EP0489229B1 - Hand-operated stapler - Google Patents

Description

The invention is based on a stapler according to the preamble of claim 1 and relates in particular to a mechanism for detaching the individual staple from a staple strip and for driving the same into the material to be stapled.

• a) einer Grundplatte mit einer Matrize und zur Halterung dienenden Seitenteilen am entgegengesetzten Ende
• b) einem Magazin für die Klammern mit
  • einem als Zuführschiene vorgesehenen Mittelkanal zur Aufnahme und Führung des Klammerstreifens bis eine einzelne Klammer am Anfang des Streifens ihre Auslöseposition erreicht hat,
  • einer Auslöseschiene, die sich über der Auslöseposition der Zuführschiene befindet und im wesentlichen senkrecht zu dieser steht,
  • einem in der Auslöseschiene vertikal beweglich angeordneten Stoßmesser, das bei seiner Abwärtsbewegung die am Ende des Klammerstreifens befindliche Klammer abtrennt, in das zu heftende Material treibt und solange auf die Klammer drückt, bis deren Enden durch die Matrize dauerhaft verformt sind;
  und
• c) einem das Magazin teilweise überdeckenden, als Bedienungsarm dienenden Oberteil, das durch den Benutzer des Heftgerätes heruntergedrückt wird und dadurch die Kraft auf das Magazin und das Stoßmesser überträgt, wobei das Magazin und das Oberteil beweglich an einer gemeinsamen, durch die Seitenteile der Grundplatte gehaltenen Achse angebracht sind.

Hand stapler of the type mentioned, the U-shaped, for. B. metal clips connected by gluing to a clip strip are already well known. These staplers consist of

• a) a base plate with a die and serving for holding side parts at the opposite end
• b) a magazine for the brackets with
  • a central channel provided as a feed rail for receiving and guiding the clip strip until a single clip has reached its release position at the beginning of the clip,
  • a release rail which is located above the release position of the feed rail and is substantially perpendicular to it,
  • a thrust knife arranged vertically movably in the release rail, which, when moving downward, separates the clip located at the end of the clip strip, drives it into the material to be stapled and presses it until the ends of the clip are permanently deformed by the die;
  and
• c) a partly covering the magazine, serving as an operating arm, which is pressed down by the user of the stapling device and thereby transmits the force to the magazine and the knife, the magazine and the upper part being movable on a common one, held by the side parts of the base plate Axis are attached.

• 1. Abwärtsbewegung des mit dem Magazin verbundenen Oberteils bis zur Berührung des Magazins mit dem zu heftenden Material.
• 2. Lösen der einzelnen Klammer vom Klammerstreifen durch das Stoßmesser und Fortbewegung der abgetrennten Klammer bis zu deren Berührung mit dem zu heftenden Material.
• 3. Eindringen der Klammerenden in das zu heftende Material und dessen Durchstoßen.
• 4. Umbiegen der Klammerenden auf der Rückseite des Heftmaterials durch Druck gegen die Matrize der Grundplatte.

With the staplers of the type described, stapling takes place in a series of the following individual steps due to the downward movement of the top part and the magazine:

• 1. Downward movement of the upper part connected to the magazine until the magazine touches the material to be stapled.
• 2. Detach the individual staple from the staple strip by the butt knife and move the separated staple until it comes into contact with the material to be stapled.
• 3. Penetration of the staple ends into the material to be stapled and puncturing it.
• 4. Bend the ends of the staples on the back of the stapling material by pressing against the die of the base plate.

• 1. Auf den Bedienungsarm muß eine verschieden starke, in den letzten Schritten der Abwärtsbewegung sich impulsartig verstärkende Kraft aufgebracht werden.
• 2. Der erhebliche Kraftaufwand zwingt zur Benutzung der Handfläche oder gar beider Hände, wobei der unterschiedliche Kraftaufwand zwischen den einzelnen Stufen deutlich zu spüren ist und eine ergonomisch vorteilhafte, leichte Betätigung, zum Beispiel nur mit den Fingerspitzen einer Hand, nicht möglich ist.

Depending on the type of staple and its connection to the staple strip and the type and thickness of the material to be stapled, different force peaks can be recorded in the individual work stages, which lead to the following difficulties for the user when operating a conventional stapling device with a die:

• 1. A different strength, impulsive strengthening in the last steps of the downward movement must be applied to the operating arm.
• 2. The considerable effort requires the use of the palm or even both hands, whereby the different effort between the individual steps can be clearly felt and ergonomically advantageous, easy actuation, for example only with the fingertips of one hand, is not possible.

GB-A-2 229 129 has already disclosed a hand-operated stapling device, the butt knife of which is connected to a spring which in turn is mounted between the housing halves of the stapling device, the butt knife being guided in the housing, which is also closed at the top. A pawl is also movably mounted in an elongated hole in the housing. One nose engages in an opening of the impact knife, while the other end, provided with a roller, of the pawl is in constant operative connection with an actuating lever. By pressing the actuating lever and thus the pawl, it is pulled against the push knife located in the upper stop position from the push knife opening, so that the spring knife under spring tension is unlocked and drives a clip into the material to be stapled. The spring should be tensioned after the pawl has re-engaged in the opening of the impact knife via the pawl and the actuating lever under the action of a second, previously compressed spring, the force of which is greater than that of the tension spring.

This actuating mechanism is disadvantageous insofar as its spring elements must each be designed for a specific or for a maximum thickness of stapled material, so that larger, mostly unnecessary spring forces have to be applied. On the other hand, tensioning and locking are carried out with the same pawl. Considerable manual forces must therefore be applied to tension the second spring and to unlock the impact knife.

The invention is therefore based on the object of a generic type that partially automates the function Specify a stapling device with an improved actuating mechanism that reduces the effort required to carry out and trigger the stapling process and, if the spring force is low and does not match the strength of the stapled material, enables the stapling process to be carried out completely.

The object is achieved by the features of claim 1. Advantageous developments of the invention result from the subclaims.

According to the basic idea of the invention, the object is achieved with a stapling device in which the butt knife in the zero position protrudes upward beyond its lateral guide walls and guide webs and thus with thicker stapled material, i.e. if the staple is not fully driven in, an operative connection can be established with the upper part of the stapler and can thus be manually stapled in. The spring attached to the butt knife is tensioned by pressing on the upper part independently of the pawl, and at the end of the tensioning process the pawl, which until then has been locked in a constant position, is pivoted sideways downwards by continued pressure on the upper part, so that the pusher knife is released and penetrates into the material under the action of the spring tension.

The spring is designed so that the staple material of common thickness penetrates and the ends of the staple are bent. If, in exceptional cases, the material to be stapled is thicker, the stapling process is continued after the clip has been driven in using the spring force by manual pressure on the upper part and the stapled material is thus stapled in again.

The spring force for driving in the clip and bending the clip ends can thus be designed for the usual thickness of stapled material, so that the majority of the stapling operations can also be carried out with little effort with regard to the spring tension to be overcome by the user. At the same time, however, it is possible to connect thicker stacks of stapled goods by manually pressing the top part. Due to the optimal design of the spring, in conjunction with the arrangement and design of the pawl according to the invention, which only serves as a holding element, the tension of the spring attached to the impact knife and the release of the pawl can be achieved by a uniform, low force.

The stapler according to the invention can thus be used in a variety of ways with the simplest handling.

The invention is explained in more detail below in a preferred exemplary embodiment with reference to the drawings.

Fig. 1

eine graphische Darstellung der bei einem herkömmlichen Hefter beim Heftvorgang durch den Benutzer aufzubringenden Kraft über dem Weg,

Fig. 2

eine graphische Darstellung der aufzubringenden Kraft über dem Weg für ein Heftgerät gemäß der Erfindung,

Fig. 3

ein perspektivische Ansicht des Hefters, teilweise im Schnitt,

Fig. 4

eine vergrößerte Detailansicht aus Fig. 3 und

Fig. 5-A bis Fig. 5-F

eine schematische Darstellung der verschiedenen Stufen des Heftvorganges.

Show it:

Fig. 1

a graphical representation of the force to be applied by the user in a conventional stapler during the stapling process over the path,

Fig. 2

a graphical representation of the force to be applied over the path for a stapler according to the invention,

Fig. 3

a perspective view of the stapler, partly in section,

Fig. 4

an enlarged detail view of Fig. 3 and

Figures 5-A through 5-F

is a schematic representation of the various stages of the stapling process.

• der Abwärtsbewegung des Bedienungsarms bis zur Berührung mit dem zu heftenden Material (1. Schritt)
• dem Lösen und Abwärtsbewegen der einzelnen Klammer bis zur Berührung mit dem zu heftenden Material (2. Schritt)
• dem Durchstoßen des zu heftenden Materials (3. Schritt) und
• dem Umbiegen der Klammerenden auf der Rückseite des Heftmaterials (4. Schritt)

bestehen, erkennbar.From Fig. 1, the required effort for the user or the force acting on the staple in the four operating steps during a stapling process with a conventional stapler, are from

• the downward movement of the operating arm until it comes into contact with the material to be stapled (step 1)
• loosening and moving the individual staples down until they come into contact with the material to be stapled (step 2)
• puncturing the material to be stapled (3rd step) and
• bending the ends of the staples on the back of the stapling material (step 4)

exist, recognizable.

This typical illustration shows that particularly great efforts are required in individual actuation stages in order to be able to carry out the stitching. The return of the actuation mechanisms to the starting position is shown on the right side of the graph in FIG. 1 as a sudden drop in power.

In contrast, Fig. 2 makes it clear that the effort required for a stapling process with a stapler according to the invention is significantly less and the force curve is uniform, i. H. is without force peaks.

3 and equipped with the release mechanism according to the invention consists of the base plate 10, at one end of which there are side parts 11 and the other end with a Die 12 is equipped. A magazine 20 for receiving the clips is connected to the side parts 11 of the base plate 10 by an axis 13. The magazine 20 consists of a central channel 21, which is capable of receiving, guiding and pushing the clip strips into a position from which a single clip G at the strip end can be detached.

The magazine 20 also has guide walls 22 with guide webs 23. The guide webs 23 lie above the release position of the central channel 21 and are essentially perpendicular to it. The guide webs receive a vertically displaceable butt knife 24, the downward movement of the butt knife with its lower surface 54 separating the clip G which is in the release position from the clip strip, driving it into the material to be stapled and pressing on the clip G until the ends thereof are permanent are deformed by the die 12 of the base plate 10.

Above the magazine 20 there is an upper part 30, which serves to transmit the force exerted by the user to the magazine 20 and the impact knife 24. A spring 14 is provided between the base plate 10 and the magazine 20 in order to pull the magazine back after a stapling process has been completed. On the other hand, a return spring 25 for the upper part 30 is arranged between the magazine 20 and the upper part 30 and is wound around an axis 26 in the exemplary embodiment.

According to the invention, the stapler has a release mechanism, consisting of one with pins 41; 42 spring 40 attached to the upper part 30. The rear end of the spring 40 is held by a lock 43 in the magazine 20 and by the pin 41. The front end of the spring 40 is mounted in an opening 44 provided in the knife 24 on the knife 24.

According to the invention, a device for temporarily locking the butt knife 24 in the position shown in FIG. 3, in which the lower surface 54 of the butt knife 24 is located above the clamp G to be separated, is further provided. In the embodiment shown, this device consists of a pawl 45, which is attached by an axis to the front guide walls 22 of the magazine 20 with a hinge. On the axis 46 there is a torsion spring 47 which acts with one end against the magazine 20 and with the other end against the pawl 45, so that the torsion spring 47 rotates the pawl 45 counterclockwise and the pawl thus cooperate with the butt knife 24 can. The pawl 45 is provided with two projections 48; 49 provided, which are provided in openings 50; 51 fit. If the projections 48; 49 in the respective openings 50; 51, they lock the butt knife 24 in its upper position above the clamp G regardless of the degree of tension of the spring 40.

The upper part 30 is provided with a nose 52 which exerts pressure on the upper free end 53 of the pawl 45 when the upper part is moved downwards.

The function of the locking and release mechanism described above with reference to FIG. 3 is described below with reference to FIGS. 5-A to 5-F, in which a complete stapling process is shown in the various working stages.

In Fig. 5-A the stapler is in the rest position. The spring 40 is not under tension. The projections 48; 49 of the pawl 45, which is tensioned by the torsion spring 47, are located in the openings 50; 51 of the knife 24 so that the knife is held over the bracket G. The nose 52 of the upper part 30 does not touch the free end 53 of the pawl 45.

In Fig. 5-B, the stapling process has been initiated by pressing on the front end of the upper part 30. With the return spring 25, the upper part 30 presses the magazine 20, not shown here, down to the material to be stapled.

5-C and Fig. 5-D has the consequence that on the one hand the spring 40 is tensioned and on the other hand the pawl 45 is rotated by the nose 52 about its axis against the torsion spring 47, so that now the projections 48; 49 from the respective openings 50; 51 of the straight knife 24 are gradually pulled out.

If the projections 48; 49 completely outside the openings 50; 51 are located, the impact knife is no longer locked, so that the spring 40 under relaxation the butt knife abruptly strikes the bracket G (Fig. 5-E). The size of the individual parts is designed so that the energy accumulated in the tensioned spring is sufficient to allow the clip to penetrate into the material to be stapled and to pierce it. The ends of the clip G on the back of the booklet material are bent using the die 12.

Finally, the user of the stapler stops printing the top 30 so that the return spring 25 returns the top 30 to its original position with respect to the magazine 20 (Fig. 5-F). The projections 48; 49 on the pawl 45 snap back into the openings 50; 51 of the impact knife and lock it in a position above the new bracket G. On the other hand, the magazine 20, under the action of the spring 14, returns to its starting position according to FIGS. 3 and 5-A, so that the device for a new stitching process ready.

The butt knife 24 is held by the pawl 45 in a substantially fixed position with respect to the clip G to be released. This position is maintained from the end of the stapling process (Fig. 5-A) until the next stapling process is triggered (Fig. 5-D; Fig. 5-E). In this essentially static locking position, the lower surface 54 of the impact knife 24 remains above the clamp G. The designation "essentially static" excludes the possibility of small changes in position of the impact knife 24, which are caused by deviations and movements of the other parts of the Stapler are caused, not from. This applies in particular to the movement of the projections 48; 49 when they are in the corresponding openings 50; 51 penetrate or be pulled out of them.

The force to be exerted when the stapler is actuated is limited in practice to the tensioning of the torsion spring 40, and the force required for the movement of the return spring can be neglected. The effort required by the user is completely independent of the characteristics of the clip, e.g. B. the force required to detach the clips from the clip strip or to deform the clip ends.

In the case of stapled material thicknesses for which the strength of the spring 40 is not designed, manual stapling is now carried out after initiation of the stapling process, so that the stapler - despite the use of a spring 40 with low spring force - meets a wide variety of application conditions. For this purpose, in the zero position, the butt knife 24 projects beyond the upper end faces of the guide walls 22 and guide webs 23, and necessarily by an amount which corresponds at least to the stroke knife stroke.

In Fig. 2, the force required for the movement of the upper part 30 is shown graphically, it being noted that the force to be applied, in contrast to staplers which work without spring force (cf. Fig. 1), is approximately constant, i.e. the pulse-like force curve of conventional devices or force peaks cannot be recorded. In contrast to FIG. 1, the graphical representation according to FIG. 2 is not representative of the forces acting on the clamps.

In the stapler according to the exemplary embodiment, the magazine 20 receives the staple strips in a slide rail which is located on the upper part of the device. However, regardless of the form of the feed, the invention can also be applied to other staplers of conventional type, for example staplers whose staple strips have been inserted into a fixed, ie non-extendable, feed rail in the lower part of the magazine after the upper part has been detached from the lower part has been.

List of reference symbols:

10th

Base plate

11

Side panel

12

die

13

axis

14

feather

20th

magazine

21

Middle channel

22

Guide wall

23

Boardwalk

24th

Butt knife

25th

Return spring

26

axis

30th

Top

40

feather

41

pen

42

pen

43

Locking

44

opening

45

Pawl

46

axis

47

Torsion spring

48

head Start

49

head Start

50

opening

51

opening

52

nose

53

free end of the pawl

54

Bottom surface

G

Bracket

Claims (5)

1. Manually operated stapling device, in particular for the stapling of small stacks of paper or similar objects of paper, consisting of a base plate (10) with a matrix (12) arranged thereon, a magazine (20), which is borne to be pivotable in side parts (11) at the opposite end and formed by a central channel (21) for the reception and guidance of the strip of staples, guide walls (22) and guide webs (23) standing substantially perpendicularly to the central channel (21) for the reception of a pusher blade (24), which is connected with a spring (40), for the detaching and driving-in of the staple (G), an upper part (30) acting as actuating arm as well as a locking pawl (45), which serves for the tightening and disengaging of the pusher blade (24) and engages into openings (50, 51) of the pusher blade (24), characterised thereby, that the space between the guide walls (22) is open upwardly and the pusher blade (24) in the initial setting projects beyond their end faces and an operative connection between the upper end face of the pusher blade (24) and the upper part (30) for final stapling is producible after initiation of the stapling operation by the spring (40) and an incomplete stapling operation, wherein the spring (40) is supported in the upper part (30) in the region lying between the tie to the pusher blade (24) and to the magazine (20) and a return spring (25) is provided between the magazine (20) and the upper part (30) for the resetting of the pusher blade (24) over the upper part (30) and the locking pawl (45) is held against the pusher blade (24) during the tightening operation with constant pusher blade setting and arranged to be pivotable laterally for initiation of the stapling operation.
2. Manually operated stapling device according to claim 1, characterised thereby, that the locking pawl (45) extends parallelly to the pusher blade (24) by a longitudinal side, which is provided with projections (48, 49) engaging into the openings (50, 51) of the pusher blade (24) and is pivotable about an axle (46) against the effect of a torsion spring (46).
3. Manually operated stapling device according to claim 2, characterised thereby, that the axle (46) for the bearing of the locking pawl (45) is arranged near to the guide rails (23) in the lower region between the guide walls (22).
4. Manually operated stapling device according to claim 1, characterised thereby, that the spring (40) is constructed as helical lever spring, the spring helix of which is retained at pins (41, 42) at the upper part (30).
5. Manually operated stapling device according to one of the preceding claims, characterised thereby, that the upper part (30) at the height of the free end (53) of the locking pawl (45) displays a lug (52) for the pivotation of the locking pawl (45) into the unlocking position.

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