Clincher

Abstract: 1. A staple clincher for folding a pair of legs of a generally U-shaped extending through an article comprising a pair of first stationary wall members, a pair of second stationary wall members disposed in parallel spaced, opposed relation to said first stationary wall members, respectively, to form a folding space between each of said opposed first and second walls receiving each leg of the staple, said folding spaces being laterally offset from but immediately adjacent to each other; and a clincher means movable relative to said pairs of first and second wall members for folding the staple legs received in said folding spaces, each said first stationary wall member having at its upper portion an inclined surface for guiding a leg of the staple into said respective folding space, said clincher means having a flat surface for engagement with the staple legs and being movable in such a manner that said flat surface is movable from an inoperative position disposed below a lower end of said inclined surface of each said first stationary wall member to an operative position close to an upper end face of each said second stationary wall member whereby the clinched staple legs are disposed substantially immediately adjacent each other.

Description: BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention is a divisional application to parent application EP-88 121 814.3 (0 322 906) and relates to a clincher for a driven stapler for performing stapling operations and more particularly to a power-driven stapler in which unformed staple elements are automatically fed successively by a power motor to a staple forming and driving unit so that each staple element is formed into a U-shaped staple and then is driven through an article to be stapled. The type of power-driven or electrically-actuated stapler in which each unformed staple element is formed into a U-shaped staple and then is driven through an article such as sheets of paper is disclosed in U.S. Patent No. 4,623,082, owned by the assignee of the present invention. Such conventional electric stapler employs an electric motor as drive means and actuating links which are driven by the motor. A staple forming and driving unit connected to one end of the actuating links through respective springs as well as a magazine are vertically moved so as to drive each staple through the article to be stapled. A predetermined number of unformed staple elements are adhesively bonded together in the form of a sheet, and a plurality of such sheets are stacked one upon another within a staple cartridge. The stack of staple element sheets are sequentially fed toward the staple forming and driving unit by an endless belt serving as a staple feeder, with the lowermost sheet being fed out first, so that each staple element is formed into a U-shape and then driven through the article to be stapled. Then, the legs of the U-shaped staple extending through the work are folded by a clinching means. EP-A 0200485 describes a staple clincher for folding a U-shaped staple. This clincher comprises a first pair of wall members and a separating wall. This separating wall forms in combination with the first pair of wall members two folding spaces, each of which receives a leg of a staple. These folding spaces are laterally and parallel offset. Furthermore, clincher means are provided which are movable from an inoperative position to an operative position. The clincher means have top surfaces for guiding each leg of a staple into the correct position. The separating wall is provided to prevent overlapping of the end of the staple legs. However, this separating wall increases the thickness of the clincher mechanism and therefore of the staple clincher. U.S. Patent No. 4,593,847 discloses a typical example of clincher devices of the type in which a pair of legs of a stapler extending through an article to be stapled are folded or bent against the back side of the article in parallel relation to each other. In such a clincher device, movable clincher members for pressing the staple legs against the back side of the article have recesses or grooves for receiving the staple legs. Therefore, the staple legs fail to be firmly pressed against the article at a final portion of the clinching operation, so that the folded or clinched staple legs are spaced from the back side of the article, which results in a relatively loose stapling. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is therefore an object of this invention to provide a clincher device capable of folding staple legs against the back side of an article to be stapled in parallel relation. According to the present invention, there is provided a staple clincher for folding a pair of legs of a generally U-shaped extending through an article comprising a pair of first stationary wall members, a pair of second stationary wall members disposed in parallel spaced, opposed relation to said first stationary wall members, respectively, to form a folding space between each of said opposed first and second walls receiving each leg of the staple, said folding spaces being laterally offset from but immediately adjacent to each other; and a clincher means movable relative to said pairs of first and second wall members for folding the staple legs received in said folding spaces, each said first stationary wall member having at its upper portion an inclined surface for guiding a leg of the staple into said respective folding space, said clincher means having a flat surface for engagement with the staple legs and being movable in such a manner that said flat surface is movable from an inoperative position disposed below a lower end of said inclined surface of each said first stationary wall member to an operative position close to an upper end face of each said second stationary wall member whereby the clinched staple legs are disposed substantially immediately adjacent each other. The subclaims refer to preferred embodiments of the invention Any objects and/or advantages concerning the electric stapler can be derived from parent application EP 88 121 814.3 being also subject of the present divisional application if they are not yet mentioned herein. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Fig. 1(a) is a side-elevational view of the electric stapler provided in accordance with the present invention in an unstapling position. Fig. 1(b) is a side-elevational view of the electric stapler in accordance with the present invention in a stapling position. Fig. 2 is a partially exploded, perspective view of the electric stapler in accordance with the present invention; Figs. 3(a) is a side-elevational view of the electric stapler in accordance with the present invention; Fig. 3(b) is a side-elevational view of the electric stapler in accordance with the present invention. Fig. 4 is a partially cross-sectional, side-elevational view of a staple supply device of the electric stapler; Figs. 5(a) and (b) are fragmentary views of the staple supply device, showing the feeding of a sheet of staple elements; Fig. 6 is a perspective view of a clincher device and its drive means of the electric stapler according to the present invention; Fig. 7 is a top plan view of the clincher device; Figs. 8(a), (b), (c) and (d) are cross-sectional views of the clincher device, showing a sequential folding operation of staple legs. Fig. 9 is a top plan view of the staple folded by the clincher device. Figs. 10(a) and (b) are a top plan view and a bottom view of the staple folded by the clincher device. DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION The invention will now be described with reference to the figures in which like references represent like parts throughout. Referring to Figs. 1(a), 1(b) and 2, reference character A denotes an electric stapler according to the invention. A magazine 3 and an actuating link 4 are pivotally mounted at their first ends 4a and 2a respectively on a support shaft 2 mounted on a base 1. The second end 4b of the actuating link 4 is engaged with a staple forming and driving unit 5 mounted on the second end 3b of the magazine 3. The unit 5 has a vertically movable staple driver 5a and a forming member 5b. A pair of connecting rods 6 are disposed on opposite sides of the magazine 3 so that when the connecting rods 6 are vertically moved, the magazine 3 is vertically moved together with the actuating link 4 to drive the staple forming and driving unit 5 so as to staple an article 8 placed on a staple table 7 provided at a front end of the base 1. An engaging slot 9 is provided at a lower portion of the magazine 3, and a connecting shaft 10 mounted on the base 1 is loosely fitted in the engaging slot 9 for movement there along. The upward and downward movements of the magazine 3 are limited by engagement of the connecting shaft 10 with the upper and lower ends of the slot 9, respectively. The connecting rods 6 are connected to the actuating link 4 in intersecting relation thereto. Each connecting rod 6 has a stepped portion or shoulder 11 disposed between an upper portion 6a and an intermediate portion 6b, and an annular lower end portion 12. A cam member 13 having a disc shape is rotatably fitted in the annular portion 12 of each connecting rod 6 so that the rotation of the cam member 12 causes the connecting rod 6 to move vertically, that is, upwardly and downwardly. The pair of disc-shaped cam members 13 are fixedly mounted in an eccentric manner respectively on opposite ends of a drive shaft 14 mounted on the base 1 and extending outwardly from the opposite sides of the base 1. The drive shaft 14 is connected to a motor 15 via a speed reduction device (not shown). The actuating link 4 has a generally vertically-disposed slot 16 formed through the central portion of each of the opposed arms thereof. A threaded pin 17 is loosely fitted in each slot 16 for movement therealong and is secured to the intermediate portion 6b of the connecting rod 6. Thus, each of the connecting rods 6 are loosely connected to the actuating link 4. Alternatively, slot 16 may be formed through the connecting rod 6, and the pin 17 may be secured to the actuating link 4. A spring retaining pin 18 is mounted on the upper end of each connecting rod 6, and a compression coil spring 19 is wound around the connecting rod 6 and acts between the spring retainer pin 18 and the stepped portion 11. When the stapling operation is to be carried out with the electric stapler A, a motor 15 causes the drive shaft 14 to make one rotation. When the drive shaft 14 rotates, the cam members 13 are rotated to move the connecting rods 6 downward, so that the lower end of each compression spring 19 is engaged with a spring receiving portion 20, formed on the upper edge of each arm of the actuating link 4 at the central portion thereof, to urge the link 4 downwardly. As a result, the second end 4b of the actuating link 4 is moved downward, and at the same time, the second end 3b of the magazine 3 is also moved downward. Then, when a staple outlet portion 21 provided at the front lower portion of the magazine 3 is brought into engagement with the article 8 on the staple table 7, the downward movement of the magazine 3 is stopped, but each connecting rod 6 continues to move to its lower dead point. Therefore, the compression spring 19 is further compressed to further move the actuating link 4 downward under the force of the biased compression spring 19, and the staple driver 5a of the staple forming and driving unit 5 connected to the actuating link 4 drives a staple (not shown), loaded into the magazine 3, through the article 8 to effect a stapling operation as shown in Fig. 1(b). After the stapling operation is completed, each connecting rod 6 is returned or moved upward to its initial position, i.e., its upper dead point. Therefore, the spring force of the compression spring 19 is gradually decreased, and the pin 17 is brought into engagement with the upper end of the slot 16 of the actuating link 4 so that the actuating link 4 is returned upward to its upper dead point. As best shown in Figs. 3(a) and 3(b), a tension spring 22 acts between the arm of the actuating link 4 and each connecting rod 6. The tension spring 22 serves to further upwardly move the lower end 5c of the staple driver 5a beyond a predetermined position F in a driver guide path 23, i.e., a staple supply position, after the lower end 5c is returned to this predetermined position F by the movement of the connecting rod 6 through the actuating link 4. The tension spring 22 has tension enough to return the actuating link 4 to a drive initiating position when the driver 5a is returned to the predetermined position F. The staple driver 5a is engaged with the front end 4a of the actuating link 4 so as to be vertically movable reciprocally together with tee actuating link 4 to drive the staple, fed into the driver guide path 23, toward the staple table 7. In addition to the staple forming and driving unit 5 for forming and driving the staple S, the magazine 3 includes a pusher 24 for feeding the staple S into the driver guide path 23. When the motor 15 is driven for rotation, with the article 8 placed on the staple table 7, the driver 5a is moved downward together with the actuating link 4 by the motion converting mechanism, comprising the cam members 13 and the connecting rods 6 through the compression springs 19. As a result, the staple S, fed into the driver guide path 23 of the magazine 3, is driven by the driver 5a downwardly to be extended through the article 8 to effect a stapling operation. When the motor 15 is further rotated after the stapling operation is completed, each connecting rod 6 is moved upward, so that the pin 17 of the connecting rod 6 is brought into engagement with the upper end of the slot 16 of the actuating link 4 as shown in Fig. 3(a) to forcibly move the staple driver 5a upwardly to the staple supply position in the driver guide path 23. When the connecting rod 6 is moved upwardly to this position, the tension of each tension spring 22 becomes greater, and the friction, exerted between the driver 5a and the pusher 24 through the staple S formed by the staple forming member 5b and pushed by the pusher 24, is released, so that the actuating link 4 is moved to the drive initiating position under the bias of the tension springs 22 as shown in Fig. 3(b). As described above, the actuating link 4 is forcibly moved by the connecting rods 6 until the staple driver 5a reaches the pusher 24 disposed in the driver guide path 23, but the further upward movement of the actuating link 4 is effected under the tension of tension springs 22. Therefore, if the staple S is jammed in the driver guide path 23 for some reason, the driver 5a interlockingly engages the jammed staple S, so that there is a large friction therebetween. Therefore, although the staple driver 5a can be upwardly moved by the connecting rods 6 to the predetermined position F in the driver guide path 23, the driver 5a does not move further upwardly but remains in this position since the frictional force is greater than the tension of the tension spring 22. For this reason, subsequent staples S are prevented by the jammed staple S from entering the driver guide path 23. Therefore, even if the motor 15 is energized again to drive the actuating link 4, such subsequent staples S are prevented from entering the driver guide path 23 successively and becoming jammed therein since the staple driver 5a is stopped in the driver guide path 23. The magazine 3 is provided with a cartridge mounting portion 25 as shown in Fig. 4, a lowermost one of sheets of staple elements S (staple sheets) is fed from a staple cartridge 26 mounted on the cartridge mounting portion 25. The staple element at the front or leading edge of this staple sheet is formed into a U-shape by the forming member 5b and fed toward the staple driver 5a. The cartridge 26 includes a hollow accommodating portion 26a of a square cross-section for holding or accommodating therein a plurality of staple sheets in a stacked manner. Each staple sheet is composed of a predetermined number of straight staple elements adhesively bonded together in juxtaposed relation. The accommodating portion 26a has an open bottom 27, and a discharge port portion 28 for discharging the lowermost staple sheet S1 from the accommodating portion 26a. A discharge port 28 is formed below a front wall 26b of the accommodating portion 26a defining one side of the open bottom 27. The cartridge 26 also includes a guide portion 30 formed integrally with and extending perpendicularly from the front wall 26b of the accommodating portion 26a in the direction of feed of the staple sheet. The lower face or underside of the guide portion 30 is arranged in two steps, that is, stepped intermediate front and rear ends thereof as at 33 to provide a front guide surface 32 and a rear guide surface 30a which is disposed at a level above the front guide surface 32. The rear guide surface 30a lies flush with a lower edge of the front wall 26a defining the upper surface 31 of the discharge port portion 28. The front and rear guide surfaces 32 and 30a of the guide portion 30 are interconnected by an inclined surface 33 as shown in Figs. 4 and 5. The rear guide surface 30a of the guide portion 30 extends forwardly from the upper surface 31 of the discharge port portion 28 in coplanar relation thereto and is spaced upwardly from the plane of the front surface 32 a predetermined distance D1 not exceeding a half of the thickness t of the staple (or the staple sheet). The lower face of the guide portion 30 serves to guide the upper face of the staple sheet fed or discharged from the accommodation portion 26a of the cartridge 26 and to hold the staple sheet in contact with a friction surface of an endless belt 29 as later described. The endless belt 29 extends around rotatable rollers 34 and is provided at a lower portion of the cartridge mounting portion 25. The endless belt 29 is made of rubber so that it has an outer friction surface. The lowermost one S1 of the staple sheets accommodated within the accommodating portion 26a of the staple cartridge 26 is in contact with the friction surface of the endless belt 29 through its open bottom 27. When the cartridge 26 is attached to the cartridge mounting portion 25, the distance or space D2 between the single planar surface, which is jointly provided by the upper surface 31 of the discharge port portion 28 and the rear guide surface 30a of the guide portion 30, and that portion of the outer friction surface of the endless belt 29 disposed in facing relation to the cartridge 26 is represented by the following formula: 1/2t ≦ D2 < t Therefore, a small gap or space C ( C = D2 - D1 ) is formed between the front guide surface 32 of the guide portion 30 and that portion of the outer friction surface of the endless belt 29 disposed in facing relation to the cartridge 26. For explanation purposes, ( D2 = 1/2t ) is adopted here in this embodiment. When the staple sheet within the cartridge 26 is to be supplied to the staple forming and driving portion 5, the endless belt 29 is driven for movement around the rollers 34. The lower surface of the lowermost staple sheet S1 received within the cartridge accommodating portion 26a is held in contact with the endless belt 29 through the open bottom 27, and therefore there is exerted a friction therebetween. Since the distance D2 between the friction surface of the endless belt 29 and the above single planar surface provided by the upper surface 31 of the discharge port portion 28 and the rear guide surface 30a of the guide portion 30 is set to a half of the staple thickness t ( D2 = 1/2t ), the force for feeding the staple sheet S1 is very great, so that the sheet S1 is discharged from the discharge port portion 28 as shown in Fig. 5(a). When the staple sheet S1 enters the discharge port portion 28, that is, moves into sliding contact with the upper surface 31 of the discharge port portion 28 and subsequently with the rear guide surface 30a of the guide portion 30, the cartridge 26 is raised or moved upwardly a distance of 1/2t, so that the distance between the front guide surface 32 of the guide portion 30 and the friction surface of the endless belt 29 is increased to a distance C1 ( C1 = 1/2t + C ). The staple sheet S1 is further advanced toward the staple forming and driving portion 5, passes past the inclined portion 33, and is brought into sliding contact with the front guide surface 32 of the guide portion 30 as shown in Fig. 5(b). At this time, the front guide surface 32 and the friction surface of the endless belt 29 cooperate with each other to provide a great feed force for feeding the staple sheet S1. In the case of (1/2t≦D2<t) , the staple sheet S1 is fed in a similar manner. As described above, the lower face of the guide portion 30 is stepped as at 33 nearer to the discharge port portion 28, and the distance between the friction surface of the endless belt 29 and the single planar surface provided by the upper surface 31 of the discharge port portion 28 and the rear guide surface 30a of the guide portion 30 is at least a half of the thickness t of the staple sheet S1. Therefore, the lowermost staple sheet S1 within the cartridge 26 can be discharged therefrom, and in addition a greater feed force is imparted to the staple sheet S1 when the leading edge of the staple sheet S1 passes past the inclined surface 33 of the guide plate 30, so that the staple sheet S1 is further advanced toward the front end of the guide portion 30. Thus, without use of any auxiliary means such as a magnet, a great feed force is obtained since the staple sheet S1 is sufficiently urged against the endless belt by the guide portion 30. Therefore, the staple sheet S1 can be supplied to the predetermined position in a stable manner. In addition, even if the distance C between the front guide surface 32 of the guide portion 30 and the friction surface of the endless belt 29 is less than a half of the thickness t of the staple sheet S1, a positive feed force is obtained. Therefore, extremely strict dimensional accuracies are not required for the outlet portion, and hence very precise processing is not necessitated, which lowers the cost of the manufacture. As shown in Fig. 6, a clincher device B comprises a pair of staple folding means B1 arranged in a point-symmetrical manner. Each staple folding means B1 comprises a first stationary wall member 36, a second stationary wall member 37 disposed in parallel spaced, opposed relation to the first stationary wall member 36 to form a folding space 35 of a predetermined width therebetween, and a movable clincher member 38. The folding space 35 formed between the first and second stationary wall members 36 and 37 has a width substantially equal to the width of the staple S. The two pairs of first and second stationary wall members 36 and 37 are fixedly mounted on side walls 39 of the stapler base 1, respectively. The first stationary wall member 36 has an inclined surface 36a formed on its upper edge and slanting inwardly toward the folding space 35. The movable clincher member 38 is received in the folding space 35 and is pivotally mounted on the first and second stationary wall members 36 and 37 by a pivot pan 40. The upper end face or edge 38a of the movable clincher member 38 is flat and is angularly movable about the pivot pin 40 between a stand-by position at a level lower than the lower end of the inclined surface 36a of the first stationary wall member 36 and a position near the upper end or edge of second stationary wall member 37. The upper end face serves as an active surface for engagement with the staple leg to urge it against the lower or back face of the article 8. The movable clincher member 38 is operated by a clincher actuating link 41 which is operatively connected to the drive shaft 14 for being driven. A slot 41b is formed through one end 41a of the clincher actuating link 41, and the connecting shaft 10 mentioned above is fitted in the slot 41b. A cylindrical cam 42 extends through an intermediate portion 41c of the link 41 as at 41d, the cylindrical cam 42 being fixedly mounted on the drive shaft 14 in eccentric relation thereto. The other end 41e of the link 41 is disposed below an upper arm of each of the movable clincher members 38. The clincher actuating link 41 is engaged with the drive shaft 14 through the cylindrical cam 42 in such a manner as to actuate the clincher members 38 after the legs Sa of the staple extends through the article 8. The pair of folding means B1 disposed symmetrically with respect to a point O as shown in Fig. 7 and constitutes the clinch mechanism of the bypass clinch type. The clincher device B is so designed that the distal end of a respective one of the staple legs Sa extending through the article 8 descends to a region P including the boundary between the inclined surface 36a of the first stationary wall member 36 and folding space 35 of each folding means B1. With this staple clinching device B, each staple leg Sa, caused to pass through the article 8 by the staple driver 5a, descends to the above-mentioned region P where the staple leg Sa is brought into engagement with the inclined surface 36a of the first stationary wall member 36 as shown in Fig. 8(a), and then the staple leg Sa is guided by the inclined surface 36a to be introduced into the folding space 35. Subsequently, each of the movable clincher members 38 held in the stand-by position, is pivotally moved about the pivot pin 40 by the clincher actuating link 41, so that the staple leg Sa in the folding space 35 is slidably moved along and raised by the upper end face 38a of the movable clincher member 38 to be folded inwardly. At this time, the pair of stapler legs Sa are subjected to forces tending to direct them away from each other from the center line of the staple S, that is, forces tending to urge them against the respective second stationary wall members 37. However, since the folding space 35 is substantially equal in width to the staple S, with each second stationary wall member 37 extending to the lower surface of the work 8, each staple leg Sa is prevented by the second stationary wall member 37 from being bent or folded outwardly. The upper end face 38a of the movable clincher member 38 is flat and angularly movable to the position close to the upper end face 37a of the second stationary wall member 37. Therefore, each staple leg Sa is urged until it is brought into engagement with the lower surface of the article 8, which ensures a positive clinching operation. As described above, with the clincher device B according to the invention, the staple S can be folded into the by-pass clinching type as shown in Figs. 10(a) and 10(b).

Claims: A staple clincher for folding a pair of legs of a generally U-shaped staple extending through an article comprising: a pair of first stationary wall members (36) and a clincher means (38), characterised by a pair of second stationary wall members (37) disposed in parallel spaced, opposed relation to said first stationary wall members (36), respectively, to form a folding space (35) between each of said opposed first and second walls (36,37) receiving each leg of the staple (S), said folding spaces (35) being laterally offset from but immediately adjacent to each other; said clincher means (38) being movable relative to said pairs of first and second wall members (36,37) for folding the staple legs received in said folding spaces (35), each said first stationary wall member (36) having at its upper portion an inclined surface (36a) for guiding a leg of the staple (S) into said respective folding space (35), said clincher means (38) having a flat surface (38a) for engagement with the staple legs and being movable in such a manner that said flat surface (38a) is movable from an inoperative position disposed below a lower end of said inclined surface (36a) of each said first stationary wall member (36) to an operative position close to an upper end face of each said second stationary wall member (37) whereby the clinched staple legs are disposed substantially immediately adjacent each other. A clincher as in claim 1, wherein a pair of folding members disposed in a point-symmetrical manner each comprising a first stationary wall member (36) and a second stationary wall member (37) disposed in parallel spaced opposed relation to said first statonary wall member (36) to form a folding space (35) therebetween for receiving the legs of the staple (S); and a clincher member (B) is movable relative to said first and second wall members (36,37) for folding the staple legs disposed in said folding space (35) so as to contact said article (8). A clincher as in claim 2 for use with a staple (S) of a particular width, wherein said first and second stationary wall members (36,37) are disposed generally vertically and said folding space (35) is substantially equal to the width of said staple (S). A clincher as in claim 1, wherein said first stationary wall member (36) includes an inclined surface (36a) for guiding each leg of the staple (S) into said folding space (35). A clincher as in claim 1, wherein said clincher member (38) has an active flat surface (38a) for engagement with the staple leg and is movable in such a manner that said active surface (38a) is movable from an inoperative position disposed below a lower end of said inclined surface (36a) of said first stationary wall member (36) to an operative position proximate to an upper end of said second stationary wall member (37).

Inventors: AKIZAWA NOBUYUKI, KAMEI YASUO, KANAI TOSHIYUKI, KUDO YASUNORI, NEGISHI AKIHITO, OYAMA NOBUAKI, AKIZAWA, NOBUYUKI, KAMEI, YASUO, KANAI, TOSHIYUKI, KUDO, YASUNORI, NEGISHI, AKIHITO, OYAMA, NOBUAKI, Akizawa, Nobuyuki, c/o MAX CO., LTD., Kamei, Yasuo, c/o MAX CO., LTD., Kanai, Toshiyuki, c/o MAX CO., LTD., Kudo, Yasunori, c/o MAX CO., LTD., Negishi, Akihito, c/o MAX CO., LTD., Oyama, Nobuaki, c/o MAX CO., LTD.
Applicants: MAX CO LTD, MAX CO., LTD.
Application year: 1988
Main classification: B27F7
IPC codes: B27F7