U.S. patent application number 11/079542 was filed with the patent office on 2006-09-21 for coupon and bill organizer.
Invention is credited to Dorothy J. Heller, Robert J. Heller.
Application Number | 20060207895 11/079542 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 37009181 |
Filed Date | 2006-09-21 |
United States Patent
Application |
20060207895 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Heller; Robert J. ; et
al. |
September 21, 2006 |
Coupon and bill organizer
Abstract
An organizing device for efficiently storing coupons and
creating shopping lists. The device has a box shape and the lid of
the box acts as a clipboard that is adapted for holding a pad of
paper. A pen that can be used to create a shopping list on the
paper is permanently attached to the lid by a chain. The lid is
attached to the box by a hinge and when the lid is opened, an
accordion file is revealed. The accordion file is attached to the
back of the lid and can be used to store multiple coupons and/or
bills. The lid can be temporarily locked in the closed position by
friction catch. The organizing device includes a carrying case with
an adjustable strap that can be used to carry the organizing device
as well as other items.
Inventors: |
Heller; Robert J.;
(Beaumont, CA) ; Heller; Dorothy J.; (Beaumont,
CA) |
Correspondence
Address: |
SETO PATENTS
406 RIVERLAND DR.
SALEM
VA
24153
US
|
Family ID: |
37009181 |
Appl. No.: |
11/079542 |
Filed: |
March 14, 2005 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
206/232 ;
206/245 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B42F 9/002 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
206/232 ;
206/245 |
International
Class: |
B65D 71/00 20060101
B65D071/00; B65D 85/10 20060101 B65D085/10 |
Claims
1. A device for organizing coupons and bills, the device
comprising: a rectangular body, the rectangular body having four
sides and a bottom, the four sides and the bottom defining an
interior of the body, wherein the rectangular body has an open top;
a lid, the lid being sufficiently large to cover the top of the
rectangular body, wherein the lid has a top and a bottom, and the
lid is pivotally attached to the top of the body by a hinge; a
pressure clip, wherein the pressure clip is permanently attached to
the top of the lid, the pressure clip being adapted for holding one
or more pieces of paper to the top of the lid; a pen, wherein the
pen can be temporarily attached to the top of the lid via a
penholder and the pen is permanently attached to the top of the lid
via a chain; and, a two part friction catch, the friction catch
having a first part that is attached to the lid and a second part
that is attached to the body so that when the lid is placed in a
closed position the first and second parts engage, thereby
temporarily locking the lid in the closed position; wherein, the
device is capable of storing items, including coupons and bills, in
the interior of the body and a user can use the pen to create a
shopping list on a piece of paper held to the top of the lid by the
pressure clip.
2. The device of claim 1, further comprising: an accordion file,
the accordion file having multiple pockets and being attached to
the bottom of the lid so that the user has easy access to the
multiple pockets of the accordion file when the lid is in an open
position.
3. The device of claim 2, further comprising: a carrying case, the
carrying case having an interior capable of accepting the device,
wherein the carrying case includes a strap that is attached to a
top of the case, the strap being strong enough to support a weight
of the case and the device.
4. The device of claim 3, wherein the strap is an adjustable strap,
the adjustable strap having a length that is capable of being
changed by the user.
5. The device of claim 4, wherein the pen is a refillable pen, the
refillable pen having an internal ink cartridge that is capable of
being replaced.
6. The device of claim 5, wherein the body and lid have a shape
other than rectangular.
7. The device of claim 5, wherein a top of the carrying case
includes a closing apparatus for at least temporarily closing the
top of the carrying case.
8. The device of claim 5, wherein the interior of the carrying case
includes multiple pockets and at least one of the pockets is
adapted for holding a cellular telephone.
9. The device of claim 5, wherein each pocket in the accordion file
includes a space for accepting a label.
10. The device of claim 5, wherein body and lid are made of
plastics and the body and lid are provided in one or more
colors.
11. The device of claim 6, wherein the body and lid are made of
plastics and the body and lid are provided in one or more colors.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The present invention relates generally to the field of
organizational devices and more specifically to a device for
efficiently storing coupons, creating a shopping list and
organizing other personal affairs.
[0002] Everyone has to eat. That is why there are multiple grocery
stores in every city and town in America. Because of competition
many grocery stores offer coupons to attract customers to their
stores. Coupons allow customers to purchase items for less than
they would otherwise have to pay. Coupons are usually very
specific. Each coupon is typically only applicable to a certain
size of a certain brand of product. For instance, an exemplary
coupon may provide a one dollar discount off of the regular price
of a bottle of spaghetti sauce. However, the customer will only be
able to take advantage of this one dollar savings by purchasing the
48 oz. bottle of Prego.RTM. spaghetti sauce, for example. Because
of this specificity, and because of the large number of coupons
that are issued by grocery stores and product manufacturers,
customers must be very selective in the coupons that they save.
Moreover, once the customer has decided to save a number of
coupons, he has to remember to take the coupon with him to the
store when he goes shopping.
[0003] What is needed in the field is an item that combines a
reusable shopping list with a device for organizing and storing
coupons. For customers that take a shopping list with them when
they go shopping, such a device would force the customer to also
take the coupons that he selected and stored.
[0004] Everyone also has some monthly bills that have to be paid. A
fist of typical monthly bills may include, rent or mortgage, gas,
water, electric and telephone. It is important that customers pay
their bills in order to keep a good credit rating. It is also
important to pay monthly bills in order to keep important resources
such as water and electricity supplied to the customer's house.
Keeping track of bills is made harder by the randomness with which
bills arrive. Because of the importance of paying a large number of
bills on time, customers are faced with a never-ending
headache.
[0005] What is also needed in the field is an organizing device
that helps customers keep track of bills. The ideal organizing
device could be used both for organizing coupons and bills.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0006] A device for organizing coupons and bills. The device
includes a rectangular body and a lid. The top of the lid includes
a pen and a pressure clip that allows the lid to act as a clipboard
The rectangular body has four sides and a bottom. The four sides
and the bottom define an interior of the device and the rectangular
body has an open top. The lid is sufficiently large to cover the
open top of the rectangular body. The lid is pivotally attached to
the top of the body by a hinge. The pressure clip is permanently
attached to the top of the lid, and the pressure clip is adapted
for holding one or more pieces of paper to the top of the lid. The
pen can be temporarily attached to the top of the lid via a
penholder and the pen is permanently attached to the top of the lid
via a chain. The device also includes a two part friction catch
with a first part that is attached to the lid and a second
complementary part that is attached to the body. When the lid is
placed in the closed position the first and second parts engage,
thereby temporarily locking the lid in the closed position. The
device is capable of storing items, including coupons and bills, in
the interior of the body and a shopper can use the pen to create a
shopping list on the paper that is held to the top of the lid by
the pressure clip.
[0007] The organizing device also preferably includes an accordion
file with multiple pockets that is attached to the bottom of the
lid, so that the user has easy access to the pockets of the
accordion file when the lid is open. An optional carrying case is
included so the device can easily be carried to stores. The
carrying case includes interior pockets and an adjustable strap.
The pen in the preferred embodiment is a refillable pen, meaning
the pen has an internal ink cartridge that is capable of being
replaced. The present organizing device can be provided in shapes,
other than rectangular, in alternative embodiments.
[0008] It is an object of the present invention to make the job of
storing and using store coupons much easier.
[0009] It is another object of the present invention to make the
job of storing and paying monthly bill easier.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0010] The invention of the present application will now be
described in more detail with reference to the accompanying
drawings, given only by way of example, in which:
[0011] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the preferred
embodiment;
[0012] FIG. 2 shows the interior of the preferred embodiment;
and,
[0013] FIG. 3 shows an optional carrying case for the preferred
embodiment.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0014] FIG. 1 shows the preferred embodiment of the present coupon
and bill organizer 100. The body 105 of organizer 100 has a
rectangular box shape with a lid 110 that is capable of being
opened. The lid 110 of the organizer 100 doubles as a clipboard.
Pressure clip 115 on the lid 110 is perfect for holding down a
piece of paper, or a pad of paper, such as shopping list 120. A
shopper can use pen 125 to write down information on the shopping
list 120. The shopper will always have pen 125 at hand as the pen
is attached to the organizer 100 by chain 130. Chain 130 is a
flexible metal chain in the preferred embodiment. However, chain
130 is made of other materials, including plastics and fabrics, in
other embodiments. Pen 125, when not being used, is held against
lid 110 by penholder 135. The lid 110 is secured to the body 105 of
the organizer by friction catch 140. The body 105 and lid 110 of
the organizer 100 are made of plastics in the preferred embodiment.
The body 105 and lid 110 are made of other materials, including
paper, in other embodiments. The clip 115 is a spring loaded
pressure clip, but may be other types of clips in other
embodiments. The pen 125 is a refillable ink pen, but may be any
writing utensil capable of being refilled. The friction catch 140
actually has two parts, both of which are visible in FIG. 2.
[0015] FIG. 2 shows the preferred embodiment of the present
organizer 100 with its lid 110 open. The second part 210 of the
friction catch 140 can be seen permanently attached to the body 105
of organizer 100. The second part 210 of the catch has a shape that
is complementary to the shape of the catch 140. The complementary
shapes allow the catch 140 to snap into a temporary locked position
when the lid 110 is closed. Pulling upward on the leading edge of
the friction catch 140, which disengages the catch 140 from the
second part 210, can then open the lid 110. An accordion style file
200 with multiple pockets is attached to the interior of the lid
110, so that the file 200 is easily accessible to the user when the
lid 110 is open. The multiple pockets of the accordion file 200 can
be labeled and used for storing coupons by any method of the
shoppers choosing. One method would be to only store grocery
coupons in the file 200 with one pocket for meats, one pocket for
cereals, one pocket for diary products, etc. Another method would
be to use the file 200 for all types of coupons, with one pocket
for grocery coupons, one pocket for department store coupons, one
pocket for car repair coupons, etc. The file 200 can also be used
to store bills, such as monthly bills that the user must pay. The
customer could use one pocket for the electric bill, one pocket for
the telephone bill, etc. Of course, the possible organizing methods
for the accordion file 200 are only limited by necessity and the
user's creativity. The lid 110 and accordion file 200 rotate on
hinge 205. Extra space is provided inside the body 105 of the
organizer 100 for temporary storage of coupons and bills to be
filed and other items.
[0016] FIG. 3 shows an optional carrying bag 300 that can be used
to carry the present organizer 100 to and from stores. The carrying
bag 300 includes an adjustable carrying strap 305, interior room
for the organizer 100 and multiple pockets 315 and 320 for carrying
items such as a cell phone and letters. The carrying bag 300 also
includes a closing device such as complementary pieces of hook and
loop (velcro-like) material 310.
[0017] The foregoing description of the specific embodiments will
so fully reveal the general nature of the invention that others
can, by applying current knowledge, readily modify and/or adapt for
various applications such specific embodiments without departing
from the generic concept. Therefore, such adaptations and
modifications should and are intended to be comprehended within the
meaning and range of equivalents of the disclosed embodiments. It
is to be understood that the phraseology of terminology employed
herein is for the purpose of description and not of limitation.
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