STAPLE REMOVER
TECHNICAL FIELD
The invention relates to a staple remover that removes
a staple from a material such as a bundle of paper.
BACKGROUND ART
The staple removers, each of which removes the staple
stapled in the material such as the bundle of paper from the
bundle of paper, have been roughly divided into two types. The
first type is a slide typed staple remover used for a case where
the staple staples the bundle of paper of the small number of
sheets, about 2 through 10 sheets. In this case, a staple of
size No. 10 (for example, crown width of 8.4 mm and leg length
of 5 mm) has been often used. When using such a slide typed staple
remover, a wedge-like inserting piece fixed on a front end of
the staple remover is inserted between a crown portion of the
staple stapled in the bundle of paper and a surface of a top
paper of the bundle of paper and pushed forward. This enables
the staple to be removed from the bundle of paper by pushing
the staple upward along a slope of the inserting piece.
On the other hand, the second type is a rotary typed staple
remover used for a case where the staple staples the bundle of
paper of the large number of sheets, about 20 sheets or more.
In this case, a staple of size No. 3 (for example, crown width
of 11.5 mm and leg length of 6 mm) has been often used. When
using such a rotary typed staple remover, a wedge-like inserting
piece fixed on a front end of an operating handle pivoted on
a base member of the staple remover is inserted between a crown
portion of the staple stapled in the bundle of paper and asurface of a top paper of the bundle of paper and the operating
hand is then pushed down. This enables the staple to be removed
from the bundle of paper by lifting the staple upward by the
inserting piece using the principal of the lever.
Japanese Utility Model Publication No. S35-5317 has
disclosed such a rotary typed staple remover. This staple
remover has a shaft-supporting portions on a base member
provided with a forked paper-pushing part and the operating
handle fixing a staple-removing claw on a front end thereof is
pivoted on the shaft-supporting part by a shaft so that the
operating handle can be moved upward or downward.
Japanese Utility Model Publication No. S37-15805 has
disclosed such a slide typed staple remover. This staple remover
has a main body formed by bending both edges of a metal sheet
to form a slope such that its one side is low and the other side
is high. The slope portion formed by both edges of the sheet
metal can push both of the legs of the staple upward by turns
by making a height of one edge and a height of the other edge
different from each other in turn.
DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION
As described above, in the past, in a case where the staple
staples the bundle of paper of about 2 through 10 sheets, a
staple of size No. 10 been often used while in a case where the
staple staples the bundle of paper of 20 sheets or more, a staple
of size No. 3 has been often used. Thus, a user has used different
staple removers suitably for different purposes of the slide
typed staple remover that is suited to remove the staple of sizeNo. 10 stapled in the bundle of paper of about 2 through 10 sheets
and the rotary typed staple remover that is suited to remove
the staple of size No. 3 stapled in the bundle of paper of 20
sheets or more.
A stapler, however, has been newly proposed in which a
staple of size between No. 10 and No.3 staples the bundle of
paper of 2 through 40 sheets. This stapler can expand a range
of the number of sheets of the bundle of paper to be clinched
to 2 through 40 sheets to staple the bundle of paper of expanded
number of sheets but the staple removers have been still divided
into different types in the slide typed staple remover that is
suited to remove the staple stapled in the bundle of paper of
usually up to 10 sheets, and the rotary typed staple remover
that is suited to remove the staple stapled in the bundle of
paper of 20 sheets or more. For this reason, when such a stapler
staples the bundle of paper of about 2 sheets and the staple
remover removes the staple therefrom, it is necessary that the
user uses the slide typed staple remover. On the other hand,
when such a stapler staples the bundle of paper of about 40
sheets and the staple remover removes the staple therefrom, it
is necessary that the user uses the rotary typed staple remover.
Such a condition that the staple removers of these two types
are used for different purposes causes any inconvenience in the
user.
If the rotary typed staple remover removes the staple of
larger size than the size No. 10 stapled in the bundle of paper
of about 2 through 10 sheets from the bundle of paper, the bundle
of paper may tear by lifting up the bundle of paper with the
legs of the staple being clinched when picking up the legs of
the staple because strength of the bundle of paper is short.
Further, if the slide typed staple remover removes the staple
of larger size than the size No. 10 stapled in the bundle of
paper of about 40 sheets from the bundle of paper, it may be
difficult to push the staple remover forward and to remove the
staple from the bundle of paper because the staple staples the
bundle of paper tightly.
It is an object of this invention to provide a staple
remover that is capable of accurately removing any of the staple
that staples the bundle of paper of a small number of sheets
and the staple that staples the bundle of paper of a large number
of sheets.
A staple remover according to the invention is a staple
remover for removing a staple, characterized in that the staple
remover comprises a base member, an operating handle pivoted
on the base member, a first staple-removing member that removes
the staple by pushing down the operating handle to lift up a
crown portion of the staple, the first staple-removing member
being attached to a front end of the operating handle, and a
second staple-removing member that contains a slope portion
having a slope which increases in level from a front end of the
second staple-removing member to a rear end thereof and that
removes the staple by being slid under the crown portion of the
staple, the second staple-removing member being attached to the
base member.
In the staple remover according to the present invention,
the first staple-removing member, an inserting member, attached
to the front end of the operating handle is inserted between
a material, for example, the bundle of paper of the large number
of sheets, and the crown portion of the staple stapled in the
material. The first staple-removing member is then lifted up
when pushing down the operating handle. This enables the staple
to be removed from the material, the bundle of paper of the large
number of sheets.
On the other hand, the second staple-removing member, a
sloping member, attached to the base member contains the slope
portion having the slope which increases in level from a front
end of the second staple-removing member to a rear end thereof.
The second staple-removing member is slid under the crown
portion of the staple stapled in the material, for example, the
bundle of paper of the small number of sheets, and inserted
between the material and the crown portion of the staple. This
enables the staple to be removed from the material along the
slope portion thereof when sliding the second staple-removing
member forward.
According to the staple remover of the present invention,
it is possible to remove the staple from the material, the bundle
of paper of the large number of sheets, by lifting the first
staple-removing member attached to the front end of the
operating handle upward. Alternatively, it is possible to
remove the staple from the material, the bundle of paper of the
small number of sheets, by sliding the second staple-removing
member forward. Thus, it is possible for one staple remover to
accurately remove either the staple that staples the bundle of
paper of the small number of sheets or the staple that staples
the bundle of paper of the large number of sheets.
The concluding portion of this specification
particularly points out and directly claims the subject matter
of the present invention. However, those skills in the art will
best understand both the organization and method of operation
of the invention, together with further advantages and objects
thereof, by reading the remaining portions of the specification
in view of the accompanying drawing(s) wherein like reference
characters refer to like elements.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
FIG. 1A is a perspective view of an embodiment of a staple
remover according to the invention for showing a configuration
thereof;
FIG. IB is a perspective view of the embodiment of the
staple remover according to the invention for showing a
configuration thereof;
FIG. 2A is a side plan view of the embodiment of the staple
remover according to the invention for showing a configuration
thereof;
FIG. 2B is a rear view of the embodiment of the staple
remover according to the invention for showing a configuration
thereof;
FIG. 3A is a top plan view of the embodiment of the staple
remover according to the invention for showing a configuration
thereof;
FIG. 3B is a sectional view of the embodiment of the staple
remover according to the invention, taken along the lines X-X
shown in FIG. 3A, for showing a configuration thereof;
FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of the embodiment
of the staple remover according to the invention for showing
an assembling example thereof;
FIG. 5A is a top plan view of a sloping member for showing
a functional example thereof;
FIG. 5B is a side view of the sloping member for showing
the functional example thereof;
FIG. 6A is a diagram showing an example of removing the
staple by a rotary mechanism of the staple remover;
FIG. 6B is a diagram showing the example of removing the
staple by the rotary mechanism of the staple remover;
FIG. 7A is a diagram showing an example of removing the
staple by a slide mechanism of the staple remover;
FIG. 7B is a diagram showing the example of removing the
staple by the slide mechanism of the staple remover; and
FIG.8 is a diagram showing a functional example of a
material-flexing portion of the base member.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
The following will describe an embodiment of a staple
remover according to the invention with reference to the
attached drawings.
The staple remover 100 shown in FIGS. 1A through 3B removes
the staple from a material such as the bundle of paper. The
staple remover 100 is provided with a base member 1, an operating
handle 2 and a sloping member 3. The base member 1 contains a
forked shape and includes a first pushing part la and a second
pushing part lb, which push the bundle of paper.
A sloping member 3 is disposed between the first pushing
part la and the second pushing part lb. The sloping member 3
is formed by folding both sides of a sheet metal almost at a
right angle to have a slope portion 3a and a front end 3b. The
front end 3b of the sloping member 3 has a half circle shape
and tapers toward its front end so as to be easy to insert the
front end 3b between a crown portion of the staple and a top
paper of the bundle of paper. This tapered shape of the front
end 3b of the sloping member 3 enables the front end 3b of the
sloping member 3 to be easily inserted between crown portion
of the staple stapled in the bundle of paper and the top paper
of the bundle of paper.
The slope portion 3a has a slope that increases in level
from a front end of the sloping member 3 to a rear end of the
sloping member 3. This enables the staple to be lifted up little
by little along the slope portion 3a when sliding the sloping
member 3 to its pushing direction while the sloping member 3
is inserted into the staple. This allows the staple to be removed
from the bundle of paper of, for example, a small number of
sheets.
The operating handle 2 pivots on the base member 1 so that
the operating handle 2 can be moved upward or downward. In this
embodiment, a torsion spring 5 mounted on a shaft 4 urges the
operating handle 2 to its standing-up direction. An inserting
member 6 is attached to a front end of the operating handle 2
as shown in FIG. IB. This inserting member 6 is also inserted
between a crown portion of the staple stapled in the bundle of
paper and a top paper of the bundle of paper.
When pushing down the operating handle 2 while the
inserting member 6 is inserted between the crown portion of the
staple and the top paper of the bundle of paper, the inserting
member 6 rotates around the shaft 4 to lift the staple upward
so that the staple can be removed from the bundle of paper of,
for example, a large number of sheets.
As shown in FIG. 2B, the first pushing part la and the
second pushing part lb respectively contain paper-flexing
portions lc, lc that flexes the bundle of paper, on a bottom
thereof that pushes the bundle of paper. At least one of the
first and second pushing parts la, lb may contain the
paper-flexing portion lc. The paper-flexing portions lc, lc are
formed by tapering sides each opposing the sloping member 3 of
the first and second pushing parts la, lb. The tapered
paper-flexing portions lc, lc enable the bundle of paper to be
flexed when the staple is removed from the bundle of paper by
the sloping member 3. This allows any force applied to the bundle
of paper of the small number of sheets to be escaped, thereby
avoiding the bundle of paper from being teared when removing
the staple.
As shown in FIG. 3A, front ends le, le of the first and
second pushing parts la, lb and a front end 3b of the sloping
member 3 are almost aligned. This enables the bundle of paper
lifted upward with the staple to be effectively pushed down if
the sloping member 3 removes the staple from the bundle of paper
while the staple is lifted up along the slop portion 3a little
by little.
The front ends le, le of the first and second pushing parts
la, lb include inclined portions Id, Id shown in FIG. 2B.
However, at least one of the front ends of the first and second
pushing parts may include an inclined portion. Each of the
inclined portions Id, Id inclines to a surface of a top paper
of the bundle of paper. When inserting the front end 3b of the
sloping member 3 between the crown portion of the staple stapled
in the bundle of paper and the top paper of the bundle of paper,
the front end 3b of the sloping member 3 is usually inserted
between them from a direction diagonal to the surface of the
top paper of the bundle of paper. Since the front ends le, le
of the first and second pushing parts la, lb include inclined
portions Id, Id, the front ends le, le do not come into contact
with the surface of the top paper of the bundle of paper. This
enables the front end 3b of the sloping member 3 to be easily
inserted between the crown portion of the staple stapled in the
bundle of paper and the top paper of the bundle of paper.
As shown in FIG. 3B, the operating handle 2 pivots on the
base member 1 around the shaft 4 so that the operating handle
2 can be moved upward or downward and the torsion spring 5
mounted on the shaft 4 urges the operating handle 2 to its
standing-up direction. When pushing down the operating handle
2, the inserting member 6 provided on the front end of the
operating handle 2 rotates around the shaft 4. When releasing
down force of the operating handle 2, the operating handle 2
returns to its original position shown in FIG. 3B due to urging
power of the torsion spring 5.
The following will describe an assembling example of the
staple remover 100 with reference to FIG. 4. A top 6a of the
inserting member 6 shown in FIG. 4 is inserted into a groove
2b of the operating handle 2 (see FIG. 3B) . A tube 8 is inserted
into holes 9b, 9b of a link member 9 and is also inserted into
holes 2c, 2c of a plate 2a of the operating handle 2. Putting
the tube 8 between mounting frames 3e, 3e of the sloping member
3 after the tube 8 has been inserted into the holes 9b, 9b
prevents the tube 8 from coming off the mounting frames 3e, 3e.
The tube 8 also supports a main body 6b of the inserting member
6. This enables the inserting member 6 to be fixed into the
operating handle 2.
The mounting frames 3e, 3e of the sloping member 3 are
provided with flanged shaft-supporting portions 3c, 3c. After
the link member 9 and the torsion spring 5 are disposed within
the mounting frames 3e, 3e, the shaft 4 is inserted through the
shaft-supporting portions 3c, 3c of the mounting frames 3e, 3e,
the holes 9a, 9a of the link member 9 and the torsion spring
5.
Next, the mounting frames 3e, 3e of the sloping member
3, which links the operating handle 2 through the link member
9, is mounted on the base member 1. For example, the
shaft-supporting portions 3c, 3c of the sloping member 3 put
on projections If, If of the base member 1 by pushing the
shaft-supporting portions 3c, 3c thereto. A screw 7 then secures
the sloping member 3 to the base member 1 by screwing it to a
screw hole 3d of the mounting frame 3e and a screw hole, not
shown, of the base member 1. Magnets 13, 13 are respectively
attached to the bottoms of the first pushing part la and the
second pushing part lb of the base member 1. These magnets 13,
13 collect the removed staple (s) . Plural projections 12a of a
bottom cover 12 are inserted into holes, not shown, of the base
member 1. Thus, the assembly of the staple remover 100 is
completed.
The following will describe examples of a configuration
and a function of the sloping member 3 with reference to FIGS.
5A and 5B. As shown in FIG. 5A, the sloping member 3 is made
wider gradually from the front end 3b to the rear end 3f. This
is because the front end 3b is so easy as to be inserted into
the staple 10, 11 and to fit the sloping member 3 to the staple
10, 11.
FIGS. 5A and 5B show a case where the staple 10 of size
No. 10 and the staple 11 of size between No. 3 and No. 10 are
removed. In this example, the staple 10 of size No. 10 is aimed
at stapling the bundle of paper of about 10 sheets and stipulates
that the width of the crown portion 10a is about 9.5 mm and the
length of the leg 10b is about 5.0 mm. The staple 11 of size
between No. 3 and No. 10 is aimed at stapling the bundle of paper
of about 40 sheets and stipulates that the width of the crown
portion 11a is about 11.5 mm and the length of the leg lib is
about 6.0 mm.
When pushing the sloping member 3 forward toward a
direction of an arrow Ql shown in FIG. 5A with the front end
3b of the sloping member 3 being inserted between the crown
portion 10a of the staple 10 stapled in the bundle of paper and
the top paper of the bundle of paper, the sloping member 3
removes the staple 10 almost perfectly at a position PI of the
slope portion 3a. In this moment, since a width of the sloping
member 3 is almost similar to the width of the crown portion
10a of the staple 10, the staple 10 is fitted to the sloping
member 3 so that a behavior of the staple 10 can become stable.
When pushing the sloping member 3 forward toward a
direction of the arrow Ql shown in FIG. 5A with the front end
3b of the sloping member 3 being inserted between the crown
portion 11a of the staple 11 stapled in the bundle of paper and
the top paper of the bundle of paper, the sloping member 3
removes the staple 11 almost perfectly at a position P2 of the
slope portion 3a. In this moment, since a width of the sloping
member 3 is almost similar to the width of the crown portion
11a of the staple 11, the staple 11 is fitted to the sloping
member 3 so that a behavior of the staple 11 can become stable.
It is to be noted that the sloping member 3 has a margin 3m,
which can cope with any staples each having a size larger than
that of the staple 11 of size between No. 3 and No. 10.
The following will describe an example of removing the
staple by the rotary mechanism with reference to FIGS. 6A and
6B. About 5 through 40 sheets of paper constitute the bundle
of paper 30 shown in FIG. 6A and the staple 11 of size between
No. 3 and No. 10 staples the bundle of paper 30. A user inserts
the inserting member 6 between the crown portion 11a of the
staple 11 and a surface of the top paper of the bundle of paper
30 while he or she holds the operating handle 2.
The user pushes down the operating handle 2 after the
inserting member 6 is inserted between the crown portion 11a
of the staple 11 and the surface of the top paper of the bundle
of paper 30. When pushing down the operating handle 2, the base
member 1 pushes the bundle of paper 30 and the inserting member
6 rotates around the shaft 4 (see FIG. 3B) and rises up as shown
in FIG. 6B so that the staple 11 is removed from the bundle of
paper 30. In this moment, the inserting member 6 holds the staple
11 together with a holding portion 9c of the link member 9
therebetween. Thus, the staple 11 is removed from the bundle
of paper 30.
The following will describe an example of removing the
staple by the slide mechanism with reference to FIGS. 7A and
7B. About 2 through 4 sheets of paper constitute the bundle of
paper 31 shown in FIG. 7A and the staple 11 of size between No.
3 and No. 10 staples the bundle of paper 31. The user inserts
the front end 3b of the sloping member 3 between the crown
portion 11a of the staple 11 and a surface of the top paper of
the bundle of paper 31 while he or she holds the base member
1. In this moment, the user inserts the front end 3b of the
sloping member 3 from a direction diagonal to the surface of
the top paper of the bundle of paper 31 between the crown portion
11a of the staple 11 and a surface of the top paper of the bundle
of paper 31. Since the front ends le, le of the first and second
pushing parts la, lb include inclined portions Id, Id (see FIG.
2B) , these front ends le, le do not come into contact with the
surface of the top paper of the bundle of paper 31. This enables
the front end 3b of the sloping member 3 to be easily inserted
between the crown portion 11a of the staple 11 and a surface
of the top paper of the bundle of paper 31.
The user slides the sloping member 3 to push it forward
after the front end 3b of the sloping member 3 has been inserted
between the crown portion 11a of the staple 11 and the surface
of the top paper of the bundle of paper 30. When pushing the
sloping member 3 forward, the first and second pushing parts
la, lb of the base member 1 pushes the bundle of paper 31 and
the sloping member 3 lifts the staple 11 along the slope portion
3a to remove the staple 11 from the bundle of paper 31. Thus,
the staple 11 is removed from the bundle of paper 30.
FIG. 8 shows the staple remover 100, seen from the rear
end thereof, in which the sloping member 3 removes the staple
11 stapled in the bundle of paper 31 from the bundle of paper
31. In this example, when the sloping member 3 removes the staple
11 stapled in the bundle of paper 31, the tapered paper-flexing
portions lc, lc of the base member 1, shown in FIG. 8, may flex
the bundle of paper 31, which has been lifted upward together
with the staple 11. This allows any excessive force applied to
the bundle of paper 31 to be escaped, thereby avoiding the bundle
of paper 31 from being teared when removing the staple 11.
Thus, according o the staple remover 100 of the invention,
it is possible to remove the staple by the inserting member 6
provided on the front end of the operating handle 2 pivoted on
the base member 1 and it is also possible to remove the staple
by the sloping member 3 having the slope portion 3a.
The staple remover 100 having such a configuration may
removes the staple from the bundle of paper of the large number
of sheets by lifting upward the inserting member 6 provided on
a front end of the operating handle 2. The staple remover 100
also may remove the staple from the bundle of paper of the small
number of sheets by sliding the sloping member 3 forward. Thus,
one staple remover 100 may accurately remove any of the staple
that staples the bundle of paper of the small number of sheets
and the staple that staples the bundle of paper of the large
number of sheets.
The invention is very preferably applicable to a staple
remover that removes the staple from a material such as a bundle
of paper that is stapled by the staple. While the foregoing
specification has described preferred embodiment(s) of the
present invention, one skilled in the art may make many
modifications to the preferred embodiment without departing
from the invention in its broader aspects. The appended claims
therefore are intended to cover all such modifications as fall
within the true scope and spirit of the invention.

We Claims:-
What is claimed is:
1.A staple remover for removing a staple, characterized
in that the staple remover comprises:
a base member;
an operating handle pivoted on the base member;
a first staple-removing member that removes the staple
by pushing down the operating handle to lift up a crown portion
of the staple, the first staple-removing member being attached
to a front end of the operating handle; and
a second staple-removing member that contains a slope
portion having a slope which increases in level from a front
end of the second staple-removing member to a rear end thereof
and that removes the staple by being slid under the crown portion
of the staple, the second staple-removing member being attached
to the base member.
2. The staple remover according to Claim 1, characterized
in that the base member contains a forked shape and includes
first and second pushing parts that push a material;
the second staple-removing is disposed between the first
and second pushing parts; and
at least one of the first and second pushing parts contains
a material-flexing portion that flexes the material, on a bottom
thereof that pushes the material, the material-flexing portion
being tapered at a side of the first or second pushing part,
the side opposing the second staple-removing member.
3. The staple remover according to Claim 2, characterized
in that front ends of the first and second pushing parts and
a front end of the second staple-removing member are almost
aligned; and
at least one of the front ends of the first and second
pushing parts includes an inclined portion.