WO1996021573A1

WO1996021573A1 - Device for holding paper and method for forming thereof

Info

Publication number: WO1996021573A1
Application number: PCT/EP1996/000124
Authority: WO
Inventors: Alexander Van Den Berg
Original assignee: MARKCLIP INTERNATIONAL BV
Current assignee: MARKCLIP INTERNATIONAL BV
Priority date: 1995-01-12
Filing date: 1996-01-10
Publication date: 1996-07-18
Anticipated expiration: 1997-07-12
Also published as: NL9500063A; AU4391596A

Abstract

The present invention relates to a device for fixedly holding paper, comprising: a substantially flat and closed front surface (5) for placing on the front side of the paper; clamping means (8) for clamping the paper against the rear of the front surface, which clamping means comprise clicking means for clicking the clamping means between a first open position for inserting and removing paper and a second closed position for fixedly clamping the paper, wherein in both the closed and the open position the clamping means (8) grip the paper close to the top edge thereof.

Description

DEVICE FOR HOLDING PAPER AND METHOD FOR FORMING THEREOF

Devices for holding sheets of paper, of which the so-called paper clip is the best known, are used on a large scale.

A paper clamp is made commercially available by applicant which is provided at the front side of the paper with a rectangular surface on which a logo and the like can be printed in black and white or colour and which is provided at the top with a resilient lip which is placed behind the paper and fixedly clamps the paper due to the resilient properties. Viewed from the front of this Markclip®, an opening is formed on the paper at the position of the resilient lip which- is situated on the rear of the paper. This limits the possibilities in designing and printing the flat printed front part of thin metal sheet.

Known from the American patent specification 4991269 is a holding device which is provided with clicking means for clicking the clamping means into a first open position and a second closed position in which the paper is gripped. This known holding device does not lend itself to printing of a logo as it is not provided with a flat front part. In addition, in this known holding device the front and back parts forming the clamping means must have the same shape, which also limits the possibilities of the design of the front part.

Further from US patent 4,947,524 a paper clip is known, wherein a front side is provided with transverse corrugations and a back side is provided with longitudinal corrugations, between which corrugations the clamping of paper is supposed to take place. This known paper clip is also provided with clicking means. This known paper clip lacks a front face that can be printed and further shows the disadvantage that the clamping force will be dependent on the flexibility of the sheet material, due to the substantial distance from the location for clamping the paper to the back of the paper clip. Of all known holding devices which make use of clicking means, the clamping force on the paper usually seems in practice to be insufficient, in particular when such a holding device is manufactured from thin sheet material which is at least slightly elastic. The present invention provides a device for fixedly holding paper, comprising:

- a substantially flat and closed front surface for placing on the front side of the paper;

- clamping means for clamping the paper against the rear of the front surface, which clamping means comprise clicking means for clicking the clamping means between a first open position for inserting and removing paper and a second closed position for fixedly clamping the paper, wherein an edge of the clamping means is near the back side of the front surface both in the closed position as in the open position thereof.

Because the clamping means are situated close to the top edge of the paper for holding, the clamping force is ensured despite the resilient properties of the thin sheet material. Because the clamping force is exerted substantially close to the top edge, the front part can be designed as reguired in a determined configuration, rectangular, round or in other shapes desired by the consumer. Together with the printing, this gives a much greater promotional value to the holding device according to the present invention.

In addition, the present invention provides a method for manufacturing a holding device from thin metal sheet. Further advantages, features and details of the present invention will be become apparent on the basis of the following description of a preferred embodiment thereof with reference to the annexed drawing, wherein: fig. 1 shows a perspective view of a first preferred embodiment of a device according to the present invention in a first open position; fig. 2 shows the device of fig. 1 in a second closed position; fig. 3 shows a side view in opened position of the device shown in fig. 1 and 2; fig. 4 shows a side view in the closed position of the device shown in fig. 1 and 2; and fig 5 shows a side view in closed position of the device shown in fig. 1 and 2, wherein the paper is held fixedly.

A device 1 (fig. 1-5) according to the present invention comprises a flat and closed front surface 2 of relatively thin metal sheet, which can be designed and printed as desired. In the shown embodiment the front surface 2 has a round shape, for instance to depict thereon a so-called crown cork of a particular brand of beer. The front surface 2 is connected via a connecting piece 3, in which a folded edge 4 is arranged, to a rear piece 5 which serves to clamp the paper between the rear side of the front surface 2 and the rear piece itself. The rear piece 5 is provided with recesses 6, 7 and a flexible clicking element 8 arranged therebetween which serves to click the rear piece 5 between the first and second position. On either side of the recesses 6 and 7 are arranged wings 9, 10 respectively which extend down¬ ward from an upper part 11 of the rear piece 5 close to the folded edge 4 to a lower or jaw part 12 thereof. Between the upper part 11 and the wings 9, 10 are ar¬ ranged bent edge portions 13 respectively 14 and between the wings 9, 10 and the lower part 12 are arranged bent edge portions 15, 16.

Particularly in fig. 3, 4 and 5 can be seen that also in the open position of fig. 3 the paper is gripped close to the folded edge 4 by the sharp side 17 of the bent edge portion 14 when it is pushed further than the front surface 2 and the lower part 12, as illustrated in fig. 5.

In the position shown in fig. 5 the paper P is gripped by the side 17, a side 18 of the bent edge por- tion 16 and also as much as possible by the wings 9, 10 (of which only wing 10 is visible in fig. 5) and also by a bent or folded edge 19 which is arranged in the lower part 12. In fig. 3, 4 and 5 it can also be clearly seen that the length of the bent edge portion 14 is greater than that of the bent edge portion 16.

It will be apparent that by depressing part 8 in fig. 4 the preferred embodiment 1 of the device according to the present invention is opened to the position shown in fig. 3, while pressing on the part 12 will return the device to the position shown in fig. 4 or 5.

The device 1 according to the present invention is preferably formed from a flat sheet from which the de¬ sired shape of the front surface 2 is punched as well as the recesses 6 and 7. The bent edge parts 14 and 16 are subseguently arranged with a press, whereafter the folded edge 4 is arranged with a bending machine, whereby the device 1 is formed integrally, wherein the movable click¬ ing element 8 is formed simultaneously therein by bending the edge portions 14 and 16.

The present invention is not limited to the shown and described preferred embodiment thereof. The requested rights are defined by the following claims.

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Claims

1. Device for fixedly holding paper, comprising:

- a substantially flat and closed front surface for placing on the front side of the paper; - clamping means for clamping the paper against the rear of the front surface, which clamping means comprise clicking means for clicking the clamping means between a first open position for inserting and removing paper and a second closed position for fixedly clamping the paper, wherein an edge of the clamping means is near the back side of the front surface both in the closed position as in the open position thereof.

2. Device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the front surface and the clamping means are formed from one piece of material.

3. Device as claimed in claim 2, wherein the material is metal.

4. Device as claimed in claim 1, 2 or 3, wherein the clamping means comprise a first edge close to a top edge of the device and of the paper for clamping, a second edge at a distance from the first edge, back or wing parts extending between the first and the second edge, and a third edge situated close to the rear end of the .device.

5. Device as claimed in any of the claims 1-4, wherein the clicking means are formed by a flexible piece of material which is connected at the head end to the clamping means and is formed integrally therewith and which is free of these clamping means at the sides.

6. Device as claimed in claim 5, wherein the first, second and/or third edge are formed by a bending or folding process in the metal.

7. Device as claimed in any of the claims 1-6, wherein the front surface and the clamping means are connected by a folded edge as claimed in claim 6.

8. Method for forming a clamping device from flat sheet, wherein the desired shape is cut from flat sheet, wherein recesses are arranged in the clamping means for forming, wherein bent edges are arranged by a bending process in the side parts of the clamping means and wherein a connecting part is folded through an angle of approximately 180°.

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