DRAWINGS—FIGURES
FIG. 1 shows the exterior of the compact storage case from the front.
FIG. 2 shows the exterior of the compact storage case from the back.
FIG. 3 shows the exterior of the compact storage case from the left side.
FIG. 4 shows the exterior of the compact storage case from the bottom of the base.
FIG. 5 shows the exterior of the compact storage case from the top with the flexible backing material fully retracted, upon which a large surface area of Velcro® Brand material (e. g. hook side up) is affixed. A square ridge used to hold the scale ruler is also shown.
FIG. 6 shows the retracting handle and document fastener assembly.
FIG. 7 shows a close-up of the folding lid and holding fastener.
FIG. 8 shows a side view of the retracting handle and document fastener assembly.
FIG. 9 shows a side view of the compact storage case, rectangular base, and flexible backing material.
FIG. 10 shows a detachable scale rule, 10/20 on one side and 30/40 on the other.
FIG. 11 shows the cylindrical roller seated into the cylindrical roller receiver at the interior end of the compact storage case.
FIG. 12 shows the preferred means for attaching the flexible backing material to the cylindrical roller.
FIG. 13 shows one end of flexible backing material attached to the cylindrical roller using the preferred means.
FIG. 14 shows the side view of the carrying handle in its preferred embodiment.
FIG. 15 shows the top view of the carrying handle in its preferred embodiment.
FIG. 16 shows the sliding tab used to link the carrying handle to the compact storage case.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION—FIGS. 1-16
A preferred embodiment of the present invention is illustrated in FIG. 1 (front view), FIG. 2 (back view), FIG. 3 left (side view), FIG. 4 (bottom view), FIG. 5 (retracted view), FIG. 6 (retractor handle and document fastener assembly), FIG. 7 (folding lid and holding fastener), FIG. 8 (retracting handle and document fastener assembly), FIG. 9 (cylindrical storage case, rectangular base, and flexible backing material), FIG. 10 (detachable scale rule), FIG. 11 (cylindrical roller and cylindrical roller receiver), FIG. 12 (flexible backing material attachment), FIG. 13 (flexible backing material attached to cylindrical roller), FIG. 14 (carrying handle side view); FIG. 15 (carrying handle top view); and FIG. 16 (sliding tab). The compact storage case 1 (FIGS. 1, 2, 3, 5, 9, 14, and 15) depicted is constructed of durable and lightweight material. In its preferred embodiment, the compact storage case is made of hard plastic. However, it can consist of any other durable and lightweight material suited for fabrication into a weather-proof storage tube, including aluminum, lightweight metal alloys, fiberglass, or laminates. In its preferred embodiment, the storage case is cylindrical, approximately 4 inches in diameter, and approximately 26 inches in length and seated into a rectangular base. It is designed to transport and store standard blueprints of either twenty-four or thirty-six inches in length. In another embodiment the storage case is square at its ends rather than circular, as provided in the preferred embodiment, and is not seated in a rectangular base. The ends of the compact storage case in its non-cylindrical embodiment may assume a variety of geometries (e. g. hexagonal, octagonal) so long as the compact storage case can accommodate a set of rolled documents (e. g. a bundle of blueprints).
As shown in the preferred embodiment, the compact storage case 1 (FIGS. 1, 2, 3, 5, 9, 14, and 15) is seated and form molded into a rectangular base 2 (FIGS. 1, 2, 3, 4, and 9), rectangular in all three dimensions, and deep enough to receive and secure the bottom section of the cylindrical case. In its preferred embodiment, the base also is made of hard plastic and is approximately ¾ inch in height, 4½ inches in depth, and 26 inches in length. Like the compact storage case, the rectangular base also can consist of any other durable and lightweight material suited for fabricating into a weather proof and crush proof base, including aluminum, lightweight metal alloys, fiberglass, or laminates. In other embodiments of the device where the ends of the compact storage case are geometric shapes other than circles (e. g. squares, hexagons, octagons), no rectangular base is provided.
The compact storage case typically is of an equal thickness to the rectangular base. The compact storage case is fabricated and form molded with an opening 3 (FIGS. 1 and 9) which aligns with a corresponding form molded opening 4 (FIG. 9) on the front side of the rectangular base, both openings along substantially their entire length, designed to allow the flexible backing material and documents attached to the flexible backing material to pass through them as they are unfurled and retracted. The document fastener assembly 10 (FIGS. 6 and 8) is sized to fit squarely into the opening of the rectangular base.
A cylindrical roller 5 (FIGS. 9, 11, 12, and 13), having a smaller diameter than the diameter of the compact storage case is mounted inside of the full length of the compact storage case. In the preferred embodiment, the cylindrical roller is typically made of hard plastic. It also can consist of aluminum, fiberglass, wood, laminates, or other lightweight metal alloys. The cylindrical roller is seated at both interior ends of the compact storage case into a cylindrical roller receiver 6 (FIG. 11) which allows it to rotate freely about its long axis in either direction. Bearings (not illustrated) are seated between the cylindrical roller and the cylindrical roller receiver to smoothen the axial movements of the cylindrical roller. One end of the cylindrical roller is fitted with a retractor cap 7 (FIGS. 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5) which extends beyond the outside boundary of the cylindrical case. In the preferred embodiment, the retractor cap extends beyond the left end of the cylindrical case. The retractor cap is attached to the cylindrical roller by means allowing for the hand rotation of the cylindrical-roller. This permits manual retraction of the flexible backing material and/or documents attached to the flexible backing material back upon the cylindrical roller and into the compact storage case. In another embodiment, the cylindrical roller is retracted mechanically, using a single recoil spring connected to one end of the cylindrical roller and the cylindrical roller receiver. In still another embodiment, the cylindrical roller is retracted mechanically, using dual recoil springs connected to both ends of the cylindrical roller and cylindrical roller receivers.
Fastened along the entire length of the cylindrical roller is one of the width ends of a piece of flexible backing material 8 (FIGS. 5, 8, 9, 12, and 13). The material may be of any flexible and durable composition such as vinyl or strong fabrics. In its preferred embodiment, the flexible backing material is a flexible and durable vinyl, rectangular in shape measuring approximately 25½ inches in width and 38 inches in length, and slotted into the cylindrical roller as shown (FIGS. 12 and 13).
Affixed to the top surface of the vinyl backing, nearest the cylindrical roller, is a large surface area of Velcro® Brand material 9 (FIG. 5). In the preferred embodiment, the hook side of the Velcro® Brand material is up. Document fastening strips such as Sticky Back® Tape Pressure Sensitive Backed Velcro® Brand Fasteners having a permanent adhesive backing on one side, used to fasten one side of the strip to the back of the documents to be displayed, and a mating strip of Velcro® Brand on the other side of the document fastening strip, used to attach the back of the display documents to the Velcro® Brand surface area, are provided. In the preferred embodiment, the loop side of the Velcro® Brand material is up on one side of the document fastening strip. The mating Velcro® Brand surfaces are used to quickly fasten and unfasten the back side of an individual document or roll of documents to the top of the flexible backing material.
A document fastener assembly 10 (FIGS. 6 and 8), used to secure one end of a document during flat display, is attached to the opposite width end of the flexible backing material as shown (FIG. 8). The document fastener assembly is comprised of a folding lid 11 (FIGS. 6, 7, and 8), hinge 12 (FIGS. 6 and 8), holding fastener 13 (FIGS. 6, 7, and 8), and indentation 14 (FIGS. 6 and 8), which work collectively to form a snap fastener as shown. A clip 15 (FIG. 6) that extends the width of the flexible backing material extends to hold documents down during flat display. In the preferred embodiment, the folding lid, hinge, holding fastener, indentation, and clip consist of hard plastic.
A retracting handle 16 (FIGS. 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 8) for unfurling the flexible backing material and/or display documents from the cylindrical roller is secured to the document fastener assembly. The retracting handle has large flat surface areas, both top and bottom. In the preferred embodiment, the retracting handle consists of hard plastic. It also can consist of aluminum, fiberglass, wood, laminates, or other lightweight metal alloys. The retracting handle also has a single rectangular padded magnet 17 (FIG. 4) on its bottom surface and a single-slot 18 (FIG. 4) designed to receive a variety of protruding nail head sizes. The magnet is used to mount the retracting handle to metal surfaces during flat display. The slot, sized to receive protruding nail heads of various sizes, is used to mount the retracting handle, to other surfaces during flat display.
Padded magnetic strips 19 (FIG. 4) also are attached as depicted to the bottom surface of the rectangular base. These magnetic strips, together with the padded magnet 17 (FIG. 4) attached to the bottom surface of the retracting handle are used to secure the unfurled display to metallic surfaces. Slots 20 (FIG. 4), sized also to receive the protruding heads of various sized nail heads, are provided on the bottom surface of the rectangular base as shown, like the single slot 18 (FIG. 4) provided on the bottom surface of the retracting handle. These three slots are used to secure the rectangular base mechanically, to both horizontal and vertical surfaces.
A square ridge 21 (FIGS. 3 and 5) along the top of the compact storage case is provided to store a scale rule 22 (FIGS. 5 and 10). A carrying handle 23 (FIGS. 1, 2, 3, 5, 14, and 15) is attached to, centered about the top of, and aligned with the long axis on the cylindrical case. In the preferred embodiment, the square ridge is hard plastic and molded to the top of the cylindrical carrier. In the preferred embodiment, the carrying handle is hard plastic and attached to the top of the compact storage case as shown (FIGS. 14 and 15) using two tab anchors 24 (FIGS. 14 and 15) and two sliding tabs 25 (FIGS. 14, 15, and 16).
ADVANTAGES
From the description above, a number of advantages of the portable blueprint carrier become evident:
a) The carrier will be significantly more compact and less expensive to produce—as a storage device—than the box-like or book-like folio devices which are larger than the blueprints they contain.
b) The carrier will have a functional relationship between the compact storage case and the flat display surface, allowing the user to quickly roll or unroll flexible backing material and/or documents attached to the flexible backing material on a cylindrical roller.
c) The carrier will conform in size to the typical dimensions of large construction documents, namely, rolled blueprints and surveys.
d) The relatively low cost and compactness of the device will allow a user to utilize the carriers solely as storage devices for multiple sets of documents.
e) The large Velcro® Brand surface area on the top of the flexible backing material, coupled with the Velcro® Brand mating strips attached to the back of the document fastening strips, will allow for the quick and easy transfer of documents for flat display.
f) The magnetic strips on the rectangular base and retracting handle will allow the flat display of documents on vertical and horizontal metallic surfaces common to construction sites.
g) The slots on the rectangular base and retracting handle, designed to receive protruding nail heads of various sizes, will allow the flat display of documents on non-metallic vertical and horizontal surfaces common to construction sites.
h) The flexible backing material which forms the flat display surface area may be quickly unfurled or retracted, both manually and, in another embodiment, by recoil spring.
i) The end of the document to be displayed, most distant from the cylindrical case, may be quickly snapped down for flat display using the document snap fastener.
j) Any rolled documents, which otherwise are part of a large bundle of documents and precede the document being displayed, may be folded back behind the carrier.
k) The carrier can be held in one hand using the carrying handle, during transport.
l) The carrier has a slot to receive a detachable scale rule (provided) for taking measurements.
Accordingly, the carrier can be used to easily and conveniently to store, transport, and display documents, both indoors and outdoors. The carrier has the additional advantage in that:
- it protects documents from the elements during storage in a rolled form without requiring banding or tubing;
- it allows for easy carrying during transport;
- it permits easy interchangeability of documents for the display surface using mating Velcro® Brand fasteners;
- it provides both magnetic and mechanical means of fastening the carrier to metallic and non-metallic surfaces of all kinds for flat display;
- it provides for the quick unfurling of a flat display surface and the ability to retract the documents upon a cylindrical roller inside of the carrier case;
- it is lightweight;
- it provides a slot for storing a built in scaled ruler for use in taking scaled measurement from the documents displayed; and
- it permits for compact storage.
Although the description above contains many specifications, these should not be construed as limiting the scope of the invention but merely as providing illustrations of some of the presently preferred embodiments of this invention. For example, the compact storage carrier and cylindrical roller can have many dimensions; the ends of the storage case can assume many geometric configurations (e. g. other than circles, squares, hexagons, and octagons); the flexible backing material can be made of flexible material other than the vinyl and be square rather than rectangular in shape; the mating Velcro® Brand pieces (hook and loop sides) can be reversed; the compact storage case and rectangular case can be made of aluminum, lightweight metal alloys, fiberglass or laminates; the cylindrical roller can be made of aluminum, wood, lightweight metal alloys, or laminates; the retracting handle and carrying handle can have other shapes; and other means of securing the documents can be utilized. Thus, the scope of the invention should be determined by the appended claims and their legal equivalents, rather than by the examples given.
Patent Application
20080011622
