US2797414A

US2797414A - Attachment for stapling machines

Info

Publication number: US2797414A
Application number: US443268A
Authority: US
Inventors: Richard D Bolster
Original assignee: ATLAS PLYWOOD CORP
Current assignee: ATLAS PLYWOOD Corp
Priority date: 1954-07-14
Filing date: 1954-07-14
Publication date: 1957-07-02
Anticipated expiration: 1974-07-02

Description

July 2, 1957 i I R. D. BoLTER 2,797,414

ATTACHMENT FOR STAPLING MACHINES Filed July 14, 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

7 2,797,414 ATTACHMENT non ISTAPLING MACHINES Riehard D. Bolster, Winchester, Mass., assignor to Atlas Plywood Corporation, Boston, Mass, a corporation of Massachusetts Application .luly 14, 1954, Serial No. 443,268

Claims. or. 1 -49 .order to achieve the proper holding effect of the staples.

Further, in utilizing staples with conventional sheared diverging points, it is preferableto locate the staples at an angle with respect to the edge of material to'realizea maxiinum holding .power for this type of staple. It will also be appreciated that both correct spacing and angular placement should be equally well achieved with edges ly- 'ing in either horizontal or. vertical planes and extending in varying directions. 7

I am aware that various stapler guide mechanisms have been proposed in the art but, so far as I am aware, none of these conventional structures are suitable for the pur pose indicated, and it is commonly the practice to-employ hand operated pneumatic staplers, in many cases at least, without a guide attachment.

It is an object of the invention to deal with the problem indicated and to provide an improved stapler guide attachment. It is also an object to devise a reversible staple locating guide means which is capable of providing for correct spacing and desired angular placement in any desiredoperating position of the stapler. It is further an object of the invention to devise a guide shoe element which is of relatively simple construction which can be quickly attached to a stapler and placed in an operative position.

The nature of the invention and other objects and novel features will be more fully understood and appreciated from the following description of a .preferred embodiment of the invention selected for purposes of illustration and shown in the accompanying drawings, in which Fig. 1 is an exploded view in perspective fragmentarily illustrating the conventional pneumatic staplerwithjparts of the guide attachment of the invention associated therewith;

Fig. 2 is a View similar to Fig. l but further illustrating the guide bracket in a fully assembled position;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary perspective view illustrating the distances from the edge of a surface to be fastened, for

example, on a crate or shipping case. The guide shoe may be selectively-positioned in such a manner that one of its supporting parts may be conveniently held in abutting relationship withone surface of a box while the shoe itself is located in a stapling position directly over .the surface to be fastened. y

I have further provided in my improved attachment means for mounting the. shoe. element in a diagonally supported manner such that the staples or other fastenings may be located at a constant predetermined angle with respect to an edge of a surface to be secured. This,.I- find, materially enhances the holding power of the doublepointed fastenings of the conventional typehaving diverging points. By the arrangement of the invention, the crowns of the fasteningsare caused to come'intocontact with the surface to be fastened at an angle to rather than parallel with the edge. ofmaterial. Tfhis-feature is especially effective with staples having divergent points which are sheared in oppositedirec'tionswith respect to. the axis ofthe crown. Because these divergent points cause the legs of the fastening to sheer in opposite directions into the material to be fastened, maximum holding power and effectiveness are obtained by driving such fastenings at an angle such that the legs tend to sheer toward the center rather than the edge of the material being fastened.

I have still further designed. the stapler attachment with locating bracket constructed in the form of a spring clip which can easily be detached, reversed in position and again applied to the stapler to. change the angle .of placement of the staple. This, I find, makes it possible to use a stapler in either of two positions relative to an edge to be fastened, which ever is easier .or possible, while still insuring proper distance and angularity of placement. This reversibility is accomplished by guide ribs. and cooperating slots in the bracket.

Referring more in detail to the structure shown in the drawings and, in particular, to Figs. 1 and '2, numeral 2 denotes a flat surfaced nose piece of apneumatic type stapler head shown inan upright inverted position and forming a part of a complete stapler mechanism fragmentarily shown "and generally indicated by S. The stapler S is of the conventional hand operated pneumatic type such as is exemplified by the Calwire stapler manufactured and sold by the California Wire Products Company, Inc. In the fiat face 2 of the stapler head is formed an elongated staple opening 4 through which staples are normally driven when this fiat surface is held against a surface to be stapled. It should be understood that in this hand operated type of stapler it is customary to provide a pistol grip which is an integral part of and extends at right angles to the cylindrical body portion of the stapler S partly shown in the drawings.

In accordance with one preferredembodiment of-the invention, I provide a holder member 6 which may, for example, consist of a U-shaped steel body shaped to fit around the head piece 2, as shown, and adapted to be rigidly secured, for example, by fastenings 8 and 10. The holder, when located on the head piece in the position shown in Figs. 1 and 2, is by means of its U shape open at one side to leave an opening at those points where the staple magazine M is attached to the head piece 2 and, therefore, in no way interferes with the normal staple feeding operation of the invention.

I further provide on holder 6, at the opposite sides thereof, a pair of

rib portions

12 and 14 and I slidably support on these ribs a guide shoe bracket generally denoted by the arrow B and better shown in Fig. 5. This guide shoe bracket is preferably constructed of a strip of resilient material, such as steel, shaped with a crown portion 16 and two spaced-

apart legs

18 and 20.

The spaced-apart legs are formed with slots 18a and 20a and separated a distance slightly smaller than the width of the nose piece so that the legs may be sprung apart from one another and slid on over the

ribs

12 and 14, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, to resiliently grip this member in a positive manner. It will be apparent that the bracket may readily be detached, when desired, and reversed in position. I

. Upon the crown portion 16 of the bracket B, I secure, by some suitable means, such as welding, a specially formed guide shoe element 24 having oppositely extending

tabs

26 and 28 which abut against the crown portion in the manner indicated. The shoe element is, in accordance with the invention, secured as described in some predeterminedposition of angularity with respect to the longitudinal axis of the stapling slot 4. This predetermined angularity will control the position at which staplesare driven, as may be readily seen from an inspection of Fig. 3 wherein I have illustrated the stapling attachment inone desired operating position.

As shown in Fig; 3, staples-P have been driven into the surface F of a container C with the guide shoe element 24 overlying the adjoining surface T. It will be apparent that, as the shoe slides along the surface T, the staples may be placed in an angularly extending position and at approximately the same distance from the edge of the surface. In Fig. 4, I have shown the attachment reversed in position to apply staples R to the top surface T and in an oppositely angled position, with the shoe element 24 being engaged against the surface F.

I may desire to modify my stapling attachment in various ways; for example, in Fig. 6, I have shown a stapling nose piece 28 similar, in general, to head piece 2 but provided with a pair of

ribs

30 and 32 formed integrally of the head piece. These ribs are adapted to slidably receive the slotted bracket B in substantially the manner already described, although I may prefer to recess the bracket edges slightly in order to facilitate proper setting of a guide shoe element, such as 24, on the stapler. It will be seen that this modification eliminates the need for a U-shaped holder member and is an especially desirable construction for a new stapler manufacture, whereas the U-shaped holder piece is a means of adapting the bracket B to existing forms of staplers.

It will be evident from the foregoing description that I have provided an improved guide means for using a hand operated stapler and that I may positively locate fastenings in a position calculated to develop the most effective holding power. The operation of holding and applying staples is greatly simplified and made more accurate. There is also achieved a reduction in hazard which may result from air-driven fastenings missing an edge and being fired through the air with possible danger of injury.

While I have shown preferred embodiments of the invention, it will be understood that various modifications may be resorted to within the scope of the appended claims.

Iclaim:

1. A guide attachment for a stapling apparatus of the class having a flat surfaced stapling head through which is formed a stapling slot, said guide attachment including bracket holder means mounted on the stapler head and presenting bracket retaining means thereon, a bracket supported on the holder in a position to overlie the end of the stapling head, said bracket including a flat body portion having an opening for receiving the end of the stapling head therethrough and a pair of spaced-apart slotted sides engageable with the said bracket retaining means on the bracket holder, and a guide element disposed at right angles to the flat body portion of the bracket in a diagonally extending manner and in predetermined spaced relation to the stapling slot.

2. A structure as defined in claim 1, and means for detachably securing said bracket and guide element on said holder.

3. A structure according to claim 1 in which the slotted slides of the bracket are reversible on the bracket retaining means to vary the position of the stapling head with respect to a surface which is to be stapled.

4. In combination, a corner stapling apparatus for applying staples along one of two surfaces which intersect at right angles to form a corner, said stapling apparatus having a fiat stapling end through which is formed a stapling slot, corner guide means constructed and arranged toabut against one of said surfaces and to locate the flat stapling end of the stapling apparatus against the other of said surfaces with the stapling slot in predetermined spaced relationship to the said corner, said corner guide means including bracket holder means mounted about the stapling end at points immediately adjacent to the stapling slot, a bracket element mounted on the bracket holder means and overlying said stapling end, said bracket element being formed with an opening for receiving the stapling end therethrough, and a guide member supported in a diagonally extending manner on the bracket in a position to locate the stapling slot in an angularly disposed position with respect to one of the said surfaces when the guide is in abutting relationship with the other of the said surfaces.

5. A structure according to claim 4 in which the holder extends about two opposite sides of the stapling end and presents rib portions located externally thereof and said bracket element including resilient spaced-apart slotted side portions slidably engaged over the said ribs.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,977,382 Gruis Oct. 16, 1934 2,405,421 Guyon Aug. 6, 1946 2,536,779 Stearns Jan. 2, 1951 FOREIGN PATENTS 669,496 France Nov. 16, 1929 386,485 Great Britain Jan. 19, 1933