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EP-4735264-A1 - PAPER CLIP

EP4735264A1EP 4735264 A1EP4735264 A1EP 4735264A1EP-4735264-A1

Abstract

The present invention relates to a paper clip (1) made of at least one recyclable material, selected from the group consisting of paper, card and plastic. The paper clip has a flat extending in a plane (E) with two slot-like recesses (3a, 3b), wherein the strip (10) arranged between the slot-like recesses covers the stack of paper (2) to be bundled.

Inventors

  • Fasano, Simon

Assignees

  • Fasano, Simon

Dates

Publication Date
20260506
Application Date
20240625

Claims (18)

  1. 1. Paper clip (1) for releasably bundling a stack of paper sheets (2), wherein the paper clip (1) is made of at least one recyclable material, wherein the at least one recyclable material is selected from the group consisting of paper, cardboard, and plastic, characterized in that the paper clip (1) has a planar extension extending in a plane (E), with a top side (1a) and a bottom side (1b), characterized in that the paper clip (1) has a first slot-shaped recess (3a) extending in the plane (E) and penetrating the plane (E) from the top side (1a) to the bottom side (1b) with a first longitudinal axis (L3a), and a second slot-shaped recess (3b) extending in the plane (E) and penetrating the plane (E) from the top side (1a) to the bottom side (1b) with a second longitudinal axis (L3b), and that the paper clip (1) has a first Support region (8), a second support region (9) and a web (10) arranged between the first support region (8) and the second support region (9), wherein the web (10) is delimited in a first direction (R1) by the first slot-shaped recess (3a) and in a second direction (R2), which is opposite to the first direction (R1), by the second slot-shaped recess (3b).
  2. 2. Paper clip according to claim 1, characterized in that the first longitudinal axis (L3a) of the first slot-shaped recess (3a) is arranged parallel to the second longitudinal axis (L3b) of the second slot-shaped recess (3b).
  3. 3. Paper clip according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the first slot-shaped recess (3a) has a smaller length (I3a) than a length (I3b) of the second slot-shaped recess (3b).
  4. 4. Paper clip according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the first direction (R1) extends in the plane (E) transversely to the first longitudinal axis (L3a) of the first slot-shaped recess (3a) and the second direction (R2) in the plane (E) transversely to the second longitudinal axis (L3b) the second slot-shaped recess (3b).
  5. 5. Paper clip (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the paper clip (1) essentially has a shape of a polygon extending in the plane (E), in particular a triangle, particularly preferably a shape of a right-angled triangle, most preferably a shape of an isosceles right-angled triangle.
  6. 6. Paper clip (1) according to claim 5, wherein at least one corner (11, 12, 13, 11', 11") of the polygon is rounded, wherein preferably all corners (11, 12, 13, 11', 11") are rounded.
  7. 7. Paper clip (1) according to claim 5, in the shape of a triangle, characterized in that the paper clip (1) has a first leg (5) and a second leg (6), with a first angle (a) of preferably 90 degrees enclosed by the first leg (5) and the second leg (6), and a side (7) opposite the first angle (a), wherein preferably a length (I5) of the first leg (5) and a length (I6) of the second leg (6) are the same length.
  8. 8. Paper clip (1) according to claim 7, characterized in that the first longitudinal axis (L3a) of the first slot-shaped recess (3a) and the second longitudinal axis (L3b) of the second slot-shaped recess (3b) are arranged parallel to the side (7) of the paper clip (1) opposite the first angle (a), wherein preferably the first longitudinal axis (L3a) of the first slot-shaped recess (3a) and the second longitudinal axis (L3b) of the second slot-shaped recess (3b) are arranged at right angles to an angle bisector (wo) of the first angle (a).
  9. 9. Paper clip (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the slot-shaped recesses (3a, 3b) each have a first curved end section (4a; 4b) and a second curved end section (4a 1 ; 4b'), wherein preferably the curved end sections (4a, 4a'; 4b, 4b') each describe a circular arc (k4a, k4a'; k4b, k4b') of a circle (K4a, K4a'; K4b, K4b') extending around a circle center (M4a, M4a'; M4b, M4b'), preferably a circular arc (k4a, k4a'; k4b, k4b') of at least 120°, particularly preferably of at least 140 degrees, most preferably of 160-180 degrees.
  10. 10. Paper clip (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the two curved end sections (4a, 4a') of the first slot-shaped recess (3a) describe a first circular arc (k4a) or a second circular arc (k4a'), the radius (r4a, r4a') of which differs from a radius (r4b, r4b') of a first circular arc (k4b) or a second circular arc (k4b') of the two curved end sections (4b, 4b') of the second slot-shaped recess (3b), wherein the radius (r4a, r4a') of the first circular arc (k4a) or of the second circular arc (k4a') of the two curved end sections (4a, 4a') of the first slot-shaped recess (3a) is preferably smaller than the radius (r4b, r4b') of the first circular arc (k4b) or the second circular arc (k4b') of the two curved end sections (4b, 4b') of the second slot-shaped recess (3b).
  11. 11. Paper clip (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that a straight section (14a) of the first slot-shaped recess (3a) and a straight section (14b) of the second slot-shaped recess (3b), measured transversely to the first and second longitudinal axes (L3a, L3b) in the plane (E), are arranged at a distance (x) of at least 5 mm and a maximum of 20 mm from one another, wherein the distance (x) between the two straight sections (14a, 14b) defines a width of the web (10) of the paper clip (1).
  12. 12. Paper clip (1) according to claim 10, characterized in that the circular arcs (k4a, k4a'; k4b, k4b') of the curved end sections (4a, 4a'; 4b, 4b') are arranged at a minimum distance (d, d') of 0.2 mm from the respective adjacent leg (5, 6), measured transversely to the respective adjacent leg (5, 6), and wherein preferably the longitudinal axis (L3b) of the second slot-shaped recess (3b) is arranged at a minimum distance (z) of 0.2 mm, preferably at a minimum distance (z) of 0.4 mm from the adjacent side (7) of the paper clip (1), measured transversely to the adjacent side (7) of the paper clip (1).
  13. 13. Paper clip (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that a first connecting line (S) in the plane (E) between a first circle center (M4a) of the first curved end portion (4a) of the first slot-shaped recess (3a) and a second circle center (M4b) of the first curved end portion (4b) of the second slot-shaped recess (3b) runs parallel to the first leg (5) of the paper clip (1), and wherein a second connecting line (S') in the plane (E) between a second circle center (M4a') of the second curved end portion (4a 1 ) of the first slot-shaped recess (3a) and a second circle center (M4b') of the second curved end portion (4b 1 ) of the second slot-shaped recess (3b) runs parallel to the second leg (6) of the paper clip (1).
  14. 14. Paper clip (1) according to one of the preceding claims 10-13, characterized in that the first curved end portion (4a) of the first slot-shaped recess (3a) and the first curved end portion (4b) of the second slot-shaped recess (3b) run in a same first circumferential direction (U1), while the second curved end portion (4a 1 ) of the first slot-shaped recess (3a) and the second curved end portion (4b 1 ) of the second slot-shaped recess (3b) run in a same second circumferential direction (U2).
  15. 15. Paper clip (1) according to one of claims 10-13, characterized in that the first curved end portion (4a) of the first slot-shaped recess (3a) and the second curved end portion (4b 1 ) of the second slot-shaped recess (3b) run in a same first circumferential direction (U1), while the second curved end portion (4a 1 ) of the first slot-shaped recess (3a) and the first curved end portion (4b) of the second slot-shaped recess (3b) run in a same second circumferential direction (U2).
  16. 16. Paper clip (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the paper clip (1) has a coating, in particular a coating made of a recyclable material, or a coating comprising a polymer, most preferably a water-soluble polymer, which is preferably selected from the group consisting of polyvinyl alcohol (PVOH) and polyvinylene chloride (PVDC).
  17. 17. Paper clip (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the paper clip (1) has a coating made of biodegradable material.
  18. 18. Paper clip (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the paper clip (1) contains an agent with a biocidal effect, preferably with an antibacterial and/or antiviral and/or fungicidal effect, preferably a polymer with an antibacterial and/or antiviral and/or fungicidal effect, wherein the agent with a biocidal effect is preferably contained in a coating of the paper clip (1).

Description

TITLE PAPER CLIP TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a recyclable paper clip, i.e. a device for releasably bundling sheets of paper. STATE OF THE ART Classic paper clips or paper clips made of metal wire for detachably bundling sheets of paper have been around for a long time. These are usually attached to the top edge of a stack of paper and clamp the stack of paper between two differently sized bent wire loops, so that a first, upper wire loop lies on the top of the stack of paper and a second, lower wire loop lies on the bottom of the stack of paper. Other clips made of light metal, e.g. aluminum, are pushed over the stack of paper in an upper corner of a stack of paper and then folded up, whereby the corner of the stack of paper is bent and thus damaged. Before the stack of paper can be disposed of in the waste paper, such metal clips must be removed and disposed of separately or recycled, which is laborious and time-consuming. PRESENTATION OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved paper clip which overcomes the disadvantages of the prior art. The paper clip should not damage the stack of paper to be held together and should be recyclable together with it, so that the paper clip does not have to be removed and disposed of separately before the stack of paper is disposed of. In addition, the paper clip should be able to be produced in a material-saving manner and be designed to save space, so that the bundled stack of paper with the paper clip can simply be put into an envelope. can be inserted. The paper clip according to the invention for releasably bundling sheets of paper or a stack of sheets of paper is made of at least one recyclable material. The at least one recyclable material is selected from the group consisting of paper, cardboard and plastic. It is therefore also possible for the paper clip to be made of a combination of one or more of these materials. This is preferably a material that can be recycled together with waste paper. It is particularly preferably a paper-based material. If the paper clip is made of a paper composite, i.e. a flat connection of at least two different materials, then preferably all materials can be disposed of in the waste paper so that they can be recycled together. The paper clip can be made of a structured paper. Preferably, all material components of the paper clip meet the standard DIN SPEC 6745 and/or DIN EN643:2014. The material from which the paper clip is made should have a certain strength, which should ideally exceed the strength of the paper bundled in it in order to perform its task as well as possible. Such a strong paper preferably has a paper weight of 100-500 g/m 2 , with the paper weight particularly preferably being in a range of 250-400 g/m 2 and most preferably in a range of 320-350 g/m 2 . If the paper clip is coated, a lower paper thickness may be sufficient to form the paper clip than if the paper clip is uncoated, since the coating contributes to the strength or stability of the paper clip. The paper clip advantageously has a coating made of a recyclable material. According to a further preferred embodiment, the paper clip has a coating which contains a polymer, most preferably a water-soluble polymer, which is preferably selected from the group consisting of polyvinyl alcohol (PVOH) and polyvinylene chloride (PVDC). Waste paper is usually dissolved in water at a temperature of around 36-42°C for the recycling process. The coatings optionally used for treating the paper clip according to the invention can therefore preferably also be removed or dissolved at this temperature. According to an advantageous embodiment of the present invention, the paper clip has a coating which is biodegradable. The coating can be made from natural raw materials, for example from plant components, proteins or waxes, possibly with the addition of bio-based additives. A paper clip coated in this way can be disposed of as waste paper after use. Due to the biodegradability and simple enzymatic separation of the multiple layers, paper recycling is not disrupted in such a case. In addition to being recyclable, another advantage of a paper clip made of paper according to the invention is that notes or instructions can be written on the paper clip itself using a pen, which makes the use of sticky notes unnecessary. This in turn is desirable from an environmental point of view, as it produces less waste. On the other hand, it would also be possible to have a print on the paper clip, for example in the form of a company logo or an advertising slogan. For use in hospitals and doctor's offices, the paper clip can contain an agent with a biocidal effect, preferably in a coating of the paper clip, in order to comply with any applicable sterility regulations. The agent with a biocidal effect preferably has an antibacterial and/or antiviral and/or fungicidal effect. These can be, for example, biodegradable antimicrobial subs