HAND-HELD DEVICE FOR THE APPLICATION OF A TOTAL TAPE ONTO A SUBSTRATE

Abstract: A hand-held device for applying correction tape (4) on an application surface (20) does only have a supply spool (3) for a stock of the correction tape (4). An applicator element (5), which can be a roller, applies the correction tape (4) in its entirety on the application surface (20). No backing tape or similar is rewound back into the casing. Therefore a second rewinding spool can be omitted. In the vicinity of the application element (5) a cut-off/separating element (10) is provided for cutting off or separating the correction tape (4) when lifting the device (1) of an application surface (20).

Description: HAND-HELD DEVICE FOR THE APPLICATION OF A TOTAL TAPE ONTO A SUBSTRATE Total tape application The present invention relates to a hand-held device for applying on a surface a correction tape having an application side and a write-on side, a correction tape for a hand-held correction device adapted to be used in such a device as well as to a correction tape. Hand-held devices for applying a correction tape on a surface are well known in the prior art. These known devices comprise a casing, in which two spools are housed. One of the spools serves as a supply spool for the correction tape and the second spool serves as a wind up spool for a backing portion of the tape which is fed back into the casing. The correction tape is guided around an application tip which is pressed against an application surface (usually paper) in operation to apply a coating of the correction tape on said surface. Therefore the application element separates the correction coating layer from the backing tape. The correction coating layer is adhesive such as it sticks fixedly on the application surface. At the beginning the known hand-held devices had quite large dimensions such they were quite cumbersome for the user to operate. Therefore there it had always been the general trend to reduce the outer dimensions of the casing of hand-held devices in an ergonomic way. The pen shape is supposed to be ideal as users are used to such a shape. The lower limit for the dimensions of the casing of a hand-held correction device are determined by the size of the spools and the tape dimensions, particularly the length of the tape. As for a commercial product a certain minimum length of the correction tape is required, there are correspondingly lower limits for the dimensions, i. e. the diameter of the spools. Further it is to be noted that due to the fact that according to the prior art a backing tape is used for the correction tape, the thickness of the correction tape can be hardly further reduced. A tape dispenser as described above is for example known from WO97/ 12827. This known tape dispenser has a housing accommodating a tape. The tape consists of a carrier ribbon carrying a coating of a composition. The housing also accommodates used carrier ribbon from which the composition has been removed. The supply of tape is held in elongated rear wound around a pair of space and independently rotatable spool members. In known correction tape dispensers generally separate tape supply and take up spools are provided within the dispenser casing, and the two spools are linked by a drive mechanism so that a tape is drawn for use from the supply spool the take up spool is rotated to wind up the used carrier ribbon. Also, as the rotational speeds of the spools are not the same, some form of clutch mechanism is usually demanded. The need for a clutch mechanism further increases the manufacturing costs which is a disadvantage, especially as most dispensers are intended to be discarded after the initial tape supply has been used up. Because, when first manufactured and used essentially all the tape is carried by the supply spool, whereas at final use the supply spool is empty and all the carrier ribbon is wound onto the take up spool, the respective spools require considerable space within the dispenser body which also serves as a handle for the dispenser during use. Consequently the length of tape which can be supplied in a dispenser is limited if the body is not to become large and, as a result, make the dispenser cumbersome and inconvenient to use. This drawback is especially acute where it is designed to provide a dispenser with a slim elongated body or handle to enable it to be held in similar manner to a way in which a pen or marker is held in the hand. In view of the above prior art it is the object of the present invention to provide for a technique allowing for a dimensional reduction of the casing of a hand-held correction device. The general idea of the invention thereby is to omit the know separation of the correction coating layer and the backing tape ai the application tip. As there is no backing tape separated from the correction coating layer at the application element, there is no requirement for feeding back a backing tape into the casing and therefore the second rewind spool required in the prior art can be omitted. The object of the present invention is achieved by means of the features of the independent claims. The dependent claims develop further the central idea of the present invention. Therefore according to the present invention a hand-held device for applying a correction tape on a surface is provided. The correction tape has an application side and a write-on side. The device comprises a casing housing a stock of the correction tape. An application element extends from an apeπure in the casing to press the correction case supplied from the stock on an application surface during operation of the device. The correction tape is applied in its entirety on the application surface without any feeding back into the casing. The device can comprise a cut-off/separating element in the vicinity of the application element for cutting-off/separating the correction tape once the application operation is completed. The cut-off/separating device is operative when the device is lift off the application surface an inoperative when the device is pressed against the application surface . The cut-off/separating device is positioned slightly behind the contact region of the application element on the application surface. The application element and the cut-off/separating device can be displaceable relatively to each other such that they can assume a first inoperative position in which they are distanced from each other, as well as a second operative position in which they are in contact with each other with the correction tape interposed between. A mechanism can be provided for advancing the correction tape and from a cutoff/separating position to the contact region of the application element before use of the device. The tape advancing mechanism can be operated manually. The application element can be a roller. The bearing axis of the roller can be elastically displaceable in a direction being essentially perpendicular to the application surface in the operation position of the device. In the lift-off state of the device the roller can be biased against the cut-off/separating device. The correction tape can be guided around the portion of the circumference of the roller. The surface of the roller can be such that the correction tape sticks on it in a releasable manner. At least the surface region of the roller can be made of rubber or similar material. The back side of the tape can be such that it sticks on the application element in a releasable manner. The stock of the correction tape can be wound on a supply spool and a braking force can be applied to the supply spool to prevent from a slack of the correction tape, appearing. The bearing of the supply spool can be designed such as the exert a braking force on the supply spool. The supply spool can be arranged on the rear side of the casing. According to another aspect a correction tape for a hand-held device adapted to be used in a device as said forth above is proposed. According to a still other aspect of the present invention a correction tape for a handheld correction device is proposed having a first and a second side, the first side being an adhesive application side and the other side being a write-on side. Additionally a reinforcing intermediate layer can be interposed between the application layer and the write-on layer. Further advantages, objects and features of the present invention will become evident for the man skilled in the art when reading the following detailed description of embodiments of the present invention taken in conjunction with the figures of the enclosed drawings. Fig. la shows an overall sectional view of an embodiment of the present invention, Fig. lb shows a further sectional view of the embodiment of Fig. la, Fig. 2a shows a detailed view of the embodiment of Fig. 1 in an off-lift state of the device, Fig. 2b shows a detailed view of the embodiment of Fig. 1 in a state in which the correction device is pressed against an application surface, Fig. 3 shows schematically a further embodiment of the present invention, and Fig. 4 shows the sandwich layer structure of an embodiment of a correction tape according to the present invention. With reference to Fig. la and Fig. lb a first embodiment of the present invention will be explained. As can be seen from Fig. la a hand-held correction device 1 serves to apply a correction tape 4 by means of an application element, which is a roller 5 according to the embodiment of Fig. 1. A stock of the correction tape 4 is wound on a supply spool 3 which is the only tape carrying spool in the pen shaped casing 2 of the device 1. The supply spool 3 is fixed by means of a bearing 15 in the rear side of the compartment defmed by the casing 2. The tape 4 is guided from the supply spool 3 over a guiding roller 6 to the application roller 5 which extends from an aperture 14 of the casing 2 of the device 1. At the application roller 5 the correction tape 4 is deflected by means of a guiding element 7 such that the correction tape 4 is guided around a substantial poπion of the circumference of the application roller 5 before reaching the contact region P. The contact region P is defined as being the region in which the application roller 5 contacts an application surface when the device 1 is held ergonomically by a user's hand for example in an angle of 45° to the application surface. In the present embodiment the stock of correction tape 4 is wound on the supply spool 3. Alternatively the stock can be provided in any other way, such there is for example in elongated, pressed supply spool as it is known from DE 42 17 294.2. Furthermore, the stock of correction tape 4 can be for example zigzag fold in the rear side of the casing. Therefore according to the present invention it is not even necessary to provide any spool within the casing of the device. Due to the possibility of a complete omission of any spool the dimension of the device can be further reduced. Fig. lc shows such an embodiment according to which the stock 31 of correction tape 4 is housed in a compartment 30 within the casing 2. As can be seen from Fig. lc the stock 31 of correction tape 4 is zigzag fold thus that a supply spool is no longer necessary. A braking force can be applied on the correction tape 4 by means of the braking roller 29 slightly pressing against the guiding roller 6. As it comes clear particularly from Fig la, the device 1 and the tape 4 are designed such that the correction tape 4 can be applied in its entirety by the application roller 5 on an application surface. Note that there is no poπion of the correction tape 4 which is fed back into the casing 2 of the device 1 after the application Neither there is a separation performed by for example the applicator roller 5 to separate a prior an backing tape from the correction layer coating during the application process As it can be seen from Fig. la a hand-held device 1 according to the present invention can be made in the shape and the dimension of for example a usual marker pen. This is due to two reasons The first reason is that the rewinding spool can be omitted The second reason is that due to the fact that by the suppression of the prior art backing tape the thickness of the correction tape 4 can be considerably reduced, the thus resulting diameter of a certain length of the stock of the correction tape 4 wound on the supply spool 3 can be dramatically reduced. From Fig. lb it can be seen that the casing 2 of the device 1 is essentially composed of two portions 18, 19 fitted together during the assembly process. The bearing axis 15 for the supply spool 3 can be an integral part of one of the parts 19 of the casing 2 The reference sign 28 designates the lower edge of the casing m the region of the application roller 5 which is depicted in a broken line. It can be seen that only a portion of the application roller 5 is exposed to the outside of the casing 2 therefore delimiting the contact region P. Instead of the guiding roller 6 shown in Fig. la a guiding element 13 m form of a web as shown in Fig. lb can be provided by congruent extending portions 16 and 17, respectively, of the first and second half 18, 19 of the casing 2 In the modification according to Fig. lb the correction tape 4 is also led around the guiding web 13 before it reaches the applicator roller 5. In Fig lb furthermore the cylindrical axis 11 of the roller 5 can be seen Details of the applicator element according to the present invention is now be explained with reference to Fig 2a and 2b As can be seen in these figures, according to the present invention a cut-off/separating element 10 is provided. Such a element is not necessary in the prior an as the prior an backing tape is set back into the casing of the device. Fig. 2a shows the lift-off position of the device 1 in which the applicator roller 5 is not pressed against the application surface 20. In the modification of Fig. 2a the correction tape 4 is guided by means of two guide rollers 8, 9 to follow the circumference of the application roller 5 at least to a substantial degree. In the lift-off position of the device 1 shown in Fig. 2a the application roller 5 is biased against the cut-off/separating device 10 having a sharp separating edge 26. The correction tape 4 is pinched in this cut-off region C between the edge 26 of the cutoff/separating element 10 and the application roller 5. The bearing axis 11 of the application roller 5 and therefore also the application roller 5 itself is elastically displaceable relatively to the cutting edge 26 of the cut-off/separating element 10. Therefore, when after the application of the correction tape 4 on the application surface 20 the device 1 is lifted away from the surface 20, the application roller 5 is spring- biased against the sharp edge 26 of the cut-off/separating device 10. The correction tape 4 is pinched between the application roller 5 and the sharp edge 26 of the cutoff/separating device 10 such that it is both fixed and weakened regarding its tensile strength in the cut-off region C. Depending on the spring-biasing force the correction tape 4 can even be cut-off in the cut-off region C. due to the weakening and/or cutting in the region C the correction tape will most likely be separated in the region C during the lifting-off of the device 1. As the correction tape 4 is pinched in this cut-off region C there is no rιsκ mat tnere will be any tension on the correction tape 4 in the revert portion thereof such that there is no risk that the correction tape 4 will break further within the casing 2. Note that the cut-off region's position 10 is slightly behind the contact region P in which the application roller 5 is pressed against the application surface 20 immediately before lifting off the device 1. As there is a small distance between the cut-off region C and the region P of last contact the correction tape 4 will have to be slightly advanced when reusing the device 1 after a lift-off. The cut-off end the correction tape 4 has to be advanced from the cutoff region C to the contact region P by said distance. According to the embodiment of Fig. 2 this is achieved in that the back side 22 sticks realisably on the circumferential surface 21 of the roller 5. For example the surface region 21 or the entire roller 5 can be made of rubber or a similar material. Alternatively or additionally the back side 22 of the correction tape 4 can be made such that this side 22 sticks realisably on the surface of the roller 5. Therefore, when repressing the device 1 against an application surface 20 and slightly moving the device 1 in the correction direction such that the roller 5 will be turned by a predetermined amount, the cut-off edge of the correction tape 4 will be advanced from the cut-off region C to the contact region P as it is shown in Fig. 2b. Due to the spring biased bearing of the axis 11 of the roller 5 the correction tape 4 is released between the cut-off edge 26 of the cut-off/separating element 10 and the roller 5 as pressing the device 1 against the application surface 20 overcompensates the spring biasing force. In this operative position the circumference 21 of the roller 5 is distanced from the cut-off edge 26 by a gap large enough to let the correction tape sticking on the circumference of the roller freely pass through. When reusing the device 1 as shown in Fig. 2b, during a predetermined length corresponding to the distance from the contact region P to the cut-off region C there will be no application of correction tape 4 on the surface 20. As soon as the cut-off end of the correction tape 4 has reached the contact region P in line with the rotation of the roller 5, the application process of the correction tape 4 on the application surface 20 starts immediately. Note that according to the particular construction of the application element according to the present invention this distance between the contact region P and the cut-off region C can be kept very small. To avoid any slack of the correction tape 4 within the casing, a braking force is applied on the stock of correction tape 4 and/or the supply spool 3. This can for example take place within the bearing 15 of the supply spool 3. Therefore, when applying the correction tape 4 on the surface 20, there will always some tensional stress on the tape 4. However, the braking force exened on the supply spool 3 is set such that tensile strength of the correction tape 4 will not be exceeded. The construction according to Fig. 2 has the inherent advantage that the correction tape 4 is automatically cut-off at the cutting edge 26 of the cut-off/separating device 10 when lifting the device 1 of the application surface 20. Therefore the user of the device 1 has not to undertake any funher measures for cutting-off the correction tape 4. Therefore the user can naturally determine the end of the applied tape 12 by lifting of the device 1 at a selected position on the surface 20. As in the lift-off position, which is the non-operative state of the device 1 the roller 5 is spring biased against the cutting edge 26 of the cut-off/separating device 10, the correction tape 4 is automatically protected against being involuntarily incurred outside the casing 2 when the device 1 is not used. Fig. 3 shows schematically a further embodiment for a device 1 according to the present invention. According to this embodiment the application element is a specula- like element 26. As according to this embodiment the application element 26 is not a rotatable applicator, a mechanism 24 is provided to advance the cut-off correction tape and from the cut-off region C to the contact region P when reusing the device again. According to the embodiment of Fig. 3 there is the tape advancing mechanism 24 is operated manually by means of an activation mechanism 25. Before reusing the device 1 therefore the user has to operate the activation mechanism 25 to advance the cut-off band edge from the cut-off region C to the contact region P of the specula-like application tape 26. As it has already been said forth above according to the present invention there is no separation of any backing tape from the correction coating layer effected by the applicator element. According to the present invention the correction tape 4 (see Fig. 4) has two sides, the first side 22 being a write-on side and the other side 23 being a surface being adhesively fixable on an application surface. The tensile strength of the correction tape 4 can be guaranteed by the write-on side 22 or the adhesive side 23 itself. Alternatively, as shown in Fig. 4, a reinforcing intermediate layer 26 can be interposed between the write-on layer 22 and the adhesive layer 23. List of Reference Signs connection device casing supply spool connection tape applicator element (roller) suppoπ roller tape guide element pinch roller pinch roller cut-off element elastically displaceable axis of roller 5 applied tape guiding web aperture of casing 2 bearing axis of supply spool 3 first congruent web poπion second congruent web poπion first half of casing 2 second half of casing 2 application surface surface of the roller 5 back side of tape 4 application side of tape 4 tape advancing mechanism manual activation reinforcing intermediate layer sharp edge of element 10 lower edge of casing braking roller compartment 31 stock of correction tape 4 P contact region of the application element C cut-off/separating position

Claims: Claims: 1. Hand-held device for applying on a surface a correction tape (4) having an application side (23) and a write-on side (22), the device (1) comprising a casing (2) housing a stock (3) of the correction tape (4), and a application element (5) extending from an aperture (14) in the casing (2) to press the correction tape (4) supplied from the stock (3) on an application surface (2) during operation of the device (1), c h a r a c t e r i z e d i n t h a t the correction tape (4) applied in its entirety on the application surface (2) without being fed back into the casing (2). 2. Device according to claim 1, characterized in that it comprises a cut-off/separating element (10) in the vicinity of the application element (5) for cutting-off/separating the correction tape (4) once the application operation is completed. 3. Device according to claim 2, characterized in that the cut-off/separating device (10) is operative when the device (1) is lift off the application surface (20) and inoperative when the device (1) is pressed against the application surface (20). 4. Device according to anyone of claims 2 or 3, characterized in that the cut-off/separating device (10) is positioned slightly behind the contact region (P) of the application element (5) on the application surface (20). 5. Device according to anyone of claims 2 to 4, characterized in that the application element (5) and the cut-off/separating device (10) are displaceable relatively to each other from a first inoperative position in which they are distanced from each other and a second operative position in which they are in contact with each other with the correction tape (4) interposed between. 6. Device according to anyone of claims 2 to 5, characterized by a mechanism (24) for advancing a cut-off correction tape end (4) from a cutoff/separating position (C) to the contact region (P) of the application element (5) before use of the device (1). 7. Device according to claim 6, characterized in that the tape advancing mechanism (24) is manually (25) operated. 8. Device according to anyone of the preceding claims, characterized in that the application element is a roller (5) . 9. Device according to claim 8, characterized in that the bearing axis (11) of the roller (5) is elastically displaceable in a direction being essentially peφendicular to the application surface (20) in the operation position of the device (1). 10. Device according to claim 8 or 9, characterized in that in the lift-off state of the device (1) the roller (5) is biased against the cut-off/separating device (10). 11. Device according to anyone of claims 8 to 10, characterized in that the correction tape (4) is guided (8, 9) around a portion of the circumference of the roller (5). 12. Device according to anyone of claims 8 to 11 , characterized in that the surface (21) of the roller (5) is such that the correction tape (4) sticks on it in a releasable manner. 13. Device according to claim 12, characterized in that at least the surface region of the roller (5) is made of rubber or a rubber-like material. 14. Device according to anyone of the preceding claims, characterized in that the back side (22) of the tape (4) is such that it sticks on the application element (5) in a releasable manner. 15. Device according to anyone of the preceding claims, characterized in that a braking force is applied to the supply (3) of the correction tape (4). 16. Device according to claim 15, characterized in that the supply of the correction tape (4) is wound on a spool (3) and the bearing (15) of the spool (3) is designed such as to exert a braking force on the spool (3). 17. Correction tape according to anyone of the preceding claims, characterized in that the spool (3) is arranged on the rear side of the casing (2). 18. Correction tape for a hand-held correction device, characterized in that it is adapted to be used in a device according to anyone of the claims 12 to 14. 19. Correction tape for a hand-held correction device, characterized in that one side (23) is an adhesive application side and the other side is a write-on side (22). 20. Correction tape according to claim 19, characterized by a reinforcing intermediate layer (26) interposed between the application layer (23) and the write-on layer (22).

Inventors: BOUVERESSE JEAN-ANTIDE, BOUVERESSE, JEAN-ANTIDE
Applicants: BIC DEUTSCHLAND GMBH & CO, BIC SOC, BOUVERESSE JEAN ANTIDE, BIC DEUTSCHLAND GMBH & CO., BOUVERESSE, JEAN-ANTIDE, SOCIETE BIC
Application year: 2001
Main classification: B65H35
IPC codes: B43L19, B65H35