US20090096334A1

US20090096334A1 - Behind The Board Storage Product

Info

Publication number: US20090096334A1
Application number: US11/872,965
Authority: US
Inventors: Kurt Sward; Brian Clemens; Don Lehman; Jill Pearson
Original assignee: Meadwestvaco Corp
Current assignee: WestRock MWV LLC
Priority date: 2007-10-16
Filing date: 2007-10-16
Publication date: 2009-04-16
Also published as: CA2641191A1

Abstract

An organizing product that includes a storage compartment comprising front and rear walls each having inwardly and outwardly facing surfaces, a dry erase board attached to the outwardly facing surface of the storage compartment, and a calendar removably mounted in overlying relation to the dry erase board. A septum divides the storage compartment into upper and lower sections and adds rigidity to the organizing product. A magnet attached to the outwardly facing surface of the rear wall and/or a pair of openings formed through the rear wall permit the organizing product to be mounted to a vertically oriented surface.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to organizing products, and more particularly to organizing products having a writing board that include storage compartments incorporated therein.
Organizing products typically serve a single function, such as tracking a schedule, recording notes in an apparent and deliberate place and manner, storing items used on a daily or periodic basis, but the multiple functions are traditionally not incorporated into a single product. In addition, where space savings is an object of the organizing product, a typical manner of implementing the space saving technique is to mount the product on a wall or other surface, such as a refrigerator door. Wall mounting eliminates table and desk clutter by using a space not typically used for functional goods.
It is a principal object and advantage of the present invention to provide an organizing product that may be mounted on a wall or other vertical surface and that includes multiple organizing functions.
It is another object and advantage of the present invention to provide an organizing product that maintains a relatively thin profile.
Other objects and advantages of the present invention will in part be obvious, and in part appear hereinafter.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In accordance with the foregoing objects and advantages, the present invention provides an organizing product, comprising a storage compartment comprising front and rear walls each having inwardly and outwardly facing surfaces, and a writing substrate attached to the outwardly facing surface of the storage compartment. An information conveying material, such as a calendar, is adapted for removable attachment in overlying relation to a portion of the writing substrate. The writing substrate is preferably a magnetic dry erase board. The storage compartment is preferably divided into upper and lower storage sections with a septum dividing them. In addition to dividing the storage compartment into two sections, the septum also serves to add structural rigidity to the unit.
In its preferred form, the front wall of the storage compartment is of smaller area than the rear wall, while being of the same height but narrower width. By centering the front wall relative to the rear wall and joining them by top and bottom walls (and the septum), the storage compartment takes a tapered form that permits easier access to the compartments from its open sides while not requiring the compartment to have too much depth, thus minimizing the profile of the product while not foregoing any desired functionality. Additionally, the tapered form permits enhanced visual access to the storage areas to determine if any contents are stored therein
A clip is provided in attached relation across the top edge of the writing substrate. The information conveying material may be releasably engaged with the clip.
In one embodiment, the information conveying material is of about the same width, but less length than the writing substrate. In this embodiment, the information conveying material covers the entire upper portion of the writing substrate, leaving a bottom section uncovered.
In another embodiment, the information conveying material is of less width and length than the writing substrate, thereby leaving a part of the upper portion and the entire lower portion of the writing substrate uncovered.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention will be more fully understood and appreciated by reading the following Detailed Description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a front elevation view thereof;

FIG. 3 is a front elevation of a second, alternate embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a partial perspective view of a third, alternate embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view of the preferred embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 6 is a rear elevation view thereof.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Referring now to the drawings in which like reference numerals refer to like parts throughout, there is seen in FIG. 1 an organizing product, designated generally by reference numeral 10, having a storage compartment 12, a writing substrate, preferably a dry erase magnetic white board, 14 adhered to the outwardly facing surface of the front wall 16 of compartment 12, and information conveying material 18, such as a calendar, To Do lists, or other similar products, releasably mounted to organizing product 10 via a clip 20. It should be understood to those of reasonable skill in the art that the substrate 14 can be any known writing substrate, such as white boards, chalk boards, dry erase magnetic boards, and the like, and the information conveying material 18 can include any type of product, typically composed of paper and bound along one edge by a spiral binging or equivalent fastener, such as a calendar, To Do lists, shopping lists, phone number pages, and the like.
With reference to the Figures, storage compartment 12 comprises first/upper and second/ lower sections 22 and 24 that are separated by a septum 26 that extends transversely across and between the inwardly facing surfaces of front wall 16 and rear wall 28. A top 30 and bottom 32 also join front 16 and rear walls 28. Septum 26, in addition to top 30 and bottom 32 provide rigidity to storage compartment 12 which is preferably composed of rigid paper board or equivalent material. In its preferred form, the surfaces of rear wall 28 are of a greater surface area than the corresponding surfaces of front wall 16. In addition, the heights of front wall 16 and rear wall 28 are approximately the same while the width W1 of rear wall 28 is greater than the width W2 of front wall 16. With front wall 16 being approximately centered relative to rear wall 28, the side edges of septum 26, top 30, and bottom 32 each taper inwardly in order to terminate flush with the inwardly facings surfaces of front and rear walls 16, 28, respectively. This tapered structure accommodates a user's access through the open sides of compartments 22 and 24 without having to make the depth thereof to significant. In addition, the tapered form permits enhanced visual inspection of the storage compartment 12.
In one embodiment of product 10 shown in FIG. 2, information conveying material 18 and writing substrate 14 are of approximately equal widths, but with information conveying material 18 being of a smaller height. In this embodiment, the entire upper section 14 a of writing substrate 14 is covered by information conveying material 18, while the lower section 14 b remains uncovered. Lower section 14 b can include demarcated areas, such as seven boxes representing the seven days of the week.
In a second embodiment of product 10 shown in FIG. 3, information conveying material 18 is of smaller width and height compared to writing substrate 14. In this embodiment, part of upper section 14 a and all of lower section 14 b remain uncovered. The uncovered part of upper section 14 a, designated 14 a′, can include bullets or other itemized demarcations to make list maintenance more organized.
In another embodiment of product 10 shown in FIG. 4, compartment 12 may be divided into three (or more) sections by including multiple septa 26 positioned in spaced parallel relation to one another.
Product 10 is adapted to be mounted to a vertical surface such as, for example, a wall, panel, or door. Mounting means include openings 36 formed through rear wall 28, adjacent the top edge thereof. Fasteners, such as nails, may be inserted through openings 36 to securely hang product 10 on a wall, panel, or other vertically oriented surface that is penetrable by a fastener. An alternate mounting means is a magnet 38 attached to the outwardly facing surface of rear wall 28. Magnet 38 is preferably positioned adjacent the top edge of rear wall 28. To add strength to the magnetic mounting means a second magnet 38′ may be attached to the outwardly facing surface of rear wall 28, preferably adjacent the lower edge thereof. Of course, additional magnets can be attached to rear wall 28 to further enhance te strength of this mounting means. Magnets 38 may be employed when mounting product 10 to a metal surface, such as a refrigerator door. Of course, other mounting means including hook and loop fasteners, hooks, and the like could be employed.

Claims

1. An organizing product, comprising:

a. a storage compartment comprising front and rear walls each having inwardly and outwardly facing surfaces; and

b. a writing substrate attached to said outwardly facing surface of said storage compartment.

2. The organizing product of claim 1, further comprising an information product releasably attached to the organizing product.

3. The organizing product of claim 2, further comprising a clip attached to said storage compartment.

4. The organizing product of claim 3, wherein said information product includes a binding adapted to engage said clip.

5. The organizing product of claim 3, wherein said information product is a calendar.

6. The organizing product of claim 3, wherein said clip and said writing substrate are each of predetermined lengths that are substantially equal to one another.

7. The organizing product of claim 3, wherein said clip and said writing substrate are each of predetermined lengths with the clip length being less than the writing substrate length.

8. The organizing product of claim 7, wherein said writing substrate comprises a dry erase, magnetic, white board.

9. The organizing product of claim 1, wherein said outwardly facing surfaces of said front wall and said rear wall are each of predetermined surface areas with the surface area of said outwardly facing surface of said front wall being less than the surface area of the outwardly facing surface of said rear wall.

10. The organizing product of claim 9, further comprising a top wall and a lower wall that extend between and bridge said front and rear walls of said storage compartment, wherein said top wall and said bottom wall each include side edges that taper inwardly from said rear wall towards said front wall.

11. The organizing product of claim 1, further comprising means for mounting the organizing product to a surface.

12. The organizing product of claim 11, wherein said mounting means comprises at least one magnet attached to said outwardly facing surface of said rear wall.

13. The organizing product of claim 11, wherein said mounting means comprises at least one opening formed through said rear wall that is adapted to receive a mounting fastener therethrough.

14. The organizing product of claim 1, further comprising a septum that divides said storage compartment is divided into first and second sections.

15. An organizing product, comprising:

b. an information conveying material interconnected to said outwardly facing surface of said storage compartment.

16. The organizing product of claim 15, further comprising a clip attached to said storage compartment.

17. The organizing product of claim 16, wherein said information product includes a binding adapted to engage said clip.

18. The organizing product of claim 15, further comprising means for mounting the organizing product to a surface.

19. The organizing product of claim 18, wherein said mounting means comprises at least one magnet attached to said outwardly facing surface of said rear wall.

20. The organizing product of claim 18, wherein said mounting means comprises at least one opening formed through said rear wall that is adapted to receive a mounting fastener therethrough.

21. An organizing product, comprising:

a. a storage compartment comprising front and rear walls each having inwardly and outwardly facing surfaces;

b. a dry erase board attached to said outwardly facing surface of said storage compartment; and

c. a calendar removably mounted in overlying relation to said dry erase board.