Patent Publication Number: US-2006008319-A1

Title: Document inserting and removing device of file folder

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
      1. Field of the Invention  
      The present invention relates to a document inserting and removing device for a file folder that detachably retains tens through hundreds of documents therein, and more particularly, to a document inserting and removing device of a file folder in which easy insertion and removal of documents into/from the file folder can be achieved.  
      2. Background of the Related Art  
      A file folder that is used in this invention generally means notebooks, diaries, pocketbooks and so on, in which tens through hundreds of documents are bound and if necessary, the documents are exchanged with new ones.  
      The document file folder generally retaining a stack of documents therein is designed to replace the stack of documents with another stack of documents, if necessary.  
      As shown in  FIG. 1 , a conventional document file folder includes an outer cover  4 , a collection of documents  2  retained inside the outer cover  4 , a double spring  3  for coupling the collection of documents  2  with the outer cover  4 , a support plate  10  attached in a length direction at the center of the outer cover  4 , and a locking protrusion member  13  having a plurality of ring-type loops formed at predetermined intervals on the support plate  10 .  
      The collection of documents (the documents bound by the double spring  3 ) is replaced, if necessary, and a process of inserting the collection of documents  2  into the center portion of the outer cover  4  will be described hereafter. First, the whole double spring  3  is positioned such that each spring is inserted between the ring-type loops, and then, a coupling bar  6  is inserted into the inner spaces of the ring-type loops, with a result that the double spring  3  is locked to the coupling bar  6  thus allowing the collection of documents  2  to be inserted into the file folder.  
      If the collection of documents  2  is to be removed from the file folder, the coupling bar  6  is drawn to lift the collection of documents  2  upwardly. As mentioned above, when the collection of documents  2  is inserted and removed, the coupling bar  6  should be employed. In some cases, however, it is a possibility that the coupling bar  6  will be lost or misplaced. At this time, the process of inserting and removing the collection of documents becomes also complicated.  
      To solve the above-mentioned problems, as shown in  FIG. 2 , the coupling bar  6  is not employed and the ring-type loops are formed of flexible plastic or synthetic resin. In this case, if a given external force is exerted to the ring-type loops, the overlapping portions thereof are opened and coupled one by one with the holes punched into the lower ends of the collection of documents  2 . At this time, when the collection of documents  2  is forcibly pulled, it is removed from the file folder.  
      However, the above-described conventional configuration has some inconveniences in that upon the insertion of the collection of documents, the ring-type loops should be opened and connected one by one to the holes punched into the collection of documents, and during the use of the collection of documents, when an external force over a predetermined value is applied, the collection of documents may be easily removed from the file folder.  
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
      Accordingly, the present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems occurring in the prior art, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a document inserting and removing device of a file folder in which a collection of documents is easily inserted and removed into/from the file folder in a one-touch manner.  
      To accomplish the above object, according to the present invention, there is provided a document inserting and removing device of a file folder, wherein a collection of documents is provided in such a manner as to be bound by means of a double spring inserted into holes punched into the lower end of the collection of documents; a generally elongated support plate is formed in such a manner as to have plural pairs of locking members aligned at given intervals along the center portion thereof, each pair of locking members facing each other and having locking projections formed at the top ends thereof, the locking projections facing each other and being bent downwardly with respect to the locking members so as to form an acute angle to the locking members; and an outer cover is formed in such a manner as to have the support plate attached along the center portion thereof, whereby the collection of documents is inserted and removed into/from the support plate. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
      The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments of the invention in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:  
       FIG. 1  is a perspective view of showing a conventional document inserting and removing device of a file folder;  
       FIG. 2  shows the details of main parts of a conventional document inserting and removing device of a file folder;  
       FIGS. 3 and 4  are perspective views of showing a support plate employed in a document inserting and removing device of a file folder according to the present invention;  
       FIG. 5  shows the details of main parts of a document inserting and removing device of a file folder according to the present invention; and  
       FIG. 6  is a perspective view of showing the assembling state of a document inserting and removing device of this invention with a file folder. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT  
      Reference will now be made in detail to the preferred embodiments of the present invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings.  
      As shown in FIGS.  3  to  6 , a document inserting and removing device of a file folder of this invention includes a collection of documents  110  bound by a double spring  114 , a generally elongated support plate  120  to which the collection of documents  110  is secured, and an outer cover  130  to which the support plate  120  is attached.  
      The collection of documents  110  has a plurality of holes  112  formed at given intervals along the lower end thereof, and a double spring  114  that is formed by the alignment of plural pairs of loop type spring wires  116  at given intervals is inserted into the plurality of holes  112  and coupled therewith. In this case, the spring wires  116  in each hole  112  are separated at the same intervals as one another, and each pair of spring wires  116  are separated at the same intervals as the adjacent pair of spring wires  116 .  
      The support plate  120  is a generally elongated plate that has the almost same length as the collection of documents  110 , and plural pairs of locking members  122  are erected at given intervals along the center portion of the support plate  120 , wherein each pair of locking members  122  are located to face each other. The distance between the locking members  122  constituting the pair of locking protrusions  122  is the same as the distance between the spring wires  116  constituting the pair of spring wires  116  in each hole  112 , and the distance between the pair of locking members  122  and the adjacent pair of locking members  122  is the same as the distance between the pair of spring wires  124  and the adjacent pair of spring wires  124 .  
      The pair of locking members  122  have locking projections  124  protrudingly formed from the top ends thereof in such a manner as to face each other. The locking projections  124  are bent downwardly with respect to the locking members  122  to have a generally staple shape. In this case, the angle of the locking projection  124  with respect to the locking member  122  is formed preferably between 60.degree. and 80.degree. The outermost locking member  122  as shown in  FIG. 4  has a larger width than another locking members  122  and has an insertion hole  126  into which a loop is inserted for the convenient use of the device.  
      The top surface of each locking projection  124  is somewhat inclined such that the double spring  114  is easily slid and coupled with the locking members  122 . The width of each locking projection  124  is greater than the thickness of each spring wire  116 , but if it is too great, a substantially strong external force should be applied in the process of coupling the double spring  114 . Therefore, the width of each locking projection  124  is, preferably, two to three times as large as the thickness of each spring wire  116 .  
      The outer cover  130  to which the support plate  120  is attached along the center portion thereof retains the collection of documents  110  therein, and the outer cover  130  is formed of paper, plastic, or synthetic resin.  
      Now, an explanation on the operation of this device will be given.  
      If the collection of documents  110  is secured on the outer cover  130 , the collection of documents  110  that is bound by the double spring  114  is first placed on the support plate  120 .  
      When the collection of documents  110  is placed on the support plate  120 , the plural pairs of spring wires  116  of the doubling spring  114  that are formed at the lower end of the collection of documents  110  are placed on the inclined top surfaces of the plural pairs of locking projections  124 , and at this time, the collection of documents  110  is pushed downwardly, the spring wires  116  are slid along the inclined top surfaces of the locking projections  124 . As a result, since the distance between the spring wires  116  becomes narrow the spring wires  116  are inserted into the space between the locking members  122 .  
      After the insertion of the spring wires, the spring wires  116  are returned to their original shape under their recovering force such that they come in close contact with the inner surfaces of the locking members  122  and secured to the protruded portions of the locking projections  124 . That is, if the collection of documents  110  is placed and pressed down on the support plate  120 , the spring wires  116  are slid at a time between the locking members  122  for coupling with the locking members  122 .  
      If the collection of documents  110  is to be removed from the support plate  120 , each pair of spring wires  116  are held by a user&#39;s fingers and tightly contact with each other such that they are removed one by one from the locking members  122 .  
      As mentioned above, the document inserting and removing device of a file folder according to the present invention conducts a document inserting process in an easy manner wherein when the collection of documents is placed and pushed down on the support plate, the spring wires are slid at a time and coupled to the locking members, and conducts a document removing process in an easy manner wherein when the spring wires are pressed to decrease the distance therebetween by a user&#39;s fingers, they are removed from the locking members.  
      While the present invention has been described with reference to the particular illustrative embodiments, it is not to be restricted by the embodiments but only by the appended claims, and therefore, it is to be understood that other modifications and variations may be made without departing from the substance and scope of the present invention, as those skilled in the art will readily understand. Such alternate modifications and variations are within the scope of the present invention which is intended to be limited only by the appended claims and equivalents thereof.