U.S. patent number 3,637,060 [Application Number 04/875,467] was granted by the patent office on 1972-01-25 for embossing tool with self loading tape feed mechanism.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Dymo Industries, Inc.. Invention is credited to John McMahon.
United States Patent |
3,637,060 |
McMahon |
January 25, 1972 |
EMBOSSING TOOL WITH SELF LOADING TAPE FEED MECHANISM
Abstract
A simplified hand-held, hand-operated, plastic tape embossing
tool having a novel means for engaging the distal end of a coil of
tape disposed in a cartridge or magazine and for feeding the same
to and through a tape embossing station, without the necessity of
manually feeding such tape end through the normal tape feed
rolls.
Inventors: |
McMahon; John (Livermore,
CA) |
Assignee: |
Dymo Industries, Inc.
(Emeryville, CA)
|
Family
ID: |
25365859 |
Appl.
No.: |
04/875,467 |
Filed: |
November 10, 1969 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
400/134.5;
400/613; 400/621 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B41J
3/39 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
B41J
3/39 (20060101); B41J 3/00 (20060101); B41j
001/30 () |
Field of
Search: |
;197/6.7 ;206/52 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Burr; Edgar S.
Claims
I claim:
1. In a tool for embossing characters on a strip material, said
tool having body means and a manually operable trigger member, an
improved means for advancing said strip material through said tool,
said advancing means comprising:
supply means for holding said strip material in a coil with one end
of the coil extending tangentially outwardly of said supply
means;
means for slidably receiving said supply means in said body
means;
means for moving said supply means a predetermined distance in one
direction in said body means upon manual application of a force to
said trigger member;
means for moving said supply means in the direction opposite to
said one direction by a distance equal to said predetermined
distance in response to release of said manually applied force;
means frictionally engageable with said one end of said strip
material, said frictionally engageable means permitting advancement
of said one end of said strip material in one direction as said
supply means is moved in said one direction and inhibiting movement
of said one end of said strip material with respect to said body
means as said supply means is moved in said opposite direction.
2. In a tool according to claim 1 wherein said trigger member
includes a cam surface, and wherein said supply means includes a
member engageable with said cam surface, said cam surface effecting
movement of said supply means as said trigger member is
operated.
3. In a tool according to claim 1 wherein said frictionally
engageable means comprises a resilient pawl mounted on said body
means.
4. In a tool according to claim 1 wherein said body means includes
rail members for guiding movement of said supply means within said
body means.
5. In a tool according to claim 2 wherein said cam surfaces are
formed on said trigger member and are sloped in the direction of
movement of said one end of said strip material.
6. In a tool according to claim 5 wherein said frictionally
engageable means includes a resilient pawl sloped in the direction
of movement of said one end of said strip material, and wherein
said body means includes a platform disposed adjacent said one end
of said strip material, said pawl urging said one end of said strip
material into sliding contact with said platform.
7. In a tool according to claim 1 wherein said tool includes an
embossing unit, and said trigger member includes means for
actuating said embossing unit as said trigger member is
operated.
8. In a tool according to claim 7 wherein said means for moving
said supply means is inactive when said trigger member is actuating
said embossing unit.
9. In a tool according to claim 7 wherein said trigger member
effects movement of said supply means during only a first position
of the operation of said trigger member, and effects operation of
said embossing unit during only a second position of the operation
of said trigger member.
10. In a tool according to claim 9 wherein said trigger member is
provided with a cam slot open at one end, and said supply means
includes a pin engageable in said cam slot, said cam slot being
arranged to push said pin out of said cam slot upon operation of
said trigger member from its first position to its second
position.
11. In a tool according to claim 1 in which said supply means is
provided with a tab frictionally engaging said one end of said
strip material, said tab permitting egress of said material from
said supply means while restraining ingress thereof.
12. In a tool according to claim 11 in which said supply means is
provided with a tangential extension overlying said tab and
overlying said frictionally engageable means.
13. In an embossing tool of the character described having a body,
embossing dies carried by said body, and a trigger member pivotally
carried on said body and operatively connected to said dies for
actuating the latter, the combination therewith of supply means for
storing and dispensing strip material in coil form with one end of
such coil extending outwardly from said supply means, means for
moving said supply means away from said dies upon actuation of said
trigger member, and means operatively connected to said trigger
member and releasably engageable with said tape adjacent the coil
thereof for grasping and moving said tape linearly away from said
coil during movement of said trigger member in one direction and
movement of said supply means away from said dies.
Description
BACKGROUND
1. Field of Invention
This invention pertains to an embossing tool and more particularly
concerns a self-loading means for feeding a tape or strip of
plastic embossing material from a supply cartridge to and through
such tool.
2. Prior Art
Hand-operated embossing tools of the type shown, for example, in
U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,006,456 Souza; 3,083,807 Travaglio; 3,091,318
Carboni; 3,091,319 Sanders et al.; and 3,133,495 De Man, each
include a manually operable knob connected to suitable tape feed
rollers through which the distal end of a coil of tape must be fed
when a new supply of such tape is placed in the tool. The knob is
then rotated by the fingers of an operator to bring the forward
portion of a strip of embossing material to the correct position at
an embossing station in the tool. It has been deemed desirable to
provide for this preliminary feeding of the strip material by some
means or manner that would eliminate the manually tape feeding
rotation. By so eliminating this step, speed and ease in starting
the strip material in an embossing tool would be substantially
increased.
SUMMARY
The present invention is achieved in a hand-held, hand-operated
embossing tool by providing a mechanical linkage between a
cartridge having strip material coiled therein and the trigger
mechanism that effects the embossing operation so that the entire
cartridge is retracted a precise distance away from the embossing
unit station as the trigger is squeezed manually; and during such
retraction of the cartridge the end portion of the strip material,
which extends outwardly of the cartridge, is restrained by a
one-way catch pawl from corresponding movement away from the
embossing unit. In this manner a precise length of strip material
is pulled or fed out of the cartridge. Release of the trigger will
cause the cartridge to be pulled forward to its former position and
in so doing the end portion of the strip material extending
outwardly of the cartridge is moved forward on toward the embossing
unit a precise amount.
Repeated operation of the trigger, which is also used to operate
the embossing unit, causes continued incremental advancement of the
strip material to and through the embossing unit in the embossing
tool.
Additionally, the arrangement is such that when a new cartridge is
placed in the tool, it is only necessary to have the free end of
the tape coil extend outwardly from the cartridge. Then, by
operation of the trigger, the tape end will automatically be
engaged and advanced to the embossing station, without any manual
feeding of such end into the tape drive means.
The features of novelty that are considered characteristic of this
invention are set forth with particularity in the appended claims.
The organization and method of operation of the invention may best
be understood from the following description when read in
connection with the accompanying drawing.
BrIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING
FIG. 1 is a side cutaway view of an embossing tool according to the
present invention.
FIG. 2 is a partial view of the rear portion of the embossing tool
of FIG. 1 showing details of the operation of the present invention
in one position of the trigger mechanism.
FIG. 3 is a partial view of the rear portion of the embossing tool
of FIG. 1 showing further details of the operation of the present
invention in another position of the trigger mechanism.
FIG. 4 is an end view of the embossing tool of FIG. 1 looking in
the direction of view lines 4--4 of FIG. 1.
DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
The embossing tool 10 of the present invention includes a first or
right-hand body portion 12, and a second or left-hand body portion
14. Each of the body portions may be formed from a single piece of
material such as by casting or molding of metal or strong plastic
material. The two body portions are then fitted together, as best
shown in FIG. 4, to enclose the other mechanisms of the tool as
will now be described.
The forward end of each body portion is formed with a pin or stud
receiving opening 16; each opening 16 faces or opens toward the
other opening on the other body position. In FIG. 1 only the
opening 16 associated with the right-hand body portion is
shown.
The lower portions of each body portion are provided with a trigger
receiving cutout as best shown in FIG. 1 by the dotted line or edge
18 which shows the edge of the trigger receiving cutout for the
right-hand body portion 12.
A trigger member 20, shown best in FIG. 1 as being hollow and open
at its top portion, has a pair of pivot studs or pins 22 (only the
right-hand stud is illustrated in FIG. 1) extending outwardly from
respective opposite sides of the trigger member near its forward
end and fit into the corresponding openings 16. The trigger member
is thus pivotable about the openings 16 in the plane of the tool as
shown by direction arrow 24. Stop lugs 26 formed on the rearward
end of each side of the trigger member 20 engage a corresponding
stop member 28 provided in the inner portion of the body portions
12 and 14 near the rear of the trigger receiving cutouts for
limiting the clockwise movement of the trigger member 20 (as viewed
in FIG. 1).
An embossing die engaging lug 30 is provided on the upper portion
of the trigger member so as to engage with selective ones of the
plurality of character dies on a rotatable die wheel 32 when the
trigger member is squeezed or fully operated in the
counterclockwise direction (as viewed in FIG. 1).
The forward portion of the trigger member 20 is provided with a
cutout at its lower or bottom portion as best shown in FIG. 1 by
left-hand edge 34 of the trigger member's cutout. A tape or strip
cutter lever 36 is disposed within the trigger member's forward end
and pivoted on the same axis as the pivot axis of trigger member
20. A stop lug 40 at the extreme forward edge of the cutter lever
engages with the extreme forward walls 42 of the body portions 12
and 14 to limit the clockwise movement (as viewed in FIG. 1) of the
cutter lever. A cutter bed or anvil 44 is formed on the upper
forward end of the cutter lever 36 for movement into engagement
with embossed strip material that may be disposed in a strip path
directly beneath a pair of cutter knives 48 disposed on a mounting
bracket 50 when the cutter lever is squeezed or manually actuated
in the counterclockwise direction, as shown by direction arrow
52.
A spring mounting post 54 is formed on the inside of the right-hand
body portion 12. A trigger member and cutter lever biasing spring
56 is mounted on the post 54. The rearward end of spring 56 bears
against the top of a lug 58 on the trigger member 20 while the
forward end of the spring 56 bears against the top of a lug 60
formed on the rearward end of the cutter lever 36. The force or
bias of the spring 56 is such as to releasably or yieldably bias
both the trigger member 20 and cutter lever 36 in their clockwise
direction (as viewed in FIG. 1). It can also be observed that the
trigger member 20, and the cutter lever 36 are movable or pivotable
independently of each other.
A mounting bracket 50 extending from the forward end of the body
portions 12 and 14 to a position above the rearward end of the
trigger member 20 is suitably fitted in appropriate receiving slots
formed in the body portions.
A circular embossing disc 32 is mounted on the middle portion of
the bracket 50. Details of the embossing disc and its cooperation
with the lug 30 are not necessary to understanding the present
invention and no further discussion is made of the disc here except
to point out that embossing strip or tape material is fed in a path
of travel between male and female dies of the disc as will be
described below. Details of the structure and operation of the disc
32 may be found in any of the U.S. patents mentioned above.
The rearward end of the bracket 50 includes a downwardly projecting
arm or section 62, the lower end of which is provided with a
rearwardly projecting arm or platform 64.
A resilient pawl or embossing strip engaging member 66 is mounted
on the upper surface of the arm 64 and slopes in the forward
direction. The extreme upper end of the pawl 66 is spaced beneath a
strip bearing platform 68, formed by lateral protrusions provided
on the body portions 12 and 14, by a distance just slightly greater
than the thickness of the strip material 70 to be fed through the
tool 10 as described below.
The rearmost end of the body portions 12 and 14 defines a
rearwardly directed opening 72 through which a strip material
cartridge 74 may be inserted, the material being contained in the
cartridge in coil form as best illustrated in FIG. 2 of the
drawing. The design of the cartridge and its structural and
functional cooperation with portions of the tool hereinafter
described comprise an important portion of the present invention,
so some description will first be made of the cartridge itself.
The cartridge 74 is preferably formed of plastic having opposed
sidewalls 76, a rear wall 78, a top wall 80 and a bottom wall 82.
The sidewalls are separable, such as by a hinge joint 84 permitting
a coil of strip material to be placed therebetween about a central
post 86 extending from one of the walls. An opening 88 is provided
in the other wall circumscribing the post. A pair of horizontally
spaced ribs 90 are provided on the exterior surface of each wall on
both sides of the opening 88 for a purpose to be presently
explained, and extending forwardly from the center of the cartridge
is a bracket 92 whose forward distal end is provided with a pin 94,
extending laterally outward from the plane of each wall and lying
along the longitudinal axis of the ribs. Subjacent the bracket 92
the cartridge has a curved opening 96 terminating at the bottom
wall 82. Slotlike openings 98 are also provided in sidewalls 76
adjacent the rear wall for viewing the amount of strip material in
the cartridge. The top wall 80 of the cartridge is provided with a
tangential extension 99 terminating a general vertical alignment
with pin 94. A tab element 100 extends forwardly and upwardly from
bracket 92 and its upper end is positioned adjacent the lower
surface of extension 98 in such a manner as to resiliently urge the
emerging strip from the coil to be forced against the extension in
a tangential disposition to the coil. The angular relationship of
the tab permits the strip to be withdrawn from the cartridge, but
effectively prevents contramovement into the cartridge.
Returning to the rear body portions adjacent the opening 72, the
opposed inner portions 12 and 14 are provided with horizontally
extending rails 102 defining a channel 104 therebetween extending
to the rear end of the tool. When the cartridge 74 is inserted
through the opening 72, the pin 94 and the ribs 90 will slide in
the channel 104, and the cartridge will be restrained against
movement in the tool other than in a fore and aft horizontal
direction.
In placing the cartridge into the tool, the supply end of the
embossing material may extend past tab 100 in underlying relation
to the exterior 98 and terminate at the forward end of the latter.
The tab, as above explained, will permit pulling or withdrawal of
the material so as to feed the same to the embossing station.
Extending rearwardly and upwardly from the lower end of cam slot
106 is a cam surface 108 normally positioned in the path of the pin
94 of the cartridge.
Insertion of the cartridge 74 into the rear opening 72 of the tool
10, as shown in FIG. 1, causes the pin 94 to bear against the cam
surface 108, raising the trigger member and permitting further
insertion of the cartridge into the tool. Manual squeezing or
operation of the trigger member 20 in a counterclockwise direction,
while still pushing inwardly on the cartridge 74, brings the lower
open end of cam slots 106 into alignment with the cartridge pin 94,
the pin entering the lower end of the cam slots as best shown in
FIG. 3.
Removal of squeezing force on the trigger member 20 permits the
force of biasing spring 56 to return the trigger to its clockwise
most position as shown in FIG. 2. As the trigger member 20 thus
returns to its normal clockwise most position, the sloped cam-slot
106 acts on the pin 94 to further pull the cartridge 74 fully into
the tool 10. Of course, as the cartridge is pulled fully into the
tool, the exterior 98 and the strip material 70 lying subjacent the
same will be positioned between the flexible pawl 66 and platform
68.
Now, to advance the strip material from the cartridge, squeezing or
manual operation of the trigger member 20 in the counterclockwise
direction will cause the sloped cam slot 106 to push rearwardly
against the cartridge pin 94 and move the cartridge rearwardly in
the tool 10 by a precise incremental distance as illustrated in
FIG. 3. If, at this time, there is strip material 70 disposed in
proper embossing position with respect to the disc 32, further
squeezing of the trigger member 20 will cause embossing of a
character on the strip material in the conventional manner.
However, such further squeezing of the trigger member does not
cause further rearward movement of the cartridge since the pin is
no longer being pushed by the cam slot.
As the cartridge is moved rearwardly in the manner above described,
it is important to note that the upper edge of pawl 66 which
already urges the strip material against the lower surface of
extension 99 will prevent corresponding rearward movement of the
material. In other words, the tape or strip material remains
stationary while the extension 99 moves rearwardly, sliding over
the tape. If desired, and as indicated, further pressure of the
pawl against the tape may be effected by rocking the pawl in a
clockwise direction by causing the upper portion of cam 108 to
engage the forward surface of the pawl. This latter procedure is
not essential, since in most circumstances it has been found that
the forward slope of the pawl prevents the relative rearward
withdrawal of the cartridge extension while holding the strip
material stationary. When the trigger is released, forward movement
of the cartridge, as above explained, causes the strip material to
advance with the cartridge. In this latter connection, it is
important to note that tab 100 assists in the forward movement of
the strip material with the cartridge. Without such a device, the
material could remain stationary relative to the tool and merely
recoil itself in the cartridge.
Upon release of squeezing force on trigger member 20 the cartridge
pin is once again engaged by the cam slot and the cartridge 74 is
once again advanced by a precise distance into the tool, causing
further advancement of the protruding end of strip material into
and through the tool, in the same manner as described
previously.
It can thus be appreciated that there has been shown and described
an improved and novel embossing tool which includes a minimum
number of moving parts, and such parts as are included provide for
a unique strip feeding and advancing means in an embossing
tool.
* * * * *