DEVICE FOR REMOVING A STAPLE FROM A STAPLED BUNDLE OF SHEETS

Abstract: Device for removing a staple (34) from a stapled bundle of sheets (35) by moving the bundle (35) over a supporting element (10) past a staple removing strip (25). The strip (25) extends above the supporting element (10) at a small acute angle therewith and is fixed to an arm (18) which is rotatably mounted on a shaft (17) positioned at the side of the strip (25) facing away from the acute angle and below the supporting element (10). The strip (25) is moved upwards when a stapled bundle of sheets (35), with the legs of the staple (34) facing downwards, is fed between the supporting element (10) and a wedge-like tapering end (27) of the strip (25), which end (27) presses onto the supporting element (10). When in this way the staple (34) is positioned in front of the wedge-­ like tapering end (27) of the strip (25), the bundle (35) is pulled towards the strip (25), the end (27) of the strip (25) penetrating between the crown of the staple (34) and the bundle (35) and the staple (34) thereafter being pulled out of the bundle (35). The pulled-out staple (34) drops in a receiving tray (6) formed beneath the supporting element (10).

Description: This invention relates to a device for removing a staple from a stapled bundle of sheets, which device comprises a strip provided with an end projecting freely and tapering at least partly like a wedge, which end can be inserted between the bundle and the staple present therein. In addition to hand machines for removing staples from stapled bundles, there are automatically operating machines provided with gripping means, in which machines a stapled bundle can be positioned, whereupon the gripping means pull the staple out of the positioned bundle. Such machines have the drawback, however, that they only work smoothly when removing staples from bundles stapled at a fixed location. In practice, however, bundles stapled by hand machines do also occur, with the possibility of course, that the location where the staple is introduced into the bundle can vary widely. To make these well-known machines suitable for removing staples from bundles stapled by hand, they would have to be provided with a detection system for detecting the location of the staple in the bundle and with a positioning system for putting the gripping means in the proper position relative to the staple. This results in complicated and, consequently, costly devices. There is a need for simple devices for removing staples from bundles of stapled sheets, for example for removing staples from a stapled bundle of originals, in order to be able to process these originals automatically on a copying machine fitted with an automatic originals exchanger. Such a simple device is known from the European Patent 0 106 381. It describes a copying machine the top of which has a cavity in which a strip is provided, the top of said strip being situated largely in the same plane as the top of the copying machine. For removing a staple from a stapled bundle the operator has to position the bundle, with the bent-over legs of the staple facing upwards, on the strip in such a way that the staple is situated just in front of the wedge-shaped end and, subsequently, he has to pull the bundle towards the strip. When effecting this pulling movement it may happen readily that the wedge-shaped end of the strip does not penetrate between the staple and the lowermost sheet but rushes past the bundle. True, this inconvenience can be avoided by manually pressing the bundle, when the pulling movement is started, on the wedge-shaped end of the strip, but this manipulation has the drawback that the bundle may be pressed askew on the wedge-shaped end, with the risk that this end can penetrate into the bundle and the bundle can be damaged. Another drawback of exerting pressure manually on the bundle lies in that only the other hand is free to effect the pulling movement. As a result, it is difficult to pull the bundle controllably, in a straight movement over the strip. Pressing manually on the staple during the pulling movement has the additional drawback that the rising ends of the staple may penetrate into the hand and cause injuries. The object of the invention is to provide a simple device for removing a staple from a stapled bundle of sheets, which does not have the drawbacks mentioned above. In accordance with the invention this object is attained in that the device referred to in the outset is provided with a supporting element having a contact surface on which the wedge-like tapering end of the strip is pressed at an acute angle of at most 20°, and with fastening means which connect the strip movably to the supporting element in order to be able to insert the bundle, on the side of the acute angle, between the supporting element and the wedge-like tapering end of the strip, and to pull the bundle back. Thus it is attained that for removing a staple from a stapled bundle of sheets the bundle can be held by both hands all the time, and that positioning of the bundle in front of the wedge-shaped end of the strip and pulling at the positioned bundle to remove the staple, can be performed simply and reliably. In a device according to the invention the supporting element is preferably arranged in a fixed position with the contact surface under the wedge-like tapering end of the strip, and the strip presses on the supporting element by spring force and/or by gravity. In this way it is achieved that the bundle can be easily inserted bet ween the supporting element and the strip, the position of the staple relative to the wedge-like tapering end of the strip always remaining properly visible from above. In an attractive embodiment of the device the said fastening means comprise an arm and a shaft, which arm has one end rigidly attached to the strip, is bent over the strip and extends as far as that side of the strip that faces away from the acute angle and to below the level of the contact surface where it has the other end rotatably mounted on the shaft which intersects the strip at a right angle and is fitted at a fixed location with respect to the supporting element. This embodiment offers the advantage that the angle between the strip and supporting element decreases with the thickness of the bundle of sheets placed between the strip and supporting element. Thus it is attained that just thin bundles, which are most sensitive to damage due to a penetrating strip, run a reduced risk of being damaged because in these cases the strip is practically parallel to the paper surface. Other features and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description of an embodiment of a device according to the invention, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Fig. 1 is a top view of a device according to the invention, Fig. 2 is a section according to line II-II in Fig. 1 and Fig. 3 is a perspective view of another device according to the invention. The device represented in Figs. 1 and 2 comprises an oblong block 1, the top of which has a bevelled short side 2, hereinafter referred to as front side, and a short side 3, hereinafter referred to as rear side. Near rear side 3, holes 4 have been provided in the block 1 for fitting it detachably on a stand (not shown), e.g. a copying machine. The top of block 1 has two oblong cavities 6 and 7 provided one behind the other. A first oblong cavity 6 having a flat base 8, extends from near front side 2 of block 1 past the middle of block 1 and constitutes a receiving tray for staples. The front wall 8a of cavity 6 and the flat base 8 include an angle of about 120°; the remaining walls of cavity 6 are inclined at right angles to base 8 and to one another. A supporting element 10 in the form of a plate is secured by one end 11 onto the ridge 9 between the two cavities 6 and 7. The supporting element 10 extends from end 11 over the middle of cavity 6 as far as just in front of wall 8a. The freely projecting end 12 of the supporting element 10 is slightly bent downwards. The top side of the supporting element 10 has a smooth surface which is largely situated in the same plane as the top side of the block 1. End 11 of supporting element 10 is provided with a recess 13, as a result of which the top surface of this end has an approximately 0.5 mm lower level than the top surface 14 of the rest of the supporting element 10. Thus, the difference in level corresponds with the thickness of the wire generally used for staples. The transition between the lower-levelled top surface of recess 13 and the higher-levelled top surface 14 is formed by a surface 15 which is perpendicular to the top surface 14 of the supporting element 10. A shaft 17, which extends through the second cavity 7 in a direction being transverse to the longitudinal direction of the supporting element 10, is fitted in block 1. An arm 18 consists of an L-shaped part, having a short leg 19 and a long leg 20, and an U-shaped part 21, adjoining the long leg 20. The end of the short leg 19 is rotatably mounted about shaft 17. The long leg 20 of arm 18 extends above cavity 6 and is provided with a window 23 situated above the supporting element 10. In the facing downwards portion of the U-shaped part 21 a hole 22 is formed which is situated above cavity 6. A strip 25 is secured with one end 26 to the bent plate part 21. The lower sides of strip 25 and part 21 have smooth surfaces which adjoin one another. The freely projecting end 27 of strip 25 tapers wedge-like. Here, "wedge-like" tapering is understood to mean that the top side and lower side of the strip taper to each other like a wedge. This does not necessarily imply that the thichness of the strip material should decrease. The decrease in "thickness" can also be realized by bent-over edges of which the height decreases. It is not necessary for the freely projecting end to taper wedge-like as far as the edge. A strip, the "thickness" of which decreases to within a short distance (e.g. 10 mm) from the edge and then remains constant, as represented in Fig. 2, is also useful. As shown in Fig. 1 the side edges of strip 25 blend smoothly into each other. Starting from the wedge-like tapering end 27, the width of the strip gradually increases over a relatively long part and decreases again at a later stage. The thickness of strip 25 gradually increases from about 0.5 mm at the wedge-shaped end 27. If no bundle of sheets is present, the wedge-like tapering end will be in contact with top surface 14 of the supporting element 10 at a location which is close to the edge formed by surface 15. In the top surface of strip 25, near the wedge-shaped end 27, a cavity is formed, in which a lip 28 is disposed which by spring force can be kept in a position in which the lip 28 projects above strip 25 and which, against the action of the spring, can be pressed in a position in which the lip 28 does not longer project above the strip 25. Fitting round shaft 17 is a pre-compressed helical spring 30 provided with projecting ends, one end pressing on the bottom of cavity 7, the other being secured to arm 18 for forcing it down. Two L-shaped arms 31 and 32 are formed on block 1, the long legs of which extend on both sides of leg 20 of arm 18 and at some distance above the block 1. The distance between the long legs of these arms 31 and 32 and the top side of block 1 defines the maximum thickness of the bundle that can be processed in the device. The device operates as follows: To remove a staple 34 from a stapled bundle of sheets 35, the bundle, with the bent-over legs of the staple 34 facing downwards, is slid at the front side of the device over block 1 into the opening formed between the block 1 and the bent-over part 21 of arm 18, as indicated in the Figures by arrow A. When the bundle is pushed through, arm 18 will be forced up against the action of spring 30, and thus rotates about shaft 17. The bundle 35 is then positioned by hand in such a way that the staple 34, being visible through window 23, is located in front of the wedge-like tapering end 27 of the strip 25. The wedge-shaped end 27, too, is visible through the window 23. In this position of the bundle 35, represented in the Figures, the bent-over legs of staple 34 are located in the recess of the supporting element formed by the surfaces 13 and 15 and the crown of the staple 34 lies in front of end 27 of the strip 25. Now the operator pulls the bundle 35 in a direction, indicated in the Figures by arrow B, which is opposite to the direction of feeding the bundle. In this operation the legs of the staple will initially catch behind the raised edge 15, while the wedge-shaped end 27 of strip 25 is capable of penetrating between the crown of the staple and the uppermost sheet of the bundle. It may occur, however, that the end 27 of strip 25, instead of penetrating between staple and bundle, strikes the crown of the staple. Due to the fact that the legs of the staple abut the raised edge 15 at that moment, it is prevented in latter case that the staple is tilted by the pulling force, by which the crown of the staple would be pulled more tightly against the bundle and it would become still more difficult to bring end 27 of strip 25 between the staple and the bundle. In removing the staples from thin bundles, in the absence of the raised edge 15 such a tilting could easily occur, because bundles of that kind offer little resistance to such a tilting. Moreover, since thin bundles tend to tear more readily, they would be pulled to pieces easily in the absence of the edge 15. When the crown of the staple is pulled over the strip, upon continuing pulling operation, the staple can be drawn easily over the raised edge 15, because of the slight height of the raised ege 15. On continuing the movement of the bundle in the direction of pulling, the strip 25 pulls the staple 34 out of the bundle 35, the staple legs being bent straight. In doing so the staple 34 slides over the strip, while lip 28 is depressed, until the staple is released from the bundle. Staple 34 then has passed lip 28. Staple 34 still hangs on strip 25, in which situation lip 28, sprung upwards again, prevents the staple from sliding back towards the wedge-shaped end 27, whereupon the bundle can be removed freely from the device. On removal of subsequent staples the removed staples press against the first staple, with the result that it finally reaches end 26 of the strip and, through opening 22, drops into the receiving tray formed by cavity 6. The receiving tray can easily be emptied by detaching the device from the stand and reversing it. In so doing, arm 28 together with strip 25 will swing downwards, so that the collected staples can drop freely out of the receiving tray. The device represented in Fig. 3 comprises an oblong block 40 having at the top thereof an oblong cavity 41. A supporting element 42 is secured to the block 40 in the cavity near the middle of a long side of the cavity. The top side of the supporting element 40 has the same characteristics as the top side of the supporting element 10 shown in figures 1 and 2 and accordingly also has a transition edge 43 which is similar to the edge 15 shown in Fig. 1. A shaft 44 is fitted at a fixed location with respect to the block 40, extending through the cavity near a short rear wall 45 thereof in a direction transverse to the longitudinal direction of the cavity 41. A U-shaped arm 46 having legs 47 and 48 is rotatably mounted to the shaft 44 at the free end of leg 47. Leg 47 extends from the mounted end over the cavity at the long side of the cavity opposite to the long side at which the supporting element 42 is secured, thereby not covering the top side of the supporting element 42. The other leg 48 of the U-shaped arm 46 adjoines the leg 47 near the short front wall of the cavity which is opposite to the short rear wall 45. The leg 48 forms the staple removing strip. The strip 48 extends from the bent portion of the arm 46 longitudinally over the cavity towards the supporting element 42; thereby forming a small acute angle with the top side of the supporting element 42. The wedge-like tapering end of the strip 48 will be in contact with the top side of the supporting element and the extreme end of the strip 48 projects approximately 1 mm beyond the transition edge 43 of the supporting element 42. The thickness of the strip 48 gradually decreases from 6 mm at a distance of 37 mm from the free end of the strip 48 to 1 mm at a distance of 7 mm from said end, remains nearly constant up to 3 mm from said free end and then further decreases to 0.4 mm at the extreme end. The width of the strip 48 gradually decreases from 11 mm at a distance of 37 mm from the free end, to 9 mm at a distance of 7 mm from said end. The free end is rounded with a radius of 4 mm. The device shown in Fig. 3 is compact and works in almost the same way as the device shown in Figures 1 and 2, except that the staples captured by the strip 48 have to be periodically removed from the strip by moving said staples towards the free end.

Claims: 1. A device for removing a staple (34) from a stapled bundle (35) of sheets, comprising a strip (25) with an end projecting freely and tapering at least partly like a wedge, which end can be inserted between the bundle and the staple present therein, characterised in that the device is provided with a supporting element (10) having a contact surface (14), on which the wedge-like tapering end (27) of the strip (25) is pressed at an acute angle of at most 20°, and with fastening means (1, 17, 18) which connect the strip (25) movably to the supporting element (10) in order to be able to insert the bundle (35), on the side of the acute angle, between the supporting element (10) and the strip (25) and to pull the bundle back. 2. A device according to claim 1, characterised in that the supporting element (10) is arranged in a fixed position with the contact surface (14) under the wedge-like tapering end (27) of the strip (25) and in that the strip (25) presses on the supporting element (10) by spring force and/or by gravity. 3. A device according to claim 2, characterised in that the fastening means comprise an arm (18) and a shaft (17), which arm has one end rigidly attached to the strip (25), is bent over the strip and extends as far as the edge of the strip that faces away from the acute angle and to below the level of the contact surface where it has the other end rotatably mounted on the shaft (17) which intersects the strip at a right angle and is fitted at a fixed location with respect to the supporting element. 4. A device according to claim 3, characterised in that in the part bent over the strip the arm (18) is provided with a window (23) through which the wedge-like tapering end (27) of the strip is visible. 5. A device according to claim 2, 3 or 4, characterised in that near the wedge-like tapering end (27) the top surface of the strip (25) is provided with a lip (28) which projects above the strip. 6. A device according to claim 2, characterised in that the fastening means (40, 44, 46) comprise an arm (47) and a shaft (44), said arm having one end rigidly attached to the strip (48), said arm having an elongated portion which extends alongside the strip and at a level lying above the strip, said arm (47) having another end rotatably mounted on the shaft (44), which shaft (44) intersects the strip (48) at a right angle and is fitted at a fixed location with respect to the supporting element (42). 7. A device according to any one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the supporting element (10) is provided with a shallow recess (13) which is situated near the place where the wedge-like tapering end (27) of the strip (25) can come in contact with the contact surface (14) of the supporting element (10).

Inventors: KNIPPELS, ANTONIUS ADRIANUS, VAN GERWEN, THOMAS THEODOR CORNELIS
Applicants: OCE-NEDERLAND B.V.
Application year: 1988
Main classification: B25C11
IPC codes: B25C11