealed.

The lower mouth 4 of the trunk has a vertically oriented cross-section 7 when hanging, while the upper mouth 3 of the trunk has a cross-section 8, which hangs horizontally.

Figure 3 shows the trunk-shaped receptacle 1 vertically suspended in the head-part 2 of an elephant. The elephant's head-part advantageously has a width and a height of 30-50 centimetres each, and it is mounted for example on a baby's crib or on a wall, at a suitable height. In order to facilitate the mounting, pre-drilled holes may be arranged in the head-part.

Figure 4 shows the trunk-shaped receptacle 1 attached to the elephant's head-part 2, which in turn is mounted on a wall 11. The attachment device 5 is removably pressed into a corresponding attachment device 9 in the elephant's head- part, whereby the receptacle (trunk) easily can be removed for cleaning or for replacement. The comforters may be protected from contamination by means of an openable lid 10.