Patent Application
20050016939
The present disclosure relates to a method and apparatus of organizing a desktop, and more specifically to a plate with attached file dividers.
Research has shown that people organize their work stations in one of two manners, either by piling files up on their desk, or by filing them away. Those who pile generally prefer having materials at their fingertips, and prefer not to have the hassle of maintaining a highly organized work area. This is efficient if the user does not have an overbearing number of files on his or her desk. However, it is nearly inevitable that a large number of files will accumulate, and the work space will become inefficient and disorganized.
Research has further shown that various areas of a work space are used consistently, while others are virtually not used at all. Those who keep files on their desks normally keep the files in the usable space, thereby increasing the clutter and inefficiency of the work space. Those who tend to file papers in an organized manner normally file them in a space that is not used frequently, and therefore the space is generally not easily accessible.
It would also be helpful to have a filing system in place that can be maintained in the useful space in the work zone. In particular, it would be helpful for those who pile to have a system which keeps the files located in an organized manner on their desktop, as they prefer. Finally, this filing system should be simple to manufacture, aesthetically pleasing, and cost effective.
a is an isometric view of the end hook of
While the disclosure is susceptible to various modifications and alternative constructions, certain illustrative embodiments thereof have been shown in the drawings and will be described below in detail. It should be understood, however, that there is no intention to limit the disclosure to the specific forms disclosed, but on the contrary, the intention is to cover all modifications, alternative constructions, and the equivalents falling within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.
Referring now to the drawings, and in particular to
As shown in
The plate 12 further includes an opening 22 defining a handle 24. Disposed in the opening 22 is a catch 26 with two grooves 28 on each end of the catch 26. Finally, on the side of the plate opposite the handle 24 is a pair of openings 30a and 30b. The plate 12 can be manufactured out of any material known to have enough stiffness and durability to support a plurality of office files and to endure common abuse, but should also be lightweight and inexpensive, such as plastic or fiberboard.
The tongue 33 lies across the axis A-A, as shown in
The vanes 14 may include a label 34 disposed on the vane 14 adjacent the free end 36. The user may note on the label 34 any information, such as when the file must be addressed, which file is stored, etc. The vane 14 is ideally sized to be larger than a standard file, although it can be smaller. Further, the vanes 14 and plate 12 are shown to have mating pairs of tabs 32 and slots 18, however, it is conceivable that each vane 14 could have one or more tabs 32, and plate 12 could have at least as many slots 18 to receive the tabs 32. Furthermore, the vanes 14 could be attached to the plate 12 in any number of ways known in the art without departing from the scope of this disclosure. This construction of the vanes 14 is illustrative, and other dividing structure, such as punching the vanes 14 out of the plate 12, are within the scope of this disclosure.
Referring now to
The hooking end 40, as seen in
The hooking end 40, as seen in
In a typical use of the desk top filer 10, a user would place the filer 10 in a useful area of his or her workstation 49. The user can flex open the first vane 14a and place a file on the plate 12, then allow the first vane 14a to flex back over the file. The user may then place a second file on top of the first vane 14a and under the second vane 14b in the same way. In this manner, the user can sequentially place a number of files on his or her desk. By placing the vanes 14a, 14b, . . . in between each file, the files are organized in a manner that makes them easy to locate. Of course, the user may place a file in between any of the vanes 14, and the user may fill the filer 10 with files in any sequence. To secure the files and vanes 14 against the plate 12, the restraining band 16 can be extended across the vanes 14 and the hooking end 40 can be latched over the catch 26 in the plate 12. To further aid the user in organizing his or her desk, a label 34 may be placed on the free end 36 of the vane 14, and indicia relating to which file is stored, or what must be done for the file may be placed on the label 34.
In a further use of the filer 10, the filer 10 can easily be transported with the files 35 still maintained in the filer 10. A user simply may grasp the handle 24 and carry the filer 10. The files 35 are maintained in the filer 10 due to the band 16 restraining the files 35 within the vanes 14. The vanes 14 and the band 16 of the filer 10 allows the filer 10 to be transported in a vertical orientation.
The filer 10 can also be hung vertically and still maintain files 35 against the plate 12 and within the vanes 14. A nail or clip can be placed in a wall as in commonly known, and the filer 10 can be hung on the wall by placing the opening 22 over the nail or clip. By using the filer 10 in such a manner, even more space can be cleared on a workspace 49, and the files 35 can be maintained in a useful and accessible area.
A second example of a desk top filer 50 is shown in
The plate 52, as seen in
The vanes 54 include tabs 70 like in the first example. However, in this example, the vanes 54 do not include a tongue. Instead of a tongue, the vanes 54 include a removed section 72, as shown best in
To secure the vanes 54 and the files against the filer 50, the second section 58 is folded about the fold line 60 over the vanes 54 and the first section 56, as seen in
From the foregoing, one of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the present disclosure sets forth a device and method for organizing a work space with a desktop filer. However, one of ordinary skill in the art could readily apply the novel teachings of this disclosure to any number of situations in which a surface with multiple items requires organizing. This includes, but is not limited to, compact discs, books, maps, retail store displays, etc. As such, the teachings of this disclosure shall not be considered to be limited to the specific examples disclosed herein, but to include all applications within the spirit and scope of the invention.
