ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY BINDING OF CALENDARS

ENVIROMENTALLY FRIENDLY BINDING OF CALENDARS

THIS INVENTION relates to the binding of calendars in an environmentally friendly manner. More particularly it relates to an environmentally friendly calendar binder, a supply of such binders, a calendar having such a binder, a method of binding a calendar in an environmentally friendly manner and an apparatus for performing the method.

According to a first aspect of the invention there is provided an environmentally friendly binder for a calendar, which includes a rigid bar of a suitably biodegradable material'

The binder may include a securing means for securing the bar to a calendar sheet. The calendar sheet may be a single sheet or an end sheet of a bundle of sheets.

The bar may be of wood, cardboard or other fibrous plant material, or a suitable biodegradable synthetic plastics material. It is not of metal.

The bar may have a hanger attached thereto. The hanger may be of a flexible material and may also be readily biodegradable..

The securing means may be an adhesive. The adhesive may be a pre- applied coating on a surface of the bar. Alternatively, the adhesive may be applied to the bar, or the calendar sheet, when the bar is mated with the sheet(s).

The securing means may also comprise a securing piece of a flexible flat securing material fast with the bar. The securing material may be fabric- or cloth-like, and may be natural or artificial. The securing piece may project from one, or both sides, of the bar. The securing piece may be secured to the calendar sheet by adhesive. As mentioned above, this adhesive could be pre-applied or applied when the calendar sheet is secured to the securing piece.

The securing piece may be a strip running along the length of the bar or it may be a tab projecting from the bar. The securing piece may be fast with a front or rear surface of the bar.

Conveniently, the strip may be part of a sheet and the tab may be part of a ribbon, a number of the bars being attached to the sheet or the ribbon, at spaced intervals, the sheet, or the ribbon, being cut, or parted, in use, to provide the binder.

Thus, there is also provided a supply of binders, comprising a plurality of the bars attached at spaced intervals to a length of a web of a flexible flat securing material. The securing material, with the bars attached thereto, may be rolled up to provide a roll or reel of the binders. The web may have separation facilitating lines between the bars. These may be score lines, lines of weakening or perforations to demarcate the binders and to facilitate separation of the binders when they are parted from the roll or reel.

Further according to the invention there is provided a calendar having a binder in accordance with the invention secured to a calendar sheet.

The invention extends to a method of binding a calendar in an environmentally friendly manner, which includes securing a rigid bar of a suitably biodegradable material to a calendar sheet.

As indicated above, the bar may be adhesively secured to the calendar sheet. In particular, the bar may be fast with a flexible flat securing piece, which is adhesively secured to the calendar sheet. Further, as indicated above, a supply of binders may be provided in reel or roll form, and the method may then include cutting or parting the web to separate a binder from the roll or reel, before securing the securing piece thereof to the calendar sheet.

Further, as indicated above, adhesive for securing the securing piece to the calendar sheet may be pre-applied. In this event, the pre-applied adhesive may be activated. If the adhesive is heat sensitive, it may be heated.

Alternatively, the method may include applying the adhesive to the securing piece and/or the calendar sheet.

The invention extends still further to an apparatus for binding a calendar in an environmentally friendly manner, which includes a binder providing means for providing a binder comprising a rigid bar of a suitably biodegradable material; and an adhering means for adhesively securing the bar to a calendar sheet forming the calendar or a part thereof.

The adhering means may include an adhesive activating means for activating a coating of adhesive on the bar or on a securing piece of a flexible, flat, securing material fast therewith. Alternatively, the adhering means may include an adhesive applying means for applying a layer of adhesive to the bar or the securing piece.

In the case where the binder has a securing piece, the apparatus may have a folding arrangement for folding the securing piece over, or around, the calendar sheet.

When the binders are provided in reel or roll form, the apparatus may have a support for the reel or roll, a cutting or parting mechanism for cutting or parting binders off as they are required, and a feeding mechanism for feeding them into mating contact with the calendar sheet. 95

The invention is now described, by way of non-limiting examples, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which

Figure 1 shows a perspective view from below of a first embodiment of an 100 environmentally friendly binder for a calendar in accordance with the invention;

Figure 2 shows a detailed side view of a central portion of the binder of Figure 1 ;

Figure 3 shows a single sheet calendar bound by the binder of Figure 1 ;

Figure 4 shows a plan view of a second embodiment of an 105 environmentally friendly binder for a calendar, also in accordance with the invention;

Figure 5 shows an end, enlarged view of the binder of Figure 4;

Figure 6 shows a side view of a multi-sheet calendar bound by the binder of Figure 4; 1 10 Figure 7 shows schematically a roll of the binders of Figure 4;

Figure 8 shows a plan view of a third embodiment of an environmentally friendly binder for a calendar, also in accordance with the invention;

Figure 9 shows a side view of a fourth embodiment of an environmentally friendly binder for a calendar, also in accordance with the invention; 1 1 5 Figure 10 shows a schematic side view of an apparatus for binding a calendar in an environmentally friendly manner in accordance with the invention; and

Figure 1 1 shows a schematic plan view of the apparatus..

20 Referring to Figures 1 and 2, a first embodiment of an environmentally friendly binder for a calendar, in accordance with the invention, is designated generally by reference numeral 10. The binder TO comprises a suitably rigid bar 12 of wood. As shown, the bar 12 has a flat rear surface 14 and a curved front surface 16. The bar has a length of between 15cm and 92cm and a width of about 7mm and a thickness of about 1 .5mm. Centrally positioned on the rear surface 14 there is a recess 18. Located in the recess 18 is a hanger 20 formed from fabric or a synthetic plasties material. The hanger 20 is glued to the bar 12. The bar 12 also has, on its rear surface 14, a layer 22 of a heat activatable adhesive.

In use, with a single sheet calendar 24, such as is shown in Figure 3, the bar 12 is glued to an upper edge of a sheet of paper or cloth 26, with the hanger 20 projecting therefrom. The binder 10 is bound to the sheet 26 by means of an apparatus, similar to the apparatus shown in Figures 10 and 1 1 , which has a magazine with the binders 10, a feed arrangement for feeding a sheet 26 from a supply thereof and a binder 10 from the magazine into a mating configuration, a heating arrangement for heating the adhesive layer 22, and a pressure arrangement for pressing the bar 12 against the sheet 26, to adhere it thereto. The heating arrangement may heat the adhesive layer 22 either before it is mated with the sheet 26, or after.

Referring now to Figures 4 and 5, a second embodiment of an environmentally friendly binder 30 for a calendar is shown. This binder 30 also has a wooden bar 12. It further has a narrow securing piece 32 of fabric-like material which is glued to the rear surface of the bar 12, such that there is an upper strip 34 above the bar 12 and a lower strip 36 below the bar 12. The hanger 20 is cut out of the upper strip 34 to provide a left upper strip 34.1 and a right upper strip 34.2.

In use, as shown in Figure 6, a multi-sheet calendar 40 has the binder 30 and a bundle 42 of sheets. The binder 40 is secured to the bundle 42 with the bar 12 aligned with a top edge of the bundle 42, and with the upper left and right strips 34.1 and 34.2 wrapped over a top end of the bundle 42 and a top rear region of the bundle 42, with the hanger 20 projecting. The upper strips 34.1 and 34.2, the lower strip 36 and the strip of material underlying the bar 12 are adhered to the bundle 42 by a suitable adhesive. It will be appreciated that the sheets comprising the bundle could be presecured together by means of staples, "padding", or the like. As with the earlier example, the adhesive may be pre-applied or applied immediately prior to use.

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The binders 30 may be supplied from a magazine, as with the first embodiment. Instead, they may be provided as a roll 50, as shown in Figure 7.

Thus, a web 52 of the material is provided, with the bars 12 secured thereto at spaced intervals, and with the hangers 20 cut out. The web 52 is then

165 wound on to a core 54. The web 52 is then cut appropriately between adjacent bars 12 to provide the binders 30. It will be appreciated that a parting line could be defined by a line of weakness or perforations so that a binder 30 may be parted from the roll, by a parting mechanism, without having to be cut.

170 Referring now to Figure 8, a further embodiment 60 of an environmentally friendly binder in accordance with the invention, is shown. This binder 60 is similar in some respects to the binder 10 of Figures 1 and 2, in that it has a bar 12 with a hanger 20 in a central recess 18. It is also similar to the binder 30 of Figures 4 and 5 in that it has tabs 62 close to both ends and

175 projecting above and below, with the upper tabs 62 being wrapped over a bundle of sheets in the same way as the upper strips 34. The tabs 62 may also preferably be in recesses. It will be appreciated that the exposed portions of the rear surface of the bar 12 and the underneath surfaces of the tabs 62 are adhesively secured to the sheet(s) forming the calendar. This embodiment may

180 also be supplied in roll form, with the tabs 62 being pieces of ribbons.

Referring finally to Figure 9, a still further embodiment 70 of an environmentally friendly binder for a calendar is shown. This embodiment 70 has an extruded hollow bar 72 that is of a readily biodegradable synthetic 185 plastics material and a hanger 20. Referring now to Figures 10 and 1 1 , an apparatus for binding a calendar in an environmentally friendly manner in accordance with the invention is designated generally by reference numeral 70. The apparatus 70 is for binding 190 calendar sheets 26 to binders 30 supplied from a roll 50.

The apparatus 70 has a shaft 72 on which the roll 50 is supported and a tray 74 in which the sheets 26 are housed. Sheets 26 are fed from the tray 74 by a feed roller 76. From the tray 74 the sheets 26 are guided by a guide 78

195 onto a support plate 80. At an upstream end of the support plate 80 there is a pair of heating and pressure units 82, that are movable towards and away from the support plate 80 as indicated by arrows 84. The binders 30 are parted from the roll 50 by opposed knives 86 and fed onto a sheet 26 on the support plate 80 by a pair of spaced endless belts 88. There is a belt 88 on each side

200 of the guide 78. The belts 88 are spaced from the guide 78 and between each belt 88 and the guide 78 there is an angled piston and cylinder 90 with a pin 92.

The purpose of the pins 92 is to fold the left upper strips 34.1 and right upper strips 34.2 over the top edge of the sheet 26. Once these upper strips 34 have been folded over, the units 82 are displaced towards one another to clamp the

205 sheet 26 between the lower strip 36, the bar 12 and the upper strips 34, and heat is applied to activate an adhesive layer on the strips 34 and 36 and glue the binder 30 to the sheet 26. The units 82 are then moved apart, the bound calendar removed and a new sheet 26 and binder 30 fed onto the support plate 80.

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It will be readily appreciated by those skilled in the art that the binders 30, could be provided in a magazine, instead of from a roll. Similarly, binders 10 could be used, also supplied from a magazine, instead of the binders 30. In this case the apparatus 70 will not require the piston and cylinders 90 and pins 92.