File folder management system

Abstract

A file folder management system comprising means for releasably attaching file folders to one another.

Description

FIELD

This invention relates to management of file folder systems.

BACKGROUND

There is often a need for file folders to be used for storage as well as work-in-progress usage, which require the folders to be removed from the file cabinet and transported. Current common filing and paper management systems do not meet the needs of the end-user well for transferring several file folders at a time. Some focus on storage while others focus on portable work-in-progress usage. Examples of master file management systems are described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,941,450 (De Safey), and Canadian Patent No. 2,052,512 (Snowden) which discloses linking adjacent file folders at the outer edge. It is also known to link adjacent file folders using magnets or mating hook and loop fasteners. With all these approaches, however, there is still an unacceptable risk of the folders slipping apart and the files falling out and becoming unorganized, or the approaches are overly difficult to use.

There is therefore a need for a master file management system with which files can easily and conveniently be transferred without the risk of disorganization.

SUMMARY

The invention is a file management system that serves the purpose of long-term storage and a portable work-in-progress usage.

In brief summary, a file folder of the invention comprises a first side panel having outer and inner edges; a second side panel having outer and inner edges; a binding edge interposed between said inner edges of said first and second side panels for coupling said first and second side panels; and two linking members arranged on the outside surface of at least one of said side panels, said linking members being adapted to releasably interlock with another similarly equipped file folder, each of said interlocking members comprising at least two ribs that extend substantially perpendicularly to said binding edge.

The invention also provides a master file folder system comprising two or more such file folders releasably linked together via such linking members.

The invention also provides a kit for adapting file folders for use in or as a master file management system of the invention.

The invention thus provides a convenient means for managing a set of file folders, permitting them to releasably linked together and then separated as desired for storage, transport, and use.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWING

The invention will be further described with reference to the following idealized drawings which are not to scale.

FIG. 1 is a plan view of the outside of an illustrative file folder of the invention in open configuration;

FIG. 2 is a side view of two file folders of the invention in closed configuration and arranged in preparation to be linked together;

FIG. 3 is a perspective broken view of an illustrative linking member of a file folder of the invention;

FIG. 4 is a cross sectional view of the linking member of FIG. 3;

FIGS. 5a-5d schematically show portions of a different illustrative linking member of a file folder of the invention as it is interengaged with an illustrative hanger of the invention; and

FIG. 6 is a side view of an illustrative embodiment of a rib useful in some linking members and hangers of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF ILLUSTRATIVE EMBODIMENTS

A illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2, a file folder 10 of the invention, comprises a first side panel 12 having outer 14 and inner edges 16; a second side panel 18 having outer 20 and inner edges 22; a binding edge 24 interposed between the inner edges of the first and second side panels for coupling the first and second side panels; and linking members 26a and 26b on side panel 12 arranged in parallel to sides 11a and 11b, respectively, and linking members 27a and 27b on side panel 18 arranged in parallel to sides 13a and 13b, respectively. Each linking member comprises two or more ribs 30 arranged substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of the linking member. File folder 10 further comprises optional tab 32 on outer edge 14.

File folders of the invention can be any known suitable material, e.g., plastic, paper, pasteboard, cardboard, or metal. They can be made in any desired size, e.g., letter size, legal size, A4, etc., dependent in large part upon the file cabinets and other file storage devices which are being used. The side panels may be flexible or rigid as desired.

The binding edge 24 may consist of a single fold, or in the case of larger capacity files, multiple folds, as is known in the art of file folders. FIGS. 1 and 2 illustrate a file folder with a two fold binding edge. In some embodiments, binder edge 24 may be a reinforced region or made of a different material than are side panel 12 and side panel 18. If desired, side panel 12 and side panel 18 may each be made of different materials.

In a preferred embodiment, the linking member comprises a multiplicity of parallel, narrowly spaced, elastically deformable ribs projecting from a base sheet; the ribs comprising a stem portion attached to and substantially upright from the base sheet and at least one flange attached to each side of the stem portion and spaced from the base sheet; the cross-sectional profile formed by the ribs being substantially uniform over the length of the ribs. Similar structures are disclosed as self-mating, reclosable fasteners in U.S. Pat. No. 6,367,128 (Galkiewicz et al.) which is incorporated herein in its entirety.

As illustrated in FIG. 3, an illustrative linking member of the invention 26 comprises a multiplicity of ribs 30 attached to and projecting upwardly from the base sheet 32. The ribs 30 are parallel to one another and equally spaced apart a transverse distance 34. Each rib comprises a stem portion 36 and a flange 38.

Typically, the linking member will comprise a layer of adhesive 40 to secure the linking member to the file folder as desired. A suitable adhesive may be readily selected dependent upon the nature of the linking member, nature of the file folder, desired method of attaching the linking member to the file folder, and whether permanent or temporary mounting is desired. Illustrative examples of suitable adhesives include pressure-sensitive adhesives, hot melt adhesives, repositionable adhesives, etc. The linking member may be attached to the side panel by other means (not shown) if desired, e.g., mechanical means such as sewing or stapling through the base sheet 32.

The ribs 30 are often substantially continuous over their full length. The ribs may extend to the end of the lining member or there may be a stop at the end. Stops can be formed by cutting after extrusion and optionally then stretching the base sheet to form a space between the adjacent ends of the interrupted ribs of what will be separate linking members. In addition, interruptions prepared by pressure on an extruded web, for example, with a hot wheel, can make the base sheet thicker in the area of the interruption (thickened with the material of the ribs which has flowed under pressure of the hot wheel). These thickened regions may be useful to provide a barrier to relative sliding movement between mating linking members, as discussed further below. FIG. 3 illustrates stops 49 formed by thickened portions of the base sheet 32 and disrupted ribs 46 such as can be formed by cutting with a hot knife.

Deformations of the rib structure, such as caused by periodic contact of the ribbed surface of an extruded web with projections from a hot wheel, to make stops at the ends of the linking members are useful to prevent vertical slippage of mating linking members that might otherwise result in separation of mated file folders. One such deformation structure is in the form of a dam, e.g., in the form of a raised portion of the base sheet. Such dams can be conveniently formed by contact of the ribbed surface of an extruded web with projections on a heated wheel, whereby longitudinally spaced portions of the ribbed structure are periodically pressed down and accumulate as a raised structure or dam. The dam has a greater height or thickness than the base sheet. The height of the dam is sufficient that when the linking member is mated with the linking member on another file folder, at least the tallest ribs of the other linking member will engage the dam and impede relative sliding movement of the two interengaged linking members. Typically it will be preferred to place a stop at each of the linking members. Instead of a dam taking the form of structure raised above the base sheet, rib deformations such as widening of the rib by pressing upper portions of the rib toward, but not all the way into contact with, the base sheet may be used.

In some embodiments, the height of the ribs will be substantially uniform and in other embodiments, the ribs will be of alternating high and low height.

FIGS. 5a-5d schematically illustrate an illustrative linking member of the invention 53 (e.g., on a first file folder (not shown)), and show it undergoing interengagement with a linking member 52 having similar rib construction (e.g., on a second file folder (not shown)). The linking member 53 includes ribs of different height, with tall ribs 54 alternating one-by-one with shorter ribs 55. This repeated deviation from the profile of a full population of identical (e.g., equally tall) symmetrical ribs facilitates a lower-force interengagement of the mating linking members. As shown in FIG. 5a, the taller ribs 54 contact one another first during interengagement of the linking members; and as shown by the arrow 56, the heads of the taller ribs tend to move into the gap caused by the shortness of the adjacent ribs 55. This self-aligning of the ribs and attached members helps assure an easy and effective interengagement when linking two file folders together. Upon further pressure on the member, as shown in FIGS. 5b and 5c, the taller ribs are directed by their contact with the adjacent shorter ribs (see the arrow 57 of FIG. 5b) into a position where the right flange 59 of a tall rib 54 of one linking member slides under the left flange 60 of a tall rib 54 of the other linking member (“right” and “left” in this paragraph refer to positions in FIG. 5c). Upon further pressure, as shown in FIG. 5d, the left flange 61 of a tall rib 54 of one linking member moves under the right flange 62 of a short rib 55 of the other linking member. The described movement of the head portion of the tall ribs 54 during interengagement occurs unimpeded because there is no structure of equal height adjacent the tall ribs. The lowest-force interengagement is obtained when tall and short ribs alternate with one another one-by-one; but still-desirable, somewhat higher, interengagement forces can be obtained if a lesser ratio of short ribs is used so that some tall ribs are adjacent to one another.

A further desirable performance characteristic of the linking members illustrated in FIGS. 5a-5d is that the force required to achieve interengagement is of a serial or two-stage nature. That is, a first exercise of force is required to achieve the first stage of interengagement illustrated in FIGS. 5b and 5c, and a second, subsequent exercise of force is required to achieve the full interengagement illustrated in FIG. 5d. Because of this serial or two-stage exercise of force, the maximum force required at any one time is reduced and interengagement is made easier. Also, a linking member pair of this type may have two different degrees of interengagement, allowing one lower-force, perhaps temporary interengagement, and a higher-force, perhaps more lasting interengagement.

The difference in height between the tall rib 54 and short rib 55 may vary, but typically should not be so great as to prevent a significant number of tall and short ribs from having complete engagement, i.e., engagement involving the illustrated movement of the flanges of the tall ribs on one linking member underneath the short ribs of the opposed member of the pair. The desired ratio of rib heights will be affected by a number of parameters such as material and thickness of the rib portions and shape of the ribs. Typically, the taller ribs will be about one-fourth to three-fourths again taller than the shorter ribs. With some embodiments of the invention tall ribs on the order of one-and-one-half times the height of the short ribs has achieved preferred results.

The rib in FIG. 6 is a representative coextruded rib, which in this case includes two different materials, one constituting the principal portion of the rib and the other constituting a top portion of the rib. More than two materials may be extruded and may constitute different portions of a rib or base sheet. For example, the base sheet might comprise one material, e.g., for flexibility or suppleness, and the ribs comprise a different material, e.g., a stiffer material. Or the stem portion of a rib may comprise one material, e.g., having flexibility, elasticity, or fatigue-resistant properties desired for repeated flexing, and the head portion, i.e., the top portion of the rib including the flanges, may comprise a different material, e.g., a stiffer, non-flexing material.

As illustrated in the drawings, the height of a stem portion is preferably greater than the width of a flange attached to the stem portion. The result (assuming the same thickness and composition for stem and flange) is that the stem portion will tend to flex in preference to flexure of the flanges under the pressure placed on the ribs during interengagement with the ribs of an opposed linking member. Bending stiffness is generally proportional to W(T/L)³ for a long beam of length L, width W, and thickness T, when bending occurs in the thickness direction. Because the stem is typically longer than the arms, flexing occurs more easily in the stem if the flanges and stem have similar thicknesses and composition. The ease of flexing in both stem and flanges can be controlled by choice of structure, dimensions and modulus of elasticity of the material of the stem and of the flanges.

As discussed above, the stem and flange portions of linking members of the invention are typically preferably flexible so that they can be deformed to facilitate linking and unlinking adjacent file folders. It will be understood that they can be made of relatively rigid, inflexible material if desired, but that linking and unlinking such folders will be less convenient and may require sliding the linking members of adjacent folders through their ends to link and unlink the folders.

As mentioned above, the side panels of file folders of the invention may be flexible or rigid as desired. To facilitate linking adjacent folders together and the security of the linkage, it is typically preferred that the side panels on which the linking members are located do not flex or bend significantly. In some embodiments, it will be preferred to construct the linking members such that the linking member is substantially dimensionally stable in its longitudinal axis. For example, with reference to FIG. 4, the base sheet 32 might be made from a dimensionally stable, relatively inflexible material and ribs 30 are made from a different, more flexible material. In some embodiments, desired inflexibility might be achieved by incorporating a stiffening reinforcement material (not shown) into base sheet 32 or between base sheet 32 and the side panel to which the linking member is attached. In other embodiments, desired stiffness may be achieved by making base sheet 32 thicker.

Linking members of the invention may be made from a variety of materials but most commonly are made from polymeric materials, using generally any polymer that can be melt processed. Homopolymers, copolymers and blends of polymers are useful, and may contain a variety of additives. Inorganic materials such as metals may also be used. The composition is chosen to provide desired bending characteristics, including usually an elastic bending movement of the stem of the rib in a direction lateral to the length of the rib and little if any bending of the flanges during engagement and disengagement. Generally a modulus of from 10³ MPa to 10⁷ MPa for the composition of the base sheet and ribs including any additives is satisfactory but this may change depending on the application.

Suitable thermoplastic polymers include, for example, polyolefins such as polypropylene or polyethylene, polystyrene, polycarbonate, polymethyl methacrylate, ethylene vinyl acetate copolymers, acrylate-modified ethylene vinyl acetate polymers, ethylene acrylic acid copolymers, nylon, polyvinylchloride, and engineering polymers such as polyketones or polymethylpentanes. Elastomers include, for example, natural or synthetic rubber, styrene block copolymers containing isoprene, butadiene, or ethylene (butylene) blocks, metallocene-catalyzed polyolefins, polyurethanes, and polydiorganosiloxanes. Mixtures of the polymers and/or elastomers may also be used.

Suitable additives include, for example, plasticizers, tackifiers, fillers, colorants, ultraviolet light stabilizers, antioxidants, processing aids (urethanes, silicones, fluoropolymers, etc.), low-coefficient-of-friction materials (silicones), conductive fillers to give the linking member and tab member each a level of conductivity, pigments, and combinations thereof, as desired. Generally, additives can be present in amounts up to 50 percent by weight of the composition depending on the application.

Linking members of the invention can be formed by extruding a polymeric web through a die having an opening cut, for example, by electron discharge machining.

The shape of the die is designed to generate a web with a desired cross-sectional shape or profile. The web is generally quenched after leaving the die by pulling it through a quenching material such as water. A wetting agent may be required in the quenching medium to assure good wetting of the whole surface of the extruded web, including spaces between ribs. The extruded web may be further processed, e.g., by cutting extruded ribs and stretching the web to form interruptions in the ribs or by forming structure to limit relative movement between paired linking members. Linking members are then formed, generally by cutting and slitting the extruded web.

Extrusion is strongly preferred; but instead of extruding, linking members of the invention can be prepared in other ways, for example, by injection molding or casting. Also, ribbed linking member structure of the invention can be incorporated into a larger sheet from which a file folder of the invention is made.

As previously stated, the body of a ribbed structure of the invention may include multiple layers, generally of different composition. Such multiple layers can be provided by coextrusion techniques (as described, for example, in published PCT Appln. No. WO b 99/17630, published Apr. 15, 1999), which may involve passing different melt streams from different extruders into a multiple-manifold die or a multiple-layer feed block and a film die. The individual streams merge in the feed block and enter the die as a layered stack that flows out into layered sheets as the material leaves the die. The die is patterned so as to form the ribbed configuration of the linking member and tab member. A linking member of the invention thus may have a base sheet of one composition and ribs of a different composition. Or a portion of the ribs, e.g., the top edge-portion of the rib as shown in FIG. 6, may have a different composition from other portions of the rib. For example, the top portion of the rib may include a composition that forms a lower-friction surface than the rest of the rib.

The ribbed nature of linking members of the invention provides a desired alignment feature to the articles.

It will be understood that the present invention may be used with file folders having no tab or different index tabs and with hanging file folders as well.

In some embodiments, file folders of the invention may further comprise hook and look fasteners or magnets for added security when the file folders are releasably linked together in accordance with the invention.

The invention also provides a kit for adapting file folders for use as or in a master file management system of the invention. Such kits comprise 1) at least one linking member comprising a multiplicity of parallel, narrowly spaced, elastically deformable ribs projecting from a base sheet; the ribs comprising a stem portion attached to and substantially upright from the base sheet and at least one flange attached to each side of the stem portion and spaced from the base sheet; the cross-sectional profile formed by the ribs being substantially uniform over the length of the ribs and 2) means for attaching the linking member to the surface of a file folder. Illustrative examples include adhesives, e.g., hot melt or pressure-sensitive adhesives, and mechanical connectors such as staples or clasps. Typically it will be preferred to place two linking members on each side panel of a file folder that is to be releasably linked with an adjacent file folder in master file management systems of the invention.

Claims

1. A file folder, comprising:

a first side panel having outer and inner edges;

a second side panel having outer and inner edges;

a binding edge interposed between said inner edges of said first and second side panels for coupling said first and second side panels; and

two linking members arranged on the outside surface of at least one of said side panels, said linking members being adapted to interlock with another similarly equipped file folder, each of said interlocking members comprising at least two ribs that extend substantially perpendicularly to said binding edge.

2. The file folder of claim 1 wherein said linking members are arranged substantially parallel to the lateral edges of said side panel.

3. The file folder of claim 1 wherein said linking members extend along the majority of the distance between said binding edge and the outer edge of said side panel.

4. A master file system comprising at a first file folder of claim 1 and a second file folder of claim 1 wherein at least one linking member on said first file folder is releasably engaged with a linking member on said second file folder.

5. A kit for adapting file folders to a master file system, said kit comprising 1) at least one linking member comprising a multiplicity of parallel, narrowly spaced, elastically deformable ribs projecting from a base sheet; the ribs comprising a stem portion attached to and substantially upright from the base sheet and at least one flange attached to each side of the stem portion and spaced from the base sheet; the cross-sectional profile formed by the ribs being substantially uniform over the length of the ribs and 2) means for attaching said linking member to the surface of a file folder.