Ring binder sheet positioner

Details Ring binder sheet positioner Ring binder sheet positioner

2000-09-18

2003-05-06

Wellington, A. L. (Department: 3722)

Binder device releasably engaging aperture or notch of sheet

Miscellaneous

Sheet lifters

C402S08000L, C402S08000L

Reexamination Certificate

active

06558064

ABSTRACT:

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The invention pertains to the art of binder devices which releasably engage apertures in sheets, more specifically to attachments to the rings that move the sheets out from between the lateral tangency of the cover of the binder with the ring when the cover is closed to the ring.
2. Description of the Prior Art
It is a problem in ring binders that paper slides around to the backside or lower portion of the ring when the binder or book is opened. Then, when the binder is closed, the paper is trapped behind the lower portion of the ring, and between the ring and the cover by the cover against the ring, wherein the paper gets mangled and has to be dragged around to the front side of the ring.
The problem occurs with circular rings and is more severe with trapezoidal rings.
The patented art is replete with designs for preventing sheets from being trapped below and within the tangency between the ring and the closed cover. They are generally called “sheet lifters”, sometimes “sheet guides” or “paper lifters”.
One widely used sheet lifter prior art design which is shown and described herein, is a stiff, flat or slightly curved plate having holes along one side adjacent to the edge of the sheet.
The sheet lifter is made of poly, fiber, or plastic and is generally used in ring capacities over 1 ½″ on binders where the rings' mechanism is on the spine of the binder, and where the ring mechanism is on a cover of the binder. It is also used on binder rings having less than 1 ½″ capacity.
In
FIG. 1
, Prior Art sheet lifter
30
is mounted on rings
31
of binder
32
. Sheet lifter
30
lays against ring mechanism housing
32
inside the rings, and lays against one of the binder covers
33
outside the rings. When the cover is rotated upward, lifted toward the rings, sheet lifter
30
slides upward
34
on each of the rings and lifts paper sheets, say loose-leaf paper (not shown), that is mounted on the rings. Sometimes edges
35
of the outer sides of ring receiving openings
36
in the sheet lifter catch under the lower portion
37
of the ring which is below the widest horizontal level
38
of the ring and prevent the lifter from moving the paper out of entrapment between the ring and the cover.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,191,604 patented Jun. 29, 1965 by F. Wance describes a wire wing that is hingedly attached to opposite ends of the ring mechansim longitudinal shell. The center of the wing loops back around one of the rings. When the cover is folded upward, toward the ring, the wing lifts the inner end of sheets that are mounted on the rings as the wing is lifted on the hinge axis by the cover. In one arrangement, a paper-end rest shoe containing a hole through which the ring passes, is mounted on the looped back portion of the wing.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,306,301 patented Feb. 28, 1967 by R. S. Mason describes a channel fastened along the center of the shield plate housing for the ring opening and closing movement or ring mechanism, having bottom hinged vertical walls hinged at their tops to laterally extending wings that are mounted near their inner ends on the rings. Closing the covers of the binder lifts the distal ends of the wings which move upward on the rings carrying the sheets upward on the ring with them.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,591,300 patented Jul. 6, 1971 by L. R. Beyer describes a pair of wings extending from a corrugated central hinge portion that spans the width of the ring mechanism housing, the inward end of each wing receiving an arm of the ring therethrough and having a pair of raised ribs that straddle the arm of the ring and are inclined downward toward the distal end of the wing so that they push ring-held sheets upward on the ring arm when the cover of the binder is moved upward toward the ring.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,366,118 patented Jan. 30, 1968 by L. R. Beyer describes a laterally extending wing receiving a plurality of the arms of the same side of the rings of the binder through an inward end of the wing, a pair of raised ribs straddling each arm, each pair being inclined downward toward the distal end of the wing so that they push ring-held sheets upward on the ring arm when the cover of the binder is moved upward toward the ring.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,185,934 patented Jan. 29, 1980 by H. C. Hodson describes a pair of laterally extending wings having a longitudinal broken slit creased to form a hinge, straddled by radial slits for receiving left and right arms of a plurality of rings of a ring binder. In one arrangment a longitudinal bar that is wide enough to center the hinge between the rings is fastened to the hinge.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,573,822 patented Mar. 4, 1986 by D. K. Allen describes a first longitudinal strip fastened lengthwise to the top of the longitudinal housing of the ring mechanism, and in mirror image on each side of the first strip, a second longitudinal strip receiving one arcuate half of each ring of the ring binder, attached by a first hinge to the first strip and laterally attached by a second hinge to a third longitudinal strip which is laterally attached by a third hinge to a fourth longitudinal strip that is fastened to the cover of the binder so that when the cover is lifted toward the ring the second hinge rises upward as it folds so that it lifts sheets of paper on the ring half that are held by the rings.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,503,489 patented by I. Maudal on Apr. 2, 1996 describes a laterally extending wing having a downwardly open raised curve on the inner end of the wing, one arm of the binder ring passes through the curve in two places, once through a hole in the transition arc between the curve and the lateral extending portion of the wing, and again through a U-shaped slot that opens out to the inner edge of the wing so that when the binder cover is lifted toward the ring, and the transition arc moves up the ring arm carrying mounted sheets of paper with it, the inner edge slides across the cover of the ring mechanism and laterally moves onto and straddles the ring arm.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is one object of the invention to provide a device that prevents bound sheets in a loose-leaf binder from being caught in the lower part of the ring at or below the tangency of the cover with the ring when the cover is closed.
It is another object that when a prior art sheet lifter is used, the invention also prevents the prior art sheet lifter from being caught in the lower part of the ring at or below the tangency of the cover with the ring when the cover is closed.
Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent to one reading the ensuing description.
A sheet positioner for supporting a sheet on a sheet binder ring comprising a first arcuate segment and a second arcuate segment movable away from the first arcuate segment for opening the ring for receiving a sheet on one of the first and second segments by a hole in the sheet, movable toward the first arcuate segment for closing the ring at a first junction, and a ring operating mechanism cover from which lower portions of the first and second segments protrude; includes a stiff generally planar plate, a first hole through the plate large enough to receive the first segment through the plate, a second hole through the plate large enough to receive the second segment through the plate, the second hole being spaced from the first hole so that the plate is moved toward the junction by the first and second segments by movement of the second segment toward the first segment when the plate is mounted on the ring, for moving a sheet toward the junction when a sheet is mounted on the positioner on the ring.
The second hole is spaced from the first hole so that the plate is cammed toward the junction by sliding on at least one of the first and second holes in the plate along at least one of the first and second segments when the second segment is moved toward the first segment for closing the ring.
The second hole is spaced from the first hole so that the plate is bowed toward the junction along a continuous arc from the firs

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