This invention relates to a punch and binding machine for punching a stack of sheets and binding the sheets to known plastic ring-type paper binders.
Current paper binders have a longitudinal dorsal part, or spine, with fingers which are spaced along one side of the dorsal part protruding perpendicular from the longitudinal axis of the binder. Each of these fingers forms a loop, which can be inserted through the sheets to be bound. The fingers and the dorsal part are made from one piece of plastic. The fingers reach close enough to, or overlap, the other side of the dorsal part so that sheets cannot slide out. Such known paper binders are, e.g., the GBC presentation bindings for use with the GBC plastic binding system. The binders may also be of the type described in applicant's copending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/342,048 filed on Nov. 17, 1994, incorporated herein by reference.
For binding documents, the loops are spread by a binding mechanism so the fingers can be inserted through holes in the sheets to be bound.
Current punch/binding machines consist of a punching mechanism and of an attached binding mechanism. For punching, a number of sheets is inserted into a groove in the punching mechanism, then a lever is being pulled and its rotation is converted into a linear movement of the punching dies, which punch the sheets.
For spreading the fingers, the plastic binder is inserted into a row of bolts protruding from the binding mechanism with these bolts reaching into the spaces between the fingers and thereby holding the binder parallel to its longitudinal axis.
Binding mechanisms on conventional punch/binding machines have a second spreading device with a row of hooks. By pushing the lever, through which also the punching is done, the hooks are being moved along the direction of the longitudinal axis of the binder and then perpendicular to it, so they open the fingers of the binder. Then the sheets can be put onto the fingers and the binder can be closed again.
Conventional punch/binding machines are relatively heavy and expensive since they need a mechanism that translates the rotational movement of the binding lever into a linear movement of the hooks, first in parallel to the axis of the binder and then perpendicular to it.