Three-Ring Binder Release Lever

Arthritis can turn many simple daily tasks that we take for granted into impossibilities. The disease is not just limited to the elderly. Such was the case with a customer, a clerical professional, who was in her early twenties. She had recently been diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis and was already having difficulty performing many of the routine tasks associated with her job. One such task was the manipulation of the release tabs on three-ring binders to open the rings. She used numerous binders as a means of record storage. Included in a comprehensive package of assistive technology were Ring Binder Levers developed through the Center for Rehabilitation Technology at Georgia Tech (CRT/GT) for the DRS Technology Access Program.

The basic concept of the Ring Binder Levers is to increase the mechanical advantage of the customer by lengthening the lever arm of the ring binder release tab. Thus, less force had to be applied to cause the binder rings to release. In addition, the levers had a large surface area which the customer could simply push against with her fists or palms. Pressing with the palm reduces mechanical loading on the thumb and finger joints and reduces exacerbation of inflammation and pain. One of the rounded edges of the lever even had a notch which could be used to pop the tab on a soda can.

The Ring Binder Levers were a combined effort of four people: the customer, Riley Hawkins (supervisor of the Design Team at CRT/GT), an Industrial Design student, Robert Lewis, and me. The levers are milled from aluminum block with a D-shaped slot in the end sized to accommodate the majority of ring binders. The padding was cut from a mouse pad and attached with adhesive. Note that Robert pursued an aesthetic design, which was important to the customer. A simpler-though less attractive-fabrication method could be used to reduce fabrication cost and time.

Based on an article by Brent Williams, ME,BME appearing in "VoRtechs", Fall 1995 and presented here with permission from that publication.