BINDER CLIP WITH WRITABLE SURFACE

Abstract

A binder clip (1) having an outer surface (5) capable of retaining an applied writing medium (16), such as ink, graphite and the like for use in marking with indicia (17) to identify materials to be held within the binder clip.

Claims

1. A binder clip comprising: a main body having an outer surface and an inner surface; said main body having a base and two opposing sides with upper edges held together by tension; handles located on the upper edges of the opposing sides; and said outer surface having a writeable surface capable of retaining a writing medium.

2. The binder clip of claim 1 wherein: said writeable surface is a porous substrate located on the outer surface of the main body.

3. The binder clip of claim 1 wherein: said writeable surface is a writeable paint applied to the outer surface of the main body.

4. The binder clip of claim 3 wherein: said writeable paint is a paint having a matte finish.

5. The binder clip of claim 3 wherein: said writeable paint is a paint having a non-glossy finish.

6. The binder clip of claim 1 wherein: said inner surface of the main body is a non-writeable surface.

7. The binder clip of claim 2 wherein: said inner surface of the main body is a smooth non-porous surface.

8. The binder clip of claim 4 wherein: said inner surface of the main body is a smooth surface.

9. The binder clip of claim 5 wherein: said inner surface of the main body is a smooth surface.

10. A binder clip comprising: a main body having an outer surface and an inner surface; said main body having a base and two opposing sides with upper edges held together by tension; handles located on the upper edges of the opposing sides; said outer surface having a writeable surface capable of retaining a writing medium; and said inner surface of the main body is a non-writeable surface.

11. The binder clip of claim 10 wherein: said writeable surface is a porous substrate located on the outer surface of the main body.

12. The binder clip of claim 10 wherein: said writeable surface is a writeable paint applied to the outer surface of the main body.

13. The binder clip of claim 12 wherein: said writeable paint is a paint having a matte finish.

14. The binder clip of claim 12 wherein: said writeable paint is a paint having a non-glossy finish.

15. The binder clip of claim 10 wherein: said inner surface of the main body is a smooth surface.

16. The binder clip of claim 10 wherein: said inner surface of the main body is a smooth surface.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0013] In the following detailed description, reference will be made to the attached drawings in which:

[0014] FIG. 1 is a perspective side view of a binder clip of the present invention;

[0015] FIG. 2 is a side sectional view along lines 2-2 of FIG. 1 of a binder clip of the present invention; and

[0016] FIG. 3 is a side view a plurality of stacks of paper each bound together with a binding clip of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0017] For purposes of describing the preferred embodiment, the terminology used in reference to the numbered components in the drawings is as follows: [0018] 1. binder clip, generally [0019] 2. main body [0020] 3. loop [0021] 4. apex [0022] 5. outer surface of main body [0023] 6. stack of paper [0024] 7. inner surface of main body [0025] 8. base of main body [0026] 9A. side of main body [0027] 9B. upper edge of side of main body [0028] 10. handle [0029] 11. slot [0030] 12. writable surface [0031] 13. substrate [0032] 14. writeable paint [0033] 15. non-glossy finish [0034] 16. writing medium [0035] 17. indicia [0036] 18. non-writeable surface [0037] 19. glossy finish [0038] 20. smooth finish

[0039] With reference to FIGS. 1-3, the binder clip 1 comprises a main body 2, which may be formed out of a strip of spring steel, plastic or so forth, bent into the shape of an isosceles triangle with loops 3 located at an apex 4. The main body 2 further comprises an outer surface 5 that is visible when the binder clip 1 is placed on a stack of paper 6, as illustrated in

[0040] FIG. 3, and an inner surface 7 that makes contact with the paper 6 being bound. Tension along a base 8 of the triangle-shaped main body 2 forces two opposing sides 9A with upper edges 9B closed, and the loops 3 prevent any sharp edges from cutting into the paper 6. The loops 3 also serve to hold two handles 10 used to open the binder clip 1. Two slots 11 cut in each loop 3 are preferably shaped so that the handles 10 may be folded down flat after the binder clip 1 has been attached to a stack of paper 6. The main body 2 illustrated herein is triangular-shaped, however, the main body 2 may also be circular-shaped.

[0041] The outer surface 5 of the binder clip 1 comprises writeable surface 12 or substrate 13 located thereon. The substrate 13 is preferably a writeable paint 14 having a porous texture, matte finish or similar non-glossy finish 15 or liquid paper that is capable of retaining ink or other writing mediums 16, such as graphite, so that indicia 17 may be written on the outer surface of the binder clip 1. The writeable surface 12 may be a lighter color to allow for a contrast between the binder clip 1 and the writing medium being used. The substrate 13 or writeable paint 14 may be applied to the outer surface 5 of the binder clip 1 prior to the main body 2 being cut and formed into a triangular shape or after the forming process using convention spraying methods and/or electrostatic painting. Bound documents may be easily organized, stored and quickly identified using the binding clip 1 of the present invention, as illustrated in FIG. 3 which shows several stacks of paper 6 that are each identified by a particular year. The writeable surface 12 is preferably located on the entire outer surface 5 of the binder clip 1 including the outer surface of the base 8 of the triangle-shaped main body 2 and two opposing sides 9A.

[0042] The inner surface 7 of the binder clip 1 preferably has a smooth non-writeable surface 18 to allow the binder clip 1 to slide onto the paper 6 being bound. This non-writeable surface 18 is preferably a glossy finish 19 or a smooth finish 20 to ensure that the inner surface 7 of the binder clip 1 will not damage the paper 6 by scraping the paper 6 with a porous textured writeable surface 12 as the outer surface 5 has, which may be abrasive to the paper 6 being bound.

[0043] It is to be understood that while a preferred embodiment of the invention is illustrated, it is not to be limited to the specific form or arrangement of parts herein described and shown.

[0044] It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes may be made without departing from the scope of the invention and the invention is not to be considered limited to what is shown and described in the specification and drawings.