Patent ID: 9688091
Date: 2017-06-27
CPC Classifications: B42F

Claim:
1. A ring binder mechanism for holding loose-leaf pages, the mechanism comprising: an elongate housing having a central portion and lateral sides extending downwardly along either side of the central portion; a ring support comprising a pair of hinge plates in generally side-by-side relation and hingedly connected to one another for pivoting movement relative to each other, the hinge plates being held between the lateral sides of the housing; a plurality of rings for holding the loose-leaf pages, each ring including a first ring member and a second ring member, the first ring member being mounted on the ring support for movement with the ring support relative to the housing between a closed position and an open position, in the closed position the first and second ring members forming a substantially continuous, closed loop for allowing loose-leaf pages retained by the rings to be moved along the rings from one ring member to the other, and in the open position the first and second ring members forming a discontinuous, open loop for adding or removing loose-leaf pages from the rings; and an actuator mounted for pivotal movement relative to the housing about a pivot axis, the actuator comprising a pair of arms engageable with the hinge plates, the arms including a lower arm having a first contact surface engageable with the hinge plates during pivoting movement of the actuator in a first direction to move the rings from the closed position to the open position and an upper arm having a second contact surface engageable with the hinge plates during pivoting movement of the actuator in a second direction opposite said first direction to move the rings from the open position to the closed position, the first contact surface being spaced farther from the pivot axis than the second contact surface.