U.S. patent number RE29,819 [Application Number 05/817,944] was granted by the patent office on 1978-10-31 for fastener attachment system needle constructions.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Dennison Manufacturing Company. Invention is credited to Arnold R. Bone.
United States Patent |
RE29,819 |
Bone |
* October 31, 1978 |
Fastener attachment system needle constructions
Abstract
A needle tube or the like useful in dispensing fastener
attachment members, the needle including a tip, a central portion
and a mounting portion, the mounting portion having a hollow
rearward end in which there is provided a knife edge extending
inwardly towards the tip, a first feed slot at substantially ninety
degrees to the knife edge and a second slot for feeding fastener
attachment members through the needle, the second slot
substantially ninety degrees to the first slot. In one embodiment
of the invention the mounting portion comprises a plastic shank in
which there is mounted a needle core which includes the
aforementioned knife edge.
Inventors: |
Bone; Arnold R. (Needham,
MA) |
Assignee: |
Dennison Manufacturing Company
(Framingham, MA)
|
[*] Notice: |
The portion of the term of this patent
subsequent to April 25, 1989 has been disclaimed. |
Family
ID: |
23511136 |
Appl.
No.: |
05/817,944 |
Filed: |
July 22, 1977 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
Issue Date |
|
|
158438 |
Jun 30, 1971 |
|
|
|
|
39564 |
Apr 17, 1970 |
3659769 |
|
|
Reissue of: |
382963 |
Jul 26, 1973 |
03895753 |
Jul 22, 1975 |
|
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Current U.S.
Class: |
227/67;
227/68 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A41H
37/008 (20130101); B65B 15/02 (20130101); B65C
7/008 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
A41H
37/00 (20060101); B65B 15/02 (20060101); B65B
15/00 (20060101); B65C 7/00 (20060101); B65C
007/00 () |
Field of
Search: |
;227/64,67,68
;30/109,115,351,357 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Custer, Jr.; Granville Y.
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Kersey; George E.
Parent Case Text
This is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 158,438 filed
June 30, 1971, now abandoned, which was filed as a continuation in
part of application Ser. No. 39,564 filed Apr. 17, 1970, now U.S.
Pat. No. 3,659,769.
Claims
I claim:
1. A needle comprising a tip, a central portion and a mounting
portion, a first slot and a bore extending from the rear of the
mounting portion into the central portion, a second slot in the
mounting portion offset from the first slot and which extends from
the rear of the mounting portion partially to the front portion of
the mounting portion closest to the central portion, and a knife
provided in the mounting portion opposite the first slot and offset
from the second slot, .[.said knife comprising cutting edge
portions shaped to form a `V` with the bottom of the `V` pointing
towards the tip and cutting edge portions spaced apart at the rear
of the mounting portion, and the bottom of the `V` extending
partially towards said central less than the distance said second
slot extends towards said central portion .]. .
2. A needle for dispensing fastener attachment members comprising a
needle core having a tip, a central portion and a flat tail portion
having a rearward end, a first slot and bore formed in the central
portion of th core for permitting th travel of portions of fastener
attachment members therethrough, and a rigid plastic shank
surrounding a portion of said core and having a first slot in line
with said first slot of said core and a bore in line with the bore
of said core, the plastic shank surrounding a portion of the core
central portion and at least a portion of said tail portion .[.said
central portion of the core having a flared shoulder defining an
entry way into the slot of the central portion, and said flared
shoulder encapsulated by said rigid plastic to lock the core in the
rigid plastic shank .]..
3. A needle according to claim 2 in which the tail is provided with
a cutting knife with cutting edge portions forming a `V`.
4. A needle according to claim 3 in which the shank is formed with
a second slot which extends from the rearward end of the shank
partway towards the front of the shank for permitting a portion of
the fastener attachment end members to be guided into the
bores.
5. The needle of claim 3 in which a portion of the plastic shank is
shaped to expose the knife.
6. A needle according to claim 3, in which the `V` shaped cutting
knife has a curved edge portion at the bottom of the `V`.
7. A needle according to claim 6 in which the curved edge portion
of the `V` has an arc defined by a radius between .005 and .010
inches.
8. A needle according to claim 7 in which the knife `V` extends
inwardly from the rearward end of the tail .015 to .025 inches and
werein the angle between the edge portions of the `V` is between
60.degree. to 95.degree..
9. The needle of claim 6 in which a portion of the plastic shank is
shaped to expose the knife.
10. A needle for dispensing fastner attachment members comprising a
needle core having a tip central portion and flat tail portion
having a rearward end, a first slot and bore formed in the central
portion of the core for permitting the travel of fastener
attachment members therethrough and a rigid plastic shank
surrounding a portion of the core and having a first slot in line
with said first slot of said core and a bore in line with the bore
of said core central portion, the plastic shank surrounding a
portion of the core, said needle having a shaped cutting surface
defining a knife which extends toward said tip, said shank having a
second slot which extends from the rearward end thereof partway
towards the front of the shank for permitting a portion of the
fastener attachment end member to be guided into the bores in which
a finger separates the first and second slots of the shank and in
which the finger extends only partway towards the rearward end of
the shank.
11. A needle according to claim 10 in which said core includes a
shoulder and in which the shank engages said shoulder of said core
to lock the core in the shank.
12. A needle according to claim 11 in which the tail has a keyway
and the interior of the shank extends into the keyway and engages
said keyway to mechanically hold the tail into the shank.
13. A needle according to claim 12 in which the shaped cutting
surface is in the form of a `V` having a curved bottom.
14. A needle according to claim 13 in which the curved bottom has
an arc defined by a radius of between .005 and .010 inches.
15. A needle according to claim 14 in which the edge of the shaped
cutting surface extends inwardly from the rearward end of the tail
.015 to .035 inches and wherein the angle between the legs of the
`V` is between 60.degree. to 95.degree..
16. A needle according to claim 13 in which a portion of the shank
is shaped to expose the cutting surface of the knife.
17. A needle comprising a tip, a central portion and a mounting
portion, a first slot and a bore provided in the central portion, a
bore and first slot provided in the mounting portion and
communicating with the bore and the first slot of the central
portion, the improvement of a knife extending along the side of the
mounting portion, the knife having at least one `V` shaped cutting
edge with the bottom of the `V` pointing towards said tip, and the
open part of the `V` defined by the rear of the mounting portion,
said `V` shaped cutting edge having a curved portion at the bottom
of the `V`, said mounting portion is provided with a second slot
extending from the rearward end thereof towards the front of the
mounting portion to guide a portion of an attachment member into
the bore, in which a finger separates the first and second slots of
the mounting portion and in which the finger extends only partway
towards the rearward end of the mounting portion.
18. A needle dispensing fastener attachment members comprising a
metal portion including a tip, a central portion and a flat tail
portion having a rearward end, said central portion having a bore
opening into a slot for permitting the travel of portions of
fastener attachment members therethrough, and a .[.ridig.].
.Iadd.rigid .Iaddend.plastic shank having a slot in line with the
slot of the central portion and a bore in line with the bore of the
central portion for permitting the travel of portions of fastener
attachment members therethrough, said rigid plastic shank extending
about and engaging at least a portion of said central portion and
said tail portion and said slot of the shank is positioned above a
portion of the slot of the central portion.
19. The needle of claim 18 in which the portion of the central
portion closest to the tail portion has a flared shouler at the
entryway and in which the plastic shank encapsulates the flared
shoulder to lock the metal portion of the needle within the plastic
shank.
20. The needle of claim 19 in which a flat tail portion is provided
with a keyway and in which the plastic shank extends into and
encapsulates the keyway to lock the metal portion in the plastic
shank.
21. The needle of claim 18 in which the flat tail portion is
partially exposed in the shank and may be observed by viewing
through the slot of the shank and is an extension of the metal core
surface.
22. The needle of claim 21 in which the plastic shank has a second
slot at substantially right angles to the first slot.
23. The needle of claim 18 in which the flat tail has a knife and a
portion of the rigid plastic is removed to expose the knife.
24. The needle of claim 23 in which the knife is `V` shaped.
25. The needle of claim 24 in which the bottom of the `V` is
rounded. .Iadd.26. A needle for dispensing attachments
comprising
a body having a mounting tubular portion which is proportioned for
the removable insertion of the needle into a dispensing device,
said needle including a central bore extending through said body
and
an elongated slot communicating with said central bore and
extending along said body,
said needle being provided with a cutting edge at least over a part
of its mounting portion,
whereby the removability of said needle permits a worn needle and a
dull point to be removed from the dispensing device and replaced by
a
substitute needle with a sharp point. .Iaddend. .Iadd.27. A needle
for dispensing attachments comprising
A body having a mounting portion including a shank of rigid plastic
which is proportioned for the removable insertion of the needle
into a dispensing device,
said needle including a central bore extending through said body
and
an elongated slot communicating with said central bore and
extending along said body,
whereby the removability of said needle permits a worn needle with
a dull point to be removed from the dispensing device and replaced
by a substitute needle with a sharp point. .Iaddend. .Iadd.28. A
needle as defined in claim 27 wherein said slot extends
longitudinally through said shank. .Iaddend. .Iadd.29. A needle as
defined in claim 28 wherein said shank includes a second slot which
extends longitudinally and partially therealong. .Iaddend.
.Iadd.30. A needle as defined in claim 29 wherein said shank
includes a shortened finger between the two slots, thereby to
curtail the jamming of fastener attachment members as they enter
the first slot. .Iaddend.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to devices for inserting fastener attachment
members into or through articles or the like and is more
particularly related to new and improved needle constructions
useful in fastener attachment devices.
As used herein the term needle is meant to include tubes or the
like constructed in accordance with the description provided
herein.
Devices for inserting fastener attachment members as well as the
fastener attachment members, barlock members or the like are
illustrated in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,103,666, 3,444,597 and 3,470,834.
These devices find utility in the attaching of tags to merchandise,
coupling layers of material together and fastening buttons to
clothing etc.
In the past as shown by U.S. Pat. No. 3,103,666 the needle was
merely used for conveying a fastener attachment member to insert it
into material and performed no cutting function. Subsequently, the
needle shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,470,834 was developed and did
incorporate a knife in the patent which extended outwardly
therefrom from the rear thereof. In some of the latter devices
constructed as shown in the patent a V-shaped notch was also
provided at the rear of the knife. But with this type of device
construction the needle was not replaceable, if broken, or if the
knife edge wore down after extensive use, once placed into the
housing since the casing was sealed together in order to produce an
inexpensive device. In addition, the needle would be most difficult
to replace in any event since the parts of the device had to be
disassembled in order to insert the needle in place.
The use of the above identified needle also suffered from some
major disadvantages in comparison with the needles to be described
herein in that its use necessitated the construction of special
guide slots in the housing to retain the ears in place as well as
specially shaped guide slots in the housing to facilitate the entry
of the fastener attachment member in front of and in proper
alignment with the needle knife edge and slot. Further, the above
needle also did not have the rigidity desired to maintain its
shape, when inserted into heavy material, because of the manner in
which it was supported. The needle when inserted into heavy
material tends to bend at the point where the laterial ears are
joined to the central portion of the needle, which results in the
destruction of the device.
Accordingly, to overcome the aforementioned disadvantages, this
invention has provided new and improved needle constructions which
can be easily replaced if worn or broken and which avoids the
necessity of specially shaped housing mounting structures and
housing guides to insure proper location of the fastener attachment
member.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In a first embodiment a unitary needle is constructed which
includes in a mounting portion thereof a knife edge, a guide slot
to facilitate entry of a fastener attachment member therein and a
passageway slot for the movement of a fastener attachment member
therethrough upon being separated from its carrier.
In a second embodiment disclosed herein, a two piece needle
construction is provided with a needle core being of metal and the
shank therefore being of plastic which locks the needle core in
place, the needle core being provided with a substantially V-shaped
knife and the shank being provided with a guide slot, a passageway
slot, and a portion removed to permit exposure of the knife edge.
In addition, between the two slots a shortened finger is provided
to prevent jamming of the fastener attachment members as they enter
the guide slots. With this second embodiment, which is the
preferred embodiment, this invention provides a needle construction
which can be fabricated at considerably less than the cost of the
first embodiment which requires expensive machining to
fabricate.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a top view of a fastener attachment device utilizing the
improved needles of this invention;
FIG. 2 is a sectional view of FIG. 1 to show the operating parts of
the device;
FIG. 2A is a view showing a portion of the mechanism for operating
the fastener attachment device;
FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line 3--3 of FIG. 2;
FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along line 4--4 of FIG. 2;
FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along line 5--5 of FIG. 2;
FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along line 6--6 of FIG. 2;
FIG. 7 is a sectional view taken along line 7--7 of FIG. 2;
FIG. 8 is a top view of the first embodiment of a needle in
accordance with this invention;
FIG. 9 is a side view of the needle shown in FIG. 8;
FIG. 10 is a rear view of the needle shown in FIG. 8;
FIG. 11 is a side view of the rear cutting edge of the needle;
FIG. 12 is a side view of a needle core of the second embodiment of
the invention;
FIG. 13 is a side view of the needle core of FIG. 12;
FIG. 14 is a rear view of the needle core of FIG. 12;
FIG. 15 is a top view of the needle core of the invention locked
into the needle shank of this invention;
FIG. 16 is a side view of the needle shown in FIG. 15;
FIG. 17 is a bottom view with parts broken away of the needle shown
in FIG. 15;
FIG. 18 is a rear view of the needle shown in FIG. 15;
FIG. 19 is a side view of the needle of FIG. 15 opposite to the
side view;
FIG. 20 is an enlarged view showing the shape of the knife portion
of the needle; and
FIG. 21 shows an end view of an attachment member coupled to a
carrier.
DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION
Reference should now be had to FIGS. 1-7 for a brief description of
a device adapted to use the new and improved needles of this
invention.
In FIG. 1, the device is shown comprising an outer housing 10 in
which there is mounted a hand operable lever 11 for controlling the
operation of the device. At the front of the device there is shown
a needle 12 according to the invention mounted in the nose of the
device.
In FIG. 1, there are shown guide slots 13, 14 and 15 formed in the
housing to permit the feeding of fastener attachment members 16
coupled to a carrier or bar 17 by connecting or neck members as
shown in FIGS. 7 and 21. The slot 13 is for the feeding of the
carrier 17, the slot 14 is for the feeding of the connecting
members 18 and the slot 15 is for the feeding of the fastener
attachment members 16.
In FIG. 2, there is shown a cylinder 20 in which there is
positioned a piston 21 adapted for movement back and forth therein.
The piston 21 includes a camming surface 22 which cooperates with
an indexing mechanism shown in FIG. 2 as will be described. The
piston supports a plunger 23 which is adapted to penetrate through
a hole formed in member 24 at the front of the cylinder 20. The
plunger is adapted to push a fastener attachment or bar lock member
16 out of the front of the device through needle 12 as disclosed in
the patents cited above. In order to maintain the piston 20 in the
rearward position as shown in FIG. 2, a spring 25 is provided. The
piston 21 is moved forward by filling a chamber 26 at the rear of
the piston 21 with fluid (e.g. air) under pressure.
The flow of air into the chamber is controlled by the lever 11
which controls a slidable rod 30 movable in a slot 31 formed in the
housing 10. The rod 30 is coupled at one end 30a to the lever 11
and at the end to a rotary member 32 of a rotary valve. The rotary
member comprises a passageway 33 which is adapted to be rotated
between an air vent 34, where it is normally positioned when the
lever 11 has been released and a passageway 35. The passageway 35
forms part of a connector 36 which is adapted to be coupled to a
source of fluid, in this case air under pressure. The member 30 is
urged rearwardly by a spring 37 coupled to it and a member 38
coupled to the housing interior.
At 40 there is shown an indexing wheel or gear having teeth 40a for
engaging the connecting members 18 in order to feed the fastener
attachment members 18 one at a time at the rear of the needle and
in front of the plunger 23 as shown in FIGS. 2 and 7.
In order to rotate the indexing wheel (counterclockwise) to feed
the fastener attachment members, there is provided a feed pawl 42
which is rotatably coupled to a lever 43 by a pin 44. A flat spring
45 is positioned in a slot 46 of the feed pawl 42 and is supported
at its other end by a slot 47 formed in the lever. The spring 45
urges the feed pawl 42 in a counterclockwise direction. The lever
43 is supported by a pin 48 on a pivot support 49 coupled to the
housing 10 and is urged counterclockwise by a spring 50.
The lever 43 is rocked back and forth by the action of a cam
follower or roller 51 which is adapted to engage the cam surface 2
of the piston through a cutout 53 formed in the bottom wall of the
cylinder 20.
Thus as the piston is driven forward, the lever will rotate
counterclockwise to move the feed pawl 42 downwardly so that it is
in position to engage the next tooth of the wheel 40.
On the rearward movement of the piston, the cam follower 51 engages
the cam surface 22 and causes the feed pawl to move clockwise to
rotate the feed wheel 40 counterclockwise. In order to prevent the
feed wheel from moving clockwise there is provided a rotatable
detent 54 which is urged counterclockwise by a spring 55 supported
in a cavity formed in the housing. For further details of the
operation of the device of FIGS. 1-7, reference may be had to the
parent application Ser. No. 29,564 of this application.
Reference should now be had to FIGS. 8-11 for a description of one
of the new needle constructions according to this invention. The
needle 12 comprises a tip portion 12a, a central portion 12b and a
mounting portion 12c. In this construction the needle is fabricated
completely out of metal and is machined to the desired shape. The
central portion and mounting portions include a central bore, the
bore extending from the end 61 of the mounting portion 12c through
the central portion where it opens up at 62. The bore includes a
first slot 63 at the top thereof. The bore 60 provides a guide for
the end member 16a of the attachment member 16 (see FIG. 21) and
the slot permits the central member 16b of the attachment member to
extend therethrough when the fastener attachment member is driven
through the needle 12.
The mounting portion includes a locking notch 64 which permits the
needle to be held in place by a cam lock 65 in FIG. 2. The mounting
portion also includes a second slot 66 which extends from the end
61 to a point in front of the locking notch 64. The second slot is
positioned to permit one half of the fastener attachment end member
16a to be inserted into the needle prior to the fastener attachment
member being forced through the needle.
The mounting portion further includes a knife 67 which extends
inwardly from the end 61 towards the tip 12a. The knife is wider at
the end 61 and narrows inwardly in the shape of a V from the end
61. The knife 67 is beveled at 68 and comprises two V-shaped edges,
an inner edge 67a and an outer edge 67b. Thus the beveled face of
the knife faces outwardly. The knife is positioned at substantially
90.degree. to the second slot 66, and 180.degree. to the first slot
63 and the second slot is positioned at substantially 90.degree.
with respect to the first slot. Thus as the plunger 23 of the
device forces the attachment members 16 through the needle, the
connecting member 18 will engage the knife cutting edge 67a and be
severed from the carrier 17.
Reference should now be had to FIGS. 12-19 for a description of the
preferred needle construction according to this invention. The
needle comprises two separate members, a needle core 80 preferably
of metal and a needle shank or mounting portion 81 preferably of a
rigid plastic which are joined together. The needle core forms a
central portion 83 of the needle as well as a tip 84 of the
needle.
The needle core is shaped from flat sheet metal stock using
conventional cold working techniques to form a core illustrated in
FIGS. 12-14. The core is provided with a central bore 85 and a
first slot 86 which opens into the bore 85. The bore provides for
the passage of the fastener attachment end 16a whereas the first
slot 86 facilitates the travel of the member 16b therethrough. The
bore and slot are preferably formed by cold working the metal stock
to leave a shoulder 87 to aide in mechanically locking the core and
shank together. The core is also provided with a flat tail portion
88 which has a keyway 89 and a substantially V-shaped knife 90
extending from the end 91 thereof. The keyway cooperates with the
shank to hold the core in place securely within the shank.
The knife 90, as does knife 67 includes two edges 90a and 90b with
a beveled surface 90c therebetween facing outwardly, as seen in
FIG. 19. The knife 90 is formed by conventional shearing techniques
to form the cutting edge.
The shank 81 also includes a bore and slot which are in alignment
with the bore and slot of the needle core, and are accordingly
given the same numbers for convenience.
The bore and slot of the shank perform the same function as the
bore and slot of the core. The shank 81 further has a second slot
92 separated from the first slot 86 by a finger 93. The second slot
acts in the same manner as slot 66 of FIG. 8-11. The finger 93 is
provided in its shortened form to prevent jamming of the fastener
attachment members as they are fed into the needle. As an important
aspect of this invention, when the shank is of plastic, it is
important (although not absolutely necessary) to provide a shaped
finger which does not extend to the end 81a of the shank to insure
that the finger, which is somewhat flexible because it is of
plastic, does not jam the feeding of the attachment members. It has
been found that without the finger being cutback the attachment
member portion 16b has a tendency to end up in the second slot, and
not the first slot of the needle which causes jamming of the
device.
Thus the shortened finger 93 provides a funnel or chute for the
movement of the members 16b into position to feed through the
needle. It should be noted that the core end 91 and the shank end
81a preferably coincide or start from the same point.
As another aspect of this invention, the shank is formed so that
the knife edges are exposed as shown in FIG. 19. This may be
accomplished by molding; removing or cutting away the plastic
leaving a surface at 95.
The shank 81 is also provided with a locking notch 94 to securely
lock and position the needle within the nose of the device as shown
in FIG. 2.
It has been found that to cleanly cut certain types of material
such as polyurethane fastener attachment members 16 without leaving
objectionable connecting member studs 18 attached to the attachment
members 16, it is most preferable that the cutting edges 67a and
67b and 90a and 90b be shaped as shown in FIG. 20 so that they have
a rounded cutting surface at the bottom of the V.
It has also been found that with this V-configuration, the arc
defined by the radius R of the cutting surface 67a and 90a and
secondary surfaces 67b and 90b should preferably have an arc
defined by a radius of between .005 - .010 inches. It is also most
important in getting the clean cut that the depth D from end 91 to
the cutting surface edges 67a or 90a preferably be between .015 to
.025 inches for connecting necks 18 which have a diameeter of about
1/32 of an inch.
It has also been found that to obtain the best results, the angles
.alpha. of the legs of the V cutting edges should be between
60.degree. to 95.degree. and most preferably 70.degree. to
90.degree..
The composite needle shown in FIGS. 12-19 is preferably constructed
using conventional injection molding techniques using an outer mold
and a mold insert fitted into a fabricated core when in the
configuration shown in FIG. 12. Plastics such as Delrin (A Dupont
Acetal Resin) or Nylon filled with glass fibers may be used to
provide a shank which is substantially rigid and hard enough to be
held in the device and to mechanically lock the core 80 in place
within it. As will be seen in FIGS. 16 and 17, the shank is molded
such that the plastic flows about the outside of the shoulder 87
and into the keyway 89 to securely hold the core in place. It
should be understood that the shank could act as the keyway in
place of the core keyway 89, if the core portion 88 was formed with
a key.
* * * * *