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US 4,184,782 AGranted
Binding device
AssigneeMinnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company
InventorJoe D. Giulie
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A device for binding a stack of sheets including a binding strip (support member) to which the sheets are secured by an elongated, flexible, radially deformable filament. At least one end of the filament is attached to the binding strip by a serpentine locking channel recessed in the binding strip. The locking channel is adapted to engage and deform a length of the filament when that length is inserted into the serpentine channel. In a preferred embodiment, such engagement and deformation occur at alternating areas on opposite sides of the filament and prevent longitudinal displacement of the filament; and thus the device forms a tight binding.
Claims15
A binding device for binding a stack of sheets, said device comprising:
- at least one flexible, radially deformable filament that is generally nonextensible in a longitudinal direction under normal binding forces and does not have a significant cross-sectional area reduction under normal binding forces, said filament being adapted to engage a said stack of sheets;
- at least one support member adapted to be positioned adjacent at least a portion of a said stack of sheets, said support member having a serpentine locking channel defined by:
- opposed walls recessed from and intersecting a first surface of said support member, each of said opposed walls being shaped to provide a plurality of teeth having tips projecting toward the other of said opposed walls and being spaced to receive and radially deform a length of said filament inserted therebetween;
- walls defining an inlet opening through said support member between one end of said locking channel and a second surface of said strip opposite said first surface, said inlet opening walls being disposed to guide said filament through said strip in a direction generally normal to said first surface and to afford bending of said filament at about a right angle at said inlet opening and positioning of the length of said filament in said channel;
- and
- a guiding ledge projecting from one of said opposed walls and positioned adjacent said inlet opening, said guiding ledge having a contact surface generally parallel to and opposite said first surface, said guiding ledge positioned to engage a part of the side surface of said length of filament in said channel to retain a bend in said length of filament at said inlet opening.
3 more elements
A device for binding together a stack of sheets having spaced apertures through one edge portion between opposite side surfaces of the stack, said device comprising:
- a plurality of elongated, flexible, resilient, radially deformable, polymeric, monofilaments having a uniform diameter, being generally nonextensible in a longitudinal direction under normal binding forces and not having a significant cross-sectional area reduction under normal binding forces, said monofilaments each being adapted to pass through a different one of the apertures in a said stack of sheets;
- two long narrow support members, each member
- having opposite first and second surfaces;
- having a plurality of openings between said first and second surfaces adapted for registration with the spaced apertures in a said stack of sheets and for receiving said monofilaments;
- being adapted to be positioned with its second surface adjacent a different side surface of a said stack with its openings registered with the apertures along a said edge;
- and
- having a plurality of generally longitudinal locking channels recessed from its first surface and adapted for releasably engaging end portions of said monofilaments, each locking channel
- having one end communicating with one of said openings;
- being formed by walls recessed from the first surface of the member, said walls of each locking channel including
- opposed walls intersecting the first surface of the member, each of said opposed walls being shaped to provide a plurality of teeth having tips projecting toward the other of said opposed walls to form a serpentine channel therebetween, and being disposed to require radial deformation of the end portion of one of said filaments between the teeth of said opposed walls upon insertion thereof in said locking channel, the width of said locking channel between all portions of said opposed walls being at least as great as the diameter of said filament so that a length of said filament may be easily inserted into said locking channel between said opposed walls;
- and
- a guiding ledge adjacent the opening, said guiding ledge having a contact surface positioned generally parallel to and opposite said first surface such that the end portion of the filament, when inserted through said opening and into said channel, will lie at least partially against the contact surface of said guiding ledge so that the contact surface will direct tensional forces applied to said filament at the second surface of said strip longitudinally along the end portion of said filament in said channel between said opposed walls so that such forces will tend to engage the deformed areas of the end portion of said filament in said channel with said teeth.
9 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.