Flat-clinch-stapler
The invention relates to flat-clinch-stapler comprising a base portion having at a
first rear end upstanding bearing pieces on both sides of a longitudinal horizontal
plane of the stapler for supporting a first transverse pivot axis, and a floating
clincher table for bending the legs of a staple at a second front end opposite to
said first end. The floating clincher table is moveable between an upper paper
supporting position and a lower staple bending position, and arresting means are
provided for arresting the floating piece in the upper position. An elongated
magazine having an U-shaped cross section comprising a bottom wall and side
walls extending upwardly therefrom comprises staple guide means for receiving
and guiding a plurality of staples. The magazine is pivotably mounted at its rear
end about said first pivot axis and having a front end extending to a position
above said clincher table.A driver arm carrying a driver blade at its front end for
driving the most forward staple in said magazine into a paper stack introduced
between the base portion and the magazine is pivotably mounted at its rear end
to said first pivot axis. A handle member is adapted to act against the driver arm
and is pivotably mounted about a second transverse axis disposed in the bearing
pieces. The second axis is offset relative to said first pivot axis in a direction from
the first end to the second end of the base portion, and the handle member is
adapted to act on the driver arm at a position even further to the front end of the
stapler, thereby resulting in a type of lever action reducing the forces required .to
actuate the stapler.
Staplers with such means for reducing the actuating forces are disclosed for
example by the JP 55093478 A 1. With such staplers, the staples are supported
on guide means within the magazine with their cross members supported on a
top surface of the guide means. If this type of stapler is intended for use with
staples having different leg lengths, the guide means have to have a height at
least corresponding to the length of the largest staples. On using staples having
shorter leg lengths, there is a risk of toppling of the staples on pushing the most
forward staple into the stack of paper below the magazine, resulting in a
malfunction of the stapler.
The present invention aims to avoid the problems inherent with the use of staples
having different staple leg lengths and to provide a stapler with a reliable
operation and improved handling characteristics, especially for flat clinch stapling.
According to the present invention, a stapler as set out above is provided,
wherein said bottom wall of said magazine forms part of the guide means for
guiding a plurality of staples and is adapted to guide the free ends of the legs of
the staples within the magazine. An elongated intermediate member is disposed
between said magazine and said driver arm and is pivotably mounted at a first
end to said first pivot axis within the driver arm, resilient biasing mean being
disposed between said driver arm and the intermediate member. The
intermediate member has an inverted U-shaped cross section comprising a top
wall and side walls extending downwardly therefrom, wherein the side walls of
said intermediate member extend inbetween and along said side walls of said
magazine, such that the bottom edges of said side walls of said intermediate
member being adapted to engage the cross members of said staples within said
magazine, In this manner, the staples are safely held between the bottom wall of
the magazine and the lower edges of the side walls of the intermediate member,
and there is no risk of toppling of the staples on pushing the most forward staple
into the stack of paper below the magazine.
According to a preferred embodiment of the stapler according to the present
invention, the side walls of the front end of the intermediate member are provided
with respective longitudinal slots adapted to receive end portions of a roller, said
roller having a length such that its free ends extend beyond the outside of the
side walls of the intermediate member and into V-shaped slots in the side walls of
the magazine, said V-shaped slots extending downwardly from the top edges of
the side walls of the magazine., Biasing means are provided for biasing the roller
against one of the side edges of the V-shaped slots such that the roller tends to
ride upwardly along said side edges to slightly space the lower edges of the side
walls of the intermediate member from the cross members of the staples within
the magazine, such that the advancement of the staples within the magazine by
means of a pusher is not impeded by the intermediate member.
With flat clinch staplers, a release lever operative to release the arresting means
of said floating clincher table is pivotably mounted to said driver arm about a
horizontal axis extending perpendicular to a longitudinal axis of said driver arm.
This release lever has downwardly extending release arms acting on said
arresting means and a flat cross member connecting said release arms.
According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the cross member
extends between a bottom surface of said driver arm and a top surface of said
intermediate member, resulting in an adjustment of the timing of the release of
the floating clincher table to the individual lengths of the staple legs.
A non-limiting embodiment of a stapler in accordance with the present invention
will be described below with reference to the enclosed drawings.
In the drawings:
Fig. 1 shows a perspective view of an embodiment of the stapler pivoted
into an open position as used for re-filling staples to show details of the
construction thereof.
Fig. 2 shows a side view of the embodiment of the stapler of Fig. 1,
wherein the handle member has been removed and parts of the magazine and
the driver arm are shown broken away to expose further details.
Figs. 3 to 8 show details of the magazine with parts broken away to show details
thereof.
Figs. 9 to 1 show further details of the front end of the magaine, the intermediate
member and the driver arm with staples of different size.
Figs. 13 to 16 show a side view of the stapler partially broken away for showing
the action of the release lever.
In Fig. 1, a perspective view of an embodiment of the stapler is shown wherein
the stapler is pivoted into an open position as it is normally used for re-filling
staples.
This embodiment of the flat-clinch-stapler comprises a base portion 20 having at
a first rear end upstanding bearing pieces 2 1 (seen in Fig. 2) on both sides of a
longitudinal horizontal plane of the stapler for supporting a first transverse pivot
axis 22.
The base portion 20 further comprises at a second front end opposite to said first
end a floating clincher table 11 for bending the legs of a staple. The floating
clincher table 11 is moveable between an upper paper supporting position and a
lower staple bending position, and arresting means (not shown) are providedfor
arresting the floating clincher table 11 in the upper position;
An elongated magazine 5 having an U-shaped cross section comprising a bottom
wall 50 and side walls 5 1 (Figs. 4 to 8) extending upwardly therefrom comprises
staple guide means 52 for receiving and guiding a plurality of staples 53.
The magazine 5 is pivotably mounted at its rear end about said first pivot axis 22
and having a front end extending to a position above said clincher table 11.
A driver arm 1 carrying a driver blade 9 at its front end for driving the most
forward staple in said magazine 5 into a paper stack introduced between the base
portion 20 and the magazine 5 is pivotably mounted at its rear end to said first
pivot axis 22.
A handle member 300 adapted to act against the driver arm 1 is pivotably
mounted about a second transverse axis 3 10 disposed in the bearing pieces 2 1 ,
said second axis 3 10 being offset relative to said first pivot axis 22 in a direction
from the first end to the second end of the base portion 20.
The handle member 300 is adapted to act on the driver arm 1 at a position even
further to the front end of the stapler, thereby resulting in a type of lever action
reducing the forces required .to actuate the stapler.
As may especially seen from Figs. 4 and 7, the bottom wall 50 of the magazine 5
forms part of the guide means for guiding a plurality of staples 53 and is adapted
to guide the free ends of the legs of the staples within the magazine 5.
An elongated intermediate member 3 (Fig. 1) is disposed between the magazine
5 and the driver arm 1 and is pivotably mounted at a first end to the first pivot axis
22 within the driver arm 1. Resilient biasing means (not shown) are disposed
between said driver arm 1 and the intermediate member 3.
The intermediate member 3 has an inverted U-shaped cross section comprising a
top wall 30 and side walls 3 1 extending downwardly therefrom. The side walls 3 1
of said intermediate member 3 extend inbetween and along said side walls 5 1 of
said magazine 5, such that the bottom edges of said side walls 3 1 of said
intermediate member 3 being adapted to engage the cross members of said
staples 53 within said magazine 5,
The side walls of the front end of the intermediate member (3) are provided with
respective longitudinal slots 33 adapted to receive end portions of a roller 8, said
roller 8 having a length such that its free ends extend beyond the outside of the
side walls 3 1 of the intermediate member 3 and into V-shaped slots 54 in the side
walls 5 1 of the magazine 5. The V-shaped slots 54 extend downwardly from the
top edges of the side walls 5 1 of the magazine 5. Biasing means 7 are provided
for biasing the roller 8 against one of the side edges of the V-shaped slots 54
such that the roller 8 rides upwardly along said side edges to space the lower
edges of the side walls 3 1 of the intermediate member 3 from the cross members
of the staples within the magazine. In this manner, the roller on riding upwardly
along said side edges slightly spaces the lower edges of the side walls 3 1 of the
intermediate member 3 from the cross members of the staples within the
magazine 5, such that the advancement of the staples within the magazine by
means of a pusher 10 shown in Fig. 4 is not impeded by the intermediate member
3.
This is especially shown in Figs. 9 to 12.
Fig. 9 shows the use of staples having shorter legs. The roller 8 in the rest
position abuts against a short projection 36 at the end of one side edge of the Vshaped
groove so that the upward movement of the intermediate member 3
relative to the magazine is limited. On pressing down the driver arm 1 by means
of the handle member 300 as shown in Fig. 10, the intermediate member 3 is
moved downward into engagement with the upper surface of the staples 53
thereby clamping the staples between the bottom wall of the magazine and the
intermediate member 3 so that any toppling of the staples is prevented.
Fig. 1 shows the use of staples having longer legs. The roller 8 in the rest
position again abuts against the short projection 36 at the end of one side edge of
the V-shaped groove so that the upward movement of the intermediate member 3
relative to the magazine is limited. On pressing down the driver arm 1 by means
of the handle member 300 as shown in Fig. 12, the intermediate member 3 is
moved downward into engagement with the upper surface of the staples 53 but in
view of the greater lengths of the legs of the staples, the roller does move
downwardl over a shorter extent. Again, the staples are clamped between the
bottom wall of the magazine and the intermediate member 3 so that any toppling
of the staples is prevented.
As may be seen especially from Figs. 13 to 16, a release lever 2 operative to
release the arresting means (not shown) of said floating clincher table 11 is
pivotably mounted to . said driver arm 1 about a horizontal axis extending
perpendicular to a longitudinal axis of said driver arm 1. The release lever 2
comprises downwardly extending release arms 23 acting on the arresting means
110 and a flat cross member 24 connecting said release arms 23 and extending
between a bottom surface of said driver arm 1 and a top surface of said
intermediate member 3.
In Fig. 13, the stapler is shown in the rest position, whereas in Fig. 14, the handle
member 300 has been depressed to bring the driver blade 9 in contact with the
top of the foremost staple in the magazine 5.
In Fig. 15, the staple has penetrated the stack of paper (not shown) between the
bottom of the magazine 5 and the top of the clincher table 11, and the arms 23 of
the release lever 2 start the retraction of the arresting means of which only the
rear abutment member 110 cooperating with the arms 23 is shown.
Finally, in Fig. 16, the arms 23 have retracted the arresting means such that the
clincher table may move downward thereby rsesulting in bending the free ends of
the legs of the staple inwardly.
Depending on the lengths of the staple legs, the end of cross member 24A of the
lever 2 acts while coming in contact with the side walls 5 1 of the magazine 5 and
the arms 23 release the arresting means of the clincher table 11 at an earlier or
later time during the downward movement of the driver arm 1.

Claims:
1. A flat-clinch-stapler comprising:
a base portion (20) having at a first rear end upstanding bearing pieces
(21 ) on both sides of a longitudinal horizontal plane of the stapler for supporting a
first transverse pivot axis (22), and a floating clincher table ( 1 1) for bending the
legs of a staple at a second front end opposite to said first end, said clincher table
( 1 1) being moveable between an upper paper supporting position and a lower
staple bending position, and arresting means for arresting the floating clincher
table ( 1 1) in the upper position;
an elongated magazine (5) having an U-shaped cross section comprising
a bottom wall and side walls extending upwardly therefrom, said magazine (5)
comprising staple guide means for receiving and guiding a plurality of staples
(53), said magazine (5) being pivotably mounted at its rear end about said first
pivot axis (22) and having a front end extending to a position above said clincher
table ( 1 1) ;
a driver arm ( 1) carrying a driver blade (9) at its front end for driving the
most forward staple in said magazine (5) into a paper stack introduced between
the base portion (20) and the magazine (5) said driver arm ( 1 ) being pivotably
mounted at its rear end to said first pivot axis (22); and
a handle member (300) adapted to act against the driver arm ( 1 ) and
pivotably mounted about a second transverse axis (31 0) disposed in the bearing
pieces (21 ) , said second axis (31 0) being offset relative to said first pivot axis (22)
in a direction from the first end to the second end of the base portion (20), said
handle member (300) being adapted to act on the driver arm ( 1 ) at a position
even further to the front end of the stapler;
characterized in that
said bottom wall of said magazine (5) forms part of the guide means for guiding a
plurality of staples (50) and is adapted to guide the free ends of the legs of the
staples within the magazine (5);
an elongated intermediate member (3) is disposed between said
magazine (5) and said driver arm ( 1 ) and is pivotably mounted at a first end to
said first pivot axis (22) within the driver arm ( 1 ) , resilient biasing means being
disposed between said driver arm ( 1) and said intermediate member (3);
said intermediate member (3) having an inverted U-shaped cross section
comprising a top wall and side walls extending downwardly therefrom, said side
walls of said intermediate member (3) extending inbetween and along said side
walls of said magazine (5), the bottom edges of said side walls of said
intermediate member (3) being adapted to engage the cross members of said
staples within said magazine (5).
2. The flat clinch stapler of claim 1, wherein the side walls of the front end of
the intermediate member (3) are provided with respective longitudinal slots
adapted to receive end portions of a roller (8), said roller (8) having a length such
that its free ends extend beyond the outside of the side walls of the intermediate
member and into V-shaped slots in the side walls of the magazine (5), said Vshaped
slots extending downwardly from the top edges of the side walls of the
magazine (5), biasing means (7) being provided for biasing the roller (8) against
one of the side edges of the V-shaped slots such that the roller (8) rides upwardly
along said side edges to space the lower edges of the side walls of the
intermediate member (3) from the cross members of the staples within the
magazine.
3. The flat clinch stapler of claim 1 or 2, wherein a release lever (2)
operative to release the arresting means ( 1 10) of said floating clincher table ( 1 1)
is pivotably mounted to said driver arm ( 1 ) about a horizontal axis extending
perpendicular to a longitudinal axis of said driver arm ( 1 ) , said release lever (2)
having downwardly extending release arms (23) acting on said arresting means
( 1 10) and a flat cross member (24) connecting said release arms (23) and
extending between a bottom surface of said driver arm (1) and a top surface of
said intermediate member (3).
4. The flat clinch stapler of claim 3, wherein said cross member (24)
comprises downwardly directed extensions (24A) cooperating with the side walls
(51 ) of the magazine (5)
5. The flat clinch stapler of claim 4, wherein depending on the lengths of the
staple legs, the downwardly extensions (24A) of cross member (24) of the lever
(2) act while coming in contact with the upper edges of the side walls (51 ) of the
magazine (5) and the arms (23) release the arresting means of the clincher table
( 1 1) at an earlier or later time during the downward movement of the driver arm
( 1 ) .