1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to clipboards generally and, more particularly, to a clipboard having a storage container and a transparent surface lighted from beneath.
2. Technical Background
Clipboards are well known, including those that have storage and/or lighting. Lighted clipboards are useful at night, or in poor ambient light, and storage containers are useful for holding fresh paper and completed documents. Lighted clipboards need to be lighted from above the writing surface to provide adequate light but are not practical for portable use. Lights located on the writing surface of a clipboard may not provide adequate light over the entire writing surface. An alternate approach is to provide light from beneath a transparent writing surface. Existing devices that function in this manner are relatively complex and require the lights to be imbedded in the writing surface or in an illuminated sheet.
The clipboard of the present invention has a transparent writing surface, a light assembly, and power supplies, held removably in place on an upper end of a document storage container by a retaining clip. The retaining clip can open and close for the insertion and retaining of writing material on the writing surface, or to remove the writing surface to gain access to the document storage container. The document container can hold fresh paper or completed documents and access to the container can also be from the lower end or side of the document container. Power for the light assembly can be contained within the light assembly and/or in the power supply. The transparent writing surface is lighted from below by the light assembly which projects light into the storage container. The light is reflected off the internal surfaces of the storage container to provide uniform lighting to the writing surface. The clipboard can be easily assembled for use and easily disassembled for storage or repair.
An advantage of the present invention is that it provides a removable light assembly, power source, and transparent writing surface held in place on the upper end of the document container by a clip.
Another advantage of the present invention is that light projects uniformly from beneath the writing surface.
Another advantage of the present invention is that said retaining clip also retains writing paper and documents removably on the writing surface.
Another advantage of the present invention is that the writing surface can still be illuminated even if the document container is up to two-thirds full.
Another advantage of the present invention is that it can be constructed so that access to the document container can be from the lower end, side, or top of the document container, as desired.
Another advantage of the present invention is that it is simple and inexpensive to manufacture.
While the following description details the preferred embodiments of the present invention, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and arrangement of the parts illustrated in the accompanying drawings, since the invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced in various ways.
Writing surface 11 need not be hinged to document container 12 at all because it is held in place on document container 12, light assembly 13, and power supplies 14 by the top portion 20 of retaining clip 15. However, hinge 40 may facilitate opening document container 12 from the top by lifting writing surface 11. As noted above, retaining clip 15 can be opened by pushing on lip 22 in the direction indicated by the solid arrow and raising top portion 20 above writing surface 11. This will also permit writing surface 11 to be lifted or removed from document container 12 and permit the insertion of paper, documents, or the like within document container 12.
Sufficient light is provided even if document container 12 is filled up to two-thirds. Light projects from light 30 out into document container 12, shown by the dashed arrow, and is reflected off the internal surfaces of bottom 18, sides 19, and end 17. The internal surfaces can be coated with white or reflective paint or covered with reflective materials, including mirrored surfaces. The light is, thus, reflected upward through the transparent writing surface 11. Writing surface 11 can be made of transparent plastic or glass. When a piece of paper is placed on writing surface 11 and the light is reflected up through writing surface 11, sufficient light is projected through the writing paper so that a user can write on the paper in a dark environment.
The foregoing description has been limited to specific embodiments of this invention. It will be apparent, however, that variations and modifications may be made by those skilled in the art to the disclosed embodiments of the invention, with the attainment of some or all of its advantages and without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. For example, the various described elements and components of clipboard 10 can be made of any suitable materials, such as, for example, plastic, metal, wood, and the like. Incandescent light sources can be used. Power can be stored and supplied from the power supplies 14 or light source 11 or both. Rechargeable batteries can be used. The power supplies 14 can be replaced with storage containers or the power supplies 14 can be removed altogether and replaced with a larger light supply 11. The sides 19 or end 17 can have an opening for access to the internal compartment of document container 12. A plurality of lights may be contained in light assembly 11.
It will be understood that various changes in the details, materials, and arrangements of the parts which have been described and illustrated above in order to explain the nature of this invention may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the principle and scope of the invention as recited in the following claims.
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