Patent Publication Number: US-6988699-B2

Title: Sheet member holder

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   1. Field of the Invention 
   The present invention relates a sheet member holder for holding a sheet member in a vertical position and more particularly, to such a sheet member holder, which holds a floating ornament on a fluid inside the cover shell thereof. 
   2. Description of the Related Art 
   Various holder devices for hold a sign or page in a vertical position are known. Exemplars are seen in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,059,249; D418,166; 6,267,346B1; 5,857,654; 5,911,398; D388,464; D342,096; U.S. Pat. Nos. D478,353 4,125,243; D101,143; 1,609,700; 1,152,461; 1,681,586; 3,272,183; 4,685,647. These designs commonly provide a groove in the shell for holding a sign or page in a vertical position. However, because the groove has a certain depth and is provided on the middle or near the front side of the shell, the inserted sign or page blocks a big part of the shell from the user&#39;s sight, i.e., the printing on the shell cannot be seen clearly after insertion of a sign or page into the groove. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   The present invention has been accomplished under the circumstances in view. According to one aspect of the present invention, the sheet member holder comprises a holder base, which comprises a carrier and a smoothly arched upright upwardly extended from the top side of the carrier at one side, and a dome-like cover member mounted on the carrier and defining with the smoothly arched upright a smoothly arched retaining gap for holding a sheet member firmly in a vertical position. According to another aspect of the present invention, the dome-like cover member holds a fluid and a floating ornament on the fluid. After insertion of a sheet member into the retaining gap in between the dome-like cover member and the smoothly arched upright, the inserted sheet member does not block the user&#39;s sight from viewing the floating ornament on the fluid inside the dome-like cover member. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       FIG. 1  is a perspective assembly view of a sheet member holder according to the present invention. 
       FIG. 2  is an exploded view of the sheet member holder according to the present invention. 
       FIG. 3  is a sectional view taken along line A—A of  FIG. 1 . 
       FIG. 4  shows an alternate form of the present invention. 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
   Referring to  FIGS. 1 and 2 , a sheet member holder in accordance with the present invention is shown comprised of a holder base  1 , and a cover member  2 . The cover member  2  is a hollow member mounted in the holder base  1  to hold a sheet member or the like in a vertical position. Further, the cover member  2  can be filled with a fluid and floating ornaments (not shown). Therefore, the sheet member holder can hold a sign or page in a vertical position while serving as an ornamental display toy. 
   The holder case  1  comprises a carrier  11 , an endless coupling flange  12  upwardly protruded from the top surface of the carrier  11  for holding the cover member  2 , a smoothly arched upright  13  upwardly extended from the top surface of the carrier  11  at one side, and a through hole  14  extended through the top and bottom sides of the carrier  11  within the area surrounded by the endless coupling flange  12 . After installation of the cover member  2  in the holder base  1 , water can be filled through the through hole  14  into the space surrounded by the endless coupling flange  12  between the holder base  1  and the cover member  2 . 
   The cover member  2  comprises a dome-like cover shell  23 , a holding chamber  21  defined in the dome-like cover shell  23 , and an endless coupling groove  22  formed in the bottom side of the dome-like cover shell  23  around the bottom open side of the holding chamber  21 . After coupling of the endless coupling groove  22  of the cover member  2  to the endless coupling flange  12  of the holder base  1 , a retaining gap  3  is defined between the dome-like cover shell  23  and the smoothly arched upright  13  for holding a sheet member in a vertical position. Because the retaining gap  3  has a smoothly arched cross section, the sheet member been held in the retaining gap  3  is maintained in a curved status, which enhances the stiffness of the sheet member in the upright position. 
     FIG. 3  is a sectional view taken along line A—A of  FIG. 1 . A floating ornament  4  is put in the holding chamber  21  of the cover member  2  before fastening the cover member  2  to the holder base  1 . After connection of the cover member  2  to the holder base  1 , a fluid  5  is filled into the holding chamber  21  through the through hole  14 . After filling of a certain amount of the fluid  5  into the holding chamber  21 , the through hole  14  is sealed. When set the sheet member holder on a flat surface, for example, the tabletop, the floating ornament  4  is floating on the fluid  5 , causing a sense of beauty. 
   When holding a sheet member  6  in a vertical position in the retaining gap  3  between the dome-like cover shell  23  of the cover member  2  and the smoothly arched upright  13  of the holder base  1 , the sheet member  6  does not block the user&#39;s sight from viewing the internal scene of the cover member  2 , i.e., the user can see the floating of the floating ornament  4  on the fluid  5 . 
     FIG. 4  shows an alternate form of the present invention. According to this embodiment, the fluid  5  filled in the holding chamber  21  of the cover member  2  includes two liquids of different specific gravity; the floating ornament  4  is a three-dimensional block member marked with any of a variety of signs (company&#39;s logo, carton figure, etc.). Furthermore, the outside wall of the cover member  2  may be printed with a printing or sign for advertising purpose. 
   Although particular embodiments of the invention have been described in detail for purposes of illustration, various modifications and enhancements may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, the invention is not to be limited except as by the appended claims.