Patent ID: 7281559

Claim:
A binder strip cassette comprising: a cassette housing; a multiplicity of elongated binder strips, each of said binder strips including a flexible substrate and an heat-activated adhesive disposed on the substrate, with each binder strip having a leading and a trailing end; a flexible elongated carrier supporting said binder strips, with said binder strips being disposed along a length of the elongated carrier so that a leading end of one binder strip is positioned next to a trailing end of an adjacent binder strip and with said elongated carrier and said binder strips being wound to form a binder strip roll; a layer of pressure sensitive adhesive intermediate the binder strip substrates and the carrier, with the layer of pressure sensitive adhesive being disposed along less than a total length of each of the binder strip substrates between the leading and trailing ends; a mounting mechanism which rotatably mounts the binder strip roll within the cassette housing; a drive apparatus for unwinding the binder strip roll to provide an unwound portion of the binder strip roll; a separating apparatus for separating the binder strips from the elongated carrier of the unwound portion of the binder strip roll to produce a separated binder strip, with the unwinding by the drive apparatus causing a binder strip to be at least partially ejected through a binder strip eject opening in the cassette housing with leading end of the binder strips exiting the housing prior to the trailing end; and a guide mechanism positioned to guide the unwound portion of the binder strip roll to the separating apparatus, with the guide mechanism including a guide member having a movable first portion that engages a wound portion of the binder strip roll as the binder strip roll is depleted.