Half a croissant, on a plate, with a sign in front of it saying '50c'
h a l f b a k e r y
The Out-of-Focus Group.

idea: add, search, annotate, link, view, overview, recent, by name, random

meta: news, help, about, links, report a problem

account: browse anonymously, or get an account and write.

user:
pass:
register,


                         

Please log in.
Before you can vote, you need to register. Please log in or create an account.

Anti-Sleeve Peeve

A device for aranging plastic sleeves/wallets.
  (+2, -1)
(+2, -1)
  [vote for,
against]

When there are a large number of plastic sleeves, their natural slipperiness prevents them from arranging nicely, and therefore from being easily put onto a ringbinder. Your only option is to either put them on one by one, or to square them up, then desperately try to stop them from slipping.

Enter the Anti-Sleeve Peeve! This required cooperation with the plastic sleeve manufacturers. They insert slips of magnetic metal into the translucent plastic on the bottom left and top left of the sheet. When you have your sleeves, simply activate this device. It will gather up the corners like a flock of unruly sheep, and hold them together whilst you put them onto your ringbinder. Then deactivate the electromagnet in the Anti-Sleeve Peeve and go, with a slightly smug grin.

dbmag9, Jan 30 2006

[link]






       shame but I don't think this will work precisely enough. try magnetising around the little holes.   

       what exactly are you activating?
po, Jan 30 2006
  

       Yes, I too want to know about the activation.
bristolz, Jan 30 2006
  

       It is a small thing with a electromagnet inside, shaped to fit the corner of the plastic sleeve. When you turn it on, all the plastic sleeves go into it and arange themselves neatly. This lines up the holes, so that you can easily put the sleeves onto the ringbinder. The idea of having two, one on each side, is actually redundant, and would probably result in the hole being at the bottom.   

       The device is not very interesting to look at. It comes with 16 different colour/pattern cases (think Nokia changable phonecovers) to enable easy colour-coordination.
dbmag9, Jan 30 2006
  

       I wonder if you had a copper wire running along the binding, with loops around the holes, if this could be turned into an electromagnet by pressing a corner against a watch battery? The loops would reinforce the holes as well.
bungston, Jan 30 2006
  

       I don't think any amount of power will turn copper into an electromagnet.
bristolz, Jan 30 2006
  

       bungston: But that wouldn't arange them in a pile with the holes lined up.   

       bristolz: Actually, any metal can be used for an electromagnet - it is the current itself that generates the magnetic field. However, you generally need a good core of soft iron (or suchlike) to get any good magnetism.
dbmag9, Jan 31 2006
  

       [bristolz] - are you kidding? Or being pedantic? Current through a wire (copper or otherwise) always causes a related magnetic field, and if the wire is coiled (with or without a core), it becomes an electromagnet, or solenoid, if the core is movable. The magnetic field is directly related to current flow and number of turns in the coil.   

       [bungston] A watch battery would be prettty weak to generate a useable magnetic field. Optimally, the maximum current supplied from the battery should be matched with appropriate gauge insulated wire to give the highest number of turns in the coil. The battery voltage divided by max current will give the optimal resistance of the coil, and the gauge of wire giving this resistance with the maximum number of windings would be best. I'm guessing the coils would be pretty large numbers of fairly fine wire.
csea, Jan 31 2006
  

       csea: bristol's an artist, not an engineer.
DrCurry, Jan 31 2006
  

       Sorry, no offense meant, [bris] comes across as extremely well-read, I assumed she'd be up on the basics.   

       I'm sure my gaps in knowlege exceed most of my peaks!
csea, Jan 31 2006
  

       But then you need to hold both the paperclips (you cannot do one, then the other because of the distance from the bottom to the top of the ring segment) and it is hard to hold on to. I have tried. This is what I currently rely on.
dbmag9, Jan 31 2006
  

       My bad. It makes sense.
bristolz, Jan 31 2006
  

       nah, you got one hole, you got 'em all...   

       what UB said.
po, Jan 31 2006
  
      
[annotate]
  


 

back: main index

business  computer  culture  fashion  food  halfbakery  home  other  product  public  science  sport  vehicle