FIELD OF INVENTION
The present invention relates to the field of tableware, in particular to a simple holder.
BACKGROUND
Tableware, such as chopsticks, knives and forks are the common eating tableware used during meals. Sometimes, people may need to temporarily put down the tableware during the course of meals. For hygiene's sake, a simple stand is used to hold the tableware so that the head thereof is kept off the table and to prevent it from contaminating or rolling off tables. Such simple stands are vastly used in restaurants or at home and most of them available in the market are made in solid shapes with either ceramic, metal or wood. These particular simple stands generally include a recess for resting the head of the tableware. Whereas, in order to ensure the stability, these simple stands usually come with certain thickness and the process of making the same is relatively complex. In addition, all these simple stands need to be washed after use and thus lead to waste of resources. Moreover, these simple stands occupy certain storage space.
Therefore, a simple holder, which is simple in its manufacturing process and is space-saving and, last but not least, has an added value for advertisement or promotional purpose, is desired.
SUMMARY OF INVENTION
The objective of the present invention is aimed to provide a simple holder which is simple in its manufacturing process, convenient in storage, space-saving and to serve as an advertisement or promotional media. The simple holder comprises an elastic first sheet structure. The first sheet structure has two opposite sides, namely, a first side and a second side. A hole located between the first side and the second side, a first cutting slit formed by cutting from the edge of the first side inwards and a second cutting slit formed by cutting from the edge of the second side inwards. The center of the hole is located between the first cutting slit and the second cutting slit. The first sheet structure can be bent to make the first cutting slit slotting into the second cutting slit and thus interlocked. Under this state, a part of the first sheet structure, which is located between the first cutting slit and the second cutting slit, is bent and rolled into a cylinder, and a part of the first sheet structure, which contains the hole, is also bent and rolled into a groove for placing articles.
As a preferred embodiment, the first side is parallel to the second side.
As a preferred embodiment, the first cutting slit extends to the middle position of both the first side and the second side, and the second cutting slit extends to the middle position of the first side and the second side.
As a preferred embodiment, the direction of the first cutting slit is perpendicular to that of the first side, and the direction of the second cutting slit is perpendicular to that of the second side.
As a preferred embodiment, the length of the hole is ⅓ of the overall length of the first sheet structure.
As a preferred embodiment, the first sheet structure comprises at least two holes which are disposed abreast between the first side and the second side. When a part of the first sheet structure, which is located between the first cutting slit and the second cutting slit, is bent and rolled into a cylinder, a part of the first sheet structure, which contains at least two holes, is bent and rolled to form at least two grooves for placing articles.
As a preferred embodiment, the hole is a runway-like U-shaped hole including two parallel opposite sides and two opposite arc-shaped sides.
As a preferred embodiment, the distance between the first cutting slit and the second cutting slit is ½ to ⅔ of the overall length of the first sheet structure.
As a preferred embodiment, the simple holder also comprises a second sheet structure which is connected with the second side of the first sheet structure. The second sheet structure can be overturned for multiple times to form a storage cavity having an open end for storing articles. The connection between the second sheet structure and the first sheet structure is a tearing connection which can be torn along the second side.
As a preferred embodiment, the length of the first side and the second side ranges from 100 mm to 200 mm, and the width of the first side and the second side ranges from 25 mm to 70 mm.
As a preferred embodiment, both ends of the first sheet structure are have a first slot and a second slot respectively. After the first sheet structure is bent, the first slot and the second slot can be penetrated by a first reinforcing sheet.
As a preferred embodiment, the first reinforcing sheet is positioned between the end portion of the first sheet structure and the part which is bent and rolled into a cylinder.
As a preferred embodiment, the first reinforcing sheet is slightly tight fit with the first slot and the second slot.
As a preferred embodiment, the shape of the first reinforcing sheet is the same as that of the hole.
As a preferred embodiment, the first reinforcing sheet and the first sheet structure are a single body before use, and the hole is formed in the first sheet structure after the first reinforcing sheet is torn off.
As a preferred embodiment, the first reinforcing sheet is bent at both ends after penetrating through the first slot and the second slot so as to prevent the first sheet structure from departing from the first reinforcing sheet.
The simple holder provided by the present invention is formed by sheets and is thus convenient to be manufactured, transported and stored. The sheets can be bent, rolled and shaped as a holder.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a structural schematic diagram of the simple holder at an unused state.
FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of the simple holder of FIG. 1 at a used state.
FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a using method of the simple holder of FIG. 1.
FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of the simple holder of a second embodiment of the present invention at an unused state.
FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of the simple holder of FIG. 4 at a used state.
FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of a using method of the simple holder of FIG. 4.
FIG. 7 is a stereogram of the simple holder with a tableware sleeve of the third embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 8 is a reference diagram of the simple holder with the tableware sleeve of FIG. 7 in a used state.
FIG. 9 is a plane expanded drawing of the simple holder with the tableware sleeve of FIG. 7.
FIG. 10 is a reference diagram of the simple holder of FIG. 1 used as an identification tag.
FIG. 11 is a reference diagram of the simple holder of a fourth embodiment of the present invention at a used state.
FIG. 12 is schematic diagram of the simple holder of FIG. 11 in an unused state.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
The embodiments of the present invention are further illustrated as below in conjunction with the drawings.
Referring to FIG. 1, the simple holder of the first embodiment of the present invention comprises a first sheet structure 1001 which is rectangular and has a lateral side 1101 and a shorter side 1201. The lateral side 1101 comprises a first side 1101a and a second side 1101b which are parallel to each other. There is at least one hole 1301 between the first side 1101a and the second side 1101b. In this embodiment, there is one hole 1301 and the center of the hole 1301 is located between a first cutting slit 1401a and a second cutting slit 1401b. In this embodiment, the hole 1301 is a runway-like U-shaped hole including two basically parallel opposite sides and two opposite arc-shaped sides. The extending direction of the hole 1301 is the same as that of the lateral side 1101. The hole 1301 is axially symmetrical to the central axis of the lateral side 1101, and the length of the U-shaped hole is around ⅓ of the lateral side 1101 of the first sheet structure 1001. The width of the hole 1301 is about 12 mm-20 mm. The shape of the tail ends of the hole 1301 can be varied, such as n-shape or 3-shape based on needs. Similarly, the hole 1301 may not be a U-shaped hole and can be circular, elliptical, rectangular and the like. All the variations mentioned above fall within the protection scope of the present invention. The first cutting slit 1401a is formed by cutting from the edge of the first side 1101a inwards, and the second cutting slit 1401b is formed by cutting from the edge of the second side 1101b inwards. The first cutting slit 1401a and the second cutting slit 1401b are respectively located in two sides of the hole 1301. The distance between the first cutting slit 1401a and the second cutting slit 1401b is ½ to ⅔ of the overall length of the first sheet structure 1001. In this embodiment, the direction of the first cutting slit 1401a is perpendicular to that of the first side 1101a, and the direction of the second cutting slit 1401b is perpendicular to that of the second side 1101b. The sum of the length of the first cutting slit 1401a and the length of the second cutting slit 1401b should be larger than or equal to the length of the shorter side 1201. In this embodiment, the lengths of the first cutting slit 1401a and the second cutting slit 1401b are ½ of the length of the shorter side 1201, i.e. the first cutting slit 1401a extends to the middle position of the first side 1101a and the second side 1101b, and the second cutting slit 1401b extends to the middle position of the first side 1101a and the second side 1101b. In addition, the distance between the first cutting slit 1401a and the central axis of the lateral side 1101 equals to the distance between the second cutting slit 1401b and the central axis of the lateral side 1101. The distance between the first cutting slit 1401a and the nearer shorter side 1201 is ⅓ to ¼ of the length of the lateral side.
Referring to FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, when the first sheet structure 1001 is in use, the first cutting slit 1401a is clamped into the second cutting slit 1401b for locking, i.e. the first cutting slit 1401a and the second cutting slit 1401b are located on the same straight line at this moment. When the first sheet structure 1001 is bent, the hole 1301 forms a groove 1311 for containing tableware such as chopsticks or knives and forks, and the shorter side 1201 is used to be placed on a dining table.
Referring to FIG. 4 to FIG. 6, the difference between the simple holder of the third embodiment and the simple holder of the first embodiment lies in that the first sheet structure 1002 has at least two holes 1302 along the central axis of the longer side of a first sheet structure 1002. The two holes 1302 are located abreast between the first side edge 1102a and the second side edge 1102b. In particular, the holes 1302 are uniformly arranged on the connection line of midpoints of the first side edge 1102a and the second side edge 1102b. The spacing distance between the holes 1302 is about ⅔ of the width of each hole 1302. A part of the first sheet structure, which is located between the first cutting slit 1402a and the second cutting slit 1402b, is bent into a cylinder, and then a part of the first sheet structure, which contains the two holes 1302, is also bent and rolled into two grooves on which two pairs of chopsticks or other tableware, such as knives and forks (as shown in FIG. 6), can be simultaneously placed.
Referring to FIG. 7 to FIG. 9, the simple holder of the third embodiment of the present invention comprises a first sheet structure 1003 and a second sheet structure 2003. The simple holder provided by the present invention is preferred to be made of paper, thin plastic or other elastic materials. The connection between the first sheet structure 1003 and the second sheet structure 2003 is a tearing connection. The second sheet structure 2003 is overturned to make the free end of the first sheet structure 2003 be overlapped with the first sheet structure 1003 to form a cavity having an open end for replacing the tableware sleeve to cover tableware in a connecting state, so that materials can be saved. When it is used as a simple holder, the first sheet structure 1003 needs to be separated from the second sheet structure 2003. When the simple holder is made of materials such as paper or plastic, it just needs to be manually torn apart. As a preferred embodiment, the simple holder is made of recycled paper or environment-friendly plastic. Patterns or advertisement information can be printed on both sides (i.e. the region between the shorter side and the first cutting slit or the second cutting slit) of the first sheet structure 1003, and patterns or advertisement information can be printed on both surfaces of the first sheet structure. The simple holder is disposable and thus it is not necessary to be washed, and it is environment-friendly and attractive in appearance, and also it can achieves an advertisement or promotion effect. Another advantage of the preset invention is that it is easy to be stored without occupying a large space since it is a sheet structure in an unused state.
As shown in FIG. 10, the simple holder as mentioned above can also be used as an identification tag and is thus applicable to crowded occasions, such as wine parties and dinner parties. The identification tag can be sheathed on a handle of a wine cup or a cup, and a user can write down the name for the purpose of facilitating identification.
By reference to FIG. 11 and FIG. 12, in the simple holder of the fourth embodiment of the present invention, both ends of the hole 130 of the first sheet structure 100 have a first slot 151a and a second slot 151b respectively. After the first sheet structure is bent, the first slot 151a and the second slot 151b can be penetrated by the first reinforcing sheet 161. At this moment, the first reinforcing sheet 161 is positioned between the end portion of the first sheet structure and the part which is bent and rolled into a cylinder. Preferably, the first reinforcing sheet is in slightly tight fit with the first slot and the second slot so as to prevent the first sheet structure from departing from the first reinforcing sheet 161, and thus the supporting capability of the simple holder is enhanced. Further, the first reinforcing sheet 161 is bent at both ends after penetrating through the first slot 151a and the second slot 151b for further preventing the first sheet structure from departing from the first reinforcing sheet, and thus the supporting capability of the simple holder is further enhanced.
In one embodiment, the shape of the first reinforcing sheet 161 is the same as that of the hole 130. Preferably, the first reinforcing sheet 161 and the first sheet structure 100 are a single body before use, and the hole 130 is formed in the first sheet structure after the first reinforcing sheet 161 is torn off.
In another embodiment, the first reinforcing sheet 161 and the first sheet structure 100 can be two different single body. In addition, each first sheet structure 100 may have two or more pairs of slots.
For the simple holder as described above, the lengths of the first side and the second side of the first sheet structure can be set as 100 mm to 200 mm, whereas the width of the first sheet structure, i.e. the distance between the first side and the second side, can be set as 25 mm to 70 mm.
The embodiments mentioned above just describe several implementations of the present invention. The descriptions thereof are concrete and detailed, but may not hereby be interpreted as limitations to the protection scope of the present invention. It should be noted that transformations and improvements may be made to the present invention by the persons of ordinary skills in the art but these transformations and improvements should still fall within the protection scope of the present invention. Therefore, the protection scope of the present invention is defined by the claims.