Due to the potential for an extremely large market among traveling business people, the development of a multipurpose, compact office tool was attractive. Thus, the project of designing and implementing a thin device that could be used as a bookmark while housing two highlighters and a means of discharging reloadable 3-M Post-It flags was undertaken. The final design was aimed at accomplishing several major things. Besides being able to function well as a bookmark, a highlighter, and a Post-It dispenser, it was necessary for the device to be small and compact, simple to use, and relatively inexpensive.

The single greatest challenge in designing the device was developing a means to achieve all three functions, while maintaining a small volume. Particularly difficult was designing the office tool such that it could house the highlighters and the Post-It dispenser while being thin enough to function as a bookmark.

The design that was implemented and developed consisted of a rectangular tool that was composed of two half pieces glued together. It was designed to be two pieces so that the various components of the other functions could be placed inside the device before it was glued together. Two corners on one of the small ends of the rectangle were cut off. From these corners, the highlighter tips protruded parallel to the long sides of the design. The ink reservoirs were housed in circular cavities running straight back into the rectangular solid. Two caps were designed as triangular pieces to fit over the highlighter tips and complete the rectangular shape when in place. The Post-It dispenser was housed in a rectangular cavity situated at the opposite end of the device. The dispenser is a 3-M manufactured dispenser and can be store bought. A means of reloading the flags was implemented so that the user could by new flags and continue using the product when one dispenser was exhausted of flags. The means designed was a flat, removable door that locked into place by means of a tab that caught on the underside of the device’s outer covering. The total dimensions of the traveling office tool in inches were 4 ¾ by 2 by ⁵/₁₆.

The highlighter components used were from various off-the-shelf products. The highlighter tips were taken from a specific make of Accent highlighters while the ink saturated felts that supplied the tips with ink were taken from a Bic highlighter. The Post-It flags come pre-packaged in the dispenser manufactured by 3-M. The plastic pieces for the prototype were fabricated via rapid prototyping. A machine used the computer designs of the pieces to construct a physical piece made of ABS plastic. The machine first melted the plastic and then used a nozzle to lay the plastic in place at room temperature so that it solidified in place. Using this process, the pieces were constructed correctly and efficiently.

The final prototype achieved most of its goals. The highlighters worked reliably and very well. They could be used to consistently make broad, clean marks conducive for highlighting material. The Post-It dispenser easily discharged flags when needed and was simple to replace when the flags ran out. The grip of the device was comfortable and it was easy to use. The product was relatively cheap, costing 2.36$ per unit made. The one drawback to the device was that the thickness, ⁵/₁₆", was too thick to be a good highlighter for all materials.

To improve the design, the highlighter components and the Post-It dispenser could be redesigned such that the thickness of the device could be reduce. Additional features such as a clip on the back or an ink pen along the side would also make the product more attractive on the market.

Picture of the completed prototype.

Picture of the completed prototype showing the removable door, Post-It dispenser, caps, and highlighters.