Books – strips – and leaves – Book – element thereof – or accessory therefor
Reexamination Certificate
2000-09-12
2001-08-07
Fridie, Jr., Willmon (Department: 3722)
Books, strips, and leaves
Book, element thereof, or accessory therefor
C281S021100, C281S028000, C281S029000, C402S008000, C402S017000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06270120
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a locking slide bar or clasp of the type used to form a stiff spine for reports, presentations, and other stacks of paper assembled and bound together.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Plastic spines or slide bars for use in gripping the binding edges of stacks of papers together, such as reports, proposals, briefs, and other stacks of documents fastened together along a common edge have been manufactured for many years. Conventional report cover grips or slide bars of this type are manufactured as extruded plastic structures of uniform cross section throughout. Conventional slide grips are formed with a pair of jaws joined together at a common base and forming an open slot or gap therebetween. The jaws are laterally elongated so as to extend the entire length of the binding edge of the stack of papers. The gap between the jaws is narrow enough so that they must be forced apart slightly to accommodate the thickness of the stack of papers. The jaws can be deflected resiliently apart to increase the width of the gap therebetween so as to receive the binding edge of the stack of papers within the gap. When the jaws are released, a clamping force is exerted by the jaws against the stack of papers as the jaws attempt to move toward each other back toward their undeformed positions.
A major problem with conventional slide grips or slide bars of this type is that the gripping force is inadequate to secure the grip on the binding edge of the stack of papers. Quite often when a user opens the report the stress of parting the papers as the pages are opened is transmitted to the slide grip as a force directed outwardly away from the binding edge of the report in a direction perpendicular thereto. As a consequence, the slide grip is pushed laterally away from the binding edge of the report and pops off of the binding of the report. This tendency is aggravated when the report has a clear, slick, glossy cover, such as a clear plastic polypropylene cover of the type frequently used as a report or presentation cover to protect the papers therewithin. The low coefficient of friction on the surface of such a plastic cover makes it extremely easy for a conventional spine gripping bar to pop off of the binding edge of a stack of bound papers.
Attempts have been made to correct this problem. For example, the otherwise conventional sliding bar report cover grip sold by the JM Company located in Hasbrouck Heights, New Jersey has a report cover gripping bar provided with a pair of opposing longitudinal ribs directed toward each other near the bases of the jaws of the grip. The concept is that the additional contact with the cover provided by the ribs will enhance the gripping force provided by the slide bar on the cover. However, this system provides no positive interlocking connection between the slide bar and the report cover so that the report cover grip still slides free from the cover when the report is opened.
The Avery Dennison Company has used a gripping report cover slide bar on which the extremities of the jaws are provided with inwardly directed hooks or tangs. A polyethylene plastic report cover is folded in half and die cut near its longitudinal center fold with a plurality of arcuate, semicircular die cuts spaced periodically along its length to create a number of tabs. The curved surfaces of the semicircular tabs are directed away from the binding center fold and toward the opposite edges of the cover and of the stack of papers encompassed therewithin. However, this system still has several problems. Because the semicircular tabs lie in the same plane as the cover sheet material from which they are cut, the hooked edges of the gripping bar will sometimes fail to engage the semicircular tabs. Also, the die cuts are through both the front and back cover of the folded polyethylene cover sheet and must be spaced quite closely to the center fold line in order to be engaged by the hooks or tangs at the extremities of the jaws of the gripping bar. There is very little structure left between the front and back die cuts adjacent the fold line. As a consequence, the material can fail at the fold line and the tabs will separate from the remaining structure of the cover as generally circular die cut punch outs.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention is an improved type of document binding cover grip bar system that overcomes the deficiencies of the prior art. Specifically, the present invention provides a positive interlocking system for preventing a slide gripping bar from pulling free from a document cover which does not require a separate die cutting operation. Furthermore, the system of the present invention is not susceptible to structural failure within a plastic cover.
In one broad aspect the present invention may be considered to be a combination of a plurality of sheets of paper, a document binder, at least one fastener, and a stiff, resilient, elongated channel which engages the document binder. The sheets of paper are disposed one atop another to form a stack having top and bottom sheets and defining a binding edge of the stack. An opposite edge of the stack is parallel to the binding edge while a narrow binding margin on the stack lies adjacent to the binding edge. The document binder is formed of a plurality of panels, including a top binding panel located atop the stack and above the top sheet at the binding margin and a back binding panel located beneath the stack and residing beneath the binding margin. At least one of the binding panels is a narrow panel having a width no greater than the width of the binding margin of the stack. The fastener or fasteners pass through the top and bottom sheets and through the narrow binding panel and emerge from the stack at the binding margin of the stack. The channel-shaped clasp is of uniform cross section throughout and is formed with a pair of jaws joined together and projecting outwardly from their junction to define a gap therebetween. At least one of the jaws terminates in a hooked lip. The binding edge of the stack is inserted into the gap so that the hooked lip is engaged with the narrow panel to restrict relative movement between the clasp and the stack in a direction perpendicular to the binding edge.
Preferably, each of the jaws of the clasp terminates in a hooked lip as described. This prevents a user from engaging the clasp on the binding edge of the stack with the hooked lip on the bottom of the stack and the narrow binding margin panel on the top, or vise versa. Preferably also, the top binding panel is the narrow panel and the back binding panel is a broad back cover that extends from the binding edge of the stack all the way across to the opposite edge of the stack beneath the bottom sheet thereof. With a construction such is this, the document binder may be formed of paper or card stock and a clear, transparent polyethylene cover may be attached to the stack beneath the narrow top binding panel by the same fastening system that passes through the stack and the narrow binding panel. Very typically several wire staples are used as fasteners for this purpose.
The invention may be defined in another way as a combination of a plurality of pages, a binding, a plurality of fasteners and a stiff, resilient, elongated clasp of uniform cross section throughout. The pages are disposed one atop another to form a stack having top and bottom sheets and defining a binding edge of the stack. An opposite edge of the stack is parallel to the binding edge. The stack has a narrow binding margin adjacent to the binding edge. The binding includes a plurality of face panels respectively overlying the top and bottom sheets of the stack. The face panels are joined together by at least one spine fold located at and parallel to the binding edge of the stack.
At least one of the face panels is a narrow margin panel that extends the length of the binding margin and is limited in width so that it extends no further toward the opposite edge of the stack than the bi
Fridie Jr. Willmon
Thomas Charles H.
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