Patent Publication Number: US-2004040999-A1

Title: Multi-purpose hand-held unit

Description:
[0001] The invention relates to a multipurpose hand-held implement according to the preamble of claims 1 and 2.  
       [0002] Such multipurpose hand-held implements are known from WO 97/04924, WO 98/32570 and WO 99/20438, the last-mentioned document disclosing, in addition to a stapler and/or hole puncher, additional tools such as scissors, a knife blade, magnifying glass and the like, which are inserted into the implement in the form of an installation module and—prestressed into their storage position—can be moved via an opening mechanism, by manually actuable opening levers, into a position in which they can be swung out more easily. In its closed position, the implement serves as a handle for the respective tool. It is not possible, however, to accommodate a supply of staples for the stapler.  
       [0003] The object of the invention is to provide a multipurpose hand-held implement according to the preamble of claims 1 and 2 which makes it possible to carry a supply of staples.  
       [0004] This object is achieved according to the characterizing part of claims 1 and 2.  
       [0005] Further configurations of the invention can be gathered from the following description and the subclaims. 
     
    
    
     [0006] The invention is explained in more detail hereinbelow with reference to exemplary embodiments illustrated in the attached figures, in which:  
     [0007]FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of a multipurpose hand-held implement, the underside being at the top,  
     [0008]FIG. 2 shows the multipurpose hand-held implement from FIG. 1 with parts removed,  
     [0009] FIGS.  3  to  5  show the multipurpose hand-held implement from FIG. 1 with parts thereof in different positions,  
     [0010]FIG. 6 shows an exploded illustration of an installation module for the multipurpose hand-held implement from FIG. 1,  
     [0011]FIG. 7 shows a base-side part of the multipurpose hand-held implement in longitudinal section,  
     [0012]FIG. 8 shows a section along line VIII—VIII from FIG. 7,  
     [0013]FIG. 9 shows, in detail form, a section corresponding to line IX—IX from FIG. 8,  
     [0014]FIG. 10 shows a detail from FIG. 7 with a staple remover in a different actuating position from FIG. 7, and  
     [0015] FIGS.  11  to  13  show modified embodiments in a sectional view analogous to FIG. 7. 
    
    
     [0016] The multipurpose hand-held implement illustrated in FIG. 1 comprises a housing made up of a top-side component  1  and a base-side component  2 , which are connected to one another via a swivel pin  3  and are prestressed in relation to one another by a compression spring  4  (only illustrated in FIG. 13), with the result that the two components  1 ,  2  can be moved between a first position, in which they form, together, an elongate, essentially closed body which is essentially cuboidal with more or less rounded edges, and a second position, in which the top-side component  1  is arranged at a predetermined opening angle in relation to the base-side component  2 . The components  1 ,  2  can be locked in the first position by a locking mechanism, which can be released by an opening button  5 .  
     [0017] A peripheral slot  6  is located between the two components  1 ,  2  in the first position. The two components  1 ,  2  each comprise a housing shell  7 , these forming cavities in which different tools or tool parts are accommodated.  
     [0018] The top-side housing shell  7  accommodates a staple magazine  8  and a staple driver  9  of a stapler and, if appropriate, also a punch  10  with a guide  11  of a hole puncher (see FIG. 13). The top-side housing shell  7  here serves as a pressure-exerting lever for actuating the stapler and/or hole puncher. Details thereof are described, for example, in WO 97/04924.  
     [0019] The underside housing shell  7  has, adjacent to the slot  6 , a bearing plate  12  of a U-shaped insert part of the component  2 , said plate bearing a stapler platform  13  and an anvil  14  of the stapler, which is designed in particular as a flat-clinch stapler. If a hole puncher is additionally provided, then the die is likewise arranged in the bearing plate  12 .  
     [0020] The underside housing shell  7  has a base wall  15  which is provided with an elongate accommodating space  16  which extends in the longitudinal direction of the housing shell  7 , is open in the direction of the outside, opens out at an end side of the underside housing shell  7  and in which there is fastened an installation module  17 , which is preferably inserted flush with the base wall  15 .  
     [0021] If a hole puncher is provided, the underside housing shell  7  also has, in the region of the other end side, an accommodating compartment  19  for hole-puncher waste adjacent to the accommodating space  16 , said compartment being arranged beneath the die and being provided with a lid  18 .  
     [0022] The installation module  17  has a covering  20  which bounds a recess  21  which, like the accommodating space  16 , is open in the outward direction and accommodates a staple remover  22 , which can be swung out about a pin  23  which extends from the covering  20  transversely to the longitudinal direction of the base-side component  2 . The said remover  22  preferably comprises a shank  24  and a head  25  fastened thereon.  
     [0023] The installation module  17  comprises an essentially U-shaped, elongate chassis  26  which is open at the ends and, with an intermediate base  27 , forms a channel-like accommodating compartment for a drawer  28 . The chassis  26  has legs  30  which are angled outward at the inner ends of its lateral side plates  29  and each have two bores  31 ,  32 , of which the bores  31  accommodate a pin  33  for a lifting device  34  and the bores  32  accommodate a rotatably mounted sleeve  35 .  
     [0024] The lifting device  34  comprises a lifting nose  36  which is arranged on a tube  37  mounted in a rotatable manner on the pin  33 , the tube  37  being provided opposite the lifting nose  36 , as seen in the circumferential direction, with teeth of a partial toothing arrangement  38 . The teeth of the partial toothing arrangement  38  mesh with teeth  39  of a clip-like driver  40  which is located on the sleeve  35 . The sleeve  35  and the driver  40  are connected to one another in a rotationally fixed manner. Actuating levers  42  are pressed into the sleeve  35  from the outside through corresponding openings  41   a  in side walls  41  of the underside housing shell  7 . When the actuating lever  42  is actuated, the sleeve  35 , and thus the driver  40  and, via the latter, the lifting device  34 , is rotated, to be precise counter to a leg spring  43  which is mounted on the sleeve  35  and prestresses the driver  40  in relation to the chassis  26 , in order to rotate the actuating lever  42  back into its starting position once it has been released. A nose  44  on the toothed segment  40  serves here as a stop which interacts with the chassis  26  in the starting position of the actuating lever  42 , see FIG. 9.  
     [0025] The lifting device  34  serves, by virtue of the outer actuating lever  42  being actuated, for pivoting the staple remover  22  from its storage position, by means of the lifting nose  36 , into an oblique opening position (FIGS. 3 and 10), in order that the staple remover  22  can then be easily gripped and swung out into its use position (FIG. 4).  
     [0026] The staple remover  22  is prestressed both into the storage position and into the use position by means of a leaf spring  45  which is fastened on the chassis  26 . For this purpose, the leaf spring  45  has one end supported on the chassis  26 , in the accommodating compartment of the latter, and has its central region extending through a corresponding opening to the other side of the chassis  26 , where it is secured on a protuberance  46 , and has its fork-like spring section projecting into a recess  47  of the chassis  26 , in order to act on the flattened sections of side walls  24   a  of the shank  24  of the staple remover  22  which are directed toward it in the respective position, see FIGS. 7 and 8. The side walls  24   a  here project, through corresponding slots  48  in the covering  20 , into the region of the recess  47 .  
     [0027] The side plates  29  of the chassis  26  contain downwardly directed eyelets  49  for mounting the pin  23 , said eyelets engaging over the covering  20  in the region of the openings for the pin  23 .  
     [0028] The covering  20  has an opening  50 , through which the lifting nose  36  engages with the staple remover  22 .  
     [0029] The side walls  29  of the chassis  26  comprise beads  51  which extend in the longitudinal direction of the latter, while the drawer  28  has stepped side plates  52  which are accommodated in the region between the beads  51  and the base wall  53  of the chassis  26  for the purpose of guiding the drawer  28 .  
     [0030] The drawer  28  comprises a saddle  54  on which a block of staples K (FIGS. 5 and 8) for the stapler can be fitted, said staple block serving as a supply of staples for the stapler. The saddle  54 , which ends at a front wall  55  of the drawer  28 , is recessed on the underside and forms a corresponding cavity, into which the fork-like spring section of the leaf spring  45  and the side walls  24   a  of the shank  24  of the staple remover  22  can extend, as well as lateral base-wall parts  56  which bear the side plates  52 . The base-wall parts  56  are provided, adjacent to the front wall  55 , with finger hollows  57 , in order to make it easier to grip a staple block which is located on the saddle  54 . A transverse wall  58  at the inner end of the saddle  54  bounds the depth to which the staple block K is pushed in.  
     [0031] The front wall  55  of the drawer  28  has, on the underside, a gripping element  59  which projects into the recess  21  of the covering  20  and is used for opening the drawer  28  manually.  
     [0032] The staple remover  22  is recessed in the region of the gripping element  59 , with the result that, in the swung-out state, it rests. on the base wall  15  of the covering  20 , which is supported on the base wall  53  of the chassis  26 .  
     [0033] The saddle  54  expediently has, on its inner, top edge, a bead  61  which, in the pushed-in position of the drawer  28 , interacts with a corresponding bead  62  on the intermediate base  27  for the purpose of latching the drawer  28  in the closed position.  
     [0034] In the border region of its side plates  29 , the chassis  26  has slots  63 , into which corresponding protuberances  64  on the intermediate base  27  can be latched. The installation module  17  is connected to the base-side component  2  via a suspension means  65 ,  66 ,  67 , the housing shell  7 , moreover, projecting beyond the accommodating space  16  on the base side, with the result that the covering  20  is secured correspondingly.  
     [0035] The base-side component  2  bears a U-shaped bearing block  68 , of which the upwardly directed legs are each provided with a bore  69  for the swivel pin  3 .  
     [0036] In the case of the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 11, the staple remover  22  can be raised into an oblique open position via a rocker  70 , in order then for it to be possible to be gripped and swung out to the full extent. For this purpose, the rocker  70  is mounted on the chassis  26  by means of a pin  71  and, at one end, has an angled section  72   a  which projects through a base-side opening  73  in the covering  20  and can be actuated manually in order that a further angled section  72   b  at the other end acts on the shank  24  of the staple remover  22  and forces the latter into the oblique open position corresponding to FIG. 3.  
     [0037] In the case of the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 12, the staple remover  22  is provided, between the side walls of its shank  24 , with a protrusion  74 , which engages with a pulling element  76  which is arranged beneath the saddle  54  such that it can be displaced manually counter to the prestressing of a spring  75  supported on the covering  20 , with the result that pulling of the pulling element  76  allows the protrusion  74  to be rotated and thus allows the staple remover  22  to be moved into its oblique open position. The pulling element  76  here is preferably subjected to the pulling action via actuating levers  42  or via a gearwheel/rack mechanism, which transmits the rotary movement of the actuating levers  42  into a pulling movement acting on the pulling element  76 .  
     [0038] It is also possible, of course, for the swing-out systems described and shown in FIGS.  1  to  12  to act on a plurality of swing-out tools, as is described in detail in WO 99/20438.  
     [0039] In the case of the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 13, the staple remover  22  is arranged such that it can be pushed out of the recess  21  into its use position, for which purpose a corresponding slot  77  is provided in the covering  70 . The slot  77  in the covering  20  is assigned a guide slot  78  in the adjacent base wall  53  of the chassis  26 . The guide slot  78  is widened at two latching positions, corresponding to the storage position and the use position of the staple remover  22 , to form a square latching recess  79  (only one is visible in FIG. 13). The staple remover  22  is fastened on a guide block  80  by way of its shank  24 . The guide block has a stepped bore  81  which accommodates an arresting pin  83 , which is prestressed outward by a spring  82  and has a square head  84  for engaging with the latching recesses  79 . Located on that side of the base wall  53  which is directed away from the staple remover  22  is a plate  85  which is connected to the guide block  80  with two guide grooves being formed in the process, the latter engaging over the base wall  53  adjacent to the guide slot  78 . The arresting pin  83  projects outward through the staple remover  22  and is located in a small hollow  86 , in order to make it easier for it to be pressed in. By virtue of the arresting pin  83  being pressed in manually, counter to the force of the spring  82 , by means of a finger, the head  84  is forced out of the latching recess  79 , as a result of which the arresting of the staple remover  22  is released and the latter can be displaced.  
     [0040] Instead of the swing-out or push-out action, it is also possible for the staple remover  22  to be capable of being rotated about a pin, in a direction perpendicular to the plane of the base wall  53 , between its storage position and use position and of being latched or locked in the end positions, the movement direction of the swing-out mechanism having to be adapted correspondingly.  
     [0041] The components contained in the installation module  17  may also be installed, as such, in the housing shell  7  and need not form a module, although this is preferred.