The present invention relates to a hand-operated coil stapler that is used with a coil staple unit having a large quantity of bar-shaped staples, and more particularly, to a hand-operated coil stapler that bends a first bar-shaped staple on the coil staple unit and drives the bent staple into a workpiece at the same time.
Generally, to use a hand-operated hammer tacker, the hammer tacker is directly pushed to knock against a workpiece, so that a U-shaped staple is driven by a driver into the workpiece to complete one stapling operation. When the hammer tacker is released from the push, an elastic element inside the hammer tacker elastically returns the latter to an original position ready for a next stapling operation.
In addition to the above described hand-operated non-linkage and linkage built-in hammer tackers, there are still other types of hand-operated staple guns available in the market. A conventional hand-operated staple gun usually includes a handle grip for pushing by a user, and an extension spring and a plate spring for continuously generating a spring force and a restoring force. The handle grip works with the extension spring and the plate spring to achieve the purpose of transmitting force, so that a driver can fix and drive a staple into a workpiece.
Either the conventional hand-operated hammer tackers or the conventional staple guns are limited to use with U-shaped staples. This is because these hammer tackers and staple guns can only perform the simple movement of driving the staples into a workpiece, and accordingly, the staples must be bent into a U shape before they can be used with the conventional hammer tackers and staple guns to complete the stapling operation. However, being limited by the shape thereof, the U-shaped staples are usually supplied in the form of a long strip, which must be stored in a U-shaped long magazine. In the event the U-shaped magazine is short in length, it can only hold a limited quantity of staples. On the other hand, in the event the U-shaped magazine is quite long for holding more staples, the hammer tackers and the staple guns must also have an extended main body to receive the long magazine, making the hammer tackers and the staple guns inconvenient for use.
Other problems with the conventional hammer tackers and staple guns include dry fire and jammed staples. The driver is subject to damage due to too many times of dry fire, and the damaged driver tends to expand the width of a staple outlet on the magazine. Further, when there are only one or two staples left in the magazine, the driver tends to be stuck in the staple outlet due to a reaction applied thereto by the last staple. The stuck driver will cause jammed staples because the hammer tacker or the staple gun with the stuck driver is prevented from returning to the original position for a next stapling operation.
In conclusion, the conventional hammer tackers and staple guns are not able to hold a large quantity of staples at one time and tend to have the problems of dry fire and jammed staples. With these problems, the conventional hammer tackers and staple guns are prevented from operating normally and require repair or adjustment. And, the conventional hammer tackers and staple guns need to be frequently recharged with staples, which is time and labor consuming.
In view of the above disadvantages, it is tried by the inventor to develop an improved hand-operated coil stapler that is used with a coil staple unit capable of supplying a large quantity of bar-shaped staples at one time, and can therefore operate with lowered possibility of dry fire and jammed staples to advantageously increase the service life and working efficiency of the coil stapler.
A primary object of the present invention is to provide a hand-operated coil stapler, which is used with a coil staple unit capable of supplying a large quantity of bar-shaped staples at one time and includes a complex staple driver actuated by a linkage system to achieve the function of bending a bar-shaped staple and driving the bent staple into a workpiece at the same time, making the stapling operation more efficient.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a hand-operated coil stapler having an improved pusher and magazine assembly for accommodating a coil staple unit capable of supplying a large quantity of bar-shaped staples at one time, so that the possibility of jammed staples or dry fire in the course of stapling operation is reduced to enable extended service life of the coil stapler.
To achieve the above and other objects, the hand-operated coil stapler according to the present invention includes a main body, a staple driving mechanism, a pusher and magazine assembly, and a coil staple unit. The main body includes a case, in which an operation room is defined; and a linkage system is arranged in the operation room and pivotally connected to the case. The staple driving mechanism is assembled to a head portion at a front end of the main body, and includes a pressing member and a complex staple driver. The pressing member is movably assembled to an outer side of the case to engage with the linkage system; and the complex staple driver is also engaged with the linkage system and includes a driving plate for driving a bent staple into a workpiece and a bending plate for bending a bar-shaped staple into an inverted-U shape. The pusher and magazine assembly is connected to a bottom of the main body, so that the pusher and magazine assembly and the main body together define a staple room in between them. The pusher and magazine assembly includes a magazine and a movable pusher mechanism mounted in the magazine. The pusher mechanism includes a push rod, a push plate fixedly connected to a front end of the push rod with a locking pin, and a staple-pushing spring fitted around another end of the push rod. The coil staple unit includes a plurality of bar-shaped staples, which are parallelly arranged and continuously connected to form a web for winding into a coil. The coil staple unit is mounted in the staple room with a front end thereof located below the complex staple driver.
When the main body is downward pushed relative to the pressing member, the linkage system brings the complex staple driver to downward push against the staple at the front end of the coil staple unit, so as to bend and drive the staple downward. Meanwhile, the downward pushed complex staple driver comes into contact with the push rod, forcing the same backward and thereby compressing the staple-pushing spring. When the main body is released, the complex staple driver is moved upward to separate from the push rod, and the staple-pushing spring is released from the compressed state to thereby elastically move the push plate and the push rod forward, which in turn forward move a subsequent staple on the coil staple unit to the position below the complex staple driver for use in a next stapling operation.
According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the case includes an enclosure, a shaped top cover riveted to a top opening of the enclosure, and an inner cover riveted to a front opening of the enclosure. The inner cover is provided with two laterally spaced first vertical slots, a second vertical slot located below the first vertical slots, and two laterally spaced insertion slots. The pressing member is provided with a first opening at a position corresponding to the first vertical slots on the inner cover; the complex staple driver is provided with second openings at a position corresponding to the second vertical slots on the inner cover; and the complex staple driver is engaged with the linkage system via the second openings.
An outer cover is further provided to locate at an outer side of the inner cover. The outer cover includes two laterally spaced connection arms correspondingly inserted into the two insertion slots on the inner cover, so that the outer cover and the inner cover can be together riveted to the enclosure with a first screw rod while the connection arms of the outer cover are further riveted to the enclosure with a second screw rod. The pressing member is located between the outer cover and the inner cover. The outer cover is provided with two laterally spaced third vertical slots corresponding to the first vertical slots, and is engaged with the linkage system via the third vertical slots, the first opening on the pressing member and the first vertical slots on the inner cover.
The linkage system includes a follower unit, a compression spring fitted on the follower unit, and two driving links located at two outer sides of the follower unit. Each of the driving links has a nose portion projected from a front end thereof to sequentially engage with the first vertical slot, the first opening and the third vertical slot, and is provided with a first pivot hole and a second pivot hole. The first screw rod is extended through the first pivot hole. The follower unit is provided on an upper edge with a notch corresponding to the first screw rod, at a lower front end with a forward projected portion corresponding to the second openings and the second vertical slot, at a rear end with an upward raised portion, on which an end of the compression spring is fitted, and within a middle section with a third pivot hole and a fourth pivot hole. A bare shaft is extended through the second pivot holes on the driving links and the third pivot hole on the follower unit, such that the driving links and the follower unit are pivotally turnable relative to one another; and a third screw rod is extended through the fourth pivot hole, so that the follower unit is pivotally connected to the enclosure. The shaped top cover is provided with a flat pin, on which another end of the compression spring is fitted.
According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the magazine includes a base board, a push block and a bottom cover. The bottom cover is riveted to the case with a shaft pin; the base board and the push block are connected to each other and screwed to the bottom cover together; and the base board is provided with a vertically upward extended projection having a horizontally axially extended passage for the push rod to extend therethrough. The staple-pushing spring has a rear end pressed against the push block, so as to bring the push plate and the push rod to move between the base board and the push block in a reciprocating motion.
The pusher and magazine assembly further includes a guide unit welded to the bottom cover to locate above the upward extended projection of the base board; and the guide unit includes a locating member, a spring plate and a guide plate, which are sequentially riveted together. An end of the push rod that is extended through the passage on the upward extended projection of the base board is formed into a beveled surface. The locating member is provided on one side opposite to the spring plate with two laterally spaced and forward extended arms, the spring plate has a first extended portion, and the guide plate has two second extended portions. When the locating member, the spring plate and the guide plate are riveted together, the first extended portion is located between the two second extended portions while the first extended portion and the second extended portions are together located between the two extended arms of the locating member.
The present invention is characterized in that, when using the hand-operated coil stapler to do the stapling operation, the pressing member is pressed against a position on the workpiece adjacent to the position for installing the staple. Therefore, when the main body is manually downward pushed toward the position for installing the staple, the pressing member is upward moved relative to the main body and the complex staple driver is caused to bend a first bar-shaped staple and drive the bent staple down into the workpiece at the same time. With this design, a coil staple unit supplying a large quantity of bar-shaped staples can be used with the stapler to replace the conventional U-shaped staples, so that more staples can be accommodated in the magazine to reduce the times of recharging the coil stapler and upgrade the working efficiency. In addition, with the particularly designed pusher and magazine assembly, the possibility of jammed staples in the course of the stapling operation is reduced to thereby enable extended service life of the coil stapler.
The structure and the technical means adopted by the present invention to achieve the above and other objects can be best understood by referring to the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments and the accompanying drawings, wherein
The present invention will now be described with a preferred embodiment thereof and with reference to the accompanying drawings.
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The staple driving mechanism 50 is assembled to a head portion at a front end of the main body 40, and includes a pressing member 51 and a complex staple driver 52. The pressing member 51 is arranged between the inner cover 43 and the outer cover 45 for pressing a lower edge against a workpiece, and is provided with a first opening 511 corresponding to the first vertical slots 432 and the third vertical slots 451. The complex staple driver 52 includes a driving plate 522 and a bending plate 523, which are respectively provided with a second opening 521 corresponding to the second vertical slot 433 on the inner cover 43.
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A shouldered pin bush 494 is extended through the first pivot holes 4932 of the two driving links 493 and the notch 4921 of the follower unit 492. The first screw rod 46 is axially extended through the shouldered pin bush 494 to thereby fixedly hold the driving links 493 to the enclosure 42. Meanwhile, the notch 4921 of the follower unit 492 is indirectly abutted on the first screw rod 46 via the pin bush 494. Further, a bare shaft 495 is extended through the second pivot holes 4933 on the driving links 493 and the third pivot hole 4924 on the follower unit 492, such that the driving links 493 and the follower unit 492 are pivotally turnable relative to one another about the bare shaft 495. Moreover, a pin bush 496 is extended through the fourth pivot hole 4925 of the follower unit 492. A third screw rod 497 is axially extended through the pin bush 496, so that the follower unit 492 is pivotally connected to the enclosure 42 by the third screw rod 497.
A compression spring 4926 has an end fitted around the raised portion 4923 of the follower unit 492 and another end extending toward the top cover 44 to fit around a flat pin 441 on an underside of the top cover 44. The nose portions 4931 on the two driving links 493 are separately extended through the two first vertical slots 432 on the inner cover 43, and then together extended through the first opening 511 on the pressing member 51, and further separately extended into the two third vertical slots 451 on the outer cover 45, so that the driving links 493 are engaged with the inner cover 43, the pressing member 51 and the outer cover 45. The forward projected portion 4922 of the follower unit 492 is extended through the second openings 521 on the complex staple driver 52 and further slightly extended into the second vertical slot 433 on the inner cover 43, so that the follower unit 492 is engaged with the complex staple driver 52.
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A guide unit 65 is further welded to the bottom cover 633 to locate above the upward extended projection 634. The guide unit 65 includes a locating member 651, a spring plate 652 and a guide plate 653, which are sequentially riveted together. The locating member 651 is provided on one side opposite to the spring plate 652 with two laterally spaced and forward extended arms 654. The spring plate 652 has a first extended portion 655 for extending into a space below the locating member 651. The guide plate 653 has two second extended portions 656 for extending into a space below the spring plate 652. When the locating member 652, the spring plate 652 and the guide plate 653 are riveted together, the first extended portion 655 and the second extended portions 656 are located between the two extended arms 654, while the first extended portion 655 is located between the two second extended portions 656.
When the main body 40 is downward pushed by a user, the pressing member 51 engaged with the driving links 493 moves upward relative to the downward moved main body 40. When the pressing member 51 moves upward, it brings the nose portions 4931 of the driving links 493 to move upward at the same time, causing the driving links 493 to pivotally turn about the shouldered pin bush 494. As a result, rear ends of the driving links 493 and the bare shaft 495 extended through the second pivot holes 4933 near the rear ends are moved downward. On the other hand, the downward movement of the bare shaft 495, which is also extended through the third pivot hole 4924 on the follower unit 492, causes the follower unit 492 to pivotally turn about the third screw rod 497, bringing the forward projected portion 4922 at the lower front end of the follower unit 492 to move downward and the raised portion 4923 at the rear end of the follower unit 492 to move upward. The upward moved raised portion 4923 compresses the compression spring 4926, which is fitted around the raised portion 4923 and located between the follower unit 492 and the top cover 44; and the downward movement of the forward projected portion 4922, which is extended through the second openings 521 on the complex staple driver 52, brings the complex staple driver 52 to move downward. As a result, the first bar-shaped staple 71 of the coil staple unit 70 located immediately below the complex staple driver 52 is bent by the bending plate 523 and the bent staple is driven by the driving plate 522 into a workpiece (not shown) at the same time.
The first bar-shaped staple 71 on the coil staple unit 70 is located below the bending plate 523 of the complex staple driver 52 and above the upward extended projection 634 of the base board 631. When the bending plate 523 is moved downward, two opposite ends of the first bar-shaped staple 71 are downward bent between the upward extended projection 634 and the bending plate 523 into an inverted-U shape. Meanwhile, the downward moved driving plate 522 of the complex staple driver 52 comes into contact with the beveled surface 642 at the front end of the push rod 641, forcing the latter to move backward and thereby compresses the staple-pushing spring 645 that is located between the push plate 643 and the push block 632. When the complex staple driver 52 completes one driving movement, the main body 40 is released and elastically returns to its original position. At this point, the complex staple driver 52 is also moved upward to separate from the push rod 641, and the staple-pushing spring 645 is released from the compressed state to thereby elastically move the push plate 643 and the push rod 641 forward, which in turn move a subsequent second staple 71 at the front end of the coil staple unit 70 to the position immediately below the complex staple driver 52.
When the main body 40 is pushed downward again for another stapling operation, the complex staple driver 52 is moved downward again. At this point, the driving plate 522 drives the staple 71, which is located below the complex staple driver 52 and has been bent by the bending plate 523, into the workpiece. Then, the pusher mechanism 64 repeats the same movement as before to push a subsequent bar-shaped staple 71 to the position below the driving plate 522, and the coil stapler is ready for another stapling operation. With these arrangements, the main body 40 of the coil stapler of the present invention can be repeatedly downward pushed to drive the staples 71 into predetermined positions.
The present invention has been described with a preferred embodiment thereof and it is understood that many changes and modifications in the described embodiment can be carried out without departing from the scope and the spirit of the invention that is intended to be limited only by the appended claims.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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101224773 | Dec 2012 | TW | national |