IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR FILING, BINDING, OR HOLDING PAPERS OR DOCUMENTS
Year: 1885

page_text: Papers or Documents.
We, JOSEPH SINCLAIR FAIRFAX of 3 St Pauls Road Camden Town, in the
County of Middlesex, Consulting and Electrical Engineer, and JOSEPH LYONS
of 230 Whitechapel Road, London, in the County of Middlesex, Artist, do hereby
declare the nature of our said invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR
FILING, BINDING, OR HOLDING PAPERS OR DOCUMENTS," to be as follows:-
This invention relates to means whereby loose papers, documents, or such like
articles, are filed, bound, held, or retained in place for reference or preservation; for
commercial, literary, artistic, or other purposes.
The portfolio or binder employed consists of two ordinary flaps or sides like the
two lids of a bound book; but instead of the two flaps being connected by paper
or fabric along one of the sides to form a hinge,-the book opening in one direction
only, the two flaps are held together by straps in such a manner as to form a
double hinge, which admits of its opening at will on either one of two opposite
sides. When the binder is closed, the top lid may be opened either from the right
to the left, or the left to the right; the straps which form the hinges extending
across the inner face of each flap or lid.
Four separate straps are usually employed, although a greater or lesser number
may be used; the two ends of one pair of straps being attached to the correspond-
ing side of the other flap. Each pair of straps is thus attached at opposite ends to
the two flaps to form the double or reversible hinge already mentioned.
To file papers, the binder is opened and a sheet of paper placed upon one of the
sides, the binder is then closed and opened from the opposite side. By this
operation the paper is automatically drawn beneath, and held by, two of the
straps; and this operation is continued as required.
The straps are preferably made of an elastic material, although other substances
may be used.
The ends are fastened to the flaps by an adhesive material, or by
metallic fasteners, or both. When metal fasteners are used they are made with one
or more points or tanga, so arranged as to be capable of being driven through the
D077

page_text: elastic and the flap, and clinched on the opposite side. The flap may be formed
with slight recesses to receive the straps so that the surface of the latter is flush or
nearly so with that of the flap; and the whole may be neatly covered with cloth,
paper, or other material such as is used by bookbinders for like purposes.
Any suitable metal or alloy may be used for the fasteners, and of various
patterns, but the method preferred is to take an oblong strip or disc of sheet steel
or brass, and to stamp one or more tangs out of the area of the same; the tang
being connected to the metal strip or disc at its upper end, and at opposite points,
when two are used. These are driven through the straps and flaps in the manner
previously described, and clinched. The metal fastenings may be exposed, or
covered over as desired.

page_text: Papers or Documents.
We, JOSEPH SINCLAIR FAIRFAX of 3 St Pauls Road, Camden Town, in the
County of Middlesex, Consulting and Electrical Engineer, and JOSEPH LYONS
of 230 Whitechapel Road, London, in the County of Middlesex, Artist, do hereby
declare the nature of this invention and in what manner the same is to be
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement:
This invention relates to means whereby loose papers, documents, or such like
articles are filed, bound, held, or retained in place for reference or preservation; for
commercial, artistic, or other purposes.
The portfolio or binder employed consists of two ordinary Haps or sides like the
two lids of a bound book; but instead of the two flaps being connected by paper
or fabric along one of the sides to form a hinge,-the book opening in one direction
only, the two flaps are held together by straps in such a manner as to form a
double hinge, which admits of its opening at will on either one of two opposite
sides. When the binder is closed, the top lid may be opened either from the right
to the left, or the left to the right; the straps which form the hinges extending
across the inner face of each flap or lid.
Four separate straps are usually employed although three may be used, or more
than four. The two ends of one pair of straps being attached to corresponding
sides of the flaps. Each pair of straps is thus attached at opposite ends to the two
flaps to form the double or reversible hinge already mentioned.
To file papers, the binder is opened and a sheet of paper placed upon one of the
sides, the binder is then closed and opened from the opposite side. By this
operation the paper is automatically drawn beneath, and held by, the straps; and
this operation is continued as required.
The straps are made of an elastic material, the ends being fastened to the flaps
by an adhesive substance such as glue, or by metallic fasteners. When metal
fasteners are used they are made with one or more points or tangs, so arranged as
to be capable of being driven through the elastic and the flap, and clinched on the
opposite side. The flap may be formed with slight recesses to receive the straps so
that the surface of the latter is flush or nearly so with that of the flap; and the
whole may be neatly covered with cloth, paper, or other material such as is used
by book binders for like purposes.
Any suitable metal or alloy may be used for the fasteners, and of various
patterns, but the method preferred is to take an oblong strip or disc of sheet metal,
iron, or brass, and to stamp one or more tangs out of the area of the same, the tang
being connected to the metal strip or disc at its upper end, and at opposite points
when two are used. These are driven through the straps and flaps in the manner
previously described, and clinched. The metal fastenings may be exposed, or
covered over as desired.
Fig. 1 represents the binder, or file, open; the two sides or flaps being connected
to each other by the elastic hande or strong C
The innox main of atmana

page_text: fastened beneath the flap A, as indicated by the dotted lines d, passed over the inner
face of the other flap B, and turned over the outer edge and secured beneath at d.
The outer pair of straps in like manner are secured beneath the flap B at d, carried
across the inner face of the flap A as shown, turned over the edge and secured
beneath at d as in the former case. A paper or document to be filed is placed over
the elastic bands as shown by D, the binder closed, and opened again upon the
opposite edge. In the act of opening the file in this reverse direction, the inner
straps cross the path, (while holding D), of the outer ones, and as both the bands
and the documents give slightly, the result is to automatically place D beneath the
inner straps; the flaps A and B now changing their relative position as shown in
Fig. 2.
The document D is thus filed and held by the inner straps but if the flaps
are again reversed to the former position, the outer bands will now be found to
hold the paper, should it be of the proper length, and the operation of binding
or filing correspondence or papers can be continued as desired.
In order to present a neat appearance, the ends d, of the elastic bands C are
Becured to the outer face of the flaps A and B, and then covered over with cloth
and paper or strawboard, or otherwise finished off neatly. The elastic band ends
are glued to the flaps, or secured by metal fasteners of the kind shown by Figs. 3, 4,
and 5. A disc or oblong shaped piece of sheet metal has one or more tangs e
stamped out of the area of the same, except at the upper end and bent at right
angles to the fastener as in the side elevation in Fig. 4. This is driven through
the band and material of the flap and clinched, so as to hold the band firmly in
position. In the smaller size, one wide strap may be used in the middle instead of
the two inner straps.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what
we claim is:-
1. A self acting binder or file, substantially as and for the purpose shown and
described.
2. Holding or retaining papers or documents for commercial or reference
purposes, without mutilation, substantially as and in the manner shown and
described.
3. The combination of three or more elastic bands or straps with straw or
millboard flaps or sides substantially as and for the purpose described.
4. The combination of metal fasteners with elastic bands and two flaps
substantially as described.
Dated this 6th day of March 1886