Photograph album attachment assembly

• US 4,991,990 A
• Filed: 01/05/1990
• Issued: 02/12/1991
• Est. Priority Date: 01/05/1990
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: 3M Company
• Original Assignee: 3M Company
• Inventors: Weich, Troy R., Frank, John W., Samuelson, Bruce E.
• Primary Examiner(s): Bell, Paul A.
• Application Number:
  US07/461,263
• Time in Patent Office: 403 Days
• Field of Search: 402/50, 402/51, 402/52, 402/53, 402/73
• US Class Current: 402/53
• CPC Class Codes: B42D 1/08 Albums filing features thereof B42F
• CPC Class Codes: B42F 13/30 having a set of rods within a set of tubes for a substantial distance when closed

Abstract

A photo album held together by attachment assemblies, each including (1) a barrel part having an internally threaded tubular portion and a plate at one end that will not pass through the openings in the pages and attachment portions of covers for the album; and (2) a screw part comprising an externally threaded portion adapted to threadably engage the tubular portion, and a head at one end that also will not pass through the openings in the pages and the attachment portions. The plates have projections received in sockets in the attachment portion of the rear cover to restrict rotation of the barrel parts; and the heads on the screw parts have ridges along their peripheries and large diameters that afford easy manual engagement with them to engage or disengage the screw parts with respect to the barrel parts.

Claims

1. In a photo album comprising

a stack of pages adapted to receive photographs said pages having spine edges and spaced openings through said pages along said spine edges;

front and rear covers each including;

a main portion having a spine edge and an inner major surface of a size adapted to overlay said pages when the spine edge of the main portion extends parallel to the spine edges of said pages;

an elongate attachment portion adapted to overlay narrow portions of the pages around the openings and adjacent the spine edges of the pages, said attachment portion having an outer edge adapted to lay adjacent and parallel with the spine edges of the sheets, having an inner edge opposite and parallel to said first edge, having a predetermined width between said inner and outer edges, and having through openings with the same spacing as the openings in said pages, and

a flexible hinge portion attaching said outer edge of said attachment portion to the spine edge of said main portion to afford movement of said main portion relative to said attachment portion between a closed position with the attachment portion along the inner surface of the main portion, and an open position with the inner surface of the main portion spaced from the attachment portion; and

a plurality of attachment assemblies, each including

a barrel part comprising

a tubular portion having opposite ends, a through opening defined by internal threads and an outer diameter adapted to pass through the opening in said pages and said attachment portions; and

a plate at one end of the tubular portion having a periphery larger than the diameter of the tubular portion so that the plate will not pass through the openings in the pages and the attachment portions; and

a screw part comprising

an externally threaded portion having opposite ends and adapted to threadably engage the internal threads in said tubular portion; and

a head at one of said ends having a periphery larger than the diameter of the tubular portion so that the head will not pass through the openings in the pages and the attachment portions, said head including means adapted to afford engagement of the head by a user to afford engagement of the screw part with and disengagement of the screw part from the barrel part;

said attachment assemblies being inserted through the openings in the stack of pages and the attachment portions with the plate and head on the sides of the attachment portions opposite the stack of pages, and said main portions of said front and rear covers overlying said plates and heads when said main portions are in said closed positions;

the improvement wherein;

said plates have projections generally parallel to, along and spaced from said tubular portions;

at least one of said attachment portions has sockets receiving said projections to restrict rotation of said plates and thereby said barrel parts relative to said one attachment portion; and

said heads on said screw parts have ridges along their peripheries adapted for manual engagement and diameters about equal to the width of at least the other one of said attachment portions to afford easy manual engagement with said peripheries along the inner edge of said other one of said attachment portions.

2. A photo album according to claim 1 wherein said attachment portion of said rear cover has said sockets, said plates are positioned along said attachment portion of said rear cover, said heads are positioned along the attachment portion of said front cover and have a width of about 1.9 centimeters (3/4 inch).

3. A photo album according to claim 1 wherein said attachment assemblies are of polymeric material.

4. Improvements in an attachment assembly, a plurality of which attachment assemblies are used in a photo album comprising

a stack of pages adapted to receive photographs said pages having spine edges and spaced openings through said pages along said spine edges;

and

front and rear covers each including;

a main portion having a spine edge and an inner major surface of a size adapted to overlay said pages when the spine edge of the main portion extends parallel to the spine edges of said pages;

an elongate attachment portion adapted to overlay narrow portions of the pages around the openings and adjacent the spine edges of the pages, said attachment portion having an outer edge adapted to lay adjacent and parallel with the spine edges of the sheets, having an inner edge opposite and parallel to said first edge, having a predetermined width between said inner and outer edges, and having through openings with the same spacing as the openings in said pages, and

a flexible hinge portion attaching said outer edge of said attachment portion to the spine edge of said main portion to afford movement of said main portion relative to said attachment portion between a closed position with the attachment portion along the inner surface of the main portion, and an open position with the inner surface of the main portion spaced from the attachment portion;

said attachment assembly including

a barrel part comprising

a tubular portion having opposite ends, a through opening defined by internal threads and an outer diameter adapted to pass through the opening in said pages and said attachment portions; and

a plate at one end of the tubular portion having a periphery larger than the diameter of the tubular portion so that the plate will not pass through the openings in the pages and the attachment portions; and

a screw part comprising

an externally threaded portion having opposite ends and adapted to threadably engage the internal threads in said tubular portion; and

a head at one of said ends having a periphery larger than the diameter of the tubular portion so that the head will not pass through the openings in the pages and the attachment portions, said head including means adapted to afford engagement of the head by a user to afford engagement of the screw part with and disengagement of the screw part from the barrel part;

said attachment assemblies being adapted to be inserted through the openings in the stack of pages and the attachment portions with the plate and head on the sides of the attachment portions opposite the stack of pages, and said main portions of said front and rear covers overlying said plates and heads when said main portions are in said closed positions;

the improvement wherein;

said plates have projections generally parallel to, along and spaced from said tubular portions adapted to be positioned in sockets in at least one of said attachment portions to restrict rotation of said plate and thereby said barrel part relative to said one attachment portion; and

said heads on said screw parts have ridges along their peripheries adapted for manual engagement and diameters about equal to the width of at least the other one of said attachment portions to afford easy manual engagement with said peripheries along the inner edge of said other one of said attachment portions.

5. A photo album according to claim 4 wherein said head has a width of about 1.9 centimeters (3/4 inch).

6. A photo album according to claim 4 wherein said attachment assembly is of polymeric material.