Shirt pocket card - Patent Review 4968065

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BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The invention is in the field of writing paraphernalia and relates particularly to an attractive and convenient notecard which is sized and constructed to be readily received in a shirt pocket.

Writing equipment, notepads, memo pads and such items have come in a large variety of different forms. Particularly popular in recent years have been 3M's "Post It" notepads in various colors and sizes, and with a stripe of pressure sensitive, easily releasable adhesive on the back of each notepaper. Pads of note paper in different sizes have included a magnet on the back of the pad for hanging the pad on a refrigerator; there have been a number of different types of desk notepads or paper containers and dispensers; and of course standard 3" by 5" and 4" by 6" lined index cards have been used for filing information in appropriately sized file boxes.

Until the present invention, however, there was not available a notepad or notepaper or notecard having the usefulness, attractive appearance and the writing feel of the shirt pocket notecards of the invention as described below.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The notecard of the present invention includes a combination of features which make it attractive, inviting to write on with a fountain, felt tip, rolling ball or ball point pen, and which enable it to very conveniently be stored in a shirt pocket of standard dimensions, for later reference by the user.

The card is sized to easily fit into a standard shirt pocket, and preferably also to fit six of the cards on a standard letter-size sheet, for photocopying or for filing with six cards adhered to such a sheet.

At least the bottom two corners of the shirt pocket notecard of the invention are rounded to help facilitate the insertion of the card into a shirt pocket. In addition, the card is of sufficient paper weight and stiffness to enable it to be inserted into a shirt pocket in which it fits fairly closely, without buckling. The card is of "cover weight," or "bookweight" (at least 80-lb. and preferably about 100 lb). The rounded corners and the weight of the paper enable the card to be repeatedly inserted into and removed from a short pocket (as for repeated entries onto the card or repeated references) without bending or fraying.

The front surface of the notecard of the invention has a series of parallel horizontal lines (or other patterns which lend themselves to the orderly recording of information) for receiving notes or list items. There may be a vertically extending shaded area along the left margin of the lines for letters, numbers, times, dates, amounts, etc. The cards may come in a number of colors, each for a different purpose, or they may be white. Colors may be coordinated to match common pastel shirt colors, such as light blue, yellow, pink, light beige, etc. Preferably, the back surface of the card is plain, without lines or markings, so that neither the card nor and markings tend to show through the shirt pocket of the user. Alternatively, the back face of the card can deliberately display a company name or logo to promote the company.

The front surface of the card (and preferably the back surface) is coated, preferably having a "dull coat" finish. Such a finish, or an equivalent finish, gives a very good writing feel, particularly with a felt tip or rolling ball type pen, and also with a soft pencil or a ball point pen or other type of ink pen. It also tends to dry the ink almost immediately, preventing smearing, and exhibits almost no "bleeding" away from the lines of the writing as drawn. The finish exhibits colors very well.

A packet of the shirt pocket cards may be contained and dispensed in an attractive desk top dispenser, such as of wood, metal or molded plastic, with the cards oriented vertically or horizontally.

It is therefore among the objects of the invention to provide an attractive and conveniently used notecard which is sized and constructed to fit into a standard shirt pocket, for easy later reference of the user. These and other objects, advantages and features of the invention will be apparent from the following description of a preferred embodiment, considered along with the accompanying drawings.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a frontal plan view of a shirt pocket notecard in accordance with the invention.

FIG. 2 is a view of the back side of the shirt pocket notecard.

FIG. 3 is a view showing six of the shirt pocket notecards arranged on a sheet of standard letter size paper.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing the shirt pocket notecard being inserted into the shirt pocket of a user.

FIG. 5 is a view showing a holder/dispenser containing a packet of the pocket cards of the invention.

FIG. 6 is a view showing another card holder for retaining the cards in a horizontal stack.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

In the drawings, FIG. 1 shows a shirt pocket notecard 10 according to the invention, generally rectangular in shape with two rounded bottom corners 12 and preferably rounded upper corners 14 as well. On the face of the shirt pocket notecard are a series of parallel horizontal lines 16 spaced appropriately for the taking of notes by the user. The front face of the card 10 may also include a shaded area 18 extending vertically down the left margin along the edges of the lines 16 as illustrated

The card 10 may be white or off-white in color, but a series of different colors for different cards may be used to signify different types of subject matter or purposes for the user.

In any event, the back side 20 of the shirt pocket notecard as shown in FIG. 2, preferably is blank, without lines or any other indicia, and most preferably is of a very pale color. As a result, the notecard 10 when inserted into a pocket 22 (as shown in FIG. 4), with the back side 20 facing outwardly, will not show through the pocket 22. Alternatively, if the card is to be used with shirts having opaque pockets, lines may be included also on the back side. Also, in some instances it may be desirable to put a visible company logo on the back surface of the card, to be visible through the pocket.

FIG. 3 illustrates an important feature of the shirt pocket notecards 10 of the invention. Each is sized to be approximately the maximum size possible for fitting conveniently into a standard sized shirt pocket, while six of the cards may be laid out as shown in FIG. 3 within the borders of a standard letter size sheet 24. In this way, the six cards can be adhered to and filed on a standard letter sized sheet; or the six cards can be laid face down in this pattern to make a photocopy of their content on a standard letter size sheet.

The dimensions of the cards may therefore be 35/8 inches in width by 41/4 inches in height for standard letter size paper in the United States; or a maximum of 9.9 centimeters in width by 10.5 centimeters in height, for standard "A4" letter size paper in Europe and other countries, the dimensions of which paper are 21.0 centimeters by 29.7 centimeters.

The surface finish and texture of the shirt pocket notecards 10 of the invention is an important feature, for promoting ease and enjoyment of writing on the surface. The card is preferably coated to achieve the desirable surface finish. The preferred finish is a matte finish with very tight grain, such that virtually no "bleeding" of the ink from a felt tip, fountain or rolling ball type pen will occur. The surface finish is most preferably a "dull coat" as known in the-paper/printing industry. The card stock used preferably is "book weight" or "cover weight," as those terms are known in the industry, and preferably is of about 100-lb. weight. This stock weight should not be less than about 80-lb., and should not exceed about 15-point (0.015 inch in thickness).

Other types of finishes and card stock may be used for the shirt pocket cards of the invention, preferably having an approximately equivalent "feel" to those described above. The card stock used should be such as to approximate a "card" in the general sense of the word, as opposed to a sheet of note paper. The surface finish should be one which dries ink quickly, does not "bleed" the ink to any appreciable degree, and approximates a flat sheen or dull sheen.

In addition as mentioned above, the shirt pocket notecards 10 of the invention can be in a series of colors, preferably very light pastel colors such as yellow, pale blue, pale green, pale pink, pale beige, and ivory, as well as white or off-white, and these cards collectively can be used to signify the subject matter, different days of the week, different purposes, etc. for the user of the card. They can also be matched to popular pastel shirt colors, to allow the card to be less noticeable in the pocket.

As shown in FIG. 5, the shirt pocket notecards 10 of the invention may be stored and displayed in a convenient container/dispenser 25 which is attractive on a desktop. The container or dispenser 25 may be of finished wood or metal, or even of an attractive plastic or metal coated plastic. It may retain a stack 26 of shirt pocket notecards in any desired orientation. The card stack may be vertical or slightly inclined from vertical as shown in FIG. 5, or horizontal in a tray 27 as shown in FIG. 6. The trademark notation "Shirtcard" may be present on each card and on the container or dispenser 25.

Stacks of the shirt pocket notecards 10 may be "padded," i.e. coated at the top edge of the stack with a rubbery padding substance, so that one may tear cards off the stack one-by-one.

If desired, the backs of the cards 10 can have a small patch of pressure-sensitive adhesive, covered by a removable release strip. This is useful for placing the cards on a vertical surface for prominence as a reminder. However, the preferred form of the card 10 is without any such adhesive.

The above described preferred embodiment is intended to illustrate the principles of the invention, but not to limit its scope. Various other embodiments and modifications to this preferred embodiment will be apparent to those skilled in the art and may be made without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the following claims.

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