WO1999003689A1

WO1999003689A1 - Album folder

Info

Publication number: WO1999003689A1
Application number: PCT/SE1998/001375
Authority: WO
Inventors: Lars LÖNNSTAD
Original assignee: Ab Biwex
Priority date: 1997-07-14
Filing date: 1998-07-13
Publication date: 1999-01-28
Also published as: SE9702699L; SE9702699D0

Abstract

In an album binder (1) made for the APS system with a back (4) and two sides (5) articulated thereto and with pockets (7) on the inside of the binder (1) for storing finished photographs (3) a device (9) is provided for storing APS film cassettes (2) on the inside of the binder back (4).

Description

ALBUM FOLDER

The present invention relates to an album binder with a back and two sides articulated thereto, and with a holder mechanism for pockets, leaves or the like on the inside of the binder for storing photographs or the like, a device being provided on the inside of the binder back for storing at least one roll of film or film cassette.

An entirely new system, the Advanced Photo System (APS), of cameras and film cassettes for the latter, have recently been brought on to the market with, among other things, two new formats of the finished photographs. Another prominent feature of this new system is that, after the exposed film has been developed, customers do not have the negatives returned to the them in strips as previously, but the entire film cassette with the entire strip of negatives rolled up therein.

This is a flexible and user-friendly system, but one that requires new solutions for the storage of the said film cassettes with associated negatives and for storage of the photographs.

US-A-5,350,249 shows an album binder with pockets arranged inside the back of the binder, the pockets being located in a space that is taken up by the binder ring mechanism, but without impinging thereon. The pockets may contain various articles, such as a roll of film or film cassette, for example.

The main object of the present invention is to define an album binder that is made to permit the storage, on the one hand, of rolls of film and film cassettes in general and film cassettes with rolled negatives according to the APS system in particular, together with the developed, finished photographs in one and the same place, and thereby to facilitate handling, for example when re-ordering copies of the photographs from the negatives in the film cassettes, and on the other hand all photograph formats included in the APS system in one and the same album binder.

This object is achieved in a simple and ingenious manner in that the invention is characterised by the features described in the characterising part of the claim. According to this a protected place is created in the album binder for the storage of the rolls of film or film cassettes, whilst the entire thickness of the album binder is used for the photographs, in that the rolls of film or film cassettes do not take up any space on the sides of the binder.

The invention will be described in more detail below with reference to the attached drawing, which in a perspective section from below shows an open album binder according to what is, for the present, a specially preferred embodiment.

The album binder according to the invention, shown in the drawing and generally denoted by 1, is in its format and design specially adapted to the new APS system referred to above for storing film cassettes 2 with rolled negative (not shown) and the developed, finished photographs 3 in the various formats in one and the same place.

In the embodiment shown the album binder 1 has a back 4 and two sides 5, which are articulated to the back 4 by means of joints 6 in any known conventional manner, so that the sides 5 can be opened and closed.

The material of which the album binder 1 is made is largely optional. For example, both the back 4 and the sides 5 may be made of plastic, pasteboard, cardboard, leather etc. Alternatively the back 4 may be made of metal or wood and the sides 5 of the same or another material as described above.

The developed, finished photographs 3 are stored in and/or protected by pockets 7 made of plastic or other suitable material and/or may be stuck or affixed in some other way on sheets of cardboard or the like inside the album binder 1, the pockets 7, leaves or the like naturally being adapted to the various photograph formats of the APS system. Complementing this, there may also be pockets 7, leaves or the like to permit the storage of photographs taken with an "ordinary" camera and having some format other than the photograph formats in the APS system.

In the embodiment shown, on the inside of one side 5 of the album binder 1, in this case the upper one, there is a locking mechanism 8 of known, conventional design, for example of the triple, fork or ring mechanism type, etc. for insertion and retention of the pockets 7, leaves or the like. Alternatively the pockets 7, leaves or the like could be retained on the inside of one side 5 of the album binder 1 in some known way other than with such a mechanism as the locking mechanism 8.

In addition to the back 4, sides 5 and pockets 7, leaves etc. the album binder 1 described above also incorporates a device, generally denoted by 9, for the storage of at least one film cassette 2. The said storage device 9 is fitted to or forms part of the binder back 4 and is preferably located on its inside. In the embodiment shown the storage device 9 has the form of an essentially parallelepiped-shaped holder 10 with six compartments 11 located one above another, each for the storage of a film cassette 2. The holder 10 may moreover be made of the same or a similar material to the album binder 1, especially if it forms an integral part of the binder back 4. If the holder 10, for example, is intended to be affixed to the inside of the binder back 4 by suitable fixing devices (not show) or by adhesive bonding, welding etc., it may, for example, be a moulded or blow moulded part of plastic or similar material.

There may be a greater or lesser number of compartments 11 in the holder 10, depending on the size of the album binder 1, and it is generally advisable to make the parallelepiped-shaped holder 10 essentially as long and as wide as the binder back 4 and within these dimensions to provide it with the maximum possible number of compartments 11 for the film cassettes 2.

The compartments 11 are, as shown, opened outwards, in this case upwards and outwards, and retain the respective film cassettes by gripping them securely. This can be easily achieved in that the material of the holder 10 around the compartments 11 yields on insertion of the film cassette 2 into its respective compartment 11 and grips the cassette securely therein. It is naturally advisable here that each film cassette 2 be stored in its respective compartment 11 in such a way that it can easily be grasped with the hand, as shown, for taking out and inserting into the compartments 11. In order to facilitate this, each film cassette 2 projects about 1 cm out from the upper side of the respective compartment 11.

The invention obviously must not be regarded as limited to the embodiment described above and shown on the drawing, but can be modified and freely adapted within the framework of the patent protection applied for in the following claims.

Claims

1. Album binder with a back (4) and two sides (5) articulated thereto, and with a holder mechanism for pockets (7), leaves or the like on the inside of the binder (1) for storing photographs (3) or the like, a device (9) being provided on the inside of the binder back (4) for storing at least one roll of film or film cassette (2), characterised in that the storage device (9) takes the form of a holder with at least one compartment (11) opened towards the inside of the binder (1) and designed to retain the respective roll of film or film cassette (2) by gripping it securely, the holder (10) essentially being of a parallelepiped shape and as long and as wide as the binder back (4).

2. Album binder according to claim 1, characterised in that each roll of film or film cassette (2) is stored in its respective compartment (11) in such a way that it can be easily grasped with the hand for taking it out of and inserting it into the respective compartment (11).

3. Album binder according to claim 2, characterised in that the roll of film or film cassette (2) partially projects outside the respective compartment (11)

4. Album binder according to any of the preceding claims, characterised in that it is made for the APS system with the storage device (9) adapted to APS film cassettes

(2), which when stored contain the rolled negative, and with at least some of the pockets (7), leaves or the like adapted to different photograph formats of the APS system.