초록 ▼

This disclosure provides a portable shopping aid used to mount a shopping list, coupons, or other documents. Contrary to conventional wisdom, the aid is configured to sacrifice a writing surface in favor of portability, by providing a small body that may be easily inserted into a pocket or handbag.

This disclosure provides a portable shopping aid used to mount a shopping list, coupons, or other documents. Contrary to conventional wisdom, the aid is configured to sacrifice a writing surface in favor of portability, by providing a small body that may be easily inserted into a pocket or handbag. The body includes a clamp for mounting the aid onto a push bar of a shopping cart, for hands free viewing during shopping, as well as a document clip mechanism that clips documents by their ends closest to the push bar. In order to provide structural rigidity to retained documents, and notwithstanding the absence of a writing surface or clipboard, the clip mechanism is configured to crease documents. The shopping aid also includes feet for standing the aid upright, on a flat surface, and means for mounting the aid magnetically on a refrigerator wall, in all cases such that retained documents are presented in a convenient reading orientation. The aid is further designed so that it can be made in a single mold, thereby lowering design costs.

대표청구항 ▼

The invention claimed is: 1. A portable shopping aid, comprising: a clamp, sized to selectively engage the push bar of a shopping cart to mount said shopping aid with respect thereto; and a document clip mechanism, including a document support structure and a clipping member to resiliently urge a d

The invention claimed is: 1. A portable shopping aid, comprising: a clamp, sized to selectively engage the push bar of a shopping cart to mount said shopping aid with respect thereto; and a document clip mechanism, including a document support structure and a clipping member to resiliently urge a document inserted into said document clip mechanism against the document support structure, the document clip mechanism formed to receive and retain an end of the document at a document end closest to the push bar, the document support structure further having two spaced-apart members that define a gap therebetween, the spaced-apart members to provide backing to at least a portion of the document, the document clip mechanism to urge the document toward a reading plane substantially parallel to the push bar of the shopping cart; wherein said aid is formed as an integral component in a single mold, with the clamp and document clip mechanism being generally fixed in relation to one another and with mold half separation along a direction substantially perpendicular to the push bar of the shopping cart; and the clipping member and the document support structure are to bend the document about an axis perpendicular to the push bar of the shopping cart, to thereby enhance rigidity of the document when inserted into the document clip mechanism, wherein: the document support structure and the clipping member are formed so as to be non-overlapping in the direction, to thereby permit mold halves to be separated along the direction, the clipping member to urge the document rearward against the spaced-apart supports substantially at the position of the gap, the document thereby urged to bend to imparts relative rigidity notwithstanding influence of gravity upon the document and notwithstanding absence of any substantial inherent writing support; and the two spaced-apart supports each have a rear surface mounting thereon a magnet positioned to magnetically engage a vertical surface and hold the shopping aid with respect thereto to retain the document in a substantially vertical orientation. 2. A portable shopping aid according to claim 1, wherein: the document clip mechanism and clamp are each integral with said aid, formed as a single component, with no hinged parts; the document support structure defines a support area that is small relative to the size of a conventional notepad, so as to not inherently provide any substantial writing support; the clipping member has a contact point to apply force to the document at the location of the gap, to urge the document in a first direction while each spaced-apart member urges the document in a second, opposite direction, against the clipping member, by applying force to urge the document on either side of the clipping member; each spaced-apart member has an angled front surface to urge a clipped portion of the document toward a v-profile when held by the document clip mechanism, the document thereby urged to have a crease that imparts relative rigidity notwithstanding influence of gravity upon the document and notwithstanding absence of any substantial inherent writing support. 3. A portable shopping aid according to claim 1, wherein: said aid further includes at least one magnet mounted to a rear surface of said aid to magnetically engage a vertical surface and hold the shopping aid with respect thereto; said aid is to retain the document in a substantially vertical orientation when said aid is magnetically engaged with a vertical surface, in a manner substantially parallel to and adjacent to the vertical surface; and the document support structure is small relative to the size of a conventional notepad, such that proximity of the document to the vertical surface permits the vertical surface to act as a writing support without substantial interference from the document support structure. 4. A portable shopping aid according to claim 3, wherein: the clamp includes an integral c-clamp having a forward jaw and a rear jaw, each jaw terminating in a foot, the feet defining a horizontal plane that is perpendicular to the substantially vertical orientation; said aid permits selective placement in a standing, upright position, supported by the feet when placed on a horizontal surface; and said aid holds the document in a substantially vertical position both when said aid is magnetically mounted to a vertical surface and when said aid is in the standing upright position. 5. A portable shopping aid according to claim 1, wherein: the clamp includes a forward jaw and rearward jaw, the forward jaw formed so as to also not overlap the rearward jaw in the direction. 6. A portable shopping aid according to claim 1, wherein: said aid is adapted to clip the document in a substantially vertical orientation in each of at least two manners, including a first manner in which the document clip mechanism clips a bottom of the document, to retain the document in a position substantially above the push bar of the shopping cart, and a second manner in which the document clip mechanism clips a top of the document to hold the document in a position substantially below the push bar of the shopping cart. 7. A portable shopping aid according to claim 1, wherein: the clamp is configured as a c-clamp integral with said aid, the clamp having a forward jaw and a rear jaw that engage the push bar through substantially only spring force of the jaws; and the document clip mechanism is also integral with said aid, the clipping member acting as a leaf spring to urge the document during engagement against the document support structure. 8. A portable shopping aid according to claim 1, wherein: the clamp includes a forward jaw and rearward jaw, the forward jaw formed so as to not overlap the rearward jaw in a direction substantially perpendicular to the push bar of the shopping cart; and the document support structure and the clipping member are formed so as to not overlap each other in the direction; and such that the clamp and the document clip mechanism cooperate to permit separation of mold halves along the direction. 9. A portable shopping aid according to claim 8, wherein: each of the document support structure and the rearward jaw have two spaced-apart members defining a gap therebetween, the clipping member and forward jaw, respectively, applying force during engagement with the document and the push bar, respectively, at a location substantially matching the gaps defined by the document support structure and the rearward jaw, respectively; and the body further includes an integrally formed pen or pencil holder, the pen holder including a pen or pencil clip and a base having a gap formed therein and aligned such that the pen or pencil clip also does not have elements that overlap in the direction. 10. A portable shopping aid according to claim 1, wherein: the clipping member has a contact point that engages the document at gap, to urge the document in a first direction while each spaced-apart member urges the document in a second, opposite direction, against the clipping member by contact with the document on either side of the clipping member; and each spaced apart member has a canted front surface that urges a clipped portion of the document toward a v-profile when held by the document clip mechanism, the document thereby urged to bend to have relative rigidity notwithstanding influence of gravity upon the document and notwithstanding absence of any substantial inherent writing support. 11. A portable shopping aid according to claim 1, wherein: the clamp includes an integral c-clamp having a forward jaw and a rear jaw, each jaw terminating in a foot, the feet defining a horizontal plane that is substantially parallel to the push bar of the shopping cart and adapted to permit placement of said aid in an upright, standing position, supported by the feet when placed on a horizontal surface; said aid has a substantially flat back that is perpendicular to the horizontal plane, the flat back mounting a magnetic backing to permit selective mounting of the flat back to a substantially vertical surface; and said aid is to inherently urge the document toward a substantially consistent position and orientation, irrespective of whether said aid is magnetically mounted to a vertical surface or said aid is placed in a standing, upright position. 12. A portable shopping aid according to claim 1, wherein: the document support structure and the clipping member are mounted in fixed relation to one another; and one of the clipping member or the document support structure is to be resiliently diverged away from the other of the clipping member or the document support structure member by the insertion of the document between them, such that the document clip mechanism retains the document under spring return force that urges the clipping member and support member back toward each other, to crease the document. 13. A portable shopping aid according to claim 1, further comprising a pen or pencil holder that includes elements to resiliently engage a pen or pencil, the elements to resiliently engage a pen or pencil formed so as to not overlap each other along the direction, to permit mold half separation along the direction. 14. A portable shopping aid according to claim 1, further comprising feet fixed to the clamp to support said portable shopping aid in an upright orientation when the feet are placed on a horizontal surface, and a magnetic mounting to selectively magnetically mount said portable shopping aid to a vertical surface, the feet and magnetic mountain arranged in fixed relation to one another to urge the document toward a common, substantially vertical reading orientation irrespective of whether the aid is supported by the feet on a horizontal surface or magnetically mounted to a vertical surface. 15. A portable shopping aid, comprising: a clamp sized to selectively engage and clamp a shopping cart and to support said shopping aid with respect thereto; and a document clip mechanism to retain a document, the document clip mechanism being integrally-formed with the clamp and having a clipping member and two spaced-apart members that define a gap there between; wherein the clamp and the document clip mechanism are each formed so as to have non-overlapping elements in a direction that is substantially perpendicular to the push bar of the shopping cart, to thereby permit mold halves to be separated for said aid along the direction, and the clipping member and the document support structure bend the document when inserted into the document clip mechanism about an axis that is also substantially perpendicular to each of the push bar of the shopping cart, to thereby enhance rigidity to the document when engaged with the document clip mechanism, wherein: the clamp is configured as a c-clamp, including a forward jaw and a rearward jaw that do not overlap in the direction, each of the forward jaw and the rear jaw culminating in a foot, the feet to collectively support said aid on a horizontal surface, substantially perpendicular to the fiat back, said aid also being weight balanced to stand upright, when supported by the end of the forward jaw and the end of the rear jaw on a horizontal surface; the fiat back has magnetic mounting means for selectively mounting said aid to a vertical surface; and said aid is to inherently hold the document in a substantially vertical orientation, irrespective of whether said aid is magnetically mounted to a vertical surface or standing upright. 16. A portable shopping aid according to claim 15, wherein: the document clip mechanism supports the document during engagement in a manner substantially parallel to and adjacent to the vertical surface during magnetic mounting; and the support member permits the vertical surface to act as a writing support during magnetic mounting without substantial interference from the support member. 17. A portable shopping aid according to claim 15, wherein: each of the forward jaw and the rear jaw is curved to substantially match the size and curvature of a shopping cart push bar, for engagement therewith; and each of the feet is defined by a flange, disposed opposite a side of its supporting jaw. 18. A portable shopping aid according to claim 15, wherein: the clipping member has a contact point that engages the document at the gap and to urge the document substantially in the direction, while each spaced-apart member urges the document in a second sense, opposite the direction, against the clipping member, by contact with the document on either side of the clipping member; and each spaced-apart member has a canted front surface that urges a clipped portion of the document toward a v-profile when held by the document clip mechanism, the at least one document thereby urged to bend to have relative rigidity notwithstanding influence of gravity upon the document and notwithstanding absence of any substantial inherent writing support. 19. A portable shopping aid according to claim 15, wherein said aid is formed as an integral component in a single mold, with the clamp and document clip mechanism being formed generally fixed in relation to one another. 20. A portable shopping aid according to claim 15, wherein: the support members and the clipping member are mounted in fixed relation to one another; and one of the clipping member or the support members is to be resiliently diverged away from the other of the clipping member or the support members by the insertion of the document between them, such that the document clip mechanism retains inserted documents under spring return force that urges the clipping member and support member back toward each other. 21. A portable shopping aid according to claim 15, further comprising a pen or pencil holder that includes elements to resiliently engage a pen or pencil, the elements to resiliently engage a pen or pencil formed so as to not overlap each other along the direction, to permit mold half separation along the direction.