EP0852042A1

EP0852042A1 - Tape roll

Info

Publication number: EP0852042A1
Application number: EP95931997A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Ake Ehrlund
Original assignee: Meto International GmbH
Current assignee: Meto International GmbH
Priority date: 1995-09-06
Filing date: 1995-09-06
Publication date: 1998-07-08
Anticipated expiration: 2015-09-06
Also published as: AU3522495A; EP0852042B1; DE59507351D1

Abstract

The invention concerns a tape roll (10) for use in devices designed to dispense individual lengths of tape. The invention also concerns a dispenser (20) suitable for use with the tape roll. The aim of the invention is to provide tape (10) in the form of a roll from which individual lengths (T) can be detached without difficulty. This aim is achieved with the tape roll proposed by virtue of the fact that two immediately adjacent pieces or lengths of tape (T, T1) are joined to each other only by two parallel or substantially parallel perforated separation lines (14, 15) which run parallel to the longitudinal axis of the tape a certain distance apart and a certain distance from the edges (12, 13) of the tape. At one end, the two perforated lines terminate at a pair of first slits (17, 18) which run, at right angles to the longitudinal axis of the tape, from the ends of the perforated lines out to the edges of the tape. At the other end, the two perforated lines (14, 15) terminate at a second slit (16) which runs at right angles to the longitudinal axis of the tape.

Description

STRIP REEL

The invention relates to a strip roll for use in devices for dispensing sections of the type which have a section separating device and in which the free end of the roll protrudes from the dispenser, the roll consisting of a continuous strip of flexible material, of which individual sections of predetermined length can be separated, the strip having two mutually opposite, longitudinally extending side edges and a plurality of lines along which individual sections can be separated from the strip, these lines being arranged uniformly in the longitudinal direction of the strip and being formed in such a way, that a tab or section is formed adjacent to a strip piece when a piece is cut off from the strip, and the individual strip pieces or sections are cut off uniformly in the longitudinal direction of the strip and each individual strip piece or each one individual section is firmly connected to the remaining strip.

The invention also relates to a device for dispensing individual sections from a strip roll containing the sections.

In the preamble of claim 1 of US-A 4 121 004 from 1978, a strip preferably made of paper is disclosed. Separating lines are stamped at regular intervals along this continuous strip, which delimit free tongues, the width of which is the smallest and the smallest at the free end the end connected to the remaining part of the strip is largest via parts firmly connected in the transverse direction. If the roll is placed in a strip dispenser and the free end of the strip is pulled in the direction essentially pointing downwards, there is a cooperation of opposing knives in the dispenser, whereby a single section is separated at opposite edges, which is fixed with the rest of the strip are connected, thus on the interconnected parts which extend transversely to the longitudinal axis of the strip. The strip containing sections described above has been in use for many years, although the known connection of the strip roll and the section dispenser has been found in some respects to be inadequate. For example, the following malfunctions have been identified:

If the diameter of the strip roll has decreased considerably due to the separation of sections from the roll, the tongues punched out at the connection point of successive sections have bent upward and become hooked on the punched openings of subsequent windings in the roll. As a result, the tab has bent backwards, which has led to a malfunction of the dispensing device, which incidentally can also occur if a strongly bent or curved tab comes into contact with the upper dispenser guide. In the case of a tab bent backwards, a malfunction is unavoidable, since the tab is then not accessible from outside the output device. A further disadvantage of known dispenser / strip roller combinations is that if the free end of the strip containing the sections is pulled downwards at an angle to the actual dispensing direction, it only connects to one of the cross connections which connect the section to the rest of the strip , breaks while the other connection is torn at a location other than the desired location, with the result that the sections are not of the correct shape or the output device malfunctions due to premature disconnection at the two connection locations inside of the output device.

The strip described above and its successors are all based on the principle of an output device with the aim of achieving an interaction of strip separating devices, a section being separated from a strip by cutting or tearing the strip transversely to its longitudinal axis by an initially free tab is guided in the direction of dispensing of the strip.

In a further known strip, the sections are separated individually at regular intervals by means of transversely arranged perforated dividing lines, the section being separated along these perforations during the strip advance in the output device.

The main object of the invention is therefore to create a continuous, section-containing strip in roll form, from which individual sections can be separated, regardless of the direction in which the free end of the Strip is pulled, and there is no risk that the protruding tabs on the inside of the dispenser bend backwards, get stuck in the dispenser and thus cause a malfunction.

Furthermore, the invention is intended to create a continuous, section-containing strip in roll form, from which individual sections can be separated over the width of the strip with the least possible, uniform resistance.

According to the invention, these objects are achieved with a strip according to the characterizing features of claim 1.

The strip according to the invention is based on the general idea that the simplest method for separating individual sections of paper from a continuous strip in the form of a roll with the least possible resistance is to separate the paper in the direction of the fibers, thus essentially in the longitudinal direction of the strip, and the required tab of each one To form a section initially in cooperation with a section separating device in the output device, the beginning and the end of each section having edge regions with completely continuous (punched out) transverse points. Together, a strip is obtained in this way, which is transported through the opening in the output device and over the section separating device and in which the formation of a tab is ensured by separating successively sections along the perforated separating lines, regardless of

REPLACEMENT BLAπ (RULE 26) the manner in which the free end of the strip is handled by the operator.

The separation of the free end of the strip from the subsequent strip piece can be made even simpler in that the two longitudinally extending perforated separating lines, on which the section separating device acts, have a different tensile strength.

According to the features of claim 1, the perforated dividing lines extend substantially in the longitudinal direction of the strip. This means that the angle between the upper end of the respective perforated dividing lines extending in the longitudinal direction and the respectively adjacent transverse slots, viewed in the direction of the strip advance, is at least 90 ° and at most 100 °, preferably approximately 94 °. According to a preferred embodiment, the distance between the respective side edges of the strip and the respective longitudinally perforated dividing lines is between 15 and 30% of the total width of the strip.

An output device for a continuous strip in roll form of the type mentioned in the introduction to the description is known, inter alia, from US Pat. No. 3,885,724. This known output device is diagonally divided into a housing part and a cover part which are pivotally connected to one another at the rear. A strip roll containing sections can be rotatably mounted on a shaft arranged in the housing part of the output device. The dispenser is designed so that it is ready for dispensing, ie the cover part and the housing part are connected to one another, to form a strip feed and section separating device. In connection with the above-described development of a continuous strip in roll form for use in an output device of the aforementioned type, a development of the exemplary embodiment of a strip output device is also proposed. Those features which enable an improved interaction between the strip and the device or dispenser are listed in claim 8 in particular.

Due to the special design of this output device, a strip roll contained in the output device can only travel a very short distance in the strip feed direction, regardless of the type of tractive force exerted on the free end of the strip, and can under no circumstances influence the part of the strip that is from the main body the strip roll is unrolled and cooperates with the upper, lower and side guides formed by the inside surfaces of the dispenser, as can be seen from the above. The aforementioned S-shape exerts a certain braking effect on the strip, that is to say on the part of the strip which has rolled off the main body of the strip roll, whereby the tearing of the first, weaker parts of the perforated dividing lines is further supported, while the free part of the Strip is pulled over the section separator, so that continued pulling on the free end of the strip acts on the parts of the strip that are between the perforated parting lines and the outer edges of the strip, these edges then sliding along the second guide surfaces on opposite sides of the section separating device due to the tensile force and causing the perforated parting lines to tear one after the other.

Further features of the invention result from the following description, in which an embodiment of the present invention is described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawing. Show it:

Figure 1 shows an embodiment of the development of the strip in roll form;

Figure la is a plan view of two adjacent stripe pieces, each stripe piece forming an individual section;

FIG. 2 shows a longitudinal section through a strip dispenser into which a strip roll according to FIG. 1 is inserted;

Figure 2a shows a section along the line B-B of Figure 2;

FIG. 3 shows a front part of the output device according to FIG. 2, the wall of the output device facing the viewer being removed for reasons of illustration; and

Figure 4 is a view as in Figure 3, but with a strip inserted. In Figure 1, a strip roll made of flexible material, preferably paper, is generally designated by the reference number 10. The roller 10 has in its center a hole 11 through which a shaft carrying the roller of an output device described in more detail below is inserted. Of course, it is also possible to place the roll 10 freely on the bottom of the dispenser, as shown in FIG. 2.

The strip from which the roll 10 is formed has two mutually opposite and longitudinally extending side edges 12, 13, wherein individual pieces of the same predetermined length should be separable from the strip, hereinafter referred to as "sections" for the sake of simplicity . A section separated from the strip can serve to allocate a place to a person in a queue, e.g. when the person is waiting to be served at a sales counter, and for this purpose can be provided with a suitable imprint, for example numbers in consecutive order. There is also the possibility of applying the imprint only in connection with the severing process which precedes the physical handling of the individual sections.

Means are provided along the strip with which individual sections can be easily separated from the strip. According to the invention, these agents include:

a) two perforated extending in the longitudinal direction or generally extending in the longitudinal direction Separation lines 14, 15, which are each arranged at a predetermined distance from a corresponding side edge 12 or 13 of the strip. For example, the distance of the respective perforated lines 14, 15 from the corresponding side edges 12, 13 can be between 15 and 25% of the total width of the strip;

b) according to a preferred embodiment, the dividing lines 14, 15 can be designed such that, viewed in the feed direction X, the front part A of the respective dividing line has a first tear strength A, while the remaining part of the perforated dividing line lines 14, 15 has a second tear strength. The first tear strength A is preferably weaker or significantly weaker than the second tear strength, i.e. the force required for tearing along the perforated parting line part A is less than the force required for tearing off along the remaining part of the perforated parting lines 14, 15; and

c) the development of the strip has a slot 16 passing through the strip, which extends transversely over the strip and is connected to the two perforated dividing lines 14, 15 at their lower ends. These slots 16 are arranged on the strip at equal intervals over the entire length of the strip. Each section is further delimited on the strip by two further slots 17, 18 which pass through the strip and which extend from the longitudinal edges 12, 13 of the strip to the ends of the strips Extend longitudinal perforated dividing lines 14, 15.

From this it can be seen that the strip is held together via the perforated dividing lines 14, 15. It can also be seen that the perforated dividing lines 14, 15 run at least essentially in the grain direction of the paper strip, that is to say in the direction of the longitudinal axis of the strip. Accordingly, the slots 16, 17 and 18 run transversely to the fiber direction.

From Figure 1 it can be seen that a T-shaped section is obtained by severing from the strip and that when the section is severed along the perforated dividing lines 14, 15 the free end of the strip roll forms a tab T1 which is used by the operator of the dispenser Person can be detected. This will now be explained in more detail below with reference to FIGS. 2 to 4.

FIG. 2 shows an output device, designated overall by the reference number 20, into which a strip roll 10 can be inserted. The output device 20 consists in a known manner of a lower part 21 forming the housing part and an upper part 22 forming the cover part. In the exemplary embodiment according to FIG. 2, the strip roll 10 lies on the bottom of the housing part 21, although it is of course also possible to place the roller 10 on a shaft (not shown) mounted in one of the two side walls of the output device. Cover part 22 and housing part 21 of the output device are formed at their front end (on the right in the figure) in such a way that they have a Form the strip outlet opening 25. The front end of the cover part 22 has a first horizontal strip guide 26 which, in conjunction with a second horizontal strip guide 27, forms a gap on the housing part 21 of the dispenser through which the free part 28 of the strip can be passed. The two side walls of the output device 20, of which only the rear side wall 29 is shown in FIG. 2, form the lateral strip guides. The front end 30 of the cover part 22 has a gently rounded lip shape and is inclined rearward in the region of the outermost front end to form part of the strip outlet opening 25.

The housing part 21 has an obliquely forward, first upward and then downward part 31, the upper surface of which forms a guide surface for the free part 28 of the strip roll. The free end 32 of the part 31 is adjacent to the bottom of the housing 21. Part 31, which has the function of a "jaw", can form an uninterrupted, smooth guide surface over which the strip 28 is guided, or it can also have parallel ribs running in the direction of the strip advance. In the exemplary embodiment shown, the second horizontal guide 27 has an elongated, generally U-shaped support 33 which can be placed loosely on a flat surface and fastened there, and also serves as a removable cover for the intermediate the lower part of the carrier 33 and the underside of the cover or guide 27 formed space 34. The space 34 achieved by this Advantage will be seen below. 2 (as well as in Figure 3) can also be seen from figure that the Ab¬ cover or guide surface 27 is also of elongate, shaped U-generally figure ^"and that the lower part of the front leg of the guide surface 27 in conjunction with the rounded part 31 of the cover 22 forms a strip outlet opening 25. The carrier 33 and the guide 27 are connected to one another by means of snap connections.

As also shown in FIG. 2, the output device 20 can be detachably or also permanently connected to a holding device 35. The dispenser is fastened to a support surface (not shown) via the holding device 35.

FIG. 2a shows a section along the line BB from FIG. 2. As can be seen from FIG. 2a, the two outer walls of the cover part 22 have feed-like projections 60, 61 which fit into corresponding recesses 62 (FIGS. 3, 4) in corresponding side walls of the housing part 21 engage. The housing walls are relatively thin and also elastic due to their rib-like design. To limit the elasticity, transverse webs or ribs 63 and 64 are therefore provided on the walls. With the help of this construction, the cover part and the housing part can also be reliably closed together.

Figure 3 shows a perspective view of the strip guide arrangement described above. From Figure 3 it can be seen that the width of the "jaw" 31 is smaller than the total distance between the two Sidewalls of dispenser 20. There is a relatively narrow web 36 on either side of the "jaw". From Figure 3 it can also be seen that between the (leading) front end of the "jaw" 31 and the beginning of the second horizontal guide 27, a space 37 is formed, the guide 27 having a width that in principle the space between the two Fills the side walls of the device housing.

A characteristic feature of the cover or guide 27 is the strip separating device 38, which is arranged at the front end of the guide 27 and essentially represents a continuation of the guide 27.

FIG. 4 shows a view similar to FIG. 3, but in this case a strip 28 inserted in the output device is shown. As shown in Figure 4, the jaw 31 is of such a width in the transverse direction of the dispenser that the two perforated dividing lines 14, 15 are spaced from the respective side edges of the jaw 31 when the strip slides over the jaw. Continued pulling on the free end of the strip causes the strip to bridge gap 37. Strip pieces which are removed by friction between the strip and the guide surfaces then fall into the gap 37, the bottom of which is connected to a removable plate or which is also directly connected to the surroundings. The width of the second horizontal guide 27 in the device housing 21 essentially corresponds to the strip width, the guide 27 having the task of closing the strip via the strip separating device 38 protruding at the end of the guide 27 conduct. The width of this device 38 essentially corresponds to the distance between the two opposite perforated dividing lines 14, 15 or is slightly smaller than this distance. The outer edge of the device 38 transverse to the guide 27 forms a right angle or a substantially right angle with its transverse edges. When a transverse slot 16 in the strip passes the area of the front end of the device 38, the strip 28 begins to tear at the first part of the opposing perforated dividing lines 14, 15. If a tensile force is still exerted on the free end of the strip, the tab T1 (FIG. 1) of the strip wants to move in one direction, while the outer parts of the strip slide down along the second guide surfaces 38 ', 38 " are formed on opposite sides of the device 38. The free flap part T1 of the strip, which begins to form immediately when the perforated dividing lines begin to tear, is curved in the direction of the outlet opening 25, which is indicated by the lip-shaped front area 30 of the Cover part 22 is accomplished (see FIG. 2).

If the strip is torn along the two perforated dividing lines up to the two transverse slots 17, 18, the section is detached from the rest of the strip and now forms a single section. The section separation process described here also means that the released section T (FIG. 1) creates the prerequisite for the next person to also be able to obtain a section by pressing the section in the strip outlet. Opening accessible tab Tl pulls, so as to detach another section in the manner described above.

As can be seen from the above, the "shoe" 31 also serves as a means for braking the strip roll 10. The strip removed from the roll 10, i.e. basically the part of the strip which begins at point Y (FIG. 2) and ends at the free strip end Y1 is not adversely affected even if the free strip end is suddenly pulled with great force. Since the separation points of the strip, which are required to separate a single section from the strip, are arranged in the direction of the grain of the paper strip, only a very small force is required to separate a section from the strip. From the above explanations it can be seen that with the arrangement of transverse slots 16 extending between the perforated dividing lines 14, 15, as a supplement to these dividing lines, the task of creating a strip in which the tabs are not preformed in contrast to the known method is achieved , but are only formed in connection with a section separation process, which is essentially the prerequisite for a smooth and uninterrupted strip feed between opposing guide surfaces of the output device, regardless of the tensile force exerted on the free end of the strip and the direction of pull.

Finally, of course, there is also the possibility, for example, of a circuit board in the free space 34 between the guide 27 and the bottom of the device housing 21 to accommodate and to arrange 36 electrical conductors along the track (Figure 3). Such electrical or electronic components can be used, for example, to record the number of sections separated from the strip and to output this information in a suitable form after removal of the nth section. For this reason, the guide 27 is also designed to be removable from the carrier 33. Another reason is that the guide 27, and in particular the section separating device 38, are subject to severe wear. The guide 27 and the section separating device 38 can therefore also be designed as an exchangeable unit.

It is obvious to a person skilled in the art that the features contained in claim 6 can be applied to a strip according to the invention. The perforated dividing lines 14, 15 can follow a line which deviates only slightly from a right angle with respect to the slot 16 penetrating the strip.

As mentioned above, the slots 16, 17 and 18 are completely continuous in the strip. For technical reasons, it may also be necessary not to perforate small areas of the strip material, partly to prevent the paper webs from "fluttering" at high production speeds in the strip production system and partly to produce the punching tools required for these parts to facilitate. Reference list

Strip roll

Center hole, 13 side edge, 15 dividing line, 17.18 slot

Output device

Lower part, housing part

Upper part, cover part

Strip outlet opening, 27 strip guide free part of the strip rear side wall front end

Leadership, leadership, free end

U-shaped support

room

Holding device

train

gap

Strip separator ' ¹ , 38 "guide surface,, 61 projection

Recess,, 64 crossbar, strut - left

^A front part ^τ section

Tl tab ^x feed direction ^γ point

^Y1 free strip end

Claims

claims

Strip in roll form (10) for a device (20) for dispensing strip sections, which comprises a section separating device (38) and from which a free end of the roll protrudes, the roll (10) being flexible from a strip Material consists of which individual pieces of the same predetermined length can be removed to form a section, the strip having two opposite and longitudinally extending side edges (12, 13), the strip having a multiplicity of lines along which individual sections can be separated from the strip, the lines being evenly spaced in the longitudinal direction of the strip and being designed and positioned such that a single section is formed after the separation process, and the sections being at equal intervals in the longitudinal direction of the strip are arranged and each individual strip piece or each individual section is firmly attached to the remaining strip rbunden is characterized in that two immediately adjacent strips or sections (T, Tl) are only connected to one another via two parallel or substantially parallel perforated dividing lines (14, 15) which extend in the direction of the longitudinal axis of the strip in at a distance from one another and at a distance from the respective side edges (12, 13) of the strip such that the one end of the respective perforated dividing lines at the one end of a respective first slot (17, 18) ends, which extends transversely to the longitudinal axis, while the other end of the respective slots ends at a corresponding longitudinal edge part of the strip, and that the other end of the perforated dividing lines (14, 15) ends at a second slot (16) which extends extends transversely to the longitudinal axis of the strip.

2. Strip according to claim 1, characterized in that the perforated dividing lines (14, 15) extending in the direction of the longitudinal axis of the strip are of different tear strength, for example by having a relatively weak first part and at least one stronger part exhibit.

3. Strip according to claim 2, characterized in that, viewed in the direction of the strip feed, the weakest part of the perforated dividing line is the second the slot (16, 15) connecting the second slot (16) closest.

4. Strip according to claim 1, 2 or 3, characterized gekennzeich¬ net that the longitudinally extending Trenn¬ lines (14, 15) have oblique and / or straight perforations.

5. Strip according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that the strip is made of paper and the perforated dividing lines (14, 15) extending in the longitudinal direction extend essentially in the fiber direction of the strip material.

6. Strip according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that, viewed in the direction of the strip feed, the angle between the upper end of the respective perforated dividing lines (14, 15) and the second slot (16), which the dividing lines connects at their other end to each other, is at least about 90 ° and at most about 100 °, preferably about 94 °.

7. Strip according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that the distance between the respective side edges of the strip and the respective perforated dividing lines is between 15 and 30% of the strip width.

8. Device for dispensing a strip in roll form according to claim 1, with a cover part and a housing part, the cover part being pivotally connected to the housing part for the purpose that the housing part is accessible for inserting a strip roll, the off ¬ device has strip guides in its interior, a strip outlet opening and a strip separating device with which an externally accessible strip piece can be separated from the rest of the strip, characterized in that the strip guides remove the strip piece (28) removed from the roll (10) ) including a number of individual but still interconnected strip pieces inevitably lead to an essentially S-shaped path within the output device, and that the generally S-shaped path has at least at least two guides (31 and 27) arranged on different vertical planes.

9. Output device according to claim 8, characterized in that the first guide (31) is curved and exerts a braking force on the strip, and that the apex of the curved guide (31) lies on a higher level than the second guide (27) .

10. Output device according to claim 8 or 9, characterized gekenn¬ characterized in that the guides (31 and 27) are separated from each other in the feed direction of the strip, - and that the space between the guides (31, 27) existing space, for example as a collecting container for pieces of paper worn away by friction between the strip and the guide surface (31).

11. Output device according to one or more of claims 8 to 10, characterized in that the second guide

(27) is designed in such a way that it can be removed from an underlying carrier (33).

12. Output device according to claim 11, characterized in that the space between the guide (27) and the carrier (33) is intended to accommodate, for example, a circuit board which is electrically connectable to an external power source.

13. Output device according to claim 11 or 12, characterized gekenn¬ characterized in that the guide (27) with the carrier (33) can be connected via snap connections, and that a front Snap lip of the guide (27) forms part of the strip outlet opening of the dispenser.

14. Output device according to one or more of claims 8 to 13, characterized in that the guide (27) with the strip separating device (38) forms a unit.