Patent Publication Number: US-2010117347-A1

Title: Notepad system for holding and dispensing various sized notepads

Description:
REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
     This application is a continuation of patent application Ser. No. 11/286,663, filed on Nov. 23, 2005, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,654,577 issued Feb. 2, 2010. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND 
     The present invention is directed to a notepad system, and more particularly, to a notepad system for holding and dispensing various sized notepads. 
     Notepads are widely used to dispense sheet-like papers upon which reminders, notes, etc. can be written. Such notepads may be mounted to a backing sheet or notepad dispenser. However, most existing devices for holding and dispensing notepads do not provide a compact nesting arrangement. Furthermore, most existing devices are configured to receive notepads thereon in only a single configuration. 
     Accordingly, there is a need for a compact nesting arrangement for notepads, as well as a supporting means for receiving various sized notepads or writing tablets. 
     SUMMARY 
     In one aspect, the invention is a notepad system including a piece of generally flat backing material, and a plurality of generally rectangular notepads removably mounted to the piece of backing material. The plurality of notepads are located immediately adjacent to each other and define a recognizable shape. 
     Other aspects of the invention will become apparent from the following description, the accompanying drawings and the appended claims. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a top view of one embodiment of the notepad system of the present invention, showing notepads of various sizes mounted on the backing panel; 
         FIG. 2  is a side perspective view of the system of  FIG. 1 , showing a notepad being inserted through a slit on the backing panel; 
         FIG. 3  is a side perspective view of the notepad system of  FIG. 2 , with all of the notepads removed; 
         FIG. 4  is a side perspective view of the notepad system of  FIG. 3 , showing a single, larger notepad mounted onto the backing panel; 
         FIG. 5  is a top view of the notepad system of  FIG. 1  moved to its closed position and with the retaining mechanism securing the notepad system in the closed position; 
         FIG. 6  is a front perspective view of a refill panel for the system of  FIG. 1 ; and 
         FIG. 7  is a side perspective view of an alternate embodiment of the notepad of  FIG. 2 , with all of the notepads removed. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     In one embodiment of the invention, as shown in  FIGS. 1-5 , a notepad system, generally designated  10 , includes a piece of flat backing material or rear cover  14 , a supplemental piece of flat backing material or front cover  12 , and a spine  16  coupling the pieces of backing material  12 ,  14  together. In the illustrated embodiment, the spine  16  functions as a flexible hinge that is pivotally coupled to the pieces backing material  12 ,  14 . However, a binding mechanism may be used in place of or in addition to the spine  16  to couple the pieces of backing material  12 ,  14  together. The binding mechanism can take any of a variety of forms, including but not limited to a coil binding mechanism, spiral binding mechanism, three ring binder, adhesive binding, etc. The pieces of backing material  12 ,  14  and spine  16  may be made from plastic, cardboard, tweeds, faux leathers, silks, cottons or the like. 
     As shown in  FIG. 1 , various size notepads  30 ,  50 ,  55 ,  60 ,  65 ,  70  may be removably mounted to the piece of backing material  14  of the notepad system  10 . The various-sized notepads  30 ,  50 ,  55 ,  60 ,  65 ,  70  may be located immediately adjacent to each other to define a recognizable shape. The recognizable shape formed by the notepads  30 ,  50 ,  55 ,  60 ,  65 ,  70  may be a geometric shape, such as a rectangle (which includes a square), ellipse (which includes a circle), triangle, octagon, hexagon, trapezoid, pentagon, etc. More particularly, the recognizable shape formed by the notepads  30 ,  50 ,  55 ,  60 ,  65 ,  70  may define generally a rectangular shape. 
     As shown in  FIG. 2 , each notepad  30 ,  50 ,  55 ,  60 ,  65 ,  70  includes a stack of sheets of paper  32  and a backing sheet  34  which may be secured together by a releasable adhesive. Each sheet  32  may be made of a generally water absorbent material such as cellulose or pulp-based paper to allow a user to write thereon with a wide variety of writing instruments, including pen, pencil, marker and the like. Each backing sheet  34  has a stiffness or thickness that is greater than each sheet  32  of the associated notepad  30 ,  50 ,  55 ,  60 ,  65 ,  70  and can be made of cardboard, paperboard, plastic and the like. 
     Each sheet  32  may have an adhesive on its lower surface. For example, each notepad  30 ,  50 ,  55 ,  60 ,  65 ,  70  may be a stack of POST-IT.®. notes sold commercially by 3M Company of St. Paul, Minn. However, the sheets  32  need not necessarily include adhesive, and could instead be standard sheets of paper. 
     The piece of backing material  14  may include various mounting slits  20 ,  21 ,  22 ,  23 ,  24  which are sized to receive the backing sheet  34  of the notepads  30 ,  50 ,  55 ,  60 ,  65 ,  70  therein. For example, as shown in  FIG. 2 , the piece of backing material  14  may be a two-ply structure, where the backing sheet  34  of notepad  30  can be inserted through the slit  21  formed in the outer ply of the piece of backing material  14 . The sheets (i.e.,  40 ) can be written upon by the user and separated from the pad (i.e.,  30 ) and then adhered to or placed on a desired surface. 
     As shown in  FIG. 3 , mounting slit  23  extends across at least 50% of the width of the piece of backing material  14  and is configured to removably receive both notepads  65 ,  70 . Likewise, mounting slit  24  extends across at least 50% of the width of the piece of backing material  14  and is configured to removably receive both notepads  55 ,  60 . 
     Alternatively, as shown in  FIG. 7 , two separate slits  29 ,  31  may be used in place of the single slit  24 . Slit  29  may be configured to receive the backing sheet  34  of notepad  60 , and slit  31  may be configured to receive the backing sheet  34  of notepad  55 . Likewise, two separate slits  33 ,  35  may be used in place of the single slit  23 . Slit  33  may be configured to receive the backing sheet  34  of notepad  65 , and slit  35  may be configured to receive the backing sheet  34  of notepad  70 . The mounting slits  29 ,  31  are configured to be separated by a distance less than about ¼ inch, and more particularly less than about ⅛ inch, and most particularly to extend across at least 20% of the width of the piece of backing material  14 . Likewise, mounting slits  33 ,  35  are configured to be separated by a distance less than about ¼ inch, and more particularly less than about ⅛ inch, and most particularly to extend across at least 20% of the width of the piece of backing material  14 . The separation distance provides sufficient exposure for the notepads  65 ,  70  and notepads  55 ,  60  to be individually grasped by the user and removed from or replaced with another notepad on the piece of backing material  14 . 
     In one embodiment of this invention, notepad  30  may be located a generally uniform spacing distance (i.e., in the left-to-right direction of  FIG. 1 ) from adjacent notepad  50 . Likewise, notepad  30  may be located a generally uniform spacing distance (i.e., in the vertical direction of  FIG. 1 ) from adjacent notepads  65 ,  70 . The generally uniform spacing distance is less than about 0.50 inches, or more particularly less than 0.25 inches, or yet more particularly less than 1/10 of an inch, or even more particularly less than about 1/10 of the smallest length or width dimension of notepads  65 ,  70 . In another embodiment of this invention, when the rear cover  14  includes slits  20 ,  21 ,  22 ,  29 ,  31 ,  33 ,  35  as shown in  FIG. 7 , the generally uniform spacing distance (i.e., in the vertical direction and in the left-to right direction of  FIG. 1 ) between adjacent notepads  30 ,  50 ,  55 ,  60 ,  65 ,  70  is less than about 0.50 inches, or more particularly less than 0.25 inches, or even more particularly less than about 1/10 of the smallest length or width dimension of notepads  65 ,  70 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 1 , each notepad  30 ,  50 ,  55 ,  60 ,  65 ,  70  may have at least one outer edge that is generally aligned with an outer edge of at least one adjacent notepad. Furthermore, each notepad  30 ,  50 ,  55 ,  60 ,  65 ,  70  may have at least two outer edges, wherein each of the two outer edges are aligned with an outer edge of at least one adjacent notepad. In one embodiment of this invention as shown in  FIG. 1 , the rear cover  14  is configured to removably receive various sized notepads  30 ,  50 ,  55 ,  60 ,  65 ,  70  thereon such that the various sized notepads  30 ,  50 ,  55 ,  60 ,  65 ,  70  cover at least about 90% of a surface area of the rear cover  14 . 
     The notepad system  10  may include at least two notepads  30 ,  50 ,  55 ,  60 ,  65 ,  70  of a different size and shape. For example, notepad  50  is a relatively long and thin notepad which can be used for grocery lists or the like. Notepads  65 ,  70  are relatively small and may be used for brief notes or reminders. The system  10  may also include at least two notepads of the same sizes (i.e., notepads  65 ,  70  and notepads  55 ,  60 ). More particularly, the system  10  may include four different sized notepads and six notepads in total which cover at least about 95%, or at least about 90% of the surface area of the piece of backing material  14 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 1 , when differently sized notepads are used at least two different width dimensions (i.e., in the left-to-right direction of  FIG. 1 ) may be available for the notepads  30 ,  50 ,  55 ,  60 ,  65 ,  70 . In one embodiment of this invention, the largest width of any of the notepads is approximately double the smallest width of any of the notepads. Furthermore, the notepads may have varying height dimensions (i.e., in the vertical direction of  FIG. 1 ), wherein the largest height dimension of any of the notepads is approximately five times greater than the smallest height of any of the notepads. The count of different width notepads, the count of different height notepads and the different ratios of width and height notepads may be varied as desired within the dimensional limits of the piece of backing material  14 . Of course, the size and arrangement of slits may need to be adjusted accordingly. 
     The total count of notepads mounted upon the piece of backing material  14  may be varied as desired. The plurality of notepads may include at least three notepads, and more particularly at least four notepads, and even more particularly at least five notepads. All or some of the pads (e.g., pads  30 ,  50 ,  55  in the illustrated embodiment) may be lined to guide the writing of a user thereon. 
     As shown in  FIG. 3 , the piece of backing material  14  may include a large mounting slit  20  which extends across at least about 90% of the width of the piece of backing material  14  and is configured to removably receive a large notepad  80 . As shown in  FIG. 4 , when mounted to the piece of backing material  14  the large notepad  80  covers at least about 90% of the surface area of the piece of backing material  14 . Thus, when the use of a single, larger notepad is required, the notepad  80  can be used in place of the smaller notepads  30 ,  50 ,  55 ,  60 ,  65 ,  70 . This allows a user the ability to configure the system  10  as desired. 
     In another embodiment of the invention, the notepad system  10  further includes a retaining mechanism  42  configured to selectively circumscribe the front cover  12  and rear cover  14  to secure said notepad system  10  in a closed position. For example as shown in  FIG. 5 , in one embodiment the retaining mechanism  42  is an elastic strap  42  which can be expanded and passed around the front cover  12  and the rear cover  14  to secure the notepad system  10  in its closed position. However, the retaining mechanism  42  can take any of a variety of forms including but not limited to extensible strap, non-extensible strap, hook and loop retaining mechanisms, mechanical snaps, magnets, releasable adhesives, buttons, and ribbons. Furthermore, the retaining mechanism  42  can be made of a solid material that is not stretchable. For example, rather than being made of an elastic material, the retaining mechanism  42  may be made of paper, plastic, fabric, metal or the like. 
     As shown in  FIG. 5 , in one embodiment of the invention, the elastic strap  42  may be secured to the front cover  12  by a stitched clasp  45 . The elastic strap  42  may be made of a generally stretchable solid material such as natural rubber, synthetic rubber, elastomeric plastic, elastomeric woven or braided fabric containing elastic fibers or the like that maybe extended when stretching forces are applied, and will sustain this extended shape while securing the notepad system  10  in its closed position, but will recover its original shape when the stretching forces are removed. Other representative examples of retaining mechanisms  42  for the front cover  12  and rear cover  14  include hook and loop fastening material (i.e., VELCRO.®.), mechanical snaps, etc. 
     In order to utilize the notepad system  10 , a user would first move the notepad system  10  into an open position as shown in  FIG. 1 . Next, the user selects a notepad (e.g., notepad  30  may be used for a list of grocery items), and writes information on the topmost slip  40 . The slip  40  can be removed from the pad  30  and then adhered to or placed on a desired surface or simply retained by the user (e.g., placed in a pocket). The user then moves the notepad system  10  into a closed position as shown in  FIG. 5  and the elastic strap can be expanded and passed around the front cover  12  and rear cover  14  to secure the notepad system  10  in its closed position. 
     As shown in  FIG. 6 , a notepad refill system, generally designated  85 , contains replenishment notepads  30 ,  50 ,  55 ,  60 ,  65 ,  70  in the appropriate sizes. The refill system  85  includes a backing panel  87  for supporting the notepads  30 ,  50 ,  55 ,  60 ,  65 ,  70  thereon. The backing panel  87  may have about the same size and shape as the rear cover  14 , and the notepads  30 ,  50 ,  55 ,  60 ,  65 ,  70  may be arranged on the backing panel  87  in the same configuration in which the notepads will be located on the rear cover  14 . Each of the notepads  30 ,  50 ,  55 ,  60 ,  65 ,  70  and backing panel  87  may be wrapped with a translucent plastic film  89  for tamper resistance and transport purpose. 
     The notepad refill system  85  provides a complete refill set of pads  30 ,  50 ,  55 ,  60 ,  65 ,  70  in the proper configuration. In this manner a user can easily replenish the pads in the notepad system  10  as needed. Each of the pads  30 ,  50 ,  55 ,  60 ,  65 ,  70  may be loosely placed on the backing panel  87 , and held in place by the wrapping material  89 . Alternatively, the backing panel  87  may be a two-ply structure having slits  20 ,  21 ,  22 ,  23 ,  24  formed in the outer-ply, as shown in  FIG. 3 , in which case the wrapping material  89  may not be needed. 
     Although the invention is shown and described with respect to certain aspects, modifications may occur to those skilled in the art upon reading the specification. The notepad system for holding and dispensing various sized notepads includes all such modifications and is limited only by the scope of the claims.