GB2074102A - Clamping mechanism for a document file - Google Patents

Abstract

A document file clamp comprises a flexible plastic tubing (12) which is secured to a file by being threaded through punched holes in the file documents and then through holes (18) in a clamping plate (20). The ends of the tubing (12) are secured so as to hold the documents (16) firmly in place by passing them beneath two transversely extending flanges (22) which are provided with lips (24) to prevent the tubing (12) being accidentally dislodged. The tubing 12 can be formed in three portions and the two end portions (28) can be fitted onto lugs (26) on the edge of the clamping plate (20) to provide a U-shaped clamp loosely retaining the documents. Separation of the end portions (28) from the middle portion then provides a transfer element to hold papers while others are inserted or removed. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Clamping mechanisms for document files The present invention relates to document files for storing documents with punched holes, in particular clamping mechanisms for securing the documents in such files.

It is known for clamping mechanism for use in such files to be made entirely of plastics material and these are generally considered to be safer than clamping mechanisms consisting of sharp-edged metal parts which may not only damage the documents within the file but also injure the file's user.

The mechanism usuaily comprises a length of flexible plastic tubing which is fixed, either directly to the file itself, orto an anchoring plate in such a way that its two ends are free. The free ends of the tubing are threaded through holes punched in the document and then through holes formed in a clamping plate. The plate then slides along the two ends of the tubing until the documents are firmly held between the plate and the file and the ends of the tubing are then secured by passing each end under a raised flange formed on the clamping plate.

Unfortunately this arrangement has two main disadvantages. Once the documents are clamped in the file they cannot be easily turned over like the leaves of a book and become rather inaccessible. Also, the addition of new pages in among the documents already in the file requires time-consuming unthreading and rethreading of the documents on the plastic tubing.

In the past, these problems have been overcome by including in the file a third plastic component in the form of a rectangular U-shaped plastic element whose free ends are shaped to fit snugly into the free ends of the plastic tubing.

In order to make the pages easier to turn, the clamping plate is removed and the U-shaped element is plugged in to the ends of the tubing so that the documents are mounted on a closed loop of plastic material which is large enough to enable the pages to be turned quite easily. If pages are to be added to the middle of a pile of documents in such a file, the documents which are to remain on top of the new additions are transferred to the U-shaped element which is then disconnected from the tubing.

The new pages are threaded onto the tubing and the U-shaped transfer element reconnected. Once all the pages have been returned to the tubing the transfer element can be removed and the clamping plate fixed in place. Documents can safely be transferred from one file to another in a similar manner.

Obviously, the inclusion of this extra component increases the cost of the file and, so that the transfer element does not get lost, it is usually kept permanently attached to the ends of the tubing and must be removed every time the clamping plate is removed. This increases the time taken to release the mechanism.

In accordance with the invention there is provided a clamping mechanism for a document file comprising two elongated flexible members, each of which is secured at one end to a file and each of which passes through holes punched in documents to be filed and through one of a pair of longitudinallyspaced holes formed in a clamping plate; the free end of each flexible member being secured to clamp the documents by passing it beneath a retaining flange lying in a plane parallel to that of the plate; the clamping plate being provided with means for connecting the free ends of the flexible members to spaced points on the clamping plate when the flexible members are not threaded through the plate, thereby forming a closed loop which loosely secures the documents to the file, enabling the documents to be turns easily.

The clamping mechanism in accordance with the invention has no separate transfer element but incorporates a dual-purpose clamping plate thus making the mechanism more economical and at the same time more efficient since there is only a single part which is disconnected and reconnected in one of two positions depending on the operation to be performed.

One embodiment of a clamping mechanism in accordance with the invention will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Fig. 1 shows an elevation of a clamping mechanism in accordance with the invention, Fig. 2 shows a section through the clamping mechanism of Fig. 1 and, Fig. 3 shows the clamping mechanism of Figs. 1 and 2 with the clamping plate and tube arranged for the transfer of documents; and Fig. 4 shows a modified version of the clamping mechanism of Fig. 1.

The clamping mechanism shown in the drawings is mounted on a flap 10 close to the spine of a file used for storing documents with punched holes. A length of flexible tubing 12 is secured to the flap 10 by threading it through four holes 14 spaced along the length of the flap 10 as shown in Fig. 3.

The documents or papers 16 which are to be stored in the file are threaded onto the tubing 12 and the ends of the tubing 12 are then threaded through two holes 18 formed in a clamping plate 20. The clamping plate 20 is pushed along the tubing until it lays flat against the papers 16 clamping them firmly against the flap 10, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. The ends of the tubing 12 are then secured by passing them beneath two flanges 22 formed on the clamp ing plate 20.

The flanges 22 extend transversely across the plate 20 so that the trapped ends for the tubing 12 lie along the length of the plate 20 and not across the papers 16 in the file. The flanges 22 are each provided with a lip 24 which prevents the ends of the tubing 12 escaping from beneath the flanges 22.

If it is necessary for the papers 16 to be turned like the pages of a book the ends of the tubing 12 are released from beneath the flanges 22 and the clamp ing plate 20 is removed. Two lugs 26 formed on the edge of the plate 20 are inserted into the open free ends of the tubing 12 so that the papers 16 are prevented from being inadvertently unthreaded from the tubing 12 and are loosely secured within the file so that they can easily be turned.

If it is desired to add papers to the file between those already there, a U-shaped transfer element 34 becomes necessary. This is formed by two detachable portions 28 of the tubing 12 which are detached from the central portion 30 and located on the lugs 26 on the clamping plate 20 as shown in Fig. 3. The three portions of the tubing 12 are joined by means of cylindrical members 32 formed on the ends of the detachable portions 28 which fit snugly into the open ends of the central portion 30.

The tubing 12 and the clamping plate 20 are joined to form a closed loop and any papers 16 which are to remain in front of the additional pages are slid onto the parallel detachable portions 28 which are then removed together with the clamping plate 20. The additional pages can then be threaded onto the remaining central portion of the tubing 30 before the members 32 are relocated in its open ends and the papers 16 are returned from the arms 28 ofthetrans- fer element 34 to the central portion 30. The clamping plate lugs 26 are disconnected from the tubing 12 and the clamping plate 20 can then be used to secure the papers 16 in the file as described above.

The transfer element 34 can also be used to safely transfer papers from one file to another without time-consuming unthreading and rethreading being necessary.

Figure 4 shows a modified clamping arrangement in which the clamping plate 20 is shaped so that each of the lugs 26 extends from a recessed portion 36 of the edge of the plate 20. The lugs 26 do not project beyond the edge of the plate 20 and, as a result, are less likely to be broken off during handling of the mechanism.

The clamping mechanism of Figure 4 also illustrates an alternative arrangement of the flanges 22.

Each flange 22 is positioned relative to its associated hole 18 in the clamping plate 20 so that the two flanges 22 are displaced towards the same side of the respective hole. When the free ends of the tubing 30 are located undertheflanges 22 in this arrangement, they extend along the spine of the file 10 in the same direction.

Claims (13)

1. A clamping mechanism for a document file comprising two elongated flexible members, each of which is secured at one end to a file and each of which passes through holes punched in documents to be filed and through one of a pair of longitudinally-spaced holes formed in a clamping plate; the free end of each flexible member being secured to clamp the documents by passing it beneath a retaining flange lying in a plane parallel to that of the plate; the clamping plate being provided with means for connecting the free ends of the flexible members to spaced points on the clamping plate when the flexible members are not threaded through the plate, thereby forming a closed loop which loosely secures the documents to the file, enabling the documents to be turned easily.

2. A clamping mechanism as claimed in claim 1 in which the retaining flanges extend transversely across the clamping plate and are each positioned between one of the holes and the nearer end of the plate so that each flexible member, when passed beneath the flange, lies along the length of the plate.

3. A clamping mechanism according to claim 1 in which the retaining flanges extend transversely across the clamping plate and are positioned relative to the holes so that both flexible members, when passed beneath the flanges, extend along the length ofthe plate in the same direction.

4. A clamping mechanism as claimed in any preceding claim in which each retaining flange is provided with a lip extending in a direction perpendicular to the plane of the flange, to prevent the flexible member being accidently dislodged from beneath the flange.

5. A clamping mechanism as claimed in any of the preceding claims in which the two flexible members comprise the two end portions of a single elongated flexible member whose central portion is secured to the file.

6. A clamping mechanism as claimed in any of the preceding claims which comprises a detachable portion at the free end of each flexible member.

7. A clamping mechanism as claimed in any of the preceding claims in which the free ends of the flexible members are tubular.

8. A clamping mechanism as claimed in claim 7 in which the connecting means for connecting the free ends of the flexible members to the clamping plate comprise two lugs longitudinally spaced along an edge of the plate for locating in the open tubular ends of the flexible member.

9. A clamping mechanism according to claim 8 in which each lug extends from a recessed portion of the edge of the plate so that it does not project beyond the longitudinal edge of the plate.

10. A clamping mechanism as claimed in claim 6 in which the end of one portion of the flexible member at each junction between a detachable portion and the remainder of the flexible member is provided with an element for locating in a tubular section at the end of the other portion to join the two portions together.

11. A clamping mechanism as claimed in any of the preceding claims in which the flexible members are tubular.

12. A clamping mechanism as claimed in any of the preceding claims in which the flexible members and the clamping plate are of plastics material.

13. A clamping mechanism substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.