GB2243807A - Binder for holding paper - Google Patents

Abstract

A paper binder consists of a fiat cover (1) with a rigid spine having a pair of upstands (8, 9) each perforated (12, 13) to receive a tying cord (14). The upstands and spine are made integral with the cover and folded from a single piece of sheet material. The spine and upstands may be reinforced. <IMAGE>

Description

BINDERS FOR HOLDING PAPERS This invention relates to binders to hold papers together on the spine of a folder or cover in a booklike form, and which will allow the reader substantially the same flexibility and easy reading as a conventionally bound book.

Binders for holding papers are well known and have been made to varying degrees of sophistication. In the simple form the papers forming the contents of the binder are bound flat against the inside of the back cover and tied down with a flat metal or similar strip.

This makes the binding difficult to open and to fold the pages for reading.

In ring binders the metal rings are affixed to the spine but the wear and tear of the contents is high as the delicate punch holes in the paper cannot stand up to the rigours of the continuous abrasive pulling caused by jerking and moving the pages individually from side to side across a metal, or similar ring. Also the edges of the pages must follow the shape of the ring.

Ring binders are normally opened and closed, to receive or take out paper by means of a spring and/or a lever mechanism.

It is the object of the present invention to provide a binder which is of simple but effective construction and is easy to use for reading and that will tend to allow the same movement and flexibility of the bound pages of a conventionally bound book and will preserve the paper content when in use.

According to this invention there is provided a paper binder comprising a flat rigidly spined cover including a pair of upstands perforated to receive a tying cord.

In this specification the term "cord" is used to include string, shoe-lace type elements, braided elastic and other similarly flexible threadable materials.

The invention also provides for the back up stand to have a pair of perforations corresponding te a similar pair of perforations in the front upstand, the latter including further perforations spaced apart between the pair of perforations.

Further features of the invention provide for the perforations to be eyeleted or otherwise strengthened, for the cover and upstands to be folded from a single piece of sheet material, preferably cardboard, and for the spine to preferably include a reinforcing strip.

The invention also provides for the spine to be made as a pair of superimposed strips to be secured together with the cover sheet located between them.

The tying cord may also have an adjustable stop thereon co-operating with a keyhole slot in the front upstand to secure papers in the binder and clips may be provided on the front upstand to locate the ends of the cord therein.

A preferred embodiment of this invention is described below wherein reference is made to the accompanying drawings in which Fig 1 is an oblique view of the binder partially open; Figs 2 and 3 show details of the formation of the spine; Other features of this invention will become apparent from this description where the preparations and tying cord have been omitted.

As shown,the binder 1 is made from a sheet of cardboard suitably sulcated down its length along lines indicated at numbers 2 to 7.

This enables the sheet to be folded to form the two upstands 8 and 9 of double thickness of the cardboard.

Abutting faces of the thicknesses forming each upstand are secured together. This can be done using double backed pressure-sensitive adhesive tape which will give added strength to the spine. Alternatively the upstands may be secured by stapling or by the application of suitably shaped clips.

This folding and securing leaves a flat spine 10 to the binder which is preferably reinforced by a further strip 11 of cardboard glued or otherwise secured along the length of the spine 10.

Perforations 12 are made in corresponding pairs through the upstands 8 and 9 symmetrical about the middle of the binder and spaced apart the standard distance of 80 mm generally used for punching holes in papers to be held in binders.

Further perforations 13 are made through the front upstand 8 between the perforations 12 and conveniently there can be four equidistantly spaced perforations 13.

All the perforations may have their edges reinforced by eyelets secured in the perforation or strengthened by material secured between the folds forming the upstands.

The papers will be retained in the binder by means of a cord 14 the ends of which will have rigid tips 15 to facilitate threading through the perforations in the upstands and the papers to be retained in the binder.

The front cover may have an opening 16 formed therein extending over the perforations through the front upstand. This will facilitate closing the covers and tying and untying of the cord as and when required.

It will be appreciated that the binder above described can be simple and inexpensively manufactured and mass produced. These are not the only advantages achieved by the invention.

The paper can be bound to stand upright on the spine, as in a conventionally bound book, and the use of the cord 14 for securing the papers gives a flexibility to the separate papers which is not achieved in most other binders and allows flatter opening of the pages against the inside of the front cover. The bound paper contents can be tilted in an upright, or any other, position (like the bound pages of a book) whilst the covers are opened flat. Pages, reading and writing are consequently made easy.

The papers are retained by threading the cord from the back upstand where the cord will preferably be secured so that it will not be lost and will also have equal lengths threaded through perforations 12. The cord will be threaded in shoelace-like manner through perforations 13 so that the ends can be easily tied together in a secure manner.

Wear and tear of the holes punched into the paper of the separate pages is limited as the loosely tied cord and the flexibility of the upstands allows paging without extensive pulling on the edges of punched holes.

Claims (7)

CLAIMS:

1. A paper binder comprising a flat rigidly spined cover including a pair of upstands perforated to receive a tying cord.

2. A paper binder as claimed in claim 1 in which the back upstand has a pair of perforations corresponding to a similar pair of perforations in the front upstand the latter including further perforations spaced apart and located between the pair of perforations.

3. A paper binder as claimed in claim 2 in which the cover and upstands are folded from a single piece of sheet material.

4. A paper binder as claimed in claim 3 in which the sheet material is cardboard, and the spine and upstands include reinforcing material.

5. A paper binder as claimed in claim 3 in which the abutting faces of the material forming the upstands are secured together.

6. A paper binder as claimed in claim 2 in which the upstands together with a spine reinforcing member are made as a unit secured in position to the cover.

7. A paper binder substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.