Laminating device and use of this laminating device

Abstract

Binding element (1) for a bundle of leaves (9), whereby the binding element (1) comprises a spine (2) for enclosing an edge of the bundle (9) and two plastic cover sheets (3,4) fastened to the spine (2), characterized in that a first of the cover sheets (3) is transparent and the second of the cover sheets (4) is translucent but not transparent.

Claims

1. A binding element (1) for a bundle of leaves (9), whereby the binding element (1) comprises a spine (2) for enclosing an edge of the bundle (9) and two plastic cover sheets (3,4) fastened to the spine (2), wherein a first of the cover sheets (3) is transparent and the second of the cover sheets (4) is translucent, wherein the spine is a U-shaped spine (2) with a base (5) and two arms (6), and wherein the arms (6) have a length (L) of 9.5 to 11.5 mm.

2. The binding element according to claim 1, wherein the first cover sheet (3) has a gloss surface.

3. The binding element according to claim 1, wherein the second cover sheet (4) has a matt surface.

4. The binding element according to claim 1, wherein the spine (2) is symmetrical with respect to the plane that extends in the centre between the two arms (6) and which is perpendicular to the base (5).

5. The binding element according to claim 1, wherein the inside of the spine (2) is provided with a layer of hotmelt adhesive (8).

6. The binding element according to claim 1, wherein the spine (2) is made of metal, whereby the spine is plastically deformable in order to be able to adjust the distance between the ends of the arms (6) turned away from the base (5).

7. The binding element according to claim 6, wherein the spine (2) is such that it is plastically deformable to enable the adjustment of the said distance by manually pushing the arms (5) towards one another without tools.

8. The binding element according to claim 1, wherein the first cover sheet is a front cover and the second cover sheet is a back cover.

9. The binding element of claim 8, wherein the first and second cover sheets are interchangeable as the front cover and the back cover.

Description

(1) With the intention of better showing the characteristics of the invention, a preferred embodiment of a binding element according to the invention is described hereinafter by way of an example, without any limiting nature, with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein:

(2) FIG. 1 schematically shows a perspective view of binding element according to the invention;

(3) FIG. 2 shows a side view of a cross-section of the binding element of figure according to II-II; and

(4) FIG. 3 shows the use of the binding element in the view as in FIG. 2.

(5) The binding element 1 shown in the drawings essentially consists of a U-shaped spine 2 of deformable steel and two plastic cover sheets 3,4.

(6) The first cover sheet 3 is made of colourless plastic, and is completely transparent and has a gloss surface. The second cover sheet 4 is also made of colourless plastic, whereby the surface is matt, so that this second cover sheet is translucent but not transparent.

(7) The U-shaped spine 2 has a base 5 and two arms 6, and is enclosed by a decorative layer 7. The arms 6 have a length L of 11 mm. The width B of the base 5 is also 11 mm. A layer of hotmelt adhesive 8 is affixed on the inside of the base 5.

(8) The cover sheets 3,4 are each fastened to an arm 6, more specifically to the inside of the arms 6, close to the end of the arms 6 turned away from the base 5.

(9) The use of the binding element is simple and as follows, as illustrated in FIG. 3.

(10) A bundle 9 of leaves is brought between the arms 6. Then the arms 6 are bent towards one another. Thanks to the relatively long arms 6 and the nature of the steel from which the spine 2 is made, this can be done by hand by taking the arms 6 between the thumb and forefinger at a few places spread over the length of the binding element 1 and firmly pushing them towards one another. This action clamps the bundle 9 already in the binding element 1.

(11) The arms 6 can also be bent somewhat towards one another before the bundle 9 is brought between them.

(12) Then the base 5 of the spine 2 is held against a heating element. The hotmelt adhesive 8 hereby melts, so that an edge of the leaves of the bundle 9 comes into contact with the molten hotmelt adhesive 8.

(13) As a result of cooling, the hotmelt adhesive 8 solidifies again such that the bundle 9 is firmly held in the binding element 1 and a bound bundle 9 is formed, as shown in FIG. 3.

(14) Of course the clamping of the bundle 9 between the arms 6 and the melting of the hotmelt adhesive 8 can also be done in an appropriate machine for this purpose, as is already known for the use of conventional binding elements.

(15) The present invention is by no means limited to the embodiments described as an example and shown in the drawings, but a binding element according to the invention can be realised in all kinds of forms and dimensions without departing from the scope of the invention.