DE69210218T2 - DEVICE FOR BINDING LEAVES - Google Patents

Abstract

A device for attaching together sheets of paper, plastics and similar materials solely by interengagement of the materials of the sheets, comprises first and second members (10, 20) that can be closed together to attach sheets (1) together. The first member (10) carries a pivotally mounted first cutter (30) for cutting and folding tongues (2) in the sheets, and a second cutter (40) for cutting slits (6), there being a tongue-receiving aperture (43) in a lower end part of the second cutter (40). When the members are closed together, the first cutter (30) pivots to thrust the tongues (2) through the aperture (43), and when the first member (10) is retracted, tongues (2) engaged in said aperture (43) are drawn by the second cutter (40) through said slits (6) in the sheets (1) to attach the sheets together. The first member (10) can have upper and lower levers (11, 12), the upper lever carrying the two cutters (30, 40) and the lower lever having an abutment (17) for pivoting the first cutter (30).

Description

The present invention relates to a device designed to staple sheets of paper, plastic and similar materials together, exclusively by mutual engagement of the sheet materials. It also relates to a device for simultaneously perforating and stapling sheets.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The constant development of modern office equipment has given rise to various devices and devices for stapling and bundling documents.

Numerous devices for stapling sheets together use staples, adhesive paper or reinforcing plastic rings, metal or plastic eyelets, foldable metal corner pieces, deformable metal clips, etc.

Most of the devices available use securing elements, often stored in a magazine in the device body, so that the device's usability depends on a sufficient supply of securing elements. Furthermore, the use of metal staples for food packaging has been banned in many countries because of the risk that loosened staples could be accidentally consumed. Also, envelopes containing metal staples or eyelets could be rejected by automatic sorting machines. Furthermore, staples, eyelets and other metal fasteners must be removed before documents are shredded in shredders.

Because of the problems mentioned above, it would be desirable to have a device for stapling sheets of paper and the like together, in which this stapling is achieved exclusively by mutual engagement of the materials of the sheets, i.e. without staples or other securing elements.

Over the years, various proposals for such devices have been made. Early proposals for slot-and-tongue stitching, in which a tongue of one sheet is inserted into the slot of another sheet, can be found in GB Patent Specifications 206,941, 465,812 and 508,663, and in US Patent Specifications 1,065,904 and 2,016,052. GB Patent Specification 792,852 proposes a punching device, which staples folded corners of documents together using generally circular tongues.

Another device, comprising an anvil supported by a base plate and a punch mounted on a pivoted arm, is described in the patent application WO 80/01778 published in PCT. In this device, superimposed sheet parts that are to be stapled together can be placed between the anvil and the punch; when these come into contact with each other, T-shaped tongues are formed which remain connected to the sheets by the base of the T, the loose end of the T serving to connect the sheets. However, this connection of the sheets is not entirely satisfactory unless one of the sheets is made of a solid material, e.g. cardboard paper.

Swiss Patent Specification 674,727 describes a hand-held device for stapling documents, comprising two pivoting levers on opposite sides of a central body with a slot which receives the documents. The upper lever carries a rotatable cutting element, one end of which cuts tabs from the sheets and the other end cuts a slot. The lower lever carries a pushing element for pushing the tabs through the slots after the upper lever and cutting element have retracted. Despite considerable efforts to develop such a device, it has not been possible to find a practical and reliable way of coordinating the movements of the parts.

U.S. Patent No. 3,577,575 describes an apparatus for binding sheets of paper comprising a base plate carrying a pivotable member having two cutting elements. One cutting element consists of a fixed U-shaped piece and is designed to cut tabs in the sheets as the movable member is moved downwards. The second cutting element is designed to penetrate the paper in a downward direction to cut a slit, to receive in one opening the tabs folded on the other side, and to pull the tabs through the slits on the return upward movement of the movable member, thereby binding the sheets together. After they have been cut, the tabs are pushed down, folded back under the sheets and pushed through the eyelet by means of a latch carried on a cam, the cam being rotatably mounted on the first cutting element which in turn is fixedly attached to the first member. When the pawl is fully extended, its end extends into the opening of the second cutting element and pulls the tongues with it. During operation, there is a risk that the tongues are often torn, so that This can damage the documents and cause the device to become blocked. There is also a risk of the latch jamming in the opening of the second cutting element. The device is therefore complicated and its operation is unreliable. In addition, it is designed to rest on a support surface, which limits its uses.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The purpose of the present invention is to offer a simple and reliable version of the last-mentioned type of device for stapling sheets of paper, plastic and similar materials together, and this exclusively by mutual engagement of the sheet materials.

According to the invention, a device of the type defined in the pre-characterizing part of claim 1 is characterized in that:

the first cutting element is pivotally mounted for cutting and folding the tongues, said first cutting element having a front cutting edge for cutting the free tongue ends and initiating folding of the tongues, and a rear edge near the adherent tongue ends for folding the tongues into said hole; and

Means are provided for pivoting the first cutting element as soon as the first member has reached its closed position, while the mentioned rear cutting edge moves a distance along the tongues, the first cutting element being at a certain distance from the second element and this distance being maintained during the pivoting process of the first cutting element.

In operation, when the first cutting element is pivoted, its rear edge abuts an intermediate part of the tongues to fold them around their adhering ends until the free ends of the tongues protrude into the mentioned hole in the second cutting element, without the first cutting element penetrating the mentioned hole. The device thus uses a first, pivotally mounted cutting element which serves both to cut and to fold the tongues, but does not enter the path of the second cutting element, so that it does not hinder the movement of the latter, second cutting element. In this way, by means of this handy, relatively simply constructed, reliable device, several sheets can be satisfactorily joined together without having to use securing metal or plastic elements.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the first and second members of the device have a mutually rotatable connection, the first member comprising an upper lever with the first and second cutting elements and a lower lever with a support surface forming part of the pivoting means of the first cutting element. The mentioned upper and lower levers are rotatably mounted together to allow limited movement in relation to each other between a) a rest position, b) an intermediate insertion position and c) a fully inserted position, in which respective positions a) to c):

a) the first and second cutting elements extend down close to the lower lever - but not beyond its lower surface, whereby, when the first and second members are in the open position, sheets intended for stapling can be inserted between the second member and the lower lever of the first member, and the first member can be lowered until its lower lever presses the sheets against the second member and is stopped by this member;

b) the first and second cutting elements project downwards from the lower lever and a part of the first cutting element abuts against the support surface of the lower lever, this intermediate position being achieved when the upper lever is pressed downwards in relation to the lower lever, in normal operation, after the downward movement of the lower lever against the second member has been stopped; and

c) the first cutting element is pivoted through the support surface, whereby the mentioned rear cutting edge pushes the tongues into the hole, this full insertion position being achieved in normal operation when the upper lever is fully pushed down beyond the intermediate position after the lower lever has been stopped by abutment against the second member.

In this embodiment, a spring or other means may be provided which tends to bring the first member into the open position and another spring or other means which in turn tends to bring the upper lever into the rest position. The mentioned means are preferably arranged so that when the upper lever is pressed in, first the whole first member pivots until the lower lever is stopped by the second member and then the upper lever pivots into its intermediate and fully retracted position.

The first cutting element preferably has two arms which form an angle to one another, e.g. approximately a right angle, the first arm having an inclined cutting surface between the front and rear cutting edges and the second arm carrying a part which abuts against the said support surface of the lower lever, e.g. a downwardly directed projection which abuts against the upper surface of the lower lever, or an end piece of the second arm abuts against an upwardly directed projection of the lower lever.

Preferably, a spring is used which tends to bring the first cutting element into a rest position.

The second member of the device typically has a flat lower surface so that it - the device - can rest on a generally flat surface and can also be operated in that position.

The device is preferably a small hand-held device designed to be operated while held in the hand. Whether it is operated in the latter way or whether it is placed on a flat surface during operation, it is very convenient to work with, as its handling is similar to that of conventional staplers.

It is possible to give the device any desired shape, e.g. as a promotional item in the form of an emblem or a promotional model, and/or the top surface or the sides can be designed to accommodate specific advertising materials.

It is also possible to provide a number of first cutting elements with associated second cutting elements and means for pivoting the first cutting elements, these first cutting elements being designed to simultaneously cut and fold tongues at a number of specific locations. For example, two first cutting elements with a common axis of rotation can be provided side-by-side and two corresponding second cutting elements arranged side-by-side opposite each other to simultaneously cut two parallel tongues located at a certain distance from each other. Or two first cutting elements can be arranged back-to-back which are rotatable in opposite directions with respect to corresponding second cutting elements. In this case, two tongues aligned with each other would be cut out.

The invention also provides an apparatus for perforating and simultaneously stapling sheets of paper, plastic and similar materials, comprising at least two devices as described above. These are located at a certain distance from each other and are adapted and arranged to receive a marginal portion of superimposed sheets intended for stapling and to cut tabs at mutually separated locations along said marginal portion, producing corresponding perforations at said locations, ie on the marginal portion of the sheets near the folded, adherent ends of the tabs. For example, two devices can be mounted side-by-side and then form a combined perforating and stapling device which generally produces square or rectangular perforations and is designed to correspond to commercially available ring binders or other filing systems.

The device can optionally contain means for embossing the joined sheets, preferably in the area of the tongue folds. For example, the first and second members can carry complementary matrices which produce a clear relief or seal on the stapled sheets and at the same time reinforce their binding.

As mentioned above, the tongues cut into the sheets and the corresponding perforations in the stapled sheets have a generally rectangular shape. However, they can also be, for example, trapezoidal, e.g. in that their free ends are wider than the adherent ends around which the tongues are folded. Other tongue and perforation shapes are also conceivable.

The slot, or similar opening cut in the blades by the second cutting element, usually has a length approximately equal to the width of the free end of the tongues; the length may also be less so that the free end of the tongues must be bent when inserted into the slot. This is preferred when the tongues are trapezoidal or have another shape with an expanded free end.

The device according to the invention has many applications. The main purpose is to connect a number of sheets. In offices, some documents can be stapled together, especially those that are intended for later destruction in a shredder. The device can also be used to close paper or plastic bags, e.g. at (cash register) exits of supermarkets or to attach receipts. This is particularly important for packaged food, where metal staples could be dangerous. Other possible uses can be the fastening of large sheets or fabrics along their edge parts or the attachment of Display cards on goods packed in plastic or paper sheets are mentioned. As already mentioned above, the device can be used for simultaneously perforating and stapling documents intended for filing.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a side view of a preferred embodiment of the device according to the invention,

Fig. 2 is a schematic view showing the internal parts of the device according to Fig. 1 in an insert position and also the process of stapling paper sheets together,

Fig. 3 a similar view in a fully inserted position,

Fig. 4 is an end view of a detail from Figures 1 to 3, and

Fig. 5 is an explanation of the manner of stapling sheets together using this device.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The device explained by way of example in Figs. 1 to 4 is suitable for joining sheets 1 made of paper, plastic or similar materials exclusively by mutual engagement of the materials of the sheets 1. As shown in Fig. 5, tongues 2 each have a free end 3 and an adhesive end 4; these tongues are cut out by the device from the superimposed parts of the sheets 1, folded and pushed through slots 6 in the sheets 1 to engage one another and thereby staple the sheets together, the slots 6 being located at a distance D from the adhesive ends 4 of the tongues 2, which distance is smaller than the length L of the tongues 2 and the corresponding perforations 5.

The device comprises a first member 10 which is rotatably mounted on a second member 20. The first member 10 consists of an inverted U- cross-section upper lever 11 and a lower lever 12 having a U-section, whereby lever 11 fits into lever 12. At one end of the second link 20 there is a pair of side plates 21 in which the two levers 11 and 12 are rotatably mounted about a common pivot pin 22 which is located approximately at the level of the upper surface of the second link 20.

Towards its free end, the upper lever 11 carries internally a rotatably mounted first cutting element 30 for cutting and folding the strips 2 and a second cutting element 40 for cutting out the slots 6.

Fig. 1 shows the links 10 and 20 in an open position, into which they are urged, for example, by a spring, for example a leaf spring (not shown), which is located between the link 20 and the lever 12 near the pivot pin 22. It is also possible to determine the open position by notches in the side plates 21. In this open position, the leaves 1 to be connected can be inserted into a gap 18 between the bottom surface of the lever 12 and the upper surface of the link 20.

The first cutting element 30 is housed in a recess 13 of the upper lever 11, in which it is mounted so as to rotate about a pivot pin 31. The cutting element 30 has two arms 32 and 33, which form approximately a right angle. The arm 33 is practically horizontal with an end 34 extending downwards in the embodiment shown. The downwardly extending arm 32 has a lower, front cutting edge 35 and a rear edge 36, which are connected via an inclined cutting surface 37. The rear edge 36 points in the direction of the downwardly extending end 34 and faces the second cutting element 40, but is at a certain distance from it. Cutting element 30 is urged into a rest position by a compression spring 38 acting between the arm 33 and a recess 14 in the upper lever 11, see Fig. 2, with its arm 32 being in contact with a practically vertical surface of the recess 13.

The second cutting element 40 (Fig. 4) has a fixed knife, the downwardly directed blade 41 of which is provided with a pointed lower cutting edge 42 and a hole 43 for receiving the tongues 2. The side edges of the blade 41 can be bent at right angles to the plane of Fig. 4. The cutting element 40 is fastened in the upper lever 11 by screws 44.

The lower lever 12 has an opening 19 for the passage of the cutting arm 32 of the cutting element 30. Near the opening 19, the upper surface of the lever 12 forms a support surface 17 which cooperates with the end 34 of the cutting element 30, as described below. Also, the upper surface of the member 20 forms a recess 24 for receiving the cutting elements 30, 40 during operation. The recess 24 is preferably a cruciform slot having a main portion just wide enough to receive the first cutting element 30 and a cross portion for receiving the edges of the second cutting element 40.

The levers 11 and 12 are rotatably mounted together in such a way that a limited relative movement with respect to each other is possible between a rest position (Fig. 1), an intermediate insertion position (Fig. 2) and a fully inserted position (Fig. 3).

The relative movement of the levers 11 and 12 is limited, for example, by providing an internal groove approximately midway along the inside of one of the sides of the lever 12 which receives a pin carried by the lever 11. The lever 11 is urged into the rest position by a compression spring 16, one end of which rests in a recess 15 of the lever 11 and the other end of which acts against the inside of the bottom of the lever 12.

In the rest position (Fig. 1), the cutting elements 30, 40 do not protrude from the bottom surface of the lower lever 12. The sheets 1 intended for stapling can thus be pushed into the gap 18 when the links 10, 20 are in their open position. The link 10 can then be lowered, with the levers 11 and 12 remaining in their rest position until the lever 12 presses the sheets 1 against the link 20 and is brought to a standstill by the latter.

In the insertion intermediate position according to Fig. 2, the cutting elements 30 and 40 of the lever 12 project downwards and the end 34 of the cutting element 30 abuts against the support surface 17 of the mentioned lever 12. This intermediate position is reached without the pivoting of the cutting element 30 when the lever 11 is pressed down with respect to the lever 12, i.e., in normal operation, after the downward movement of the lever 12 has been stopped by the member 20, the blades 1 being firmly clamped between the member 20 and the lever 12.

In the fully inserted position according to Fig. 3, the cutting element 30 is pivoted about the support surface 17, whereby its rear edge 36 pushes the tongues 2 into the hole 43. This fully inserted position is achieved when lever 11 is fully pushed down beyond its intermediate position.

The member 20 has a flat lower surface 23 so that it can be placed on a flat support surface when not in use. The device can also rest on the flat support surface during operation. The dimensions of the device, however, are designed so that it can also be held in the hand during operation.

The operation of the device is extremely simple. The sheets 1 to be stapled together are inserted into the gap 18 while the device is in its rest position. The user then simply presses the links 10 and 20 together. In the first phase of the movement, the sheets are pressed together between link 20 and lever 12 and the movement of the lever 12 is stopped. This holds the sheets firmly together for the purpose of subsequent tongue cutting and folding. When the lever 11 is pressed down further, tongues 2 are cut into the sheets 1 by the front cutting edge 35 and the inclined cutting surface 37 of the cutting element 30, while slits 6 are cut out by the cutting edge 42 of the cutting element 40. During the downward movement into its intermediate position, the cutting element 30 does not pivot and yet the folding process of the tongues 2 is initiated by the cutting surface 37. In the intermediate position, the tongues 2 are in an approximately vertical position, with the rear edge 36 already having started to move partially downwards along the folded tongues. When the pivoting movement of the cutting element 30 is initiated, the rear edge 36 moves abruptly to the right (when looking at the figures) and folds the free tongue ends into the hole 43. This is achieved without the edge 36 penetrating the hole 43. There is therefore no risk of entrapment.

As soon as the pressure on the member 10 is released, the lever 11 springs out of the lever 12 by the action of the spring 16 until it is stopped by the above-mentioned reception of the pin in the groove of the lever 12; the cutting element 40 pulls the ends of the tongues 2 up through the slots 6 and the cutting element 30 springs back into its rest position with its arm 32 passing the perforations 5 and the openings 19 in an upward direction. Subsequently, the entire member 10 returns to its rest position, either by the action of a preloading spring, if present, or by manual operation.

The device described is simple, convenient to use and can be used repeatedly without the need for recharging with external safety elements. The device can be made entirely or in part from suitable plastic materials. The first and second cutting elements 30 and 40, respectively, can be made from metal or from hard plastic materials such as Delrin (registered trademark). The levers 11, 12 and the link 20 can each consist of molded parts made in one piece or of several parts assembled together, creating suitable internal cavities for the operating mechanisms. The first (or first) Cutting element(s) 30, and consequently also the tongues 2, may be arranged transversely to the links 10, 20 rather than generally parallel thereto. The end 34 extending downwards from the arm 33 of the cutting element 30 may advantageously be replaced by a pin or a workpiece which projects upwards from the location of the support surface 17.

Claims (9)

1. Device for stapling sheets (1) made of paper, plastic and similar materials exclusively by mutual engagement of the materials of the sheets, comprising a first and a second member (10, 20) which are mounted so as to be movable with respect to one another between an open position in which superimposed parts of sheets (1) intended for stapling can be inserted between these members, and a closed position in which the sheets are joined together, the first member comprising the following components which are actuated to cut and fold tongues when the members (10, 20) are brought into the closed position: - a first cutting element (30) for cutting the tongues (2) into said parts, each tongue having a free end (3) and an adhesive end (4); - a second cutting element (40) with a cutting edge (42) for cutting slots or similar openings (6) in the superimposed parts behind the tongues at a distance (D) from the adhering ends (4) of the tongues (2), which distance is less than the length (L) of the tongues, this second cutting element having a lower end part (41) which cuts the openings (6) in the mentioned leaf parts, passes these openings and projects under the leaf parts when the links (10, 20) are brought into the closed position, a hole (43) for receiving the tongue being present in the mentioned lower end part of the second cutting element (40); and - means for folding the tongues (2) around their adherent ends (4) into said hole (43) in the second cutting element (40); the second cutting element (40) being attached to the first member (10) in such a way that when returning the first member from the closed to the open position, the second cutting element pulls tongues (2) engaging in said hole (43) through said openings (6) in the leaves (1) to adhere the latter together, characterized in that: the first cutting element (30) is pivotally mounted for the purpose of cutting and folding the tongues (2), said first cutting element having a front cutting edge (35) for cutting the free tongue ends (3) and for initiating the folding of the tongues, and a rear edge (36) near the adhering tongue ends (4) for folding the tongues into said hole (43); and Means are provided for pivoting the first cutting element (30) as soon as the first member (10) has reached its closed position, while the mentioned rear cutting edge (36) has moved a distance along the tongues (2), whereby the first cutting element (30) has a certain distance from the second element (40) and this distance is maintained during the pivoting process of the first cutting element. 2. Device according to claim 1, in which the first and second members (10, 20) have a mutually rotatable connection, the first member comprising an upper lever (11) with the first (30) and second (40) cutting elements and a lower lever (12) with a support surface (17) forming part of the pivoting means of the first cutting element, and the upper and lower levers being rotatably mounted together to allow limited movement with respect to each other between a) a rest position, b) an intermediate insertion position and c) a fully inserted position, in which: a) the first and second cutting elements (30, 40) do not protrude from the lower lever, whereby, in the open position of the first and second links, sheets (1) intended for stapling can be inserted between the second link (20) and the lower lever (12) of the first link, and the first link can be lowered until its lower lever (12) presses the sheets (1) against the second link (20) and is stopped by this link; b) the first and second cutting elements (30, 40) project downwards from the lower lever (12) and a part (34) of the first cutting element abuts against the support surface (17) of the lower lever (12), this intermediate position being achieved when the upper lever (11) is pressed down with respect to the lower lever (12) in normal operation after the downward movement of the lower lever against the second member (20) has been stopped; and c) the first cutting element (30) is pivoted by the support surface (17), whereby the said rear cutting edge (36) pushes the tongues (2) into the hole (43), whereby this full insertion position is achieved in normal operation when the upper lever (11) is fully pushed down beyond the intermediate position after the lower lever (12) has been stopped by abutment against the second member (20), wherein means are provided which tend to bring the upper lever (12) into the rest position and, as a further possibility, means (16) which tend to bring the first member (10) into the open position. 3. Device according to claim 2, in which the first cutting element (30) has two arms which enclose an angle, a first arm (32) having an inclined cutting surface (37) between the front (35) and the rear (36) cutting edge, and a second arm (33) carrying a part (34) which abuts against the support surface (17) of the lower lever (12). 4. Device according to claim 3, wherein said part of the second arm (33) is a downwardly directed projection (34) which abuts against the upper surface (17) of the lower lever (12) or an end part of the second arm (33) which abuts against an upwardly directed projection of the lower lever. 5. Device according to claim 2, 3 or 4, comprising a spring (38) which tends to bring the first cutting element (30) into a rest position. 6. A device according to any preceding claim, wherein the second member (20) has a lower surface (23) adapted to rest on a substantially flat base. 7. A device according to any preceding claim which is capable of being held in the hand during operation. 8. Apparatus according to any preceding claim, comprising a plurality of first cutting elements with associated second cutting elements and means for pivoting the first cutting elements, these latter elements being adapted for simultaneously cutting and folding tongues at a number of determined locations. 9. Device for perforating and simultaneously stapling sheets of paper, plastic and similar materials, comprising at least two devices according to any one of claims 1 to 6, spaced apart from one another, adapted and arranged to receive an edge portion of superimposed sheets (1) intended for stapling, and to provide tongues (2) at mutually spaced locations along said edge portion to cut, whereby corresponding, separate perforations are created in the said marginal part near the folded, adherent ends of the tongues.