CA1211335A - Ring mechanism for loose leaf binder - Google Patents
Ring mechanism for loose leaf binderInfo
- Publication number
- CA1211335A CA1211335A CA000421325A CA421325A CA1211335A CA 1211335 A CA1211335 A CA 1211335A CA 000421325 A CA000421325 A CA 000421325A CA 421325 A CA421325 A CA 421325A CA 1211335 A CA1211335 A CA 1211335A
- Authority
- CA
- Canada
- Prior art keywords
- cover
- rail
- ring
- ring element
- cover member
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Expired
Links
Classifications
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B42—BOOKBINDING; ALBUMS; FILES; SPECIAL PRINTED MATTER
- B42F—SHEETS TEMPORARILY ATTACHED TOGETHER; FILING APPLIANCES; FILE CARDS; INDEXING
- B42F13/00—Filing appliances with means for engaging perforations or slots
- B42F13/16—Filing appliances with means for engaging perforations or slots with claws or rings
- B42F13/20—Filing appliances with means for engaging perforations or slots with claws or rings pivotable about an axis or axes parallel to binding edges
- B42F13/22—Filing appliances with means for engaging perforations or slots with claws or rings pivotable about an axis or axes parallel to binding edges in two sections engaging each other when closed
- B42F13/26—Filing appliances with means for engaging perforations or slots with claws or rings pivotable about an axis or axes parallel to binding edges in two sections engaging each other when closed and locked when so engaged, e.g. snap-action
Abstract
INVENTOR: LEWIS COHEN
INVENTION: RING MECHANISM FOR LOOSE LEAF BINDER
ABSTRACT
In a ring mechanism for loose leaf binders and the like, it is known to affix one of the ring halves to the bottom of the carrier rail and to provide grooves in the binder cover so that the ring half can lie closely ad-jacent to the binder cover while still permitting the ring halves to be opened. In this invention, the ring element is attached to the top of the carrier rail through an aperture in the cover rail and the cover rail is loosely attached to the binder cover. This permits the ring mechanism of the invention to be manufactured on conventional equipment and eliminates the need for grooves in the binder cover.
INVENTION: RING MECHANISM FOR LOOSE LEAF BINDER
ABSTRACT
In a ring mechanism for loose leaf binders and the like, it is known to affix one of the ring halves to the bottom of the carrier rail and to provide grooves in the binder cover so that the ring half can lie closely ad-jacent to the binder cover while still permitting the ring halves to be opened. In this invention, the ring element is attached to the top of the carrier rail through an aperture in the cover rail and the cover rail is loosely attached to the binder cover. This permits the ring mechanism of the invention to be manufactured on conventional equipment and eliminates the need for grooves in the binder cover.
Description
~L2 ~35 This invention relates to a ring mechanism for loose leaf binders and the like.
In previously known ring mechanisms, each of the elements forming the ring extended upwardly from the carrier rails t'nrough apertures in the cover rail. The ring elements extended arcuately from the cover rails such that in their ~
closed position the ring ele~.ents formed a generall~r circular closure with the top portion of the carrier rail. ~ing to the manner in which the ring elements were attached to the carrier rails through the cove~
rail, the sheets of loose leaf paper which were thread-ed- on the ring elements did no-t lie against the bindex cover up to the apertures in the edge of the sheet. As a result, thP loose leaf paper could never lie flat across its total surface since the hody o~ the cover rail is of substantial height. ~his not only impaired the ability o the U5el' to write on the loose leaf pap~x ~U~ IG~ m~ln~ o~ pap~r w~ h could ~e held by the ring mechanism by an amount equal to the height of the cover rail.
In United States Patent No. 3,263,687 Weichert describes a ring mechanism for overcoming these dif-ficulties in which one of the ring elements-is at~ached ~æ
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to the bottom surface of the carrier rail and extends parallel to the surfaee of the binder cover before angling upwardly to meet the second ring element which is con-ventional design. Grooves are provided in the cover mem-ber to accommodate the movement of the ring element from itsclosed position to its open position. ~hile the ring mechanism described in United States Pa-tent No. 3,263,687 works satisfaetorily for its intended purpose, i-t is an e~pensive mechanism to produce in view oE the fact that specialized tooling is required to attaeh the angled ring elelllent to the ~ottom of the cove~ rall and in view of thc fact that grooves must be provided in the cover member.
In another previously known ring meehanism, an angled ring element of the oeneral type shown in United States Patent No. 3,263,68~ was attached to -the top of the carrier rail and extended upwarcily throuclh an aper-ture in the top oE the cover rail. ~lowever, since the ;l'`'!l~`d t:`in~ elllent~ clicl not lie alonc~ thc~ surface~ oE
the binder covcr, this ring mechanism had the same draw-baeks as the previously described ring mechanism havingtwo clrcuate ring c~ llts; namely, that it did not allo~-the sheets of loose leaE paper to lie flat against the binder cover and reduced the storage capacity of the ring mechanism by the height of the cover rail.
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The disadvantages oE the foregoing structures may be overcome by providing a ring mechanism which allows the loose leaf paper to lie flat against the binder cover thereby increasiny the storage capacity of the ring mech-anism and which can be manufactured on conventional equip-ment for the manufacture of ring mechanisms without the necessity for the expensive tooling required to produce ring mechanisms of the type shown in United States Patent No. 3,263,687.
It has been-found that these disadvantages can be overcome by providing a ring mechanism to be mounted on a generally planar cover member. The mechanism has a resilient cover rail having turned down edges and aper-tures spaced inwardly from such edges. First and second carrier rails are nested in side by side relationship between the side edges of the cover rail such that the combined width of the carrier rails is greater than the distance between the ,side ed~es of the cover rail in it~
unstressed position thereby permitting the carrier rails to be moved between two over center positions. ,A first ring element is mounted on the first carrier rail~ A
second r,ing element is mounted on the second carrier rail. The ring elements extend from the carrier rail through the apertures in the cover rail. The first ring ~5 element has a r.lesh end, a straight portion extending - ~2~33S
angularly towards the plane of the cover member, a second straight portion extending parallel to the plane of t.he cov-er member closely adjacent to the cover member, and a hooked portion extendlng from the second st.raight port.ion upwards from a cover member over the periphery of the cover rail and downwardly t.hrough one of the apertures in the cover rail t.o the first carrier rail. The second ring element extends from the second carrier rail to a mesh end adjacent to the mesh end of the first ring element, such that the ring elements define a closed loop when the carrier rails are in one of the over cent.er posit.ions and the mesh end of the second ring member is spaced from t.he mesh end of the first ring member when the carrier rails are in the other of the over cent.er positions. The mechanism includes means for mounting the cover rail to the cover member so as to permit minor re-lative angular displacement when the carrier rails are moved from one of the over center positions to the other of the over center posit.ions.
In dra~ings which illustrate preferred embodimen~.s ~f the invention:
Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a ring mechanism mounted on a cover.
Fig. 2 is a sectional view of a ring mechanism of Fig. 1 t.aken along line 2-2 illustrating the mechanism in t.he closed position.
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Fig. 3 is a section view similar to Fig~ 2 illustr-ating the mechanism in the open position.
Fig. 4 is a perspective view of a second ring mechanism according to the invention mounted on a cover.
Fig. 5 is a section view similar to E'ig. 2 taken along line 5-5 of Fig. 1 illustrating a means of fastening the mechanism to a cover~
Fig. 6 is a perspective view from below illustrating one end of the mechanism of Fig. 1.
Fig. 7 is a section view taken along line 7-7 of Fig. 4 illustrating a means of fastening the mechanism to a cover. (Figs. 4 and 7 are on the same single sheet~.
~eferring to Fig. 1, the ring mechanism 10 is mounted on a generally planar cover member 12 and has a plurality of ring sets 14 for receiving sheets of paper 15 with holes spaced to be compatible with the ring sets 14. The ring mechanism 10 includes a cover rail 16 and is relatively loosely secured to the cover member 12 by fasteners 18. The fasteners 18, preferably rivets, permit minor relative angular displacement of the cover rail 16 relative to the cover member 12 in the manner and for the reasons set out moxe fully below.
Referring to Figs. 2 and 3 of the drawings, it can be seen that the rLng set 14 consists of a first ring element 20 and a second ring element 22. The firs-t ring element 20 is carried on a first carrier rail 24 and is mounted on the first carrier rail 24 by passing 33'j the first end 28 of the ~irst ring element 20 through an aperture (not shown) in the :Eirst carrier rail 24 and then flattening the end 28 against the bottom o~ the first carrier rail 24. The ~irst ring element 20 consists of a mesh end 36, a generally straight portion 38 extending outwardly and downwardly from the mesh end 36 towards the plane of the cover member 12, a second generally straight portion 40 extending parallel to the plane of the cover member 12 closely adjacent to the cover member 12 and a hooked portion 42 extending from the second straight portion 40 over the outer peri-phery 44 of the cover rail 16 and downwardly through an aperture 34 in the cover rail 16 to the first carrier rail 24.
As shown in Figs. 2 and 3 the second ring element 22 is carried on a second carrier rail 26 and similarly mounted on the second carrier rail 26 by passing the first end 30 of the second ring element 22 through an aperture (not shown3 in the second carrier rail 26 and then flattening the end 30 against the bottom of the second carrier rail 26. The second ring element 22 extends arcuately upwardly from the second carrier rail 26 through an aperture 32 in the cover raii 16 to a mesh end 35.
The cover raii 16 is provided with inwardly turned edges 46, 48 for ret~ining the first carrier raii 24 and '~IL2~335 the second carrier rail 26. The outer e~ge 50 of the first carrier rail 24 lies against the inwardly turned edge 46 of the cover rail 16 and the inner edge 52 of the first carrier rail 24 lies against the inner edge 54 of the second carrier rail 26. The outer edge 56 of the second carrier rail 26 lies ayainst the inwardly turned edge 48 of the cover xail 16. The cover rail 16 is formed from a resilient material and, in its unstressed condition, such as is shown in both Figs. 2 and 3, the combined width of the first carrier rail 24 and the second carrier rail 26 exceeds the distance between the inwardly turned edges 46, 48.
This permits the carrier rails 24~ 26 to move from a first over center position as shown in Fig. 2 to a second over center position as shown in Fig. 3 thereby permitting the ring elements 20, 22 to move from a closed position as shown in Fig. 2 to an open position as shown in Fig. 3 thereby permitting the introduction of loose leaf paper 15 to the ring sets 14.
In use, the loose leaf paper 15 is retained by the ring sets 14 which are normally in their closed position as shown in Fig~ 2. When it is desired to add additional loose leaf sheets 15 to the ring set 14 or to remove loose leaf sheets 15 from the ring set 14, the ring elements 20, 22 are simply pulled apart manually until the carrier rails 24, 26 lock into the second over center ~2~ 35 position shown in Fig. 3. ~s the portion 40 of ring element 20 is closely adjacent the cover member 12 there would be inter~erence if the cover member 12 and cover rail 16 were completely rigid and rigidly inter-connected by the rivets 18. However, owing to themanner in which the ring mechanism 10 is attached to the cover member 12 by the rivets 18, the cover rail 16 moves slightly with respect to the plane of cover member 12 to eliminate objectionable interference.
When it is desired to close the ring sets 14, the ring elements 20, 22 are simply forced together manually until the carrier rails 24, 26 return to the first over center position shown in Fig. 2.
With reference to Fig. 2 it can be seen that the cover rail 16 and the carrier rails 22, 26 are sub-stantially symmetrical about the plane 60 shown in dotted lines. The mesh point between mesh ends 35 and 36 is displaced to one side of plane 60. Ring element 20 with its relatively long straight portion 38 will accommodate a substantial amount of paper sheets 15.
In order to have convenient access to the lower sheets of the stack adjacent to the cover member 12, the arcuate ring element 22 must accommodate substantially the same amount of paper as is accommodated by portion 38.
This may be accomplished by offsetting the mesh point toward element 20 as illustrated thus giving greater effectiv.e length to the ring element 22.
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The ring mechanism illustrated in Fig. 4 is similar to that of Fig. l except that triggers or boosters are provided to assist in opening and closiny the ring elements. Those familiar with such ring mechanisms will be familiar with the operation of the triggers. Movement of the triggers in a direction towards each other closes the ring elements while movement of the triggers away from each other opens the ring elements. The triggers are attached to the cover rail 16 and to each of the carrier rails 22 and 24.
In the ring mechanism of Fig. 1 the cover rail 16 comprises a pair of apertures 92 at either end to accommodate fasteners 18. In the case of the trigger style mechanism of Fig. 4 the cover rail 16 comprises a pair of bushings 94a to accommodate -the fasteners 94.
In each case means are provided to permit minor relative rotation between the ring mechanism 10 and the cover member 12.
Typically, mechanisms of the type illustrated in Fig. 1 have a flattened dimple portion at the end through which the apertures 92 may be punched~ One method of permitting the desired relative rotation is to use rivets 18 which are loosely received by the apertures 92.
An alternative is to punch a dimpled area in the vicinity of the apertures 92 in order that the portion of the cover xail which contacts the cover member 12 comprises ~2~33S
a curved sur~ace. This may comprise a part~spherical dimple 96 shown in Fiy 5 or one or more rib-like dimples such as those illustrated at g~ in Fig 6.
There are various wa~s of achieving the desired relative xotation with mechanisms of the trigger type illustrated in Figs. 4 and 7. One method involves use of a fastener, typicall~v a rivet 94, which is loosely received within the bushin~ 94a. Alternatively the bushing may be provided with a curved upper surface 100 at the area of contact between the head of the fastener and the bushing. Such curved surface will permit small relative movement. 5imilarly,the bushing 94a used may be of sufficient length so as to project below the lowermost plane of the cover rail 16 as illustrated in Fig. 7 with the lower surface 102 of the bushing having a curved sur~ace where it contacts the cover member 12 to facilitate the slight movement desired.
In all cases, the flexi~ility of the cover material, usually plastic covered cardboard contributes to desired relative movement between the ring mechanism and the cover. However, other means or combinations of means may be used in addition to those described herein.
With reference to Fig. 1 it will be noted that the cover comprises a spine portion 104 and a flap portion 106 which overlies the ring mechanism 10 when the binder is in its fully closed position. The flap 106 of the cover me~ber 12 33~
will lie against the ring elements 20, 22. It has been found that if the f~ap 106 is supported at -the point of mesh between ends 35 and 36 the ring element 22 may deform with continued use particularly i weiyht is placed on the cover flap 106 such as for example if additional binders or printed texts are stacked on the cover flap 106. Over time this deformation of the ring element 22 results in a failure of the ring set 14 since the mesh end 35 of ring element 22 no longer squarely contacts the mesh end 36 of the ring element 20. The misalignment causes tearing of paper as the sheets are moved past the mesh point and in the worst case may permit paper to be released without opening the ring elements. It has been found that this failure can be avoided if the flap 106 rests solely on the ring element 20 in the ~icinity o~ the bend between the mesh end 36 and the straight portion 38 rather than at the mesh ~rd 36. ~ccordingly, it is desirable that the point of contact between the flap 106 and ring element 20 be at the uppermost portion of the ring element 20.
For this reason mesh end 36 slopes downwardly toward the cover member 12 from the end of the straight portion 38 to the point of contact with the mesh end 35 of the ring element 22.
In previously known ring mechanisms, each of the elements forming the ring extended upwardly from the carrier rails t'nrough apertures in the cover rail. The ring elements extended arcuately from the cover rails such that in their ~
closed position the ring ele~.ents formed a generall~r circular closure with the top portion of the carrier rail. ~ing to the manner in which the ring elements were attached to the carrier rails through the cove~
rail, the sheets of loose leaf paper which were thread-ed- on the ring elements did no-t lie against the bindex cover up to the apertures in the edge of the sheet. As a result, thP loose leaf paper could never lie flat across its total surface since the hody o~ the cover rail is of substantial height. ~his not only impaired the ability o the U5el' to write on the loose leaf pap~x ~U~ IG~ m~ln~ o~ pap~r w~ h could ~e held by the ring mechanism by an amount equal to the height of the cover rail.
In United States Patent No. 3,263,687 Weichert describes a ring mechanism for overcoming these dif-ficulties in which one of the ring elements-is at~ached ~æ
3~
to the bottom surface of the carrier rail and extends parallel to the surfaee of the binder cover before angling upwardly to meet the second ring element which is con-ventional design. Grooves are provided in the cover mem-ber to accommodate the movement of the ring element from itsclosed position to its open position. ~hile the ring mechanism described in United States Pa-tent No. 3,263,687 works satisfaetorily for its intended purpose, i-t is an e~pensive mechanism to produce in view oE the fact that specialized tooling is required to attaeh the angled ring elelllent to the ~ottom of the cove~ rall and in view of thc fact that grooves must be provided in the cover member.
In another previously known ring meehanism, an angled ring element of the oeneral type shown in United States Patent No. 3,263,68~ was attached to -the top of the carrier rail and extended upwarcily throuclh an aper-ture in the top oE the cover rail. ~lowever, since the ;l'`'!l~`d t:`in~ elllent~ clicl not lie alonc~ thc~ surface~ oE
the binder covcr, this ring mechanism had the same draw-baeks as the previously described ring mechanism havingtwo clrcuate ring c~ llts; namely, that it did not allo~-the sheets of loose leaE paper to lie flat against the binder cover and reduced the storage capacity of the ring mechanism by the height of the cover rail.
~Z~133S
The disadvantages oE the foregoing structures may be overcome by providing a ring mechanism which allows the loose leaf paper to lie flat against the binder cover thereby increasiny the storage capacity of the ring mech-anism and which can be manufactured on conventional equip-ment for the manufacture of ring mechanisms without the necessity for the expensive tooling required to produce ring mechanisms of the type shown in United States Patent No. 3,263,687.
It has been-found that these disadvantages can be overcome by providing a ring mechanism to be mounted on a generally planar cover member. The mechanism has a resilient cover rail having turned down edges and aper-tures spaced inwardly from such edges. First and second carrier rails are nested in side by side relationship between the side edges of the cover rail such that the combined width of the carrier rails is greater than the distance between the ,side ed~es of the cover rail in it~
unstressed position thereby permitting the carrier rails to be moved between two over center positions. ,A first ring element is mounted on the first carrier rail~ A
second r,ing element is mounted on the second carrier rail. The ring elements extend from the carrier rail through the apertures in the cover rail. The first ring ~5 element has a r.lesh end, a straight portion extending - ~2~33S
angularly towards the plane of the cover member, a second straight portion extending parallel to the plane of t.he cov-er member closely adjacent to the cover member, and a hooked portion extendlng from the second st.raight port.ion upwards from a cover member over the periphery of the cover rail and downwardly t.hrough one of the apertures in the cover rail t.o the first carrier rail. The second ring element extends from the second carrier rail to a mesh end adjacent to the mesh end of the first ring element, such that the ring elements define a closed loop when the carrier rails are in one of the over cent.er posit.ions and the mesh end of the second ring member is spaced from t.he mesh end of the first ring member when the carrier rails are in the other of the over cent.er positions. The mechanism includes means for mounting the cover rail to the cover member so as to permit minor re-lative angular displacement when the carrier rails are moved from one of the over center positions to the other of the over center posit.ions.
In dra~ings which illustrate preferred embodimen~.s ~f the invention:
Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a ring mechanism mounted on a cover.
Fig. 2 is a sectional view of a ring mechanism of Fig. 1 t.aken along line 2-2 illustrating the mechanism in t.he closed position.
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Fig. 3 is a section view similar to Fig~ 2 illustr-ating the mechanism in the open position.
Fig. 4 is a perspective view of a second ring mechanism according to the invention mounted on a cover.
Fig. 5 is a section view similar to E'ig. 2 taken along line 5-5 of Fig. 1 illustrating a means of fastening the mechanism to a cover~
Fig. 6 is a perspective view from below illustrating one end of the mechanism of Fig. 1.
Fig. 7 is a section view taken along line 7-7 of Fig. 4 illustrating a means of fastening the mechanism to a cover. (Figs. 4 and 7 are on the same single sheet~.
~eferring to Fig. 1, the ring mechanism 10 is mounted on a generally planar cover member 12 and has a plurality of ring sets 14 for receiving sheets of paper 15 with holes spaced to be compatible with the ring sets 14. The ring mechanism 10 includes a cover rail 16 and is relatively loosely secured to the cover member 12 by fasteners 18. The fasteners 18, preferably rivets, permit minor relative angular displacement of the cover rail 16 relative to the cover member 12 in the manner and for the reasons set out moxe fully below.
Referring to Figs. 2 and 3 of the drawings, it can be seen that the rLng set 14 consists of a first ring element 20 and a second ring element 22. The firs-t ring element 20 is carried on a first carrier rail 24 and is mounted on the first carrier rail 24 by passing 33'j the first end 28 of the ~irst ring element 20 through an aperture (not shown) in the :Eirst carrier rail 24 and then flattening the end 28 against the bottom o~ the first carrier rail 24. The ~irst ring element 20 consists of a mesh end 36, a generally straight portion 38 extending outwardly and downwardly from the mesh end 36 towards the plane of the cover member 12, a second generally straight portion 40 extending parallel to the plane of the cover member 12 closely adjacent to the cover member 12 and a hooked portion 42 extending from the second straight portion 40 over the outer peri-phery 44 of the cover rail 16 and downwardly through an aperture 34 in the cover rail 16 to the first carrier rail 24.
As shown in Figs. 2 and 3 the second ring element 22 is carried on a second carrier rail 26 and similarly mounted on the second carrier rail 26 by passing the first end 30 of the second ring element 22 through an aperture (not shown3 in the second carrier rail 26 and then flattening the end 30 against the bottom of the second carrier rail 26. The second ring element 22 extends arcuately upwardly from the second carrier rail 26 through an aperture 32 in the cover raii 16 to a mesh end 35.
The cover raii 16 is provided with inwardly turned edges 46, 48 for ret~ining the first carrier raii 24 and '~IL2~335 the second carrier rail 26. The outer e~ge 50 of the first carrier rail 24 lies against the inwardly turned edge 46 of the cover rail 16 and the inner edge 52 of the first carrier rail 24 lies against the inner edge 54 of the second carrier rail 26. The outer edge 56 of the second carrier rail 26 lies ayainst the inwardly turned edge 48 of the cover xail 16. The cover rail 16 is formed from a resilient material and, in its unstressed condition, such as is shown in both Figs. 2 and 3, the combined width of the first carrier rail 24 and the second carrier rail 26 exceeds the distance between the inwardly turned edges 46, 48.
This permits the carrier rails 24~ 26 to move from a first over center position as shown in Fig. 2 to a second over center position as shown in Fig. 3 thereby permitting the ring elements 20, 22 to move from a closed position as shown in Fig. 2 to an open position as shown in Fig. 3 thereby permitting the introduction of loose leaf paper 15 to the ring sets 14.
In use, the loose leaf paper 15 is retained by the ring sets 14 which are normally in their closed position as shown in Fig~ 2. When it is desired to add additional loose leaf sheets 15 to the ring set 14 or to remove loose leaf sheets 15 from the ring set 14, the ring elements 20, 22 are simply pulled apart manually until the carrier rails 24, 26 lock into the second over center ~2~ 35 position shown in Fig. 3. ~s the portion 40 of ring element 20 is closely adjacent the cover member 12 there would be inter~erence if the cover member 12 and cover rail 16 were completely rigid and rigidly inter-connected by the rivets 18. However, owing to themanner in which the ring mechanism 10 is attached to the cover member 12 by the rivets 18, the cover rail 16 moves slightly with respect to the plane of cover member 12 to eliminate objectionable interference.
When it is desired to close the ring sets 14, the ring elements 20, 22 are simply forced together manually until the carrier rails 24, 26 return to the first over center position shown in Fig. 2.
With reference to Fig. 2 it can be seen that the cover rail 16 and the carrier rails 22, 26 are sub-stantially symmetrical about the plane 60 shown in dotted lines. The mesh point between mesh ends 35 and 36 is displaced to one side of plane 60. Ring element 20 with its relatively long straight portion 38 will accommodate a substantial amount of paper sheets 15.
In order to have convenient access to the lower sheets of the stack adjacent to the cover member 12, the arcuate ring element 22 must accommodate substantially the same amount of paper as is accommodated by portion 38.
This may be accomplished by offsetting the mesh point toward element 20 as illustrated thus giving greater effectiv.e length to the ring element 22.
~lZ~33~
The ring mechanism illustrated in Fig. 4 is similar to that of Fig. l except that triggers or boosters are provided to assist in opening and closiny the ring elements. Those familiar with such ring mechanisms will be familiar with the operation of the triggers. Movement of the triggers in a direction towards each other closes the ring elements while movement of the triggers away from each other opens the ring elements. The triggers are attached to the cover rail 16 and to each of the carrier rails 22 and 24.
In the ring mechanism of Fig. 1 the cover rail 16 comprises a pair of apertures 92 at either end to accommodate fasteners 18. In the case of the trigger style mechanism of Fig. 4 the cover rail 16 comprises a pair of bushings 94a to accommodate -the fasteners 94.
In each case means are provided to permit minor relative rotation between the ring mechanism 10 and the cover member 12.
Typically, mechanisms of the type illustrated in Fig. 1 have a flattened dimple portion at the end through which the apertures 92 may be punched~ One method of permitting the desired relative rotation is to use rivets 18 which are loosely received by the apertures 92.
An alternative is to punch a dimpled area in the vicinity of the apertures 92 in order that the portion of the cover xail which contacts the cover member 12 comprises ~2~33S
a curved sur~ace. This may comprise a part~spherical dimple 96 shown in Fiy 5 or one or more rib-like dimples such as those illustrated at g~ in Fig 6.
There are various wa~s of achieving the desired relative xotation with mechanisms of the trigger type illustrated in Figs. 4 and 7. One method involves use of a fastener, typicall~v a rivet 94, which is loosely received within the bushin~ 94a. Alternatively the bushing may be provided with a curved upper surface 100 at the area of contact between the head of the fastener and the bushing. Such curved surface will permit small relative movement. 5imilarly,the bushing 94a used may be of sufficient length so as to project below the lowermost plane of the cover rail 16 as illustrated in Fig. 7 with the lower surface 102 of the bushing having a curved sur~ace where it contacts the cover member 12 to facilitate the slight movement desired.
In all cases, the flexi~ility of the cover material, usually plastic covered cardboard contributes to desired relative movement between the ring mechanism and the cover. However, other means or combinations of means may be used in addition to those described herein.
With reference to Fig. 1 it will be noted that the cover comprises a spine portion 104 and a flap portion 106 which overlies the ring mechanism 10 when the binder is in its fully closed position. The flap 106 of the cover me~ber 12 33~
will lie against the ring elements 20, 22. It has been found that if the f~ap 106 is supported at -the point of mesh between ends 35 and 36 the ring element 22 may deform with continued use particularly i weiyht is placed on the cover flap 106 such as for example if additional binders or printed texts are stacked on the cover flap 106. Over time this deformation of the ring element 22 results in a failure of the ring set 14 since the mesh end 35 of ring element 22 no longer squarely contacts the mesh end 36 of the ring element 20. The misalignment causes tearing of paper as the sheets are moved past the mesh point and in the worst case may permit paper to be released without opening the ring elements. It has been found that this failure can be avoided if the flap 106 rests solely on the ring element 20 in the ~icinity o~ the bend between the mesh end 36 and the straight portion 38 rather than at the mesh ~rd 36. ~ccordingly, it is desirable that the point of contact between the flap 106 and ring element 20 be at the uppermost portion of the ring element 20.
For this reason mesh end 36 slopes downwardly toward the cover member 12 from the end of the straight portion 38 to the point of contact with the mesh end 35 of the ring element 22.
Claims (8)
PROPERTY OR PRIVILEGE IS CLAIMED ARE DEFINED AS FOLLOWS:
1. A ring mechanism for mounting on a loose leaf binder having at least one generally planar cover member to be used with paper having ring holes spaced inwardly from an edge thereof for retaining said paper in said binder, the mechanism comprising:
a resilient cover rail having turned in side edges and apertures spaced inwardly from said edges;
a first carrier rail carrying at least one first ring element;
a second carrier rail carrying at least one second ring element;
means mounting said first ring element to said first carrier rail at a first end of said first ring element;
means mounting said second ring element to said second carrier rail at a first end of said second ring element;
said ring elements extending from said carrier rails through said apertures in said cover rail;
said first ring element having:
a mesh end, a first straight portion extending angularly towards the plane of said cover member, a second straight portion extending parallel to said plane of said cover member closely adjacent to said cover member, and a hooked portion extending from said second straight portion upwards from a cover member, over one of said edges of said cover rail and downwardly through one of said apertures in said cover rail to said first carrier rail;
said second ring element having a mesh end;
said second ring element extending from said second carrier rail to said mesh end and said mesh end of said second ring element being adjacent to said mesh end of said first ring element;
said carrier rails being nested in side by side re-lationship between said side edges of said cover rail, the combined width of said carrier rails being greater than the distance between said side edges when said cover rail is un-stressed whereby said carrier rails may be moved between two over center positions;
said ring elements defining a closed loop when said carrier rails are in one of said over center positions;
said mesh end of said second ring element being spaced from said mesh end of said first ring element when said carrier rails are in the other of said over center po-sitions; and, means mounting said cover rail to said cover member to permit minor relative angular displacement when said car-rier rails are moved from one of said over center positions to the other of said over center positions.
a resilient cover rail having turned in side edges and apertures spaced inwardly from said edges;
a first carrier rail carrying at least one first ring element;
a second carrier rail carrying at least one second ring element;
means mounting said first ring element to said first carrier rail at a first end of said first ring element;
means mounting said second ring element to said second carrier rail at a first end of said second ring element;
said ring elements extending from said carrier rails through said apertures in said cover rail;
said first ring element having:
a mesh end, a first straight portion extending angularly towards the plane of said cover member, a second straight portion extending parallel to said plane of said cover member closely adjacent to said cover member, and a hooked portion extending from said second straight portion upwards from a cover member, over one of said edges of said cover rail and downwardly through one of said apertures in said cover rail to said first carrier rail;
said second ring element having a mesh end;
said second ring element extending from said second carrier rail to said mesh end and said mesh end of said second ring element being adjacent to said mesh end of said first ring element;
said carrier rails being nested in side by side re-lationship between said side edges of said cover rail, the combined width of said carrier rails being greater than the distance between said side edges when said cover rail is un-stressed whereby said carrier rails may be moved between two over center positions;
said ring elements defining a closed loop when said carrier rails are in one of said over center positions;
said mesh end of said second ring element being spaced from said mesh end of said first ring element when said carrier rails are in the other of said over center po-sitions; and, means mounting said cover rail to said cover member to permit minor relative angular displacement when said car-rier rails are moved from one of said over center positions to the other of said over center positions.
2. The mechanism of claim 1, said cover rail comprising end portions having apertures therein for receiving fastener means for mounting said cover rail to said cover member, said end portions having rib shaped dimple portions for contacting said cover member.
3. The mechanism of claim 1, said cover rail comprising end portions having apertures therein for receiving fastener means for mounting said cover rail to said cover member, said end portions having part spherical shaped dimple portions for contacting said cover member.
4. The mechanism of claim 1, said cover rail comprising one or more bushings for receiving fastening means for mounting said cover rail on said cover member.
5. The mechanism of claim 4, wherein said bushing comprises a curved upper surface for contacting said fastening means.
6. The mechanism of claim 4, wherein said bushing extends below said cover rail to contact said cover means, said bushing having a curved lower surface for contacting said cover member.
7. The mechanism of claim 1, said cover rail having a general plane of symmetry and said mesh ends meeting when said ring elements are in said closed position at a point displaced from said plane toward said first ring element whereby said first and second ring elements may accommodate the same amount of sheets of said paper.
8. The mechanism of claim 1, wherein said mesh end of said first ring element extends toward the plane of cover member from said first straight portion, whereby when mounted on a cover member having a flap for overlying said paper when binder is closed, said flap will contact said first ring element only at said first straight portion.
Priority Applications (1)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA000421325A CA1211335A (en) | 1983-02-10 | 1983-02-10 | Ring mechanism for loose leaf binder |
Applications Claiming Priority (1)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA000421325A CA1211335A (en) | 1983-02-10 | 1983-02-10 | Ring mechanism for loose leaf binder |
Publications (1)
| Publication Number | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| CA1211335A true CA1211335A (en) | 1986-09-16 |
Family
ID=4124539
Family Applications (1)
| Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA000421325A Expired CA1211335A (en) | 1983-02-10 | 1983-02-10 | Ring mechanism for loose leaf binder |
Country Status (1)
| Country | Link |
|---|---|
| CA (1) | CA1211335A (en) |
Cited By (2)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| EP0764549A1 (en) * | 1995-09-20 | 1997-03-26 | World Wide Stationery Manufacturing Co. Ltd. | A ring binder |
| US5980146A (en) * | 1995-10-20 | 1999-11-09 | World Wide Stationery Manufacturing Company, Ltd. | Ring binder |
-
1983
- 1983-02-10 CA CA000421325A patent/CA1211335A/en not_active Expired
Cited By (3)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| EP0764549A1 (en) * | 1995-09-20 | 1997-03-26 | World Wide Stationery Manufacturing Co. Ltd. | A ring binder |
| US5772348A (en) * | 1995-09-20 | 1998-06-30 | World Wide Stationary Company Limited | Ring binder |
| US5980146A (en) * | 1995-10-20 | 1999-11-09 | World Wide Stationery Manufacturing Company, Ltd. | Ring binder |
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Legal Events
| Date | Code | Title | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| MKEX | Expiry |