GB2167348A

GB2167348A - Sheet-gripping device

Info

Publication number: GB2167348A
Application number: GB08422031A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Gillian Del Bridge; Denis Michael Comber
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1984-08-31
Filing date: 1984-08-31
Publication date: 1986-05-29
Also published as: GB8422031D0

Abstract

The invention provides a device which can be operated with one hand, both for the insertion and for the removal of a sheet. One embodiment includes a composite member including a flat portion (1) and a curved portion (2) having a serrated edge (3). A further flat member (6) is hingedly connected to the member (1) at (7). A leaf spring (8) urges the surface of the member (6) into engagement with the serrated edge (3). In alternative embodiments, the device is made of a single composite member, the flat portion being urged resiliently into contact with the edge by the resilience of the material, which may be synthetic resin, or may be metallic, e.g. steel or aluminum. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Improvements in or relating to sheet-retaining devices This invention relates to sheet-retaining devices. The term "sheet" is used herein to include sheets of paper, documents, films, cards, fabric and wall-paper samples, and the like.

Devices are known for holding sheets of paper and the like. Many of these are arranged so that they can be mounted on a vertical surface such as a wall. The sheet of paper can then be inserted in the device so that it is held in a vertical position. Many of these devices require two hands for the insertion of a sheet. In particular the known device may be in the form of a spring clip which has to be opened by manual pressure to enable the sheet to be inserted. However there is a requirement for a device which can be operated with one hand, and accordingly a device has been designed to include a number of balls or rollers retained in a channel member, open at the bottom and having inclined walls. In this arrangement the rollers or balls fall to the bottom of the channel under the influence of gravity and, because of the inclined wall, are urged against the opposite wall.With this arrangement a sheet can be inserted through the bottom of the channel and contact between the upper edge of the sheet and the balls or rollers will lift the balls or rollers sufficiently to enable the sheet to pass between the balls or rollers and one wall of the channel. When the sheet is released, the balls or rollers will drop under the influence of gravity to hold the sheet against said wall of the channel. These devices are used extensively, for example for holding X-ray films for examination. They are convenient for the insertion of the films but do not always operate satisfactorily with one hand for the removal of the films.

There is also a requirement, in the case of certain handicapped persons, for a device which can be operated with a toe, with a stick or the like held in the mouth, or with some other limb. It will also be understood that, in the care of handicapped persons, the only form of operation available may be a simple pressure operation rather than a gripping operation or an operation involving tactile or like dexterity as would be available to a nonhandicapped person. Accordingly references herein to single-handed operation are also to be taken as including other analogous forms of operation.

It is, thus, an object of the present invention to provide a sheet-retaining device which can readily be operated with one hand, both for the insertion and for the removal of a sheet.

From one aspect the invention consists in a sheet-retaining device comprising a first member having a substantially flat surface, a second member having an edge portion facing the flat surface of said first member and fixed in relation thereto, and a third member having a substantially flat surface resiliently urged towards said edge portion, said third member being capable of being moved away from said edge portion and towards the flat surface of said first member to enable a sheet to be inserted between said edge portion and said surface of said third member so that said sheet is retained between said edge portion and said surface of said third member by said resilience.

In some embodiments of the invention the first, second and third members are separate members joined together. However, normally at least the first and second members will be parts of a single composite member. For example the composite member may include a flat sheet constituting the first member, one edge of the sheet being bent round to form the second member. The third member may be hingedly connected to the first member, and in this case a spring is provided to urge the second member resiliently towards the edge portion of the second member. This spring may be a leaf spring, or a coil spring, secured at one end to the first member and having its other end in engagement with the third member. Alternatively the spring may be a torsion spring incorporated in the hinge connection between the first and third members.

In yet another embodiment of the invention the first, second and third members are all constituted by a single composite member. In this case the composite member will be in the form of a strip of material, one end of which is curved round to constitute the second member, and the other end of which is folded back to form the third member.

When the third member is separate from the first and second members, all parts of the device may be formed of metal. This may be steel or aluminium, for example, but if aluminium is used it will normally be necessary for a steel spring to be used to urge the third member towards the edge portion of the second member. When all three members form parts of a single composite member, the device can still be formed of sheet steel for example. However in this case it is preferred that the device should be formed of a synthetic resin material. When synthetic resin material is used, parts of the device can be made rigid, and parts resiliently flexible, by suitable choice of the thickness of the material and the cross-sectional shape thereof. One particular form of synthetic resin material which has been found suitable is A.B.S. (acrylonitrile butadiene styrene).

From another aspect the invention consists in any features of novelty, taken singly or in combination, of the embodiments of the in vention shown in the accompanying diagrammatic drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a plan view of a first embodiment of the invention; Figure 2 is a side view of the embodiment illustrated in Fig. 1; Figure 3 is an end view of the embodiment illustrated in Fig. 1; Figure 4 is a plan view of a second embodiment of the invention; Figure 5 is a side view of the embodiment illustrated in Fig. 4; Figure 6 is a side view of a third embodiment of the invention; and Figure 7 is a side view of a fourth embodiment of the invention.

The embodiment of the invention illustrated in Fig. 1 includes a composite aluminium member forming the first member 1 and the second member 2. As can be seen, the first member 1 is flat and the second member 2 is circular in cross section, extending from one edge of the first member and terminating in an edge 3. This edge is serrated to enable it to grip the sheet to be retained. Alternatively the required friction may be provided by the use of a knife-edge or by the addition of friction material either in the form of a coating or in the form of a separate component secured to the second member. The composite member is also formed with an extension 4 having a keyhole slot 5 for use in securing the device to a wall or the like. The third member of the device is formed by a further aluminium sheet 6 which is hingedly connected to the composite sheet at 7.A steel leaf spring 8 is secured to the composite member by a rivet 9 and bears against the third member 6 at 10.

The steel spring is arranged to urge the surface of the member 6 into engagement with the serrated edge 3.

It will be seen that if a sheet of paper or the like is pressed against the surface of the member 6, the member 6 will be caused to rotate about the hinge 7 against the force of the spring 8. This movement will separate the surface of the member 6 from the serrated edge 3 so that the sheet can be slid between the member 6 and the edge 3 so that a portion of it is located on the space 11. When pressure against the member 6 is released, the spring 8 will return the member 6 towards the edge 3. As a result, the sheet will be trapped between the member 6 and the edge 3. When it is desired to remove the sheet from the device, it is only necessary to press the sheet again against the member 6, rotating it against the action of the spring. The sheet can then be slid in the reverse direction so that it is no longer retained between the edge 3 and the member 6.

The embodiment illustrated in Figs. 4 and 5 is generally similar to that illustrated in Figs.

1-3. In this case, however, the composite member is formed of sheet steel, and it will be seen that the member 2 has a generally rectangular shape instead of the circular shape of the member shown in Figs. 1-3.

The embodiment shown in Fig. 6 differs from the first two embodiments in that all the three members are formed from a single piece of synthetic resin material. In this case the hinge 7 is replaced by an extensioh 13 having such a thickness that the portion 6 can be moved towards, and away from the edge 3 but is resiliently returned towards the edge 3 when pressure is released. As already mentioned, the synthetic resin material may be, for example, A.B.S. (acrylonitrile butadiene styrene).

The embodiment shown in Fig. 7 is generally similar to that shown in Fig. 6 except that the three members are formed from a single piece of spring steel or similar metal. In this case the hinge 7 is replaced by the curved portion 12.

It is to be understood that a device in accordance with the invention may include a plurality of separate third members. In such an arrangement the second member may be, for example, a relatively long inverted channelshaped member having a longitudinally extending edge portion with which the plurality of third members cooperate. A device of this kind may be used, for example, for suspending a plurality of sheets, samples, or the like side by side. In another embodiment the channel-shaped member is bent round into a circle so that the suspended items hang on the surface of a cylinder. Such an arrangement may be fitted on, or form part of, a carousel.

Claims

1. A sheet-retaining device comprising a first member having a substantially flat surface, a second member having an edge portion facing the flat surface of said first member and fixed in relation thereto, and a third member having a substantially flat surface resiliently urged towards said edge portion, said third member being capable of being moved away from said edge portion and towards the flat surface of said first member to enable a sheet to be inserted between said edge portion and said surface of said third member so that said sheet is retained between said edge portion and said surface of said third member by said resilience.

2. A device as claimed in Claim 1, wherein the first, second and third members are separate members joined together.

3. A device as claimed in Claim 1, wherein the first and second members are parts of a single composite member.

4. A device as claimed in Claim 3, wherein the composite member includes a flat sheet constituting the first member, one edge of the sheet being bent round to form the second member.

5. A device as claimed in any of the pre ceding Claims, wherein the third member is hingedly connected to the first member.

6. A device as claimed in Claim 5, wherein a spring is provided to urge the second member resiliently towards the edge portion of the second member.

7. A device as claimed in Claim 6, wherein the spring is a leaf spring.

8. A device as claimed in Claim 6, wherein the spring is a coil spring.

9. A device as claimed in Claim 7 or Claim 8, wherein one end of the spring is secured to the first member while the other end of the spring is in engagement with the third member.

10. A device as claimed in Claim 7 and Claim 8, wherein one end of the spring is secured to the third member and the other end of the spring is in engagement with the first member.

11. A device as claimed in Claim 6, wherein the spring is a torsion spring incorporated in the hinge connection between the first and third members.

12. A device as claimed in Claim 1 or Claim 2, wherein the first, second and third members are all constituted by a single composite member.

13. A device as claimed in Claim 12, wherein the composite member is in the form of a strip of material, one end of which is curved round to constitute the second member, and the other end of which is folded back to form the third member.

14. A device as claimed in Claim 13, wherein said material is sheet steel.

15. A device as claimed in Claim 12, wherein the composite member is moulded from synthetic resin material, parts of the composite member being relatively rigid and parts resiliently flexible in dependence on the thickness of the material and the cross-sectional shape thereof.

16. A device as claimed in Claims 1 to 11, wherein all parts of the device are formed of metal.

17. A device as claimed in Claim 16, wherein said metal is steel.

18. A device as claimed in Claim 16, wherein the first, second and third members are formed of aluminium and wherein a steel spring is provided to urge the third member towards the edge portion of the second member.

19. A sheet-retaining device substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to Figs. 1, 2 and 3, Figs. 4 and 5, Fig. 6, or Fig.

7 of the accompanying diagrammatic drawings.

20. Any features of novelty, taken singly or in combination, of the sheet-retaining device hereinbefore described and illustrated in the accompanying diagrammatic drawings.