Structure binder clip

Information

  • Patent Grant
  • 6226840
  • Patent Number
    6,226,840
  • Date Filed
    Thursday, August 5, 1999
    25 years ago
  • Date Issued
    Tuesday, May 8, 2001
    23 years ago
  • Inventors
  • Examiners
    • Brittain; James R.
    Agents
    • Dougherty & Troxell
Abstract
A binding clip having actuator rods capable of rotation to any angle so as to not impair reading and writing, and which is produced by a simpler fabrication process. A triangularly folded pincer section has an actuator rod on each of the two sides and an insertion hole punched in each of the two sides. An even number of oppositely facing limiter notches are formed along the inner circumference of the insertion holes and a rounded guide element is disposed in between each of the limiter notches, providing for the rotation to any angular degree of the actuator rods along the rounded guide elements. The actuator rods consist of U-shaped rod structures with the two ends bent to an appropriate angular degree and having catch hooks extending from the bent sections. By pressing the two sides of the actuator rods inwardly, the catch hooks can engage opposing pairs of limiter notches such that the actuator rods remain fullly pivotable while positioned in the limiter notches.
Description




BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION




1) Field of the Invention




The invention herein relates to an improved structure binder clip, wherein an insertion hole is punched in each of the two sides of the pincer section and, furthermore, an even number of oppositely facing limiter notches are formed along the inner circumference of the insertion hole and a rounded guide element is disposed in between each of the limiter notches, thereby providing for the rotation of the actuator rods along the rounded guide elements. The actuator rods have two ends bent to an appropriate angular degree and, furthermore, the resulting catch hooks extending from the bent sections formed on the two ends of the actuator rods, by means of the metallic resilience produced by pressing the two sides of the actuator rods inward, enable the catch hooks to become engaged into opposing pairs of limiter notches and, furthermore, the actuator rods remain fully pivotable while positioned in the limiter notches. As such, the improved structure binding clip of the invention herein does not adversely affect reading and writing and, furthermore, its die fabrication is simpler.




2) Description of the Prior Art




Conventional binder clips are utilized to hold printed or written note paper for reading so that the sheets of paper do not become scattered, temporarily lost, or cause a disorderly desktop.




In a conventional binder clip structure, as indicated in

FIG. 1

, the said binder clip


3


is comprised of a pincer section


51


having a hinge fold


511


formed by rolling the two binding ends outward to accommodate the respective insertion of the outwardly bent catch hook


521


formed at the two ends of the actuator rod


52


, which is typically accomplished by squeezing the two sides inward and relying on the tensile metallic reverse force to engage the catch hooks


521


of the actuator rod


52


into the hinge folds


511


and thereby conveniently installing the actuator rod


52


to achieve object binding capability; however, when actually utilized, the conventional binding clip structure is not as ideal as expected and the overall shortcomings may be concluded as follows:




1. Affects Reading and Writing




When sheets of printed material or note paper are held together by the binding clip, due to the forward and backward pivoting characteristics of the actuator rods


52


, the pincer section forms an excessive protuberance, with the left and right portions of the said sheets remaining uneven and unsecurable, which leads to positional writing difficulties; furthermore, if the actuator rods


52


are pivoted downward, although the pincer section is less obtrusive and writing is easier, the actuator rods


52


are pressed against the surface of the paper sheets and still affect reading and writing at this position.




2. Die Fabrication Difficulty




In the conventional binding clip, outwardly rolled hinge folds must be formed on the binding edges in order to fasten the actuator rods


52


to the pincer section


51


, with the bending into shape of the tubular hinge sections


511


involving the fabrication of a die for continuous press forming that requires additional time and, furthermore, is relatively more complex to finish.




In view of the said shortcomings, which lead to the various utilization inconveniences today, the inventor of the invention herein conducted extensive research, including repeated tests and refinements during that period, which culminated in the successful development of an improved structure binding clip that completely eliminates the said shortcomings of the conventional product and, furthermore, is capable of greater practical performance.




SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION




The primary objective of the invention herein is to provide an improved structure binding clip that does not affect reading and writing which is comprised of an insertion hole punched in each of the two sides of the pincer section and, furthermore, an even number of oppositely facing limiter notches are formed along the inner circumference of the insertion hole with a rounded guide element disposed in between each of the limiter notches and actuator rods each having their two ends bent to an appropriate angular degree and, furthermore, having catch hooks extending from the bent sections formed on the two ends, with the catch hooks capable of becoming engaged into opposing pairs of limiter notches and, furthermore, capable of rotation to any angular degree along the rounded guide elements between the limiter notches as well as remaining fully pivotable while positioned in the pincer section, thereby circumventing the excessive protuberance shortcoming of the pincer section in the conventional binding clip due to the fixed upward or downward pivoting range of its hinged actuator rods and, furthermore, reading and writing by the user is not impaired after the actuator rods are pivoted down.




Another objective of the invention herein is to provide an improved structure binding clip that allows simpler and more convenient fabrication. Since the pincer section and the actuator rods are engaged together in a manner that only requires the punching of the insertion holes in the pincer section and the appropriate bending of the actuator arms, it is not necessary to form the hinge folds on the pincer section of the conventional binding clip, a shortcoming that involves greater punch die difficulty during fabrication and as such, die fabrication is simpler in the improved structure binding clip of the invention herein.




To enable the examination committee to further understand the structure, innovations, function, and other practical objectives of the present invention, the brief description of the drawings below are followed by the detailed description of the embodiments.











BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS





FIG. 1

is an isometric drawing of a conventional binder clip.





FIG. 2

is an isometric drawing of die binder clip of die invention herein.





FIG. 3

is an isometric drawing of die invention herein.





FIG. 4

is an isometric drawing of an embodiment of the invention herein that illustrates the rotating capability of actuator rods.











DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS




Referring to FIG.


2


and

FIG. 3

, wherein the structural entity of the present invention is clearly illustrated, the binding clip


1


of the invention herein is comprised of a triangularly folded pincer section


11


and an actuator rod


12


on each of the two sides of the pincer section


11


.




Of which, an insertion hole


111


is punched in each of the two sides of the pincer section and, furthermore, an even number of oppositely facing limiter notches


112


are formed along the inner circumference of the insertion hole


111


and a rounded guide element


113


is disposed in between each of the limiter notches


112


, thereby providing for the rotation of the actuator rods


11


along the rounded guide elements


113


.




Each of the said actuator rods


12


consists of a U-shaped rod structure with the two ends bent to an appropriate angular degree and, furthermore, the resulting catch hooks


122


extending from the bent section


121


formed on the two ends of the actuator rods


12


, by means of the metallic resilience produced by pressing the two sides of the actuator rods


12


inward, enable the catch hooks


122


to become engaged into opposing pairs of limiter notches


112


and, furthermore, the actuator rods


12


remain filly pivotable while positioned in the limiter notches


112


.




Referring to

FIG. 4

, the catch hooks


122


of the said actuator rods


12


are squeezed inward and thereby engaged into the limiter notches


112


of the pincer section


11


and, furthermore, can be positioned to any angular degree by rotation along the rounded guide elements


113


between each of the limiter notches


112


and, therefore, the actuator rods


12


are capable of being rotated such that they are postured laterally to the sides of the pincer section


11


and thereby circumvent the excessive protuberance shortcoming of the pincer section of the conventional binding clip


3


due to the fixed upward or downward pivoting range of its hinged actuator rods and, furthermore, reading and writing by the user will not be impaired after the actuator rods


12


are pivoted down; additionally, in the binding clip


1


of the invention herein, since the pincer section


11


and the actuator rods


12


are engaged together in a manner that only requires the punching of the insertion holes


111


in the pincer section


11


and the appropriate bending of the actuator arms


12


, it is not necessary to form the hinge folds


511


as on the pincer section of the conventional binding clip


5


, a shortcoming that involves greater punch die difficulty during fabrication; as such, the improved structure binding clip of the invention herein does not adversely affect reading and writing and, furthermore, its die fabrication is simpler.




In summation of the foregoing section, since the improved structure binding clip of the invention herein is innovative in construction and fully capable of achieving all claimed objectives and, furthermore, features offers more practical performance than the conventional product, the invention herein is hereby submitted in application for the granting the commensurate patent rights.



Claims
  • 1. A binding clip comprising a triangularly folded pincer section with two opposite sides, and an actuator rod located on each of the two opposite sides of the pincer section, each opposite side having an insertion hole therethrough with an even number of oppositely facing limiter notches formed along an inner circumference of the insertion hole; each actuator rod having two ends bent to form catch hooks extending therefrom, the catch hooks removably engaging opposing pairs of said limiter notches such that said actuator rods are fully pivotable while engaged with the limiter notches and the actuator rods may be repositioned so as to not adversely affect reading and writing.
  • 2. The binding clip of claim 1 further comprising a rounded guide element disposed between each adjacent pair of the limiter notches formed along the inner circumference of the insertion hole.
US Referenced Citations (5)
Number Name Date Kind
467244 Ballard Jan 1892
1435917 Ensign Nov 1922
1965554 Mainwaring Jul 1934
2259505 Wisdom Oct 1941
4696081 Yen Sep 1987
Foreign Referenced Citations (3)
Number Date Country
868055 Dec 1941 FR
344187 Mar 1931 GB
673029 May 1952 GB