Patent Publication Number: US-2007098486-A1

Title: Paper binder

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
      1. Field of the Invention:  
      The present invention relates paper binders for holding sheet members together and more particularly, to a snap binder. 2. Description of the Related Art:  
      A conventional snap binder, as shown in  FIG. 1 , comprises a face cover  10 , a back cover  11 , a spine  14  connected between the face cover  10  and the back cover  11 , a first hinge  12  joining the face cover  10  and the spine  14 , a second hinge  13  joining the back cover  11  and the spine  14 , a plurality of socket elements  15  respectively fastened to the face cover  10  at an inner side and aligned in a line along the first hinge  12 , and a plurality of stud elements  16  respectively fastened to the back cover  11  at an inner side and aligned in a line along the second hinge  13  corresponding to the socket elements  15 . According to this design, the face cover  10 , the back cover  11 , the socket elements  15  and the stud elements  16  made of plastics. Further, the face cover  10  and the back cove  11  are flexible.  
      When using the aforesaid snap binder, the snap binder is extended out as shown in  FIG. 1 , and then the punched sheet members P are arranged in a stack and put in the snap binder with the respective pun holes H respectively coupled to the stud elements  16 , and then the face cover  10  is closed to force the socket elements  15  into engagement with the respective stub elements  16  as shown in  FIG. 2 .  
      When opening the snap binder, the user must carefully apply the force so as not to separate the stud elements  16  from the socket elements  15 . When opening this snap binder, as shown in  FIG. 3 , the back cover  11  is positioned on a flat surface, and then turn the pages carefully while keeping a part of the face cover  10  that carries the socket elements  15  in parallel to the back cover  11 . However, due to a big turn, the sheet members P that have been turned outwards from the back cover  11  toward the face cover  10  may return to their former position at the back cover  11  as indicated by the arrowhead sign A. When the number of the sheet members P that has been turned surpasses the number of the sheet members P that is rested on the back cover  11 , the sheet members P that have been turned away from the back cover  11  to the face cover  10  impart a biasing force to the face cover  10  and the socket elements  15  against the stud elements  16 , thereby causing a separation of the socket elements  15  from the stud elements  16 .  
      Further, U.S. Pat. No. 6,663,310 discloses a button binder, which includes several buttons, connection pieces, pulling pieces, a front sheet, a rear sheet, and strips. A predetermined number of the buttons is affixed on the predetermined positions on the binder, such as on the left portion or top portion of the rear sheet. This design of button binder has the same drawback as the aforesaid snap binders. Therefore, this design of button binder can only be used to hold a small amount of papers or sheet members.  
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
      The present invention has been accomplished to provide a paper binder, which eliminates the drawback of the aforesaid prior art designs. It is therefore-the main object of the present invention to provide a paper binder, which reduces the stretching force to the fasteners when the user opening the binder and, preventing reversing of the papers that have been opened. It is another object of the present invention to provide a paper binder, which is durable in use.  
      To achieve these and other objects of the present invention, the paper binder comprises a face cover; a back cover; a spine connected between the face cover and the back cover; a first hinge joining the face cover and the spine; a second hinge joining the back cover and the spine; a supplementary strip fastened to the back cover, the supplementary strip comprising a narrow elongated first side panel, a narrow elongated second side panel, a narrow elongated bottom panel connected between one long side of the first side panel and one long side of the second side panel to hold the first side panel and the second side panel in parallel, and a plurality of flaps respectively hinged to the second side panel and arranged in a line along the length of the second side panel, the bottom panel having a first long side hinged to the first side panel and a second long side hinged to the second side panel; and a plurality of fasteners installed in the supplementary strip for holding sheet members, the fasteners each comprising a male fastening member and a female fastening member respectively affixed to the first side panel and the flaps of the supplementary strip.  
      Further, the face cover, the back cover, the first hinge and the second hinge are made of polypropylene. The fibers of the polypropylene at the first hinge and the second hinge extend in a longitudinal direction in parallel to the length of the first hinge and the second hinge. The fibers of the polypropylene at the face cover and the back cover extend in a transverse direction perpendicular to the extending direction of the fibers of the polypropylene at the first hinge and the second hinge. Therefore, frequently opening and closing the paper binder does not cause the first hinge and the second hinge to break. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       FIG. 1  is an extended view of a snap binder according to the prior art.  
       FIG. 2  shows the closed status of the snap binder according to the prior art.  
       FIG. 3  is a schematic sectional view showing a status of use of the snap binder according to the prior art.  
       FIG. 4  is a perspective view of a part of a paper binder (snap binder) according to the present invention, showing the structure of the supplementary strip and the positioning of the snaps in the supplementary strip.  
       FIG. 5  illustrates the extended status of the paper binder (snap binder) according to the present invention.  
       FIG. 6  is a schematic drawing showing the supplementary strip extended out and the snaps unfastened according to the present invention.  
       FIG. 7  is a schematic drawing showing the paper binder (snap binder) closed and a number of sheet members held in the snap binder according to the present invention.  
       FIG. 8  is a schematic drawing showing a small number of the sheet members opened with the face cover of the paper binder (snap binder) according to the present invention.  
       FIG. 9  is a schematic drawing showing a major part of the sheet members opened with the face cover of the paper binder (snap binder) according to the present invention.  
       FIG. 10  is a sectional view taken in an enlarged scale along line  10 - 10  of  FIG. 7 .  
       FIG. 11  is a sectional view taken in an enlarged scale along line  11 - 11  of  FIG. 8 .  
       FIG. 12  is a sectional view taken in an enlarged scale along line  12 - 12  of  FIG. 9 .  
       FIG. 13  is a schematic drawing showing the extending directions of the polypropylene fibers at different parts of the paper binder (snap binder) according to the present invention. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT  
      Referring to  FIGS. 4 and 5 , a paper binder (snap binder) in accordance with the present invention is shown comprising a face cover  20 , a back cover  21 , a spine  24  connected between the face cover  20  and the back cover  21 , a first hinge  22  joining the face cover  20  and the spine  24 , a second hinge  23  joining the back cover  21  and the spine  24 , a supplementary strip  30  fastened to the back cover  21 , and a plurality of snaps  40  installed in the supplementary strip  30 .  
      The length L 1  of the supplementary strip  30  is equal to the length L 2  of the face cover  20  and the back cover  21 . The supplementary strip  30  comprises a first side panel  31 , a second side panel  32 , a bottom panel  33  connected between one long side of the first side panel  31  and one long side of the second side panel  32  to hold the first side panel  31  and the second side panel  32  in parallel. The second side panel  32  has a plurality of openings  341  equally spaced along the length, and a plurality of flaps  34  respectively suspending in the openings  341 . The flaps  34  each has a fixed end  342  hinged to the connection area between the second side panel  32  and the bottom panel  33 . Preferably, the openings  341  have a semicircular shape. The flaps  34  are formed of a part of the second side panels  32  upon formation of the openings  341 . The second side panel  32  is fixedly fastened to the back cover  21  along the second hinge  23 , keeping the bottom panel  33  close to the spine  24  and the flaps  34  turnable away from the back cover  21 .  
      The snaps  40  each are comprised of a stud side  41  having a stud (post)  43 , and a socket side  42  having a socket  44 . The stud side  41  is fixedly fastened to one flap  34 . The socket side  42  is fixedly fastened to the first side panel  31  and aimed at the stud side  41 .  
      The aforesaid face cover  20 , back cover  21 , supplementary strip  30  and snaps  40  are made of polypropylene (PP).  
      When in use, as shown in  FIG. 6 , the face cover  20  and the back cover  21  are extended out, and then the supplementary strip  30  is extended out to unfasten the snaps  40 , and then the punch holes H of the sheet members P are respectively attached to the sockets  44  of the snaps  40 , and then the face cover  20  is closed to force the respective studs  43  into engagement with the respective sockets  44  as shown in  FIGS. 7 and 10 .  
       FIGS. 8 and 11  show the status that the face cover  20  and a small number of the sheet members P are opened; the first side panel  31  and the second side panel  32  are kept in parallel at different elevations; the sheet members P that have been opened are curved through a U-turn.  
      When more and more sheet members P have been opened as shown in  FIGS. 9 and 12 , the opened sheet members P impart an outward biasing force to the first side panel  31  of the supplementary strip  30  toward the face cover  20 , thereby causing the snaps  40  to be moved with the first side panel  31  toward the face cover  20 . At this time, the flaps  34  are turned with the snaps  40  and the first side panel  31  away from the second side panel  32  toward the face cover  20 , keeping the stud side  41  and socket side  42  of each snap  40  fastened together.  
      As stated above, the face cover  20  and the back cover  21  are made of polypropylene (PP).  FIG. 13  is an enlarged view of a part of the present invention, showing the extending directions of the polypropylene fibers at the face cover  20 , the back cover  21  and the hinges  22  and  23 . As illustrated, the polypropylene fibers at the hinges  22  and  23  extend in longitudinal direction, i.e., in parallel to the length of the hinges  22  and  23 . The polypropylene fibers at the face cover  20  and the back cover  21  extend in transverse direction, i.e., perpendicular to the length of the hinges  22  and  23 .  
      Although a particular embodiment of the invention has been described in detail for purposes of illustration, various modifications and enhancements may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.