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The present invention relates to an accessory according to
the preamble to Claim 1 for supporting stationery articles
such as, for example, pencils, pens, felt highlighting pens,
scissors, pencil-sharpeners, rulers, and the like.
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With reference to stationery articles, the need to be able
to keep them grouped together, for example in a box or case,
so as to be able to find them easily and use them when
required, is known.
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For example, the use of cases or containers of greatly
varying shapes and sizes in which stationery articles are
housed loosely is very widespread. This leads to the
disadvantage that the identification of the desired
stationery article, for example a red pen, when required, is
not easy and necessitates searching for the article or, even
worse, requires the entire contents of the case or container
to be emptied out so as to be able to see the article.
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In order to be able to use a plurality of different
stationery articles without the need for them to be
scattered on a desk or held loosely in a case, the use of
support elements having a plurality of housing means
suitable for housing the various stationery articles
individually and in an orderly manner has become
established.
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Although the use of the above-mentioned support means
enables the various stationery articles to be housed
independently and in an orderly manner, it has the
disadvantage of being rather bulky. Naturally this leads
to a limitation of the number of stationery articles which
can be supported, since support elements of excessive linear
extent are in fact neither practical nor desirable.
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In this context, it should be pointed out that, to enable
the desired stationery article to be identified quickly and
picked up easily, it is advantageous for the support element
to be able to display the stationery articles arranged in a
single row and not in several overlapping rows. In fact, if
the stationery articles are arranged in a plurality of rows,
clearly only those in the front row can be identified at a
glance and can be removed easily from the support. Above
all, the positioning of a stationery article in a housing
means, for example, a felt-pen holder which is disposed in a
back row, is not easy and may sometimes lead to the entire
support element being overturned.
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The problem underlying the present invention is that of
devising an accessory for supporting stationery articles
which has structural and functional characteristics such as
to satisfy the above-mentioned need, at the same time
overcoming the disadvantages mentioned with reference to the
prior art.
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This problem is solved by an accessory for supporting
stationery articles according to the characteristics of
Claim 1.
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Further characteristics and the advantages of the accessory
for supporting stationery articles according to the present
invention will become clear from the following description
of some preferred embodiments thereof which is given by way
of non-limiting example with reference to the appended
drawings, in which:
- Figure 1 is a simplified perspective view of an accessory
according to the invention for supporting stationery
articles, in a folded configuration,
- Figure 2 is a perspective view of the accessory of Figure 1,
in an opened-out configuration,
- Figure 3 is a perspective view of the accessory of Figure 1,
in a partially opened-out configuration,
- Figure 4 is a perspective view of the accessory of Figure 3
supporting some stationery articles,
- Figure 5 is a perspective view of a container containing the
accessory of Figure 1,
- Figure 6 is a perspective view of the container of Figure 5
in which the accessory of Figure 1 is visible, with some
stationery articles.
-
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With reference to the appended drawings, an accessory for
supporting stationery articles, generally indicated S, is
generally indicated 1.
-
In the embodiment shown, the stationery articles S comprise
pencils, pens, felt pens, a pair of scissors, a rubber, a
ruler, and a pencil-sharpener but, naturally, other
stationery articles may be supported.
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The accessory 1 comprises a first support element 2a
provided with housing means 3 for housing the stationery
articles S in an orderly manner.
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The support element 2a takes the form of a substantially
rigid support extending along a predominant longitudinal
axis X-X and having a front end and a rear end. The housing
means 3 are fixed to the upper surface of the support
element 2a so as to be arranged substantially side by side
along the axis X-X.
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The housing means 3 may be shaped differently from one
another according to the type of stationery article S to be
supported, for example, a pencil, a pair of scissors, etc.
The housing means 3 are known per se and will not be
described in detail herein; it will suffice to point out
that the number and type of housing means 3 may vary
according to requirements.
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In order to have the stationery articles arranged in a row
in a straight line, the support element 2a is shaped so as
to define a rectangular base extending predominantly along
the axis X-X.
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The housing means 3 may have associated fixing means 4,
known per se, for acting on the stationery articles S in
order to restrain them releasably in the respective
housings. The fixing means 4 may take the form of spring
clips, Velcro, magnets, hooks, and other functionally
equivalent, releasable fixing systems.
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The accessory 1 advantageously comprises at least one second
support element 2b provided with respective housing means 3
for housing stationery articles S in an orderly manner. The
second support element is substantially equivalent
structurally and functionally to the first support element
2a described above. Naturally, the configuration and
arrangement of the housing means 3 and of any fixing means 4
of the second support element 2b may differ from those of
the first support element 2a, as in the embodiment shown in
the drawings.
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It should be pointed out that the first and second support
elements 2a, 2b are articulated to one another so as to be
able to move from a folded configuration (Figures 1 and 6)
to an opened-out configuration (Figures 2, 3, 4) and vice
versa, in which configurations the first and second support
elements 2a, 2b are substantially close together and are
spaced apart, respectively.
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The first and second support elements 2a, 2b are
advantageously articulated to one another with the
interposition of at least one pivoting arm 5 having a
flattened and straight shape substantially coplanar with the
support elements 2a, 2b. The connection between the
pivoting arm 5 and the support elements 2 is formed by means
of an articulated joint which permits relative pivoting
between the pivoting arm 5 and the support element 2a, 2b in
a horizontal plane parallel to the plane defined by the
support elements.
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In the embodiment shown, the first and second support
elements 2a, 2b are articulated to one another with the
interposition of two pivoting arms 5 so as to define an
articulated parallelogram, preferably an articulated
quadrilateral. In fact, a first pivoting arm connects the
central point M of the first support element 2a to the rear
end of the second support element 2b and a second pivoting
arm 5 connects the front end of the first support element 2a
to the central point M of the second support element 2b
(Figure 2). As will become clearer from the following
description, this latter pivoting arm is extended to engage
the rear end of a third support element 2c.
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When the articulated structure comprising the first and
second support elements 2a, 2b is fully opened out, the
support elements 2a, 2b are arranged as extensions of one
another.
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The accessory 1 advantageously comprises more than two
support elements 2 (in the embodiment shown there are five
elements, indicated 2a, 2b, 2c, 2d and 2e) articulated to
one another in the manner described above.
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When three support elements 2 are arranged in succession, a
pivoting arm 5 articulates the central point M of the
intermediate support element to the front end of one of the
two support elements which are positioned at the sides of
the intermediate support element and to the rear end of the
other support element which is positioned at the side of the
intermediate support element. Thus, for example, for the
support elements 2a, 2b and 2c, a pivoting arm 5 connects
the front end of the support element 2a, the central point M
of the support element 2b, and the rear end of the support
element 2c.
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The support elements 2 (that is, 2a, 2b, 2c, 2d and 2e), as
well as the pivoting arms 5, may be formed with the use of a
great variety of materials such as, for example, metal,
wood, plastics, or rubber, according to requirements. If
the material used is plastics, naturally the support element
may be produced by hot moulding. In this case, the fixing
means 3 may optionally be formed integrally with the support
elements 2.
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The accessory 1 may be provided with a container 6, which is
a case in the embodiment shown, for housing all of the
support elements 2 when they are in the folded configuration
and, optionally, are supporting the stationery articles S.
As can be seen from Figure 6, the container 6 has a front
opening which is delimited by a rim, to a portion of which a
cover 7 is articulated. A "zip" fastener 8 enables the
cover 7 to be kept engaged on the container 6 for the
closure thereof.
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The container 6 and the cover 7 may be made of a soft
material, for example, a fabric, optionally stiffened, or
may be made of rigid material such as plastics, wood, or the
like.
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The support element 2e of the plurality of support elements
is advantageously fixed releasably to a pin fixed firmly to
the container 6.
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The use of the accessory 1 according to the invention is
described below, starting from an initial condition in which
the container 6 is closed and houses the support elements 2,
in a folded position, as well as the stationery articles S
(Figure 5).
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Owing to the presence of the housing means 3, the stationery
articles S are not housed in the container 6 loosely but in
an orderly manner. The fixing means 4, when they are
provided, hold the stationery articles S in position in the
respective housing means 3. In this configuration, the
container 6 enables the stationery articles S to be
transported without danger of the articles S being damaged
or mixed up.
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The cover 7 can be removed and the container 6 opened by
operating the "zip" closure 8 (Figure 6). The first support
element 2a appears, arranged at the front, together with the
stationery articles S supported thereby which, in the
embodiment of Figure 6, are three pens, a pencil, a pair of
scissors, a ruler, a rubber, and a pencil-sharpener.
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If the desired stationery article is amongst those supported
by the first support element 2a, it can be picked up for use
and replaced when finished with. Otherwise, it is necessary
to grip the first support element 2a at its free end (the
left-hand end in the drawing) with one hand and to start to
remove it from the container. During the removal of the
first support element 2a from the container 6, care must be
taken to hold the container 6 still with the other hand.
The articulated structure of the accessory 1 formed by the
support elements 2 and by the pivoting arms 5 is thus
brought to the opened-out configuration of Figure 7. The
opening-out of the articulated structure may continue until
the support elements are arranged substantially in line,
that is, as extensions of one another.
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It should be pointed out that the more the articulated
structure formed by the support elements 2 and pivoting arms
5 is opened out, the more it tends to be arranged in a
rectilinear configuration, so that all of the stationery
articles S supported by the support elements 2a, 2b, 2c, 2d
and 2e are in view and easily accessible. In fact, in the
opened-out position, all of the support elements are offset
and spaced apart, so that the desired stationery article is
readily identifiable and easily accessible.
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When the accessory 1 is in the folded configuration, on the
other hand, the support elements 2 are arranged close
together so as to render the articulated structure more
compact.
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The connection between the support element 2e and the
container 6 can be released, if required, so that the entire
articulated structure of the accessory 1 can be separated
from the container 6, for example, in order to be placed on
a desk.
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As will be appreciated from the foregoing description, the
accessory for supporting stationery articles according to
the present invention satisfies the above-mentioned need and
at the same time overcomes the disadvantages mentioned in
the introductory part of the present description with
reference to the prior art. In fact, the articulated
structure of the accessory enables the configuration of the
accessory to be altered so as to change it from a very
compact and easily transportable configuration to an opened-out
configuration in which all of the stationery articles S
can be identified at a glance and are easily accessible.
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Another advantage of the accessory for supporting stationery
articles according to the present invention is that the user
is left to decide to what extent to open out the articulated
structure, according to the space available.
-
Naturally, in order to satisfy contingent and specific
requirements, a person skilled in the art will be able to
apply to the above-described accessory for supporting
stationery articles many modifications and variations all of
which, however, are included within the scope of protection
of the invention as defined by the appended claims.
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Thus, for example, the support elements may simply be
articulated to one another at their adjacent ends without
the interposition of the pivoting arms so as to define an
articulated structure which can be closed like a book.
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Moreover, the articulation between the support elements and
the pivoting arms may be formed at points of the support
elements which do not include their ends.
