US3895753A

US3895753A - Fastener attachment system needle constructions

Info

Publication number: US3895753A
Application number: US382963A
Authority: US
Inventors: Arnold R Bone
Original assignee: Dennison Manufacturing Co
Current assignee: Dennison Manufacturing Co
Priority date: 1971-06-30
Filing date: 1973-07-26
Publication date: 1975-07-22
Anticipated expiration: 1992-07-22

Abstract

A needle tube or the like useful in dispensing fastener attachment members, the needle including a tip, a central portion and a mounting portion, the mounting portion having a hollow rearward end in which there is provided a knife edge extending inwardly towards the tip, a first feed slot at substantially ninety degrees to the knife edge and a second slot for feeding fastener attachment members through the needle, the second slot substantially ninety degrees to the first slot. In one embodiment of the invention the mounting portion comprises a plastic shank in which there is mounted a needle core which includes the aforementioned knife edge.

Description

United States Patent Bone July 22, 1975 [54] FASTENER ATTACHMENT SYSTEM 3,650,452 3/1972 Finke 227/67 NEEDLE CONSTRUCTIONS 3,659,769 5/1972 Bone 227/68 [75] Inventor: Arnold R. Bone, Needham, Mass. Primary Examiner Granvme Y. Custer, Jr. [73] Assignee: Dennison Manufacturing Company, Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Donald Brown Framingham, Mass.

1 Filed: Ju y 6, 1973 [57] ABSTRACT Appl. No.: 382,963

Related U.S. Application Data Continuation of Ser. No. 158,438, June 30, 1971, abandoned, which is a continuation-impart of Ser. No. 39,564, April 17, 1970, Pat. No. 3,659,769.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3/1896 Campbell 30/357 X A needle tube or the like useful in dispensing fastener attachment members, the needle including a tip, a central portion and a mounting portion, the mounting portion having a hollow rearward end in which there is provided a knife edge extending inwardly towards the tip, a first feed slot at substantially ninety degrees to the knife edge and a second slot for feeding fastener attachment members through the needle, the second slot substantially ninety degrees to the first slot. In one embodiment of the invention the mounting portion comprises a plastic shank in which there is mounted a needle core which includes the aforementioned knife edge.

25 Claims, 22 Drawing Figures PATENTEDJUL22 ms 3895753 saw 2 FIG. IO FIG. I I

H616 FIGU F|G.l4 FIGIS FASTENER ATTACHMENT SYSTEM NEEDLE CONSTRUCTIONS This is a continuation of US. application Ser. No. 158,438 filed June 30, 1971, now abandoned, which was filed as a continuation in part of application Ser. No. 39,564 filed Apr. 17, 1970, now US. Pat. No. 3,659,769. 1

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to devices for inserting fastener attachment members into or through articles or the like and is more particularly related to new and improved needle constructions useful in fastener attachment devices.

As used herein the term needle is meant to include tubes or the like constructed in accordance with the description provided herein.

Devices for inserting fastener attachment members as well as the fastener attachment members, barlock members or the like are illustrated in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,103,666, 3,444,597 and 3,470,834. These devices find utility in the attaching of tags to merchandise, coupling layers of material together and fastening buttons to clothing etc.

In the past as shown by U.S. Pat. No. 3,103,666 the needle was merely used for conveying a fastener attachment member to insert it into material and performed no cutting function. Subsequently, the needle shown in US. Pat. No. 3,470,834 was developed and did incorporate a knife in the patent which extended outwardly therefrom from the rear thereof. In some of the latter devices constructed as shown in the patent a V-shaped notch was also provided at the rear of the knife. But with this type of device construction the needle was not replaceable, if broken, or if the knife edge wore down after extensive use, once placed into the housing since the casing was sealed together in order to produce an inexpensive device. In addition, the needle would be most difficult to replace in any event since the parts of the device had to be disassembled in order to insert the needle in place.

The use of the above identified needle also suffered from some major disadvantages in comparison with the needles to be described herein in that its use necessitated the construction of special guide slots in the housing to retain the ears in place as well as specially shaped guide slots in the housing to facilitate the entry of the fastener attachment member in front of and in proper alignment with the needle knife edge and slot. Further, the above needle also did not have the rigidity desired to maintain its shape, when inserted into heavy material, because of the manner in which it was supported. The needle when inserted into heavy material tends to bend at the point where the laterial ears are joined to the central portion of the needle, which results in the destruction of the device.

Accordingly, to overcome the aforementioned disadvantages, this invention has provided new and improved needle constructions which can be easily replaced if worn or broken and which avoids the necessity of specially shaped housing mounting structures and housing guides to insure proper location'of the fastener attachment member.

Summary of the Invention In a first embodiment a unitary needle is constructed which includes in a mounting portion thereof a knife edge, a guide slot to facilitate entry of a fastener attachment member therein and a passageway slot for the movement of a fastener attachment member there through upon being separated from its carrier. In a second embodiment disclosed herein, a two piece needle construction is provided with a needle core being of metal and the shank therefore being of plastic which locks the needle core in place, the needle core being provided with a substantially V-shaped knife and the shank being provided with a guide slot, a passageway slot, and a portion removed to permit exposure of the knife edge. In addition, between the two slots a shortened finger is provided to prevent jamming of the fastener attachment members as they enterthe guide slots. With this second embodiment, which is the preferred embodiment, this invention provides a needle construction which can be fabricated at considerably less than the cost of the first embodiment which requires expensive machining to fabricate.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a top view of a fastener attachment device utilizing the improved needles of this invention;

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of FIG. 1 to show the operating parts of the device;

FIG. 2A is a view showing a portion of the mechanism for operating the fastener attachment device;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line 3-3 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along line 4-4 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along line 5-5 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along line 66 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 7 is a sectional view taken along line 7-7 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 8 is a top view of the first embodiment of a needle in accordance with this invention;

FIG. 9 is a side view of the needle shown in FIG. 8;

FIG. 10 is a rear view of the needle shown in FIG. 8;

FIG. 11 is a side view of the rear cutting edge of the needle;

FIG. 12 is a side view of a needle core of the second embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 13 is a side view of the needle core of FIG. 12;

FIG. 14 is a rear view of the needle core of FIG. 12;

FIG. 15 is a top view of the needle core of this invention locked into the needle shank of this invention;

FIG. 16 is a side view of the needle shown in FIG. 15;

FIG. 17 is a bottom view with parts broken away of the needle shown in FIG. 15;

FIG. 18 is a rear view ofthe needle shown in FIG. 15;

FIG. 19 is a side view of the needle of FIG. 15 opposite to the side view;

FIG. 20 is an enlarged view showing the shape of the knife portion of the needle; and

FIG. 21 shows an end view of an attachment member coupled to a carrier.

DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION lever 11 for controlling the operation of theidevice At the front of the devicethere is shown a needle according to the invention mounted in the nose of the device.

In FIG. ,1, there are shown

guide slots

13, 1 4 and 15 formed in the housing to permit the feeding of fastener attachment members 16 coupled to a carrier or bar 17 by connectingor neck members 18 as shown in FIGS. 7 and 21. The slot 13 is for the feeding ofthe carrier 17, the; slot 14 is for the feeding of the connecting members 18 and the slot 1.5 is for the feeding of the fastener attachment members 16. I

In FIG. 2, thereis shown a cylinder 20 in which there is-positioned a piston 21 adapted for movement back and. forth therein, The piston 21 includes a camming wheell froimi moving clockwisethere is provided a rotatabl'edet'erit 54 hi I o'unte"rclockwise by a spring SSsupported in aavity formed in the housing.

. For furtherdetails of' the.operation of'the device of FIG S '1 ',7, reference may be had to the parent application ser; o. 29,564 of this application."

surfac'e'22 which cooperates with an indexing mechanismfsh o'wn in FI G. 2 as will be described. The piston supports a plunger 23 which is adapted to penetrate through a holeformed in member 24 at the front of the cylinder 20. The plunger is adapted to push a fastener attacli'me'nt'or' bar lock member16 out of the front of the devicethrough needle 12 as disclosed in the patents cited above.- In orderto maintain the piston 20 in the rearward" position as shown in FIG. 2 a spring 25 is providedf-T-he piston 21 is moved forward by filling a chamber 26 at the rear of the piston 21 with fluid (e.g. air) under pressure.

The flow of air into the chamber is controlled by the lever 11 which controls a slidable rod 30 movable in a slot 31 formed in the housing 10. The rod 30 is coupled at one end 30a to the lever l 1 and at the end to a rotary member 32 of a rotary valve. The rotary member comprises a pa'ssageway 33 which is adapted to be rotated between an air vent 34, where it is normally positioned "when the lever 11 has been released and a passageway 35. The passageway 35 forms a part of a connector 36 which is adapted to be coupled to a source of fluid, in

this case air under pressure. The member 30 is urged rearwardly by a spring 37 coupled to it and a member 38 coupled to the housing interior.

At 40 there is shown an indexing wheel or gear havif ing teeth 40a for engaging the connecting members 18 in order to feed the fastener attachment members 18 one at a time at the rear of the needle and in front of the plunger 23 as shown in FIGS. 2 and 7. In order to rotate the indexing wheel (counterclockwise) to feed the fastener attachment members, there is provided a feed pawl 42 which is rotatably coupled to a lever43 by a pin 44."A flat spring 45 is positioned in a slot 46 of the feed pawl 42 and is supported atits other end by a slot 47 formed in the lever. The'spring 45 urges the feed pawl 42 in a counterclockwise direction. The lever 43 is supported by a pin 48 on a pivot support 49 coupled to the housing 10 and is urged counterclockwise by a spring 50.

The lever 43 is rocked back and forth by, the action of a cam follower or roller 51 which is adapted to engage the cam surface 22 of the pistonthrough a cutout 53 formed in the bottom wall of the cylinder 20.

Thus as the piston is driven forward, the lever will 'ro-- tate counterclockwise to move the feed; pawl 42 downwardly so that it is'in position to engage the next tooth of the wheel 40.

On the rearward movement of the piston,]the cam follower 51 engages the cam surface 22 and causes the feed pawl to move clockwise to rotate the feed wheel Reference should now be had to- FIGSf8-11 for a description of one of the new needle constructions according to" this invention. The needle 12 comprises a tip portion 12a, 2 central portion 12b and amounting portion12c'. In, this construction the needle is fabricated completely out of metal 'andis'machirie d to thedesired shape. The central portion andmountin'g portions clude a central bore, the bore extending from the end .61 ofthe mounting portion 120 through the central therethrough when thef astener attachment member isdriven throughthe needle 12. g

The mounting portion includes a locking notch 64 which permits the needle to be held in place by a cam lock 65 in FIG. 2. The mounting portion also includes a second'slot 66 which extends fromthe' end 61 to a point in front of the locking notch 64. The second slot is positioned; to permit one half of the fastener attachment end member 16a to be inserted into the needle prior to the fastener attachment member being forced through the needle. r

The mounting, portion further includes a knife 67 which extends inwardly from the end 61 towards the tip 12a. The knife is wider at the end 61 and narrows in- -wardly in the shape of'a V-from the end 61. Thekiiife 67 is beveled at 68 and comprises two V-shaped edges, an inneredge 67a and an outer edge 67b. Thusthe beveled face of the knife faces outwardly. The knifeis positioned at substantially to the second slot 66,. and to the first slot .63 and the second slot is positioned at substantially 90 with respect tothe first slot. Thus as the plunger 23 of the device forces the attachment members 16 through the needle, the connecting member 18 will engage the knife cutting edge 67a and be severed from the carrier 17.

Reference should now be had to FIGS. 12-19 for a description of v the preferred needle construction according to this invention The, needle comprises two separate membersfa needle core 80 preferably of metal and a needle shank or mounting portion 81 preferably of a rigid plastic which are joined together. The needle 1 core forms a central portion 83 of the needle as well as the fastener attachment end 16a whereas the first slot 86 facilitates the. travel of the member 16b th rethrough. The bore and slot are preferably formed by cold working the metal stock toleave a shoulder 87 to aide in mechanically locking .the coreand shank together. The c ore is also'prpvided with a flat tail portion 88 which has a keyway'89 and a subs'tantially V-shaped knife '90 extendingfrom the-end v91 thereof: T he ke way cooperates with the shank to hold the core in place securely withinrthe shank.

The knife 90, as does knife 67 includes two

edges

90a and 90b with a beveled surface 90c therebetween facing outwardly, as seen in FIG. 19. The knife 90 is formed by conventional shearing techniques to form the cutting edge. u

The shank 81 also includes a bore and slot which are in alignment with the bore and slot of the needle core, and are accordingly given the same numbers for convenience. I,

The'bore and slot of the shank perform the same function 'as the bore and slot of the core. The shank 81 further'has a second slot 92 separated from the first slot 86 byfa finger 93. The second slot acts in the same manher as slot 66 of FIGS. 811. The finger 93 is provided in its shortened form to prevent jamming of the fastener attachment members as they are fed into the needlejf As an important aspect of this invention, when the shan kliisofplastic, it-is important (although not absolutely necessary) to provide a shaped finger which does notextend to the end 81a of the shank to insure that thefinger which is somewhat flexible because it is of plastic, does not jam the feeding of the attachment members. It has been found that without the finger being cutback the attachment member portion 16b has a tendency to end up in the second slot, and not the first slot of the needle which causes jamming of the devrce.

Thus the shortened finger 93 provides a funnel or chute for the movement of the members 16b into position to feed through the needle. It should be noted that the core end 9land'the shank end 81a preferably coincide or start from the same point.

As another aspect of this invention, the shank is formed so that the knife edges are exposed as shown in FIG. 19. This may be accomplished by molding; removing or cutting away the plastic leaving a surface at 95.

The shank 81 is also provided with a locking notch 94 to securely lock and position the needle within the nose of the device as shown in FIG. 2.

It has been found that to cleanly cut certain types of material such as polyurethane fastener attachment members 16 without leaving objectionable connecting member stubs 18 attached to the attachment members 16, it is most preferable that the

cutting edges

67a and 67b and 90a and 90b be shaped as shown in FIG. 20 so that they have a rounded cutting surface at the bottom of the V.

It has also been found that with this V-configuration, the are defined by the radius R of the cutting surface 67a and 90a and

secondary surfaces

67b and 90b should preferably have an arc defined by a radius of between .005 .Ol0 inches. It is also most important in getting the clean cut that the depth D from end 91 to the cutting surface edges 670 or 90a preferably be between .015 to .025 inches for connecting necks 18 which have a diameter of about 1/32 of an inch.

It has also been found that to obtain the best results, the angles a of the legs of the V cutting edges should be between 60 to 95 and most preferably 70 to 90.

The composite needle shown in FIGS. 1219 is preferably constructed using conventional injection molding techniques using an outer mold and a mold insert fitted into a fabricated core when in the configuration shown in FIG. 12. Plastics such as Delrin (A Dupont Acetal Resin) or Nylon filled with glass fibers may be used to provide a shank which is substantially rigid and hard enough to 'be held in the device and to mechanically lock theco're in place within it. As will be seen in FIGS. 16 andl7ythe'shank is molded such that the plastic flows about the outside of the

shoulder

87 and 1 into the keyway 89 to securely hold the core in place. It should be understood that the shank could act as the keyway in place of the core keyway 89, if the core portion 88 was formed with a key.

I claim: I

1. A needle comprising a tip, a central portion and a mounting portion, a first slot and a bore extending from the rear of the mounting portion into the central portion, a second slot in the mounting portion offset from the first slot and which extends from the rear of the mounting portion partially to the front portion of the mounting portion closest to the central portion, and a knife provided in the mounting portion opposite the first slot and offset from the second slot, said knife comprising cutting edge portions shaped to form a V with the bottom of the V pointing towards the tip and cutting edge portions spaced apart at the rear of the mounting portion, and the bottom of the V extending partially towards said central portion less than the dis tance said second slot extends towards said central portion.

2. A needle for dispensing fastener attachment members comprising a needle core having a tip, a central portion and a flat tail portion having a rearward end, a first slot and bore formed in the central portion of the core for permitting the travel of portions of fastener attachment members therethrough, and a rigid plastic shank surrounding a portion of said core and having a first slot in line with said first slot of said'core and a bore in line with the bore of said core, the plastic shank surrounding a portion of the core central portion and at least a portion of said tail portion saidcentral portion of the core having a flared shoulder defining an entry way into the slot of the central portion, and said flared shoulder encapsulated by said rigid plastic to lock the core in the rigid plastic shank.

3. A needle according to claim 2 in which the tail is provided with a cutting knife with cutting edge portions forming a V. l

4. A needle according to claim 3 in which the shank is formed with a second slot which extends from the rearward end of the shank partway towards the front of the shank for permitting a portion of the fastener at tachment end members to be guided into the bores.

5. The needle of claim 3 in which a portion of the plastic shank is shaped to expose the knife.

6. A needle according to claim 3, in which the V shaped cutting knife has a curved edge portion at the bottom of the V.

7. A needle according to claim 6 in which the curved edge portion of the V has an arc defined by a radius between .005 and .010 inches.

8. A needle according to claim 7 in which the knife V extends inwardly from the rearward end of the tail .Ol5 to .025 inches and wherein the angle between the edge portions of the V is between 60 to 9. The needle of claim 6 in which a portion of the plastic shank is shaped to expose the knife.

10. A needle for dispensing fastener attachment members comprising a needle core having a tip, central portion and flat tail portion having a rearward end, a first slot and bore formed in the central portion of the core for permitting the travel of fastener attachment members therethrough and a rigid plastic shank surrounding a portion of the core and having a first slot in line with said first slot of said core and a bore in line with the bore of said core central portion, the plastic shank surrounding a portion of the core, said needle having a shaped cutting surface defining a knife which extends toward said tip, said shank having a second slot which extends from the rearward end thereof partway towards the front of the shank for permitting a portion of the fastener attachment end member to be guided into the bores in which a finger separates the first and second slots of the shank and in which the finger extends only partway towards the rearward end of the shank.

11. A needle according to claim 10 in which said core includes a shoulder and in which the shank engages said shoulder of said core to lock the core in the shank.

12. A needle according to claim 11 in which the tail has a keyway and the interior of the shank extends into the keyway and engages said keyway to mechanically hold the tail into the shank.

13. A needle according to claim 12 in which the shaped cutting surface is in the form of a V having a curved bottom.

14. A needle according to claim 13 in which the curved bottom has an arc defined by a radius of between .005 and .010 inches.

15. A needle according to claim 14 in which the edge of the shaped cutting surface extends inwardly from the rearward end of the tail .015 to .035 inches and wherein the angle between the legs of the V is between 60 to 95.

16. A needle according to claim 13 in which a portion of the shank is shaped to expose the cutting surface of the knife.

17. A needle comprising a tip, a central portion and a mounting portion, a first slot and a bore provided in the central portion, a bore and first slot provided in the mounting portion and communicating with the bore and the first slot of the central portion, the improvement of a knife extending along the side of the mounting portion, the knife having at least one V shaped cutting edge with the bottom of the V pointing towards said tip, and the open part of the V defined by the rear of the mounting portion, said V shaped cutting edge having a curved portion at the bottom of the V, said mounting portion is provided with a second slot extending from the rearward end thereof towards the front of the mounting portion to guide a portion of an attachment member into the bore, in which a finger separates the first and second slots of the mounting portion and in which the finger extends only partway towards the rearward end of the mounting portion.

18. A needle dispensing fastener attachment members comprising a metal portion including a tip, a central portion and a flat tail portion having a rearward end, said central portion having a bore opening into a slot for permitting the travel of portions of fastener attachment members therethrough, and a ridig plastic shank having a slot in line with the slot of the central portion and a bore in line with the bore of the central portion for permitting the travel of portions of fastener attachment members therethrough, said rigid plastic shank extending about and engaging at least a-portionv of said central portion and said tail portion and said slot of the shank is positioned above a portion of the slot of the central portion.

19. The needle of claim 18 in which the portion of the central portion closest to the tail portion has a flared shoulder at the entryway and in which the plastic shank encapsulates the flared shoulder to lock the metal portion of the needle within the plastic shank.

20. The needle of claim 19 in which a flat tail portion is provided with a keyway and in which the plastic shank extends into and encapsulates the keyway to lock the metal portion in the plastic shank.

21. The needle of claim 18 in which the flat tail portion is partially exposed in the shank and may be observed by viewing through the slot of the shank and is an extension of the metal core surface.

22. The needle of claim 21 in which the plastic shank has a second slot at substantially right angles to the first slot.

23. The needle of claim 18 in which the flat tail has a knife and a portion of the rigid plastic is removed to expose the knife.

24. The needle of claim 23 in which the knife is V shaped.

25. The needle of claim 24 in which the bottom of the V is rounded.

Claims

1. A needle comprising a tip, a central portion and a mounting portion, a first slot and a bore extending from the rear of the mounting portion into the central portion, a second slot in the mounting portion offset from the first slot and which extends from the rear of the mounting portion partially to the front portion of the mounting portion closest to the central portion, and a knife provided in the mounting portion opposite the first slot and offset from the second slot, said knife comprising cutting edge portions shaped to form a ''V'' with the bottom of the ''V'' pointing towards the tip and cutting edge portions spaced apart at the rear of the mounting portion, and the bottom of the ''V'' extending partially towards said central portion less than the distance said second slot extends towards said central portion.

2. A needle for dispensing fastener attachment members comprising a needle core having a tip, a central portion and a flat tail portion having a rearward end, a first slot and bore formed in the central portion of the core for permitting the travel of portions of fastener attachment members therethrough, and a rigid plastic shank surrounding a portion of said core and having a first slot in line with said first slot of said core and a bore in line with the bore of said core, the plastic shank surrounding a portion of the core central portion and at least a portion of said tail portion said central portion of the core having a flared shoulder defining an entry way into the slot of the central portion, and said flared shoulder encapsulated by said rigid plastic to lock the core in the rigid plastic shank.

3. A needle according to claim 2 in which the tail is provided with a cutting knife with cutting edge portions forming a ''V''.

4. A needle according to claim 3 in which the shank is formed with a second slot which extends from the rearward end of the shank partway towards the front of the shank for permitting a portion of the fastener attachment end members to be guided into the bores.

6. A needle according to claim 3, in which the ''V'' shaped cutting knife has a curved edge portion at the bottom of the ''V''.

7. A needle according to claim 6 in which the curved edge portion of the ''V'' has an arc defined by a radius between .005 and .010 inches.

8. A needle according to claim 7 in which the knife ''V'' extends inwardly from the rearward end of the tail .015 to .025 inches and wherein the angle between the edge portions of the ''V'' is between 60* to 95*.

9. The needle of claim 6 in which a portion of the plastic shank is shaped to expose the knife.

13. A needle according to claim 12 in which the shaped cutting surface is in the form of a ''V'' having a curved bottom.

15. A needle according to claim 14 in which the edge of the shaped cutting surface extends inwardly from the rearward end of the tail .015 to .035 inches and wherein the angle between the legs of the ''V'' is between 60* to 95*.

17. A needle comprising a tip, a central portion and a mounting portion, a first slot and a bore provided in the central portion, a bore and first slot provided in the mounting portion and communicating with the bore and the first slot of the central portion, the improvement of a knife extending along the side of the mounting portion, the knife having at least one ''V'' shaped cutting edge with the bottom of the ''V'' pointing towards said tip, and the open part of the ''V'' defined by the rear of the mounting portion, said ''V'' shaped cutting edge having a curved portion at the bottom of the ''V'', said mounting portion is provided With a second slot extending from the rearward end thereof towards the front of the mounting portion to guide a portion of an attachment member into the bore, in which a finger separates the first and second slots of the mounting portion and in which the finger extends only partway towards the rearward end of the mounting portion.

18. A needle dispensing fastener attachment members comprising a metal portion including a tip, a central portion and a flat tail portion having a rearward end, said central portion having a bore opening into a slot for permitting the travel of portions of fastener attachment members therethrough, and a ridig plastic shank having a slot in line with the slot of the central portion and a bore in line with the bore of the central portion for permitting the travel of portions of fastener attachment members therethrough, said rigid plastic shank extending about and engaging at least a portion of said central portion and said tail portion and said slot of the shank is positioned above a portion of the slot of the central portion.

24. The needle of claim 23 in which the knife is ''V'' shaped.

25. The needle of claim 24 in which the bottom of the ''V'' is rounded.