Sheet-material associating – Associating or disassociating – Sheet associating
Reexamination Certificate
1998-09-03
2001-01-16
Ellis, Christopher P. (Department: 3651)
Sheet-material associating
Associating or disassociating
Sheet associating
C270S037000, C270S058120, C227S003000, C227S119000, C227S150000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06173949
ABSTRACT:
This invention generally relates to an improvement in staplers for stapling together a stack of sheets providing improved variable staple positioning with improved registration of the stack of sheets. The disclosed device is particularly suitable for a powered stapler for use in or with a printing or copying machine for stapling its printed or copied sheets output.
The sheet stack positioning device disclosed in the embodiments herein can provide improved assistance to the stapler user in the inserting, locating or positioning of a sheet stack for its stapling, and in particular, in different, defined, stapling positions or orientations of the sheet stack. The embodiments disclose a simple and low cost modification of a stapler which can be provided for or utilised in various different stapling apparatus, powered or manually actuated. It provides improved insertion and staple position control of the sheets to be stapled in a powered stapler, especially those with a restricted safety entrance guide or slot. It can automatically switch in between guided or registered stack corner angled stapling versus guided or registered linear stack edge stapling for single or plural stapling along one stack edge. This disclosed sheet set entrance guide and registration system automatically changes with, and by, the operators insertion of the sheet set itself. The guides or registration members do not need to be reset before stapling to provide different stapling modes.
By way of background, it is often desirable to staple together selected printed or copied sheets from a printing or copying apparatus. Such stapling can be done manually using a separate manual or powered stapling device. However, for convenience many printing or copying machines or their sorter modules include or provide power auxiliary staplers. These are typically operated by inserting an appropriately ordered stack of sheets into a stapling slot a sufficient distance to engage and activate a mechanical finger switch or trigger, which activates the electrical solenoid or motor operation of the stapler. With safety in mind, the access to the stapling slot is typically restricted to prevent accidental insertion, for example, of the operator's fingers. Such restrictive access, operator carelessness, and other difficulties, can interfere with the accuracy of inserting and positioning the set of sheets in relation to the stapler head. For example, the sheets may be inserted too little or too far into the slot, or in an a skewed manner. Stapling in an undesired position or angle, or poorly aligned, miss-registered, shingled, or offset, sheets stapled together can thus result. The typical restricted slot width elongate entrance baffles leading the entering sheet set edge in to the stapler head (provided for safety reasons) can obstruct the operator's view of both the stapling trigger position and the stapling position, often leading to stapling at an undesired angle or at an undesired distance from the edge or edges of the sheet. Even if the upper entrance baffle is transparent or seem-transparent, glare and/or the observation angles involved may make it difficult to properly manually insert the set for power stapling in the correct staple position or angle.
Typical simple manual office staplers do not have such restrictive entrance slots for the sheets, and thus are easier to see the staple driver head and anvil position and thus “eyeball” the stapling position of the sheet set. However, typically manual staplers do not have any sheet set edge registration or alignment guide at all, and require a steady two-handed operation to both hold the set in position and press down hard on the stapler head.
Noted by way of a few examples of patents on the above general subject matter are Xerox Corporation U.S. Pat. No. 5,595,336 issued Jan. 21, 1997 to W. D. Everdyke; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,094,379 issued Mar. 10, 1992 to August Hoyer, and other references cited therein. Those two patents show some examples of powered safety convenience staplers, externally accessible for manual insertion of sets of sheets to be stapled, which may be provided in lieu of or in addition to on-line staplers in copiers or printers.
PCT WIPO Publication No. WO 90/08043 published Jul. 26, 1990, by John Fiske, is cited for a different reason. It was cited in the UK PO search report on UK application No. GB 9710853.4 filed on May 28, 1997 by the common assignee, Xerox Corporation. That U.K application was the parent application of this U.S. application. However, this U.S. application is filed non-convention—not claiming priority from that prior UK application. That UK application was unpublished and ungranted as of the filing date of this U.S. application. WO 90/08043 shows, inter alia, a complex sheet transport system with two different, spaced apart, registration positions for automatic stapling of different sizes of sheets. In contrast, the subject disclosed system relates to simpler, manual sheet insertion, convenience staplers rather than on-line staplers with large, complex and expensive automatic sheet transports, compilers, or the like.
It will be noted that the general problem of positioning of the sheets in relation to the convenience power stapler head has been typically addressed purely by operator “eyeballing”, with no effective physical registration, and with stapling occurring wherever the sheets are located whenever the stapler is actuated by the sheets actuating the staplers trigger switch. Or, the stapler may have a single fixed registration edge in the rear of the stapling slot, typically, only perpendicular to the sheet insertion, thus only providing for edge perpendicular stapling. The operator, however, often wants or requires a choice of different sheet stapling positions, in particular, both corner stapling and edge stapling. This choice presents a further registration problem which cannot be solved by the provision of such a single fixed registration means. For example, corner stapling is often desired since it is known that a single 45 degree angled corner staple in the upper left hand corner of the document set is more desirable than a non-angled staple aligned with one sheet edge, since the angled corner staple allows unobstructed page turning and is more resistant to sheet tearing at the staple than an un-angled corner staple.
The disclosed specific embodiments show a stapling device which comprises a base plate, and mounted thereon a pair of movable sheet stack insertion and registration guide elements and a fixed registration wall. The guide elements are movable from a corner stapling position, in which the guide elements in combination present a right angled corner edge registration surface to an inserted sheet stack, to an edge stapling position, in which said registration wall presents a straight edge registration surface to said inserted sheet. This movement of the guide elements between two different positions to provide two different sheet stack registration positions may be accomplished automatically solely by the insertion of the sheet stack itself, depending on its angle of insertion. It may be assisted by a simple light force spring.
To express some of the disclosed features of the embodiments in different words, there is disclosed a sheet stack stapling positioning device for positioning a sheet stack for stapling comprising a pair of pivotally mounted guide elements movable from a first stapling position, in which the guide elements in combination present a right angled edge registration surface to an angularly corner inserted sheet stack for corner stapling thereof, to a second stapling position, in which a straight edge registration surface is presented to a edge inserted sheet stack for edge stapling thereof.
As noted, the disclosed sheet stack stapling positioning device may be utilised integral a reproduction apparatus, or an output finishing module therefor, if desired, but is not limited thereto.
A specific feature of the specific embodiments disclosed herein is to provide in a stapler for stapling a set of
Cook John H.
Visick David S.
Ellis Christopher P.
Ridley Richard
Xerox Corporation
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