Patent Publication Number: US-9403398-B2

Title: Notepad cover

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
     This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/987,572 filed on May 2, 2014. The above identified patent application is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety to provide continuity of disclosure. 
    
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The invention generally relates to a notepad cover. More specifically, the present invention relates to a rigid notepad cover having at least three panels that provide support and protection for a notepad and a notepad&#39;s pages secured therein. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Many individuals employ the use of writing pads, such as steno pads, notebooks and the like, for writing, taking notes and drawing. Notebooks used to hold sheets of paper have been widely used for many years and utilize a flat, rectangular supporting platform and a working surface over the supporting platform which typically is a stack of paper. The user can either rest the supporting platform on a solid surface or hold the notepad by one hand, and at the same time use another hand to work on the working surface. 
     In general, notebooks have been used to cover the writing area of sheets of paper to protect the writings contained thereon. Accordingly, covers on notebooks have typically been configured and dimensioned to match the writing area. Many notebook covers have been constructed with paper or plastic materials to add further protection to the sheets of writing paper. However, paper and plastic materials are substantially flexible and, thus, leave the writing paper susceptible to damage, such as from impact. 
     These pads often have fragile covers that are not conducive to writing when standing or on the go. The writing surface is unstable and unbalanced when held upright which leads to inaccurate writing and drawing. Additionally, these writing pad covers do not offer much protection from spills, rainy weather and the like and the pages of these pads can become damaged easily, thus ruining the notes and drawings thereon. 
     Various devices have been described in prior art relating to notepad covers and clipboards to support and protect notepads. These include devices that have been patented and published in patent application publications. These devices generally relate to folders and portfolios that provide protection to materials contained therein. The following is a list of devices deemed most relevant to the present disclosure, which are herein described for the purposes of highlighting and differentiating the unique aspects of the present invention, and further highlighting the drawbacks existing in the prior art. 
     These prior art devices have several known drawbacks. Each of these devices addresses the need for portable writing surfaces and in some cases storage of supplies, writing implements and drafting tools. The current invention goes beyond the present art to provide a three panel notepad cover that provides support and protection for the notepad pages contained therein. It incorporates a surface area that allows a user to write while standing upright or on the go. 
     In light of the devices disclosed in the prior art, it is submitted that the present invention substantially diverges in design elements from the prior art and consequently it is clear that there is a need in the art for an improvement to existing notepad covers. In this regard the instant invention substantially fulfills these needs. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     In view of the foregoing disadvantages inherent in the known types of notepad covers now present in the prior art, the present invention provides an improved notepad cover wherein the same can be utilized for providing convenience for the user when supporting and protecting the writings in a notepad. 
     It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a new and improved notepad cover that has all of the advantages of the prior art and none of the disadvantages. 
     It is one object of the present invention to provide a notepad cover for support and protection of notepad pages therein. The notepad cover includes at least three panels removably attached to a notepad. The at least three panels include a first panel, a second panel, and a third panel. 
     It is another object of the present invention to provide a notepad cover wherein the first panel and third panel are hingedly connected to opposing ends of the second panel. The second panel and the first panel are hingedly connected to one another via a fastener or may be sewn together. The hinged connection between the panels provide a cavity to receive notepad rings, bindings, and the like. 
     Another object of the present invention is to provide a notepad cover wherein the notepad is detachably secured within the first panel and the second panel via a plurality of fasteners, such as an elastic band. The first panel and second panel includes the flat elastic band positioned vertically on an interior of the first panel and the second panel. The flat elastic band is configured to secure the notepad thereunder. 
     It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a notepad cover wherein the third panel is hingedly connected to the second panel such that third panel folds in between the notepad secured within the second panel and the first panel. The third panel is placed in between the notepad to separate pages of the notepad. 
     Other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTIONS OF THE DRAWINGS 
       Although the characteristic features of this invention will be particularly pointed out in the claims, the invention itself and manner in which it may be made and used may be better understood after a review of the following description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings wherein like numeral annotations are provided throughout. 
         FIG. 1  shows an overhead view of the panels of the notepad cover according to one embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 2  shows a perspective view of the notepad cover affixed to a notepad according one embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 3  shows a perspective view of the notepad cover affixed to a notepad according one embodiment of the present invention. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     Reference is made herein to the attached drawings. Like reference numerals are used throughout the drawings to depict like or similar elements of the notepad cover. For the purposes of presenting a brief and clear description of the present invention, the preferred embodiment will be discussed as used for writing pads and notepads. The figures are intended for representative purposes only and should not be considered to be limiting in any respect. 
     Referring now to  FIG. 1 , there is shown an overhead view of the panels of the notepad cover according to one embodiment of the present invention. The notepad cover  100  supports and protects a notebook positioned therein. The notepad cover  100  can be used in conjunction with notebooks, drawing pads, notepads and the like. The notepad cover  100  provides a hard and stable three-panel cover on which a user can write and draw while standing upright. 
     The notepad cover  100  includes at least three panels  102  removably attachable to a notepad. The at least three panels  102  include a first panel  104 , a second panel  106 , and a third panel  108 . The notepad cover  100  includes three to four panels that can be constructed from a thin, hard material that can be covered in leather or other suitable material. The panels  102  comprise a substantially rigid material. The panels  102  can be affixed to one another via adhesive, elastic material, coils, sewing, or other such means. In one embodiment, the hinged connection  114  comprises a nylon, cotton, or cotton blend stitch. 
     The first panel  104  and the third panel  108  are hingedly connected  114  to opposing ends of the second panel  106 . The first panel  104  and the second panel  106  cover the front and back sides of a notepad, respectively. The notepad is received between the first panel  104  and the second panel  106  and is secured therein. The third panel  108  is placed behind a notebook page to provide a rigid hard writing surface or may be placed within the notepad to protect individual pages of the notepad. 
     The notepad is detachably secured to the second panel  106  and the first panel  104  via a plurality of fasteners, such as an elastic band  110 . The first panel  104  and second panel  106  include a flat elastic band  110  positioned vertically on an interior of the first panel  104  and the second panel  106 . The flat elastic band  110  is configured to secure the notepad thereunder. According to one embodiment, the elastic band  110  secures a notepad cover to the interior of the second panel  106  and is held flush against the second panel  106  interior surface. It is contemplated that there may a plurality of elastic bands  110  disposed on the interior of the second panel  106 , as well as the first panel  104 . In alternate embodiment, the fasteners may include a cloth band, a leather band or a clamp. 
     The third panel  108  is hingedly connected  114  to the second panel  106 . The third panel  108  serves as an additional panel for support and protection for the notepad. The hinged connection allows the third panel  108  to be placed into a desired location in the notepad to provide a rigid surface on which a use can write or draw on a notebook page. It is preferably located behind a writing surface to provide added support for a user while writing or drawing. The third panel  108  folds in between the notepad secured within the second panel  106  and the first panel  104 . The third panel  108  serves as a flap that can fold in between the pad and can be used to protect the pages of the pad or provide a rigid writing surface. 
     In one embodiment, the notepad cover  100  may include at least two panels removably attached to a notepad. The at least two panels include a first panel and an elongated second panel. The notepad is detachably secured to the first panel and the second panel via a fastener. The second panel is hingedly connected to the first panel such that the second panel folds in between the notepad secured within the first panel and the second panel. 
     Referring now to  FIGS. 2 and 3 , there are shown perspective views of the notepad cover affixed to a notepad according one embodiment of the present invention. A notepad  112  is affixed to the interior of the first panel  104  and the second panel  106 . The notebook  112  is slid underneath an elastic band  110  provided on the interior of the first panel  104  and the second panel  106 . The elastic band  110  may comprise a short length of rubber and latex. The elastic band  100  secures the notepad  112  between the first panel  104  and the second panel  106 . 
     The notepad cover  100  comprises at least a first panel  104  and a second panel  106  that can cover the front and back sides of a notepad  112  or other similar device. The third panel  108  provides a hard writing surface that can be placed behind the back of a notepad  112  page to easily write thereon. The third panel  108  is hingedly connected to the second panel  106  such that the third panel  108  be placed behind any page in a notepad  112  desired by the user. The hinged connection between the second panel  106  and the third panel  108  allows the third panel  108  to pivot between two configurations. The third panel  108  can be placed behind the second panel  106  or in between the first panel  104  and the second panel  106 . It is contemplated that the notepad cover  100  can include three to four panels, or flaps, that can be constructed from a thin and hard material that can be covered in leather or other suitable material. The panels or flaps can be affixed to one another via an adhesive, elastic material, sewing means, or other suitable fastening means. 
     According to another embodiment, the notepad cover  100  provides a device in which a notepad  112  can be placed therein in order to protect the pad and pages from harsh weather and other external factors. The notepad cover  100  comprise panels that can be made of a thin layer of leather or plastic material. Alternatively, the panels can be made of plastic, wherein the panels can be attached to one another via thin elastic flat strings  116  sewn in between each of the panels. The elastic flat strings  116  can slip through the coils of a notepad  112  in order to maintain the pad on the device. 
     It is therefore submitted that the instant invention has been shown and described in what is considered to be the most practical and preferred embodiments. It is recognized, however, that departures may be made within the scope of the invention and that obvious modifications will occur to a person skilled in the art. With respect to the above description then, it is to be realized that the optimum dimensional relationships for the parts of the invention, to include variations in size, materials, shape, form, function and manner of operation, assembly and use, are deemed readily apparent and obvious to one skilled in the art, and all equivalent relationships to those illustrated in the drawings and described in the specification are intended to be encompassed by the present invention. 
     Therefore, 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 may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention.