GB2205277A

GB2205277A - A document holder

Info

Publication number: GB2205277A
Application number: GB08806330A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Martin Ernest Newnham
Original assignee: Ofrex Group Holdings PLC
Current assignee: Ofrex Group Holdings PLC
Priority date: 1987-03-18
Filing date: 1988-03-17
Publication date: 1988-12-07
Anticipated expiration: 2008-03-17
Also published as: AU1321788A; GB8706407D0; GB8806330D0; AU610569B2; GB2205277B

Abstract

A document holder comprises a wallet 1 formed of a plastics material, the wallet being connected, by means of perforations 3, to an elongate strip or roll of similar wallets. Weld lines 2 define one closed edge of the wallets. <IMAGE>

Description

Improvements in or relating to document holders THE PRESENT INVENTION relates to document holders of the type comprising a wallet formed of plastics material sealed along two edges so as to provide an open pocket to receive papers, documents or the like. The invention also relates to a method of manufacturing such document holders.

It has been proposed previously to manufacture document holders of the type mentioned above, the document holders being supplied in the form of a pile or stack of separate document holders. Sometimes the document holders are pre-punched to facilitate the insertion of the document holder in a ring binder file.

According to one aspect of this invention there is provided a document holder, said document holder comprising a wallet formed of a plastics material, the wallet being connected, by means of perforations, to an elongate strip or roll of similar wallets.

Preferably the document holder is formed from an integral element of plastics material having two closed side edges and two open edges, one closed side edge of the document holder being formed by a fold line between two opposed parts of the document holder, and another closed edge of the document holder being formed by a weld line.

Conveniently the perforations joining the document holder to said strip or roll of other document holders are located at the edge of the document holder remote from the weld line.

According to another aspect of this invention there is provided an elongate strip of document holders, said strip comprising a front piece and a backpiece formed of sheet plastics material, the front piece and back piece being joined, along one longitudinal edge thereof, therebeing a plurality of substantially evenly spaced weld lines extending across the strip joining the front piece to the rear piece, there also being a plurality of perforated lines each extending substantially parallel and immediately adjacent a weld line, the perforated lines all lying on common side of the adjacent weld line.

The strip may be in the form of a roll retained within a box.

The invention also relates to a method of making a strip of document holders, said method comprising the steps of taking a flattened tube of plastics material, providing said flattened tube with a plurality of transversely extending weld lines, welding the two opposed parts of the flattened tube together, and providing the flattened tube with a plurality of transversely extending perforated lines, each perforated line extending adjacent to and parallel to a weld line, each perforated lying on a common side of the adjacent weld line, and cutting the flattened tube axially to form two of said strips of document holders.

Preferably the method includes the additional step of winding a thus-produced strip of document holders on to a core to form a reel.

In order that the invention may be more readily understood, and so that further features thereof may be appreciated, the invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of part of an element from which document holders in accordance with the invention are fabricated, showing weld and perforation lines, FIGURE 2 schematically illustrates the element of Figure 1 being cut to form two strips of document holders, FIGURE 3 is a schematic illustration of a strip of document holders, as shown in Figure 2, formed, on a central core, into a roll, and FIGURE 4 is a view of the roll of Figure 3 in a box.

Document holders in accordance with the present invention are fabricated from a plastics material, which is initially supplied in the form of a flattened tube 1. The tube thus presents a front or top piece and a bottom or lower piece effectively of sheet form, joined at the edges of the flattened tube by fold lines. As an initial processing step the flattened tube is passed through a welding apparatus which provides the flattened tube with evenly spaced weld lines 2, welding together the top sheet of the flattened tube to the lower sheet of the flattened tube, the weld lines extending transversely across the flattened tube being spaced evenly apart. The spacing between the weld lines is selected to be slightly greater than the height of documents to be retained within the document holders being fabricated.The width of the tube is slightly greater than twice the width of documents to be retained within the document holders being fabricated.

The flattened tube is also provided with transversely extending perforations 3, immediately adjacent each weld line, the perforations extending parallel with the weld line and being spaced therefrom by a very small distance. The perforations are, in each case, located on the same side of the weld line.

As shown in Figure 2, the flattened tube 1, with the weld lines 2 and the perforations 3, is then subjected to a cutting operation, where the tube is cut, for example by a blade 4 substantihlly along the centre line of the tube, thus forming two strips 5, 6, each strip having a width substantially equal to half the width of the original flattened tube.

Each strip 5, 6 may then be wound on to a core, such as a tubular cardboard core 7 commonly used to form the centre of rolls or reels. The strip thus forms a reel, on a core, and it is envisaged that the reel can be mounted on a dispenser, the dispenser being located at a position where document holders may be required.

Thus, for example, the dispenser may be located immediately adjacent a photocopying machine, or adjacent a tele-copier or "FAX" machine, or may be located adjacent a printer or word processor. In fact the described dispenser may be located anywhere where it is envisaged that a need for document holders will arise.

When a person requires a document holder, the person may grasp the end portion 8 of the strip and tear the perforated line 9 closest to the end of the strip.

Thus the person removes from the strip a plastics material element which effectively comprises a document holder formed of two superimposed sheets which are effectively joined together at one edge, by the fold 10 that initially formed the side edge of the flattened tube, and at a transverse edge by means of the weld line 11. The remaining two edges of the document holder are open, since the edge opposed to the weld line is defined by part of the tube that was initially perforated, and the other remaining edge of the document, holder was formed during the cutting operation.

Instead of being mounted on a dispenser a roll 12 comprising one of the strips 5, 6 on a core may be supplied in a box 13 having a hinged lid 14, dimensioned to receive and retain the roll. One end 15 may emerge from the box, even if the box istclosed, between the front of the lid 14 and the front wall 16 of the box.

Part of the box, such as the lower edge of the front wall 16 may be provided with a serrated metal cutting strip 17 to facilitate the , separator of individual document holders from the roll.

It is to be understood that document holders of the present invention may be formed from plastics mater ial of many different thicknesses, thus enabling a manufacturer to provide document holders of any required quality and durability. Also document holders in accordance with the invention may be made of any appropriate size.

Whilst the invention has been described with reference to an embodiment in which the flattened tube is cut axially to form two strips of document holders of the same size, it would be possible to cut the flattened strip in a non-symmetrical manner, thus producing simultaneously document holders of two different widths.

Claims

CLAIMS:

1. A document holder, said document holder comprising a wallet formed of a plastics material, the wallet being connected, by means of perforations, to an elongate strip or roll of similar wallets.

2. A document holder according to claim 1 wherein the document holder is formed from an integral element of plastics material having two closed side edges and two open edges, one closed side edge of the document holder being formed by a fold line between two opposed parts of the document holder, and another closed edge of the document holder being formed by a weld line.

3. A document holder according to claim 2 wherein the perforations joining the document holder to said strip or roll of other document holders are located at the edge of the document holder remote-from the weld line.

4. An elongate strip of document holders, said strip comprising a front piece and a backpiece formed of sheet plastics material, the front piece and back piece being joined, along one longitudinal edge thereof, therebeing a plurality of substantially evenly spaced weld lines 'extending across the strip joining the~front piece to the rear piece, there also being a plurality of perforated lines each extending substantially parallel and immediately adjacent a weld line, the perforated lines all lying on a common side of the adjacent weld line.

5. A strip according to claim 4 in the form of a roll retained within a box.

6. A method of making a strip of document holders, said method comprising the steps of taking a flattened tube of plastics material, providing said flattened tube with a plurality of transversely extending weld lines, welding the two opposed parts of the flattened tube together, and providing the flattened tube with a plurality of transversely extending perforated lines, each perforated line extending adjacent to and parallel to a weld line, each perforated lying on a common side of the adjacent weld line, and cutting the flattened tube axially to form two of said strips of document holders.

7. A method according to claim 6 including the additional step of winding a thus-produced strip of document holders on to a core to form a reel.

8. A document holder substantially as herein described with reference to and as shown in the accompanying drawings.

9. An elongate strip of document holders substantially as herein described with reference to and as shown in the accompanying drawings.

10. A method of making a strip of document holders substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

11. Any novel feature or combination of features disclosed herein.