US2704546A - Ring binders - Google Patents

Description

Mar h 22, 1955 3. K. SLONNEGER RING BINDERS Filed July 12, 1954 IN VEN r012 (SH/6f If. 51 WWI/E65? 19/5 A TTGRNE Y United States Patent RING BINDERS Bruce K. Slonneger, Dayton, Ohio Application July 12, 1954, Serial No. 442,533

Claims. (Cl. 129-1) This invention relates to improvements in binders and particularly ring-binders.

Inside the covers of ring-binders shallow pockets are generally provided in which cards, loose papers and the like may be placed. If such a ring-binder is not carefully handled the contents of these pockets spill out and may be lost for there is nothing about the pockets that will retain their contents if the binder is carried improperly.

It is, therefore, among the objects of the present invention to provide a ring-binder having a pocket inside the front and back covers thereof, the inside flap of each pocket having provisions for detachably securing it to the adjacent rings of the binder. This substantially closes the pocket and prevents the contents from spilling out regardless of how the binder is handled.

The usual ring-binder has its front and back covers made of an opaque material such as card-board, leather or a plastic. This requires captions or pictures identifying the contents of the binder to be stamped, printed or pasted on the binder cover and therefore limits the use of this particular binder to such material unless the original caption or picture is removed, which ordinarily would deface the cover and render the binder unfit for use.

Therefore, another object of the present invention is to provide a ring-binder having front and back covers made of any suitable transparent material, each cover having an inner sheet attached thereto, forming a pouch or pocket into which may be inserted any desirable title sheet or picture. The transparent covers render these sheets clearly legible, thus not only identifying the contents of the binder, but also adding a decorative effect to the binder.

When the front and back covers of the binder of a transparent material such as plastic, it is desirable for decorative and utility purposes to provide an opaque backing strip within the binder which will cover and hide the rings and their supporting member when the binder is closed. This provides another advantage inasmuch as said opaque backing strip may be of a selected color, as for instanceAir Force blue, thereby distinguishing the particular binder as especially dedicated to Air Force use. If the colored, opaque backing strip is extended to continue around the respective edges of the binder, a visible frame for any title sheet or picture within the transparent cover is provided.

Further objects and advantages will be apparent from the following description of the invention, reference being had to the accompanying drawings which illustrate a preferred embodiment of the invention.

In the drawings:

Fig. l is an inside view of a fully opened ring-binder equipped with the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a side view of a closed binder.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged, fragmentary sectional view showing a grommeted orifice in a plastic sheet.

Fig. 4 is a similar view showing a grommeted opening through a double plastic sheet.

Fig. 5 is an enlarged end view of the binder shown in Fig. 1, one pocket flap being shown free of the binderrings.

Fig. 6 is an end view of the closed binder, and

Fig. 7 is a magnified sectional view of separable attaching means for detachably securing two sheets toether. g For purposes of this description the binder cover will Patented Mar. 22, 1955 be considered as being made of a pliable, transparent plastic, parts of the binder being secured together by the well known electro-thermal sealing process. It is to be understood that leather, paper or any other suitable sheet material may be used instead of the plastic, in which case parts would be secured together by stitching, gluing or any other suitable process.

Referring to the drawings, the back and front covers of the binder are made of a single sheet 20, of plastic trimmed to the desired size, the top and bottom edges thereof being referred to by the letters T and B respectively and the end edges by the letter B. Midway between edges E, an opaque backing or reenforcing strip 21, of plastic material, is sealed to the cover sheet 20 along the area defined by the dot-dash lines SS and along the edges T and B between said lines SS, or areas defined by said lines. Strip 21 is of predetermined width and like the sealing areas SS extends from cover edge T to cover edge B. It is preferably opaque and may be of any desirable color, hiding the binder-rings when the folder is closed and providing the folder with a back face 22 and adjacent areas of a chosen color showing through the transparent cover sheet. This strip 21 may have an extension of desired width, referred to by the letter P, which when sealed to the cover sheet 20 along the dot-dash line at its edges, forms a framing border on said cover. Another plastic strip 23, preferably the same size as strip 21, is sealed to strip 21 along the areas defined by the dot-dash lines SS, a longitudinal area between said areas SS being unattached to form a pocket for receiving and holding the attachment plate 24, which may be made of any suitable stiff material, preferably metal and has means for rigidly securing the member 26 carrying the binder-rings 25.

A feature of the present invention is the provision of means at the free edges or flaps of the pocket forming sheets inside the binder cover, by which said flaps may be secured to the rings of the binder, thereby substantially closing the pocket. Figs. 1 and 5 show two sheets 30 and 31, preferably of transparent plastic, attached to the inside of the binder cover to form pockets therein on each side of the binder rings 25. The top, bottom and end edges of these sheets are attached to the cover sheet along its respective edges T, B and E, specifically along the dot-dash lines shown in Fig. l, by the electrothermal sealing process. As previously stated, it may be desirable to provide a colored frame or border of desirable width about the binder cover either front, back, or both, in which case a strip P of colored plastic is interposed between sheets 30 and 31 and sealed between said sheets.

The respective inside edges of sheets 30 and 31, alongside the binder rings 25 are not sealed to the cover sheet 20, thus these sheets 30 and 31 form open pouches or pockets inside the binder cover. Ordinarily a construction of this kind permits buckling of the free edge or flap of the pocket upon closing of the binder. Contents of the pockets will also tend to spill out if the binder is not handled properly. To prevent this, the present invention provides means at the free edge of each sheet 30 and 31, said means being removably attachable to the binder rings 25, thereby eliminating buckling and substantially closing the pocket and preventing spilling of the contents no matter how the binder is handled. To secure these sheets to the rings 25 grommeted openings are provided which fit over the respective rings. A reenforcing strip 33 is sealed to the sheets 30 and 31 to prevent tearing through repeated use. Figs. 3 and 4 illustrate grommeted open ings 34 and 35 formed in a single or reenforced sheet respectively, said grommet-like, strengthened edges of the openings being formed during the piercing and sealing operation of these sheets.

For certain uses, it may be desirable releasably to attach one, two or all three edges of sheets 30 and 31 to the cover sheet 20, thereby permitting the releasable edges of said sheets to be detached temporarily from said cover sheet. A well known interfitting tongue and groove construction as shown in Fig. 7, may be used for this purpose. If all three edges T, B and E of sheets 30 and 31 are to be detachably secured to the cover sheet 20, said sheet 20 is provided with a plurality of spaced ribs 41 and the sheets 30 and 31 with similar ribs 42. The ribs of one sheet when alined with and pressed into the rib spaces in the cover sheet detachably secure these sheets together providing a leakproof seal. This interlock of the ribbed sheets can not ordinarily be broken. To separate the sheets without damage they should be peeled apart longitudinally of the ribs. To effect interlock the ribs of one should be placed in alinement with the spaces between the ribs of the other sheet and then by pressure of a finger on the one sheet along its ribbed area, the ribs are ironed into interlocking relation.

Thus the present invention provides a folder or binder having pockets in its cover secured against buckling or the spilling of the contents thereof. Also a binder having a transparent cover provided with inner pockets into which title sheets or pictures may be inserted which clearly show from outside the binder. A sealed, inner colored sheet provides the binder with a selected colored back face and a title sheet or picture framing border for identification and decorative purposes.

What is claimed is as follows;

1. A binder consisting of a single cover sheet; a strip of material secured across said cover sheet from one side to the other and intermediate its ends, said strip forming a longitudinal pocket between it and said cover sheet; a stiff mounting member in said pocket; a ring binder supporting plate on said strip and secured to said mounting member; and two pocket forming, inner sheets, one on each side of the said plate, each inner sheet having its three outer edges secured to the adjacent cover sheet along its edges, the free edge portion of each inner sheet adjacent the ring binder being perforated to fit over and receive the respective rings of the ring binder.

2. A binder according to claim 1, in which the free 4 edge of each inner sheet, adjacent the ring binder, has a reenforcing strip attached thereto, said reenforced edge portion of the inner sheet being perforated to fit over and receive the respective rings of the ring binder.

3. A binder according to claim 1, in which each one of the two inner sheets has certain of the three outer edges thereof releasably secured to the cover sheet along its adjacent edges, the inner free edge of each inner sheet, adjacent the ring supporting plate, being provided with means operative detachably to secure said free edge to the respective rings of the binder.

4. A binder consisting of a single cover sheet of transparent material; a strip of opaque material extending across and secured to the cover sheet from one side thereof to the other and intermediate its ends; a second strip of material secured to said opaque strip to form a longitudinal pocket therebetween; a stiff mounting plate in said pocket; a member on said second strip, rigidly attached to said mounting plate, said member carrying a plurality of binder rings adapted to be opened and closed; two inner, pocket forming sheets, one on each side of said member, three edges of each pocket forming sheet being attached to the cover sheet along its adjacent edges; and means provided at the inner edge of each pocket forming sheet, operative detachably to secure the respective pocket forming sheet to the binder rings.

5. A binder in accordance with claim 4, in which at least two edges of the pocket forming sheets are detachably secured to the cover sheet and the inner edge of said pocket forming sheet has a reenforcing strip attached thereto, said strip providing means for detachably securing the sheet to the rings of the binder.

No references cited.

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