Claims
- 1. A dispenser for use with a roll of pressure-sensitive tape having a plurality of longitudinally spaced zones which appreciably increase the force required to strip the tape from the roll compared to the areas intermediate said zones, said zones being substantially equally spaced apart and of substantially equal predetermined longitudinal extent thereby defining a longitudinal repeat of predetermined length, said dispenser comprising; dispenser frame means, a lip on said frame means across which tape is drawn as tape is stripped from the roll, said lip extending continuously across said frame means; support means on said frame means arranged to rotatably support the roll of tape and maintain the same against said lip along a line of contact therebetween with tape being stripped from the roll along a line of departure substantially at said line of contact; severing means on said frame means operable along a line of severing extending across the tape; said line of contact of the roll with said lip being along a free edge of said lip, the lip having a convex curved surface curving away from said free edge and merging into a horizontal support surface defining the remainder of the path of travel of the tape between said lip and said severing means, the tape being drawn across said curved surface as it is stripped from the roll; said frame means comprising an elongated flat base, a pair of transverse spaced members comprising vertical walls extending upwardly from the rear portion of said base, said tape roll support means comprising a pair of inturned horizontal flanges along the upper portions of said vertical walls substantially at the level of said lip, an annular spindle rotatably supporting said tape roll, and means on said spindle slidably but non-rotatably mounting the spindle on said flanges, said last mentioned means comprising a pair of diametrically opposed slots on each side of said spindle and receiving said flanges, and said lip being disposed relative to said severing means such that the distance from the said severing means to said lip is positionable whereby a distance is maintained equal to a whole multiple of said predetermined length of said repeat less a distance smaller than said predetermined longitudinal extent of each zone.
BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
This application is a continuation-in-part of my copending application Ser. No. 368,206 filed June 8, 1973, now abandoned.
The present invention relates to a dispenser for dispensing tape from a roll and in particular, to a dispenser which is especially useful in dispensing pressure-sensitive adhesive tape of the type having a plurality of longitudinally spaced zones which appreciably increase the force required to strip the tape from the roll compared to areas intermediate these zones.
In the U.S. Pat. No. 3,559,856, issued Feb. 2, 1971, there is disclosed apparatus for dispensing an adhesive product from a roll. The adhesive product disclosed therein is a continuous series of equal length end-to-end interconnected handles. The product has longitudinally equally spaced zones of greater adhesion which are separated by zones of lesser adhesion. As the strip is unwound from the roll, less effort is required to peel the less adhesive zones from the roll than is required to peel the more adhesive zones from the roll. Thus, the person peeling the strip from the roll can readily sense the greater resistance to unpeeling which is encountered when there is a transition from a less adhesive region to a more adhesive region being peeled from the roll; this has the effect of creating a natural stop during unwinding of the strip. By arranging the dispenser such that the line of departure of the tape from the roll (i.e. the line along which the tape is peeled from the roll) is maintained a fixed distance from a severing edge on the dispenser, equal length increments of product can be severed from the roll by drawing the unwound portion of the strip across the severing edge upon sensing the suddenly increased unwinding resistance when a more adhesive region is encountered. By maintaining this fixed distance such that the severing edge is positioned to sever the unwound strip at the middle of one of the more adhesive zones, equal length handles having adhesive at lengthwise opposite ends thereof are dispensed.
According to the disclosure of this prior patent, the dispenser for dispensing tape product in this fashion has a roller journalled for rotation on the dispenser frame and the roll of tape is supported directly on the roller. Tape is stripped from the roll at the line of contact between the roll of tape and the roller and thereafter wraps around a portion of the periphery of the roller and then extends away from the roller toward the severing blade. One of the disadvantages of this dispenser is that loading of a roll of tape is made difficult because the tape must be threaded around the roller and then directed along the dispenser to the cutting blade. Furthermore, this arrangement requires that the roller support the full weight of the roll of tape; and the roller also constitutes a moving part of the dispenser. The dispenser requires the use of an additional roller to accommodate a different length of severed product.
The present invention is directed to a novel tape dispenser; which requires no moving parts; which is easier and simpler to load; which can be made more cheaply; and which can be easily adjusted to accommodate the specific dimensional characteristics of the particular tape which is to be dispensed. Several of the advantages of the present invention arise through the recognition that, contrary to the teachings of the prior art as evidenced by the above patent, it is unnecessary to use a roller on the dispenser for dispensing adhesive product having alternate zones of greater and lesser adhesion. Thus, the novel dispenser structure of the present invention obviates the need to use a roller and hence requires no moving parts. Furthermore, in contrast to the use of multiple rollers in the prior art patent to attain the desired adjustability of the path length of the tape between its line of departure from the roll and the severing blade, the present invention in one embodiment, incorporates an adjustable blade on the dispenser which may be quickly and easily adjusted to provide the requisite path length for the specific product being dispensed. Further aspects of the invention reside in the novel support arrangement of the roll relative to the line of departure of the tape from the roll and in the way in which the roll is prevented from being displaced bodily out the dispenser as tape is pulled from the roll. The advantages of the novel tape dispenser of the present invention provide optimum benefit when dispensing adhesive product having alternate zones of greater and lesser adhesion, and it is to be understood that a zone of lesser adhesion could be one of no adhesion at all. Accordingly, a dispenser embodying the principles of the invention is well suited to dispense tape products of the type disclosed and claimed in applicant Phil Cherrin's copending application Ser. No. 294,627, entitled "Shipping Device and Method", filed Oct. 3, 1972. It will be appreciated, however, that the dispenser of the present invention may also be used to dispense conventional as well as various other type tape products from rolls.
The foregoing advantages and features of the invention along with additional benefits and objects thereof will be seen in the ensuing description and claims which are to be taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing.
US Referenced Citations (5)
Foreign Referenced Citations (3)
| Number |
Date |
Country |
| 276,057 |
Nov 1969 |
OE |
| 17,395 |
Sep 1896 |
UK |
| 7,017 |
Feb 1889 |
UK |
Continuation in Parts (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
| Parent |
368206 |
Jun 1973 |
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Patent Grant
3989175
