AU2006100006A4

AU2006100006A4 - An article of stationery

Info

Publication number: AU2006100006A4
Application number: AU2006100006A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Adam Timothy Laws
Original assignee: ACCO AUSTRALIA Pty Ltd
Current assignee: ACCO AUSTRALIA Pty Ltd
Priority date: 2006-01-03
Filing date: 2006-01-03
Publication date: 2006-03-30
Anticipated expiration: 2014-01-03

Description

AUSTRALIA

Patents Act 1990 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION INNOVATION PATENT Applicant: ACCO AUSTRALIA PTY LTD A.C.N. 000 265 047 Invention Title: AN ARTICLE OF STATIONERY The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to me/us: 2 AN ARTICLE OF STATIONERY Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an article of stationery.

Background of the Invention Erasers are common items of stationery, manufactured of a rubber material, and used to remove pencil markings from paper. Various grades of rubber may be used for erasers, depending on the intended use of the eraser. In general purpose erasing, an eraser manufactured of a soft rubber material is typically used.

However, for more heavy duty erasing, an eraser of a harder rubber material may be used. Thus, in cases where different erasing situations are encountered, a user may ,need to periodically switch between different erasers.

This may be inconvenient for a user, particularly as they may lose or misplace one of the erasers they require.

A similar problem occurs when providing a plurality of erasers of different colours for example, generally for novelty purposes. In this scenario, a number of the erasers may be lost, possibly requiring the user to purchase a new eraser or erasers.

Summary of the Invention According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an article of stationery comprising at least two erasers, and a retainer for retaining the at least two erasers, the retainer comprising a body portion, wherein the body portion passes through the at least two erasers.

Preferably, the at least two erasers are rotatable relative to one another.

Preferably, at least one of the erasers is rotatable relative to the retainer.

Preferably, at least one of the erasers is 3 rotatable in and out of alignment with the another of the eraser(s).

Preferably, each of the at least two erasers has an aperture formed therethrough.

Preferably, the at least two erasers comprise a first eraser and a second eraser.

Preferably, the first eraser is manufactured from a soft rubber for use in general purpose erasing.

Preferably, the second eraser is manufactured from a hard rubber for use in heavy duty erasing.

The second eraser may, however, be manufactured of a similar rubber to the first eraser.

The second eraser may be smaller than the first eraser.

Preferably, the first eraser and the second eraser have the same cross-sectional shape.

Preferably, the first eraser and the second eraser are of a shape which allows them to be rotated in and out of alignment with one another.

Preferably, the first eraser and the second eraser are of a tear-drop shape in cross-section.

Preferably, the apertures through the erasers are located in bulbous ends of the erasers.

Preferably, the body portion passes through the apertures in the at least two erasers.

Preferably, the body portion is shaped so that at least one of the erasers is rotatable about the body portion.

Preferably, the body portion is cylindrical.

However, it may be another shape, for example octagonal in cross-section.

Preferably, the body portion is tubular.

Preferably, the aperture of the tubular body portion is wide enough for a user to insert a finger.

Alternatively, the body portion may be solid.

Preferably, the retainer also comprises a flange.

Preferably, the flange extends away from the body 4 portion.

Preferably, the width of the flange is greater than the width of the apertures of the erasers.

Preferably, the flange is located towards one end of the body portion.

Preferably, the retainer also comprises a further flange to the flange. Hereafter, these flanges will be referred to as first and second flanges.

Preferably, the first and second flanges extend away from the body portion.

Preferably, the width of the first and second flanges is greater than the width of the apertures of the erasers.

Preferably, the first and second flanges are located towards opposing ends of the body portion.

Preferably, the flange(s) support at least one of the erasers against over-flexing.

Preferably, the flange(s) support the eraser(s) against over-flexing by having a sufficient width relative to the thickness and flexibility of the eraser(s).

Preferably, the eraser(s) comprise an indentation in a top or bottom surface for the flange(s) to sit flush with the top or bottom surface of the eraser(s).

Preferably, the first flange supports the first eraser, manufactured of a soft rubber.

Preferably, the first flange has a tear-drop shape.

Preferably, the pointed end of the first flange extends towards the pointed end of the first eraser.

Preferably, the second flange is circular to allow for rotation of the second eraser.

Alternatively, the second flange may abut the surface of the second eraser to allow for rotation of the second eraser.

Preferably, the retainer also comprises at least one rib.

Preferably, the rib extends away from the body 5 portion.

Preferably, the rib is located between the first and second flanges.

Preferably, the rib is located towards the first flange.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a retainer for retaining at least two erasers, the retainer comprising a body portion passable through the at least two erasers.

Preferably, the retainer comprises any one or more of the features of the retainer according to the first aspect of the present invention.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of forming an article of stationery, the method comprising the steps of: forming two separate elements of a retainer for retaining at least two erasers; passing one or both of the separate elements of the retainer through at least two erasers and joining the separate elements of the retainer together.

Preferably, joining the separate elements of the retainer together is achieved mechanically or using a solvent or a glue.

Preferably, the separate elements of the retainer are each passed through at least one eraser.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of forming an article of stationery, the method comprising the steps of: forming a retainer for retaining at least two erasers as a single piece; and passing the retainer through at least two erasers.

Brief Description of the Drawings Preferred embodiments of the present invention will now be described, by way of example only, with 6 reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 shows a perspective view of an article of stationery according to preferred embodiments of the present invention; Figure 2 shows a further perspective view of the article of stationery of Figure 1, with a second eraser rotated out of alignment with a first eraser; Figure 3A shows a bottom perspective view of a retainer for retaining at least two erasers according to preferred embodiments of the present invention; Figure 3B shows a top perspective view of the retainer of Figure 3A; Figure 3C shows a side view of the retainer of Figure 3A; and Figure 3D shows a top view of the retainer of Figure 3A.

Detailed Description of Preferred Embodiments Referring firstly to Figures 1 and 2, an article of stationery 10 is shown comprising first and second erasers 11,12 retained by a retainer 13. The first and second erasers 11,12 are rotatable relative to one another, with the second eraser 12 rotatable about the retainer 13. Thus, the erasers 11,12 may be moved from alignment with one another as shown in Figure 1 to out of alignment as shown in Figure 2. Although the erasers 11,12 may be used when in alignment, it is preferable to rotate them out of alignment prior to use.

It is noted that although the article of stationery 10 is shown in Figures 1 and 2 having two erasers, it is within the scope of the invention for the article 10 to have more than two erasers.

The first eraser 11 is manufactured from a soft rubber for use in general purpose erasing. The second eraser 12 is manufactured from a harder rubber for more heavy duty erasing. Because of this, the second eraser 12 may be smaller than the first eraser 11 because it is not 7 intended to be used as much as the first eraser 11. The second eraser 12, however, may be of a similar material to the first eraser 11.

The erasers 11,12 are both of a tear-drop shape in cross-section. This shape is partly for aesthetics and partly to allow the erasers 11,12 to be rotated relative to one another from being in alignment to out of alignment. The erasers 11,12 may however, be of a different shape, preferably one that allows the eraser to be rotated in and out of alignment with one another.

Referring now also to Figures 3A, 3B, 3C and 3D, the retainer 13 is shown having a body portion 20, first and second flanges 21,22 and ribs 23.

The body portion 20 is passable through apertures formed in the first and second erasers 11,12. The erasers 11,12 are thus retained on the body portion, in close proximity to one another. This provides for convenient use of multiple different erasers as well as their safe storage with one another to guard against loss of one of the erasers. The body portion 20 is shaped so that at least one of the erasers 11,12 is rotatable about the body portion 20. By rotating the erasers 11,12 they may be moved out of alignment with one another for convenient use as described above.

The body portion 20 is a cylindrical tube.

However, it may be solid rather than tubular. The body portion 20 also need not be cylindrical, but instead may be another shape, such as, for example, octagonal in cross-section. For the tubular body portion 20, the aperture 25 is wide enough for a user to insert a finger, when using the erasers 11,12, retained by the retainer 13.

The first and second flanges 21,22 extend away from the body portion 20 at opposing ends of the body portion 20. The first and second flanges 21,22 assist in retaining the erasers 11,12 on the body portion 20 because they are wider than the width of the aperture through the erasers 11,12. The erasers 11,12 may comprise an 8 indentation in their top and bottom surfaces respectively for the first and second flanges 21,22 respectively, to sit flush with the top and bottom surfaces of the first and second erasers 11,12 respectively.

The first and second flanges 21,22 may also "support" the erasers 11,12 retained on the retainer 13.

This "support" involves acting against over flexing of the eraser(s) 11,12, particularly if the eraser(s) 11,12 is manufactured from a soft rubber. Over-flexing of the eraser may cause portions of the eraser to break off during use. To provide this "support", the flange(s) 21,22 must be of a sufficient width relative to the thickness of the eraser 11,12.

In a preferred embodiment, as shown in Figures 3A to 3D, the first flange 21 is larger than the second flange 22 because the first flange 21 is intended to retain and support the first eraser 11, which is made of a soft rubber material, whereas the second flange 22 is intended to support the second eraser which is manufactured of a much harder rubber material. Thus, the first flange 21 is required to be wider than the second flange 22 in order to adequately support the more flexible first eraser 11.

The first flange 21 is also of a teardrop shape.

This is because the first eraser 11 is of a teardrop shape. Furthermore, the body portion 20 of the retainer 13 passes through the bulbous end of the teardrop shaped first eraser 11. Thus, in order to adequately support the teardrop shaped first eraser 11, the first flange 21 is of a similar teardrop shape, with the pointed end extending towards the pointed end of the teardrop shaped eraser 11.

The second flange 22 is circular to allow for rotation of the second eraser 12. Because the second eraser 12 is manufactured of a hard rubber, it does not require as much support as the first eraser 11 and thus the second flange 22 does not need to be tear drop shaped.

If the second eraser 12 was of a soft rubber, thus 9 requiring the second flange 22 to be of a non-circular shape in order to adequately support the second eraser 12, then the second flange 22 may abut the surface of the second eraser 12 (as opposed to sitting flush with the surface in an indentation in the eraser 12), in order to allow the second eraser 12 to rotate.

In an alternative embodiment, the first eraser 11 may be of another shape, such as for example, a rectangle, in which case the first flange 21 is shaped accordingly in order to provide adequate support for the first eraser 11.

The ribs 23 extend away from the body portion The ribs 23 are located on the body portion 20 towards the end at which the first flange 21 is located. Although two ribs 23 are shown, more or less ribs may be provided. The ribs 23 assist in retaining the erasers 11,12, particularly the first eraser 11 on the retainer 13.

The article 10 may be formed by moulding the retainer 13 as two separate elements divided along the width of the body portion 20. The two elements of the retainer 13 then have their non-flange ends passed through apertures in the separately formed first and second erasers 11,12 respectively. The two elements of the retainer 13 are then joined together, either mechanically or using a solvent or glue, or by ultrasonic welding to form the retainer 13 with the first and second erasers 11,12 retained thereon. The advantage of this method is that it avoids the need to push the second eraser 12 over the second flange 22, which may crack the harder second eraser 12.

An alternative method of forming the article involves moulding the retainer 13 as a single piece and then passing the body portion of the retainer through apertures in the separately formed erasers 11,12. This is done by pushing the apertures of the erasers 11,12 over one or both of the flanges 21,22, usually only the smaller second flange 22. The advantage of this method is that it does not require two elements of the retainer 13 to be 10 connected together after the erasers 11,12 have been retained on separate elements of the retainer 13.

The erasers 11,12 of the article of stationery are replaceable, for example, when the erasers 11,12 are no longer useable when on the retainer 13, by removing one or both of the erasers 11,12 from the retainer and passing the body portion 20 of the retainer 13 through the aperture of a further eraser.

In the claims which follow and in the preceding description of the invention, except where the context requires otherwise due to express language or necessary implication, the word "comprise" or variationssuch as "comprises" or "comprising" is used in an inclusive sense, ie. to specify the presence of the stated features but not to preclude the presence or addition of further features in various embodiments of the invention.

Claims

2. A retainer for retaining at least two erasers, the retainer comprising a body portion passable through the at least two erasers.
3. A method of forming an article of stationery, the method comprising the steps of: forming two separate elements of a retainer for retaining at least two erasers; passing one or both of the separate elements of the retainer through at least two erasers and joining the separate elements of the retainer together.
4. A method of forming an article of stationery, the method comprising the steps of: forming a retainer for retaining at least two erasers as a single piece; and passing the retainer through at least two erasers. An article of stationery, a retainer and a method of forming an article of stationery substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings.