Patent ID: 7293933

Claim:
A coil bound notebook system comprising; a coil binding element formed of a flexible, wire-like material having a plurality of coil portions for engaging pages of a notebook; a divider element having a sheet member, said sheet member having a plurality of adjacently disposed, substantially T-shaped connector elements disposed along a binding edge of said sheet member, each said connector element having a stem which terminates in a transversely extending shoulder portion, each said stem and shoulder portion of two adjacent connector elements defining a coil receiving aperture therebetween, wherein said coil receiving aperture is dimensioned to receive a corresponding coil portion of said coil binding element, each said shoulder portion of two adjacent connector elements further defining a cut region therebetween, said cut region extending into said coil receiving aperture, each said cut region having a width between two adjacent connector element shoulder portions that is less than the width of said corresponding coil portion when said two adjacent connector elements are in an unflexed position, in the same plane of said sheet member, providing for the secure retention of said coil portion within said coil receiving aperture, at least the portion of said divider element comprising said connector elements being constructed of a flexibly deflectable material, whereby each said connector element may be deflected out of a plane of said sheet material so as to enable facilitated passage of a corresponding coil portion between two adjacent shoulder portions and through said cut region; and said coil binding element having an axis extending parallel to said binding edge and having flexible coil portions upper portions of which may be temporarily flexed in the direction of said axis to minimize the force and deflection required to be exerted on the connector elements during said facilitated passage of a coil portion between adjacent shoulder portions.