JP7537697B2 - Clamping tool - Google Patents

Description

Article 30, paragraph 2 of the Patent Act applies (1) Exhibition dates: September 2 to 4, 2020 (2) Exhibition name: 31st International Stationery & Paper Products Fair ISOT Summer (3) Venue: 3-11-1 Ariake, Koto-ku, Tokyo (4) Discloser: Kenkosha Co., Ltd. (1-1-7 Kudankita, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo) (5) Content of disclosed invention: Kenkosha Co., Ltd. disclosed the clamping device invented by Imai Yuhei, Hayashi Yuzo, and Fujiwara Kosumi at the above-mentioned exhibition and venue.

The present invention relates to a clamping device used to bind the ends of multiple sheets of paper together to form a booklet.

Booklets such as notebooks and books are formed by binding the ends of multiple sheets of paper together with glue or thread. Users may also bind multiple sheets of paper together to form booklets in order to classify and organize documents as needed. In such cases, so-called ring files have traditionally been used. For example, ring files have a folded cover and a ring-shaped fastener on the back of the cover as a holding means for holding multiple sheets of paper, and by forming through holes in the documents using a punch or the like and inserting the ring-shaped fastener through the through holes, it is possible to add or remove paper as needed.

In addition, the clamping tool shown in Patent Document 1 is provided with a long cover member arranged along the spine of the cover, and this cover member is provided with a clip as a holding means. This clip is a conventionally known technology, as shown in Patent Document 2. The clip in Patent Document 2 is formed by bending a thin metal plate having elasticity, and a pair of opposing clamping pieces are extended from the short end of the base, and is formed in a roughly U-shape in side view that opens toward the cover. The pair of clamping pieces are formed to be wide in the opening direction, and at the tip of the clamping pieces, each pressing claw is bent inward toward the base side and formed to face each other. When binding papers, a stack of multiple papers is inserted between the pair of clamping pieces of the clip and slid into the U-shaped pressing member in side view to push it. As a result, the pair of clamping pieces is clamped inside the pressing member, and the stack of papers can be strongly pressed by the return elastic force of the pair of pressing claws compressed between the clamping pieces and the stack of papers. Using these clips, documents can be bound into a booklet without having to form holes in them.

To release the clamping by the clip, the stack of papers and the pressing member are each grasped and pulled in the direction away from each other. In the initial stage of pulling the stack of papers and the pressing cover part in the direction away from each other, the pressing claws of the clip are pressed against the front surface of the topmost paper and the back surface of the bottommost paper that they directly contact, respectively, and due to the frictional forces acting at the points of contact, they do not move relative to the front and back surfaces of the stack of papers. Therefore, the pressing member and the clip move apart relatively due to the sliding between the inner surface of the opening of the pressing member and the surface of the clamping piece of the clip, and as they move apart, the clamping pressure of the clamping piece of the clip is attenuated, allowing the clamping by the clip to be released with a simple operation.

Returning to Patent Document 1, this clamping device has three clips spaced apart along the length of a long cover member. Patent Document 1 also has a double-page cover member for the purpose of protecting the paper and improving its appearance, and a stack of multiple pieces of paper is sandwiched between the cover members and clamped and bound by the three clips through the cover members.

JP 2004-330437 A (page 1, figure 1) JP-A-9-150593 (page 3, Figure 1)

In the clip file of Patent Document 1, when releasing the clamping by the clip, one hand grasps the stack of papers from above the cover member, and the other hand grasps the cover member and pulls it in the direction away from the cover member. At this time, if the cover member is made of synthetic resin or the like and its surface has a low coefficient of friction, the pressing claw of the clip will slide on the surface of the cover member, and the clip will separate from the cover member and the stack of papers without the clip and the cover member being relatively separated. As a result, the clip will be forcibly removed from the cover member and the stack of papers without the clamping force of the clamping piece being attenuated, and there is a risk of the stack of papers collapsing. In addition, since the clip removed from the cover member and the stack of papers remains stored in the cover member, when binding the stack of papers again, it is necessary to pull the stored clip part to the front side once, which makes the work of adding and removing papers complicated.

The present invention was developed to address these problems, and aims to provide a clamping device that allows smooth addition and removal of paper bound into a booklet, regardless of the material of the cover member.

In order to solve the above problems, the clamping tool of the present invention comprises:
1. A clamping device for binding the ends of a plurality of sheets of paper together to form a booklet so that sheets can be added or removed,
The clamping tool includes a cover member capable of clamping a stack of multiple sheets of paper;
an elongated cover member having an opening along a spine of the cover member;
a plurality of clips each having a pair of clamping pieces and a claw portion extending inward from a tip of each of the clamping pieces, the clips being disposed within the opening of the cover member so as to be movable forward and backward;
The front cover and the back cover of the cover member are each formed with a through hole through which the claw portions of the plurality of clips are inserted,
The cover member has a flap extending from the back side of the through hole toward the tip side, and the upper and lower edges of the clamping piece of the clip have engaging portions that protrude inward.
According to this feature, the claws of the clips pass through the through holes formed in the cover member and directly contact the front surface of the topmost paper and the back surface of the bottommost paper, respectively, so that when a stack of multiple papers is gripped from above the cover and pulled in a direction separating the stack of papers from the cover member, the frictional force acting at the contact points between the claws and the stack of papers prevents the clip and the stack of papers from moving relative to each other, and the cover member and the multiple clips move away from each other, and the clamping pressure of the clamping pieces of the multiple clips is reduced in one movement as they are separated. In addition, the multiple clips are pulled out from the opening of the cover member and the clamping force is reduced, so that paper can be easily inserted into the internal space of the clips again. This allows the smooth operation of adding or removing paper bound in a booklet shape without being restricted by the material of the cover member.

The plurality of clips are characterized in that two clips are provided near the center in the longitudinal direction of the cover member.
According to this feature, since the clips are positioned toward the center of the long cover member, in the event that the stack of multiple papers and the cover member are tilted and pulled away from each other, the clip located on one side in the longitudinal direction, away from the tilt fulcrum, will be moved in a direction moving far away from the cover member, and even the clip located on the other side in the longitudinal direction, closer to the tilt fulcrum, will be moved in the direction moving away following the clip on that side, so that the clamping force of both of these two clips can be reduced with a single action.

The clip is characterized in that the dimension from the tip to the rear end of the clamping piece of the clip is formed to be approximately the same as the dimension from the spine of the cover member to the spine side edge of the through hole.
According to this feature, when the cover member and the front cover member are moved in the direction away from each other, the inner corner portion, which is the boundary between the clamping piece and the claw portion, abuts against the rear side edge portion of the through hole, causing the clip to move together with the front cover member, and the clip can be reliably pulled out from within the opening of the cover member.

The cover member is characterized in that a decorative member that can be fitted onto the cover member in a detachable manner.
According to this feature, the decorative member fitted onto the cover member makes it easier to identify the booklet bound in the clamping tool.

The through hole is characterized in that the front-rear dimension thereof is smaller than the front-rear dimension of the claw portion.
According to this feature, the claw portion inserted into the through hole is less likely to come out of the through hole, providing excellent operability.

The flap is characterized by having a folding portion at the center in the front-rear direction.
According to this feature, the folded portion functions as a shock absorbing portion, improving the durability of the flap against the relative movement between the clip and the cover member, that is, against repeated insertion and removal of the object to be clamped.

1 is a perspective view showing a clamping tool and an object to be clamped in a first embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 13 is a perspective view showing an aspect in which an object is clamped by the clamping tool. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing how the clip is attached to the cover flap. 11 is a partially enlarged perspective view showing how the clip and the flap of the cover are vertically engaged with each other. FIG. FIG. 4 is a partially enlarged view showing the dimensional relationship between the clip and the flap of the cover. FIG. 2 is a plan view showing a state in which the cover sheet in the first embodiment is unfolded. (a) is a diagram showing the released state in which the clip has been completely pulled out from the cover member, (b) is a diagram showing a state in which an object to be clamped has been inserted into the internal space of the clip and the end of the object has been abutted against the rear end of the clip, and (c) is a diagram showing the clip stored within the cover member. 1A is a diagram showing a state in which the clip is protruding from the cover member and the clamping state of the claw portions is weakened, and FIG. 1B is a diagram showing a released state in which the clip is completely pulled out from the cover member. 13 shows a state in which the cover member and the front cover portion are moved relatively in a direction in which they are inclined away from each other. 11A to 11C are diagrams showing modified shapes of the through hole and the flap in the first embodiment. 11A to 11C are diagrams showing modified examples of the shape of the flap in the first embodiment. FIG. 11 is a plan view showing a state in which the cover sheet in the second embodiment is unfolded. In Example 2, (a) is a diagram showing a state in which the clip is protruding from the cover member to weaken the clamping state of the claw portion, (b) is a diagram showing an aspect in which the back side edge of the through hole in the cover is abutted against the inner corner of the clip, and (c) is a diagram showing a released state in which the clip is completely pulled out from the cover member. 11 shows a cover member and clip in the second embodiment, and a cover member in a modified example. 13A and 13B are diagrams showing a cover member being attached to a clip in a modified example of the second embodiment. 1A shows a first modified example of the cover member, and FIG. 1B shows a second modified example of the cover member.

The following describes the embodiment of the clamping device according to the present invention.

The clamping device according to the first embodiment will be described with reference to Figs. 1 to 11. In the following description, the upper right side of the plane in Fig. 1 is regarded as the front side, and the top, bottom, left, right, front and rear directions when viewed from the front side are used as references.

As shown in Figures 1 and 2, the clamping device 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention is a filing tool for removably clamping an object P inserted into the internal space S1 of the clamping device 1 and binding it in the form of a booklet. The clamping device 1 is long and extends vertically, and is composed of a cover member 2 that is roughly U-shaped in cross section with the front surface (upper right in Figure 1) open in the longitudinal direction, two clips 3, 3 that are built into the cover member 2 in an engaged state and spaced apart in the longitudinal direction, and a double-page cover member 4 that covers the object P.

The object P that can be bound by the clamping device 1 is paper such as documents or memos, other sheets, booklets, documents, etc., and in this embodiment, it is a stack of A4 size copy paper.

As shown in Figures 3 and 6, the cover member 4 is composed of a deformable sheet made of, for example, polypropylene, polyethylene terephthalate, other elastic resins, or paper. In the approximate horizontal center of the unfolded cover member 4, folds 43, 43 are formed extending vertically in parallel, and a spine 40 having a width between the folds 43, 43 is formed, and a front cover 4A and a back cover 4B are formed on both sides of the spine 40. In addition, folds 44, 44 are formed on both outsides of the folds 43, 43, making it easy to fold the cover member 4 and the back cover 4B in the valley fold direction.

The front cover 4A and back cover 4B of the cover member 4 are respectively formed with through holes 45 and 46 of the same shape. The through holes 45 and 46 are formed near the center of the cover member 4 in the vertical direction. Taking the through hole 45 as an example, the front cover 4A of the cover member 4 is cut into a U-shape, leaving one side on the spine side, and the through hole 45 is formed into a rectangular shape by the three sides that form the U-shape with the one side on the spine side. In other words, the through hole 45 is formed with a flap 41 that extends from the edge on the spine side of the through hole 45 to the edge on the tip side. This flap 41 has the same external shape as the through hole 45 and is formed to close the through hole 45. In addition, the flap 41 is able to swing around the one side 41a on the spine side. Similarly, a flap 42 is formed inside the through hole 46.

The through holes 45, 46 in the front cover 4A and the through holes 45, 46 in the back cover 4B are formed near the spine 40, at symmetrical positions around the spine 40.

The back side 41a of the flap 41 is located on the same line as the folds 44, 44 of the front cover 4A and the back cover 4B, and the flap 41 is raised in the valley fold direction, in other words, the tip side 41b faces outward, and the flap 41 can swing inward and outward.

As shown in Figures 2, 3 and 7, the clip 3 is a fastener that is made mainly of metal or hard synthetic resin and is elastically deformable, and is formed with a base 33, clamping pieces 31, 32 and claws 3A, 3A, opening on one side. In more detail, the base 33 is formed, and the clamping pieces 31, 32 are formed continuously and spreading out from both ends of the base 33. Furthermore, a pair of claws 3A, 3A are formed facing each other at the tips of the clamping pieces 31, 32, extending inward toward the base 33. Also, locking parts 35, 35 are provided on the center side of the upper and lower edges of the clamping pieces 31, 32, respectively, extending in the opposing (inward) direction.

Next, the manner in which the clip 3 is attached to the cover member 4 will be described with reference to Figure 3. First, the clip 3 is placed so as to sandwich the spine 40 side of the cover member 4 in a position where it does not overlap the through hole 45 and the flap 41 in the front-to-rear direction, and then, as shown in Figure 3, it is slid vertically (upward in this case) to overlap the clip 3 with the through hole 45 and the flap 41. The flaps 41, 41 have their leading edge sides 41b raised outward by the folds 44, 44 of the front cover 4A and the back cover 4B, and by sliding the clip 3 vertically, the flaps 41, 41 are guided inside the claws 3A, 3A of the clip 3.

As shown in Figures 4 and 5, the dimension L1 between the upper and lower edge portions 41c, 41c of the flap 41 is formed to be approximately the same dimension as the separation distance L2 between the upper and lower locking portions 35, 35 of the clip 3, and by arranging the upper and lower edge portions 41c, 41c of the flap 41 between the upper and lower locking portions 35, 35 of the clip 3, the vertical movement of the clip 3 relative to the cover member 4 is restricted.

As shown in FIG. 5, the dimension L3 between the fold 43 of the cover member 4 and the edge 41b of the tip of the flap 41 is approximately the same as the distance L4 between the base 33 of the clip 3 and the inner corner 34 of the claw portion 3A in the natural state, and the movement of the clip 3 and the cover member 4 in the front-rear direction is restricted. As shown in FIG. 7 and FIG. 8, the flap 41 can swing from the fold 44 as a starting point, and since it is a thin plate, it can deform so as to bend, so that the relative movement between the clip 3 and the cover member 4 can be allowed by the swinging and deformation of these flaps 41. In other words, the swinging allowance and deformation allowance of these flaps 41 determine the allowable amount of relative movement between the clip 3 and the cover member 4.

As shown in Figures 2 and 7, the cover member 2 is made of metal or hard synthetic resin and is less likely to deform than the clip 3, and a pair of pressure pieces 21, 22 are formed at the tip end in a roughly U-shaped cross section with a base 23 in between. The outer surface side of the base 23 functions as a spine, allowing stickers and the like to be affixed. The inner insertion width formed between the tips of the pair of pressure pieces 21, 22 is narrower than the outer width of the base 33 of the clip 3.

Engagement projections 21a, 22a are formed on the inner surfaces of the pressing pieces 21, 22 of the cover member 2, and engagement recesses 3B, 3B (see Figs. 1 and 2) which are slits are formed on the clamping pieces 31, 32 of the clip 3. The engagement projections 21a, 22a of the pressing pieces 21, 22 and the engagement recesses 3B, 3B of the clamping pieces 31, 32 are loosely fitted together, allowing the cover member 2 and the clips 3, 3 to slide freely and to be prevented from coming off. The cover member 2 is attached to the clip 3 so that the inner surfaces of the pressing pieces 21, 22 can slide relatively along the outer surfaces of the clamping pieces 31, 32 of the clip 3 in the insertion direction (approaching direction) and removal direction (separating direction) of the clamped object P.

7(a) to (c), the manner in which the clamping tool 1 clamps the object P will be described. First, as shown in FIG. 7(a), the object P, which is a bundle of stacked sheets of paper, is grasped and inserted into the internal space S1 formed by the opposing front cover 4A and back cover 4B of the cover member 4. More specifically, the bound end P3 of the object P is inserted until it abuts against the inside of the spine 40 of the cover member 4. During this insertion process, the tips of the pair of claws 3A, 3A of the clip 3, which are inserted through the through holes 45, 46 of the cover member 4 and protrude into the internal space S1, are abutted against the front surface P1 and back surface P2 of the object P, respectively.

Next, as shown in FIG. 7(b), when the bound end P3 of the object P abuts against the spine 40 of the cover member 4, if the object P is pushed further in, the spine 40 of the cover member 4 abuts against the base 33 of the clip 3, and if the object P is pushed further in, the spine 40 of the cover member 4 pushes the clip 3 toward the base 23 of the cover member 2.

The clamping pieces 31, 32 of the clip 3 are formed wider than the insertion width of the cover member 2, so that they are compressed from above and below by the pressing pieces 21, 22 of the cover member 2, causing them to elastically deform and gradually be housed inside the cover member 2. Because the claws 3A, 3A are compressed from above and below by the pressing pieces 21, 22, the resilience of the claws increases as the clip 3 is gradually housed inside the cover member 2, and the object P is tightly clamped.

As shown in FIG. 7(c), the clip 3 can be inserted until the base 33 abuts against the base 23 of the cover member 2, and when the base 33 of the clip 3 abuts against the base 23 of the cover member 2, the clip 3 is completely stored. In this state, the clamping force of the pair of claws 3A, 3A is at its maximum, and binding of the object P using the clamping tool 1 is completed. Note that, although the embodiment in which the object P is gripped and pushed toward the cover member 2 during binding has been described, this is not limiting, and the object P can also be gripped from above the cover member 4 that covers it to bind it in the same way.

8(a) and (b), a manner in which the clamped state between the clamping tool 1 and the clamped object P is released will be described. When removing the clamped object P from the clamping tool 1, the clamped object P is grasped near the center in the longitudinal direction of the cover member 2 and from above the cover member 4, and the two are moved relatively in a direction separating them from each other. When the two are moved relatively in a direction separating them from each other, friction between the tips of the pair of claw portions 3A and the front surface P1 and back surface P2 of the clamped object P causes the clip 3 to act to stay on the cover member 4 side, so that the base 23 of the cover member 2 and the base 33 of the clip 3 separate, and the clip 3 protrudes from the cover member 2. As a result, the compressive force that the claws 3A, 3A receive from the top and bottom of the pressing pieces 21, 22 weakens, and as the clip 3 is gradually pulled out to the outside of the cover member 2, the resilient force attenuates, weakening the clamping force on the object P, resulting in the state shown in FIG. 8(a).

Furthermore, when the object P is grasped from above the cover member 4 and the cover member 2 and the object P are moved relatively in a direction separating them from each other, the cover member 4 is moved to the front side of the object P. As shown in the figure, one side 41b at the tip side of the flap 41 abuts against the inner corner 34 of the claw portion 3A of the clip 3, so the cover member 4 acts to pull the clip 3 out from inside the cover member 2. Since the clamping force of the claw portions 3A, 3A weakens as the inner corner portion 34 pulls out the cover member 4, the amount by which the cover member 4 pulls out the clip 3 from inside the cover member 2 increases when the claw portions 3A, 3A are moved relatively in a direction separating them. Therefore, the clip 3 is completely pulled out from the cover member 2 as shown in FIG. 8(b), and the storage release state is reached. At this time, the clamping force of the claw portions 3A, 3A is at a minimum.

When removing the clamped object P from the clamping tool 1, for example, the vicinity of the upper end in the longitudinal direction of the cover member 2 and the vicinity of the lower end of the cover member 4 may be gripped and unintentionally moved in a direction in which they tilt away from each other. In such a case, as shown in FIG. 9, the clip 3 (upper side of the paper) located on one side in the longitudinal direction away from the tilting fulcrum is moved in a direction in which the cover member 2 is greatly separated from the clip 3 due to friction with the clamped object P, the clamping force of the claw portion 3A is weakened, and the clip 3 is in a protruding state. In the clip 3 (upper side of the paper) located on the other side in the longitudinal direction closer to the tilting fulcrum and the cover member 2, the cover member 2 is also formed to extend in the vertical direction, and the clips 3, 3 are arranged closer to the center than the end of the cover member 2, so the clip 3 located on the other side is also moved in a direction in which it moves away following the clip 3 on one side, the clamping force of the claw portion 3A is weakened, and the clips 3, 3 are in a protruding state. This allows the object P to be replaced smoothly.

As described above, in the clamping device 1 which bundles the ends of multiple sheets of paper to form a booklet so that paper can be added or removed, the clamping device 1 is equipped with multiple clips 3, and the front cover 4A and back cover 4B of the cover member 4 have the claw portions 3A of the multiple clips 3 inserted therethrough and through holes 45, 46 formed therein, so that the claw portions 3A of the multiple clips 3 are inserted through the through holes 45, 46 formed in the cover member 4 and come into direct contact with the surface P1 of the topmost sheet of paper and the back surface P2 of the bottommost sheet of paper, respectively. Therefore, when a stack of multiple papers is grasped from above the cover and pulled in the direction separating the stack of papers from the cover member 2, the frictional force acting at the contact point between the claw portion 3A and the object to be clamped P prevents the clip 3 and the object to be clamped P from moving relative to each other, and the cover member 2 and the multiple clips 3 move away from each other. As the clips move away, the clamping pressure of the clamping pieces 31, 32 of the multiple clips 3 is reduced in one operation, making it easy to move the cover member 2 and the clips 3 relative to each other. In addition, the multiple clips 3 are pulled out from the opening of the cover member 2 and the clamping force is reduced, so that paper can be easily inserted into the internal space of the clips 3 again. In this way, when removing or inserting, the work of adding or removing paper bound in a booklet form can be smoothly performed without being restricted by the material of the cover member 4.

When using for the first time, the inner corners 34, 34 of the clip 3 are brought into contact with the sides 41b, 42b at the tip of the flip of the cover member 4, and the cover member 2 and the cover member 4 are moved relative to each other in the direction separating them, so that the clip 3 is pulled out from within the cover member 2, allowing the clip to be easily released from storage.

In addition, two of the clips 3 are arranged near the center of the cover member 2 in the longitudinal direction. Since the clips 3 are arranged near the center of the long cover member 2, when the stack of papers and the cover member 2 are tilted and pulled away from each other, the clips 3 located on one side in the longitudinal direction away from the tilting fulcrum are moved in a direction moving far away from the cover member 2, and even the clips 3 located on the other side in the longitudinal direction closer to the tilting fulcrum are moved in a direction moving away from the clips 3 on one side, so that the clamping force of both of these two clips 3 can be reduced with one action.

In addition, the opening width of the through holes 45, 46 in the front-to-rear direction is smaller than the front-to-rear dimension of the claw portions 3A, 3A, so that the claw portions 3A, 3A inserted through the through holes 45, 46 are unlikely to come out of the through holes 45, 46.

10(a) to (d) are modified examples of the shape of the through hole and the flap. The through hole 145 in FIG. 10(a) is approximately T-shaped, and the flap 141 has the same shape as the outer edge shape of the through hole 145. The through hole 146 in FIG. 10(b) is approximately trapezoidal, and the flap 142 has the same shape as the outer edge shape of the through hole 146. The through hole 147 in FIG. 10(c) is approximately convex, and the flap 143 has the same shape as the outer edge shape of the through hole 147. In this case, the portion 143c with the smaller vertical dimension on the tip side at the upper and lower edges of the flap 143 is engaged with the engaging portion 35 of the clip 3. The through hole 148 in FIG. 10(d) is mountain-shaped with parallel sides on the tip side, and the flap 144 has the same shape as the outer edge shape of the through hole 148. In this case, the portion 144c at the tip of the upper and lower edges of the flap 144 that has the smaller vertical dimension is engaged with the engaging portion 35 of the clip 3. Note that the above-mentioned shape of the through hole and the flap is only an example, and any shape is acceptable as long as it has parallel sides at the top and bottom that face the engaging portion 35 of the clip 3.

Figure 11 shows a modified flap shape, and the flap 151 in this modified example has a folded portion 151d at the front-rear center, i.e., at the tip side of the back side 151a. The folded portion 151d causes the tip side 151b of the flap 151 to be raised outward, and this folded portion 151d functions like a rib to increase the strength of the flap 151 against external forces from above and below, that is, against contact with the clip 3. The folded portion 151d also functions as a buffer, improving the durability of the flap 151 against the relative movement between the clip 3 and the cover member 4, that is, against repeated insertion and removal of the object P to be held. The folded portion 151d also increases the swinging and deformation allowance of the flap 151, thereby increasing the allowable amount of relative movement between the clip 3 and the cover member 4.

Next, the clamping device according to the second embodiment will be described with reference to Figures 12 to 15. Note that the description of the same configuration as the previous embodiment will be omitted.

As shown in FIG. 12, rectangular through-holes 61, 62 are formed on the top and bottom of the cover member 4. As shown in FIG. 13(a), in the initial stage of removing the clamped object P from the clamping tool 101, the back side edges 61a, 62a of the through-holes 61, 62 are spaced apart from the inner corner 34 formed at the boundary between the claw portions 3A, 3A. This is because the dimension from the back portion 40 of the cover member 4 to the back side edges 61a, 62a of the through-holes 61, 62 is smaller than the distance from the base 33 of the clip 3 to the inner corner 34 of the claw portion 3A in the natural state.

When the clamped object P is gripped together with the cover member 4 and the cover member 2 and the clamped object P are moved relatively in a direction separating them from each other, the inner corner 34 formed at the boundary between the claw portions 3A, 3A comes into contact with the back side edges 61a, 62a of the through holes 61, 62. As shown in FIG. 13(c), when the cover member 2 and the cover member 4 are further moved relatively in a direction separating them from each other while the back side edges 61a, 62a of the cover member 4 are in contact with the inner corners 34, 34 of the clip 3, the clip 3 integrated with the cover member 4 is pulled out from within the cover member 2.

In this way, the dimension from the spine 40 of the cover member 4 to the spine side edges 61a, 62a of the through holes 61, 62 is smaller than the distance from the base 33 of the clip 3 to the inner corner 34 of the claw portion 3A in the natural state. This prevents the clip 3 from being immediately pulled out from within the cover member 2 in response to relative movement in the direction away from the cover member 4 and the object to be held P, and the cover member 2. The clamping force of the clip 3 can be significantly reduced only when the user operates the clamping tool 101 to remove the object to be held P with a clear intention.

The clamping device 111 shown in FIG. 14 is a modified example in which the positions of the pair of through holes 61, 62 described above are changed. The pair of through holes 610, 620 of the cover member 400 shown in the modified example have a changed distance from the outer surface of the spine 40 of the cover member to the spine side edge of the through hole. In more detail, the distance b from the outer surface of the spine 40 of the cover member 400 to the spine side edge 610a, 620a of the through holes 610, 620 in the modified example is formed to be approximately the same as the distance a from the inner surface of the base 33 of the clip 3 to the inner corner 34 folded back toward the inner surface of the claw portion 3A.

When attaching the cover member 400 to the clip 3, the clip 3 is slid forward from the cover member 2 to the released state, and the claw portion 3A on one side of the clip 3 is inserted into one of the through holes 610 formed in the cover member 400, and the inner corner portion 34 of the claw portion 3A and the back side edge portion 610a of the through hole 610 are abutted, so that the claw portion 3A on one side of the clip 3 is engaged with the through hole 610 on one side. Since the cover member 400 is formed in a deformable sheet shape, when the claw portion 3A on the other side is engaged with the through hole 610 on the other side, the cover member 400 is bent on the inner side of the clip 3 as shown in FIG. 15, so that the claw portion 3A on the other side of the clip 3 is inserted into the through hole 610 on the other side formed in the cover member 400, and the inner corner portion 34 of the claw portion 3A and the back side edge portion 610a of the through hole 610 are abutted, respectively.

Figure 16 (a) shows a modified example 1 of the cover member described above. The cover member 20 in the modified example 1 has protrusions 2b, 2c, and 2c extending up and down formed on the rear end and both sides of the outer surface 2a of the cover member 20. A decorative member 6 that can be fitted to the cover member 20 is detachably arranged on the cover member 20. The decorative member 6 has a roughly U-shaped cross section, extends up and down, and is formed one size larger than the cover member 20. The vertical dimension of the decorative member 6 is formed to be approximately the same as that of the cover member 20. In addition, the rear end and both sides of the inner surface 6a of the decorative member 6 have recesses 6b, 6c, and 6c extending up and down, and by abutting the lower end of the decorative member 6 against the upper end of the cover member 20 and sliding it, the protrusions 2b, 2c, and 2c engage with the recesses 6b, 6c, and 6c, and the decorative member 6 is fitted over the entire outer surface 2a of the cover member 20.

The decorative member 6 is made of synthetic resin or the like, and by fitting the decorative member 6 to the cover member 20, the strength of the cover member 20 is improved, and by individually changing the color and texture of the decorative member 6, it becomes easier to identify the object P bound in the clamping device 1. In addition, by using a transparent material for the decorative member 6, the aesthetic appearance of the clamping device 1 is also improved. In addition, the decorative member 6 has a display section 6A formed by coating the outer surface or attaching a sticker or the like, and the contents of the object P bound in the clamping device can be identified by writing the title, contents, etc. of the object P on the display section 6A. In addition, the display section 6A of the decorative member 6 forms a display surface that is flatter on the outer surface than the outer surface of the base of the cover member, so that it is easy to write characters, etc. on the display section 6A and to identify it.

Figure 16 (b) shows the above-mentioned cover member modified example 2. In the cover member 12 in modified example 2, protrusions 12b, 12b extending up and down are formed on the rear end side of both sides of the outer peripheral surface 12a of the cover member 12. A decorative member 60 that can be fitted to the rear end of the outer peripheral surface 12a of the cover member 12 is detachably arranged. The decorative member 60 has a generally U-shaped cross section and extends up and down, and both sides are shorter than the decorative member 6 of modified example 1. The vertical dimension of the decorative member 60 is formed to be approximately the same as that of the cover member 12. In addition, recesses 60b, 60b extending up and down are formed on the rear end and both sides of the inner surface 6a of the decorative member 60, and the protrusions 12b, 12b and the recesses 60b, 60b are engaged with each other by abutting the lower end of the decorative member 60 against the upper end of the cover member 12 and sliding it, so that the decorative member 60 is fitted over the entire outer surface 2a of the cover member 20. In addition, because both sides of decorative member 60 are shorter than those of decorative member 6, it is lightweight, easy to process, and easy to attach to the cover member.

In this way, the decorative member 6, 60 that can be fitted to the cover member 20, 12 is removably arranged on the cover member 20, 12, so that the object P to be clamped that is bound by the clamping device can be easily identified by attaching the decorative member 6 to the cover member 20, 12.

Although the embodiments and modifications of the present invention have been described above with reference to the drawings, the specific configuration is not limited to these embodiments, and the present invention includes modifications and additions that do not deviate from the gist of the present invention.

1, 101, 111 Clamping tool 2, 12, 20 Cover member 3, 3 Clip 3A Claw portion 3B Engagement recess 4 Cover member 4A Front cover 4B Back cover 6 Decorative member 21, 22 Pressing piece 21a, 22a Engagement protrusion 23 Base 31, 32 Clamping piece 33 Base 34 Inner corner 35 Locking portion 40 Spine 41 Flap 41a Spine side 41b Tip side 41c Upper and lower edges 43 Folding portion 44 Folding portions 45, 46 Through hole 60 Decorative member 61, 62 Through holes 61a, 62a Spine side edges 141 to 144 Flaps 145 to 148 Through hole 151 Flap 151d Folding portion P Clamped object (stack of paper)

Claims (6)

1. A clamping device for binding the ends of a plurality of sheets of paper together to form a booklet so that sheets can be added or removed,
The clamping tool includes a cover member capable of clamping a stack of multiple sheets of paper;
an elongated cover member having an opening along a spine of the cover member;
a plurality of clips each having a pair of clamping pieces and a claw portion extending inward from a tip of each of the clamping pieces, the clips being disposed within the opening of the cover member so as to be movable forward and backward;
The front cover and the back cover of the cover member are each formed with a through hole through which the claw portions of the plurality of clips are inserted,
A clamping device characterized in that the cover member has a flap extending from the back side of the through hole toward the tip side, and the upper and lower edges of the clamping pieces of the clip have engaging portions that protrude inward. The clamping device according to claim 1, characterized in that two of the clips are arranged near the center of the cover member in the longitudinal direction. The clamping device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the dimension from the tip to the rear end of the clamping piece of the clip is formed to be approximately the same as the dimension from the spine of the cover member to the spine side edge of the through hole. A clamping tool according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that a decorative member that can be fitted onto the cover member is detachably arranged on the cover member. A clamping tool according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the through hole is formed so that the front-to-rear dimension is smaller than the front-to-rear dimension of the claw portion. A clamping device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the flap has a folded portion in the center in the front-rear direction.

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