Container for housing documents outdoors

Abstract

A container system for housing documents outdoors includes a plastic tube or pipe, at least one closure, and a pair of cable ties. The closure includes a resilient hinge that biases the closure toward its closed position. The end of the tube opposite the closure may be sealed or may includes another closure. Cable ties affix the container to an article.

1 . A container for housing documents outdoors, the container comprising:
 a tube having a sidewall and a pair of opposing ends, at least one of the ends having a rim that forms an opening therein;   a closure having (i) a closed position in which the closure encloses the opening and (ii) an open position in which the closure is pivoted away from the opening to enable access to documents housed in the tube; and   a resilient hinge connected between the tube and the closure, the resilient hinge being deformed when the closure is in its open position to bias the closure toward the closed position;   whereby in the closed position the closure inhibits water ingress into the tube, and the closure may be pulled from its closed position to its open position by a user to access the documents.   
   
   
       2 . The container of  claim 1  wherein the closure includes a handle that is capable of being grasped by a user to move the closure from its closed position to its open position. 
   
   
       3 . The container of  claim 2  wherein the closure includes a plug portion located at least partially within the opening when the closure is in the closed position. 
   
   
       4 . The container of  claim 3  wherein the closure includes a flange extending from a circumference of the plug portion, and the flange contacts the rim when the closure is in the closed position. 
   
   
       5 . The container of  claim 4  wherein the resilient hinge has a rest position in which the first portion and the second portion are approximately parallel, the hinge exerting a force to bias the hinge toward its rest position when deformed from the rest position. 
   
   
       6 . The container of  claim 5  wherein a first end portion of the hinge is connected to an exterior surface of the tube and a second end portion of the hinge is connected to an outboard face of the closure. 
   
   
       7 . The container of  claim 6  wherein the hinge second end portion is connected to an outboard face of the plug portion. 
   
   
       8 . The container of  claim 6  wherein the hinge exerts a biasing force on the closure while the closure is in the closed position. 
   
   
       9 . The container of  claim 1  wherein the tube is cylindrical and formed of PVC. 
   
   
       10 . The container of  claim 1  wherein the end opposite the opening is enclosed. 
   
   
       11 . The container of  claim 1  wherein the end opposite the opening includes a second rim that forms a second opening therein; and the container further comprises:
 a second closure having a closed position in which the second closure encloses the second opening and an open position in which the second closure is pivoted away from the second opening to enable access to documents housed in the tube; and   a second resilient hinge having a first end connected to the tube and a second end connected to the closure, the second resilient hinge being deformed when the second closure is in its open position to bias the second closure toward the closed position;   whereby in the closed position the second closure inhibits water ingress into the tube, and the second closure may be pulled from its closed position to its open position by a user to access the documents.   
   
   
       12 . The container of  claim 1  further comprising cable ties circumferentially extending around an exterior of the tube to enable the tube to be affixed to an article. 
   
   
       13 . A container system for housing documents outdoors, the container system comprising:
 a plastic tube having a sidewall and a pair of opposing ends, at least one of the ends having a rim that forms an opening therein;   a closure including a grip and having (i) a closed position in which at least a plug portion of the closure is located in the opening to block the opening and (ii) an open position in which the closure is pivoted away from the opening to enable access to documents housed in the tube, the closure being biased toward the closed position;   a hinge connected between the closure and the tube; and   cable ties for wrapping around the tube and around a fixed article, whereby the tube may affix the container to the article.   
   
   
       14 . The container system of  claim 13  wherein the hinge is a resilient hinge connected between the tube and the closure, the resilient hinge being deformed when the closure is in its open position to bias the closure toward the closed position. 
   
   
       15 . The container system of  claim 14  wherein the closure includes a flange extending from a circumference of the plug portion, and the flange contacts the rim when the closure is in the closed position. 
   
   
       16 . The container system of  claim 15  wherein the resilient hinge has a rest position in which the first portion and the second portion are approximately parallel.