AU2006100800A4

AU2006100800A4 - A writing instrument holder

Info

Publication number: AU2006100800A4
Application number: AU2006100800A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Allan Boolkin
Original assignee: ACCO AUSTRALIA Pty Ltd
Current assignee: ACCO AUSTRALIA Pty Ltd
Priority date: 2005-09-16
Filing date: 2006-09-18
Publication date: 2006-10-19
Anticipated expiration: 2014-09-18
Also published as: AU2006100800B4

Description

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AUSTRALIA

Patents Act 1990 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION INNOVATION PATENT Applicant: ACCO AUSTRALIA PTY LTD A.C.N. 000 265 047 Invention Title: A WRITING INSTRUMENT HOLDER The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to us: ID-2c- A WRITING INSTRUMENT HOLDER STechnical Field 00 The present invention relates to a holder for a writing instrument where the holder is located at a sheet 00 0of material. In one form, the sheet of material can be made of plastic (such as a folder cover or sheet protector

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Isleeve) although other sheets of material are suitable for C- 10 location of the writing instrument holder. Such a device can be used in all manner of domestic, educational or commercial situations.

Background Art When using a notebook (or a folder or diary or the like), it is often the case that a note or observation must be recorded in the notebook at once, but a pen or pencil may not be immediately available. Sometimes a pen or pencil is only available in a person's pocket or handbag. With an ink pen or a texta pen, for example, leakage of ink can occur, possibly causing damage to the pocket or bag.

It is therefore convenient to have a location in proximity to the notebook to store a writing instrument, in order to save time and prevent such damage. Some clip folders or diaries are supplied with an internal pocket for receiving a writing instrument, but such pockets need to be specially cut from a taut plastic material and then sewn or glued into the folder or diary, which adds to the complexity and cost of manufacturing these materials. In some other folder type, a loop of string or plastic can be supplied in which a pen or pencil is locatable. However INO -3e these loops can easily become stretched over time when a wider gauge of writing instrument is located therein, and C/ are then useless when a narrower gauge writing instrument 00 needs to be held in place. If a pen or pencil is held in place too loosely, it may fall out of the notebook and become lost. This may not be apparent to the user until

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0when the pen is required.

In addition such pockets or loops, although Nconvenient, do not provide for an easy access to the c- 10 writing instrument, necessitating the opening of the notebook (or folder or diary) and searching through the contents in order to retrieve the writing instrument.

Depending on the circumstance, this may not always be convenient.

Summary of the Invention In a first aspect the present invention provides a writing instrument holder located at a sheet of material, the holder comprising a flap of the material that is hingedly moveable with respect to a remainder of the sheet, wherein the flap is adapted to bear against a writing instrument placed thereunder in use.

Such a device can allow immediate access to a writing instrument for use when recording information on a piece of paper that may be associated with the sheet of material (for example, when the sheet of material is a cover for a notebook, folder or a diary). Such a device means that if any leakage of ink from the writing instrument occurs, it only damages the notebook etc, rather than the clothing or carry bag of the person.

Additionally, because the flap is adapted to bear against the writing instrument, it can cope with the I-4action of holding of a range of different gauge (or diameter) of writing instrument whilst still maintaining C the position of the writing instrument at the sheet of

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material. Also, if that sheet of material represents the front sheet of a notebook or a folder, then it is always apparent to the user of the folder that the writing O0 0instrument is available.

kO In the present specification, when the term "writing Iinstrument" is used, it broadly refers to any size or shape of a pen (eg ball point, fountain, biro or other ink pen type), pencil, clutch pencil, texta pen or felt tip pen, coloured pens or pencils, or the like, as well as other types of instruments used for writing or drawing, such as a ruler, compass, divider, etc. In some embodiments, the holder can be arranged to simultaneously hold a plurality of similar or dissimilar writing instruments.

In one embodiment, the flap is integrally formed with the sheet of material, and extends continuously from the sheet. In other forms, the flap can be attached by joining and may not be made of the same material as the sheet of material.

In one embodiment, the flap is moveable between a first position in which it is generally co-planar with the sheet, and an in use second position in which the flap has been moved (pivoted) to a position out of co-planar alignment with respect to the sheet. In the second position, the writing instrument(s) can be located under the flap, and the flap bears against the(se) instrument(s) to hold them in place at the sheet.

In one form of this embodiment, the adaptation of the flap is an inherent resilient bias that urges the flap into the first position. When the flap is moved into the c- second position and a writing instrument is inserted thereunder, the natural tendency of the flap is to return Cto the first position, and therefore the flap then 00 frictionally grips and retains the writing instrument in place at the sheet.

In one embodiment, the flap is defined by two cut 00 0lines located in the sheet, and in one form the flap is generally of a half-ring or half-annulus shape as defined

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by two curved cut lines. In other embodiments, the cut C- 10 lines can be of other shapes so as to define a differently-shaped flap of material.

In one form of this embodiment, the two cut lines which define the half-ring or half-annulus have splayed distal ends at opposing respective end regions of the half-ring or half-annulus, the end regions being where the flap extends from the sheet of material. These splayed distal ends give greater resistance to tearing of the half-ring or half-annulus away from the remainder of the sheet of material.

In one embodiment, in use the writing instrument is locatable between the sheet of material and the half-ring or half-annulus when in the second position, so that the writing instrument is held in position at the sheet of material. When in position, the ends of the writing instrument protrude from opposing side ends of the halfring or half-annulus. The forces of interaction between the writing instrument and the half-ring or half-annulus bearing against one side of the writing instrument, and the support provided between the writing instrument and the sheet on another side of the writing instrument (where the another side opposes the one side), are sufficient to retain the writing instrument in place at the sheet, even INO -6when the sheet is placed in different orientations (eg.

upside down, vertical etc) In one embodiment, the flap is deformable, so that it 00 may become somewhat curved when deployed in the second position. For example, in one embodiment of this, the sheet can be formed from a resilient plastic. In one form O0 0of this, the resilient plastic can be polypropylene. In still other embodiments, the flap need not itself be Ndeformable, but can remain rigid.

In one embodiment, the sheet of material is a cover of a folder or booklet or the like, where the booklet can contain bound or loose-leaf pages for writing on. The folder may be a paper notebook arranged with multiple pages and having a cover made of resilient plastic.

In a second aspect the present invention provides a sheet of material comprising a writing instrument holder as defined in the first aspect.

In a third aspect the present invention provides a folder or booklet comprising a sheet of material as a cover, wherein the sheet of material is as defined in the second aspect.

Brief Description of the Drawings Embodiments of the invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 shows a front, perspective view of a sheet of material of indefinite width and length, the sheet arranged with a writing instrument holder located thereat, in accordance with the invention; Figure 2 shows a view of the sheet of Figure 1 in which the writing instrument holder is deployed to hold a IND -7writing instrument, the writing instrument shown in dotted outline; Figure 3 shows a plan view of the sheet of Figure 1; 00 Figure 4 shows a view of the sheet of Figure 1 in which the writing instrument holder is deployed to hold a writing instrument, the writing instrument shown in dotted 00 0outline; Figure 5 shows a view of the sheet of Figure 1 in

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Iwhich the writing instrument holder is deployed to hold a 1 0 writing instrument, the writing instrument shown in dotted outline.

Modes for Carrying out the Invention Referring to the drawings, Figure 1 shows a sheet of material 10 at which a writing instrument holder is located. The holder shown is in the form of a flap that is defined by two cut lines 14, 16 located in the sheet The sheet of material 10 is typically a plastic cover of a folder and made of polypropylene, for example. The two cut lines 14, 16 define a flap that is in a half-ring or half-annulus shape 18, where the half-ring 18 is hingedly moveable with respect to a remainder of the sheet 10. The first cut-line 14 defines a teardrop-shaped cutout 22 that is also can be hingedly moveable with respect to the remainder of the sheet 10 and the half-ring 18.

The writing instrument holder is therefore created during the manufacture of the sheet by the location of the cut lines 14, 16 in a specific, desired position somewhere on the sheet IND -8c- As shown in the drawings, the flap is therefore integrally formed with the sheet of material 10, and C)extends continuously from the sheet 10. The possible 00 positions of the flap in use are shown in Figures 2, 4 and 5. In each position, in use the integral flap is moveable between a first position in which it is generally co- 00 0planar with the sheet (as shown in Figure and a second position in which the flap has been moved (pivoted) to a

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Iposition out of co-planar alignment with respect to the C- 10 sheet 10. In each of the second positions shown, a writing instrument (shown herein as a pencil 12, in dotted outline in Figures 2, 4 and 5) is located under the flap, and the flap bears against the pencil to hold it in place at the sheet In the embodiment shown, the plastic used for the sheet 10 is polypropylene that is typically around 50-200 micrometres thick and is therefore quite stiff. The flap thus has an inherent resilient bias that urges it back into the first position as shown in Figure When the flap is moved into the second position and the pencil 12 is inserted thereunder, the natural tendency of the flap is to return to the first position, and therefore the flap then frictionally grips and retains the pencil 12 in place at the sheet 10, even when the sheet 10 is placed in different orientations (eg. upside down, vertical etc).

Referring now to Figure 2, the half-ring 18 is shown pivoted upward to be spaced away from the remainder of the sheet 10, and the pencil 12 is inserted under the halfring 18 and located in contact with at an uppermost face 20 of the remainder of the sheet 10. The teardrop shaped cut-out 22 defined by the cut line 14 remains co-planar with the remainder of the sheet 10. The end regions 24, IND -9- 26 of the pencil 12 protrude from either side of the halfring 18 and are visible at the uppermost face Referring now to Figure 4, the half-ring 18 is shown

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pivoted downward to be spaced away from the remainder of the sheet 10, and towards the booklet or folder that underlies the sheet 10. In this form the pencil 12 is 0 0inserted above the half-ring 18 as well as being in

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contact with the underside face 28 of the remainder of the Isheet 10. The teardrop shaped cut-out 22 defined by the cut line 14 remains co-planar with the remainder of the sheet 10. The pencil 12 then is only visible from the uppermost face 20 of the sheet 10 in the region that is between the cut lines 14, 16 and above the half-ring 18.

This holding arrangement is therefore a 'mirror image' of the holding arrangement shown in Figure 2, and the pencil 12 is mainly (but not entirely) concealed inside a folder or booklet cover comprised by the sheet Referring now to Figure 5, the teardrop shaped cutout 22 defined by the cut line 14 is shown pivoted upward to be spaced away from the remainder of the sheet 10, and the pencil 12 is inserted under teardrop shaped cut-out 22 and is also in contact with at the uppermost face 20 of the remainder of the sheet 10. The half-ring 18 remains co-planar with the remainder of the sheet 10, and in fact the cut line 16 plays no role in this writing instrument holding configuration. The end region 26 of the pencil 12 protrudes from underneath the teardrop shaped cut-out 22 and is visible at the uppermost face 20 of the sheet whereas the end 24 of the pencil 12 is concealed (and is in contact with the underside face 28 of the remainder of the sheet 10). In this holding configuration, the teardrop shaped cut-out 22 alone can be sufficient to support the pencil 12 at the sheet even when the sheet is ID e placed in different orientations (eg. upside down, vertical etc) C Referring now in particular to Figure 3, end regions 00 32 are where the half-ring 18 extends from the sheet of material 10. As shown in the drawing, the two cut lines 14, 16 which define the half-ring 18 have splayed 00 0distal ends at opposing respective end regions 30, 32 of _the half-ring 18. For example, at the end region 30 of Ihalf-ring 18, the distal end 34 of cut 14 and the distal end 36 of cut 16 are oriented so as to be curved away from one another. A similar arrangement is shown at the end region 32 of the half-ring 18. These splayed distal ends of the cuts 14, 16 give greater resistance to tearing of the half-ring 18 away from the remainder of the sheet This greater resistance is useful particularly after repeated use of the holder, where the tendency may otherwise be for stress fractures to occur at the end regions 30, 32, and possible failure of the resilient hinging action of the half-ring 18 relative to the remainder of the sheet When a resilient plastic such as polypropylene is used, a flap such as the half-ring 18 or the teardrop shaped cut-out 22 can themselves be deformable, so that they may become somewhat curved when deployed in the holding position. With other materials, however, the flap need not be deformable but can remain rigid, provided that the flap remains able to bear against the writing instrument and to hold it in position at the sheet.

The sheet 10 can be used as the cover of a folder or booklet or the like, where the booklet can contain multiple bound or loose-leaf pages of paper for writing on.

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The writing instrument holder can be arranged in any position or orientation as desired at the sheet, depending upon the particular application. In the examples shown in 00 Figure 1 to 5, the holder is generally arranged in an upper left hand corner region of the sheet 10, when the sheet 10 is viewed in plan from above. In other 00 0arrangements, the holder can be arranged anywhere else on the sheet, and there can be any number of holders located Son the sheet itself for holding a number of similar or even. differently sized writing instruments, either equally or unequally spaced apart.

In other embodiments, the cut lines shown need not be curved to form half-rings or teardrop shaped sections as shown in Figures 1 to 5. For example, the cut lines in the sheet can be of other shapes so as to define a flap of material suitable for a particular holding application, for example with a square profile to hold a flat object such as a ruler.

In other embodiments, the sheet can be formed with a non-integral flap, and the flap can be attached by joining, welding, gluing, riveting or some other suitable technique. In such embodiments, the flap may not be made of the same material as the sheet of material.

In any of these embodiments, the writing instrument holder can be positioned at a unitary folder (ie. one formed from a single sheet of material, for example plastic, which comprises the front, back and spine portions of the folder) or a folder or booklet where the holder is positioned at a cover sheet (which forms the front portion of the folder or booklet only, and is somehow bound to the remainder).

Now that a preferred embodiment of the invention has been described in some detail it will be apparent to those ID -12c- skilled in the art that the writing instrument holder has at least the following advantages: the holding device can position a writing 00 instrument in close proximity to a notebook, folder or diary as an aid for recording information; 00 the holding device negates the need to separately hold a writing instrument near the Iclothing or carry bag of a person; c- 10 the holding device is capable of holding of a range of different gauge (or diameter) of writing instruments; when located at the front sheet of a notebook or a folder, it is always apparent to the user of the folder that the writing instrument is available.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the invention described herein is susceptible to variations and modifications other than those specifically described.

For example any flap shape or flap or sheet material is within the scope of the invention, and need not be restricted to the particular form of the preferred embodiment described. All such variations and modifications are to be considered within the scope of the present invention the nature of which is to be determined from the foregoing description.

In describing the preferred embodiment of the invention illustrated in the drawings, specific terminology has been resorted to for the sake of clarity.

However, the invention is not intended to be limited to the specific terms so selected, and it is to be understood that each specific term includes all technical equivalents which operate in a similar manner to accomplish a similar IND -13technical purpose. Terms such as "inside", "outside", "above", "below", "uppermost", "underside" and the like C/ are used as words of convenience to provide reference 00 points and are not to be construed as strictly limiting terms.

In the claims which follow and in the preceding O0 0description, except where the context requires otherwise _due to express language or necessary implication, the word N"comprise" or variations such as "comprises" or c- 10 "comprising" is used in an inclusive sense, i.e. to specify the presence of the stated features but not to preclude the presence or addition of further features in various embodiments.

It is to be understood that, if any prior art information is referred to herein, such reference does not constitute an admission that the information forms a part of the common general knowledge in the art, in Australia or in any other country.

Claims

2. A writing instrument holder as claimed in claim 1 (1 10 wherein the flap is integrally formed with the sheet of material.
3. A writing instrument holder as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2 wherein the flap is moveable between a first position in which it is generally co-planar with the sheet, and an in use second position in which the flap has been moved to a position out of co-planar alignment with respect to the sheet.
4. A writing instrument holder as claimed in claim 3 wherein the adaptation of the flap is an inherent resilient bias that urges the flap into the first position.
5. A writing instrument holder substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings.