Containment and display device for visual objects
A device for containing and displaying a visual object or objects, including a hard enclosure configurable in a containment mode for safely holding a visual object containment medium on which the visual object or objects are located, such as, but not limited to, one or more photographs, cards, medals, or compact discs, and which is configurable in a display mode for suspending the visual object or objects for easy viewing.
This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/682,699, filed May 20, 2005.
TECHNICAL FIELDThis invention relates generally to a device for containing and displaying a visual object or objects, and more particularly, to a containment device including a hard enclosure configurable in a containment mode for safely holding a visual object or objects, such as, but not limited to, one or more photographs, cards, medals, or compact discs, and which is configurable in a display mode for suspending the visual object or objects for easy viewing.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONA variety of applications have been observed for a device capable of securely and safely containing one or more visual objects such as any of those listed above, yet which is also capable of being easily and readily configured for displaying the object or objects in a highly visible manner. For instance, with the current craze of scrap booking and the fact that most “keepsake” pictures that people retain are of a 5×7 inch size or smaller, there is a huge need to allow people to quickly and easily display these pictures and store them. Also, within the scrap booking arena, there are other, preferably flat, items to be stored as keepsakes alongside the pictures. With respect to scrap books, there is no good way to display the images/keepsakes other than displaying a one page at a time, possibly on a table or stand. Additionally, many transient persons, such as traveling salespersons and the like, service personnel, dormitory residents, athletes, and vacationing families; and hospital, residential care and nursing home patients and residents, often desire to have personal photographs and other memorabilia that can be quickly and easily displayed when desired, yet which will be safely and securely stored during travel or other times when the photographs and other memorabilia are not to be viewed. Typically, hospital, nursing home and residential care facilities have few locations within the rooms thereof suitable for displaying cards from well-wishers, photographs, mementos, and the like, and as a result, patients and residents are only able to briefly view them, and there is the danger that the cards and other items will be lost or discarded by cleaning or other institution personnel. Further, often photographs and works of art are printed on or with a medium which is not stable or degrades when exposed to sun and/or other light, moisture, pollutants and other environmental conditions. As result, many people desired to have the ability to quickly display such items, and quickly store them in a protected environment.
Additionally, presently a common medium for storage of music and video is the compact disc (CD) or digital video disc (DVD), hereinafter sometimes collectively referred to by the term compact disc. Commercially produced and some home produced ones of such compact discs include cover art or labels identifying the content thereof. It is often desirable to have the ability to safely display and view the cover art or labels of several of these discs at one time to enable selecting one or more to play or load into a player.
Still further, it is foreseen that children and other persons would cherish commercial and hand made cards, works of art and other mementos commemorating important events, such as birthdays, baptisms and other religious milestones, graduations, retirement, and the like, and would like to have the capability to view such items from time to time, yet conveniently and safely store them together.
Accordingly, what is sought is a device for containing and displaying a visual object or objects, including a hard enclosure in which the object or objects can be safely and securely stored, yet which is openable for deploying and displaying the object or objects for viewing as desired, and which overcomes one or more of the shortcomings and limitations discussed above.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONWhat is disclosed is a device for containing and displaying a visual object or objects, including a hard enclosure in which the object or objects can be safely and securely stored, which is openable for deploying and displaying the object or objects for viewing as desired, and which overcomes one or more of the shortcomings and limitations set forth above.
According to a preferred aspect of the invention, a containment and display device for visual objects is disclosed, which includes a hard-enclosure including first and second housing portions cooperable and configurable in a containment mode or state for defining and enclosing an interior cavity having a predetermined extent in a predetermined direction. The device additionally includes a visual object containment medium configurable in a generally flat or unfolded or unrolled display mode or state for receiving and displaying at least one generally flat object or item, the visual object containment medium when in the display mode having a predetermined extent greater than the predetermined extent of the interior cavity. The visual object containment medium is compactable from the display mode to a compacted mode, for instance, by folding or rolling, so as to have a predetermined compacted extent equal to or marginally smaller than the predetermined extent of the interior cavity in the predetermined direction of the enclosure when in the containment mode, so as to be cooperatively receivable therein. And, the visual object containment medium preferably has a first edge portion extending at least generally transversely to the predetermined direction and connected to one of the first and second housing portions, so as to be suspendable therefrom. As result, one or more visual objects, which can include, for instance, but which is not limited to, a photograph; a medal; a coin; a compact disc or digital video disk; a card; artwork; religious icon, or the like, in the compacted mode can be safely and securely stored in the interior cavity of the enclosure when in the containment mode, and the enclosure can be conveniently and easily opened and the visual object containment medium configured in the display mode for displaying the visual object or objects, as desired or required.
According to another preferred aspect of the invention, the visual object containment medium has a second edge portion opposite the first edge portion and connected to another of the first and second housing portions. As a result, neither portion of the housing is likely to be lost, and the visual object containment medium can be quickly and easily compacted into one or both of the housing portions to allow closure of the enclosure.
According to another preferred aspect of the invention, the visual containment medium includes an array of pockets configured for receiving a plurality of the generally flat objects in edge to edge relation, respectively. The array of pockets can include, for instance, columns and rows of pockets extending in two directions, respectively. The individual pockets can be configured or sized and shaped for receiving visual objects to be displayed and stored therein, such as any of those set forth above, such as a work of art, card, photograph, compact disc, or the like.
In another preferred aspect of the invention, the visual object containment medium comprises at least one clear film layer, and can be constructed, for instance, to include clear film pockets configured for receiving one or more of the visual objects. In this regard, this may be similar to the pages of well-known, commercially available photo albums and scrap books.
According to still another preferred aspect of the invention, at least one of the first and second housing portions of the enclosure includes an element configured for suspending the containment and display device beside a vertical surface. This can include, for instance, a strap, loop, ring, or other simple element that can be used to suspend the invention from a hook, nail or shelf, so as to hang along or beside a vertical surface, such as a wall, window or door.
Also according to the invention, the device of the invention can comprise a visual art kit, additionally including at least one element of an art medium adapted for use in creating a two-dimensional artwork containable within the interior cavity with the visual object containment medium, such as art or construction paper, and one or more pencils, crayons and/or paints.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
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Visual object containment medium 38 can be of any suitable construction configurable in a display mode as illustrated in
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Here, it should be noted that it is contemplated that visual object containment mediums 38, 86, 88 and 90, and flat panels 92, can be provided in any desired size, as desired or required for a particular application, as long as when compacted, the mediums can be cooperatively received within the hard enclosure when in the containment mode. Additionally, it should be noted that it is contemplated that any desired number or array of visual object containment mediums 38, 86, 88 and 90, and flat panels 92, can be utilized as desired or required for a particular application, again, as long as the mediums can be cooperatively received in the compacted mode within the hard enclosure.
Thus, there has been shown and described a novel containment and display device for visual objects which overcomes many of the problems set forth above. It will be apparent, however, to those familiar in the art, that many changes, variations, modifications, and other uses and applications for the subject device are possible. All such changes, variations, modifications, and other uses and applications that do not depart from the spirit and scope of the invention are deemed to be covered by the invention which is limited only by the claims which follow.
Claims
1. A containment and display device for visual objects, comprising:
- a hard enclosure including first and second housing portions cooperable for defining and enclosing an interior cavity having a predetermined extent in a predetermined direction; and
- a visual object containment medium configurable in a display mode for receiving and displaying at least one generally flat object, the visual object containment medium when in the display mode having a predetermined extent greater than the predetermined extent of the interior cavity, the visual object containment medium being compactable from the display mode to a compacted mode having a predetermined compacted extent in the predetermined direction equal to or marginally smaller than the predetermined extent of the interior cavity so as to be cooperatively receivable therein, the visual object containment medium having a first edge portion extending at least generally transversely to the predetermined direction and connected to one of the first and second housing portions so as to be suspendable therefrom.
2. The device of claim 1, wherein the visual object containment medium is foldable from the display mode to the compacted mode.
3. The device of claim 1, wherein the visual object containment medium has a second edge portion opposite the first edge portion and connected to another of the first and second housing portions.
4. The device of claim 1, wherein the visual object containment medium includes an array of pockets configured for receiving a plurality of the generally flat objects in edge to edge relation, respectively.
5. The device of claim 4, wherein the array of pockets comprises rows and columns of pockets extending in two directions, respectively.
6. The device of claim 4, wherein at least some of the pockets are configured for receiving and displaying a compact disc.
7. The device of claim 4, wherein at least some of the pockets are configured for receiving and displaying a photograph.
8. The device of claim 1, wherein the visual object containment medium comprises at least one clear film layer.
9. The device of claim 1, wherein at least one of the first and second housing portions includes an element configured for suspending the containment and display device beside a vertical surface.
10. The device of claim 1, wherein the visual object containment medium is rollable from the display mode into the compacted mode.
11. The device of claim 1, wherein the array of pockets comprises at least one pocket configured for receiving a business or greeting card therein.
12. A visual art kit, comprising:
- a hard enclosure including first and second housing portions cooperable for defining and enclosing an interior cavity;
- a visual object containment medium having an edge portion attached to one of the first and second housing portions and a flat surface extending from the edge portion, the visual object containment medium being containable in a compacted mode within the interior cavity defined by the first and second housing portions and removable from the interior cavity and configurable in a generally flat display mode suspended from the one of the first and second housing portions, the flat surface being adapted for creation of a two-dimensional artwork thereon; and
- at least one element of an art medium adapted for use in creating a two-dimensional artwork containable within the interior cavity with the visual object containment medium.
13. The kit of claim 12, wherein the at least one element of an art medium comprises a pencil.
14. The kit of claim 12, wherein the at least one element of an art medium comprises a crayon.
15. The kit of claim 12, wherein the at least one element of an art medium comprises a paintbrush.
16. The kit of claim 12, wherein the flat surface comprises a surface of a sheet of paper.
17. The kit of claim 16, wherein the visual object containment medium comprises overlaying layers of film materials defining a pocket configured for receiving the sheet of paper.
18. The kit of claim 17, wherein the visual object containment medium comprises a plurality of the pockets.
19. The kit of claim 12, wherein the visual object containment medium comprises a second edge portion attached to the other of the first and second housing portions.
20. The kit of claim 12, wherein the one of the first and second housing portions includes an element configured for suspending the enclosure beside a vertical surface.
21. The kit of claim 12, wherein the visual object containment medium is foldable into the compacted mode and unfoldable therefrom into the display mode.
22. The kit of claim 12, wherein the visual object containment medium is rollable into the compacted mode and unrollable therefrom into the display mode.
23. A containment and display device for visual objects, comprising:
- a hard enclosure including first and second housing portions cooperatively engageable for defining and enclosing an interior cavity having an extent in a predetermined direction; and
- a visual object containment medium configurable in a display mode for holding at least one generally flat object to be displayed, the visual object containment medium when in the display mode having an extent greater than the extent of the interior cavity in the predetermined direction, the visual object containment medium being compactable in at least the predetermined direction from the display mode to a compacted mode having a compacted extent in the predetermined direction equal to or marginally smaller than the extent of the interior cavity in the predetermined direction so as to be cooperatively receivable in the interior cavity, the visual object containment medium having a first edge portion extending at least generally transversely to the predetermined direction and connected to one of the first and second housing portions so as to be suspendable therefrom.
24. The device of claim 23, wherein the visual object containment medium is foldable from the display mode to the compacted mode.
25. The device of claim 23, wherein the visual object containment medium has a second edge portion opposite the first edge portion and connected to another of the first and second housing portions.
26. The device of claim 23, wherein the visual object containment medium includes an array of pockets configured for receiving a plurality of the generally flat objects in edge to edge relation, respectively.
27. The device of claim 26, wherein the array of pockets comprises pockets extending in the predetermined direction and pockets extending transversely thereto.
28. The device of claim 26, wherein at least some of the pockets are configured for receiving and displaying a compact disc.
29. The device of claim 26, wherein at least some of the pockets are configured for receiving and displaying a photograph.
30. The device of claim 23, wherein the visual object containment medium comprises at least one clear film layer.
31. The device of claim 23, wherein at least one of the first and second housing portions includes an element configured for suspending the containment and display device beside a vertical surface.
32. The device of claim 23, wherein the visual object containment medium is rollable from the display mode into the compacted mode.
33. The device of claim 23, wherein the visual object containment medium comprises a pocket configured for receiving and displaying a card therein.
Type: Application
Filed: May 18, 2006
Publication Date: Dec 28, 2006
Inventor: Tony Guard (Union, KY)
Application Number: 11/437,514
International Classification: A47G 1/06 (20060101);