Dispensing of Attachment Members

This invention relates to the dispensing of plastic attachment members and, more particularly, to the dispensing of attachment members from continuously connected plastic fastener stock.

Techniques for dispensing attachment members from continuously connected fastener stock are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,121,487, issued Oct. 24, 1978; U.S. Pat. No. 4,039,078, issued Aug. 2, 1977 and U.S Pat. No. 3,948,128 issued April 6, 1976. In these patents fastener attachment stock is formed by continuously connected plastic side members that are intercoupled by a plurality of cross links. The stock may be produced from flexible plastic materials, such as nylon, polyethylene and polypropylene, by molding or stamping.

Such attachment members can be dispensed to couple buttons to fabric, merchandising tags to articles of commerce, and in the general attachment of one item to another, such as the attachment of tubing to a chassis or electrical wiring to a frame.

In U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,121,487; 4,039,078; and 3,948,128 the stock is severed by relatively movable die members to form individual fastener attachments that are dispensed through one or more hollow slotted needles after appropriate positioning. The fastener stock is fed along a first axis, and an individual attachment severed therefrom by transverse motion of the die members, to move the severed fastener in-line with a hollow needle. The dispensing mechanism is provided by an ejector which forces an end bar portion of the fastener through the bore of the hollow needle during a forward stroke. During the return stroke of the ejector a further individual fastener is moved into position for being dispensed.

Another technique for the dispensing of continuously connected fastener stock is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,288,017. The fastener stock is engaged by a rotating feed wheel which advances the end-most fastener into the area behind a hollow slotted needle. Here the end bars (T-bars) of the stock, which are dispensed through the bore of the hollow needle, are separated one from the other either during alignment of the end bar with the bore or during the subsequent impact of the ejector with the end bar in the course of driving it through the bore. No moving knife is included, but a stationary knife at the rear of the needle assists separation as the ejector rod pushes the connector against the knife. Any remaining connection of successive fasteners is severed, for example, in the manner illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 3,733,657.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,592,499 discloses method and apparatus for dispensing fasteners wherein a fastener is fed along its longitudinal axis to sever it from the fastener assembly, then advanced further in the same direction to position the fastener cross bar on the axis of a hollow needle. This apparatus is designed to separate closely interconnected fasteners in which the separation of cross bars is extremely narrow or the cross bars are in contact.

Commonly assigned U.S. patent application Ser. No. 239,695 filed Sept. 2, 1988 discloses an electric motor driven apparatus for dispensing plastic fasteners comprising two end "T"-bars connected by a filament. The continuously connected fastener stock is fed into a shuttle wherein the T-bars of the leading fastener are fed into two needles secured within the shuttle. The shuttle is laterally advanced to move the needles from the fastener stock feed axis to a fastener ejection axis, and in this process, the leading fastener is severed by a knife which is secured to a knife block that is mounted to the shuttle so as to permit relative movement along the transverse axis of shuttle motion. After needles have advanced with the shuttle to the ejection axis, the fastener is ejected from the needles by a pair of plungers. The shuttle then moves back to the feed axis to again permit insertion of the fastener stock.

Accordingly it is an object of the invention to facilitate the dispensing of fasteners. A related objective is to facilitate the dispensing of fasteners from connected stock, particularly continuously connected stock.

Another object of the invention is to avoid malfunctions in the dispensing of fasteners. Particular objects are to provide more reliable severing of fasteners from continuous stock, and feed of the severed fasteners into and through the dispensing needle.

The above and additional aspects of the invention are illustrated in the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment of a fastener dispensing gun, which should be consulted together with the drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is an elevation view of the gun as seen from the left side, with most of the left halves of the handle and trigger removed, showing the trigger in its rest position;

FIG. 2 is an elevation view of the lower part of the gun casing with the left half removed, showing the trigger engaged by the catch lever;

FIG. 3 is an elevation view corresponding to FIG. 2, showing the trigger fully depressed;

FIG. 4 is a partial elevation view of the upper part of the gun as seen from the left side with the left half removed, showing the actuator slide at its forwardmost position;

FIG. 5 is a partial sectional view of the gun from above, showing the cam bar and related mechanisms;

FIG. 6 is a rear sectional view of the upper part of the gun, in a section through the actuator slide;

FIG. 7 is a sectional view from the left side of the shuttle assembly and cam bar, in a section taken in the plane of the needle bore, showing a fastener aligned with the needle;

FIG. 8 is a top view of the gun, with part of the casing removed to display mechanisms at the left half of the gun;

FIG. 9 is a top view of the gun corresponding to FIG. 8, at the level of the fastener feed track;

FIG. 10 is a sectional view of the fastener antiback device of the needle assembly at the Section 10--10 of FIG. 8;

FIG. 11 is a sectional view of the fastener feed track at the section 11--11 of FIG. 8;

FIG. 12 is a top sectional view of the shuttle assembly and adjacent mechanisms including the feed finger advance, showing the fastener stock fed advanced into the shuttle prior to severing of a fastener;

FIG. 13 is a top sectional view of the shuttle assembly and adjacent structures, showing the fastener slide advanced to move a second fastener in-line with the needle bore;

FIG. 14 is a top plan view of the needle assembly;

FIG. 15 shows the needle assembly from the left side;

FIG. 16 is a bottom view of the needle assembly;

FIG. 17 is a sectional view of the needle assembly in the section 17--17 of FIG. 14;

FIG. 18 is a partial sectional view of the needle assembly in the section 18--18 of FIG. 14;

FIG. 19 is a sectional view of the needle in the section 19--19 of FIG. 16;

FIG. 20 is a top view of the metal needle;

FIG. 21 is a side view of the needle;

FIG. 22 is a sectional view of the needle shank in the section 22--22 of FIG. 20; and

FIG. 23 is a rear view of the needle.

In furthering the above and additional objects, the invention provides apparatus for dispensing fasteners which are severed from fastener stock including a continuous, elongated plastic side member coupled to a plurality of spaced-apart transversely oriented filaments, respective fasteners being formed by severing said side member between adjacent filaments. Such apparatus includes means for advancing the fastener stock along a feed axis to a transfer site, said feed axis being displaced from a dispensing station; knife means mounted on a support member which is slidable transversely to the feed axis at said transfer site; means for urging said support member toward said feed axis to cause said knife to sever an individual fastener from the fastener stock; and a transfer member for engaging the portion of the fastener stock which becomes severed, and urging it toward the dispensing axis, said transfer member being yieldably coupled to the support member to permit the transfer member to lag behind said knife until the knife severs the fastener stock.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, wherein the dispensing station comprises the entry region of a hollow slotted needle through which the severed fastener is dispensed, said side member is proportioned so that each severed fastener includes an end-bar formed from a portion of said side member, configured for feeding through the slotted hollow needle.

The fastener stock may also be continuously connected at the end of each filament opposite said side member. For example, the stock may include another end bar severable into a plurality of T-bars, or alternatively a series of interconnected paddles.

In the preferred embodiment, the transfer member comprises a slide which is mounted to said support member to reciprocate in parallel with the knife. Desirably, the transfer member is coupled to the support member by a compression spring. The means for urging the support member toward the feed axis may also constitute a compression spring. In such two spring embodiment, the spring for biasing the support member should have a higher spring constant than that for biasing the transfer member. Alternatively, the means for urging the support member may comprise a power operated mechanism.

With reference to the drawings, an apparatus or gun 10 for dispensing attachment members in accordance with the invention is shown in FIG. 1.

The fasteners are advantageously of the continuously connected type shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,288,017 which issued Sept. 8, 1981. As shown in FIG. 1 hereof, each individual fastener 101 includes a filament 105 which extends between a head member or paddle 107 and an opposite end member or T-bar 103. The heads and opposite ends of successive fasteners are joined by severable connectors to form continuously connected fastener stock. Thus, as seen in FIGS. 9, 13 which show the fastener stock 100 in section, the T-bars 103 are joined by severable connectors 104. These connectors are severed within the tool 10 using the apparatus of the invention, discussed below. The connections between successive paddles 107 is severed after an individual fastener has been ejected from the tool, as explained below.

Referring again to FIG. 1, the gun is formed by a hollow casing or handle assembly 12, and is hand actuated by a trigger 16. The casing is preferably in two halves, a left handle 14 and right handle 15, which may be joined together in conventional fashion using, for example, screw fasteners, and fabricated from any convenient material, such as molded plastic. Similarly, the trigger 16 may consist of left half 17 and right half 19. Various features within the handle 12 and trigger 16 may consist of dual structures within the respective body halves, but the following discussion refers only to single structures for the sake of simplicity. In FIG. 1, the left handle 14 is removed for clarity. Trigger assembly 16 is held biased against the handle assembly 12 by a compression spring 23 which reacts against spring post 28. The trigger rotates about pivots 26 in the handle assembly. Motion is restricted in the open position (as shown in FIG. 1) by the engagement between a stop tab 25 located on the trigger and a bumper 27 housed in the handle. The spring post 28 reacts against and rotates in a pivot 29 in the handle assembly. The trigger assembly houses a spring retainer 21 pivottably mounted between the trigger halves.

A drive link assembly 30 connects the trigger 16 to an actuator slide 35, which in turn drives various major functional assemblies of gun 10 as explained below. The drive link assembly 30 is comprised of drive link 31, idler link 33, the actuator slide 35 and two pivot pins 34 and 42. A boss 32 travels in a slot 37 in the trigger and transmits trigger motion to the drive link assembly 30 as the trigger 16 is rotated about pivot 26. The drive link 31 is attached to actuator slide 35 by the pivot pin 34. The idler link 33 rotates between drive link 31 (to which it is pivotally connected by pin 42) and a pivot 41 in the handle assembly. This produces lost motion of the upper end of drive link 31, during linear motion of the actuator slide 35. The rearward motion of trigger 16 is limited by bumper 43. This drive link arrangement maintains mechanical advantage and provides a linear force profile, as the trigger 16 is depressed.

Trigger antiback assembly 40 controls the motion of trigger 16, with operational advantages explained below. Trigger antiback assembly 40 includes a catch lever 45 pivotally mounted within the handle at pin 51. Lever 45 is biased toward its position shown in FIG. 1 by virtue of the over-center mounting of a compression spring 46 between a spring retainer 48 and spring pivot 49. When the trigger 16 is depressed, the catch lever 45 is cammed over-center by the action of stop tab 25 against cam surface 52. If the trigger is not fully depressed, but has rotated beyond the position at which stop tab 25 rides over locking tab 55, stop tab 25 will be engaged in the cavity 54 preventing return rotation of the trigger 16. (See FIG. 2). As will become more evident in the further explanation of the fastener feed mechanisms, this locking or antiback action occurs at the point at which the feed of the fastener stock 100 has begun. Trigger 16 must then be completely rotated to its rearward position to cam the catch lever 45 into the position shown in FIG. 3 and thereby clear the lever 45 out of the way to permit return rotation of the trigger 16.

As seen in FIGS. 4-6, the actuator slide 35 moves along a linear path, sliding between tracks 58 and 59 in the handle halves 14 and 15.

Actuator slide 35 serves three functions in gun 10:

(1) To eject a fastener through needle 140 by advancing an ejector rod 60;

(2) To actuate the feed finger advance 68 which feeds the fastener stock 100 to a shuttle assembly 80; and

(3) To provide motion to the cam bar 65 which in turn reciprocates shuttle assembly 80. This linear shuttle motion comprises distinct motions of a knife slide 81, knife 83, and fastener slide 85, as explained below.

Having reference to FIGS. 4, 6, the actuator slide 35 includes an upright support 38 to which the ejection rod 60 is secured at its upper end. Thus, the forward stroke of the actuator slide 35 causes the forward motion of the ejector rod 60 through needle 140.

As seen from above (FIGS. 9,12), the feed finger advance 68 includes a series of saw teeth 69 which urge the fastener stock 100 forward during the forward motion of feed finger advance 68, but permit the feed finger 68 to slide over the fastener filaments 105 during the rearward motion of this structure thereby to engage a successive fastener. Feed finger advance 68 is biased toward the fastener stock 100 by leaf spring 73. As seen in FIG. 4 the feed finger advance 68 has a pair of depending legs 71, 72; note also the rear sectional view of this structure in FIG. 6. The actuator slide 35 has a protuberance 47 (FIGS. 4, 5) which abuts against the legs 71, 72 as the actuator slide 35 approaches its forward and rearward extremes of travel, respectively. By this means, the feed finger advance 68 advances the fastener chain 100 over the pitch of one fastener during each actuation of the trigger 16, in particular as the trigger reaches and moves past the position shown in FIG. 2. By the same means, the feed finger advance 68 is retracted on the rearward stroke of the actuator slide 35 (return rotation of trigger 16) to engage the next fastener in chain 100.

As best seen in FIG. 6, actuator slide 35 slides within two tracks 58, 59 in handle halves 14, 15. Tracks 58, 59 define a linear path. As seen in FIG. 5, a cam bar 65 is pivotally mounted at the rear of tool 10, at 66, and fits within a tapered cavity 36 in actuator slide 35. The forward or rearward motion of actuator slide 35 results in lateral motion of the front of cam bar 65 when the actuator slide engages the inclined cam region 67 causing a slight swinging of the cam. This in turn causes lateral motion of the mechanisms of shuttle assembly 80 as discussed below. This arrangement positively drives the shuttle motion in both directions.

Continuously connected fastener stock 100 is fed from a suitable supply, such as the supply spool 75 shown in FIG. 1. Referring to the top views of FIGS. 8, 9, the fastener stock 100 passes from the supply assembly 75 into feed track 120 at the top of the tool, so that the interconnected T-bars 103 of the fasteners are firmly engaged within the track (FIG. 9) while the filaments 105 and paddles 107 project from the top of the tool. One of the particularly novel aspects of this tool design is the incorporation of a needle assembly 130 which cooperates with a mating portion of the tool body to define the fastener track. As shown in FIG. 11, which is a section taken at 11--11 in FIG. 8 at the entry region of the feed track 120, needle assembly 130 mates with right handle 15 to define the feed track 120.

The needle assembly 130 incorporates an antiback mechanism 135 which prevents the fastener stock 100 from backing out of the feed track 120 during operation. As shown in FIG. 8 and the isolated views of the needle assembly in FIGS. 14, 16, the antiback mechanism 135 comprises a living hinge, i.e. a flexible finger integral with the needle assembly 130 and having a saw tooth 136 which engages the fastener filaments 105. Because of the mild slope of its leading edge the antiback tooth 136 permits the fastener to advance while the antiback 135 deflects out of the fastener path; the tooth 136 has an abrupt rear surface to prevent the retrograde motion of a fastener which has moved past it. As seen in FIG. 10 which is a section taken at 10--10 in FIG. 8, antiback 135 includes a pin 137 which permits the operator to deflect the antiback 135 in the direction indicated by arrow A, and a second pin 138 which forces the feed finger advance 68 out of the fastener track; the operator may then unload the chain of fasteners from the track 120. The lower pin 138 fits within a slot 68a in the feed finger advance (FIGS. 9, 12).

Thus, the needle assembly 130 contains not only the needle--the means by which a fastener is inserted into an article to be marked--but also defines the fastener feed track, contains the fastener antiback mechanism, and provides the release mechanism which permits unloading the fastener stock from the tool. Other features of the needle assembly, and its manufacture, are discussed below.

A portion 123 of the fastener track 120 on either side of the antiback 135 is essentially straight and parallel to the ejection axis, that of the needle 140 and ejector rod 60. This feed track segment 123 leads up to the transfer section 125 of the feed track at which shuttle assembly 80 severs an individual fastener from fastener stock 100, and moves the fastener laterally to the ejection axis.

Referring to FIG. 7, the knife slide 81 acts as the main shuttle mechanism which carries the knife 83 and fastener slide 85 during the operation of the tool. As seen in FIGS. 5, 13, a compression spring 86 biases the knife slide 81 toward the left handle. Knife slide 81 includes a boss or cam yoke 87 which connects it to cam bar 65 and transmits the lateral motion of the cam to the knife slide. As seen in FIGS. 7, 13 the knife 83 is fixed to knife slide 81 to move therewith. The fastener slide 85 is retained by knife slide 81 by means of a tongue and groove mechanism 89. It is free to slide in parallel with the knife slide between upstanding walls 81w of the knife slide. Fastener slide 85 is held biased toward the left side of the knife slide by compression spring 88. Thus, the main compression spring 86 biases the entire shuttle assembly to the left side, while the secondary spring 88, which has a lower spring constant than spring 86, only biases the fastener slide 85. By this arrangement, the fastener slide serves as a secondary shuttle which yields when it meets interference with a fastener to compress the spring 88 (FIG. 12). This motion of the fastener shuttle exposes the cutting surface of knife 83 to the fastener stock, and the fastener slide 85 allows the knife slide 81 further motion to the right until the knife cuts the fastener at the thin connector 104. Thereupon, spring 88 returns the fastener slide 85 to its home position and forces the severed fastener against the exit slot of needle 140 (FIG. 13), after the plunger 60 withdraws to the rear. An elevated portion at the right side of fastener slide 85 defines a wall surface 85s for engaging T-bar, while a further elevated finger 85f engages the filament 105 (FIG. 13). The system is calibrated to continue to maintain pressure on the fastener against the wall of the needle entry.

Applicants have observed that a straight shearing of the T-bar section of continuously connected fastener stock requires an unduly high force. They have discovered that by putting a thin, sharp knife alongside a yieldable transfer mechanism, and cutting the fastener stock just as the transfer action commences, the cutting force required is markedly reduced. In the shuttle assembly 80, the transfer mechanism is a reciprocating slide, but alternatively the transfer device could be an oscillating rotor which is biased clockwise or counter clockwise. The transfer slide or rotor, or at least a portion thereof which is adjacent the knife, is yieldable so that the T-bar section can deflect as the knife is cutting. By allowing this deflection, the knife can make a clean square cut with a relatively small force, and the T-bar section will be returned to its original straight configuration once the cut is completed. The feed track and ejection track preferably should be parallel to each other and in close proximity (illustratively, on the order of 3 millimeters). A transfer device designed as described above can simultaneously cut an individual "T" bar and transfer it in line with the ejection track.

The transfer mechanism described above requires a straight line motion for severing and transferring an individual fastener. In the manual tool of the preferred embodiment, the shuttle is spring biased toward the left side, to provide the force for cutting the fastener. This biasing also allows the shuttle assembly 80 to properly interface with the cam bar 65. Although the illustrated tool depends on a spring force to urge the knife slide 81 toward the ejection axis, it is also feasible to rely on an electrically or fluidically powered mechanism to positively drive the knife slide.

Reference should now be had to FIGS. 14-23 which illustrate the preferred construction of a needle assembly 130 for use with the tool 10. As seen in the side view of FIG. 15 and bottom view of FIG. 16, needle assembly 140 includes three downwardly protruding posts 147 and a rib 144 at the front of the assembly, and a locking tab 149 toward the rear of the assembly. (See also FIG. 18 which shows a sectional view of the locking tab 149). Referring to FIG. 1 as well as FIGS. 14 and 16, the needle assembly 140 also includes a downward keyhole-shaped projection 146 which may be rotated by the operator by means of a needle lock knob 145. Locking tab 149 and projection 146 are designed to fit into apertures 152 (FIGS. 9, 12) in the right half of the tool body, while posts 147 and rib 144 support the needle assembly against walls of the tool body. To insert a replacement needle assembly into the tool, the operator inserts locking tab 149 into a slot opening in the handle half 15, and exerts slight backward pressure while seating the front part of the needle assembly in place. The user then rotates needle lock knob 145 a half turn to lock the needle assembly in place due to the mating of the cam surface 146c of projection 146 with an aperture within the tool body.

As explained above, needle assembly 130 is configured to define the fastener feed track 120 in conjunction with the tool body (FIG. 11). The needle assembly 140 is shaped to provide an arcuate entry feed path 122 (FIG. 8) followed by a straight path 123 parallel to the ejection axis, and a short, transversely oriented transfer path 125 (FIG. 8) leading up to the entry region of the needle. FIG. 17 shows the entry region of the needle assembly 140 as seen from the rear.

FIGS. 20-23 provide various views of the hollow, slotted metal needle 140 from the needle assembly 130. Advantageously, the needle 140 is stamped and rolled into the configuration shown, as known in the prior art. The remainder of the needle assembly is then formed of a thermoplastic material such as nylon, which is injection molded around the metal needle 140. FIG. 19 shows a sectional view of the needle assembly taken at section 19--19 in FIG. 16, in a transverse section through the needle lock.

The sequence of operation of tool 10 is as follows. When the tool is in its relaxed configuration (FIG. 1), a completely severed fastener 101 is loaded into the needle 140 for ejection. A tag is placed over the needle 140 and the needle inserted through the article to be marked. Trigger 16 is then squeezed and the drive linkage is actuated as explained above. Actuator slide 35 begins to advance and carries ejector rod 60 into the back end of the T-bar 103 of fastener 101 (FIG. 13). Continued motion of the mechanism causes the fastener T-bar to be loaded into the bore of hollow needle 140. Further motion causes T-bar 103 to continue to travel down the bore of hollow 140, and begins the motion of knife slide 81. The actuator slide 35 interacts with the cam bar 65 as explained above to impart a slight rotational motion to the cam. This causes the front end of the cam to move to the right, carrying with it the knife slide 81 by means of the boss 87. Thus, the fastener slide 85 and knife 83 are also displaced to a point at which the shuttle is aligned with the feed track 120 (FIG. 12).

Continued motion of the actuator slide begins actuation of the feed finger advance 68. At this point in the cycle, the trigger antiback 45 is actuated and the trigger assembly cannot be released until the tool has completed its cycle. Feed finger advance 68 begins pushing on filament 105 of the fastener until it is indexed one complete pitch of the fastener chain, loading the connected chain into the shuttle mechanism, and indexing the next fastener in line beyond the antiback portion 135 of needle assembly 130. During this time, ejector rod 60 completes ejection of the fastener 101 through hollow needle 140, the tags, and the article to be marked, completing the forward cycling of the tool, and clearing the trigger antiback 45.

The tool may be removed from the goods now marked with the trigger still completely squeezed; by releasing the trigger prior to withdrawal of the tool from the goods; or while releasing the trigger simultaneously with withdrawing the needle from the goods. As the needle is withdrawn from the article to be marked, the T-bar 103 will resiliently resume its transverse orientation with respect to filament 105. This will prevent withdrawal of the filament from the material. Motion of tool 10 as it is removed from the article will break the connection between the paddle 107 of the ejected fastener and the paddle of the next fastener, in the manner illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 3,733,657.

Releasing of trigger assembly 16 causes the following events to occur:

The ejector rod 60 begins to withdraw from needle 140 as actuator slide 35 moves back within the tool. Continued rearward motion of actuator slide 35 commences the movement of shuttle assembly 80 by rotating the cam bar 65 which urges the boss 87 of knife slide 81 to the left. As the knife slide 81 moves to the left, the fastener stock 100 arrests the motion of the fastener slide 85 by compression spring 88 and begins to expose the knife 83. Full exposure of knife 83 to the fastener stock severs the end most fastener 101 from the remainder of the fastener stock 100. The cut fastener is then pushed to the left side of the tool by the compression spring 88 into contact with the ejector rod 60 which is continuing to withdraw from the needle assembly 130. Continued return motion of trigger 16 withdraws ejector rod 60 from the shuttle section of tool 10 and begins to withdraw the feed finger advance 68 to a point beyond fastener antiback 135. Completion of the rearward stroke of actuator slide 35 results in the complete withdrawal of the ejector rod from the shuttle section allowing the severed fastener 101 to be completely loaded into its ejection position in preparation for a subsequent actuation of the tool.