US2452514A

US2452514A - Paper clip

Info

Publication number: US2452514A
Application number: US662723A
Authority: US
Inventors: Lech W S Zychlinski
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1946-04-17
Filing date: 1946-04-17
Publication date: 1948-10-26
Anticipated expiration: 1965-10-26

Description

Oct. 26, 1948. 1.. w. s. ZYCHLINSKI 2,452,514

PAPER CLIP Filed April 17, 1946 1 I M I B) M M 6 mm 'ATTORNEYS Patented Oct. 26, 1948 [TED STATES PATENT OFFICE" 1 Claim. 1

This invention relates to a new and improved paper clip which retains the advantages but is free from certain disadavntages of the common wire paper clips now on the market.

Of the several different types of paper clips now in use none is free from certain disadvantages. The type most widely used is a wire paper clip made up of two U-shaped members or jaws parallel with each other and joined at one end. This clip is easy to apply and easy to manufacture but possesses a very marked inclination to attach itself to any adjoining file or letter, which results in lost clips, mixed-up files and misplaced letters.

The cause of this piratical tendency in this common type of paper clip lies in the fact that one of the jaws or U-shaped portions is considerably longer than the other. This difference in length is essential for rapid application of the clip but when applied this longer portion tends to hook onto the edge of any sheet that comes within range. Other common types of paper clips which are designed to overcome this fault are more difi'icult to apply quickly and are of more limited use.

The improved clip of the present invention retains the advantage of ease of application and the effective clipping properties of the common and widely used type above referred to but largely overcomes or minimizes the objectionable piratical tendency of such prior clips.

The improved clip of the present invention is made up of two generally U-shaped members united at one end and free at the other and with the U-shaped portions of approximately the sam length so that effective clipping action is obtained, but the improved clip has a lateral extension on the outer U-shaped member in the form of a laterally projected jaw which facilitates application of the clip without interfering with the clipping action of the clip.

The improved clip is made of fiexible wire and.

is illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which Fig. 1 is a side view of the clip and Fig. 2 an edge view from one side and Fig. 3 an edge view from the other side.

The clip is made up of an inner u-shaped member I and an outer U-shaped member 2 united at the top at 3. The outer U-shaped member has a lateral extension 4. This lateral extension 4 is advantageously on the side of the U-shaped member adjacent the free side 5 and forming a projecting lip extending from the line A-B to the end of the projecting portion 4.

The two U-shaped members including the lateral extension of the outer U-shaped member are in the same plane and the clip can readily be made from. flexible wire-by shaping the wire to form a clip of the general shape shown.

By avoiding the downward projection of the outer U-shaped member and providing a lateral extension of this member the danger of hooking onto the edges of adjacent sheets sliding up from below, after the clip has been applied to sheets of paper, is overcome or minimized.

This danger of hooking onto the edges of adjacent sheets can be further minimized by the possibility of applying the clip in such a Way that the lateral extension points to the nearest edge of the sheets, which is generally the lefthand edge. This decreases the possibility of the adjacent file being caught in the lateral extension, as the right-hand edge of the latter would have to be displaced by almost the entire width of the file before it could engage the lateral extension, which is very unlikely.

The new clip can be easily and rapidly applied. In applying the clip it is advantageously held at an angle of about 45 to the edge of the sheets to be joined until the sheets are well between the two jaws. The clip is then driven down to the normal vertical position.

From the illustration of the new clip it will be seen that the adjacent and parallel sides of the U-shaped members hold the paper between them throughout the greater part of their length. Also the bottom 6 of the inner U-shaped member is adjacent the portion 1 of the outer U-shaped member so that there is a clamping action between these end portions as well as between the parallel side portions or jaws of the clip.

The advantages of the new clip as compared with the common type of clip having one U- shaped member much longer than the other is illustrated by a test run on a number of batches of letters, some held by the old clips and some by the new, with the batches being constantly shuffled back and forth to simulate actual filing conditions. In these tests the number of occurrences in which the new clips hooked onto one of the other batches was a small fraction of those involving the old type of clip.

Since both U-shaped members of the new clip and the lateral extension of the outer U-shaped member lie in the same plane it will be evident that the clip can be used with the inner U-shaped member or jaw either on the front or back of the paper clipped together therewith. In this respect it retains the advantages of the common paper clip with U-shaped jaws one much longer than 3 e the other, while overcoming or minimizing the disadvantages of such common clips.

I claim:

An improved paper clip of a single piece of flexible wire bent in a single plane to form inner and outer parallel U-shaped members of approximately the same length, the legs of the parallel U-shapecl rr embers lying closely adjao ent one anothergf uilter lufshlaped inejmber having a lateral-extending projection at the bottom thereof for facilitating application of the clip, the portion of the wire forming the lower edge of said projection extending from the nadir of the base of the inner U-shaped member, andthe wire fr om that point to a point where it begin'sto feral the parallel leg portion at the side gi the ogter q Y shaped member remote from said projection following the contour and lying closely adjacent the portion of the base. of the inner U-shaped member opposite thereto. u

' LECH W. S.

arena REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date Re. .12,17 1 McGill Nov. 17, 1903 I 1731,59? Mcqill June 23, 1903 1,785,511 Baden Dec. 16, 1930 2,095,735 Dunbar Oct. 12, 1937 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date J135387 Great Britain 1903 665,847 Germany Oct. 5, 1938