Do-it-yourself modular article-holding container

Abstract
A modular container is formed of a casing, a seat ring, a rotary cover, and a base. The casing is provided with a plurality of retaining holes and retaining projections. The seat ring is located in the top of a cylindrical object which is formed by the casing. The base if disposed at the bottom of the cylindrical object. The rotary cover is provided with a plurality of retaining protrusions. The seat ring is provided with a plurality of locating slots. The rotary cover is located by the seat ring such that the retaining protrusions of the rotary cover are located in the locating slots of the seat ring.
Description




BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION




1. Field of the Invention




The present invention relates generally to a container, and more particularly to a do-it-yourself (DIY) modular container for holding stationery and the like.




2. Description of Related Art




The conventional stationery-holding containers are rather simple and monotonous in design. As a result, their marketability is limited.




BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION




The primary objective of the present invention is to provide a DIY modular container comprising a casing, a seat ring, a rotary cover, and a base, which can be arranged in a variety of ways by the consumer.




The objective, features, and functions of the present invention will be more readily understood upon a thoughtful deliberation of the following detailed description of the present invention with reference to the accompanying drawings.











BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS





FIG. 1

shows a perspective view of the present invention.





FIG. 2

shows an exploded view of the present invention.





FIG. 3

shows a sectional view of the present invention in combination.





FIG. 4

shows a schematic view of the casing of the present invention that is spread out.





FIG. 5

shows a schematic view of the present invention at work.





FIG. 6

shows another schematic view of the present invention at work.





FIG. 7

shows another schematic view of the present invention at work.





FIG. 8

shows a schematic view of another preferred embodiment of the present invention.











DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION




As shown in all drawings provided herein, the present invention comprises a casing


10


, a seat ring


20


, a rotary cover


30


, and a base


40


.




The casing


10


is provided in one side with a plurality of retaining holes


11


, and in other side with a plurality of retaining projections


12


corresponding in location to the retaining holes


11


. The casing


10


can be rolled to form a cylindrical object such that the retaining projections


12


are retained in the retaining holes


11


. The cylindrical object is provided in the top and the bottom with a plurality of through holes


13


.




The seat ring


20


is provided with an annular slot


21


and an inverted hook


22


. The seat ring


20


has an inner peripheral edge


23


, which is provided with an annular protruded edge


24


and a plurality of locating slots


25


.




The rotary cover


30


is provided in the top with a plurality of slotted edges


31


, and in the periphery with a plurality of retaining protrusions


32


, which are located in the locating slots


25


of the seat ring


20


. The rotary cover


30


can be pressed downward and turned such that the rotary cover


30


is located in the seat ring


20


, and that the top surface of the rotary cover


30


is level with the top edge of the seat ring


20


.




The base


40


is used to seal off the bottom of the cylindrical object. The base


40


has an annular slot


41


, which is provided with an inverted hook


42


engageable with the through hole


13


.




The seat ring


20


and the base


40


are provided with a lug


50


, and a strap


51


which is retained at both ends thereof by the lugs


50


. The strap


51


is intended to facilitate the carrying of the cylindrical object.




The locating slots


25


of the seat ring


20


are formed of a vertically-oriented guide slot


251


and a horizontally oriented stop slot


252


. The retaining protrusions


32


of the rotary cover


30


are slidably disposed in the guide slot


251


such that the retaining protrusions


32


of the rotary cover


30


are stopped by the stop slot


252


of the locating slots


25


of the seat ring


20


.




The slotted edges


31


of the top of the rotary cover


30


have two upright walls and arcuate recesses.




The seat ring


20


, the base


40


, and the rotary cover


30


are round, tetragonal, or polygonal, as shown in

FIGS. 6 and 7

.




The seat ring


20


and the rotary cover


30


are provided with a plurality of retaining slots


60


and locating buttons


61


. The locating buttons


61


are elastic and disposed in the fringe of the rotary cover


30


. The locating buttons


61


are provided with a retaining projection


62


, which is retained in the retaining slot


60


of the seat ring


20


and is provided with a control portion


63


for forcing the retaining projection


62


to move out of the retaining slot


60


, so as to enable the rotary cover


30


to be removed form the seat ring


20


, as shown in FIG.


8


.




The present invention is versatile in design in that the present invention can be formed as a flat box, which can be shipped or mailed easily. In light of the top of the rotary cover


30


being level with the top edge of the seat ring


20


, the rotary cover


30


can be easily removed by finger which is inserted in the slotted edge


31


. However, the slotted edge


31


may be sealed off with adhesive tape or label to prevent the removal of the rotary cover


30


by an unauthorized person.



Claims
  • 1. A modular container comprising:a casing which is provided in one side with a plurality of retaining holes, and in other side with a plurality of retaining projections corresponding in location to said retaining holes, said casing capable of being rolled to form a cylindrical object such that said retaining projections are retained in said retaining holes, said cylindrical object being provided in the top and the bottom with a plurality of through holes; a seat ring provided with an annular slot and an inverted hook, said seat ring having an inner peripheral edge which is provided with an annular protruded edge and a plurality of locating slots; a rotary cover provided in the top with a plurality of slotted edges, and in the periphery with a plurality of retaining protrusions, which are located in the locating slots of said seat ring, said rotary cover capable of being pressed downward and turned in such a manner that said rotary cover is located in said seat ring, and that a top surface of said rotary cover is level with a top edge of said seat ring; and a base for sealing off the bottom of said cylindrical object, said base having an annular slot which is provided with an inverted hook engageable with said through hole of said cylindrical object.
  • 2. The modular container as defined in claim 1, wherein said seat ring and said base are provided with a lug, and a strap which is retained at both ends thereof by said lugs and is intended to facilitate the carrying of said cylindrical object.
  • 3. The modular container as defined in claim 1, wherein said locating slots of said seat ring are formed of a vertically-oriented guide slot and a horizontally-oriented stop slot; wherein said retaining protrusions of said rotary cover are slidably disposed in said guide slot such that said retaining protrusions of said rotary cover are stopped by said stop slot of said locating slots of said seat ring.
  • 4. The modular container as defined in claim 1, wherein said slotted edges of said rotary cover have two upright walls and arcuate recesses.
  • 5. The modular container as defined in claim 1, wherein said seat ring, said base, and said rotary cover are round, tetragonal, or polygonal.
  • 6. The modular container as defined in claim 1, wherein said seat ring and said rotary cover are provided with a plurality of retaining slots and locating buttons, said locating buttons being elastic and disposed in the fringe of said rotary cover, said locating buttons being provided with a retaining projection which is retained in said retaining slot of said seat ring and is provided with a control portion for forcing said retaining projection to move out of said retaining slot, thereby enabling said rotary cover to be removed from said seat ring.
US Referenced Citations (7)
Number Name Date Kind
672282 Munford Apr 1901 A
1500917 Bell Jul 1924 A
2087353 Mooney Jul 1937 A
5096080 Penny Mar 1992 A
5372269 Sutton et al. Dec 1994 A
5678717 Hsu Oct 1997 A
5743422 Hale Apr 1998 A