Patent Application
20070077815
This disclosure relates generally to messaging boards, organizational products, and personal convenience items and, more specifically, to a modular system for combining, in a customized manner, various messaging accessories such as note pads, dry-erase boards, corkboards, and chalkboards, as well as other personal convenience products and organizational products, such as a clock, a picture holder, a mirror, and a writing utensil receptacle.
Individual tastes, habits, and preferences vary widely with regard to messaging, planning, organization, and other routine activities typically conducted in or near a kitchen, home office, dorm room, school locker, or work cubicle environment. Space in such areas for the provision of messaging products, personal convenience products, and organizational products are usually limited. Given these factors, it would be desirable if individuals could optimize the limited space by displaying, in a readily accessible location, a modular, customizable, multi-task system including only those messaging, personal convenience, and organizational products that suit their particular needs and style.
It would further be desirable if such a system were adapted to allow individuals to easily add on more messaging, personal convenience, and/or organizational products, or replace such products within their customized system as their personal needs, tastes, or desires change, or as products require. For instance, certain product components within an individual's system of messaging, personal convenience, and organizational products may require refills, which might most easily be accomplished by replacement of those particular components of the individual's system. It would further be desirable if all the product components available for individuals to select and combine for their customized system could be aesthetically and structurally compatible.
A system of various messaging, personal convenience, and organizational products, each taking the form of a component or module, and all of which are securable to one another in such a manner that a user is provided with a wide array of possible customizable configuration options, is disclosed. The components or modules, however many, are combined and secured together by the user in any desired arrangement, and may be mounted to a wall or other vertical surface, such as the rear panel of a locker door. The messaging, personal convenience, and organizational products, each of which defines an optional component for use in the system of this disclosure, may include (but are not limited to) a dry-erase board, a wet-erase board, a pin-board (such as corkboard, a fabric, or fabric-covered foam), a chalkboard, a mirror, a clock (either analog or digital), a holder for a supply of gently adhesively interconnected notes, a holder for a cellular telephone, a hook area for keys, a voice message recorder, a writing utensil receptacle or holder, and a picture display panel. The picture display panel may be one in which a picture or other document may be inserted behind a transparent protective wall, or alternately, the picture or other document may be secured to the display panel by pockets disposed at the corners of the display panel, with each such pocket adapted to receive a corresponding corner of the picture or other document to be secured thereto.
Each component is provided with a front surface and one or more rearwardly-projecting walls of similar depth. The rearwardly-projecting walls of adjacent components are connected to one another. In an exemplary embodiment, the rearwardly-projecting walls of adjacent components are connected via clips each having first and second legs. At least one of the first and second legs of each of the clips is biased toward the other of the first and second legs. Each rearwardly-projecting wall may have a reduced wall thickness over a clip-receiving span thereof. This reduced wall thickness facilitates placement of one of the clips along the clip-receiving span of the rearwardly-projecting walls of two components so as to secure the two components to one another.
In a similar fashion, a rearwardly-projecting wall of a third component may be brought into register with any of the unoccupied rearwardly-projecting walls of the first two components. A second clip may then be applied to the clip-receiving spans of the rearwardly-projecting wall of the third component and of the previously unoccupied rearwardly-projecting wall, thereby interconnecting three components. Each of the three interconnected components is preferably a different messaging, personal convenience, or organizational product. This process may be continued until all desired components are interconnected, in desired relative locations.
At least some of the clips used to connect adjacent messaging, personal convenience, and organizational product components may be adapted to receive at least one retention bracket or hook to facilitate mounting one of the components or a plurality of interconnected components to a wall or other vertical surface.
As shown in
The clip-receiving span 34 may also be tapered on at least an inside surface 43 thereof, such that the thickness of the rearwardly-projecting wall 26-32 becomes progressively thinner toward a rear edge 44 of the rearwardly-projecting wall 26-32. An outside surface 45 of the clip-receiving span 34 is preferably flat and perpendicular to a front-facing display surface of the component 10-22, so that when the rearwardly-projecting walls 26-32 of two components 10-22 are aligned adjacent one another, the outside surfaces of the clip-receiving spans 34 of both rearwardly projecting walls 26-32 are touching, or at least are in very close proximity to one another.
The tapered profile of the rearwardly-projecting wall 26-32 in the clip-receiving span 34 facilitates installation of a clip 36 on a pair of rearwardly-projecting walls 26-32 of adjacent components 10-22 by providing ramps along which one or both of the first and second legs 38, 40 of the clip 36 ride. The relative locations of the first and second legs 38, 40 of the clip, and showing one of the components provided with a second clip having a retention bracket to facilitate mounting the components to a vertical surface;
As illustrated in
Other means of interconnecting adjacent components 10-22 are within the scope of the present disclosure. For instance, alternate fasteners may be used to interconnect the components, such as nuts and bolts, adhesive, or hook-and-loop fasteners.
The inside surface 43 of each rearwardly-projecting wall 26-32 is also preferably provided with an inwardly-directed ridge 50 in each clip-receiving span 34, spaced a distance d1 from the rear edge 44 of the rearwardly-projecting wall 26-32 that is no more than a distance d2 between the apex 42 and intermediate portion 46 of the clip 36. The inwardly-directed ridge 50 assists in securing the clip 36 to the rearwardly-projecting walls 26-32 of the adjacent components 10-22, and prevents inadvertent removal or twisting of the clip 36. Once the narrowest portion between the first leg 38 and second leg 40 of the clip 36 passes over the inwardly-directed ridges 50 of two adjacent rearwardly-projecting walls 26-32, the user may feel a tactile sensation, and/or hear an audible “snap”, as an indication that the clip 36 has been securely and correctly installed in order to verify the integrity of the connection between two adjacent components 10-22.
In a similar fashion, a rearwardly-projecting wall 26-32 of a third component 10-22 may be aligned adjacent any of the unoccupied rearwardly-projecting walls 26-32 of the first two components 10-22. A second clip 36 may then be applied to the clip-receiving spans 34 of the rearwardly-projecting wall 26-32 of the third component 10-22 and of the previously unoccupied rearwardly-projecting wall 26-32, thereby interconnecting three components 10-22. This process can be repeated until all desired components 10-22 are interconnected, with each component 10-22 arranged at a desired location. While each of the interconnected components 10-22 would typically be a different messaging, personal convenience, or organizational product than all of the other interconnected components 10-22, it is recognized that an individual may use more than one of the same messaging, personal convenience, or organizational product component 10-22. For instance, two or more clocks 16 may be provided in a single set of interconnected components 10-22, so that the individual could keep track of time in multiple time zones.
The clips 36 may be provided with an aperture 52, such as in one of the first and second legs 38, 40, to receive a retention bracket 54, including at least one fastener-receiving hole 56 through which a nail, tack, screw, or similar fastener, or a hook, may pass, to facilitate mounting one or more interconnected components 10-22 to a vertical surface, such as a wall.
While certain embodiments have been disclosed herein, this disclosure is not intended to be limited thereto. It is recognized that variations may be made to the disclosed embodiments that are still within the scope of the appended claims.
