Patent Publication Number: US-2013233889-A1

Title: Apparatus for Decorative Container with Interchangeable Ornamental Articles

Description:
The current application claims a priority to the U.S. Provisional Patent application Ser. No. 61/609,595 filed on Mar. 12, 2012. 
    
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates generally to an apparatus for a container. More specifically, the container is a decorative container that has an inner container and outer casing that allows any desired ornamental materials to be inserted in between the inner container and outer casing. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Sometimes the decor of a bottled product or the color of a solution in a purchased product does not match with the existing decor that is in the user&#39;s home, primarily in the bathroom and kitchen areas, although this situation can occur in any location. For example, aqua blue colored dish soap is an unattractive bottle and the color of the soap is not very appealing to have on the sink top. As a solution, some people have added soap dispensers that go beneath the sink so they do not have to see some of these products such as liquid soap. Placing these products in an unseen location makes it inconvenient for the user to locate and refill these products once they are empty. 
     It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a container that covers up the color of the contents. It is a further object of the present invention to provide a bottle dispenser that can be decorated as desired to match the decor of a room. It is a still further object of the present invention to provide a clear plastic material which can be decorated to a user&#39;s liking and which may hold liquid soap or a similar product. The present invention can continually be refilled, reused, and redecorated, so that the present invention is constantly being attractive. Because of the attractive appearance, the present invention can be kept on a sink rather than underneath the sink or in another location that is not easily visible. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of the present invention. 
         FIG. 2  is a perspective view of a base cap of the present invention. 
         FIG. 3  is a perspective view of an inner container of the present invention. 
         FIG. 4  is a perspective view of an outer casing of the present invention. 
         FIG. 5  is a perspective view of at least one ornamental article of the present invention. 
         FIG. 6  is a perspective view of a top lid of the present invention. 
         FIG. 7  is a front view of the present invention without a pump dispenser, showing the plane upon which a cross section view is taken shown in  FIG. 8 . 
         FIG. 8  is a cross section view of the present invention without the pump dispenser taken along line A-A of  FIG. 7 . 
         FIG. 9  is a front view of the present invention with the pump dispenser, showing the plane upon which a cross section view is taken shown in  FIG. 10 . 
         FIG. 10  is a cross section view of the present invention with the pump dispenser taken along line A-A of  FIG. 9 . 
         FIG. 11  is a perspective view of an alternative embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 12  is a front view of the alternative embodiment of the present invention, showing the plane upon which a cross section view is taken shown in  FIG. 13 . 
         FIG. 13  is a cross section view of the alternative embodiment of the present invention taken along line A-A of  FIG. 12 . 
     
    
    
     DETAIL DESCRIPTIONS OF THE INVENTION 
     All illustrations of the drawings are for the purpose of describing selected versions of the present invention and are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention. 
     The present invention is an apparatus for decorative container which comprises an interchangeable ornamental article, where the interchangeable ornamental article can be a single ornamental article or a plurality of ornamental articles. In reference to  FIG. 1 ,  FIG. 3  and  FIG. 8 , the present invention comprises an inner container  1 , an outer casing  3 , a gap  2 , a base cap  4 , a top lid  5 , and at least one ornamental article  6 . The top lid  5  is positioned atop the base cap  4 , and the inner container  1 , which is positioned within the outer casing  3 , and the outer casing  3  are positioned in between the top lid  5  and the base cap  4 . The gap  2  is positioned in between the inner container  1  and the outer casing  3 , and the at least one ornamental article  6  is positioned within the gap  2 . 
     In reference to  FIG. 2 , the base cap  4  comprises a platform  41 , an outer rim  42 , and an inner rim  43 , where the outer rim  42  and the inner rim  43  are positioned on the platform  41 . The outer rim  42  is perimetrically connected around the base cap  4  and connected flush with the platform  41  creating a smooth transaction between the platform  41  and the outer rim  42 . The inner rim  43  is positioned within the outer rim  42  and connected to the platform  41 . The height of the inner rim  43  is preferably higher than the height of the outer rim  42 . The base cap  4  can be made of high strength and durable materials such as, plastic, composite materials, and any other related materials. The base cap  4  may optionally comprise a friction layer which can be oppositely positioned from the outer rim  42  and the inner rim  43 . The friction layer provides friction force to the base cap  4  so that the base cap  4  can be securely placed against a solid surface. The platform  41 , an outer rim  42 , and an inner rim  43  determine the shape of the base cap  4 , where the shape can be any geometric and organic shapes. 
     In reference to  FIG. 3  and  FIG. 8 , the inner container  1  comprises a top opening  11 , an interior wall  12 , an exterior wall  13 , and a base  14 . The interior wall  12  and the exterior wall  13  are perimetrically positioned on the base  14  and connected to the base  14 . The interior wall  12  is positioned within the exterior wall  13 . The top opening  11 , which provides a cavity to access the inside of the inner container  1 , is traversed through the exterior wall  13  and the interior wall  12 . The inner container  1  can be made of high strength, durable, and food safe materials such as, plastic, composite materials, and any other related materials. The inner container  1  holds any type of solutions and objects include, but not limited to, soaps, shampoos, conditioners, hand sanitizers, condiments such as ketchup and mustard, toothbrushes, razors, cotton balls, and waste items. The top opening  11 , the interior wall  12 , the exterior wall  13 , and the base  14  determine the shape of the inner container  1 , where the shape can be any geometric and organic shapes. 
     In reference to  FIG. 7  and  FIG. 8 , the inner container  1  permanently connects with the base cap  4 , where the exterior wall  13  is adjacently positioned within the inner rim  43 . More specifically, the base  14  is permanently connected with the inner rim  43  and the platform  41  by any type of adhesive materials, such as glue and adhesive strips. The top opening  11  is preferably positioned opposite from the base  14 , but the top opening  11  can be positioned anywhere on the inner container  1 . The base cap  4  and the inner container  1  can include, but not limited to, cylindrical shaped, rectangular shaped, triangular shaped and any other geometric and organic shapes. Since the base  14  is connected to the inner rim  43 , the shape of the base  14  and the inner rim  43  have to be exactly same. For example, if the base  14  comprises a triangular shape, the inner rim  43  also comprises a triangular shape so that the inner container  1  can be securely connected to the base cap  4 . 
     In reference to  FIG. 4 , the outer casing  3  comprises an outer face  32 , an inner face  31 , a top edge  33 , and a bottom edge  34 . The inner face  31  is positioned within the outer face  32 , and the outer face  32  and the inner face  31  are extended from the top edge  33  to bottom edge  34 , where the top edge  33  and the bottom edge  34  are oppositely positioned along the outer face  32  and the inner face  31 . For example, if the outer casing  3  comprises a cylindrical shape, the outer face  32  and the inner face  31  are shaped into cylindrical shapes. Then the top edge  33  and the bottom edge  34  are positioned at each extremity of the outer face  32  and the inner face  31 , where the top edge  33  and the bottom edge  34  position in between the outer face  32  and the inner face  31 . The outer casing  3  can be made from any type of transparent materials including, but not limited to, acrylic, Lucite, glass or any other related materials. The outer casing  3  permanently connects with the base cap  4  through the outer face  32  and the bottom edge  34 , where the inner face  31  is adjacently positioned with the exterior wall  13 . More specifically, the outer face  32  is adjacently positioned within the outer rim  42 , and the bottom edge  34  is adjacently positioned with the platform  41 , where the outer rim  42  and the bottom edge  34  are permanently and respectively connected with the outer face  32  and the platform  41 . The outer face  32 , the inner face  31 , the top edge  33 , and the bottom edge  34  determine the shape of the outer casing  3 . The outer casing  3  can be any geometric and organic shapes as long as the outer casing  3  can positioned around the inner container  1  and positioned within the outer rim  42  where the shapes include, but not limited to, cylindrical shaped, rectangular shaped, pear-shaped, and heart-shaped. 
     In reference to  FIG. 8 ,  FIG. 10 , and  FIG. 12 , since the inner container  1  and the outer casing  3  are connected with the base cap  4 , the gap  2  is positioned in between the exterior wall  13  and the inner face  31 . The at least one ornamental article  6  is positioned with the gap  2  so that the at least one ornamental article  6  can block the content within the inner container  1  while displaying the ornamental aspect through the outer casing  3 . The at least one ornamental article  6  can include, but not limited to, fabric patters, pictures, decorative glass balls, colored inserts. For example, the at least one ornamental article  6  can be a single sheet of fabric pattern or a plurality of decorative glass balls. Users of the present invention can also use customized ornamental articles as the at least one ornamental article  6 , such as special pictures and inspirational verses, where the customized ornamental article are created by the users. 
     In reference to  FIG. 6 , the top lid  5 , which comprises an outer lip  51  and a lid opening  52 , is adjacently positioned with the inner container  1  and the outer casing  3 . The outer lip  51  is perimetrically connected around the top lid  5 , and the lid opening  52  is traversed through the top lid  5 . The top lid  5  removably attached around the outer casing  3 , where the outer lip  51  is perimetrically positioned around the outer face  32  and top edge  33 , and the lid opening  52  is adjacently positioned with the top opening  11 . The top lid  5  can be made of high strength and durable materials such as, plastic, composite materials, and any other related materials. Since the top lid  5  is removably attached to the outer casing  3 , the users of the present invention can easily interchange the at least one ornamental article  6  by removing the top lid  5 . The top lid  5  also protects the gap  2  and the at least one ornamental article  6  from dust, water, soap suds, and any other unwanted substance, since the top lid  5  is positioned around the outer casing  3  and the adjacent with the top opening  11 . Since the top lid  5  positions with the outer casing  3  and the inner container  1 , the shape of the top lid  5  is determined by the top edge  33  and the top opening  11 , where the shape can be any geometric and organic shapes. 
     In reference to  FIG. 9  and  FIG. 10 , the top opening  11  of the present invention comprises a pump dispenser  111 , where the pump dispenser  111  is hermetically attached with the top opening  11  by a cap of the pump dispenser  111  by any type of attachment mechanism. Even though male and female threads are used as the attachment mechanism within the present invention, any other type attachment mechanisms, such as snap-lock and twist-lock, can be used within the present invention. When the pump dispenser  111  is attached to the top opening  11 , the lid opening  52  is snuggly positioned with the cap of the pump dispenser  111 . Since the top lid  5  is not attached or connected with the cap of the pump dispenser  111 , the users can fill the inner container  1  with desired liquid without removing the top lid  5 , where the top lid  5  protects the at least one ornamental article  6 . Similarly users can interchange the at least one ornamental article  6  without removing the pump dispenser  111 . The inner container  1  of the present invention contains any kind of liquid soap, and the liquid soap is dispensed out from the inner container  1  through the pump dispenser  111 . Since the at least one ornamental article  6  covers up the inner container  1  and provides aesthetically appearance to the present invention through the outer casing  3 , users of the present invention is able to match the decorative appearance of the present invention with the existing decoration of the house. 
     A first alternative embodiment of the present invention, the top lid  5  can be permanently connected with the inner container  1  and the outer casing  3 , where the base cap  4  is removably attached with the inner container  1  and the outer casing  3  by any type of attachment mechanisms. Since the base cap  4  is detachable from the inner container  1  and the outer casing  3 , and the inner container  1  and the outer casing  3  are held together by the top lid  5 , the at least one ornamental article  6  can be interchanged from the bottom side of the first alternative embodiment by removing the base cap  4 . 
     A second alternative embodiment of the present invention, the top lid  5  can be permanently connected with the inner container  1 , the outer casing  3 , and the base cap  4  can be permanently connected with the outer casing  3  through the outer rim  42 , where the base cap  4  comprises a bottom cavity and a cover. The bottom cavity is traversed through the platform  41 , where the parameter of the bottom cavity is bigger than the parameter of the base  14 . The inner rim  43  of the second alternative embodiment is connected on to the cover. The cover is removably attached with the bottom cavity by any type of attachment mechanism, where the inner rim  43  is externally positioned around inner container  1  providing additional stability to the inner container  1 . Since the cover is detachable from the bottom cavity, and the parameter of the bottom cavity is bigger than the parameter of the base  14 , the at least one ornamental article  6  can be interchanged through the bottom cavity. 
     In reference to  FIG. 11 ,  FIG. 12 , and  FIG. 13 , even though the present invention is described within a soap dispenser, the components of the present invention can be configured into different type of container, but not limited to, a wastebasket, shower caddy, and sink caddy. 
     To eliminate a mix-up in products, it is recommended that a manufacturer places labels on each bottle before shipping. The labels can specify, for example: shampoo, conditioner, hand soap, lotion, bath gel, dish soap, antibacterial solution and even ketchup, mustard or mayo for the kitchen. There can be additional labels for the user to replace old ones, or write on a blank label whatever the user wants, such as sunscreen, hair gel, etc. 
     Although the invention has been explained in relation to its preferred embodiment, it is to be understood that many other possible modifications and variations can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as hereinafter claimed.