Abstract:
A staple remover, with a staple removing blade, for removing a staple from a stack of sheets of paper. The staple remover prevents staple jams by providing a means for automatically discarding removed staples from the staple removing blade. The staple remover comprises a storage compartment and an elongate staple removing blade. The elongate staple removing blade comprises a longitudinally extending staple pulling surface and a laterally flared portion located at the apex of the staple pulling surface. The geometry of the elongate staple removing blade substantially resiliently deforms the legs of the staple, allowing the legs to spring back towards each other and project the staple into the storage compartment.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates generally to staple removers and, more particularly, to a staple remover comprising a leading staple removing blade and a storage compartment for retaining the used staples. 
     BACKGROUND 
     Staple removers are known in the art and are devices generally used for removing staples from a stack of sheets of paper stapled together. Two main types of staple removers can be found in the prior art. A first one, known as the jaw type staple remover, consists of a pair of hinged opposing jaws usable for grasping and removing a staple. The other type, known as the blade type staple remover, generally consists of a handle with a pointed, sharp tip blade protruding from one end. In this case, the pointed blade is inserted and forwarded under the crown of a staple to be removed until the latter is fully pulled out from the pile of paper sheets. Furthermore, the handle is generally hollow and acts as a storage compartment for retaining the used staples. 
     Typical examples of the prior art are U.S. Pat. No. 5,653,424, to Khan (Aug. 5, 1997), U.S. Pat. No. 4,513,951, to Rogers (Apr. 30, 1985), U.S. Pat. No. 3,625,482, to Veil (Dec. 7, 1971) and U.S. Pat. No. 6,513,788B1, to Ashe (Feb. 4, 2003). 
     While these staple removers of the prior art can generally fulfill the main objective of removing staples from a stack of sheets of paper, or the like, they also offer one or more of the following disadvantages: 
     a) they generally include an elongated staple removing blade that also serves as a storage ramp for the used staples. The used staples cumulating on the ramp can have their clenched legs entangled together and literally jam the rearward tossing of the staples on the ramp; 
     b) the cumulated staples on the storage ramp generally have to be removed from the ramp by hand since the staple legs generally preserve their tendency to spring back to their clenched configuration and, thus, are prone to stay clenched to the ramp; 
     c) they generally have an elongated and narrow handle-casing offering only limited stability and, thus, rendering the device difficult to manipulate during a staple removal operation; 
     Against this background, there exist a need for a new and improved staple remover that avoids the aforementioned disadvantages. It is a general object of the present invention to provide a new and improved staple remover. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     In a broad aspect, the invention provides a staple remover for removing a staple from a stack of sheets of paper, the staple defining a crown and two legs each extending from the crown, the staple remover comprising: 
     a storage compartment; and 
     a substantially elongated staple removing blade mechanically coupled to the storage compartment; 
     the staple removing blade defining a substantially flat and substantially longitudinally extending blade bottom end and a substantially opposed substantially longitudinally extending staple pulling surface; 
     the staple removing blade defining a front end portion and a substantially longitudinally opposed rear end portion, the rear end portion being located inside the storage compartment and the front end portion being located outside of the storage compartment, the blade bottom end and the staple pulling surface diverging from each other over at least a portion of the staple removing blade extending from the front end portion towards the rear end portion, the staple pulling surface defining an apex at a location where the staple pulling surface is maximally distanced from the blade bottom end; 
     the staple removing blade also defining a laterally flared portion substantially in register with the apex; 
     whereby, when the staple removing blade is inserted between the crown and the stack of sheets of paper and moved along the stack of sheets of paper so as to pull the staple from the stack of sheets of paper, the laterally flared portion substantially resiliently deforms the two legs before allowing the two legs to spring back towards each other and projecting the staple into the storage compartment when the staple has been pulled out of the stack of sheets of paper. 
     In another broad aspect, the laterally flared portion is not necessarily substantially adjacent to the apex. 
     According to an embodiment of the present invention, the staple remover generally comprises two main components, namely a handle-casing pivotally connected to a base component. The handle-casing is represented by a substantially hollow shell structure having a slightly slanted main body that ergonomically conforms to the grip of a hand, and equipped with depending splayed side walls that generally define the peripheral bottom edges of the device. The base component is typically made of a single-piece element manufactured out of a polymeric resin, or the like, using a conventional molding process. The base component generally comprises the staple removing blade integrally formed to the front end center portion of a used staples storage compartment. Pivot support means pivotally connect the handle-casing and the base component through a transversal axis substantially adjacent the rear end of the device. Cooperative pressing point interlocking means are provided between the handle-casing and the base component to allow a user to manually unlock and open the clam-shell like openable structure. Furthermore, the handle-casing is substantially overlapping the whole of the base component when the staple remover is in a closed configuration, except for a relatively small tip portion of the staple removing blade that is protruding through a horizontal opening at the front end of the handle-casing. 
     The staple removing blade has a relatively thin and substantially rounded-corner rectangular shape, with a soft curvilinear longitudinal cross-section starting with an acute front end substantially in coplanar relation with the underside of the staple remover, and is softly sinusoidally rising to a substantially rounded apex and typically relatively sharply dropping at the rear end limit of the blade. The highest portion of the blade roughly coincides with the rounded rear end portion of the latter, a region of the blade where, during a staple removal operation, the legs of a staple are fully pulled out of the stack of sheets of paper while, at the same time, the staple is self propulsed rearwardly into the storage compartment of the device due to the tendency of the staple legs to spring back to their clenched configuration against the rounded rear end portion of the blade. 
     The staple remover is used in the same conventional manner as with other blade type staple removers of the prior art, which consists in firmly grabbing the staple remover with one hand and lay down the bottom end of the latter flat against a stack of stapled sheets of paper. The user can then insert the tip of the pointed blade under the crown of a staple to be removed and force the staple remover forward in a continuous motion until the elevated rear end portion of the blade pulls the staple out of the top surface of the paper, while at the same time, causes the staple to be self-propulsed into the storage compartment of the device. The cumulated used staples can then be safely dumped into a refuse receptacle by simply pressing on the lateral pressing points of the base component with one hand and opening the pivotable handle-casing with the other hand while the blade is substantially pointing downward towards the refuse receptacle. 
     The main advantages of the present invention is a staple remover: 
     a) which has a relatively efficient staple removing blade design allowing a user to efficiently remove staples from a stack of sheets of paper or other materials; 
     b) whose ergonomic handle-casing design offers a relatively firm grip and a stable support to the user during a staple removal operation; 
     c) whose content of used staples is relatively easily and conveniently emptied through its openable front end and can, hence, be dumped directly into a refuse receptacle; 
     d) which is relatively simple and inexpensive in construction, and yet which is relatively efficient and reliable in operation. 
     Other objects, advantages and features of the present invention will become more apparent upon reading of the following non-restrictive description of preferred embodiments thereof, given by way of example only with reference to the accompanying drawings. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1 : is a top perspective view of a staple remover according to an embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 2 : is an environmental top perspective view of the staple remover shown in  FIG. 1 , illustrating the gripping position and movement of the hand of a user during a staple removal operation on a stack of stapled sheets of paper; 
         FIG. 3 : is a top plan view of the staple remover shown in  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 4 : is a side elevational view of the staple remover shown in FIG.  1 ; 
         FIG. 5 : is a front elevational view of the staple remover shown in  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 6 : is a top perspective view of the staple remover shown in  FIG. 1 , showing a handle-casing thereof in an open position; 
         FIG. 7 : is a top perspective view of a base component of the staple remover shown in  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 8 : is a side elevational exploded view, showing a longitudinal half section of the handle-casing, and a side elevational view of the base component; 
         FIG. 9 : is a fragmented lateral cross-sectional view of the staple remover, taken along lines IX-IX in  FIG. 4 , and showing the lateral locking means of the handle-casing in a closed position on the base component; 
         FIG. 10 : is a fragmented lateral cross-sectional view of the staple remover shown in  FIG. 9 , showing the pressure points on the lateral locking means of the base component, thus allowing the handle-casing to pivotally open; 
         FIG. 11 : is a bottom plan view of the staple remover in  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 12 : is a top perspective view of the staple removing blade of the staple remover shown in  FIG. 1  showing the extraction operation of a staple; 
         FIG. 13 : is a fragmented top plan view of the rear end portion of the staple removing blade shown in  FIG. 12 , and illustrating an extracted staple nearing the rear end limit of the blade, prior to being expulsed into the storage compartment of the staple remover; 
         FIG. 14 : shows the expanding mechanical forces applied on a staple being extracted from a pile of paper sheets by the staple removing blade in  FIG. 12 ; 
         FIG. 15 : is a fragmented top perspective view of the rear end portion of the staple removing blade in  FIG. 12 , showing the self contracting forces applied on an extracted staple while being expulsed from the rear end limit of the blade; and 
         FIG. 16 : is a top perspective view of a staple removing blade in accordance with an alternative embodiment of the invention. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       FIGS. 1 ,  6  and  7  best show various aspects of a staple remover  10  in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. The staple remover  10  generally comprises a substantially hollow handle-casing  12  pivotally attached to a base component  14 . 
     Referring now to  FIGS. 6 and 8 , the upper portion of handle-casing  12  is generally defined by a slightly inclined and substantially elongated ellipsoidal central body  16  terminated with substantially longitudinally tapering and horizontally flattened front and rear end sections  18  and  20  respectively. The front and rear end sections  18  and  20  each extend substantially longitudinally substantially opposed to each other from the central body  16 . 
     Handle-casing  12  further comprises integrally formed and correspondingly-shaped lower side walls  22  extending downwardly from oppositely corresponding underlying longitudinal side edges  24  of the ellipsoidal central body  16 , and extending from the lateral sides of the tapering front end section  18  to roughly two-thirds of the total length of handle-casing  12 . Furthermore, lower side walls  22  have a gradually laterally splayed configuration starting from each sides of the flattened front end  18 , and progressively outwardly toward their bottom rear end portion  26 . 
     The front ends of lower side walls  22  are defining, along with the tapered front end section  18 , an inverted U-shaped front end  28 , as best illustrated in  FIGS. 5 and 6 . It is to be noted that the inverted U-shaped front end  28  is configured and sized such that a correspondingly inner U-shaped gap  30  is defined between the inner edge of U-shaped front end  28  and staple removing blade  32  of base component  14 , which will be described in more details hereinafter. 
     The lower side walls  22  are extended at their rearward end by inwardly tapering intermediate end walls  34  and an inwardly arcuate rear wall  36  extending from the bottom end of the staple remover  10  to the tapered rear end section  20  of handle-casing  12  (as best illustrated in  FIGS. 4 and 11 ). Thus, handle-casing  12  is preferably shaped and sized to ergonomically conforms to the hand grip of a user (as best shown in  FIG. 2 ), with the outwardly splayed lower side walls  22  providing stability to the assembled staple remover  10  during use. It is to be understood that the central body  16  and lower side walls  22  of the handle-casing  12  described heretofore may have any other comparable ergonomically shaped and operatively stable configuration. 
     As seen for example in  FIG. 4 , correspondingly-shaped half-disk recesses  38  are oppositely provided along the lower front half portion of lower side walls  22 . The half-disk recesses  38  are in register with corresponding and oppositely disposed half disk-shaped lateral pressing points  40  provided on each sides of base component  14 , which will be described in more details hereinafter. 
     As best illustrated in  FIG. 11 , handle-casing  12  has a partial bottom wall represented by coplanar front and rear wall segments  42  and  44  respectively. The generally centered space between the wall segments is occupied by a bottom wall  46  of the base component  14 . The inner edges  48  of the coplanar wall segments  42 ,  44  are in register with the adjacent outer peripheral edges of bottom wall  46 . The walls segments  42  allows to hold the stack of stapled sheets of paper  114  (shown in  FIG. 2 ) flat to help the staple removing blade  32  removing the staple evenly. 
     Frontward bottom wall segments  42  further provide indentations  50  that are substantially defining a correspondingly circumscribing space gap  52  around the outer rear half portion of the overlaying staple removing blade  32 , except for a central opening  54  which is in register with an elongated longitudinal support member  56  linking the staple removing blade  32  to a storage compartment  58  of the base component  14 . 
     Furthermore, provided along the inner edges  48  of coplanar bottom wall segments  42  and  44  there are front and rear abutment lips  57  and  60  respectively (as best seen in  FIG. 8 ) that are in register with correspondingly shaped abutment lips  62  and  64  provided along the lateral and front peripheral lower edges of the storage compartment  58  (as best shown in  FIGS. 7 and 8 ). Additional support is provided through oppositely disposed upper abutment lips  66  on the inner side walls  68  of handle-casing  12  for correspondingly abutting against the upper edges  70  of storage compartment  58 . Hence, abutment lips  57  and  60  of handle-casing  12  are providing a reinforced abutment limit of the latter against the abutment lips  62 ,  64  and upper edges  70  of base component  14 , in cooperative relation with the inter-locking mechanism between the half-disk recesses  38  of handle-casing  12 , and the disk-shaped lateral pressing points  40  on each sides of base component  14 , which will be described in more details below. When handle-casing  12  is pivotally closed over base component  14 , with all the corresponding abutment lips  57 ,  60 ,  62  and  64  described above, pressed against one another, the bottom wall segments are in a substantially coplanar relationship with bottom wall  46  of the storage compartment  58 , the bottom surface of the elongated longitudinal support member  56  and the blade bottom end  55  of the staple removing blade  32 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 8 , inner side walls  68  of handle-casing  12  are provided with oppositely disposed and substantially C-shaped, transverse pivot support means  72  having a pivot insertion opening  74  accessible through the inner edge  48  of the coplanar rear bottom wall segments  44  (as best illustrated in  FIG. 11 ). Pivot support means  72  are for pivotally receiving, in a resilient snap-fit connection, the corresponding lateral pivot studs  76  provided on each sides of base component  14 . 
     The inner side walls  68  of handle-casing  12  are further provided with inwardly protruding locking lips  78  integrally formed adjacently above the half-disk shaped recesses  38 . Locking lips  78  are for receiving, in a resilient snap-fit relation, the locking prongs  80  positioned above the corresponding half-disk shaped pressing points  40  of base component  14 , which will be described in more details below. 
     Referring to  FIG. 5 , as with conventional mass products of comparable size that are typically composed of an assembly of molded plastic elements, handle-casing  12  is preferably formed of two relatively symmetrical longitudinal halves sections  82  and  84  manufactured out of a polymeric resin or a light metal alloy using a conventional injection molding process. 
     For keeping the opposite halves sections  82  and  84  assembled together, conventional coupling means commonly found in comparable prior art assemblies are represented here by a plurality of transversal assembling pins  86  and  88  having substantially “X” shaped cross-sections and round cross-sections respectively, as best illustrated in  FIG. 8 . Assembling pins  86  and  88  are integrally formed and protruding perpendicularly from the inner surface of the inner side walls  68  of one of the halves sections, with corresponding assembling pins receiving channels (not shown) integrally formed and protruding perpendicularly from the inner surface of the opposite half section. The assembling pins receiving channels are configured and sized as to fittingly receive respectively, in a press-fit relation, the assembling pins  86 ,  88  when the halves sections  82  and  84  are assembled together. 
     The assembling pins  86 ,  88  and corresponding assembling pins receiving channels are suitably distributed within the halves sections  82 ,  84  inner surface walls so as to render proper alignment and structural strength to the assembled halves sections. To further assure a robust structural integrity to the assembled handle-casing  12 , an arrangement of correspondingly overlapping edge lips  90  around the adjoining edges of both halves section  82 ,  84  are provided so that handle-casing  12  can withstand the rigors of handling, as well as to render a firm homogeneous surface along the adjoining edges of the halves sections. 
     It is to be understood that other types of coupling means such as, for example, glue, screws, or an integrally molded arrangement of prongs and corresponding locking notches adapted to be snap-fit into a locked engagement, may be used to rigidly fix the pair of opposite halves sections  82 ,  84  together. 
     A convenient attachment positioned at or near the tapered rear end section  20 , such as a through-hole  92  (as best illustrated in  FIGS. 1 and 4 ), a hook, or the like, may be provided for attaching the staple remover  10 , for example, to a wrist-band or to a single rope which, in turn, is attached nearby a dedicated station such as a photocopier. 
       FIG. 7  shows base component  14  generally comprising a lightly undulated staple removing blade  32  integrally formed to the front-center portion  94  of the storage compartment  58  through the longitudinal support member  56  that mechanically couples the storage compartment  58  and the staple removing blade  3  to each other. 
     As illustrated more specifically in  FIGS. 8 and 11 , in which can be seen respectively a side elevational view and a bottom plan view of the staple removing blade  32 , the latter is substantially elongated and has a relatively thin and substantially rounded-corner rectangular shape, with a longitudinal cross-section defining a substantially soft curvilinear slope beginning with a substantially acute front end portion  96 , followed by a softly rising curvilinear mid-portion slope  98  and a relatively rounded rear end portion  100 . Integrally formed elongated support member  56  is longitudinally and centrally extending under the staple removing blade  32  to link the latter, in a coplanar relation, with the front-center portion  94  of storage compartment  58 . Furthermore, as can be seen in  FIG. 13 , which shows a fragmented top plan view of the rear end portion  100  of the staple removing blade  32 , there is a lightly laterally flared portion  102  near the rear end limit of the latter, whose purpose will be explained in the text below detailing the operative use of the staple remover  10 . 
     The staple removing blade  32  defines a substantially flat and substantially longitudinally extending blade bottom end  55  and a substantially opposed substantially longitudinally extending staple pulling surface  33 . The blade bottom end  55  and the staple pulling surface  33  diverge from each other over at least a portion of the staple removing blade  32  extending from the front end portion  96  towards the rear end portion  100 . The staple pulling surface defines an apex  35  at a location where the staple pulling surface  33  is maximally distanced from the blade bottom end  55 . The laterally flared portion  102  is substantially in register with the apex  35 . 
     Typically, the rear end portion  100  is located inside the storage compartment  58  and the front end portion  96  is located outside of the storage compartment  58 . Typically, the front end section  18  projects forwardly past the laterally flared portion  102 . 
     It has been found that having a staple removing blade  32  having a length that is from about 2 to about 4 times a distance between the blade bottom end  55  and the apex  35  provides a staple remover  10  that is relatively efficient in removing staples  118  and provides a good compromise between minimizing frictional forces between the staple  118  and the staple removing blade  32  and facilitating ergonomic movements of the staple remover  10 . 
     As seen in  FIG. 16 , in some embodiments of the invention, the staple removing blade  32  defines a groove  121  extending into the staple pulling surface  33 , the groove  121  extending substantially longitudinally. The groove  121  reduces frictional forces between the staple removing blade  32  and the staple  118 . 
     As seen in  FIG. 11 , the blade bottom end  55  is substantially laterally narrower substantially adjacent the apex  35  (not seen in  FIG. 11 ) than substantially adjacent the front end portion  96 . The narrow configuration near the apex  35  reduces friction between the legs  117  of the staple  118  and the staple removing blade  32  when the staple  118  is pulled out and slid along the staple removing blade  32 . The wider configuration adjacent to the front end portion  96  provides rigidity to the staple removing blade  32  when the staple removing blade  32  starts pulling out the staple  118 , which typically requires a relatively large force. 
     Referring now to  FIG. 7 , the used staple storage compartment  58  is generally defined by an open-ended three-sided container having opposed side walls  104 , a rear wall  106  and a bottom wall  46 . A pair of oppositely disposed inwardly concave and substantially half-disk shaped pressing points  40  are integrally formed in the front end portion of side walls  104 . The outwardly protruding, rounded peripheral edges  107  circumscribing the pressing points  40  are in register with the inner peripheral edge of the half-disk shaped recesses  38  provided in the lower side walls  22  of handle-casing  12  described above. Locking prongs  80  are protruding upwardly and laterally outwardly from the top portion of the half-disk shaped pressing points  40 , and are configured and sized so as to be adapted to lockingly abut against the upper edge of the inwardly protruding locking lips  78  integrally formed adjacently above the half-disk shaped recesses  38 , on the inner side walls  68  of handle-casing  12 , as shown in  FIG. 9 . 
     Therefore, the locking lips  78  and locking prongs  80  form a lock  79  for locking the handle-casing  12  and the base component  14  to each other for selectively preventing pivotal movement of the handle-casing  12  and base component  14  relative to each other. The lock  79  therefore includes cooperative pressing point interlocking elements provided between the handle-casing  12  and the base component  14  to allow selective unlocking of the handle-casing  12  and the base component  14  from each other for allowing pivotal movement therebetween. 
     A pair of pivot studs  76  are perpendicularly and oppositely extending outwardly from the outer surface of side walls  104  near the lower rear end portion of the storage compartment  58 . Pivot studs  76  are further provided with a vertical slot  108  for ease of insertion, in a resilient snap-fit connection, through the pivot insertion opening  74  of the C-shaped pivot support means  72  provided on the inner side walls of handle-casing  12 . 
     It is to be noted that other pivot means may as well be used instead of the pivot studs  76  and C-shaped pivot support means  72  configuration described above such as, for example, a pair of punched rivets or a single transversal pivot pin. 
     As best illustrated in  FIG. 8 , the upper portion of side walls  104  and rear end wall  106  of the storage compartment  58  are appropriately configured and sized to allow a free pivotal movement of handle-casing  12  relative to base component  14  in an assembled staple remover  10 . 
     Base component  14  is preferably made of a single-piece element and, likewise the halves sections  82 ,  84  of handle-casing  12  described above, may be manufactured out of a polymeric resin or a light metal alloy using a conventional injection molding process, or be manufactured from a sheet of metal using a progressive or multi-stage punch-press process. 
     Whether base component  14  is manufactured using an injection molding process or a punch press process, the resulting design and thickness of the base component, particularly at or near the junction between the concave pressing points  40  and the side and bottom walls  104  and  46  of the storage compartment  58  must be appropriately configured and sized to allow sufficient inward resilient movement of the pressing points  40  as to allow a user to inwardly press on the latters between the index and thumb without having to use excessive force and, hence, be able to pivotally open handle-casing  12  relative to the base component  14  (as best demonstrated through  FIGS. 6 ,  9  and  10 ). 
     Furthermore, as seen in  FIG. 1 , there are horizontal and vertical elongated protrusion  110  and  112  respectively that are appropriately disposed on the top and sides of the staple remover  10  to enhance the grip of a hand around the latter during a staple removal operation. It is to be understood that other means to enhance the hand grip may be used such as, for example, textured gel pads or the like. 
     In operative use, a user grips the staple remover  10  mainly by the central body  16  of the handle-casing  12 , as shown in  FIG. 2 , and lay down the bottom end of the latter flat against a pile of stapled sheets  114 , with the front end portion  96  of the staple removing blade  32  abutting against the protruding crown  116  of a staple  118  secured through the papers with legs  117  extending from the crown  116 . As the staple remover  10  is moved horizontally forwardly, the staple removing blade  32  is gradually inserted under the crown  116  until the underlying clenched legs  117  of the staple  118  are progressively stretched up and lightly expanded laterally due to, respectively, the softly rising curvilinear mid-portion slope  98  and the laterally flared portion  102  of the staple removing blade  32 , as illustrated sequentially through  FIGS. 12 ,  13  and  14 . Depending on the leg length of the staple  118 , the latter may be fully pulled out of the pile of paper sheets  114  as it reaches the flared rear end portion  102  of the blade, at which point the staple  118  may be self propulsed rearwardly into the used staple storage compartment  58  due to the tendency of the staple legs  117  to spring back to their clenched configuration (as illustrated in  FIG. 15 ). It is to be noted that the front end section  18  of handle-casing  12  projects forwardly past the flared rear end portion  102  of the staple removing blade  32  to assure that the propulsed staple is constrained within the staple remover  10 . Alternately, such as when the staple  118  has longer legs and is still partly clenched to the pile of paper sheets  114  once it is passed the flared rear end portion  102  of the blade, the continued forward movement of the staple remover  10  eventually forces the partly removed staple  118  against the front-center portion  94  of the storage compartment  58  where it is forcibly pulled out above the top surface of the paper  114 . Finally, by slightly tilting upwardly the front end of the staple remover  10 , the removed staples are thus safely tossed to the rear end of the storage compartment. The cumulated used staples may then be discarded by pressing on the lateral pressing points  40  with one hand and pivotally open the handle-casing  12  with the other hand to dump the content of the staple remover  10  into a refuse receptacle (not shown in the drawings). 
     In some alternate embodiments, a thin sheet magnet  124  (seen in  FIG. 7 ) may be mounted inside the storage compartment  58  for magnetically retaining the used staples  118  being cumulated therein. For example, the magnet  124  is attached to the base component  14 . 
     Although the present invention has been described hereinabove by way of preferred embodiments thereof, it can be modified, without departing from the spirit and nature of the subject invention as defined in the appended claims.