Patent Publication Number: US-7219432-B2

Title: Stamping and die-cutting tool with a quick mould change design

Description:
This application is a continuation of part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/986,598 filed on Nov. 13, 2004 now abandoned, which claims the benefit of the earlier filing date. 

   BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   1. Field of the Invention 
   The present invention relates to a stamping and die-cutting tool capable of stamping or cutting out a desired pattern from a given material, and more particularly to a stamping and die-cutting tool with quick mould change design. 
   2. Description of the Prior Arts 
   With reference to  FIG. 1 , a conventional stamping and die-cutting tool with a mould change design includes a casing  11  on which is provided with a handle  12 . The handle  12  is to be pressed by the user and will return to its original position after being pressed. In the front end of the casing  11  is disposed a mould  13 , and a pushing member  14  is disposed in the case  11  and located opposite to the abutment surface  131  of the mould  13 . By pulling a pulling portion  141  of the pushing member  14 , a pushing portion  142  of the pushing member  14  will be caused to push the mould  13  out of the casing  11 , so that the mould  13  can be replaced. However, this conventional stamping tool still has some problems: 
   First, during the course of changing the mould  13 , the user has to hold the casing  11  with one hand while pressing the pushing member  14  with another hand, so that the mould  13  will probably fall to floor, in case that the user pull too hard, thus leading to a damage. 
   Second, for aesthetic reasons, the pushing member  14  is hidden inside the casing  11  without being pressed. In this case, before changing the mould  13 , the user has to find out pushing member  14  and then press the pulling portion  141 . This is time-consuming. 
   Third, the pushing member  14  is &lt;-shaped, and the connecting portion between the pulling portion  141  and the pushing portion  142  is likely to be broken if an overgreat force is applied. 
   The present invention has arisen to mitigate and/or obviate the afore-described disadvantages. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   The primary objective of the present invention is to provide a stamping and die-cutting tool with quick mould change design that is capable of changing the mould easily. 
   A stamping and die-cutting tool with quick mould change design provided in accordance with the present invention comprises: 
   a casing; 
   a pushing member have a pushing portion to be fixed at an extended position and a retracted position alternatively after being pressed repeatedly, the pushing member is fixed in the casing; 
   a mould have an attractive surface and is moveably disposed in the casing in such a manner that the attractive surface is attracted to the pushing portion of the pushing member; 
   by pressing the mould, the pushing member will be moved out of and retracted into the casing, so that the mould can be changed easily. 
   The present invention will become more obvious from the following description when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, which show, for purpose of illustrations only, the preferred embodiment in accordance with the present invention. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       FIG. 1  is a cross sectional view of a conventional stamping and die-cutting tool with quick mould change design; 
       FIG. 2  is an exploded view of a stamping and die-cutting tool with quick mould change design in accordance with the present invention; 
       FIG. 3  is a cross sectional view of a stamping and die-cutting tool with quick mould change design in accordance with the present invention; 
       FIG. 4  is an operational view of a stamping and die-cutting tool with quick mould change design in accordance with the present invention; 
       FIG. 5  is an operational view of the pushing member of the stamping and die-cutting tool with quick mould change design in accordance with the present invention; 
       FIG. 6  is another operational view of the pushing member of the stamping and die-cutting tool with quick mould change design in accordance with the present invention; and 
       FIG. 7  is an illustrative view of showing the pressing member structure in accordance with the present invention. 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
   Referring to  FIGS. 2 and 3 , a stamping and die-cutting tool with quick mould change design is shown and comprises: a casing  20 , a pushing member  30  and a mould  40 . 
   The casing  20  is defined at the front end thereof with a chamber  21 , a handle  23  is fixed at the rear end of the casing  20  by a torsion spring  22  so that the handle  23  will return to its original position after being pressed. At the front end of the handle  23  is defined a cavity  231 . 
   The pushing member  30  includes a pushing portion  31  which can be fixed at an extended position and a retracted position alternatively after being pressed repeatedly. A magnet  32  is provided at the end of the pushing portion  31 , and the pushing member  30  is fixed in the casing  20  and inserted in the cavity  231  of the handle  23 . 
   The mould  40  is provided with a die  41  moveable in a vertical direction, under an attractive surface  401  of the mould  40  is disposed a iron member  42 , and then the mould  40  is moveably disposed in the chamber  21  of the casing  20  in such a manner that the attractive surface  401  is attracted to the pushing portion  31  of the pushing member  30 . 
   For a better understanding of the invention, its operating advantages and specific objects attained by its uses, reference should be made to  FIGS. 3 and 4 . When in use, the pushing portion  31  of the pushing member  30  is fixed in a retracted position, as shown in  FIG. 3 . When the user presses the mould  40  in a horizontal direction, since the mould  40  is attracted to the pushing member  30 , the pushing portion  31  of the pushing member  30  will move to the extended position after being pressed. Thus, the mould  40  will be pushed out of the casing  20 , allowing for easy replacement. After replacement, by pressing the mould  40  again in a horizontal direction, the pushing portion  31  of the pushing member  30  will move back to the retracted position, and the mould  40  will be moved by the pushing portion  31  into the chamber  21  again. In this way, the mould  40  can be changed easily. 
   The mould  40  can be prevented from falling off the casing  20 , during the course of replacing, since it is magnetically attracted to the pushing member  30 . Furthermore, the magnet  32  can be disposed beneath the attractive surface of the mould  40  and the iron member  42  can be fixed to the end of the pushing member  30 , this alternative still allows the mould  40  to be attracted to the pushing member  30 , and the still can be replaced easily. 
   Since it is a conventional method of fixing the pushing portion  31  of the pushing member  30  at the extended position and the retracted position, this functionality is briefly illustrated with reference to  FIGS. 5 and 6 : 
   The pushing member  30  includes the pushing portion  31 , a base  33 , a compression spring  34  and a positioning lever  35 . The pushing portion  31  is retractably disposed in the base  33 . The pushing portion  31  is defined with a recess A and a through hole B vertical to the recess A, and the through hole B is also vertical to the inner wall of the base  33 . 
   In the surface of the base  33  of the pushing member  30  is formed a μ-shaped positioning groove that is divided into a first section  311 , a second section  312  and a third section  313 . At the connection of the respective sections is formed a protruding first stop portion  314 , a reverse second stop portion  315  and a third stop portion  316 . In the second stop portion  315  is formed a notch  317 . Each of the first section  311  and second section  313  defines an opening. One end of the compression spring  34  is abutted against the inner wall of the base  33  and located between the pushing portion  31  and the base  33 , while another end of the compression spring  34  is inserted in the through hole B of the pressing portion  31  and extends to the recess A. 
   A positioning lever  35  is pivotally assembled to the pushing member  31  and is provided at both ends thereof with an arc-shaped pivotal block  351  and a hook  352 . The arc-shaped pivotal block  351  is pivotally disposed in the recess A of the pushing member  31 , and the arc surface of the arc-shaped pivotal block  351  is pushed by the compression spring  34 , so as to enable the positioning lever  35  to be maintained in a skew position. The arc-shaped pivotal block  351  is pivotally fixed to the base  33  in such a manner the hook  352  is movably positioned in the respective annular sections of the base  33 . When the hook  352  is forced to move within the respective annular sections of the base, an end of the compression spring  34  is positioned on the base  33  and another end of the compression spring  34  presses against the arc-shaped pivotal block  351  of the positioning lever  35 , thus providing a restoring stress for allowing the positioning lever  35  to swing toward the notch  317  and to withdraw from the third section  313 . 
   The operation of this embodiment is that: when the user aligns the pushing member  31  with the base  33  and pushing it towards the base  33  (retraction), the hook  352  of the positioning lever  35  is located in the opening of the first section  311  of the base  33 , the pushing portion  31  will retracts while cooperating with the compressing spring  34  to make the hook  352  move along the first stop  314  until it is stopped by the reverse second stop portion  315 , and the hook  352  will fall into the notch  317  of the second section and will be positioned therein. 
   If the user pushes the pushing portion  31  toward the base  33  again (retraction), the hook  352  of the positioning lever  35  will move along the second stop portion  315  and slide to the third section  313  (being pushed toward the third section  313  by the compression spring  34 ), thus making the hook  352  disengage from the opening in the lower portion of the third section  313 . in this way, the pushing portion  31  being pushed by the compression spring  34  can make the hook  352  slide to its original portion. In this way, the pushing member  30  can be fixed at an extended position and a retracted position alternatively after being pressed repeatedly. 
   While we have shown and described various embodiments in accordance with the present invention, it should be clear to those skilled in the art that further embodiments may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention.