Patent ID: 8277140

Claim:
A loose-leaf binder comprising: a cover having a front cover and a back cover; a plurality of oblong binder rings that are each closable from an open position via an interlock closure; a connective element having at least one pivot means for pivoting said oblong binder rings about a main axis of rotation; said connective element joining together and aligning said oblong binder rings along said main axis of rotation, at least one of said oblong binder rings elastically closable from an open position while continually remaining within a single geometric plane, each of said oblong binder rings has a major diameter and a minor diameter, said main axis of rotation is perpendicular to each of said oblong binder rings and is located adjacent one side of each of said oblong binder rings as divided by said minor diameter, said minor diameter defining an upright ring position when said minor diameter is substantially vertical and said main axis of rotation is located below said major diameter, said major diameter being substantially parallel to said front cover and said back cover when said cover is closed, said pivot means perpendicularly joining said connective element to at least a ring one of said oblong binder rings adjacent one side of a bottom portion thereof enabling said ring one to stand upright when said pivot means is horizontal, said cover enwraps and shields most of the perimeter of each of said oblong binder rings when said cover is closed such that each of 270 rays emanating from the center of a first ring of said oblong binder rings and spaced at consecutive 1-degree angular increments and intersecting the perimeter of said first ring subsequently intersects said cover when said cover is closed, said cover is folded in a substantially flat formation with a near-ring edge adjacent said oblong binder rings when said cover is open 360 degrees, a portion of each of said oblong binder rings rotatable about said near-ring edge, said main axis of rotation is roughly axially disposed relative to opposing rotations of said cover and said ring one while said ring one remains closed, said connective element affixed flush with or flatly to said flat formation of said cover to provide a sufficiently smooth surface for writing on any ring-bound loose-leaves stacked thereon, and said connective element remaining flush or flat relative to said flat formation when said portion of each of said oblong binder rings rotate about said near-ring edge, whereby arrangement of said pivot means with said oblong binder rings facilitates limited rotational attachment of said oblong binder rings to said cover, enables said cover to be extra thin when closed thus saving storage space, enables nimble page-turning of ring-bound loose-leaves when said cover is open 180 degrees, and reduces the amount of necessary rotation of said oblong binder rings when ring-bound loose-leaves are stack substantially flat above and below said pivot means when said cover is open 360 degrees.