US2805714A - Tape applying and cutting mechanism - Google Patents

Description

P 1957 c. w. VOGT 2,805,714

TAPE APPLYING AND CUTTING MECHANISM Filed Dec. 4, 1955 v I 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR. CLARENCE I14 V067 BY lg ATTORNEYS.

Sept. 10, 1957 c. w. VOGT 2,805,714

TAPE APPLYING AND CUTTING MECHANISM Filed Dec. 4, 1955 2 sheets-Sheet 2 JNVENTOR. 'CLA/FENCA h/ V0 1- United States. Patent 9 TAPE APPLYING AND CUTTING MECHANISM Clarence W. Vogt, Norwalk, Conn.

Application December 4, 1953, Serial N 0. 396,144

3 Claims. (Cl. 164-58) This invention relates to devices for applying adhesive tapes to desired surfaces and particularly to devices of this character wherein the tape is supplied from a, roll carried by or within the device and maintained in such fashion that :a free end of tape will be available to facilitate the starting of a tape-applying operation when and as desired.

In applicants :copending applications Serial No. 353,339, filed May 6, 1953, now Patent No. 2,722,330, dated November 1, 1955; Serial No.366,958, filedJuly 9, 1953, now Patent No. 2,728,476, dated December 27, 1955; and Serial No. 372,957, filed August 7, 1953, now .abandoned respectively, there are shown and described devices by means of which adhesive tape in roll form may be maintained in such fashion that it will be available for convenient tape-applying operations, and the present invention embodies apparatus generally similar to those shown and described in the co-pending applications abovementioned but wherein important improvements have been made and as a result of which substantial advantages accrue in the manufacture and use of tape-applying apparatus of the above general nature.

As will be well understood by those familiar with this art, it is not only a broad disideratum that the adhesive tape material in roll form should be available for ready application to a desired surface without requiring the use of two hands to perform the operation, but equally important is the need for effectively cutting or severing the tape material after a desired quantity has been dispensed from the applying mechanism, this cutting operation being one that should not only effectively sever the tape material, but also should be free of any motion that would cause abrasion or marring of the surface upon which the tape has been applied.

Another important aspect of these operations is the desirability of anchoring the free end of the tape material lying between the roll and the surface to which previously fed tape material has been applied in order that, when severed, this free end will not return into the holder where it will be difficult to obtain for a subsequent taping operation. In other words, the free end of the tape should be held in such fashion that it will be readily available for use when a subsequent taping operation is desired.

The present invention has been designed to provide devices of the above character wherein the severing operation of the tape may be accomplished in such fashion as to form a desired shape of out across the width of the tape band, as well as to provide a suitable housing or enclosure for the roll of tape that will not only be inexpensive to manufacture but will enclose the tape against contamination from dust and similar influences and, in addition to the above objects, a further object of the invention is to provide an improved form of snubbing or anchoring mechanism by means of which the tape material may be effectively held so that there will always be an exposed end of tape ready for application to a desired surface.

' Another object of the invention is to provide a device of the above character wherein improved mechanism is embodied for elfecting positively a desired form of cut in order to sever the tape.

to be formed is held effectively under tension in order that a desired cut may be assured.

Other objects will be apparent as the invention is described in greater detail in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Fig. 1 is a view in elevation, somewhat in perspective and showing a tape-applying mechanism constructed in accordance with the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a view in side elevation, partly broken away in order to show details of the tape-snubbing mechanism, this view showing the structure of Fig. l in somewhat enlarged form;

Fig. 3 is a view in vertical section, taken on the plane indicated by the line 3-3 of Fig. 2, and looking in the direction of the arrows;

Fig. 4 is a fragmental View in cross-section, taken on the plane indicated by the line 44 of Fig. 2, and looking in the direction of the arrows;

Fig. 5 is a fragmental view in transverse section, taken on the plane indicated by the line 5-5 of Fig. 2, and looking in the direction of the arrows;

Fig. 6 is a fragmental view in vertical section of the device of Fig. 2, illustrating the manner in which the tape is applied to a desired surface;

Fig. 7 is a view similar to Fig. 6, illustrating the manner in which the tape is severed after it has been applied to asurface;

Fig. 8 is a plan view showing the tape applicator head of the structure shown in Figs. 1 to 7, this view illustrating the cutting mechanism as well as the snubbing element; V

Fig. 9 is a view in transverse section, taken on the line 9-9 of Fig. 8, and looking in the direction of the arrows;

Fig. 10 is a view in transverse section, taken on the line indicated by the line 10-10 of Fig. 8, and looking in the direction of the arrows;

Fig. 11 is a detail view showing the cutting blade carried by the applicator head illustrated in Figs. 8 and 9;

Fig. 12 is an enlarged view in section, taken on the line 12-12 of Fig. 11, showing the formation of a portion of the cutting blade of Fig. 11;

Fig. 13 is an enlarged plan view of the end of the applicator head of Fig. 8 and illustrating the cutting mechanism in greater detail;

Fig. 14 is a view in end elevation showing the cutting mechanism of Fig. 13; and

Fig. 15 is a view in longitudinal section, taken on the plane indicated by the line 15-15 of Fig. 13 and looking in the direction of the arrows.

Referring to the above drawings, a tape-applying device is illustrated as being formed with a housing indicated generally at 20, this housing preferably being formed of molded plastic material having a side wall 21 and an outer curved wall 22, a hollow sleeve 23 being formed centrally of the side wall 21. The sleeve 23 thus serves as a support for the core 24 of a roll 'of tape material 25. The exposed side of the housing is closed by a side or cover plate 26 that may be flanged at 27 to overlie the end wall 22 and recessed at 28 in order that the adjacent inner periphery 29 may be flanged over or upset upon an inner rib 30 formed on the sleeve 23. In this fashion, the cover 26 effectively encloses the tape material received within the housing.

The side walls of the housing may be formed with feet 31 and 32 in order that the apparatus may stand in a desired position when at rest.

Patented Sept. 10,- 1957 35, the lower end of which is formed with a notched extremity 36 having a cam face 37. Spaced from the downwardly extending arm 35 and formed upon the material of the side wall 21 is a plate 38, the upper extremity of which forms a snubbing surface 39.. An opening 40is formed in the end wall 22and, adacent the opening 49, the end wall is formed witha shoulder or supporting lug 41 upon which an applicator tongue may bemounted.

Referring particularly to Figs. 6, 7, 8 and 9, the apparatus will be seen to include an applicator tongue shown in plan view in Fig. 8, this tongue including a flexible tongue member 42 formed with an offset portion 43 and an extension 44 (having an edge44 formed thereon) upon which an applicator head 45 is mounted. The tongue member has formed therein at the end remote from the applicator head a boss 46 that is grooved at 47 and notched at 48 in order to interengage and be secured to the lug 41. v

An auxiliary tongue 49 is formed on the boss 46 and extends generally parallel to the tongue 42, terminating in a sloping face 50 that is adapted to be engaged by the came face 37, as illustrated in Fig. 7.

, At the outer end of the applicator head 45, there are formed spaced guards 51 and 52, between which a cutting element 53 is secured. As will be illustrated in Fig. 8, the guards 51 and 52 extend beyond the lower extremity (as viewed in Fig. 8) of the cutting element 53, thus to insure that the cutting element will not touch the surface upon which tape is being applied.

An important aspect of this invention lies in the formation of the cutting element which will now be described. As illustrated in. Figs. 11 to inclusive, the cutting element 53 comprises a strip of suitable material such, for example, as steel, of generally chevron form. The lower edges 54 may be serrated in order to provide a more effective cutting element and, at the intersection of the two sides of the cutting element, there is provided a raised protuberance 55 in order to form a point of localized stress, thus more effectively to pierce the tape at this point. From an inspection of Fig. 14, it will be seen that the portions 54 of the cutting member 53 thus form a dihedral angle, the protuberance 55 lying substantially in the line of intersection of the planes of the two sides 54 forming such angle. The material of the applicator head 45 may be molded in such fashion as to serve as a backing-up portion 56 to strengthen the cutting member. This is illustrated in Fig. 15. A portion 56' of the material of the head 45 overlies the cutting member 53 and is formed with sloping edges 56" that permit the positioning of the tape material in such fashion that a substantially straight and transverse cut is formed. This is because each of the points of the transverse cut lie equidistant from a transverse plane across the tape rearwardly of the line of cut.

An important aspect of the invention also lies in the shape of the cutting blade in relation to the other structure of the device and as a result of which a substantially straight cut is formed across the tape transversely of the length of the tape. This is true because the are of movement of the tongue during the cutting is such that every point of the cutting edge, as it engages the tape, lies generally upon the same radius extending from the point of support of the tongue 42; 3 In this fashion, a cutting member is provided that forms a point of accentuated localized stress at the initiation ofthe cutting operation.

The device will be seen to operate in the following fashion. Referring to Fig. 6, there is illustrated tape being fed from the roll and drawn under the applicator head 45 in order that it may be applied to a desired surface 57. As it is applied, the tape is drawn from the roll by moving the holder or housing 20 to the right, as viewed in Fig. 6. When a desired length of tape has been applied to the surface 57, the tape holder is rotated in a counter-clockwise direction, as viewed in Fig. 7, until the nose 33 presses upon the tape that lies upon the surface 57. Downward pressure of the holder at this point causes the cam face 37 to engage the sloping face of the auxiliary tongue 49 and forces the auxiliary tongue against the snubbing surface 39 of the plate 38. In this fashion, the tape is firmly held against further movement and, simultaneously, the notched extension 36 releases the edge 44' to permit the applicator head 45 to snap outwardly in the direction of the arrow illustrated in Fi g. 7.

It is to be observedthat, prior to release of the applicator head 45, the tape is secured against the surface 57 by means of the nose 33 and against the surface 39 by means of the auxiliary tongue 49. The tape is thus maintained in tension and, as soon as the protuberance strikes the tape, the localized point of stress causes the tape to be pierced and the cutting operation initiated.

In this connection, it is to be observed that the edges 45, 45" serve to support the lateral sides of. the tape while the tape is being severed, and this serves to hold the tape in such position that the protuberance 55 will readily penetrate the tape and start the cut. In other words, the edges 45, 45", which lie transversely of the length of the tape and arepositioned upon opposite sides of the intersecting planes of the cutting edges, serve to support the tape in such'fashion that its sides may not fold downwardly about its longitudinal axis and thus envelope the protuberance and adjacent sides of the cutting edges, but rather are held so that the protuberance will penetrate the tape and initiate the cutting operation.

It will be seen that there is only a relatively limited length of tape between the nose 33 and the surface 39, thus reducing any tendency of the tape to stretch to a minimum and insuring a speedy and effective cutting operation. By thus reducing the area of contact of the tape before piercing it, the tension required to exist in the tape is correspondingly reduced, and an effective cutting operation is assured.

As will be seen from Fig. 2, the ofiset portion 43 deflects the free end of the tape 58 downwardly when the device is not in use, thus serving to protect the adhesive against accidental contact. Also as illustrated in Fig. 2, when the device is packaged for distribution and sale, the free end of the tape 58 may be swung in a clockwise direction (as viewed in Fig. 2) so that it will adhere to the end portions of the housing and cover the opening 40,

- thus substantially totally enclosing the tape material within the holder.

I claim:

1. A tape cutting mechanism comprising a cutting element having a pair of substantially fiat blade portions disposed in intersecting inclined planes, said blade portions being united along an apex edge extending lengthwise of said cutting element, each of said blade portions having a cutting edge thereon in the plane of the cor responding blade portion, said cutting edges converging outwardly and intersecting at a point on said apex edge to form a pointed end on said cutting element.

2. A tape cutting mechanism comprising a cutting element having cutting edges converging outwardly to form a point atone end of said cutting element, said cutting element having a pair of blade portions disposed in planes inclined relative to each other and intersecting substantially at said point, each of said blade portions having one of said converging cutting edges thereon, and a protuberance formed on the element at the intersection of the cutting edges.

3. A tape cutting mechanism comprising a cutting element formed with cutting edges lying in non-parallel planes which intersect intermediate the ends of the cutting element, said element being provided with a tape supporting edge over which the tape moves, said edge having portions lying substantially transverse to the length of the tape and upon opposite sides of the intersecting planes of the cutting edges.

(References on following page) References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS McGuffie Dec. 9, 1873 Fowler Aug. 2, 1881 Lewis Oct. 25, 1932 Hearing Jan. 1, 1935 6 Cummins Aug. 14, 1945 Bright Oct. 30, 1945 Thompson Aug. 1, 1950 Fritzinger Jan. 22, 1952 Taylor Jan. '29, 1954

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