Adhesive bonding and miscellaneous chemical manufacture – Surface bonding means and/or assembly means therefor – With cutting – punching – piercing – severing – or tearing
Reexamination Certificate
1999-08-13
2001-10-16
Osele, Mark A. (Department: 1734)
Adhesive bonding and miscellaneous chemical manufacture
Surface bonding means and/or assembly means therefor
With cutting, punching, piercing, severing, or tearing
C156S577000, C156S579000, C242S588200, C242S588600
Reexamination Certificate
active
06302177
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
I. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to devices for dispensing a continuous strip of tape and more particularly relates to a tape dispenser that dispenses and applies tape to a first surface, wherein an edge of the tape is precisely positioned either flush or a predetermined distance from an adjacent second surface. The tape dispensing system of the present invention allows for bi-directional application of tape to the first surface and is particularly well suited for applying tape both around and into corners. The tape dispenser system further provides for an automatic alignment of an outer edge of a roll of tape relative to the dispenser frame independent of the thickness of the roll of tape.
II. Discussion of the Related Art
At various times it is desirable to precisely apply a strip of tape to a first surface, such as a baseboard, wherein an edge of the strip of tape is consistently spaced a pre-determined distance from an adjacent second surface, such as a wall. For ease of discussion and without limitation, the first surface will be referred to herein as a baseboard or other trim and the second adjacent surface will be referred to herein as a wall. Although the user may manually remove a strip of tape from a roll of tape and then apply this strip to an edge of the baseboard adjacent the wall, the removal and alignment process is time consuming and imprecise. It has been found to be both desirable and efficient to apply a strip of tape to the baseboard from a tape applicator or dispenser.
In the past, tape applicators have been provided that apply tape to a baseboard, for example, requiring manual alignment of the tape's edge to the adjacent wall. G. J. Kefalos in U.S. Pat. No. 3,537,942 describes a tape applicator having a hub and cylindrical alignment roller that may be used to apply tape to a baseboard adjacent a wall. The hub is adapted for receiving a roll of tape, wherein the roll of tape is pressed onto the hub until an inner edge of the roll of tape engages against a rear flange of the hub. The user must then manually adjust the alignment roller such that the outer edge of the alignment roller aligns with the outer edge of the roll of tape. Each time a new roll of tape is engaged to the hub, the alignment roller should be accordingly adjusted. Apparently, the dispenser described by Kefalos allows the user to apply tape to the baseboard with an edge of the tape positioned flush with the wall. It is desirable, however, to eliminate the need for manual adjustments of an alignment member each time a roll of tape is replaced. The tape applicator described by Kefalos is further limited in its ability to apply tape into a corner section, around corner edges. Further, the device described by Kefalos is limited in that it is designed to apply tape to a surface in only one direction.
A. E. Vidinsky in U.S. Pat. No. 3,740,297 describes a masking tape applicator capable of applying tape into a corner. Vidinsky describes a device having three rollers that act to align the masking tape during application. A roll of tape is loaded onto a spool, pressing an inner side of the roll of tape against a flange of the spool, such that outer ends of the three rollers extend slightly beyond the outside edge of the tape. In order to accommodate rolls of masking tape of various widths, Vidinsky describes the use of spacers having various thickness engaged between an inner edge of the roll of tape and the spool flange. The manual replacement of spacers for each roll of tape is time consuming and use of spacers may make it difficult to achieve precise alignment between the rollers and the outer edge of the tape. Further, when applying tape with the device described by Vidinsky, the device is only operable in one direction.
Longworth, et al. in U.S. Pat. No. 5,269,871 describes a tape applicator having a complex alignment and cutting mechanisms. The device described by Longworth et al. also apparently requires engaging the inner edge of a roll of tape to a flange of a hub adapted for receiving the roll of tape, wherein a manually adjustable means positions the flange at different desired axial positions to thereby position the sides of different width rolls of tape in a desired orientation with respect to the distal ends of application rollers. For the reasons indicated above, among other, a dispenser requiring manual adjustment for each new roll of tape is not preferred. Further, although the device described by Longworth, et al. appears to be operable in either direction, the device is not particularly well suited for applying tape into or around corners. Hence, there is a need for a device that automatically aligns the outer edge of a roll of tape without requiring manual adjustment when switching between widths of tape and wherein the device is well suited for taping in and around corners. The present invention meets these and other needs that will become apparent from a review of the description of the present invention.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention provides a portable bi-directional tape dispensing device capable of conveniently and effectively applying pressure sensitive adhesive coated tape around and into corners and along narrow edge surfaces, wherein the application surface may be adjacent to a second surface, such as a wall or framework. The tape-dispensing device further provides for an automatic alignment of an outer edge of the roll of tape relative to a frame of the dispensing device, wherein the automatic alignment is independent of the thickness of the roll of tape.
The tape-dispensing device of the present invention generally includes a frame, a hub and an application roller. The hub is rotatably attached to the frame and is adapted for receiving the role of tape. The application roller assists in guiding the tape out of the dispenser as tape is applied to a surface. Without limitation, in the preferred embodiment the application roller is rotatably attached to the frame, however, it is recognized that the application roller may be rigidly engaged or formed as part of the frame. The dispensing device includes at least one alignment member, wherein the outer edge of the alignment member and the outer edge of the roll of tape are aligned in the same plane. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the application roller may act as the alignment member or one or more separate independent alignment members may extend from the frame. In use, the user preferably places the roll of tape on a flat surface, aligns the hub with the core bore of the role of tape, and then presses the hub into the core bore until the alignment member engages the flat surface. In this manner, the outer edge of the roll of tape and alignment member are aligned independent of the width of the role of tape and without requiring manual adjustments of the alignment member relative to the frame.
Without any limitation intended, the preferred embodiment of the dispensing device of the present invention is manufactured from a high impact thermal moldable plastic of known suitable composition and includes two spaced apart alignment members, wherein the application roller is coupled to the dispenser frame between the two alignment members. An angle between the longitudinal axis extending from the first alignment member to the application roller and the longitudinal axis extending from the second alignment member to the application roller is ninety (90) degrees or less. This arrangement provides for a smooth transition in directions when applying the tape into and around corners.
The dispensing device includes a means for holding said dispensing device while dispensing tape there from. Although it is recognized that the means for holding may include a handle attached to a side or end of the dispenser, fingerholds are preferably formed integral with the frame. The fingerholds provide a holding and gripping surface and allows for efficient rotation and other manipulation of the orientation and movement of the dispenser.
In an alternate embo
Nikolai & Mersereau , P.A.
Osele Mark A.
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