EP1980413A1

EP1980413A1 - Lever-arch type file mechanism

Info

Publication number: EP1980413A1
Application number: EP07251561A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Chun Yuen To; Ho Ping Cheng
Original assignee: World Wide Stationery Manufacturing Co Ltd
Current assignee: World Wide Stationery Manufacturing Co Ltd
Priority date: 2007-04-11
Filing date: 2007-04-11
Publication date: 2008-10-15
Also published as: CN201151265Y; CN201099067Y; CN101284468A; CN201151266Y

Abstract

A lever-arch type file mechanism (100) is disclosed as including a base (102), two rings secured to and extending upwardly from the base (102) for engaging holes in pieces of hold-punched paper, each ring including a post (106) fixed to the base (102) and an arch (128) movable relative to the base (102) and the post (106), a lever (108) operable to move the arches (128) relative to the posts (106) between a closed configuration in which the rings are closed and an open configuration in which the rings are open, in which the arches (128) are fixedly engaged with a separate intervening part (136) for simultaneous movement, and the lever (108) carries a roller (118) which is movable on an upper edge (132) of the intervening part (136) between an upper stable position and a lower stable position to open and close the rings, and the portion of the upper edge (132) of the intervening part (136) on which the roller (118) is movable is asymmetrically shaped about the upper stable position.

Description

This invention relates to a device for retaining a stack of hole-punched paper in a file and, in particular such a device comprising a lever-arch type file mechanism. This invention also relates to a lever-arch type file with such a lever-arch type file mechanism.
In most existing lever-arch type file mechanisms, a one-armed lever is provided for pivoting a pair of arches relative to a pair of fixed posts to allow pieces of hole-punched paper to be retrieved from or inserted into the file mechanisms, and for closing the posts and arches to form a pair of closed rings to retain the paper therein. The pair of arches are integrally formed with a bent portion on which a roller attached to the lever travels during pivotal movement of the lever, to effect opening or closing of the ring pairs.
When the ring pairs are open, the lever is very close to, and sometimes even contacts, one of the arch elements. Thus, when the ring pairs are open, paper can only be retrieved from or inserted into the pair of fixed posts, but no paper can be retrieved from or inserted into the pair of pivotable arches.
One possible way of overcoming this problem is to so shape the bent portion that the arches will fully pivot upon pivotal movement of the lever by a smaller angle of rotation. This means that there will be an abrupt downward bend along the part of the bent portion along which the roller travels. It is found in practice that it is difficult to form the required abrupt bend in this part, in particular as the intervening bent portion is formed integrally with the arches in metal.
It is thus an object of the present invention to provide a lever-arch type file mechanism and a lever-arch type file in which the aforesaid shortcomings are mitigated, or at least to provide a useful alternative to the public.
According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a lever-arch type file mechanism including a base; at least two rings secured to and extending upwardly from the base for engaging holes in at least a piece of paper, each said ring including a post member fixed to said base and an arch member movable relative to said base and said post member; a lever operable to move said arch members relative to said post members between a closed configuration in which said rings are closed and an open configuration in which said rings are open; wherein said arch members are fixedly engaged with a separate intervening part for simultaneous movement; wherein said lever carries an actuator which is movable on a portion of an upper edge of said intervening part between an upper stable position and a lower stable position to open and close said rings; characterized in that said portion of said upper edge of said intervening part on which said actuator is movable is asymmetrically shaped about said upper stable position.
According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a lever-arch type file mechanism including a base; at least two rings secured to and extending upwardly from the base for engaging holes in at least a piece of paper, each said ring including a post member fixed to said base and an arch member movable relative to said base and said post member, a lever operable to move said arch members relative to said post members between a closed configuration in which said rings are closed and an open configuration in which said rings are open; wherein said arch members are fixedly engaged with a separate intervening part for simultaneous movement; wherein said lever carries an actuator which is movable on a portion of an upper edge of said intervening part between two stable positions to open and close said rings; characterized in that the horizontal distance traveled by said actuator between said two stable positions is within substantially 8.5mm.
According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a lever-arch type file mechanism including a base; at least two rings secured to and extending upwardly from the base for engaging holes in at least a piece of paper, each said ring including a post member fixed to said base and an arch member movable relative to said base and said post member; a lever with at least one arm member operable to move said arch members relative to said post members between a closed configuration in which said rings are closed and an open configuration in which said rings are open; wherein said arch members are fixedly engaged with a separate intervening part for simultaneous movement; wherein said lever carries an actuator which is movable on a portion of an upper edge of said intervening part between two stable positions to open and close said rings; characterized in that said arm member is formed by moulding or formed of a sheet material.
According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a lever-arch type file including a lever-arch type file mechanism according to any of the above aspects fixedly engaged with a substrate cover.
An embodiment of the present invention will now be described, by way of an example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1A is a front view of a lever-arch type file mechanism according to an embodiment of the present invention; in which the ring pairs are closed;
Fig. 1B is a top view of the mechanism shown in Fig. 1A;
Fig. 1C is a bottom view of the mechanism shown in Fig. 1A;
Fig. 1D is a right side view of the mechanism shown in Fig. 1A;
Fig. 1E is a left side view of the mechanism shown in Fig. 1A;
Fig. 2 is an exploded view of the mechanism shown in Fig. 1A;
Fig. 3 is a top perspective view of the mechanism shown in Fig. 1A;
Fig. 4 is a bottom perspective view of the mechanism shown in Fig. 1A;
Fig. 5A is a front view of the mechanism shown in Fig. 1A in which the ring pairs are open;
Fig. 5B is a left side view of the mechanism shown in Fig. 5A;
Fig. 6 is a top perspective view of the mechanism shown in Fig. 5A;
Fig. 7 is a bottom perspective view of the mechanism shown in Fig. 6;
Fig. 8A is a front view of the intervening part of the mechanism shown in Fig. 1A;
Fig. 8B is a top view of the intervening part shown in Fig. 8A;
Fig. 8C is a side view of the intervening part shown in Fig. 8A; and
Fig. 8D is a top perspective view of the intervening part shown in Fig. 8A.

A lever-arch type file mechanism according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown in Figs. 1A to 1E, and generally designated as 100. As shown more clearly in Figs. 2 to 4, the mechanism 100 includes a generally flat base 102 with an upstanding wall 104 extending from and generally perpendicular to the base 102. The wall 104 is integrally formed with the base 102, e.g. be stamped and bent out from a same metal sheet. Two posts 106, are fixedly engaged with, and are thus not movable relative to, the base 102.
A hand-operated lever 108 has a free operating first end 110 and a second end 112 which is engaged via a rivet 114 to the wall 104 to allow pivotal movement of the lever 108 relative to the wall 104 about the rivet 114. The lever 108 carries, via a pin 116, a roller 118, the function of which will be discussed below. The lever 108 may be formed by moulding or formed of a sheet of metal material.
A resilient spring leaf 120 has a first side 122 which is engaged with the base 102, and an opposite second side 124 which acts on an under side of an intervening part 136 between and joining two arches 128. The arches 128 and the intervening part 136 are formed separately of one another. A lower end 142 of each of the arches 128 is received within a respective hole 144 of the intervening part 136 to fixedly engage the arches 128 with the intervening part 136 for simultaneous movement.
When assembled, and as shown in Figs. 3 to 7, the roller 118 rides on and can travel along an upper edge 132 of an upstanding support track 130 of the intervening part 136. In the configuration shown in Figs. 3 and 4, the posts 106 and arches 128 mate with each other to form two closed rings, e.g. for retaining pieces of hole-punched paper (not shown). In this closed configuration, the lever 108 is at its lower position, and the roller 118 is at a higher stable position on a higher edge portion 162 of the upper edge 132 of the support track 130.
Upon upward pivotal movement of the lever 108 to the position shown in Figs. 5A to 6, the roller 118 is pivoted away from its lower stable position to its upper stable position. As the intervening part 136 has two channels 146 each for receiving a pin 148 of the base 102 for relative rotational movement about the two pins 148, the spring leaf 120 urges and pivots the intervening part 136, causing the arches 128 to pivot away from the posts 106 to the position shown in Fig. 5A to 7, in which the ring pairs are open, thus allowing pieces of hole-punched paper to be inserted into or retrieved from the posts 106 and/or the arches 128. In this configuration, the roller 118 rests in a second stable position which is at the lowest point of a lower edge portion 140 of the upper edge 132 of the support track 130.
As shown in Figs. 8A to 8D, the upper edge 132 of the track part 130 includes the higher edge portion 162 and an adjoining lower edge portion 140, in which the slope of the part of the lower edge portion 140 adjoining the higher edge portion 162 is steeper than that of the higher edge portion 162. The upper edge 132 of the support track 130 on which the roller 118 travels is thus asymmetrically shaped about a highest point 170 where the upper edge portion 162 and the lower edge portion 140 adjoins. It is also so arranged that the horizontal distance traveled by the roller 118 between the upper stable position (as shown in Fig. 1A) and the lower stable position (as shown in Fig. 5A) is within 8.5 mm.
The intervening part 136, as shown more clearly in Figs. 8A to 8D, has a generally flat body 150 with two end portions 152, each with a respective hole 144 for engagement with the arches 128. The support track 130 is off-set from the end portions 152, extends from generally the middle portion of the body 150, and is perpendicular to a plate 156 of the body 150. The intervening part 136 is integrally and wholly made of a metal. To strengthen the intervening part 136, in particular the support track 130, a triangular reinforcing support 158 is provided to adjoin both the plate 156 and the support track 130.
As discussed above, the upper edge 132 of the track part 130 includes the higher edge portion 162 and the adjoining lower edge portion 140, in which the two edge portions 162, 140 meet at the highest point 170. During pivotal movement of the arches 128 away from the posts 106, the roller 118 carried by the lever 108 travels from an upper stable position on the higher edge portion 162 at or adjacent the highest point 170, along the higher edge portion 162, and onto the lower edge portion 140, until it reaches and stays in a lower stable position on the lower edge portion 140, which is at a lowest point 164 on the lower edge portion 140.
It is found in practice that, by way of such an arrangement, the arches 128 can be fully pivoted away from the posts 106 to open the ring pairs, whereas the lever 108 is not positioned too close to the arches 128, as can be seen more clearly in Figs. 5A to 7. Such an arrangement allows pieces of hole-punched paper to be inserted into or retrieved from the arches 128 and the posts 106, thus enhancing convenience of use of the mechanism 100.
The lever-arch type file mechanism 100 may be fixedly engaged, e.g. by rivets, to a substrate, e.g. a cardboard cover, to form a lever-arch type file.
It should be understood that the above only illustrates an example whereby the present invention may be carried out, and that various modifications and/or alterations may be made thereto without departing from the spirit of the invention. It should also be understood that various features of the invention which are, for brevity, described here in the context of a single embodiment, may also be provided separately or in any appropriate sub-combinations.

Claims

A lever-arch type file mechanism including:
a base;

at least two rings secured to and extending upwardly from the base for engaging holes in at least a piece of paper, each said ring including a post member fixed to said base and an arch member movable relative to said base and said post member;

a lever operable to move said arch members relative to said post members between a closed configuration in which said rings are closed and an open configuration in which said rings are open;

wherein said arch members are fixedly engaged with a separate intervening part for simultaneous movement;

wherein said lever carries an actuator which is movable on a portion of an upper edge of said intervening part between an upper stable position and a lower stable position to open and close said rings;

characterized in that said portion of said upper edge of said intervening part on which said actuator is movable is asymmetrically shaped about said upper stable position.
A mechanism according to Claim 1 further characterized in that said portion of said upper edge descends away from its mid-point along its length on both sides along two paths with different slopes.
A mechanism according to Claim 2 further characterized in that said actuator is adapted to move away from substantially the mid-point of said portion of said upper edge along the path with a steeper slope to open said rings.
A lever-arch type file mechanism including:
a base;

at least two rings secured to and extending upwardly from the base for engaging holes in at least a piece of paper, each said ring including a post member fixed to said base and an arch member movable relative to said base and said post member;

a lever operable to move said arch members relative to said post members between a closed configuration in which said rings are closed and an open configuration in which said rings are open;

wherein said arch members are fixedly engaged with a separate intervening part for simultaneous movement;

wherein said lever carries an actuator which is movable on a portion of an upper edge of said intervening part between two stable positions to open and close said rings;

characterized in that the horizontal distance traveled by said actuator between said two stable positions is within substantially 8.5mm.
A lever-arch type file mechanism including:
a base;

at least two rings secured to and extending upwardly from the base for engaging holes in at least a piece of paper, each said ring including a post member fixed to said base and an arch member movable relative to said base and said post member;

a lever operable to move said arch members relative to said post members between a closed configuration in which said rings are closed and an open configuration in which said rings are open;

wherein said arch members are fixedly engaged with a separate intervening part for simultaneous movement;

wherein said lever carries an actuator which is movable on a portion of an upper edge of said intervening part between two stable positions to open and close said rings;

characterized in that said lever is formed by moulding or formed of a sheet material.
A lever-arch type file including a lever-arch type file mechanism according to any of the preceding claims fixedly engaged with a substrate cover.