Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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FIELD OF INVE~rION
This invention relates to binders, and more particularly,
to a loose leaf binder manufactured in a one step operation from
a single sheet of material.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Most binders today are manufactured by joining together
various individual components manufactured separately and later
assembled to form the finished product. More particularly, loose
leaf binders have been manufactured by heat sealing front and
back sheets of plastic or polymeric material to sandwich a card-
board core to form front and back covers and a backing
intermediate the two, and then securing metallic rings to the
backing of the binder which method of manufacture was both time
consuming and costly
In my co-pending Canadian Patent Application Serial No.
151,892, now Canadian Letters Patent 971,848, I disclose a
unique retaining means which can be substituted for the metallic
rings. However, this retaining means must still be secured to
the completed backing-cover combination of the binder by a
separate operation, exclusive of its manufacture, with the
result that material and time are wasted, very important
considerations today when the cost of polymeric or plastics
material, and labour have drastically escalated. Therefore,
binders have become less attractive as a display for use by
salesmen of large companies (e.g. insurance companies) for
presentation of their products and services.
It is therefore, an object of this invention to pro-
vide a binder and a method of manufacture therefor, where
material wastage and labour costs are reduced.
It is still a further object of the invention to
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provide a binder utilizing less material than th~ prior art
binders.
It is still a further object of this invention to provide
a highly reliable binder, manufactured from a single sheet of
material in a one step operation.
Further and other objects and advantayes of the invention
will be seen by those skilled in the art from the following
summary of the invention and detailed description of two
preferred embodiments thereof.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
According to one important aspect of the invention, a
complete binder is manufactured in a single operation from a
single sheet of material having fastening means stamped in one
cover.
According to another aspect of the invention, the
completed binder includes fastening means, each fastening means
comprising a strap and tab at one end of the strap, formed
integrally from, and adjacent to the center of, the single
sheet of material, the strap remaining attached at one end to
the material and forms a continuation of the plane of the
material at the juncture of the strap and material, the tab
being disposed at the other end of the strap, and forming a
continuation of the plane of the strap and of a width at the
juncture with the strap, to define therewith at least one lock-
ing shoulder.
According to another aspect of the invention, a slotis provided, preferably adjacent the centre of the material,
one for each fastening meansj through which the tab and a
portion of the strap are passed and the tab is then inserted
through the cut-away portion of the cover, which contained
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the material comprising the strap and tab prior to the stamping
thereof, and locked within the binder
According to another aspect of the invention, the binder
is manufactured by positioning a sheet of material or a portion
thereof, wnen a roll of material is used, and substantially
simultaneously, preferably either by heat sealing or die cutting,
shaping and sizing said sheet and additionally severing a
portion of material from the roll, if a roll of material is used,
and forming the above described fastening means and slot
arrangement for the binder.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Although this invention finds wide application in the
manufacture of binders and related products, the invention will
be illustrated with respect to a preferred embodiment thereof,
illustrated in the attached drawings in which:
Figure 1 is a perspective exploded view of a sheet of
material and requisite components of an apparatus used to form
a binder according to a preferred embodiment of the invention.
Figure 2 is a plan view of a portion of the interior of
the binder formed by the apparatus of Figure 1.
Figures 3 and 4 are close-up views of a portion of the
binder of Figure.2, illustrating the securing of the fastening
means, according to the above preferred embodiment of the
invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION
Referring to Figure l, conventional heat sealing
apparatus known in the art is provided for carrying out the
process according to the preferred embodiment of the invention
and comprises a base 12, on which a sheet of material 13 is
disposed. Base 12 has, on the upper surface thereof,barrier
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board 14J on which the material will seat and has at the
corners, L-bars 15 and 16 (the other two not being shown) for
precisely positioning the sheet of material in relation to the
apparatus. Upper plate 17, is reciprocally moveable vertically
from a position spaced from the base 12 to a position proximate
the base 12 to contact the sheet of material 13 for a predeter- -
mined length of time, and then vertically elevated to its
original position, On the under-surface 18 of plate 17 are
disposed cutting and sealing rules known in the art, of
predetermined shape and size and so positioned for the purposes
hereinafter described. Adjacent the periphery of under-surface
18, are endless cutting and sealing rules l9A and l9B, sealing
rule l9B being interior of cutting rule l9A and recessed
relative thereto, for cutting sheet of material 13 to a specific
size and shape, in this case rectangular, and finishing the
edges thereof, respectively. Disposed at the centre of the
area enclosed by endless sealing rule l9B of undersurface 18
are transverse sealing rules 20 (in this case 4) being
interrupted at portions 21, 22 and 23. These rules when
contacting the material do not cut through the material but
- rather bulge the material by concentrating the material
outwardly at the.points of contact to form ribs for folding.
Annular cutting rules 24A, 24B and 24C are disposed
in spaces 21, 22 and 23, respectively to form annular slots in
the material when the apparatus is in operative contact with
the material. The cutting rules 25, 26 and 27 are so shaped
to produce the strap and tab combination, i.e. the fastening
means of the description hereinafter provided.
When plate 17 is lowered to contact sheet 13 and the
electrical current directed through the various rules on the
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undersurface L8 of plate 17, the material 13 is appropriately
cut by the cutting rules or sealed by the sealing rules, with
the resultant formation of the binder, only a portion of which
is shown in Figure 2.
Referring to Figure 2, this binder is of a one step
construction manufactured from the single sheet of material 13
and comprises both front cover 30 and back cover 31, a backing
disposed intermediate the two having transverse ribbing 32a
to permit closure of the binder, a plurality of fastening means
33, each fastening means comprising a strap 36 and tab 37 formed
integrally from one portion of the back cover 31, which
fastening means forms a continuation of the plane of the cover
31 at the juncture 34 of the fastening means 33 and the cover 31.
The tab 37 at the end of the fastening means forms a
continuation of the plane of the strap and is of a width at
the juncture with the strap to define therewith a pair of locking
shoulders 38 and 39. The tab 37 is tapered from a wider portion
adjacent the locking shoulders 38 and 39 to a narrower portion
at its tip. A plurality of annular slots 35, have been
provided, one slot for each fastening means, for insertion of
tab 33 therethrough, for positioning of the fastening means
exterior the binder, as shown in Figure 3. The tab 33 is then
pushed through the cut-out portion in the cover 36 adjacent the
portion 37 from which the strap 33 was removed and the shoulders
25 being of greater transverse width than the width of portion 36,
the shoulders and thereby the tab are locked within the binder
until sufficient force is exerted to remove the tab as shown in
Figure 4. In such position, the portion of the strap remaining
within the binder presents a ring on which loose leaf paper
has been previously secured, which permits the paper to freely
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slide thereon.
Therefore, when a binder cover is opened, the paper
will lie flat therein. As a result, a presentation folder has
been provided by this invention, which is of reliable construction,
6 easily manufactured, yet is relatively inexpensive to manufacture,
thereby satisfying the needs of insurance companies in their
requirement of an inexpensive, yet reliable binder for
presentation purposes.
Since, for example, the slots could be made, i.e.
elliptical, circular, or parabolic in shape, in the construction
of the binder, without departing from the scope of the invention,
it is intended that all matter contained in the specification
and the appended drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative
of the invention and shall not be interpreted in a limiting
sense.
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