GB2364962A

GB2364962A - A roll up ring binder

Info

Publication number: GB2364962A
Application number: GB0018532A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Gary John Kellers
Original assignee: Folders Galore Ltd
Current assignee: Folders Galore Ltd
Priority date: 2000-07-27
Filing date: 2000-07-27
Publication date: 2002-02-13
Anticipated expiration: 2020-07-27
Also published as: GB2364962B; GB0018532D0

Abstract

A ring binder 10 with one main back cover 12 which is flexible, so that it can be rolled-up to form the outside of a tube held in such away by a strap 28 with a stud (fig 2, 38), Velcro or possibly a zip. The cover may have multiple creases (fig 2, 18). Also the binder could have a handle 42 and/or a labelling tab 26.

Description

<Desc/Clms Page number 1> A binder The present invention is directed to a binder for retaining one or more sheets of paper or other material, comprising a cover and fastening means attached to the cover to fasten such a sheet or sheets to the binder.

In many existing binders, the cover comprises a front flap, a back flap and a spine, to which fastening means are attached in the form of a loose-leaf binder mechanism. A disadvantage of such a construction is that it cannot readily adapt to different storage. conditions, and sheets which are fastened to it are placed under stress when the binder is stored upright on a shelf, with the weight of those sheets tending to shear the sheets where they are held in place by the mechanism.

The aim of the present invention is to obviate one or more of the foregoing disadvantages.

Accordingly, a first aspect of the present invention is directed to a binder having the construction set out in the opening paragraph of the present specification, in which the cover is flexible so that it can be rolled-up or laid flat and in which the binder further comprises releasable closure means to hold the cover in a rolled-up condition in a releasable manner.

In one advantageous construction of such a binder, the fastening means are attached to the cover on an intended inside thereof, adjacent to an edge thereof. This facilitates rolling-up of the cover with such a sheet or sheets of paper on the inside thereof, and

reduces the total amount of cover needed.

The fastening means may be elongate and generally parallel to the creases. This facilitates a fastening of a sheet or sheets to the binder along a significant length of an edge of such a sheet or sheets without hampering the rolling-up of the cover.

The closure means may comprise a stud fastener. Alternatively, they may comprise Velcro (trade mark).

The binder may be provided with .a handle which is positioned on the cover so as to be at one end of the latter when it is rolled-up. A grip and/or labelling tab may also be secured to the cover so that it is located at one end thereof when the cover is rolled-up.

The cover may comprise a sheet of multi-creased material, the creases being parallel to one another. This reduces the relative positional memory of the cover so that it may more readily be laid flat and stay flat when it is opened up.

Indeed, a second aspect of the present invention is directed to a cover comprising a sheet of multi-creased material, the creases being parallel to one another.

For both the first and second aspects of the present invention, such creases are preferably uniformly spaced apart from one another to facilitate a uniform curvature of the cover when it is rolled-up.

Advantageously, the cover may comprise a sheet of card with a multiplicity of grooves or slots formed in it, the grooves or slots being generally parallel to one

another and being spaced apart (preferably uniformly) across the cover, and a sheet-covering which covers the card on at least one S4 de thereof, the sheet-coverir_g itself being flexible to enable the cover as a whole to bend at each groove or slot, so that the creases of the cover are defined by each groove or slot with its adjacent sheet-covering.

If the creases are formed by slots in the card, the card may be encapsulated in a plastics material. The latter may be welded together through the slots by high frequency or thermal welding. For this purpose, the plastics material preferably comprises polyvinylchloride.

In the event that the creases are formed by grooves in the sheet material, these are preferably precision depth grooves to facilitate a uniform curvature of the cover when it is rolled-up.

An example of a cover and a binder made in accordance with the present invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a plan view of the binder with the latter laid flat, viewing the inside thereof; Figure 2 is a plan view of the binder laid flat, viewing the outside of the latter; Figure 3 shows a plan view of the binder laid flat, in use with sheets of paper fastened thereto, viewing the inside of the binder; and

Figure 4 shows the binder of Figure 3 with fastened sheets of paper, rolled-up.

The binder 10 shown in Figures 1 to 4 comprises a sheet of grey board or card 12 within an external sheetcovering 14 covering the outside of the cover and an internal sheet-covering 16 covering the inside of the cover. The card 12 is formed with a series of parallel uniformly spaced apart grooves 18 pressed to a precision depth inwardly from the intended outside thereof, with protruding ribs 19 at the same time being formed or_ the intended inside of the card 12 in registration with the grooves 18 to facilitate rolling-up of the cover with the outside being convex and the curvature of rolling-up being substantially uniform. The sheet coverings 14 and 16 are everywhere in contact with the card 12, so that they follow and reproduce the grooves 18 and the ribs 19 on their outsides. The grooves 18 with the associated coverings 14 and 16 thereby define creases within the cover.

Elongate fastening means in the form of a loose-leaf ring binding mechanism 20 is secured by rivets 22 to the cover 12. One rivet 22 is at one end of the mechanism 20 and another rivet 22 is at the other end thereof, so that the mechanism 20 is parallel to the grooves 18 and is adjacent to one edge 24 of the cover 12. A tab 26 of polypropylene plastics material is secured to the cover 12 by one of the rivets 22.

A polypropylene plastics strap 28 is secured to the

cover 12 by means of a rivet 30 located centrally of and adjacent to the edge 32 of the cover 12 on the opposite side thereof to the edge 24. The strap 28 has a series of uniformly spaced apart securing holes 34 and with uniformly spaced apart parallel score lines 36, one between each pair of adjacent holes 34. The scores 34 are parallel to the grooves 18 when the strap 28 extends perpendicularly away from the edge 32.

A securing stud 38 is attached to the cover 12 by means of a rivet 40 at a position which is central between intended upper and lower edges of the cover 12, somewhat closer to the edge 24 than to the edge 32.

An elongate strip 42 of polycarbonate plastics material is secured to the cover 12 by means of rivets 44 so that the strip 42 extends adjacent to an intended upper edge of the cover 12.

When the binder is in use, one or more sheets of paper 50 may be held in a loose-leaf fashion by the loose-leaf ring binding mechanism 20. When the binder is to be prepared for storage, it may be rolled-up with the outside of the cover 12 at the edge 24 being then positioned adjacent to the inside of the cover 12, and the strap 28 may be used to secure the cover in this rolled-up fashion with the sheet or sheets of paper 50 on the inside thereof by pushing the stud 38 through an appropriately selected one of the holes 34 in the strap 38. The binder and its contents then appear cylindrical in shape as shown in Figure 4, and can be carried by

means of the strip 42 pivoted outwardly to the position it has shown in broken lines in Figure 4, in which it acts as a handle. Subsequently, the strap 28 may be pulled from the stud 38, so that the binder and contents may be unrolled and laid flat for viewing of the contents. The nature of the creases in the cover reduces the extent to which the cover will naturally curl up.

Numerous variations and modifications to the illustrated binder may occur to the reader without taking the resulting construction outside the scope of the present invention. For example, instead of the loose- leaf ring binder mechanism 20, there may be provided a clip fastening means, wire binding means, or even a simple tab cut in the cover 12 so that the tab may be lifted over and above one side of a sheet or a sheaf of papers while the other side of that sheet or sheaf rests on the inside of that cover. This latter form of fastening means avoids the need for the sheet or sheets which are held by the binder to be punctured.

A sheet of clear plastics material (not shown) may be secured to the loose-leaf ring binder mechanism or other fastening means, or_ top of such sheets of paper or other material to protect the latter when the binder is laid flat. Such a protective sheet may be transparent or translucent to enable printed material to be seen therethrough, and markings may be placed on the transparent or translucent sheet to refer to printing appearing underneath that sheet without marking the paper

or other sheet on which the print appears.

The size of the binder may be anything in the range from sizes appropriate to keep small sheets of paper, such as A5 sheets or smaller, a11 the way to A1 size drawings.

The handle 42 is useful for carrying the binder and its contents and/or for pulling a selected binder from a stack of such binders stored on a shelf. The tab 26 may carry a label to identify the binder contents, and/or for pulling a selected binder from a stack of such binders stored on a shelf.

The illustrated binder is effective in protecting the sheet or sheets it contains better from the weather, dirt and grime than a conventional binder, is more easily transported, and can be readily stored vertically with other such binders, for example in a tote bin, and retrieved from such storage.

The binder can be made lighter than a conventional binder because it does not need a full front flap, rear flap and spine, and can act more readily as an envelope for mailing purposes. It can retain drawings, maps, charts and paintings in a fashion which is less likely to be damaging. It can be easily cleaned.

When rolled-up, the binder has great strength against bending and crushing forces.

Laminate paper may be used instead of polyvinylchloride sheets for the sheet-coverings 14 and 16.

The closure means may comprise a zip fastener (not shown) instead of the strap 28 and stud 38.

Generally disc-shaped sheets of polypropylene plastics material (not shown) may be provided on the binder and secured by studs, to cover the opposite ends of the cover when it is rolled up.

A strip of polypropylene plastics material (not shown) may be secured by rivets to the outside of the cover or binder, parallel to the grooves 18, with elongate slots through which the rivets extend to enable the strip to be curved outwardly from the binder and used as a handle.

Claims

Claims: 1. A binder for retaining one or more sheets of paper or other material, comprising a cover and fastening means attached to the cover to fasten such a sheet or sheets to the binder, in which the cover is flexible so that it can be rolled-up or laid flat and in which the binder further comprises releasable closure means to hold the cover in a rolled-up condition in a releasable manner.
2. A binder according to claim 1, in which the fastening means are attached to the cover on an intended inside thereof, adjacent to an edge thereof.
3. A binder according to claim 1 or claim 2, in which the fastening means are elongate and generally parallel to the roll-up axis of the binder.
4. A binder according to any preceding claim, in which the closure means comprise a stud fastener.
5. A binder according to any one of claims 1 to 4, in which the closure means comprise a fastener in the form of a multiplicity of hooks or loops.
6. A binder according to any preceding claim, provided with a handle which is positioned on the cover, so as to be at one end of the latter when it is rolled-up. i. A binder according to any preceding claim, in which a grip and/or labelling tab is secured to the cover so that it is located at one end thereof when the cover is rolled-up. 8. A binder according to any preceding claim, in which the cover comprises a sheet of multi-creased material,

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the creases being parallel to one another. 9. A cover comprising a sheet of multi-creased material, the creases being parallel to one another. 10. A binder or a cover as the case may be, according to claim 8 or claim 9, in which the creases are uniformly spaced apart from one another to facilitate a uniform curvature of the cover when it is rolled-up. 11. A binder or a cover as the case may be, according to any one of claims 8 to 10, in which the cover comprises a sheet of card with a multiplicity of grooves or slots formed in it, the grooves or slots being generally parallel to one another and being spaced apart across the cover, and a sheet-covering which covers the card on at least one side thereof, the sheet-covering itself being flexible to enable the cover as a whole to bend at each groove or slot, so that the creases of the cover are defined by each groove or slot with its adjacent sheetcovering. 12. A binder or a cover as the case may be, according to claim 11, in which the creases are formed by slots in the card, and the card is encapsulated in a plastics material. 13. A binder or a cover as the case may be, according to claim 12, in which the plastics material is welded together through the slots by high frequency or thermal welding. 14. A binder or a cover as the case may be, according to any one of claims 8 to 13, in which the creases are

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formed by grooves in the sheet material. 15. A binder or a cover as the case may be, according to claim 14, in which the grooves are precision depth grooves to facilitate a uniform curvature of the cover when it is rolled-up. 16. A binder or a cover as the case may be, according to any preceding claim, in which the cover comprises polyvinylchloride. 17. A binder o- a cover substantially as described herein with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.