EP2589496A1

EP2589496A1 - Assembly for securing a cover to a spiral-bound notebook

Info

Publication number: EP2589496A1
Application number: EP11800226.0A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Miguel Garcia Gil
Original assignee: Artes Graficas De Yecla SL
Current assignee: Artes Graficas De Yecla SL
Priority date: 2010-06-30
Filing date: 2011-06-29
Publication date: 2013-05-08
Also published as: ES1073096U; ES1073096Y; FR2962067A3; ITMI20110223U1; EP2589496A4; FR2962067B3; WO2012001202A1

Abstract

The present invention relates to an assembly for securing a cover (10) to a spiral notebook (11), comprising:
a long flat base (2) from which a longitudinal row of rings (3) extends, the separation between the rings (3) being such that it allows a spiral (11) to rest longitudinally on the surface of the base (2), and said base (2) comprising attachment means (4) for attaching same to the spine of the cover (10); and
a securing rod (8) configured to be housed inside the row of rings (3) such that the spiral (11) is trapped between the rod (8) and the base (2).

Description

Object of the Invention

The present invention describes an assembly which allows adding a cover to a spiral notebook in order to improve its visual appearance. Furthermore, the assembly can be easily disassembled, allowing the separation of the spiral notebook from the cover in a very short time.

Background of the Invention

Various document binding systems are currently known in the art. Ring-bound notebooks comprise a long base provided with rings and secured to the inner face of the spine of a cover. On the other hand, the sheets making up the document have holes corresponding to the rings of said base. Therefore, by inserting the rings through the holes it is possible to secure the cover to the document in a fast and simple manner. A drawback of this assembly is that, if the document is to be separated from the cover, the sheets will come loose, being able to cause the accidental lost of part of the document.
Another known system consists of spiral binding, where the sheets making up the document have a row of small holes through which the spiral is inserted. With this assembly, the sheets are held in a more secured manner and the document can be read conveniently. However, the aesthetic appearance of a spiral notebook is unsuitable for certain uses. For example, since it is not provided with a spine, users do not usually keep them together with books or catalogues in a bookcase, because not only is it rather unattractive, but since the spiral notebook does not have of a spine where the title can be annotated, it is impossible to identify the document without taking it off the shelf.
The invention described in Korean patent application number KR-20080083528-A tries to solve the aforementioned problem by arranging means which allow linking a spiral binding to a cover. To that end, the inner face of the spine of the cover incorporates a plurality of aligned elements the configuration of which is rounded at the free end thereof, such that after arranging the spiral of a binding between said aligned elements, an open hollow tube is arranged longitudinally that is fitted in the rounded parts of the aligned elements, thereby retaining the spiral.
However, this arrangement has various drawbacks and deficiencies. Firstly, it is difficult to put in place because the tube must be fitted into each and every one of the rounded parts of the elements when it is being placed, there being no means that allow automatically assuring its correct placement. Secondly, the spiral can easily come out of place in the event of pulling the cover according to a direction perpendicular or diagonal to that of the spiral, given that the tube is flexible and has a longitudinal opening to allow the passage of the web or narrow part of the elements, so said tube can be removed from the rounded parts. Finally, this securing does not incorporate retention means that assure the position of the tube in its retention position in the actual direction of the spiral.
As a result, the problem of providing a reliable and comfortable assembly that allows providing a spiral notebook with a cover has not been solved until now.

Description of the Invention

The preceding problem is solved by means of the assembly described herein, which allows securing a cover to a spiral notebook in a fast and convenient manner. The spiral notebook can thus be kept in a bookcase in a manner similar to a book, the notebook being able to be identified through a title or identifying text on the spine of the cover. Furthermore, the assembly of the invention allows separating the spiral notebook from the cover easily if needed.
The assembly of the invention for securing a cover to a spiral notebook comprises a base suitable for being secured to a cover and a rod coupled to said base to trap and immobilize the spiral between base and rod, the cover thus being secured to the spiral notebook. Both elements are described in greater detail below.

a) Base

The base is flat and long, and a longitudinal row of rings intended for housing the securing rod extends from one of its faces. The separation between the rings is such that the spaces between them allow a spiral to rest longitudinally on the surface of the base. The base further comprises attachment means for attaching same to the spine of the cover, preferably holes suitable for the passage of screws, studs, rivets or the like. The base is preferably made of plastic or the like.
According to a preferred embodiment, the base also comprises separation means separating the securing rod in relation to the surface of the base, preferably projections located on the central line of said surface, and more preferably projections having a rounded concave shape. On one hand, these projections serve for easily inserting the securing rod through the rings without getting caught in the spiral, because they serve to support the securing rod such that there is a space between the rod and the surface of the base. On the other hand, they limit the play existing between the securing rod and the rings, such that when the rod is placed it is held as firmly as possible.
Another preferred embodiment of the invention comprises stop means configured to prevent the securing rod from sliding along the base when it is housed completely inside the rings. The stop means are preferably two protrusions located at the ends of the base and giving way vertically downwards to allow the passage of the securing rod through the row of rings, and they recover their position when the rod has passed through to prevent it from sliding longitudinally. For these protrusions to have the necessary flexibility, they are preferably separated from the base along their entire perimeter except in a narrow strip. Therefore, when operations to insert the rod through one of the ends of the base begin, the force exerted by the rod on the protrusion causes said protrusion to give way vertically downwards, thereby allowing the passage of the rod.

b) Securing rod

The securing rod, which is preferably cylindrical, is configured to be housed inside the row of rings and to thus trap the spiral between the rod and the base. According to another preferred embodiment of the invention, the securing rod is made of plastic or the like.

Description of the Drawings

To complement the description that is being made and for the purpose of aiding to better understand the features of the invention according to a preferred practical embodiment thereof, a set of drawings is attached as an integral part of said description, where the following has been depicted with an illustrative and non-limiting character:

Figures 1a and 1b respectively show a perspective view and a cross-section view of the base of an assembly according to the invention.
Figures 2a and 2b respectively show a perspective view and a cross-section view of the securing rod of an assembly according to the invention.
Figure 3 shows a perspective view of the end of the base and the rod where the parts that form them can be seen in greater detail.
Figure 4 shows a perspective view of the end of the base and the rod to which the spiral of a notebook has been secured.
Figure 5 shows a perspective view showing the operation of inserting the rod through the rings of the base.
Figure 6 shows a perspective view where a cover secured to a spiral notebook using the assembly of the invention is seen.

Preferred Embodiment of the Invention

An example of the assembly of the invention is described below making reference to the attached drawings. Figures 1a and 2a show respective perspective views of the base (2) and of the securing rod (8), whereas Figures 1 b and 2b show respective cross-section views of said base (2) and said securing rod (8). The upper face of the base (2) has a plurality of aligned rings (3) for housing the securing rod (8). The securing means (4) for securing the base (2) to the cover (10) are also seen in Figure 1a, in this example such means are holes for rivets. Several separation means (5) have also been depicted; in this example such means are projections having a rounded concave shape distributed along the base (2), where the securing rod (8) will rest once it is located in its housing. Furthermore, stop means (6) in the form of a protrusion (6), the arrangement of which can be seen in detail in Figure 1b, prevent the rod (8) from coming out of its housing once inserted.
Figure 3 shows in greater detail an end of the base (2) with the securing rod (8). It can be seen how the protrusion (6) does not allow the rod to come out of its housing once inserted. However, as described above, this protrusion (6) is provided with enough flexibility so as to give way vertically downwards during the process of inserting the rod (8). In this example, this flexibility is achieved as a result of the protrusion (6) being attached to the base (2) by only two narrow strips (7). It is understood that the protection conferred by this utility model covers protrusions (6) attached to the base by one or more narrow strips (7) provided that they serve to achieve the flexibility described. Figure 4 shows how the spiral (11) is trapped between the base (2) and the rod (8) once the spiral (11) is suitably located on the base (2) and the securing rod (8) is inserted.
The operations of inserting and removing the rod (8) in the base (2) are carried out as follows. Firstly, the spiral (11) is placed longitudinally on the base (2). Then the securing rod (8) is inserted, moving the protrusion (6) downwards to that end, and the rod (8) is slid through the successive rings (3) located along the base (2), as shown in Figure 5. During this phase, the rod (8) rests on the separation means (5), thereby preventing its front end from sliding on the surface of the base (2) and getting caught in the spiral (11) during the process of inserting said rod. Once the rear end of the rod (8) overcomes the protrusion (6), said protrusion recovers its position with a click, the rod thereby being trapped in its position, and the spiral notebook (11) accordingly being secured to the cover (10). If the spiral notebook (11) is to be removed from the cover (10), one must only press the protrusion (6) downwards with a finger and remove the rod (8). Figure 6 shows a detail of a spiral notebook (11) to which a cover (10) has already been secured.

Claims

Assembly for securing a cover (10) to a spiral notebook (11), characterized in that it comprises:
a long flat base (2) from which a longitudinal row of rings (3) extends, the separation between the rings (3) being such that it allows a spiral (11) to rest longitudinally on the surface of the base (2), and said base (2) comprising attachment means (4) for attaching same to the spine of the cover (10); and

a securing rod (8) configured to be housed inside the row of rings (3) such that the spiral (11) is trapped between the rod (8) and the base (2).
Assembly according to claim 1, wherein the securing rod (8) has a cylindrical section the shape of which is complementary to the rings (3).
Assembly according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the attachment means (4) comprise holes made on the base (2).
Assembly according to any of the preceding claims, further comprising separation means (5) separating the securing rod (8) in relation to the surface of the base (2).
Assembly according to claim 4, wherein the separation means (5) comprise projections located in the central line of the base (2) and extending from the surface of said base (2).
Assembly according to claim 5, wherein the projections have a rounded concave shape.
Assembly according to any of the preceding claims, further comprising stop means (6) configured to prevent the securing rod (8) from sliding along the base (2) when it is housed completely inside the rings (3).
Assembly according to claim 6, wherein the stop means (6) are two protrusions (6) located at the ends of the base (2) giving way vertically downwards to allow the passage of the securing rod (8) through the row of rings (3), recovering their position when the rod (8) has passed through to prevent it from sliding longitudinally.
Assembly according to claim 7, wherein the protrusions (6) are separated from the base (2) along their entire perimeter except for a narrow strip (7), such that they are provided with flexibility in the vertical direction.
Assembly according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the base (2) is made of plastic or the like.
Assembly according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the securing rod (8) is made of plastic or the like.