Patent Publication Number: US-6210065-B1

Title: Sequential first page notebook

Description:
FILING HISTORY 
     This application is based upon the contents of Disclosure Document No. 441,588, recorded on Aug. 6, 1998. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates generally to the field of stationery, books, office and school products generally. More specifically the present invention relates to a notebook having a plurality of pages forming a pad and bound together at a page binder edge by a ring or spiral binder, and having a cover constructed to permit the sequential passage of the forward-most, or first page through a slot in or beside the cover to become the last page in the pad. The rotated page becomes the last page in the pad, rather than merely a folded back first page, because no part of the cover or binder extends between the rotated first page and the remainder of the pad. First page rotation exposes and causes the second page to become the first page, which may then be rotated to the back of the pad to expose and cause the next page to become the first page. This page rotation may be performed indefinitely. 
     2. Description of the Prior Art 
     There have long been notebooks including note pads for containing a series of bound pages and arranged so that each page can be folded behind the pad after use. A problem with these prior pads has been that the cover must be folded behind the pad, and then pages folded behind the cover, so that pages rotated behind the pad are obstructed by the cover or other notebook parts from rejoining the pad. Then, to close the notebook so that the cover is exposed outside the pad, the used pages must be folded back on top of unused pages. As a result, when the user wishes to begin writing on the next available page, he or she must flip past all the used pages to reach it. 
     Holton, U.S. Pat. No. 703,260, issued on Jun. 24, 1902, discloses a tablet including a stack of writing sheets and a one piece binder in the form of two spaced apart binder rings interconnected by a connecting rod. The rings have flat back portions to rest on a table and curved front portions around which the sheets are rotated after use. The sheets cannot rotate all the way around the rings to reach the back of the stack, however, because the ring connecting rod would stop them. 
     Hackmann, et al., U.S. Pat. No. 808,652, issued on Jan. 2, 1906, teaches a note book having a binder similar to that of Holton. Two circular binder rings are interconnected by a straight rod portion, which would prevent full sheet rotation just as in Holton. 
     Thaw, U.S. Pat. No. 3,108,823, issued on Oct. 29, 1963 for a paper securement device, includes binder rings mounted onto a backboard which can be opened to load and reload paper. Pianta, U.S. Pat. No. 4,239,410, issued on Dec. 16, 1980 reveals a stationary booklet having cardboard covers and a refillable binder made up of tubular rings passing through slots in the cover and sheets, which can be split longitudinally and reconnected. Zane, U.S. Pat. No. 5,503,486, issued on Apr. 2, 1996, discloses a notebook and notebook cover assembly. None of these devices appear to permit the full rotation of sheets from the front to the back of a pad. 
     It is thus an object of the present invention to provide a notebook including a pad of writing pages having a pad cover which permits sequential rotation of the forward most page past the cover to the back of the pad, to become the last page in the pad, so that the next page to be used is always the first page in the notebook. 
     It is another object of the present invention to provide such a notebook which permits such forward most page rotation without removal of the pad cover. 
     It is still another object of the present invention to provide a conventional notebook with a cover conversion kit including means for existing cover removal and at least one replacement cover having the characteristics of the present invention covers to permit forward most page rotation, past the cover to the back of the pad. 
     It is finally an object of the present invention to provide such a notebook which is simple in design and inexpensive to manufacture. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention accomplishes the above-stated objectives, as well as others, as may be determined by a fair reading and interpretation of the entire specification. 
     A notebook is provided including several pages each having a page binder edge and a page free edge, and having at least two page binder holes adjacent to the page binder edge, the pages being stacked sequentially face to face to form a pad so that corresponding page binder holes register with each other; a binder passing through registering the page binder holes; and a cover including a cover sheet portion with a cover free edge and with a cover binder edge having a binder engaging slat portion spaced apart and substantially parallel with the cover binder edge defining a page passing slot through which the binder passes; so that the page free edge of each forward most page can be arched over the remainder of the forward most page, fitted into and rotated about the binder entirely through the page passing slot and placed against the back of the pad. 
     The binder is optionally a spiral wire threaded through the registering page holes to hold the pages and the cover together while permitting page rotation. The binder alternatively includes a series of ring-shaped wires each fitted through one registering series of the page holes to hold the pages together and permit page rotation. The slat portion is optionally part of the cover sheet portion and the page passing slot is optionally cut into the cover sheet portion to define the slot portion and is adjacent and parallel to the cover binder edge through which the binder passes. 
     The cover alternatively includes a plate having a plate binder edge and a plate anchor edge, the plate anchor edge having punched out tabs which penetrate the cover sheet portion and are bent to hold the plate to the cover sheet portion, and the plate binder edge in this instance overhangs the cover binder edge and includes the page passing slot. The slat alternatively includes a cover mounting rod having a binder engaging segment extending parallel to and spaced apart from the cover binder edge to define the page passing slot, the cover mounting rod including at each end a rod anchor segment angled from the binder engaging segment and secured to the sheet. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     Various other objects, advantages, and features of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the following discussion taken in conjunction with the following drawings, in which: 
     FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the notebook of the first preferred embodiment showing front and back covers and a spiral binder passing through the page passing slot in the cover sheet portions and through the page holes. 
     FIG. 2 is a front view of the notebook of FIG.  1 . 
     FIG. 3 is a side view of the notebook of FIG.  1 . 
     FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the notebook showing the forward most page being inserted into and passing through the page passing slot to become the rear most page. The wire ring binder alternative is illustrated. 
     FIG. 5 is a close-up of the detail marked in FIG.  4 . 
     FIG. 6 is a perspective view of an alternative embodiment of a notebook cover having the plate secured to the cover with tabs and the page passing slot in the plate. 
     FIG. 7 is a front view of the cover of FIG.  6 . 
     FIG. 8 is a side edge view of the cover of FIG.  6 . 
     FIG. 9 is a rear view of the cover of FIG.  6 . 
     FIG. 10 is detail of an upper corner of the cover of FIG.  9 . 
     FIG. 11 is a top edge view of the cover of FIG.  6 . 
     FIG. 12 is a perspective view of another alternative embodiment of a notebook cover having the cover mounting rod secured to the cover with turned over and fastened cover sheet portion side edges defining the page passing slot. 
     FIG. 13 is a front view of the cover of FIG.  12 . 
     FIG. 14 is a side edge view of the cover of FIG.  12 . 
     FIG. 15 is a rear view of the cover of FIG.  12 . 
     FIG. 16 is detail of an upper corner of the cover of FIG.  12 . 
     FIG. 17 is a top edge view of the cover of FIG.  12 . 
     FIG. 18 is a perspective view of another alternative embodiment of a notebook cover having the cover mounting rod secured to the cover with a turned over and fastened cover sheet portion binder edge defining the page passing slot. 
     FIG. 19 is a front view of the cover of FIG.  18 . 
     FIG. 20 is a side edge view of the cover of FIG.  18 . 
     FIG. 21 is a rear view of the cover of FIG.  18 . 
     FIG. 22 is detail of an upper corner of the cover of FIG.  21 . 
     FIG. 23 is detail of a middle section of the cover of FIG.  21 . The rod anchor segments are bent to parallel the cover binder edge and bent again to extend toward the cover free end, to prevent rod anchor segment rotation relative to the given cover. 
     FIG. 24 is a top edge view of the cover of FIG.  18 . 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     As required, detailed embodiments of the present invention are disclosed herein; however, it is to be understood that the disclosed embodiments are merely exemplary of the invention which may be embodied in various forms. Therefore, specific structural and functional details disclosed herein are not to be interpreted as limiting, but merely as a basis for the claims and as a representative basis for teaching one skilled in the art to variously employ the present invention in virtually any appropriately detailed structure. 
     Reference is now made to the drawings, wherein like characteristics and features of the present invention shown in the various FIGURES are designated by the same reference numerals. 
     First Preferred Embodiment 
     Referring to FIGS. 1-24, a notebook  10  is disclosed having a pad  12  of pages  14  bound together at one edge by a binder  30  such as a tubular, ring or spiral wire binder, and having a cover  40  constructed to permit the sequential passage of the forward most, or first, page  14   a  through or beside the cover to become the last page  14  in the pad  12 . The rotated page  14  becomes the last page in pad  12 , rather than merely a folded back first page  14   a,  because no part of cover  40  or binder  30  extends between the rotated page  14  and the other pages making up pad  12 . First page  14   a  rotation exposes and causes the second page  14  of pad  12  to become the first page, which subsequently may be rotated to the back of pad  12  in the same way to expose and cause the next page  14  to become the first page  14   a.  This page rotation may be performed sequentially until the original last page  14   b  of pad  12  becomes the first page. The rotated pages  14  all may be rotated in sequence indefinitely to each become the first page  14   a  once again. The wire may be formed of metal, plastic or any other suitable material. 
     The pages  14  making up pad  12  preferably each have page binder edges  22  and page free edges  24 , and a series of binder holes  26  punched along page binder edges  22 , so that corresponding holes  26  of the several pages  14  register with each other. The preferred spiral and ring binders  30  are of conventional design and are illustrated in FIGS. 1-3 and FIGS. 4-5, respectively. The binder wire, whether forming a series of rings or a single spiral, extends through registering binder holes  26  along page binder edges  22  to hold the pages  14  together and permit page rotation. Cover  40  includes a cover sheet portion  32  which is preferably is a cardboard or plastic sheet. 
     For one embodiment, cover sheet portion  32  has a cover binder edge  42  and a page passing slot  44  adjacent and parallel to cover binder edge  42  through which spiral wire binder  30  passes. The portion of cover  40  between the slot  44  and cover binder edge  42  defines a binder coupling slat  34 . The page free edge  24  of each forward most page  14   a  is in turn curled by hand and arched over the remainder of the page  14   a  generally toward its page binder edge  22 , fitted into and pulled entirely through page passing slot  44  until the rotated page rests against the back of pad  12 . 
     A variation of the first embodiment of notebook  10  is provided in which the page passing slot  44  is located in an elongate plate  50  formed of metal, plastic or other suitable material, and having a longitudinal plate binder edge  52  and a longitudinal plate anchor edge  54 . See FIGS. 6-11. In this instance, the portion of plate  50  between slot  44  and plate binder edge  52  defines slat  34 . Plate anchor edge  54  has punched out tabs  56  which penetrate cover sheet portion  32  and are bent over on the opposing face of sheet portion  32  to join plate  50  and sheet portion  32  together. Plate binder edge  52  overhangs the cover binder edge  42  and includes longitudinal page passing slot  44  which receives the wire binder  30  and passes pages  14  in the same way that the above described page passing slot  44  does. 
     A second embodiment is provided in which the cover  40  includes a cover mounting rod  60  having a binder engaging segment  60   a  extending parallel to and spaced apart from cover binder edge  42  and passing longitudinally through the wire binder  30 . See FIGS. 12-17. Binder engaging segment  60  functions as slat  34  and the space between binder engaging segment  60  and cover binder edge  42  define slot  44 . Cover mounting rod  60  includes rod anchor segments  60   b  which are continuous with and turned at right angles from binder engaging segment  60   a  toward and onto the face of cover sheet portion  32  and parallel to opposing cover side edges  46 . Cover side edges  46  are each preferably folded over part of the remainder of cover  40 , over the adjacent rod anchor segment  60   b  and glued face to face with the remainder of cover  40  to hold rod anchor segments  60   b  in place. The page free edge  24  of each forward most page  14   a  is subsequently turned back by hand and arched over the remainder of the page  14   a  toward the page binder edge  22 , fitted into and pulled entirely through the gap between wire binder  30  and cover binder edge  42  until the rotated page rests against the back of pad  12 . Rod anchor segments  60   b  are alternatively engaged along cover binder edge  52 , as shown in FIGS. 18-24. 
     For any of the above embodiments, one cover  40  may be provided for the front or the back of the pad  12 , or two such covers  40  to function as front and rear covers may be provided. In the latter instance, both covers pass pages  14  from front to back of the pad  12  through their respective slots  44  as described above for one cover  40 . An optional feature of notebook  10 , which is not shown in the FIGURES, is cover connecting material such as paper or other suitable material interconnecting the cover binder edges of front and rear covers  40 . The cover connecting material is designed so that it folds up between the front and rear covers  40  when their cover binder edges  42  are advanced toward each other so that it does not obstruct the gap between cover binder edges  42  and binder  30 . This cover connecting material helps reduce excess travel of front and rear covers  40  relative to each other and to pad  12 , and provides additional protection to pages  14 . 
     Apparatus  10  is alternatively provided in kit form. Such a kit includes instructions to the purchaser to cut off original covers on an off-the-shelf wire binder notebook and to install the above-described covers  40  by inserting the slat  34  into the wire binder  30 , either by inserting it through breaks in wire rings or by feeding the slat  34  through a spiral wire and through the page holes  26  by rotating the spiral wire. 
     There may be paper or other material connecting the tops of the front and back cover. The material will be designed such that it will fold up in between the two covers when they are put together so that it won&#39;t block the gap between the covers and the binding that the paper sheets go in between. This material will help to reduce excess cover travel and extend the protection that the covers provide to the sheets. 
     While the invention has been described, disclosed, illustrated and shown in various terms or certain embodiments or modifications which it has assumed in practice, the scope of the invention is not intended to be, nor should it be deemed to be, limited thereby and such other modifications or embodiments as may be suggested by the teachings herein are particularly reserved especially as they fall within the breadth and scope of the claims here appended.