WO2013009265A1

WO2013009265A1 - File mechanism

Info

Publication number: WO2013009265A1
Application number: PCT/SI2011/000040
Authority: WO
Inventors: Boris Kavcic; Miroslav Halilovic
Original assignee: Niko, Kovinarsko Podjetje, D.O.O., Zelezniki
Priority date: 2011-07-13
Filing date: 2011-07-28
Publication date: 2013-01-17
Also published as: SI23795A; EP2731803A1

Abstract

A file mechanism comprises a base plate (1), which is furnished with two stable pins (11, 12) firmly attached thereto, as well as a clamping assembly (2) comprising two pivotable pins (21, 22), which are firmly connected to each other by means of an elastically supported intermediate section (25) and are allowed to be pressed towards said stable pins (11, 12) by means of pivoting od appropriate actuating lever (3). Such mechanism allows re-positioning of inserted sheets from the area of stable pins (11, 12) to the area of pivotable pins (21, 22) or vice versa, and at the same time such mechanism is essentially simplified with regard to other known mechanisms, since the number of constituent parts is reduced and also manufacturing thereof is simple. The base plate (1) has two parts at different heights, one on which the stable pins (11, 12) are attached, the other on which the pivotable pins (21, 22) are attached; the pivot point of the actuating lever (3) is located between these parts, below the pivot point of the pivotable pins (21, 22). Thus the pivot angle of the actuating lever (3) can be made smaller which allows insertion of sheets in the open position.

Description

FILE MECHANISM

The present invention belongs to the field of bookbinding and requisites for clipping and storage of documents, i.e. among requisites adapted for sorting and organizing documents, especially of such kind, which comprise corresponding means for inserting through appropriate openings, by which the stored documents are furnished, namely among two- part clipping assemblies, which includes a stable part having at least two stable pins, as well as a pivotable part, which also includes at least two pivotable pins.

It is the aim of the present invention how to modify a file mechanism, which comprises a base plate, a pair of stable pins fixedly attached thereto and pair of pivotable pins which are pivotable towards said stable pins by means of displacing an actuating lever, so that on the one hand transposition of inserted sheets from the stable pins onto pivotable pins or vice versa should be enabled both in opened and closed state of the mechanism, and on the other, hand the mechanism as such should simplified as much as possible with regard to analogous known mechanisms, which means consisting of the less possible components, which should be simply and easily manufactured.

A known file mechanism is described in WO 2004/082961 or EP 1 606 122, respectively. Such mechanism consists of a base plate, on which a pair of stable pins is available, which are firmly connected to said base plate, and moreover a pair of pivotable pins, which are interconnected by means of a rigid intermediate portion and are therefore simultaneously pivoted by means of appropriate lever, which is pivotally connected to the cantilever, which is arranged in the central portion of said base plate and represents a part of said base plate or is firmly interconnected therewith.

The base plate includes appropriate reinforcing elements as well as openings adapted for attachment to each disposable file cover. Two stable pins are attached to said plate apart from each other and located in both corners of one of both longer lateral edges thereof, and their free ends are bent towards free ends of pivotable pins. Along the other lateral edge two pivotable pins are embedded within appropriate bearings and interconnected by means of an intermediate portion, which is bent in a trapezoidal shape essentially in the form of letter U. Said bearings are normally placed adjacent to the longitudinal edge of the base plate, while the intermediate section, by means if which said pivotable pins are interconnected, is placed towards the central portion of the base plate and extends essentially parallel to the aforementioned edge of the base plate.

Furthermore, a cantilever is foreseen approximately in the central area of the base plate, which protrudes apart from the base plate and at least approximately perpendicularly with respect to the aforementioned plane and forms at its free end and apart from the base plate a pivot joint of appropriate lever, which is intended to control the file mechanism and pivoting the pivotable pins with regard to the base plate and the stable pins. Said lever is arranged in the vertical plane, which extends parallel to the longitudinal edges of the base plate. A roller is embedded on the lever eccentrically at a certain distance with respect to the pivot joint, and is adapted for being rolled along said intermediate portion between both pivotable pins. To this aim, said lever is formed in the shape of the letter L, wherein the longer arm is intended for actuating, on the end portion of the shorter arm said roller is embedded, and the lever is embedded in the coinciding area of said arms. In the area of said intermediate portion, the clipping assembly is supported by a spring, which is normally available as a cantilevered bending spring. By pivoting said lever, the roller is moved along said central portion in order to either press said intermediate section towards the spring or to allow when desired that said intermediate portion is pressed by said spring in such an extent, which is determined by said roller and each disposable position of the lever, whereby said pivotable pins are pivoted with regard to the plane of the base plate in order to be shifted towards the stable pins or away from them.

When said pivotable pins are shifted away from the pair of the stable pins, then the file mechanism is opened and the sheets are allowed to be inserted into the file or removed there-from. Thanks to the spring, the intermediate section is maintained in position apart from the base plate, and also the actuating arm is shifted away from the base plate protruding thereby into the area between the stable pin and pivotable pin, which are available on the side of the actuating arm of the lever and are held apart from each other.

By pivoting the actuating arm of the lever towards the base plate, the roller is moved along the intermediate portion between the pivotable pins, by which said intermediate portion is pressed towards the plane of the base plate in a direction opposite with respect to the force of the spring. When the roller is moved across the line, which extends perpendicularly with respect to the plane of the base plate throughout the pivot joint on the centrally arranged cantilever, then the free end of each corresponding pivotable pin is rest on the free end of each corresponding stable pin. Since the lever may be pivoted still further, such movement involves movement of the roller beyond said line, upon which the lever is fixed and arrested in such a state, by which the file mechanism is closed.

When bearing in mind quite practical experience by using such a mechanism, it appears to be extremely reliable and efficient, and enables quickly and reliable storage of a sufficient quantity of sheets. The problem occurs whenever the user attempts to transposition of the inserted sheets or re-arranging of the content of the document file by amending the sequence of the sheets or the like. In such situation, transposition of sheets from the stable pins to the pivotable pins or vice versa is generally possible, however under condition that the file mechanism is closed. Amending the sequence of sheets is possible by pivoting the actuating lever and shifting the pivotable pins apart from the stable pins and then temporarily removing each desired sheets in order to insert them back in appropriately amended sequence, upon which by shifting the actuating lever the pivotable pins are moved back towards the stable pins, by which the mechanism is closed again. By rearranging of sheets inserted in such file mechanism, the above described sequence of operations needs to be repeated several times, which is time consuming and not really comfortable, at least when observed from the position of each user.

EP 1 226 987 proposes a generally analogous mechanism, which also consists of a base plate with stable pins firmly attached thereto as well as wit a centrally arranged cantilever, to which a lever is attached in appropriate pivot joint. Again, both pivotable pins are interconnected by means of an intermediate section, which is in its central portion pressed towards the main plane of the base plate by means of appropriate roller, which is eccentrically embedded on the lever, and at the same time said intermediate section is pressed away from the main plane of the base plate by means of a spring, which is mounted on the base plate below said central area of the intermediate section.

The purpose of such a solution is to enable transposition and re-arrangement, for example amending of sequences of sheets, which are stored in the file, even if the file mechanism is opened. In such a manner even during an extensive re-arrangement there is no need on repeated opening and closing the mechanism. In order to avoid protruding the lever into the area between each pivotable pin and corresponding stable pin on the side of the actuating arm of the lever, a limitation means is foreseen on the base plate below the central portion of the intermediate section between the pivotable pins, by means of which pivoting of the actuating arm away from the base plate is then limited. Due to such relatively simple modification of the base plate, namely by forming a cutout and subsequently bending the material of such cutout in order to obtain said limitation means, the actuating arm of the lever is then prevented from protruding into the area between the pivotable and stable pin, whenever said pins are positioned apart from each other, which would otherwise make transposition of sheets impossible. Accordingly, thanks to said limitation means the actuating arm of the lever is allowed to be pivoted only in such an extent that even in opened mechanism said arm is still maintained relatively close to the main plane of the base plate and at least at such distance apart from the stable pin and a corresponding pivotable pin, that transposition of sheets is still possible.

In this particular case, the problem of displacing the inserted sheets is resolved exclusively by reducing the movement of the actuating lever. However, by opening the mechanism each pivotable pin is shifted at certain distance apart from each corresponding stable pin, by which the transmission ratio between the force, which needs to act onto the actuating lever, and the force, by which said pivotable pins can pressed towards the stable pins. This naturally means that either the actuating lever needs to be exposed to correspondingly higher force, or the pins are exposed to higher forces and correspondingly higher deformations. Such mechanisms are mass products, which must meet quite rigorous requirements in relationship with safe and reliable exploitation, so that each increasing of the force required for closing the mechanism, appears to be inadmissible, while increasing of deformations unavoidable leads to decreasing of reliability and shortening of lifetime of such products, or may also be connected with other undesired measures like introducing of more expensive materials or increasing of dimensions of components, which leads to increasing of weight and increasing the manufacturing expenses. Still further, a file mechanism is described in WO 2005/047015, which also includes a base plate, a pair of stable pins, which are firmly connected thereto, as well as a pair of pivotable pins, which are pivoted by means of appropriate lever. Said pivotable pins are embedded on the base plate and interconnected by means of an intermediate section, which is supported by a spring, which is mounted on said base plate. Like in previous cases, said lever is pivotally attached to a cantilever on the base plate and is adapted to cooperate with the intermediate section arranged between the pivotable pins. However in this particular case the intermediate section is adapted to cooperate not e.g. with a roller, which is eccentrically embedded on the lever, but with a circumferential rand of an essentially circular and centrically embedded operational area of the lever, which is formed as a specially determined curve on the same principle as a classic and commonly known crank shaft mechanism. Accordingly, by pivoting the lever around said pivot joint in a determined manner the distance between the pivot joint and each particular contact point on the circumference of said operating area is changed, in which the lever is cooperating with the intermediate section in order to it towards the spring and opposite to the force thereof. Three main angular positions of the lever are discussed in more detail in said source, namely the first position, in which the mechanism is closed and the lever is locked adjacent to the main plane of the base plate so that transposition of sheets is enabled, while in the second position thanks to appropriately determined transmission ratio the mechanism is smoothly opened or closed, whereby the lever is pivoted away from the base plate and transposition of sheets is impossible, while in the third position the lever is pivoted around the pivot point for approximately 180 degrees with respect to its first position, by which the mechanism is opened and transposition of sheets is enabled again despite to the fact that the mechanism is opened, since the lever is maintained again adjacent to the base plate. Also in this case a spring is mounted on the base plate, by which the intermediate section between the pivotable pins is pressed towards the circumferential rand of the lever. In this solution the main problem refers to the second position of the lever, in which the lever protrudes approximately rectangular with respect to the main plane of the base plate. When the lever is positioned adjacent to the base plate, the risk of damages due to possible hooking or impacts is relatively low. On the contrary, when the lever protrudes perpendicularly with respect to the base plate, the free end of the lever is placed at a long distance apart from the base plate and also from the pivot joint, so that each loading in a transversal direction with respect to the axis of the pivot joint e.g. due to possible impacts by hand, hooking by clothes or when the file drops down to the floor may result in extremely high stresses in the area of the pivot joint, which leads to increasing of the play therein or even to destroying the mechanism.

This means that a completely new concept of the base plate, clamping mechanism and the actuating lever with appropriately amended curvature in the border zones of the operation area would have to be created. This also means that all manufacturing tools and equipment must be manufactured, by means of which then the process of manufacturing such mechanisms could be performed, which may lead to extremely high financial investments and intensive technical and organizational activities. Of these reasons, such approach in the course of resolving the initially exposed technical problem appears to be inappropriate.

The present invention refers to a simplified file mechanism, comprising a base plate with a pair of stable pins which are firmly attached thereto, and moreover a clamping mechanism which is pivotally embedded on said base plate within appropriate bearing seats and is furnished with a pair of pivotable pins adapted to cooperate with said stable pins, and in addition to that also an actuating lever which is in appropriate pivot point pivotally attached to said base plate and is adapted to cooperate with said clamping assembly for the purposes of pivoting thereof from its closed state, in which said pivotable pins are in contact with the stable pins, into the opened state thereof. Said stable pins extend at least approximately parallel with each other and protrude at least approximately perpendicularly with respect to the base plate and are moreover attached on the base plate in the area adjacent to the first longitudinal edge. Said clamping assembly comprises, in addition to said pair of pivotable pins which are located adjacent to the second longitudinal edge of the base plate, an intermediate section which is located between said pivotable pins and extends at least approximately parallel with respect to the geometrical axis of said bearing seats in which the clamping assembly is pivotally embedded on the base plate. The actuating lever, which is allowed to be pivoted around the geometrical axis extending essentially parallel with respect to the base plate and perpendicularly with respect to the longitudinal edges of the base plate, comprises an actuating arm, which protrudes outside of the area of the base plate and extends in the longitudinal direction of the base plate between each stable pin and each corresponding pivotable pin and essentially at least approximately parallel with respect to the longitudinal edges of the base plate.

The mechanism according to the invention is characterized on the one hand in that the base plate comprises at least two different altitude areas, namely the bottom area, in which the base plate is rest onto each ground surface and in which the stable pins are attached to said base plate, as well as the top area, in which the bearing seats of the clamping assembly are foreseen and which is adapted for resting the intermediate section of the clamping assembly which is elastically supported by said top area of the base plate, and on the other hand in that the actuating lever is pivotally embedded within the pivot point, which is located below the level of said intermediate section of the clamping assembly, in particularly between the bottom area and the top area of the base plate. The clamping assembly comprises, in addition to said pivotable pins and said intermediate section, two inclined sections which are located on both sides of said intermediate section and each per se extend towards each corresponding bearing seat, in the area of which the clamping assembly is supported by means of springs. In this, each spring is preferably available as a cantilever-shaped bending spring, which is mounted in the top area of the base plate. Moreover, the actuating lever comprises an actuating slider, which is adapted to cooperate with the intermediate section of the clamping assembly in the sense of pressing said intermediate section towards the base plate. Said actuating slider of the actuating lever is preferably a cantilever, which is supported by the intermediate section of the clamping assembly. Besides, the actuating slider of the actuating lever preferably has a convex and U-shaped profile, and is consequently able to slide to and fro along the surface of the intermediate section of the clamping assembly.

The intermediate section of the clamping mechanism is optionally furnished with an arresting means which is adapted to cooperate with the actuating slider of the actuating lever, especially in such position of the actuating lever where each pivotable pin is in contact with each corresponding stable pin. In this, said arresting means may optionally be a recess. The attachment passages, which are foreseen for attachment of the base plate onto each ground surface, are preferably located in the bottom area of the base plate.

A file mechanism according to the invention will be described in more detail on the basis of an embodiment, which is presented in the attached drawings, wherein

Fig. 1 is a front perspective view of a file mechanism in its closed state;

Fig. 2 is a rear perspective view of the same mechanism in the closed state;

Fig. 3 is a side view of the file mechanism in the closed state;

Fig. 4 is an orthogonal side view of the file mechanism in its opened state from the opposite direction with regard to Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a front view of the file mechanism in the closed state; and

Fig. 6 is a side view of the file mechanism in the opened state.

A file mechanism comprises a base plate 1, which is furnished with a pair of stable pins 11, 12 firmly attached thereto, ass well as of an uniformly conceived clamping mechanism 2, which comprises a pair of pivotable pins 21, 22 as well as an intermediate section arranged there-between.

The base plate 1 generally comprises two planar areas 101, 102, namely a bottom area 101, which is adapted to be rest onto each ground surface, e.g. onto a not-shown inner surface of the file mechanism cover, and moreover a top area 102, which is located at appropriate vertical distance apart from said bottom area 101.

Said stable pins 11, 12 are attached to the base plate 1 in the bottom area 101 adjacent to the first longitudinal edge 17, and in the same area 101 the plate 1 is also equipped with appropriate number of appropriately located attachment passages 103, which serve for attaching the base plate 1 to each disposable ground surface.

The top area 102 of the base plate 1 is adapted for supporting of the clamping assembly 2, which is embedded within appropriate bearing seats 19', 19", which are located adjacent to the second longitudinal edge 18 of the base plate 1 at the largest distance apart from the stable pins 11, 12.

The clamping assembly 2 is embedded within said bearing seats 19', 19" by means of its guiding sections 21 ', 22" which are located adjacent to the pivotable pins 21, 22 and extend similarly like the aforementioned intermediate section 25 in the longitudinal direction of the base plate 1, namely parallel to said longitudinal edges 17, 18 and also parallel to said intermediate section 25. Two inclined sections are foreseen on each side between the lastly mentioned section 25 and said guiding sections 2 , 22', so that the intermediate section 25 is embedded eccentrically with respect to said bearing seats 19', 19". In the shown embodiment, the clamping assembly 2 is supported by means of two springs 26, 27, which are located in the area of said inclined sections 23, 24. Moreover, an actuating lever 3 is mounted on the base plate 1 pivotally around a pivot point 30 and merely extending above the level of the top area 102 of the base plate, except in the area 31, in which the lever 2 is embedded within the pivot point 30 which is located below the intermediate section 25 of the clamping assembly 2, preferably between both areas 101, 102 of the base plate 1. The actuating lever 3 comprises an actuating arm 34 which protrudes beyond the base plate 1 and outside of the area of the stable and pivotable pins 1 1, 12; 21, 22. In said pivot point 30, the actuating lever 3 is allowed to be pivoted around the geometrical axis, which extends perpendicularly with respect to said longitudinal edges 17, 18 of the base plate and at least approximately parallel with respect to aforementioned areas 101, 102 of the base plate 1.

Moreover, said actuating lever 3 is furnished with an actuating slider 35, which is in the shown embodiment available in the form of a cantilever protruding apart from the actuating lever 3 towards the second longitudinal edge 18 of the base plate 1 i.e. towards the pivotable pins 21, 22 of the clamping assembly 2. Thanks to its U-shaped profile profile, said slider 35 is adapted to slide to and fro along the intermediate section 25 of the clamping assembly 2, which is in the area of its inclined sections 23, 24 elastically supported on the top area 102 of the base plate 1. When desired, an arresting means 25' can be foreseen on the intermediate section 25 and can be available e.g. in the form of a recess adapted to receive said slider 35.

When the mechanism is open (Fig. 6), free ends of the pivotable pins 21, 22 are located apart from free ends of the stable pins 11, 12, since the clamping assembly 2 is pivoted in the area of bearing seats 19', 19" due to the pressure of springs 26, 27, and its intermediate section 25 is maintained apart from the top area 102 of the base plate 1. The actuating lever 3 is pivoted in a direction away from the base plate 1 , however the pivot angle of the actuating arm 34 of said lever 3 can be relatively small and in the shown embodiment should not exceed approximately 25°. In such a state of the mechanism, thanks to such small pivot angle of the actuating lever 3, the sheets inserted therein may easily be displaced from the area of the stable pins 11, 12 into the area of the pivotable pins 21, 22 or vice versa.

By pressing said actuating arm 34 of the actuating lever 3 downwards in a direction towards the ground surface i.e. in a direction from the top area 102 towards the bottom area 101 of the base plate 1, the actuating lever 3 is pivoted around the pivot point 30, by which the slider 35 is displaced along the surface of the intermediate section 25 of the clamping assembly 2, which is then pivoted within the bearing seats 19', 19" which is followed by compression of the springs 26, 27. As soon as free ends of the pivotable pins 21, 22 arrive to abutment onto free ends of the stable pins 11, 12, displacing the slider 25 along the surface of the intermediate section 25 of the assembly 2 is terminated, by which the slider 25 is maintained in its position e.g. on the basis of appropriate engagement with said arresting means i.e. a recess 25' in connection with resiliency of the pins 1 1, 12; 21 , 22 and the clamping assembly 2. Such closed state of the mechanism is then maintained up to introducing pressure onto said actuating arm 34 of the actuating lever 3 in the direction away from the base plate 1 towards the top area 102, upon which the actuating lever 3 and the clamping assembly can be pivoted again by means of releasing previously compressed springs 26, 27.

Claims

PATENT CLAIMS

1. Simplified file mechanism, comprising a base plate (1) with a pair of stable pins (11, 12) firmly attached thereto, a clamping mechanism (2) which is pivotally embedded on said base plate (1) within appropriate bearing seats (19', 19") and is furnished with a pair of pivotable pins (21, 22) adapted to cooperate with said stable pins (1 1, 12), as well as an actuating lever (3) which is in appropriate pivot point (30) pivotally attached to said base plate (1) and is adapted to cooperate with said clamping assembly (2) for the purposes of pivoting thereof from its closed state, in which said pivotable pins (21, 22) are in contact with the stable pins (1 1, 12), into the opened state thereof, wherein said stable pins (1 1, 12) extend at least approximately parallel with each other and protrude at least approximately perpendicularly with respect to the base plate (1) and are moreover attached on the base plate (1) in the area adjacent to the first longitudinal edge (17), and wherein said clamping assembly (2) further comprises, in addition to said pair of pivotable pins (21, 22) which are located adjacent to the second longitudinal edge (18) of the base plate (1), an intermediate section (25) which is located between said pivotable pins (21, 22) and extends at least approximately parallel with respect to the geometrical axis of said bearing seats (19', 19") in which the clamping assembly (2) is pivotally embedded on the base plate (1), and wherein the actuating lever (3), which is allowed to be pivoted around the geometrical axis extending essentially parallel with respect to the base plate (1) and perpendicularly with respect to the longitudinal edges (17, 18) of the base plate (1), comprises an actuating arm (34), which protrudes outside of the area of the base plate (1) and extends in the longitudinal direction of the base plate (1) between each stable pin (11, 12) and each corresponding pivotable pin (21, 22) and essentially at least approximately parallel with respect to the longitudinal edges (17, 18) of the base plate (1), characterized in that the base plate (1) comprises at least two different altitude areas (101, 102), namely the bottom area (101), in which the base plate (1) is rest onto each ground surface and in which the stable pins (1 1, 12) are attached to said base plate (1), as well as the top area (102), in which the bearing seats (19', 19") of the clamping assembly (2) are foreseen and which is adapted for resting the intermediate section (25) of the clamping assembly (2) which is elastically supported by said top area (102) of the base plate (1), and in that the actuating lever (3) is pivotally embedded within the pivot point (30), which is located below the level of said intermediate section (25) of the clamping assembly, in particularly between the bottom area (101) and the top area (102) of the base plate (1).

2. Mechanism according to Claim 1, characterized in that the clamping assembly (2) in addition to said pivotable pins (21, 22) and said intermediate section (25) also comprises two inclined sections (23, 24), which are located on both sides of said intermediate section (25) and each per se extend towards each corresponding bearing seat (19', 19"), in the area of which the clamping assembly (2) is supported by means of springs (26, 27).

3. Mechanism according to Claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the actuating lever (3) comprises an actuating slider (35), which is adapted to cooperate with the intermediate section (25) of the clamping assembly (2) in the sense of pressing said intermediate section (25) towards the base plate (1).

4. Mechanism according to Claim 3, characterized in that the actuating slider (35) of the actuating lever (3) is a cantilever which is supported by the intermediate section (25) of the clamping assembly (2).

5. Mechanism according to Claim 4, characterized in that the actuating slider (35) of the actuating lever (35) has a convex and U-shaped profile and is able to slide to and fro along the surface of the intermediate section (25) of the clamping assembly (2).

6. Mechanism according to anyone of the preceding Claims, characterized in that the intermediate section (25) of the clamping mechanism (2) is furnished with an arresting means (25'), which is adapted to cooperate with the actuating slider (35) of the actuating lever (3), especially in such position of the actuating lever (3) where each pivotable pin (21, 22) is in contact with each corresponding stable pin (11, 12).

7. Mechanism according to Claim 4, characterized in that said arresting means (25') is a recess.

8. Mechanism according to one of the preceding Claims, characterized in that attachment passages (103), which are foreseen for attachment of the base plate (1) onto each ground surface, are located in the bottom area (101) of the base plate (1).

9. Mechanism according to Claim 2, characterized in that each spring (26, 27) is available as a cantilever-shaped bending spring, which is mounted in the top area (102) of the base plate (1).