US20050238414A1 - Disposable clip for coupling binding elements and combination of binding elements with disposable coupling clip - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention includes a combination of coupling clip structure and a plurality of binding elements for binding stacks of perforated sheets for delivery to an automated machine. The combination comprises at least two binding elements, and at least one coupling clip discrete from said at least two binding elements. At least one of the coupling clip or the binding element(s) comprises at least one recess, at least a portion of at least one said binding element being disposed in said recess in the coupling clip and/or at least a portion of the coupling clip being disposed in said recess in the binding element, the coupling clip coupling the at least two binding elements together in a predetermined adjacent spatial relationship. The coupling clip may be separated from the binding elements by the automated machine. The invention further includes a method of coupling a plurality of binding elements together with at least one coupling clip for delivery to an automated machine.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION
• The present invention relates to binding elements for holding a plurality of perforated sheets or the like, and more specifically the invention pertains to structure for coupling binding elements for use in automated binding processes.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
• Various types of binding elements have been utilized to bind a stack of perforated sheets or the like. Binding elements typically include a spine from which a plurality of fingers extends which may be assembled through perforations in a stack of sheets. This spine may be linear, with or without a longitudinally extending hinge. Alternately, the spine may be formed by sequential bending of a wire, as with wire comb or hanger type binding elements.
• Examples of such binding elements which are of a wire comb or hanger-type design are disclosed, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 2,112,389 to Trussell and U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,832,370 and 4,873,858 to Jones, while machines for assembling such binders are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,031,585 to Adams, U.S. Pat. No. 4,398,856 to Archer et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,525,117 to Jones, U.S. Pat. No. 4,934,890 to Flatt, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,370,489 to Bagroky. Other binding devices are disclosed, for example, in the following references: U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,089,881 and 2,363,848 to Emmer, U.S. Pat. No. 2,435,848 to Schade, U.S. Pat. No. 2,466,451 to Liebman, U.S. Pat. No. 4,607,970 to Heusenkveld, U.S. Pat. No. 4,904,103 to Im, U.S. Pat. No. 5,028,159 to Amrich et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,369,013, Reexamination Certificate B1 4,369,013 and Re. 28,202 to Abildgaard et al. Machines for assembling plastic comb or finger binding elements are disclosed in patents such as U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,645,399 to Scharer, U.S. Pat. No. 4,900,211 to Vercillo, U.S. Pat. No. 5,090,859 to Nanos et al., and U.S. Pat. No. 5,464,312 to Hotkowski et al. The patents are included herein by reference.
• Due to the structure of such binding devices, which include elongated spines and fingers, the binding devices commonly become entangled when stored in a group. Thus, mechanical binding processes are considered to be either cumbersome and labor intensive, or complicated and expensive, requiring dedicated machines. Detangling the binding elements in order to assemble the element to a stack of sheets or lay the element into a binding machine can be a tedious and potentially time consuming process. Further, this tendency to become entangled may complicate or prevent the use of such binding devices in automated binding processes or machines wherein an automated feed is desirable. The time required to manually feed binding elements into a machine would be prohibitive to efficient, high-volume automated binding operations.
• Relatively low cost, manual, semi-automatic machines are commonly utilized in binding successive single documents by loading single elements by hand into such machines. In such manual arrangements, various issues present obstacles to efficient utilization. In such arrangements, one or more binding elements must be untangled from a box, exposing the operator to possible sharp corners and points, and then oriented and loaded by hand into a machine and/or another portion of the binding element.
• Relatively high cost, automated machines likewise present challenges that have yet to be successfully overcome. For example, elements may be presented to automated machines in cassettes, which are typically formed of plastic, or attached to a backing with an adhesive or mechanical coupler. Such presentation methods result in excessive volumes of waste that must be stored and ultimately discarded. Additionally, the use of adhesive in such coupling can make the coupling vulnerable to atmospheric factors, causing the adhesive to loosen or lose its holding properties. Various other methods have been proposed for coupling binding elements together for packing, shipping, or feeding to an automated process. Such arrangements are disclosed, for example, in P.C.T. Application PCT/US0106362, filed Feb. 28, 2001, based uponU.S. Provisional Application 60/188372, which likewise are assigned to the assignee of the present application and is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. At least a portion of these arrangements have not been commonly utilized, however. While some types of binding elements may be preformed and delivered to the automated binding machine on spools, spools are generally quite large, bulky, weighty and cumbersome, and still require the use of separating paper to prevent tangling. Additionally, they typically require skilled operator set up. Accordingly, there still exists a need for alternate or additional arrangements that may be successfully and economically automated at a relatively low cost and with minimal associated waste.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
• The invention provides a clip-type coupling structure for coupling a plurality of binding elements to provide a combination of binding elements and coupling clips that is particularly suitable for packaging and shipment, as well as usage in automated binding processes, and various methods of utilizing the same. In accordance with the invention, a separately formed coupling clip is provided that releasably engages at least two binding elements to temporarily couple the binding elements to maintain their respective relative positions. A plurality of binding elements in this form may be provided either as discrete sheets, or as a continuous sheet which is rolled up, for example, for storage, shipping, or feeding to an automated binding process. In use, the coupling clip is separated from the binding elements to allow separate usage of the binding elements.
• The coupling clip may be of any appropriate design. The coupling clip preferably includes a plurality of legs that partially surround a portion of at least two adjacently disposed binding elements. In the currently preferred embodiment, two pairs of legs are provided, the pairs of legs being coupled by a base element. Each pair of legs is adapted to surround any appropriate portions of the binding elements, e.g., spine to spine, spine to finger, or finger to finger. It is envisioned that alternate designs may be utilized. For example, a design with three such legs may be utilized wherein one leg is common holds the pair of binding elements, or a base with two legs may be utilized. The base and legs may be of any appropriate design or length so long as the clip temporarily couples the binding elements.
• Preferably, the design is such that the application of an external force to coupling clip causes release of one or more of the coupled binding elements. This may be accomplished by including one or more portions that flex to allow the separation of the legs, or example. In one embodiment, two pairs of legs are provided to couple two adjacent binding elements, an inwardly disposed leg and an outwardly disposed leg. The inwardly disposed legs may be formed on a portion of the base section wherein application of a force to that base section cause the legs to flex slightly apart from one another, releasing the coupled binding elements. In an alternate embodiment, the base includes flanges that extend from the sides of the coupling clip such that application of a force to a flange causes the adjacent outwardly disposed leg to flex outward from the adjacent portion of the coupling clip holding the binding element. The coupling clip may thus elastically flex to allow the coupling or decoupling of the binding elements. Alternately, the coupling clip may be designed to move between at least two discrete positions, clamping and unclamping positions.
• In utilizing such coupling clips, one or more may be utilized to couple binding elements in a given spatial relationship. For example, one, two, three or more such coupling clips may be utilized to couple a pair of binding elements. Additionally, this same or a different number of such coupling clips may be utilized to couple one of the pair of binding elements to a third binding element, and onward to a plurality of binding elements to create a continuous length of binding elements.
• Alternately, a single coupling clip may couple more than two binding elements in a given spatial relationship. As with a coupling clip that couples only two binding elements in a given spatial relationship, a plurality of such coupling clips that couple more than two binding elements in a given spatial relationship may be utilized along the length of the plurality of binding elements to be coupled. In one such embodiment, the coupling clip is in the form of a carrier strip that couples three or more binding elements in a given special relationship, the carrier strip including a plurality of such individual coupling arrangements for coupling to the binding elements.
• Thus, the coupling clip arrangement provides an economical means by which a plurality of binding strips may be coupled in a given spatial relationship for storage, shipping or feeding to an automated process. Such an automated process may include a means by which a force is applied to the coupling clip or the binding element to separate the binding element from the clip. The coupling clip may ten be dropped into a collection container for disposal or reuse. The coupling clip does not damage or interfere with the use or final appearance of the coupled binding elements.
• The coupling clip may be economically manufactured using conventional molding techniques.
• These and other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art upon reading the following detailed description and upon reference to the drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
• FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a binding element of the prior art.
• FIG. 2 is a front elevational view of a coupling clip constructed in accordance with teachings of the invention for coupling a plurality of binding elements.
• FIG. 3 is a front elevational view of the coupling clip ofFIG. 2 engaged with a plurality of binding elements, the binding elements being shown in cross-section.
• FIG. 4 is a front elevational view of an alternate embodiment of the coupling clip constructed in accordance with teachings of the invention.
• FIG. 5 is a front elevational view another alternate embodiment of the coupling clip constructed in accordance with teachings of the invention.
• FIG. 6 is a front elevational view another alternate embodiment of the coupling clip constructed in accordance with teachings of the invention.
• FIG. 7 is a front elevational view of another embodiment of the coupling clip constructed in accordance with teachings of the inventions.
• FIG. 8 is a front elevational view of another embodiment of the coupling clip constructed in accordance with teachings of the inventions.
• FIG. 9 is a front elevational view of the coupling clip and binding elements ofFIGS. 2 and 3 wherein a force is applied to separate the coupling clip and binding elements.
• FIG. 10 is a perspective view of a plurality of binding elements of the prior art coupled together by a plurality of coupling clips constructed in accordance with teachings of the invention.
• FIG. 11 is a side view of a plurality of binding elements being fed to an automated binding machine.
• FIG. 12 is a front elevational view another alternate embodiment of the coupling clip constructed in accordance with teachings of the invention.
• FIG. 13 is a side elevational view of another alternate embodiment of the coupling clip constructed in accordance with teachings of the invention.
• FIG. 14 is a side elevational view of another alternate embodiment of the coupling clip constructed in accordance with teachings of the invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
• Turning now to the drawings, there is shown inFIG. 1 abinding element30 constructed according to the teachings of the prior art. The bindingelement30 includes a spine32 from which a plurality offingers34 extends. Thefingers34 of the illustrated bindingelement30 include twoportions34a,34bthat meet to form a closed finger loop, as will be appreciated by those of skill in the art. It will further be appreciated that the illustrated bindingelement30 is merely representative of binding elements of the prior art, and is not intended to limit the scope of the present invention. The present invention is equally applicable to binding elements of alternate design, such as, for example, those various types of binding elements mentioned in the Background of the Invention section of this disclosure. Moreover, the binding element may be of substantially any design, and may be of substantially any length.
• In accordance with aspects of the invention, there is provided a coupling clip for coupling a plurality of binding elements in a given spatial relationship, and a combination of one or more coupling clips with a plurality of binding elements. An embodiment of such acoupling clip40 is shown inFIG. 2. Theclip40 includes abase portion42 and acoupling portion44 for receiving a portion of each of at least a pair of binding elements to couple them together. Thecoupling portion44 includes preferably includes at least one leg that forms arecess48 for receiving a portion of one or more binding elements. In the illustrated embodiment, two pairs ofsuch legs50,52,54,56 are provided. As shown inFIG. 3, the spines of respectivebinding elements58,60 are received in therecesses48 between thelegs50,52 and54,56 of the pairs to maintain the binding elements in a given spatial relationship. It will be appreciated by those of skill in the art that alternate portions of thebinding elements58,60 may be disposed therecesses48. For example, the fingers may be disposed in the recesses, or the finger of one binding element and the spine of another binding element may be disposed in the respective recesses.
• It will further be appreciated by those of skill in the art that thecoupling portion44 may be alternately designed. For example, three, rather than foursuch legs62,64,66 may be provided, as shown inFIG. 4. In this embodiment, a singlecentral leg64 supports bothbinding elements58,60, the remaining twolegs62,66 each supporting a respectivebinding element58,60. In another alternate embodiment, only twosuch legs68,70 are provided, thebinding elements58,60 being disposed between a respective one of saidlegs68,70 and thebase portion72, as shown inFIG. 5. Alternately, portions of bothbinding elements58,60 may be disposed in asingle recess74 as shown inFIG. 6. It will be appreciated that numerous alternate designs may be provided within the scope of the invention utilizing an alternate number of legs and structures. It will be appreciated by those of skill in the art, however, that it is preferable that the binding elements be parallelly disposed, as shown for example inFIG. 3, in order to facilitate compact and efficient packing, as shown inFIG. 10.
• Returning now toFIGS. 2 and 3, in order to maintain thespines58,60 in the recess(es)48, thebinding elements58,60 may be press-fit or snap-locked in position. Such a snap-locked design is shown, for example, inFIG. 2, wherein aprotrusion76 is provided that inhibits the movement of thebinding elements58,60 from the respective recesses48. In this embodiment, theprotrusion76 is disposed alonginner legs52,54, although such a protrusion may be alternately disposed or additional protrusions provided.
• Also as shown inFIG. 2, thefingers50,52,54,56 may include structure that facilitates assembly of thebinding elements58,60 into thecoupling clip30. For example, thefingers50,52,54,56 may be provided with rampedsurfaces80,82 that guide thebinding element58,60 into theadjacent recess48.
• According to an important aspect of the invention, thebinding elements58,60 may be readily released from theclip40, preferably by the application of an outside force to thecoupling clip40. In this way, thecoupling clip40 may be separated from thebinding elements58,60 without damaging thebinding elements58,60 so that they may be readily utilized in a manual or automated binding process. In the embodiment ofFIGS. 2 and 3, thebase portion42 comprises a force-receivingsection84, theinner legs52,54 extending from the force-receivingsection84. It will be appreciated by those of skill in the art that relative geometry of the force-receivingsection84 and the remaining portion of thebase section42 andfingers50,56 are such that a force applied to the force-receivingsection84, as shown inFIG. 9, will result in a bending or arching of thecoupling clip40 such that theinner fingers52,54 move toward each other, that is, away from theouter fingers50,56 such that thebinding elements58,60 disposed in therecesses48 are free to pass out of therecesses48. More preferably, the force-receivingsection84 comprises an area ofweakness86 that concentrates the stress of a force applied thereto such that a localized bending occurs at that portion of the force-receivingsection84, as may likewise be seen inFIG. 9.
• Alternate arrangements may be provided whereby the coupling clip releases the coupled binding elements upon application of an external force. Returning toFIG. 4, for example, the force-receiving portion may be in the form of a pair of force-receivingarms92,94 extending from the base96 substantially adjacent theouter legs62,66. In this embodiment, areas of reducedthickness98 cause theouter legs62,66 to flex outward when a force is exerted on thearms92,94, releasing thebinding elements58,60. A similar arrangement is shown, for example, inFIG. 7. Alternately, such force-receivingarms100,102 may extend outward directly from theouter legs68,70, as shown inFIG. 5. In this way, thelegs68,70 would bend or flex outward, again, releasing thebinding elements58,60. It will be appreciated by those of skill in the art that alternate arrangements or combinations of these arrangements may likewise be utilized.
• A plurality of such coupling elements may be utilized to chain three or more binding elements together to create a sheet of coupled binding elements. As shown inFIG. 10, for example, acoupling clip40 ofFIG. 2 may be used to couple together two adjacently disposedbinding elements110,112. Afurther coupling clip114 may be utilized to couple a third binding element to one of the first pair binding elements (112, for example, as illustrated). A third binding clip may then be utilized to couple a fourth binding element to the chain of binding elements, etc., to create a chain of binding elements of any desired length for storage, packaging, shipment or delivery to an automated binding process, as shown inFIG. 1. In the case of such an automated binding process, a separating force may be applied, as indicated above, for example, to separate the coupled binding elements either before, during, or after the binding process. Thus, the invention further includes an automated arrangement that includes such a coupled plurality of binding elements, and a process for delivering and separating a coupled plurality of binding elements.
• In another embodiment of the invention, a plurality of such coupling clips is formed as asingle unit122, as shown for example inFIG. 12. It will be appreciated that, as with the chained plurality of binding elements, the binding elements may be released from thecoupling clip array122 by application of appropriate sequentially applied forces.
• It will be appreciated by those of skill in the art that the coupling clip may alternately include a protrusion that is received in a recess in a binding element. As shown inFIG. 13, in a simple embodiment of such acoupling clip150, thecoupling clip150 comprises a pair ofprotrusions152 that may be received in bores in respective binding elements to be coupled (not shown). Thebody151 and theprotrusions152 therefrom may be of any desired cross-sections. It will be noted that thetransition153 from theprotrusions152 to thebody151 provide a ledge or sorts to facilitate maintaining the respective positions of the adjacent binding elements.
• Alternately, thecoupling clip156 may include a combination of recess(es)158 and protrusion(s)160, such as shown inFIG. 14. In this way, therecess158 may receive a portion of a binding element (not shown), while theprotrusion160 may be received in a bore or other recess in a binding element to be adjacently coupled (not shown). It will thus be appreciated that a wide variety of structural combinations is envisioned under the invention.
• The coupling clips may be formed of any appropriate material by known fabrication methods, such as, for example, stamping or injection molding. They may be formed of any appropriate material, such as, for example, wood, metal, or plastic. After use, they may either be scrapped, or reused.
• While this invention has been described with an emphasis upon preferred embodiments, variations of the preferred embodiments can be used, and it is intended that the invention can be practiced otherwise than as specifically described herein. Accordingly, this invention includes all modifications encompassed within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the following claims. For example, various aspects of the invention may be practiced simultaneously, such as a plurality of binding elements with stacking structures, flexible connectors and runners disposed in a cartridge.
• All of the references cited herein, including patents, patent applications, and publications, are hereby incorporated in their entireties by reference.

Claims (21)

1. A combination of coupling structure and a plurality of binding elements for binding stacks of perforated sheets, said combination comprising

at least two binding elements,

coupling structure comprising at least one coupling clip, said coupling clip being a discrete structure from said at least two binding elements, at least one of said coupler and said binding binding elements comprising at least one recess,

in the case of the coupling clip comprising the at least one recess, at least a portion of at least one said binding element being disposed in said recess of the coupling clip,

in the case of the binding element comprising the at least one recess, at least a portion of the coupling structure being disposed in said recess of the binding element,

said coupling structure coupling the at least two binding elements together in a predetermined adjacent spatial relationship, said coupling clip being adapted to be separated from said binding elements.

2. The combination ofclaim 1 wherein each said binding element comprises an elongated spine, and a plurality of fingers extending from said spine, said plurality of fingers being adapted to form a plurality of closed loops and spaced to be received in perforations of said sheets, said coupling clip comprising said at least one recess and receiving at least one of said spine or fingers.

3. The combination ofclaim 1 wherein said coupling clip comprises the at least one recess and at least a portion of each of two said binding elements is disposed in the recess.

4. The combination ofclaim 1 wherein the coupling structure comprises at least two said recesses, at least a portion of a first of said binding elements being disposed in one said recess, and at least a portion of a second of said binding elements being disposed in the other said recess.

5. The combination ofclaim 1 wherein the coupling structure further comprises at least a second coupling clip, comprising at least one recess, at least a portion of at least one said binding element being disposed in said recess of said second coupling clip.

6. The combination ofclaim 5 wherein the at least one binding element has a length and the coupling clips are disposed along the length of the at least one said binding element.

7. The combination ofclaim 4 wherein said coupling clip comprises a plurality of legs, said legs being spaced apart to form said recesses.

8. The combination ofclaim 7 wherein said coupling clip further comprises a force receiving portion, said force receiving portion and said legs being coupled such that a force applied to the force receiving portion causes at least two of the plurality of legs to move apart to open said recess.

9. The combination ofclaim 1 wherein said coupling clip comprises at least three recesses, at least a portion of at least three binding elements being disposed in said recesses, respectively, such that said coupling clip couples the at least three binding elements together in a predetermined adjacent spatial relationship for delivery to said automated machine.

10. The combination ofclaim 1 wherein said coupling clip comprises a plurality of recesses, at least a portion of a plurality of binding elements being disposed in said recesses, respectively, such that said clip couples the plurality of binding elements together in a predetermined adjacent spatial relationship for delivery to said automated machine.

11. The combination ofclaim 10 wherein the coupling clip is an elongated strip.

12. The combination ofclaim 1 wherein said coupling clip is at least one of disposable and reusable.

13. The combination ofclaim 1 comprising a plurality of said coupling clips and a plurality of said binding elements creating a continuous length of the combination.

14. The combination ofclaim 1 wherein at least one of the binding elements comprises said recess, and the coupling clip comprises a protruding portion that is received in said recess.

15. The combination ofclaim 14 wherein the coupling clip comprises at least two protrusions disposed in recesses in respective binding elements.

16. The combination ofclaim 1 wherein at least one said binding element comprises a first said recess, and the coupling clip comprises a second said recess.

17. A system of coupling binding elements, the system comprising

at least two binding elements of a first size,

at least two binding elements of a second size, and

a coupling structure comprising at least one coupling clip, said coupling clip being a discrete structure from said binding elements, at least one of said coupling clip and at least one of said binding elements of a first and a second size comprising at least one recess,

in the case of the coupling clip comprising the recess, at least a portion of at least one binding element of the first size and at least one binding element of the second size being disposable in said recess in the coupling clip,

in the case of at least one of said binding elements of a first and a second size comprising the recess, at least a portion of the coupling structure being disposable in said recess in the binding element,

said coupling clip being adapted to alternatively couple the at least two binding elements of the first size together a first predetermined distance apart for delivery to said automated machine and the at least two binding elements of the second size together a second predetermined distance apart for delivery to said automated machine, said first and second distances being equal, regardless of the size of the binding element.

18. A method of coupling a plurality of binding elements together, the method comprising the steps of:

providing at least one coupling clip having at least one recess,

providing at least two said binding element discrete from said coupling clip, at least a portion of at least one said binding element being disposed in said recess, said binding elements being separable from said coupling clip.

19. The method ofclaim 18 further comprising at least one of the following steps: the step of providing said at least one coupling clip and at least two binding elements to a binding machine, the step of providing at least two coupling clips disposed in a spaced relationship along a length of the at least one binding element, and the step of providing a plurality of coupling clips and a plurality of binding elements coupled together in a continuous length.

20. The method ofclaim 19 further comprising the step of separating the coupling clip from the binding elements.

21. The method ofclaim 20 further comprising at least one of the steps of reusing the coupling clip and disposing of the coupling clip.

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