The present invention relates to the field of pocket sheet protectors and booklets thereof that protect documents from bending and contamination.
In order to protect documents against bending and contamination, a pocket sheet protector is used which contains the documents in a pocket made of a transparent resin sheet.
In relation to such a pocket sheet protector, Japanese Utility Model Registration No. 3177545 discloses an improvement in which non-welded portions which are not welded are disposed on both sides of a bottom welding line, so as to enable a thick document to be accommodated in the pocket sheet protector.
However, in the pocket sheet protector disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Registration No. 3177545, there is a problem in that a load is easily generated in the vicinity of a corner of the bottom portion when such a thick document is accommodated therein, and wrinkles and bending are likely to occur.
An aspect of the disclosure recited below is to provide a pocket sheet protector including a main body portion formed by overlapping a rectangular first sheet and a rectangular second sheet, and having a top side, a first side, a second side, and a bottom side, a first welding line formed to extend in parallel with the second side in the vicinity of the second side, and configured to divide the main body portion into an accommodating section on the first side, and a binding margin on the second side by welding the first sheet and the second sheet, a second welding line configured to seal the bottom side, a first notched portion in which a corner where the first side and the bottom side intersect is cut out, and a second notched portion in which a corner where the second side and the bottom side intersect is cut out, wherein the second notched portion extends closer to the accommodating section than the first welding line, and cuts out a lower end of the first welding line and an end of the second welding line.
Further, another aspect is to provide a booklet in which a plurality of the pocket sheet protectors having the above aspect are bound.
The above objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will be readily understood from the following description when taken with reference to the accompanying drawings.
As shown in
There are a plurality of types of structures for the main body portion 12, depending on the method used for forming the main body portion 12. A first structural example of the main body portion 12 is formed by a method in which the rectangular sheets 14 and 16 are prepared in the form of separate bodies, the sheets 14 and 16 are superimposed on each other, and both sides 20 and 22 and a bottom side 24 are welded together. The main body portion 12 made according to this method may be considered in the case of employing relatively thick sheets 14 and 16, and has welding lines formed on both sides 20 and 22 and the bottom side 24 thereof. Further, the main body portion 12 in accordance with a second structural example includes a configuration in which one sheet is folded at a first side 20, and after folding, a second side 22 and a bottom side 24 are welded. Moreover, the main body portion 12 in accordance with a third structural example may be formed by an inflation method. In a process of forming the main body portion 12 by using such an inflation method, a long tubular shaped resin sheet is formed by the inflation method, the tubular shaped resin sheet is pressed and flattened by a roller, the flattened resin sheet is cut into plural sheets each having a top side 18 and a bottom side 24, and the bottom side 24 is welded at a second welding line 32, to thereby form the main body portion. In any of these structural examples, a first welding line 30 is formed in the vicinity of the second side 22 to thereby divide the main body portion 12 into a binding margin 29 and an accommodating section 28. Although the present embodiment is not limited to any particular method, in the following description, an example will be presented in which the main body portion 12 is formed by the inflation method.
The main body portion 12 includes the top side 18, the first side 20, the second side 22, and the bottom side 24. The first side 20 and the second side 22 are formed as bent portions formed by pressing and flattening a tubular resin film. More specifically, the first sheet 14 and the second sheet 16 are integrally connected via the first side 20 and the second side 22. Further, the bottom side 24 is formed by joining and welding together the overlapped portions of the first sheet 14 and the second sheet 16. At an upper end of the main body portion 12, the first sheet 14 and the second sheet 16 are separated to thereby constitute an opening 26. An accommodated object (for example, a document) is accommodated via the opening 26 (see
The main body portion 12 includes the first welding line 30 which is disposed in the vicinity of the second side 22, and the second welding line 32 which is disposed along the bottom side 24. The first welding line 30 and the second welding line 32 include a plurality of island shaped welded portions 33 (see
The first welding line 30 is formed to extend in a direction parallel to the second side 22, and the main body portion 12 is divided into the accommodating section 28 on the first side 20, and the binding margin 29 on the second side 22. The binding margin 29 is a portion located between the second side 22 and the first welding line 30, and is used for welding to a spine 56 of a later-described booklet 50 (see
The accommodating section 28 is a portion located between the first welding line 30 and the first side 20. In the accommodating section 28, the bottom side 24 is sealed by the second welding line 32, and the accommodating section 28 is formed in a pocket shape. The accommodating section 28 forms a space between the first sheet 14 and the second sheet 16 for accommodating the accommodated object (for example, a document).
In the pocket sheet protector 10 according to the present embodiment, a first notched portion 34 is formed at a corner 34a where the first side 20 and the bottom side 24 of the main body portion 12 intersect, and a second notched portion 36 is formed at a corner 36a where the second side 22 and the bottom side 24 intersect. The first notched portion 34 is formed by being cut out in a circular arc shape having a predetermined radius centered about the corner 34a. The first notched portion 34 leaves open a predetermined range of a lower end of the first side 20, and a predetermined range of an end of the second welding line 32 on the side of the first side 20. Consequently, the inner side and the outer side of the accommodating section 28 communicate with each other in the vicinity of the corner 34a.
As shown in
As shown in
As shown in
Hinge lines 42 are formed respectively in the vicinity of the first side 20, in the vicinity of the first welding line 30, and in the vicinity of the second welding line 32 of the main body portion 12. The hinge lines 42 are formed by introducing linear slits in the first sheet 14 and the second sheet 16. The hinge lines 42 facilitate the deformation of the first sheet 14 and the second sheet 16 when the thick accommodated object 90 (for example, a document) is inserted into the accommodating section 28, and facilitate the insertion of the accommodated object 90.
The pocket sheet protector 10 of the present embodiment is configured in the manner described above. Hereinafter, a description will be given concerning a booklet 50 in which a plurality of the pocket sheet protectors 10 are used.
The booklet 50 includes a booklet cover 57 comprising a front cover 52, a back cover 54 facing toward the front cover 52, and a spine 56 connecting the front cover 52 and the back cover 54, and a plurality of the pocket sheet protectors 10 which are bound inside the booklet cover 57. The front cover 52, the back cover 54, and the spine 56 are formed of a thick resin sheet or cardboard having a rigidity higher than that of the pocket sheet protectors 10. The pocket sheet protectors 10 are joined to the spine 56 of the booklet 50 via the binding margins 29 of the main body portions 12. As shown in the drawing, welded portions 29a are formed on the binding margins 29, and the binding margins 29 are joined to the spine 56 at the welded portions 29a. It should be noted that the means for joining the pocket sheet protectors 10 to the spine 56 is not limited to welding, and the means for joining may also be implemented using ring shaped metal binding fittings.
In the above description, although the present invention has been described with reference to a preferred embodiment, the present invention is not limited to this embodiment, and it goes without saying that various modifications and changes can be made therein without departing from the scope and gist of the present invention as set forth in the appended claims.
Number | Name | Date | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
5335027 | Lin | Aug 1994 | A |
5806894 | Dottel | Sep 1998 | A |
6168340 | Lehmann | Jan 2001 | B1 |
7614815 | Huang | Nov 2009 | B1 |
9457611 | Busam | Oct 2016 | B2 |
20090290930 | Rodriguez, Jr. | Nov 2009 | A1 |
Number | Date | Country |
---|---|---|
1536637 | Jan 1970 | DE |
0509197 | Oct 1992 | EP |
0933230 | Aug 1999 | EP |
2187676 | Sep 1987 | GB |
3177545 | Aug 2012 | JP |
Entry |
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Lihit Lab., Inc., “Info-Mail” Clear Pocket (Expandable), Japan, Jun. 28, 2018, vol. 2, p. 6 (4 pages provided). |