Patent Application
20120168547
1. Field of the Disclosure
The disclosure generally relates to correction tape dispensers and specifically to correction tape dispensers that have correction tape re-tensioning mechanisms.
2. Related Technology
Written communication is the primary mode of communication in most of the developed world. Occasionally, errors are made during the drafting or printing of written correspondence. When the written correspondence is ink based, erasure of the error may not be possible, or may introduce unsightly marks into the correspondence. Thus, correction fluids, such as LIQUID PAPER®, were developed in order to correct errors on ink written correspondence. These correction fluids were also formulated to match the color of the underlying substrate and accept ink on top of a film formed by applying the correction fluid to the substrate. In this way, a user is able to conceal an error and to write over the top of the applied correction fluid to correct a written document.
Eventually, tape based correction applicators were developed to correct errors on written correspondence. The correction tapes of these tape based correction applicators are typically formed from a multi-layer tape including at least a first layer providing a correction material, and a second layer providing a carrier/transfer layer. The multi-layer tape is stored on a supply reel in a body/housing. The tape is threaded around an applicator tip and then back into the housing, terminating on and coupled to a take-up reel. When the dispenser is used to apply tape to a substrate (so as to correct an error), the multi-layer tape is pulled from the supply reel over the applicator tip such that the correction material is deposited on the substrate to cover the error and the carrier/transfer layer is correspondingly wound around the take-up reel. However, as the tape becomes depleted, the tape often becomes disengaged from the applicator tip due to the supply and take-up reels rotating at different rates. The supply and take-up reels rotate at different rates throughout a life cycle of these devices because the operational radius of tape on each respective reel changes as tape is drawn off of the supply reel and wound on the take-up reel. These differences in rotation rates eventually result in the tape being taken up more slowly than it is applied to the substrate, which can cause a loop of tape to extend from the device, and thereby render the device virtually unusable. Such tape loops can also form if the consumer inadvertently pulls tape from the device.
In order to correct this tape loop problem, ratcheting mechanisms were developed between the supply reel and the take-up reel. These ratcheting mechanisms essentially include a gear/pawl arrangement which prevents ‘backwards’ rotation of the take-up spool. As a result, the take-up spool cannot rotate (much if any) in a reverse direction, thereby preventing the carrier/transfer tape from ‘unwinding’ from the take-up spool and forming a loop of tape extending from the device. In this way, correction tape applicators can be arranged so that the tape is always tensioned between the take up and supply spools within a range that would prevent formation of a tape loop. These ratcheting mechanisms, however, have certain drawbacks. For example, these ratcheting mechanisms often wear out prematurely due to their continuous use, for example, because the gear and pawl structures are constantly engaged throughout the lifetime of the product and the materials (e.g., plastic) with which the supply and take-up reels are made can be easily worn. Further, these ratcheting systems create almost constant noise as the pawl and gear structures of the ratchet (constantly) engage one another. This noise is undesirable from a consumer point of view. Still further, such ratcheting mechanisms can result in discontinuous application of correction material because of the rapid changes in rotation rate as the ratchet teeth slide past the pawl. Consumers tend to dislike the somewhat irregular movement of the reels that result from implementation of the ratcheting mechanism.
In one embodiment, the correction tape dispenser comprises a body having a plurality of body teeth disposed on an inner surface thereof, an applicator tip mounted in the body, and a supply and take-up assembly mounted in the body, the supply and take-up assembly being biased away from the body teeth with a biasing element. The supply and take-up assembly includes a supply reel and a take-up reel. The supply reel and the take-up reel have a common axis of rotation. One of the supply reel and the take-up reel include a plurality of teeth that engage the plurality of body teeth during correction tape re-tensioning when the biasing force from the biasing element is overcome.
A method of re-tensioning correction tape in a correction tape dispenser includes pressing an adjustment mechanism formed in/on a supply and take-up assembly, thereby moving the supply and take-up assembly towards a first body portion of the correction tape dispenser. As the supply and take-up assembly approaches the first body portion, a plurality of teeth on one of the take-up and supply reels engages a plurality of body teeth on the first body portion, thereby rotationally fixing either the take-up or supply reel with respect to the first body portion. The other of the take-up and supply reels is then rotated relative to the rotationally fixed reel to re-tension correction tape in the correction tape dispenser.
Exemplary aspects and features of an instrument constructed in accordance with the disclosure are described and explained in greater detail below with the aid of the drawing figures in which:
The correction tape dispenser according to the disclosure comprises a body having a plurality of body teeth disposed on an inner surface thereof, an applicator tip mounted in the body, and a supply and take-up assembly mounted in the body, the supply and take-up assembly being biased away from the body teeth with a biasing element. The supply and take-up assembly includes a supply reel and a take-up reel. The supply reel and the take-up reel have a common axis of rotation. One of the supply reel and the take-up reel include a plurality of teeth that engage the plurality of body teeth during correction tape re-tensioning when the biasing force from the biasing element is overcome.
One or more elements of the correction tape dispenser according to the present disclosure form a correction tape re-tensioning mechanism. The re-tensioning mechanism is used to adjust tension in the correction tape during use, for example, to correct the looping that can occur because of the changing diameters of the supply and take-up reels over the lifetime of the correction tape dispenser. The correction tape dispenser is advantageously able to avoid the discontinuous application rate and irregular rotation/movement of the reels associated with known correction tape dispensers incorporating ratcheting mechanisms. Moreover, by avoiding contact between the reel teeth and the body teeth during normal use, the correction tape dispenser according to the present disclosure is able to advantageously avoid the noise associated with ratcheting, provide more continuous tape application, and achieve a longer lifespan at least relative to known correction tape dispensers incorporating the ratcheting mechanism.
As illustrated in
The first body part 12a may include a pillar 28 located on an inner surface 30 of the first body part 12a. The pillar 28 may be cylindrical in shape including a blind bore 32. The supply and take-up assembly 22 is rotatably mounted on the pillar 28 in this embodiment. The pillar 28 may be surrounded, at least partially, by a platform 34 that is elevated above the inner surface 30. The platform 34 may include one or more pluralities of body teeth 36a, 36b, the function of which will be described further hereinafter. A biasing device, such as a spring 38, biases the supply and take-up assembly 22 away from the first housing part 12a and toward the second housing part 12b. The spring 38 is sized to be at least partially disposed within the blind bore 32. In other embodiments, the spring 38 may be molded into the supply and take-up assembly 22. For example, in other embodiments the spring 38 may be molded in the hollow central bore 62 of the supply reel 24. While a coil spring 38 is illustrated in the drawings, other types of springs may be used, for example, coil springs such as helical, volute, or torsion springs, or flat springs, such as Belleville washers or leaf springs.
The applicator tip 14 includes a supply surface 40 and a return surface 42. Correction tape leaves the supply reel 24, travels over the supply surface 40, and across a contact tip 44, where the first ply adheres to the substrate. The second ply travels over the return surface 42 and to the take-up reel 26, where the second ply is rewound about the take-up reel 26 and stored. The supply and return surfaces 40, 42 may include one or more guide surfaces 46, similar to the ribs 20, that keep the correction tape centered on the supply surface 40 and/or the return surface 42. The supply surface 40 and the return surface 42 may be curved or twisted, changing an orientation of the correction tape by approximately 90 degrees between the supply reel 24 and the contact tip 44. Changing the orientation of the correction tape by approximately 90 degrees results in a more compact supply and take-up assembly 22, and thus a more compact body 12. The applicator tip 14 may also include a hinge 48 for mounting on a hinge post 50 formed on the inner surface 30 of the first body part 12a. A guide post 52 may be located near the hinge post 50 and proximate the supply surface 40 when the applicator tip 14 is mounted in the body 12. The correction tape may be threaded between the guide post 52 and the supply surface 40. The guide post 52 directs the correction tape to maintain positive contact with the supply surface 40.
The take-up reel 26 includes a center disk 70 connected to a hub 72 having a blind bore 74. The center disk 70 is connected to the hub 72 by a plurality of spokes 76. In other embodiments, the center disk 70 may extend completely to the hub 72, thereby eliminating the need for spokes 76. Opposite the blind bore 74 is an adjustment mechanism 78 (
The take-up reel 26 also includes a rewind ring 82 for rewinding the second ply of the correction tape after the first ply is deposited on the substrate. The rewind ring 82 may include a plurality of rewind guides 84 to guide the second ply onto the rewind ring 82. The center disk 70 may include a plurality of openings 84 generally aligned with the rewind guides 84. The openings 84 may reduce the amount of material needed for manufacture, and thus the overall weight of the take-up reel 26. The openings 84 may also improve manufacturability during the molding process. In other embodiments, the openings 84 need not be aligned with the rewind guides 84, and in still other embodiments, the openings 84 may be eliminated.
The supply reel 24 may be frictionally and co-axially (i.e., share a common axis of rotation) mounted on the hub 72 of the take-up reel 26 so that the supply reel 24 and the take-up reel 26 are rotatable relative to one another. However, friction between the supply reel 24 and the take-up reel 26 is generally greater than the amount of torque provided by the unwinding correction tape when applying correction tape to a substrate during use of the device. Thus, the supply reel 24 and the take-up reel 26 remain rotationally fixed with respect to one another, due to friction, unless acted upon by a force that overcomes the friction. Other embodiments may include structural features, such as snap-fit assemblies, that attach the supply reel 24 to the take-up reel 26 in a manner that allows rotational movement between the two reels when friction between the two wheels is overcome.
During use, tape unwinds from the supply reel 24 at urate that is different from the rate at which tape is rewound on the take-up reel 26 due to the different outer diameters of the first ply 68 on the supply reel 24 and the second ply on the rewind ring 82 (
Once the correction tape re-tensioning procedure is complete and the tape loop is eliminated, a consumer may remove pressure from the adjustment mechanism 78 by removing the tool. As the tool is removed, spring force from the spring 38 moves the supply and take-up assembly away from the first body part 12a, thereby disengaging the body teeth 36 and the reel teeth 64. Once the body teeth 36 and the reel teeth 64 are disengaged, friction between the supply reel 24 and the take-up reel 26 again maintains relative rotational positioning between the supply reel 24 and the take-up reel 26.
The re-tensioning mechanism in the disclosed correction tape dispenser includes certain advantages over prior art tape tensioning mechanisms. In particular, the disclosed re-tensioning mechanism is quiet. In other words, the re-tensioning mechanism emits very little or no sound during the re-tensioning procedure. This quiet operation is due to the smooth surfaces on the supply reel and the take-up reel that slide relative to one another during the re-tensioning procedure. Moreover, the disclosed re-tensioning mechanism is more reliable and has a longer useful life than known ratchet-type mechanisms. In the disclosed re-tensioning mechanism, the teeth on the body and a corresponding supply or take-up reel are only engaged during the re-tensioning procedure when a user activates the mechanism by pushing on the adjustment feature. The teeth do not slide over one another, and thus do not experience the wear and tear of ratchet teeth that are constantly sliding over one another. Moreover, the disclosed re-tensioning system requires fewer elements than known ratcheting systems, thereby reducing manufacturing costs.
Although certain correction tape dispensers and re-tensioning mechanisms have been described herein in accordance with the teachings of the present disclosure, the scope of coverage of this patent is not limited thereto. On the contrary, while the invention has been shown and described in connection with various preferred embodiments, it is apparent that certain changes and modifications, in addition to those mentioned above, may be made. This patent covers all embodiments of the teachings of the disclosure that fairly fall within the scope of permissible equivalents. Accordingly, it is the intention to protect all variations and modifications that may occur to one of ordinary skill in the art.
