IL113529A - Suspension file and method for sheet film and transparent envelopes - Google Patents

Description

m n \y mDOym o> ip\y ιι.ϋ ηυ>\>η n> m p>n SUSPENSION FILE AND METHOD SHEET FILM AND TRANSPARENT ENVELOPES 9.1.1996 D-2 301-95b.doc FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a suspension system specifically adapted for storing and retrieving sheet film or plastic envelopes. The suspension system of this invention is particularly suited for filing different size sheet films and for screening them without having to take them out of the file.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Suspension files have been used for a long time for filing, storing and retrieving various types of documents. These files generally comprise conventional filing envelopes or folders, to which have been added suspension means and possibly indexing means for filing the suspension files in some organized fashion. Documents are held within the suspension files by means of flexible metal prongs which are threaded through holes in the document and bent over to hold the document in place. Sheet films, such as X-rays or film plates for printing, which are transparent and generally comprised of flexible plastic materials, are very inconveniently stored in suspension files. Usually such films must be stored in envelopes, since it is undesirable to make holes in the films themselves. Therefore, if one wishes to find a particular film, one has to take the films out of their envelopes or out of the folder for perusal in order to find what one is looking for, and this is very time consuming. Another problem with filing films or plastic envelopes is that these generally come in a variety of sizes, contrary to paper documents which are usually of fairly uniform dimensions. Photo films and other small sized films such as microfilms are usually stored in such manner that does not enable browsing while they are stored.

There thus is a great need for an orderly filing system for sheet films of varying dimensions which can easily be suspended, perused, taken out of and put back into a cabinet or other storage means.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is the object of the present invention to provide a suspension system for sheet films and plastic envelopes and similar objects without making holes in them.

A further object of the invention is to provide a suspension element for holding, storing, and retrieving sheet film and plastic envelopes of varying dimensions in an orderly and easily retrievable manner.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a suspension element for holding and storing sheet film and plastic envelopes in a filing system so that they can easily be viewed without removing them from the file.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a suspension file comprising such a suspension element.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a method of storing and retrieving plastic sheet material.

In accordance with the invention there is thus provided a suspension system for plastic sheet material comprising: a base sheet and a suspension element attached to the base sheet, the element including: a first strip attached to the base sheet and having an exposed adhesive release surface, a second strip hingedly mounted on the base sheet, proximate to the. first strip and having an adhesive surface at least partially overlapping said adhesive release surface to enable the adhesive overlapping surface of the second strip to be easily lifted off the release surface of the first strip, whereby plastic sheet material inserted between the first and second strips sticks to the adhesive surface of the second strip, thereby becoming hingedly attached to the base sheet and whereby, when the adhesive surface of the second strip is lifted off the plastic sheet material, the plastic sheet material is released from the base sheet.

According to a preferred embodiment, the base sheet has an associated suspension means for filing in a suspension filing system.

One embodiment of the present invention is characterized in that said adhesive second strip is semirigid or rigid.

In a preferred embodiment, the base sheet or second strip includes indexing means.

In a further preferred embodiment, the adhesive second strip includes tab means to assist lifting the tape off the adhesive release surface and plastic sheet material .

The base sheet of the suspension system may also comprise an envelope or pocket for holding documents. Moreover, in accordance with this invention, not only single plastic sheets, such as film sheets, can be stored on the base sheet, but also plastic envelopes. The plastic sheets or films that can be stored do not have to be uniform in size and different dimension films can be stored simultaneously on a single base sheet, each film being held by a separate suspension element. The suspension element may also comprise a single length of adhesive release tape to hold more than one sheet of film or plastic envelope.

Thus, in accordance with this invention, it is possible to mount several suspension elements on a single base sheet to form a suspension file. This can be accomplished by either having each suspension element (i.e., each set of adhesive and respective release tapes) spaced at a distance from one another, or having them partly overlap.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The present invention will be more fully understood and appreciated from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the drawings, in which - Fig. 1 is a plan view of a suspension file in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention; Fig. 2 is a side view of a suspension file in accordance with the present invention; and Fig. 3 illustrates another embodiment of a suspension file in accordance with the invention.

Fig. 4 is a plan view of another embodiment of a suspension file in accordance with the present invention; and Fig. 5 is a side sectional view of an alternative embodiment of the suspension file of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a suspension system for plastic sheet material and a suspension element for use in the suspension system. For purposes of the present invention, the term "plastic sheet material" is intended to include all sheet material that has a smooth surface releasably attachable to an adhesive strip and that is resistant to tearing when such an adhesive strip is pulled off therefrom. Such sheets include, but are not limited to, films, sheeting formed of rigid and semi-rigid polymers, such as polyethylene, polypropylene, polyester, nylon, as well as thin methal sheets.

The suspension system includes a base sheet made of plastic or other suitable material, and a suspension element attached thereto. Suitable materials for the base sheet include any material having a rigid surface to which a suspension element can adhere, including plastics, paper, cardboard, wood, glass, and even some textiles.

Preferably, the base sheet is associated with a hanging element for storing the suspension system in a file cabinet or other conventional filing location. However, a wall can also serve as a suitable base sheet for the suspension elements of this invention.

Referring now to Figs. 1-2, there is shown a suspension file 10 comprising a sheet of plastic material 12 having a sleeve 14 on its upper end, which sleeve can be made by folding the sheet material 12 over itself and heat sealing it 15 at its lower edge. Alternatively, a separate piece of plastic can be heat sealed onto the sheet 12 to form the sleeve 14. Through the sleeve 14 there is inserted a suspension rod 16 with terminal hooks 17 adapted for hanging over suitable rods in a filing cabinet. The suspension file 10 is also provided with indexing means 18 which may provide pockets 20 for inserting removable labels. Suspension elements formed of first adhesive strips 22 and second adhesive strips 26 are affixed to suspension file 10. First adhesive strips 22, which may be strips of tape, having adhesive surfaces on one side and adhesive release surfaces 24 on the other side, are affixed to the plastic sheet 12 with the adhesive release surfaces 24 exposed. Second adhesive strips 26, which may be adhesive tapes, are mounted on plastic sheet 12, with the adhesive surfaces 28 partly overlapping the adhesive release surfaces 24, enabling the adhesive surfaces 28 of strips 26 to be easily lifted from the release surfaces 24. To help lift the strips 26 from the adhesive surfaces 24, tabs 30 are attached to the adhesive strips 26. Sheets of film 32, when placed between the -adhesive surfaces 28 of strip 26 and the adhesive release surfaces 24, adhere to the adhesive strips 26, and become hingedly attached 34 to the plastic sheet 12. Films 32 can therefore be pivoted and viewed without having to be removed from the suspension file 10. As shown in Fig. 1, the plastic sheet material 12 may comprise a pocket 36 which may hold regular paper, such as reports, comments or instructions regarding films stored in the file 10.

In another embodiment of the invention shown in Fig. 3, the suspension means 17A are adapted for a filing system based on adjacent parallel suspension rods. In the embodiment shown in Fig. 3, the indexing means 18 are not on top of the file but rather on one side thereof. Films thus stored are readily browsed without removing from the file and can easily be found and identified.

Referring to Figs. 4 and 5 there is shown a suspension file in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention. Suspension file 40 includes a base sheet 42, here shown with associated suspension means 44. Sheet 42 can be formed of any suitable material to which suspension elements can be attached.

Suspension file 40 further includes a plurality of suspension elements 46 for releasably retaining plastic films 45, and/or sheet material 47, 49. Suspension elements 46 are substantially similar to those described and illustrated with reference to Fig. 1. The suspension elements 46 illustrated in Fig. 4 constitute individual patches. These can be of various sizes. Thus, elements 46 can be arranged in any desired order on base sheet 42, depending on the size and number of plastic films or sheets to be suspended thereon.

As shown in side view in Fig. 5, each element 46 consists of a first strip 48 and a second strip 54. The first strip 48 has an adhesive surface 50 on one side and an adhesive release surface 52 on the other side, and is affixed to sheet 42 with the adhesive release surface 52 exposed. The second strip 54 is mounted on sheet 42 above strip 48, and has an adhesive surface 56 hingedly 58 overlapping the adhesive release surface 52, enabling the adhesive surface 56 of strip 54 to be easily lifted from the release surface 52.

The second adhesive strip 54 of suspension elements 46 may alternatively have a semi-rigid or rigid hinged overlapping section 43. Overlapping section 43 could be formed, for example, by inserting or laminating a rigid or semi-rigid element 41 thereto to make it stiffer and easier to lift from the release surface 52 and from the plastic sheet material 51. To further help lift overlapping sections 43 from the adhesive release surfaces 52 and plastic sheet material 51, tab 53 may be attached to the end of the overlapping section 43. It will be appreciated that this embodiment is suitable for use with adhesive strips of any size or length, and these are not restricted to the dimensions illustrated in the drawings by way of example .

It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the invention is not limited to what has been shown and described hereinabove by way of example. Rather, the scope of the invention is defined solely by the claims which follow.

Claims (15)

113529/2 C L A I M S

1. A suspension system for plastic sheet material comprising: a base sheet; and a suspension element attached to said base sheet, said element including: a first strip affixed to said base sheet and having an exposed adhesive release surface, a second strip hingedly mounted on said base sheet, proximate to said first sheet, and having an adhesive surface at least partially overlapping said adhesive release surface to enable said overlapping adhesive surface of said second strip to be easily lifted off said release surface of said first strip, whereby plastic sheet material inserted between said first and second strips, sticks to said adhesive surface of said second strip, thereby becoming hingedly attached to the base sheet and whereby, when said adhesive surface of said second strip is lifted off the plastic sheet material, the plastic sheet material is released from said base sheet.

2. A suspension system in accordance with claim 1, further comprising indexing means.

3. A suspension system in accordance with any of claims 1 or 2, further comprising tab means associated with said 113529/1 second strip for lifting said strip off said adhesive release surface of said first strip.

4. A suspension system in accordance with any of claims 1-3, wherein said base sheet or said sheet of plastic material comprises a pocket or envelope for holding documents .

5. A suspension system in accordance with any of the preceding claims, wherein said overlapping second strip is semi-rigid or rigid.

6. A suspension system in accordance with claim 5, wherein said overlapping second strip includes a rigid or semi-rigid liner element.

7. A suspension system in accordance with any of the preceding claims, wherein said suspension element, consisting of a pair of first and second strips, is sleeted from short patches and long strips .

8. A suspension file for storing and retrieving plastic sheet material comprising a suspension system according to any of the preceding claims, the file including: a sheet of plastic material having suspension means for filing in a suspension filing system, said sheet of plastic material further comprising: at least one first strip of tape mounted thereon exposing an adhesive release surface, 113529/1 at least one second strip of adhesive tape mounted on said sheet at least partially overlapping said adhesive release surface, enabling said overlapping adhesive strip to be easily lifted off the release surface, whereby films or other plastic sheets inserted between said first and second strips of tapes stick to the adhesive strips and become hingedly attached to the sheet of plastic material having suspension means and whereby, when the adhesive tapes are lifted off the films or other plastic sheets, the films or plastic sheets are released from the suspension file.

9. A suspension file in accordance with claim 8, further comprising indexing means.

10. A suspension file in accordance with either claims 8 or 9, further comprising tab means associated with said strips of adhesive tapes for lifting said tapes off the adhesive release surface.

11. A suspension file in accordance with any of claims 8- 10, wherein the sheet of plastic material comprising the suspension file comprises a pocket or envelope for holding documents .

12. A method for storing and retrieving plastic sheet material in a file system comprising: providing a suspension system as in claims 1-7; 113529/1 inserting a plastic sheet material between said first and second strips and pressing said adhesive second strips against said plastic sheet material to hingedly attach same to the suspension system; and filing said plastic sheet material in a file system.

13. A suspension system as described hereinbefore and illustrated with reference to claims 1-7.

14. A suspension file as described hereinbefore and illustrated in the drawings and with reference to claims 8- 11.

15. A method of storing and retrieving plastic sheet material according to either of claims 12 and 13 and substantially as described hereinbefore or illustrated with reference to Figs. 1-5. AGENT FOR APPLICANT D-2 911-96.doc