WO2003095229A1 - Device for securing the contents of folders - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to items which are used to protect documents, such as folders, ring binders, clip binders or similar. The inventive items are provided with flaps or pockets on one or both of the inner faces thereof. Moreover, said items comprise a securing device or element which protects the documents contained therein and holds same in place.

Description

 CLAMPING DEVICE FOR FOLDER CONTENT.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to • items for the protection of documents, of the type of folders or folders of eyelets or brooch or similar, in which a device or fastener holds in place and protected the documents inside.

BACKGROUND

Articles for the safekeeping of sets of loose sheets or files, such as portfolios and folders are widely known to the general public, and are produced in a wide variety of shapes and materials such as paper (see US Patents 4,934,584 ( Wyant, 1990), and 3,516,599

(Buttery, 1970)), plastic (we cite US patents numbers 5,876,143 (Ong, 1999), 5,059,052

(Casper, 1991), 5,752,721 (Balbas, 1998) and 5,417,509

(Schwartz, 1995)), the use of vinyl is illustrated in US patents 5,873,513 (Ong, 1999) and 4,629,349

(Pitts, 1986); Items made of polyethylene, polypropylene and PVC are illustrated in patents 5, 275, 438 (Struhl, 1994), 5, 445, 417 (Bromer, 1995) and

5, 266, 140 (Kohno, 1993).

The most frequently used items consist of a front cover and a back cover and, in the case of so-called "folders", a dorsal strip or "spine" between both covers, with which it serves as a "hinge" to open and close them and allow the insertion or removal of documents.

Conventionally, the front and rear covers are formed of wide flat panels of dimensions slightly larger than. of the standardized papers that are used in the offices and the home, for example the sizes letter, trade, A4, etc; the dorsal strip is usually much narrower and depends on the thickness associated with the amount of sheets to which the article is intended; In the case of folders, they are intended to conserve groups of relatively few leaves inside, normally there is no dorsal strip or spine.

In the prior art articles, various alternatives have been proposed to provide security in the integrity of the documents. These go, from the use of mechanical fasteners such as rings, rings, clasps and clips, where the material to be fastened must be perforated in places corresponding to positions predetermined by the fastener itself, or, snaps, clips, clips or other elements prehensiles, preferably prefixed to the back panel of the portfolio or folder.

Unlike the former, pressure fasteners significantly reduce the damage to the material to be protected, although they usually leave marks at the points of contact with it.

Another solution has been the incorporation of additional panels attached to the inner faces of one or both panels of the portfolio or folder, forming supports either in the form of "flap" or "pocket", where the material to be protected is introduced.

Pockets, in particular, can reach various heights in relation to the panel to which they are fixed, as described in US patents 5,059,052 (Casper, 1991), 5,752,721 (Balbas, 1998), 6,193,147 (Schluger, 2001) and 6,296,112 (Pettey, 2001). In a simpler version of the concept of "flaps", these are mere extensions of one or more ends of the panels that form the body of the portfolio or folder, as illustrated in US Patents 6,244,627 (olf, 2001) and 6,286,752 (Heyer , 2001).

It is important to note that in all the cases referred to above, the lower edge and at least one of the two adjacent corners of the protected document are protected from abuse by the "flap" or "pocket" itself; however, the upper edge and adjacent corners are normally free and are likely to be mistreated by simply opening and closing the panels of the portfolio or folder. If you are not careful to manually fix the sheets or file when closing the panels.

A couple of alternatives that attract attention to try to overcome the problem are represented by the inventions described in patents 4,629,349 and 6,286,752. The first one offers a ring binder with two pockets attached to the internal faces of the panels, each pocket showing a flap that is secured on the documents protected by means of a snap; the material (flexible and transparent) that conforms the pocket as such, joins the internal faces of the folder by means of heat sealing. In the second patent, 6,286,752, "languages" are offered to support the material to be protected, these being simple projections of the shorter (upper and lower) sides of one of the panels of the folder, which when bending towards the inside of Said folder allows to restrict to a certain extent the movement of the material inside.

OBJECTIVES OF THE INVENTION

In order to overcome the difficulties encountered in the prior art, it is an object of the present invention to offer an article of stationery for the safekeeping of documents, such as folders, ring or brooch folders or similar articles, which ensures the integrity of the documents inside against mechanical abuse produced by the action of the covers themselves or panels of the article.

It is another object of the present invention that the assurance of the physical integrity of the documents be achieved economically and effectively by the addition of a device or element arranged for that purpose, to an article of stationery such as portfolios or folders of rings or brooch, by some of the techniques known in the art.

It is yet another object of the present invention, to provide an article of stationery in which said device or fastener does not interfere with the view of the cover of the protected documents, as it is transparent or translucent.

It is yet another object of this invention to provide an article of stationery for the safekeeping of documents, in which the device or element of attachment of the documents can be folded without impeding the use of the article as a conventional portfolio or folder, is say, do not hinder when inserting the documentation in the article.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention may be better understood from the following detailed description and the accompanying drawings, which, however, should not be taken as limiting the invention but as illustrative for better understanding. Figure 1 is a simple perspective view of a conventional stationery article of the type known as a folder, in its open position, showing conventional support elements of the "flap" type.

Figure 2 is a perspective view of the article of Figure 1, showing the way in which the documents are inserted into the support elements.

Figure 3 is a perspective view of the article of Figure 1, showing how the documents may be damaged by normal use of the article.

Figure 4 is a perspective view of a conventional stationery article such as that of Figure 1, to which the device or fastener of the invention has been added, shown here in its non-use position.

Figure 5 is a detailed view of an article of stationery such as that of Figure 4, showing the way in which the device or fastener of the invention is brought to its position of use when the article is prepared to insert any document or set of documents for safekeeping. Figure 6 is a perspective view of a conventional stationery article such as that of Figure 5, showing the device or fastener of the invention in its position of use.

Figure 7 is a perspective view of a conventional stationery article such as that of Figure 5, showing the device or fastener of the invention in its position of use, in an alternative mode of geometric configuration of the fastener.

Figure 8 is a perspective view of a conventional stationery article, showing the device or clamping element of the invention in its position of use, said clamping element being essentially shorter than the edge, in an alternative embodiment.

Figure 9 is a perspective view of a conventional stationery article, showing another embodiment of the device or fastener of the invention in its position of use, this being made up of at least two individual pieces. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The following describes the stationery or office article for the safekeeping of documents, including the device or fastener element of this invention.

In a conventional folder of the prior art, such as the one shown in Figure 1 and designated with the numeral (1), they are presented, in the anterior (2) and posterior panels

(3), elements of the type of "flaps" (4) adhered to one or both internal faces of the panels (2) and (3), being typically adhered by some of the processes known in the art, such as radiation welding ultraviolet, ultrasound, glued, heat sealed, sewn, etc; the area of attachment between the flap (4) and the inner face of the panels (2) and (3) is normally reduced to a narrow strip located along the bottom edge of the panels and the corresponding part near the end by the The folder is opened, forming a kind of "pocket" or support to hold the lower end of one or several pages of a document (5) to be protected within the article (1) as illustrated in Figure 2. It should be noted that the upper end of the document normally has free movement back and forth, as indicated by the double headed arrow, with respect to the panel (2) or (3) in whose flap (4) has been inserted; This movement is usually restricted only by the use of mechanical fastening means applied directly to the document, that is, attachments such as staples, paper clips or clips, or brooches, which hold the set of pages to some extent, but which nevertheless do not protect in a way some the banks and corners of the most frontal documents.

When, as shown in Figure 3, the panels are closed one above the other, indicating this action by the arrow at the bottom of the illustrated folder, it is possible that the edges or corners of the documents inside the folder can move forward enough to be pressed between the panels of the folder, then suffer a wrinkled or folded that dazzles the document. The above is indicated by the curved arrow and the folded indication in the upper right corner of the document (5) shown in Figure 3. In order to avoid that the upper edges of the documents, as well as the corners thereof, can be folded forward by the free movement they have, a device or element has been provided in the preferred embodiment of the present invention. clamping as shown in Figure 4 with numeral (6), consisting of a strip of flexible or semi-flexible material, of transparent, semi-transparent, translucent or colored plastic material, preferably transparent.

The shape of the element (6), in the preferred embodiment of the invention, is essentially trapezoidal having the base greater than a measure equal to or slightly less than the inside measure of the panel (2) or (3) taken at the top, distal edge to the location of the flap or support pocket, and is anchored to said upper edge of the inner face of the panel (2) or (3) which has in its lower part the flap or pocket of the prior art; The anchorage is carried out by means of any technique known in the art, such as welding by ultraviolet radiation, ultrasound, bonding, heat sealing, sewing, etc., depending on the type of material that forms the body of the panels of the article for the guard. of documents, either this one a folder, of rings, of brooch or the like, as well as of the type of material selected for the fastener element subject of the present invention, taking care that both materials are compatible in order to ensure a fastening of the fastener element to the article in question.

The minor base of the trapezoid, is directed towards the middle part of the panel, and has the adjacent rounded corners in order to avoid any tearing or scratching of the material that will be protected in the folder.

The area of attachment between the fastener (6) subject of the invention and the inner face of the folder panel is located on the outermost part of the surface of the fastener (6) and the panel (2) or ( 3), being limited approximately by line A-

As shown in Figure 5. The greater or lesser rigidity of the material selected to form the fixing element (6), allows it to always keep in contact with the inner face of the panel to which it is attached, allowing it to be in position of non-use, shown in Figure 4 previously described, the device or fastener (6) does not interfere with the document (s) that will be inserted in the folder, thus achieving that said folder can be used in the manner conventionally done, if the user so wishes.

Considering again to Figure 5, the fastening element (6) of the invention becomes operative when, once the document (s) to be protected in the flap or pocket referred to as (4) in the previous figures has been inserted; the lower edge of the clamping element (6), that is, the minor base of the trapezoid, flexes "up", in the opposite direction to the inner face of the panel, as shown in Figure 5 by the arrows, allowing the insertion of the upper edge of the document (5) below the clamping element (6), and between it and the inside of the panel (2) or (3) of the folder.

When releasing the fastener (6), it regains its normal position, and due to its relative stiffness and the location of the joint area with the inside of the panel (2) or (3) of the folder, said element ( 6) exerts a pressure against the document towards the inner side of the panel (2) or (3) of the folder, thus imprisoning the upper edge of said document (5) in the form illustrated in Figure 6, being able to substantially reduce the movement capacity of the most frontal pages and avoiding the possibility of bending them when opening the article in question.

As previously mentioned, if the material selected to make the device or fastener (6) subject of this invention is transparent, then said element (6) will not interfere with the possibility of observing the contents of the front page of the document (5) protected, although this possibility is not restrictive of the invention since the dimensions of the element are substantially smaller with respect to the area that can be covered by the material of the lower support (flap or pocket).

Finally, it is clear that the application of the fastener element of the present invention can be done, as described, on one or both inner faces of the panels that constitute the body of the office article for the safekeeping of documents, be it a folder, with rings or rings, brooch or the like, by virtue of the fact that said fastener does not interfere with the normal operation of any of the items to which it can be added.

In another embodiment of the present invention, illustrated in Figure 7, the fastener (6) can have a rectangular, rather than trapezoidal, shape, maintaining the characteristic of having the corners adjacent to the bottom edge, rounded, to prevent tearing of the documents to be contained in the folder. The numbers have the same meaning as in Figure 6.

In yet another embodiment of the present invention, illustrated in Figure 8, the fastener (6) may have a length substantially less than that of the width of the folder panel to which it adheres along one of its edges, maintaining its document holding action between the panel and the element, as well as the protection on the edge of the document on which it is in its position of use; the protection at the edge of the document is restricted precisely to said area of the upper edge thereof depending on the position in which the element (6) is anchored to the folder panel; it is possible to protect any of the corners of the document if the element of clamp (6) is anchored to the panel near the selected corner; in another case, the clamping element can be centered centered with respect to the panel.

Another embodiment of the invention, illustrated in Figure 9, suggests the use of a clamping element (6) divided into two or more sections in its length, offering flexibility to the respective panel of the folder, maintaining the protection features at the upper edge. of the document and its corners. Depending on the length and shape selected for each of the fasteners (6), a material saving with practically the same functionality is possible.

Claims

CLAIMS Once the invention has been described, it is considered as a novelty and is claimed as property, what is contained in the following clauses: 1. - An item of stationery for the safekeeping of documents, consisting of: a) A body for the containment of documents, such as, but not limited to, a folder, a ring or brooch folder or the like, b) A sheet of flexible material attached to at least the lower and outer edges of the inner face of at least one of the panels that make up the body of the article, forming a pocket for placing inside the documents to be protected, characterized because to said article a clamping element of the type of a tongue or flange attached to the body of the article has been added along the upper edge opposite to that in which the sheet that forms the pocket is located, in order to hold already At the same time protect, the upper edges and corners of the document placed in the pocket for backup purposes. 2. - The stationery article according to claim 1, characterized in that said fastener element is a strip of flexible or semi-flexible material preferably, but not restricted to, transparent or translucent plastic material. 3. - The stationery article according to claim 2, characterized in that the clamping element has a trapezoidal geometric configuration, with the major base attached correlatively to the upper edge of the inner face of the article in which the pocket of support of documents, and with the minor base in the direction towards the center of said internal face; the corners adjacent to the minor base, being rounded to avoid tearing or scratching the document or documents that are inserted in the article. 4. The stationery article according to claim 2, characterized in that the clamping element has a rectangular geometric configuration, with one of its bases of greater length correlatively attached to the upper edge of the inner face of the article in which it is located located the document support pocket, and with the other base of greater length towards the center of said internal face; the corners adjacent to the lower base, being rounded to avoid tearing or scratching the document or documents that are inserted in the article. 5. - The stationery article according to claim 2, characterized in that the clamping element is attached to the upper edge of the inner face of the article, by any of the techniques known in the art, so that the inner surface of the element is completely in contact with the inner face to which it is attached, showing resistance to its separation and thus offering a clamp effect. 6. The stationery article according to claim 5, characterized in that said clamping element, in its normal position, does not prevent the use of the article in the conventional manner. 7. - The stationery article according to claim 5, characterized in that said holding element, in its position of use, oppresses the document or documents that are inserted between it and the inner side of the article to which it is attached, against the latter, preventing the movement of the document back and forth and thus preventing said document from being mistreated when the stationery article is closed or that the document leave the article when transporting it in normal use. 8. The stationery article according to claim 1, characterized in that the clamping element can be located on one or both internal faces of the stationery article in a coordinated manner to the presence or not of the lower support element that forms the pocket of support for documents. 9. - The stationery article according to claim 1, characterized in that the clamping element can be formed by two or more individual elements that can be located on one or both internal faces of the stationery in a coordinated manner to the presence or not of the lower support element that makes up the document support pocket.