CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is based upon, and claims the benefit of, United States provisional patent application 61/783,515 filed March 14, 2013, hereby incorporated by reference.

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

N/A

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to accessories for use with a ring binder; and, more particularly, to a clip removably installable on a ring metal housing for holding accessories such as pens, pencils, and computer accessories.

As is well-known in the art, ring binders which store hole punched sheets of paper and the like are used by students and others to carry important materials used for school or business purposes. In the past, some binders have had pockets formed on the inside of their covers, these pockets being used for holding pens, pencils, rulers, hand held computers, compasses, protractors, etc. which may be needed by the user. This allowed the user easy access to these devices implements and they could be conveniently stored when not in use.

However, not all binders come with these storage compartments and unless such a binder is available, the user will need to find another way to carry these items so they are conveniently available.

The present invention is directed to clip which is readily attachable to a binder metal to provide the same convenience of storage and access for certain of these items so that, as before, they are readily available to the user and easily stored when not in use.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is directed to a binder clip which attaches to the housing of a binder ring metal. The clip is of one-piece and is made of a pliable plastic material. The clip has a curved shape which generally corresponds to the curvature of a ring metal housing over which it is installed. In one embodiment, the clip has a holder comprised by a pair of curved, spaced protrusions projecting outwardly from a band of the clip. The holder is for holding pens, pencils and the like. In another embodiment, the clip has a generally rectangular shaped housing formed on its outer surface. The housing having a rectangular opening formed at one end and extending into the body of the housing. The opening is sized to receive computer data memory devices such as USB flash drives, or other computer, cell phone, video game accessories and the like.

The clips are readily installed over the housing and easily removed for storage. The clips come in a variety of colors.

More than one clip can be installed on the housing at a given time. Once installed, the clip does not interfere with operation of the binder so the binder rings can be opened to remove loose leaf materials stored in the binder or to insert materials for storage into the binder.

Other objects and features will be in part apparent and in part pointed out hereinafter.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

The objects of the invention are achieved as set forth in the illustrative embodiments shown in the drawings which form a part of the specification.

Fig. 1 is a plan view of a binder ring metal;

Fig. 2 is a similar plan view with a binder clip of the present invention installed;

Fig. 3 is a plan view similar to Fig. 2 showing materials store in a binder overlying a portion of the clip;

Fig. 4 is an elevation view of one embodiment of the clip and Fig. 5 is a perspective view thereof; and,

Fig. 6 is an elevation view of a second embodiment of the clip and Fig. 7 is a perspective view thereof.

Corresponding reference characters indicate corresponding parts throughout the several views of the drawings. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF INVENTION

The following detailed description illustrates the invention by way of example and not by way of limitation. This description clearly enables one skilled in the art to make and use the invention, and describes several embodiments, adaptations, variations, alternatives and uses of the invention, including what is presently believed to be the best mode of carrying out the invention. Additionally, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and the arrangement of components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. The invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced or carried out in various ways. Also, it will be understood that the phraseology and terminology used herein is for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting.

Referring to the drawings, a conventional binder ring metal M for a binder (not shown) includes a plurality of rings R spaced along its length and a lever mechanism L located at at least one end of the metal for opening and closing the rings. Other components of the ring metal are enclosed in a housing H which extends the length and width of the ring metal. Operation of the ring metal forms no part of the invention and is not described.

Referring to Figs. 2-5, a first embodiment of a binder clip of the present invention is indicated generally 10. The clip, which is molded as one piece, is made of a pliable plastic material. Clip 10 first has a flexible, curved band 12 which fits crosswise of housing H extending over the top, and about the sides, of the housing. Accordingly, band 12 has a curved shape whose curvature generally corresponds to the curvature of the housing so to allow clip 10 to fit snuggly over the top and sides of the housing. Next, the clip has a pair of spaced protrusions 14, 16 projecting outwardly from its outer surface to form a holder for A such as pens and pencils and the like. The protrusions are formed equidistantly from a longitudinal centerline of housing H on opposite sides thereof. As shown in the drawings, both projections have an arcuate, concave shape for this purpose. Clip 10 next has a flange 16, 18 projecting outwardly from the outer surface of band 12 adjacent each side of the band. When clip 10 is in place, the respective flanges are located where flanks F of housing H are formed (see Fig. 4). One functions of flanges 16, 18 is to keep loose leaf pages P kept in the binder from being caught beneath the sides of the clip and being either difficult to remove when the binder is opened, or being caught and torn as they are being removed from the binder.

As shown in Fig. 3, pages P stored in the binder can overlay portions of the binder clip when it I attached to the housing.

Referring to Figs. 6 and 7, in another embodiment, a clip 30 has a flexible, curved band 32 which, like band 12 of clip 10, fits over the top, and about the sides, of housing H. Accordingly, band 32 also has a curved shape whose curvature generally corresponds to the curvature of the housing for clip 30 to fit snuggly over the top and sides of the housing.

Next, clip 30 has a generally rectangular shaped housing 34 formed on its outer surface. In the drawings, the length of housing 34 is shown as extending the width of band 32. However, those skilled in the art will understand that the length of the housing could be shorter. A rectangular shaped opening or slot 35 is formed at one end of housing 34 and extends into the body of the housing, substantially the length of the housing. The opening is sized to receive the connector end of, for example, a computer data memory device such as a USB flash drive. However, the opening is sized to also receive the connector end of other computer, cell phone, and video game accessories.

Clip 30 has respective flanges 36, 38 projecting outwardly from the outer surface of band 32 adjacent each end of the band. As with clip 10, when clip 30 is in place, the respective flanges are located where the flanks F of housing H are formed. Again, the function of the flanges is to keep the loose leaf pages P stored in the binder from being caught beneath the sides of clip 30 and being either difficult to remove when the binder is opened, or being caught and torn as they are being removed from the binder. Clips 10 and 30 are each readily installed over housing H and easily removed from the housing for storage when not in use.

Clips 10 and 30 are available in a variety of colors. Also, both a clip 10 and a clip 30 can be installed on ring metal M at the same time.

Finally, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that more than one clip can be installed on the housing at a given time; and that once installed, the clip does not interfere with operation of the binder so binder rings R can be opened to remove loose leaf materials stored in the binder or to insert materials for storage into the binder.

In view of the above, it will be seen that the several objects and advantages of the present disclosure have been achieved and other advantageous results have been obtained.