Abstract:
A file folder ( 1 ) including a first ( 2 ) and second ( 3 ) rectangular panel, said panels ( 2, 3 ) joined along a common first edge defining a folding line ( 4 ), a projecting portion ( 7 ) integral with the first panel ( 2 ) and proximate a second edge ( 5 ) of the first panel, said projecting portion ( 7 ) oriented relative to a plane defined by the first panel so as to display a viewing face ( 8 ) of the projecting portion at an angle of at least 20 degrees to the first panel, said projecting panel having a complementary shape so as to permit interleaving of a plurality of the file folders.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
         [0001]    The invention relates to an administrative system of filing documents. In particular the invention relates to improvements in the individual elements, such as folders, making up the filing system, which improve the efficacy of the system as a whole. Such improvements include the viewability of individual elements within the system as the degree of efficiency of space of the elements and system in the “as used” format and storage of said elements prior to incorporation within the system generally.  
         BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0002]    In an office environment whereby the organisation&#39;s operation involves the differentiation between specific categories such as projects or clients, it is typical to store documents, correspondence and other paper form items in folders. So as to maintain retreivability and so manage the operations of the organisation, said folders are maintained collectively in a filing system.  
           [0003]    In their systemic form the individual folders as a matter of course lose identity and retrieval of individual files from the system is dependent upon the discipline in which the folders are filed and the ease by which a folder can be tracked down and extracted from the system. It is typical to identify a particular category by the information disclosed on the front face of a folder. Whilst this provides an easy means to identify the particular category when said folder is within the system it is necessary to extract folders on an iterative basis so as to read the front cover and thus identify the required folder. Whilst folders may be grouped together it is still impossible to visually identify an individual folder without said extraction.  
           [0004]    The flow of information within an organisation can often represent a substantial cost potential. Should the flow of information be inefficient, the cost potential can be extremely high and thus the organisation will suffer irrespective of the nature of the organisation&#39;s core business. Thus, if the identification of a required folder takes an inordinate amount of time then the information flow within the organisation will slow and consequently have an impact on the organisation&#39;s profitability.  
           [0005]    In another aspect of the industry in order to maintain such a filing system it is necessary to store unused folders so as to have them available when a new category is added, for instance of new client or a new project. Folders of the prior art typically being manila folders are easily transported and stored in boxes in a generally efficient manner in that multiple folders lie flat against each other. Any variation to this storage efficiency will therefore have a detrimental effect on the cost of said folders and so increase the cost of the end user filing system.  
           [0006]    In terms of the ability to quickly locate folders within a filing system it is known to attach to the folders plastic tags into which may be placed labels identifying the category contained within the folder. Examples of the use of such tabs include folders within a filing cabinet.  
           [0007]    If we now examine the applicability of a folder having a plastic tag, it is arguable whether a folder having a plastic tag will have the storage efficiency of the prior art manila folder. It is therefore typical to have the plastic tags and folders separate. Thus, the most efficient filing system offered by the prior art involves the separate storage of tags and folders, and the additional cost of plastic tags so as to overcome the viewability problems.  
           [0008]    It would therefore be advantageous if a system could be developed that combines efficient storage and viewability of the folders which make up the filing system.  
         STATEMENT OF THE INVENTION  
         [0009]    It is therefore a first object of the invention to provide a folder for use within a filing system that optimises the identification of a folder within the system.  
           [0010]    It is a second object of the invention to provide an increase in the degree of efficiency in the storage of said folders.  
           [0011]    Therefore, in one aspect of the invention there is provided a file folder including a first and second rectangular panel, said panels joined along a common first edge defining a folding line, a projecting portion integral with the first panel and proximate a second edge of the first panel, said projecting portion oriented relative to a plane defined by the first panel so as to display a viewing face of the projecting portion at an angle of at least 20° to the first panel, said projecting panel having a complementary shape so as to permit interleaving of a plurality of the file folders.  
           [0012]    File folders of the prior art comprise two rectangular panels joined at a folding line. Typically a folder will have a plan size of approximately a foolscap page or correspondingly larger, based on the documents to be filed therein with the two rectangular panels forming the sides which retain the included documents. The present invention differs from the prior art in two marked areas.  
           [0013]    Firstly, the projecting portion is oriented so as to provide viewability to a person seeking documents within a filing system. That is, by having a viewing face on the projecting portion which can be seen without having to extract the folder from the filing system. Consequently, there is an immediate benefit to the organisation in not having to go through the iterative procedure normally associated with finding a folder within a filing system.  
           [0014]    The second area in which the invention is distinguished over the prior art lies with the adaptation of the projecting portion to permit interleaving of unused folders in a stack. A manila folder is easily stacked because of the flat plane defined by each folder. Alternatively, a file folder whose shape is not self complementary, will when stacked retain gaps or spaces between said folders. One of the most critical issues of efficiency for the transportation of any goods is the degree to which said goods may be packed so that the transportation of said goods do not involve the transportation of empty space.  
           [0015]    In achieving the viewability function if the present invention did not also include the complementary shape then in stacking said file folders spaces would be retained within the packed folders, leading to a greater volume of goods than is necessary. It is a general principle in transportation that the most expensive item to be transported is air, as for every space that is being transported this represents a portion of goods that are not being conveyed. Having the projecting portion in an orientation so as to be visible whilst in use in a filing system may preclude such interleaving without limiting the means by which the projecting portion achieves the viewability. By arranging the projecting portion such that in an unused state several folders in a stack may fit together in a complementary shape then the present invention maintains a storage and transport efficiency approaching that of a manila folder.  
           [0016]    It is accepted that the transport of air represents a costly inefficiency to the storage and transport of most materials. This is equally so for the transport of file folders. A clear intent of the invention is to provide the file folders in a form that can interleave so as to substantially avoid voids or air pockets being trapped between the file folders, and so increase the quantity of actual product as compared to the transport of air. For instance, the file folder of AU 52552/93, being the Applicants earlier patent, involves a file folder that provided a display face using an encapsulated void. Whilst gaining strength through the triangulation of the display portion this was a particularly inefficient way of transporting or storing files, as on the one hand the void took valuable space within the packaging, or to pack further file folders lead to the crushing of the void. Thus, the present invention avoids these problems by being directly applicable to interleaving, and so minimize the presence of voids.  
           [0017]    Preferably, the angle at which the viewing face is displayed may be in the range of 20 degrees to 90 degrees. More preferably, the viewing angle may be in the range 30 degrees to 80 degrees. Thus the viewability of the present invention is not restricted to a lower limit, but may ideally fall within a range which may be dependent upon the filing system in which the present invention is applied.  
           [0018]    Preferably, the projecting portion is an extension of the first panel. In order to save on manufacturing costs the present invention may be manufactured from a single sheet, prior to the formation of the projecting portion into that of the present invention through a secondary process. Alternatively, the projecting portion may be added later as a specially manufactured portion that is applied to the first panel in order to effect the integral connection. Preferably, the projecting portion may be reinforced. Either as part of the parent material or as an added element, the projecting portion may be reinforced so as to be stronger than the parent material. This is consistent with the idea that the projecting portion will project clear from the folder and thus may be subjected to ancillary forces such as people brushing against the portion, or other deleterious action. More preferably, for the projecting portion made from the parent material, the reinforcement may be in the form of a doubling, or more, of the parent material which is folded back so as to provide a suitable length of projecting portion but still be made from the parent material. In shaping the projecting portion, so as to achieve the reinforcement, the projecting portion may be laminated and/or preprocessed so as to achieve the desired shape so that the projecting portion is readily viewable. Even more preferably, incorporated within the folding back may be a strip of material, such as plastic, which can be placed within the folds to further reinforce the projecting portion.  
           [0019]    Preferably, the projecting portion may achieve the angle to the first panel through folding along a line parallel to the second edge. This parallel line may be at the interface between the projecting portion and the first panel. Alternatively, the projecting portion may be a curved section and thus may not require any folding. In this instance, the plane defined by the first panel may be tangential to the curve of the projecting panel so as to avoid a discontinuity between the first panel and the projecting portion.  
           [0020]    In another possible arrangement, the projecting portion may act as a handle so as to assist in the removal of the folder from the filing system. In addition to the aforementioned reinforcement it may advantageous to add further reinforcement placed at an angle inclined to or orthogonal to the first edge. Incorporation of a further reinforcement may assist in resisting any tensile forces caused by the removal of the folder through using the projecting portion as a handle.  
           [0021]    Preferably, the projecting portion may be of such a length and angle (or length of curve should the projecting portion be curved) such that the projecting portion extends from the second edge of the first panel to a corresponding second edge of the second panel. By extending across the span between the second edges of the first and second panel, the projecting portion may act as a guard which may minimise the erroneous filing of documents within the folder whilst the folder is still within the filing system. To this end, the projecting portion may extend as far as the second edge of the second panel, or extend beyond that point so as to achieve the guard function. In normal circumstances, locating a particular folder requires the extraction of the folder from the filing system. Consequently, the chances of misfiling of a document within the wrong folder are remote.  
           [0022]    As the present invention provides that the folder does not necessarily have to be extracted, there may be further time savings in depositing documents directly to the folder whilst the folder is still within the filing system. This may, however, lead to documents being filed in the wrong folder. In this embodiment where the projecting portion may act as a protector for the folder it may be necessary for the protector to be pulled back before a document is filed. The person doing the filing may engage the projecting portion and force it open before filing the document. Thus, the chances of a misfiling may be minimised as a definite action on the part of the filer is required before the document is filed. In such an arrangement, the interface between the projection portion and the first panel may act as a hinge.  
           [0023]    As folders typically are rectangular in shape they may be filed in two alternative arrangements, the first being with the major access vertical (or upright), and the second with the minor access being vertical (or reclined). The present invention refers to the projecting portion being located along a second edge. Preferably, the second edge is parallel to the folding line of the file folder. In this orientation, the projecting portion will be parallel to the major access and so suited for filing of the folder in an upright position. Alternatively, the first edge may be at right angles to the folding line and thus be suited for use with the folder being filed in the reclined position.  
           [0024]    In a second aspect of the invention there is provided a filing system including a plurality of file folders, each folder in the filing system including first and second rectangular panels, said panels joined along a common first edge which defines a folding line, a projecting portion integral with the first panel and proximate a second edge of the first panel, said projecting portion oriented relative to a plane defined by the first panel so as to display a viewing face of the projecting portion at an angle of at least 20 degrees to the first panel, said projecting portion having a complementary shape so as to permit interleaving of a plurality of the file folders. 
       
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT  
       [0025]    It will be convenient to further describe the present invention with respect to the accompanying drawings which illustrate possible arrangements of the invention. Other arrangements of the invention are possible and consequently the particularity of the accompanying drawings is not to be understood as superseding the generality of the preceding description of the invention.  
         [0026]    [0026]FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the file folder according to the present invention;  
         [0027]    [0027]FIG. 2 is a side elevation of the file folder of FIG. 1;  
         [0028]    [0028]FIG. 3 is a top view of the file folder of FIG. 1 from the viewing face; and  
         [0029]    [0029]FIG. 4 is a side elevation of a plurality of file folders according to the present invention.  
         [0030]    [0030]FIG. 1 shows the file folder ( 1 ) in an open orientation, said folder comprising a first panel ( 2 ) and a second panel ( 3 ) joined at a first edge ( 4 ) which acts as a folding line. Both panels are rectangular in shape and are joined parallel to the major axis of each of the panels ( 2 ) and ( 3 ) at the folding line ( 4 ). In order to create the file folder ( 1 ) the panels are brought together by folding at line ( 4 ) and thus creating a folder in which documents may be retained. The panels ( 2 ) and ( 3 ) further have second edges ( 5 ) and ( 6 ) being the edges which will be externally exposed whilst in the filing system. The present invention is characterized by a projecting portion ( 7 ) connected to the second edge ( 5 ) of the first panel ( 2 ), and in this embodiment said projecting portion ( 7 ) is located on the edge parallel to the major axis of the first panel ( 2 . Therefore, the projecting portion ( 7 ) is also parallel to the folding line ( 4 ), said folding line ( 4 ) representing the spine of the finished file folder ( 1 ).  
         [0031]    [0031]FIGS. 2 and 3 show the file folder ( 1 ) in various orientations and in particular show the viewing face ( 8 ) of the projecting portion ( 7 ), which defines the first of the two inventive features of the patent invention. Within a filing system, the file folder ( 1 ) provides an advantage over the prior art in that the viewing face ( 8 ) is exposed outwards so it may be viewed by a person attempting to locate a specific folder within a filing system. File folders of the prior art need to be extracted so as to view information on a front face of the folder. The file folder ( 1 ) of the present invention uses the viewing face ( 8 ), by displaying the requisite information and thus assist in the location of individual folders.  
         [0032]    [0032]FIG. 4 shows a plurality of file folders ( 9 ) whilst in the unused portion either for storage or for transportation. A critical cost in the storage or transportation of said folders is the number of folders that may be transported and thus the interleaving of folders is a critical determinant in transport and storage costs. Because of the orientation of the projecting portion ( 7 ), it is possible to interleaf a plurality of said folders without compromising the functionality of the viewability of the projecting portion ( 7 ).  
         [0033]    In this embodiment the interleaving function of the file folder ( 1 ) is achieved by the combination of flat first and second panels ( 2 ) and ( 3 ) and a single leaf projecting portion ( 7 ). Although the inclined or curved projecting portion lies outside the plane of the panels ( 2 ) and ( 3 ) it is still nevertheless a single leaf and thus when a plurality of file folders are stacked there will be no interstitial spaces between said folders, and thus the efficiency for transportation and storage is maximized.  
         [0034]    In this embodiment, the viewing face ( 8 ) of the projecting portion ( 7 ) is displayed at an angle ( 10 ) to the first panel ( 2 ) of not less than 20 degrees. In order to achieve this angle, the projecting portion ( 7 ) is folded along the second edge ( 5 ) and maintained in this orientation so as not to fall below the 20 degree limit.  
         [0035]    In other embodiments said angle ( 10 ) may be as high as 90 degrees, but will preferably fall somewhere within the range 20 degrees to 90 degrees to emphasize viewability. The fold along the second edge ( 5 ) may be effected by a simple folding action or may be molded as part of a secondary process for the formation of the projecting portion ( 7 ). The projecting portion ( 7 ) is reinforced so as to limit the extent of deterioration caused by overuse, said overuse being caused by inadvertent contact or by the secondary use for the projecting portion ( 7 ) being as a handle. It will be advantageous to use the projecting portion ( 7 ) as a handle as it conveniently projects from the folder, and secondly is adapted to be reinforced in a manner appropriate with the forces associated with the use as a handle. The projecting portion ( 7 ) itself may be initially manufactured as an extension to the first panel ( 2 ), or may be a later addition which is mounted to the first panel ( 2 ) in a permanent mounting arrangement.  
         [0036]    Returning to FIG. 2, it will be seen that the projecting portion ( 7 ) spans from the first panel ( 2 ) to the second panel ( 3 ), for documents to be inserted within the file folder ( 1 ) it is necessary to pull back the projecting portion ( 7 ) and provide clear access to the folder.  
         [0037]    Folders of the prior art are located by their removal from the filing system so as to read the identifying information on the front cover. Because this extraction isolates the folder from the rest of the filing system, the chances of a document being misfiled are somewhat remote. The file folder ( 1 ) of the present invention is such that its extraction is not required from the filing system for the purposes of its identification. Thus, in addition to the efficiencies in locating the folder, there is further opportunity for efficiency by being able to insert documents into the folder without having to extract it. This however leads to the potential of errors in inserting a document into an adjacent folder instead of that which was intended. Such an error is minimized because of the projecting portion ( 7 ) in that firstly, file folders not of immediate interest will prevent the insertion of a document because of the projecting portion ( 7 ) protecting the opening between the panels. Secondly, because of the positive action of having to open the projecting portion ( 7 ) the attention of the person filing the document is more centered upon the folder in question.