U.S. patent application number 11/179612 was filed with the patent office on 2007-01-18 for file folder with sequentially arranged envelopes.
Invention is credited to Fei-Chen Lee.
Application Number | 20070012752 11/179612 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 37660781 |
Filed Date | 2007-01-18 |
United States Patent
Application |
20070012752 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Lee; Fei-Chen |
January 18, 2007 |
File folder with sequentially arranged envelopes
Abstract
A file folder includes a reinforced receptacle, a locking
mechanism to secure engagement between a cover and a body of the
receptacle, a first envelope immovably received in the receptacle
and multiple secondary envelopes sequentially correlated to one
another and movably received inside the receptacle such that
movement of a reinforced board which is securely engaged with a
rearmost secondary envelope is able to pull all the secondary
envelopes out of the receptacle.
Inventors: |
Lee; Fei-Chen; (Yonghe City,
TW) |
Correspondence
Address: |
LOWE HAUPTMAN BERNER, LLP
1700 DIAGONAL ROAD
SUITE 300
ALEXANDRIA
VA
22314
US
|
Family ID: |
37660781 |
Appl. No.: |
11/179612 |
Filed: |
July 13, 2005 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
229/67.4 ;
229/72 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A45C 3/02 20130101; B42F
7/08 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
229/067.4 ;
229/072 |
International
Class: |
B65D 37/00 20060101
B65D037/00; B65D 27/08 20060101 B65D027/08 |
Claims
1. A file folder comprising: a reinforced receptacle having a cover
to selectively close an opening of the receptacle; a locking
mechanism mounted on the receptacle to secure engagement between
the cover and a body of the receptacle; a first envelope having a
bottom face securely connected to a bottom face defining the
opening of the receptacle so that the first envelope is immovable
relative to the reinforced receptacle; multiple secondary envelopes
sequentially correlated to one another and to the first envelope,
the secondary envelopes being movably received inside the
receptacle; and a reinforced board slidably received inside the
receptacle and being securely engaged with a rearmost secondary
envelope such that movement of the reinforced board is able to
sequentially pull out the secondary envelopes of the
receptacle.
2. The file folder as claimed in claim 1, wherein the first
envelope further has a fixture formed by stamping on the first flap
and each secondary envelope has a second fixture formed by stamping
on the second flap and a slit defined through the front side face
of the secondary envelope to be sandwiched between the two tongues,
wherein the first fixture is received in the slit of the front most
secondary envelope and the second fixture of two adjacent secondary
envelopes is received in the slit of the secondary envelope in the
rear relative to the first envelope.
3. The file folder as claimed in claim 1, wherein the first
envelope has a first identifier extending from a top face defining
the first opening and each secondary envelope has a second
identifier extending from a top face defining the second opening so
as to facilitate identification of documents contained in each of
the secondary envelopes as well as in the first envelope.
4. The file folder as claimed in claim 2, wherein the first
envelope has a first identifier extending from a top face defining
the first opening and each secondary envelope has a second
identifier extending from a top face defining the second opening so
as to facilitate identification of information contained in each of
the secondary envelopes as well as in the first envelope.
5. The file folder as claimed in claim 1, wherein the locking
mechanism has a tongue mounted on the cover of the receptacle and
having a ledge extending from the tongue and provided with a
locking hole, a housing mounted on a front side face of the
receptacle and having a through hole and a resilient member movably
received in the housing and having a finger such that the finger is
able to extend into the through hole of the housing and the locking
hole of the ledge to secure the engagement between the cover and
the body of the receptacle after the locking hole is in alignment
with the through hole.
6. The file folder as claimed in claim 2, wherein the locking
mechanism has a tongue mounted on the cover of the receptacle and
having a ledge extending from the tongue and provided with a
locking hole, a housing mounted on a front side face of the
receptacle and having a through hole and a resilient member movably
received in the housing and having a finger such that the finger is
able to extend into the through hole of the housing and the locking
hole of the ledge to secure the engagement between the cover and
the body of the receptacle after the locking hole is in alignment
with the through hole.
7. The file folder as claimed in claim 3, wherein the locking
mechanism has a tongue mounted on the cover of the receptacle and
having a ledge extending from the tongue and provided with a
locking hole, a housing mounted on a front side face of the
receptacle and having a through hole and a resilient member movably
received in the housing and having a finger such that the finger is
able to extend into the through hole of the housing and the locking
hole of the ledge to secure the engagement between the cover and
the body of the receptacle after the locking hole is in alignment
with the through hole.
8. The file folder as claimed in claim 4, wherein the locking
mechanism has a tongue mounted on the cover of the receptacle and
having a ledge extending from the tongue and provided with a
locking hole, a housing mounted on a front side face of the
receptacle and having a through hole and a resilient member movably
received in the housing and having a finger such that the finger is
able to extend into the through hole of the housing and the locking
hole of the ledge to secure the engagement between the cover and
the body of the receptacle after the locking hole is in alignment
with the through hole.
9. The file folder as claimed in claim 1, wherein the firs envelope
has a first opening, a first flap foldably extending from a rear
side face of the first envelope, and a first slit and hole
combination defined in a rear side face of the first envelope, each
of the second envelopes has a second opening, a second flap
foldably extending from a rear side face of the secondary envelope
and having a second fixture formed by stamping, two tongues stamped
out of a front side face of the secondary envelope, a slit defined
between the two tongues and a second slit and hole combination
defined side by side in a rear side face of the secondary envelope,
wherein the first flap is received in the second opening of a front
most secondary envelope and the second flap of two adjacent
secondary envelopes is received in the second opening of the
secondary envelope in the rear relative to the first envelope, the
tongues of the front most secondary envelope are received in the
first slit and hole combination of the first envelope and the
tongues of two adjacent secondary envelopes are received in the
second slit and hole combination of the secondary envelope in the
rear relative to the first envelope so that the first envelope and
the secondary envelopes are interconnected to each other.
10. The file folder as claimed in claim 2, wherein the first
envelope has a first opening, a first flap foldably extending from
a rear side face of the first envelope, and a first slit and hole
combination defined in a rear side face of the first envelope, each
of the second envelopes has a second opening, a second flap
foldably extending from a rear side face of the secondary envelope
and having a second fixture formed by stamping, two tongues stamped
out of a front side face of the secondary envelope, a slit defined
between the two tongues and a second slit and hole combination
defined side by side in a rear side face of the secondary envelope,
wherein the first flap is received in the second opening of a front
most secondary envelope and the second flap of two adjacent
secondary envelopes is received in the second opening of the
secondary envelope in the rear relative to the first envelope, the
tongues of the front most secondary envelope are received in the
first slit and hole combination of the first envelope and the
tongues of two adjacent secondary envelopes are received in the
second slit and hole combination of the secondary envelope in the
rear relative to the first envelope so that the first envelope and
the secondary envelopes are interconnected to each other.
11. The file folder as claimed in claim 3, wherein the first
envelope has a first opening, a first flap foldably extending from
a rear side face of the first envelope, and a first slit and hole
combination defined in a rear side face of the first envelope, each
of the second envelopes has a second opening, a second flap
foldably extending from a rear side face of the secondary envelope
and having a second fixture formed by stamping, two tongues stamped
out of a front side face of the secondary envelope, a slit defined
between the two tongues and a second slit and hole combination
defined side by side in a rear side face of the secondary envelope,
wherein the first flap is received in the second opening of a front
most secondary envelope and the second flap of two adjacent
secondary envelopes is received in the second opening of the
secondary envelope in the rear relative to the first envelope, the
tongues of the front most secondary envelope are received in the
first slit and hole combination of the first envelope and the
tongues of two adjacent secondary envelopes are received in the
second slit and hole combination of the secondary envelope in the
rear relative to the first envelope so that the first envelope and
the secondary envelopes are interconnected to each other.
12. The file folder as claimed in claim 4, wherein the first
envelope has a first opening, a first flap foldably extending from
a rear side face of the first envelope, and a first slit and hole
combination defined in a rear side face of the first envelope, each
of the second envelopes has a second opening, a second flap
foldably extending from a rear side face of the secondary envelope
and having a second fixture formed by stamping, two tongues stamped
out of a front side face of the secondary envelope, a slit defined
between the two tongues and a second slit and hole combination
defined side by side in a rear side face of the secondary envelope,
wherein the first flap is received in the second opening of a front
most secondary envelope and the second flap of two adjacent
secondary envelopes is received in the second opening of the
secondary envelope in the rear relative to the first envelope, the
tongues of the front most secondary envelope are received in the
first slit and hole combination of the first envelope and the
tongues of two adjacent secondary envelopes are received in the
second slit and hole combination of the secondary envelope in the
rear relative to the first envelope so that the first envelope and
the secondary envelopes are interconnected to each other.
13. The file folder as claimed in claim 5, wherein the first
envelope has a first opening, a first flap foldably extending from
a rear side face of the first envelope, and a first slit and hole
combination defined in a rear side face of the first envelope, each
of the second envelopes has a second opening, a second flap
foldably extending from a rear side face of the secondary envelope
and having a second fixture formed by stamping, two tongues stamped
out of a front side face of the secondary envelope, a slit defined
between the two tongues and a second slit and hole combination
defined side by side in a rear side face of the secondary envelope,
wherein the first flap is received in the second opening of a front
most secondary envelope and the second flap of two adjacent
secondary envelopes is received in the second opening of the
secondary envelope in the rear relative to the first envelope, the
tongues of the front most secondary envelope are received in the
first slit and hole combination of the first envelope and the
tongues of two adjacent secondary envelopes are received in the
second slit and hole combination of the secondary envelope in the
rear relative to the first envelope so that the first envelope and
the secondary envelopes are interconnected to each other.
14. The file folder as claimed in claim 6, wherein the first
envelope has a first opening, a first flap foldably extending from
a rear side face of the first envelope, and a first slit and hole
combination defined in a rear side face of the first envelope, each
of the second envelopes has a second opening, a second flap
foldably extending from a rear side face of the secondary envelope
and having a second fixture formed by stamping, two tongues stamped
out of a front side face of the secondary envelope, a slit defined
between the two tongues and a second slit and hole combination
defined side by side in a rear side face of the secondary envelope,
wherein the first flap is received in the second opening of a front
most secondary envelope and the second flap of two adjacent
secondary envelopes is received in the second opening of the
secondary envelope in the rear relative to the first envelope, the
tongues of the front most secondary envelope are received in the
first slit and hole combination of the first envelope and the
tongues of two adjacent secondary envelopes are received in the
second slit and hole combination of the secondary envelope in the
rear relative to the first envelope so that the first envelope and
the secondary envelopes are interconnected to each other.
15. The file folder as claimed in claim 7, wherein the first
envelope has a first opening, a first flap foldably extending from
a rear side face of the first envelope, and a first slit and hole
combination defined in a rear side face of the first envelope, each
of the second envelopes has a second opening, a second flap
foldably extending from a rear side face of the secondary envelope
and having a second fixture formed by stamping, two tongues stamped
out of a front side face of the secondary envelope, a slit defined
between the two tongues and a second slit and hole combination
defined side by side in a rear side face of the secondary envelope,
wherein the first flap is received in the second opening of a front
most secondary envelope and the second flap of two adjacent
secondary envelopes is received in the second opening of the
secondary envelope in the rear relative to the first envelope, the
tongues of the front most secondary envelope are received in the
first slit and hole combination of the first envelope and the
tongues of two adjacent secondary envelopes are received in the
second slit and hole combination of the secondary envelope in the
rear relative to the first envelope so that the first envelope and
the secondary envelopes are interconnected to each other.
16. The file folder as claimed in claim 8, wherein the first
envelope has a first opening, a first flap foldably extending from
a rear side face of the first envelope, and a first slit and hole
combination defined in a rear side face of the first envelope, each
of the second envelopes has a second opening, a second flap
foldably extending from a rear side face of the secondary envelope
and having a second fixture formed by stamping, two tongues stamped
out of a front side face of the secondary envelope, a slit defined
between the two tongues and a second slit and hole combination
defined side by side in a rear side face of the secondary envelope,
wherein the first flap is received in the second opening of a front
most secondary envelope and the second flap of two adjacent
secondary envelopes is received in the second opening of the
secondary envelope in the rear relative to the first envelope, the
tongues of the front most secondary envelope are received in the
first slit and hole combination of the first envelope and the
tongues of two adjacent secondary envelopes are received in the
second slit and hole combination of the secondary envelope in the
rear relative to the first envelope so that the first envelope and
the secondary envelopes are interconnected to each other.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] 1. Field of the Invention
[0002] The present invention relates to a file folder, and more
particularly to a file folder with envelopes sequentially connected
to one another.
[0003] 2. Description of Related Art
[0004] A file folder normally has baffles to divide an interior of
the folder into different compartments for receiving and managing
files. A conventional file folder is shown in FIGS. 7, 8 and 9. The
file folder is provided with a primary pocket (7) and secondary
pockets (8) detachably connected to one another and the primary
pocket (7). The primary pocket (7) is provided with an opening
(70), a cover (72) foldably extending from a rear side face of the
primary pocket (7), two tongues (73) stamped out of a front side
face of the primary pocket (7), an elastic ring (74) formed on the
rear side face of the primary pocket (7), a boss (75) formed on a
front face of the cover (72) and a first slit (76) defined in the
front side face of the primary pocket (7).
[0005] Each of the secondary pockets (8) is connected to one
another and has an opening (80), a cover (82) foldably extending
from a rear side face of the secondary pocket (8) and having a
fixture (821) formed by stamping, two pairs of tongues (83) stamped
out of a front side face of the secondary pocket (8), a slit (841)
and hole (842) combination (84) defined side by side in a rear side
face of the secondary pocket (8) and a second slit (85) defined
between the two tongues (83).
[0006] When the conventional file folder is assembled, the cover
(82) of each secondary pocket (8) is received in the opening (80)
of a previous secondary pocket (8) with the fixture (821) inserted
into a corresponding second slit (85) of the previous secondary
pocket (8). The cover (82) of the last secondary pocket (8) is then
inserted into the opening (70) of the primary pocket (7) with the
fixture (821) inserted into the first slit (76) of the primary
pocket (7). Furthermore, the two tongues (73) of the primary pocket
(7) are inserted through corresponding holes (842) and then slits
(841) of the last secondary pocket (8) and the tongues (83) of each
of the secondary pockets (8) are inserted into corresponding holes
(842) and slits (841) of the secondary pocket (8) in the front
thereof. Therefore, when the secondary pockets (8) are
interconnected and the last secondary pocket (8) is detachably
connected to the primary pocket (7) with the fixture (821) inserted
into the first slit (76) of the primary pocket (7), the
conventional file folder is ready for use.
[0007] It is noted from FIGS. 7 and 9 that after the elastic ring
(74) is moved away from engagement with the boss (75), the
secondary pockets (8) are sequentially dropped out of the primary
pocket (7). However, due to the interconnection between the tongues
(83) and the combination (84) in the secondary pockets (8) and as
well as the tongues (73) in the combination (84) of the last
secondary pocket (8), the secondary pockets (8) are dangled from
each other. As a result, when a large quantity of paper is inserted
into any one of the secondary pockets (8), the secondary pocket (8)
will deform and the documents contained in the secondary pocket(s)
may fall out therefrom.
[0008] To overcome the shortcomings, the present invention tends to
provide an improved file folder to mitigate the aforementioned
problems.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0009] The primary objective of the present invention is to provide
a file folder having multiple envelopes sequentially connected to
one another.
[0010] In one aspect of the present invention, the file folder of
the present invention has a receptacle, a first envelope securely
received in the receptacle and multiple envelopes interconnected to
one another and to the first envelope and received in the
receptacle.
[0011] In yet another aspect of the present invention, the
receptacle has a guiding slit defined in a rear side face of the
receptacle and a boss formed on a rear side face of a final
envelope to be received in and guided by the guiding slit such that
when the envelopes as well as the first and the final envelopes are
pulled out of the receptacle, a sequential arrangement of the
envelopes is shown.
[0012] A further aspect of the present invention is that a locking
mechanism is provided to the receptacle so that a user is able to
use the locking mechanism to secure the envelopes.
[0013] Other objects, advantages and novel features of the
invention will become more apparent from the following detailed
description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying
drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0014] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the file folder of the
present invention;
[0015] FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the file folder of
the present invention;
[0016] FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a sequential
arrangement of the envelopes inside the receptacle;
[0017] FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing that the receptacle has
a guiding slit and a boss is received in and guided by the guiding
slit;
[0018] FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing that after the locking
mechanism is locked, the envelopes are securely locked inside the
receptacle;
[0019] FIG. 6 is an perspective view of the receptacle in an opened
condition, and showing a locking mechanism of the present
invention;
[0020] FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing a conventional file
folder in an opened condition;
[0021] FIG. 8 is an exploded perspective view of the conventional
file folder; and
[0022] FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing that the secondary
pockets are received inside the primary pocket after the elastic
ring is engaged with the boss.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
[0023] With reference to FIGS. 1 and 2, it is noted that the file
folder in accordance with the present invention includes a
receptacle (1) and envelopes respectively received in the
receptacle (1). The envelopes are divided into a first envelope
(2), secondary envelopes (3) and a final envelope (4).
[0024] The receptacle (1) is made of reinforced plastic and
provided with an opening (10), a cover (11) foldably connected to a
side face defining the opening (10) and a guiding slit (12) defined
in a rear side face of the receptacle (1).
[0025] The first envelope (2) has an opening (20), a flap (21)
foldably extending from a rear side face of the first envelope (2)
and having a fixture (211) formed by stamping, and a slit and hole
combination (23) defined in a rear side face of the first envelope
(2).
[0026] Each of the secondary envelopes (3) has an opening (30), a
flap (31) foldably extending from a rear side face of the secondary
envelope (3) and having a fixture (311) formed by stamping, two
tongues (32) stamped out of a front side face of the secondary
envelope (3), a slit (33) defined between the two tongues (32) and
a slit and hole combination defined side by side in a rear side
face of the secondary envelope (3). It is noted that the slit and
hole combination of the secondary envelope (3) has the same
configuration as that of the first envelope (2) such that the slit
and hole combination of the second envelope (3) is not shown in the
accompanied drawings for brevity.
[0027] The final envelope (4) has a configuration the same as each
one of the secondary envelopes (3) except that a reinforced board
(5) is securely engaged with the rear side face of a secondary
envelope (3) and the reinforced board (5) is provided with a boss
(51) formed on a bottom of the reinforced board (5) to correspond
to the guiding slit (12) of the receptacle (1). Further, each of
the secondary envelopes (3) is provided with an identifier (35)
extending from the rear side face of the secondary envelope (3) and
the reinforced board (5) is provided with an extension (52)
extending from a top periphery thereof.
[0028] With reference to FIG. 3 and still taking FIG. 2 for
reference, it is noted that a bottom of the first envelope (2) is
securely connected to an inner bottom face of the receptacle (1).
In addition, the tongues (32) of each secondary envelope (3) are
received in the slit and hole combination of the previous secondary
envelope (3) to accomplish correlation between two adjacent
secondary envelopes (3). Also, the fixture (311) of each secondary
envelope (3) is received in the slit (33) of the previous secondary
envelope (3) to reinforce correlation between two adjacent
secondary envelopes (3). Thereafter, because the first envelope (2)
is securely connected to the inner bottom face of the receptacle
(1) and then is connected to one of the second envelopes (3) which
are correlated to one another, removing the reinforced board (5) by
pulling the extension (52) will sequentially pull the secondary
envelopes (3) out of the receptacle (1).
[0029] With reference to FIGS. 4 and 5, it is noted that when the
cover (11) is opened and the secondary envelopes (3) are pulled out
of the receptacle, the boss (51) is guided by the guiding slit (12)
and moved to distal end of the guiding slit (12). However, after
the secondary envelopes (3) are received in the receptacle (1) and
the cover (11) is employed to close the opening (10) of the
receptacle (1), the boss (51) is slid down to a proximal end of the
guiding slit (12).
[0030] With reference to FIG. 6, it is noted that the file folder
of the present invention further has a locking mechanism (6) to
secure engagement between the cover (11) and the body of the
receptacle. The locking mechanism (6) includes an L-shaped tongue
(61), a housing (62) and a resilient member (63).
[0031] The tongue (61) has a ledge (611) extending out of the
tongue (61) and having a locking hole (612) defined through the
ledge (611). The housing (62) is provided with a through hole (621)
to correspond to the ledge (611) of the tongue (61) and two stops
(622) respectively formed on two opposed sides inside the housing
(62). The resilient member (63) is provided with a finger (631)
extending to the through hole (621) of the housing (62) and two
arms (632) respectively extending from two opposed sides thereof to
abut a bottom side face of the housing (62). When the locking
mechanism of the present invention is assembled, the housing (62)
is securely mounted on an outer side face of the front side face of
the body of the receptacle (1) after the resilient member (63) is
received inside the housing (62) with the two arms (632)
respectively abutted by the two stops (622) and the finger (631)
extending into the through hole (621) of the housing (62). Then
after the tongue (61) is securely mounted on an outer side face of
the cover (11), the ledge (611) is able to be inserted into the
through hole (621). After the ledge (611) is inserted into the
through hole (621), the finger (631) is first pushed away from the
through hole (621) and further into the housing (62). However,
after the locking hole (612) is in alignment with the through hole
(621), because there is nothing forcing the finger (631) away from
the through hole (621), the finger (631) is moved back into the
through hole (621) by the recovery force from the two arms (632)
such that the finger (631) is able to extend into the locking hole
(612) of the tongue (61) so as to secure the enclosure by the cover
(11) of the opening (10) of the receptacle (1) of the present
invention.
[0032] From the above description, it is noted that the file folder
of the present invention is able to store documents in an orderly
manner due to the confinement of the receptacle (1) that is made of
reinforced plastic. Also with the assistance of the identifier (35)
on top of each of the secondary envelopes (3) and the first
envelope (2), after the final envelope (4), the secondary envelopes
(3) and the first envelope (1) are sequentially pulled out of the
receptacle (1), the user is able to clearly see and locate the
document. Whenever any of the secondary envelopes (3) or the first
envelope (2) is damaged, the user is able to easily replace the
damaged secondary envelope (3) by pulling the flap (31) out of the
opening (30) from the previous secondary envelope (3). Still
further, because the first envelope (2) is securely attached to the
bottom face of the receptacle (1) and the final envelope (4) is
securely attached yet movable relative to a rear side face of the
receptacle (1), the file folder of the present invention is handy
for displaying all the documents contained inside the receptacle
(1).
[0033] It is to be understood, however, that even though numerous
characteristics and advantages of the present invention have been
set forth in the foregoing description, together with details of
the structure and function of the invention, the disclosure is
illustrative only, and changes may be made in detail, especially in
matters of shape, size, and arrangement of parts within the
principles of the invention to the full extent indicated by the
broad general meaning of the terms in which the appended claims are
expressed.
* * * * *