Paper-retaining mechanism

Abstract

 A lever-arch type file mechanism (10) is disclosed as including a generally planar base (12), two posts (16) secured to the base (12), two arch members (18) joined with each other for simultaneous movement, in which the arch members (18) are movable relative to the posts (16) between a closed position in which the arch members (18) are in contact with the posts (16) to form two closed rings and an open position in which the arch members (18) are out of contact with the posts (16) in which the rings are open, a lever (26) with an operating end (28), the lever (26) being pivotable between a first position to move the arch members (18) to the closed position and a second position to move the arch members (18) to the open position, and a spring plate (24) biasing the arch members (18) to the open position, and the operating end (28) of the lever (26) being between the rings when the lever (26) is in the first position and in the second position.

Description

[0001] This invention relates to a paper-retaining mechanism and, in particular, such a mechanism which is securable to a substrate to form a paper-retaining device, such as a box file or document holder, and a paper-retaining device incorporating such a mechanism.

[0002] In a conventional paper-retaining device such as box file or document holder, a conventional paper-retaining mechanism is fixedly secured to a substrate (e.g. a box file cover or document holder cover) for releasably retaining sheets of hole-punched paper or similar material.

[0003] In one type of such conventional paper-retaining mechanism known generally as lever-arch type file mechanism, a one-armed lever is pivotable to pivot a pair of arches relative to a pair of fixed posts to allow pieces of hole-punched paper to be retrieved from or inserted into the file mechanism, and for closing the posts and arches to form a pair of closed rings to retain the paper therein. The pair of arches are joined with each other by an intervening crank on which a roller attached to the lever travels during pivotal movement of the lever, to selectively effect opening or closing of the pair of rings. In operating such a conventional file mechanism, the lever is pivoted downwardly to close the ring pairs formed by the posts and arches and is pivoted upwardly to allow a spring leaf to pivot to thereby open the rings.

[0004] A problem associated with such a conventional lever-arch type file mechanism is that when the lever is pivoted to an upper position to open the rings, the lever is in contact with or is at least very close to an underside of one of the arches, such that paper can only be inserted into or retrieved from the posts, but cannot be inserted into or retrieved from the arches.

[0005] It is thus an object of the present invention to provide a paper-retaining mechanism and a paper-retaining device incorporating such a mechanism in which the aforesaid shortcomings are mitigated, or at least to provide a useful alternative to the trade and public.

[0006] According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a paper-retaining mechanism including a generally planar base, at least two post members secured to said base, at least two arch members joined with each other for simultaneous movement, wherein said arch members are movable relative to said post members between a closed position in which said arch members are in contact with said post members to form two closed rings and an open position in which said arch members are out of contact with said post members wherein said rings are open, a lever with an operating end, said lever being pivotable between a first position to move said arch members to said closed position and a second position to move said arch members to said open position, and spring means biasing said arch members to said open position; characterized in that said operating end of said lever is between said rings when said lever is in said first position and in said second position.

[0007] According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a A paper-retaining device including a substrate and a paper-retaining mechanism engaged with said substrate, said paper-retaining mechanism including a generally planar base, at least two post members secured to said base, at least two arch members joined with each other for simultaneous movement, wherein said arch members are movable relative to said post members between a closed position in which said arch members are in contact with said post members to form two closed rings and an open position in which said arch members are out of contact with said post members wherein said rings are open, a lever with an operating end, said lever being pivotable between a first position to move said arch members to said closed position and a second position to move said arch members to said open position, and spring means biasing said arch members to said open position; characterized in that said operating end of said lever is between said rings when said lever is in said first position and in said second position.

[0008] An embodiment of the present invention will now be described, by way of an example only, with reference to the accompany drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a front view of a lever-arch type file mechanism according to an embodiment of the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a top view of the mechanism of Fig. 1 in a ring-closed configuration;

Fig. 3 is a left side view of the mechanism of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a right side view of the mechanism of Fig. 1;

Fig. 5 is a perspective exploded view of the mechanism of Fig. 1;

Fig. 6 is a rear view of a lever of the mechanism of Fig. 1;

Fig. 7 is a left side view of the lever of Fig. 6;

Fig. 8 is a right side view of the lever of Fig. 6;

Fig. 9 is a top view of the lever of Fig. 6;

Fig. 10 is a perspective view of the lever of Fig. 6;

Fig. 11 is a top perspective view of the mechanism of Fig. 1 in a ring-closed configuration;

Fig. 12 is a bottom perspective view of the mechanism of Fig. 11;

Fig. 13 is a top perspective view of the mechanism of Fig. 11 in a ring-open configuration; and

Fig. 14 is a bottom perspective view of the mechanism of Fig. 13.

[0009] Figs. 1 to 5 show various views of a lever-arch type file mechanism according to an embodiment of the present invention, and generally designated as 10. The mechanism 10 includes a generally planar base 12 and a support plate 14 extending upwardly away from the base 12. The support plate 14 is fixedly joined with the base 12. For example, the support plate 14 may be stamped out from a same sheet of metal from which the base 12 is formed.

[0010] Two posts 16 are fixedly secured to the base 12. A pair of arch members 18 are integrally formed and joined with each other via an intermediate portion 20, so that the arch members 18 and the intermediate portion 20 are movable simultaneously with one another. The arch members 18 are engaged with the base 12 by claws 22, so that the arches 18 are pivotable relative to the posts 16 and the base 12 between a first position (called the "closed position") in which free ends 18a of the arch members 18 and free ends 16a of the posts 16 are in contact and mate with each other to form two closed rings (wherein the paper-retaining mechanism 10 is said to be in a "ring-closed configuration") and a second position (called the "open position") in which the free ends 18a of the arches 18 and the free ends 16a of the posts 16 are out of contact with each other, so that the rings are open (wherein the paper-retaining mechanism 10 is said to be in a "ring-open configuration").

[0011] A spring plate 24 is engaged with the base 12 so that it acts on the intermediate portion 20 from below, to bias the arch members 18 to the open position.

[0012] The lever-arch type file mechanism 10 includes a lever 26 with a first body portion 26a and a second body portion 26b which are joined with each other, e.g. by formed integrally with each other. Various views of the lever 26 are shown in Figs. 6 to 10. An angle β (see Fig. 6) between the first body portion 26a and the second body portion 26b of the lever 26 is over 90°, such as between 110° to 150°, and preferably 130°. The first body portion 26a has an operating free end 28 which is manually operable to move the lever 26 to move the lever-arch type file mechanism 10 between the open configuration and the closed configuration, in a manner to be discussed below.

[0013] The lever 26 is engaged via a rivet 30 to the support plate 14 whereby the lever 26 is pivotable relative to the support plate 14 about an axis P-P which is parallel to the base 12. In particular, the rivet 30 is engaged via a hole 38 through the second body portion 26b of the lever 26. A roller 32 is engaged with the second body portion 26b of the lever 26 via a rivet 34 which allows the roller 32 to be freely rotatable relative to the second body portion 26b of the lever 26.

[0014] When the lever-arch type file mechanism 10 is in the ring-closed configuration as shown in Figs. 1 to 4 and 11 and 12, the roller 32 acts on a cranked portion 20a of the intermediate portion 20 to keep the free ends 18a of the arch members 18 in contact with the free ends 16a of the posts 16, and thus to keep the lever-arch type file mechanism 10 in the ring-closed configuration, against the biasing action of the spring plate 24. When in this position, the first body portion 26a of the lever 26 is on the right side (in the sense of Fig. 1) of an axis T-T perpendicular to the base 12, and is inclined relative to the axis T-T by an angle α of 20° to 50°; and preferably 30°.

[0015] To move the lever-arch type file mechanism 10 to the open configuration as shown in Figs. 13 and 14, the lever 26 is pivoted relative to the support plate 14 about the axis P-P in the direction indicated by the arrow C (see Fig. 1) to the position as shown in Figs. 13 and 14, in which the first body portion 26a of the lever 26 is on the other side (i.e. left side in the sense of Fig. 1) of the axis T-T, and is inclined relative to the axis T-T by the same angle α of 20° to 50°, and preferably 30°. When the lever 26 in this position, the roller 32 is moved away from the cranked portion 20a of the intermediate portion 20, whereupon the spring plate 24 flexes and acts on the cranked portion 20a from below. The arch members 18 are thus pivoted away from the posts 16 to open the rings.

[0016] It can be seen that, whether the lever 26 is in the position in which the rings are open or in the position in which the rings are closed, the operating free end 28 of the lever 26 is between the two rings. By way of such an arrangement, when the lever 26 is pivoted to the position to open the rings, the lever 26 (in particular the end 28) is away from both of the arch members 18, such that paper can be inserted into or retrieved from the posts 16 and the arch members 18.

[0017] The lever-arch type file mechanism 10 may be fixedly or detachably secured, e.g. by rivets or screws, to a substrate (e.g. a box file folder) made of metal, metal alloy, cardboard or the like, to form a paper-retaining device.

[0018] It should be understood that the above only illustrates and describes an example whereby the present invention may be carried out, and that modifications and/or alterations may be made thereto without departing from the spirit of the invention. It should also be understood various features of the invention which are, for brevity, described here in the context of a single embodiment, may also be provided separately or in any suitable sub-combination.

Claims

1. A paper-retaining mechanism including:

a generally planar base,

at least two post members secured to said base,

at least two arch members joined with each other for simultaneous movement, wherein said arch members are movable relative to said post members between a closed position in which said arch members are in contact with said post members to form two closed rings and an open position in which said arch members are out of contact with said post members wherein said rings are open,

a lever with an operating end, said lever being pivotable between a first position to move said arch members to said closed position and a second position to move said arch members to said open position, and

spring means biasing said arch members to said open position;

characterized in that said operating end of said lever is between said rings when said lever is in said first position and in said second position.

2. A paper-retaining mechanism according to Claim 1 further characterized in that said lever includes a first body portion and a second body portion joined with each other, wherein an angle between said first body portion and said second portion is more than 90°.

3. A paper-retaining mechanism according to Claim 2 further characterized in that said first body portion includes said operating end, and that said second body portion is pivotally engaged with a plate member extending from said base.

4. A paper-retaining mechanism according to Claim 2 or 3 further characterized in that an angle between said first portion of said lever and an axis substantially perpendicular to said base when said lever is in said first position is substantially the same as an angle between said first portion of said lever and said axis when said lever is in said second position.

5. A paper-retaining device including a substrate and a paper-retaining mechanism according to any of the preceding claims engaged with said substrate.

Drawing