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European patent (AT, BE, BO, CH, CY, CZ, DE, DK, EE * '' - before the expiration of the time for the amending the ES, FI, F, GB, GR, HU, IE, IT, LU , MC, NL, PT, RO, SE, claims and te be republis ed in the event of receipt of SI, SK, TR), OAPI patent (BF, BJ, CF, CG, CI, CM, GA, amendments GN, GQ, GW, L, MR, NE, SN, TD, TG). For two-letter codes and other abbrevialions, refer to the "Guid- Published: ance Notes on Codes and Abbreviations" appearmg atthebegin- - with intemational search repon no regular issue of the PCI Gazette.
CUTTER GUARD FOR TAPE SUPPLIER
FIELD OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to the safety and simplicity of devices designed for the assortment and cutting of transparent, adhesive, protective tape and for fastening with straps, or any other flat material, thin, long, stored and stocked from a roll. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION A number of patents have been granted for devices that supply and cut thin, long, rolled material into a roll. While some have addressed the problem of accidental injury, none of the prior art adequately simplifies the mechanism to reduce the effort, size or cost of a tape dispenser that provides a level of protection from accidental contact with the cutting blade when the device does not is in use or when the tape is dispensed, cut, or loaded. Several methodologies to protect the users of tape suppliers from the potential damage of the cutting edge of a tape supplier, appear in these patents. Among these methodologies is that described in US Patent No. 6,969,033 issued on October 2, 2001 to Alan Clements, which has a protection device 38 formed of a flexible material which is removably attached to, and extends beyond of the cutting blade 32. The extended length of the protection device 38 beyond the outer edge of the cutting blade 32 limits the impact of the blade on the objects and the user. (See Fig. 3 and column 3, lines 28-40). The Clements patent also describes the use of a less flexible protection device which is marked along a bending or bending line to form a flexible joint (See column 3, lines 40-44). The movement of the protection device 38 out of its protected position on the toothed blade 32 is achieved by the tape when it is removed from the roll of tape and in order to make contact with the blade. The tape pulls the shell 38 away from the blade to facilitate the penetration of the latter and to cut the tape. (See Fig. 4 and column 3, lines 60, and subsequent). Another methodology for protecting the cutting edge of a tape dispenser from unwanted damage to the user is the use of a pivoting shell of the type described in US Pat. Nos. 5,456,790 and 5,393,367 issued to Chen, et al. These patents describe a rigid pivoted shell 20 which is normally displaced in a protective position on the cutting blade 30. The shell 20 is pivoted out of its protective position when the ribbon spout is inclined to supply the belt, thereby allowing the cutting engagement of the blade 33 with the belt (See Figs 5-6 and Column 4, lines 42- 47 of the ¾790 patent). Other patents address the problem of sharp, cutting blades with mechanisms that retract the blade until it is necessary to cut the belt. In U.S. Patent No. 5,641,377 issued June 24, 1997 to Cheng et al. , a portable dispenser employs a mechanism which extends the blade 41 when pressure is applied to a pivoting "cleaner" 49 extending from the spout body (See Fig. 2-3 and column 4, lines 49, and subsequent) . A very similar arrangement for the retractable blade is described in US Pat. No. 5, 849,144 issued December 15, 1998 to Tang, et al. Several different embodiments of blade protection usable in dispensers of sheet or sheet materials are described in US Patent No. 6,039,102 issued March 21, 2002 to Sadrakula, et al. U.S. Patent No. 4,818,329 issued April 14, 1989 to Tutas, et al., Discloses a rigid, biased, or moveable protective device 43 with springs, on the cutting blade 148 mounted on a rotating shaft 152 which normally it is biased with springs to cover the blade but can be rotated out of its covered position when the spout is rotated into the position to supply the belt (See Fig. 2-3 and column 7, lines 20-49.). DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The objective of this invention is to provide a simple, economical, easy-to-use device that delivers and presses and cuts tape on a surface while at the same time protecting a user from accidental contact with the cutting blade when not in use. The tape dispenser described herein includes a structure or frame in which a roll of tape is rotatably mounted.A blade is mounted on a extension of the structure to cut the tape in desired lengths. A flexible shell extends from the structure or frame beyond the edge of the blade a distance sufficient to minimize a user contact with the blade. The shell also helps to press the tape on the surface of the object that is being wrapped with tape. In one embodiment, the flexible shell contains a groove large enough to allow the blade to pass when the user presses it onto the structure. The pressure 5
facilitates the movement of the blade through the slot in contact with the tape, cutting it in that way. In another embodiment, a member carrying the cutting blade extends from the structure of the ribbon spout parallel to the shell and slightly beyond the leading or leading edge of the shell. When not in use, the cutting blade is suspended just beyond the front edge of the shell and far enough above the shell to prevent accidental damage to the user. When the tape to be applied to an object, the downward pressure in the structure causes the shell to bend towards the member carrying the blade, thus allowing the blade to contact and cut the ribbon that is applied to an object. . BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a first embodiment of this invention in which the shell extends beyond the blade and shows the alignment of the blade and the shell before the cutting of the ribbon . Fig. 2 is a perspective view of a second embodiment of the invention in which the blade extends beyond the shell. Fig. 3 is a side elevational view of the ribbon dispenser illustrated in Fig. 2.
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Fig. 4 is a side elevational view of the ribbon dispenser illustrated in Fig. 1. Fig. 5 is a bottom plan view of the ribbon dispenser shown in Fig. 1. DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED MODALITIES In the following description, similar parts are marked through the specification and drawings with the same numbers. The drawings are not necessarily to scale and in certain views, the parts may be exaggerated for clarity. Fig. 1 shows a ribbon dispenser 2 which uses a flexible plate 1 to press the tape onto a surface 3 and to protect the cutting blade 5 from contact with the user. The plate 1 acting as a shell has an opening 4 large enough to allow the cutting blade 5 to pass through and cut the ribbon 6 when the shell is bent by the pressure of the user on the spout 2 beyond what is necessary for pressing the tape 6 on a surface 3. In this embodiment, the front edge 9 of the shell 1 of the flexible plate is rounded to assist in a smooth application of the tape 6 on the surface 3. The tabs 8 on the lower part of the shell 1 helps to guide the tape 6 to its position on the lower part of the shell 1 of the plate. These tabs 8 also maintain the free hinge of the tape in place for future applications after the tape is cut by the knife 5. (See Fig. 5). Fig. 4 shows a side view of the embodiment shown in Fig. 1, with a shell 1 of the plate bent or folded to secure the band 6 to a surface 3 with the fixed blade 5 pressed through the opening 4 lo sufficiently far to cut the tape 6. Accordingly, after the user applies the desired amount of tape 6 to the surface 3 of the object being wrapped with tape and wishes to cut the tape 6, he / she pushes forward and towards down on the structure of the spout 2 causing the shell 1 of the plate to bend up towards the blade 5. The blade 5 is mounted on a relatively rigid plate 7 extending from the structure of the spout 2. The forward pressure and downwards the user on the spout 2 causes the shell 1 to bend up towards the plate 7 holding the blade 5. This movement of the plate 1 relative to the plate 7 causes the blade 5 to move downwards, toward the tape 6 on the surface 3. The contact of the knife 5 with the tape 6 is facilitated by the opening 4 in the shell 1. The knife 5 passes through the opening 4 in the shell 1 to cut the tape (See Fig. . 4) . The free end of the belt 6 is retained after this cut in its position for the next tape application by the tabs 8 on the bottom of the structure of the spout 2 as shown in Fig. 5. Fig. 2 illustrates another embodiment of the tape spout 2 having a shell 1 of flexible plate for press the tape on a surface 3 and to minimize the damage to the user. The cutting blade 5 is suspended just beyond the front edge of the plate 7 and is suspended far enough above the flexible plate 1 to avoid accidentally damaging a user but close enough to cut the ribbon when a specified pressure is used beyond what is necessary to press the tape down on a surface 3. In the embodiment shown in Figs. 2-3, the plate 1 of the shell is shorter than the plate 7 on which the cutting blade 5 is mounted. However, the close proximity of the plate 1 adjacent to, and the underlying plate 7 carrying the blade 5, effectively protects the blade 5 from unwanted contact with the user which could cause damage. The main edge 9 of the shell 1 of the flexible plate is rounded to assist in a uniform application of the tape 6 on the surface 3.
In this embodiment, this blade 5 on the relatively rigid plate 7 moves to contact the belt 6 by applying upward and downward pressure by the user on the structure of the ribbon dispenser 2. This pressure causes the shell 1 of the protective plate to move upwards relative to the plate 7 carried by the blade 5, thus allowing the blade 5 to be in contact and cut the belt 6 as illustrated in Fig. 3. As with the other embodiment described above, the tabs 8 retain the cutting end of the tape 6 in its position on the bottom of the spout 2 so that it itself is available for application to the next object to be wrapped with tape.