Recyclable paper binding means

A fastener member to hold sheets of paper in a stack and ultimately be recycled at the same time the paper stacks are recycled. The fastener comprises a rolled material which is tightly bound to itself to produce a rigid shank for use as a fastening member.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
This invention relates generally to means for fastening stacks of paper 
together and, more specifically, to a means and method for fastening paper 
together that permits recycling of the paper without requiring removal of 
the fastening members. 
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
Computer print outs are often made on a paper that is perforated along the 
edge so that a drive mechanism can pull the paper at a controlled rate 
through a printer. Generally, the paper is stored in continuous length 
comprising a stack of sheets with an accordian fold between each adjacent 
sheet. The drive mechanism can pull the paper through the printer as each 
sheet unfolds from the stack of sheets. After printing the printed sheets 
are restacked with the sheets refolded along the same accordian fold to 
form a stack of printed sheets. In some instances the outside edge of the 
stack can be coded so that the paper belonging to a given report can be 
easily distinguished and separated from preceding and subsequent material. 
The individual pages in the stack can either be separated (burst) or used 
without further processing. In either case the individual sheets of the 
report can become mixed or lost if they are not held in proper position in 
the stack. 
To prevent the individual sheets from separating the prior art uses a 
binding system wherein metal posts are inserted through the openings in 
each sheet and a metal bar is secured to the posts on each side of the 
stack to bind the stack of papers together. 
Many of the reports contain information of a transitory value and are 
useful for only a short period of time. Therefore, it is customary to 
remove the metal posts and recycle the paper. Removing the metal posts is 
a time-consuming and expensive task that is a detriment to the economics 
of a recycling process. 
My invention provides a means and method to bind the print out sheets and 
the like with low cost binding members that need not be removed when the 
print out sheets are recycled. 
DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART 
The concept of paper fasteners or paper binders is well known in the art. 
Many different types of fasteners have been used as illustrated by the 
following U.S. patents: 
Swartwout U.S. Pat. No. 23,322 shows a paper fastener made from a flat 
strip. The flat strip has two triangular projections which can be forced 
through the paper and clinched to fasten a set of papers together. 
Thayer U.S. Pat. No. 217,831 shows a metal fastener having a shank and a 
head and a second separator washer head which can be attached to the 
shank. The shank is inserted through an opening in the paper and the 
second head is fastened to the shank. 
Thorp U.S. Pat. No. 219,419 shows a metallic edge binder for placing over 
the edge of a plurality of sheets to produce a book. 
Wheeler U.S. Pat. No. 445,436 shows a rivet which is driven through a stack 
of papers. A washer which fastens to rivet holds the papers together. 
Denis U.S. Pat. No. 643,045 shows a fastener having a shank with a series 
of grooves therein to engage a washer. The shank is inserted through a 
stack of papers and the washer is inserted on the shank to hold the papers 
together. 
Reiter U.S. Pat. No. 1,479,740 shows a connector for loose leaf binders 
which has a cap on both ends and a collar that attaches to the material. 
Fellowes U.S. Pat. No. 3,217,372 shows a pair of binder poles which are 
made from a rubber-like material such as polyethlene so as to be both 
flexible and spring-like. The posts are bent over and clipped to hold the 
papers in place. 
Lindgren, et al. U.S. Pat. No. 3,263,689 shows a similar pair of post 
binders which can be bent over to hold a stack of papers in place. 
Moller U.S. Pat. No. 3,362,412 shows a polymer plastic member that can be 
inserted through the opening in a stack of papers and fastened to 
themselves to hold a stack of papers in place. 
Corey U.S. Pat. No. 3,741,385 shows a flat fastening device which can be 
inserted through an opening and bent over to hold the paper sheets of 
material. 
Malavazos U.S. Pat. No. 3,866,274 shows a pair of binding posts for 
interlocking with each other to hold a stack of papers in place. Each of 
the binding posts have ratchet teeth for engaging each other. 
Heimberger U.S. Pat. No. 3,962,007 shows fasteners having humps thereon 
which are fastened to a tape. 
Giulie U.S. Pat. No. 4,184,782 shows a set of locking channels and flexible 
radially deformable filaments which are used for holding a stack of sheets 
in place. 
Tsao-Tsung U.S. Pat. No. 4,244,085 shows a wire fastener that functions as 
a pin and clip.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
The present invention comprises a recyclable fastening member that provides 
an inexpensive method of securing a stack of papers together to form a 
single bound stack of papers. The fastening member permits the bound stack 
of papers and the fastening member to be simultaneously recycled. The 
preferred fastening member is made of biodegradable material such as 
rolled paper. In an alternate embodiment small amounts of biodegradable 
adhesive coatings can be used for fastening retaining collars or heads on 
the fastening members. 
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
Referring to the drawings, FIG. 1 shows a stack 9 of conventional computer 
print out sheets 10 with each of the ends of paper sheets 10 linked to the 
preceding and subsequent paper sheet in stack 9. A set of aligned 
perforation holes 11 extend through the stack of paper sheets. My 
cylindrical fastening member 14 is shown extending through one of holes 11 
in stack 9. 
FIG. 2 shows a fastening member shank 15 having a pointed end 16 for ease 
of insertion into the holes in a stack of paper sheets. Typically, 
fastening member is comprised of a cylindrical shank 15 that is made of 
recyclable material such as paper or other fiberous biodegradable 
materials. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 2 shank 15 has a sharp point 16 
on one end with a smooth shank 15. In operation shank 15 is inserted 
through the openings in the stack of sheets 9. As shown in FIG. 1, shank 
15 is allowed to protrude beyond the ends of stack 9. Next, the shank 15 
is cut to proper length with a side cutter or the like. Typically, this 
requires leaving 1/4 of an inch to 1/2 of an inch extending beyond the 
stack. To attach the fastening member to the stack each end of shank 15 is 
flared or splayed to produce retaining heads on opposite ends of the 
shank. FIG. 3 shows the ends of fastening member having a first splayed 
end 18 and a second splayed end 19. A simple flaring tool such as a 
phillips screw driver or a conical center punch may be used to flare the 
ends of shank 15. In the preferred embodiment shanks 15 are made of rolled 
paper such as used in lollipop sticks. 
FIG. 4 shows a fastening member shank 25 having a paper washer 26 attached 
to one end of fastening member 25 and a paper washer 26 attached to the 
opposite end of fastening member shank 25. Paper washer 26 may be fastened 
to fastening member shank 25 by an adhesive, a friction fit or by flaring 
the end of the fastening member shank 25. For rigidity, paper washer 26 is 
formed and rolled into a cylindrical shape. 
The simplest and least expensive form of the invention is illustrated in 
FIG. 2. It is well known in the art that a paper cylinder with sufficient 
rigidity can be manufactured by rolling multiple sheets of paper into a 
tight roll either with or without a biodegradable adhesive material. An 
example of such a product is the paper handle used in candy suckers or 
lollipop sticks. I have found that these conventional lollipop sucker 
sticks with a diameter of about 5/32 of an inch have sufficient length and 
diameter to secure a stack of papers over four inches thick. If the stack 
is shorter, the end of the sucker sticks can easily be cut to length by a 
side cutter or the like. I have also found that if the sucker sticks are 
subject to immersion in water for a period of time, they unroll and return 
to ordinary paper stock. This permits the paper in the sucker sticks to be 
recycled at the same time as the stacks of print out paper. The ends of 
the sucker sticks can also be deformed with a pointed tool and once 
deformed remain in the deformed condition. 
To fasten rolled paper members in a stack of paper I have found that in 
most instances a conical pointed tool can flare the end of the shank to a 
sufficiently large diameter to prevent the paper sheets from sliding off 
the shank. If preferred, a more permanent binding can be obtained by 
fastening a paper washer on each end of the shank. 
FIG. 6 shows a two-part alternate embodiment fastener designated by 
reference numerals 30 and 35. Reference number 30 designates the female 
shank having a head 31 and a cylindrical recess 32. Reference numeral 35 
denotes the male fastener having a shank 33 covered with a coating of 
adhesive 34. 
FIG. 7 shows the two members 30 and 35 assembled with an adhesive holding 
the two members together. In this embodiment the adhesive may be a 
heat-sensitive adhesive which melts due to the friction of assembly. As an 
alternative embodiment, an adhesive in a rupturable capsule form or other 
self-sticking adhesive can also be used. 
While paper is described as the preferred material for my fastener, it 
should be understood that other materials which can be recycled in the 
same process as the paper are also suitable with my invention. It is 
understood that my invention increases the energy efficiency of recycling 
of bound paper products.