Patent Publication Number: US-6659279-B2

Title: Rotary container with separable nail files

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to a rotary container with separable nail files, which contains nail file pieces which can be easily separated through a rotation of the container and used in filing a nail. 
     2. Description of the Prior Art 
     In general, women spend much time and endeavor in pursuit of beauty. Therefore, women always carry various cosmetic tools with them and occasionally make their toilet by means of the cosmetic tools. 
     A nail file is one of the cosmetic tools as described above. In usual cases, women carry a separate nail file or a nail clipper provided with a nail file. The nail file provided at the nail clipper has a shape of an elongated plate pivotally connected to the nail clipper through a hinge. In order to use the nail file provided at the nail clipper, a user has to pivot and draw the elongated nail file out of the nail clipper. In contrast, the separate nail file has a simple shape of an elongated plate or a shape of a connection plate on which a plurality of file pieces are detachably arranged. 
     In the meantime, the separate nail files of those kinds as described above are usually carried in women&#39;s handbags, and are problematic in that they have too small dimensions. That is, it is difficult to find out a separate nail file in a bag, because the separate nail file is too small. Sometimes, all contents of a bag have to be drawn out of the bag, in order to find out a separate nail file. Especially, it will bring shame on women to draw out all the contents of a bag in a public place. Moreover, it is very often that the small separate nail file is lost. 
     Further, the separate nail file is individually encased in a separate container. Therefore, whenever a user uses the separate nail file having multiple file pieces, the user has to draw the separate nail file out of the separate container, and separate one file piece from the connection plate. Also, after the user uses the separated file piece, the user has to put the file piece again into the separated container. In conclusion, a user of the separate nail file has to do a cumbersome labor, in order to use the separate nail file. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     Accordingly, the present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems occurring in the prior art, and an object of the present invention is to provide a the rotary container with separable nail files, which has a reduced thickness and an increased surface area, so as to make it easy to find the rotary container in a bag and reduce a danger that the rotary container is lost. 
     It is another object of the present invention to provide a rotary container with separable nail files, in which a file piece can be easily separated from a file plate and easily used infilling a nail. 
     In order to accomplish this object, the present invention provides a rotary container with separable nail files, which comprises an upper plate, a lower plate, a file plate rotatably interposed between the upper plate and the lower plate, and a rotary hub inserted through the upper plate, the file plate, and the lower plate. The upper plate has a separation opening extending radially outward from a center of the upper plate. 
     The file plate includes a plurality of file pieces partitioned by a plurality of cutting lines, and each of the cutting lines extends radially outward from a center of the file plate. Each of the file pieces has such a dimension as to be completely exposed through the separation opening, so that each of the file pieces can be pulled up and separated from the file plate through the separation opening. The file plate comprises a base sheet, a cushion sheet attached to one surface of the base sheet, and a file sheet attached to the cushion sheet, the file sheet practically functioning as a nail file. 
     It is preferred that the separation opening of the upper plate and each of the file pieces of the file plate respectively have a sectorial shape in which a length of arc increases in a radially outward direction. 
     In a rotary container with separable nail files according to the present invention as described above, each of the file pieces is completely exposed through the separation opening, so that each of the file pieces can be pulled up and separated from the file plate through the separation opening, and then used in filing a nail. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will be more apparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which: 
     FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a rotary container with separable nail files according to the present invention; 
     FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a file plate employed in the rotary container shown in FIG. 1; and 
     FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the file plate of FIG. 2, illustrating a state when a sectorial file piece is detached from the file plate. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     Hereinafter, a rotary container with separable nail files according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. 
     Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, a rotary container with separable nail files according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention includes an upper plate  10 , a lower plate  20 , and an file plate  30  disposed between the upper plate  10  and the lower plate  20 . The present embodiment shows the upper plate  10 , the lower plate  20 , and the file plate  30 , each having a shape of a circular disc, which is the most preferable shape in the aspect of convenience in using the rotary container with separable nail files, although they may have other shapes such as a rectangular shape according to other embodiments. The upper plate  10  and the lower plate  20  are made from plastic material, preferably from polystyrene. 
     An upper axial hole  11 , a lower axial hole  21 , and an intermediate axial hole  31  are formed through centers of the upper plate  10 , the lower plate  20 , and the file plate  30 . A rotary hub made from synthetic resin having some flexibility is fitted through the upper axial hole  11 , the lower axial hole  21 , and the intermediate axial hole  31 , so as to rotatably support the upper plate  10 , the lower plate  20 , and the file plate  30 . The rotary hub includes an upper cap  40  disposed on an upper surface of the upper plate  10  and having an upper assembling tube, and a lower cap  41  disposed on a lower surface of the lower plate  20  and having a lower assembling tube in which the upper assembling tube is fitted. Therefore, after the upper plate  10 , the file plate  30 , and the lower plate  20  are overlapped on each other in order while the upper axial hole  11 , the lower axial hole  21 , and the intermediate axial hole  31  are aligned in line, the lower assembling tube of the lower cap  41  is inserted through the lower axial hole  21 , the intermediate axial hole  31 , and the upper axial hole  11  in order, and the upper assembling tube of the upper cap  40  is inserted through the upper axial hole  11 , the intermediate axial hole  31 , and the intermediate axial hole  31  in order, and then the upper assembling tube of the upper cap  40  is fitted in the lower assembling tube of the lower cap  41 . In this way, the upper cap  40  and the lower cap  41  can be assembled with each other in a simple and easy manner. Meanwhile, instead of the above construction of the rotary hub according to the present embodiment, the rotary hub may have a different construction, for example, the rotary hub may have a shape of an integral cylinder. 
     The upper plate  10  has a separation opening  12  formed through the upper plate  10  and extending radially outward from the upper axial hole  11 . The separation opening  12  has a sectorial shape, in which the length of arc increases as it comes radially outward from the upper axial hole  11 . The file plate  30  has a plurality of file pieces partitioned by a plurality of cutting lines  35  which extend radially outward from the intermediate axial hole  31 . Of course, the cutting lines  35  are not connected with but are stopped just before the intermediate axial hole  31 . Therefore, the file pieces are maintained connected with each other before they are detached from the file plate  30 . 
     Each of the file pieces as described above is exposed through the separation opening  12 . Therefore, each file piece has to have such a dimension as to be exposed through the separation opening  12 . Especially, it is preferred that each file piece has a shape similar to that of the separation opening  12 , so that the cutting lines  35  of both sides of the file piece are aligned in parallel with both sides of the separation opening  12  when the file piece is located within the separation opening  12 . More preferably, each of the file pieces has the same dimension as that of the separation opening  12 . 
     The file plate  30  includes a base sheet  32  facing the upper plate  10 , a cushion sheet  33  attached to a rear surface of the base sheet  32 , and a file sheet  34  attached to a rear surface of the cushion sheet  33 . The cushion sheet  33  may be made from soft material such as sponge, so as to cushion the force applied to the file sheet  34 , thereby preventing too strong force from being applied to a nail when the nail is filed. In this case, although it is most preferred that the file sheet  34  is attached to one surface of the cushion sheet  33  as is in the present embodiment, the file sheet  34  may be attached to both surfaces of the cushion sheet  33  without the base sheet  32  or both surfaces of the base sheet  32  without the cushion sheet  33 , according to other embodiments of the present invention. 
     Hereinafter, described will be an action of filing a nail by the rotary container with separable nail files according to the present embodiment as described above. 
     First, the upper plate  10  is rotated so that one file piece is exposed through the separation opening  12 . Then, the exposed file piece is bent upward as shown in FIG. 3 through the separation opening  12 . In this state, the bent file piece is not separated from the file plate  30  yet. 
     Thereafter, the bent file piece is pulled up and separated from the file plate  30 . Then, a nail can be filed by means of the separated file piece. That is, the nail is filed by the file sheet  34  of the file piece. Each file piece can be used until its file sheet  34  is worn out. 
     When the file sheet  34  of the separated file piece is worn out and the separated file piece is wasted, the upper plate  10  is rotated again, so that another file piece is separated through the separation opening  12  of the upper plate  10  and then used. 
     Since the upper plate  10  and the lower plate  20  are made from transparent material, both surfaces of the file plate  30  may be coated with various colors or patterns, so as to improve aesthetic value of the appearance of the nail file or the rotary container with separable nail files. 
     Further, it is preferred that the rotary container with separable nail files according to the present invention as described above has a diameter of about the lower plate 20 cm and a thickness of about 0.5 cm. Therefore, the rotary container with separable nail files according to the present invention does not take a large space in a bag due to its very small thickness as described above, while it is very easy to find out the rotary container in the bag due to its large diameter. 
     As described above in detail, in a the rotary container with separable nail files according to the present invention, a file piece can be easily separated from the file plate according to a rotation of the upper plate, so that the rotary container enables the nail file or a nail file piece to be easily used. 
     Moreover, a rotary container with separable nail files according to the present invention has a reduced thickness and an increased surface area, so as to make it easy to find the rotary container in a bag and reduce a danger that the rotary container is lost. Therefore, the rotary container with separable nail files according to the present invention prevents women from drawing all the contents out of a bag in order to find a nail file, which women are unwilling to do. 
     Although a preferred embodiment of the present invention has been described for illustrative purposes, those skilled in the art will appreciate that various modifications, additions and substitutions are possible, without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention as disclosed in the accompanying claims.