GB2217964A - A container - Google Patents

Abstract

A container (1) comprises a base (2) and a wall (7) attached to the base (2). The wall (7) and the base (2) define an enclosed space and the container (1) has an opening defined by the wall and which is opposite the base (2). The wall (7) is optically reflective to reflect light inside the container (1). At least one section (6) of the wall is only partially reflective to enable a substantial proportion light incident on the one section (6) to be transmitted through the one section (6) to the outside of the container. The container (1) may be used as an aquarium to keep aquatic animals in. <IMAGE>

Description

A CONTAINER This invention relates to containers and in particular a container in the form of an aquarium.

Conventional aquaria with flat plate walls generally comprise a number of transparent glass plates bonded together with adhesive. The viewing space of such a type of aquarium is merely confined to the dimensions of the container per se, and the aquatic animals seen are the same number as that being kept in the aquarium. This gives a feeling of narrowness and monotony to the viewer.

In accordance with the present invention a container comprises a wall and a base wherein the wall reflects light inside the container, at least one section of the wall being partially transmitting to enable the inside of the container to be viewed through the one section.

The invention provides a container in which the walls are reflective so as to give a feeling of a broad viewing space and an apparent increase in the number of objects or contents inside the enclosed space of the container.

Typically, the container is an aquarium for keeping aquatic animals for viewing enjoyment and the invention enables a feeling of a broad viewing space and an apparent increase in the number of aquatic animals.

Typically, the wall is formed from at least three, preferably four, flat plates bonded together, each flat plate having an inwardly facing mirror face and at least one of the wall plates having a mirror coating so as to provide unilateral transparency characteristics.

As each flat plate forming the wall of the aquarium reflects the inside space and the aquatic animals kept therein, and also reflects the images in the other flat plates, a repetitive reflection effect is produced on the whole wall surface, resulting in an exaggeration in the spatial construction cf the aquarium and to the number and posture of the aquatic animals therein when viewed from outside through a mirror coated plate having unilateral transparency characteristics. This gives a feeling of a very broad viewing space and a much larger number of aquatic animals to the viewer, providing a much better viewing effect.

In a preferred embodiment the container may be an aquarium for household use or for advertisement, or a show case for keeping seafood aquatic animals. However, in an alternative embodiment, the container may also be used to display commodities for advertisement, for example in shop windows, without filling it with water.

This would achieve a similar effect of broadening the viewing field and apparently increasing the number of displayed commodities.

The container of the present invention may be formed by bonding together the wall plates and bonding the bottom of the ready-made mirror face plates to the base with adhesive. However, it may also be formed integrally with the wall plates and base in one piece. The mirror face plates a be ordinary mirror glass plate or mirror coated plate of other materials such as plastics. The mirror coated plate having a unilateral transparency characteristic may be a glass-based product such as heat reflecting glass, or a product of other materials of good transparency.

Two examples of a container according to the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 shows a container according to a first example; and, Figure 2 shows a container according to a second example.

In Figure 1 a container 1 comprises a flat base plate 2 and four flat plate side walls 3,4,5,6. The flat base plate 2 may be manufactured from any suitable material such as plastic or glass. The three flat plates 3,4,5 which form three sides of the wall 7 are formed from non-transparent ordinary mirror glass plates while the remaining flat plate 6 of the wall 7 is formed from a mirror coated glass plate having a unilateral transparency characteristic. This could be formed from a material such as heat reflecting glass plate. The flat plate 6 forms a viewing side so that the contents of the container 1 may be viewed through the flat plate 6 by virtue of the unilateral transparency characteristic of the plate 6.

Figure 2 shows a container 10 having a base plate 2 which is identical to the base plate 2 in Figure 1. The container 10 has a wall 11 formed from four identical flat plates 12,13,14,15. Each of the flat plates 12-15 is manufactured from the same type of material as the flat plate 6 in Figure 1. Hence, all the flat plates 12-15 have unilateral transparency characteristics and this means that the contents of the container 10 may be viewed through any of the flat plates 12-15.

In both the Figure 1 and Figure 2 examples, the flat plates may be bonded together to form the wall by using an adhesive and the wall may be bonded to the base plate in a similar manner.

In each example, the container 1,10 has an opening on the opposite side of the wall 7,11 from the base plate 2 to enable objects to be placed in the container and/or the container to be filled with a fluid, such as water.

In both of the examples described above each flat plate which forms the wall reflects the inside of the container and any contents within the container. Each flat plate which forms the wall also reflects the images in the other flat plates forming the wall and so a repetitive reflection effect is produced on the entire inside wall surface which results in an exaggeration of the spatial dimensions of the container and in the number and orientation of the objects within the container when the container is viewed through the flat plate 6 in the first example or any of the flat plates 12-15 in the second example. This gives a viewer the impression that the container has a larger volume than it actually has and that there is a much larger number of objects and/or contents in the container. This provides an enhanced viewing effect.

In use the container may be used as an aquarium by filling it with water and putting aquatic animals such as fish in the container. The container may also be used to display articles for advertising, for example in a shop window. In this case it is not necessary to fill the container with water. However, this can be done if desired.

Claims (5)

1. A container comprising a wall and a base wherein the wall reflects light inside the container, at least one section of the wall being partially transmitting to enable the inside of the container to be viewed through the one section.

2. A container according to claim 1, wherein substantially all of the wall is partially transmitting to enable the inside of the container to be viewed through any section of the wall.

3. A container according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the wall is fixed to the base.

4. A container according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the at least one section is formed from heat reflecting glass.

5. A container according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the container is an aquarium.