JP6926607B2 - Stapler - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a stapler.

A stapler is used to bind multiple sheets of paper. Such a stapler generally uses a metal needle. However, the metal needle needs to be removed for sorting when the paper is incinerated or shredded or recycled, which is troublesome. In addition, when used in food-related fields, there is a desire to avoid contamination with iron needles, which are foreign substances. Therefore, there are some that use non-metal needles made of paper, synthetic resin, etc., which do not require such trouble (see Patent Document 1).

In a stapler using such a non-metal needle, a through hole is formed in the paper, a U-shaped non-metal needle is inserted from one side of the paper, and the non-metal is projected to the other side of the paper. The paper is spelled by bending the needle leg of the needle.

To this end, the stapler has at least a penetration mechanism that raises and lowers a pair of left and right punching blades capable of holding a U-shaped non-metal needle with respect to the paper, and a non-metal projecting to the other side of the paper. It is equipped with a folding mechanism that bends the needle legs of the needle inward along the other surface of the paper and attaches the left and right needle legs to each other.

Further, a plurality of non-metal needles are connected in a flat state to form a band-shaped connecting needle so that continuous operation is possible.

Then, the stapler cuts each non-metal needle located at the head from the transfer mechanism that conveys the tip of the strip-shaped connecting needle along the transfer path and the tip of the connecting needle conveyed by the transfer mechanism. It is provided with a cutting and molding mechanism for forming in a U shape. The non-metal needle cut and molded by the cutting and molding mechanism is loaded between the pair of left and right punching blades of the penetration mechanism by the above-mentioned transport mechanism.

In addition, the strip-shaped connecting needles are also rolled into a roll to make them longer, smaller and easier to use. The stapler has a structure that can be handled by this roll-shaped connecting needle.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2013-166208

However, the stapler described in Patent Document 1 has the following problems.
That is, in order to enable the cutting and molding mechanism to accurately cut the connecting needle to which the non-metal needle is connected, it is necessary to correctly attach the connecting needle to the stapler body. At this time, if the connecting needle wound in a roll shape is used, it becomes difficult to correctly attach the connecting needle to the stapler body due to the influence of the winding habit attached to the connecting needle. Further, even if the connecting needle is correctly attached, there is a possibility that the connecting needle may be displaced from the correct position on the stapler body due to the winding habit after the attachment. If the connecting needle is displaced from the correct position in this way, the connecting needle cannot be accurately cut by the cutting molding mechanism.

Therefore, for example, it is conceivable to accommodate the roll-shaped connecting needle in the cartridge and attach the cartridge to the stapler so that the connecting needle is indirectly attached to the stapler body. By using the cartridge (smaller and easier to handle than the stapler) as an intermediary in this way, it becomes easier to attach the connecting needle to the cartridge, and the connecting needle can be accurately attached to the stapler body via the cartridge. In addition, it is possible to prevent the connecting needles from being displaced.

However, when a cartridge is used, it takes more time to handle the connecting needle, a cartridge is required, and a mechanism for attaching and detaching the cartridge to and from the stapler is required. Therefore, the structure of the stapler becomes complicated, the number of parts increases, the stapler becomes large, and the cost increases.

Therefore, the main object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems.

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention
A cutting mechanism that cuts each connecting needle, which is made by connecting multiple non-metal needles in a flat state.
In a stapler provided with a transport mechanism for transporting the connecting needle to the cutting mechanism via a transport path.
A needle holding portion capable of holding the connecting needle is provided on the front side of the transport path in the transport direction.
The needle holding portion has a contact surface to which the connecting needle is abutted and a contact surface to which the connecting needle is applied.
A regulating member that regulates the position of the connecting needle from one side,
Wherein the other surface of the coupling needle, have a, and off regulating portion disposed so as to face in a state that at different positions on the front and rear in the transport direction and the restricting member across the coupling needle,
The out-regulating portion, it characterized as having a first regulating portion that the installed in position of the first non-metallic needles of the connecting needle.

According to the present invention, according to the above configuration, it is possible to easily and surely correctly attach the connecting needle, and it is possible to reduce the size and cost.

It is an overall perspective view of a stapler. It is a side view of FIG. It is an overall perspective view of a non-metal needle. It is a figure which shows the state which bound the paper with a non-metal needle. It is a top view which shows the state which connected the non-metal needle into a connecting needle. It is a perspective view which shows the state which wound the connecting needle in a roll shape. It is a top view which shows the modification of the non-metal needle. It is explanatory drawing of the guide part for parallel binding. It is explanatory drawing of the guide part for square binding. It is an overall perspective view of the stapler similar to FIG. 1 with the main body cover removed. It is a perspective view which cut the stapler vertically. It is a side view which cut the stapler vertically at the position of the center of width. (A) is an overall perspective view of the stapler as seen from diagonally upper rear, and (b) is a partially enlarged view of the stapler showing a transport path. (A) is a perspective view similar to FIG. 12 in which the connecting needle is passed through the transport path, and (b) is a partially enlarged view thereof. It is a figure which shows the transport path constituent member. Of these, (a) is a perspective view seen from the front side, (b) is a perspective view seen from the rear side, (c) is a front view, (d) is a plan view, and (e) is a side view. It is a vertical cross-sectional view of the stapler which saw the transport mechanism from the side. (A) is an overall perspective view of the stapler (with the transport path constituent member removed) viewed from the rear diagonally upper side, and (b) is a partially enlarged view thereof, showing the transport mechanism. It is a figure which shows a pusher. Of these, (a) is a perspective view seen from diagonally forward, (b) is a perspective view seen from above, and (c) is a plan view. It is an exploded perspective view which shows the relationship between the feed claw of a pusher, and the hole 4 (feed hole) of a connecting needle. It is a perspective view which shows the relationship between the feed claw of a pusher, and the hole (feed hole) of a non-metal needle. It is a perspective view which shows the operating state of a pusher (a state which a non-metal needle is in a cutting molding mechanism). It is a perspective view which shows the operating state of a pusher (the state before sending a non-metal needle between the punching blades of a penetration mechanism). It is a perspective view which shows the operating state of a pusher (the state after feeding a non-metal needle between the punching blades of a penetration mechanism). It is a schematic side view of the stapler which shows the state of attaching and detaching the staple cover. The staple cover is shown with a partial cutout to show the inside. (A) is an overall perspective view of the stapler to which the staple cover is attached as viewed from diagonally upper rear, and (b) is a partially enlarged view thereof. It is a figure which shows the staple cover. Of these, (a) is a perspective view seen from the diagonally upper side, (b) is a perspective view seen from the diagonally lateral side, (c) is a perspective view seen from the rear diagonally lower side, and (d) is a front diagonally lower side. It is a perspective view seen from. It is a figure which shows the relationship between the pedestal of a transport path, and the needle protection protrusion of a staple cover. Of these, (a) is an overall perspective view, and (b) is a partially enlarged front view. It is a side view which shows the use state of the 1st check claw. It is a side view which shows the use state of the 1st check claw (the state which there are 3 unconnected needles remaining). FIG. 27 is a side view similar to FIG. 27 showing another example of the positioning structure. FIG. 27B is an operation diagram of FIG. 27B. It is a side view which shows the use state of the 2nd check claw. It is a side view which shows the state after use of the 2nd check claw. It is a top view which shows the arrangement and use state of the 1st check claw and the 2nd check claw. Of these, (a) indicates that there are many connecting needles remaining, (b) corresponds to FIG. 27A (remaining three states), and (c) corresponds to FIG. 28 (remaining two states). Is. It is a partially enlarged side view which shows the relationship between the cover guide of a stapler and the guide protrusion of a stapler cover. Of these, (a) is a diagram showing an initial state of installation, (b) is a diagram showing a state in the middle stage of installation, and (c) is a diagram showing a state in the latter stage of installation. It is the whole vertical sectional view of the stapler which shows the self-holding structure of a connecting needle. It is a partially enlarged view of FIG. 32. FIG. 3 is a partially enlarged view similar to FIG. 33 showing another embodiment of the regulating member. It is a partially enlarged view which shows the modification of FIG. 33A. It is a partially enlarged view which is the same as FIG. 33 which shows another Example of the 2nd regulation part. It is a top view of the tip part of the connecting needle which shows the self-holding structure of the connecting needle. It is a partially enlarged view of FIG. 34. It is the same plan view as FIG. 34 which shows the modification of the contact surface provided in the transport path constituent member. It is the same plan view as FIG. 34 which shows the other embodiment of this attachment surface. It is the same plan view as FIG. 34 which shows another Example of this attachment surface. It is the same plan view as FIG. 34 which shows still another Example of this attachment surface. It is the same plan view as FIG. 34 which shows the other modification of the contact surface provided in the stapler main body. It is a partially enlarged front view similar to FIG. 26B, showing a state when the connecting needle is removed. It is a perspective view of the constituent members of a cutting molding mechanism and a penetration mechanism. It is an operation diagram of a cutting molding mechanism and a penetration mechanism, and shows from a standby state to a state where a non-metal needle is molded and the needle tip is picked up by the needle holding portion of the needle holding plate. It is an operation diagram of the cutting molding mechanism and the penetration mechanism, and shows from the state where the needle holding plate holds the non-metal needle after molding to the state where the non-metal needle is pushed out into the punching blade by the pusher. It is an operation diagram of a drawing blade guide. Of these, (a) indicates the initial position of the punching blade guide, and (b) shows a state in which the punching blade guide retracts and the first guide portion guides the punching blade and starts retracting from between the punching blades. , (C) indicate a state in which the second guide portion is arranged between the punching blades and the bending operation is performed by the bending mechanism, and (d) shows a state in which the bending operation of the punching blade guide is completed and the punching blade guide is Indicates a stopped state. It is an operation diagram of the modification of the drawing blade guide. Of these, (a) indicates the initial position of the punching blade guide, and (b) shows a state in which the punching blade guide retracts and the first guide portion guides the punching blade and starts retracting from between the punching blades. , (C) indicate a state in which the second guide portion is arranged between the punching blades and the bending operation is performed by the bending mechanism, and (d) shows a state in which the bending operation of the punching blade guide is completed and the punching blade guide is Indicates a stopped state. It is an operation diagram of another modification of a drawing blade guide. Of these, (a) indicates the initial position of the punching blade guide, and (b) shows a state in which the punching blade guide retracts and the first guide portion guides the punching blade and starts retracting from between the punching blades. , (C) indicate a state in which the second guide portion is arranged between the punching blades and the bending operation is performed by the bending mechanism, and (d) shows a state in which the bending operation of the punching blade guide is completed and the punching blade guide is Indicates a stopped state. It is an operation diagram of a link and shows a standby state. It is an operation diagram of a link, and shows a state in which the link is lowered by the lowering of the link shaft, the pusher is retracted, and the pusher is detached from the needle holding plate. It is an operation diagram of a link, and shows the state which the link has rotated and the slide member has started to retreat. It is an operation diagram of a link and shows a state in which a slide member is retracted. It is an operation diagram of a link, and shows a state in which the link shaft reaches the lowest point and the slide member is most retracted. It is an operation diagram of the link, and shows a state in which the link rotates in the return direction due to the rise of the link shaft, and the slide member advances and returns to the standby position. It is explanatory drawing of the driver main body. Of these, (a) is a plan view, (b) is a front view, (c) is a side view, (d) is a cross-sectional view, and (e) is a back view. The driver body when the crown retainer bottoms out is shown. Of these, (a) is a front view, (b) is a side view, and (c) is a cross-sectional view. It is a figure which shows the constituent member of a folding mechanism. Of these, (a) is a perspective view of the bending unit, (b) is a perspective view of the bonded member, and (c) is a perspective view of the slide member. It is a top view of the slide member. , Is an explanatory view of a guide surface provided on the stapler main body, and is a perspective view from an obliquely downward direction of the stapler main body. It is a perspective view of the state in which each component of a folding mechanism and a link are assembled. It is an operation diagram of a slide member. Of these, (a) indicates a standby state before the operation of the slide member, (b) indicates a state in which the slide member has started operation, and (c) indicates a state in which the slide member has stopped. It is an operation diagram of a folding member, and shows the standby state before the operation of the bending member by inserting a non-metal needle into the paper. It is an operation diagram of the bending member, and shows the state which the 1st bending member and the 2nd bending member are operated sequentially, and one and the other needle legs are bent in this order. It is an operation diagram of a bending member, and shows the state in which one and the other needle legs are bonded by the bonding member. It is an operation diagram of the bending member, and shows the state in which the first bending member is lowered in order to avoid the interference with the other needle leg. It is an operation diagram of the bonded member. Of these, (a) indicates a standby state before the operation of the bonding member, (b) indicates a state in which the bonding member is rotating, and (c) is a bonding member with a pair of needle legs bonded together. Indicates the state of It is explanatory drawing of the modification of the folding mechanism. Of these, (a) is an example in which the first and second bending members are urged in the pushing direction by two coil springs, and (b) is an example in which the first and second bending members are pushed in the pushing direction by two coil springs. It is an example of urging, and (c) is an example of urging the first and second bending members in the pushing-up direction with one coil spring.

Hereinafter, the present embodiment will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
1 to 52 are for explaining this embodiment.

<Overall configuration of stapler> The overall configuration of the stapler of this embodiment will be described below.

First, the "direction" will be described with reference to the perspective view of FIG. 1 (or the side view of FIG. 1A). In this embodiment, the stapler 1 has the front side as the front, the back side as the back, the right side as the right, the left side as the left, the upper side as the upper side, and the lower side as the lower side with respect to the direction in which the paper is inserted. That is, the front-rear direction X, the left-right direction Y, and the up-down direction Z. However, the directions are relative.

Next, the needle (staple) used for the stapler 1 will be described with reference to FIG. This needle is a non-metal needle 2 (or a soft needle) made of paper, synthetic resin, or the like. The direction of the non-metal needle 2 will be described with reference to the state of being attached to the stapler 1.

One non-metal needle 2 is an inverted U-shape (or downward U-shape) having a pair of left and right needle legs 2b, 2c bent at substantially right angles to both ends of a central crown 2a as a top. .. The non-metal needle 2 is mounted with the crown 2a facing the stapler 1 in the left-right direction Y, and the pair of left and right needle legs 2b, 2c are bent downward inside the stapler 1. Become. The non-metal needle 2 is supposed to have a required length with respect to the front-rear direction X (the width of the non-metal needle 2 or the length of the non-metal needle 2 in the lateral direction).

Then, as shown in FIG. 3, a pair of left and right needle legs 2b, 2c are inserted into the through holes p1 of the paper P, and the needle legs 2b, 2c protruding toward the back surface side of the paper P are aligned with the back surface of the paper P. By folding the sheets inward in order, a plurality of sheets of paper P can be stacked and bound. The total length of the pair of left and right needle legs 2b and 2c is set longer than that of the crown 2a so that the inwardly folded needle legs 2b and 2c overlap.

At this time, on the inner surface (or back surface) of the needle leg 2c that is internally folded later, when the needle legs 2b and 2c are internally folded along the back surface of the paper P, the needle leg 2b that is internally folded first. An adhesive portion 2d is provided so that it can be adhesively fixed to the outer surface (or surface) of the above. On the other hand, the non-metal needle 2 adheres to the outer surface (or surface) of the needle leg 2c that is folded inward at least later (when the non-metal needle 2 is wound in a roll shape or stacked on top of each other). Non-adhesive processing is applied to prevent adhesion by part 2d.

Then, as shown in FIG. 4, a plurality of non-metal needles 2 are connected in a flatly extended state to form a band-shaped connecting needle 3 (or a soft connecting needle) so that continuous operation is possible. .. Then, as shown in FIG. 5, by winding the strip-shaped connecting needle 3 in a roll shape, the connecting needle 3 is lengthened and accommodated inside the stapler 1 so that it can be used compactly. (Roll-shaped connecting needle).

As shown in FIG. 4, in the connecting needle 3, a plurality of elongated rectangular non-metal needles 2 extending straight in the left-right direction Y are partially connected by a connecting portion 3a and connected in the front-rear direction X. It is a thing. The connecting portions 3a are provided at two positions near both ends in the left-right direction Y, and the connecting needle 3 penetrates the paper P through the portions (front and rear edges) outside the left and right connecting portions 3a. A tapered slit portion 3b for forming a tapered shape is provided so that the hole p1 can be easily passed through. Further, the inner portion of the left and right connecting portions 3a is a continuous slit portion 3c that separates the trailing edge portion and the leading edge portion of the non-metal needles 2 adjacent to the front and rear.

A pair of left and right holes 4 for operating the connecting needle 3 are provided at the boundary portion between each connecting portion 3a and the slit portion 3c inside the connecting portion 3a. The hole 4 is used as a locking hole for operating the connecting needle 3, a feed hole, a positioning hole, and the like. The hole 4 may be a round hole, a square hole, an elongated hole, or the like. In this case, it has a rounded square shape.

However, the positions and numbers of the connecting portions 3a and the hole portions 4 are not limited to the above. For example, in FIG. 4, in addition to the pair of left and right hole portions 4 provided at the boundary portion of the front and rear non-metal needles 2 as described above, the center of each non-metal needle 2 in the front-rear direction X and the left-right direction Y. A third hole 4 is provided in the portion. However, the third hole 4 may not be provided if it is not necessary. Further, as shown in FIG. 6, only one hole 4 may be provided in the central portion of each non-metal needle 2 in the front-rear direction X and the left-right direction Y. Alternatively, three or more holes 4 may be provided in the left-right direction Y.

The non-metal needle 2 described above is bent downward so as to form a crease extending straight in the front-rear direction X at a position closer to the center in the left-right direction Y than the pair of left-right hole portions 4 in FIG. (See Fig. 2). Such a connecting needle 3 can be obtained, for example, by punching a flat paper or a synthetic resin sheet having a uniform thickness so as to have the above shape.

Next, the stapler 1 will be described.

Returning to FIG. 1, the stapler 1 described above includes a stapler main body 5 that can be placed on a table, and an operation handle 6 that is attached to the stapler main body 5 so that it can be pushed down.

A paper stand 7 for setting the paper P (see FIGS. 7 and 8) is provided on the front side of the stapler main body 5, and a paper insertion position at which the paper P is bound is inserted in the back of the paper stand 7. A portion 8 (binding portion) is provided. The paper base 7 and the paper insertion portion 8 are provided substantially horizontally, and the upper portion of the paper base 7 is cut so that the front portion of the stapler main body 5 is inclined so as to be inclined rearward toward the paper insertion portion 8. By lacking, the paper base 7 and the paper insertion portion 8 are provided on the front side portion of the stapler main body 5 so as to be substantially horizontal Y-shaped as a whole.

Then, in the inner part of the paper insertion portion 8, as shown in FIG. 7, a parallel binding guide portion 7a for binding the paper P in parallel with the side of the paper P, and as shown in FIG. 8, A square binding guide portion 7b for binding the corners of the paper P diagonally is provided. Further, the paper base 7 is provided with a mark portion 7c as a guide for aligning the positions of the two sides forming the corners of the paper P when the corners of the paper P are set on the square binding guide portion 7b. There is.

A main body cover 9 (hereinafter, also referred to with reference to FIG. 1) as an exterior is attached to the stapler main body 5, and when the main body cover 9 is removed, the operation handle 6 and the stapler are as shown in FIG. The internal structure of the main body 5 is exposed. The operation handle 6 is composed of a resin handle operation portion 11 and a metal handle main body portion 12. In addition, convex portions 9a, 12a (see FIG. 11) and the like can be provided at the portion where the main body cover 9 and the handle main body portion 12 intersect with each other so as not to cause pinching of an object or the like. The convex portions 9a and 12a are curved rearward with respect to a portion corresponding to the movable range of the handle main body portion 12 at least one of the trailing edge portion of the main body cover 9 and the trailing edge portion of the handle main body portion 12. It is said to have a shape that protrudes in a target manner.

The resin handle operation portion 11 extends diagonally upward from the position on the front end side of the portion (upper overhanging portion) overhanging the paper base 7 above the paper insertion portion 8 in the front portion of the stapler main body 5. It is supposed to be.

The metal handle body 12 has a substantially triangular shape when viewed from the side, and the corners located on the front side and the lower side can rotate up and down via a support shaft 13 extending in the left-right direction Y. It is pivotally supported by. On the other hand, the stapler main body 5 (upper overhanging portion) is provided with a shaft hole 14 that pivotally supports the support shaft 13. A corner portion located above the metal handle body portion 12 having a substantially triangular shape in a side view is attached to an intermediate portion of the resin handle operating portion 11 in the front-rear direction X.

By rotating the metal handle body 12 up and down around the support shaft 13, the resin handle operating portion 11 is tilted backward from the upper overhanging portion of the stapler body 5 from the standby state. , It is tilted up and down so that it is pushed in almost horizontally. As a result, the operation handle 6 is pushed in from substantially top to bottom. At this time, as shown in FIG. 1A, a gap S is secured between the horizontal handle operating portion 11 and the stapler main body 5 to prevent an object from being pinched. ing.

Then, at a position toward the rear along the lower side of the metal handle body 12 having a substantially triangular shape when viewed from the side, a link shaft 15 extending in the left-right direction Y is formed by rotation of the operation handle 6. It is attached (or inserted) so that it can be raised and lowered with respect to the stapler body 5. The operation of the operation handle 6 is transmitted to each mechanism of the stapler 1 by raising and lowering the link shaft 15.

In order to raise and lower the link shaft 15 in the vertical direction Z, a guide groove 17 extending in the vertical direction Z is provided on the side surface 16 (side wall) of the stapler main body 5. Further, in order to allow the link shaft 15 to move up and down in the vertical direction Z, the shaft hole 14 that pivotally supports the support shaft 13 is an elongated hole, and the support shaft 13 serves as a movable fulcrum. There is. By using the support shaft 13 as a movable fulcrum, it is possible to reduce the operating force of the operation handle 6.

For example, the shaft hole 14 is a refraction hole having a horizontal portion on the front side and an inclined portion rising backward on the rear side. As a result, when the handle operating portion 11 is lifted up, the support shaft 13 is located at the upper end of the inclined portion of the shaft hole 14, and when the handle operating portion 11 is pushed in from this state to make it horizontal, The support shaft 13 moves down the inclined portion of the shaft hole 14 to the front end portion of the horizontal portion. Then, the pushing force at the initial stage of pushing down can be reduced by moving the support shaft 13 so as to go down the inclined portion of the shaft hole 14 according to the pushing down of the handle operating portion 11, that is, by moving the fulcrum. Further, when the handle operating portion 11 approaches the lower limit position, the support shaft 13 enters the horizontal portion of the shaft hole 14, that is, the position of the fulcrum is fixed, so that a large operating force can be generated. can.

Then, for example, the link shaft 15 is used to move the metal link 18 interposed between the side surface 16 of the stapler body 5 and the metal handle body 12. The function of this link 18 will be described later.

The link 18 has its upper portion sandwiched between the side surface 16 of the stapler body 5 and the metal handle body 12, and is oriented along the side surface 16 of the stapler body 5 (for example, the front-rear direction X and the vertical direction X and up and down). It is held so that it can be moved in the direction Z, etc.). Further, the lower portion of the link 18 is locked and held so as to be movable in a direction along the side surface 16 of the stapler main body 5 by a hook-shaped link holding portion 19 provided on the side surface 16 of the stapler main body 5.

The link 18 has an upward extending portion 18a located on the upper side and extending substantially in the vertical direction Z, an intermediate rear extending portion 18b extending rearward from the lower end portion of the upper extending portion 18a, and the rear extending portion 18b. It is said to have a substantially crank shape in a side view having a lower extending portion 18c extending downward from the rear end portion.

The upper extending portion 18a on the upper side of the link 18 is provided with a first guide groove portion 21 that extends substantially in the vertical direction Z and is guided by raising and lowering the link shaft 15.

Further, a guide hole 22 for guiding the movement of the link 18 itself is provided in the rear extending portion 18b in the middle of the link 18, and a guide fitted in the guide hole 22 is provided on the side surface 16 of the stapler main body 5. The protrusion 23 is projected. The guide protrusion 23 has a substantially quadrangular side view.

Further, on the rear portion of the side surface 16 of the stapler main body 5, a regulating protrusion 24 for restricting the backward movement of the link 18 by hitting the trailing edge portion of the link 18 is provided. The regulating protrusion 24 has a quadrangular side view.

The link 18 controls the movements of the two axes 25 and 26, which will be described later, by the movement thereof. The two shafts 25 and 26 are a second guide groove portion 27 and a third guide groove portion 28 provided in the rear extending portion 18b in the middle of the link 18 and the lower extending portion 18c below the link 18, respectively. Is to be guided by. The guide hole 22 of the rear extending portion 18b of the link 18 and the second guide groove portion 27 are connected, but the present invention is not limited to this.

Further, the link 18 is provided with a pushing protrusion 30 that protrudes into the second guide groove 27 and pushes one of the shafts 25 rearward in conjunction with the lowering operation and the rotating operation of the link 18. ing.

Then, as shown in the perspective view showing the cross section of the stapler 1 cut vertically at the center of the width in FIG. 10, the accommodation portion 31 for directly accommodating the roll-shaped connecting needle 3 is provided at the rear portion of the stapler main body 5. A transport path 32 for guiding the tip end portion pulled out from the roll-shaped portion of the connecting needle 3 is provided. A staple cover 33 that covers the accommodating portion 31 and the transport path 32 is detachably attached to the upper side of the accommodating portion 31 and the transport path 32.

Then, on the lower side of the transport path 32, the tip end portion of the connecting needle 3 pulled out from the roll-shaped connecting needle 3 housed in the accommodating portion 31 can be transported forward (in the transport direction) along the transport path 32. The transport mechanism 34 is installed.

Further, on the front side of the transport path 32, a cutting mechanism having both a cutting mechanism for cutting the non-metal needle 2 located at the head of the connecting needle 3 and a molding mechanism for forming the cut non-metal needle 2 into a U shape is provided. The molding mechanism 35 and the penetration mechanism 37 that raises and lowers a pair of left and right punching blades 36 capable of holding the non-metal needle 2 formed in a U shape by the cutting molding mechanism 35 to form a through hole p1 in the paper P. is set up.

The transport mechanism 34 feeds the connecting needle 3 forward by one non-metal needle 2. Further, the cutting and forming mechanism 35 and the penetration mechanism 37 are each configured to be within substantially the same dimensions as the dimensions of one non-metal needle 2 in the front-rear direction X.

The cutting mechanism and the molding mechanism can be configured separately. Further, the cutting and forming mechanism 35 and the penetration mechanism 37 can be integrated with each other as described later. The punching blade 36 is made of metal that extends substantially in the vertical direction Z. The punching blade 36 is assumed to have substantially the same width as the width of the non-metal needle 2 (length in the lateral direction), and its surface is in the same direction as the needle legs 2b and 2c of the non-metal needle 2 (that is, left and right). It is mounted in a direction (almost perpendicular to the direction Y). The penetration mechanism 37 is provided at the position of the paper insertion portion 8.

Then, on the lower side of the paper insertion portion 8, the needle legs 2b and 2c of the non-metal needle 2 which are inserted into the through hole p1 together with the punching blade 36 and protrude toward the back side of the paper P are along the back side of the paper P. A folding mechanism 38 is installed which bends the needle legs inward and attaches the left and right needle legs 2b and 2c to each other. The two shafts 25 and 26 described above are for driving the transport mechanism 34 and the bending mechanism 38, respectively.

Further, an opening 41 is provided on the lower surface of the stapler main body 5, and the opening 41 is centered on a hinge portion 42 provided on the rear side when the non-metal needle 2 is clogged or the like. A lid 43 that can be opened and closed so as to rotate downward and backward is attached. A lock portion 44 for holding the lid portion 43 in the closed state is provided on the front side of the lid portion 43. A part of the bending mechanism 38 may be separately attached to the inner surface side of the lid portion 43.

Then, in the stapler 1 using the non-metal needle 2, the penetration mechanism 37 moves via the link shaft 15 described above by pushing down the operation handle 6, and further, the stapler 1 and the transfer mechanism 34 via the link 18 described above. , The bending mechanism 38 and the bending mechanism 38 move in conjunction with the penetration mechanism 37.

At this time, as shown in FIG. 11, the stapler 1 is adapted to perform a return operation or the like by four springs.

The first is a handle return spring 45 that returns the operation handle 6 (returns to the upper standby position), and the second is a crown pressing spring that presses the crown 2a of the non-metal needle 2 when binding the paper P. 46, the third is a pusher return spring 47 provided in the transport mechanism 34, and the fourth is a slider return spring 48 provided in the bending mechanism 38.

Of these, in the first handle return spring 45, the coil portion 45a is fitted externally to the support shaft 13, one arm portion 45b is locked to the stapler body 5, and the other arm portion 45c is made of metal. It is a torsion coil spring locked to the handle body portion 12 of the above. The handle return spring 45 urges the metal handle body 12 in a direction of upward rotation.

Further, the second crown pressing spring 46 is for adjusting the state of the penetration mechanism 37 and the like according to the thickness of the paper P to be bound, and is a coil spring extending in the vertical direction Z. The third pusher return spring 47 and the fourth slider return spring 48 are coil springs that extend in the front-rear direction X, respectively.

The above is the overall configuration of the stapler.

<Structure of each part of stapler 1>
Next, the features of each part of the stapler 1 of this embodiment will be described in order.

[About operation handle 6]
(Structure 1) In the stapler 1 of this embodiment, a paper placing portion (paper stand 7) on which paper P can be placed is provided on one end side (front end side in this embodiment), and this paper placing portion (paper) is provided. A penetration mechanism 37 is provided in which a through hole p1 is formed in the paper P placed on the table 7) and the non-metal needle 2 supplied from the other end side (rear end side in this embodiment) is penetrated into the through hole p1. Stapler body 5 to have and
An operation handle 6 which is connected to the one end side of the stapler main body 5 and has a handle operation unit 11 which can be pushed in is provided.
The penetration mechanism 37 penetrates the non-metal needle 2 by forming a through hole p1 in the paper P placed on the paper mounting portion (paper base 7) in conjunction with the pushing operation of the operation handle 6. It is composed of.
The handle operating portion 11 is formed so as to extend from the one end side to the other end side of the stapler main body 5.

(Action Effect 1) As described above, the handle operating portion 11 of the operating handle 6 is extended from the front end side (one end side) to the rear end side (the other end side) of the stapler main body 5. As a result, the stapler main body 5 can receive the reaction force when the operation handle 6 is pushed (downward) at the other end (rear portion) of the stapler main body 5.

(Structure 2) An accommodating portion 31 for accommodating the non-metal needle 2 is provided on the other end side of the stapler main body 5.

(Effect 2) A structure for supplying the non-metal needle 2 (for example, a housing portion 31 or a transport path 32) is provided at the rear portion of the stapler main body 5. As a result, it is possible to secure a receiving portion for the reaction force when the operation handle 6 is pushed (downward) by the accommodating portion 31 or the like. Therefore, even if the rear part of the stapler body 5 is not specially enlarged (to receive the reaction force), the reaction force can be stably received as it is, and the stapler body 5 can be made smaller by that amount. It becomes possible to make it.

On the other hand, for example, when the operation handle 6 extends from the rear end side (the other end side) of the stapler main body 5 toward the front end side (one end side), the stapler main body 5 is prevented from tipping over. , The part for receiving the reaction force when the operation handle 6 is pushed (downward) (for example, the V-shaped support leg) is projected toward the front side of the stapler body 5. The stapler main body 5 becomes large. Therefore, it is structurally advantageous to make the stapler body 5 extend from the front end side (one end side) to the rear end side (the other end side) of the stapler body 5 in order to reduce the size of the stapler body 5. ..

(Structure 3) The operation handle 6 is connected to a position facing (up and down) the paper mounting portion (paper stand 7) of the stapler main body 5.

(Effect 3) By arranging the operation handle 6 at a position overlapping the paper mounting portion (paper stand 7) of the stapler main body 5, the operation handle 6 can be compactly installed with respect to the stapler main body 5. Can be done.

(Structure 4) The operation handle 6 is rotatably attached to the stapler main body 5.
The handle operation unit 11 is configured to rotate about a support shaft 13 provided on the stapler main body 5 when the stapler operation unit 11 is pushed in.

(Action effect 4) By rotatably attaching the operation handle 6 to the stapler main body 5, the principle of the lever can be utilized, and a large output can be obtained with a small input. This makes it possible to easily operate the stapler 1.

(Structure 5) The handle operating portion 11 extends with an upward slope (backward rising in this embodiment) from one end side of the stapler main body 5 toward the other end side, and the handle operating portion 11 is pushed in. When operated, the other end side is configured to move up and down (in this embodiment, the rear end portion descends and rises) about the support shaft 13 provided on the stapler main body 5.

(Action effect 5) According to the above configuration, as the operation handle 6 is pushed downward, the length of the front-rear direction X from the support shaft 13 to the link shaft 15 (acting point) (for operating the penetration mechanism 37) and the support. Since the length of the X in the front-rear direction from the shaft 13 to the end (power point) on the side opposite to the support shaft 13 of the operation handle 6 increases, a larger output is obtained around the lower limit position of the operation handle 6. Will be able to.

(Structure 6) A support shaft 13 that pivotally supports an end portion (front end portion in this embodiment) of the operation handle 6 located on one end side of the stapler main body 5 with respect to the stapler main body 5 is provided by the penetration mechanism 37. Is also provided on one end side (front side in this embodiment).

(Action Effect 6) As described above, the support shaft 13 that pivotally supports the front end portion of the operation handle 6 with respect to the stapler main body 5 is provided at a position on the front side of the penetration mechanism 37. As a result, the length from the support shaft 13 to the link shaft 15 (point of action) (for operating the penetration mechanism 37) and the end portion (force point) of the operation handle 6 in the direction opposite to the support shaft 13 from the support shaft 13. Since the leverage ratio, which is determined by the length of, can be increased, a larger output can be obtained with a smaller input.

(Structure 7) A non-slip member 10 is provided at the lower end side of the stapler main body 5 (lower end side in this embodiment).
Then, when the operation handle 6 is tilted downward, the end portion (rear end portion in this embodiment) of the operation handle 6 located on the other end side of the stapler main body 5 is larger than the non-slip member 10. The length should not protrude to the other end side (rear end side in this embodiment).

(Action 7) By providing a non-slip member 10 at the lower part (bottom) on the rear end side of the stapler body 5, the stapler body 5 is prevented from moving backward when the operation handle 6 is tilted downward. Can be done. The non-slip member 10 can also be provided on the front end side lower portion (bottom portion) of the stapler main body 5. For the non-slip member 10, a material having a large frictional resistance such as rubber, elastomer, or cork can be used. Then, the rear end portion of the operation handle 6 when the operation handle 6 is tilted downward has a length that does not protrude to the rear side of the non-slip member 10 or does not come out. As a result, the stapler body 5 can be stabilized when the operation handle 6 is pushed downward.

[About the transport path 32]
As shown in FIG. 12 (see also FIG. 13), the above-mentioned transport path 32 is provided at the rear portion of the stapler main body 5, and is composed of a transport path component 51 as shown in FIG. .. The transport path constituent member 51 is mainly composed of a transport path 32 having a substantially horizontal surface, and has a vertical wall portion 52 rising upward at the front end portion of the transport path 32, and the transport path 32. It has side wall portions 53 that rise upward on both side portions.

Then, at the lower edge portion of the vertical wall portion 52 of the transport path constituent member 51 (the boundary portion with the front edge portion of the transport path 32), a needle passage port 54 for passing the tip end portion of the connecting needle 3 is provided. It is provided. The needle opening 54 is a horizontally long slit having a width dimension substantially equal to or slightly wider than the width dimension of the connecting needle 3 and a vertical dimension substantially equal to or slightly higher than the thickness of the connecting needle 3. It is said to be a shape.

On the upper side of the needle threading port 54, a first recess 55 having a width narrower and higher than the needle threading port 54 and a second recess 56 having a width narrower and higher than the first recess 55 And are provided integrally. Of these, the first recess 55 is said to have a width dimension substantially equal to or larger than the distance between the pair of left and right holes 4 of the non-metal needle 2 or the connecting needle 3. Further, the second recess 56 is assumed to have a width dimension substantially equal to or larger than the width of the crown 2a of the non-metal needle 2.

A pair of left and right slits 57 extending in the front-rear direction are provided on the front side of the transport path 32 at positions that match the pair of left and right holes 4 of the non-metal needle 2 or the connecting needle 3.

Further, at a position between the pair of left and right slits 57 on the front side of the transport path 32, a pedestal 58 extending forward in a state of being flush with the transport path 32 is provided so as to project. The pedestal 58 has substantially the same width as the crown 2a, and is inserted into the above-mentioned cutting and molding mechanism 35 to form the non-metal needle 2 into a U shape by the cutting and molding mechanism 35. , The crown 2a of the non-metal needle 2 is supported from below. The pedestal 58 has an inverted trapezoidal shape when viewed from the front.

[About the transport mechanism 34]
As shown in FIGS. 15 and 16, the above-mentioned transport mechanism 34 is provided on the lower side of the transport path 32, and the transport mechanism 34 is mainly composed of a pusher 61 as shown in FIG. ..

The pusher 61 is provided with a pair of left and right feed claws 62 extending substantially forward on both sides thereof. As shown in FIGS. 18 and 19, the feed claw 62 is passed through the hole 4 (feed hole) of the non-metal needle 2 or the connecting needle 3 from below to feed the connecting needle 3 forward. be. The feed claw 62 is elastically deformable in the vertical direction Z. In order to increase the elastic deformation ability of the feed claw 62 in the vertical direction Z, the feed claw 62 is adapted so that the base portion once rises upward and then extends forward. The first recess 55 in the needle passage port 54 of the transport path component 51 (vertical wall portion 52) of FIG. 14 has a height for avoiding interference with the tip end portion of the feed claw 62. There is.

Further, on the front surface of the pusher 61, as shown in order in FIGS. A push surface 63 (see FIG. 18) for feeding between the blades 36 is provided. The push surface 63 goes in and out of the lower side of the pedestal 58 projecting from the front portion of the transport path 32 to the front side, and is a front surface so as to match the inverted trapezoidal pedestal 58 in the front view. It has a concave shape that is visually cut out in an inverted trapezoidal shape (see FIG. 26).

The pusher 61 is accommodated and installed so as to be movable in the front-rear direction X with respect to the stapler main body 5, and is always provided by the pusher return spring 47 interposed between the rear portion of the pusher 61 and the stapler main body 5. It is urged forward.

The lower part of the pusher 61 has a shaft hole 64 in which one of the above two shafts 25 and 26 (pusher drive shaft (shaft 25), see FIG. 9) is arranged through in the left-right direction Y. By guiding the pusher drive shaft (shaft 25) to the second guide groove portion 27 provided in the link 18 described above, the pusher return spring 47 is moved in the front-rear direction X against the elastic force of the pusher return spring 47. It has become.

Further, a pair of guide arms 65 extending in the left-right direction Y are integrally provided on both sides of the pusher 61. The guide arm 65 is elastically deformable in the vertical direction Z. The guide arm 65 moves along a guide portion 66 (see FIG. 42B) provided at the rear portion of the stapler main body 5 (position around the second guide groove portion 27).

A locking small convex portion 67 is projected upward from the guide portion 66, and when the operation handle 6 is pushed down, the guide arm 65 is locked to the rear portion of the locking small convex portion 67. As a result, the pusher 61 is locked in a retracted state against the urging force of the pusher return spring 47. The locking small convex portion 67 is supposed to have an inclined surface 67a rising rearward on the front side and a locking surface 67b extending in the vertical direction Z on the rear side.

Then, as will be described later, when the operation handle 6 returns, the link 18 rises, so that the guide arm 65 is lifted at the lower edge portion of the second guide groove portion 27, and the guide arm 65 of the pusher 61 is locked. The small convex portion 67 is released from the locking surface 67b, and the pusher 61 is moved forward by the urging force of the pusher return spring 47.

At this time, the pusher 61 is moved in the front-rear direction X by the distance of one non-metal needle 2. Then, as shown in FIG. 15, when the pusher 61 advances while the first (head) non-metal needle 2 from the front of the connecting needle 3 is mounted in the cutting molding mechanism 35, the feed claw 62 moves to the connecting needle. The feed claw 62 moves into the second hole 4 from the front of the connecting needle 3 when the pusher 61 retracts into the first hole 4 from the front of the third. As a result, the last non-metal needle 2 can be sent to the cutting and forming mechanism 35. The last non-metal needle 2 is formed into a U shape by the cutting molding mechanism 35, and then the pair of left and right punching blades 36 of the penetration mechanism 37 are formed by the pushing surface 63 of the pusher 61 instead of the feed claw 62. Will be sent to. Further, although not particularly shown, a stopper portion is provided on the front side of the penetration mechanism 37 to regulate the non-metal needle 2 sent by the pusher 61 so as not to protrude forward from the penetration mechanism 37.

[About Staple Cover 33]
As shown in FIGS. 23 and 24, the staple cover 33 is detachably attached to the upper side of the accommodating portion 31 and the transport path 32 at the rear portion of the stapler main body 5.

A mounting protrusion 33a is provided on the side surface of the staple cover 33. The mounting protrusion 33a is for locking and fixing the staple cover 33 to the stapler body 5 by entering the mounting hole 16a (see FIG. 9) provided on the side surface 16 of the stapler body 5. .. The mounting protrusion 33a is configured so that the connecting needle 3 can be accurately positioned by aligning it with the rear edge of the mounting hole 16a (back alignment). Therefore, the mounting hole portion 16a is provided with a slight clearance in the front-rear direction X for positioning with respect to the mounting protrusion portion 33a.

The staple cover 33 is mainly composed of a transparent resin having an upper surface and both left and right side surfaces as shown in FIG. 25. The staple cover 33 has a needle protection protrusion 71 projecting forward on the tip end side thereof. As shown in FIG. 26, the needle protection protrusion 71 is provided above the pedestal 58 in correspondence with the pedestal 58 of the transport path 32.

The needle protection protrusion 71 has a width dimension substantially the same as or smaller than the crown 2a of the non-metal needle 2, and is inserted into the cutting and forming mechanism 35, and the non-metal needle is inserted into the cutting and forming mechanism 35. When the 2 is formed into a U shape, the crown 2a of the non-metal needle 2 is covered from above to protect it. The needle protection protrusion 71 is arranged in the cutting molding mechanism 35 through the second recess 56 on the upper side of the needle passage port 54 in the vertical wall portion 52 of the transport path constituent member 51. The second recess 56 in the needle passage port 54 of the transport path component 51 has a height at which the needle protection protrusion 71 can be inserted.

Then, a narrow gap through which the non-metal needle 2 or the connecting needle 3 passes is provided between the pedestal 58 of the transport path constituent member 51 and the needle protection protrusion 71 of the staple cover 33. Upper and lower guide protrusions 71a (see FIG. 25) that can be fitted into the guide grooves provided in the cutting and forming mechanism 35 are integrally projected from the tip of the needle protection protrusion 71.

Further, as shown in FIGS. 27 and 27A (see also FIG. 30), the connecting needle 3 is lightly pressed from above on the upper part of the front side of the staple cover 33, and the connecting needle 3 is prevented from returning to the rear. A first check valve 72 is provided for this purpose. In this case, the first check valve 72 is provided in pairs on the left and right so as to be inserted into the left and right holes 4 of the connecting needle 3 from above. The first check claw 72 is an elastic claw made of resin that is integrated with the staple cover 33 and is independent of each other, and is designed so as not to apply an excessive pressing force to the upper surface of the connecting needle 3. There is. The first check claw 72 has a claw portion having a locking surface 72a extending in the vertical direction Z on the front side and a slope 72b extending forward on the rear side with respect to the tip of the arm extending forward. It is said that.

In addition, as shown in FIGS. 28 and 29 (see also FIG. 30), between the pair of left and right first check valve claws 72 (position of the central portion of the connecting needle 3 in the left-right direction Y). A second check claw 73 is provided, which is used by lightly pressing the connecting needle 3 from above and switching to the first check claw 72 when the remaining amount of the connecting needle 3 is low. The second check claw 73 is arranged so as to protrude in front of the first check claw 72. The second check claw 73 is an elastic claw made of resin that is independent of the staple cover 33, and is designed so as not to apply an excessive pressing force to the upper surface of the connecting needle 3. .. The second check claw 73 has a claw portion having a locking surface 73a extending in the vertical direction Z on the front side and a slope 73b extending forward on the rear side with respect to the tip of the arm extending forward. It is said that. In this case, the second check claw 73 is arranged in front of the first check claw 72 by the length of one non-metal needle 2 in the front-rear direction X.

Further, as shown in FIG. 31 (see also FIG. 25), the staple cover 33 is attached to the stapler 1 (stapler main body 5 and main body cover 9) when the stapler cover 33 is attached to the stapler 1 with respect to both side portions of the tip portion thereof. A guide protrusion 76 that is guided along the provided cover guide 75 is provided.

The staple cover 33 is attached to the stapler 1 so as to move from the rear side to the front side (cover attachment direction), and the cover guide 75 and the guide protrusion 76 are provided to guide the attachment. ing. At this time, the cover guide 75 is a non-linear groove-shaped one (guide groove). That is, the lower portion 77 of the groove-shaped cover guide 75 has a substantially horizontal traversing portion 77a at a position on the front side (rear side), and a front-down inclined portion 77b is provided on the back side (front side) of the traversing portion 77a. It is assumed that the seating portion 77c is substantially horizontal on the back side (front side) of the inclined portion 77b.

Further, the guide protrusion 76 is assumed to have a downwardly inclined shape that matches the inclined portion 77b with the staple cover 33 attached to the stapler 1. The tip of the guide protrusion 76 is provided with a substantially horizontal seating surface 76a that comes into contact (seat) with the seating portion 77c in a line contact state when the staple cover 33 is attached to the stapler 1.

The upper portion 78 of the groove-shaped cover guide 75 has an introduction taper portion 78a that lowers forward on the front side (rear side), and substantially the same as the transverse portion 77a (lower transverse portion) on the back side of the introduction taper portion 78a. It has a parallel traversing portion 78b (upper traversing portion), has an inclined portion 78c substantially parallel to the inclined portion 77b on the back side of the traversing portion 78b, and ends substantially parallel to the seating portion 77c on the back side of the inclined portion 78c. It is supposed to have a part 78d.

Then, as shown in FIG. 31 (a), between the transverse portion 77a on the entry side and the introduction taper portion 78a, from a wide state so that the staple cover 33 can be inserted diagonally with the staple cover 33 lowered forward. It is a tapering groove that gradually narrows toward the front.

Further, between the intermediate traversing portion 77a and the traversing portion 78b, the staple cover 33 is tilted forward as shown in FIG. 31 (a) to a horizontal state as shown in FIG. 31 (b). It is a transverse groove portion with an interval 79a narrower than the height of the guide protrusion 76 in the vertical direction Z when the staple cover 33 is lowered forward so that it cannot be inserted unless it is changed. The height dimension of the entry side (gradual shrinkage groove portion) of the cover guide 75 is reduced so as to have this interval 79a.

Further, as shown in FIG. 31B, between the inclined portion 77b and the inclined portion 78c at the back, the staple cover 33 in a substantially horizontal state is dropped down along the inclined portion 77b as it is. It is a downward slope groove portion with a spacing of 79b that is substantially the same as the thickness of the guide protrusion 76 itself.

Finally, as shown in FIG. 31 (c), the guide protrusion 76 can be substantially positioned with respect to the vertical direction Z with the staple cover 33 attached between the seating portion 77c on the back side and the terminal portion 78d. As described above, the holding groove portion has a spacing of 79c which is substantially the same as the height dimension of the inclined guide protrusion 76 in the vertical direction Z when the staple cover 33 is in the horizontal state.

In this way, the staple cover 33 is seated on the back side so as to be dropped downward, so that when the staple cover 33 is attached to the stapler 1, for example, it protrudes from the needle protection protrusion 71 at the tip of the staple cover 33. The guide protrusion 71a, the locking surface 72a of the first check-stop claw 72, and the locking surface 73a of the second check-stop claw 73 rub the upper surface of the connecting needle 3 forward and are connected by the guide protrusion 71a. It is possible to prevent a problem that the staple 3 is forced to move forward.

[About the positioning structure of the connecting needle 3]
When the connecting needle 3 is cut into each non-metal needle 2 by the cutting mechanism (or the cutting molding mechanism 35), it is necessary to determine the cutting position with high accuracy. Therefore, it is extremely important to accurately position the connecting needle 3.

Therefore, for example, using a relatively strong elastic urging means such as a metal spring, the connecting needle 3 on the transport path 32 is always pressed from above, and the connecting needle 3 is moved in the transport direction. By urging the front side), the tip end portion of the connecting needle 3 is constantly pressed against the abutting portion (for example, the punching blade 36) provided at the back position of the transport path 32 (cutting mechanism). Therefore, it is conceivable to allow the connecting needle 3 to be positioned (pre-alignment).

However, when the front alignment is performed in this way, an excessive pressing force is required for pressing from the upper side by the elastic urging means in order to prevent the connecting needle 3 from retracting when the transport mechanism 34 that moves back and forth retracts. At the same time, there is a problem that the connecting needle 3 (the part pressed against the abutting part (pulling blade 36, etc.)) is easily damaged by continuously applying the pressing force in the transport direction (front side). , There arises a problem that the resistance when the connecting needle 3 is conveyed to the cutting mechanism becomes large.

Therefore, in this embodiment, the connecting needle 3 is positioned as follows.

(Structure 1) As described above, the stapler 1 of this embodiment has a cutting mechanism for cutting each connecting needle 3 formed by connecting a plurality of non-metal needles 2 in a flat state, and the connecting needle 3 Is provided with a transport mechanism 34, which transports the stapler to the cutting mechanism via the transport path 32.
Then, a positioning portion 81 capable of positioning the connecting needle 3 by hitting the connecting needle 3 moved by the transport operation by the transport mechanism 34 is installed in the middle of the transport path 32.

Here, the cutting mechanism is the above-mentioned cutting and molding mechanism 35. The middle of the transport path 32 may be anywhere within the range of the transport path 32. The transfer operation by the transfer mechanism 34 can broadly include an operation of feeding the connecting needle 3 and a preliminary operation (for example, a temporary stop operation and a return operation) associated with the operation of feeding the connecting needle 3. The positioning unit 81 may be any as long as it is possible to position the connecting needle 3 simply by applying the connecting needle 3 by utilizing the movement of the connecting needle 3 by the transport mechanism 34.

(Action 1) In the above configuration, a positioning portion 81 is provided in the middle of the transport path 32 so that the connecting needle 3 is positioned by hitting the connecting needle 3 moved by the transport operation of the transport mechanism 34 with the positioning portion 81. I made it. The positioning unit 81 makes it possible to position the connecting needle 3 by using the transport operation of the transport mechanism 34 as it is, and eliminates the need to provide a positioning mechanism having a special configuration, so that the configuration of the positioning unit 81 can be configured. It can be simple. Therefore, the connecting needle 3 can be accurately positioned without imposing a burden on the connecting needle 3.

(Structure 2) Specifically, as shown in FIG. 27, the positioning portion 81 is positioned at a position rearward in the transport direction with respect to the tip portion in the transport direction of the connecting needle 3.
Then, the positioning portion 81 may be positioned by pressing the connecting needle 3 in the direction toward the rear side in the conveying direction.

Here, the transport direction is the front side of the front-rear direction X. The direction toward the rear side in the transport direction is the rear side of the front-rear direction X. The position on the rear side of the tip of the connecting needle 3 in the transport direction is the position of the second and subsequent non-metal needles 2 from the front of the connecting needle 3. In this case, the position of the third non-metal needle 2 from the front of the connecting needle 3 is set. As the positioning portion 81, the first check valve 72 (the locking surface 72a on the front side facing the vertical direction Z) of the staple cover 33 can be used.

The second check valve 73 (locking surface 73a facing the vertical direction Z) of the staple cover 33 in FIG. 28 also serves as a connecting needle as a positioning portion 81 when there are only two connecting needles 3 remaining. The second non-metal needle 2 of 3 can be positioned. Incidentally, as shown in FIG. 29, when there is only one connecting needle 3 remaining, it is not necessary to perform cutting, so positioning is not necessary.

(Action 2) In the above configuration, a positioning unit 81 for positioning at a position rearward in the transport direction from the tip of the connecting needle 3 is provided in the middle of the transport path 32, and the positioning portion 81 is provided in the transport direction with respect to the positioning portion 81. The connecting needle 3 is positioned by a temporary pressing (immediately before cutting the connecting needle 3) in the direction toward the rear side (returning direction) (back-to-back alignment). This eliminates the need to specially provide a relatively strong elastic urging means such as a metal spring to continuously press the connecting needle 3 from above, so that the connecting needle 3 is excessively and continuously pressed. The pressing force is not applied, the connecting needle 3 is less likely to be scratched, and the resistance when transporting the connecting needle 3 to the cutting mechanism can be eliminated, so that the non-metal needle 2 made of a softer material can be used. It becomes possible to carry.

(Structure 3) The positioning portion 81 may be positioned by contacting the non-metal needle 2 or the hole portion 4 provided in the connecting needle 3 with the edge portion facing the rear side in the transport direction.

Here, the hole portion 4 is used as a positioning hole. The edge portion of the hole portion 4 facing the rear side in the transport direction is brought into contact with the locking surface 72a on the front side of the positioning portion 81 (first check claw 72) for positioning. The positioning hole can be shared with the feed hole. However, the positioning hole and the feed hole may be provided separately from each other.

In the case of this embodiment, the first hole 4 and the second hole 4 from the front of the connecting needle 3 are used as feed holes, and the third hole 4 from the front is used as a positioning hole. The holes 4 provided at the same positions in the left-right direction Y are used properly so that the first check valve 72 and the feed claw 62 do not interfere with each other.

(Action Effect 3) With the above configuration, the connecting needle 3 can be reliably positioned with a simple configuration. Further, since the connecting needle 3 is provided with a hole 4 such as a feed hole in advance, the hole 4 can be used as it is for positioning the connecting needle 3. The hole 4 may be provided for positioning separately from the feed hole.

(Structure 4) Alternatively, the positioning portion 81 may be placed on the edges of both ends of the non-metal needle 2 in a flatly extended state facing the rear side in the transport direction for positioning.

Here, the edges of both ends of the non-metal needle 2 facing rearward in the transport direction can be tapered slits 3b provided at the trailing edges of both ends of the non-metal needle 2. In this case, the hole 4 in FIG. 27 is replaced with the slit 3b). The slit portion 3b of the trailing edge portion of the non-metal needle 2 is abutted against the locking surface 72a on the front side of the positioning portion 81 and is positioned. Although the positioning portion 81 in this case is not particularly shown, for example, the first check valve 72 or a similar one may be provided at the position of the slit portion 3b.

(Action 4) With the above configuration, the connecting needle 3 can be reliably positioned with a simple configuration. Further, at both ends of the connecting needle 3, tapered slit portions 3b for easily inserting the needle legs 2b and 2c of the non-metal needle 2 bent in a U shape into the through holes p1 formed in the paper P are provided. Since the front edge portion and the trailing edge portion are provided in advance, the slit portion 3b of the trailing edge portion can be used as it is for positioning the connecting needle 3.

(Structure 5) When the connecting needle 3 is cut by the cutting mechanism (cutting molding mechanism 35), the transport mechanism 34 temporarily attaches the connecting needle 3 in a direction toward the rear side in the transport direction of the connecting needle 3. The positioning portion 81 is provided with a return portion 82 for pressing the connecting needle 3 against the positioning portion 81.

Here, the return portion 82 can be the feed claw 62 of the pusher 61 in the transport mechanism 34. The feed claw 62 is provided with a claw portion having a locking surface 62a extending in the vertical direction Z on the front side and a slope 62b extending rearward on the rear side with respect to the tip end portion of the arm extending forward.

(Action 5) As described above, the feed claw 62 of the pusher 61 is retracted from the temporarily advanced state when the connecting needle 3 is fed. At this time, the hole portion 4 (or the slit portion 3b). As the slope 62b is displaced rearward with respect to the hole portion 4), the claw portion is guided downward along the slope 62b, the feed claw 62 is elastically deformed downward, and the claw portion at the tip is deformed. Get out of the first hole 4 from the front. Then, it is retracted along the back surface of the connecting needle 3 and passed through the second hole 4. At this time, as shown in FIG. 42D, the stapler 61 is locked in the retracted state (by being locked to the locking small convex portion 67 of the stapler main body 5 (guide portion 66)). ..

When the pusher 61 starts to retract in this way, the slope 62b of the feed claw 62 pushes the trailing edge of the front hole 4 backward until the feed claw 62 comes out of the hole 4 on the front side. For a short time, the connecting needle 3 is urged to slightly retract to the rear side. Then, the slight movement of the connecting needle 3 at this time makes it possible to press the connecting needle 3 against the positioning portion 81 for positioning. By this positioning, the load on the connecting needle 3 can be reduced, and the connecting needle 3 can be accurately cut by the cutting mechanism.

Therefore, only when cutting by the cutting mechanism, it is sufficient to temporarily perform positioning, the mechanical load required for positioning is lightened, and a preliminary operation (reverse operation) for the transport mechanism 34 to transport the connecting needle 3 is performed. It becomes possible to perform positioning using. Since the feed claw 62 of the transport mechanism 34 can be used as it is for the return portion 82, the configuration is also simple.

(Structure 6) The positioning unit 81 is in the transport direction of the non-metal needle 2 or the connecting needle 3 when the transport mechanism 34 urges the non-metal needle 2 or the connecting needle 3 in the direction toward the rear side in the transport direction. It has locking surfaces 72a and 73a that come into contact with the edges facing the rear side.

(Action Effect 6) As described above, since the positioning portion 81 has the locking surfaces 72a and 73a described above, the transport mechanism 34 moves the non-metal needle 2 or the connecting needle 3 toward the rear side in the transport direction. When the non-metal needle 2 or the connecting needle 3 is urged, the edge portion of the non-metal needle 2 or the connecting needle 3 facing the rear side in the transport direction can be reliably brought into contact with the locking surfaces 72a and 73a for positioning.

(Structure 7) Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 27B (FIG. 27C), the positioning portion 81 is positioned at a position rearward of the tip portion in the transport direction of the connecting needle 3 in the transport direction.
Then, the positioning portion 81 may be positioned by pressing the connecting needle 3 in the direction toward the front side in the transport direction.

Here, the position on the rear side of the tip of the connecting needle 3 in the transport direction is the position of the second and subsequent non-metal needles 2 from the front of the connecting needle 3. In this case, the position of the third non-metal needle 2 from the front of the connecting needle 3 is set. As the positioning portion 81, for example, a locking surface 72c on the rear side facing the vertical direction Z with respect to the first check claw 72 of the staple cover 33 can be used. As the positioning portion 81, the first check valve 72 of the staple cover 33 may be used, or the same as the first check valve 72 may be provided separately.

(Effect 7) In the above configuration, a positioning unit 81 for positioning at a position rearward in the transport direction from the tip of the connecting needle 3 is provided in the middle of the transport path 32, and the transport mechanism 34 with respect to the positioning portion 81 is provided. The connecting needle 3 is positioned by a temporary pressing (immediately before the end of feeding) in the direction toward the front side (feeding direction) of the connecting needle 3 (pre-alignment). After the feed of the connecting needle 3 is completed, the feeding operation by the transport mechanism 34 is temporarily stopped until the next feeding is performed, and the movement of the connecting needle 3 to the front side is also stopped. This eliminates the need to specially provide a relatively strong elastic urging means such as a metal spring to continuously press the connecting needle 3 from above, so that the connecting needle 3 is excessively and continuously pressed. The pressing force is not applied, the connecting needle 3 is less likely to be scratched, and the resistance when transporting the connecting needle 3 to the cutting mechanism can be eliminated, so that the non-metal needle 2 made of a softer material can be used. It becomes possible to carry.

(Structure 8) The positioning portion 81 may be positioned by contacting the non-metal needle 2 or the hole portion 4 provided in the connecting needle 3 with the edge portion facing forward in the transport direction.

Here, the hole portion 4 is used as a positioning hole. The edge portion of the hole portion 4 facing the front side in the transport direction is brought into contact with the locking surface 72c on the rear side of the positioning portion 81 (first check claw 72) for positioning. The positioning hole can be shared with the feed hole. However, the positioning hole and the feed hole may be provided separately from each other.

In the case of this embodiment, the first hole 4 and the second hole 4 from the front of the connecting needle 3 are used as feed holes, and the third hole 4 from the front is used as a positioning hole. The holes 4 provided at the same positions in the left-right direction Y are used properly so that the first check valve 72 and the feed claw 62 do not interfere with each other.

(Effect 8) With the above configuration, the connecting needle 3 can be reliably positioned with a simple configuration. Further, since the connecting needle 3 is provided with a hole 4 such as a feed hole in advance, the hole 4 can be used as it is for positioning the connecting needle 3. The hole 4 may be provided for positioning separately from the feed hole.

(Structure 9) Alternatively, the positioning portion 81 may be placed on the edges of both ends of the non-metal needle 2 in a flatly extended state facing the front side in the transport direction for positioning.

Here, the edges of both ends of the non-metal needle 2 facing forward in the transport direction can be tapered slits 3b provided at the leading edges of both ends of the non-metal needle 2 (this). In this case, the hole 4 in FIG. 27B is replaced with the slit 3b). The slit portion 3b of the leading edge portion of the non-metal needle 2 is abutted against the locking surface 72c on the rear side of the positioning portion 81 and is positioned. Although the positioning portion 81 in this case is not particularly shown, for example, the first check valve 72 or a similar one may be provided at the position of the slit portion 3b.

(Effect 9) With the above configuration, the connecting needle 3 can be reliably positioned with a simple configuration. Further, at both ends of the connecting needle 3, tapered slit portions 3b for easily inserting the needle legs 2b and 2c of the non-metal needle 2 bent in a U shape into the through holes p1 formed in the paper P are provided. Since the front edge portion and the trailing edge portion are provided in advance, the slit portion 3b of the front edge portion can be used as it is for positioning the connecting needle 3.

(Structure 10) When the connecting needle 3 is fed by the conveying mechanism 34, the conveying mechanism 34 urges the connecting needle 3 toward the front side in the conveying direction of the connecting needle 3 and presses the connecting needle 3 against the positioning portion 81. The pressing portion 83 is provided.

Here, the pressing portion 83 can be a feed claw 62 of the pusher 61 in the transport mechanism 34. In this case, the feed claw 62 is provided with a claw portion having a rear-upward slope 62c on the front side and a rear-downward slope 62b on the rear side with respect to the tip end portion of the arm extending forward. The front side of the claw portion of the feed claw 62 may be a locking surface 62a extending in the vertical direction, but by setting the front side of the claw portion as a rear-up slope 62c, a slight margin is secured at the time of front alignment. At the same time, excessive pressing can be alleviated. The feed claw 62 may shift the position of the connecting needle 3 that has already been positioned to the rear side by touching the connecting needle 3 (the hole 4 or the trailing edge of the slit 3b in the hole 4) when retracting. It is preferable to pull it straight down and then retract it so that it does not occur (see the arrow in FIG. 27C).

(Action Effect 10) As described above, the feed claw 62 of the pusher 61 advances when the connecting needle 3 is fed. At this time, the hole portion 4 (or the slit portion 3b; hereinafter, the hole portion 4 will be described. ) Is pushed forward by the front slope 62c, so that the feed claw 62 urges the connecting needle 3 forward. Then, the movement of the connecting needle 3 at this time makes it possible to press the connecting needle 3 against the positioning portion 81 to perform positioning. By this positioning, the load on the connecting needle 3 can be reduced, and the connecting needle 3 can be accurately cut by the cutting mechanism.

Therefore, it is only necessary to perform positioning when the connecting needle 3 is fed by the transport mechanism 34, and the mechanical load required for positioning is reduced. Since the feed claw 62 of the transport mechanism 34 can be used for the pressing portion 83, the structure is also simple.

(Structure 11) When the transport mechanism 34 urges the non-metal needle 2 or the connecting needle 3 to the front side in the transport direction, the positioning unit 81 faces the non-metal needle 2 or the connecting needle 3 to the front side in the transport direction. It has a locking surface 72c that abuts on the edge.

(Action Effect 11) As described above, when the positioning portion 81 has the locking surface 72c described above, the transport mechanism 34 urges the non-metal needle 2 or the connecting needle 3 to the front side in the transport direction. The non-metal needle 2 or the connecting needle 3 can be positioned by reliably touching the locking surface 72c with the edge portion facing the front side in the transport direction. The positioning unit 81 is temporarily retracted from the non-metal needle 2 or the connecting needle 3 so as not to interfere with the feeding while the connecting needle 3 is being fed. The positioning portion 81 may be provided with a rear-down slope 72d on the front side.

[About the self-holding structure of the connecting needle 3]
In order to enable the cutting mechanism to accurately cut the connecting needle 3 to which the non-metal needle 2 is connected, it is necessary to correctly attach the connecting needle 3 to the stapler main body 5. At this time, if the connecting needle 3 wound in a roll shape is used, it becomes difficult to correctly attach the connecting needle 3 to the stapler main body 5 due to the influence of the winding habit attached to the connecting needle 3. Further, even if the connecting needle 3 is correctly attached, there is a possibility that the connecting needle 3 may be displaced from the correct position on the stapler main body 5 due to the winding habit after the attachment. If the connecting needle 3 is displaced from the correct position in this way, the connecting needle 3 cannot be cut accurately by the cutting mechanism.

Therefore, for example, it is conceivable to accommodate the roll-shaped connecting needle 3 in the cartridge and attach the cartridge to the stapler 1 so that the connecting needle 3 is indirectly attached to the stapler main body 5. By using the cartridge (smaller and easier to handle than the stapler 1) as an intermediary in this way, it becomes easy to attach the connecting needle 3 to the cartridge, and the connecting needle 3 is accurately attached to the stapler body 5 via the cartridge. It becomes possible to attach the connecting needle 3 to the stapler 3 and prevent the connecting needle 3 from being displaced.

However, when a cartridge is used, it takes more time to handle the connecting needle 3 by attaching and detaching the cartridge, a cartridge is required, and a mechanism for attaching and detaching the cartridge to and from the stapler 1 is required. Therefore, the structure of the stapler 1 becomes complicated, the number of parts increases, the stapler 1 becomes larger, and the cost increases.

Therefore, in this embodiment, the connecting needle 3 can be directly and accurately attached to the stapler main body 5 as follows.

(Structure 1) As described above, the stapler 1 of this embodiment has a cutting mechanism for cutting each connecting needle 3 formed by connecting a plurality of non-metal needles 2 in a flat state, and the connecting needle 3 Is provided with a transport mechanism 34, which transports the stapler to the cutting mechanism via the transport path 32.
Then, as shown in FIGS. 32 (to 35), a needle holding portion 84 capable of holding the connecting needle 3 is provided on the front side of the transport path 32 in the transport direction.
As shown in FIG. 33, the needle holding portion 84 includes a contact surface 85 to which the connecting needle 3 is applied, a regulating member 87 that regulates the position of the connecting needle 3 from one side, and another surface of the connecting needle 3. It is assumed that the restricting member 87 and the disengagement restricting portion 88 arranged so as to face each other in a state where the positions are different from each other in the front-rear direction in the transport direction are provided on the side with the connecting needle 3 interposed therebetween.
In this embodiment, as an example, the one side of the connecting needle 3 is the side of the transport path constituent member 51 and the regulating member 87, that is, the lower surface side of the connecting needle 3, and the other side is the transport path configuration. For example, the staple cover 33 and the needle holding portion 84 side facing the member 51, that is, the upper surface side of the connecting needle 3. However, the above may be reversed.

Here, the needle holding portion 84 holds a portion on the tip end side of the connecting needle 3, and it is connected to the stapler main body 5 that the needle holding portion 84 is provided at each position of both side portions of the connecting needle 3. It is preferable in order to securely hold the needle 3 by itself and to make it easy to remove the connecting needle 3 from the stapler main body 5 when necessary. The self-holding means that the tip end portion of the connecting needle 3 or its vicinity can be held with respect to the stapler main body 5 only by the needle holding portion 84 without using another configuration such as a cartridge.

The contact surface 85 is such that when the tip of the connecting needle 3 is inserted into the transport path 32, a portion on the tip side of the connecting needle 3, for example, the tip edge of the first or second or subsequent non-metal needle 2 lightly abuts. If it is good. For the abutting surface 85, for example, as shown in FIGS. 34 and 35, a punching blade 36 of the penetration mechanism 37 can be used. Further, the abutting surface 85 can be provided on the transport path constituent member 51, for example, as shown in FIGS. 36 to 36C.

Specifically, for example, in FIG. 36, the contact surface 85 is brought into contact with the position of the cut connecting portion 3a at the tip edge of the connecting needle 3 (the first non-metal needle 2). Further, in FIG. 36A, the contact surface 85 is brought into contact with the position of the inclined slit portion 3b at the tip edge of the connecting needle 3 (the first non-metal needle 2). Then, in FIG. 36B, the contact surface 85 is brought into contact with the stepped notch 3d provided in the slit portion 3b at the tip edge of the connecting needle 3 (the first non-metal needle 2). .. Further, in FIG. 36C, the contact surface 85 is brought into contact with (inside) the slit portion 3b (of the second non-metal needle 2) near the front portion of the connecting needle 3. In each case, the abutting surface 85 has a shape that matches the shape of the abutting portion of the connecting needle 3. Further, in the case of FIG. 36C, the contact surface 85 is a protrusion protruding upward from the upper surface of the transport path 32. The protrusion portion to be the contact surface 85 can be installed so as to project and be stored with respect to the upper surface of the transport path 32.

Alternatively, the abutting surface 85 can be provided on the stapler main body 5, for example, as shown in FIG. 37.

The regulating member 87 is provided to regulate the position of the connecting needle 3 from one side. The regulating member 87 is, for example, a holding member that contacts the connecting needle 3 from one side to hold the position of the connecting needle 3, or a detent that can suppress or prevent the connecting needle 3 from returning to the rear side in the transport direction. It can be configured as a member.

Specifically, as shown in FIG. 33, the regulating member 87 can hold the position and prevent the return by engaging with the engaging portion 86 provided on the connecting needle 3 from one side of the connecting needle 3. Can be an engaging member. As the engaging portion 86, a hole portion 4 of the connecting needle 3, slit portions 3b on both side portions, and the like can be used. As the engaging member, a feed claw 62 of the transport mechanism 34 or the like can be used.

Further, as shown in FIGS. 33A and 33B, the regulating member 87 may have a rolling member 87a that rolls along one surface side of the connecting needle 3. The rolling member 87a is pivotally supported on the upper end of an arm 87b provided on the lower surface side of the connecting needle 3 so as to be able to roll via a rotating shaft 87c extending in the left-right direction Y. At this time, the rolling member 87a is made of a friction ring made of rubber or the like, or the connecting needle 3 is made of a one-way roller that can only allow rotation in the direction of sending the connecting needle 3 to the front side, so that the position can be easily held and the detent can be prevented. be able to. When the regulating member 87 is a rolling member 87a, as shown in FIG. 33A, the rolling member 87a is provided at a position where it does not interfere with the feed claw 62 in the left-right direction Y, or as shown in FIG. 33B, the rolling member 87a is fed. The claw 62 is installed by shifting it with respect to the rolling member 87a in the transport direction (rear side). The rolling member 87a is a driven wheel that is rotated by moving the connecting needle 3 to the front side in the transport direction, but it can also be a driving wheel driven by a driving mechanism. When the rolling member 87a is used as a drive wheel, the feed claw 62 can be eliminated.

In this case, the regulating member 87 is provided on the lower surface side of the connecting needle 3. The detachment regulating portion 88 is provided on the upper surface side of the connecting needle 3. However, the positional relationship between the engaging member 87 and the disengagement regulating portion 88 may be upside down. It is preferable that the disengagement regulating unit 88 is installed in a state of being displaced from the regulating member 87 on at least one or both of the front side and the rear side. The deviation regulation unit 88 will be described later.

(Action 1) According to the above configuration, the tip of the roll-shaped connecting needle 3 housed in the accommodating portion 31 is pulled out, and the tip of the connecting needle 3 is slid along the transport path 32. By simply inserting it into the back (front side) of the stapler 3 and lightly abutting the tip edge of the connecting needle 3 against the contact surface 85, the regulating member 87 on one side of the needle holding portion 84 provided on the front side of the transport path 32 and others. The surface-side detachment restricting portion 88 makes it possible to securely hold the tip end portion of the connecting needle 3 or its vicinity directly with respect to the stapler main body 5 without using auxiliary parts or the like.

At this time, by simply inserting the tip of the connecting needle 3 into the depth of the transport path 32 using one finger, the connection is easily and securely connected in the transport direction (front-back direction X) without relying on visual inspection. The needle 3 can be attached. Further, the contact surface 85 of the needle holding portion 84 can prevent buckling of the connecting needle 3 due to excessive insertion of the connecting needle 3.

As a result, it is possible to eliminate mounting mistakes such as misalignment of the transport direction due to the winding habit of the connecting needle 3 wound in a roll shape, and it is possible to eliminate the trouble of re-doing, and the connecting needle 3 is accurately mounted on the stapler 1. A cartridge (for indirectly accommodating and holding the roll-shaped connecting needle 3) is provided as a separate part, a space for accommodating this cartridge in the stapler 1 is prepared, and the cartridge is attached to and detached from the stapler 1. Since it is not necessary to provide a mechanism for making the stapler 1, the labor of handling the connecting needle 3 is reduced, and the structure of the stapler 1 is greatly simplified to reduce the size of the stapler 1, the number of parts, and the cost. It becomes possible to plan.

(Structure 2) The disengagement regulating unit 88 is assumed to have a first regulating unit 91 installed at the position of the non-metal needle 2 at the head of the connecting needle 3.

Here, since the non-metal needle 2 at the head of the connecting needle 3 is inserted into the cutting and forming mechanism 35, the first regulating portion 91 is inside the needle holding plate 92 of the cutting and forming mechanism 35 shown in FIG. 32. It can be provided on the side surface.

Further, the first regulation unit 91 can be provided on the transport path constituent member 51, for example, as shown in FIG. 36.

(Action Effect 2) According to the above configuration, the position of the non-metal needle 2 at the head of the connecting needle 3 can be reliably regulated and held so as not to come off by the first regulating unit 91. The first regulation unit 91 is effective in preventing the connecting needle 3 from buckling after the tip edge of the connecting needle 3 (the leading non-metal needle 2) hits the contact surface 85. Further, since the first regulating portion 91 is provided, the tip portion of the connecting needle 3 can hit the contact surface 85 in a state where it is difficult to buckle, so that the response when hitting (the contact surface in the buckled state) is obtained. Since it is larger (than when it hits 85), it is possible to clearly feel that the tip portion of the connecting needle 3 has come off and is securely held by the regulating portion 88 by the response.

(Structure 3) The disengagement regulating unit 88 may have a second regulating unit 93 installed at the position of the second and subsequent non-metal needles 2 of the connecting needle 3.
Then, the regulating member 87 is installed at a position between the first regulating section 91 and the second regulating section 93 with respect to the transport direction of the connecting needle 3.

Here, the second regulating portion 93 is an upper edge portion (located on both sides of the first recess 55 and the second recess 56) of the needle passage port 54 provided in the vertical wall portion 52 of the transport path constituent member 51. Can be.

In this case, in FIG. 33, the engaging member as the regulating member 87 is used as the claw portion of the feed claw 62 fitted into the first hole portion 4 from the front, and the first regulating portion 91 is the first hole portion. It is located slightly anterior to 4, and the second regulatory section 93 is located slightly posterior to the first hole 4.

In this case, as shown in FIG. 35, the first regulation unit 91 and the second regulation unit 93 are installed so as to be located outside the regulation member 87 (the claw portion of the feed claw 62) in the left-right direction Y. ing. Structurally, it is possible to provide only one of the first regulation unit 91 and the second regulation unit 93.

The second regulation unit 93 can be provided on the transport path constituent member 51, for example, as shown in FIG. 36. Further, as shown in FIG. 33C, for example, the second regulating portion 93 is attached to the lower end portion of the arm 93b provided on the other surface side (for example, the upper surface side) of the connecting needle 3 from above to downward in the left-right direction Y. It is possible to have a rolling member 93a pivotally supported via a rotating shaft 93c extending to. The rolling member 93a can roll along the other surface side of the connecting needle 3. At this time, the rolling member 93a is made of a friction ring made of rubber or the like, or the connecting needle 3 is made into a one-way roller that can only allow rotation in the direction of sending the connecting needle 3 to the front side in the transport direction. It can be easily prevented from coming off. The rolling member 93a is a driven wheel that is rotated by moving the connecting needle 3 to the front side in the transport direction, but it can also be a driving wheel driven by a driving mechanism.

(Effect 3) According to the above configuration, the second regulating unit 93 makes it possible to reliably regulate the positions of the second and subsequent non-metal needles 2 of the connecting needle 3 and hold them so that they do not come off. The upper first regulating portion 91, the second regulating portion 93, and the lower regulating member 87 can hold the tip of the connecting needle 3 or its vicinity in a staggered manner from above and below. Become. As a result, a higher self-holding force can be obtained, so that the attached connecting needle 3 can be made difficult to come off from the transport path 32. The second regulating unit 93 is effective in preventing the connecting needle 3 having the winding habit from being displaced due to the winding habit.

(Structure 4) As shown in FIG. 33, the detachment restricting portion 88 is arranged apart from the other surface of the connecting needle 3 with gaps 95 and 96.
The regulating member 87 is an engaging member that engages with the engaging portion 86 provided on the connecting needle 3 from one side of the connecting needle 3.
Then, the tip end portion of the engaging member is made to project through the engaging portion 86 toward the other surface side of the connecting needle 3 larger than the gaps 95 and 96 (protrusion amount 97> gap 95, 96). ..

(Effect 4) The disengagement regulating portion 88 was arranged apart from the other surface of the connecting needle 3 with gaps 95 and 96. As a result, the connecting needle 3 having no winding habit is prevented from coming into direct contact with the connecting needle 3 of the disconnection regulating portion 88, and the tip portion of the connecting needle 3 or its vicinity is regulated so as not to be disconnected. It becomes possible to hold. Further, with respect to the connecting needle 3 having the winding habit, the disconnection regulating portion 88 can directly and lightly contact the connecting needle 3 to hold the tip portion of the connecting needle 3.

As a result, it is possible to eliminate the damage to the connecting needle 3 and reduce the transport resistance to the connecting needle 3.

Further, when the regulating member 87 is used as the engaging member, the tip portion of the engaging member is projected through the engaging portion 86 toward the other surface side of the connecting needle 3 so as to be larger than the above-mentioned gaps 95 and 96. rice field. As a result, it becomes difficult for the tip portion of the connecting needle 3 that has passed through the narrow gaps 95 and 96 between the detachment regulating portion 88 and the other surface of the connecting needle 3 to get over the regulating member 87, so that the connecting needle 3 can be twisted. It is possible to securely regulate and hold the connecting needle 3 so that it does not come off, and effectively prevent the connecting needle 3 from coming off from the transport path 32.

The feed claw 62 as an engaging member (regulating member 87) has a rear-downward slope 62b on the rear side of the claw portion at the tip, and has a locking surface 62a in the vertical direction Z on the front side. When the tip portion of the connecting needle 3 is inserted from the side, the slope 62b can be easily overcome, and when the connecting needle 3 is pulled back, it is difficult to get over the locking surface 62a. Therefore, the structure can be easily attached and detached.

However, when removing the connecting needle 3, as shown in FIG. 38, (stronger than the force acting on the connecting needle 3 when the connecting needle 3 naturally disengages from the transport path 32 due to the winding habit) is required. The connecting needle 3 is pulled back by the force of. Then, the needle holding portion 84 is provided at the position of both side portions of the connecting needle 3, and the vertical wall portion 52 is located between the left and right second regulating portions 93 (needle passing port 54) of the needle holding portion 84. Since the connecting needle 3 can be bent in the out-of-plane direction (upward) in a medium-high state by having the first recess 55 and the second recess 56, the needle holding portion uses the bending of the connecting needle 3. The connecting needle 3 can be intentionally removed from the 84.

Hereinafter, the main parts of the stapler 1 will be described with reference to FIGS. 39 to 52.

[About cutting molding mechanism 35]
As shown in FIG. 39, the cutting molding mechanism 35 described above includes a pair of left and right cutting blades 101 (cutting mechanism) that cut the non-metal needle 2 from the connecting needle 3 one by one, and the non-metal needle 2 in a flat state. A pair of left and right molding members 102 (molding mechanism) that molds the U-shape, and a needle that holds the needle legs 2b and 2c of the non-metal needle 2 that is molded in a U-shape to maintain the U-shaped molding state. It is equipped with a holding plate 92 (needle holding mechanism). Further, the pedestal 58 (see FIG. 38) of the transport path constituent member 51 described above also functions as a support portion (fixing portion) for supporting the non-metal needle 2 during molding, and becomes one of the components of the cutting molding mechanism 35. ing. The support portion is not limited to the configuration of the pedestal 58 as long as it can be supported so that the non-metal needle 2 does not move during molding.

The cutting blade 101 and the forming member 102 are integrally provided with the driver main body 100 constituting the penetration mechanism 37. The driver body 100 and the needle holding plate 92 can move relative to the pedestal 58 in the vertical direction Z. In this embodiment, the pedestal 58 is fixed so as not to be movable in the vertical direction Z, and the driver body 100 and the needle holding plate 92 are configured to move in the vertical direction Z, but the present invention is not limited to this. The pedestal 58 may move in the vertical direction Z with respect to the driver body 100 and the needle holding plate 92. Further, the cutting blade 101 and the molding member 102 are housed in the needle holding plate 92 so that they can move relatively in the vertical direction Z in the needle holding plate 92. In this embodiment, the molding member 102 is integrally provided with the driver main body 100 (penetration mechanism 37), but the present application is not limited to this. If the molding operation can be performed in synchronization with the penetration operation of the penetration mechanism 37, the molding member 102 may be provided separately from the driver main body 100.

The driver main body 100 has a shaft hole 100a extending in the left-right direction Y, and the link shaft 15 described above is pierced through the shaft hole 100a. The link shaft 15 is inserted and arranged in the first guide groove 21 of the link 18 (see FIG. 9) and in the guide groove 17 extending in the vertical direction Z provided on the side surface 16 (side wall) of the stapler body 5. There is. Then, the link shaft 15 is guided along the guide groove 17, so that the driver main body 100 moves in the vertical direction Z.

The cutting blade 101 is an example of a cutting blade that cuts the connecting portion 3a of the connecting needle 3, and an inclined blade portion 101a is provided at the lower end. Each cutting blade 101 is attached to a pair of attachment portions 103 projecting from the back side (rear side) of the driver main body 100 with the inclined blade portions 101a facing outward from each other.

In order to enable smooth cutting of the connecting portion 3a, each cutting blade 101 is inserted into the hole portion 4 in which each blade portion 101a is inclined outward and the inner surface near the cutting edge thereof is located inside the connecting portion 3a. It is attached to the mounting portion 103 in such an arrangement that the length of each blade portion 101a is longer than that of the connecting portion 3a. Further, each cutting blade 101 is provided with a notch 101b by notching the outside of the blade 101a so that the cutting blade 101 moves in the vertical direction Z relative to the needle holding plate 92. The 101a does not hit the component of the needle holding plate 92.

Each molding member 102 is provided at a position inside each cutting blade 101, and has an arm portion 102a extending downward from the wall surface of each mounting portion 103 and an arm portion 102a protruding inward from the tip (lower end) of the arm portion 102a. It is provided with a protruding portion 102b. The tip of the arm portion 102a has a free end, and the arm portion 102a can be elastically deformed in the left-right direction Y with the base end portion (fixed end) fixed to the mounting portion 103 as a base point.

In order to bend the needle legs 2b and 2c of the non-metal needle 2 placed on the pedestal 58, each arm portion 102a has a formation height of at least the needle leg from the upper end to the base end portion of the protrusion 102b. The height is equal to or greater than the length (height) of 2b and 2c. Further, each arm portion 102a has a length (depth) of the front-rear direction X equal to or longer than the length of the non-metal needle 2 in the lateral direction.

Further, the width of the pedestal 58 is formed to be substantially the same as the inner width of the crown 2a so that the needle legs 2b and 2c can be held between the pedestal 58 and the inner wall surface of each arm portion 102a. The distance between the pair of arm portions 102a is formed to be substantially the same as the outer width of the crown 2a. Further, the distance between the pair of protrusions 102b is formed to be slightly narrower than the outer width of the pedestal 58. With this configuration, when the protrusion 102b is lowered, the protrusion 102b abuts on the pedestal 58 and is elastically deformed outward, and the needle legs 2b and 2c are pressed against the pedestal 58 while being lowered. The non-metal needle 2 can be reliably bent into a U-shape, and the molding operation can be stably performed. Further, after bending, the pair of needle legs 2b and 2c can be held by the outer surface of the pedestal 58 and the inner surface of the pair of arm portions 102a to maintain the molded state.

The needle holding plate 92 is formed in a rectangular frame shape, and a pair of regulating protrusions 104 that guide the movement of the needle holding plate 92 in the vertical direction Z and regulate the movement amount are provided on the outer surface thereof. The pair of regulating protrusions 104 are inserted into a pair of regulating grooves 29 provided adjacent to the guide groove 17 on the side surface 16 (side wall) of the stapler main body 5 (see FIG. 42A and the like). By guiding the regulation protrusion 104 along the regulation groove 29, the needle holding plate 92 moves in the vertical direction Z. The regulation groove 29 is an elongated hole extending in the vertical direction Z. Therefore, when the regulation protrusion 104 abuts on the upper end of the regulation groove 29, the ascending of the needle holding plate 92 is stopped. This stop position is the highest point of the needle holding plate 92. Further, when the regulation protrusion 104 abuts on the lower end of the regulation groove 29, the lowering of the needle holding plate 92 is stopped. This stop position is the lowest point of the needle holding plate 92. Further, since the regulation protrusion 104 is formed in a long oval shape in the vertical direction Z, the inclination in the front-rear direction X is suppressed, and the regulation protrusion 104 can smoothly move in the vertical direction Z without causing wobbling or the like. There is.

A pair of first regulating portions 91 that regulate the position of the tip portion of the non-metal needle 2 in the vertical direction Z are provided on the inner surface of the needle holding plate 92. Below the first regulating portion 91, a pair of needle leg holding portions 105 that suppress the opening of the pair of needle legs 2b and 2c of the molded non-metal needle 2 and maintain the molded state are provided. There is. The needle holding portion 105 is adapted to suppress the opening of the needle tip by guiding the needle tip inward with the tapered surface 105a protruding inward. The pair of needle holding portions 105 are formed with a length capable of holding an insertion interval for inserting the pair of needle legs 2b and 2c formed in a U shape. Further, the formation height of each needle holding portion 105 is such that when the needle holding plate 92 descends and reaches the lowest point, the upper end of the needle holding portion 105 is set to the needle leg 2b of the molded non-metal needle 2. It is formed at a height that does not interfere with the tip of 2c. That is, the needle holding portion 105 is configured to retract to a position where it does not come into contact with the bent needle legs 2b and 2c when the non-metal needle 2 is molded in a U shape while the molding member 102 descends. ing.

On the other hand, when the molding is completed and the needle holding plate 92 is raised together with the molding member 102, the arm portion 102a holds (a part of) the needle legs 2b and 2c, and the needle leg is held at the tip of the needle holding portion 105. The dimensions are adjusted so that 2b and 2c can be picked up and held. Therefore, the opening of the needle legs 2b and 2c at the time of delivery of the needle legs 2b and 2c from the arm portion 102a to the needle holding portion 105 can be suppressed, and the delivery (needle picking) can be performed stably.

Further, a pair of elastic pieces 106 (engaging portions) that abut against the shoulder portion 103a of the mounting portion 103 provided on the driver body 100 are provided at substantially the center of the vertical direction Z on the inner surface of the needle holding plate 92. .. Each elastic piece 106 is formed of a cantilever beam extending downward, has a free end at the tip, and is elastically deformed in the left-right direction Y with the fixed end as a base point. At the tip of each elastic piece 106, a protrusion 106a is provided so as to project inward. With this configuration, when the driver body 100 is raised with respect to the needle holding plate 92, the lower end of the elastic piece 106 abuts and engages with the shoulder portion 103a, and the needle holding plate 92 is raised together with the driver body 100. ing. When the needle holding plate 92 rises to the uppermost point, the shoulder portion 103a pushes the elastic piece 106 outward, and by overcoming the elastic piece 106, the engagement with each other is released, and only the driver body 100 rises. There is.

When the driver main body 100 descends with respect to the needle holding plate 92 located at the lowest point, the mounting portion 103 of the driver main body 100 pushes and expands the pair of elastic pieces 106 to the outside, thereby causing a pair of elastic pieces. Only the driver body 100 descends over the piece 106.

<Operation example of cutting molding mechanism 35>

Next, an example of the operation of the cutting and molding mechanism 35 will be described with reference to the operation diagrams of the cutting and molding mechanism 35 of FIGS. 40A and 40B and the operation diagrams of the links 18 of FIGS. 42A to 42F. 40A and 40B are views of the cutting and molding mechanism 35 observed from the back surface side, and the states of the operating process of the cutting and molding mechanism 35 are shown in states A to F. In FIGS. 40A and 40B, only the cutting blade 101, the forming member 102, the needle holding plate 92, and the link shaft 15 are shown for ease of explanation. A to F shown in FIGS. 42A to 42F show the states (positions) of the link shaft 15 when the cutting molding mechanism is in the states A to F (F-1, F-2), and A to A to F. C indicates the state at the time of the push-down operation, and D to F indicate the state at the time of the return. Further, the detailed parts of the components will be referred to with reference to FIG. 39.

In the standby position (initial position) before the operation of pushing down the operation handle 6, the non-metal needle 2 at the head of the connecting needle 3 is flat on the pedestal 58 as shown in the state A (standby) in FIG. 40A. It is arranged in the state. Further, the pusher 61 (see FIG. 19) is urged in the direction (forward) of the pedestal 58 by the pusher return spring 47. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 42A, the tip of the guide arm 65 of the pusher 61 is located in front of the locking small convex portion 67 provided on the guide portion 66 of the stapler main body 5. As a result, the tip of the pusher 61, which is the push surface 63, protrudes into the needle holding plate 92 (see FIG. 26). Further, a non-metal needle 2 cut and molded earlier is mounted between the pair of punching blades 36 (hereinafter, referred to as 36a and 36b when distinguishing left and right) (see FIG. 22).

When the operator pushes down the operation handle 6, the link shaft 15 is lowered by this pushing down operation, and the driver main body 100 and the link 18 are pushed down. The link 18 descends while pressing the shaft 25 rearward with the pushing protrusion 30. Then, as shown in FIG. 42B, the lowering of the link 18 is stopped when the upper edge portion of the guide hole 22 abuts on the guide protrusion portion 23. At this time, the tip of the guide arm 65 of the pusher 61 gets over the inclined surface 67a of the small convex portion 67 for locking, and the pusher 61 retracts, so that the pusher 61 is separated from the needle holding plate 92 and the needle holding plate 92 is released. You will be able to descend. At the time of this lowering, the first regulating portion 91 provided on the inner surface of the needle holding plate 92 abuts on the connecting needle 3, but the first regulating portion 91 slightly elastically deforms both ends of the connecting needle 3. However, since it is formed with a protruding amount that allows it to pass through, it is possible to prevent breakage of both ends of the connecting needle 3.

Further, as the link shaft 15 is lowered, both the driver body 100 and the needle holding plate 92 are lowered. When the needle holding plate 92 reaches the lowest point and the lowering is stopped by this lowering, only the driver main body 100 connected to the link shaft 15 is lowered, and as shown in the state B (cutting) of FIG. 40A, the cutting blade 101 The connecting portion 3a of the connecting needle 3 is cut by the blade portion 101a (cutting operation), and one non-metal needle 2 is separated from the connecting needle 3. For reference, a plan view of the connecting needle 3 to be cut is also shown in the state B. Since the connecting portion 3a is cut from the inside to the outside by the blade portion 101a inclined outward, the connecting portion 3a is cut in a stable state. After this cutting, the driver body 100 is further lowered, so that the tip (lower end) of the arm portion 102a of the pair of molding members 102 reaches the non-metal needle 2 following the cutting operation, and the arm portion 102a reaches the non-metal needle 2. Bend the needle legs 2b and 2c of No. 2 downward (start of molding operation).

On the other hand, since the link 18 is restricted from descending by the guide protrusion 23, the link 18 moves rearward due to the descending of the link shaft 15. After that, as shown in FIG. 42C, the rear extending portion 18b abuts on the regulating protrusion 24, and the retreat of the link 18 is stopped. By further lowering the link shaft 15, the link 18 starts rotating backward (counterclockwise rotation in the figure) with the guide protrusion 23 as a fulcrum, and is guided by the third guide groove 28 to be a bending mechanism. The slide member 122 of 38 starts to retract (see FIG. 42D).

As shown in FIG. 42E, when the link shaft 15 is lowered to the lowest point and the slide member 122 is in the most retracted state, the cut non-metal needle 2 is molded as in the state C (molding) of FIG. 40A. The driver body 100 has reached the lowest point in the state where is completed. The needle legs 2b and 2c of the molded non-metal needle 2 are held by the arm portion 102a of the molding member 102.

Next, by releasing the pressing of the operation handle 6, the operation handle 6 moves in the return direction to the initial position (return) by the urging force of the handle return spring 45, and the link shaft 15 starts to rise. In conjunction with these operations, the link 18 rotates in the return direction (rotation clockwise in the figure) with the guide protrusion 23 as a fulcrum, the slide member 122 moves in the return direction (forward), and the driver body 100 moves. To rise. The driver body 100 rises, and the shoulder portion 103a of the mounting portion 103 abuts against the elastic piece 106 of the needle holding plate 92, so that the needle holding plate 92 rises together with the driver body 100. In this ascending process, the needle legs 2b and 2c are inserted between the pair of needle holding portions 105 of the needle holding plate 92 while the arm parts 102a hold the needle legs 2b and 2c, and the needle tips are picked up (received). Can hold). The state D (needle leg picking) in FIG. 40A shows the state immediately before picking up the needle tip, and the needle tips of the needle legs 2b and 2c are slightly closed inward by the protrusion 102b of the molding member 102. The needle tip can be easily picked up by the needle holding portion 105. However, since the tapered surface 105a of the needle holding portion 105 guides the needle tip inward, the needle tip is surely held even if the needle leg 2b'is slightly opened outward as shown by a virtual line in the figure of the state D. Can be picked up.

Therefore, the needle legs 2b and 2c can be smoothly delivered from the molding member 102 to the needle holding portion 105. Further, the needle legs 2b and 2c can be held by the needle pressing portion 105 simply by raising the needle pressing portion 105, elastic deformation of the needle legs 2b and 2c can be suppressed, and the load on the needle legs 2b and 2c can be suppressed. Can be reduced, and more stable molding becomes possible.

After that, as shown in the state E (needle holding plate highest point 1) in FIG. 40B, when the needle holding plate 92 reaches the highest point, the needle holding plate 92 stops ascending. As shown in the state E, the needle legs 2b and 2c of the non-metal needle 2 come out of the arm portion 102a, but are held by the pair of needle holding portions 105. After that, as the link shaft 15 rises, the shoulder portion 103a of the mounting portion 103 pushes and expands the pair of elastic pieces 106 to the outside, so that the pair of elastic pieces 106 are overcome and the engagement with each other is released. As a result, the driver main body 100 is disengaged from the needle holding plate 92 and released from the locked state at the lower part of the needle holding plate 92, so that only the driver main body 100 rises (state F-1 in FIG. 40B (the top of the needle holding plate). See point 2)).

When the engagement between the driver body 100 and the needle holding plate 92 is released, the needle holding plate 92 can freely fall in the regulation groove 29. Even in this case, as shown in the state F-2 (falling of the needle holding plate) in FIG. 40B, the needle legs 2b and 2c are caught by the tip of the needle holding portion 105, and the needle holding portion 105 is prevented from coming off.

The rotation of the link 18 is stopped when the slide member 122 is completely restored, but as shown in FIG. 42F, the guide arm 65 of the pusher 61 engages with the locking surface 67b of the small convex portion 67 for locking. The advance of the pusher 61 is still restricted because it is locked together. When the link shaft 15 is subsequently raised, the link 18 and the driver body 100 are raised, and the non-metal needle 2 in which the driver body 100 is formed is raised until it is accepted between the pair of punching blades 36a and 36b. The guide arm 65 is pushed up by the lower edge portion of the second guide groove portion 27. As a result, the guide arm 65 is disengaged from the locking small convex portion 67, the pusher 61 is advanced by the urging force of the pusher return spring 47, and the non-metal needle 2 is placed between the pair of punching blades 36a and 36b by the pushing surface 63. Sent. Further, the connecting needle 3 in a flat state to be used next is sent onto the cradle 58, and the cutting and forming mechanism 35 returns to the standby state (state A'(needle extrusion) in FIG. 40B). The link 18 and the link shaft 15 also return to their initial positions (see FIG. 42A).

[About the penetration mechanism 37]

As shown in FIGS. 39, 43, and 44, the above-mentioned penetration mechanism 37 forms a through hole p1 (see FIG. 3) in the paper P, and penetrates the needle legs 2b and 2c of the non-metal needle 2 in the paper P. It is provided with a pair of left and right drawing blades 36a and 36b for making the non-metal needle 2 and a crown holding portion 110 for holding the crown 2a of the non-metal needle 2. The punching blades 36a and 36b and the crown holding portion 110 are provided on the driver main body 100, and are moved in the vertical direction Z together with the driver main body 100 by the link shaft 15.

The pair of punching blades 36a and 36b are attached to the lower side of the driver main body 100 in parallel in the left-right direction Y with a predetermined interval capable of accommodating and holding the non-metal needle 2. The pair of punching blades 36a and 36b extend downward from the driver main body 100, and V-shaped blade portions 111a and 111b for cutting the paper P are provided at the lower ends thereof. Each of the punching blades 36a and 36b has a shape bent in a substantially crank shape (or an inclined step shape) when viewed from the front or the rear, and has an upper end (base end) and a lower end attached to the driver body 100. The blade portions 111a and 111b are not in a straight line with respect to the vertical direction Z, and the blade portions 111a and 111b on the lower end side with respect to the upper end (base end portion) are offset inward.

More specifically, the distance between the pair of punching blades 36a and 36b is the inner width of the crown 2a, that is, the pair of leg portions 2b and 2c within a range of a predetermined length from the tip side where the blade portions 111a and 111b are provided. It is equal to or slightly narrower than the inner width of the paper P, and first constitutes the first penetrating portions 112a and 112b that penetrate the paper P. From the upper side of the first penetrating portions 112a and 112b to the proximal end side portion, the outer width of the crown 2a, that is, the outer width of the pair of leg portions 2b and 2c is equal to or slightly wider than that of the second penetrating portion. It constitutes parts 113a and 113b. The term "equivalent" as used herein does not have to be exactly the same, but may be "almost equivalent", and includes cases where the dimensions and the like are slightly larger or smaller within the range of common sense. This is a meaning, and some dimensional errors and the like are acceptable.

It is bent in a substantially crank shape at a predetermined intermediate position which is a boundary between the first penetrating portions 112a and 112b and the second penetrating portions 113a and 113b, and the first penetrating portions 112a and 112b and the second penetrating portions 113a and 113b are bent. An inclined step is formed between the and. In this stepped portion, the distance between the pair of punching blades 36a, 36b is formed so as to gradually widen from the first penetrating portions 112a, 112b toward the second penetrating portions 113a, 113b, and the first penetrating portions 112a, The hole expansion portions 114a and 114b are formed by pushing and expanding the through hole p1 formed by 112b in the outward direction.

Then, the non-metal needle 2 formed in a U shape can be held between the pair of second penetrating portions 113a and 113b arranged so as to face each other. Further, the stepped portion at the boundary between the second penetrating portions 113a, 113b and the hole expanding portions 114a, 114b supports the needle legs 2b, 2c of the non-metal needle 2 held by the second penetrating portions 113a, 113b. The needle leg support portions 115a and 115b are provided.

The punching blades 36a and 36b have first and second bending members 120a and 120b as a pair of bending members of the bending mechanism 38 that bends the needle legs 2b and 2c penetrating the paper P inward (see FIG. 45). ) Can enter and exit through the second penetrating portions 113a and 113b and the needle leg support portions 115a and 115b. If the first and second bending members 120a and 120b (see FIG. 45) can be moved in and out, the holes are not limited to the holes 116a and 116b, and the second through portions 113a and 113b and the needle leg support are provided. It may be a notched portion in which a part of the portions 115a and 115b is cut out.

The crown holding portion 110 is provided between the pair of punching blades 36a and 36b. Further, the crown pressing portion 110 has a configuration that can be moved in the vertical direction Z with respect to the driver main body 100, and is attached to the driver main body 100 in a state of being urged downward by the crown pressing spring 46.

In the stapler 1 of the present embodiment, when the penetration mechanism 37 is lowered to a predetermined position as described above, the bending mechanism 38 is activated to start bending the needle legs 2b and 2c. Therefore, in order to allow the needle legs 2b and 2c to be bent at a predetermined timing without being affected by the difference in the number of sheets (thickness) of the paper P, the difference in the number of sheets (thickness) of the paper P is determined by the crown holding portion. It is absorbed by the movement of the 110 in the vertical direction Z so that the penetration mechanism 37 can be lowered to a predetermined position.

Further, the penetration mechanism 37 is provided with a metal punching blade guide 117 (see FIG. 45) for guiding the punching blades 36a and 36b penetrating the paper P at the lower part of the stapler main body 5. As described above, in the punching blades 36a and 36b, since the base end portion on the fixed side of the driver body 100 and the blade portions 111a and 111b at the tip are not on the same straight line with respect to the vertical direction Z, the punching blades 36a, 36b, When the blade portions 111a, 111b of the 36b penetrate the paper P, a force is applied so that the punching blades 36a, 36b are flown inward (the punching blades 36a, 36b are tilted inward). Further, since the distance between the pair of hole expansion portions 114a and 114b is gradually widened, the punching blades 36a and 36b are flowed inward even when the hole expansion portions 114a and 114b pass while expanding the through hole p1 (inside). The force acts in the direction (inclining to).

The punching blade guide 117 is provided to prevent the flow of the punching blades 36a and 36b in the inward direction and to prevent the flow in the left-right direction. During the penetration operation, the punching blades 36a and 36b descend along the side surface of the punching blade guide 117 which has a downward U-shape to prevent the punching blades 36a and 36b from flowing inward (deformation). It is possible to smoothly perform the penetration operation of the paper P by the punching blades 36a and 36b.

As shown in FIG. 41, the punching blade guide 117 includes a first guide portion 117a and a second guide portion 117b having a lower formation height than the first guide portion 117a. Further, the chamfered portion 117c is provided by chamfering the upper edge corner portion in front of the first guide portion 117a (on the side of the second guide portion 107b) in a tapered or curved shape that descends forward. In this embodiment, the front side of the plate member formed in a U shape is cut out through a gap equivalent to the distance between the first penetrating portions 112a and 112b to form a step, and the non-cut side is the first. By forming one guide portion 117a and the notched lower side as the second guide portion 117b, the first and second guide portions 117a and 117b are integrally formed by one component. With this configuration, the number of parts of the stapler 1 can be reduced, the configuration can be simplified, the size can be reduced, and the first and second guide portions 117a and 117b can be operated integrally.

The configuration of the punching blade guide 117 is not limited to the form in which the first guide portion 117a and the second guide portion 117b are composed of one component as in the first embodiment, and the first and second guide portions 117b are not limited to the first and second guide portions 117b. The guide portions 117a and 117b of the above may be formed separately. Further, the separately formed first and second guide portions 117a and 117b may be configured to operate in synchronization with each other, or the inner side surface of the punching blades 36a and 36b near the cutting edge is always guided according to the penetration amount. If possible continuous surfaces are formed, each may operate independently.

Since the first guide portion 117a prevents the paper P from bending during the penetration operation, the height of the top of the first guide portion 117a is the same as that of the paper base 7 on which the paper P is placed (surface flush). Alternatively, it is slightly lower than the paper stand 7. As a result, the load when the pair of punching blades 36a and 36b penetrate the paper P can be reduced, the penetration operation is smoothly performed, and the through hole p1 is prevented from becoming wider than necessary. Further, by setting such a forming height, the first guide portion 117a immediately inside the vicinity of the cutting edge at the timing when the punching blades 36a and 36b penetrate the paper P and the inner side surface in the vicinity of the cutting edge protrudes from the paper P. The side surface can be guided, and the effect of preventing the flow of the punching blades 36a and 36b in the inward direction and the left-right direction can be further improved.

On the other hand, the second guide portion 117b has a height capable of guiding the tips of the punching blades 36a and 36b when the pair of staple legs 2b and 2c of the non-metal needle 2 penetrate the paper P together with the punching blades 36a and 36b. The height is set so that the bending mechanism 38 can perform the bending operation by utilizing the space between the second guide portion 117b and the stapler main body 5. More preferably, the height is such that the punching blades 36a and 36b are lower than the positions of the tips of the needle legs 2b and 2c when they are lowered to the lowermost end, or the first and second bending members 120a of the bending mechanism 38. The holes 116a and 116 through which 120b enters and exits are set to a height that does not block them. However, when the specifications are such that the bending of the needle legs 2b and 2c is started before the drawing blades 36a and 36b reach the lowermost end, the guide portion 117b second than the position of the tip of the needle legs 2b and 2c before bending is used. May be formed slightly higher.

Further, the punching blade guide 117 is provided on the slide member 122 of the bending mechanism 38, which will be described later. In conjunction with the reciprocating operation of the slide member 122, the first guide portion 117a and the second guide portion 117b are switched according to the penetration length of the punching blades 36a and 36b to the paper P, and the punching blades 36a and 36b are switched. Placed between. When the through hole p1 is formed by the punch blades 36a and 36b (when the penetration length is relatively short), the first guide portion 117a is arranged between the pair of punch blades 36a and 36b, and the punch blades 36a and 36b. (At least the blade portions 111a and 111b portions, more preferably up to the first penetrating portions 112a and 112b) are guided.

On the other hand, when the pair of punching blades 36a and 36b are further lowered, the paper P is deeply penetrated (the penetration length becomes relatively long), and the pair of needle legs 2b and 2c of the non-metal needle 2 penetrate the paper P. do. When the needle legs 2b and 2c penetrating the paper P are bent by the bending mechanism 38, the first guide portion 117a retracts from between the pair of punching blades 36a and 36b, and the first guide portion 117a is retracted from the first guide portion 117a. The lower second guide portion 117b is located. The second guide portion 117b guides the tips of the punching blades 36a and 36b to suppress the lateral movement and inward deformation of the punching blade 6b in the left-right direction, while suppressing the first and second bending members 120a. , 120b does not interfere with the bending operation of the needle legs 2b and 2c. The punching blades 36a and 36b form a continuous surface that can always guide the inner surface near the cutting edge according to the penetration amount of the punching blades 36a and 36b when penetrating the paper P and when bending the non-metal needle 2. By doing so, the punching blades 36a and 36b can be reliably moved relative to each other between the first guide portion 117a and the second guide portion 117b.

Further, in the present embodiment, the upper edge of the second guide portion 117b is horizontal on the rear side, but the height on the front side is gradually lowered so as to be inclined downward. That is, when the pair of punching blades 36a and 36b descend on the front side as the slide member 122 retracts, a path whose tip (near the cutting edge) relatively passes through the side surface of the second guide portion 117b. It is tilted along. Due to this inclination, even when the pair of punching blades 36a and 36b are lowered to the lowermost end, the holes 116a, while reliably guiding the tips of the pair of punching blades 36a and 36b on both side walls of the second guide portion 117b. It is possible to prevent 116b from being blocked. Therefore, the holes 116a and 116b of the first and second bending members 120a and 120b can be smoothly moved in and out.

<Operation example of penetration mechanism 37>

Next, for an example of the operation of the penetration mechanism 37, refer to the explanatory view of the driver body of FIGS. 43 and 44, the operation diagram of the penetration mechanism 37 of FIGS. 40A and 40B, and the operation diagram of the punching blade guide 117 of FIG. 41. I will explain while. In the state of the standby position before the penetration operation (see state A in FIG. 40A), as shown in FIGS. 43 (b) and (e), the cutting and forming mechanism 35 feeds the blades between the pair of punching blades 36a and 36b. The U-shaped non-metal needle 2 is held. At this time, the crown 2a is pressed by the crown pressing portion 110, and the needle legs 2b and 2c are supported by the needle leg supporting portions 115a and 115b.

When the link shaft 15 is lowered by pushing down the operation handle 6, the driver main body 100 provided with the penetration mechanism 37 is lowered (see FIG. 41 (a)). Then, when the punching blades 36a and 36b reach the paper P placed on the paper base 7, the through holes p1 are formed in the paper P by the blade portions 111a and 111b (see the dotted line portion of the state B in FIG. 40A). First, the first through portions 112a and 112b penetrate through the through hole p1. At this time, by arranging the first guide portion 117a of the punching blade guide 117 between the punching blades 36a and 36b, the first penetrating portions 112a and 112b are prevented from tilting inward and smoothly penetrated. Is possible.

When the penetration mechanism 37 is further lowered, the hole expanding portions 114a and 114b penetrate the paper P while expanding the through hole p1 in the outward direction. Then, when the penetration mechanism 37 is further lowered, the second penetrating portions 113a and 113b penetrate the through hole p1 and a pair of needle legs of the non-metal needle 2 held inside the second penetrating portions 113a and 113b. 2b and 2c penetrate through the through hole p1 (see FIG. 41 (b)).

Further, when the crown 2a reaches the paper P (see the state C in FIG. 40A), the crown pressing portion 110 presses the crown 2a against the paper P, so that the crown 2a and the paper P can be brought into close contact with each other. Further, even when the number of sheets of paper P is large, as shown in each figure of FIG. 44, the driver main body is compressed while the crown pressing spring 46 is compressed while the crown pressing portion 110 presses the crown 2a against the paper P and stops. Only 100 descends. Therefore, the punching blades 36a and 36b can be lowered to a predetermined position without being affected by the number of sheets of paper P. Therefore, the subsequent bending operation of the needle legs 2b and 2c by the bending mechanism 38 can be smoothly performed at a predetermined timing.

At the timing of this bending operation, as shown in FIG. 41 (c), the punching blade guide 117 retracts in conjunction with the retracting of the slide member 122, and the second guide portion 117b is between the punching blades 36a and 36b. Is placed. Therefore, the bending operation of the needle legs 2b and 2c by the bending mechanism 38 can be smoothly performed. The force acting on the punching blades 36a and 36b coincides with the second penetrating portions 113a and 113b, and it is difficult for the punching blades 36a and 36b to be tilted inward. Therefore, at the timing when the second penetrating portions 113a and 113b penetrate the through hole p1, the deformation can be suppressed without guiding the punching blades 36a and 36b. However, in this embodiment, the tips of the punching blades 36a and 36b are guided by the second guide portion 117b even at the timing when the second penetrating portions 113a and 113b penetrate the paper P. Therefore, while preventing the punching blades 36a and 36b from being deformed inward, the punching blades 36a and 36b when the pair of bending members 120a and 120b move in and out of the holes 116a and 116b of the punching blades 36a and 36b during the bending operation. It is possible to suppress the blurring in the left-right direction Y and perform the penetration operation and the subsequent bending operation more smoothly.

After the paper P is bound, as shown in FIG. 41 (d), the movement of the slide member 122 and the punching blade guide 117 is stopped. After that, when the pressing of the operation handle 6 is released, the driver body 100 rises together with the link shaft 15, so that the punching blades 36a and 36b come out of the through hole p1 and the penetration mechanism 37 returns to the standby position. Along with this, the slide member 122 also returns to its original position (advances), and the first guide portion 117a also moves between the drawing blades 36a and 36b. In this embodiment, since the chamfered portion 117c is provided in front of the first guide portion 117a, the needles overlapped on the lower side of the paper P at the chamfered portion 117c when the first guide portion 117a is returned. Move while scooping up the legs 2b and 2c. Therefore, the return operation of the first guide portion 117a below the needle legs 2b and 2c can be performed more smoothly, and the turning of the needle legs 2b and 2c can be suppressed.

Next, a modified example of the punching blade guide 117 will be described with reference to FIGS. 41A and 41B. 41A and 41B are operation views of a modified example of the cutting edge guide 117. The punching blade guide 117 of the modified example shown in FIGS. 41A and 41B has the same basic configuration as the punching blade guide 117 of the present embodiment shown in FIG. 41 except that the shape of the second guide portion 117b is different. A guide portion 117a of 1 and a second guide portion 117b having a lower formation height than the first guide portion 117a are provided.

In the modified example shown in FIG. 41A, the upper edge 117d of the second guide portion 117b has a shape in which the upper edge 117d of the second guide portion 117b is linearly inclined at two different inclination angles from the front end of the first guide portion 117a toward the front. The side view has a V shape with an obtuse angle inside.

In the modified example shown in FIG. 41B, the upper edge 117d of the second guide portion 117b is curvedly inclined from the front end of the first guide portion 117a toward the front, and the front side is linearly continuous with this curve. It has an inclined shape. The entire upper edge 117d of the second guide portion 117b may have a curvedly inclined shape. Further, in this modification, a chamfered portion 117c is provided in front of the first guide portion 117a.

As shown in the operation diagrams of FIGS. 41A and 41B, the punching blade guide 117 of such a modified example also operates in the same manner as in the embodiment of FIG. 41, and is the same as in the embodiment. Actions and effects can be obtained. Further, by inclining the upper edge 117d of the second guide portion 117b in a straight line or a curved line, the second guide portion 117b is placed in the descending path of the blade portions 111a and 111b of the punching blades 36a and 36b. The shape can be inclined along. Therefore, in the punching blade guide 117 of each modification, the punching blades 36a and 36b can be guided more smoothly without hindering the bending operation by the bending mechanism 38, and the deformation can be suppressed.

[About folding mechanism 38]

As shown in FIGS. 45 to 48 and the like, the bending mechanism 38 described above is a first bending method for bending one needle leg (right needle leg in this embodiment) 2b of the non-metal needle 2 penetrating the paper P. The member 120a, the second bending member 120b that bends the other leg portion (the left needle leg in this embodiment) 2c, the bonding member 121 that bonds the one needle leg 2b and the other needle leg 2c, and the first The slide member 122 as a driving member for driving the first and second bending members 120a and 120b and the bonding member 121 in a predetermined order (sequence), and the first and second bending members provided on the stayer body 5 It is provided with a pair of guide surfaces 123a and 123b (see FIGS. 47 and 50A) formed of inclined surfaces that guide the 120a and 120b in the bending direction.

The first and second bending members 120a and 120b are engaged with the bending protrusions 124a and 124b which are formed so as to project upward and inwardly fold the needle legs 2b and 2c and the pair of guide surfaces 123a and 123b of the stapler body 5. The first and second inclined surfaces 125a and 125b to be fitted and the first and second operating step portions 126a and 126b with which the slide member 122 is engaged are provided. The movement of the first bending member 120a and the second bending member 120b in the vertical direction Z and the horizontal direction Y is controlled by the forward / backward movement of the slide member 122 in the front-rear direction X.

Along with the movement in the vertical direction Z and the horizontal direction Y, the first and second inclined surfaces 125a and 125b are guided along the pair of guide surfaces 123a and 123b, so that the first and second bending members The 120a and 120b move in an oblique direction while expanding or contracting the distance between them (proximity separation). As a result, the first and second bending protrusions 124a and 124b enter and exit the holes 116a and 116b of the pair of punching blades 36a and 36b that penetrate the paper P.

The first bending member 120a and the second bending member 120b are integrally connected by a U-shaped connecting spring 127 in a plan view to form a Ω-shaped bending unit 128 in a plan view. In this embodiment, the first and second bending members 120a and 120b and the connecting spring 127 are integrally molded with resin to form a bending unit 128, and the bending unit 128 is stapled in a state where the connecting spring 127 is compressed. It is attached to the inner surface of the main body 5. Therefore, the shape stability and flexibility are excellent, the storage capacity of the bending unit 128 in the stapler main body 5 is improved, and the first and second bending members 120a and 12b can be freely moved in the vertical and horizontal directions. can.

The connecting spring 127 urges the first and second bending members 120a and 120b in the outward direction, that is, in the direction of pushing down the first and second bending members 120a and 120b (return direction). Therefore, when the first and second bending members 120a and 120b are pushed down by the return operation of the slide member 122 and return to the initial position, the restoring force of the connecting spring 127 assists the return operation and suppresses catching and the like. The return operation can be smoothly performed, and the operability during the return operation can be improved. Contrary to the above, the connecting spring 127 is attached in the direction of moving the first and second bending members 120a and 120b inward, that is, in the direction of pushing up the first and second bending members 120a and 120b. The force may be increased, and the operability during the bending operation can be improved.

When mounting the bending unit 128 to the stapler main body 5, as shown in FIG. 47, the mounting protrusion 129 protruding from the connecting spring 127 is engaged with the hole 130 provided in front of the stapler main body 5, and the first The mounting protrusions 131a and 131b (see FIG. 45) protruding from the first and second bending members 120a and 120b, respectively, were recessed with respect to the stapler main body 5 in correspondence with the inclination of the guide surfaces 123a and 123b. Engage with the staples 132a and 132b. As a result, the bending unit 128 is prevented from unexpectedly falling off from the stapler main body 5, and the first and second bending members 120a and 120b can be moved in the vertical and horizontal directions (diagonal direction).

The connecting spring 127 is not limited to the U-shaped one in a plan view. If it is possible to urge the first bending member 120a and the second bending member 120b in the pushing down direction (or pushing up direction), it is a connecting spring 127 having a V-shape, a W-shape, an I-shape, etc. in a plan view. You may.

As shown in FIG. 50A and the like, the lower end of the pair of guide surfaces 123a and 123b for guiding the first and second bending members 120a and 120b is located on the outermost side in the left-right direction Y, and gradually toward the upper end. It consists of a surface that slopes inward. That is, the pair of guide surfaces 123a and 123b are formed in a C shape when viewed from the front. The guide surfaces 123a and 123b are not necessarily limited to continuous surfaces, and may be composed of a plurality of separated surfaces.

The inclination angle (inclination angle with respect to the horizontal direction) of each of the guide surfaces 123a and 123b is set to about 45 ° in this embodiment, but is not limited to this, and the first and second bending members 120a, It can be appropriately adjusted depending on the movable range of the 120b and the slide member 122, the operation timing, and the like.

By setting the inclination angle to about 45 ° as in this embodiment, the moving distance of the slide member 122 is shortened as much as possible in the narrow space inside the stapler main body 5, and the first and second bending members 120a and 120b are used. Can be pushed up efficiently. Further, when the punching blades 36a and 36b descend while expanding the through hole p1 of the paper P in the outward direction, the edge of the through hole p1 may protrude downward so as to hang down. Even in this case, by setting the guide surface to about 45 °, the first and second bending members 120a and 120b can be prevented from interfering with the hanging edges and the first and second bending protrusions 124a and 124b. It can be smoothly moved up and down in an oblique direction. Therefore, it is possible to improve the operability of the first and second bending members 120a and 120b, and it is also possible to improve the operability of the stapler 1 and make it compact.

The bonding member 121 (see FIG. 45) is vertically rotatable on the stapler body 5 via a support shaft 133 (see FIGS. 48, 51, etc.) whose one end side (front end side) extends in the left-right direction Y. Has been done. The other end (rear end) of the bonding member 121 is provided with a pressing portion 134 that presses one needle leg 2b and the other needle leg 2c of the non-metal needle 2 from below to bond them together. When the bonding member 121 rotates up and down with the support shaft 133 as a fulcrum, the pressing portion 134 moves in the vertical direction Z.

The slide member 122 (see FIG. 45) slides and moves in the front-rear direction X with respect to the stapler main body 5, and pushes up or down the first and second bending members 120a and 120b and the bonding member 121 as appropriate to move up and down. Move to. As shown in FIG. 11, the slide member 122 is attached to the stapler main body 5 in a state where it can slide and move in the front-rear direction X. The slide member 122 is constantly urged forward (in the return direction) by the slider return spring 48. The shaft 26 (slider drive shaft, see FIG. 9) is provided behind the slide member 122, and is inserted into the third guide groove 28 of the link 18 (see FIGS. 42A, 48, etc.). ), The slide member 122 and the link 18 are connected. Therefore, the slide member 122 and the operation handle 6 are connected via the link 18, and the slide member 122 can be operated in conjunction with the operation of the operation handle 6.

The link 18 converts the reciprocating motion of the operation handle 6 in the vertical direction Z into a reciprocating motion of the slide member 122 in the front-rear direction X. The slide member 122 basically reciprocates in the front-rear direction X in conjunction with the rotation operation of the link 18 (see FIG. 42E and the like). Further, since the third guide groove portion 28 is formed long in the vertical direction Z, only the link 18 and the operation handle 6 are formed in the vertical direction Z while maintaining the engagement between the shaft 26 and the third guide groove portion 28. It is allowed to move to.

That is, the operation handle 6 and the slide member 122 basically operate in conjunction with each other via the link 18, but a predetermined operation of only the other is allowed, and the connected state is maintained without being separated from each other. It has a structure of

Further, as shown in FIG. 45 (c), the above-mentioned punching blade guide 117 is attached to the slide member 122 so that the slide member 122 can reciprocate in the front-rear direction X integrally with the slide member 122. When the slide member 122 retracts and the first and second bending members 120a and 120b enter and exit the holes 116a and 116b of the pair of punching blades 36a and 36b, the punching blade guide 117 also moves backward together with the slide member 122. The first guide portion 117a retracts from between the punching blades 36a and 36b, and the second guide portion 117b is arranged. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the punching blade guide 117 from interfering with the first and second bending members 120a and 120b during the bending operation.

The slide member 122 is provided with first and second side walls 135a and 135b for controlling the movement of the first and second bending members 120a and 120b in the vertical direction Z and the horizontal direction Y on both sides in the left-right direction Y. ing. The first and second actuating step portions 126a and 126b of the first and second bending members 120a and 120b are engaged with the first and second side walls 135a and 135b, respectively.

As shown in FIG. 46, the first and second side walls 135a and 135b are the first and second bending members 120a and 120b in this order from the rear (upper side in the figure) to the front (lower side in the figure). The first and second standby portions 136a and 136b and the first and second bending members 120a and 120b are pushed up and guided inward while holding the first and second standby portions 136a and 136b in the standby position (initial position) without pushing up. The second operating portions 137a and 137b and the first and second holding portions 138a and 138b that are held in a predetermined pushed-up state so that the first and second bending members 120a and 120b are not pushed up more than a predetermined value. I have.

The first and second standby portions 136a and 136b are formed at a height that does not push up the first and second bending members 120a and 120b. As shown in FIGS. 45, 50A, 50B, etc., the first and second actuating portions 137a and 137b are formed by an inclined surface that gradually rises toward the front. Further, as shown in FIG. 46, the first and second actuating portions 137a and 137b are formed so as to be gradually located inward toward the front, and the distance between the first and second actuating portions 137a and 137b is gradually narrowed toward the front. Has been done. The first and second holding portions 138a and 138b are formed horizontally on the first and second operating portions 137a and 137b continuously along the extending direction of the slide member 122.

In this embodiment, first, the first bending member 120a is operated to bend one needle leg 2b on the right side. Next, the second bending member 120b is operated with a predetermined phase difference interposed therebetween to bend the other needle leg 2c on the left side. In order to make this possible, the start position of the first actuating portion 137a is provided on the rear side of the position of the second actuating portion 137b in the front-rear direction X. With this configuration, when the slide member 122 retracts, the first actuating portion 137a first pushes up the first bending member 120a via the first actuating step portion 126a, and at the same time, inward directions (first bending protrusion 124a). Is guided in the direction of protruding from one hole 116a). After that, the second actuating portion 137b pushes up the second bending member 120b via the second actuating step portion 126b, and at the same time, inward direction (the direction in which the second bent protrusion 124b protrudes from the other hole portion 116b). I will guide you to.

On the other hand, as shown in FIGS. 45 and 48, an operating shaft 139 extending in the left-right direction Y is provided at the front end of the slide member 122, and the operating shaft 139 is provided on the wall surface of the bonding member 121. Engages in groove 140. The cam groove 140 and the operating shaft 139 are examples of the drive mechanism of the bonding member 121, and convert the movement of the slide member 122 in the front-rear direction X into a rotational operation of the bonding member 121 in the vertical direction Z. be.

The cam groove 140 includes a standby groove portion 141 that holds the bonding member 121 in the standby position (initial position) without rotating the bonding member 121 with respect to the movement of the slide member 122 in the front-rear direction X, and a rotary groove portion that rotates the bonding member 121. It includes 142 and a holding groove portion 143 that holds the bonding member 121 in a predetermined rotational state.

As shown in each drawing of FIG. 51, the standby groove portion 141 is inclined with respect to the extending direction of the bonding member 121, the bonding member 121 is in the standby position, and the pressing portion 134 is located at the lowest point. It is composed of grooves with a shape that is horizontal in the state. The rotary groove portion 142 is formed of a groove portion having a shape inclined in a direction symmetrical to the standby groove portion 141, and the holding groove portion 143 is formed of a groove having a shape along the extending direction of the bonding member 121.

By configuring the cam groove 140 and the operating shaft 139 as described above, the slide member 122 moves rearward, and the first and second bending members 120a and 120b bend the needle legs 2b and 2c at the timing. By passing the operating shaft 139 through the standby groove portion 141, the bonding member 121 is in a standby state without rotating. When the bending of the needle legs 2b and 2c by the first and second bending members 120a and 120b is completed, the operating shaft 139 passes through the rotary groove portion 142, so that the bonding member 121 rotates and the pressing portion 134 Rises, and presses the needle legs 2b and 2c to bond them together. After that, when the operating shaft 139 passes through the holding groove portion 143, the rotation of the bonding member 121 is stopped, and the pressing portion 134 is held in an raised state.

<Operation example of bending mechanism 38>

Next, an example of the operation of the bending mechanism 38 will be described with reference to the operation diagrams of each member of the bending mechanism shown in FIGS. 49 to 51. In the standby position (initial position) before the pushing-down operation of the operation handle 6 in FIG. 51 (a), the first and second bending members 120a and 120b are located at the lowest points (FIG. 50A). The operating shaft 139 of the slide member 122 is located at the standby groove portion 141 of the bonding member 121, so that the pressing portion 134 is located at the lowest point (see FIG. 49 (a), etc.).

The penetration mechanism 37 is activated by pushing down the operation handle 6, and the link 18 starts rotating at the timing when the first penetrating portions 112a and 112b of the punching blades 36a and 36b penetrate the paper P (FIG. 42D, FIG. See FIG. 42E). When the shaft 26 is guided by the third guide groove 28, the slide member 122 starts to move backward (backward), and the bending mechanism 38 operates. First, the upper end of the first actuating portion 137a pushes up the first actuating step portion 126a, so that the first bending member 120a is guided by one of the guide surfaces 123a and rises in the oblique direction. As a result, the first bending protrusion 124a protrudes from the one hole 116a to the inside of the pair of punching blades 36a and 36b, and the one needle leg 2b is bent. Next, the upper end of the second operating portion 137b pushes up the second operating step portion 126b via a predetermined phase difference, so that the second bending member 120b is guided by the other guide surface 123b in the oblique direction. Ascend to. As a result, the second bending protrusion 124b protrudes from the other hole 116b to the inside of the pair of punching blades 36a and 36b, and the other needle leg 2c is bent (see FIG. 50B above).

It should be noted that the second needle leg 2c may be configured to start bending the other needle leg 2c with the second bending member 120b in a state where one needle leg 2b is completely bent, but in this embodiment, the first The bending member 120a starts bending the other needle leg 2c by the second bending member 120b at the timing (phase difference) when one needle leg 2b is slightly bent inward. Even in this case, one needle leg 2b and the other needle leg 2c can be bent without interfering with each other, and the moving distance (stroke) of the slide member 122 applied to the bending of the pair of needle legs 2b, 2c is shortened. can do.

Further, the first and second bending members 120a and 120b are raised in the oblique direction by the action of the slide member 122 and the guide surfaces 123a and 123b, and the needle legs 2b, from the direction substantially orthogonal to the needle legs 2b and 2c, Since the 2c is bent, it is possible to suppress the escape of the needle legs 2b and 2c in the front-rear direction X without taking measures to prevent escape. Therefore, the needle legs 2b and 2c can be smoothly bent, and the bending of the folds of the needle legs 2b and 2b can be suppressed to improve the appearance and the binding function.

When the needle legs 2b and 2b are bent, the slide member 122 retracts, so that the first guide portion 117a of the punching blade guide 117 retracts rearward from between the pair of punching blades 36a and 36b. The second guide portion 117b is arranged (see FIGS. 41 (c) and 49 (b)). Therefore, the bending operation can be performed by utilizing the space between the stapler main body 5 and the second guide portion 117b, and the first and second bending members 120a and 120b can be performed without interfering with the punching blade guide 117. Can pass through the holes 116a and 116b. Further, while the first and second bending members 120a and 120b are operating, since the operating shaft 139 is located in the standby groove portion 141, the bonding member 121 does not operate and the standby state is maintained. Has been done.

Further, in the present embodiment, the end side (front) of the first actuating portion 137b with respect to the first bending member 120a is formed slightly lower, and when the bending of one needle leg 2b is completed, the state shown in FIG. 50C. As shown in FIG. 50D, the first bending member 120a is lowered. With this configuration, the interference between the first bending member 120a and the other needle leg 2c can be further suppressed. In particular, it is effective when a non-metal needle having long needle legs 2b and 2c is used, or when the thickness of the paper P is thin and the needle legs 2b and 2c protruding from the paper P are long. Therefore, the stapler 1 capable of smoothly bending the needle legs 2b and 2c can be obtained without being affected by the type of the non-metal needle 2 used, the change in the thickness of the paper P, and the like.

When the bending of the pair of needle legs 2b, 2c is completed, the first and second actuating steps 126a, 126b of the first and second bending members 120a, 120b become the first and second holding portions 138a, 138b. By locating, the ascending of the first and second bending members 120a and 120b is stopped. At this timing, when the operating shaft 139 passes through the rotary groove portion 142, the bonding member 121 rotates with the support shaft 133 as a fulcrum, the pressing portion 134 rises, and one needle leg 2b and the other needle leg 2c (See FIG. 49 (c), FIG. 50C, and FIG. 51 (c)). At this time as well, since the second guide portion 117b of the punching blade guide 117 is located between the pair of punching blades 36a and 36b, the operation of the bonding member 121 is not affected by the punching blade guide 117. When the bonding of the needle legs 2b and 2c is completed, the operating shaft 139 passes through the holding groove portion 143, so that the rotation of the bonding member 121 is stopped (FIG. 51 (c)). After that, the retreat of the slide member 122 also stops (FIG. 49 (c)).

Then, by releasing the pushing-down operation of the operating handle 6, the operating handle 6 is pushed up by the restoring force of the handle return spring 45, the link 18 rotates in the return direction, and is guided to the third guide groove 28. , The slide member 122 moves in the return direction (forward). In this way, the slide member 122 can be forcibly returned by the link 18, but in this embodiment, the slider return spring 48 is further provided. The urging force of the slider return spring 48 assists the movement of the slide member 122 in the return direction, enabling a smoother return operation.

Along with the return operation of the slide member 122, the operating shaft 139 passes through the rotary groove portion 142 and returns to the standby groove portion 141, so that the pressing portion 134 is lowered and returns to the standby position. Further, the slide member 122 moves while pressing the first and second bending members 120a and 120b outward by the outer wall surfaces of the first and second operating portions 137a and 137b, whereby the first and second bending members 122a and 120b move. The bending members 120a and 120b of the above are forcibly moved in the pushing-down direction and the left-right direction Y in the directions away from each other. Further, together with the urging force of the connecting spring 127, the first and second bending members 120a and 120b can be smoothly pushed down and separated to return to the initial position. In this way, each part of the bending mechanism 38 can be returned to the initial position by the link 18 in conjunction with the return operation of the operation handle 6.

Further, by the link 18 described above, the bending mechanism 38 can be interlocked with the intrusion mechanism 37 or the like directly driven by the operation handle 6 at a predetermined timing over the entire area, and the return operation can be performed. Can also be linked. If the slide member 122 does not have such an interlocking relationship over the entire area, the slide member 122 and the penetration mechanism 37 and the like are returned independently. Therefore, for example, even if the slide member 122 does not return due to a paper jam, malfunction of the slider return spring 48, or the like, only the penetration mechanism 37 or the like returns independently. Therefore, the operator may continue the binding operation without noticing the defect of the bending mechanism 38, which may affect the durability of the components and the operability of the stapler 1.

On the other hand, in this embodiment, since the operation and the return operation of each mechanism are linked by the link 18, any of the operation handle 6, the cutting molding mechanism 35, the penetration mechanism 37, and the bending mechanism 38 is malfunctioning. When a return failure occurs, the operation of other mechanisms and the operation handle 6 and the return operation are also stopped. Therefore, when the operation handle 6 does not completely return to the initial position, the operator can easily grasp that a malfunction has occurred in any of the mechanisms, and can quickly respond. Further, it is possible to prevent the operation from being continued without noticing the malfunction, prevent the components from being caught, and improve the durability of the stapler 1.

Next, a modified example of the bending mechanism will be described with reference to FIG. 52. In the above embodiment, the elastic force of the connecting spring 127 connecting the first and second bending members 120a and 120b urges the first and second bending members 120a and 120b in the return direction (pushing direction). There is. On the other hand, in the modified examples of FIGS. 52 (a) to 52 (c), the separately formed first and second bending members 120a and 120b are urged in the pushing-up direction or the pushing-down direction by the coil spring. ..

In the modified example shown in FIG. 52 (a), the first bending member is formed by the torsion coil spring 146 arranged between the protrusion 145 provided on the first bending member 120a and the protrusion 145 provided on the side surface of the stapler main body 5. The 120a is urged in the push-up direction. Further, the compression coil spring 147 arranged between the lower end of the second bending member 120b and the bottom surface of the stapler main body 5 urges the second bending member 120b in the pushing-up direction. The first bending member 120a may be urged by the compression coil spring 147 and the second bending member 120b may be urged by the torsion coil spring 146, or both the first and second bending members 120a and 120b may be urged. It may be urged by a torsion coil spring 146 or a compression coil spring 147.

In the modified example shown in FIG. 52B, the first bending is performed by the torsion coil spring 149 arranged between the protrusion 145 provided on the first bending member 120a and the protrusion 145 provided on the top surface of the stapler main body 5. The member 120a is urged in the return direction. Further, the tension coil spring 150 arranged between the spring mounting portion 148 provided on the second bending member 120b and the spring mounting portion 148 provided on the stapler main body 5 urges the second bending member 120b in the return direction. doing. The first bending member 120a may be urged by the tension coil spring 150, the second bending member 120b may be urged by the torsion coil spring 149, or both the first and second bending members 120a and 120b may be urged. It may be urged by a torsion coil spring 149 or a tension coil spring 150.

In the modified example shown in FIG. 52 (c), the compression coil spring 151 is arranged between the spring mounting portion 148 provided on the first bending member 120a and the spring mounting portion 148 provided on the second bending member 120b. The first and second bending members 120a and 120b are urged in the return direction. A tension coil spring 150 may be arranged instead of the compression coil spring 151, and the first and second bending members 120a and 120b may be urged in the pushing-up direction.

By urging the first and second bending members 120a and 120b in the return direction as in each of the modified examples of this embodiment and FIGS. 52 (b) and 52 (c), the first and second bending members It is possible to improve the operability when pushing down the 120a and 120b. Further, as in the modified example of FIG. 52 (a), by urging the first and second bending members 120a and 120b in the pushing direction, the first and second bending members 120a and 120b are pushed up. Operability can be improved.

The means for urging the first and second bending members 120a and 120b is not limited to the embodiments and modifications, and other springs such as leaf springs and springs may be used. An urging means other than the spring may be used. Further, since the vertical movement of the first and second bending members 120a and 120b can be sufficiently controlled by the operating portion of the slide member 122, it is not always necessary to provide such an urging means.

Alternatively, the first and second bending members 120a and 120b can be slid only in the vertical direction Z without gradually narrowing the distance between the first and second actuating portions 137a and 137b of the slide member 122. The member 122 may forcibly move the member 122 in the left-right direction Y by an urging means such as a spring. Alternatively, the first and second bending members 120a and 120b may be forcibly moved in the left-right direction Y by the slide member 122, and may be moved in the up-down direction Z by the urging means. In either case, the first and second bending members 120a and 120b can be smoothly driven in combination with the guidance functions of the pair of guide surfaces 123a and 123b.

[About the molding structure and action effect of the non-metal needle 2 of the molding mechanism and the needle holding mechanism]

(Structure 1) As described above, the stapler 1 of this embodiment has a molding mechanism (molding member 102) that bends a non-metal needle in a flat state to form a U-shape, and a non-metal needle that is formed into a U-shape. It is provided with a needle holding mechanism (needle holding plate 92) for holding the needle legs 2b and 2c of the metal needle 2.

The non-metal needle 2 molded in a U shape is exchanged between the molding mechanism and the needle holding mechanism.

The molding mechanism and the needle holding mechanism are provided so as to be relatively movable with respect to the non-metal needle 2 along the direction in which the non-metal needle 2 is bent in a U shape, and the molding mechanism and the needle holding mechanism are mutually movable. It is provided so that it can be moved relatively.

The molding mechanism is configured to move relative to the non-metal needle 2 and the needle holding mechanism to bend the non-metal needle 2 in the moving direction.

When the forming mechanism bends the non-metal needle 2 into a U-shape, the needle holding mechanism retracts to a position where it does not come into contact with the bent needle legs 2b and 2c, and the non-metal needle is bent to form a U-shape. When receiving 2, the needle legs 2b and 2c of the non-metal needle 2 formed in a U shape are held by moving relative to the non-metal needle 2.

(Action Effect 1) According to the above configuration, the non-metal needle 2 is molded in a U-shape by the molding mechanism moving relative to the non-metal needle 2 in the direction of molding in a U-shape. At this time, since the needle holding mechanism is retracted to a position where it does not come into contact with the needle legs 2b and 2c, it is possible to reduce the load on the needle legs 2b and 2c when the needle legs 2b and 2c are formed in a U shape. After molding, the needle holding mechanism moves relative to the non-metal needle 2 to hold the needle legs 2b and 2c. In this way, the non-metal needle 2 can be molded and transferred by simply moving the molding mechanism and the needle holding mechanism relative to the non-metal needle 2. Further, by holding the needle legs 2b and 2c by the needle pressing mechanism, the U-shaped molded state can be maintained and the deformation of the needle legs 2b and 2c can be suppressed. Therefore, the non-metal needle 2 can be molded more stably.

(Structure 2) The molding mechanism includes a molding member 102 that bends the non-metal needle 2 to form a U-shape, and the molding member 102 is substantially parallel to the direction in which the non-metal needle 2 is bent to form a U-shape. It may be configured to have a pair of arm portions 102a for holding a pair of needle legs 2b, 2c of a non-metal needle formed in a U shape while bending the needle legs 2b, 2c.

The pair of arm portions 102a can be elastically deformed in a direction that expands or contracts the distance between them, and the distance between the tip sides (projections 102b) that hold the tips of the pair of needle legs 2b and 2c is U-shaped. It is preferable that the distance between the pair of needle legs 2b and 2c of the non-metal needle 2 formed in 1 is narrower than the distance between the pair of needle legs 2b and 2c.

(Action Effect 2) According to the above configuration, when the needle legs 2b and 2c are held by the pair of arm portions 102a, the needle tip is slightly reduced by the tip side (projection portion 102b) narrower than the distance between the needle legs 2b and 2c. Closed inward. Therefore, even if the needle legs 2b and 2c are slightly deformed, the needle tip can be easily picked up by the needle holding mechanism, and the non-metal needle 2 can be molded more stably.

(Structure 3) The needle holding mechanism is arranged via the insertion interval of a pair of needle legs 2b, 2c of the non-metal needle 2 formed in a U shape, and moves relative to the non-metal needle 2. It may have a pair of needle holding portions 105 that take in and hold the pair of needle legs 2b and 2c inward.

When the non-metal needle 2 is received from the molding mechanism, the needle holding portion 105 holds the tips of the pair of needle legs 2b, 2c while the pair of arm portions 102a hold the pair of needle legs 2b, 2c. It is preferable that the structure is as follows.

(Action Effect 3) According to the above configuration, the pair of needle legs 2b and 2c can be inserted into the pair of needle holding portions 105 and securely held by simply moving the needle holding mechanism relative to the non-metal needle 2. can. Further, by holding the needle legs 2b and 2c by the needle holding portion 105 before the non-metal needle 2 is separated from the arm portion 102a, the opening of the needle legs 2b and 2c is suppressed and the U-shaped state is maintained. Can be done. Therefore, the non-metal needle 2 can be molded more stably. Further, it is not necessary to open / close the needle holding portion 105 or to provide a member for that purpose, and it is possible to simplify the configuration of the molding mechanism and the needle holding mechanism, reduce the number of parts, and the like, resulting in low cost. It is possible to provide a stapler 1.

(Structure 4) An engaging portion that engages with at least one of the needle pressing mechanism and the molding mechanism so as to be integrally movable relative to each other when the non-metal needle 2 is transferred between the molding mechanism and the needle pressing mechanism. (Elastic piece 106) may be provided.

(Action 4) According to the above configuration, for example, the non-metal needle 2 is molded by the molding mechanism by disengaging the engaging portion and moving only the molding mechanism relative to the non-metal needle 2. be able to. After molding, the molding mechanism and the needle holding mechanism are engaged by the engaging portion and moved relative to each other, so that the needle 2 is held in a U-shaped shape by the molding mechanism. The pressing mechanism can hold the needle legs 2b and 2c. Therefore, the opening of the needle legs 2b and 2c can be suppressed to maintain the U-shaped state, the non-metal needle 2 can be transferred more smoothly and reliably, and more stable molding can be performed. It becomes.

(Structure 5) A penetration mechanism 37 having a pair of punching blades 36a and 36b for penetrating a pair of needle legs 2b and 2c of a non-metal needle 2 through a sheet P is provided, and a molding mechanism is provided integrally with the penetration mechanism 37. You may.

(Effect 5) With the above configuration, the molding mechanism can be operated in conjunction with the penetration mechanism 37, and the number of parts can be reduced. Therefore, the installation space for the molding mechanism and the like can be reduced, and the stapler 1 can be miniaturized.

(Structure 6) The molding mechanism may be housed inside the needle holding mechanism so as to be relatively movable.

(Action Effect 6) With the above configuration, the volumes of the molding mechanism and the needle pressing mechanism can be made smaller, and the stapler 1 can be miniaturized. Further, the molding mechanism can be relatively moved within the needle holding mechanism, the movement range of the molding mechanism can be limited as desired, and the movement control can be easily performed.
[About the guide structure and action effect of the punching blades 36a and 36b of the punching blade guide 117]

(Structure 1) As described above, the stapler 1 of this embodiment has a penetration mechanism 37 having a pair of punching blades 36a and 36b for penetrating a pair of needle legs 2b and 2c of a non-metal needle 2 through a paper P, and a paper. It is provided with a bending mechanism 38 that bends a pair of needle legs 2b and 2c penetrating P along the paper P. Further, the punching blade guide 117 for guiding the inside of the pair of punching blades 36a and 36b penetrating the paper P is provided.

The punching blade guide 117 is located between the pair of punching blades 36a and 36b, and has a first guide portion 117a for guiding a portion of the punching blades 36a and 36b penetrating from the paper P and a paper P of the punching blades 36a and 36b. It has a second guide portion 117b that guides a part of the portion penetrated from.

Before the pair of punching blades 36a and 36b penetrate the paper P and the bending mechanism 38 bends the needle legs 2b and 2c, the first guide portion 117a is located between the punching blades 36a and 36b. When the 36a and 36b are guided, the pair of punching blades 36a and 36b penetrate the paper P, and the bending mechanism 38 bends the needle legs 2b and 2c, the second guide portion 117b is between the punching blades 36a and 36b. It is configured to be positioned and guide the punching blades 36a and 36b.

(Action Effect 1) According to the above configuration, before the pair of punching blades 36a and 36b penetrate the paper P and the bending mechanism 38 bends the needle legs 2b and 2c, the paper P is pushed by the first guide portion 117a. The portion of the punching blades 36a and 36b penetrating from the paper P is guided, and the inward flow (deformation) of the punching blades 36a and 36b can be suppressed. Further, when the pair of punching blades 36a and 36b penetrate the paper P and the bending mechanism 38 bends the needle legs 2b and 2c, the portion of the punching blades 36a and 36b penetrating from the paper P by the second guide portion 117b. It is possible to guide a part of the punching blades 36a and 36b in the left-right direction Y and suppress inward deformation. Therefore, it is not necessary to guide with the bending members 120a, 120b and the like. Further, the first guide portion 117a and the second guide portion 117b can be switched by simply moving the punching blade guide 117. Therefore, the tips of the punching blades 36a and 36b can always be guided by the first guide portion 117a and the second guide portion 117b, and the punching blades 36a and 36b of the penetration mechanism 37 can be provided with a small number of parts and a simple configuration. Deformation and the like can be suppressed, and the binding operation can be smoothly performed.

(Structure 2) The punching blade guide 117 is provided with a punching blade guide drive unit (slide member 122) capable of moving in the direction of bending the needle legs 2b and 2c, and the punching blade guide 117 is provided in the direction of bending the needle legs 2b and 2c. The first guide portion 117a and the second guide portion 117b may be arranged side by side. At this time, in the punching blade guide drive unit, the first guide portion 117a is the punching blade before the pair of punching blades 36a and 36b penetrate the paper P and the bending mechanism 38 bends the needle legs 2b and 2c. Located between the punching blades 36a and 36b, when the pair of punching blades 36a and 36b penetrate the paper P and the bending mechanism 38 bends the needle legs 2b and 2c, the second guide portion 117b is between the punching blades 36a and 36b. It is preferable to move the punching blade guide 117 so as to be located at.

(Action Effect 2) According to the above configuration, the movement of the first guide portion 117a and the second guide portion 117b is simply moved by moving the blade guide drive portion (slide member 122) in the direction of bending the needle legs 2b and 2c. It can be easily performed, and a more stable guide becomes possible. If the first guide portion 117a and the second guide portion 117b are arranged side by side and can be moved by the blade guide drive portion, the first guide portion 117a and the second guide portion 117b are separated. It may be one or the other.

(Structure 3) Further, as described above, the stapler 1 of this embodiment has a penetration mechanism 37 having a pair of punching blades 36a and 36b for penetrating the pair of needle legs 2b and 2c of the non-metal needle 2 through the paper P. A bending mechanism 38 for bending a pair of needle legs 2b, 2c penetrating the paper P along the paper P is provided. Further, the punching blade guide 117 for guiding the inside of the pair of punching blades 36a and 36b penetrating the paper P is provided.

The punching blade guide 117 is located between the pair of punching blades 36a and 36b, and has a first guide portion 117a for guiding a portion of the punching blades 36a and 36b penetrating from the paper P and a paper P of the punching blades 36a and 36b. It has a second guide portion 117b that guides a part of the portion penetrated from the paper P, and the first guide portion 117a and the second guide portion 117b penetrate the paper P and the paper P. When the bending mechanism 39 bends the pair of needle legs 2b, 2c, it always has a continuous surface that supports the inside of the punching blades 36a, 36b.

(Action Effect 3) With the above configuration, it is possible to suppress the lateral movement and inward deformation of the punching blades 36a and 36b in the same manner as in the (action effect 1) described in the immediately preceding (configuration 1). .. Further, from the time when the pair of punching blades 36a and 36b penetrate the paper P until the bending mechanism 39 bends the pair of needle legs 2b and 2c penetrating the paper P, the inside of the punching blades 36a and 36b is always pressed. It can be instructed on a continuous surface, and the effect of suppressing the lateral movement Y of the punching blades 36a and 36b and the inward deformation can be further enhanced.

(Structure 4) The first guide portion 117a and the second guide portion 117b may be composed of one component.

(Action 4) With the above configuration, the punching blade guide 117 can be obtained with a simpler configuration and a smaller number of parts, and miniaturization is also possible. Further, the first guide unit 117a and the second guide unit 117b can be easily moved or switched in synchronization.

(Structure 5) The height of the first guide portion 117a is equal to the height of the paper base 7 on which the paper P is placed, and the height of the second guide portion 117b is higher than that of the first guide portion 117a. It is preferably low.

(Effect 5) With the above configuration, the load when the pair of punching blades 36a and 36b penetrate the paper P can be reduced, the penetration operation by the penetration mechanism 37 is smoothly performed, and the through hole p1 is more than necessary. It can be prevented from becoming wide. Therefore, the non-metal needle 2 can bind the paper P more stably. Further, by making the second guide portion 117b lower than the first guide portion 117a, even if the pair of punching blades 36a and 36b penetrate deeply into the paper P, the inner side surface in the vicinity of the cutting edge can be guided. At the same time, even if the second guide portion 117b is located between the punching blades 36a and 36b, the bending operation by the bending mechanism 38 can be smoothly performed.

(Structure 6) The punching blade guide 117 may be provided on the drive member (slide member 122) that drives the bending mechanism 38.

(Action Effect 6) With the above configuration, by driving the drive member (reciprocating movement of the slide member 122), the first and second guide portions 117a and 117b can be easily switched between the pair of punching blades 36a and 36b. Can be placed. Therefore, it is not necessary to separately provide a drive member for the punching blade guide 117, and it is possible to reduce the number of parts, simplify the configuration, and reduce the size. Further, the timing adjustment between the bending operation of the bending mechanism 38 and the driving operation of the blade guide 117 can be performed more easily and more precisely, and the penetration operation, the bending operation, and the like can be performed more smoothly.

(Structure 7) The first guide portion 117a may be provided with a chamfered portion 117c at a corner portion on the second guide portion 117b side.

(Effect 7) According to the above configuration, when the bending operation is completed and the first guide portion 117a returns toward the pair of punching blades 36a, 36b, the chamfered portion 117c holds the needle legs 2b, 2c. Move while scooping up. Therefore, the return operation of the first guide portion 117a below the needle legs 2b and 2c can be performed more smoothly, the turning of the needle legs 2b and 2c is suppressed, and the paper P is pressed by the non-metal needle 2. It can be bound more stably.

[About the bending structure and action effect of the bending mechanism 38]

(Structure 1) As described above, the stapler 1 of this embodiment has a penetration mechanism 37 having a pair of punching blades 36a and 36b for penetrating a pair of needle legs 2b and 2c of a non-metal needle 2 through a paper P, and a paper. It is provided with a bending mechanism 38 for bending a pair of needle legs 2b and 2c penetrating P along the paper P.

The pair of punching blades 36a, 36b are provided with holes 116a, 116b (or notches) in the second penetrating portions 113a, 113b (penetrating portions) penetrating the paper P.

As shown in FIG. 45, the bending mechanism 38 moves along the bending direction in which the pair of needle legs 2b and 2c are bent inward, and protrudes from the holes 116a and 116b between the pair of punching blades 36a and 36b. The first and second bending members 120a and 120b for bending the pair of needle legs 2b and 2c and the first and second guide surfaces 123a and 123b for guiding the first and second bending members 120a and 120b in the bending direction. And a slide member 122 (driving member) that drives the first and second bending members 120a and 120b in the bending direction. The first and second bending members 120a and 120b are arranged between the first and second guide surfaces 123a and 123b and the slide member 122.

(Effect 1) In order to bind the paper P well with the non-metal needle 2, it is necessary to bend the pair of needle legs 2b and 2c so as to overlap each other in parallel with the crown 2a. In the conventional configuration in which the bending member is folded up from the bottom by rotating the bending member, the pressing member that presses the needle tip inward to deform it and the needle leg to suppress the escape (deformation) in the front-rear direction X are suppressed. There is a problem that the wall surface and the like are required, the number of parts is large, and the structure is complicated.

Therefore, the first and second bending members 120a and 120b are configured to linearly project from the holes 116a and 116b of the pair of punching blades 36a and 36b. Then, the guide surfaces 123a and 123b that guide the first and second bending members 120a and 120b in the bending direction of the pair of needle legs 2b and 2c, that is, in the direction substantially parallel to the crown 2a, and the first and second bending members 120a and 120b. It was arranged between the two bending members 120a and 120b and the slide member 122 for driving.

With this configuration, when the slide member 122 is operated, the first and second bending members 120a and 120b are guided by the guide surfaces 123a and 123b and move, and project straight upward from the holes 116a and 116b. As a result, the pair of needle legs 2b and 2c are bent. Therefore, the pair of needle legs 2b and 2c can be bent substantially parallel to the crown 2a.

Such a bending mechanism 38 having an excellent bending function can be realized only by arranging the first and second bending members 120a and 120b between the guide surfaces 123a and 123b and the slide member 122. Therefore, it is possible to reliably bend the needle legs 2b and 2c of the non-metal needle 2 with a small number of parts and a simple configuration, and it is possible to provide the stapler 1 capable of reducing the cost. In addition, the stapler 1 can be made smaller and lighter.

(Structure 2) The slide member 122 is configured to reciprocate in a direction (front-back direction X) intersecting the insertion / removal direction (vertical direction Z) of the pair of punching blades 36a and 36b, and the first and second slide members 122 are reciprocated by the forward movement. May have first and second actuating portions 137a and 137b that push up the bending members 120a and 120b toward the pair of needle legs 2b and 2c. In this case, the pair of first and second bending members 120a and 120b may be pushed down by the first and second actuating portions 137a and 137b by the return operation of the slide member 122. Alternatively, the pushing-down operation may be performed by another member such as a spring.

(Action Effect 2) With the above configuration, the first and second actuating portions 137a and 137b can be smoothly moved in the bending direction by the slide member 122.

(Structure 3) Further, the slide member 122 is configured to reciprocate in a direction (front-back direction X) intersecting the insertion / removal direction (vertical direction Z) of the pair of punching blades 36a and 36b, and the first operation is performed by the return operation. The distance between the second bending members 120a and 120b is widened, and the bending protrusions 124a and 124b protruding between the pair of punching blades 36a and 36b of the first and second bending members 120a and 120b are formed by the pair of punching blades 36a. , 36b may have first and second actuating portions 137a and 137b that move in the direction of exiting the holes 116a and 116b.

In this case, the distance between the pair of first and second bending members 120a and 120b is narrowed by the first and second operating portions 137a and 137b by the forward operation, and the holes 116a of the pair of punching blades 36a and 36b are narrowed. The configuration may be such that the bending protrusions 124a and 124b are moved from the 116b in the protruding direction. Alternatively, the movement operation in the protruding direction may be performed by another member such as a spring.

(Action Effect 3) With the above configuration, the first and second bending members 120a and 120b can be smoothly returned to the initial positions by the slide member 122.

(Structure 4) The slide member 122 moves one of the first or second bending members 120a and 120b, and moves the second or first other bending member 120b and 120a with a predetermined phase difference. It may be configured.

(Action Effect 4) With the above configuration, the pair of needle legs 2b and 2c can be bent and stacked in order without interfering with each other, and a smoother bending operation becomes possible.

[About the connection structure and action effect of link 18]

(Structure 1) As described above, the stapler 1 of this embodiment has an operation handle 6 (operation member) that reciprocates by an operator's operation, a link 18 that operates in response to the reciprocating operation of the operation handle 6, and a sheet of paper. It is provided with a bending mechanism 38 that bends a pair of needle legs 2b, 2c of a non-metal needle 2 penetrating P along the paper P. As shown in FIGS. 42A to 42F, the bending mechanism 38 includes first and second bending members 120a and 120b for bending the pair of needle legs 2b and 2c inward, and first and second bending members 120a and 120b. It is configured to have a slide member 122 (driving member) for driving the above. The slide member 122 is connected to the link 18 and is configured to be interlocked with the operation of the operation handle 6 via the link 18. More specifically, the operation handle 6 and the link 18 are connected by the link shaft 15, and the slide member 122 and the link 18 are connected by the shaft 26 (slider drive shaft), whereby the operation handle 6 and the bending mechanism 38 are connected. And can be linked via the link 18.

(Action Effect 1) Here, if the operation handle 6 and the bending mechanism 38 are not mechanically connected and the bending mechanism 38 operates independently of the operation of the operation handle 6, for example, it is not possible. Even if the bending mechanism 38 does not return to the initial position due to clogging of the metal needle 2, the operation handle 6 normally returns to the initial position. Therefore, the operator may continue the operation without noticing the malfunction of the bending mechanism 38, which may affect the operability and durability of the stapler 1.

Therefore, the operation handle 6 and the slide member 122 of the bending mechanism 38 are mechanically connected by a link 18. With this configuration, the operation of the operation handle 6 can be linked with the operation of the bending mechanism 38 and the return operation. Therefore, if a malfunction occurs in one of them, the other predetermined operation is also affected via the link 18, so that the operator can surely grasp the malfunction and respond promptly. Therefore, the durability and operability of the stapler 1 can be improved. Further, the stapler 1 having excellent durability and operability can be implemented at low cost with a small number of parts and a simple configuration only by connecting the operation handle 6 and the slide member 122 with a link 18.

(Structure 2) Further, the driving member connected to the link 18 is a slide member 122 that reciprocates in response to the operation of the link 18, and the slide member 122 includes the first and second bending members 120a and 120b. It may be provided with inclined surfaces (first and second operating portions 137a and 137b) that guide the needle legs 2b and 2c in the bending direction.

(Action Effect 2) According to the above configuration, the slide member 122 moves forward or backward, so that the first and second bending members 120a pass through the inclined surfaces (first and second operating portions 137a and 137b). , 120b can be smoothly guided in the direction in which the needle legs 2b and 2c are bent.

(Structure 3) Further, it has a pair of punching blades 36a and 36b that allow a pair of needle legs 2b and 2c of a non-metal needle 2 to penetrate the paper P, and responds to a reciprocating operation of the operation handle 6 to form a pair on the paper P. A penetration mechanism 37 that performs an insertion / extraction operation of the extraction blades 36a and 36b may be provided. More specifically, by connecting the penetration mechanism 37 and the link 18 with the link shaft 15, the penetration mechanism 37 and the bending mechanism 38 can be interlocked with each other via the link 18.

(Action Effect 3) With the above configuration, the penetration operation of the penetration mechanism 37 driven by the operation handle 6, the bending operation of the bending mechanism 38, and their return operations can be linked via the link 18. Each operation can be executed at a suitable timing. Further, the operator can surely grasp the malfunction caused by either the operation of the penetration mechanism 37 or the bending mechanism 38 and can quickly respond to it. Therefore, the durability of the penetration mechanism 37 and the bending mechanism 38 can be improved.

(Structure 4) Further, a pusher 61 (transport member) for transporting the non-metal needle 2 in a predetermined transport direction (front-back direction X) is provided, and the link 18 is interlocked with the reciprocating operation of the operation handle 6 to link the pusher 61. May be configured to reciprocate in the transport direction (front-back direction X). More specifically, when the link 18 pushes the shaft 25 (pusher drive shaft) inserted into the pusher 61 by the pushing protrusion 30, the pusher 61 reciprocates in the transport direction in response to the operation of the operation handle 6. Move.

(Action 4) According to the above configuration, for example, while the paper P is being bound by the penetration mechanism 37 or the bending mechanism 38, the pusher 61 is retracted rearward to reduce the penetration mechanism 37 or the bending mechanism 38. Do not interfere with the operation. Then, when the operation of binding the paper P is completed, the pusher 61 is advanced by the link 18, so that the new non-metal needle 2 can be sent between the pair of punching blades 36a and 36b. Therefore, the penetrating operation, the bending operation, the transporting operation of the non-metal needle 2, and the returning operation thereof can be interlocked by the link 18 and executed at an appropriate timing. Further, in addition to the malfunction of the penetration mechanism 37 and the bending mechanism 38, the operator can surely grasp the malfunction of the pusher 61 and can respond promptly. Therefore, the durability of the penetration mechanism 37, the bending mechanism 38, and the pusher 61 can be improved.

Although the examples have been described in detail with reference to the drawings, the examples are merely examples. Therefore, the present invention is not limited to the examples, and it goes without saying that the present invention is included in the present invention even if there is a design change or the like within a range that does not deviate from the gist. Further, for example, when each embodiment includes a plurality of configurations, it goes without saying that a possible combination of these configurations is included even if there is no particular description. Further, when a plurality of examples and modifications are disclosed, it goes without saying that possible combinations of configurations straddling these examples are included even if there is no particular description. Further, it goes without saying that the configuration depicted in the drawings is included even if there is no particular description. Furthermore, when there is a term such as "etc.", it is used to mean that it includes the equivalent. In addition, when there are terms such as "almost", "about", and "degree", they are used to mean that they include those with a range and accuracy that are generally accepted.

1 Stapler 2 Non-metal needle 2b, 2b', 2c Needle leg 3 Connecting needle 4 Hole 6 Operation handle (operation part)
7 Paper stand (paper resting part)
11 Handle operation part 18 Link 32 Transport path 34 Transport mechanism 35 Cutting and molding mechanism (cutting mechanism, molding mechanism, needle holding mechanism)
36, 36a, 36b Punching blade 37 Penetration mechanism 38 Bending mechanism 61 Pusher (conveying member)
81 Positioning part 82 Return part 83 Pushing part 84 Needle holding part 85 Attaching surface 86 Engaging part 87 Regulatoring member 88 Disengagement regulating part 91 First regulating part 92 Needle holding plate (needle holding mechanism)
93 Second regulation part 95 Gap 96 Gap 101 Cutting blade (cutting mechanism)
102 Molding member (molding mechanism)
102a Arm part 105 Needle holding part 106 Elastic piece (engaging part)
113a, 113b Second penetration (penetration)
116a, 116b Hole 117a Punching blade guide 117a First guide 117b Second guide 117c Chamfer 120a First bending member 120b Second bending member 123a, 123b Guide surface 122 Slide member (driving member)
137a First actuating part (actuating part, inclined surface)
137b Second operating part (acting part, inclined surface)
P paper (object to be bound)
X Front-back direction (transportation direction)

Claims (3)

A cutting mechanism that cuts each connecting needle, which is made by connecting multiple non-metal needles in a flat state.
In a stapler provided with a transport mechanism for transporting the connecting needle to the cutting mechanism via a transport path.
A needle holding portion capable of holding the connecting needle is provided on the front side of the transport path in the transport direction.
The needle holding portion has a contact surface to which the connecting needle is abutted and a contact surface to which the connecting needle is applied.
A regulating member that regulates the position of the connecting needle from one side,
Wherein the other surface of the coupling needle, have a, and off regulating portion disposed so as to face in a state that at different positions on the front and rear in the transport direction and the restricting member across the coupling needle,
A stapler characterized in that the detachment regulating portion has a first regulating portion installed at a position of a non-metal needle at the head of the connecting needle. In the stapler according to claim 1,
The detachment regulating portion has a second regulating portion installed at the position of the second and subsequent non-metal needles of the connecting needle, and also has a second regulating portion.
Staplers said regulating member with respect to the transporting direction of the coupling needle, characterized in that installed in a position between said first restricting portion and the second restricting portion. In the stapler according to claim 1 or 2.
The detachment restricting portion is arranged apart from the other surface of the connecting needle with a gap, and is also arranged.
The regulating member, with respect to the engaging portion provided in said connecting needle, is an engagement member engaged from one side of the connecting needle,
A stapler characterized in that the tip end portion of the engaging member protrudes to the other surface side of the connecting needle larger than the gap through the engaging portion.

Images