MXPA97001917A - Needle used to distribute plastic braces without ba - Google Patents

Abstract

Needle used to distribute plastic fasteners without a bar (P) having a flexible filament (F) and a transverse bar (B) disposed at one end of the flexible filament (F). In one embodiment, the needle (11) comprises a solid elongated element (13) terminating at its front end in a tip (15) adapted to penetrate a desired article and a chamber (17) adapted to receive a transverse bar (B ) of a plastic fastener (P). The chamber (17) includes a front end (21), a rear end (23), an open top (25) and an open bottom (27). The open upper part (25) is spaced at the rear from the tip (15) and has an appropriate size and shape that allows inserting and removing a transverse bar (B) in the chamber (17). The front end 21 is angled downward toward the tip (15) to releasably engage the upper surface (TF) of the front end of the cross-bar (B), and the rear end (23) has a pair of walls that are inset into V to releasably engage the bar (B) to prevent the transverse bar (B) from being drawn out of the chamber (17) through the open top (25) when low tension is applied to the flexible filament. When enough tension is applied to the flexible filament, the transverse bar (B) exits the chamber (17) through the open top (2).

Description

NEEDLE THAT IS USED TO DISTRIBUTE PLASTIC CLAMPS WITHOUT BAR BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates generally to needles useful for distributing plastic fasteners and, more particularly, to such a novel needle.

Plastic fasteners of the type commonly used, for example, for attaching merchandise labels or other items to commercial items, such as garments, are well known and widely used in the retail trade. Generally, such fasteners are constituted by an elongated unitary plastic element having a first end shaped to define a transverse bar (commonly referred to as a "T-bar"), a second end shaped to define a retainer (or a second transverse bar) , and a thin and flexible filament portion interconnecting the transverse bar with the retainer. The transverse bar generally has a size and shape to be inserted first through a merchandise label and then through a commercial item. The retainer is generally sized and shaped so as to prevent the label from being pulled out of the portion of the filament by pulling it.

Generally, such fasteners are produced in series by a molding process in any one of two different ways known as sets of fasteners. One type of fastener assembly, which is described in U.S. Patent No. 3,103,666, of collective assignment, which is incorporated herein by reference, consists of a plurality of fasteners joined together by their respective transverse bars by a plurality of fasteners. mobile bar The other type of fastener assemblies, which is described in commonly assigned U.S. Patent No. 4,955,475, and which is incorporated herein by reference, consists of a plurality of fasteners disposed in an aligned manner. to end, the head and the opposite ends of the successive fasteners being joined together by means of countable connectors, so that a set of fasteners connected in a continuous manner is formed.

The distribution of individual fasteners from a set of fasteners to desired commercial items is generally done using an apparatus commonly referred to as a "labeling gun." In U.S. Patent Nos. 5,320,269, 5,024,365, 4,121,487 and 4,456,161, which are incorporated herein by reference, examples of labeling guns are illustrated. Generally, labeling guns include (a) a hollow needle having a longitudinal groove extending over its entire length; (b) means for separating an individual transverse stick from the rest of the fastener assembly; and (c) means for feeding the individual transverse bar through the slotted hollow needle and the desired commercial article. (The connections, if any, between the seals of a pair of adjacent fasteners are removed by removing the labeling gun from the commercial article after having inserted the transverse bar of one of the fasteners there).

Frequently, the aforementioned separation means consists of a blade element which is used to cut the detachable connector located between the transverse bar and the movable bar or between the adjacent transverse bars. In some cases, the blade element is attached or incorporated into the structure of the slotted hollow needle such that the detachable connector is cut as the transverse bar is loaded into the slotted hollow needle. An example of the foregoing is illustrated in U.S. Patent No. 4,333,596, which is incorporated herein by reference. This patent discloses a high strength needle assembly having a cutting edge capable of being sharpened, and the assembly includes a spike having a tip and a hollow cylindrical portion, a base that has a central perforation and a blade. The central perforation has a first section and a second section, the first section having an inside diameter equal to the outside diameter of the cylindrical portion, so that the pin can be inserted there and held by an adherent. The second section has an inside diameter equal to the inside diameter of the cylindrical portion. The part of the blade includes a body portion having an edge at one end and a protrusion at the other end, the protrusion being adapted to be received within a recess adjacent to the second section of the perforation and to be held therein. The part of the blade extends beyond the base, in a direction substantially parallel to the axis of the base, so that the edge can be accessed to resharpen it.

Another example of a needle having a blade incorporated therein is described in U.S. Patent No. 5,307,975, which is incorporated herein by reference. In that patent a needle is described to be used as part of a fastener dispensing tool, the needle being made of a single metal sheet by stamping and / or lamination, and consists of an elongate, generally cylindrical, hollow and grooved element, constituted for a body and a base. The portion of the body ends at its front end, conforming relatively pointedly. The portion of the base, portion whose size and shape enable it to be inserted into an opening in the tool tip, includes a pair of spring tabs that extend upwardly and that are bent outwardly relative to each other. . A first portion of one of the tongues has a size and shape so as to engage, releasably, in a recessed area formed in the tool tip, in order to prevent the base portion from accidentally coming out of the opening and to limit the insertion, on the back, of the portion of the base in the opening. A second portion of the same tongue has a shape and size to engage in another wall of the bill and thus prevent upward movement of the base portion in the opening. The other tab acts as a registration element to align the portion of the base in its desired longitudinal, vertical and angular orientation.

In other cases, the slotted hollow needle does not include the element constituted by the blade, the blade element being located in some other part of the labeling gun, so that the cuttable connector is cut by the blade before loading the individual crossbar in the slotted hollow needle. Examples of labeling guns employing this type of arrangement include U.S. Patent Nos. 5,320,269 and 4,998,661, which are incorporated by reference herein.

Generally, the aforementioned means for feeding a single transverse bar through the slotted hollow needle and the desired commercial article, consist of a rod or ejector rod which can be inserted into the groove of the slotted hollow needle, and which moves to along its longitudinal axis. Generally, the ejector rod is coupled to a firing mechanism of the labeling gun, so that when activating the firing mechanism, the ejector rod engages the rear part of the transverse rod and pushes it through the slotted hollow needle and the desired commercial article.

As can easily be seen, because the ejector rod is constituted by a moving part, there is a probability that the ejector rod does not work well (for example, that it gets stuck in the labeling gun, which disengages from the firing mechanism, etc.) The invention of La Torraca with U.S. Patent No. 3,900,925, which was published on August 26, 1975, describes a simplified integral button punch that has no moving parts. The button punch consists of a needle having a slotted hollow end ending in a tip that is inserted into one end of an improved fastener, plus fastening means attached to the opposite end of the needle, so as to simultaneously push the needle loaded with fasteners through the opening of a button, and the fabric, to which it is going to stick.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a novel needle useful for distributing plastic fasteners. Another object of the present invention is to provide a novel needle useful for distributing plastic fasteners that does not require the use of an ejector rod, or an ejector rod or any similar device, to discharge a crossbar from a loaded needle, after inserting the needle loaded in the commercial article you want.

In addition to the above objectives and others of the present invention, which are set forth below or may be obvious according to the present disclosure, a needle is provided in this document which is used to distribute a fastener of the type consisting of a flexible filament and a transverse bar, the transverse bar being disposed at one end of the flexible filament, the needle comprising an elongated element, and the elongate element ending at its front end with a tip adapted to penetrate a desired commercial article, also having the elongate element a chamber adapted to receive a transverse bar of a fastener, the chamber having an aperture spaced, at the rear, separated from said tip, the size and shape of said chamber being such that a transverse bar placed inside said chamber through said opening and inserted through a commercial article using an elongated element, it is retained enga in said chamber during the insertion of the transverse bar through the said commercial article, but which is discharged into said chamber through said opening after inserting the transverse bar through the commercial article.

Preferably, the elongate element is constituted by a solid unitary body made of molded plastic or metal. The chamber preferably should be shaped to include a front end, a rear end, a top and a bottom. The front end of the chamber should preferably be shaped so as to releasably engage the upper surface of the front end of a transverse bar disposed within said chamber, and the rear end of the chamber should preferably be shaped to engage, removably, both the upper and lower surface of the trailing end of a transverse rod disposed within the chamber, in such a manner as to prevent the transverse bar from being pulled out of the chamber when little tension is applied to the flexible filament, but This will cause the transverse bar to be pulled out of the chamber through the opening when sufficient tension is applied to the flexible filament.

In a preferred embodiment, the front end of the chamber is obliquely downward toward the tip of the elongated element, so as to releasably engage the upper surface of the front of a transverse bar disposed within the chamber, and the The rear end of the chamber is shaped to include a pair of V-shaped intersecting walls to releasably engage the upper and lower surfaces, respectively, of the rear part of the transverse beam. In another preferred embodiment, the front end of the chamber is shaped to include a seat adapted to releasably engage the upper surface of the front end of a transverse bar disposed within the chamber, and the rear end of the chamber is shaped to include a substantially vertical wall having a notch, the notch adapted to receive coincidentally, and to releasably engage the trailing end of the transverse bar.

Preferably, the upper part of the chamber is open (the lower part also preferably being open, so as to facilitate the manufacture of the chamber), the open upper part being of the appropriate size and being shaped so as to allow that a transverse bar can easily be inserted into the chamber and removed from it.

Because the needle of the present invention does not require any ejector rod, or anything similar to eject a transverse rod therefrom, the needle causes the number of moving parts to be reduced, and, consequently, eliminates many of the problems. related to the use of conventional devices employing ejector rods and the like. Another advantage of the present needle over conventional needles is that this needle can be formed in a wide variety of cross-sectional shapes and sizes, and can be manufactured with a wide variety of materials that are sufficiently strong as to be able to enter the needle. desired commercial article.

In a part of the description that follows, other objectives, characteristics and additional advantages of the present invention will be set forth, which will be obvious in part from the description or can be learned by practicing the invention. These embodiments will be described in sufficient detail to allow those skilled in the art to practice the invention, and it should be understood that other embodiments may also be used and that changes may be made without departing from the scope of the invention. Accordingly, the meaning of the following detailed description should not be limited, and the scope of the present invention is better defined in the appended claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated herein by reference and which become part of the same, illustrate various embodiments of the invention and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the invention in the drawings where reference numerals Similar represent similar parts: FIG. 1 is a fragmentary top view of a first embodiment of a needle constructed in accordance with the technique of the present invention, which is used to distribute plastic fasteners without a bar; Fig. 2 is a fragmentary sectional view of the needle, taken along the line 1-1 of Fig. 1, the needle being shown, in transparent lines, with a transverse bar of a plastic fastener.

Figs. 3 (a) and 3 (b) are fragmentary sectional views illustrating how the needle of Fig. 1 can be used to distribute plastic fasteners without a bar in a commercial article; Y Fig. 4 is a fragmentary sectional view of a second embodiment of a needle constructed in accordance with the technique of the present invention, which is used to distribute plastic fasteners without a bar, the loaded needle being shown, in transparent lines, with a transverse bar of a plastic fastener.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS With reference to Figs. 1 and 2, fragmentary upper and sectional views are shown, respectively, of a needle constructed according to the technique of the present invention, which is used to distribute plastic fasteners without a bar, the needle being represented, generally, with the reference numeral eleven.

The needle 11 is constituted by an elongated element or spike 13, which preferably is a unitary solid element, which can be made, for example, of plastic or metal and can be shaped by various techniques, such as molding, electroforming or stamping. The pin 13 is shaped so as to terminate, at its front end, a relatively pointed tip of a closed end 15 (in contrast to the open, spoon-shaped tips of the conventional needles) and is shaped to include a camera 17 spaced, on the back, from point 15.

The chamber 17, which is adapted to receive and retain, under the conditions specified below, a transverse bar B of a plastic fastener P, is defined by a front end 21, a rear end 23, an open top 25 and an open lower part 27. The open upper part 25, which is spaced, at the rear, at a certain distance from the tip 15, has a size and shape, approximate, such as to allow insertion and removal of a transverse bar B in the chamber 17. The front end 21 is shaped so as to releasably engage the upper surface TF of the front of the transverse bar B, and the rear end 23 is shaped to releasably engage both the upper surface TR and the lower surface BR of the rear part of the transverse bar B, in such a way as to prevent the transverse bar B from being taken out of the chamber 17 through the upper part abi. erta 25 when little tension is applied to the lilameii Flexible F or to the fastener P (ie, before carrying out the insertion of the cross bar through the commercial article), but as to cause the transverse bar B can be removed from the chamber 17 through the open top 25 when enough tension is applied to the filament flexible F (that is, after carrying out the insertion of the crossbar through the commercial article). As best seen in Fig. 2, the front end 21 descends obliquely towards the tip 15 (to engage the upper surface TF), and the rearward end 23 includes an upper wall 23-1 descending obliquely and it moves away from the tip 15 (to engage the upper surface TR of the transverse bar B) and the lower wall 23-2 descends obliquely towards the tip 15 (to engage the lower surface BR of the transverse bar B).

Although not shown, the needle 11 could also include conventional means attached to the back of the shank 13, to mount the needle 11 in a labeling gun. Alternatively, the needle 11 could be mounted on a labeling gun through another means, for example, by integrally forming the needle 11 with a portion of the housing of a labeling gun.

To use the needle 11 for distributing plastic fasteners without a bar P in a commercial article C, the transverse bar B of the plastic fastener P is first inserted into the chamber 17 through the open upper part 25, so that the upper surface TF from the front of the transverse bar B is hooked by the front end 21 of the chamber 17, and in this way the upper surface TR and the lower surface BR of the transverse bar B are hooked by the walls 23-1 and 23- 2, respectively, of the chamber 17 (see Fig. 2). Next, the transverse bar B is inserted through the commercial article C using the needle 11. As can be seen in Fig. 3 (a), during the insertion of the transverse bar B through the commercial article C, the The tension exerted on the flexible filament F in the direction indicated by the arrow A is low enough so that the front end 21 and the rear end 23 are able to retain the transverse bar B in the chamber 17. However, as can be seen in FIG. seen in Figure 3 (b), once the transverse bar B has been fully inserted through the commercial article C, the tension exerted on the flexible filament F in the direction indicated by the arrow A, increases until it is large enough as to pull out, by pulling, the transverse bar B of the chamber 17 through the open upper part 25.

As can be readily appreciated, an advantageous feature of the present invention is that the chamber 17 can be placed anywhere along the spigot 13.

Referring now to Fig. 4, there is shown a sectional view of a second embodiment of a needle, constructed in accordance with the techniques of the present invention, which is used to distribute plastic fasteners without a bar, the needle being generally represented by the reference numeral 51.

The needle 51, which is similar in many respects to the needle 11, consists of an elongated element or spike 53, which preferably is a solid and unitary element that can be made of the same materials and manufactured with the same techniques as the spike 13. The spike 53 is shaped to terminate, at its front end, a relatively pointed tip 55, and is shaped to include a chamber 57 spaced, at the rear, of the tip 55.

The chamber 57, like the chamber 17, is adapted to releasably hold a transverse bar B of a plastic fastener P, and is defined by a front end 61, a rear end 63, an open top 65 and a lower part 67. The open upper part 65, which is spaced, at the rear, at a certain distance from the point 55, has the size and shape suitable to allow insertion and removal of a transverse bar C in the chamber 57. The front end 61 is shaped to include a seat 62, which is used to releasably engage the upper surface TF of the front of the cross bar B, and the rear end 63 is shaped to include a notch 64 for that it receives, in a matching manner, and so that it engages, removably, both the upper surface TR and the inner surface BR of the rear part of the transverse bar B, in such a way as to prevent that the transverse bar B is removed from the chamber 57 through the open top 65 when little tension is applied to the flexible filament F or to the fastener P (i.e., before carrying out the insertion of the transverse bar through the commercial article), but nevertheless, that causes the transverse bar B to be pulled out, pulling it, out of the chamber 57 through the open top 65 when sufficient tension is applied to the flexible filament F (ie, after being carried the insertion of the transversal bar through the commercial article).

The needle 51 is used in the same manner as described above with respect to the needle 11.

The purpose of the embodiments of the present invention described herein is by way of example only, and those of skill in the art will be able to make numerous variations and modifications thereto without departing from the spirit of the present invention. All these variations and modifications aim to fit within

Claims (15)

Of the scope of the present invention as defined in the claims appended to this document. WHAT IS REVINDED IS:

1. A needle that is used to distribute fasteners of the type constituted by a flexible filament and a transverse bar, the transverse bar being disposed at one end of the flexible filament, said needle being constituted by an elongate element, terminating said elongated element, by its front end , in a tip adapted to penetrate a desired commercial article, said elongated element also having a chamber adapted to receive a transverse bar of a fastener, said chamber having an opening, spaced at its rear part, at a distance from said tip, having said chamber the appropriate size and shape, so that a transverse bar placed inside said chamber through said opening and inserted through a commercial article using said elongated element, is retained inside said chamber when inserting the transverse bar through the commercial article, but that is downloaded from said camera through s said opening after inserting the transverse rod through the commercial article.

2. The needle, as claimed in claim 1, wherein said elongated element is solid.

3. The needle, as claimed in claim 1, wherein the transverse bar has a front, a rear and upper and lower surface, and wherein said chamber is limited by a front end, a rear end, an upper part and a bottom part, said opening being formed in said upper part, and said front end being formed to releasably engage the upper surface of the front of the transverse bar when the transverse bar is disposed inside said chamber, said rear end being shaped to engage , releasably, the upper and lower surface of the rear part of the transverse bar when the transverse bar is disposed within said chamber.

4. The needle, as claimed in claim 3, wherein said front end descends obliquely towards said tip.

5. The needle, as claimed in claim 3, wherein said back part has a pair of walls that intersect in a V-shape.

6. The needle, as claimed in claim 4, wherein said rear end has a pair of intersecting V-shaped walls.

7. The needle, as claimed in claim 3, wherein said front end is shaped to include a seat engageable with the upper surface of the front of the transverse bar.

8. The needle, as claimed in claim 3, wherein said rear end is a vertical wall having a notch, and said notch is engaged, in a matching manner, with the rear part of the transverse bar.

9. The needle, as claimed in claim 7, wherein said rear end is a vertical wall having a notch, and said notch is engaged, in a matching manner, with the rear part of the transverse bar.

10. The needle, as claimed in claim 3, wherein said lower portion of said chamber is open.

11. The needle, as claimed in claim 1, wherein said tip is a closed end.

12. A needle that is used to distribute fasteners of the type constituted by a flexible filament and a transverse bar, the transverse bar being disposed at one end of the flexible filament, said needle being constituted by an elongate element, terminating said elongated element, by its front end , in a tip adapted to penetrate a desired commercial article, said elongate member also having a chamber adapted to receive a transverse bar of a fastener, said chamber having an opening, spaced at its rear part, at a distance from said tip, said chamber having the appropriate size and shape, as to prevent a transverse bar placed inside said chamber through said opening can be removed through said opening upon insertion the transverse bar through the commercial article causes using said elongated element, but, however, causes the transverse bar to be discharged from said chamber through said opening after inserting the transverse bar through the commercial article.

13. The needle, as claimed in claim 12, wherein said elongate element is solid.

14. The needle, as claimed in claim 12, wherein the transverse bar has a front, a rear and upper and lower surface, and wherein said chamber is limited by a front end, a rear end, an upper part and a lower part, said opening being formed in said upper part, and said front end being formed to releasably engage the upper surface of the front of the transverse bar when the transverse bar is disposed inside said chamber, said posterior exterior being formed so as to releasably engage the upper and lower surfaces of the rear part of the transverse bar when the transverse bar is disposed within said chamber.

15. The needle, as claimed in claim 12, wherein said tip is a closed end.