Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
CA 02560629 2009-08-05
RETRACTABLE WRITING SURFACE
The present invention is directed to. a writing surface, and, more
particularly, to a
retractable writing surface that is movable between an extended position and a
retracted position.
BACKGROIJND
Bound components, such as joumals, diaries, date books, address books,
notebooks,
binders and the "like are used to store.papers; inforrriation and the like:
Users may wish to write
reminders or other indicia on these bound components, and soine bound
components may
include an outer, cover which can be written upon such that the information is
more readily
viewable.
However, many outer covers are permanently marred when a user writes upon the
outer
cover. In addition, when a user writes indicia on the outer cover, the indicia
may be visible a.nd
exposed, and: therefore can expose sensitive inforination. Accordingly there
is a need for a
writing surface that is retractable such that the bound co.mponent can
maintain a clean outer
appearance, and such that the indicia written thereon can be.hidden from view:
SUNt].VIARY
In one embodiment the present invention is a writing surface that is
retractable such that
the bound component can maintain a clean outer appearance, and such that the
indicia written
thereon can be hidden from view. More particularly, in one embodiment the
invention is a
retraetable writing surface system including a binding mechanism and a pocket
directly bound to
the binding meclianism, the.pocket, having an inner cavity. The system further
includes a
polymer w.ritirig surface at least partially received in the pocket. The
writing surface is movable
between an extended position whereui at least part of the writing surface. is
exposed for writing
upon by a writing instruinent, and a retracted position wherein less of the
wiiting surface is
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CA 02560629 2006-09-22
exposed for writing upon by the writing instrument compared to when the
writing surface is in
the extended position. At least part of the writing surface is located in the
cavity when the
writing surface is in the retracted position.
In another embodiment the invention is a marking system including a permanent
writing
instrument configured to dispense permanent markings and erasing means for
erasing the
permanent markings. The system further includes a writing surface directly or
indirectly coupled
to the writing instrument and the erasing means. The writing surface is
configured such that the
marking portion is able to dispenses the permanent markings thereon and the
markings are
erasable by the erasing means. The writing surface is movable between an
extended position
wherein at least part of the writing surface is exposed for writing upon by
the writing instrument,
and a retracted position wherein less of the writing surface is exposed for
writing upon by the
writing instrument compared to when the writing surface is in the extended
position.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The invention can be understood with reference to the following drawings. In
the
drawings, like reference numerals designate corresponding parts throughout the
several views.
Also, the components in the drawings are not necessarily to scale.
Fig. 1 is a front view of a marker with a portion of the marker body cut away;
Fig. 2 is a front view of the marker of Fig. 1 including a cap mounted
thereon;
Fig. 3 is a front view of a writing surface being marked upon by the marker of
Fig. 1;
Fig. 4 is a front perspective view of a binder including a writing surface and
being
marked upon by the marker of Fig. 1;
Fig. 5 is a front perspective view of a binder including a writing surface and
a flap, with
the flap in a closed position;
Fig. 6 is a front perspective view of the binder of Fig. 5 with the flap in an
open position;
Fig. 7 is a front perspective view of a three-ring notebook including a
writing surface and
a flap, with the flap in a closed position;
Fig. 8 is a frant perspective view of the three-ring notebook of Fig. 7 with
the flap in an
open position;
Fig. 9 is a front perspective view of a coil-bound notebook including a
writing surface
and a flap, with the flap in a closed position;
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Fig. 10 is a front perspective view of the coil-bound notebook of Fig. 9 with
the flap in an
open position;
Fig. 11 is a front perspective view of a folder including a writing surface;
Fig. 12 is a front perspective view of a book cover including a closure
mechanism, with
the closure mechanism in a closed position;
Fig. 13 is a front perspective view of the book cover of Fig. 12 with the
closure
mechanism in an open position;
Fig. 14 is a front perspective view of the book cover of Fig. 12 positioned on
a book;
Fig. 15 is a front perspective view of a bound component, shown in its closed
position;
Fig. 16 is a front perspective view of the bound component of Fig. 15, shown
in its open
position;
Fig. 17 is a front.perspective view of the bound component of Fig. 15, shown
with the
writing surface in the extended position and being written upon by a writing
instrument;
Fig. 18 is a front perspective view of the bound component of Fig. 17, with
the markings
being erased by the writing instrument;
Fig. 19 is a front perspective view of the bound component of Fig. 16, with
the pocket
pivoted about the binding mechanism;
Fig. 20 is a front perspective view of the bound component of Fig. 19, with
the writing
surface in the extended position;
Fig. 21 is a front perspective exploded view of part of the pocket and writing
surface of
the bound component of Fig. 16; and
Fig. 22 is a front exploded perspective view of the pocket.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
With reference to Fig. 1, a marker or writing instrument 10 is shown and
includes a
writing instrument body or marker body 12. The marker body 12 may be generally
tubular or
cylindrical and may have a first portion 18 and a second portion 20. The
marker body 12 may
include a first reservoir 14 located generally inside of the first portion 18
and a second reservoir
161ocated generally inside of the second portion 20, with the first 14 and
second 16 reservoirs
separated by a divider 15. The maker body 12 may include a first opening 24
that is located at
an end of the marker body 12 and in communication with the first reservoir 14.
The marker
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body 12 may also include a second opening 30 that is located at the other of
the marker body 12
and in communication with the second reservoir 16.
The marker body 12 includes a first wick 22 generally closely received in and
through the
first opening 24 and extending into the first reservoir 14. The first wick 22
has an exposed
portion 27 extending out of the first reservoir 14, with the exposed portion
27 having or forming
a writing tip 26. The marker body 12 includes a second wick 28 generally
closely received in
and through the second opening 30 and extending into the second reservoir 16.
The second wick
28 has an exposed portion 29 extending out of the second reservoir 16, with
the exposed portion
29 including or forming a tip 34. The wicks 22, 28 may be made from a wide
variety of
materials, such as felt. Although the marker 10 is illustrated as having a tip
26, 34 at each end,
the marker 10 may have a wide variety of other configurations for the tips 26,
34 and/or wicks
22, 28, including having the tips 26, 34, being oriented at various angles,
being located in a side-
by-side configuration, having only a single tip, etc.
The first reservoir 14 may be filled with a permanent or indelible ink
solution of any of a
wide variety of colors. The permanent ink or permanent ink solution in the
first reservoir 14 may
be nearly any type of permanent ink or ink solution, such as a traditional
organic solvent based
permanent ink with a wide variety of pigments, dye, colorants or the like, or
an aqueous type
permanent ink as described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,131,776, the entire contents of
which are hereby
incorporated by reference. The permanent ink may be an alcohol (i.e. n-propyl
alcohol) based or
other organic solvent based permanent ink. The permanent ink may be capable of
marking on
porous surfaces (e.g., paper, wood and the like) and nonporous surfaces (e.g.,
glass, metal,
plastic and other polymer based surfaces). Further, the permanent ink may be
resistent to
smearing and re-wetting after application and may resist emulsification,
dissolving or removal
with soap and water.
The second reservoir 16 may be filled with a solvent that can dissolve the
permanent ink
or ink solution in the first reservoir 14. The solvent in the second reservoir
16 may be any
solvent that is capable of solubilizing or dissolving permanent ink or a
permanent ink solution
that has been applied to a surface and allowed to dry. The solvent may be or
include an ethyl
alcohol, an n-propyl alcohol, or other organic based solvents.
For example, the solvent may be a dry-erase solution typically used in a dry-
erase
marker. Thus the solvent may also optionally include a colorant, dye or
pigment and a binder
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resin such that the second portion 20 can operate as a dry-erase marker. In
this case, when the
dry-erase solution is applied to a polymeric or plastic type surface, the
solvent evaporates and the
binder resin and colorant remain behind as a friable discontinuous film.
The permanent ink solution in the first reservoir 14 may be soaked through the
first wick
22, or pennanent ink dispensing wick 22, and wicked through the permanent ink
dispensing wick
22 until the permanent ink solution reaches the writing tip 26. In this
manner, when the writing
tip 26 contacts a substrate to be written upon, ink from the first reservoir
14 is deposited on the
substrate. Similarly, the solvent in the second reservoir 16 soaks the second
wick 28, or solvent
dispensing wick 28, such that the solvent is wicked through the solvent
dispensing wick 28 until
it reaches the erasing tip 34. When the erasing tip 34 contacts the substrate,
solvent from the
second reservoir 16 is deposited onto the substrate and solubilizes (or
dissolves) any ink
deposited by the permanent ink dispending wick contacted by the solvent. Thus
the marker 10
may be a double-ended felt-tip marker, although the marker 10 may include
various other
manners of dispensing the permanent ink and solvent, such as ball-point
dispensers, gel-type
dispensers, etc.
The marker 10 may include a cap 40 for covering either the erasing tip 34 (as
shown in
Fig. 2) or, alternatively or in addition, the writing tip 26. The cap 40
prevents the ink and solvent
from evaporating through the wicks 22, 28 when the marker 10 is not in use.
For example, as
shown in Fig. 2, the cap 40 may include a body portion shaped to form a tight
interference fit or
seal with the marker body 12 to seal off the associated tip 26, 34. The cap 40
may also include
an absorbent portion 42 located, for example, on an outer surface, or outer
end surface, of the cap
40. The absorbent portion 42 may be made of a felt, cotton, foam, sponge-type
material or other
absorbent material. The absorbent portion 42 may be used to wipe away markings
that are
deposited by the writing tip 26 and erased/dissolved by the erasing tip 34. If
desired, the marker
10 may include two caps 40, with each cap 40 located on each end of the marker
10, and at least
one cap 40 may include an absorbent portion 42, although both caps 40 may
include an
absorbent portion 42.
As shown in Fig. 3, a user may mark various indicia or markings 52 on a
writing surface
50 using the writing tip 26 of the marker 10. The markings 52 may then be
allowed to dry.
Once dry, the markings 52 may not be able to be erased by simply rubbing the
markings by hand,
or with soap and water or the like. The permanent markings 52 may then be
allowed to remain
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CA 02560629 2006-09-22
in place for as long as desired. Once it is desired to erase the markings 52,
the erasing tip 34 is
applied to the markings 52 to solubilize/erase/dissolve the markings 52. The
erasing tip 34 may
be moved over the markings 52 such that the solvent contacts the deposited
markings 52 and
solubilizes the markings 52, thereby allowing the markings 52 to be erased. A
user may then
take the cap 40 and apply the absorbent portion 42 to the writing surface 50
to wipe away or
absorb the solubilized markings.
The writing surface 50 may be made of a typical plastic material such as
polypropylene,
polyethylene or the like that is capable of being marked upon using permanent
ink, but not with
typical water based inks. The writing surface 50 may have a glossy finish
surface and/or a W
aqueous coating and/or other coatings. The writing surface may be made of a
material that is
chemically resistant to any solvents dispensed by the writing instrument
(i.e., erasing solutions
located in the second reservoir 16).
Further, the writing surface 50 may have a surface roughness sufficient to
absorb or
receive ink in the creases and recesses, but not exceedingly rough to make it
overly difficult to
remove the ink. In one embodiment, the writing surface 50 has an average
surface roughness of
between about 50-1000 microns, or more particularly between about 9-100
microns. The writing
surface 50, permanent ink and solvent should be selected such that application
of the permanent
ink or solvent to the writing surface 50 does not significantly alter, destroy
or marr the writing
surface 50. Proper selection may allow the writing surface 50 to be used many
times over for
marking and erasing.
The writing surface 50 may be, include, or be part of various devices or
products. For
example, the writing surface 50 may be formed as part of a school or office
product such as a
binder 60 (Fig. 4), 70 (Figs. 5 and 6) or 80 (Figs. 7 and 8), a notebook 90
(Figs. 9 and 10), a
folder 100 (Fig. 11), a book cover 110 (Figs. 12 and 13), as well as a
divider, portfolio, tablet,
note pad, clipboard, briefcase, storage case, compact disk case, compact disk,
computer case,
electronic device case or the like for home, school, business, office or other
use. Thus, for
example, in school use, a user may write certain notes or reminders (i.e. a
reminder of a
homework assignment) on the outer surface of a binder 60, 70, 80 which
includes the writing
surface 50. The writing 63 on the binder 60 (see Fig. 4) may be written in
permanent ink and
therefore resists smudging and accidental erasure, even when exposed to water
and most
common liquids. When the user desires to remove the marking 63 (i.e. when the
homework
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project is complete or when a new homework assignment is received) the user
can remove the
markings 63 using the erasing tip 34 and absorbent portion 42 of the cap 40.
As shown in Figs 5 and 6, in one embodiment the binder 70 includes a front
cover 71, a
back cover 72 and a spine portion 73. The front cover 71 and back cover 72 are
pivotally
coupled to the spine portion 73. The binder 70 includes a zipper closure
mechanism 74 that
couples the front cover 71 and back cover 72 together. The binder 70 also
includes a flap 75
(having inner surface 77 and outer surface 79) pivotally coupled to the front
cover 71 and
cooperating securing devices 76 located on the front cover 71 and on the inner
surface 77 of the
flap 75.
The writing surface 50 is formed on or as part of the front cover 71 (as shown
in Figs. 5
and 6) and/or the back cover 72 (not shown). The flap 75 is hingedly connected
to an outer edge
78 of the front cover 71 and pivots from an open position, wherein the flap 75
is spaced or
pivoted away from the front cover 71 (see Fig. 6) to a closed position,
wherein the flap 751ies
over the front cover 71 (see Fig. 5) to cover all or a portion (anywhere from
about 10% to about
100%) of the writing surface 50 on the front cover 71.
When the flap 75 is in the closed position the flap 75 protects the writing
surface 50. The
securing devices 76 may be positioned on the facing surfaces (i.e., inner
surface 77 of flap 75
and surface 50 of front cover 71) to secure the flap 75 in its closed
position. The securing
devices 76 may take a variety of forms, such as hook-and-loop fasteners (i.e.,
VELCRO ),
magnets, tacky or adhesive material, clips, snaps, or the like. The flap 75
(i.e., including inner
surface 77 and outer surface 79) and/or spine portion 73 may also be made of
or include a
writing surface 50 (not shown).
As shown in Figs. 7 and 8, in a second embodiment a three-ring binder 80
includes a
front cover 81, a back cover 82 and a spine 83. The front cover 81 and back
cover 82 are
pivotally coupled to the spine 83. The binder 80 includes a flap 84 (having
inner surface 86 and
outer surface 87) pivotally coupled to the front cover 81 along edge 85.
The writing surface 50 is formed on or as part of the front cover 81 (and/or
back cover
82) and the spine 83. The flap 84 is hingedly connected to the outer edge 85
of the front cover
81 and pivots from an open position, wherein the flap 84 is spaced or pivoted
away from the
front cover 81 (see Fig. 8) to a closed position, wherein the flap 841ies over
the front cover 81
(see Fig. 7) to cover all or a portion of the writing surface 50 on the front
cover 81. The flap 84
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CA 02560629 2006-09-22
may be secured to the front cover 81 (when in the closed position) by various
means (not
shown), such as hook-and-loop fasteners, magnets, clips, snaps, adhesive or
tacky material or the
like. In an alternative embodiment, the flap 84 also includes a writing
surface 50 (not shown)
located on either or both sides thereof.
As shown in Figs. 9 and 10, in a third embodiment a coil bound notebook 90
includes a
front cover 91, a back cover 92, a plurality of sheets of paper 93, a coil
binding mechanism 94, a
flap 95 (having front surface 98 and back surface 99) and cooperating securing
devices 96. The
sheets of paper 93 are positioned between the front and back covers 91, 92.
The flap 95, front
and back covers 91, 92 and plurality of sheets of paper 93 are bound together
along their binding
edges 97 by coil binding 94.
In the illustrated embodiment, the writing surface 50 is formed on or as part
of the front
cover 91 and/or the back cover 92. Also, the front 98 (see Fig. 9) and/or back
99 surface of the
flap 95 may include a writing surface 50. The flap 95 is pivotable about the
coil binding
mechanism 94 from an open position, wherein the flap 95 is spaced or pivoted
away from the
front and back covers 91, 92 (see Fig. 10) to a closed position, wherein the
flap 95 lies over one
of the covers 91, 92 (see Fig. 9) to cover all or a portion of the front or
back covers 91, 92. The
flap 95 may be secured in the closed position (i.e., to the front or back
covers 91, 92) by the
securing devices 96 (e.g., hook-and-loop fasteners, magnets, clips, snaps,
adhesive or tacky
material or the like).
As shown in Fig. 11, in a fourth embodiment a folder 100 includes a front
cover 101, a
back cover 102 and a pen/pencil holder 103. The front cover 101 is pivotally
connected to the
back cover 102 along a pivot edge 105. The back cover 102 may have a surface
area larger than
that of the front cover 101 to define a protruding portion 104 that extends
upwardly beyond the
front cover 101 to provide an area for attaching the pen/pencil holder 103.
The entire folder 100
may be constructed from an appropriate material such that the entire folder
100 is made of or
forms a writing surface 50. Alternatively, only a portion of the front or back
covers 101, 102
may be made of or include the writing surface 50.
As shown in Figs. 12-14, in a fifth embodiment a book cover 110 includes a
front cover
portion 111, a back cover portion 112 and a closure mechanism 113. The front
and back cover
portions 111, 112 are adapted to be received over or around the front and back
covers of a book
122 (Fig. 14), respectively, and may be constructed from various materials
such as cloth,
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CA 02560629 2006-09-22
polymeric-type material, cellulose-based materials such as paper or cardboard,
or the like. The
closure mechanism 113 includes an elastic portion 114, a writing surface
portion 115 having a
writing surface 50 and a securing device 116. A first end 118 of the elastic
portion 114 is
attached to the back cover portion 112 and a second end 119 is connected to
the writing surface
portion 115.
The securing device 116 includes hook-and-loop fastening material 120 located
on the
underside of the writing surface portion 115 (see Fig. 13). The hook-and-loop
fastening material
120 is configured to engage the corresponding hook-and-loop material 117
affixed to the front
cover portion 111 to secure the book cover 110 in the closed position (see
Fig. 12). Of course,
various other securing devices, as discussed previously, can be used in place
of the hook-and-
loop fastening material 120.
Rather than being part of a school or office product, the writing surface 50
may simply be
a "stand-alone" board such that the writing surface 50 can operate as a
bulletin board, and, for
example, be coupled to a locker, wall, refrigerator or the like, or be loosely
carrier. Thus the
writing surface 50 may include magnets, patches of hook-and-loop fastening
material (i.e.
VELCRO ), hook, snap, clasp, adhesive or other fasteners located on a rear
side thereof to aid
in attaching the writing surface 50 to various other components. Further, the
marker 10 (which
may include the cap 40) may be packaged together with the writing surface 50
for sale such that
the marker 10 and writing surface 50 are marketed and sold together.
As shown in Fig. 15, in yet another embodiment of the invention, a bound
component
150 includes a front cover 152 and rear cover 154 bound together by a binding
mechanism 156,
such as a coil-binding mechanism. In the illustrated embodiment, the rear
cover 154 includes a
pair of fold lines 158, 160 defining a connection portion 162 and a cover flap
164 such that part
of the rear cover 154 can be wrapped around and located on top of the front
cover 152. A
plurality of sheets of paper 166, such as pulp-based or cellulose-based paper,
may be located
between the front 152 and rear 154 covers and bound together and to the front
152 and rear 154
covers by the binding mechanism 156. In the illustrated embodiment, the
binding mechanism
156 takes the form of a coil wire or twin wire binding mechanism, although the
binding
mechanism 156 may take any of a wide variety of forms, including but not
limited to, spiral wire,
adhesive, three-ring binding mechanisms, etc.
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As shown in Fig. 16, the front cover 152 and the cover flap 164 may include
corresponding patches 168 of hook-and-loop fastening material (such as VELCRO
) located
thereon to secure the cover flap 164 to the front cover 152. Of course, any of
a wide variety of
other fastening materials, such as snaps, clasps, adhesives and the like may
be utilized to secure
the cover flap 164 to the front cover 152. In the illustrated embodiment, the
writing instrument,
such as the marker or writing instrument 10 described and shown above, may be
coupled to the
connecting portion 162 of the rear cover 154.
The front cover 152 may take the form of a pocket including a pair of
generally flat,
opposed pocket panels 170, 172 defining an inner cavity 174 therebetween. The
pocket panels
170, 172 may coupled together along two edges (i.e., their short outer edges),
such as by heat
welding, sonic welding, adhesives, stitching, or the like. In addition, the
pocket panels 170, 172
may be coupled together along their long inner bindirig edges by similar
means, and/or by the
binding mechanism 156.
A writing surface 178 is slidably disposed in the inner cavity 174. The
writing surface
178 may have the same qualities as the writing surface 50 described above.
Thus, the writing
surface 178 can be made of a polymer material, and more particularly,
polypropylene or
polyethylene. The writing surface 178 may be made of material which is
chemically resistant
(i.e., resists damage or is generally chemically inert) to solvent of the
marking instrument 10.
The writing surface 178 may have an average surface roughness of between about
50 and about
1000 microns. In addition, if desired, the pocket panels 170, 172 (i.e., the
front cover 152) and
the rear cover 154 may also have the same properties as the writing surface 50
described above.
The writing surface 178 is movable between a retracted position wherein the
writing
surface 178is generally received within the cavity 174 (Fig. 16) and an
extended position
wherein the. writing surface 178 generally protrudes outwardly from and is
generally not located
within the inner cavity 174 (Fig. 17). The writing surface 178 is movable in a
first direction
when the writing surface 178 moves from the retracted position to the extended
position. The
writing surface 178 may be generally flat and planar, and the writing surface
178 is slidable
between the extended and retracted positions in a direction generally parallel
to the plane.
The pocket 152 is sized to generally closely receive the writing surface 178
therein when
the writing surface 178 is in the retracted position. Various amounts of the
writing surface 178
may be exposed/covered when the writing surface 178 is in either the retracted
or extended
CA 02560629 2006-09-22
position. For example, in the embodiment shown in Fig. 16, at least about 90%
of the surface
area of the writing surface 178 may be located in the cavity 174 of the pocket
170 when the
writing surface 178 is retracted. In the illustrated embodiment a portion 180
of the writing
surface 178 protrudes outwardly from the inner cavity 174 to allow the user to
grip and pull the
writing surface 178 into the extended position. However, various other
proportions of the
writing surface 178 may be located in the inner cavity 174 when the writing
surface 178 is in the
retracted position. For example, in one embodiment, at least about 60% of the
surface area of the
writing surface 178 is located in the cavity 174 when the writing surface 178
is in the retracted
position.
In addition, various proportions of the writing surface 178 may be exposed
when the
writing surface 178 is in the extended position. For example, in the
embodiment shown in Fig.
17, at least about 80% of the writing surface 178 is exposed when the writing
surface 178 is
extended. However, various other configurations may be utilized. For example,
in one
embodiment, at least about 60% of the surface area of the writing surface 178
may be exposed
for writing upon when the writing surface 178 is in the extended position.
As shown in Fig. 17, the writing surface 178 provides a convenient surface
upon which
reminders, notes, drawings or other indicia 182 can be marked. In particular,
in one
embodiment, the writing instrument 10 may be utilized to mark the indicia on
the writing surface
using writing tip 26. Once the indicia 182 is so marked on the writing surface
178, the writing
surface 178 can be returned to the retracted position, as shown in Fig. 16. In
this case, the
writing surface 178/pocket 152 allows the bound component 150 to maintain a
clean outer
appearance, and hides the indicia 182 from view to protect sensitive
information.
Of course, the writing instrument 10/writing surface 178 may also allow the
indicia 182
to be removed therefrom (Fig. 18) using the erasing tip 34 as described in
detail above. New
reminders or indicia 182' can be marked on the writing surface 178. Thus, as
old reminders or
indicia are desired to be removed, the indicia on the writing surface 178 can
be erased and the
writing surface 178 can be continually reused. Of course, if desired, the
writing instrument 10
may also be used to write indicia on the front 152 or rear 154 covers
(including the pocket panels
170, 172) to mark reminders or other indicia thereon.
The bound component 10 may include a retaining structure 184 which limits the
movement of the writing surface 178 in the first direction. In particular, as
best shown in Fig.
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21, the writing surface 178 may include an intetnal slit 186 that is entirely
spaced apart from the
outer perimeter of the writing surface 178. The slit 186 may extend in a
direction generally
perpendicular to the first direction and defines an end portion 187. The
pocket panel 172
includes a flap 188 defined by a pair of cuts 189 that extend generally
perpendicular to the slit
186. Each cut 189 intersects an outer perimeter of the pocket panel 172 and
extends generally
parallel to the first direction. The flap 188 is sized to be closely slidably
received through the slit
186, as shown in Fig. 22. In addition, when the flap 188 is received through
the slit 186, the end
portion 187 of the writing surface 178 is located on top of the flap 188. The
remaining pocket
panel 170 is located below the writing surface 178 in the configuration in
Fig. 22 to trap the
writing surface 178 in the inner cavity 174 of the pocket 150 (i.e., when the
panels 170, 172 are
bound to the binding mechanism 156).
In this manner, when the pocket panel 172 and writing surface 178 are arranged
in the
configuration shown in Fig. 22 and the writing surface 178 is moved to the
fully extended
position (i.e., to the left of the position shown in Fig. 22), the end portion
187 of the writing
surface 178 engages the base end of the flap 188 to limit the movement of the
writing surface
178. The retaining structure 184 thereby prevents the writing surface from
being completely
pulled out of the inner cavity 174. In addition, once the binding mechanism
156 is passed
through the binding holes 190 of the pocket panels 170, 172, the writing
surface 178 is securely
coupled to and trapped within the front cover 152.
If desired, the location of the slit 186 and flap 188 may be reversed. In
particular, in this
case, the slit 186 may be located on one of the pocket panels 170, 172, and
the flap 188 could be
located on the writing surface 178. Of course, various other structures and
mechanisms for
retaining the writing surface 178 in the inner cavity may be used.
In this manner, the bound component 150 provides a retractable writing surface
which
allows notes to be written thereon, but which can be retracted to maintain a
clean outer
appearance and protect sensitive information. A permanent ink writing
instrument and erasing
means can be utilized to allow information to be securely, yet removably,
written thereon.
Although the invention is shown and described with respect to certain
embodiments, it is
obvious that equivalents and modifications will occur to those skilled in the
art upon reading and
understanding the specification. The present invention includes all such
equivalents and
modifications and is limited only by the scope of the claims.
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