US2023802A

US2023802A - Loose leaf book

Info

Publication number: US2023802A
Application number: US742541A
Authority: US
Inventors: Raymond S Brown
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1934-09-04
Filing date: 1934-09-04
Publication date: 1935-12-10
Anticipated expiration: 1952-12-10

Description

R. s. BROWN 2,023,802

LOOSE LEAF BOOK Filed Sept. 4, 1934 Patented Dec. 10, 1935 UNETED STATES NT QFFICE 20 Claims.

This invention relates to an extensible looseleaf binder, or a device for binding into book form a plurality of discrete sheets of paper or similar material. The invention is also concerned with the sheets themselves which form the leaves of the book.

It is the primary object of my invention to produce a binder which may be simply and economically constructed, which will with equal facility bind a thin or a thick stack of sheets, herein referred to as a pad, and which may be readily operated without the use of any special tools such as keys, wrenches, or screw-drivers. Another object of my invention is to make a binder which will be compact, whereby the dimensions of the bound book need not greatly exceed those of the pad alone. A further object of my invention is to produce a binder sd arranged that any of the bound sheets may be removed without the necessity for disarranging the others. Still another object of my invention is to produce a leaf of peculiar form for co-operation with the binder.

In carrying out my invention I employ a pair of parallel clamping members between which the pad composed of superposed leaves is clamped. The means for drawing the two clamping members together to bind the edge of the pad preferably comprises a pair of spaced screws secured to one of the clamping members and a pair of correspondingly spaced nuts rotatably mounted in the other clamping member to co-operate respectively with the screws. The clamping member which carries the screws also carries a pair of spaced guide posts which co-operate with notches or holes in the leaves forming the pad. In order to maintain all the leaves in proper alinement should the thickness of the pad exceed the length or these posts, the clamping nuts extend into the space between the clamping members and are there cylindrical, the leaves of the pad being provided with openings properly positioned and to'receive the nuts. Preferably, the leaves are formed with notches on opposite sides near one end, each of such notches having both a portion which receives the guide post and a portion which receives the cylindrical nut.

The accompanying drawing illustrates my inventio'n: Fig. 1 is an isometric View of a complete book with my binder in place; Fig. 2 is a vertical section through the pad and binder on the line 2-2 of Fig. Fig. 3 is a fragmental plan view of one end of the upper clamping member showing one of the clamping nuts in section;

Fig. 4 is an isometric view of the botto'm clamping member and the parts it carries; Fig. 5 is a fragmental vertical section on the line 55 of Fig. 2 showing the normal use of the binder; Fig.

6 is a fragmental section similar to Fig. 5, but 5 illustrating the binder as used to bind a relatively thin pad; and Fig. '7 is a fragmental plan view of one of the leaves which form the pad.

The binder comprises top and bottom clamping members, it] and ii respectively, which are con- 10 veniently of sheet-metal and which extend across the pad at one end thereof. The bottom clamp- 4 ing member I l has mounted upon it two vertically extending screw-threaded posts It, which conveniently are located near the ends of the clamping members. In addition, there are mounted upon the clamping member ll two vertically extending guide posts it which are spaced, conveniently inwardly, from the screw-threaded posts l2. The upper clamping member it! has rotatably mounted upon it two nuts M adapted respectively to receive the two screw-threaded posts 12.

Conveniently, the two clamping members Ill and H are provided with struck-up stiffening ribs l5 which project from the clamping members exterio'rly in relation to the pad clamped between them. Along their outer edges, the clamping members may also be provided with flanges I6 which provide additional stifiness and serve td protect the rear edge of the bound pad. Conveniently, although not necessarily, the screwthreads on the two posts 12 are of opposite hand, as is clear from Figs. 2 and 4; as I find that this arrangement aids the average person in operat- 3. ing the clamping nuts.

While the clamping nuts may be mounted in the clamping member Ill in a number of difierent ways, I preferto mount them as shown in the drawing. According to this method of mount- 40 ing, the clamping member [9 is provided at each end with a slot 18 in which the associated clamping nut i4 is mounted, the nut being provided with a relatively deep annular groove to permit its insertion into the slot. Near the inner end of the slot, the walls thereof conform to the curvature of the bottom of the groove in the nut Hi, but the outer portion of each slot [8 is slightly narrower so as to prevent accidental removal of the nuts. A second slot 2%), which communicates with the slot I 8 and extends inwardly therefrom for a considerable distance, is provided at each end of the clamping member It to permit the two parts of the clamping member lying on opposite sides of said slot to be sprung apart to effect the insertion or removal of the clamping clamping member ii are disposed close to the respectively associated screw-threaded posts I2 in order that a single notch in each edge of each leaf of the pad may receive both the guide post i 3 and the nut M on the associated screw-threaded post. If this is done, the leaves of which the pad is composed may have the form illustrated in Fig.7. As indicated in that figure of the drawing, each rear corner of this leaf is provided with a notch which extends inwardly from the side edge of the leaf. The extreme inner portion 25 of each of these notches is shaped to conform to the inner face of the corresponding guide-post I3. Outwardly beyond the portion 25, the edges of each notch curve outwardly as at 26 to conform to the curved outer surface of the clamping nut M. From a point opposite the axis of the associated nut M, the lower edge of each of the notches preferably extends in a substantially straight line perpendicular to the side edges of the leaf. If desired, each extreme top corner of the leaf may be cut back to apoint approximately opposite the axis of the associated nut l4, as indicated at 27.

The notches in the leaves are preferably deep enough so that the nuts I l lie wholly between the side faces of the pad, as is clear from Fig. '7. To decrease the maximum depth of the notches, the guide posts 18 are preferably placed as close as possible to the screw-threaded posts l2, this spacing being so close in the device illustrated in the drawing as to necessitate the cutting away of the outer face of each guide post to provide clearance for the adjacent nut.

When the binder is to be used, the nuts are rotated until disengaged from the screw-threaded posts I 2, and the two clamping members are then separated. To aid in rotating the nuts, their cylindrical surfaces may be knurled, and their heads, above the upper clamping member l0, may also be milled or otherwise roughened. knurling shown in the drawing is in the form of a series of relatively widely spaced longitudinal grooves in the cylindrical surfaces of the nuts; and in the arrangement shown, this form is considered of advantage, for it provides a firm finger grip and yet presentsto the adjacent paper a surface which will not tear or chafe the edges thereof. In the precise arrangement illustrated in the drawing, the parts are so disposed that the operator may rotate the nuts by placing the thumbs of his two hands upon the roughened nutheads and the sides of his index fingers on the bodies of the nuts below the upper clamping member it When the upper clamping member I!) has been removed from association with the lower clamping member, the pad is built up on the lower clamping member, the superposed leaves being maintained in proper alinement by the guide-posts 13 which are received in the portions 25 of the notches in the leaves. The book may include top and bottom leaves 38 of extra thickness to protect the leaves within the pad. When the pad is built up, the upper clamping member is put in place, the nuts E 3 passing downwardly through the wider portions of the notches in the side edges of the leaves which form the pad. By rotating the nuts in the proper direction, the two clamping members are forced together to securely grip the pad.

I prefer to proportion the parts so that with a pad of average thickness the guide-posts [3 will The not extend completely through the pad. Such a condition is illustrated in Figs. 2 and 5. In this arrangement, the leaves between the lower ends of the nuts l4 and the lower clamping member II are held in proper alinement by the guide- 5 posts l3, While the leaves between the upper end of the guide-posts and the upper clamping member are held in place by the nuts I 4. Thus, the thickness of the pad which can be gripped by my binder is not limited by the length of the guide-posts l3, and these guide-posts can be made shorter than would otherwise be necessary.

If the pad to be gripped is so thin that the lower ends of the nuts M would engage the lower clamping member H to prevent an adequate clamping action, the nuts l4 may be inverted. If these nuts are removably mounted in the upper clamping member, as in the device of the drawing, they can be removed, inverted, and replaced, leaving the clamping member in its normal position, as illustrated in Fig. 6. If, on the other hand, the nuts are not removably mounted in the upper clamping member the entire assembly of nuts and clamping member might be inverted. To prevent the guide-posts it from interfering With theclamping action on thin pads, the upper clamping member is provided with openings 29 shaped and positioned to permit the guide-posts l3 to pass through them.

As so far described, my improved binder will 30 adequately clamp pads varying from a thickness of a few leaves to a thickness equal to the sum of the length of the guide-posts l3 and the body portions of the nut l4. Pads of greater thickness may be gripped by replacing the nuts M with longer ones or by providing them with downward extensions.

The clamping members it! and I! may be simple strips of sheet-metal which perform no function other than that of clamping the pad together at one edge. If desired, however, the bottom clamping member H may be in the form of a plate co-extensive with the pad as indicated in Fig. 6 to provide a support therefor. As also illustrated in Fig. 6, I may provide a cover 3| for the pad, such cover being hingedly connected to the associated clamping member as by means of a sheet or strip 32 of fabric or other flexible material which may be cemented to the clamping member.

Because of the cut-away upper corners 27 of the leaves of the pad, sheets within the pad can readily be removed and inserted without the necessity for completely disassembling the pad. The cut-away corners 21 also facilitate access to the body portions of the nuts l4. By providing the notch on each side of the pad with two portions receiving respectively the guide-posts I 3 and the nuts [4, both the post-receiving and the nut-receiving openings may be cut with a single tool. Further, because of the substantially straight lower edge of each notch, the same tool can be used to cut the notches of sheets of varying width. The fact that the side walls of the notches have no re-entrant portions enables the as tool which forms the notches to be withdrawn laterally from the edge of the leaf rather than from the face thereof. This enables the notches to be out rather than punched.

It may be noted further that the clamping members may be made relatively thin, and thus the over-all dimensions of the bound book need not greatly exceed those of the pad alone.

I claim as my invention:

1. A device of the class described, comprising a pad of leaves of flexible material, a pair of clamping members between which said pad is gripped, two guide posts and two screw-threaded posts mounted on one of said clamping members and extending partly through said pad, said guide posts being respectively located in close proximity to the screw-threaded posts, and a pair of nuts rotatably mounted in the other clamping member for co-operation with the screw-threaded posts, said nuts having cylindrical portions extending into the space between the clamping members, the leaves of the pad being provided with locating openings each of which is adapted to receive a guide post and the cylindrical portion of the nut adjacent thereto.

2. A device of the class described, comprising a pad of leaves of flexible material, a pair of clamping members between which said pad is gripped, two guide posts and two screw-threaded posts mounted on one of said clamping members and extending partly through said pad, and a pair of nuts rotatably mounted in the other clamping member for co-operation with screwthreaded posts, said nuts having cylindrical portions extending into the space between the clamping members, the leaves of the pad being provided with locating openings for the reception of said guide posts and the cylindrical portions of said nuts, said openings being in the form of notches extending inwardly from opposite edges of the leaves comprising the pad, each such notch having portions of different widths for the reception of the guide-posts and nuts, respectively.

3. A device of the class described, comprising a pad of leaves of flexible material, a pair of clamping members between which said pad is gripped, and means for drawing said two clamping members together to grip the pad between them, said means including a screw and a co-operating nut respectively associated with the two clamping members, said nut having a portion which protrudes through its associated clamping member and a portion which extends into the space between the clamping members and which is located near one edge of the pad, the pad-leaves at such edge being provided with notches for the reception of said nut.

4. A loose-leaf binder comprising two opposed clamping members and means for drawing said two members toward each other to grip between them the pad or" leaves to be bound, said means including a screw and a co-operating nut respectively associated with the two clamping members, said nut having an annular groove nearer one end than the other and of a width to receive the material of which the associated clamping member is formed, such clamping member being provided with a slot opening in one edge thereof and of a width to receive the grooved portion of said nut.

5. The invention set forth in claim 4 with the addition that said clamping member is provided with a second slot extending inwardly from said first slot to permit the two portions of the clamping member lying on opposite sides of the first slot to be resiliently forced apart, the first slot at its open end having normally a width less than the diameter of the grooved portion of the nut to retain the nut in place.

6. A device of the class described, comprising a pad of sheets of flexible material, a pair of clamping members between which said pad is gripped, one of said clamping members being provided witha guide post and a screw-threaded post extending into the pad, the other of said clamping members having associated with it a clamping nut cooperating with said screw-threaded post and extending into the pad, each of the leaves of which the pad is formed being provided with an opening receiving both said nut 5 and said guide post and co-operating therewith to locate the leaf relative to the two clamping members.

7. In a device of the class described, a pad of leaves of flexible material, a pair of clampu ing members between which said pad is gripped, the leaves of said pad being provided in opposite edges with inwardly extending notches, each of said notches having two portions of difierent widths, a guide member on one of said clamping members extending into the pad and received in one of such notch-portions, and a second guide member on the other of said clamping members extending into the pad and received in the other of such notch portions.

8. A loose-leaf binder comprising two opposed clamping members and means for drawing said two members toward each other to grip between them the pad or" leaves to be bound, said means including a pair of screw-threaded nuts rotatably mounted near opposite ends of one clamping member, said nuts having generally cylindrical portions extending downwardly into the padreceiving space between the clamping members, screw-threaded posts extending upwardly from the other clamping member for co-operation with said nuts, the cylindrical portions of said nuts being provided with a series of spaced longitudinal grooves to facilitate gripping by the fingers of an operator, and a pad of leaves of flexible material in said space having openings adapted to closely receive said cylindrical portions.

9. A loose-leaf binder comprising two opposed clamping members and means for drawing said two members toward each other to grip between them the pad of leaves to be bound, said means including a pair of screw-threaded nuts rotatably mounted near opposite ends of one clamping member, said nuts having generally cylindrical portions extending downwardly into the pad-receiving space between the clamping members, and screw-threaded posts extending upwardly from the other clamping member for co-operation with said nuts, the screw-threads of said 50. two nuts being of opposite hand.

10. A leaf for insertion in a binder, comprising a generally rectangular sheet of thin flexible material, said sheet being provided in opposite edges and near one end with inwardly extending notches, each of said notches having two portions of different widths with the wider portion at the open end of the notch, the material of the sheet between each notch and the adjacent end of the sheet being cutaway for a part of the depth of the wider notch-portion.

11. A leaf for insertion in a binder, comprising a generally rectangular sheet of thin flexible material, said sheet being provided in opposite edges and near one end with inwardly extending notches, each of said notches having two portions of difierent widths with the wider portion at the open end of the notch.

12. A device of the class described, comprising a pad of leaves of flexible material, a pair of clamping members between which said pad is gripped, two spaced screw-threaded posts mounted on one of said clamping members and extending into the space between them, and a pair of nuts rotatably mounted in the other of said clamp- 7 5 ing members and having cylindrical portions extending into the space between the clamping members, the leaves of the pad being provided with locating notches which extend inwardly from opposite edges of the leaves to receive said nuts and which are positioned near one end of said leaves, the corner of the leaf near each notch being cut away for a part of the depth of the notch to facilitate access to a nut within the notch.

13. A device of the class described, comprising a pad of leaves of flexible material, a pair of clamping members between which said pad is gripped, two spaced screw-threaded posts mounted on one of said clamping members and extending into the space between them, and a pair of nuts rotatably mounted in the other of said clamping members and having cylindrical portions extending into the space between the clamping members, the leaves of the pad being provided with locating notches which extend inwardly from opposite edges of the leaves to receive said nuts, the cylindrical portions of said nuts being located completely within the sides of the pad.

14. A loose-leaf binder comprising two opposed clamping members and means for drawing said two members toward each other to grip between them the pad of leaves to be bound, said means including a pair of screw-threaded nuts rotatably mounted near opposite ends of one clamping member, said nuts having generally cylindrical portions extending downwardly into the padreceiving space between the clamping members, screw-threaded posts extending upwardly from the other clamping member for co-operation with said nuts, and a pair of guide posts mounted on one of said clamping members, the other of said clamping members being provided with a pair of openings for the reception of said guide posts.

15. In a device of the class described, a pad of leaves of flexible material, two clamp bars engaging opposite faces of said pad, a pair of leafguiding members mounted on each clamp bar and extending into the pad, at least one of said leaf-guiding members being rotatably supported in its associated clamp-bar and having a screwthread connection with the other clamp bar, each leaf of said pad being provided with openings adapted to fit said guiding members and, by engagement with either pair thereof, to prevent movement of the leaf in its plane.

16. In a device of the class described, a pad of leaves of flexible material, a pair of clamp bars engaging opposite sides of said pad, a pair of members rotatably mounted in one of said clamp-bars and having a screw-thread connection with the other clamp-bar, a pair of guide posts mounted on such other clamp-bar, extending into the padreceiving space between the two clamp-bars, and

terminating short of the other clamp bar, said rotatable members being provided with cylindrical portions between said clamp bars, each leaf of said pad being shaped to fit against said guide posts and the cylindrical portions of said rotatable members, the cylindrical portions of the rotatable members constituting the sole guiding means for leaves lying beyond the ends of said guide posts.

17. A loose-leaf binder, comprising a pair of clamp bars, a pair of guide posts and a pair of screw-threaded posts mounted on one of said clamp bars, and a pair of nuts rotatably mounted in the other clamp-bar and each having a cylindrical leaf-guiding portion adapted to extend into the leaf-receiving space between said clamp bars, said nut-supporting bar being so shaped and said guide posts being so located as to permit said guide posts to extend through the plane of said nut-supporting bar, and said nuts being threaded through for the reception of said threaded posts from either end.

18. A loose-leaf binder, comprising a pair of clamp bars, a pair of guide posts and a pair of screw-threaded posts mounted on one of said clamp bars, a pair of nuts rotatably mounted in the other clamp-bar, the mounting means of each of said nuts being located nearer one end of said nut than the other, to provide nut-portions extending difierent distances from the nut supporting clamp-bar for use in binding leaf-pads of different thicknesses, the longer of said nut-portions being of cylindrical shape and adapted to extend a substantial distance into the pad-receiving space between said clamp bars to serve as a leaf-guiding post.

19. In a device of the class described, a pad of leaves of flexible material, a pair of notches extending inwardly from the side edges of said pad near one end thereof, a pair of clamp-bars engaging opposite faces of said pad and overlying said notches, a pair of nuts rotatably supported in the upper clamp bar near its ends and having screw-thread connections with the lower clampbar, downwardly extending leaf-guiding cylindrical portions on said nuts having roughened surfaces and positioned in said notches with their outer surfaces accessible from the sides of said pad, a low head on each of said nuts disposed above said upper clamp bar, such arrangement being adapted to permit the simultaneous engagement by an operators thumb and forefinger at diametrically opposite points respectively on said head and said cylindrical outer surface of a nut.

20. In a device as defined in claim 19, screwthread connections between said two nuts and said lower clamp-bar which are respectively of opposite hand.

RAYMOND S. BROWN.