Patent Publication Number: US-6216856-B1

Title: Holder for assorted desk articles

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     This invention relates generally to a holder for assorted desktop articles, and more particularly to such a holder which can accommodate a variety of articles such as pens, pencils, scissors, rulers, highlighters, and the like. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Many desktops are cluttered with various items that lay unorganized and hard to locate by users. Many people use articles such as a coffee cup, a drinking glass, or a tray to avoid the cluttered appearance of the desktop. 
     There are also several known U.S. patents which disclose prior art desktop holders or caddies for housing desktop items. These patents include U.S. Pat. No. Des. 204,687 to Bieger; U.S. Pat. No. Des. 308,076 to Gecchelin; U.S. Pat. No. Des. 323,352 to Halm; U.S. Pat. No. Des. 323,853 to Evenson; U.S. Pat. No. Des. 364,189 to Trombly; U.S. Pat. No. Des. 367,408 to Fordyce; U.S. Pat. No. Des. 381,044 to Larm; U.S. Pat. No. Des. 398,649 to Ricci; U.S. Pat. No. Des. 407,211 to Diviak Sr.; and U.S. Pat. No. Des. 414,809 to Trombly. Each of these design patents relate to the ornamental design for a holder for writing instruments and the like. While these prior art holders might be utilized to hold an assortment of desktop articles, all suffer from numerous deficiencies and disadvantages. The present invention overcomes these deficiencies and disadvantages in that it provides a new and improved desktop holder that fills the need for a simple inexpensive holder made from readily available materials and permits the display of photographs of loved ones on the desktop. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The holder for assorted desktop items of the present invention generally comprises an annular top member, a cup-shaped container, a cylindrical sleeve, an annular base member, and a separate pen holder. The items intended to be held by the desktop holder of the present invention include pens, pencils, scissors, highlighters, and the like. 
     It is an object of the present invention to provide a new and improved desktop holder which may be easily and efficiently manufactured from inexpensive and readily available materials and parts. 
     It is a further object of the present invention to provide a new and improved holder for an assortment of items such as pencils, pens, scissors, rulers, and the like which permits the items to be readily accessible and not clutter the desktop. 
     It is yet a further object of the present invention to provide a new and improved desktop holder for housing a variety of desktop items and which can be easily manufactured and made from readily available components and can also serve to display photographs of loved ones on the desktop. 
     Other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description and from the appended drawings in which like numbers have been used to designate like parts throughout the several views. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the preferred embodiment of the desktop holder of the present invention having an assortment of instruments therein and displaying a photograph of a loved one. 
     FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the preferred embodiment of the desktop holder of the present invention. 
     FIG. 3 is a front elevational, partially broken away, and crosssectional, view of the preferred embodiment of the desktop holder of the present invention. 
     FIG. 4 is a front elevational, partially cross-sectional, view of the annular top member used in the present invention. 
     FIG. 5 is a front elevational, partially cross-sectional, view of the generally annular base member used in the present invention. 
     FIG. 6 is a front elevational, cross-sectional, view of a pen holder used in the present invention. 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     Referring now to the drawings, wherein like numerals represent like parts throughout, reference numeral  10  generally designates the desktop holder of the present invention. As best seen in FIGS. 1-3, desktop holder  10  generally comprises an annular top member  12 , a cup-shaped container  30 , a sleeve  40 , an annular base member  50 , and an individual pen holder  72 . As best seen in FIG. 4, annular top member  12  includes as central opening  14 ; two internal annular shoulders  16 ; an upper annular portion  18 ; an external annular shoulder  20 ; a lower annular portion  22  having a tapered section  24  and a plurality of slits  26 ; and an external annular groove  28 . As best seen in FIG. 2, cup-shaped container  30  includes a closed bottom  32 , a side wall  34 , and an upper opening  36 . As further best seen in FIG. 2, sleeve  40  is shown as hollow, transparent, and cylindrical, and includes an upper opening  42 ; a bottom opening  44 ; and a side wall  46 . As best seen in FIGS. 2 and 5, annular base member  50  includes a central opening  52 ; two internal annular shoulders  54 ; a lower annular portion  56  having a projection  58  with a central opening  60  therein; a shoulder  61  surrounding the upper portion of opening  60 ; an external annular shoulder  62 ; an upper annular portion  64  having a tapered section  66  and a plurality of slits  68 ; and an external annular groove  70 . Individual pen holder  72  includes a cup-shaped tapered socket  74 ; a pin member  76  for insertion in the central opening  60  in projection  58  of lower annular portion  56  of annular base member  50 , and an annular flange  77  for engaging shoulder  61 . As best seen in FIG. 1, a plurality of articles normally found on a desktop is shown housed in holder  10 . These articles include pens  78 , pencils  80 , scissors  82 , and a ruler  84 . Further, as best seen in FIGS. 1 and 2, a photograph  86  of a loved one may be placed within the gap (not numbered) between cup-shaped container  30  and the transparent cylindrical sleeve  40  to be displayed in the desktop holder  10 . 
     The holder  10  might be assembled by inserting the bottom opening  44  of sleeve  40  over the upper annular portion  64  of annular base member  50  to a point where the walls of the bottom opening  44  engage shoulder  62  such that the upper annular portion  64  secures the sleeve  40  to the annular base member  50  due to the frictional fit between the walls of the bottom opening  44  of sleeve  40  with the surface of the upper annular portion  64  of annular base member  50 . The slits  68  make the upper annular portion  64  somewhat flexible. One or more photographs  86  may then be placed on the outside of annular portion  64  and the inner wall of sleeve  40  to be held by annular portion  64 . The lower annular portion  22  of annular top member  12  might then be inserted within the upper opening  36  of cup-shaped container  30  to a point where the walls of the upper opening  36  engage the shoulder  20  to secure the cup-shaped container  30  to the annular top member  12  due to the frictional fit between the internal walls adjacent the upper opening  36  of cup-shaped container  30  and the lower annular portion  22  of annular top member  12 . The slits  26  make the lower annular portion  22  somewhat flexible. The assembled annular top member  12  and the cup-shaped container  30  can next be inserted within the assembled sleeve  40  and annular base member  50  until the upper edge of upper opening  42  of sleeve  40  engages the external annular shoulder  20  of annular top member  12 . The pin member  76  is next inserted in the central opening  60  in projection  58  of lower annular portion  56  of annular base member  50  with the bottom of flange  77  engaging the shoulder  61 . After the holder  10  is assembled as generally explained, articles such as pens  78 , pencils  80 , scissors  82 , and rulers  84  can be placed within the cup-shaped container  30  and the tapered socket  74  of pen holder  72 . 
     The foregoing is provided for purposes of illustration, explanation, and description of the preferred embodiment of the present invention. Modifications, variations and adaptations of the preferred embodiment will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art and they may be made without departing from the scope or spirit of the invention. For example, the individual pen holder  72  could be mounted within an opening in a projection which extends from top annular member  12  in lieu of annular base member  50 . Still further, the shape of numerous parts (e.g., the top member  12  and the base member  50 ) could be something other than annular, e.g., square. It is preferred that the cup-shaped container  30  and the sleeve  40  be made of a transparent plastic material, but it is apparent that they could be made of other suitable materials. It is further apparent that holder  10  can be used for holding flowers and the like in lieu of items such as pens, pencils, scissors, etc. 
     Thus, although there have been described a particular embodiment of the present invention of a new and useful HOLDER FOR ASSORTED DESK ARTICLES, it is not intended that such references be construed as limitations upon the scope of this invention except as set forth in the following claims.