BINDER

Abstract: In order to fold a ring binder flat for storage purposes, the ring binder comprises a cover member having a rear spine portion to which a binding mechanism is secured. The binding mechanism comprises a sheet metal part formed to retain first and second metal strips in side by side relationship with their inner edges adjacent one another. Each metal strip has a first and a second ring part pivotally connected thereto to permit pivoting of the ring parts about an axis transverse to the length of the metal strips, so that the ring parts can be pivoted to a first upstanding position from the sheet metal portion. In this position they may be moved towards opposing ring parts in the other metal strip to form binding rings. An over-centre mechanism comprising the sheet metal part, the strips and the lower free ends of the ring parts enable the ring parts to move together with a snap action. The ring parts are pivotable to a second position in which they lie generally in the plane of the sheet metal part to provide a generally flat configuration in which the cover can be folded to a generally flat configuration.

Description: BLNDER The present invention relates to binders comprising a folder in which sheets of paper may be fastened and a binding mechanism therefor. A common form of binder is the type known as a ring binder and is shown in Figures 7a to 7c. Referring to Figures 7a to 7c, the binder comprises a folder of rigid plastics material having front and rear covers 2, 4 joined along fold lines 6 to a rear spine portion 8. A binding mechanism 10 is riveted to the spine portion by rivets 12 and comprises, as more clearly shown in Figures 7a and 7b a pressing of sheet metal 14 having turned over edges 16 which enclose the outer edges of two stiff metal plates 18. The inner edges of the plates 18 are held under tension against one another by the pressing 14 and have locating lugs 20 extending to engage the underside of the inner edge of the adjacent metal strip. Two pairs of half ring members 24 are provided, each half ring member having a lower end 22 welded to the strips 18 and extending through registering apertures 26 in metal sheet 14. The free end 28 of each half ring member is grooved so as to inter-engage with an opposing half ring member to form a complete ring. h operation, when the half ring members 24 are pulled apart from one another, this causes the metal strips 18 to pivot about turned over edges 16 towards the under-surface of pressing 14. When a punched sheet of paper has been inserted onto the ring members, the ring members 24 are then pushed together. This causes metal strips 18 to pivot about the turned over edges 16 away from pressing 14. The metal strips form with the pressing 14 an over-centre mechanism so that they move with a snap action through a position in which they are parallel to one another to a position indicated in dotted lines 30 in which the metal strips 18 make an angle relative to one another away from pressing 14. Thus, as the metal strips move from an inner position through a centre position to an outer position, being held against one another under tension by virtue of pressing 14, the half ring members 24 move together with a snap action so as to firmly engage together in a locked position, as indicated in Figure 7b. A problem which arises in many commercial organisations is that of storing a large number of empty ring binders, awaiting use. The substantial width of the spine portion 8, required to accommodate the width of the binding mechanism 10 implies that a large amount of shelf space is required to store a large number of ring binders. Summary of the Invention It is an object of the invention to provide a ring binder and a binding mechanism therefor which is such that the binding mechanism does not interfere with the folding of an empty ring binder towards a flat condition. Accordingly in a first aspect of the present invention there is provided a ring binder comprising a cover member having front and rear cover portions joined to a rear spine portion and a binding mechanism secured to the spine portion, the binding mechanism comprising a mounting plate means, and at least one binding ring mounted to the mounting plate means and comprising first and second ring parts pivotable about a first axis between a first upright configuration and a second configuration in which the ring parts and the mounting plate provide a generally flat configuration in which the cover member can be folded towards a flat condition, and the first and second ring parts being pivotable in the upright position about a second axis relative to one another between an open ring configuration and a closed ring configuration, and including an over-centre mechanism coupled with the ring parts to enable them to move between the open and closed configurations with a snap-action. In a further aspect of the present invention there is provided a ring binding mechanism for a ring binder, comprising a mounting plate means, and at least one binding ring mounted to the mounting plate means and comprising first and second ring parts pivotable about a first axis between a first upright configuration and a second configuration in which the ring parts and the mounting plate provide a generally flat configuration, and the first and second ring parts being pivotable in the upright position about a second axis relative to one another between an open ring configuration and a closed ring configuration, and including an over-centre mechanism coupled with the ring parts to enable them to move between the open and closed configurations with a snap-action. In yet a further aspect of the present invention there is provided a ring binder mechanism comprising a plate, means pivotally supporting a pair of cooperating fingers on the plate for movement about respective parallel first axes for movement towards or away from one another between a first configuration in which they form a closed loop with the plate and a second configuration in which they form an open loop with the plate, and an over-centre mechanism for biasing the fingers into which ever of the two configurations they adopt, the pivotally supporting means also supporting the fingers for pivotal movement about a second axis extending orthogonal to the first axes to allow the fingers to be moved between an attitude in which they are upstanding from the plate and an attitude in which they lie generally flat with the plate, the two fingers having inter-engaging portions which allow relative movement between the fingers about the first axes but resist relative movement about the second axis. Thus, in accordance with the invention the provision of first and second axes for movement of the ring parts permits the movement of the ring parts between open and closed configurations for binding paper sheets, and also permits the ring parts to lie generally flat with the sheet metal part when the ring binder is to be stored so that the binder cover can be folded flat. As preferred the ring parts are coupled to metal strips forming the over-centre mechanism by means of a pivotal connection defining the first axis for movement between the first upright and second flat configurations. Whilst it would be possible to simply connect the ring parts to the metal strips by means of a pivotal joint, and to permit the metal strips to constitute the over-centre mechanism, this would result in some instability in that the ring parts would not have a stable upright position in which paper can be fastened. It is therefore desirable to provide a securing means for ensuring that the ring parts have a stable upright securing position. In a particularly preferred form of the invention, the parts are formed, in their end regions to which they are secured to the metal strips, with a straight axle portion which extends across the sheet metal strip and engages in bearing lugs in the metal strip to form a pivotal connection, and the free end portions of these end regions are formed at right angles to the axle parts and are formed so as to inter-engage with a free end portion of an opposing ring part when in the upright position. In this position, the tension provided by the sheet metal part is transmitted via the opposing metal strips to the free ends of the lower edge regions of the ring parts so that they are held together and effectively form part of the over-centre mechanism and at the same time provide some stability for the upright positions of the ring parts so that the ring parts may be open and closed together with a snap action whilst remaining in the upright position. Brief Description of the Drawings A preferred embodiment of the invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying diagrammatic drawings, wherein: Figure 1 comprises top and bottom perspective views of a preferred embodiment of a ring binder binding mechanism in the locked position; Figure 2 comprises views similar to Figure 1 but with the binding mechanism in the open position; Figure 3 comprises views similar to Figure 2 but with the ring parts pivoted to a flat configuration; Figures 4 is a sectional view along the line IY-IV of Figure 1 ; Figure 5 is an exploded perspective view of the component parts of the binding mechanism; Figure 6 is a schematic view of a ring binder in accordance with the invention including the binding mechanism of the above figures; and Figures 7a, 7b and 7c are perspective views of a prior art ring binder and binding mechanism therefor. Description of the Preferred Embodiment Referring to Figures 1 to 5, the ring binder binding mechanism according to a preferred embodiment of the invention comprises a mounting plate formed as a sheet metal pressing part 40 in a generally flat strip-like form which is pressed to provide rivet apertures 42 within end recesses 44, for securing the binding mechanism to a cover by rivets, a raised central portion 46 extending the length of the sheet metal and two sets of opposed apertures 48 for accommodating the lower parts of ring parts or fingers 50. Stiff sheet metal strips 52 are provided with lug portions 54 extending above and below the plane of the strip to define a pivotal bearing for the ring parts 50. The ring parts comprise upper free ends 58 with opposing ring parts having grooves 60 and inter-engaging projections 62 respectively, the upper free ends forming an approximate right angle with straight main portions 64. The lower regions 66 of the ring parts have a first axial portion 68 making an angle of approximately 100° with main part 64, and a free end forming an over-centre portion 70, at right angles to the plane of portion 68 and 64. The inner edges of free end 70 has a rib 72 for engaging the edge of an adjoining metal strip 52, and has at its outer edge, a projection 74 for engaging a cooperating recess 76 in the opposing ring part 50. Thus in the assembled condition as shown in Figures 1 to 4, the lower region 66 of each ring part is inserted through the bearing formed by lug parts 54 so that axial part 68 lies within the bearing lugs and the inner free end 70 lies along the inner edge of metal strip 52 with rib 72 positioned on top of the free edge. The ribs and grooves 74, 76 along the outer edge of free ends 70 engage one another, as shown in Figures 1 and 4. The metal strips 52 have their outer edges engaged within turned over edges 80 of sheet metal pressing 40, and their inner edges are spaced from one another to permit movement of free ends 70 of the ring parts 50. However, the metal strips 52 are pressed together with free ends 70 under tension by means of the pressing 40 so as to constitute an over-centre mechanism. The binding mechanism is shown schematically affixed in a ring binder cover 90 in Figure 6. Thus, rivets are inserted through apertures 42 into the spine portion 92 of the cover. In use, the binding mechanism has three distinct configurations as shown in Figures 1, 2 and 3 respectively. In a locked configuration as shown in Figure 1, the ring parts 50 stand upright from metal pressing 40 and the ribs and grooves 60, 62 at their upper free ends inter-engage so as to form complete rings for holding punched paper sheets. In this configuration, the lower free ends 70 lie parallel with each other and inter-engage via ribs and grooves 74, 76, as shown more particularly in Figure 4, with the metal strips 52 making an angle of approximately 10° with the plane of metal pressing 46. This is a first position of the over-centre mechanism. The metal parts may then be grasped and moved apart to a configuration as shown in Figure 2. As the ring parts 50 are moved apart, the lower regions 66 of the ring parts are levered towards one another and whilst maintaining inter- engagement via ribs and grooves 74, 76 pass through a central position with a snap action to the other position of the over-centre mechanism in which the ring parts are in the open configuration as shown in Figure 2. In this configuration, the metal strips 52 make an angle of about 10° with the plane of pressing 46 but are now angled towards the rib 46. The paper sheet may now be loaded on the ring parts, and the ring parts subsequently snapped backed to the locked configuration shown in Figure 1. The provision of free ends 70 as part of the over-centre mechamsm gives the ring parts stability in the upright configuration. In addition it will be noted that both in the closed position of Figure 1 and in the open position of Figure 2, ribs 72 of free ends 70 engage the upper surfaces of strips 52 to lend the ring parts further stability in their upright configuration. The ribs 74 inter-engaging within grooves 76 provide further stability and a pivot means for the free ends 70 as they move through the over-centre position. If it is desired to store away the ring binder, then the binding mechanism may be moved to the configuration in Figure 3. Thus, proceeding from the configuration shown in Figure 1 or that in Figure 2, the ring parts 50 may be pivoted outwardly towards the extreme ends of pressing 40 so that they lie in generally the plane of the metal pressing as shown in Figure 3. In this configuration, the inter-engaging lower free ends 70 pivot inwardly and upwardly into rib 46 of the pressing and ribs 72 disengage from the edges of metal strips 52. This then permits the ring binder to adopt a flat configuration with spine portion 92 parallel to rear cover 94, and with front cover 90 folded over spine portion 92 and rear cover 94. There is thus provided a simple and effective mechanism for a ring binder allowing sheets of paper to be loaded and unloaded from the ring binder, but which permits in a particularly effective manner, the folding flat of the ring binder for storage purposes.

Claims: CLAIMS 1. A ring binder comprising a cover member having front and rear cover portions joined to a rear spine portion and a binding mechanism secured to the spine portion, the binding mechamsm comprising a mounting plate means, and at least one binding ring mounted to the mounting plate means and comprising first and second ring parts pivotable about a first axis between a first upright configuration and a second configuration in which the ring parts and the mounting plate provide a generally flat configuration in which the cover member can be folded towards a flat condition, and the first and second ring parts being pivotable in the upright position about a second axis relative to one another between an open ring configuration and a closed ring configuration, and including an over-centre mechanism coupled with the ring parts to enable them to move between the open and closed configurations with a snap-action. 2. A ring binding mechanism for a ring binder, comprising a mounting plate means, and at least one binding ring mounted to the mounting plate means and comprising first and second ring parts pivotable about a first axis between a first upright configuration and a second configuration in which the ring parts and the mounting plate provide a generally flat configuration, and the first and second ring parts being pivotable in the upright position about a second axis relative to one another between an open ring configuration and a closed ring configuration, and including an over-centre mechanism coupled with the ring parts to enable them to move between the open and closed configurations with a snap-action. 3. A binder according to Claim 1 or a mechanism according to Claim 2, wherein the over-centre mechanism comprises first and second stiff metal plates disposed in said mounting plate means in side by side relationship with adjacent inner edges, and mounted so as to be pivotable relative to one another under tension to define said second axis, with the first and second ring parts being mounted to respective metal plates. 4. A binder or a mechanism according to Claim 2, wherein the mounting plate means includes a sheet metal pressing formed to hold the stiff metal plates against one another under tension. 5. A binder or mechanism according to Claim 3 or 4, wherein the lower regions of the ring parts are provided with axial portions engaging within lug portions formed within the metal strips to define bearings for the axial portions along said first axis. 6. A binder or mechanism according to Claim 3, 4 or 5, wherein the lower ends of the ring parts have an axial portion coupled to the metal strips and extending transversely thereto, and inter-engaging free end portions extending at right angles to the axial portions and parallel to the length of the metal strips, whereby the free end portions together with the metal strips constitute an over-centre mechanism. 7. A binder or mechanism according to Claim 6, wherein the inter-engaging free end portions of the ring parts had inter-engaging ribs and grooves. 8. A binder or mechanism according to Claim 6 or 7, wherein when the ring parts are pivoted to said second position, the free end lower portions thereof disengage from the metal strips and extend upwardly within the mounting plate means. 9. A binder or a mechanism according to any preceding claim, including means for holding the first and second ring parts in said first upright configuration. 10. A binder or a mechanism according to Claim 9, wherein lower ends of the first and second ring parts mounted to said mounting plate means are held together under tension in said first upright configuration by said holding means. 11. A binder or a mechanism according to Claim 10, wherein said over-centre mechanism provides said tension. 12. A binder or mechanism according to Claim 9, 10 or 11 as dependent on Claim 6, wherein the outer edges of the lower free ends of ring parts have ribs to locate on the edges of the metal strips. 13. A binder or mechanism according to any preceding claim, wherein the ring parts comprise an upper free end portion for engaging with a free end portion of an opposite ring part, a central arm portion extending perpendicular to the upper free end, and a lower end portion extending at an angle significantly greater than a right angle to the arm portion. 14. A ring binder mechanism comprising a plate, means pivotally supporting a pair of cooperating fingers on the plate for movement about respective parallel first axes for movement towards or away from one another between a first configuration in which they form a closed loop with the plate and a second configuration in which they form an open loop with the plate, and an over-centre mechanism for biasing the fingers into which ever of the two configurations they adopt, the pivotally supporting means also supporting the fingers for pivotal movement about a second axis extending orthogonal to the first axes to allow the fingers to be moved between an attitude in which they are upstanding from the plate and an attitude in which they lie generally flat with the plate, the two fingers having inter-engaging portions which allow relative movement between the fingers about the first axes but resist relative movement about the second axis.

Inventors: CHEUNG KUNG, CHEUNG, KUNG
Applicants: CHEUNG KUNG, WORLD WIDE STATIONERY MFG CO, CHEUNG, KUNG, WORLD WIDE STATIONERY MANUFACTURING CO., LTD.
Application year: 1999
Main classification: B42F
IPC codes: B42F1, B42F3