Patent ID: 7172007
Filing Date: 2007-02-06
Classification: B42F,B65H,Y10S,Y10T

Abstract:
1. An applicator for applying reinforcing rings about perforations in sheet material comprising: an upright annular frame including a lower skirt portion forming a lower reinforcement cartridge cavity therewithin and an upper grip portion forming an annular plunger cavity directly above said reinforcement cartridge cavity and in coaxial alignment therewith, a plunger mounted in said upright frame for reciprocal movement in said plunger cavity and having a lower extremity with a cartridge-engaging member, a spring biasing said plunger relative to said frame toward a retracted position protruding upwardly from said frame and away from said reinforcement cartridge cavity, a reinforcer ring cartridge including an annular backing plate releaseably attached to said cartridge-engaging member of said plunger, a reinforcer mounting post mounted to said backing member and having a corrugated cylindrical outer surface and a lower tip formed with a plurality of separate, downwardly and radially inwardly directed, resilient deflectable fingers projecting therefrom, and a supply of a plurality of flat, annular reinforcing rings each having an undersurface coated with a pressure-sensitive adhesive and a top surface coated with a release agent stacked atop each other about said reinforcer mounting post, wherein said reinforcing rings are engaged by friction on said corrugated surface of said reinforcer mounting post and are advanced along said reinforcer mounting post toward said lower tip of said mounting post by depression of said plunger by resilient, radially inward flexure of said fingers of said mounting post tip, whereby the lowermost of said reinforcing rings is detached from said reinforcer mounting post when pressed against a flat sheet of material located therebeneath and attached to said flat sheet of material by depression of said plunger against said reinforcer cartridge backing plate.