Abstract:
A new design for a marker holder and eraser has a front side and a back side, the back side having a recess. The front side has two openings for retaining markers. A metal plate and a magnet holder are disposed within the recess and an erasing material covers the recess. Projections extend from the magnet holder into openings on the front side to engage markers disposed in the openings, thereby holding the markers at any angle.

Description:
REFERENCE TO RELATED CASE 
       [0001]    This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119(e) and 35 U.S.C. §120 to provisional application No. 62/083,398, filed on Nov. 24, 2014, and U.S. Pat. No. 9,409,437, issued on Aug. 9, 2015, which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety. 
     
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    White boards have, for the most part, replaced chalk boards in the classroom and in board rooms. However, a functional yet attractive marker holder and eraser have lagged behind in accompanying the new boards. The marker holders should accommodate a number of markers and be within reach of the user. When there is no place on the board to store the makers, even if only temporarily, the markers are frequently misplaced or lost. Additionally, many of the marker holders are fixed in place and only provide one function: holding the markers, usually at the wrong end of the board. Thus, a holder that is movable, functional, attractive and serves more than one purpose is needed. 
         [0003]    A new marker holder and eraser allows for the storage of multiple markers and provides an eraser at the same time. The marker holder and eraser can be moved around the white board, erases the markings on the white board, and holds the markers at any angle. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0004]    The present invention is directed to a marker holder and eraser that includes a main body having a front side and an opposite back side, the front side having two marker openings extending along a length thereof to receive a marker in each of the marker openings and the back side having a recess, a metal plate disposed within the recess on the back side of the main body, a magnet holder disposed within the recess on the back side of the main body, at least two magnets attached to the magnet holder, and erasing material disposed within the recess and covering at least a portion of the magnet holder, the erasing material capable of erasing marker ink on a dry-erase board. 
         [0005]    In some embodiments, the the magnet holder has two resilient projections extending away from a front side of the magnet holder, the main body has two corresponding resilient projection openings, one resilient projection opening being disposed within one of each of the marker openings on the front side of the main body. 
         [0006]    In other embodiments, marker openings on the front side are cylindrical cavities configured to receive a marker and the cylindrical cavities have a diameter, the diameter decreasing with increasing depth into the cavities. 
         [0007]    In some embodiments, the magnet holder has at least two recesses, the at least two recesses each having a magnet therein. 
         [0008]    In other embodiments, the main body has a top end and a bottom end, the marker openings being circular in cross section at the bottom end and semi-circular at the top end. 
         [0009]    In yet another aspect, the present invention is directed to a marker holder and eraser that includes a main body having a front side and an opposite back side, the front side having two marker openings extending along a length thereof to receive a marker in each of the marker openings and the back side having a recess, a metal plate disposed within the recess on the back side of the main body, a magnet holder disposed within the recess on the back side of the main body, the magnet holder having at least two recesses, at least two magnets disposed in the recesses in the magnet holder; and erasing material disposed at least partially within the recess and covering at least a portion of the magnet holder, the erasing material capable of erasing marker ink on a dry-erase board. 
         [0010]    Additional features and advantages of the invention will be set forth in the detailed description which follows, and in part will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art from that description or recognized by practicing the invention as described herein, including the detailed description which follows, the claims, as well as the appended drawings. 
         [0011]    It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description of the present embodiments of the invention are intended to provide an overview or framework for understanding the nature and character of the invention as it is claimed. The accompanying drawings are included to provide a further understanding of the invention, and are incorporated into and constitute a part of this specification. The drawings illustrate various embodiments of the invention, and together with the description serve to explain the principles and operations of the invention. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0012]      FIG. 1  is a front perspective view of one embodiment of a marker holder and eraser according to one embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0013]      FIG. 2  is a top view of the marker holder and eraser of  FIG. 1 ; 
           [0014]      FIG. 3  is a bottom view of the marker holder and eraser of  FIG. 1 ; 
           [0015]      FIG. 4  is a right side view of the marker holder and eraser of  FIG. 1 ; 
           [0016]      FIG. 5  is a front side view of the marker holder and eraser of  FIG. 1 ; 
           [0017]      FIG. 6  is a back side view of the marker holder and eraser of  FIG. 1 ; 
           [0018]      FIG. 7  is an exploded front perspective view of the marker holder and eraser of  FIG. 1 ; 
           [0019]      FIG. 8  is a view of the back side of the marker holder and eraser of  FIG. 1  with the erasing material removed; 
           [0020]      FIG. 9  is a cross section view of the marker holder and eraser along the line  9 - 9  in  FIG. 1 ; 
           [0021]      FIG. 10  is a cross section view of the marker holder and eraser along the line  10 - 10  in  FIG. 1 ; 
           [0022]      FIG. 11  is an exploded front perspective view of another embodiment of a marker holder and eraser according to the present invention. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
       [0023]    Reference will now be made in detail to the present preferred embodiment(s) of the invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Whenever possible, the same reference numerals will be used throughout the drawings to refer to the same or like parts. 
         [0024]    One embodiment of a marker holder and eraser according to the present invention illustrated in the figures is directed to a marker holder and eraser  10  as illustrated in  FIGS. 1-10 . The marker holder and eraser  10  has a main body  12  with two marker openings  14 ,  16  to hold a respective dry-erase marker/marker. The main body  12  of marker holder and eraser  10  has an upper portion  18  and a lower portion  20 , which are divided by an indentation  22 , which also functions as a recess for a user&#39;s fingers. Grasping the marker holder and eraser  10  from the front allows the user to put fingers into the indentation  22  and pull the marker holder and eraser  10  off a board by overcoming the magnetic attraction, as described in more detail below. See also  FIGS. 2 and 3 . The upper portion  18  has an upper surface  24  extending generally across the upper portion  18 . An opening  26  can be disposed between the two marker openings  14 , 16  and the upper surface  24 . The opening  26  may be eliminated and/or be sealed either during manufacturing or thereafter. The marker openings  14  and  16 , while generally circular in cross-section towards the bottom end  28  of the eraser and marker holder  10 , have a more open configuration towards the top end  30 . As can be seen in  FIG. 1 , the top portion of the marker openings  14 , 16  are semi-circular in cross section. This semi-circular cross section is as a result of the sloped surface  32  that extends from the upper surface  24  towards the top end  30 . See also  FIGS. 4 and 5 . The openness of the marker openings  14 , 16  at the top end allows the user to easily grasp markers that are inserted into the marker openings  14 , 16 . 
         [0025]    Given their length, the maker openings  14 , 16  are generally cylindrical, with the marker openings  14 , 16  being reduced in diameter towards the bottom end  28  of the marker holder and eraser  10 . See  FIG. 9 . This allows for a tighter fit of the markers (not shown) in the marker openings  14 , 16 . Also assisting with maintaining any markers within the marker openings  14 , 16  are resilient projections  40 , 42 , which can exert pressure against a marker inserted into the openings to maintain the markers in the openings  14  and  16 , even if the eraser and marker holder  10  is turned upside down. The marker holder and eraser  10  has resilient projection openings  44 , 46 , one of the openings disposed in each of the marker openings  14 , 16 . Extending into the openings  14 , 16  from a backside thereof and through the resilient projection openings  44 , 46  are resilient projections  40 ,  42 , which can exert pressure against a marker inserted into the marker openings  14 , 16  to maintain the markers in the openings  14  and  16 , even if the marker holder and eraser  10  is turned upside down. 
         [0026]    Turning to the back side  50  of the marker holder and eraser  10  as illustrated in  FIG. 6 , there is an erasing material  52 , which can be felt or any other appropriate material. The erasing material  52  is preferably disposed inside a recess  56  that is formed by an edge  58  of the main body  12 . The erasing material  52  protrudes below the lower portion  20  of the marker holder and eraser  10  to allow for erasing of the whiteboard. The erasing material  52  may be adhered to the main body  12  or the other components inside the recess  56 . 
         [0027]    The back side  50  of the marker holder and eraser  10  has the recess  56  to contain other elements of the marker holder and eraser  10 . As illustrated in  FIGS. 7, 8, and 10 , inserted into the recess  56  are a metal plate  60 , a magnet holder  70 , magnets  80  (see  FIG. 8 ), and the erasing material  52 . The main body  12 , as noted above, may have resilient projection openings  44  and  46  to receive resilient projections  40 ,  42  from the magnet holder  70  therethrough. It is also possible that the resilient projections  40 ,  42  are formed on the surface in each of the openings  14 ,  16  of the main body  12 , rather than projecting through the resilient projection openings  44  and  46 . The metal plate  60  is preferably first disposed into the backside  50  of the main body  12 . While the metal plate is first disposed within the recess  56 , it could be inserted after the magnet holder  70 . The metal plate  60  preferably assists in securing the marker holder and eraser  10  to a metal surface (or the whiteboard with a metal component therein) by evening out the magnetic field from the magnets  80 . The magnet holder  70  is used to secure the metal plate  60  within the recess  56  of the main body  12 . Magnet holder  70  is preferably made from a plastic material, but may be made of any suitable material. As illustrated, the resilient projections  40 ,  42  extend upward from the top surface  72  of the holder  70  and pass through resilient projection openings  44  and  46  of the main body  12 . The resilient projections  40 ,  42  extend on either side of the metal plate  60  through cut-outs  62  and  64 . The magnet holder  70  also has magnet recesses  74 , three of which are illustrated in  FIG. 7 . The recesses  74  extend upward from the upper surface  72  of the magnet holder  70 , so that the underside  76  of the holder  70  is essentially flat with the magnets being flush within each of the magnet recesses  74 . The magnet holder  70  also preferably has a plurality of tabs  78  around the periphery thereof to frictionally engage the main body  12  of the marker holder and eraser  10 . The recess  56  may also have small indentations or cavities on the inside of the main body  12  to accept the tabs  78  to hold the magnet holder  70  therein. The magnets  80  may be press-fit into the magnet recesses  74  or secured by an adhesive. The erasing material  52  is secured to the underside  76  of the holder  70  by any appropriate means, e.g., adhesive, glue, two-sided tape, etc. 
         [0028]      FIG. 8  illustrates the back side  50  of the marker holder and eraser  10  with the eraser material  52  removed therefrom. As can be seen, the three magnets  80  are flush with the underside surface  76  of the holder  70 , although it is possible for the magnets  80  to be either recessed into or extend up and out of the recesses  74 . 
         [0029]      FIG. 11  illustrates an alternative embodiment of an eraser and marker holder  100 . The eraser and marker holder  100  includes a main body  112 , a metal plate can be used but need not be, a magnet holder  170  magnets  180 , and the erasing material  152 . The main body  112  has resilient projection openings  144  and  146  to receive resilient projections  140 ,  142  as well as other resilient projection openings not visible to receive receive resilient projections  148 ,  150  therethrough. The holder  170  is used to secure the metal plate within the main body  112 . The magnet holder  170  also has magnet receptacles  174  that extend upward from the upper surface  172  of the magnet holder  170 . The magnet holder  170  also preferably has tabs  178  around the periphery thereof to frictionally engage the main body  112  of the marker holder and eraser  100 . The magnets  180  may be press-fit into the magnet receptacles  174  or secured by an adhesive. The erasing material  152  is secured to the holder  170  by any appropriate means, e.g., adhesive, glue, two-sided tape, etc. 
         [0030]    It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made to the present invention without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Thus it is intended that the present invention cover the modifications and variations of this invention provided they come within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents.