US3119112A

US3119112A - Stapler

Info

Publication number: US3119112A
Application number: US2319A
Authority: US
Inventors: Wilbur O Thompson
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1959-12-23
Filing date: 1959-12-23
Publication date: 1964-01-28
Anticipated expiration: 1981-01-28

Description

Jan. 28, 1964 w. o. THOMPSON STAPLER Original Filed May 16. 1957 IN VEN TOR. WM BM? 0. THWMP 50w A. 7' TORNE Y United States Patent 3,119,112 STAPLER Wilbur 0. Thompson, 815 S. 2nd St, De Kalb, Ill. on tinuatian of abandoned application Ser. No. 659,521,

May 16, 1957. This application Dec. 23, 1959, Ser- No. 2,319

6 Claims. (Ql. l-3) This application is a continuation of my copending application, Serial No. 659,521, filed May 16, 1957 and now abandoned.

This invention relates to staplers, and is more particularly concerned with a stapler of improved design having the staples in the strip and the striker blade for application thereof arranged at 45 to the longitudinal center line of the device to enable applying staples on the fold line of a pamphlet with much greater ease and facility and without necessitating any drastic change in its dimensions or in its general design and construction otherwise.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying dra ing, in which:

FIG. 1 is a side view of a stapler made in accordance with my invention;

FIG. 2 is a horizontal section on the line 2-2 of FIG. 1, showing the stapler substantially full size;

FIG. 3 is a side view of FIG. 2 showing the lower portion in longitudinal section on the line 33 thereof;

P16. 4 is a plan view or" a portion of a strip of staples, shown approximately double size, and

PEG. 5 is a diagrammatic plan view showing the kind of operation for which this stapler is especially designed, although it will soon appear that its special design does not interfere with its being used for other stapling generally.

The same reference numerals are applied to corresponding parts throughout the views.

Referring to the drawing, the reference numeral 6 designates the stapler of my invention having the striker blade 7 thereof and the staples 8 in a strip in a magazine in the cover 9 arranged at 45 to the longitudinal center line ab of the stapler. Depressions 10 in the anvil 1-1. on the base 12 for clinching the ends of the legs of the staples in the usual way are also arranged on a 45 line in register with striker blade 7. This is all to enable much easier application of staples on the fold line cd of a pamphlet 13, as shown in FIG. 5, without sacrificing uiy of the staplers usefulness for the usual ordinary stapling. Index projections 14 and 15 may be provided on opposite sides of the cover 9 on the 45 line e to facilitate placing the stapler more accurately in proper position across the fold line c-d, although a similar result can be obtained by providing a 45 index mark on top of the head 16, as indicated at 3 in FIG. 5, corresponding precisely to the position of staple 3 in FIG. 5, or, if desired, both the index projections 14l5 and the index mark 8 may be provided. The cover 9 is pivoted in the usual way at 1-7 with respect to a supporting bracket ll; provided on the base 12, and a leaf spring 19', fixed to the base 12 at one end, as at 20, slidably engages the bottom of the cover 9 and magazine 29 and normally holds the cover raised as shown, the cover being arranged to be depressed by hand pressure on head 16, the striker 7 being operated at the end of the down-stroke to shear off the end staple 8 from the strip of staples and apply it in the usual way, the spring there-after returning the cover to its normal retracted position.

Very little change in the construction of the conventional stapler is necessary to incorporate the present invention, as can easily be seen in FIGS. 2 and 3. 21 designates the fixed end plate of the magazine 29 which can Patented Jan. 28, lllfi l be of any suitable conventional design, having in this case a guide rod 22 extending lengthwise thereof inside the cover 9 and rigidly connected at its front end to a vertical shear plate 23 disposed in closely spaced fixed parallel relationship to a fixed vertical guide plate 24, both plates being disposed at an angle of 45 to the center line ab and providing a guideway 25 therebetween in the vertical plane of line ef for operation therein of the lower end portion of the striker blade 7. Thus, the follower plate 26, which is guided, as indicated at 27, on red 22, and is urged forwardly by the coiled compression spring 23 mounted on the rod 22 and caged between the end plate 21 and follower plate 26, holds the strip of staples 8 in engagement with guide plate 24-, so that the endm-ost staple will be sheared oh upon each operation of the stapler. The cover 9 is swingable up out or" the way to afford access to the magazine 29 for insertion of a strip of staples, in the usual .way. The

staples forming the strip 8 are cemented together in the usual Way, the only difference from the conventional strip of staples for the conventional stapler being that each staple is disposed in a plane at 45 to the longitudinal center line g-h of the strip, as indicated in FIG. 4. The individual staples may be of the same length as the conventional staples, or longer if desired. The strip of staples is guided in the magazine 29 by slidable engagement of the ends of the legs of the staples on longitudinally extending shoulders 39, so that the 45 positioning of the staples in the strip does not affect the accuracy of operation at all, the striker blade '7 striking the end-most staple in each and every operation in precisely the same Way.

In operation, the stapler 6 is placed at an angle of 45 to the top or bottom edges of the paper in a pamphlet 13, as seen in full lines in FIG. 5, and shifted laterally to bring the index projections l4'l5 on the cover 9 in register with the fold line cd, or to bring the index mark 3 on the head 16 on said line, whereupon the head 16 is struck to apply the staple 3. A repetition of this operation at the other end of the stapler, as indicated in dotted lines in FIG. 5, finishes the job, and it is obvious both staples are easily applied without any need for folding the paper in order to get the stapler in position. The finished pamphlet is therefore free of objectionable creases. The stapler can be used for ordinary stapling with just as much convenience as any conventional stapler, so the present invention adds greatly to the usefulness of these devices. There is very little, an additional cost involved in the manufacture of this stapler and its strips of staples as compared with the ordinary devices and the ordinary strips of staples therefor.

It is believed the foregoing description conveys a good understanding of the objects and advantages of my invention. The appended claims have been drawn to cover all legitimate modifications and adaptations.

I. claim:

1. In a portable, hand-operable stapler, adapted for use with preformed staples, a base on which an anvil is provided, a top member in which a striker blade is reciprocable vertically relative to a horizontal staple magazine in said top member to apply staples by cooperation with the anvil, means defining a vertical guide-way in said top member for said striker blade at an angle of 45 to the vertical plane of said top member, said magazine having straight flat parallel side walls having smooth inner faces, said magazine being adapted to receive a strip of staples of U-forrn that are all of a width greater than the space between said side walls and cemented together in face to face relationship with all of the top portions of the staples disposed in the same plane and extending at a 45 angle to the longitudinal centerline of the strip and with all of the legs of the staples at each side of the strip in alignment with one another and disposed in the same plane to provide a staple strip which is flat on its top and has continuous parallel side walls, said strip of staples being adapted to be disposed in the magazine with the side walls of the strip adjacent the inner faces of the side walls of the magazine and with the foremost staple of the strip vertically aligned with the 45 vertical guide-way in said top member, and means in the magazine adapted for feeding the staple strip toward the striker blade guideway, and the inner faces of the side walls of the magazine through contact with the flat side walls of the staple strip operating to guide the strip in its movement to prevent wedging of the strip in the magazine and to assure presentation of the foremost staple in the strip to the guide-way in vertical alignment therewith.

2. For use with a pamphlet the several rectangular pages of which are to be stapled on a median fold line parallel to the opposed longitudinal edges of the pages, a portable, hand-operable stapler adapted for use with preformed staples comprising an elongated base that is short in relation to the Width of the pages of the pamphlet from the fold line to either longitudiani edge, said base having an anvil thereon at one end adapted to be disposed under the pamphlet on said fold line, an elongated cover that is shorter than said base and pivoted at its one end relative to the other end of the base to swing downwardly at its free end over the pamphlet to stapling position, a magazine in the cover adapted to receive a strip of staples slidable therein toward the free end of the cover, and a striker blade reciprocable in the cover by means of a hand operable head to apply the staples one at a time to the pamphlet by cooperation with the anvil, the striker blade, foremost staple in the strip, and anvil being all in a common vertical plane coincident with the aforesaid fold line of the pamphlet and at an angle of approximately 45 with respect to the longitudinal center line of the stapler cover and base to permit approximately 45 angular disposition of the latter relative to said fold line at either end of the pamphlet.

3. A portable, hand-operable stapler as set forth in claim 2 including index marks on opposite sides of the cover disposed in the vertical plane of the striker blade, foremost staple in the strip, and anvil and arranged to be aligned vertically over the fold line of the pamphlet before the staple is applied to insure accuracy in stapling on said line.

4. A portable, hand-operab1e stapler as set forth in claim 2 including an index mark on top of the striker head disposed in the vertical plane of the striker blade, foremost staple in the strip, and anvil and arranged to be aligned vertically over the fold line of the pamphlet before the staple is applied to insure accuracy in stapling on said line.

5. In a portable, hand-operable stapler adapted for use with preformed staples, a base on which an anvil is provided, a top member in which a striker blade is reciprocable vertically relative to a horizontal staple magazine in said top member to apply staples by cooperation with the anvil, means defining a vertical guide-way in said top member for said striker blade at an angle of 45 to the vertical plane of said top member, said magazine having straight flat parallel side walls having smooth inner faces, said magazine being adapted to receive U-shaped staples in the magazine with the side portions thereof adjacent the inner faces of the side walls of the magazine and with the foremost staple vertically aligned with the striker blade in the 45 vertical guide-way in said top member, and means in the magazine for feeding the staples toward the striker blade guide-way.

6. In a portable, handoperable stapler adapted for use Wit 1 preformed staples, an elongated base, an anvil adjacent one end of the base and disposed at a 45 angle to the longitudinal centerline thereof, an elongated top member having a staple magazine longitudinally therein, one end of said top member being pivotally secured to that end of the base remote to the anvil, a vertical guide-way in the top member at that end disposed above the base anvil, said guide-way disposed at a 45 angle to the longitudinal centerline of the top member and in angular coincidence vertically with the anvil, a striker blade recip rocal in said guide-way in opposition to said anvil, and means acting longitudinally of said magazine adapted for moving staples therein toward the guide-way; whereby the base member may be positioned beneath a stack to be sta led at a 45 angle to the longitudinal length thereof and staples may be applied in longitudinal alignment with the length of the stack.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,444,489 Woodaman Feb. 6, 1923 1,811,060 Obstfeld June 23, 1931 1,989,769 Obstfeld Feb. 5, 1935

Claims

1. IN A PORTABLE, HAND-OPERABLE STAPLER, ADAPTED FOR USE WITH PREFORMED STAPLES, A BASE ON WHICH AN ANVIL IS PROVIDED, A TOP MEMBER IN WHICH A STRIKER BLADE IS RECIPROCABLE VERTICALLY RELATIVE TO A HORIZONTAL STAPLE MAGAZINE IN SAID TOP MEMBER TO APPLY STAPLES BY COOPERATION WITH THE ANVIL, MEANS DEFINING A VERTICAL GUIDE-WAY IN SAID TOP MEMBER FOR SAID STRIKER BLADE AT AN ANGLE OF 45* TO THE VERTICAL PLANE OF SAID TOP MEMBER, SAID MAGAZINE HAVING STRAIGHT FLAT PARALLEL SIDE WALLS HAVING SMOOTH INNER FACES, SAID MAGAZINE BEING ADAPTED TO RECEIVE A STRIP OF STAPLES OF U-FORM THAT ARE ALL OF A WIDTH GREATER THAN THE SPACE BETWEEN SAID SIDE WALLS AND CEMENTED TOGETHER IN FACE TO FACE RELATIONSHIP WITH ALL OF THE TOP PORTIONS OF THE STAPLES DISPOSED IN THE SAME PLANE AND EXTENDING AT A 45* ANGLE TO THE LONGITUDINAL CENTERLINE OF THE STRIP AND WITH ALL OF THE LEGS OF THE STAPLES AT EACH SIDE OF THE STRIP IN ALIGNMENT WITH ONE ANOTHER AND DISPOSED IN THE SAME PLANE TO PROVIDE A STAPLE STRIP WHICH IS FLAT ON ITS TOP AND HAS CONTINUOUS PARALLEL SIDE WALLS, SAID STRIP OF STAPLES BEING ADAPTED TO BE DISPOSED IN THE MAGAZINE WITH THE SIDE WALLS OF THE STRIP ADJACENT THE INNER FACES OF THE SIDE WALLS OF THE MAGAZINE AND WITH THE FOREMOST STAPLE OF THE STRIP VERTICALLY ALIGNED WITH THE 45* VERTICAL GUIDE-WAY IN SAID TOP MEMBER, AND MEANS IN THE MAGAZINE ADAPTED FOR FEEDING THE STAPLE STRIP TOWARD THE STRIKER BLADE GUIDE-WAY, AND THE INNER FACES OF THE SIDE WALLS OF THE MAGAZINE THROUGH CONTACT WITH THE FLAT SIDE WALLS OF THE STAPLE STRIP OPERATING TO GUIDE THE STRIP IN ITS MOVEMENT TO PREVENT WEDGING OF THE STRIP IN THE MAGAZINE AND TO ASSURE PRESENTATION OF THE FOREMOST STAPLE IN THE STRIP TO THE GUIDE-WAY IN VERTICAL ALIGNMENT THEREWITH.