Technical Field This invention relates to an article useful in organizing personal items. More particularly, it relates to an organizer for personal items which can be used by students during their educational activities. The present invention provides an article which is useful in assisting with the orderly storage of various items typically contained in a student locker within a school setting.

Background Storage cabinetry, which is built in to a school building for the use of the students in attendance, are frequently referred to as student"lockers". Lockers have been known for decades as being a convenient repository for various and sundry items commonly needed by students throughout their learning and social maturation experiences in schools. These items include books, pens, pencils, paper stock, coats, hats, photographs, calculators, staplers, paperclips, food items, etc.

A typical school locker consists of an upright steel cabinet having a single hinged door which can be swung open from a locked position to a fully open position exposing the interior storage space. A shelf is typically provided in the upper portion along with attachments upon which coats and garments may be hanged. The bottom floor of the locker is usually piled high with books, school supplies, clothing, and other items, often hurriedly deposited therein by students on their way to and from class lectures. Thus, it would be desirable in general for a provision to be

incorporated into a school locker to assist in the storage of items in an orderly fashion, and to maximize the utility of the available space.

However, most school systems have limited budgets, and the addition of customized storage organizing means would represent a significant financial investment to the school, with no readily visible and clearly apparent return relative to the overall quality of education provided; hence modification of existing lockers is a proposition that would undoubtedly be met with opposition from budgeting committees charged with operating the various schooling institutions.

The prior art is devoid of any teaching or suggestion of a system to keep small articles or items separated or sorted within a school locker. It would thus be advantageous if a organizer system could be provided for a school locker that allows articles or items stored in the locker to be separated, sorted, or otherwise organized. It would also be advantageous if such an organizer system would be readily attachable to and removable from a locker. It would also be advantageous if such an organizer system existed in a form which was foldable, analogous to a file folder, rendering it to be capable of being easily carried to and from school by the student.

It is therefore one object of the present invention to provide an organizer system to enable storing various and sundry items within a locker.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an organizer system to enable storing various and sundry items within a locker in an organized fashion which is readily attachable to and detachable from the interior of a school locker.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide an article having such features which is also capable of being folded, analogous to a file folder, which can be readily carried to and from school by a student.

Summary of the Invention The present invention provides an article useful for organizing various and sundry items used by students, which is capable of being readily attached and detached from the interior walls of a locker cabinet. In one embodiment, an article according to the invention comprises a plurality of adjacent panels, each of which have a front face, a rear face, a left side portion, a right side portion, a top side portion, and a bottom side portion. The plurality of panels comprises at least a first panel portion and a second panel portion, and the right side portion of the first panel portion is hingedly attached to the left side portion of the second panel portion. Such an arrangement provides a foldable construct having a front face and a rear face.

There is also at least one, and preferably a plurality of pockets disposed on the front face of the resulting foldable construct. Preferably, there is a means for attachment of the entire construct to a wall, and a means for maintaining such a foldable construct in a folded position, for instances when the construct is removed from the locker's interior wall for transportation to another location.

According to another embodiment, a article according to the invention comprises a plurality of adjacent panels, each of which have a front face, a rear face, a left side portion, a right side portion, a top side portion, and a bottom side portion.

The plurality of panels comprises a first panel portion, a second panel portion, and a third panel portion. The right side portion of the first panel portion is hingedly attached to the left side portion of the second panel portion, and the right side portion of the second panel portion is hingedly attached to the left side portion of the third panel portion. Such an arrangement provides a foldable construct having a front face and a rear face. There is at least one, and preferably a plurality of pockets disposed

on the front face of the foldable construct. There is a means for attachment of the construct to a wall, and a means for maintaining said foldable construct in a folded position, for instances when the construct is removed from the locker's interior wall for transportation to another location.

Brief Description of the Drawings In the annexed drawings, FIG. 1A shows a perspective view of a locker pocket organizer according to one form of the invention, from the front face perspective; FIG. 1 B shows a top view of the front face of a locker pocket organizer according to one form of the invention; FIG. 1C shows a cross-sectional view of a two ply construction useful in providing an organizer according to the invention; FIG. 2 shows a perspective view of a locker pocket organizer according to one form of the invention, from the rear face perspective; FIG. 3 shows a perspective view of a locker pocket organizer according to an alternate form of the invention, from the front face perspective;

FIG. 4 shows a perspective view of a locker pocket organizer according to an alternate form of the invention, from the rear face perspective; FIG. 5 shows a frontal view of a locker pocket organizer according to the invention disposed on the interior wall portion of a locker; FIG. 6A shows perspective view of a locker pocket organizer according to one alternate form of the invention, from the front face perspective; and FIG. 6B shows a perspective view of a locker pocket organizer according to another alternate form of the invention from the front face perspective.

Detailed Description Referring to the drawings, and initially to FIG. 1A there is shown a perspective view of the front face of a locker pocket organizer 10 according to one form of the invention. FIG. 1A shows such an organizer 10 to comprise a first panel portion 3, having a top side portion T1, bottom side portion B1, left side portion 45, and a right side portion 41. There is also a second panel portion 5, having a top side portion T2, bottom side portion B2, left side portion 47, and a right side portion 39, in addition to a third panel portion 7, having a top side portion T3, bottom side portion B3, left side portion 49, and a right side portion 43. In this embodiment, the left side portion 47 of the second panel portion 5 is hingedly attached to the right side portion 41 of the first panel portion 3, so as to permit a folding of the first panel portion 3 with respect to the second panel portion 5 such that their front faces are capable of

contacting one another upon such folding. The right side portion 39 of the second panel portion 5 is hingedly attached to the left side portion 49 of the third panel portion 7, so as to permit a folding of the second panel portion 5 with respect to the third panel portion 7 such that their front faces (shown) are capable of contacting one another upon such folding, analogous to the pages of a book. Each of the front faces of the panel portions preferably include one or more pockets, 91,99, 11,9, and 13, and may further include other provisions such as an elastic pen or pencil holder 15, and a clip 87 onto which various objects, such as a key ring, may be clipped and held in place. These various pockets and other provisions on the faces of the panels are attached to the front faces of each of the panels by conventional means, such as by stitching. In this embodiment, there is also one portion 17 of a complementary pair of a fastening means, which may function together with a second portion 19 (FIG. 2) of a fastening means to keep the entire organizer article in a closed position when it is folded. The fastening means may be snaps, zippers, magnets, hooks and eyes, or any fastening means known to those skilled in the art. It is most preferable that the fastening means collectively comprising the fastening means 19 and 17 is a hook and loop type fastening means, such as VELCRO fastening means.

In one form of the invention, each of the panel portions 3,5, and 7 of the organizing article 10 comprise a single layer of a fabric or other substantially-planar, durable material selected from the group consisting of : woven cotton, woven nylon, non-woven fabrics, non-woven polymer webs, canvas, denim, woven polymers, plastic vinyl, polymer films, etc. According to one embodiment of the invention, the panels 3,5, and 7 are all comprised of the same single sheet of material set forth above, and the organizer as a whole is foldable at location corresponding to the junction of the right side portion 41 of the first panel 3 and the left side portion 47 of

the second panel 5, and is also foldable at the location of the junction of the right side portion 39 of the second panel 5 and the left side portion 49 of the third panel 7. In an alternate form of the invention, each of the panel portions 3,5, and 7 are each individual discrete sheets of material as set forth above, and are connected to one another by stitching or other conventional fastening means disposed along the junctions of the right and left side portions of the panels. Thus, in this embodiment each of the panel portions 3,5, and 7 each have their own front face portion and a rear face portion. Being attached to one another as described above and as shown in FIG.

1A results in the front face portions of each of the panels collectively defining the front face of the organizer 10 as a whole, and when laid on a flat surface, an organizer 10 of the invention can exist in a substantially planar configuration, with its rear face portion on the flat surface and with its front face surface facing upwards from such flat surface.

In an alternate form of the invention, each of the panel portions 3,5, and 7 of the organizing article 10 are each composed of two layers (two-ply) of a fabric or other planar material selected, without limitation, from the group consisting of : woven cotton, woven nylon, non-woven fabrics, non-woven polymer webs, canvas, denim, woven polymers, plastic vinyl, polymer films, etc. According to such embodiment, the panels 3,5, and 7 are each simultaneously comprised of the same two continuous sheets of a material set forth above, and the organizer as a whole is foldable at locations corresponding to the junctions of the right side portion 41 of the first panel 3 and the left side portion 47 of the second panel 5, and the right side portion 39 of the second panel 5 and the left side portion 49 of the third panel 7. In this way each of the panels are two-ply, and the entire organizer is thus seen to be built from two sheets of material, which is foldable at the locations specified as being

the junction points of the first panel portion 3 with the second panel portion 5, and the second panel portion 5 with the third panel portion 7. FIG. 1B shows one such embodiment which utilizes two sets of parallel stitchings 69 disposed at the intended points of folding of the organizer 10. By employing such stitchings 69, and a stitching around the entire perimeter of the organizer, an interior compartment is formed within each of the panel portions 3,5, and 7 in which may be conveniently contained a sheet of a planar reinforcing material, such as cardboard, metal (ferrous or non-ferrous) or a sheet of a rigid polymer, composite, wood, or other reinforcing material sufficient to maintain an article according to the invention in a rigid state.

Such a two-ply construct is shown in cross sectional view in FIG. 1C, showing the fabric 121 from which the organizer is comprised, and the reinforcing material 131, which in one preferred form of the invention is a sheet of cardboard. There may be optionally magnetic strips or magnets 112 disposed between the plies in such embodiments.

In an alternate form of this embodiment, each of the panel portions 3,5, and 7 are each individual discrete two-ply sheet constructs of material as set forth above, and are connected to one another by stitching or other conventional fastening means disposed along the junctions of the right and left side portions of each of the panels.

Thus, in such embodiment each of the panel portions 3,5, and 7 are discrete and each have a front face portion and a rear face portion. Being attached to one another as described above and as shown in FIG. 1A results in the front face portions of each of the panels collectively defining the front face of the organizer article 10 as a whole, and when laid on a flat surface, an organizer article 10 of the invention in this embodiment can exist in a substantially planar configuration, with its rear face portion on the flat surface and with its front face surface facing upwards.

When the panel elements of the present invention according to this embodiment are each two-ply constructs, the invention lends itself well to having a reinforcing material disposed between the two sheets of fabric or other planar material set forth above. In such embodiment, it is possible to employ a delicate or low-cost fabric which by itself would have caused the organizer of the invention to be somewhat flimsy, but by having a sheet of reinforcing material disposed between the layers in the two-ply construct for each panel portion, the strength of the organizer is sufficiently increased to enable use of such otherwise unsuitable fabric or material.

Suitable reinforcing materials include, without limitation, cardboard, wood, polymers, metals, composites, etc. In addition, a strip of magnetic material may also be contained inside the interstices between the plies when the panels are of two-ply construction, to assist in adhering the organizer of the invention to a vertically- disposed metallic surface, such as in a school locker.

FIG. 2 depicts a perspective view of an organizer 10 according to one form of the invention from the rear perspective, showing the first panel portion 3, second panel portion 5, and third panel portion 7. There is one portion 19 of the complementary fastening means disposed on the rear face of the first panel portion, which is preferably a hook and loop type fastener, but may be any fastening means known in the art. In addition, there is an optional fastening means 21 disposed across the rear face of the organizer 10. This fastening means is one means by which an organizer 10 according to the invention may be hung onto a wall surface, and in one embodiment is preferably a hook and loop type fastener. As is known in the art, hook and loop type fastening means, and other fastening means comprise two cooperatively connecting half portions. The interior of a typical locker includes three wall portions - the left wall, the right wall and the rear wall, in addition to the door. An organizer

article of the invention in one embodiment is preferably contoured so that the width dimension of each of the panel portions corresponds substantially with the width of each of the three wall portions inside the locker. Thus, to hang an organizer according to one embodiment of the invention in a locker, one half of the fastening means which is intended to cooperatively function with the fastening means 21 is disposed on the interior wall portions of the locker. This is readily accomplished in the case of hook and loop fastening means (such as VELCRO fastening means) since strips of such hook and loop fasteners are commercially available having a strip of adhesive disposed on its back side. Thus, a strip of hook and loop fastener which is complementary to that disposed 21 on the rear face portion of an organizer of the invention is first adhered to the inner walls of the locker. Next, the organizer article of the present invention is simply hung in place within the locker by pressing the fastening means 21 upon the walls of the locker. Alternatively, an organizer article of the invention may be held in position with a locker or on another vertical metal surface by means of magnets 112 disposed between the plies of the panels themselves.

FIG. 3 shows a perspective view of the front face of an organizer article 210 according to an alternate form of the invention. FIG. 3 shows such an organizer article 210 to comprise a first panel portion 27, having a top side portion T1, bottom side portion B1, left side portion 70, and a right side portion 71. There is also a second panel portion 29, having a top side portion T2, bottom side portion B2, left side portion 73, and a right side portion 72. In this embodiment, the left side portion 73 of the second panel portion 29 is hingedly attached to the right side portion 71 of the first panel portion 27, so as to permit a folding of the first panel portion 27 with respect to the second panel portion 29 such that their front faces are capable of contacting one another upon such folding. Each of the front faces of the panel

portions preferably include one or more pockets, 23 and 25, and may further include "other provisions"such as an elastic pen or pencil holder 15, and a clip 87 onto which various objects, such as a key ring, may be clipped and held in place, as was shown in the embodiment depicted in FIG. 1A. The various pockets and other provisions on the faces of the panels are attached to the front faces of each of the panels by conventional means, such as by stitching. There is also one portion 31 of a complementary pair of a fastening means, which functions together with a second portion 33 of a fastening means to keep the entire organizer of the invention in a closed position when it is folded. The fastening means may be snaps, magnets, zippers, hooks and eyes, or any fastening means known to those skilled in the art. It is most preferable that the fastening means collectively comprising the fastening means 31 and 33 is a hook-and-loop type fastening system, such as VELCROS fastening means.

In one form of this embodiment of the invention, each of the panel portions 27 and 29 of the organizing article 210 comprise a single layer of a fabric or other planar material selected from the group consisting of : woven cotton, woven nylon, non-woven fabrics, non-woven polymer webs, polymer films, woven polymers, canvas, denim, and plastic vinyl.

According to an alternative form of this embodiment, the panels 27 and 29 are both comprised of the same single sheet of material set forth above, and the organizer as a whole is foldable at the location corresponding to the junctions of the right side portion 71 of the first panel 27 and the left side portion 73 of the second panel 29. By such folding, the right and left panel portions are defined, and it is convenient for the fold to correspond to the corner in a locker whose walls on which the inventive organizer is located.

In an alternate form of this embodiment of the invention, each of the panel portions 27 and 29 are each individual discrete sheets of material as set forth above, and are connected to one another by stitching or other conventional fastening means disposed along the junction of the right and left side portions of the panels. Thus, in this embodiment each of the panel portions 27 and 29 each have their own front face portion and rear face portion. Being attached to one another as described above and as shown in FIG. 3 results in the front face portions of each of the panels collectively defining the front face of the organizer 210 as a whole, and when laid on a flat surface, an organizer 210 according to this embodiment of the invention can exist in a substantially planar configuration, w ith its rear face portion on the flat surface and with its front face surface facing upwards.

In an alternate form of this embodiment of the invention, the panel portions 27 and 29 of the organizing article 210 are each composed of two layers (two-ply) of a fabric or other planar material selected, without limitation, from the group consisting of : woven cotton, woven nylon, non-woven fabrics, non-woven polymer webs, woven polymers, polymer films, canvas, denim, and plastic vinyl. According to another embodiment, the panels 27 and 29 are each simultaneously comprised of the same two continuous sheets of a material set forth above, and the organizer as a whole is foldable at the location corresponding to the junction of the right side portion 71 of the first panel 27 and the left side portion 73 of the second panel 29. In this way each of the panels are two-ply and the entire organizer is thus seen to be built from two sheets of material, which is foldable at the location specified as being the junction point of the first panel portion 27 and the second panel portion 29. As was shown in FIG. 1B a set of parallel stitchings disposed at the intended points of folding of the organizer 10 are conveniently used in conjunction with a stitching around the entire

perimeter of the organizer to form an interior compartment or interstice on each of the panels as before, within each of which may be conveniently housed a sheet of planar reinforcing material, such as the aforementioned materials.

In an alternate form of this embodiment, each of the panel portions 27 and 29 are each individual discrete two-ply sheet constructs of material as set forth above, and are connected to one another by stitching or other conventional fastening means disposed along the junction of the right and left side portion of each of the panels.

Thus, in such embodiment each of the panel portions 27 and 29 are discrete and each have a front face portion and a rear face portion. Being attached to one another as described above and as shown in FIG. 3 results in the front face portions of each of the panels collectively defining the front face of the organizer article 210 as a whole, and when laid on a flat surface, an organizer article 210 of the invention in this embodiment can exist in a substantially planar configuration, with its rear face portion on the flat surface and with its front face surface facing upwards from such surface.

When the panel elements of the present invention according to this embodiment are each two-ply constructs, the invention lends itself well to having a reinforcing material disposed between the two sheets of fabric or other planar material set forth above. As previously mentioned, it is possible to use a very delicate or low-cost fabric which by itself would have caused the organizer of the invention to be somewhat flimsy, but by having a sheet of reinforcing material disposed between the layers in the two-ply construct for each panel portion, the strength of the organizer is greatly increased. Suitable reinforcing materials include, without limitation, polymer sheets, cardboard, metal, composites, wood, polypropylene, and polyethylene. In addition, a strip of magnetic material or individual magnets may also be contained inside the interstices between the plies when the panels are of two-ply

construction, to assist in adhering the organizer of the invention to a metallic wall, such as is commonly found on the interior surfaces of student lockers.

FIG. 4 depicts a perspective view of an organizer 210 according to an alternate form of the invention described in FIG. 3 from the rear perspective, showing the first panel portion 27 and second panel portion 29. There is one portion 35 of the complementary fastening means disposed on the rear face of the first panel portion, which is preferably a strip of hook-and-loop type fastener (i. e., VELCRO@), but may be any fastening means known in the art. This fastening means is the means by which an organizer article 210 according to the invention is hung onto a wall surface, and is preferably a hook-and-loop type fastener, or a magnetic means, as previously described. The interior of a typical locker includes three wall portions, and an organizer of this embodiment of the invention may be advantageously contoured so that the width dimension of each of the panel portions 27 and 29 corresponds substantially with the width of two adjacent wall portions inside a locker. Thus, to hang an organizer article according to this embodiment of the invention in a locker, one half of the fastening means which is intended to cooperatively function with the fastening means 35 is disposed on two of the three interior wall portions of the locker.

This is readily accomplished in the case of hook and loop fastening means (such as VELCRO fastening means) since strips of such hook and loop fasteners are commercially available having a strip of adhesive on its back side. Thus, a strip of hook and loop fastener which is complementary to that disposed 35 on the rear face portion of an organizer of the invention is first adhered to the inner walls of the locker. Next, the organizer is simply hung in place within the locker by pressing the fastening means 35 upon the walls of the locker.

FIG. 5 shows a frontal view of a locker pocket organizer article according to one embodiment of the invention 10 disposed on the interior wall portion of a locker which is contained in a panel of lockers 37. The locker pocket organizer article 10 is held in place either by a magnetic material attached to the organizer (or contained in its interstices when one or more panels of two-ply construction are present), or by a hook-and-loop fastening means disposed on the rear face of the organizer.

FIG. 6A shows an alternate form of an article 210 according to the present invention which comprises two panel portions 27 and 29, which are each comprised of a two ply construction. In such an embodiment there may be disposed between the two plies of each panel portion a reinforcing material, which is selected from the aforesaid reinforcing materials. Also shown in FIG. 6A is the location of magnets 112 in this preferred embodiment, which are disposed between the plies of the two- ply construction of which each of the panels 27 and 29 are comprised. Such an embodiment has the advantage that when the article is folded so that the faces of the panels 27 and 29 contact one another, the article is caused to remain in a closed position by virtue of the magnets having been placed so that their opposite poles are facing one another in an attractive arrangement. When the reinforcing material is comprised of a ferromagnetic sheet, it functions as an alternate means for the article to remain in a closed position by the attractive force of the magnets with the ferromagnetic sheet. Such embodiments retains the ability for the article as a whole to be adhered to a vertical metallic surface without sliding down said vertical surface by virtue of the attraction of the magnets for the vertical metallic surface. Thus, in such an embodiment, the magnets serve a synergistic, dual purpose. In one preferred form of this embodiment, one of the panels 27 includes a pocket 25 and the other panel 29 includes a mirror M.

FIG. 6B shows an article 10 according to an alternate form of the present invention which comprises three panel portions 3,5, and 7, which are each comprised of a two-ply construction. In such an embodiment there may be disposed between the two plies of each panel portion a reinforcing material, which is selected from the aforesaid reinforcing materials. Also shown in FIG. 6B is the location of magnets 112 in this preferred embodiment, which are preferably disposed between the plies of the two-ply construction of which each of the panels 3,5, and 7 are comprised.

Magnets may optionally also be located at points 114. Such an embodiment has the advantage that when the article is folded so that the front face of the panel 3 contacts the front face of panel 5, the panels of the article are caused to remain in a closed position by virtue of the magnets having been placed so that their opposite poles are facing one another in an attractive arrangement. Similarly, after one of the panels has been folded, the remaining panel may subsequently be folded to provide the whole article to be relatively planar in configuration with respect to when the panels were open, and with both panels folded we have the case where the magnets at 112L are attracted to the magnets at 114R and/or where the magnets at 114L are attracted to the magnets at 112R.

When the reinforcing material is comprised of a ferromagnetic sheet, it functions as an alternate means for the article to remain in a closed position by the attractive force of the magnets with the ferromagnetic sheet. For example, the magnets at all locations specified as 114L and 114R may be omitted and a metallic sheet disposed between the plies of the panel 5, and optionally one or more of the remaining panels 3,7. Such a feature enables the attractive force of the magnets at locations labeled 112L and 112R (disposed between the plies of which the panels are comprised) to act on the ferromagnetic sheet to cause the panels to remain folded.

These embodiments retain the ability for the article as a whole to be adhered to a vertical metallic surface (locker, refrigerator, automotive tool box, etc. ) without sliding down said vertical surface by virtue of the attraction of the magnets for the vertical metallic surface. Again, in such an embodiment, the magnets serve a dual, synergistic function. In one preferred form of this embodiment, any of the panels 3, 5, and 7 may include none, or one or more features selected from the group consisting of pockets 91,13, or a mirror M or other features herein described.

Consideration must be given to the fact that although this invention has been described and disclosed in relation to certain preferred embodiments, obvious equivalent modifications and alterations thereof will become apparent to one of ordinary skill in this art upon reading and understanding this specification and the claims appended hereto. This includes subject matter defined by any combination of any one of the various claims appended hereto with any one or more of the remaining claims, including the incorporation of the features and/or limitations of any dependent claim, singly or in combination with features and/or limitations of any one or more of the other dependent claims, with features and/or limitations of any one or more of the independent claims, with the remaining dependent claims in their original text being read and applied to any independent claims so modified. This also includes combination of the features and/or limitations of one or more of the independent claims with features and/or limitations of another independent claims to arrive at a modified independent claim, with the remaining dependent claims in their original text being read and applied to any independent claim so modified. Accordingly, the presently disclosed invention is intended to cover all such modifications and alterations, and is limited only by the scope of the claims which follow.