Label Holding Device For Loose Leaf Binders

Abstract

The present invention relates to a label holding device for loose leaf binders for facilitating the insertion and removal of labels. It is particularly suitable for binders having a centrally hinged back and consists of a label holder made of transparent, resilient material, which holder has vertical side flanges to engage respective slots along the outer edges of the back of the binder. The label holder is held to the binder back and is removable from said back by being bent apart by the flanges. The invention is chiefly characterized by having one end of each flange obliquely cut, and when the holder is displaced in the longitudinal direction of the binder back, the oblique ends of the flanges run up on the end edges of the slots during the separating tension of the flanges so that, with continued displacement, the flanges run completely out of the slots, thus allowing for the removal of the holder. The device also prevents the holder from running a short distance up on the slanting back portion, which displacement would prevent or make more difficult the opening of the binder back.

Parent Case Text

This is a continuation of application Ser. No. 122,016 filed Mar. 8, 1971, now abandoned.

Description

The present invention relates to a label holding device for loose leaf binders, comprising a label holder made of transparent, resilient material, said holder being shaped in conformity with the contour of the back of the binder and having vertical side flanges which engage respective slots along the outer edges of the binder back, whereby said label holder is held to the binder back for holding a label pressed thereagainst and is removable from said back after bending apart the flanges against the resilient force of said holder.

Such a label holding device is known. To remove this holder from the back of the binder, one must squeeze out the flanges through the slots with the fingers from the inside of the binder back, whereby the resiliency of the holder must be overcome. Setting in or changing of labels thus becomes an inconvenient and lengthy procedure.

The purpose of this invention is to find a way of designing label holders to allow quick and simple insertion and change of labels. According to the invention, this is achieved by a label holding device of the above mentioned type, which is further characterized in that one end of each flange ends obliquely and that said slots have a width such that, when the holder is displaced in the longitudinal direction of the binder back, the oblique ends of the flanges run up on the end edges of said slots while bending apart the flanges so that, with continued displacement, the flanges run completely out of the slots, thus allowing for the removal of the holder.

When the label holder according to the invention is to be removed from the binder back, it is merely displaced in the longitudinal direction of the back, the obliquely severed flange ends running up on the end edges of the slot openings. With continued displacement, the holder is entirely freed from the binder back.

The flanges of the holder are preferably plane and, in the unstressed state of the holder, form an acute angle with a plane through the side edges of said holder. Simple production is hereby made possible while the intended function is retained.

Certain loose leaf binders, e.g. ones with plate backs, have recesses for both label and holder. For such binders, sliding of the holder up out of the slots is facilitate when the device is further characterized in that the edges of the slots, which edges cooperate with the oblique ends of the flanges, are formed by back portions inwardly inclined from the plane of said binder back, said back portions forming runways for the oblique ends of said flanges.

If the end edge of the holder, which edge is situated adjacent to the obliquely cut ends of the flanges, is also obliquely cut, there will be no risk of the top edge of the holder itself becoming stuck in the top boundary of the recess.

A further development of the invention is characterized in that the other ends of the flanges are made thicker and that the corresponding ends of the slots are made wider than the rest of the slot. The use of this embodiment prevents the label holder from unintentially sliding up out of the slots. This is essential since even a slight displacement of the label holder can result in the binder no longer being openable.

The thickened flange portions in this embodiment also allows the holder to be pulled more tightly against the binder back. As a result, the label can be better retained.

The invention is elucidated below with reference to the accompanying drawing where FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the outside of a loose leaf binder having a centrally hinged back; a portion of a label holder is drawn in with broken, dotted lines on the left half of the back. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the label holder. FIG. 3 shows a section along the line III--III in FIG. 1 and FIG. 4 shows a section along the line IV--IV in FIG. 1.

The loose leaf binder back shown on the drawing consists of two halves 1, 3 which are hinged together by a centre hinge line 5. The back halves are made of sheet metal and each one is provided with an impressed portion, 7 and 9 respectively. At the outer edges of these impressions are slotted openings, 11 and 13 respectively. These slots 11, 13 are, at least at their upper ends, cut only in the bottom planes of the impressions, 7 and 9 respectively, so that an oblique, inwardly and downwardly inclined portion 15 of the binder back (the top edge of the impression) is left. This is most evident from FIG. 4. The slots 11, 13 are wider at their bottom ends 17, 19.

The label holder 21 is made of resilient transparent plastics and is arched to conform with the contour of the binder back. Plane flanges 23, 25 extend along the sides of the holder 21. These flanges slant inwards towards each other on the inside of the holder and have obliquely cut upper ends 27, 29 and wedge-shaped, thickened bottom end portions 31, 33. The label holder 21 has an obliquely, inwardly and downwardly bevelled top edge 35 and is provided along its lower edge with an inwardly projecting ridge 37.

When the label holder is placed on the binder, the flanges 23, 25 project in through the slots 11, 13 thereby clasping the outer edges of the impressions 7, 9. This is most clearly revealed by FIG. 3. The label 39 is thus held constricted between the label holder 21 and the bottom plane of the impressions 7 and 9 respectively. In addition, the foot of the label rests against the ridge 37 on the label holder 21.

When the label holder is to be removed from the binder back, it is slidingly displaced upwardly along the binder back; the obliquely cut ends 27, 29 of the flange come to rest against the slanting upper edge portions 15 of the impressions 7, 9. With continued displacement of the label holder, the oblique ends of the flanges will run up on the slanting portions 15 of the binder back, simultaneous with the forcing apart of the longitudinal edges of the flanges during bending of the label holder 21 against its resilience force. The label holder can now be pushed completely free of the binder back and a label can be inserted or replaced.

The attaching of the label holder with the inserted label is effected by introducing one of the holder's flanges into its slot while the second flange is placed against the bottom of the impression adjacent to its slot. By means of pressure from without on the label holder 21, the second flange is also made to spring into its slot and clasp the slot edge, thereby holding fast the label holder.

To prevent the holder from accidentally running a short distance up on the slanting back portion 15, whereby opening of the binder would be prevented or made more difficult, the lower ends of the flanges are provided with the thickened portions 31, 33 which engage the wider lower ends 17, 19 of the slots. The width of the slots and the dimensions of the thickened portions are adapted so that the thickened portions run with some difficulty in the slots 11 and 13. The thickened portions thus keep the label holder at the intended height by engaging the wider slot portions and when the holder is to be removed, a certain force must be exerted during displacement to overcome the frictional resistance of said thickened portions against movement in the slots 11 and 13.

The bevelling 35 of the top edge of the label holder 21 facilitates the sliding up of the holder out of the impressions.

Claims

What I claim is:

1. A label holding device for the back of a binder comprising a transversely curved binder back being hinged along a central, longitudinally extending line, said binder back having an upper and a lower end and having opposed, spaced slots extending longitudinally of the binder back and adjacent the side edges thereof, a longitudinal label holder of transparent, resilient material, said holder normally having a transverse curvature to conform with the curvature of the binder back and having flanges along opposed longitudinal sides thereof for insertion into and engagement with the slots of the binder back to position said holder in place, each flange being substantially normal to the tangent to the surface at the side edge of said normally curved holder so that said flanges are normally slanted inwardly toward each other for normally engaging the slots of said binder back, said flanges having generally smooth flat surfaces and forming an acute angle with a plane extending through the opposed side edges of said holder, the upper end of each flange having an oblique edge whereby when said holder is withdrawn by displacement upwardly in a longitudinal direction and coextensively with respect to the binder back, the oblique ends of the flanges move up and over the upper ends of the slots to flex said holder about its longitudinal axis so that said flanges move apart to be substantially parallel to each other so as to be continuously disengaged from the slots of the binder back while said holder is being withdrawn until said holder is free of the binder back.

2. A label holding device as claimed in claim 1 wherein the upper edges of the slots in said binder back are each provided with inwardly and marginally sloping depressed portions to cooperate with the oblique ends of the flanges when said holder is withdrawn from said binder back.

3. A label holding device as claimed in claim 1 wherein said binder back is provided with depressed portions between the slots for accepting a label within said label holder, at least the upper boundary of the depressed portions being bevelled and wherein the entire upper edge of said holder is also bevelled to engage the upper bevelled boundary of the depressions.

4. A label holding device as claimed in claim 1 wherein the lower ends of the flanges are enlarged and the lower ends of the slots are correspondingly enlarged to accept the enlarged lower ends of the flanges so as to provide means for preventing accidental upward displacement of said holder with respect to said binder back.