GB2180486A - Improvements in or relating to a stapling device - Google Patents

Abstract

In a stapling machine having a magazine 5 containing staples 6 and an arm 7 pivotally movable relative to the magazine 5 carrying an ejector blade 8 adapted to eject staples 6 from the magazine 5, the arm 7 carries a steady 14 which engages the staples 6 present in the magazine 5 as the arm 7 and the ejector blade 8 are retracted from the magazine 5, and the steady 14 has a length which is substantially less than the length of the magazine 5. The steady prevents the staples 6 from moving out of the magazine 5. The staples 6 are biased towards an ejection slot 9 in the magazine 5. The steady 14 includes a resilient member 18 which bias the arm 7 and the magazine 5 apart. The machine includes a foot 1 pivotally arranged with the magazine 5 and the arm 7 and has a resilient means 20 to bias the arm 7 and the magazine 5 away from the foot 1. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Improvements in or relating to a stapling device THE PRESENT INVENTION relates to a stapling device and more particularly relates to a stapling device of the type frequently used in an office or domestic situation for stapling together pieces of paper.

A typical stapling device includes a foot on which is pivotally mounted an arm which contains a staple magazine which, typically, is also separately pivotally mounted on the foot.

Thus the arm can move relative to the magazine. The arm includes a stapling ejector blade and when the arm is depressed the ejector blade engages a staple at the end of the magazine and forces the staple out of an ejection slot. The foot usually carries an anvil which deflects the free ends of the arms of the staple, thus enabling pieces of paper to be fastened togher by the staple.

It will be understood that after a cycle of operation of a stapling machine of the abovedescribed type, the arm moves back to an initial position, and thus the blade is withdrawn from an ejecting position in which it extends at least part way through the staple magazine at the end at which defines the staple ejection slot Since the staples are biased towards the ejection slot, the staple remaining at the end of the strip of staples will be biassed into engagement with the blade and thus, as the arm and the blade move upward relative to the magazine there is a tendancy for at least the end staple of the magazine to be drawn upwardly. In order to prevent this happening a "steady" is usually provided which over-lies the staples in the magazine to prevent the staples from moving upwardly in these circumstances.Typically the steady is also mounted on the pivot that connects the arm and the staple magazine to the foot, and thus the steady is virtually as long as the arm.

In a typical prior proposed stapling device a separate spring element is provided which biasses the arm and the magazine apart so that when no manual pressure is applied to the stapling machine the arm is biassed up slightly away from the magazine so that the blade carried by the arm is totally withdrawn from the magazine. Thus the stapling machine adopts an initial or rest position in which it is ready to complete a cycle of operation.

According to this invention there is provided a stapling machine, said stapling machine comprising a magazine adapted to contain staples, means for applying pressure to the staples to drive the staples successively to an ejection slot adjacent one end of the magazine, an arm pivotally movable relative to the magazine and carrying an ejector blade adapted to eject staples through the ejection slot, the arm also carrying a steady engagable with staples present in the magazine to prevent staples in the magazine moving out of the magazine when the arm and the associated ejector blade are retracted from the magazine, the steady having a length substantially less than the length of the magazine.

Preferably the steady has a length approximately equal to half the length of the magazine.

Conveniently the steady carries resilient means which bias the arm and the magazine apart.

Advantageously the steady is formed of a material having resilient properties, the steady defining one or more resilient portions constituting said resilient means.

Preferably the steady is mounted in position on the arm by means which engage an aperture formed in said ejector blade.

Conveniently the aperture in the ejector blade is an elongate aperture.

Preferably the steady is also also retained in position in said operating arm by means of cooperating recesses and protrusions.

Conveniently the steady defines two opposed recesses which cooperate with two inwardly directed protrusions formed on the operating arm of the stapling machine.

Advantageously the operating arm and the magazine are pivotally mounted, about a single pivoting axis, on a foot carrying an anvil to deflect the arms of a staple ejected from the ejection slot.

Preferably said foot carries resilient means biasing the staple magazine and the arm upwardly.

Conveniently the resilient means carried on the foot comprise a resilient integral portion of the foot which engages part of the magazine.

In order that the present invention may be more readily understood, and so that further features thereof may be appreciated, the invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: FIGURE 1 is a cross sectional view of a stapling machine in accordance with the invention, and FIGURE 2 is a perspective view of the staple steady of the stapling machine of Figure 1.

Referring initially to Figure 1 a stapling machine in accordance with the invention comprises a foot 1 carrying, at the free end thereof, a reversible anvil 2 of conventional design adapted to deflect the legs of staples ejected from a staple ejection slot. At the other end of the foot 1 there are upstanding flanges 3 which support between them a pivot rod 4 on which is pivotally mounted firstly an elongate magazine 5, which may be formed of metal, which contains a plurality of staples 6 and, secondly, an operating arm 7 which carries a staple ejecting blade 8.

The magazine 5 may be of a conventional design and defines a staple ejection slot 9 adjacent the free end thereof. A spring 10 is provided mounted within the magazine 5. One end of the spring engages a hook-like projection 11, and the other end of the spring engages a projection 12 provided on a feeder 13 which is drawn along the magazine by the effect provided by the spring 10 to bias the strip of staples 6 towards the ejection slot 9.

A staple steady 14 is provided. In the embodiment illustrated the staple steady is in the form an integral moulded component. The length of the steady 14 is approximately half the length of the arm 7. The staple steady comprises an elongate body portion 15 which overlies the strip of staples 6 within the magazine. The forward end of the steady is provided with a hook-like projection 16 which engages an elongate slot formed in the ejector blade 8. The front end of the steady is configured to accommodate a front plate formed on the staple magazine 5 during operation of the stapling machine.

The staple steady defines an upwardly directed resilient arm 18 which serves to bias the arm 7 upwardly away from the magazine 5. At the sides of the steady adjacent the rear thereof two recesses 19 are provided in each side thereof, the recesses being dimensionally located to engage two inwardly directed spigots provided on the arm 7.

The staple steady is biassed into the illustrated position by the arm 18 with the hook like projection engaging the base of the slot in the blade 8 and the recesses 19 engaging the projections, However, the steady can move upwards, relative to the arm 7, against this bias.

It will be seen that the foot 1 of the described stapling machine also has an integral part thereof defining a resilient arm 20 engaging the undersurface of the magazine 5, serving to bias the magazine 5 upwardly.

It will be appreciated that the stapling machine initially adopts a position as illustrated in Figure 1. If a downward force is applied in the direction of the arrow 21 of Figure 1, initially the arm 7 and the magazine 5 will move downwardly, pivoting about the pivot rod 4.

The reason for this is that the spring bias provided by the resilient arm 18 is stronger than the spring bias provided by the resilient arm 20. When the lower part of the staple magazine contacts the upper surface of a stack of sheets of paper located between the foot 1 and the magazine 6 the downwardly movement of the magazine will cease, and the resilient arm 18 will begin to flex under the continued application of downward pressure.

The arm 7 will thus pivot relatively to the now stationary magazine 5 and the staple ejector blade 8 will move downwardly, thus ejecting a staple through the ejection slot 9.

The legs of the staple will be deflected by the anvil 2-and thus the staple will hold the sheets of paper together. Since the staple steady engages the top of the strip of staples the staple steady will move upwardly, relative to the arm 7, as the arm 7 continues its downward movement.

When the application of downward pressure is released initially the arm 7 will pivot upwardly relative to the magazine 5, due to the fact that the resilient arm 18 provides a greater resilient bias than the arm 20, and thus the blade 8 will be withdrawn from the magazine. The underside of the steady will, however, be retained in contact with the upper surface of the strip of staples. Thus, although the staples are biased into contact with the ejector blade 8 by means of the spring 10, any tendency of the staples to rise relatively to the magazine is resisted by the staple steady.

Subsequently the resilient arm 20 will move the staple magazine 5 to the initial position illustrated in Figure 1.

When all the staples present in the magazine have been exhausted, the arm 7 may be moved pivotally upwardly from the initial rest position shown in Figure 1. The staple steady will move upwardly with the arm since the staple steady is effectively connected to the arm by means of the hook 16 engaging in the elongate slot in the ejector blade 8 and the recesses 19 engaged with the inwardly directed spigots formed on the inner surfaces of the side walls of the arm 7. The steady can move slightly relatively to the arm 7 by virtue of the fact that the steady is held in position primarily by the influence of the resilient arm 18.

When the arm 7 has been pivoted upwardly relatively to the magazine 5 the staple feeder 13 may be slid backwardly, against the bias of the spring 10, until the staple feeder engages a stop 17 which is provided in the magazine 5. Staples may then be located between the front end of the staple feeder and the ejection slot. The provision of the stop 17 prevents the magazine being over-filled.

It will be appreciated that the staple steady of the present invention is of much less length than a conventional staple steady which, as was explained above, usually extends to the pivot rod 4. Thus, since less material is utilised in fabricating the steady, the steady will be cheaper to fabricate, thus reducing the overall cost of the stapling machine. Also it is to be noted that in the present embodiment the steady is formed of a material which has resilient properties and thus it is possible to make the means which resiliently bias the magazine and the operating arm of the part integrally with the steady, thus again minimis ing the manufacturing costs of the described stapling machine.

It will be appreciated that whilst the invention has been described with reference to one specific preferred embodiment, many modifications and improvements may be made without departing from the scope of the invention.

Thus, whilst the invention has been described with reference to an office or domestic stapling machine, the invention may be applied to an industrial stapling machine.

Claims (11)

1. A stapling machine, said stapling machine comprising a magazine adapted to contain staples, means for applying pressure to the staples to drive the staples successively to an ejection slot adjacent one end of the magazine, an arm pivotally movable relative to the magazine and carrying an ejector blade adapted to eject staples through the ejection slot, the arm also carrying a steady engagable with staples present in the magazine to prevent staples in the magazine moving out of the magazine when the arm and the associated ejector blade are retracted from the magazine, the steady having a length substantially less than the length of the magazine.

2. A stapling machine according to claim 1 wherein the steady has a length approximately equal to half the length of the magazine.

3. A stapling machine according to claim 1 or claim 2 wherein the steady carries resilient means which bias the arm and the magazine apart.

4. A stapling machine according to claim 3 wherein the steady is formed of a material having resilient properties, the steady defining one or more resilient portions constituting said resilient means.

5. A stapling machine according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the steady is mounted in position on the arm by means which engage an aperture formed in said ejector blade.

6. A stapling machine according to claim wherein the aperture in the ejector blade is an elongate aperture.

7. A stapling machine according to any one of claims 5 and 6 wherein the steady is also retained in position in said operating arm by means of cooperating recesses and protru- sions.

8. A stapling machine according to claim 7 wherein the steady defines two opposed recesses which cooperate with two inwardly directed protrusions formed on the operating arm of the stapling machine.

9. A stapling machine according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the operating arm and the magazine are pivotally mounted, about a single pivoting axis, on a foot carrying an anvil to deflect the arms of a staple ejected from the ejection slot.

10. A stapling machine according to claim 9 wherein said foot carries resilient means biasing the staple magazine and the arm upwardly.

11. Any novel feature or combination of features disclosed herein.

11. A stapling machine according to claim 10 wherein the resilient means carried on the foot comprise a resilient integral portion of the foot which engages part of the magazine.

12. A stapling machine substantially as herein described with reference to and as shown in the accompanying drawings.

13. Any novel feature or combination of features disclosed herein.

CLAIMS Amendments to the claims have been filed, and have the following effect: Claims 1 - 11 above have been deleted.

New claims have been filed as follows:

1. A stapling machine, said stapling machine comprising a magazine adapted to contain staples, means for applying pressure to the staples to drive the staples successively to an ejection slot adjacent one end of the magazine, an arm pivotally movable relative to the magazine and carrying an ejector blade adapted to eject staples through the ejection slot, the arm also carrying a steady defining a portion having a surface adapted to engage staples present in the magazine to prevent staples in the magazine moving out of the magazine when the arm and the associated ejector blade are retracted from the magazine, the steady being formed as an integrally moulded component of a material having resilient properties, the steady defining one or more resilient portions which constitute resilient means which bias the arm and the magazine apart, the steady having a length substantially less than the length of the magazine.

2. A stapling machine according to claim 1 wherein the steady has a length approximately equal to half the length of the magazine.

3. A stapling machine according to claim 1 or 2 wherein the steady is mounted in position on the arm by means which engage an aperture formed in said ejector blade.

4. A stapling machine according to claim 3 wherein the aperture in the ejector blade is an elongate aperture.

5. A stapling machine according to claim 3 or 4 wherein the steady is also retained in position in said operating arm by means of cooperating recesses and protrusions.

6. A stapling machine according to claim 5 wherein the steady defines two opposed recesses which cooperate with two inwardly directed protrusions formed on the operating arm of the stapling machine.

7. A stapling machine according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the operating arm and the magazine are pivotally mounted, about a single pivoting axis, on a foot carrying an anvil to deflect the arms of a staple ejected from the ejection slot.

8. A stapling machine according to claim 7 wherein said foot carries resilient means biasing the staple magazine and the arm upwardly.

9. A stapling machine according to claim 8 wherein the resilient means carried on the foot comprise a resilient integral portion of the foot which engages part of the magazine.

10. A stapling machine substantially as herein described with reference to and as shown in the accompanying drawings.