Abstract:
A manual binder for affixing a slide to the margin of a calendar or the like. The binder crimps a slide located between first and second crimping members upon the margin of a calendar. The slide and calendar are held by the first and second members and a third crimping member forms a bend in the slide. The slide and calendar are repositioned between the first and second members and the bend formed by the third member is crimped closed upon the calendar.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     This invention relates to document binders. More specifically, this invention relates to manually binding calendars or the like with a slide. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Slides for binding a margin of a calendar, poster and the like are known in the art. A slide is generally an elongated strip of metal typically having a tab attached approximately medially thereto that is folded or crimped one or more times to the margin of, for example, a calendar so that the calendar may be hung by the tab from a desired location, e.g., a wall. Examples of slides are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,906,024; and 2,042,912. 
     Attaching a slide to the margin of a calendar or the like, hereinafter referred to as &#34;tinning&#34;, is an economical means of production for calendars, especially for companies that use calendars for advertising purposes. Also, it is advantageous to tin other hanging documents, e.g., a poster, with educational material so that it may be easily moved to and from a desired location. 
     Certain prior art tinners have been fully or semi-automatic so that large numbers of slides per hour may be applied to respective calendars. One such tinner is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,707,194, owned by the assignee of the present invention and which is incorporated herein in its entirety by reference. The &#39;194 patent shows a calendar tinner which automatically supplies a metal strip from a roll of metal to a first folding means which automatically folds the metal strip longitudinally. A calendar is then automatically fed into the folded metal strip, whereafter the metal strip is cut to the width of the calendar to form the slide. The slide is then automatically crimped upon the calendar to sandwich the calendar therein. Thereafter, the slide is automatically folded a second time to produce a second bend which is then automatically crimped back upon itself to complete the tinning process. 
     Other, semi-automatic tinners are available from the assignee of the present invention. The Stuebing Automatic Machine Company provides, for example, an Electric Metal Edger into which a user hand feeds a slide and calendar wherein the edger automatically crimps the slide upon the calendar. Also, a Magnetic Metal Edger automatically feeds the slide and crimps the slide to a calendar inserted therein by a user. These machines can crimp over 600 slides per hour to calendar margins and are generally used by those who wish to tin large volumes of materials. Furthermore, these automatic and semi-automatic machines are intended for large capacity production and are not economical for a small business desiring to produce relatively small volumes of calendars and/or posters for advertising or educational purposes. 
     On the other hand, known manual tinners are overly complicated and include numerous cams and other operating mechanisms to accomplish the double fold application of the slide to a calendar margin or the like. As such, these known manual tinners are unduly complicated, bulky, oversized and often require excessive maintenance for the function they perform. 
     OBJECTIVES OF THE INVENTION 
     It has therefore been an objective of the present invention to provide an improved and relatively inexpensive apparatus for tinning calendars and the like. 
     It has been a further objective of the present invention to provide an apparatus for tinning calendars and the like that is of simple, reliable construction and does not require excessive maintenance. 
     It is another object of the present invention to provide an apparatus for tinning calendars and the like which is manually operated and easy to use and maintain. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     These and other objectives of the present invention are achieved with a manual calendar tinner in which a holding bar has registration pins affixed thereto for manually registering a slide thereagainst. The holding bar has an upper surface that is manually pivoted against the lower surface of a clamp bar to crimp the slide therebetween. A forming bar pivotally attached to the leading edge of the holding bar is manually pivoted against the forward surface of the clamp bar while the upper surface of the holding bar is held against the lower surface of the clamp bar so as to form a longitudinal bend in the slide. The lower surface of the clamp bar defines registration holes into which the registration pins are received when the holding bar is pivoted against the clamp bar. 
     In use, a slide is manually placed against the registration pins and the free edges or margin of a calendar is manually aligned within the slide into registration with the slide&#39;s first longitudinal bend. The user manually actuates a bending handle which is attached to a cam shaft having an eccentrically mounted cam attached thereto. The bottom surface of the holding bar rests on the periphery of the cam so that when the user actuates the bending handle, the holding bar is raised up against the clamp bar, thereby, cinching the slide closed upon the calendar. While the holding bar is held against the clamp bar, the user manually actuates the forming bar with a forming handle against the forward surface of the clamp bar, thereby, creating a second longitudinal bend in the slide. 
     The user then manually releases the slide and calendar from the calendar tinner and repositions the slide and calendar against the registration pins so that the calendar lays substantially flat relative to the holding bar and the forming bar. The user then manually actuates the bending handle which cams the holding bar up against the clamp bar, thereby, cinching closed the second longitudinal bend. 
     The present inventive calendar tinner has very few moving parts, is compact and lightweight and is simply constructed, thereby, reducing cost and maintenance of the tinner to users who wish to bind relatively small volumes of documents. A user may easily and efficiently manually register a slide against the registration pins; manually crimp it closed upon a calendar; manually form a second bend in the slide; manually reposition the slide in the tinner and, thereafter; manually crimp the slide closed upon the calendar so as to hold the calendar tightly therein. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     The objectives and features of the invention will become more readily apparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which: 
     FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a presently preferred embodiment of the present inventive tinner; 
     FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional of FIG. 1 taken along line 2--2; 
     FIG. 2A is close-up view of FIG. 2; 
     FIG. 3 shows the presently preferred embodiment of the invention binding a calendar; 
     FIG. 3A is an enlarged view of a portion of the embodiment of FIG. 3; 
     FIG. 3B is a similar view to FIG. 3A showing the present invention binding a calendar slide; 
     FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of the tinner of to FIG. 2 showing the present invention with the calendar slide repositioned therein; 
     FIG. 5 is an enlarged view of a portion of the tinner of FIG. 4 showing the calendar slide crimped closed upon the calendar; 
     FIG. 6 is a disassembled perspective view of the calendar slide and a calendar; and 
     FIG. 7 is a partial perspective view after a calendar has been tinned. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     A presently preferred embodiment of the present inventive tinner 10 is seen in FIGS. 1-7. It will be understood by those in the art that while the present invention as described is used to bind a calendar 72, the present inventive tinner 10 may be used to bind any other desired document or workpiece. 
     The tinner 10 has a base 12 that supports a frame 14 having first and second spaced frame ends 16, 18. A crimping member, i.e., clamp bar 20 is fixedly attached to the frame 14 between the frame ends 16, 18 by means known in the art. Beneath the clamp bar 20, another crimping member, i.e., holding bar 22 is pivotally attached to the frame ends 16, 18 near the holding bar&#39;s 22 rear edge 44. A third crimping member, i.e., forming bar 24 is pivotally attached proximate the front edge 26 of the holding bar 22 with hinges 28a, 28b. It will be understood by those in the art that the forming bar 24 may be pivotally attached to the holding bar 22 by any suitable means. The bottom surface 30 of the holding bar 22 rests on the periphery 32 of a cam 34 eccentrically mounted to a cam shaft 36, either end of the cam shaft 36 being received in respective coaxially aligned bores (not shown) in the respective frame ends 16, 18. 
     The clamp bar 20 has a forward surface 38 and a lower surface 40 that converge at a bending edge 42 (FIG. 2A). In the preferred embodiment, the forward surface 38 and the lower surface 40 define an angle therebetween less than 90° and most preferably about 45°. It will be understood by those in the art that the forward surface 38 and lower surface 40 may define any angle therebetween sufficient to form a second longitudinal bend 68 (FIG. 5) in a slide 60 when in use, as discussed further below. 
     The holding bar 22 is pivotally mounted proximate its rear edge 44 to the frame ends 16, 18 which define respective coaxially aligned bores 82 (FIG. 1). In the preferred embodiment, the holding bar 22 defines respective bores 80 (FIG. 2) that are coaxially aligned with the frame end bores 82. Each of the frame bores 82 and holding bar bores 80 receive respective pivot pins 78 therein so that the holding bar 22 may pivot around an axis defined by the frame bores 82 and the holding bar bores 80. It will be understood by those in the art that the holding bar 22 may be pivotally affixed to the frame ends 16, 18 by any suitable means. 
     The holding bar 22 has an upper surface 46 to which registration pins 48 are mounted proximate the holding bar&#39;s front edge 26. When the holding bar 22 is pivoted against the clamp bar lower surface 40, the registration pins 48 are received in registration holes 50 defined in the clamp bar lower surface 40. The registration pins 48 are preferably selectively adjusted between an extended position as shown in the drawings and a retracted position (not shown) in which they are recessed below the plane of the holding bar upper surface 46. 
     The forming bar 24 has a forming bar upper surface 54 which is normally substantially coplanar with the holding bar upper surface 46 as shown in FIGS. 1 and 3. The clamp bar 20 defines notches 21 at either end of its longitudinal extent that accommodate the upward movement of the hinges 28a, 28b therein when the holding bar upper surface 46 is pivoted against clamp bar lower surface 40. When the holding bar upper surface 46 is pivoted against the clamp bar lower surface 40, and the forming bar upper surface 54 is thereafter pivoted against the clamp bar forward surface 38, the notches 21 defined in the clamp bar 20 further accommodate the movement of the hinges 28a, 28b when the forming bar 24 is moved against the clamp bar 30. 
     In the preferred embodiment, a first actuator in the form of a bending handle 58a is attached to the cam shaft 36 so that the cam shaft 36 with the cams 34 attached thereto may be rotated against the holding bar bottom surface 30, thereby moving the holding bar 22 towards the clamp bar 20. 
     Also in the preferred embodiment, a second actuator in the form of a forming handle 58b is attached to the forming bar 24 so that when the holding bar upper surface 46 is raised against the clamp bar lower surface 40, the forming bar upper surface 54 may be manually pivoted against the clamp bar forward surface 40 via the forming handle 58b. 
     The present inventive tinner 10 allows a user to manually crimp a calendar slide 60 known in the art to the free edge or margin 74 of a calendar 72. Generally, the calendar slide 60 has a first longitudinal bend 62 along its entire longitudinal extent defining a first bend portion 64 and a second bend portion 66. Approximately medially along the calendar slide 60, a hang tab 76 is attached to the second bend portion 66 by means known in the art, as best shown in FIGS. 6 and 7. 
     In the preferred method of use (FIGS. 2-5), the calendar slide 60 is placed in registration with the extended registration pins 48 so that the first longitudinal bend 62 is registered against the pins 48 and the second bend portion 64 is received against the holding bar upper surface 46 and the forming bar upper surface 54. A user then manually actuates the bending handle 58a so that the holding bar upper surface 46 is pivoted substantially against the clamp bar lower surface 40 by rotating the cam shaft 36 so that the eccentrically mounted cam 34 rotates against the holding bar bottom surface 30. As the holding bar 22 is pivoted towards the clamp bar 20, the clamp bar lower surface 40 crimps the first bend portion 64 towards the second bend portion 66. As the user manually exerts further force to bring the holding bar upper surface 46 in substantial engagement with the clamp bar lower surface 40, the first bend portion 64 is crimped down upon the calendar margin 74, trapping the calendar 72 against the second bend portion 66 (FIG. 3 and 3A). 
     The user then manually pivots the forming bar 24 with the forming handle 58b while holding the calendar slide 60 in its fixed location between the holding bar 22 and the clamp bar 20. By pivoting the forming bar 24, the second bend portion 66 of the calendar slide 60 is longitudinally bent approximately in half towards and against the clamp bar forward surface 38, forming a second longitudinal bend 68 in the slide 60, thereby, forming a third bend portion 70. 
     The user then returns the forming handles 58a and 58b to their respective positions as shown in FIG. 1 and thereby releases the calendar slide 60 from the tinner 10. The user then repositions the calendar slide 60 and calendar 72 so that the second longitudinal bend 68 is registered against the registration pins 48 and so the third bend portion 70 is received against the holding bar upper surface 46 with the calendar 72 laying substantially flat against the forming bar 74, as shown in FIG. 3C. 
     The user then manually pivots the holding bar 22 with the forming handle 58a so that the holding bar upper surface 46 is approximately received against the clamp bar lower surface 40, thereby, crimping the first bend portion 64 closed upon the calendar 72, trapping the calendar 72 against the third bend portion 70, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5. 
     From the above disclosure of the detailed description of a presently preferred embodiment of the present invention and the preceding summary of the preferred embodiment, those skilled in the art will comprehend the various modifications to which the present invention is susceptible. Therefore, I desire to be limited only by the scope of the following claims and equivalents thereof.