AU685469B2

AU685469B2 - A multi-page unit and writing instrument combination

Info

Publication number: AU685469B2
Application number: AU70642/94A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Martin Zoland
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1993-07-06
Filing date: 1994-07-01
Publication date: 1998-01-22
Anticipated expiration: 2011-03-25
Also published as: GB2294429B; CA2166417A1; AU7064294A; GB9600110D0; GB2294429A; WO1995001882A1; DE4494811T1

Description

Ad'IU I iwi' 4 f -2- A MULTI-PAGE UNIT AND WRITING INSTRUMENT

COMBINATION

The present invention relates to a multi-page unit and writing instrument combination, and, in particular, to notepads and calendars with a writing instrument attached.

*0 Quite often, people who attend business meetings or school remember to bring a So:0: notepad but sometimes forget a writing instrument. Therefore, many techniques have been 10 devised to connect one with the other. Where the notepad is part of a folder, U.S. Patent No.

5,011,188 to Zoland et al, discloses a pen and folder combination. The folder has a hole disposed through both the front and back covers in an aligned orientation. A clip typically found on a pen can thus be inserted into the hole to simultaneously secure the pen to the folder and to clasp the covers of the folder together. Similar is U.S. Patent No. 5,190,317 15 to Zoland which has a hole disposed through just one cover of a folder such that a clip typically found on a pen can thus be inserted into the hole to simultaneously secure the pen to the folder.

Similarly, it is frequently desirable to have a pen or other writing instrument readily accessible to a flat wall calendar in order to make annotations thereon such as birthdays, social events and the like.

In accordance with the present invention there is provided a multi-page unit and writing instrument combination, said multi-page unit having a front side and a hack sice and a plurality of sheets of paper, said writing instrument including a body and a clip, said clip having proximal and distal ends, said combination comprising: a through-hole disposed on said multi-page unit, said through-hole for receiving said clip of said writing instrument such that the distal end of the clip is insertable through the hole, such that the distal end of the clip lies against the back side of said multi-page unit and fRA(0 the body of the writing instrument lies against the front side of said multi-page unit.

I' OMItiJW W(W M tVMJ -3- The preferred embodiments provide a superior method of holding a pen to a notepad than the conventional practice of simply clipping the pen to an edge of the notepad since the hole serves to limit movement of the writing instrument, reducing the likelihood of the writing instrument becoming dislodged. Similarly, with respect to a calendar-writing instrument combination, the present invention is superior to clipping the pen to an edge of the calendar or attaching the pen to the calendar by a string since the pen would be free to swing as people walk past the calendar, possibly causing markings on the wall on which the calendar is hanging. Further, the hole/clip combination can be shaped so that there is a snug fit between the clip and the hole thereby minimising the chance of the clip unexpectedly slipping out of the hole.

Preferred embodiments of the present invention are hereinafter described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein: Figure 1 is a perspective view of a preferred embodiment of the present invention, 15 wherein a pen is clipped to a notepad by inserting the clip of the pen through the throughhole; Figure 2 is a profile view of the notepad and pen combination shown in Figure 1 clearly depicting the clip and its relationship to the notepad and the through-hole after insertion; Figure 3 is a perspective view of an alternate embodiment of the invention wherein the pen is clipped directly to a cardboard or other backing used to hold the notepad on the

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4***4 notepad side of the backing; Figure 4 is a perspective view of an alternate embodiment of the invention wherein the pen is clipped directly to a cardboard or other backing used to hold the notepad, on the side opposite the notepad side of the backing; Figure 5 is a side elevation view of a writing instrument having an alternate clipping mechanism for attachment to the notepad; and Figure 6 is a top plan of an alternate embodiment of a notepad and writing instrument combination.

10 In the following description, numerous details such as specific materials and configurations are set forth in order to provide a more complete understanding of the present invention. However, the present invention can be practiced without those specific details. In other instances, well-known elements are not described explicitly so as not to obscure the present invention.

Figure 1 shows a preferred embodiment of the present invention. A notepad 11 is shown having a front 13 and an identical back which is not shown. The back may be made of a stiff cardboard material or it may simply be the last page of the notepad. The notepad includes a number of paper pages and the optional cardboard back 14. Instead of a notepad, a wall calendar or other item having a relatively small number of pages having a front and a back, with or without an optional cardboard back could also be used to implement the invention.

A through-hole 15 is disposed through the pages of the notepad or calendar and the optional cardboard back 14, or as shown in Figure 3, through just the cardboard back, which in the Figure 3 embodiment is not optional. The purpose of the through-hole 15 is to provide a point of attachment for a writing instrument 19. As shown in the perspective view of Figure 1 and Figure 3, the writing instrument 19, here a pen, is coupled to the notepad 11 via the through-hole 15. The coupling is accomplished by a pocket clip 23, found on almost all conventional pens and markers.

c\ 1- 9 Lu I' 141 It DOW 7i61 %1 I8I J71 Figure 2 provides a side view of the notepad and pen combination illustrated in Figure 1. As is detailed in the drawing, the clip 23 of the writing instrument 19 passes through the through-hole 15. A distal end 28 of the writing instrument 19 lies against the surface of the paper portion of notepad 13, or as shown in the Figure 3 embodiment, against the surface of the cardboard backing 14. A proximal end 25 of the clip 23 rides at the lip of the throughhole 15. To facilitate insertion of the clip 23 into the through-hole 15, especially where the notepad includes a number of pages and/or a cardboard back making the notepad relatively thick, the clip may be configured to include a portion 31 at the end of the clip which curves upward, away from the body of the writing instrument 19.

i 4 oo improve durability, the present invention provides that the through-hole 15 may be reinforced with another layer of material 35 if necessary or stiffened with a metal or plastic ring. Other techniques for strengthening the through-hole 15 known in the art can be applied **o here as well.

S" Figure 4 is similar to Figure 3 excepting that the writing instrument is disposed on the side of the backing opposite from the side used to hold the notepad.

Figure 5 is an illustration of a modified writing instrument which instead of a clip which is generally parallel to the body of the pen as best seen in Figure 2, has a clip which is generally perpendicular to the body of the writing instrument as shown in Figure 5 with two wing portions extending from the body of the writing instrument. In the Figure embodiment, instead of a through-hole 15, the cardboard backing, if present, or paper, if there is no backing, includes two pairs of slits or cuts 35a and 35b into which the two wing portions of clip 33 are inserted as shown in Figure 6.

Naturally, the through-hole can be located on various other locations of the notepad with the associated writing instrument connected in various orientations. These variations are within the scope and spirit of the present invention as defined in the appended claims.

I P14 ,It'tP UM 1~94 997IV -6- Throughout this specification and the claims which follow, unless the context requires otherwise, the word "comprise", or variations such as "comprises" or "comprising", will be understood to imply the inclusion of a stated integer or group of integers but not the exclusion of any other integer or group of integers.

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Claims

1. A multi-page unit and writing instrument combination, said multi-page unit having a front side and a back side and a plurality of sheets of paper, said writing instrument including a body and a clip, said clip having -roximal and distal ends, said combination comprising: a through-hole disposed on said multi-page unit, said through-hole for receiving said clip of said writing instrument such that the distal end of the clip is insertable through the hole, such that the distal end of the clip lies against the back side of said multi-page unit and the body of the writing instrument lies against the front side of said multi-page unit. S

2. A multi-page unit and writing instrument combination according to claim 1, wherein said through-hole is located substantially midway along an edge of said multi-page unit.

3. A multi-page unit and writing instrument combination according to claim 1 or 2, 15 wherein said through-hole is reinforced with a means for stiffening.

4. A multi-page unit and writing instrument combination according to claim 1, 2 or 3, C wherein said distal end of said clip curves in a direction away from the body of the writing instrument.

A multi-page unit and writing instrument combination according to claim 1, 2, 3 or 4, wherein said multi-page unit comprises a plurality of paper pages.

6. A multi-page unit and writing instrument combination according to claim 5, wherein said multi-page unit further comprises a cardboard back.

7. A multi-page unit and writing instrument combination, said multi-page unit having a front side and a back side and a plurality of sheets of paper, said writing instrument including a body and a clip, said clip having proximal and distal ends, said combination comprising: 30 a through-hole disposed on said multi-page unit, said through-hole for receiving said I C','At ^ss^ P 01'LPH; DBW\70642 94 I18V'9 -8- clip of said writing instrument such that the distal end of the clip is insertable through the hole such that the distal end of the clip lies against the back side of said multi-page unit and the body of writing instrument lies against the front side of said multi-page unit; wherein said through-hole is disposed substantially midway along an edge of said multi-page unit, said through-hole is reinforced with a means for stiffening, and said distal end of said clip curves in a direction away from the body of the writing instrument.

8. A multi-page unit and writing instrument combination, said multi-page unit having a front side and a back side and a plurality of sheets of paper, said writing instrument including a body and a clip, said clip having proximal and distal ends, said combination comprising: a through-hole disposed on said multi-page unit, said through-hole for receiving said clip of said writing instrument such that the distal end of the clip is insertable through the hole such that the distal end of the clip lies against the back side of said multi-page unit and the body of writing instrument lies against the front side of said multi-page unit; wherein said multi-page unit includes a plurality of paper pages and a cardboard back, said through-hole is disposed substantially midway along an edge of said multi-page unit, said through-hole is reinforced with a means for stiffening, and said distal end of said clip curves in a direction away from the body of the writing instrument.

9. A combination as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein said multi-page unit is a notepad.

A combination as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein said multi-page unit is a calendar.

11. The combination defined by claim 1, v.wherein said multi-page unit further comprises a cardboard back and through-hole passes only through said cardboard back.

12. The combination defined by claim 6 or 8, wherein said through-hole passes only o through said cardboard back. 11 OPEWDI)MIW 9429W4- I8,9A -9-

13. A multi-page unit and writing instrument combination, said multi-page unit having a front side and a back side and a plurality of sheets of paper, said writing ins.-,ment including a body and a clip, said clip having proximal and distal ends, said combination comprising: a through-hole disposed on said multi-page unit, said through-hole for receiving said clip of said writing instrument such that the distal end of the clip is insertable through the hole, such that the distal end of the clip lies against the front side of said multi-page unit and the body of the writing instrument lies against the back side of said n) m init.

14. A multi-page unit and writing instrument combination, said multi-page unit having a front side and a back side and a plurality of sheets of paper, said writing instrument including a body and a clip, said clip having proximal and distal ends, said combination comprising: a through-hole disposed on said multi-page unit, said through-hole for receiving said clip of said writing instrument such that the distal end of the clip is insertable through the hole such that the distal end of the clip lies against the front side of said multi-page unit and the body of writing instrument lies against the back side of said multi-page unit; wherein said !"...through-hole is disposed substantially midway along an edge of said multi-page unit, said through-hole is reinforced with a means for stiffening, and said distal end of said clip curves S.in a direction away from the body of the writing instrument.

15. A multi-page unit and writing instrument combination, said multi-page unit having a front side and a back side and a plurality of sheets of paper, said writing instrument including a body and a clip, said clip having proximal and distal ends, said combination comprising: a through-hole disposed on said multi-page unit, said through-hole for receiving said clip of said writing instrument such that the distal end of the clip is insertable through. the hole such that the distal end of the clip lies against the front siae of said multi-page unit and the body of writing instrument lies against the back side of said multi-page unit; wherein said multi-page unit includes a plurality of paper pages and a cardboard back, said through-hole is disposed substantially midway along an edge of said multi-page unit, said through-hole is reinforced with a means for stiffening, and said distal end of said clip curves in a direction 0 away from the body of the writing instrument. I P WOPERDBW17012 W 27I01

16. The combination defined by claim 13 or 14, wherein said multi-page unit further comprises a cardboard back and said through-hole passes only through said cardboard back.

17. The combination defined by claim 15, wherein said through-hole passes only through said cardboard back.

18. A multi-page unit and writing instrument combination substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings. S S *u S. S 0 o DATED this 27th day of October, 1997 MARTIN ZOLAND By his Patent Attorneys DAVIES COLLISON CAVE