WO2004043709A1

WO2004043709A1 - A storage device and a system comprising such a storage device

Info

Publication number: WO2004043709A1
Application number: PCT/NL2002/000728
Authority: WO
Inventors: Jacobus Antonius Goes
Original assignee: Nivo Office Products B.V.
Priority date: 2002-11-12
Filing date: 2002-11-12
Publication date: 2004-05-27
Also published as: AU2003279631A1; AU2002343239A1

Abstract

The present invention relates to a storage device (1) for storing at least item to be stored, the device comprising a backing member (4) and at least one loop member (3) comprising a continuous piece of a first material having a first and a second end, the first and second ends being fixedly connected to the backing member (4) to form at least one loop together with the backing member (4), wherein in at least one cross section through the storage device (1) outside the at least one loop the backing member (4) is an integral continuous member. The storage device (1) has a greater strength than known devices. The invention also relates to a storage system comprising such a device.

Description

A storage device and a system comprising such a storage device

The present invention relates in a first aspect to a storage device for storing at least one item to be stored, the device comprising a backing member and at least one loop member, wherein the at least one loop member comprises a continuous piece of a material having a first and a second end, the first and second ends being fixedly connected to the backing member, thereby constituting at least one loop which is closed by the backing member, which loop projects from the backing member.

In a second aspect, the present invention relates to a system for releasably storing at least one item, comprising such a storage device and at least one item to be stored, wherein the item to be stored comprises at least one cut therein adapted for engagingly receiving one of the at least one loop members.

From US-A-2,324,259 a paper loose-leaf construction is known, comprising a sheet of paper having cuts that form straps, the sheet also having a slit which extends between the straps and to the sides. The sheet is divided into two parts which are connected by the straps. The two parts are made to overlap, and connected to each other or to a back by adhesive or the like, such that the straps are bent outwards. Specially cut sheets of paper may be attached to the straps of this construction.

The known device has a disadvantage, in that the two parts of the sheet of paper are only connected to each other by means of the straps . This is not a very strong connection and likely to be damaged when used, or when prepared to bend out the straps, since only a relatively small part of the material keeps the two parts of the sheet together. Although the strength may be improved by adhering the parts together, this is still not very reliable, and cumbersome as well. Furthermore, the bending of said parts, around the items attached thereto, is hindered because of the required overlap. An object of the present invention is to provide a storage device of the type mentioned, which has improved strength, and which does not have the impaired bending.

The object of the invention is achieved by a storage device of the type mentioned in the preamble, characterized in that in at least one cross section through the storage device outside the at least one loop the backing member is an integral continuous member.

The storage device according to the invention has a backing member which does not have a slit through its material between the loop members . Hence the connection between the parts of the backing member which are connected to either end of the one or more loop member has a greater strength.

In this respect it is to be noted that the loop members, or straps, rings etc., project from the plane of the backing member, i.e. form a two-dimensional closed loop, when the device is in use. This does not exclude the case that in certain positions the loop members may be in the same plane as the backing member and/or possibly flaps attached thereto. E.g. the storage device may itself be stored for later use, in a folded together position. This will be elucidated further when discussing the preferred embodiments. Preferably, in every cross-section outside the at least one loop the backing member is an integral continuous member. This ensures an even greater strength of the storage device, since now the amount of material of the backing member contributing to the connection is greatly increased. Even more preferably, the backing member is a contiguous piece of material without any discontinuities other than those in between the loop members.

In an advantageous embodiment of the storage device according to the invention, the backing member and the at least one loop member form an integral continuous part. In other words, the loop members and the backing member are a continuous piece of material, without any connections that may be broken or loosened. This way, the strength of the device is only limited by the inherent strength of the material used, and not by the strength of any connection means such as adhesive or staples . Preferably, the backing member comprises a reinforcement means. The reinforcement means may provide additional strength and/or stability if the inherent strength of the device is not sufficient. The reinforcement means may for example be a strip of material which is attached to the backing member, by means of adhesive or any other known means. Preferably, the reinforcement means extend along substantially the entire length of the backing member. For example, the reinforcement means may comprise one or more strips of a reinforcement plastic such as polypropylene.

Advantageously, at least one of the backing member and the loop member comprise a folding line, and preferably both the backing member and the loop members. Such folding line would preferably extend in the direction of the length of the backing member, along the entire length thereof, and advantageously in the middle of the backing member, the loop members respectively. This folding line allows easier handling of the storage device, in that the bending or folding action of the device is predetermined. In particular, if the storage device is produced from sheet material, and the backing member and the loop members comprise alternately bent out strips of the sheet material, these advantages will be very much appreciated. Such folding lines are, however, not necessary. E.g. in the case of round backing members the folding lines will be absent without impairing the handling of the storage device.

In an attractive embodiment, the storage device according to the invention further comprises at least one flap for protection of the at least one item to be stored. The one or more flaps may protect the stored items because they have larger dimensions than the latter, or have greater strength, and so on. Although one flap may give some protection, two flaps are preferred to give sufficient protection on all sides. Additional flaps may be used as tabulator leafs. Ofcourse, the flaps may serve other functions as well, e.g. information may be written on it and so on.

In a preferred storage device, the backing member and the at least one flap for protection form an integral part. This ensures a good stability of the assembly of backing member and the one or more flaps . It is however not necessary for the flaps to be integral with the backing member. In some cases it is desirable that the flaps may be moved in the storage device much in the same way as the stored items may be moved, in order to allow maximum flexibility.

In another preferred embodiment comprising one or more flaps, a folding line is present in the at least one flap near the connection thereof to the backing member. More preferably, the folding line is present at the line of connection of each flap to the backing member.

Such folding lines provide better handling properties to the storage device in that the flaps may be bent or folded more easily. It is preferred to have the folding line at the line of connection of the flap to the backing member, to allow maximum foldability with minimum total thickness of the storage device. However, a narrow strip of material , say between 0.5 and 5 mm wide, between the line of connection and the folding line has the advantage that forces originating from the folding of the flap are not exerted on the connection. In this way a more reliable stroarge device may be provided.

Such folding lines may be omitted in certain cases, e.g. when the flaps are not fixedly connected to the backing member but are stored in the device by hooking to the backing member. Also, if the flexibility of the flap is sufficient, the flaps may be bent in the desired position without the need for a specific folding line. The invention further relates to a system for releasably storing at least one item, comprising the storage device according to the first aspect of the invention and at least one item to be stored, wherein the item to be stored comprises at least one cut therein adapted for engagingly receiving one of the at least one loop members .

The items to be stored may be sheets of material, such as paper, plastic or e.g. samples of material. It may also be files or other envelope-like items, which in turn allow other items to be stored therein, such as show cases.

In principle, any kind of item may be stored, as long as it is compatible with the way of storing by means of the loop members. Thereto, the item to be stored should have one or more cuts therein, which correspond to the loop members of the storage device. By bringing the item to the loop members of the storage device, the latter are pushed into the cuts until the item and the storage device are coupled. In this case, at least one of the item to be stored or the storage device should be flexible enough to allow the loop members to be introduced into the cuts of the item, and be resilient enough to spring back in order to bring about an engaging coupling between the two. However, such coupling systems are known in the art, and need no further elucidation.

The invention will now be further elucidated with reference to the drawings, which serve a non-limiting exemplary function only, and in which - Fig. 1 shows a perspective view of a storage device according to the invention;

- Figs. 2a-d show cross-sections of four embodiments of the storage device according to the invention;

- Fig. 3 shows a perspective view of a detail of Fig. 2b; and - Fig. 4 shows a plan view in partial cross-section of a system according to the invention.

Fig. 1 shows a perspective view of a storage device according to the invention, which is generally denoted 1.

A front flap and a back flap are denoted by 2. The flaps 2 are connected to a backing member 4 and a number of loop members 3.

Furthermore folding lines 5a and 5b are present.

The front and back flaps 2 serve to protect sheet material when stored in the device. Thereto the flaps are preferably made of a material of some strength. Preferably, the dimensions of the flaps 2 are at least equal to, and more preferably at least a little larger than the dimensions of the sheets of material to be stored in the device .

It is to be noted that the flaps 2 may be omitted, especially in case the material of the sheets to be stored is sufficiently strong itself. Of course, the flaps 2 may serve other purposes, e.g. providing a surface onto which information may be written for a filing system etc. In that case other requirements may have to be met by the flaps 2.

The sheets of material to be stored in the device are not shown in Fig. 1 for clarity reasons. Said sheets can be stored by hooking them around the loop members 3. This will be further elucidated below in connection with the storage system.

The storage device shown in Fig. 1 comprises seven loop members

3. However, any number may be used, e.g. one loop member for very small sheets of material, or 2, 4, 18 or 23 loop members to conform to the well known ring binders. Any other desired number of loop members may be selected as well, according to specific needs.

Generally, a larger number of loop members will have advantages in distributing a force which is exerted on a sheet of material stored in the device. On the other hand, a higher number will present a more laborious concept in terms of production and using of the device.

In the embodiment shown, the loop members 3 are equally spaced parallel strips of material, all having the same width. However, the loop members may also be grouped together, or they may have different widths.

The shown embodiment may be produced in a very simple elegant way. The starting point will be a flat sheet of a selected material. The selected material may be e.g. a plastics (sheet) material like polypropylene, polyethylene, polyester, (semi-)rigid PVC. Also materials like solid carton, corrugated carton, pressboard, presspan, duplex cardboard, heavy quality paper may be used, as may be woven textile materials, (artificial) leather, and so on. Furthermore, these materials may be combined, e.g. as laminated or coated materials . Into the sheet a number of parallel slits is cut, preferably in the middle of the sheet and perpendicular to the intended folding direction. Between the slits, a number of parallel strips of the plastics material is present, which are connected to one of the flaps on either end. Now the flap sheet is folded, e.g. along a folding line 5b in the center of the flap sheet or some other desired folding line. A folding line 5b is not necessary, however. The two flaps of the storage device are now bent over, such that they form an angle of between e.g. 30 and 150 degrees. Although the angle is unimportant, about 90 degrees is a very convenient angle. In this position, the desired number of the parallel strips is bent or turned over, such that they more or less mirror the not-bent over strips. Every bent strip will now protrude from the planes of the two flaps 2 and form a loop member 3. Onto these loop members 3 one or more sheets of material to be stored may be hooked.

It is advantageous to bend over every second strip of the row of parallel strips, although it is possible to bend over groups of strips, in order to be able to adapt to the width of slits present in the material to be stored in the device.

In the embodiment shown in Fig. 1 there are two more folding lines 5a that will help to keep the loop members in a functional position, i.e. a position in which they form a closed loop together with the backing member and the flaps . The folding lines 5a are located near the ends of the cuts, in order to obtain optimum flexibility of the storage device as a whole. However, if desired, it is also possible to locate the folding lines at a certain distance away from the cuts.

In Fig. 1, the backing member consists of the remaining parallel strips that have not been bent out of the plane of the flaps. Of course, the remaining strips are integral with the flaps here in order for them to form a sturdy part. Note that some connection between the strips is necessary to keep them together.

However, it is not necessary to have a complete flap to perform this function of keeping the strips together, a narrow additional strip of material connecting the strips at each end thereof is sufficient.

A great advantage of this embodiment is that it may be produced from sheet material, simply by making cuts therein and subsequently folding and bending the sheets. No material is lost, and the only treatments are mechanical treatments . This is very environment- friendly.

Figs. 2a-d show cross-sections of four examples of storage devices according to the invention.

Fig. 2a shows the embodiment according to Fig. 1. Loop members 3 together with backing member 4 form closed loops, to which sheets of material (not) shown may be hooked. Said sheets may be protected between the flaps 2. The loops formed by loop members 3 and backing member 4 are shown with a square cross-section. Because of the preferably resilient nature of the material used for the storage device, because of possible variations in location and sharpness of the folding lines 5a and 5b, and depending on the total thickness of items stored in the storage device, it is possible for this cross-section to have a different shape.

Fig. 2b shows a second embodiment. Here, the backing member 4 has a circular cross-section. The backing member 6 may be described as a tube of material from which a number of segments have been cut out (see also Fig. 3). Again, two flaps 2 are present, which now are not an integral part with the backing member 6, but are attached thereto by any means known in the art, such as gluing, hot-melting, stapling and so on. An advantage of a more rounded form of the backing member 6 is that the stored items may be moved more easily in the storage device. Fig. 2c shows a third embodiment of the storage device. A reinforcement member is indicated by reference numeral 7.

A backing member is present in the form of the two flaps 2 being connected to eachother. One could also say that the flaps 2 themselves form the backing member. The back of the storage device is reinforced by means of reinforcement member 7. This reinforcement member 7 may comprise one or more strips of e.g. polypropylene or some other suitable plastic material. Other materials like metal are not excluded however. The reinforcement member may not only serve to increase the overall strength and stability of the device, but also improve the handling properties. Since the storage device will have a more or less constant thickness, it allows more fragile items to be stored in a safe way. Furthermore, the device may be stored more stable on a shelf. The reinforcement member 7 may be omitted in cases where the overall strength and stability of the device is sufficient.

In this embodiment, the loop members 3 are attached at both their ends to the flaps 2, e.g. by welding, hot-melting, by means of adhesive and so on. It is preferred to implement the loop members 3 in a somewhat sturdier fashion than would be necessary in other embodiments, especially if there is only a small number of loop members. In this way they will be able to withstand forces exerted upon them, without becoming detached at their ends. In the presence of the reinforcement member 7 , many such measures will however be superfluous .

Fig. 2d shows a fourth embodiment, which may be considered a modification of the embodiment of Fig. 2c. Here, the reinforcement member 7 and the loop members 3, both of Fig. 2c, have been combined into a single part 8. Part 8 is a tube with a rectangular cross- section, into which a number of slots have been made. The strips between the slots form the loop members to which items may be hooked. This embodiment is even more stable than the embodiment according to Fig. 2c, with the added advantage of there being less parts. Here also, the flaps may be omitted if desired.

Fig. 3 shows a perspective view of the backing member 6 of Fig. 2b. The backing member consists of a tubelike body into which a number of slots 9 have been made, e.g. by punching. Between the slots 9 the remaining material of the tubelike body forms the loop members 3. This offers an very stable storage device, because most of the original material of the tube etc. is still present.

An even more attractive embodiment is obtained in the following way. It is not necessary to cut away the material that was originally present in the slots 9. Rather, said material may be pushed into the tubelike body, thereby forming a kind of mirror-loops towards the inside of said body. Said inwardly pointing mirror-loops do not (or hardly) interfere with the items to be stored, but provide extra strength to the storage device. Moreover, since these slots can be made by using only cuts in one direction, the storage device may be produced in a much simpler way. In particular, when the slots are made to extend along half of the perimeter of the tubelike body, the mirror-loops substantially abut against the back of the tubelike body. The double-layer obtained in this way offers the maximum amount of material to contribute to the strength and stability of the backing member.

In the embodiment shown there are seven slots, but any other number may be used as well. The width as well as the length of the slots should preferably selected in accordance with the requirements of stability of the storage device. E.g. the width of the loop members 3 should not be too small, to prevent them to be damaged too easily or to prevent stored items from dropping out of the storage device .

Fig. 4 shows a storage system according to the invention, partly in cross-section.

6 denotes a backing member, while 3 denote loop members with slots 9 in between.

Reference numeral 10 denotes a sheet of material, having fastening members 11. The fastening members are provided with hooklike lips 12, and are separated by cuts 13.

Here, as in all of this document, the words "sheet of material" is not only meant to include flat pieces of paper, plastic etc., but also any other item that can be stored in a storage device according to the invention, i.e. that is provided with appropriate parts to hook the item to the the storage device. In particular document files comprising e.g. plastic or paper envelopes may also be stored. When storing a sheet 10 in the storing device, the fastening members 11 are brought into the slots 9 until the lips 12 hook behind the loop members 3. At least one of the loop members 3 , the fastening members 11 and the lips 12 should be resilient. Most of the times said parts are thin enough to provide the flexibility required for the sheets 10 to be hooked to the storage device. If not, the materials may be adapted to provide the required flexibility.

While various embodiments have been described, these are not be understood as limiting the scope of the invention, but only as examples of the invention, the true scope of which is determined by the attached claims.

Claims

C L A I M S

1. A storage device for storing at least one item to be stored, the device comprising a backing member and at least one loop member, wherein the at least one loop member comprises a continuous piece of a material having a first and a second end, the first and second ends being fixedly connected to the backing member, thereby constituting at least one loop which is closed by the backing member, characterized in that in at least one cross section through the storage device outside the at least one loop the backing member is an integral continuous member.

2. Storage device according to claim 1 , characterized in that in every cross-section outside the at least one loop the backing member is an integral continuous member.

3. Storage device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the backing member and the at least one loop member form an integral continuous part.

4. Storage device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the backing member comprises a reinforcement means .

5. Storage device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that at least one of the backing member and the loop member comprise a folding line.

6. Storage device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it further comprises at least one flap for protection of the at least one item to be stored.

7. Storage device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the backing member and the at least one flap for protection form an integral part.

8. Storage device according to claim 6 or 7 , characterized in that a folding line is present in the at least one flap near the connection thereof to the backing member.

9. A system for releasably storing at least one item, comprising the storage device according to one of the preceding claims and at least one item to be stored, wherein the item to be stored comprises at least one cut therein adapted for engagingly receiving one of the at least one loop members .