Apron for retaining articles on a bucket

Abstract

An apron for a bucket having a plurality of pockets secured to the apron. The pockets are divided by means of pleats that may be either permanently or detachably secured to a backing web that forms the body of the apron. Snap fasteners or hook and loop strips may be used to provide a detachable divider between two adjacent pockets. The detachable divider between two adjacent pockets allows for the provision of a double width pocket to store larger articles. The apron may be provided with pockets of different depths to allow for convenient storage of longer and shorter articles in the apron.

What is claimed is:  
     
         1 . An article holder for a bucket comprising: 
 a belt secured around the bucket;    an apron depending from and secured to the belt;    a plurality of pockets secured to the apron; and    at least two of the pockets having a detachable connection to the apron that may be attached to the apron to form two pockets and may be detached from the apron to form one wider pocket.    
     
     
         2 . The article holder of  claim 1  wherein the detachable connection is a hook and loop fastener strip.  
     
     
         3 . The article holder of  claim 1  wherein the detachable connection is a snap fastener.  
     
     
         4 . The article holder of  claim 1  wherein the pockets are formed by a pleat located between two adjacent pockets that is secured to the apron.  
     
     
         5 . The article holder of  claim 4  wherein each pleat has a first segment of material extending from a front portion of first pocket to a second segment of material that is secured in an abutting relationship to the apron, a third segment of material extending from the second segment of material to a front portion of a second pocket.  
     
     
         6 . The article holder of  claim 4  wherein the pleat is formed by a Z-shaped fold and a reverse Z-shaped fold that are connected to each other by a segment of material that is secured to the apron, wherein the Z-shaped fold and the reverse Z-shaped fold are formed on two adjacent pockets, respectively.  
     
     
         7 . The article holder of  claim 6  wherein the segment of material secured to the apron between at least two of the pockets is detachably secured to the apron.  
     
     
         8 . The article holder of  claim 7  wherein the segment of material secured to the apron between other pockets is permanently secured to the apron.  
     
     
         9 . The article holder of  claim 1  wherein a first set of pockets are deeper than a second set of pockets.  
     
     
         10 . An article holder for a bucket having an upper end and a pivoting handle secured to the bucket near the upper end of the bucket comprising: 
 a first flexible web extending at least partially around the upper end of the bucket and being secured to the bucket where the handle is secured to the bucket;    a second flexible web at least partially overlying the first flexible web and having connections at spaced locations to the first flexible web to form pockets; and    wherein at least some of the connections are detachable connections.    
     
     
         11 . The article holder of  claim 10  wherein the first flexible web is cloth and the second flexible web is a mesh fabric.  
     
     
         12 . The article holder of  claim 10  wherein the detachable connection is a hook and loop fastener strip.  
     
     
         13 . The article holder of  claim 10  wherein the detachable connection is a snap fastener.  
     
     
         14 . An article holder comprising: 
 a belt having a buckle for securing the belt to another object;    an apron hanging from and secured to the belt;    a plurality of pockets secured to the apron; and    at least two of the pockets having a detachable connection to the apron that may be attached to the apron to form two pockets and may be detached from the apron to form a pocket of increased width.    
     
     
         15 . The article holder of  claim 14  wherein the detachable connection is a hook and loop fastener strip.  
     
     
         16 . The article holder of  claim 14  wherein the detachable connection is a snap fastener.  
     
     
         17 . The article holder of  claim 14  wherein the pockets extend transversely relative to the belt and at least two of the pockets that are not separated by a detachable connection have a sewn connection to the apron and are divided from each other by the sewn connection.  
     
     
         18 . The article holder of  claim 17  wherein the pockets having the detachable connection are detachably secured to the apron at an upper end of the pockets and have no connection to the apron below the detachable connection.  
     
     
         19 . The article holder of  claim 14  wherein a first set of pockets are deeper than a second set of pockets.