FR2579931A1 - Binders reinforced along at least one of their edges by the folding over of material - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a novel type of binder made from a rigid thermoplastic material and characterised in that it is reinforced by the folding over of material along at least one of its edges. Such a binder is capable of holding a heavy load without becoming deformed.

Description

Binders reinforced on at least one of their edges by folding material.

 The present invention relates to a new type of binders reinforced, on at least one of their edges, by folding the material; the binders according to the invention are made of plastic and are designed to be able to receive a large load without deformation when they are stored in an upright position.

 For a few years now, rigid plastic binders have been used, which we are used to positioning vertically. The articulation between the edge and the lateral faces of such binders is possible by making hinges which, as known, may consist of a thinning of the material in this place. However, the lateral faces of this type of filing cabinet, when said filing cabinet contains a large quantity of documents, tend to bend, to deform.

 The present invention proposes to overcome this drawback, inherent in this type of binder, by using "beam effect", said effect being obtained by folding the material on itself.

 The invention therefore relates to binders made of rigid thermoplastic material, comprising two lateral faces 2 and 2 ′ connected by a slice characterized in that they have as reinforcement a fold of material 4, 5 on at least one of the edges of said binder.

 The folding may preferably take place along the edge 4, 4 ′ parallel to the edge, but it can also be carried out on at least one edge such as 5 which is perpendicular to said edge.

 The binders according to the invention are made of thermoplastic material, in particular rigid thermoplastic polymers or copolymers, and more particularly of polypropylene or polyethylene, preferably high density. The preferred material is polypropylene.

 The rigidity of these binders is thus reinforced by the fact that it folds outwards or inwards, but preferably inwards, part of the plastic sheet so as to obtain, over a certain width, two parallel sheets through which the structural reinforcement is obtained.

 The folding of the material results from a folding operation, preferably carried out hot, of the material produced according to one or two fold lines. The thickness of the backsplash resulting from said folding operation is variable and depends of course on the thickness of the sheet of thermoplastic material; we can admit for example that by using a sheet of 1 mm thick said backsplash will have a thickness slightly greater than 2 mm (for example between 2.5 and 3 mm).

Note, however, that it is possibly possible to obtain a reinforcing effect by welding the folded part over the face of the filing cabinet and in this case the thickness of said backsplash will be twice the thickness of the sheet.

 The folding according to the invention is preferably carried out without variation in thickness. In fact such a variation (thinning for example) would be admissible provided that the thinned part retains sufficient rigidity so that the reinforcing effect is obtained. We know for example that, in the case of a polypropylene sheet, the thinned part should not be less than about 0.5 mm thick in order to avoid any hinge effect which would cancel out the "beam effect" research.

 This material is folded over a width of about 5 to 25 mm so as not to have to use too much material; it is clear, however, that a retreat of a greater width would make it possible, all other things being equal, to have a comparable strengthening effect.

 The characteristics and advantages of the invention will be better understood by reference to the following nonlimiting examples. These examples are illustrated by the drawings of FIGS. 1 to 3.

FIG. 1 represents a perspective of said open filing cabinet,
FIG. 2 is a top view of this open filing cabinet,
- Figure 3 is a section of said open binder, along the axis Il-Il
In the figure, section 1 is indicated, the lateral faces 2 and 2 ′, the lateral edges parallel to section 3 and 3 ′ of this type of binder. We also see the folds of material 4 and 4 'on the side edges. The representation in FIG. 2 of this open filing cabinet according to the invention shows these same folds of material 4 and 4 ′ and suggests that they may exist on the other edges 5. The section of said filing cabinet, shown in FIG. 3, shows on its left part the fold of material 6, produced according to two fold lines, not glued or welded to the inside face of the filing cabinet and on its right part the fold of material 6 ', produced along a fold line, glued or welded on the inside of the filing cabinet.

 Such a filing cabinet, thus reinforced, positioned vertically, will not deform under the weight of its content.

Claims (5)

RE \ 5NDICkTIONS  1. Binder made of rigid thermoplastic material comprising two lateral faces (2, 2 ′) connected by a edge (1), characterized in that it has, on at least one of its edges (4, 5), a reinforcement obtained by folding the thermoplastic material constituting said binder.  2. File cabinet according to claim 1, characterized in that said folding is carried out along at least one of the edges (4).  3. Binder according to claim 1, characterized in that said folding is carried out along at least one of the edges (5).  4. File cabinet according to claim 1, characterized in that said folding is carried out on all the edges (4, 5) of said file cabinet.  5. File according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that said rigid thermoplastic material is polypropylene.