Abstract:
A compact, lightweight and rechargeable electric stapler for automatically punching holes in documents and the like is provided wherein a fixed switch is fixed to the case body and an actuating bar is moveable at the front end and back end, so the switch is durable and also the presence of staples can be determined at a glance with a LED. The electric stapler comprises a case body, drive train, wiring board, magazine frame, an arm, a fixed switch wherein an actuating switch for actuating the drive train (motor) is mounted on the case body, and a moveable actuating bar coupled to the fixed switch and mounted between the case body and frame.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to an electric stapler that is able to use staples to punch holes in sheaves of documents or the like, bend the staples and bind the documents, and particularly to an electric stapler which has a moveable actuating bar and switch mounted in a fixed manner on the case. 
     2. Description of Related Art 
     The stapler is commonly used as a tool for filing documents and the like in the form of sheaves of sheets. Manual staplers are common but require greater strength as the sheaves of sheets become thicker. The electric stapler was invented to obviate the need to manually push the binding machine. Electric staplers are able to perform binding automatically with electric driving force. A typical example of an electric stapler is the one taught in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2000-317861. 
     The electric stapler taught in this publication has a structure whereby, as a dispensing arm is driven by a motor to move in the downward direction of a pressing member, a magazine frame moves downward at its front end under its own weight, until the lower surface of the front end of the magazine frame touches the upper surface of the object to be stapled. It is formed such that, when the pressing member is moved to its lowest point, the dimension between the catch of a suspension member and the support is a dimension such that the front end of the dispensing arm can move due to movement of the pressing member so that a staple stored in the magazine frame is pushed out from the dispensing outlet. 
     In addition, the magazine frame has a structure comprising a case provided with a staple storage area and a case cover that covers the upper surface of this case; said structure being such that loading of staples can be performed by pulling the case from the case cover at the front end of the magazine frame in the case meeting area which is formed by the side wall in the lengthwise direction of the case cover and the side surface in the lengthwise direction of the case, in a long mutually meshing groove and long protrusion. 
     Moreover, the constitution is such that a switch that closes the electrical circuit of the motor upon contact with the edge of the object to be stapled, which is inserted between the base and the front end of the magazine frame, is provided on a moveable member that can be moved from the front end of the magazine frame toward the back end. 
     Conventional electric staplers have a structure wherein the switch for actuation itself moves from the front end to the back end. Since the durability of the switch over long-term use is therefore poorer than that that of a fixed switch, conventional electric staplers are prone to breakage. In addition, the dimension between the catch of the suspension member and the support must be one that permits the engagement of the pressing member, so it naturally must be of a certain size. 
     Therefore, a need has been felt for the development of a compact, lightweight and rechargeable electric stapler with a durable actuating switch that can be used on both battery and AC power. 
     The object of the present invention is to overcome the foregoing problems by fixing the actuating switch to the case body and also permitting the actuating bar coupled to the fixed switch to move from the front end to the back end, thereby providing an electric stapler whose actuating switch is more durable than that of a conventional electric stapler. An additional object is to provide thereby an electric stapler with a compact, lightweight and rechargeable structure, where the presence of staples can be determined at a glance from outside by means of an LED display. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     In order to achieve the above purpose, the present invention provides an electric stapler comprising: a case body, a drive train consisting of a motor and gears, a wiring board that has electrical circuitry, a magazine frame that stores staples, an arm that pushes staples stored in said magazine frame from above such that they penetrate and staple sheaves of documents or the like, a fixed switch mounted on the case body and equipped with an actuating switch for actuating the drive train (motor), and a moveable actuating bar coupled to said fixed switch, which is mounted between the case body and frame. 
     The fixed switch preferably comprises the actuating switch for actuating the motor of the drive train, a slide member coupled to a crank of the actuating bar, and a switch base on which said actuating switch and said slide member are provided and which is mounted on the case body. 
     In addition, the actuating bar preferably comprises a paper guide serving as a stopper for the sheaf of documents or the like to be stapled, a slider member that is pushed by the sheaf of documents or the like and actuates the crank, and a crank coupled to the slide member of the fixed switch. 
     Moreover, the electric stapler preferably has a battery installed as an independent source of driving power, and an AC power connector and AC-DC converter for an AC power supply provided separately on said wiring board. 
     In addition, the electric stapler preferably further comprises an LED display that lights when the staples run low, whereby the presence of staples within the magazine frame can be easily determined at a glance from outside. 
     With the electric stapler according to the present invention, the fixed switch provided with an actuating switch is fixed to the case body, and the actuating bar coupled to the fixed switch is moveable from the front end to the rear end. For this reason, it has an advantage in that the load on the actuating switch is lessened and breakage will occur less often. In addition, the invention can provide a product that is compact, lightweight and can be used anywhere. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a side view of the electric stapler according to the present invention. 
     FIG. 2 is a perspective exploded view of the magazine frame area of the electric stapler according to the present invention. 
     FIG. 3 is a cutaway side view of the magazine frame. 
     FIG. 4 is a side view of the back end of the electric stapler. 
     FIG. 5 is a side view of the back end when the refill button is pushed. 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     An electric stapler that is an embodiment of the present invention will now be explained in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a side view of the electric stapler according to the present invention. FIG. 2 is a perspective exploded view of the magazine frame and actuating bar of the electric stapler according to the present invention. FIG. 3 is a cutaway side view of the magazine frame. FIG. 4 is a side view of the back end of the electric stapler. FIG. 5 is a side view of the back end when the refill button is pushed. 
     As shown in FIG. 1, the electric stapler  10  according to the present invention consists of a case body  20 , drive train  30 , wiring board  40 , frame  50 , arm  60 , actuating bar  70 , fixed switch  80  and an LED display  100 . 
     The case body  20  is a box that encloses the drive train  30 , wiring board  40 , frame  50 , arm  60 , actuating bar  70 , fixed switch  80  and the like, and is also provided with a battery storage area  22 . 
     The drive train  30  consists of a motor  31  that rotates when supplied with power and acts as the source of driving power from the wiring board  40 , a gear  32  engaged to the rotating shaft of the motor, and a train of gears  33 ,  34 ,  35 ,  36  which are sequentially engaged to gear  32 . The motor  31  may operate on either AC power or DC power. 
     When the motor begins to operate, the engaged gears are driven sequentially and the rotary motion is transmitted so that gear  36  rotates. On both side surfaces of gear  36  are raised protrusions  36   a  and  36   a ′. The protrusions  36   a  and  36   a ′ are engaged within a semicircular engagement circle  62  provided on the arm  60 . When the gear  36  rotates clockwise, the protrusions  36   a  and  36   a ′ come into contact with the upper surface of the arm  60 , push the front end of the arm down and perform the operation of pushing down the arm which is the stapling action. When the gear  36  is rotated further from the pushed-down state, the protrusions  36   a  and  36   a ′ rotate and come into contact with the inside wall of the engagement circle  62 , thereby performing the operation of raising the arm  60  up to its original state. 
     The wiring board  40  is a flat board on which are provided ICs, capacitors and the like used to control the electric stapler  10 . In addition, the wiring board  40  is also provided with an AC power connector  42  that connects to an AC power supply, and a battery power connector  44  that connects to a battery. 
     The magazine frame  50  is a box that stores staples  14  used when stapling a document sheaf  12  or the like, consisting of an inner frame  52 , outer frame  54  and a staple guide  56 . 
     The inner frame  52  is the magazine that stores staples, and when a refill button  130  provided at the back end of the electric stapler  10  is pressed, an engager  58  rotates about a shaft  59  so that the releaser provided on the front tip of the engager  58  moves and releases the engagement of the magazine frame. This causes the magazine frame to spring out forward in the longitudinal direction so that the work of removing or replenishing the staples  14  can be performed. 
     The outer frame  54  is a box-shaped frame used to enclose the inner frame  52 . 
     The staple guide  56  guides the staples  14  stored in the inner frame  52  under pressure toward the front end of the stapler, and consists of a spring  561  which provides the pressing force, a slide plate  562  which is a moving body, a downward-facing generally U-shaped stapler guide  563  which pushes the staples forward, a shaft  564  and a cap  565  which contacts the switch at the back end of the shaft. 
     The spring  561  is made of compressible spring material, and as shown in FIG. 2, has one end fixed to the rear end in the longitudinal direction and the other end extended to a support column provided at the front end of the frame, and then rotated halfway around the support column and doubled back and mounted on the slide plate  562 . Thereby, the slide plate  562  is pushed in the direction of the front end of the electric stapler  10 , and the staples contained therein are moved under pressure toward the front end. 
     A shaft  564  is provided in the center and the spring  561  is mounted along the shaft such that it is able to be compressed and expanded freely, and thus the staples loaded ahead of the slide plate  562  which is mounted doubled over are pushed in the direction of the front end of the stapler. 
     The arm  60  consists of a semicircular engagement circle  62  that engages the protrusions  36   a  of gear  36 , and a plate-shaped driver  64  used for pushing down staples installed at the front end. One of the staples lined up at the very front end of the staples stored in the magazine frame  50  is separated from the line of staples and pressure is applied to push it downward so that it penetrates the edge of a document or the like, thereby completing the operation of stapling the document. The engagement circle  62  is formed in a roughly semicircular shape, being coupled to the circular motion of the protrusions  36   a  and  36   a ′ of the gear  36 , thereby causing the arm  60  to move up and down. 
     The operation and equipment for converting the rotation of the gear  36  into up and down motion of the arm are identical to those used conventionally, as the protrusions  36   a  and  36   a ′ raised on both sides of the gear rotate together with the gear, come in contact with the upper surface of the arm and push the entire arm down. As the rotation proceeds further, the driver  64  mounted on the tip of the arm separates the foremost staple from the rest of the staples, drives it through the document sheaf  12  or the like to be stapled until it penetrates the back surface of the document and the protruding legs of the staple are bent inward and clinched to complete the stapling. 
     Even after the operation of stapling documents is complete, the protrusions  36   a  and  36   a ′ continue to rotate further, moving within the circle of the engagement circle and coming into contact with the inside wall of the engagement circle  62 . Thereby, with further rotation, the protrusions raise the arm  60  mounted on the engagement circle back to the position it was in prior to being lowered. 
     The actuating bar  70  has a structure such that it can move forward and backward in the longitudinal direction, serving to determine the position at which the document sheaf or the like is stapled and also starting the motion of the electric stapler  10  by being coupled to the fixed switch  80 . The actuating bar  70  has a structure consisting of a paper guide  72  serving as a stopper for the document sheaf or the like to be stapled, a slider  74  that is pushed by the inserted document sheaf or the like and pushes and moves a crank  76 , and the crank  76  which is engaged to this slider and pushes and moves a slide member  84  of the fixed switch  80 . 
     The fixed switch  80  that serves as the starting switch for the electric stapler consists of a differential switch  82 , slide member  84  and switch base  86 . 
     The differential switch  82  is fixed to the switch base  86  and wired to the wiring board  40 . When the differential switch  82  is pressed in the insertion direction by the front end of the document sheaf or the like to be stapled, current flows through the wiring board  40  and the drive train  30  begins to operate so that it is possible to staple the documents or the like. 
     The slide member  84  is engaged with the crank  76  of the actuating bar  70 . It is constituted such that when the crank  76  is rotated by the slide of the slider  74 , the slide member  84  is pushed and the differential switch  82  is opened or closed. 
     The operation of an electric stapler according to the present invention will now be explained in detail with reference to the drawings. First, the protrusion provided on the side of the actuating bar  70  is moved forward or backward by hand to determine the position at which the document sheaf is to be stapled. Once the position of the actuating bar  70  is determined, the document sheaf to be stapled is placed in the slit of the electric stapler and inserted from the left in the figure. The front end of the inserted document sheaf presses upon and moves the paper guide  72  and slider  74  of the actuating bar  70 . Moreover, the engaged crank  76  is coupled and moved forward or backward. The crank  76  pushes the slide member  84  of the fixed switch  80  and furthermore presses the differential switch  82 . The depressed differential switch  82  causes electric power to be supplied to the wiring board  40  and the drive train  30  operates. 
     The rotary drive apparatus (motor)  31  of the drive train  30  operates to rotate the driveshaft and the train of engaged gears  33 ,  34 ,  35 ,  36  are sequentially operated. Protrusions  36   a  are raised on gear  36 , and the circular motion of the protrusions  36   a  compresses the arm  60 . A semicircular engagement circle  62  is mounted on the upper surface of the drive train  30  to engage the protrusions  36   a . The protrusions  36   a  and  36   a ′ are raised on the side surfaces of the gear  36  and the rotary motion of the gear causes motion in a circular track. When the protrusions  36   a  move toward the bottom of the gear  36  they come into contact with the upper surface of the arm  60  and push the arm down. As the arm  60  drops, exactly one of the staples  14  stored in the magazine frame  50  is pushed down by the driver  64  of the arm  60  and enters and penetrates the edge of the document sheaf, protruding from the bottom surface of the document sheaf and being guided and bent in the opposite direction by an anvil  90 . After further driving and pushing, it returns to come into contact with the rear surface of the document sheaf and crimps to staple the document sheaf. 
     As shown in FIG. 2, the lighting of the LED and operation of the frame are such that when more than a fixed quantity of staples is loaded into the electric stapler, the LED turns off. Specifically, the slide plate  562  of the magazine frame  50  is moved back to a position determined by the quantity of staples loaded, so the spring  561  is stretched. The shaft  564  connected to the slide plate  562  is positioned in back so the cap  565  provided at the back end of the shaft  564  is also positioned in back, and the switch crank  110  joined to this cap is pushed, thus turning off the LED switch  120 . The circuitry mounted on the wiring board  40  causes the LED display  100  to be turned off when the LED switch  120  is pushed. 
     In addition, when the quantity of staples  14  remaining reaches roughly  20 , the slide plate  562  again moves forward at this position. In this state, the front end of the shaft  564  is also positioned forward, and the cap  565  at the back end of the shaft  564  separates from the switch crank  110  and the depressed switch crank  110  also separates from the LED switch  120 . This means that the LED switch is no longer pressed and the circuitry of the wiring board  40  causes current to flow through the LED display  100  so that it lights. 
     To load staples, the refill button  130  is pressed with a finger or the like, causing the refill button  130  to push the engager  58  and release the lock so that the inner frame  52  of the magazine frame  50  springs forward in the longitudinal direction. In addition, at this time the engager  58  presses the LED turn-off switch  140 , thereby preventing the LED  100  from turning on. 
     The electric stapler  10  according to the present invention has batteries loaded in the battery storage area  22  of the case body  20  and connected to the battery power connector of the wiring board  40 , thus making it rechargeable. The stapler may be recharged by connecting an AC power supply to the AC power connector  42  of the wiring board  40 , or the stapler may be operated with the AC power supply connected. 
     FIG. 3 is a side view showing the inner frame  52  removed from the interior of the case body  20  at the time of loading staples. As shown in the figure, the inner frame  52  has sprung forward from the case body  20  in order to load staples. The staples  14  are inserted such that they straddle the internal frame with their legs pointing down. This makes it possible to load the staples easily. 
     FIGS. 4 and 5 are side views of the electric stapler according to the present invention, where FIG. 4 is a side view of the operating state and FIG. 5 is a side view of the state when the refill button  130  is pushed. In the normal operating state shown in FIG. 4, the releaser  55  of the engager  58  is engaged to the bottom surface of the outer frame  54  and the magazine frame  50  is locked so that it does not move. In the state shown in FIG. 5 with the refill button  130  pressed, the refill button  130  pushes the engager  58  and thus the engager  58  rotates about the shaft  59 , so the releaser  55  at the front end is separated from below from the bottom surface of the magazine frame  50  and unlocked, so the inner frame  52  springs out forward longitudinally from the magazine frame  50 . 
     In addition, in order to prevent the LED from turning on at the time that the refill button  130  is pushed to load staples, when the refill button  130  is pushed the engager  58  pushes the LED turn-off switch  140  mounted on the back end of the motor  31 . With this LED turn-off switch, the LED  100  will not light even if the internal frame has sprung out and the stapler is open. 
     As explained in the foregoing, the electric stapler according to the present invention is electric so it can automatically staple sheaves of documents or the like. Specific advantages offered include: 
     1. The actuating switch is a fixed switch that is fixed to the case body so it has a durable construction. 
     2. The actuating bar can be moved forward or backward in the longitudinal direction, so the stapling position can be easily determined. 
     3. An LED that indicates the quantity of staples remaining is included, so it is possible to determine at a glance whether staples are present without opening the stapler. 
     4. A battery connector is installed on the wiring board and a battery storage area is provided, so battery-powered operation is possible. 
     5. An AC power connector is installed on the wiring board, so the batteries can be recharged, and also, the electric stapler can be operated and driven by AC power.