Abstract:
An interconnecting container system is described. Each container has a rounded rectangular parallelepiped body with four symmetrical sidewalls, a rounded square base and a rounded square top. An elongated sidewall slot is provided on each sidewall, the slot has a surrounding lip thereby creating an internal edge recess. The sidewall slot has an open end and an adjoining closed end. The adjoining closed end is centrally disposed along a transversal axis of the rectangular sidewall. A similarly constructed elongated base slot is provided on the base. The adjoining closed end of the base slot is centrally disposed on the square base. A neck is centrally provided on the top and extends from the top, it has a surrounding rim and an opening thereon. The rim of the neck and the internal recess of the base slot and the sidewall slot are dimensioned and shaped for sliding and interconnecting engagement.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application is a national phase entry of PCT Application No. PCT/IB2011/054185, entitled “INTERCONNECTING CONTAINER SYSTEM”, filed on Sep. 22, 2011; which in turn claims priority under 35 USC §119(e) of U.S. provisional patent application(s) 61/385,777 filed Sep. 23, 2010, the specifications of which are hereby incorporated by reference. 
    
    
     TECHNICAL FIELD 
     The invention relates to interconnecting containers. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE ART 
     Plastic bottles have been criticized for the waste they generate once they have reached the end of their useful life. For this reason, much effort has been made with the intention of limiting the amount of waste generated by plastic bottles. Recycling is one way to reduce the impact on the environment but the recycling of plastic products requires several undesirable steps including transportation to the recycling plant, use of energy for the recycling process as well as the production of residual waste due to contamination in the feedstock stream. Some efforts have also been made in the past to reduce the amount of plastic used in disposable bottles. 
     Reuse is a solution more desirable than waste disposal or recycling because of lower energy requirements, especially if the location of re-use is close to the location of the primary use. Reusable plastic bottles exist, but meet limited success in terms of volume on the market compared to disposable plastic bottles. 
     Most bottles available on the market do not have the attributes to encourage reuse. The key to optimize the reuse of plastic bottles is to facilitate the assembly of the bottles into larger structures that can be used in everyday life. A standard plastic bottle is generally cylindrical, has one opening at the top of the bottle and is closed by a removable cap. As such, it does not lend itself to assemblies. 
     SUMMARY 
     One way to reduce the impact of plastic bottles on the environment is to provide other uses, in a manner that the shape and structure can serve for something other than containing the initial beverage, for example. This can be achieved by providing a bottle which has a recess formed therein mating with the neck. In this manner, two or more bottles can be assembled to one another after their initial use to form a structure. This can particularly find a use in the context of delivering water in water bottles following the occurrence of natural disasters. The persons receiving the water can thus not only benefit from the water itself, but further benefit from the structures which can be created with the bottles to provide temporary beds, or dwelling framework for instance. 
     In accordance with one aspect, there is provided an interconnecting container system. Each container of the system has a rounded rectangular parallelepiped body with four symmetrical rounded rectangular sidewalls, a rounded square base and a rounded square top; an elongated sidewall slot being provided on each of the four sidewalls, the elongated sidewall slot having a surrounding lip thereby creating an internal edge recess, the sidewall slot having an open end and an adjoining closed end, and wherein the adjoining closed end is centrally disposed along a transversal axis transversal to a longitudinal axis of the rectangular sidewall; an elongated base slot being provided on the base, the elongated base slot having a surrounding lip thereby creating an internal edge recess, the base slot having an open end and an adjoining closed end, the elongated base slot extends along a transversal axis of the square base, and wherein the adjoining closed end is centrally disposed on the square base; a neck being centrally provided on the top, the neck extending from the top, the neck having a surrounding rim, the neck having an opening thereon; the rim of the neck and the internal recess of the base slot and the sidewall slot being dimensioned and shaped for sliding and interconnecting engagement. 
     In accordance with another aspect, there is provided a plastic bottle comprising a hollow container body having a tubular wall extending from a bottom to a neck at the top, being closed except for a mouth provided through the neck, the neck having an external protrusion, and a recess having an inner shape corresponding to the external protrusion of the neck portion, wherein the plastic bottle can be attached with another identical plastic bottle by receiving the neck thereof into the recess. 
     In one embodiment, the protrusion and recess can be threaded. 
     In one embodiment, the recess can be at the bottom of the bottle. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       Having thus generally described the nature of the invention, reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings, showing by way of illustration a preferred embodiment thereof and in which 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of an example bottle; 
         FIG. 2A  is a side elevation view of an example bottle shown in  FIG. 1 , in which the bottom slot is visible; 
         FIG. 2B  is a side elevation view of an example bottle shown in  FIG. 1 , in which the bottom slot is not visible; 
         FIG. 3  is a bottom plan view of an example bottle shown in  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 4A  is a perspective view of an example connector used to join two example bottles shown in  FIG.1 ; 
         FIG. 4B  is a top plan view of the example connector shown in  FIG. 4A ; 
         FIG. 4C  is a side elevation view of the example connector shown in  FIG. 4A ; 
         FIG. 5  is an illustration of the first step of the mating of the example connector shown in  FIG. 4A  and the example bottle shown in  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 6  is an illustration of the second and final step of the mating of the example connector shown in  FIG. 4A  and the example bottle shown in  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 7  is an illustration of a two-bottle assembly using the example bottle shown in  FIG. 1 , where the base of the first bottle is connected to the lower slot of the sidewall of the second bottle; 
         FIG. 8  is an illustration of a three-bottle assembly using the example bottle shown in  FIG. 1 , where the base of the first bottle is connected to the upper slot of the sidewall of the second bottle, and the third bottle top rim is connected to the lower slot of the sidewall of the second bottle; 
         FIG. 9A  is an illustration showing five two-bottle assembly configurations using the example bottle shown in  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 9B  is an illustration showing two additional two-bottle assembly configurations using the example bottle shown in  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 9C  is an illustration showing four additional two-bottle assembly configurations using the example bottle shown in  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 9D  is an illustration showing four additional two-bottle assembly configurations using the example bottle shown in  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 9E  is an illustration showing two additional two-bottle assembly configurations using the example bottle shown in  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 9F  is an illustration showing two additional two-bottle assembly configurations using the example bottle shown in  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 9G  is an illustration showing two additional two-bottle assembly configurations using the example bottle shown in  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 9H  is an illustration showing two additional two-bottle assembly configurations using the example bottle shown in  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 9I  is an illustration showing two additional two-bottle assembly configurations using the example bottle shown in  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 10  is a front elevation view of a dwelling made using several example bottles shown in  FIG. 1 , where a rainwater collection and storage system is visible; 
         FIG. 11  is a side elevation view of a dwelling made using several example bottles shown in  FIG. 1 , where a rainwater collection and storage system is visible; 
         FIG. 12  is a perspective view of a shelter made using several example bottles shown in  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 13A  is an exploded view of a watering can components, including one example bottle shown in  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 13B  is a perspective view of an assembled watering can; 
         FIG. 14A  is a perspective view of an example lateral connector used to join two example bottles shown in  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 14B  is an illustration of a five-bottle assembly using the example bottle shown in  FIG. 1 , where four lateral connectors are used; 
         FIG. 15A  is a detail view of the top of the bottle shown in  FIG. 1  including an example closure cap and an example retaining ring to hold a connector; and 
         FIG. 15B  is an exploded view of the example closure cap and example retaining ring shown in  FIG. 15A ; and 
         FIG. 16  is an illustration of a four-bottle assembly using bottles of another example design, where the top rim of each of the three first bottles are connected to one of the three slots of a single sidewall of the fourth bottle. 
     
    
    
     It will be noted that throughout the appended drawings, like features are identified by like reference numerals. 
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     The invention presented in this description pertains to bottle designs that aim at extending their reuse to the fullest. The goal of the invention is to provide a product that not only serves its first duty as a liquid or granular material container, but that can also be reused as a building block for constructing useful structures and assemblies. We refer to products that achieve this goal efficiently as dual-use or multiple-use products. 
     In the following description, it is understood that the invention may be practiced without some details shown. At the same time, well-known elements may not have been shown since they are obvious to persons versed in the craft of bottle design and manufacturing. The word descriptions and drawings should be regarded as illustrative rather than restrictive since other embodiments can be used to realize the essence of the invention. 
       FIG. 1  shows a perspective view of an example multiple-use plastic bottle  101 . In this example, the bottle shown has a generally rectangular parallelepiped body  103  that extends upwardly from a square base  105 . The container sidewalls  107  and  108  extend upwardly from the base  105  to the top  110 , where four shoulders  109  are located. A circular neck  111  and a circular rim  113  extend upwardly from the top  110 . The rim  113  is the upper extremity that defines the bottle opening  115 . The opening  115  may be used to insert content in the bottle  101  and to dispense content from the bottle  101 . The neck  111  and rim  113  are designed for engagement with a closure cap, not shown in  FIG. 1 . 
     The sidewalls  107  and  108  of the example plastic bottle  101  shown in  FIG. 1  feature several departures from a planar geometry. Firstly the sidewalls  107  and  108  have a slightly convex shape with a cylindrical axis in the vertical direction. Each of the four sidewalls  107  and  108  joins its two neighboring sidewalls  108  and  107  with a radius of curvature  117  in order to provide a pleasant shape free of sharp angles. 
     Secondly, each sidewall  107  and  108  features two identical elongated slots  119  and  120 , with the long axis of the slots oriented in the plane of the sidewall and transversely from the main axis of the bottle  101 . On each sidewall  107  and  108 , the upper slot  119  is located above the lower slot  120 . The upper slot  119  is located three fourth of the modular height of the bottle above the bottom of the base  105 . The modular height of the bottle is defined to be the distance between the bottom of the base  105  and the bottom of the neck  111 . The lower slot  120  is located one fourth of the modular height of the bottle above the bottom of the base  105 . 
     Each slot  119  and  120  starts with an open end  121  and tapers down towards a closed end  123 . The closed end  123  of the slot  119  features a circular shape. The closed ends  123  of both slots  119  and  120  are positioned in the middle of the sidewall  107  and  108 , in the direction transverse to the main axis of the bottle  101 . 
     The upper slot  119  also features a ridge or lip  125  around the slot  119 , starting and ending at the open end  121  of the slot  119 . This lip  125  creates a recess  127 , located inwardly compared to lip  125 . The recess  127  can hold an object of the appropriate height and width. The lip  125  of each slot  119  also features two pointed bumps  129  facing each other and that can prevent a circular object with a diameter equal to the diameter of closed end  123  of the slot  119 , from coming out of the closed end  123  of the slot  119 . The lower slots  120  feature the same lip  125 , recess  127  and pointed bumps  129 , as the upper slots  119 . 
     It is understood that other bottle designs with one slot per sidewall would also be viable, although this design would allow less flexibility in the creation of bottle assemblies. 
     Another slot  131 , similar to the sidewall slots  119  and  120 , is located on the base  105  of the bottle  101 . The base slot  131  extends in the plane of the base  105 , in a direction parallel to two of the sidewalls  108  and perpendicular to the other two sidewalls  107 . 
     Thirdly, the sidewalls  107  and  108  feature four grooves  133 ,  135 ,  137  and  139 , running in the horizontal plane and encircling the body  103  of the bottle. Grooves  133  and  135  are located above and below the upper slots  119 , respectively. Grooves  137  and  139  are located above and below the lower slots  120 , respectively. 
     It is understood that all grooves in the bottle construction are optional and can be omitted or replaced by other features. In the embodiment presented in  FIG. 1  the grooves increase the rigidity and structural strength of the bottle  101  in addition to improving the esthetics of the product. 
     A pair of superposed shorter horizontal grooves  141  is located at the height of the lower slots  119  and at the junction of each pair of neighboring sidewalls. Five other pairs of identical horizontal grooves are visible in  FIG. 1  but have not been identified to avoid cluttering the drawing. In total four pairs of grooves are located at the height of the upper slots  119 , three of which are visible in  FIG. 1 . Four other pairs of grooves are located at the height of the lower slots  120 , three of which are visible in  FIG. 1 . 
     A pair of short parallel grooves  143  is located on each of the four bottle shoulders  109 . The shoulder grooves  143  divide the shoulders  109  in three approximately equal segments at the junction of the shoulder  109  and neighboring sidewall  119  and  120 . The shoulder grooves  143  extend from the junction of the shoulder  109  and neighboring sidewall  119  and  120  towards the neck  111  of the bottle  101 , but stop approximately halfway before reaching the neck  111 . 
       FIG. 2A  shows a side view of the example bottle illustrated in  FIG. 1 .  FIG. 2A  shows the sidewall  108  extending upwardly from the base  105  to the top  110 . The neck  111  is connected to the top  110  and the rim  113  is connected to the neck  111 . Two upper slots  119  and two lower slots  120  are visible in  FIG. 2A . The bottom slot  131  is also visible in the base  105  of the bottle  101 . The four long grooves  133 ,  135 ,  137  and  139  are running in the horizontal plane and encircling the body  103  of the bottle  101 . Eight short horizontal grooves  141  are also visible at the level of the upper and lower slots  119  and  120 . Two additional short grooves  143  are also visible on the bottle shoulder  143 . 
       FIG. 2B  shows a different side view of the same example bottle illustrated in  FIG. 1  and  FIG. 2A .  FIG. 2B  shows the sidewall  107  extending upwardly from the base  105  to the top  110 . The only difference between the views in  FIG. 2A  and  FIG. 2B  is that the bottom slot  131  is not visible in  FIG. 2B . 
       FIG. 3  shows a bottom view of the base  105  of the bottle  101 . The open end  121  of bottom slot  131  is located close to sidewall  108 . The shape and function of bottom slot  131  is very similar to the upper and lower slots located on the sidewalls  107  and  108  of the bottle  101 , including lip  125 , recess (not visible) and pointed bumps  129 . Please note that alternate designs can include grooves in the base  105 , similar to the grooves  143  in the bottle shoulders  109 . 
     The example bottle  101  feature a circular orientation of the sidewall slots such that the open end of the slots  119  and  120  of sidewall  108  is located close to sidewall  307 , the open end of the slots  119  and  120  of sidewall  307  is located close to sidewall  305 , the open end of the slots  119  and  120  of sidewall  305  is located close to sidewall  303  and the open end of the slots  119  and  120  of sidewall  303  is located close to sidewall  108 . Several other configurations are implementable including for example designs where opposite sidewalls have slots oriented in the same direction. 
       FIG. 4A  shows a connector  401  used to insert in a slot  119 ,  120  and  131  of the example bottle  101  shown in  FIG. 1 . The connector  401  features a toroidal shape. The connector  401  can be thought of as being composed of a cylindrical ring  405 , with two protruding extremities  403 , as shown in  FIG. 4C . In order for the connector  401  to mate with slots  119 ,  120  and  131  of the example bottle  101 , the external diameter of the protruding extremities  403  is slightly smaller than the width of the slot recess  127 . The thickness of the protruding extremities  403  is also slightly smaller than the depth of the slot recess  127 . 
     For good mating also the external diameter of the cylindrical ring  405  is adapted with the width of the slot lip  125 . To be more precise, the external diameter of the cylindrical ring  405  is matched with the diameter of the closed end  123  of slots  119 ,  120  and  131 . The external diameter of the cylindrical ring  405  is slightly larger than the distance between the pointed bumps  129  of the slots  119 ,  120  and  131 , so that this small mechanical interference is able to retain the connector  401  when it is placed in the closed end  123  of slots  119 ,  120  and  131 . The lip  125  can be elastically deformed to allow the passage of the connector  401  by applying a moderate amount of force, consistent with an action performed by an ordinary person during an assembly process. 
       FIG. 5  and  FIG. 6  show the procedure for inserting the connector  401  in one of the slots  119 ,  120  or  131  of example bottle  101  shown in  FIG. 1 . In  FIG. 5  the connector  401  is inserted in the open end  121  of slot  120 , following a path (illustrated by arrow  503 ) perpendicular to the sidewall and until the connector  401  abuts the bottom of the slot  120 . 
     Next, in  FIG. 6  the connector  401  is translated (illustrated by arrow  505 ) along the axis of the slot towards the closed end  123  of the slot  120  so that the protruding extremity  603  is inserted in the slot recess  127 . At some point the cylindrical ring  405  enters in mechanical interference with the slot lip  125 , close to the pointed bumps  129 . A moderate force elastically deforms the lip  125  outwardly, allowing the passage of the connector  401  and the seating of the connector  401  in the closed end  123  of the slot  120 , as shown in  FIG. 6 . 
     To allow elastic deformation of the lip  125  of the slots, the bottle can be made of Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) or any other suitable material. 
     Once it is seated in the closed end  123  of the slot  120 , the connector  401  exposes its second protruding extremity  605 . This protruding extremity  605  can be inserted in another slot  119 ,  120  or  131  of an example bottle  101  shown in  FIG. 1 , thereby creating a two-bottle assembly. The method used to insert the second bottle is the same as the two-step process illustrated in  FIG. 5  and  FIG. 6 , except that the connector  401  now has the first bottle attached to it during the insertion process in the second bottle. 
     An example resulting two-bottle assembly  701  of two bottles  101  (renumbered  703  and  705  for clarity of description) is visible in the side view of  FIG. 7 . In the case of the two-bottle assembly  701  shown in  FIG. 7 , the order of assembly is arbitrary. The connector  401  can be inserted in bottle  703  first and then bottle  705  can be attached to the assembly. Equivalently, the connector  401  can be inserted in bottle  705  first and then bottle  703  can be attached to the assembly. 
       FIG. 8  shows a cross-sectional view of a three-bottle assembly  801  of three bottles  101  (renumbered  811 ,  813 , and  815  for clarity of description). Three connectors  401  (renumbered  803 ,  805  and  807  for clarity of description) are used to construct assembly  801 . A fourth connection is performed using the neck  111  and rim  113  of bottle  811  instead of a connector  401 . It is important to note that the mating of rim  113  from bottle  811  to slot  120  of bottle  813  can be made leak-proof with a proper choice of bottle material and design. 
     It is clear from  FIG. 8  that the sloped shoulders  109  as well as the presence of grooves in the example bottle design  101  are not ideal from the point of view of producing opaque walls since these shoulders  109  and grooves create light and air passages. Other bottle designs can preserve the spirit of the invention while omitting grooves and using non-sloped shoulders, at the detriment of structural strength and perhaps esthetics. Alternatively, clever assemblies of the example bottle design  101  can be devised to eliminate or minimize the number of light and air passages in multi-layer assemblies. 
     Several assembly procedures can be used to produce the three-bottle assembly  801  shown in  FIG. 8 . One example is first to insert connectors  803  and  805  in slots  120  and  119  of bottle  811 , respectively. Next slots  119  and  120  of bottle  815  are simultaneously inserted in the free ends of connectors  803  and  805 , thus forming a two-bottle assembly. A connector  807  is then inserted in the bottom slot  131  of bottle  815 . Finally the rim  113  of bottle  811  and connector  807  are simultaneously inserted in slots  120  and  119  of bottle  813 , respectively, thus forming the three-bottle assembly  801 . 
     Another equivalent method for producing the three-bottle assembly  801  shown in  FIG. 8  involves first inserting the connectors  803  and  805  in the slots of bottle  815  instead of in the slots of bottle  811 . The rim  113  of bottle  811  and connector  807  are then simultaneously inserted in slots  120  and  119  of bottle  813  as in the first method. 
     A third method exists for producing the three-bottle assembly  801  shown in  FIG. 8 . First the rim  113  of bottle  811  is inserted in slot  120  of bottle  813 , thus forming a L-shaped two-bottle assembly. Next, the three connectors  803 ,  805  and  807  are inserted in slots  120  and  119  of bottle  811 , as well as in slot  119  of bottle  813 , respectively. The last step involves simultaneously inserting the free ends of accessories  803 ,  805  and  807  into the slots  119 ,  120  and  131  of bottle  815 . In this case only one orientation of bottle  815  allows this insertion to take place. This orientation consists in aligning sidewall  107  of bottle  815 , against bottle  811 . In this orientation all three slots  119 ,  120  and  131  of bottle  815  are aligned in the same axis, allowing simultaneous insertion. 
     The characteristics of the invention enable a large number of assembly configurations. For example  FIG. 9A  to  FIG. 9I  illustrate 25 different two-bottle assembly configurations. In each of these figures, several configurations are illustrated simultaneously relative to the reference bottle  101  (renumbered  902 , for clarity of description). For example  FIG. 9A  illustrates five different ways for a bottle  101  to connect to the reference bottle  902 . In  FIG. 9A to 9E  the configurations are arranged so the axes of both assembled bottles lie in the same plane. In  FIG. 9F to 9I  the configurations are arranged so the axe of one bottle is perpendicular to the axis of the other bottle. 
     The configurations illustrated in  FIG. 9F and 9H  show the reference bottle  902  with the opening  115  facing the viewer. The configurations illustrated in  FIG. 9G and 9I  show the reference bottle  902  with the base  105  facing the viewer. The reason why the configuration shown in  FIG. 9F  is distinct from the configuration shown in  FIG. 9H  is the lack of symmetry of the bottle caused by the orientation of the bottom slot  131 . The same argument applies to the configurations shown in  FIGS. 9G and 9I . 
     Assemblies with tens, hundreds or thousands of bottles are even more interesting since they allow advanced structures to be constructed.  FIG. 10  illustrates the front view of an example dwelling  1001  build with approximately  4000  of the example bottle  101  shown in  FIG. 1 . The walls of the dwelling  1001  have a thickness equal to a modular height of the bottle, i.e. twice the width of the bottle body  103 . This allows using either two bottles  101  (shown by reference numeral  1003  in  FIG. 10 ) parallel to the wall or a single bottle  101  (shown by reference numeral  1005  in  FIG. 10 ) perpendicular to the wall. The mixing of parallel and perpendicular bottle orientation yields a better overall structural integrity. 
     Bottles in some areas of the wall can be omitted to allow entrance  1007  in the dwelling  1001 . During the construction, some bottles  101  (shown by reference numeral  1009  in  FIG. 10 ) can be filled with sand, soil or any other material available to increase the strength and weight of the construction. Some bottles  101  (shown by reference numeral  1011  in  FIG. 10 ) can be assembled empty to allow natural light to enter in the shelter  1001 . 
     Another feature of the dwelling  1001  shown in  FIG. 10  is the rainwater collector and storage system. The rainwater collector and storage system is composed of a waterproof membrane  1013  and an array of bottles  101  (shown by reference numeral  1015  in  FIG. 10 ) attached to the dwelling  1001  external wall. When rain falls, it trickles down the waterproof membrane  1013  into the first row  1017  of bottles of the rainwater collector and storage system, which bottom have been cut out to ease the collection of the rainwater. 
       FIG. 11  shows the side view of the example dwelling  1001  shown in  FIG. 10 . The lower bottles  1103  of the array of bottles  1015  of the rainwater collector and storage system are oriented horizontally and act as a manifold to allow dispensing the collected rainwater  1107  at a single tap  1105  installed at one end of the system. 
     The bottles used to compose the rainwater collector and storage system are modified to allow the flow of rainwater, including the first row  1017  of bottles which bottom have been cut out. In all the other bottles of the rainwater collector and storage system, a hole is made in the base  105  to allow water to flow to or from a neighboring bottle whose rim  113  has been mated in the bottom slot  131  of the modified bottle. The lower bottles  1103  of the array of bottles  1015  are also modified so that openings are made in the slots  119  and  120  that are mated with the vertical bottles of the rainwater collector and storage system. 
     The possibilities of making useful constructions with the example bottle  101  or variations of the example bottle  101  are endless. Some examples include dwellings, shelters, greenhouses, chapels, tents, tent structures, monuments, roofs, walls, windows, wall insulation, doors, privacy curtains, lecterns, altars and pews, podiums, stages, flooring, steps, stairs, construction blocks, fences, patios, pergolas, tables, benches, night tables, lamps, chandeliers, lampposts, chairs, deck chairs, sofas, desks, beds, cribs, shower systems, saunas, toilet bowls, pots for fruit and vegetable, flower pots, planting trays, ladders, stretchers, crutches, walkers, carts, trailers, tool boxes, safes, frames, enclosures, pallets, trays, backpacks, shelving systems, storage units, composting bins, sticks, poles, masts, stakes, crosses, wind mills, weather vain, scarecrows, umbrellas, measuring rods, sundials, emergency signaling systems, traps, cages, docks, boats, rafts, barges, wakeboards, surfboards, canoes, paddleboats, sail boats, catamarans, floating bridges, floating docks, fishing rods, floats and weights for holding fishing nets, snorkels, buoys, irrigation systems, piping for liquids, sprinkler systems, water containers, water containers for carrying horses, rainwater collectors, liquid storage systems, water transportation devices, drainage piping, float lines for swimming, toys for swimming pools, floating beds, floating islands, slides, siphons, birdhouses, bird feeders, works of art, decoration, trophies, sculptures, musical wind instruments, musical instruments powered by the wind, guitars, mazes, boxing rings, children playhouses, toboggans, soccer goal posts, water games for children, sticks for playing with a ball, hockey nets, dog houses, beddings for cats, etc. 
     Another characteristic of the invention is the possibility to assemble bottles with an arbitrary angle between the axes of the bottles, instead of just parallel or perpendicular as presented so far. An example of an arbitrary angle assembly is illustrated in the shelter  1201  shown in  FIG. 12 . The example shelter  1201  is composed of two identical panels  1202  and  1203 . Each panel  1202  and  1203  is constructed with  144  example bottles  101  shown in  FIG. 1 , in eighteen columns alternating between long columns  1205  and short columns  1207 . The long columns  1205  extend by one bottle and a half compared to the short columns  1207 . The top bottles  101  (shown by reference  1209  in  FIG. 12 ) of the left panel  1203  are mated with one or two top bottles  1209  of the right panel  1205  using connectors  401 . Note that only one of the eighteen top bottles  1209  are identified in  FIG. 12  to avoid cluttering the drawing. Since the connectors  401  have a circular symmetry, the angle between the left panel  1203  and the right panel  1202  can be adjusted to any desired value. Once optimized, the relative orientation of the panels can be maintained by inserting the above-ground portion of four judiciously placed stakes (not shown in  FIG. 12 ) in the opening  115  of the four long-column corner bottles  1211 , for which only three are visible in  FIG. 12 . A waterproof membrane (not shown in  FIG. 12 ) would normally be used with the example shelter  1201  in order to improve its weather resistance. 
     Specialized accessories can enhance the usability of the constructions made with the example bottle  101  shown in  FIG. 1 .  FIG. 11  shows the use of a tap  1107  to control the dispensing of rainwater.  FIG. 13A  shows two accessories  1303  and  1305  that are designed to convert a single example bottle  101  into a watering can  1301 . A showerhead accessory  1303  is designed to mate with the neck  113  and rim  11  of the bottle  101  and create a leak-proof connection with the rim  113  of the example bottle  101 . A handle accessory  1305  is designed to mate simultaneously with the two slots  119  and  120  of any sidewall  107  or  108  of the example bottle  101 . 
       FIG. 13B  shows the assembled watering can  1301 , ready for use. The same accessories  1303  and  1305  can also be mated to an assembly of multiple example bottles  101  to increase the capacity of the watering can. 
     Other useful accessories include sealing plugs, rings with multiple connectors for the construction of radial assemblies, eyebolts for making structures that can be lifted with ropes, cables or belts, gimbaled accessory to connect two assemblies at arbitrary angles, etc. 
       FIG. 14A  shows an example lateral connector  1401 . The connector  1401  is composed of two identical ends  1405  joined by a thin strip  1407 . The end-to-end distance is equal to the distance between two slots on one sidewall of the example bottle  101 . Each end  1405  features a cylindrical ring section  1409  with one cylindrically protruding extremity  1411 . The cylindrical ring section  1409  with its protruding extremity  1411  is equivalent to half of the connector  401  presented in  FIG. 4 . In order for one end  1405  of the lateral connector  1401  to mate with slots  119 ,  120  and  131  of the example bottle  101 , the external diameter of the protruding extremity  1411  is slightly smaller than the width of the slot recess  127 . The thickness of the protruding extremity  1411  is also slightly smaller than the depth of the slot recess  127 . 
       FIG. 14B  shows an assembly  1403  of five example bottles  101  shown in  FIG. 1  using four example lateral connectors  1401 . Two lateral connectors  401  (shown by reference  1413  in  FIG. 14B ) are used to join two bottles  101  by insertion in the sidewall slots  119  and  120  of each bottle  101 . Two lateral connectors  401  (shown by reference  1415  in  FIG. 14B ) are used to join two bottles by insertion in the sidewall slot  120  of one bottle  101  and in the bottom slot  131  of the other bottle  101 . 
       FIG. 15A  shows an example cap  1503  for the sealing of the opening  115  of the example bottle  101  shown in  FIG. 1 . The cap  1503  fits inside the opening  115  and can be present when a mating is performed between the neck  111  and rim  113  of a bottle with the slot of another bottle if desired. An optional retaining ring  1507  can be used to secure a connector  401  to the bottle. The retaining ring  1507  is made of a soft plastic so that it can be inserted during the manufacturing and that it can be removed by tearing off a ribbon section starting at the tear tab  1505 . 
       FIG. 15B  shows an exploded view of example cap  1503  and optional retaining ring  1507  assembly shown in  FIG. 15A . An optional o-ring  1509  can also be included in the assembly if desired. 
     Other methods of providing connectors  401  with one example bottle  101  include the insertion of up to nine connectors  401  in the slots  119 ,  120  and  131  of the bottle  101 . 
     If desired, the slots  119 ,  120  and  131  can also be used to insert useful objects such as small containers of food material to be added to water, including dehydrated juice, dehydrated soup, powdered milk, flavor, etc. The slots  119 ,  120  and  131  can also contain small containers of basic cooking material such as baking soda, salt, sugar, etc. Alternatively, small containers can be used to store instructions for shelter assembly, water purification kits, vitamins, pain killers, medicine, food supplements, appetite suppressant, seeds of fruits and vegetables, disinfectants, soap, etc. 
     The example bottle  101  shown in  FIG. 1  has a liquid capacity of approximately 1.5 . The external linear dimension of the square base  105  is 95.25 mm, while the modular height is twice this amount, i.e. 190.5 mm. The height of the neck  111  is 3.2 mm. The external diameter of the neck  111  is 39.3 mm. The height of the rim  113  is 4.8 mm. The external diameter of the rim  113  is 44.4 mm. The internal diameter of the opening  115  is 37.3 mm. It is understood that these dimensions are only exemplary and various other dimensions and proportions can be used while preserving the essence of the invention. 
     It is interesting to note that example bottle  101  shown in  FIG. 1  complies the following design rule: excluding the neck  111  and rim  113 , the external dimensions closely match a geometrical shape composed of two superposed cubes, hence the modular height is twice the linear dimension of the square base. This design rule allows the construction of closed-pack assemblies, for example the assembly of three bottles  811 ,  813  and  815  shown in  FIG. 8 . We note that the two-bottle sub-assembly made up of bottles  811  and  815  in  FIG. 8  has the same height as bottle  813 . Note also that the upper slots  119  or  120  (shown by reference  817 ,  819  and  821  in  FIG. 8 ) are disposed at the same height and that the distance between slot  821  and slot  819  is the same as the distance between slot  819  and slot  817 . Similarly the rim  113  of bottle  813  allows mating with a bottle that would also be mated with the slot  825  of bottle  815  (using a connector  401 ). 
     One can state that the example bottle  101  shown in  FIG. 1  is composed of two “atomic cubes”. Each cube features a mating instrument at the center of each of its exposed surfaces. All mating instruments are slots for interfacing with a connector  401 , with the exception of the top rim of the bottle, which is equivalent to a connector  401  permanently mounted in a virtual slot. 
     The essence of the invention can be materialized using alternate bottle designs composed of a single atomic cube, or a multiplicity of atomic cubes. For example, an alternate design composed of three atomic cubes is used in  FIG. 16  to display a four-bottle assembly  1601 . The example three-cube bottle  1603  is shown along with three identical three-cube bottles  1605 ,  1607  and  1609 , each inserted in one of the three slots  1611 ,  1613  and  1615  of sidewall  1617  of bottle  1603 . Bottle  1605  is secured to bottle  1607  using three connectors  401 . Bottle  1607  is secured to bottle  1609  using only two connectors  401 . 
     Other alternate bottle designs examples include a four-cube high bottle, a two-cube high by two-cube wide bottle or any regularly shaped designs. As long as they are using atomic cubes of identical dimensions, it is even possible to make multi-bottle assemblies using bottles of different designs. For example, bottle  1605  could have been a two-cube bottle instead of a three-cube bottle. 
     It will be understood that the adjoining closed end of the elongated base slot can be threaded and if the neck is also threaded, it would allow a threaded connection between the top and bottom of two containers once inserted in one another. 
     The embodiments described above are intended to be exemplary only. The scope of the invention is therefore intended to be limited solely by the appended claims.