AU2003204085B1 - Case binding - Google Patents

Description

AUSTRALIA

Patents Act,1990 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION STANDARD PATENT CASE BINDING The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to me: The invention relates to improvements in bookcovers, bindings, binders and the like, and mechanical bindings that do not restrict the full rotation of individual leaves.

A book is usually a bundle of leaves bound together along one edge with thread or adhesive and attached to a single piece case binding that fully encloses the bundle of leaves and comprises a spine panel running between and divided from a front cover panel and a back cover panel by a respective joint. The cover panels attach to the spine of a bundle of leaves, while the case binding's spine and joints remain unattached. A book having such a cover opens flat at 180 degrees and cannot fold back on itself. It provides a book with maximum strength and protection. Such is the binding of a typical hardback dictionary.

The early twentieth century saw the invention of spiral binding: a single strand of metal wire wound spirally through a row of evenly spaced holes punched beside an edge of a bundle of individual leaves. Without a traditional case binding the spiralbound book opens flat at 180 degrees, and fully folds back on itself, as the mechanical binding does not restrict the full rotation of individual leaves. There are now other mechanical bindings such as double loop wire binding, and metal and plastic rings, enabling a book to perform in the same manner. Books having such a mechanical binding often made do with separate front and back covers. A new problem, however, was immediately apparent: such a mechanically bound bundle of leaves when attached to a traditional case binding was not able to open flat at 180 degrees, nor fold back on itself.

Hereinafter a bundle of individual leaves bound with such a mechanical binding is referred to as a bookblock, and a cover joint and a cover panel together is referred to as a side.

To suit a bookblock various substitutes of the traditional case binding design became available. Although fully enclosing a bookblock they attach to a bookblock at one location only. Commonly referred to as 'wraparound' covers, they tend to be on the flimsy side, ending up having leaves that warp and jam as the front cover closes. The inventions of Peleman (US 5445467), Stout (US 5417510), and certain embodiments of Venegas' invention (US 5697646) being of the above wraparound kind.

The invention of Bogar (US 4711469), although securing front and back to a bookblock neither fully encloses a bookblock nor folds back on itself. The invention of Kumar-Misir (US 4811973) also does not fully enclose a bookblock, although it permits a book to fully fold back on itself.

Zane's invention (US 5503486), is nearly identical to a traditional case binding: the single exception being a folding line running head to tail down the centre of its spine to enable the cover to fully fold back on itself. This folding line, apart from not being attractive to look on, contributes neither to the traditional sturdiness of a case binding nor promotes the legibility of spine labelling.

A bookblock requiring maximum strength and protection, as well as a single panel spine, needs a traditional case binding that does not restrict a bookblock from opening flat at 180 degrees, and from fully folding back on itself. This is provided by the present invention, which is a traditional case binding design comprising a spine panel running between and divided from a front cover panel and a back cover panel by a respective cover joint, said spine panel and joints not attaching to said bookblock, each said joint a precisely different width to its counterpart so that with said cover panels attached to said bookblock said bookblock opens flat at 180 degrees with the outer face of the narrowest of said joints against the outer face of its adjacent cover panel, and fully folds back on itself with the outer face of said spine panel against the outer face of said cover panel adjacent said narrowest cover joint.

Some examples of how the case binding's front and back cover panels may hold to a bookblock are: a) by extended cover turn-ins, each turn-in having holes punched head to tail along its leading edge to receive a wire binding; each turn-in's inner surface may be secured with a securing means such as glue to the inner surface of its respective cover panel, b) by a securing means such as glue to a pair of boards of suitable material serving as cover panels, each having holes punched head to tail along one edge to receive a wire binding, c) by a securing means such as glue to a pair of strips of material such as boxboard, each having holes punched head to tail along one edge to receive a wire binding, d) by a securing means such as glue to front and back endpapers, e) by two inward folded tabs, one formed in a first side and the other in a second side, each tab in each side formed by three parallel fold lines running head to tail producing two parallel margins of generally equal width adjacent each other between a cover panel and a joint, the outer surfaces of the adjacent margins being secured together with a securing means such as glue, each tab having holes punched head to tail along its edge to receive a wire binding, the first side having its tab margins of a different width to those in the second side to produce a tab larger or smaller than that in the second side: this being required as each tab is formed at the edge of a joint each of which differs in width to its counterpart, f) as with e) but by an inward folded tab formed in each of the first and second sides by having in each side two parallel fold lines running head to tail producing a single margin between a cover panel and a joint, the outer surface of each margin securing with a securing means such as glue to the outer surface of the adjacent cover panel, g) by cover panels formed as sleeves to slip over a pair of boards of suitable material attached to a bookblock, or over a book's existing pair of covers, h) by a hardback cover having each cover panel extending inwardly and separate from its respective joint, each reaching at the inner side of the joint to hold to the wire binding.

The cover may be of any suitable material, of a single piece, or of separately manufactured parts combined. If the wire binding used is spiral binding, any punched holes will need to be the appropriate size and distance apart from each other so that when the book is open at any point through 360 degrees the verso and recto sides remain in register so the cover spine will not twist due to the angle of the spiral.

To assist with understanding the invention, reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings which show one example of the invention.

In the drawings: FIG. 1 shows the various parts of one example of a case binding according to this invention; FIG. 2 shows a 3D view of one example of a case binding according to this invention attached to a bookblock; FIG. 3 shows a top view of one example of a case binding according to this invention attached to a bookblock with the case binding closed; FIG. 4 shows a top view of one example of a case binding according to this invention attached to a bookblock and open flat at 180 degrees; FIG. 5 shows a top view of one example of a case binding according to this invention attached to a bookblock and folded back on itself.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2 it can be seen that one form of the invention comprises a case binding 20 of a single sheet of coverboard, fold lines 4, 5, 6 and 7 and cover turn-in fold lines 18 and 19 having been formed by scoring, first side 1 comprising joint 8 divided from cover panel 10 by fold line 6, second side 2 comprising joint 9 divided from cover panel 11 by fold line 7, case binding attached to wire binding 12 by turn-ins 14 and 15 at punched holes 16 and 17 respectively, the wire binding 12 in this instance being double loop binding.

FIG. 3 is a top view of case binding 20 in a closed position and attached to wire binding 12, showing joints 8 and 9 each have a precisely different width.

FIG. 4 is a top view of case binding 20 attached to wire binding 12, open flat at 180 degrees and showing the outer face of joint 8 facing the outer face of cover panel FIG. 5 is a top view of case binding 20 attached to wire binding 12, folded back on itself to show spine panel 3 and joints 8 and 9 folded neatly between front and back cover panels 10 and 11 and with the outer face of spine panel 3 facing the outer face of over panel It is clear that the example shown describes only one way the cover panels of the invention attach to a bookblock. The main purpose of the invention being to provide the mechanically bound bookblock with a traditional case binding opening flat at 180 degrees, and fully folding back on itself.

Claims (14)

1. A case binding, of a bookblock of a bundle of individual leaves bound with a mechanical binding not restricting the full rotation of said individual leaves, comprising a spine panel running between and divided from a front cover panel and a back cover panel by a respective cover joint, said spine panel and said joints not attaching to said bookblock, each said joint a precisely different width to its counterpart so that with said cover panels attached to said bookblock said bookblock opens flat at 180 degrees with the outer face of the narrowest of said joints against the outer face of its adjacent cover panel, and fully folds back on itself with the outer face of said spine panel against the outer face of said cover panel adjacent said narrowest cover joint.

2. The case binding of claim 1 wherein the attachment of the cover panels to the bookblock is by extended cover turn-ins, each turn-in having holes punched head to tail along its leading edge to receive a wire binding, each turn-in's inner surface capable of being secured with a securing means such as glue to the inner surface of its respective cover panel.

3. The case binding of claim 2 wherein each turn-in's inner surface is secured with a securing means such as glue to the inner surface of its respective cover panel.

4. The case binding of claim 1 wherein the attachment of the cover panels to the bookblock is by a securing means such as adhesive to the front and back endpapers.

The case binding of claim 1 wherein the attachment of the cover panels to the bookblock is by a securing means such as adhesive to a pair of boards of suitable material serving as endpapers, each having holes punched head to tail along one edge to receive a wire binding.

6. The case binding of claim 5 wherein the endpapers are merely a pair of narrow strips of material such as boxboard.

7. The case binding of claim 1 wherein the attachment of the cover panels to the bookblock is by two inward folded tabs, one formed in a first side and the other in a second side, each tab in each side formed by three parallel fold lines running head to tail producing two parallel margins of generally equal width adjacent each other between a cover panel and a joint, the outer surfaces of the adjacent margins being secured together with a securing means such as glue, each tab having holes punched head to tail along its edge to receive a wire binding, the first side having its tab margins of a different width to those in the second side to produce a tab larger or smaller than that in the second side: this being required as each tab is formed at the edge of a joint each of which differs in width to its counterpart.

8. The case binding of claim 7 wherein the tabs are formed in the front and back by an inward folded tab formed in each of the first and second sides by having in each side two parallel fold lines running head to tail producing a single margin between a cover panel and a joint, the outer surface of each margin securing with a securing means such as glue to the outer surface of the adjacent cover panel.

9. The case binding of claim 1 wherein the attachment of the cover panels to the bookblock is by having each cover panel formed as a sleeve to slip over a pair of boards of suitable material attached to a bookblock, or over a bookblock's existing pair of covers.

The case binding of claim 9 wherin the sleeves are capable of being releasably secured to a bookblock with a securing means such as clips or bands or non- permanent adhesive.

11. The case binding of claim 1 wherein the cover panel is a hardback design and the attachment of the cover panels to the bookblock is by having the board of each cover panel extending inwardly and apart from its respective joint and reaching at the inner side of the joint to hold to the wire binding.

12. The case binding of claims 1 to 10 wherein the case binding can be a single piece of suitable material.

13. The case binding of claims 1 to 10 wherein the case binding can be a combination of separately manufactured elements each of suitable material.

14. The case binding of claim 1 wherein the attachment of one cover panel to the bookblock is by means of any one of claims 2 11 and the attachment of the other cover panel to the bookblock is by means of any other of claims 2 11. A case binding substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings. Andrew Thiele 8 May 2003