Abstract:
A covered binder assembly in accordance with one exemplary embodiment of the present inventions includes a front cover, a rear cover, and a spine connecting the front and rear covers. The front cover has a window assembly including a transparent sheet mounted thereto. The front cover may be transparent to allow the user to see through front cover into the interior of the binder. The trasparent sheet spans substantially over the front cover to form a front cover pocket between the cover and the transparent sheet. An opening is extended along a comer between the front cover and the spine to provide access to the front cover pocket. A closure arrangement is provided to facilitate the closing of the opening. A second thin transparent sheet forms a spine pocket between the spine and the second transparent sheet. The opening along the corner between the front cover and the spine also provides access to the spine pocket. The window assembly may have additional sheet material secured thereto to provide small pockets, and may be pivoted outward from the cover to provide access to insert visual material into the small pockets.

Description:
RELATED PATENT APPLICATION 
     This is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/333,096, filed Jun. 15, 1999 (Docket 310048-427) now U.S. Pat. No. 6,367,842, granted Apr. 9, 2002. 
    
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to binders, and more particularly, to binders with transparent front windows to accommodate a visual display. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Binders with transparent spine and front cover pockets are available in the prior art. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,857,797, issued to Streff et al. (hereinafter Streff), discloses a three-ring binder which includes a spine, front cover and back cover. Each of the spine, front cover, and back cover has a substantially solid base plate and an outer plastic shell. The spine and front cover each includes a rectangular picture frame with outer edges aligned with and bonded to the bottom and side edges of the spine and cover. A clear plastic membrane is secured to the interior of the frame to cover the opening in the picture frame. The top edges of the frame are spaced inwardly and free of the outer plastic shell on the spine and front cover to form insert pockets. A user may insert a visual display sheet or other paper-like or card-like objects in these insert pockets. 
     As another example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,720,564, issued to Winzen, discloses a binder which has a front cover, a rear cover, a spine. The Winzen patent also discloses a transparent label holder which extends across the spine and is attached to at least one of the covers. Accordingly, information or visual display sheets may be carried on the front cover as well as the spine. 
     However, the Streff and the Winzen binders do not include a mechanism for securing the information or visual display sheets once they are inserted in the spine and front cover pockets. Furthermore, the Streff and the Winzen binders are not designed so as to provide a user with a view of the objects contained within the interior of the binders. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     A binder assembly in accordance with one exemplary embodiment of the present inventions includes a front cover, a rear cover, and a spine connecting the front and rear covers. The front cover has a transparent sheet mounted on the cover. The transparent sheet spans substantially over the cover to form a front cover pocket. An opening extends along a comer between the front cover and the spine to provide access to the front cover pocket. A closure arrangement is provided to facilitate the closing of the opening. 
     In accordance with one aspect of the invention, the base plate of the front cover is substantially stiff or rigid. In one embodiment, the base plate is trasparent to allow the option of permitting the user to see through the front cover into the interior of the binder. However, the base plate may also be made of opaque material. 
     In accordance with another aspect of the invention, the spine includes an inner support interconnecting said front and rear covers. A second the transparent sheet overlies said inner support and forms a spine pocket between the inner support and the second transparent sheet. The opening along the corner between the front cover and the spine also provides access to the spine pocket. 
     In accordance with yet another aspect of the invention, transparent rectangular areas of sheet material are bonded to the first transparent sheet on the front cover to form small transparent pockets. These transparent pockets may be either on the outside or the inside of the transparent sheet. When they are mounted on the inside, a zipper or other closure may extend around three sides of the transparent sheet, so that it may be raised up from the cover to give access for inserting visual material into the small pockets. 
     In accordance with one specific illustrative embodiment of the invention, a binder having front and rear covers pivotally secured to a spine, also has a window assembly secured to the front cover, with the window assembly having a transparent layer and a peripheral frame or binding around the edge of the transparent layer. At least one side of the window assembly is permanently secured to one side of the front cover, and the remainder of the periphery of the window assembly is releasably secured to the periphery of the front cover to permit the insertion of visual material, and to provide a high strength unitary binder following securing of the window assembly to the front cover. 
     In one preferred embodiment of the arrangements described in the preceding paragraph, additional strips of transparent sheet material are secured to the inner surface of said transparent layer to provide small inner pockets for display material, and the window assembly may be pivoted away from the front cover to permit the insertion of visual material into the small inner pockets. A zipper extending around three sides of the window assembly may be employed to selectively secure the window assembly to the front cover of the binder. 
     The above described and many other features and attendant advantages of the present invention will become apparent as the invention becomes better understood by reference to the following detailed description when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an exemplary binder in the closed position; 
     FIG. 2 shows a perspective view of an exemplary binder in the opened position; 
     FIG. 3 is a perspective view of an exemplary binder in the closed position as shown in FIG. 1, but with the closure arrangement being layers of mating hook and loop material; 
     FIG. 4 shows a cross-sectional view of an exemplary binder taking along line  4 — 4  of FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 5 is a top plan view of an alternative binder with transparent rectangular areas secured to the front cover to form small transparent pockets; 
     FIG. 6 is a perspective view of another alternative embodiment of the invention; 
     FIG. 7 is a plan view of the inside of the front window of the binder assembly of FIG.  6 . 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     FIGS. 1,  2 , and  3  show an exemplary binder  10  constructed to hold standard size sheets of eight and a half inches by eleven inches. The binder  10  includes a spine  12 , a front cover  14 , and a rear cover  16  connected to the opposite edges of the spine  12 . The front and rear covers  14 , 16  have a preferred width of about eleven inches and height of about thirteen inches. The binder  10  may also be sized to accommodate paper sheets larger or smaller than eight and a half inches by eleven inches. For example, typical carry-type organizers and calendars are usually about five inches by seven inches, while binders for photo albums can be about twelve inches by fifteen inches. 
     The front cover  14  has fabric covered edges  18  to form a front cover frame as shown in FIGS. 1,  3 , and  5 . As shown in FIG. 4, the front cover  14  includes a substantially stiff or rigid inner base plate  20 , which may be either transparent or opaque. The base plate  20  extends substantially throughout the entire width and height of the front cover  14 , and is preferably transparent to allow a user to look through the front cover  14  into the interior of the binder  10 . In one preferred embodiment, the base plate  20  is formed of polypropylene and has a thickness of about 30 mils or 0.030 inch. In practice, the base plate  20  may be constructed using any transparent or opaque and substantially stiff or rigid material that may differ substantially in thickness. 
     As stated above, strips of fabric are bonded to the edges  18  of the front cover  14  to form a front cover frame. A thin transparent sheet  22  is bonded to the base plate  20  and is secured to the inner surfaces of the fabric forming the front cover frame. As depicted in FIG. 4, the transparent sheet  22  forms a front cover pocket  21  to receive visual displays or other information sheets. In the preferred embodiment, the transparent sheet  22  is formed of polyvinyl chloride which is about 0.007 inch thick. However, the sheet  22  may also be formed of other transparent plastic material such as polyolefin material. It is contemplated that the transparent sheet  22  may be in the preferred range of 0.004 to 0.015 inch thick. 
     An exemplary use of the pocket is demonstrated in FIGS. 1,  2 , and  3 . As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, a first visual display sheet with the “Avery” indicia and logo may be inserted into the front cover pocket  21 . The first visual display sheet  24  may have a window  26  so that a user may look through the window  26  and see objects placed inside the binder  10 . A second visual display sheet  28  with the “Index Maker” writing may be inserted inside the binder  10  as the top sheet secured in the binder, as depicted in FIG.  2 . The “index Maker” writing may be aligned with the window  26  on the first visual display sheet  24 , such that when a user looks through the window, the writing would appear in the user&#39;s view. 
     The front cover pocket  21  may be selectively opened or closed by a pocket closure arrangement  30 . In the preferred embodiment, the closure arrangement  30  extends along a corner between the spine  12  and the front cover  14  to provide access to the front cover pocket  21 . In practice, the closure arrangement  30  may extend along any side of the front cover  14 . The closure arrangement  30  can be a Zipper, as shown in FIG. 1, or mating layers of hook and loop material  32 , as depicted in FIG.  3 . When the closure arrangement  30  is opened, the user may access the front cover pocket  21  to insert a visual display or information sheet  24  in the pocket  21 . Once the visual display or information sheet  24  is inserted in the pocket  21 , the user may seal the closure arrangement  30 , thereby securing the sheet  24  within the pocket  21 . 
     As stated above, the binder  10  has a spine  12  which includes an inner support  34  connecting the front cover  14  and rear cover  16 , as shown in FIG.  4 . The spine  12  includes strips of fabric covering the edges  52  of the spine  12  to form a spine frame. A thin transparent sheet  36  is bonded to the inner support  34  to form a spine pocket  37  between the inner support  34  and the transparent sheet  36 , as shown in FIG. 4, to receive a visual display or information sheet or card  54 . The transparent sheet  36  may be formed of polyvinyl chloride which is about 0.007 inch thick. However, the sheet  36  may also be formed of other transparent plastic material such as polyolefin material. It is contemplated that the transparent sheet  36  may be in the preferred ranze of 0.004 to 0.015 inch thick. In the preferred embodiment, the closure arrangement  30 , which extends alone the corner between the front cover  14  and the spine  12 , provides access to the spine pocket  37  as well as to the front cover pocket  21 . When the closure arrangement  30  is opened, the user can insert a visual display or information sheet or card  54  in the spine pocket, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 3. Once the visual display or information sheet or card  54  is inserted in the spine pocket, the user may seal the closure arrangement  30 , thereby securing the sheet or card  30  within the pocket. 
     As depicted in FIG. 4, the rear cover  16  of the binder preferably includes a substantially stiff or rigid inner base plate  56 , which is covered by a fabric layer  58 . A piece of fabric  55  is stitched to the fabric layer  58  covering the rear cover  16  to form an interior pocket for receiving a paper ring insert  38 . The paper ring insert  38  comprises of a base  59  and a paper ring mechanism  40  mounted on the base  59 . In assembling the binder  10 , the base  59  of the paper ring insert  38  may be inserted into the interior pocket formed by the fabric  55 , such that the paper ring mechanism  40  is placed adjacent to the spine  12 , as shown in FIG.  2 . The paper ring mechanism  40  preferably includes rings  42  that can be opened to receive papers or sheet-like objects  57  having spaced holes along their inner edges for alignment with the rings, as depicted in FIG.  4 . The paper ring mechanism  40  may be formed of a metal such as steel or light weight and inexpensive material such as plastic. 
     As shown in FIGS. 1,  2 , and  3 , the front cover  14  may be selectively sealable to the rear cover  16  by a binder closure Zipper  48 , 50  to open or close the binder  10 . As shown in FIGS. 1,  2 , and  3 , the side edge of the front cover  14  is connected to an outer side wall  44 , and the side edge of the rear cover  16  is connected to an outer side wall  46 . Each of the outer side walls  44 , 46  of the front and rear covers  14 , 16  has an outer edge,  48  and  50 , respectively. The outer edge  48 , 50  of each outer side wall  44 , 46  has one corresponding side of a Zipper  48 , 50  attached thereto. When the side of the Zipper  48  of the outer side wall  44  of the front cover  14  is engaged to the side of the Zipper  50  of the outer side wall  46  of the rear cover  16 , the binder  10  is in its closed configuration, and the papers or sheet-like objects are safely contained within the interior of the binder  10 . When the user disengages the Zipper connecting the outer side walls  4 , 46  of the front and rear covers  14 , 16 , the binder  10  may be opened. 
     Referring now to FIG. 5, an alternative embodiment of a binder  10  is illustrated. A layer of rectangular areas of transparent material are bonded to the thin transparent sheet of the front cover to form a plurality of small pockets  60 - 68  that vary in size. The construction of the small pockets  60 - 68  are disclosed in pending U.S. patent application No. 09/156,242, which was filed on Sep. 18, 1998 and entitled “Double Vision Cover and Binder Assembly.” 
     As depicted in FIG. 5, a first row of small pockets includes the first pocket  60  having a width of about four inches and a height of about six inches, and second and third small pockets  62 , 64  each having a width of about two and one fourth inches and a height of about three and a half inches. The second row of small pockets includes the fourth small pocket  66  having a width of a bout two and a half inches and a height of about three and a half inches, and the fifth small pocket  68  having a width of about six inches and a height of about four inches. 
     The small pockets  60 - 68  depicted in FIG. 5 are generally formed by cutting rectangular areas of transparent material and by suitably securing the three edges of the area onto the transparent sheet  22  which is bonded to the front cover  14 . The top side of each small pocket  60 - 68  is left unsecured to the transparent sheet  22  to define a top insert opening. The transparent sheet  22  may be bonded to the base plate of the front cover  14  before or after the small pockets  60 - 68  are bonded to the transparent sheet. 
     FIG. 6 shows a further alternative embodiment of the invention in which a binder assembly  82  includes a main, generally conventional binder section  84  and an outer window assembly  86  which is mounted on the front cover  87  of the binder assembly by a zipper  88  extending along two sides and the top of the window assembly  86 . The lower edge  90  of the window assembly  86  is permanently secured to the lower edge of the front cover  87  of the binder. 
     The outer window assembly  87  includes a central flexible transparent sheet  92  surrounded by and secured to a peripheral binding strip  94 . A large visual display sheet  96  may be inserted into the space between the front cover  87  and the window assembly  86  by unzipping the window assembly  86  on three sides. Following insertion of the display material  96 , the zipper may be closed, with the edge binding strip forming a frame or outer border for the display material. 
     As best shown in FIG. 7, the inner surface of the window  92  of the window assembly  86  has a series of flexible transparent strips  102 ,  104  and  106  bonded thereto, forming additional small display pockets. These strips  102 ,  104  and  106  are bonded to the larger flexible sheet  92  to form a series of small pockets open at the top but bonded to the sheet  92  along the other three edges of each pocket. 
     Thus, considering the strip  104 , it is formed into three small pockets  104 - 1 ,  104 - 2  and  104 - 3 . Now, concerning pocket  104 - 2 , note that it is bonded to transparent sheet  92  along lines  107  but is open at edge  109 , to receive small visible inserts. 
     Similarly, strip  102  is bonded to sheet  92  to form pockets  102 - 1  and  102 - 2 ; and strip  106  is bonded to sheet  92  to form pockets  106 - 1  and  106 - 2 , which are also open at their top edges but closed at the other three edges. Note, for example, that the business card  108  may be inserted into the pocket  102 - 2 . The card would normally be oriented to face out so as to be visible from the front of the binder when the binder assembly is entirely closed up. 
     With the arrangements as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, a large background visual display may be placed between the window assembly  86  and the front cover  87  of the binder assembly, and smaller visual displays placed in selected ones of the smaller display pockets shown in FIG.  7 . These smaller visual displays would appear to be super-posed on the larger background visual display when viewed from the front of the binder. 
     Although the present invention has been described in terms of the preferred embodiments above, numerous modifications or additions to the above-described preferred embodiments would be readily apparent to one skilled in the art. Thus, by way of example and not of limitation, the binder is preferably sized to hold standard eight and a half by eleven inches sheets of paper. However, the binder may also be sized to accommodate sheets larger or smaller than eight and a half inches by eleven inches. For example, typical carry-type organizers and calendars are usually about five inches by seven inches, while binders for photo albums can be about twelve inches by fifteen inches. As another example, one exemplary binder is shown to include five small transparent pockets, and another binder includes seven small pockets. However, a binder may be constructed to have any number of small transparent pockets. It is further noted that the binder could be provided with a frame or pocket arrangement only on either the spine or the front cover, as well as with both, as shown in one preferred embodiment. Furthermore, visual displays and associated closures may be provided on the back cover of the binder as well as on the front cover, and/or the spine of the binder. Accordingly, the present invention is not limited to the specific embodiment illustrated and described hereinabove.