Pencil Box With a Copy Holder Structure

The present invention relates to pencil boxes, and more particularly to such a pencil box which has collapsible stands and collapsible racks for supporting the box cover in a tilted open position and holding a reading object on the box cover for reading.

Conventional pencil boxes are specifically designed for holding pencils and small writing materials. These pencil boxes are less attractive to children because they provide only a single function for holding things. Nowadays, a variety of multipurpose pencil boxes have been disclosed, and have appeared on the market. These multipurpose pencil boxes greatly invited childrens interest when they appeared on the market. Further, when studying or doing homework, a child may need to use a rack or stand to hold a book in a reading position for reading. However, the use of such a rack or stand occupies much table space.

The present invention has been accomplished under the circumstances in view. It is the main object of the present invention to combine a book rack into a pencil box, so that the pencil box can be used as rack means to support a reading object for reading when the pencil box is opened. According to the present invention, the pencil box comprises a box body, a box cover hinged to the box body, two stands pivoted to the box cover at the back and adapted for supporting the box cover in a tilted open position, a bottom rack and a top rack respectively pivoted to the front side of the box cover and adapted for holding a reading object for reading, and two support arms bilaterally pivoted to the front side of the box cover and adapted for holding the book in the desired open status.

FIG. 1 is an elevational perspective view of a pencil box according to the present invention, showing the box cover opened;

FIG. 2 is an exploded view of the pencil box shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a side view in section of the present invention, showing the stands, the bottom rack, the top rack, and the support arms respectively extended out;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view of a part of the present invention, showing the stand moved relative to the box cover; and

FIG. 5 is a sectional view of another part of the present invention, showing the support arm turned relative to the box cover, and the toothed eye end of the support arm meshed with the projection.

Referring to FIGS. 1, 2 and 3, a pencil box in accordance with the present invention is generally comprised of a box body 2, a box cover 1 hinged to the box body 2, two stands 11 respectively pivoted to the back side of the box cover 1 and adapted for supporting the box cover 1 in a tilted open position as shown in FIG. 3, a bottom rack 12 and two support arms 13 respectively pivoted to the front side of the box cover 1 at the bottom for holding a reading object 3 for example a book or the like, and a top rack 14 pivoted to the front side of the box cover 1 at the top for supporting the reading object 3. FIG. 3 shows the box cover 1 opened, the stands 11, the bottom rack 12, the support arms 13 and the top rack 14 extended out.

Referring to figures from 1 to 4 again, the box cover 1 comprises two back recesses 118 adapted for receiving the stands 11 in a collapsed manner, two pairs of pivot holes 114 respectively disposed in the back recesses 118, two locating holes 112 respectively made through the back recesses 118 remote from the pivot holes 114, a plurality of raised portions 117 alinged in each back recess 118, two bottom through holes 135, two cap members 132 respectively suspended above the bottom through holes 135, two projections 133 respectively raised from the inside wall and spaced between the cap members 132 and the bottom through holes 135, two axle housings 122 spaced at the bottom between the bottom through holes 135 and facing each other, a first locating rod 123 and a second locating rod 143 perpendicularly raised from the inside in the middle, and two lugs 142 raised from the inside at the top. Each of the stands 11 has a pair of pivot pins 113 longitudinally aligned at one end and respectively coupled to the pivot holes 114 in one back recess 118, a locating block 111 raised from one side remote from the pivot pins 113 and adapted for fitting into the locating hole 112 of the corresponding back recess 118 to secure the respective stand 11 in the collapsed position, two fixed spring bolt 119, a torsional spring 21 mounted on the fixed spring bolt 119 and having two opposite ends respectively stopped against the respective stand 11 and the box cover 11 to impart an outward pressure to the respective stand 11, and a locating plate 115 raised from one side between the pivot pins 113. The locating plate 115 has recessed portions 116. When the stands 11 are extended out of the back recesses 118, the recessed portions 116 are respectively forced into engagement with the raised portions 117, and therefore the stands 11 are maintained in the extended position (see also FIG. 4). The bottom rack 12 is a flat rack, having two pivot pins 121 respectively raised from two opposite lateral sides near the back and respectively coupled to the axle housings 122, a recess 125 at the front side in the middle through which the bottom rack 12 can be moved with the hand between the collapsed position closely attached to the inside wall of the box cover 1 and the extended position for holding the reading object 3, and a locating hole 124 near the recess 125. When the bottom rack 12 is collapsed and closely attached to the inside wall of the box cover 1, the locating hole 124 is forced into engagement with the first locating rod 123, and therefor the bottom rack 12 is retained in the collapsed position. The support arms 13 fit the corners of the box cover 1. Therefore, when the support arms 13 are collapsed, they are closely attached to the inside wall of the box cover 1 in two corners (see FIG. 1). The support arms 13 have a respective toothed eye end 134 pivotably coupled between the cap members 132 and the bottom through holes 135 by a respective split-head bolt 131, and engaged with the projections 133 (see FIG. 3). Because the toothed eye ends 134 of the support arms 13 are respectively engaged with the projections 133 of the box cover 1, the support arms 13 are firmly retained at the desired angle. The top rack 14 has two pivot pins 141 raised from both ends of the rear side and respectively pivoted to the lugs 142, a plurality of recesses 145 spaced along the front side remote from the pivot pins 141 for the holding of the hand to turn the top rack 14 between the collapsed position (see FIG. 1) and the extended position (see FIG. 3), and a locating hole 144 near the front side adapted for coupling to the second locating rod 143, for permitting the top rack 14 to be retained in the collapsed position.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 4 again, when the stands 11 are turned inwards from the extended position to the collapsed position, the locating blocks 111 are respectively forced into engagement with the locating holes 112 of the box cover 1, to retain the stands 11 in the collapsed condition.

Referring to FIGS. 2, 3 and 5 again, the support arms 13 can be turned between the cap members 132 and the bottom through holes 135 to the desired angle, to hold a reading object 3 on the bottom rack 12. When adjusted, the support arms 13 are retained in position by means of the engagement between the projections 133 of the box cover 1 and the toothed eye ends 134 of the support arms 13.

While only one embodiment of the present invention has been shown and described, it will be understood that various modifications and changes could be made thereunto without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention disclosed.