EP0234486B1 - Device for dispensing strip cuts and a strip - Google Patents

Description

The invention relates to a device for dispensing contiguous flat sections which are provided in a supply and which are delimited from one another in sections by predetermined tear lines formed by punchings, perforations, creases or the like, and to such strips for use in the device which are in the outlet area of the strip has a strip exit surface in which a strip tear-off abutment protruding from this surface is provided for precise engagement in an opening punched out of the strips.

A device of this type is known (DE-B-2 303 386), in which pre-punched paper strips are pulled over a protruding, triangular tongue, as a result of which the corresponding tongue-like pre-punched paper strip tab lies on this tongue and the further pulling out of the strip prevented and subsequently tear off the strip in the area of the punched areas on the narrowest paper webs in the area of the triangular cutouts. In order to be able to pull the next section out of the device after the tear-off process, a relatively large strip section must remain on the subsequent strip section still lying in the device due to this type of section separation, which strip section is to be gripped with the fingers and pulled out of the device.

This type of device consequently has the disadvantage that, on the one hand, because of the very narrow remaining paper webs that are to form the predetermined tear areas, especially in the case of heavy, full paper strip supply rolls, the paper strip very often does not tear until it is pulled over the upwardly projecting guide tongue, but instead generally already when pulling the paper strip, and on the other hand that the section itself has a relatively small printable area due to the presence of relatively large sections that have to be gripped between the fingers.

If the paper strip tears undefined between the guide tongue and the supply roll, the device has to be opened by an operator in a lengthy procedure and the strip in turn has to be reinserted towards the guide tongue. This disadvantage of the known device puts its usability over a longer period of time into doubt, since the device is intended to be used to make the sales process in shops by issuing customer numbers smoother, safer and faster.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a device and strips which can be used therein, which on the one hand is very simple in construction, allows very safe handling even with very careless operation, which on the other hand does not require thin strip-shaped predetermined tear webs and permits the thinnest strip-forming material can be used.

The object is achieved according to the invention in that the strip tear-off abutment consists of two spaced-apart projections which are oriented essentially orthogonally to the strip exit surface, against the rear edge of which in the pull-off direction the punching line of the engagement openings of the strip which can be opened around the front edge lies, which means that when the strip is pulled off further The front section is torn off from the strip along the predetermined tear line running transversely in the area of the engagement openings. This type of design has the advantage that the strip is securely gripped in a large angular range relative to the projections and the projections can securely snap into the engagement openings of the strip. There is no complicated tear-off mechanism that would also be susceptible to failure. Only fixed projections, which are not subject to any wear, are present here and create a fixed abutment in order to be able to separate the strip in sections.

In addition, this type of design has the advantage that the user of the device can monitor the demolition process himself, since the device-side demolition elements on the foremost part of the device are continuously visible to the user.

Advantageously, the strip exit surface in the area between the projections has a recess directed away from the front edge of the surface and counter to the strip pull-out direction, which may preferably have a finger-shaped recess profile, so that the strip is shaped in a complicated manner in order to grip the subsequent section which is still in the device enable to be completely dispensable here. The user grips with thumb and finger by engaging in the recess, the portion which is thus partially exposed in the recess and pulling it out of the device in a sliding manner via the projections.

In order to be able to bring the strip to the projections in one plane and thus flat to the projections, that is to say with a relatively low frictional resistance on a guide base, the strip exit surface is extended to form a strip guide in the direction of the rear part of the device.

According to an advantageous embodiment, a strip guide element provided with a U-shaped guide groove is arranged essentially parallel to the strip exit surface and extends to a short distance essentially up to the projections. On the one hand, this strip guide element ensures in the area of the projections that the strip is always with a slight intrinsic pressure of its material, e.g. of the paper, caused by its rigidity, is pressed onto the projections and, on the other hand, that the strip itself is always guided in the transverse direction of the strip at the same distance from the projections, without having to take costly lateral guiding measures.

In principle, the strip exit surface can also be an integral part of a housing, so that the user partially grips into the housing with his fingers to grip the strip section must intervene. According to an advantageous further embodiment, however, the strip exit surface protrudes like a tongue from a housing body connected to it, so that access is made considerably easier.

The housing body in which the strip supply is arranged can have any suitable shape. The material, such as paper, which is to be pulled out of the device in sections, does not necessarily have to be in rolled up form, but can also be stacked on top of one another in an accordion-like manner. In a preferred embodiment, however, the housing body consists of a container which has a substantially circular cross section and a container lid which closes it. This type of design allows the take-up of roll-wound paper, as it is extremely useful for many applications. The container and the container lid are preferably connected to one another via a hinge connection so that the housing body can be quickly opened and closed again for refilling a strip roll and, if necessary, for eliminating faults. Full strip rolls have a considerable weight and exert a correspondingly high level of friction on guides or on a surface on which the roll rests. A high level of friction means that when the supply rolls are still full, the strip shows a tendency to tear at undesired locations within the device when it is pulled out. To prevent this, both on the bottom of the container and on the inside of the container lid are arranged at least partially substantially parallel to the bottom and lid edges circumferential ridges on which the supply roll can be supported with less friction than if it were on the would rest inner cylindrical side wall surfaces of the container interior. To further reduce the friction of the strip in the transition area between the housing and the strip outlet, the strip exit surface can emerge tangentially from the cylindrical housing side wall.

In order to allow an operator to see from the outside at a glance how large the roll stock still available within the device, the bottom and / or the lid of the container is at least partially broken, so that not only the view of the roll in the Container interior is always free for monitoring purposes, but the same can also be rotated by hand in order to be able to thread the strip back into the outlet area of the device in the event of faults without having to open its housing.

A known strip of paper or corresponding sheet-like materials, which is formed by continuous flat sections which are delimited from one another by punchings, perforations, creases or the like. Desired tear lines, which is used in the known device mentioned at the outset, has the disadvantage that especially in the case of large, full and thus heavy rollers, it tends not to tear off in the region of the guide tongue when it is pulled out of the device, as is intended, but somewhere in the device, because of the very narrow web connections from section to section due to the very large-area strip tongue per section.

A further disadvantage of the known strip is the small rust usable area per section, which is forcibly connected to the remaining large-area section tongue, so that only relatively little customer information can be applied to it.

It is an object of the invention to provide a strip of this type which, when pulled out of a device, actually tears only in the area provided for it in the strip section and, moreover, can be provided with information for the user over the entire section surface, and which is also proportionate thin and thus inexpensive materials can be produced and can also be used in the device according to the invention.

This object is achieved in that in each section two mutually spaced engagement openings are formed in the two edge regions. The advantage of these strips lies in the fact that these engagement openings can be very small relative to the entire section surface and can also be provided in the immediate edge regions of the strip or the strip section. If the projections are snapped into the engagement openings when the strip is pulled out of a device, the corresponding adjacent strip section on the predetermined tear line is inevitably cut off as the pull continues, since the edges of the engagement openings lie with absolute certainty against the corresponding surfaces of the projections.

Advantageously, the two engagement openings are arranged on a line running transversely to the longitudinal direction of the strip, wherein it would in principle be conceivable to provide the engagement openings offset on the strip section in accordance with projections arranged on a device.

The engagement openings themselves can be shaped in a wide variety of ways, for example round or in the form of any polygon. However, the engagement openings are preferably essentially rectangular and have edges that run parallel to the strip edges. A rectangular design of the engagement openings also has the advantage that they offer a secure hold during the tear-off process with their engagement opening edges lying parallel to the surfaces of the projections and there is no fear that they will slip out of this engagement.

In order to facilitate the sliding of the projections into the engagement openings when the strip is pulled out of a device, the engagement openings can be released during an engagement process by means of foldable tab parts which are delimited from the section by a punched line. From the connection side of the tab with the section, the projection slowly slides into the engagement opening when the section is pulled out, by the foldable tab part, which is initially still in the section level, gradually folds up.

Advantageously, the punching line of the foldable flap part running transversely to the longitudinal direction of the strip is formed on the predetermined tear line, so that the tearing off of individual sections actually takes place only with greater certainty on the predetermined tear line.

• Fig. 1 in perspektivischer Darstellung im Ausschnitt den vorderen Teil der Vorrichtung ohne Streifen,
• Fig. 2 die Draufsicht auf eine Vorrichtung mit kreisförmigem Gehäuse mit ausschnittsweise dargestelltem Deckel und einerTeilschnittdarstellung des Austrittsbereichs des Streifens aus der Vorrichtung,
• Fig. 3 eine Darstellung entsprechend der Darstellung von Fig. 1, jedoch mit eingefädeltem und in die Vorsprünge eingerastetem Streifenabschnitt,
• Fig. 4 die Draufsicht auf einen Streifen mit drei zusammenhängenden Abschnitten und
• Fig. 5 einen Ausschnitt des vorderen Bereichs der Vorrichtung mit daran angeordneten Vorsprüngen, die in die Eingriffsöffnungen des Streifens bei hochgeklapptem Laschenteil eingerastet sind.

The invention will now be described in detail with reference to the following schematic drawings using an exemplary embodiment. In it show:

• 1 is a perspective view in detail of the front part of the device without strips,
• 2 shows a top view of a device with a circular housing with a cover shown in sections and a partial sectional view of the exit area of the strip from the device,
• 3 is a representation corresponding to the representation of FIG. 1, but with a threaded portion of the strip and snapped into the projections
• Fig. 4 is a plan view of a strip with three contiguous sections and
• Fig. 5 shows a detail of the front region of the device with projections arranged thereon, which are engaged in the engagement openings of the strip when the tab part is folded up.

The device 10 essentially consists of a housing body 32, which in this embodiment is formed by a container 33 with a container base 36 and a container lid 34. The container 33 and the container lid 34 are hingedly connected to one another by a hinge connection 35, so that a roll-like strip supply 11 inserted into the container 33 can be inserted.

The container bottom 36 and correspondingly the inner lid surface 37 of the container 33 are at least partially provided with webs 40 around the bottom edge 38 and the inner lid edge 39, which are substantially perpendicular to the container bottom 36 or away from the inner lid surface 37. These webs 40 serve that the roll-like strip supply 11 can be partially supported on them, as can be seen in particular from the illustration in FIG. 2. This prevents the strip supply 11 from resting with its entire width on the cylindrical inner surface of the container 33, as a result of which the friction of the strip supply 11 on the support is reduced.

At the front of the device 10 or, in the embodiment shown here, at the front of the container 33, a strip exit surface 22 emerges secant from the container 33 formed here with a circular cross section, which serves to guide a strip 12 leading outwards from the strip supply 11. Above the strip exit surface and essentially in the exit region 21 of the strip 12, a strip guide element 29 is arranged, which is provided on its surface opposite the strip exit surface 22 with a U-shaped groove 30, in which the strip 12 also extends delimited by the strip exit surface 22. At a short distance from the front surface 25 of the strip exit surface 22 facing away from the container 33, two spaced apart projections 23, 24 are arranged which lie on a line which extends essentially transversely to the direction which is formed by the strip pull-out direction 26.

The projections 23, 24 are essentially orthogonal to the strip exit surface 22 and, in the embodiment shown here, are formed by cuboid elevations, i.e. they have a substantially rectangular cross section. It should be noted that in principle any other suitable cross-sectional shape can be provided for these projections 23, 24.

1 and 3, it can be seen that the strip exit surface 22 in the exit region 21 of the device 10 has a recess 27 which is open to the front surface edge 25 and has a substantially finger-shaped cross section. This type of design of the recess 27 allows a user of the device to reach into this recess 27 with his thumb and fingers and to grasp a strip section 13 for pulling out in the strip pull-out direction 26.

The strip supply 11 consists of strips 12, which generally consist of paper, thin cardboard or similar suitable strip materials that can be provided in strip form. A strip of this type is shown in Figs. 3-5. The strip 12 consists of individual coherent flat strip sections 13, which are delimited from one another in sections by punchings, perforations, creases or the like, the punchings, creases, perforations or the like forming a predetermined tear line 14. The predetermined tear line 14 is formed essentially transversely to the longitudinal direction of the strips 12.

In the edge regions 120, 121 which are essentially adjacent to the two outer edges 17, 170, an engagement opening 15, 150 is formed, which in the exemplary embodiment shown here has a rectangular opening cross section. The engagement openings 15, 150 are each delimited by punch lines 18, 19 or 180, 190 formed parallel to the edges 17, 170 and in the transverse direction of the strip 12 by the predetermined tear line 14 itself, which at these points is also in the form of punch lines (20, 200) is formed in the area of the engagement openings 15, 150. The side of the engagement openings 15, 150 opposite the predetermined tear line 14 is formed along the respective line by a groove or the like, so that the engagement openings 15, 150 each remain closed by a foldable flap 151, 152, although they are separated from the respective strip section 13 at three of their boundary edges is separated. The respective foldable tab 151, 152 remains connected to the strip section 13 via the non-separated line.

In the embodiment of the strip 12 shown here, the engaging openings 15, 150 are arranged on a line 16 running transversely to the longitudinal direction of the strip in such a way that the respective imaginary center lines of the engaging openings 15, 150 lie on the line 16. As already shown above, one is ge by punching separated edge of the engagement opening 15, 150 on the predetermined tear line 14. However, embodiments are also conceivable in which the edge of the engagement openings 15, 150 parallel to the transverse line 16 is not on the predetermined tear line 14. In order to facilitate tearing off along the predetermined tear line 14, this can also have a hole 153, which can be punched out, for example, essentially centrally between its two edges 17, 170.

A strip supply 11 with a roll wound in strips is inserted into a device 10, as is shown schematically in FIG. 2. The strip 12 is then inserted into the U-shaped groove 30 and subsequently inserted so far that it reaches the exit region 21 and lifted over the projections 23, 24 by slight lifting and thereby slightly pulled, as is also shown in FIG dash-dotted line, which is to represent the strip 12, is shown.

As a result of the user pulling essentially in the direction of the strip exit surface 22 in accordance with the strip extraction direction 26, a next strip section 13 engages in the projections 23, 24 with its engagement openings 15, 150, the foldable tab 151, 152 corresponding to the illustration in FIG. 5 has bent away essentially vertically from the plane of the strip exit surface 22. The subsequent strip section 13, which still rests on the strip exit surface 22, thus abuts the rear edge of the projections 25, 24, which thus form an abutment for the further exit of the strip section 13 in question. If the train continues to be exerted in the strip pull-out direction 26, the strip section 13 tears off at the intended tear line 14 as intended.

By slightly lifting the strip section 13, which still rests on the strip exit surface 22, the next subsequent strip section 13 can be pulled out of the device 10 in a corresponding manner and torn off again when the projections 23, 24 are engaged in its engagement openings 15, 150.

The device 10 and also the container 33 can be made of any suitable materials. Plastic is suitable as an inexpensively available and also easily deformable material and also the individual construction elements such as the strip exit surface 22 and the strip guide element 29 can be made of plastic, it also being conceivable to form them integrally in one operation together with the container 33. The projections 23, 24 can in principle also be formed integrally with the strip exit surface 22; however, it is also conceivable to form them from metal for reasons of stability and to fasten them in a suitable manner on the strip exit surface 22. With fastening means not shown separately here, the device 10 can be fastened on a stand, also not shown here, and arranged on a base such that the user can pull the strip section 13 out of the device 10 and tear it off at a suitable height.

Claims (18)

1. A device (10) for dispensing connected flat segments (13) which are provided in a supply (11) and form a tape (12) and which are restricted from one another in segments by predetermined tearing lines (14) formed by stampings, perforations, grooves or the like, which device (10) has, in the delivery region (21) of the tape (12), a tape delivery face (22) in which a tape tearing abutment (23, 24) projecting from this face (22) is provided for dimensionally accurate engagement in an opening (15, 150) stamped from the tape (12), characterised in that the tape tearing abutment consists of two mutually spaced projections (23, 24) orientated substantially orthogonally to the tape delivery face (22), against whose rear edge in the take-off direction the stamped line (20, 200) of the engagement openings (15, 150) of the tape (12) hinged round the front edge is placed, so that, as pulling proceeds, the tearing process of the front segment of tape (12) is initiated along the _Dredetermined tearing line (14) running transversely in the region of the engagement openings (15, 150).

2. A device according to Claim 1, characterised in that the tape delivery face (22) has, in the region between the projections (23, 24), a recess (27) directed away from the front edge of the face (25) and against the tape withdrawal direction (26).

3. A device according to Claim 2, characterised in that the recess (27) has a finger-like profile.

4. A device according to one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the tape delivery face (22) is extended to form a tape guide in the direction of the rear part of the device (28).

5. A device according to one of the preceding claims, characterised in that a U-shaped guide groove (30) is arranged substantially parallel to the tape delivery face (22) on at least one of its edges.

6. A device according to Claim 5, characterised in that the guide groove (30) is arranged in a tape guide element (29).

7. A device according to Claim 6, characterised in that the tape guide element (29) extends over the entire width of the tape guide face (22).

8. A device according to one of Claims 5 to 7, characterised in that the guide groove (30) extends substantially in front of the projections (23, 24) leaving a short space (31).

9. A device according to one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the tape delivery face (22) projects, in the manner of a tongue, from an associated housing member (32).

10. A device according to Claim 9, characterised in that the housing member (32) consists of a container (33) having a substantially circular cross section and a container lid (34) closing it.

11. A device according to Claim 10, characterised in that the container (33) and the container lid (34) are hinged together by means of a hinge connection (35).

12. A device according to one of Claims 9 to 11, characterised in that encircling web-like reliefs (40) substantially parallel to the internal edges of the bottom and lid (38, 39) are arranged on the bottom (36) of the container (33) and also on the internal face (37) of the container lid (34) at least in part.

13. A device according to one of Claims 9 to 12, characterised in that the bottom (36) and/or the lid (34) of the container (33) is (are) perforated at least in part.

14. A tape of paper or corresponding sheet-type materials, which is formed by connected flat segments restricted from one another by predetermined tearing lines formed by stampings, perforations, grooves or the like, for use in the device according to one of Claims 1 to 13, characterised in that in each segment (13) in the two edge regions (120, 121) there are formed two mutually spaced engagement openings (15, 150), the arrangement of which corresponds to that of the projections (23, 24).

15. A tape according to Claim 14, characterised in that the two engagement openings (15, 150) are provided on a line (16) running transversely to the longitudinal direction of the tape.

16. A tape according to one of Claims 14 or 15, characterised in that the engagement openings (15, 150) are substantially rectangular in construction and have edges (18, 19; 180, 190) running parallel to the edges of the tape (17, 170).

17. A tape according to one of Claims 14 to 16, characterised in that the engagement openings (15, 150) can be cleared by hinged tab parts (1 51, 152) which are restricted from the segment (13) by a stamped line (18, 19, 20; 180, 190, 200) during an engagement process.

18. A tape according to Claim 17, characterised in that the stamped line (20, 200) is formed partially on the predetermined tearing line (14).

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