HOLDER FOR DOCUMENTS AND OTHER ARTICLES

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a device for holding documents or other articles. It is especially concerned with holding of documents in ring binders or lever arch folders but finds broader application in holding a variety of small articles.

Ring binders and lever arch files are common systems for holding documents and sheets of paper and retaining them within a file. A pair of holes are punched in one edge of a document and the holes are threaded onto spaced loops (rings or arches) to hold the document in place. Unfortunately, the presence of holes in the borders of documents detracts from the document's appearance and removes some of the documents itself, which might be important. Furthermore it is unacceptable to put holes in important documents, for example, legal documents. In other cases it might be difficult and/or cumbersome to put holes in particular items, for example, brochures and magazines.

In order to hold documents within a ring binder or lever arch file, it is common to use a wallet that has a pocket for holding a document and a strip bordering the pocket having holes punched in it that can be used to hold the pocket in a ring binder or lever arch file. Thus there is no need to punch holes in the document itself. Unfortunately, the use of wallets detracts from the appearance of the document in the file and it is also quite time consuming to put documents and papers into the wallet and/or remove them from the wallet. Furthermore, wallets cause the documents to hang over the dividers and restrict pages from being flipped through.

Filing systems are also known in which two parallel prongs are provided and documents are suspended from the prongs by means of holes punched in their margins, which are similar to the holes punched in the margins for ring binders and lever arch files.

It is also known to display goods by mounting the good on card and suspending the cards from prongs.

US 5791024 describes a spring bias clip having a pair of jaws, each including a bracket. The brackets on the two jaws are connected by a pin that passes through holes in the brackets; the bracket on one of the jaws has a slot shape and the pin has a helical section that passes through the slot. The pin can be pushed in the axial direction relative to the jaws and the axial movement of the helical section causes the bracket having the slot to twist, thereby opening the jaws. The pin is spring mounted to urge the jaws together. The arrangement of this citation requires several parts, which must be assembled in a complex manner. Furthermore, the clip is incapable of holding documents within a file.

EP- 1201455 describes a spring back clip in the form of two wings, each having holes to support the holder within a ring binder file or lever arch file. The spring back clip has pair of jaws formed at two side of a generally triangular element; levers are secured to the edge of the two jaws where they meet and, when the levers are squeezed together, the jaws can be opened against the resilience of the triangular element so that, on releasing the levers, the jaws can clamp papers between them. Such an arrangement requires the movement of the levers in a direction perpendicular to the plan of a sheet of paper held by the holder, which is awkward when one or more such holders are held within a file.

Disclosure on Invention

According to the present invention, there is provided a holder comprising a first jaw and a second jaw connected together by a hinge having an axis, wherein the jaws are pivotable with respect to each other about the axis of the hinge to open and close the jaws, and wherein the first jaw is movable with respect to the other jaw in the direction of the hinge axis; a cam surface; a resilient element arranged to urge the first jaw in an axial direction against the cam surface, said cam surface being configured to urge the said first jaw to pivot about the hinge towards the second jaw under the influence of the resilient element, whereby the jaws are urged together to clamp material between them.

The hinge may comprise a passageway, which is optionally an integral part of the second jaw, and an element, which is optionally an integral part of the first jaw, which can pivot within, and move axially within, the passageway. The resilient element may be located at one end of the passageway to urge the element along the passageway towards the said cam surface.

The holder may also include a second cam surface that is configured to move the said first jaw to pivot about the hinge axis away from the second jaw to open the jaws when the first jaw is moved axially away from the first cam surface.

In the case of the hinge being in the form a passageway, the first and/or second cams may be provided in a wall of the passageway, for example in the form of an opening or groove in the wall of the passage. Alternatively, the cam surfaces could be provided in or adjacent to the passageway.

The first jaw may be connected to the element sliding within the hinge passageway by a connector, in which case, the connector may be urged against the first and/or second cam surface to close and open the jaws.

The holder preferably also includes holes for supporting the holder within a ring binder/arch lever file mechanism or to suspend the holder. If used in a ring binder or a lever arch file, the holes should be spaced apart by a distance of at least 80mm, that is to say the distance separating the further extremities of the two holes should be greater than 80mm. This allows the holder to be threaded onto the rings or lever arches of a ring binder or a lever arch file, which are spaced 80mm apart, to fit onto the holes in the holder. The holes may be provided along the length of the hinge, e.g. one can be provided at the end of the passageway and the other in the slidable element. At least one of the holes (preferably the hole in the slidable element) may be elongated to allow the jaws to be opened even when fitted onto a ring binder or lever arch mechanism.

Detailed Description of Drawings

There will now be described, by way of example only, two embodiments of a holder in accordance with the present invention by reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a first embodiment of the holder; Figure 2 is a rear view of the holder of Figure 1 ;

Figure 3 is a front view of the holder of Figure 1 ;

Figure 4 is a plan view of the holder of Figure 1 ;

Figure 5 is an end view of the holder of Figure 1;

Figure 6 is an exploded perspective view of the components of the holder of Figure 1.

Figure 7 is a perspective view of a second embodiment of the holder; Figure 8 is a rear view of the holder of Figure 7; Figure 9 is a top plan view of the holder of Figure 7;

Figure 10 is an end view of the holder of Figure 7; Figure 1 1 is an exploded perspective view of the components of the holder of Figure 7;

Figure 12 is an isometric view of one part of the holder of Figure 7; and Figure 13 is an isometric view of a second part of the holder of Figure 7.

Detailed Description of the Best Mode for Putting the Invention into Operation Referring initially to Figure 6, the holder is made up of three components, namely a bottom jaw 10, a top jaw 12 and a helical spring 14; for the sake of clarity, the top jaw is shown shaded in Figure 1.

The bottom jaw 10 has a ridged clamping surface 16, which is integrally formed with a hollow cylindrical wall 20 via a connecting portion 18. The cylindrical wall 20 contains a cylindrical passageway 24 extending from a blind end (not visible but indicated by line 22), and an open end 26. Part of the cylindrical wall facing the corrugated clamping surface is missing and the resulting opening is indicated by the reference number 28. An open channel 30 extends axially along the top of the wall 20 and connects the opening 28 with the open end 26 of the passageway 24; the channel 30 extends all the way through the cylindrical wall 20 of the passageway 24. The faces 32,34 of the cylindrical wall 20 that border on the wall opening 28 are slanted with respect to the axis of the passageway 24 and form cam surfaces; in other words, the cam faces 32,34 are part helical in shape. The functions of the opening 28 and the channel 30 are explained below.

The helical spring 14 is, in use, located at the end of the passageway 24, abutting the blind end 22.

The top jaw 12 has a corrugated clamping surface 36, which is connected via first and second webs 38,39 with a cylindrical rod 40. The diameter of the rod 40 is such that it can snugly fit within passageway 24. A boss 42 is provided at the end of the rod 40 that be pushed onto one end of the helical spring 14 and ensures that the helical spring is centred on the end of the rod 40.

The thickness of the web 38 is just smaller than the width of the open channel 30. The rod 40 is inserted boss end (42) first into the passageway 24 by pushing the end of the rod through the open end 26 of the passageway and guiding the web 38 along the channel 30. The rod 40 is pushed into the passageway 24 until the web 38 lies in the wall opening 28, whereupon the top jaw 12 can be pivoted towards the bottom jaw 10. When the rod has been pushed far enough into the passageway for the web to lie in the opening 28, the rod 40 compresses the spring 14 between the end wall 22 of the passageway 24 and the boss end of the rod 40. Accordingly, the spring urges the web 38 against the helical face 34 on the right hand side of the opening 28, as seen in Figures 1 and 6. Because the face 34 is helical and slants downwardly and rearwardly with respect to the axis 49 of the passageway (see Figures 3 and 4), the spring 14 urges the web 38 against the face 34, which acts as a cam surface and causes the jaws to close and clamp on any document or material between the jaws. The clamping force will depend on the slanting angle of the face 34 and the force exerted by the spring 14.

The assembled holder is shown in Figures 1 to 5 with the jaws in the closed position. As can be seen in Figure 5, the corrugations in the top and bottom jaws fit into one another to increase the clamping efficiency.

The jaws can be opened by squeezing the end 46 of the top jaw and the end 48 of the bottom jaw together, which moves the rod 40 further into the passageway 24 and compresses the spring 14. The movement of the rod 40 down the passageway 24 moves the web 38 away from the face 34 and towards the other slanted end face 32 of the opening 28. This other slanted face 32 also acts as a cam surface, causing the web 38 to ride up and the top jaw 12 to move away from the bottom jaw 10 and release documents or other articles clamped to the jaw.

The rod 40 and the passageway 24 act together as a hinge that allows the jaws 10, 12 to pivot about an axis 49 (see Figure 4).

Holes 50,52 are provided in the bottom jaw 10 beyond the blind end 22 of the passageway 24 and in the top jaw 12 at the far end of the rod 40. These holes can be threaded onto the rings or arches of a ring binder or a lever arch file for retaining the holder within the file or to suspend the holder. In ring binders and lever arch files, the distance between the rings and arches is 80mm and so the holes 50,52 should be spaced apart by a distance of at least 80mm, that is to say the distance separating the further extremities of the two holes should be greater than 80mm. Hole 50 in the top jaw may be elongated as shown to allow the jaws 10, 12 to be opened even when fitted onto a ring binder or lever arch mechanism.

One substantial benefit of the present invention is that the holder can be made relatively thin and so does not take up a large amount of space in a file and

thereby does not prevent other holders/ documents being added to a ring binder file or a lever arch file. In addition, the fact that the hold can be opened by pressing in an axial direction as opposed to a vertical direction, means that less space is needed to open the holder and it can be opened in situ in a file.

Turning now to consider the second embodiment shown in Figures 7 to 13, the holder has only three parts: a lower jaw 110 and an upper jaw 1 12 and a helical spring 1 14; jaws 110 and 1 12 are shown individually in Figures 12 and 13. For ease of understanding, the first jaw 100 has been shaded in Figures 7 and 9 while the second part 102 has been left unshaded.

The upper jaw 112, has an integrally moulded rod 140 which has, at one end, a boss 142 of smaller diameter than the rod and, at the other end, a block 146 that includes an elongated hole 152. The boss 142 has a diameter such that it can fit onto (and preferably hold) the helical spring 1 14. The rod 140 and block 146 are connected to the upper jaw 1 12 by webs 137, 138 and 139. As with the first embodiment, the upper jaw has a corrugated clamping surface 136.

The lower jaw 110, which also has a corrugated clamping surface 1 16, is integrally moulded with an element formed by a block 1 19 and a recess 121 formed alongside a back wall 123. Situated in the recess 121 are two posts 125, 127, each of which includes an undercut 129. The upper surface of each undercut forms a cam surface 134 which slopes downwardly and to the right, as viewed in Figures 7, 1 1 and 13. A passageway 124 extends within the recess 121 and can hold the rod 140 of the first part 100 snugly; the passageway lies parallel to the back wall 123 and passes under the posts 125,127 - the rounded top of the passageway as it extends under the posts can be seen especially in Figure 13. At the end of the passageway 124, there is provided a blind bore (not shown) that can hold one end of the spring 1 14.

The distance between the block 1 19 and the post 125 (space 141 - see Figure 9) and the distance between the post 125 and the post 127 (space 143 - see Figure 9) are slightly greater than the respective widths of the webs 137, 138. The posts 125, 127 are spaced a short distance in front of the back wall 123, leaving a gap 130 between the posts and the wall (see Figure 7).

In order to assemble the document holder, one end of the spring 1 14 is located in the blind bore (not shown) in the block 1 19. The first jaw part is then orientated vertically, as shown in Figure 11 and the rod 140 is pushed axially along the passage 124 until (a) the boss 142 engages and compresses the spring 114, (b) the web 137 is located opposite the space 141 between the block 119 and post 125 and (c) the web 138 is located opposite the space 143 between the posts 125 and 127. During the axial movement of the rod 140 along the passageway 124, the webs 137, 138 pass through the gaps 130 between the posts and the end wall. The whole of the first jaw part can then be pivoted about the rod 140, which is engaged in the passageway 124, so that the webs 137, 138 move into the respective spaces 141, 143. When the jaws 1 10 1 12 lie flat against each other, the first jaw part can be released, which causes the spring 1 14 to urge the rod 140 axially along the passageway 124 (towards the right, as shown in Figure 7, 9 and 1 1) and the webs 137, 138 to move into the undercuts 127, 129. As best shown in Figure 7, the webs 137, 138 engage the cam surface 134 forming the upper surface of the undercuts 129. Accordingly, the force from the spring urging the rod 140 away from block 119 (i.e. to the right as shown in Figures 7 and 9) also urges the webs further into the undercuts and, as a consequence of the engagement of the webs against the cam surfaces 134, the top jaw 1 12 is urged against the bottom jaw 1 10, thereby clamping any papers (or any other article) located between the jaws.

At the end of each of the spaces 141, 143 opposite to the posts 125,127, there is a further cam 132 that extends upwardly and to the left (as seen in Figures 7 and 1 1 ). In order to open the holder, the rod 140 is slid axially along the passageway 124 towards the block 1 19, thereby compressing the spring 1 14 and causing the webs 137, 138 to engage the cam surfaces 132 and move upwardly into the spaces 141,143, thereby also moving the jaws 1 10,1 12 apart and so releasing whatever is clamped between the jaws. This axial movement of the rod 140 can readily be accomplished by engaging the ends of the holder between the user's thumb and a finger and squeezing the two ends together. If the squeezing is released, the resilience of the spring 1 14 pushes the rod axially back along the passageway 124 to push the webs 137, 138 once again against the cam surface 134 in the undercuts 129 and thereby re-clamping the jaws together. If it is desired to keep the jaws in an open condition, the first part 100 can be rotated upwardly in the direction of the arrow "A" shown in Figure 10 so that the webs 137, 138 engage the end surfaces of the posts 125, 127 rather than engaging in the undercuts 127, 129.

It can be seen that the jaws 1 10, 1 12 are hinged together and can pivot with respect to each other about the rod 140, which can rotate within the passageway 124.

As shown in Figure 8, the distance between the holes 150, 152 is approximately 80mm so that the document holder can be threaded onto a standard lever arch file or ring binder file. However, the hole 152 is elongated so that the ends of the holder can be squeezed together to move the jaws apart even when the holder is in the ring binder or lever arch file.

It should be noted that the holder can be made very thin (see Figure 8) where the thickness of the holder is of the order of 6mm. The holder can be used to hold a single sheet of paper or a stack of papers approximately 3 mm thick.

A further advantage of the holder of the present invention is that it is not necessary to punch holes in the margin of a document in order to hold it within a lever arch or ring binder file. It is much more convenient to use than the prior art wallet having a pocket for holding the documents and a border strip having punched holes, as described above, since the documents can easily be released and reinserted into the file without having to slide them into and out of a pocket.

The clamping force will depend on the strength of the spring and the inclination of the cam 134.