US3065978A

US3065978A - Protective cover for note pads or books

Info

Publication number: US3065978A
Application number: US88187A
Authority: US
Inventors: William A Stephens
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1961-02-09
Filing date: 1961-02-09
Publication date: 1962-11-27
Anticipated expiration: 1979-11-27

Description

Nov. 27, 1962 v w. A. STEPHENS 3,065,978

PROTECTIVE COVER FOR NOTE PADS OR BOOKS Filed Feb. 9, 1961 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 M'l/fam .4. Stephens INVENTOR.

Nov. 27, 1962 w. A. STEPHENS 3,065,973

PROTECTIVE COVER FOR NOTE PADS 0R BOOKS Filed Feb. 9, 1961 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 l /2 Y mm A. Step/lens 1N VEN TOR.

BY /"6am United States Patent 3,065,978 PROTECTIVE COVER FOR NOTE PADS 0R BOOKS William A. Stephens, Pikeville, Tenn. (4217 Taliluna Ave., Knoxville 19, Tenn.) Filed Feb. 9, 1961, Ser. No. 88,187 4 Claims. (Cl. 281--34) This invention relates to protective covers, and particu larly to a protective cover for a notebook or pad which permits a person to write on the pad without removing the protective cover therefrom or touching the same.

Accordingly,'it is an object of this invention to provide a transparent flexible cover for notebooks, note pads, or other writing surfaces wherein the cover is of sufficient size to permit the note pad or book to be opened and written upon without removing the cover.

It is another object of this invention to provide a protective cover for Writing surfaces or books which is of suflicient size to contain a glove for a human hand which is secured to an opening in the cover and wherein a person may insert his hand into the glove and write upon the pad or writing material without touching the same.

It is still another object of this invention to provide a flexible cover for note pads, bill pads, etc., which will cover the pad at all times and yet permit someone to write upon the pad thereby protecting the pad from dirt, grease, etc. This will improve the neatness and legibility of the Writing on the pad.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a protective cover of the above mentioned type which is easy and economical to manufacture, yet durable and reliable in use.

These together with other objects and advantages which will become subsequently apparent reside in the details of construction and operation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, reference being had to the accom panying drawings forming a part hereof, wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of my invention;

FIGURE 2 is a bottom view of the invention;

FIGURE 3 is a perspective view of the invention with a notebook therein in the folded condition;

FIGURE 4 is a side view of my invention with an opened notebook therein; and

FIGURE 5 is a cross-sectional view taken substantially upon the plane of line 55 of FIGURE 4.

Referring to the drawings, it can be seen that the protective cover for the notebook 12 is composed of a flexible transparent material which is also elastic to a certain degree. plastic which are transparent have been found to be satisfactory for the construction of my cover.

The notebook pad 12 is typical of the stationery which may be protected by my invention. The pad 12 com- Polyethylene plastics and other forms of 5 3,065,978 Patented Nov. 27, 1962 ice The upper portion of the cover 10 includes a

rectangular top portion

34 and 35 which is the same size as the portion 24 and comprises an integral extension of the back wall 30.

As shown in FIGURE 4, the

walls

34 and 24 are joined on each side by a triangular portion 36 and a trapezoidal portion 38. The

portions

38 and 36 form the side walls of my cover and are joined together as one integral piece. When the cover is in the fully opened position as shown in FIGURE 5, the top wall 34 forms an angle of approximately 65 degrees with the bottom wall 24. The upper and lower edges of the triangular portion 36 are rounded off as shown at 40 and 42. The

curved edges

40 and 42 and the straight edge 44 of the

side walls

36 and 38 are joined by a rectangular portion 46. The portion 46 comprises the front of the cover and also is integrally joined to the bottom wall 24 and the cover portion 34.

The front wall 46 also has formed adjacent its bottom edge an inwardly projecting rib 48 which acts as a retainer for the front edge of the backing 16.

The central lower portion of the front cover 46 has an oval aperture 50 formed therein. Sealed to the edge portions of this aperture is the wrist portion of a flexible transparent glove 52. The glove 52 has flanges 54 bonded to the edges of the aperture 50. Aside from being transparent and non-porous, the glove 52 is conventional and comprises four fingers 56 and a thumb 58 all integrally joined together.

prises a stack of rectangular sheets of paper 14 covered 5 on the front and back side thereof by a rigid backing 16 and a rigid cover 18 creased at 20 for folding. The sheets 14, the backing 16 and the cover 18 are secured together by bonding 22 which is conventional and may comprise a combination of cloth and glue.

The cover 10 comprises a rectangular bottom wall 24 divided into ,two

segments

26 and 28 and a vertically extending back wall 30 which is also rectangular and divided along its vertical center line to rectangular components. The two rectangular halves of the bottom 24 and the end wall 30 are joined together by conventional zipper means 32. The zipper means may comprise a zipper handle shown at 32 and mating tongue and groove means 85 such as commonly used in plastic raincoats. The tongue and groove means 85 is joined or separated by sliding the zipper handle 32 therealong.

7 All of the abutting edges of the wall portions of the cover are bonded together to form an air-tight seal by conventional means such as heat or chemicals. Also, the edges may be crimped or thickened as shown at 60 for increasing the stiffness of the edges of the cover and for improving the durability thereof.

In operation, the bottom 24 and the end wall 30 of the cover is opened by means of the zipper handle 32 and the pad 12 is inserted therein along with a conventional pencil or writing instrument 62 which is placed on top of the pad. The zipper is then operated to completely enclose the pad and pencil within the cover. For writing on the pad, it is only necessary for an operator to stick his hand through the aperture and into the glove 52 as shown in FIGURE 1. Due to the thinness and flexibility of the material comprising the cover, and due to its complete transparency, the operator needs merely to grasp the pencil 62 in the conventional manner for writing upon the pad 12.

Since the paid is completely enclosed by the transparent non-porous cover 10, it is always protected from dirt, humidity, rain, grease, etc. Also, the operator cannot actually touch the pad paper with his hand, and he is prevented from smearing the writing on the paid.

The

cover portions

35 and 34 of the cover may be composed of a thicker and more rigid material than the remainder of the cover, however, the portion 37 connecting the

portions

35 and 34 must be quite flexible in order to permit the portion 34 to be folded back as shown in FIGURE 4.

When not in use, the

side walls

38 and 36 and the front wall 46 may be folded inwardly and under the pad cover 18 whereby the cover may be folded downwardly parallel to the back 16 as shown in FIGURE 3. This permits the entire cover and pad to be easily transported and carried about.

The foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly all suitable modifications and equivalents 0 may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention as claimed.

What is claimed as new is as follows:

1. A protective cover particularly adaptable for use with top opening pads or notebooks, comprising a flat rectangular bottom wall adapted to engage the bottom cover of a pad or notebook, a back wall extending perpendicularly from one end of said bottom wall a sufiicient height so as to receive the rear edge of a pad or notebook, a means secured to the upper edge of the back wall and extending parallel to and coextensive with the bottom wall for receiving the top cover of a pad or notebook, said means containing a flexible joint located on a line corresponding with a joint about which the top cover of a pad or notebook is to pivot, a flexible, transparent front wall secured between said means and bottom wall at the forward edges thereof, said front wall being of sufficient height so as to allow a top cover of an enclosed pad or notebook to be opened so as to provide writing access to the interior thereof, two flexible side walls secured between the bottom, back, and front walls and said means, said side walls being of sufiicient size so as to not hinderthe opening and closing of an enclosed pad or notebook, and an aperture in the front wall providing access to the interior of said protective cover.

2. The combination of claim 1 including an inwardly projecting rib on the front wall near the bottom edge thereof adapted to act as a retainer for the front edge of a bottom cover of an enclosed pad or notebook.

3. The combination of claim 2 including a zipper extending continuously through both the bottom and rear walls so as to provide an opening for the insertion of a pad or notebook.

4. The combination of claim 3 including a fingered glove-like member extending into the protective cover and secured in sealing relation to the periphery of the aperture in the front wall.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,786,740 Taylor et al Mar. 26, 1957 FOREIGN PATENTS 210,213 Switzerland Sept. 2, 1940