Patent Application
20080245943
This invention relates to an apparatus for holding sheet material against a back surface.
Clip boards are commonly used in various settings including business offices, medical offices, construction sites, gymnasiums, and retail establishments. Clip boards are used to retain one or more flexible pieces of paper or other sheets against a rigid board or other back surface. A clamp member is typically used to retain the sheets against the back surface.
When the sheets are retained against the rigid back surface of a clip board, the user is provided with a hand-held writing surface which might otherwise be unavailable. In addition to providing a hand-held writing surface, clip boards also serve numerous other convenient functions. For example, a clip board may serve as a clamping device for simply retaining a plurality of sheets together. As another example, a clip board may serve as a rigid backing device providing a solid structure for one or mole sheets when passed from one person to another or when being held by an individual for viewing away from a desk or table.
With typical boards, a user wishing to insert an additional sheet into the clip board must press down on the tab of the clamp member with one hand in order to release the clamping action of the clamp member against the board. The user is then able to insert a piece of paper between the clamp member and the board with the other hand. This two handed action is often inconvenient when one of the user's hands is already occupied. For example, if the user is holding a small cellular telephone against his or her ear, it may be difficult for the user to simultaneously insert an additional sheet of paper into a traditional clipboard.
While sheet retaining apparatus have been provided in the past that would allow a user to insert a sheet into a clamping device with a single hand, such previous sheet retaining apparatus have relied on the use of gravity to maintain a clamping force on the sheets. However, users of clipboards often orient the boards in numerous directions including sideways and up-side-down. Accordingly, these past sheet retaining devices which rely on gravity to maintain a clamping force on the sheets are not useful for incorporation as part of a clip board.
Another concern with past clip boards having a clip attached to a board involves the accidental removal of the sheets from the clamp member. In particular, when the user grabs the clip board by the clamp member, the release lever on the clamp member may be accidentally depressed. Accidental depression of the clamp member typically causes the sheets held by the clip board to be released from the clip board, and they may fall to the ground.
Accordingly, it would be advantageous to provide an apparatus for retaining sheets against a rigid back surface wherein only a single hand is required to insert the first or additional sheets into the apparatus. It would also be advantageous if such sheet retaining apparatus could be oriented in any direction without the sheet retaining apparatus losing its clamping force against the sheets. Furthermore, it would be advantageous if such sheet retaining apparatus included a release mechanism configured to avoid accidental release of sheets from the apparatus. It would be desirable to provide a clip board or other sheet retaining apparatus that provides one or more of these or other advantageous features as may be apparent to those reviewing this disclosure. However, the teachings disclosed herein extend to those embodiments which fall within the scope of the appended claims, regardless of whether they accomplish one or more of the above-mentioned advantages.
An apparatus for retaining at least one sheet against a back surface is disclosed herein. In at least one embodiment, the apparatus comprises a wedge member, a roller member, a biasing member, and a release mechanism. The roller member is moveable between a first position where the roller surface contacts the wedge member and a second position where the roller surface is separated from the wedge member. The biasing member biases the roller member toward the first position. The release mechanism is connected to the roller member and moveable between a clamp position and a release position. The release mechanism moves the roller member from the first position to the second position when the release mechanism is moved from the clamp position to the release position.
In one embodiment, the apparatus is provided as a clip board comprising a generally planar back surface and a sheet retaining member positioned upon the back surface. The sheet retaining member comprises a wedge surface, a rotatable roller, and a biasing member. The wedge surface has an incline relative to the back surface. The roller is positioned between the wedge surface and the back surface and moveable between a first position where the roller contacts the wedge surface and a second position where the roller is removed from the wedge surface. The biasing member provides a force which biases the roller toward the wedge surface and also toward the back surface.
The above described features and advantages, as well as others, will become more readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art by reference to the following detailed description and accompanying drawings.
One embodiment of an apparatus 10 for retaining sheets against a back surface is shown in
The board 14 provides a generally flat back surface 20 against which one or more sheets 18 are held. The word “sheet” as used herein refers generally to a generally flat artifact that is thin relative to its length and width, and may comprise paper, plastic, cloth, or other thin flexible materials. The board 14 is generally rectangular in shape and is sized slightly larger than the sheets 18 to be retained. For example, the board 14 may be 10″×13″ in size, allowing a standard letter or A-4 sized sheet of paper to easily fit against the surface 18. The board is generally rigid and may be comprised of any of numerous materials, such as plastic, wood, particle board, glass, or other materials.
As shown in
The clamp member housing 30 generally forms the shape of a trapezoidal prism. The housing includes two parallel sidewalls 40, 42, a rear wall 44 (see
As shown in
The internal mechanical components of the clamp member 16 are provided under the shell of the clamp member housing 30. With reference to
As best seen in
The release button 32 provides another component of the release mechanism. With reference again to
The release button 32 is pivotable with respect to the housing 30 such that a forward portion 36 of the release button 32 is configured to move in a generally up and down or circumferential direction while a rear portion 38 of the release button 32 pivots about an axis. Accordingly, the rear portion 38 of the release button may be pivotably mounted to the housing along cylindrical tabs of the release button 32 that extend into the sidewalls 40, 42 of the housing 30. The engagement of the mouth 34 of the release button 32 with the release bar 56 is such that downward movement of the release button 32 forces the release bar 56 in a rearward direction, toward the rear wall 44 of the housing 30, as explained in further detail below.
With continued reference to
The angle of the wedge surface 62 provides an incline for the roller 52 toward the board 14. Thus, when the surface of the roller 52 moves along the wedge surface 62 under the encouragement of the biasing member 60, the roller 52 is also encouraged downward toward the board 14. The force provided by the biasing member 60 causes the roller 52 to become wedged between the wedge surface 62 and the board 14, or if sheets are present, between the wedge surface and the sheets 18, thus trapping the sheets between the board 14 and the roller 52. In this wedged position, the roller 52 is prevented from rotating.
In the embodiment of
Operation of the apparatus 10 will now be explained with reference to
Once the sheets 18 are inserted under the roller 52, they are wedged in place. When a force pulls the sheets away from the clamp member 16, the roller 52 is prevented from rotating because it is wedged against the wedge surface 62. Furthermore, the force pulling the sheets away from the clamp member 16 also increases the retention force upon the sheets, because the sheets will further encourage the roller 52 along the incline and into a stronger wedge relationship between the wedge surface 62 and the board 14. This stronger wedge relationship results in a stronger trapping force on the sheets. Also, because of the biasing force from the spring 60 which maintains the wedge relationship between the roller 52 and the board 14 regardless of orientation of the board, the clip board 12 may be positioned in any orientation without the clamp member 16 releasing the sheets 18.
In order to release the sheets from the clamp member 16, the user presses down on the release button 32, forcing the release button toward the board 14.
When the release button 32 is pressed by the user, the release button pivots such that the rear portion 38 of the release button rotates about an axis and the forward portion 36 of the release button rotates downward toward the board 14. During this movement, the mouth 34 of the release button engages the release bar 56, pulling the release bar 56 toward the rear wall 44 of the housing 30 in a manner that is generally parallel to the board 14. Because the release bar 56 is attached to the roller shaft 54, the roller shaft 54 and the roller 52 are also pulled toward the real wall 44 of the housing, providing a force on the roller 52 and shaft 54 in a direction opposite the force provided by the spring. This opposite force is greater than that of the spring 60 and releases the roller 52 from contact with the wedge surface 62. As the roller 52 is moved toward the rear wall 44, the spring 60 is further compressed, with the second spring arm 70 moving toward the first spring arm 68.
With the release mechanism in the unlocked position of
When the user wishes to remove the sheets 18 from the clamp member 16, the user pulls the sheets away from the clamp member with the release button 32 depressed. Because the release button 32 removes the roller 52 from the wedge 61, as shown in
Returning again to
Another exemplary feature that may be provided on the apparatus is a name plate. As shown in
Although the present invention has been described with respect to certain preferred embodiments, it will be appreciated by those of skill in the art that other implementations and adaptations are possible. Moreover, there are advantages to individual advancements described herein that may be obtained without incorporating other aspects described above. Therefore, the spirit and scope of the appended claims should not be limited to the description of the preferred embodiments contained herein.
