Ring Binder Mechanism

A ring mechanism for holding loose-leaf pages, the mechanism comprising:

• a housing;
• rings for holding the loose-leaf pages, each ring including a first ring member and a second ring member, the first ring members being movable relative to the housing and the second ring members between a closed position and an open position, in the closed position the first and second ring members forming a substantially continuous, closed loop for allowing loose-leaf pages retained by the rings to be moved along the rings from one ring member to the other, and in the open position the first and second ring members forming a discontinuous, open loop for adding or removing loose-leaf pages from the rings;
• an actuation system for moving the ring members between the closed and open positions, the actuation system comprising first and second hinge plates supported by the housing for pivoting motion relative to the housing, said first ring members being mounted on the first hinge plate and moveable with the pivoting motion of the first hinge plate between the closed and open positions, and an actuator mounted on the housing for movement relative to the housing to cause the pivoting motion of the hinge plates, the actuator being moveable between a first position in which the ring members are in the closed position and a second position in which the ring members are in the open position;
• a locking system moveable by the actuator between a locked position in which the ring members are held in the closed position and an unlocked position in which the ring members can move from the closed position to the open position;
• the actuation system being adapted to deform upon movement of the actuator from said second position to said first position to delay the movement of the locking system from the pivoting motion of the hinge plates.