US2441821A - Machine for reenforcing and punching sheets - Google Patents

Description

May 18, 19487- l H. G. KENDALL w 2,441,821

MACHINE FOR REENFSRCING'AND PUNCHING SHEETS v Filed March y5.1, l1942 l I. g A #il i A .a z

z V124' 22 wifi Ein 47 t I r 5 'Inventor Har gld [L Kendall 7 attorney atentecl May 18, 194g MACHINE FOR REENFORCING AND PUNCHING SHEETS Harold G. Kendall, Brooklyn, N. Y., assigner of one-half to George H. Fritzinger, West Orange,

Application March 31, 1942, Serial No. 436,949

` 4 claims. (o1. 93-1) This invention relates to machines for reenforcing and punching sheets of material such as paper sheets, cards, tags, cloth strips, etc., and more particularly relates to such unitary machines of the character mentioned as are adapted for applying reenforcing patches or strips of adhesive tape to such sheets and for punching the reenforced portions of the sheets, all in one operation. The invention has especial utility, and is herein illustrated and described, in connection with a machine for reenforcing and punching paper sheets for loose-leaf binders, but it will be understood that I intend no unnecessary limitation of my inventionto machines of this type.

My invention is concerned generally with improvements in machines of the character abovementioned which are adapted to simplify the construction and operation of such machines and to render them more practical and dependable. In these respects, a particularly special feature of my invention lies in theprovision of an improve-d and simplerfeed mechanism for the reenforcing material which is operable dependably with single-coated adhesive tapes of the non-drying type, these tapes being known in the trade as pressure sensitive adhesive tape or Scotch tapes.

There is a wide selection of Scotch tapes on the market which are strong and tough and ideally suited for reenforcing paper sheets for loose-leaf binders. While these tapes have the distinct advantage of being capable ofibeing applied directly to the sheets Without any auxiliary or preliminary operations such as are required with the dry and thermoplastic tapes, yet the Scotch tapes have not'been used successfully because of the diiculty in feeding the tape to the Work. In machines of the character concerned, the tape is to be fed out in a single layer for direct application to the work. Because of the small ridigity of the tape and its characteristic of adhering tenaciously to Whatever comes in contact with its adhesive or gummed side, it is necessary that the feed.

mechanism be able to feed the tape to the Work Without making any substantial contact with the gummed side of the tape. In accordance with my invention, I am so able to feed out a single layer ,of Scotch tape from a continuous supply roll, for

direct application to a paper sheet or other article, and to do this inV a highly simple and reliable manner. However, I do not intend my invention to be restricted Aforv use in connection with only Scotch tapes as it may have also advantageous and practical application with other kinds of tapes.

Y, It is accordingly an object of my invention to 2 provide a machine of the character above-mentioned which is adapted for eicient and reliable operation with single-coated non-drying adhesive tapes as the reenforcing media.

It is another object to provide a simple and reliable means for pulling a non-drying adhesive tape from a supply roll and dispensing it in a free state.

It is another object to provide a simple and reliable means for feeding a non-drying adhesive tape from a supply roll without incurring any substantial contact With the gummed side of the tape.

It is a further object to provide an improved feed mechanism which is operable dependably in connection with any of various kinds of adhesive tapes.

It is a further object, in a machine of the character above-mentioned, to dispense a reenforcing tape to a paper sheet by means of a pin Wheel which takes hold of the tape yby piercing or puncturing the tape at regular space intervals, and then to punch the sheet and tape, when the two are applied together, at a place where the tape has been pierced by the pin wheel.

It is another object, in machines of the character mentioned, to dispense an adhesive tape by a pin wheel and to shear reenforcing patches from the tape by cutting the tape on a line substantially at a place where the tape has been pierced by the pin wheel.

A further object of my invention is to provide an improved machine for the purposes above statedl which may be readily actuated Aeither to punch a sheet only or both to reenforce and punch a sheet, as the operator may desire.

A yet further object of my invention is to provide a simple and improved means for sequentially dispensing an adhesive tape across a sheet at a clearing distance therefrom, and then applying the tape to the sheet.

Still other objects and features of my invention will be apparent from the following description and the appended claims.

In the description of my invention reference is ha-d to the accompanying drawings, of which:

Figure 1 is a side elevational View of a machine into which my invention is incorporated, the side plates of the machine being partially broken away to permit a better showing of the interior parts of the machine;

Figure 2 is a horizontal plan and sectional view taken substantially on the line 2-2 of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a' fractional View taken substantially on the line 3 3 of Figure 1;

3 Figure 4 is a partial sectional view to enlarged scale taken substantially on the line 4--4 of Figure 1; and

Figure 5 is a view showing a modied form of feed wheel for the machine.

In Figures 1 and 2 there is shown a machine constructed in accordance with one "embodiment l of my invention, whichconstitutes 'a unit adapted for applying a reenorcing strip of Scotch tape to a paper sheet, severing the strip from its supply roll along the edge of thersheet and punching the part of the sheet which is isofieenforced, the function of the machine being to provide the sheet with a vreenrorc'e'dapert'ured the unit to a suitable base not shown. 'The housing may be considered as constituting a lower rectangular part and an upper rearward vpart foi which the 'latteris 'enclosed by 1a 'side plate 5 held :to the flanges Y3 by 'screws 6 and the 'lower part is enclosed by a rectangular side plate 1 which is deta-chably held to the lower flanges Y3 by spring clips 8. This lower part of the housing `forms a support for a vtable SIat'theFfront of the unit. It is on this table that apaper sheet .is to be placed when the same is to "be-operated upon by the unit. Overlying the table, however, is a-lat upwardly 'inclined spring lll which is adapted to space the sheet initially from the springvbe'ing riveted to the fc'rw-ardLpart of the ltablet) as yat ld.

A 'supply' roll -|l --of Scotch l'tape lis carried in lthe housing below theftabl'e -9 yon ashort post I2 secured to thehou'sing section `Lfthe roll bei-ng held'onto the post byfathumb scr-elwfl2'. fAccess into the housing .for installing the nroll #is had by Vdetaching the Vside 'plate g'.l. For piilling the tape from the roll, 'andlfeedin'g 'itto theypa-per sheet, Vl2 provide simply a fpinwheel W3 which {is journalled Vto the housing, rearwardly Vof the supply rollyon Va shaft M. -This L-pin wheel -has `anged rims 'l 5 and a-'serles oficirciimferentially- Y "alignedproj ecting pins YI {iiwhi-chare spaced: about 'the periphery of the Awheel at `intervals equal vto the length of eachstrip of adhesive `tape,iorr'patcnV that'istobe applied to Ythe-paper "sheet, the pins being suitably ordinary store rpins ywhich are anchoredinto `the bodypf 'the wheel. The vadhesive tape `is pulled 'free `from *the supply Vroll 'i0 and onto the wheel atth'efbottom thereof, with its gurnmed or adhesiveside away from'th'e'wheel, 'a'nd'is carried about the wheel t'o'tletop thereof, the tape being puncturedand held Vtothe Wheel by the'pins lil. Since thefp'ins are'sharp, a rotation ofthe wheel will cause th'emito pierce 'the tape consecutively a'ndY maintain a continuous connection of the tape 'to ythe wheel so "long as there'is a small lresisting `force of the tape such Y as is provided by the Vadhe'renceo the Scotch tape to its supply roll. At vthe vtop of 4'the I pln wheel there is providedas'h'rt Vhorizontalplate ;l1',`which is placed preferably in' engagern'nt'with the periphery of the wheel. .Thi's "plate is-eX- tended substantially tangentially 'from the wheel at a level slightly above the table 9, and is provided with a central narrow slit I1 through which the pins i6 pass. By means of this plate the tape is stripped from the pin wheel and guided 5 forwardly below the level of the rearward part Vofthe spring Ill, with its adhesive side facing upward for =application"to-the :paper sheet.

It wlll'be seen that the pin-wheel 'type of feed which I provide for the tape is a particularly -ffo -s'imple yet reliable means for pulling a singlecoated ,non-drying adhesive tape from a supply 'roll 'and feeding it, in a single layer and in a 'free "state, to a sheetror other article for direct application thereto, VThe reliability of operation 'bf this -feedmechanism follows largely from the fact that it involves no substantial Contact with the adhesive side Vof the tape. Yet the pin wheel is psitively'actingfor it rrnly takes hold of the tape :sol-long as a suitable number of pins, as of 20 four or more, is maintained in engagement with vthe tape. Althoughthe tape has Alittle rigidity, -it can be readily `stripped froInU-the pin wheel :and projected 4forwardly across the yplate ifi-in suiicient -free lengths for the ,'.purpose desired.

25 Alsofthe free tape -strippedrfrom lthe-pin-wheel has a downward bias which causes it yto .sl-ay nat into! the Aplate l lY and. toY be :thus v easily controlled, thisjbiasing ofthe tape being caused .by the sharp bend which the tape receives at vH as it =is pulled 30 yfrom the supply roll. While the feed-mechanism involves piercing theutape at regular `intervals, this doe'srlotsmaterlally weaken the tape since thepins i6 maybequite `short-to 'produce only short tears. In any oase, in Vaccordance with the .present invention, `I preferably blank out the puncturedwpart of each reenforcing patch in -thepunching of lthe paper sheet, thus lleaving the tape Whichis-applied tothe sheet ina `wholly undamaged state, as -will 4hereinafter appear.

:adhesive tape as will herein-after appear, this `40 E01' :applying the f'f'apeto thepapeshee'and iperformingrthe shear-ingandlpunching operations, there is 4provided a punch and die unit --I 8 of the double-'action'type thatis, the type wherein the punch. element is-movable-relative to therespec- @45 tive i'die plates.- This V,unit 4has an lupper Vilat Idie 0 dricalfpunch-ZZ. This 4:punch"extends upwardly beyond Vthe-tube fand? is held retracted in :relation to'fthe `"die 'plate i9 by a-co'rnpression 'spring -23 :whichisiinterposedbetween a shoulder 1240' ron v4tl'iefendoffthe "tube and arshoulder 22 =onfthefend -ls 1a pin andfslotarrangement,:generally referred vto fas 22.4, which fdenes the retracted J.positionVl of the punch and :permits a downward VTn1overnent of 1thelpun'clri relative to theldiep'latl'e.V

ithef'blockll iisla' ilat depending -spring f 6 'lwhich fis biased [forwardly to bear -slidably against a lrarwar'd 'bevelled A-edge i9 fof '-the 'die 'plate EIS. l'Iliis-at springlls vi'providedvvith'y al central-window ffio ing-the tape laterally and preventing 'it ffrom cooperate with the rearward edge I9' of thefdle as the upper die plate vis pressed downwardly; these edges are accordingly made sharp, and the die plate I 9 and spring 26 are made of hard stock.

Because of the inclination of thelower edge of the window, the stripping plate I1 is given a twist so that its front and back edges will be in line respectively with the cutting edge 21 and with the periphery of the pin wheel. Y

Below the level of the cutting edge 21", as at a distance of about le inch, there is a rectangular stationary die plate 28. This die plate is mounted on the rrearward part of the table 9 directly below the upper dieplate I9, and is made ofhardened stock and provided with a circular opening 29 to receive the punch 22. Below the die plate 28 there is Vprovided a compartment 30, formed by one of the flanges 3 and by an interior .web 3| of the housing section I, for catching the disks whichare blanked out by the punch and die unit. This compartment is openable at the side merely by detaching the side plate 1 of the housing.

The spring I aforementioned extends rearwardly short of the lower die plate 28 but has two rearwardly extending ngers I0, one to each side of the die plate 28, which underlie the opposite end portions of the die plate I9 (see Figs. l and 3). When a paper sheet is to be reenforced and punched, vit is inserted between the spring IIl and the upper die plate and pushed rearwardly until its rearward edge contacts Athe spring 26. The feed wheel is then turned to feed a strip of adhesive tape below the sheet across the lower die plate, and the upper die plate I9 is then pressed down. As the die plate I9 is so pressed, the spring III yields to the downward pressure thereof and the paper sheet is moved down into contact with the tape, the spring I0 clearing the lower die plate and coming into a position substantially fiat with the table 9; also, themovement of the die plate I9 past the cutting edge 21" of the spring 26 operates to shear the tape on a line with the edge of the sheet, but no part of Ythe adhesive side of the tape, other than the Very cutting edge I9' of the die plate, comes into contact with any part of the punch and die unit. Furthermore, upon applying a suitable pressure to the punch 22 as the dies are closed, the punch will enter the opening 29 in the lower die and blank out a disk from the reenforced part of the sheet, leaving the sheet with a reenforced apertured part by which it may be firmly held in a loose-leaf binder.

The pin wheel and the punch and die unit are operated by a hand lever 32. This lever is secured to a shaft 33 whichis pivoted to the upper part of the housing in bearings 34 and 35 provided on-the side walls 2 and 5. Pinned to the shaft within the housing is a rearwardly depending arm 36; this arm abuts against the inner face of the bearing 34 to hold the shaft from length,- wise play in one direction, the shaft being held from play in the other direction by an abutment collar 31 which is provided on the outer end thereof. Pivoted at 38 to the end of the arm 36 is a depending pawl 39 which operates in conjunction with a ratchet wheel 40 that is secured to the side of the pin wheel, the ratchet wheel being provided with as many teeth as is the pin wheel with pins I6. This pawl is biased forwardly, by a tension spring 4I connected between the pawl and the arm 36, into a position definedv by the abutment of an arm 43 of the pawl against the underside of the arm 36. Pivoted to the shaft 33 adjacent to the arm 36 is a rock lever 44 having rearwardly and forwardly extending arms 45 and 46. This rock lever is biased clockwise by a tension spring 41 connected between the lever and the housing, and is held inra limiting position defined by the abutment of a screw 48 in the arm 46 against the underside of the top flange 3 of the housing section I, the screw 48 being held in adjusted position by a lock nut 49. This arn'i 46 has a pin and slot connection 59 to the punch 22. In the rearward arm 45 there is provided a short lateral pin 5I which overlies the armr36 and which, in response to the bias of the rock lever 44, serves yieldably 'to retain the vhand lever against the downward force of its own weight in a raised lintermediate position, which is the position it occupies normally as is shown in Fig. 1.

A detent 52 is provided for holding the pin wheel from travel in a reverse direction. This detent is pivoted at 53 to the side wall 2 and is held in engagement with the ratchet wheel 40 under the influence of a tension spring 54 connected between the detent and this side wall.

When the hand lever is raised from its normal or intermediate position, the pawl .39 is rst impinged against the ratchet wheel and then cammed down over a tooth thereof, the pawl being turned about the pivot 38 and pressed against the ratchet wheel by spring 4I as the hand lever is raised. As the hand lever is next returned to normal position, the ratchet wheel is advanced by an amount of the angular dis- 36 impinges against the arm '43 of the pawl and turns the pawl unitarily therewith about the shaft -33 and out from engagement with the ratchet Wheel, the ratchet wheel becoming again latched against reverse travel by the detent 52 as the pawl is disengaged. This step of advance of the ratchet wheel causes a strip of tape to be fed between the dies equal in length to the arcuate distance between adjacent ones of the pins I6.

Upon next continuing the downward travel of the hand lever below its normal position, a downward pressure will be applied to the punch 22 through the arm 36 and lever 44, and this downward pressure will be transmitted by the spring 23 to the upper die plate I9. The spring 23 is preferably made suciently strong so as not to yield substantially by the force on the'punch required to overcome the resistance of the spring I0 and to press the die plate I9 past the cutting edge 21" to shear the tape. will remain retracted relative to the die plate I9 until this die plate engages the lower die plate 28, but will be pressed down into the opening 29 `of the lower die plate upon the application of a it below that position, a sheet which is held on the spring I0 `between the dies will be applied to a strip of the adhesive tape, this strip of tape will be severed from its supply roll and a. hole will be punched through the sheet and reenforcement. When the hand lever is released from down position, it will be returned to normal position` by the spring 41 and the punch will ybe stripped from the sheet by its retraction under the iniiuence of the spring 23. v

As typical values, the length of tape fed out between the dies by one stroke of the hand lever may be 1% inch, which -will also be the distance of spacing between adjacent pins I6. Also, the tape maybe 1/z inch in width, and the punch 22-may be 1A inch in diameter and be located tance between adjacent teeth and lthen the arm Thus, the punch

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