US2910068A

US2910068A - Plastic binding element

Info

Publication number: US2910068A
Application number: US715124A
Authority: US
Inventors: William N Lane
Original assignee: General Binding Corp
Current assignee: General Binding Corp
Priority date: 1958-02-13
Filing date: 1958-02-13
Publication date: 1959-10-27
Anticipated expiration: 1976-10-27
Also published as: DE1178824B; GB890739A; CH364763A; FR1196369A; BE567631A

Description

Oct. 27, 1959 w. N. LANE PLASTIC BINDING ELEMENT Filed Feb. 13, 1958 Mm 4/ lane a. e .1 a.

United States Patent I PLASTIC BINDING ELEMENT William N. Lane, Lake Forest, 111., assignor to General Binding Corporation, Northbrook, Ill., a corporation of Illinois g Application February 13,1958, Serial No. 715,124

Claims. (Cl. 129-1) This invention relates to bindings and more particularly to bindings formed of flexible material such as those formed of a vinyl resin, celluloid or other plastic materials, as well as those formed of fiber materials, including paper or the like.

For many years it has been known that a convenient and satisfactory binding element may be provided by forming a comb-shaped member into generally tubular form so that the fingers extending from the backbone are curled to form closed rings. These fingers are arranged to extend through aligned perforations in a-stack of sheets to be bound. It has been customary to have the fingers underlie or overlie the back portion. It has also been found desirable to firmly secure the ends of the fingers to the back portion to provide a rugged binding element which will not come apart in use. However, previous binding elements which have incorporated a mechanical lock have been so constructed that it was necessary to individually lock each of the many fingers to the back portion. Furthermore, prior efforts to provide a simple, rugged securing means have not met with any great suc cess.

Accordingly, the present invention relates to a novel construction of a plastic binding element having greatly improved means for securing the ends of the fingers to the back portion of a binding element and having a novel arrangement wherein not all, but only a relatively few, of the fingers are mechanically locked to the back portron.

Accordingly, it is a principal object of this invention to provide a binding formed of a resilient plastic material such as a vinyl resin, which comprises a series of shaped fingers which integrally extend from a common backbone through loose fitting holes along one edge of the stack of sheets to be bound, in which some but not all of the fingers are mechanically locked to the backbone.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a novel mechanical lock arrangement for plastic binding elements.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a novel and improved binding element in which the majority of the ring fingers underlie the back portion and in which a'few but not all-of the ring fingers overlie and are interlocked with the back portion.

The novel features which characterize this invention are set forth with particularity in the appended claims. The invention itself, however, both as to its organization and manner of construction, together with further ob jects and advantages thereof, may best be understood by reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

Fig. l is a plan view of a binding element constructed in accordance with the principles of the present invention showing the element in its developed position;

Fig. 2 is a side elevational view of the binding element illustrated in Figure 1;

Fig. 3 is a binding element similar to that shown in Fig. 2 but incorporating a different form of the invention; and

Fig. 4 is a vertical sectional view taken along line -IVIV of Figure 2.

Generally, the present invention contemplates a looseleaf binding device formed from a blank piece of flexible material, the blank comprising a main continuous back portion having a substantially flat surface and having'a plurality of ring fingers extending from one longitudina edge thereof.

Referring now more particularly to Figure 1, a binding element is shown as having a substantially flat back portion 10 from which a plurality of integrally formed ring fingers 11 extend. Since it has been found that the greatest stress on any binding element of the type herein described is on the two outer end fingers applicants invention contemplates a binding element in which only the end fingers are mechanically locked to the back portion 10. The fingers may be locked to the back portion by the novel interlocking means hereinafter set forth.

As shown most clearly in Figuresl and 2, the binder element is shown as having a substantially fiat back portion 10 having upwardly curved sides 13 along bothlongitudinal edges thereof. Along one of the longitudinal edge portions 13, a pair of T-shaped slots are formed at opposite ends of the binding element. the opposite longitudinal edge of the backbone 10 are a plurality of fingers 11 which may be curled to form closedrings, and a pair of interlocking fingers 12 which may be also curled to form closed rings and which are arranged to interlock with the T-shaped slots 15 in the backbone 10 and are, as a result, substantially aligned therewith. Y

The ring fingers 12 have tapered end portions 16 which are notched as at 17 to form necks 18 in close proximity to their tapered end portions 16. The notches 17,

which may be cut or stamped in the forming or blanking operation, have a forward shoulder portion 19 generally perpendicular to the longitudinal edges of the ring fingers 12 and a rear shoulder 20 sloping in a direction toward the flat back portion 10.

'I'he T-shaped slots are formed in such a manner that the base portion 24 of the T-slot is of slightly greater width than the neck 18 of the ring fingers 12 for reasons which will hereinafter become obvious. Furthermore, the top 25 of the T-slots are formed so as to have a width slightly greater than the width of the ring fingers 12.

It will now become obvious that each of the ring fingers 12 may be curled into. the form of the loop and inserted mentally determined that the greatest stress on a binding.

element is on the outer end fingers and, for this reason, a plastic binding element has been devised in which only the outer end fingers are mechanically interlocked with the substantially flat back portion. It should be noted, of course, that if so desired two or more of the ring fingers on the outer ends of the binding may be arranged to interlock with the flat back portion in accordance with the length of the binding element and the weight of the sheets to be bound.

As is shown most clearly in Figure 3, a relatively long plastic binding element may be arranged to have one or more of the centrally located fingers interlocked with the flat back portion. In a binding element arranged in this manner it may, for instance, be found desirable to have two interlocking ring fingers on either end of the Extending from it should herein be understood that this embodiment V of the invention has been used for illustrative purposes only and that various modifications and variations of the present invention may be effected without departing from the novel spirit and scope of the concepts thereof.

I claim as my invention:

1. A mechanical binder of the rolled comb type formed of flexible material comprising a backbone and a plurality of fingers extending from one longitudinal edge thereof and curled backwardly to overlap and lie inside said backbone and to form a plurality of closed loops with said backbone, said backbone also having spaced T-shaped slots adjacent the other longitudinal edge thereof, with the base of the slot portions extending toward the said other edge, the upper portion of said T-shaped slots having a width somewhat greater than the width of said fingers, one of said slots being disposed adjacent each end of said binding element, there being substantially fewer slots than fingers, companion interlocking elements on the free ends of the fingers aligned with said slots arranged to interlock with said backbone when positioned within the base of saidT-shaped slots and said aligned fingers being positioned to overlap the other edge of said backbone outside thereof to extend inwardly through their respective slots whereby load applied to said aligned fingers by materials bound thereon maintains the said aligned fingers in interlocked position in said base of the slot and all of the fingers are retained in overlapping position relative to said backbone.

2. A binding element of the rolled comb typeformed of flexible material comprising a backbone and a plurality of fingers extending from one longitudinal edge thereof and curled backwardly to overlap and lie inside said backbone and to form a plurality of closed loops with said backbone, said backbone also having spaced T-shaped slots substantially fewer in number than said fingers and positioned adjacent the other longitudinal edge of the backbone with the base of the slot portions extending toward the said other edge, the upper portion of said T-shaped slots having a width somewhat greater than the width of said fingers, and disposed adjacent the ends of said binding element, the ends of the fingers aligned with said T-shaped slots being notched on opposite side edges in proximity to their ends to thereby provide companion interlocking portions arranged to interlock with said backbone when positioned within the base of said T-shaped slots and said aligned fingers being positioned to overlap the other edge of said backbone outside thereof to extend inwardly through their respective slots whereby load applied to said aligned fingers by materials bound thereon maintains the said aligned fingers in interlocked position in said base of the slot and all of the fingers are retained in overlapping position relative to said backbone.

3. A binding element of the curled comb type formed of flexible material comprising a backbone and a plurality of fingers extending from one longitudinal edge thereof and curled backwardly and overlapping and lying inside said backbone and forming a plurality of closed loops with said backbone, said backbone also having spaced slots substantially fewer in number than the number of fingers and positioned adjacent but spaced from the other longitudinal edge of said backbone and disposed adjacent the ends of the corresponding fingers of said binding element, the ends of the fingers aligned with said slots being arranged to overlap the other edge of said backbone outside thereof and to extend inwardly through said slots and having means thereon to mechanically interlock with said backbone to prevent disassembly th'erefiom under load.

4. A mechanical binder of the rolled comb type formed of flexible material comprising a backbone and a plu rality of fingers extending from one longitudinal edge thereof and curled backwardly and overlapping and lying inside said backbone and forming a plurality of closed loops with said backbone, said backbone also having spaced slots adjacent but spaced from the other longitudinal edge of said backbone, one of said slots being disposed adjacent each end of said binding element, there being substantially fewer slots than fingers, wherein the ends of the fingers aligned with said slots are arranged to overlap the other edge of said backbone outside thereof and to extend inwardly through said slots and wherein the ends of the fingers aligned with said slots are provided with means thereon to mechanically interlock with said backbone to prevent disassembly therefrom under load.

5. A binding element of the rolled type formed of flexible material comprising a backbone and a plurality of fingers extending from one longitudinal edge thereof and curled backwardly and overlapping and lying inside said backbone and forming a plurality of closed loops with said backbone, said backbone also having spaced T-shaped slots substantially fewer in number than said fingers and positioned adjacent but spaced from the other longitudinal edge of said backbone with the base of the slot portions extending toward said other edge, the upper portion of said T-shaped slots having a width somewhat greater than the width of said fingers and disposed adjacent the end of the corresponding fingers of said binding element, companion interlocking portions on the free ends of the said corresponding fingers aligned with said slots arranged to interlock with said backbone when positioned within the base of said T-shaped slots, and said aligned fingers beingepositioned to overlap the other edge of said backbone outside thereof and to extend inwardly through their respective slots whereby load applied to said aligned fingers by materials bound thereon maintains the said aligned fingers in interlocked position in the said base of the respective T-shaped slot and all of the fingers are retained in overlapping position relative to said backbone.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,210,106 Tauber Aug. 6, 1940