EP0083643A1

EP0083643A1 - Portable desk and briefcase

Info

Publication number: EP0083643A1
Application number: EP19820902564
Authority: EP
Inventors: Albert F. Radovich
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1981-07-13
Filing date: 1982-07-13
Publication date: 1983-07-20
Also published as: WO1983000120A1

Abstract

Un ensemble portatif de pupitre et mallette (10) comprend une première partie formant paroi (12) et une seconde partie formant paroi (14) articulées entre elles pour être repliées à partir d'un plan commun formant un pupitre vers une position où elles forment conjointement la paroi arrière (18), la paroi de fond (12) et la paroi supérieure (38) d'une mallette. Une troisième partie formant paroi (16) est articulée sur la première partie formant paroi (12) et est repliable depuis le plan de la première et de la seconde parties formant paroi (12, 14) vers une position où elle est sensiblement parallèle et coextensive avec la partie formant paroi arrière (18) de la première partie formant paroi (12) de manière à former la paroi frontale de la mallette. Une section (42) de la seconde partie formant paroi (14) forme un rabat qui se replie en relation de chevauchement partiel sur la troisième partie formant paroi (16) et se fixe à l'aide d'un dispositif approprié d'attache (70) dans une position telle qu'elle maintient les diverses parties dans une position formant une mallette. Diverses informations peuvent être portées sur des feuilles de papier disposées dans les trois parties de l'appareil pour effectuer une approche programmée sur une tâche spécifique à effectuer par une personne utilisant l'appareil.A portable console and case assembly (10) includes a first wall portion (12) and a second wall portion (14) hinged together to be folded from a common plane forming a console to a position where they form together the rear wall (18), the bottom wall (12) and the upper wall (38) of a case. A third wall portion (16) is articulated on the first wall portion (12) and is foldable from the plane of the first and second wall portions (12, 14) to a position where it is substantially parallel and coextensive with the rear wall portion (18) of the first wall portion (12) so as to form the front wall of the case. A section (42) of the second wall part (14) forms a flap which folds in partial overlapping relationship on the third wall part (16) and is fixed using an appropriate fastening device ( 70) in a position such that it maintains the various parts in a position forming a case. Various pieces of information can be carried on sheets of paper arranged in the three parts of the apparatus to carry out a programmed approach on a specific task to be carried out by a person using the apparatus.

Description

Specification

"Portable Desk and Briefcase"

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention This invention relates generally to cases for carrying various papers, and particularly to a case which can open into a substantially planar surface to form a desk. Description of the Prior Art The use of carrying cases of varying kinds is becoming more prevalent as more and more people find it convenient and even necessary to take work with them as they travel about or require large amounts of informative material at hand to perform their work. Accordingly, although the usual kinds of cases, such as attache cases, top- loading briefcases, portfolios, and the like, remain the most common cases used, there has developed an increasing need for specialized cases for facilitating the carrying out of various tasks . Several specialized carrying cases have been proposed, an example of which can be found in U. S. Patent No. 4,161,201, issued July 17, 1979 to B. Carp, wherein an organizer constructed for receiving a large number of specialized personal articles is arrangeable in the chamber of a rectangular carrying case of gen¬ erally conventional construction. The organizer can be removed from the carrying case and laid flat for convenient access to the articles disposed in it.

There is a need, however, for a case having a configuration convenient for being carried about, but which will function as a desk and secretary when a

OMPI user of the case has need to refer to the materials disposed within the case. This is particularly true when the materials within the case are sheets of informative material, forms to be completed, and the like.

SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to pro¬ vide a case which converts into a desk.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a carrying case for programmed material re¬ lated to a specific task or series of tasks to be performed by the user of the case, which case retains the material in an order keyed to the manner in which the material is to be use . Yet another object of the present invention is to provide apparatus which normally is in the form of "an attractive carrying case, but which can be conven¬ iently unfolded so as to lie in a substantially sing¬ ular plane for use as a "table-top" desk. Briefly, these and other objects of the present invention are achieved by apparatus including first and second wall-forming parts hinged to one another and to a third wall-forming part preferably provided with a plurality of pockets arranged for receiving sheets of paper, business cards, writing implements, and the like. Each of the first and second parts, which preferably include snap-ring holders and the like, is comprised of a pair of portions or sections, with the first part having a smaller portion hingedly attached to a wall forming the base for the third part, and a larger portion being of substantially the same planar size as the wall of the third part. The second part has a section of substantially the same size as the smaller portion of the first part and hingedly attached to the larger portion of the first part in spaced relation to the third part so that the smaller portion of the first part will form a bottom of the apparatus when folded into a carrying case and the section of the second part which is hingedly attached to the first part forms a top to the case. A second section to the second part forms a flap which can be folded in overlapping relation with an outer surface of the wall of the third part and releasably secured thereto by a suitble lock arrangement. A handle is advantageously disposed on the outer surface of the section of the second part forming the top wall of the case to facilitate carrying of the case. The first part can have additional portions extending perpendicularly to the second part and the third part from the larger portion of the first part and being of a comparable size to the smaller portion of the first part so as to be foldable into planes substantially perpendicular to the larger portion of the first part and to form side walls of the case. These side walls can be held in place by a suitable adhering arrangement, such as a suitable fabric hook fastener, and the like. it is an advantage of the invention that all of the materials for a specific job task, such as a sales presentation, can be conveniently organized for use in the three parts when the various parts are layed out substantially in a single plane so as to function as a desk, and when not in use or when being transported can be folded into an attractive carrying case.

Another advantage of the present invention is that work to be done in conjunction with the invention can be organized and performed in a -ore efficient manner than possible with conventional carrying cases .

IN THE DRAWING Fig. 1 is a schematic, perspective view, partly broken away and in section, showing a portable desk 5 and briefcase apparatus according to a present inven¬ tion;

Fig. 2 is a sectional view taken generally along the line 2-2 of Fig. 1, but drawn to a larger scale;

Fig. 3 is a schematic, perspective view showing Q the apparatus of Figs. 1 and 2 as seen from the left in Fig. 1, but in partly opened mode;

Fig. 4 is a schematic, top plan view showing the apparatus of Figs. 1-3 unfolded so as to lie substan¬ tially in a single plane; and -5 Fig. 5 is a schematic, sectional view taken along the line 5-5 of Fig. 4.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring now more specifically to the figures of the drawing, a portable desk and briefcase appara- 0 tus 10 according to the present invention is provided with a first binder part 12 and a second binder part 14 foldably attached to binder part 12. A receptacle part 16 is attached to binder part 12 in spaced rela¬ tion to part 14 and is arranged for being folded over 5 a portion of binder part 12 so as to lie parallel and coextensive therewith.

Binder part 12 includes a substantially planar first portion 18 which forms a back wall of case apparatus 10, and a substantially planar second por- 0 tion 20 smaller than the first portion 18 when viewed in plan. Portions 18 and 20 are pivotally connected to one another by an integral hinge 22, while a simi- lar integral hinge joins portion 20 to receptacle part 16. Binder part 12 also includes third and fourth portions 26 and 28 pivotally joined to portion 18 by integral hinges 30 and 32 and disposed so as to extend, when apparatus 10 is arranged in a single plane as seen in Figs. 4 and 5, in opposite directions from portion 18 and perpendicular to the extent of parts 14 and 16 from the associated part 12. These latter portions 26, 28 are foldable into a position so as to form the ends of the case apparatus 10, as best seen in Figs. 1 and 3 of the drawings.

A holder arrangement 34 is mounted on the sur¬ face of portion 20 which is directed upwardly in Figs. 4 and 5 so as to be within apparatus 10 when same is folded into a carrying case as seen in Figs. 1-3. The portion 18 will be seen to form the bottom wall of a case formed from apparatus 10. Altho-ugh holder arrangement 34 is illustrated as being formed by a conventional snap-ring holder 36, it will be appreci- ated that any suitable sheet holder as conventionally employed with binders can be used for holder arrange¬ ment 34.

Binder part 14 includes a substantially planar first section 38 integrally hinged at an edge 39 by a hinge 40 to portion 18 of part 12 of apparatus 10. A planar second section 42 of about the same size as section 38 is pivotally joined to section 38 by an integral hinge 44 so as to form a flap. A retaining device 46 is mounted on section 38 of part 14 for selectively holding sheets of planar material, such as paper, and preferably is the illustrated conven¬ tional snap-ring holder. It will be appreciated that as in the case of holder arrangement 34, another conventional sheet holdinc device other than holder 48 may be employed for retaining device 46. Further, although holder 48 is illustrated as being substan¬ tially larger than holder 34, it will be appreciated that a relative size of these elements can be varied as desired within the limits of the overall construc¬ tion of apparatus 10.

Receptacle part 16 includes a substantially planar wall 50 pivotally joined to portion 20 of binder part 12 by the aforementioned integral hinge 24 along an edge 51 and provided with a pocket arrange¬ ment 52 disposed for selectively receiving various articles .

Pocket arrangement 52 includes an expanding envelope 54 of generally conventional construction wherein a cover flap extends between and is connected to a pair of flexible side walls. In the illus¬ trated embodiment a pair of pockets 56 and 58 are secured to the cover flap of envelope 54 adjacent the side walls thereof. Further, a piece 60 is sewn onto the pocket 58 in such a manner as to form a pair of pockets 62 and 64 arranged side by side and opening in the same direction as the pockets 56 and 58, and a pair of pockets 66 and 68 also arranged side by side and opening perpendicularly to pockets 62 and 64. While envelope 54 and pockets 56 and 58 can be used for holding various sheets of paper, booklets and the like, pockets 62 and 64 may be dimensioned so as to receive business cards, for example, and pockets 66 and 68 can receive writing implements and similar articles.

As can be appreciated from the drawings, wall 50 of part 16 is about the same size in plan as the por¬ tion 18 of binder part 12, and the portion 20 of bind¬ er 20 of binder part 12 and the section 38 of binder

O part 14 are also of about the same size in plan so that these like sized areas form pairs of opposite walls when apparatus 10 is folded into the form of a case as seen in Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawing. Speci- fically, portion 18 and wall 50 form the front and back surfaces, respectively, of the case, while por¬ tion 20 and section 38 form the bottom and top sur¬ faces. That is, each of the pairs including portion 18 and wall 50, and portion 20 and section 38, will overlie one another so as to be substantially parallel and coextensive when apparatus 10 is in its carrying case mode. Section 42 functions as a flap which par¬ tially overlaps the outwardly directed surface of wall 50, and is retained in such overlapping position by a suitable, known fastener 70 including a stud part 72 provided on the terminal edge of section 42 and a latch part 74 preferably including a reciprocating spring latch and disposed on the outer surface of wall 50 for retainingly receiving a pin 73 provided on part 72. Fastener 70 can be of any suitable kind of commonly used luggage lock, clasp, and the like, and due to its conventional construction will not be described in detail herein.

An adhering arrangement 76 is associated with the portions 26 and 28 of binder part 12 and with wall 50 of receptacle part 16 for releasably securing portions 26 and 28 to wall 50 when apparatus 1G is in the carrying case mode. As illustrated, this adhere- ing arrangement 76 comprises pieces 78 affixed to por- tions 26 and 28 and pieces 80 affixed to peripheral portions of envelope 54 of pocket arrangement 52, and constructed from a fabric, and the like, provided with hooks and loops to form a hook fastener which will adhere when the pieces 78 and 80 are pressed

C!*-' - :* 5- -_.^" -S _.• .- i.- ,1 together and released when same are pulled apart. An example of such a material is that commonly marketed under the trademark "VELCRO" . This arrangement per¬ mits the flap portions 26 and 28 to be retained in place as end walls when apparatus 10 is in its carry¬ ing case mode.

A handle 82 is advantageously provided on the outwardly directed surface of section 38 of binder part 14, while it is advantageous that conventional feet 84 be provided on the outwardly directed surface of portion 20 of binder part 12 so as to form a sup¬ porting surface for apparatus 10 when in the case mode, as is conventional with briefcases, luggage, and the like. Apparatus 10 can be constructed in a convention¬ al manner as by covering pieces of cardboard or other suitable stiffening material with vinyl, leather, and the like. The integral hinges can be formed at the boundaries of the pieces of stiffener material. n use, apparatus 10 can be laid out in substan¬ tially a single plane as shown in Figs. 4 and 5 to be used as a desk to perform whatever function appropri¬ ate. When it is desired to either store apparatus 10, or to carry same from one place to another, apparatus 10 can be folded into a case by first folding portion 20 perpendicular to portion 18 and then bringing wall 50 perpendicular to portion 20 so as to be substan¬ tially parallel to an overlying portion 18. Now sec¬ tion 42 can be brought substantially perpendicular to portion 18 so as to be substantially parallel to and overlying portion 20 while extending from portion 18 and slightly beyond wall 50. Section 42 can now be brought down into overlapping relation with the outer surface of wall 50 and secured in such position by use of fastener 70. Portions 26 and 28 now are folded perpendicular to portion 18 and retained in place by adhering arrangement 76. Apparatus 10 now is in its carrying case mode and can be conveniently trans- ported from one place to another by use of handle 82, or can be conveniently stored, in the manner of a briefcase, attache case, or piece of luggage.

As can be readily understood from the above- description and from the drawings, a portable desk and briefcase apparatus according to the present inven¬ tion provides a convenient portfolio for organizing programmed sales materials and the like. While the use of apparatus according to the invention can vary, one possible use will be set forth below by way of example .

A plurality of sheets of paper, and the like, designated S in the drawings can be secured in holder arrangement 34, while a further plurality of sheets of paper, designated S', can be inserted into retain- ing the device 46. Preferably, sheets S' will be ar¬ ranged overlapping sheets S as seen in Figs. 4 and 5, but this arrangement can be varied as desired. The specific example being set forth herein is directed to an automobile sales approach. Thus, papers S are made up of a "Ball Game Chart" guide to a sale; an alphabetical index section listing all sold customers with space for additional sales to same customer or other family members; a monthly index forming a master owner's file listing all important information about a customer, a continuous follow-up check list and a personal data about the sale and the customer; and a monthly tab index forming a birthdate section listing all customers and their spouse's birthdays by the month for use in mailing birthday cards during a par- ticular month. The papers designated S" can be com¬ posed of a daily index appointment schedule comprising a four section daily planar form including an hourly appointment section and owner contact listings, a list of active prospects, a list of daily showroom contacts, and daily prospecting lists, together with an alphabetical index work sheet section usable for inserting copies of work sheets, credit applications, and the like. EXAMPLE OF A STEP BY STEP METHOD FOR

USING THE INVENTION 1. Sold Customers.

A. Send "thank you" note to customer.

B. Enter customer's name in the index section by ^" last name in the largest portion of the sec¬ tions, leaving the four smallest sections blank for future sales to the same customer or family members. List the phone number and under the "code" column enter the numerical month number and year, example 4-81 (April,

1981) . This refers to the April section of the master owners file. In the "page" column, enter the page number of the master owners file along with the A to E alphabet letter of that customer' s data.

C. Enter all data about sale in the master owners file section making sure to note the page number, and the month, at the top of the page. Enter all personal facts and begin check list follow-up procedure, such as "thank you note," first contact after sale, etc.

D. Enter birth date along with name of customer and spouse in appropriate month of the birth¬ day section for mailing of birthday cards.

OMPI E. Use cross reference directory to obtain names, ^• addresses and phone numbers of ten neighbors of sold customer. Each of these neighbors become potential customers and may be supple- ented for the ten daily mailers to owners, etc. They should be treated in the same man¬ ner, see #2, section C.

F. All sold customers must be entered into the "plan your day" schedule under owner con- tacts, seven days after sale. Example: sold

4-1-81, enter 4-8-81. In addition, enter sold customer in the second page of daily schedules. Example: 4-1-81 becomes 5-1-81. When that call is made, enter into the third page down in the schedule and continue same process thereafter for each three month per¬ iod . 2. Appointments and daily time schedule.

A. Salesperson enters all floor time schedules for the month ahead along with days off in the hourly section at the top of the page, making sure room is left for any possible appointments during floor schedule or time off. It also becomes a daily personal calen- ar for haricuts, doctor appointments, etc.

B. Each day the salesperson should review all active prospects listed in the second part of the first page and schedule phone contacts or appointments accordingly. c. Each day the salesperson should send out ten mailers to prior owners or leasees. Upon sending mailers, the customers must be listed in the daily prospecting list section on the reverse side of the page, and a notation made

I i '_* ^•Z SHEET four days in the future for phone contact. Example, ten mailers mailed on April 1st — notation (call mailers 4-1) put in hourly section at 3:00 p.m. based upon a floor schedule that day from 9:00 - 3:00.

When positive reactions are obtained from these phone contacts, the prospect automatic¬ ally becomes an active prospect and should be listed as such in the appropriate day of the month for future contact. If a negative response is obtained, draw a line through the name so that he can be deleted from. your prospect lists at the end of the month .

D. All "ups" or showroom contacts, phone calls, outside solicitation are to be listed in the third part of the time schedule or "daily ups" section. These prospects are to be treated exactly the same as mailers with notations made for follow-up calls in the hourly sec- tion, with the date of the contact circled.

All circled notations will be found either on the active prospect, up, or daily pros¬ pect list of the day noted . The active prospect section is for all pros- pects to be contacted at some future date.

Owners contact section is for customers sold in the past. They are listed and coded by "page" and "code". The "code" column is for designating the contact month. Example: (1st mo., 3rd mo. etc.) The "page" column is for reference to the page and numerical monthly number of the customer in the master

3-2 owners file — example, _^- ϊhe 3-2 repre¬ sents March 2, date of sale, and the 1-A rep- resents page 1, letter A of the master owners file.

All pages have references to explain where each notation is to be placed and where it refers to other parts of the portable desk.

It will be appreciated that the same approach as outlined in the example set forth above can be employed for organizing material in apparatus 10 to suit a wide variety of sales approaches or other tasks .

While the invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to a certain embodiment , it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various alterations and modifications in form and detail may be made therein . Accordingly, it is intended that the following claims cover al l s uch alterations and modifications as fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention . What is claimed is :

Claims

-14-CLAI S

1. A portable desk and briefcase appratus , comprising, in combination :

( a) first wall-forming means having two spaced , parallel edges arrangeable in a single plane and foldable into two perpendicular planes ;

(b) second wall-forming means hinged to one of the edges of the first wall— forming means and pivotable between a position substantially coplanar with the single plane of the first wall-forming means to a position perpendicular to an adjacent portion of the first wall-forming means ; and

( c) third wall- forming means hinged to the other of the edges of the first wall-forming means and extending oppositely to the second wall-forming means for being moveable between a position substantially coplanar with the first wal l- form ing mean s to a position substantially parallel to and coextensive with the said portion of the first wall-forming means adj acent to the second wall- forming means when the first wall-forming means is folded into perpendicular planes .

2. Apparatus as defined in claim 1 , wherein the portion of the first wall-forming means is a sub- stantially planar first portion , and the first wall- forming means further including a substantially planar second portion smaller than the first portion , the first portion foldable relative to the second portion .

3. Apparatus as defined in claim 2 , wherein the second wall-forming means includes a substantially

OM •fr WI planar first section hinged to the first portion of the first wall forming means, and a substantially planar second section of about the same size and hinged to the first section for forming a flap.

4. Apparatus as defined in claim 3, wherein the third wall-forming means includes a substantially planar wall hinged to the second portion of the first wall- forming means.

5. Apparatus as defined in claim 4, wherein the wall of the third wall- forming means is about the same size in plan as the first portion of the first wall-forming means, and the second portion of the first wall-forming means and the first section of the second wall-forming means being of about the same size in plan, the wall of the third wall-forming means being arrangeable overlying the first portion of the first wall-forming means, the first section of the second wall-forming means being arrangeable overlying the second portions of the first wall-forming means, and the second section of the second wall- forming means being arrangeable overlapping the wall of the third wall-forming means when same is overlying the first portion of the first wall-forming means.

6. Appa-ratus as defined in claim 5, further including fastener means associated with the second section of the second wall-forming means and with the wall of the third wall-forming means for releasably attaching the second section of the second wall- forming means to the wall of the third wall-forming means when the latter is in a position overlying the first portion of the first wall-forming means and the

E SHEET second section of the second wall- forming means i s partially overlapping the wall of the third wa l l- forming means .

7. Apparatus as defined in claim 5 , wherein the first wall-forming means further includes a third portion and a fourth portion each hinged to and ex¬ tending in opposite directions from the first portion of the first wall-forming means , and adhering means associated with the third wall- forming means and the third portion and fourth portion for releasably secur¬ ing the third portion and fourth portion to the wall of the third wall- forming means . When the third por¬ tion and fourth portion are folded substantially per¬ pendicular to the first portion of the first wall- forming means to form end walls of the apparatus when same is in a carrying case mode .

8. Apparatus as defined in claim 7 , further including fastener means associated with the second section of the second wall-forming means and with the wall of the third wall- forming means for releasably attaching the second section o f the second wa l l- forming means to the wall of the third wall- forming means when the latter is in a position overlying the first portion of the first wall-forming means and the second section of the second wallv- forming means i s partially overlapping the wall of the third wal l- forming means .

9. Apparatus as defined in claim 8 , wherein the first wall-forming means and the s econd wa l l- forming means are in the form of binder parts and include holder means and retaining means respectively.

OMPI fry _-_ W ^r I^j-PrO^*-' '

10. Apparatus as defined in claim 8, wherein the third wall forming means is a receptacle part and includes pocket means comprising an expanding envel¬ ope provided on the wall of the third wall-forming means, the envelope having surface facing outwardly thereof and on which is provided at least one pocket.

11. Apparatus as defined in claim 8, wherein the adhering means comprises at least one pair of cooperating pieces of a hook fastener material, which pieces adhere to one another when pressed together.

12. Apparatus as defined in claim 11, wherein the third wall-forming means is a receptacle part and includes pocket means comprising an expanding envel¬ ope provided on the wall of the third wall- forming means, the envelope having surface facing outwardly thereof and on which is provided at least one pocket.

13. Apparatus as defined in claim 12, wherein the first wall-forming means and the second wall- forming means are in the form of binder parts, and include holder means and retaining means respectively for holding sheets of planar material, each of the holder means and retaining means being snap-ring holders and extending cod ir ec t ionally with the pocket means when the first part, second part, and third part are arranged in the single plane.

14. A method of folding into a case a planar piece of material including a plurality of hinged flaps, comprising the steps of:

(a) folding spaced first and second flaps perpendicular to a back wall disposed between the

'T' " SHEET irst and second steps;

(b) folding a third flap hinged to the first flap to a position substantially parallel to and coextensive with the back wall; and (c) overlapping the third flap with a fourth flap hinged to the second flap.

15. A method as set forth in claim 14, further including the step of pivoting fifth and sixth flaps hinged to the back wall into a position extending between the back wall and the third flap and perpen¬ dicular to the first and second flaps for forming end walls of the resulting case.

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