US3048424A

US3048424A - Clip board carrier device

Info

Publication number: US3048424A
Application number: US710101A
Authority: US
Inventors: Jr Earl F Mitchell
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1958-01-20
Filing date: 1958-01-20
Publication date: 1962-08-07
Anticipated expiration: 1979-08-07

Description

Aug. 7, 962 E. F. MITCHELL, JR

CLIP BOARD CARRIER DEVICE Filed Jan. 20, 1958 iii/2L T. M/TCHELL,J?.|

INVENTOR.

ATTOQNEVS United States Patent 3,948,424 Patented Aug. 7, 1962 ice 3,048,424 CLIP BOARD CARRIER DEVICE Earl F. Mitchell, Jr., 2420 Hyperion Ave., Los Angeles, Calif. Filed Jan. 20, 1958, Ser. No. 710,101 3 Claims. (Cl. 28144) My present invention relates to clip boards having a spring loaded clip member for holding a plurality of papers against a rigid board, to provide a mobile writing board, and it relates particularly to a carrier device that is attachable to a conventional clip board for carrying papers, pencils, other writing materials, and the like independently of the spring loaded clip of the clip board.

Clip boards comprising rigid, generally rectangular board members with spring loaded clips thereon for supporting a plurality of papers are widely used wherever a mobile writing platform is required such as for contracting work, inspection work of any type, school work, and the like.

However, conventional clip boards have the disadvantage that they are only capable of carrying papers, and not any other writing materials such as pencils, rulers or the like. Also, all of the papers carried on a conventionalclip board must be held under the spring loaded clip member, so that particular papers cannot be set aside, but must be fished for in the stack of papers under the spring loaded clip member.

Several prior art attempts have been made to provide a carrying device for a clip board other than the spring loaded clip member, for carrying papers and the like. However, most of these prior art attempts to hold papers independently of a spring loaded clip member involve containers that were formed as integral parts of the clip boards, usually being formed of sheet metal. Such containers were expensive, inconvenient to operate, and were restricted to merely carrying a few papers, and were not capable of carrying other writing materials. Further, such prior art attempts to provide carrier devices on clip boards were not usable in connection with conventional wood and fiber board clip boards, or even clip boards embodying a single metallic rectangular sheet, such as a sheet of aluminum, but were required to be fabricated as a part of the manufactured clip board.

In view of these problems in the art, it is an object of my present invention to provide a clip board carrier device that is manufactured independently of the clip board, and that is easily attachable to the conventional clip board.

Another object of my present invention is to provide a clip board carrier device which comprises a sheath of flexible material that is merely slidably engaged over the conventional clip board, this sheath being provided with suitable containers for receiving papers, writing materials, order blanks, invoices and the like.

Another object of my present invention is to provide a clip board carrier device of the character described which comprises a sheath of flexible material having suitable containers thereon, this sheath being slidably engaged over a conventional clip board, with the flat front side portion extending upwardly underneath the spring loaded clip member of the clip board so that the sheath is firmly held in position on the clip board.

Another object of my present invention is to provide a clip board carrier device of the character described comprising a sheath of flexible material that is slidably engageable over a conventional rigid clip board, this sheath being provided with one or more pockets on its flat rear side portion for receiving papers, writing materials and the like.

Other objects and advantages of my present invention will be apparent from the following description and claims, the novelty of my invention consisting in the features of construction, the combinations of parts, the novel relations of the members and the relative proportioning, disposition and operation thereof, all as is more completely described herein and is more particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings, forming a part of my present specification:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a conventional clip board embodying my present invention.

FIGURE 2 is a vertical section along the line 2-2 in FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 3 is a rear elevation view of the device shown in FIGURES l and 2.

Referring to my drawings, I have shown my present invention mounted on a conventional rigid clip board composed of wood or fiber board. It is to be understood that my present invention can be used in connection with any conventional clip board having a generally flat, rectangular board member and a spring loaded clip at the top. Thus, the conventional clip board 10 shown in the drawings includes the rectangular board member 12, with a fixed clip mounting member 14 integrally attached at the top thereof, usually by means of rivets. A hinged, spring loaded clip member 16 is mounted on the fixed clip mounting member 14, the hinged clip member 16 being adapted to tightly hold a plurality of sheets of paper against the board member 12.

My carrier device 18 comprises a sheath 20 of flexible material, such as leather, imitation leather, plastic, cloth, or other suitable flexible material.

The sheath 24} comprises generally flat front side portion 22 and generally flat rear side portion 24, the front and

rear side portions

22 and 24 being joined along their

side edges

26 and 28, and along the bottom edges 30. One convenient method of manufacturing thesheath 20 is to provide a single, elongated sheet of the flexible mate rial, which is slightly wider than the rectangular board member 12, and longer than the rectangular board member 12, and then folding this elongated sheet of material laterally, so that this fold comprises the bottom edges of the

side portions

22 and 24 of the sheath 20. Then, the

side edges

26 and 28 of the

side portions

22 and 24 can be joined together by sewing, heat sealing, or other suitable means.

I provide a slot 32 along the upper edge of the front side portion 22 for receiving the fixed clip mounting member 14 when the sheath 20 is operatively engaged over the entire length of the clip board 10. However, if it is desired, the sheath 20 may be slightly shorter than the clip board 10, in which case this slot 32 is not required.

I provide one or more containers in my carrier device 18, these containers being provided at any desired points on the sheath 20. In a presently preferred embodiment of my invention, which I have illustrated in the drawings, I provide a large pocket 34 over the rear side portion 24 of sheath 2%), this pocket 34 extending from a point near the top of rear side portion 24 all of the Way down to the bottom edge 30. A suitable flap 36 is provided to cover the opening of pocket 34 and is closable by means of conventional snap buttons 38.

A similar pocket 40 is provided in the lower region of the rear side portion 24, and is also provided with a suitable flap 42 that is closable by means of conventional snap buttons 44.

It is to be noted that in the presently preferred embodiment of my invention I provide a separate sheet 46 of the material which forms the upper part of the rear side portion 24, and which extends between one-third and one-half of the way down from the top edge of the sheath 20. The major part of the rear side portion 24 is then formed by the large pocket 34, and simply comprises an extension of the material forming the front side portion 22. A stop 47 overlies the edge of the front side portion 22 adjacent the opening through which the board member 12 protrudes as shown in FIGURE 2.

It will be appreciated that any desired number of pockets may be formed at any desired point on the sheath 20, and that the particular pocket members shown in the drawings which form a part of the present application are merely presently preferred pocket arrangements.

In the operation, it will be seen that my carrier device 18 may be removably slidably engaged over any conventional clip board It), and all that is necessary for this operative engagement is to slide the sheath 20 over the clip board, lifting the spring loaded clip member 16 during approximately the last inch of travel as the sheath 20 encloses the rectangular board member 12 of the clip board 10. The carrier device 18 is then ready to receive any papers, writing materials or the like which the user of the clip board does not wish to merely clip in with the stack of papers held under the hinged, spring loaded clip member 16. If it is desired, some papers can even be slipped in between the clip board and the rear side portion 24 of the sheath 20. However, I have found it more convenient to utilize separate pockets, such as the

pockets

34 and 40 shown in the drawings and heretofore described in detail.

I prefer to make the sheath sufficiently small so that it will have a relatively tight fit over the rectangular board member 12. However, it is to be understood that the dimensions of my carrier device 18 are not in any way critical.

It is to be understood that the form of my invention herein shown and described is my preferred embodiment and various changes in the shape, size and arrangement of parts may be resorted to without departing from the spirit of my invention, or the scope of my appended claims.

I claim:

1. A composite package for assorted papers comprising a sheath of flexible sheet material having a front side portion and a rear side portion longer than the front side portion joined at bottom and side edges forming a pocket having an open top, said rear side portion having an extension at the edge adjacent the open top and folded rearwardly in the form of a flap, a clip board assembly comprising arigid substantially rectangular board memher having a width slightly less than the width of said pocket and a length longer than said front side portion and comparable in length to said rear side portion, said board member having an assembled position slidably received within said pocket and having a margin of said board member exposed, a hinged spring loaded clip including a mounting member anchored by application of the mounting member to the board member at said margin, said spring loaded clip including a movable portion overlying and spring pressed against a portion of said front side portion adjacent said open top whereby simultaneously to retain said clip board assembly in the pocket and to retain papers attached thereto both inside and outside said pocket.

2. A composite package for assorted papers comprising a sheath of flexible sheet material having a front side portion and a rear side portion longer than the front side portion joined at bottom and side edges forming a pocket having an open top, said rear side portion having an extension at the edge adjacent the open top and folded rearwardly in the form of a flap, a clip board assembly comprising a rigid substantially rectangular board member having a width slightly less than the width of said pocket and a length longer than said front side portion and comparable in length to said rear side portion, said board member having an assembled position slidably received within said pocket and having a margin of said board member exposed, a hinged spring loaded clip including a mounting member anchored by application of the mounting member to the board member at said margin, said spring loaded clip including a movable portion overlying and spring pressed against a portion of said front side portion adjacent said open top whereby simultaneously to retain said clip board assembly in the pocket and to retain papers attached thereto both inside and outside said pocket, and at least one flat section of said rear side portion forming a rear pocket in said rear side portion with an open end of said pocket lying beneath said flap.

3. A composite package for assorted papers comprising a sheath of flexible sheet material having a front side portion and a rear side portion longer than the front side portion joined at bottom and side edges forming a pocket having an open top, said rear side portion having an extension at the edge adjacent the open top and folded rearwardly in the form of a flap, a clip board assembly comprising a rigid substantially rectangular board member having a width slightly less than the width of said pocket and a length longer than said front side portion and comparable in length to said rear side portion, said board member having an assembled position slidably received within said pocket and having a margin of said board member exposed, a hinged spring loaded clip including a mounting member anchored by application of the mounting member to the board member at said margin, said mounting member including a stop overlying and adapted to engage the edge of said front side member adjacent the open top and said spring loaded clip including a movable portion overlying and spring pressed against a portion of said front side portion adjacent said open top whereby simultaneously to retain said clip board assembly in the pocket and to retain papers attached thereto both inside and outside said pocket, and at least one flat section of said rear side portion forming a rear pocket in said rear side portion with an open end of said pocket lying beneath said flap.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 405,874 Collins June 25, 1889 1,492,932 Orrell May 6, 1924 1,555,058 Hogue Sept. 29, 1925 2 ,636,751 Carlson Apr. 28, 1953