Patent Publication Number: US-6340178-B1

Title: Printable kit for making an original holder for flat objects

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     This invention relates to holders for flat objects such as papers and/or computer disks. More particularly, this invention is directed to kits for easily making original holders by directly printing on covers with common personal printers, such as laser or ink jet printers. 
     2. Description of the Prior Art 
     Various types of holders for holding flat objects have previously been proposed. To have a better understanding of the invention, some typical constructions of conventional holders will first be described. 
     One of the principal types of such holders is generally known as a “Flat-type holder”. One example thereof is disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Publication No.93-82583, which is incorporated herein by reference. A holder  100  of this type, as shown in FIG. 16, comprises a cover  101  and a fastener  102 . The cover  101  is made with a single paper sheet, and consists essentially of a front panel  1 , a back panel  2 , a spine panel  3  and a pleat  4  defined by folding the sheet on its folding lines b—b, c—c, d—d and e—e as shown in FIG. 16. A folding line a—a is a guiding line to open the front panel. The fastener  102  is secured on the pleat  4 . 
     In this construction, however, since the entire cover  101  is made with a single sheet, the sheet itself inevitably becomes bigger. This structure causes difficulties in direct printing on the holder cover by small and low-cost popular personal printers, such as laser and ink jet printers, without encountering limited feed size problems, jamming problems, or distorted printing problems. 
     Another type of such holders is generally known as a “pocket-type holder”. A holder  200  of this type as shown in FIG. 17, comprises a cover  201  and a pocket  202 . The cover  201  is made with a single paper sheet too, and consists essentially of a front panel  1  and a back panel  2  defined by folding the sheet on its folding line g—g located in the middle of the sheet. Typically, the pocket  202  is formed on the inside surface of the back panel  2  with pocket flaps  203  and  204 . 
     In this construction, however, since the entire cover  201  is made with a single sheet (usually the pocket flaps  203  and  204  are also included), the sheet itself inevitably becomes bigger. This construction makes it difficult for end-users to print directly on the cover by common personal printers because of size, shapes and other considerations. Furthermore, these holders are normally provided with their pocket flaps  203  and  204  having been firmly fixed on the back panel to form the pocket  202 , which makes it almost impossible to feed the sheet through the printers. 
     As a result, if end-users want to put original designs on the covers of above-mentioned holders, they usually either draw or write by hand directly on the covers, or else print the design on separate pieces of papers or labels first and then glue them on the covers. Consequently, making original design holders with a good appearance is difficult for most end-users. 
     Additionally, computer disks, such as Floppy Disks (FD), Magnetic Optical Disks (MO) and Compact Disks (CD) including CD-ROMs have become so popular that the demand for cost effective cases for them has increased. These disks are sometimes desired to be stored with related documents for convenience. Although some types of holders for them have been proposed, none of them was well designed to store these disks together with documents. 
     The present invention is directed to overcoming the problems as set forth above. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     Therefore, it is a principal object of the present invention to provide a kit for making an original designed holder easily by enabling end-users to directly print on covers with common personal printers. 
     These and other objects of the present invention are accomplished by a kit for making a holder comprising a cover consisting of front and back panels and a means for holding flat objects such as papers and disks. At least a member including the front panel of the cover is provided as a printable single sheet in a substantially flat and generally rectangular form. The rectangular member including the front panel has a standard width and/or length. 
     According to the above-described construction, the holder cover is divided into at least two members provided as relatively small sheets in the kit. Thus, the provided member including the front panel of the cover can be a printable single sheet in substantially flat and generally rectangular form, and would not cause size and jamming problems even when small and low-cost printers are used to print thereon. Furthermore, since at least one of the width and the length of this member follows standard sizes, it can be easily fed into those printers essentially designed for operation on standard size papers in rectangular form. As a result, end-users can print directly at least on the front panel with common personal printers, and can make a holder of original design by assembling it after printing. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     The above and other objects and advantages of this invention will be more readily apparent from a reading of the following description taken in conjunction with the following drawings in which: 
     FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a kit of a first embodiment in accordance with the present invention; 
     FIG. 2 is an enlarged perspective view showing a portion around a fastener of FIG. 1 bounded by a circle; 
     FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a document holder assembled with the kit of the first embodiment; 
     FIG. 4 is a plan view of a kit of a second embodiment in accordance with the present invention; 
     FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a document holder assembled with the kit of the second embodiment; 
     FIG. 6 is a plan view of a kit of a third embodiment in accordance with the present invention; 
     FIG. 7 is a plan view of a back cover member of the kit of the third embodiment; 
     FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a document holder assembled with the kit of the third embodiment; 
     FIG. 9 is a plan view of a kit of a forth embodiment in accordance with the present invention; 
     FIG. 10 is an enlarged perspective view showing a disk accommodating system formed inside of a document pocket; 
     FIG. 11 is a perspective view of a document holder assembled with the kit of the forth embodiment; 
     FIG. 12 is a plan view of a kit of a fifth embodiment in accordance with the present invention; 
     FIG. 13 is a perspective view of a document holder assembled with the kit of the fifth embodiment; 
     FIG. 14 is a plan view of a modified kit of the third embodiment for making a landscape type holder; 
     FIG. 15 is a perspective view of a document holder assembled from the modified kit of the third embodiment to display a name card in front of the document pocket; 
     FIG. 16 is a perspective view of a conventional holder with a paper fastener; and 
     FIG. 17 is a perspective view of a conventional “pocket-type” holder. 
    
    
     Repeat use of reference characters in the present specification and drawings is intended to represent same or analogous features for the sake of clarity. 
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     &lt;First Embodiment&gt; 
     A first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 through 3. FIG. 1 schematically shows a kit for making a holder  10  of A4 size with a paper fastener  7 . The kit comprises two members  11  and  12 . The member  11  is a paper sheet that is substantially flat and consists of a front panel  1  isolated from other portions of the holder cover. Although two of the corners may be slightly rounded, the member  11  substantially follows standardized lengthwise A4 size. The member  12  comprises the rest of the holder cover made with a single paper sheet. The paper is folded on a line e—e to define a back panel  2 , lines d—d and c—c to define a pleat  4 , line b—b to define a spine panel  3  and line a—a to define a joint portion  5 . A double-coated adhesive tape  6  is adhesively bonded on its outside surface along the line a—a. The member  12  further comprises a fastener  7  consisting of two strips  13  and a bar  14 , made of polypropylene, attached thereto in the manner shown in FIG. 2 as a holding part for holding flat objects. The strips  13  are threaded through apertures  4   a  formed on the pleat  4  from its back panel side, with expanding ends  13   e  engaging with edges of the apertures  4   a.  The strips  13  are further threaded through apertures  14   a  on the bar  14 , upon which the strips  13  are bent over and then pushed under engaging claw  14   c  on the bar  14 , to fix the fastener  7  onto the pleat  4 . 
     Upon making an original holder  10  with above-described kit, the member  11  is fed through a printer and any desired designs are printed thereon. After printing, the members  11  and  12  are overlapped with a side edge a′—a′ of the member  11  matching with the line a—a at the joint portion of the member  12 , and are secured by the adhesive tape  6 . The holder  10  assembled with this kit is shown in FIG.  3 . Documents such as plain papers to be held fast in this holder  10  are punched to provide apertures along their long side. Releasing the strips  13  from the engaging claw  14   c,  the bar  14  is detached from the pleat  4 . Then, the strips  13 , still fixed on the pleat  4 , are threaded through the apertures of the papers. In order to prevent the strips  13  from pointing randomly or “straggling”, and to prevent the papers from slipping out, the bar  14  is threaded onto the strips  13  again before the strips  13  are flattened. They are then pushed under the engaging claw  14   c  to hold them. 
     According to the first embodiment, a kit is provided in which the holder cover is divided into two members  11  and  12 . Since the member  11  consisting of the front panel  1  follows A4 size, it is much easier to directly print on it than on the front panel  1  of the conventional holder  100 . Furthermore, even a small printer whose feeding width is limited within lengthwise A4 width, which also is the most popular type of printers for personal use because of its low cost, can be used in this operation. In order to print directly on the member  11 , the thickness of the sheet used as the member  11  is limited depending on the performance of the printer. In other words, a sheet which is too thick or rigid to be fed through the printers can not be used as the member  11 . However, a thicker sheet can be used for the member  12  to provide enough strength and rigidity to the holder  10 . The holder  10  can be assembled easily just by securing the member  11  to the member  12  with the double coated adhesive tape  6  on the member  12 . 
     &lt;Second Embodiment&gt; 
     A second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5. In this embodiment, the holder cover is divided at the line d—d in the middle of the pleat  4  in FIG.  16 . This kit for making a holder  20  of A4 size with a paper fastener  7  comprises three members  21 ,  22  and  23  as schematically shown in FIG.  4 . The member  21  is a substantially flat paper sheet consisting of a front panel  1 , a spine panel  3  and a front pleat  4   f  separated from other portions of the holder cover. Although two of the corners of the front panel  1  may be slightly rounded, the member  21  is in a generally rectangular form with its length following standardized lengthwise A4 length. On the member  21  are folding lines a—a, b—b, c—c and two apertures  4   fa  formed on the front pleat  4   f.  The member  22  is a paper sheet consisting of a back panel  2  and a back pleat  4   b  folded on its line e—e. On the member  22 , two apertures  4   ba  are formed on the back pleat  4   b  and a double-coated adhesive tape  6  is adhesively bonded on its outside surface along side edge d′—d′. The third member  23  consists of a fastener  7  as a holding part for holding flat objects. The fastener  7  has the same structure as the one used in the first embodiment, which comprises two strips  13  and a bar  14 . In this kit, the fastener  7  is provided separately from other members. The strips  13  are threaded through only apertures  14   a  on the bar  14  upon which the strips  13  are bent over and pushed under the engaging claw  14   c  on the bar  14  to attach the strips  13  to the bar  14 . 
     Upon making an original holder  20  using the above-described kit, the member  21  is fed through a printer, and any desired designs are printed thereon. If desired, the member  22  can also be printed in the same manner. After printing, the members  21  and  22  are overlapped with their side edges d—d and d′—d′ matching up and secured by the adhesive tape  6 . The holder  20  assembled with this kit is shown in FIG.  5 . Releasing the strips  13  from the engaging claw  14   c,  they are then separated each other. The strips  13  are fixed on the pleat  4 , being threaded through aligned apertures  4   fa  and  4   ba  of the front and back pleat  4   f  and  4   b.  Then, apertured papers are threaded on to the strips  13  before the bar  14  is threaded onto them, and the strips  13  are flattened and pushed under the engaging claw  14   c  to hold all of them together. 
     According to the second embodiment, a kit is provided in which the holder cover is divided into two members  21  and  22 . Since the length of the member  21  substantially follows lengthwise A4 length, it is much easier to directly print on it than on the front panel  1  of conventional holder  100 . In this embodiment, the member  21  consists not only the front panel  1 , but also the spine panel  3 , making the member  21  wider than the standardized lengthwise A4 width. This structure prevents the holder cover from being printed by small printers in which the feeding width is limited within the lengthwise A4 width, whereas it makes it possible to print on the front panel  1  and the spine panel  3  at same time when bigger printers are used. In order to print directly on the member  21 , the thickness of the sheet used as the member  21  is limited depending on the performance of the printer. However, a thicker sheet can be used for the member  22  to provide enough strength and rigidity to the holder  20  in case printing on the back panel  2  is not desired. The holder  20  can be assembled easily just by securing the member  21  to the member  22  with the double coated adhesive tape  6  on the member  22 . 
     &lt;Third Embodiment&gt; 
     A third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 6 through 8. FIG. 6 schematically shows a kit for making an A4 size pocket-type holder  30 . The kit comprises two members  31  and  32 . The member  31  is a flat paper sheet consisting only of a front panel  1  isolated from other portions of the holder  30 . Although two of its corners may be slightly rounded, the member  31  is generally rectangular with exactly standardized A4 width, whereas its length is slightly longer than standardized A4 length. The member  32  comprises the rest of the holder  30 , having a pocket  8 . FIG. 7 shows a developed plan view of the member  32 . The member  32  is made with single paper sheet. The paper includes a generally rectangular joint portion  5 , a generally trapezoidal pocket bottom flap  33  and a generally rectangular pocket side flap  34 , extending from one side edge, the bottom, and the other side edge of a rectangular back panel  2 , respectively. The joint portion  5 , the pocket bottom flap  33  and the pocket side flap  34  are connected to the back panel  2  by folding lines g—g, h—h and i—i, respectively. In the kit, the pocket bottom flap  33  and the pocket side flap  34  are folded and glued to form a pocket  8  as a holding part for holding flat objects. Both the length and the width of the back panel  3  are slightly bigger than A4 size. A double-coated adhesive tape  6  is adhesively bonded on the outside surface of the joint portion  5  along the line g—g. 
     Upon making an original holder  30  using above-described kit, the member  31  is fed through a printer and any desired designs are printed thereon. After printing, the members  31  and  32  are overlapped with the edge g′—g′ matching the folding line g—g, and are secured with the adhesive tape  6 . The holder  30  assembled with this kit is shown in FIG.  8 . This holder  30  can hold flat objects like documents, floppy disks etc. in its pocket  8 . 
     According to the third embodiment, a kit is provided in which the holder  30  is divided into two members  31  and  32 . Since the member  31  consisting of the front panel  1  has exactly the same width as that of A4 size, it is much easier to directly print on it than on the front panel  1  of the conventional holder  200 . Furthermore, even small printers whose feeding width is limited to A4 width can be used in this printing operation. On the other hand, the back panel  2  is slightly wider than standardized lengthwise A4 size, the same as ordinary holders for holding A4 size documents, which causes a gap between the widths of the front and back panels to make opening the assembled holder  30  easier. In order to print directly on the member  31 , the thickness of the sheet used as the member  31  is limited depending on the performance of the printer. However, a thicker sheet can be used for the member  32  to provide enough strength and rigidity to the holder  30 . The holder  30  can be assembled easily just by securing the member  31  to the member  32  with the double coated adhesive tape  6  on the member  32 . 
     &lt;Fourth Embodiment&gt; 
     A fourth embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 9 through 11. The kit shown in FIG. 9 is intended to make a pocket-type holder  40  of A4 size especially designed to hold FD/MO together with documents. This kit comprises two members  41  and  42 . The member  41  consists of a front panel  1 , and the member  42  consists of a back panel  2 , a joint portion  5  with a double-coated adhesive tape  6 , a pocket bottom flap  33  and a pocket side flap  34 . Both of these two members  41  and  42  have almost same structures as the members  31  and  32  described in the third embodiment, respectively. Distinctive features of this kit are in the pocket bottom flap  33 . The pocket bottom flap  33  has a covering flap  44  and two disk holding claws  46  which together form a disk accommodating system  43  for FD/MO of a predetermined size inside of a pocket  8  for documents. The trapezoidal covering flap  44  extends from the pocket bottom flap  33 . A folding line j—j is formed along the top edge of the pocket bottom flap  33  from which the covering flap  44  is extended. On the pocket bottom flap  33  below the folding line j—j is a generally rectangular through hole  45 . The two disk holding claws  46  are located below the through hole  45 . The disk holding claws  46  can be formed by cutting generally U-shaped notches  47  on the pocket bottom flap  33  oppositely to each other to face their respective curved portions. The distance between sidelines  47 s of the two notches  47  are slightly longer than the width of the FD/MO. 
     Upon making an original holder  40  using above-described kit, the member  41  is fed through a printer and any desired designs are printed thereon. After printing, the members  41  and  42  are overlapped with the edge g′—g′ matching the holding line g—g and secured by the adhesive tape  6 . The holder  40  assembled with this kit is shown in FIG.  11 . This holder  40  can hold relatively big flat objects like documents in its pocket  8  and an FD/MO of a predetermined size in the disk accommodating system  43 . To hold the FD/MO in the disk accommodating system  43 , the two notches  47  on the pocket bottom flap  33  are cut and two disk holding claws  46  are pushed inside the pocket  8 . Then, the FD/MO is inserted between two disk holding claws  46  and the inside surface of the pocket bottom flap  33 . After that, the covering flap  44  is folded on the folding line j—j to bend inside the pocket  8 . The FD/MO is held in the disk accommodating system  43  formed inside of the pocket  8  as shown in FIG.  10 . 
     According to the fourth embodiment, a kit is provided in which the holder  40  is divided into two members  41  and  42 . Since the member  41  consisting of the front panel  1  has exactly the same width as that of A4 size, it is much easier to directly print on it than on the front panel  1  of the conventional holder  200 . Furthermore, even a small printer whose feeding width is limited to A4 width can be used in this printing operation. On the other hand, the back panel  2  is slightly wider than standardized A4 size, the same as ordinary holders for holding A4 size documents, which causes a gap between the widths of the front and back panels to make opening the assembled holder  40  easier. In order to print directly on the member  41 , the thickness of the sheet used as the member  41  is limited depending on the performance of the printer. However, a thicker sheet can be used for the member  42  to provide enough strength and rigidity to the holder  40 . The holder  40  can be assembled easily just by securing the member  41  to the member  42  with the double coated adhesive tape  6  on the member  42 . 
     Additionally, according to the fourth embodiment, documents and an FD/MO, which have different sizes and shapes, can be organized and held together in one holder  40 . The disk accommodating system  43  in this embodiment can be simply formed with the extending portion and notches on the pocket bottom flap  33 . Therefore, the disk accommodating system  43  can be formed only when it is desired and would not cause much increase in the cost. The FD/MO can be well fitted and held in the disk accommodating system  43  without any possibility of slipping off from the holder  40 . The label of the FD/MO can be seen from the through hole  45 . 
     &lt;Fifth Embodiment&gt; 
     A fifth embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 12 and 13. A kit shown in FIG. 12 is intended to make a pocket-type holder  50  of A4 size especially designed to hold a CD together with documents. This kit comprises two members  51  and  52 . The member  51  consists of a front panel  1 , and the member  52  consists of a back panel  2 , a joint portion  5  with a double-coated adhesive tape  6 , a pocket bottom flap  33  and a pocket side flap  34 . Both of these two members  31  and  32  described in the third embodiment, respectively. Distinctive features of this kit are also in the pocket bottom flap  33 . The pocket bottom flap  33  has a covering flap  44  and an inside pocket  54  which together form a disk accommodating system  53  for a CD of predetermined size. The trapezoidal covering flap  44  extends from the pocket bottom flap  33 . A folding line j—j is formed along the top edge of the pocket bottom flap  33  from which the covering flap  44  is extended. The inside pocket  54  is attached to the inside surface of the pocket bottom flap  33  below the folding line j—j is a through hole  45  drawing an arc. 
     Upon making an original holder  50  using above-described kit, the member  51  is fed through a printer and any desired designs are printed thereon. Since the member  51  has exactly the same width as A4 size, it can be printed very easily. After printing, the members  51  and  52  are overlapped with the edge g′—g′ matching the holding line g—g and are secured with the adhesive tape  6 . The holder  50  assembled with this kit is shown in FIG.  13 . This holder  50  can hold relatively big flat objects like documents in its pocket  8  and the CD of predetermined size in the disk accommodating system  53 . To hold the CD in the disk accommodating system  53 , the CD is inserted into the inside pocket  54  and the covering flap  44  is folded along the folding line j—j and bent inwardly of the pocket  8  to prevent the CD from slipping out. 
     According to the fifth embodiment, a kit is provided in which the holder  50  is divided into two members  51  and  52 . Since the member  51  consisting of the front panel  1  has exactly the same width as A4 size, it is much easier to directly print on it than on the front panel  1  of the conventional holder  200 . Furthermore, even a small printer whose feeding width is limited to A4 width can be used in this printing operation. On the other hand, the back panel  2  is slightly wider than standardized lengthwise A4 size, the same as ordinary holders for holding A4 size documents, which causes a gap between the widths of the front and back panels to make opening the assembled holder  50  easier. In order to print directly on the member  51 , the thickness of the sheet used as the member  51  is limited, depending on the performance of the printer. However, a thicker sheet can be used for the member  52  to provide enough strength and rigidity to the holder  50 . The holder  50  can be assembled easily just by securing the member  51  to the member  52  with the double coated adhesive tape  6  on the member  52 . 
     Additionally, according to the fifth embodiment, documents and CDs, which have different sizes and shapes, can be organized and held together in one holder  50 . According to this embodiment, the CD can be well fitted and held in the disk accommodating system  53  with the covering flap  44  without any possibility of slipping out from the holder  50 . One face of the inside pocket  54  which holds the CD is preferably made with a sheet of nonwoven web which can protect the CD&#39;s recorded surface from being scuffed and scratched. The other face of the inside pocket  54  can be made with a transparent plastic film so that the label of the CD can be seen from the through hole  55 . 
     It should be noted that the present invention is in no way limited to the details of the illustrated structures. It should be understood that minor changes may be made in the form and construction of the invention without departing from the material spirit thereof. For example, modifications described below can be made within the scope of this invention. 
     It is obvious that the size and direction of the holder assembled with the kit according to the present invention is not limited. For instance, in a modification of the third embodiment, two pocket side flaps  34 ′ on the shorter edges of a back panel  2  and a pocket bottom flap  33 ′ on one of the longer edge of a back panel  2  can be formed to provide an expansive holder as shown in FIG.  14 . 
     The holder for holding flat objects is not limited to paper fasteners and pockets. Rings, tubes and clips, etc., with various structures, can be used. For instance, in the third embodiment, the pocket can further have clips or covering flaps to prevent the held documents from slipping out. 
     The holder cover can be divided into three or more members depending on the sizes of the holder and the printer, depending on desired assembly and use and the printing operation. For instance, the cover of a flat-type holder can be divided into three members including a front, a spine, and a back panel. 
     The joint for securing the members that together comprise the holder cover is not limited to the double-coated adhesive tape. Plastic and/or metal fasteners can be used as a joint. For example, in the second embodiment, the members  21  and  22  can be secured with the fastener  7  without the double-coated adhesive tape  6 . Notches can be formed on one of the members to accept other members. 
     Sheets comprising the holder cover are not limited to paper. For example, the sheets intended to be printed thereon can be flexible plastic sheets, as long as they are printable. The sheets not intended to be printed thereon can be selected from a variety of materials such as hard plastic sheets, thick pasteboards covered with a face fabric, etc. 
     The kit according to the present invention can also be designed to make holders that can hold various flat objects, including cassette tapes, slides etc. Furthermore, the holder can be made to display a name card on its pocket bottom flap  33  as shown in FIG.  15 . In the kit to make the holder of this type, notches  35  are formed in the pocket bottom flap  33 . This type of holder is very useful since the name and contact number of the person who is in charge of the held documents can be known quickly when utilizing them. 
     In the kit according to the present invention, instructions for their use, etc. may be printed on any surface of the members. 
     The kit according to the present invention can be designed to make holders used as a pocket page of a ring binder. For example, in the third embodiment, the members  31  and  32  may be perforated with holes along the lines g—g and g′—g′ to receive the rings of a ring binder. 
     It is obvious that minor changes may be made in the form and construction of the invention without departing from the material spirit thereof. It is not, however, desired to confine the invention to the exact form herein shown and described, but it is desired to include all such as properly come within the scope claimed.