Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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This lnventiOn relates to apparatus for connecting
together a plurality of webs of flexible material.
There are many areas where webs of flexible material
need to be connected together, some of these being the
securing together of a number of sheets of paper, for
example in office use, the securing of packets to display
cards, the securing together of parts of fol~ed blanks to
form cartons and otner containers and the fastening
together of two ends of a length of strapping for
packaging applications.
~ here are nany weil-known methods of securing ;
together webs of flexible material. Perhaps stapling
machlnes are the most common example, but these have
drawbacks in that the staples can be difficult to remove
from the stapled sheets, the machines require constant
reloadlng and staples are not complete?y ~nterchangeable
from one machlne to another.¦
, .. _. _ ., _ . __ _ . . . . .. . . .
--: Attempts have therefore been made to fasten two
or more webs of flexible material together without the
20 USB of auxiliary fastening slsments such as staplss. U.K.
Patent Spscification No. 50~.663 tHahn) dsscribs~ and
illustrates an apparatus in which a V-shapsd tongue is
punched out of a cornsr of~one web and is thsn automatically
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threaded into a slit automatically cut into the other
web. Another device working on this same principle is
disclosed in U.S. Patent Specification No. 1,065,904
(~umps). Devices of this type are relatively complicated
in construction, they have many points of potsntial
failure because they use a large number of working parts,
and they are therefore relatively expensive and bulky:
as a result, although they have been known for many years,
they have so far failed to dsvslop any permanent place
on the market.
U.K. Patent Specification No. 792,8~2 lJewell)
attempts to improve upon this slit-and-tongue type of
fastener, and descr~bes and illustrates ar..arrangement
: in which a basically circular tongue is punched through
the folded~oorner region of ths webs which are to be
~oined together. The apparatus described and illustrated
in this Specification No. 792,852 is undoubtedly far.less ..
complicated than apparatus of the 508,683 kind~ but it has
the drawback that the connected webs are relatively easily
- 20 separated.from.one another because the basically circular
locking tab which is punched out of the webs a~ows the
two webs to be all too easily rotated relative to one another
80 that the punched tab slides out of register with its
co-operating circular slot.
Again, therefore, although the 792,852 device has
been.known for over twenty years, it has not - as far as
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I am aware - made any impact on the market. In general,
despite its admitted drawbacks, the basic stapling machine
continues to dominate the commercial market.
According to the present invention there is
provided an apparatus for connecting together a plurality of
webs of flexible material, comprising a base, an anvil
incorporated in the base having an opening, at ~east part of
which is defined by a first sharp edge, a punching head
mounted for movement towards and away from the anvil, the
puncbing head incorporating a punch at least part of which
is delineated by a second sharp edge, characterised in that
the apparatus further comprises means to fold the webs and
to position the folded bac~ parts and part of the remainder
of the webs between the anvil opening and the punch and in
that the first sharp edye of the opening on the anvil and
the second sharp edge of the punch comprise a shank region
and an elongated head region the second sharp edge of the
punch fitting closely within the first sharp edge of the
anvil and at least one of the punch and the anvil opening
àre devoid of a sharp edge adjacent the end of the
respective shank region which is remote from the respective
enlarged head region, so that when the webs and the folded
back part of the web are placed between the punching head
and the anvil and the punch is moved into the anvil opening,
Z5 the first and second sharp edges punch a portion of material
having a shank and an enlarged head from each web and folded
over part of web, the portion of material remaining joined
at the base of the shank to the associated web so that when
the folded over piece o~ web is folded back to its original
position the enlarged heads of the punched material are
received in the narrow shanks of tne openlngs left b~ other
punched portions to lock the we~s together.
According to another aspect o~ this invention
there is provided a method of connecting together a
plurality of webs of flexible material comprising folding
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the plurality of webs, punching a hole through the plurality
of folded webs so that the hole passes through the folded
part of the web and the remaining part of the web, each hole
defining a punched portion and a remaining opening including
an enlarged head and narrow shank and having a base at which
the punched portion remains connected to the associated web,
and then unfolding the punched web so that the enlarged
heads of some of the punched portions are received within
the narrow shanks of the openings left by other punched
portions to lock the webs together.
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To illustrate use of the apparatus if two sheets of
paper are placed one on top of another, folded over at
one corner to form four thicknesses and those four
thicknesses are placed between the anvil opening and the
5 punch and are then punched, it will be found that when
the punched sheets are withdrawn from the apparatus they
will be attached to one another. If the fold2d corner is
smoothed back after punching the sheets will still remain
attached to one another by virtue of the engagement of
1o the enlarged heads of the punched portion engaging in
the shank openings. The method is equally applicable to
two sheets of flexible material other than paper~ and also
to more than two sheets of flexible material. If a
substantial number of sheets are to be connected then
lt 1s found that it w~ll suffice to fold over the corner
of, say, the two uppermost and two lowermost sheets and
to punch through the folded parts and the remainder of
the sheets simultaneously. The same connecting effect as
,
with two sheets is then obtained.
~20 In-all these cases the sheets can easily be
separated from one another because only the punched portion
holds them together. Furthermore, no materials other than
the webs themselves are needed to maintain the c-onnectiOn,
the use of separate fasteners such as staples being
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avoided. Th~ apparatus avoids ths complexity of devicss
of the kind shown in U.K. Patent Spscification No. 50~,663
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whilst giving an altogether more positively-locked and
less readily separated fastening than the apparatus of
U.K. Patent Specification No. 792,85~. -
Apparatus in accordance with the present
invention may have uses other than simply connectingtogether superimposed pieces of paper or other material.
, - For instance, the apparatus may be used for securing
together the two ends of a length of strapping
extending around a load. If the ends are brought
together so that they are under tension around the
load, pieces punched out using the apparatus of the
invention and then the tension released, the ends of
the strapping will move relatively apart and the
enlarged head portion from one end will engage in ~he
shank portion of the other end so that the strapping
holds together in a secure condition. The use of
apparatus in accordance with the invention in
this way avoids the need for separate metal bands to
surround the superimposed ends of the strapping and
for crimping to be applied to these metal bands.
Apparatu~ in accoraance with the present
invention may also be used for securing packets to a
display card,/packets containing, for instance,
peanuts,or other good#. ~he packets are laid ovér the
, 25 display card and then the apparatus used to punch
'out pieces from both the packets and the display
card.' The packets remain attached to the display
card because of the engagement of the enlarged head
portion to the punched out pleces of one o the
packet and the display'c,ard with the shank porti~ns of
the other o the packet and the display card.
Apparatus in accordance with the present
invention may also be used to join together two o~
more pieces of paper without the necessity for folding
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over the corners of the pieces of paper. For
example aPParatus in accordance with the Present
invention may be used to join together a plurality of
sheets of paper, each sheet of paper being in the form
of so-called continuous paper having transverse
perforations extending across the width of the paper
at spaced-apart intervals therealong. Such paper is,
for instance, widely used on printers used in many
businesses, for instance, pri~ters forming part of a
computer. Such sheets of paper often having holes
extending along one or both margins thereof at
intervals of, say, about ~ to %"~ These holes are
for engagement with peripherally spaced-apart lugs on
one or more rollers-of the printer.
It may be desired to form from two or more lengths
of such paper, sets o~ two or more individual sheets.
For instance, it may be desired to form sets o~
upwards of two sheets, being a top sheet and copy
sheets. In order to do this the continuous lengths
have to be overlaid and the overlaid lengths then
have to be separated transversely, either along their
perforations or, if no perforations are provided,
the overlaid sheets have to be cut at appropriate
spaced-apart positions. However, the result would
then be that the sheets of each set of sheets are not
connected to the remaining members o~ the set.
However, apparatus in accordance with the present
invention allows the sheets to be connected together
in a simple way, the connection together being, if
desired, incorporated in a continuous process for
bringing together the long lengths of paper and
dividing them at a subsequent station or stations.
When the continuous lengths of paper are brought
together correct superimposition is ensured by
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feeding them in such a way that the closely spaced-
apart marginal holes engage with the pins or lugs on
the feed rollers. Normally each sheet will be
precisely superimposed so that, when perforations are
provided, these exactly overlie each other. However,
with the present invention, the apparatus is such that
either the bottom or the top sheet is displaced
relative to the other sheet or sheets. This
; ' displacement may be by one marginal hole. After the
, 10 continuous sheets have come together in this way,
apparatus in accordance with the present invention
is used to punch out a,hole'at a position between
' each adjacent pair of perforations (in the case
,where the sheets have perforations or between each
adjacent position whére,the sheets are to be cut
where there are no perforations); This hole i9
punched through each superimposed sheet of paper at a
pos~tion which may be, for instance, close to one or
' more of the afore-mentioned marginal holes;' As
20 before, the pieces of papér which are punched out '
' , remain attached to the correspondlng sheets of paper
' at the bottom of the shank portions thereof.
S,ubs,equéntiy the superimposed continuous sheets
, of paper are fed to a further roiler where thëse
- ' , ;25, continuous sheets of paper aré loaded onto the pins
' of the further roll,er in,such a way that the previously
''''~' ''' displaced piece of paper is brought into exact
',, , alignment with thë other sheet or 'sheets of paper.
,' Thus the displaced sheet moves relatively to the
' 3'~ other sheet or sheet~ a~d,,in so doing'the same sort
of engagément between the head portion of the punched
, out piece from one sheet takés place with the shank
; portion of'the othér or other sheets. As a result,
' the continuous sheéts of paper are connected to'gether
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at positions along their lengths. Subsequent division
of thçse continuous sheets of paper along transverse
perforations or by cutting result in sets of sheets of
paper,each set having the members thereof connected
together.
The apparatus may further comprise guide means
operative, as part of said webs advance into said
apparatus, to fold said advancing parts back over the
remainder of saia webs and to position said folded- ¦
back parts and part of the remainder of said webs over
said anvil opening.
In one form of the apparatus the mounting means
comprises a pivotal connection between said base and
said punching head located remote from said anvil
opening and punch. In an alternative form the
mounting means comprises guiding means for guiding
said punching head along a reciprocal path towards
and away from said base. In either case bias means
may be provided for biasing the punching head away
from the base so that the punching action takes
place against the biasing force. The apparatus may
be con8tructed in various forms ranging from light-
weight hand-held devices designated for office use
to power operated multi-anvil devices for industrial
use.
In anothér form of apparatus in accordance with
the present invention, the apparatus comprises a
base, a punching head slidable relative to the base,
a handle mounted on the base for pivotal movement
relative thereto and a f~lding mechanism mounted on
the base for pivotal movement thereto, the handle,
punching head and folding mechanism being operably
connected together so that movement of the handle
causes both the folding mechanism and the punching
head to effect their pivotal movements.
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The form of the defined part of the anvil opening
and the delineated part of the punch is not critical
as long as each has a respective shank region and
enlarged head region. These combined regions could
alternatively be described as a generally T-shaped
slot and the punch shape includes all forms from a
true T-shape t'hrough a key-hole shape to a triangular
shape ~f which the narrow part can be considered a
stem and the broader part an elarged head.
The invention will be better understood from the
followinq description of certain specific embodiments
thereof, given, by way of example only, in connection
with the accompanying drawings in which:-
Figure 1 is a perspective view of a first form of
apparatus according to the invention;
Figure 2 is a side elevation of the apparatus
shown in Figure l;
Figure 3 shows, in views A to E plan views of
five different anvils that may ~e used in the practice
of the invention;
Figures 4 and 5 show respectively partial
longitudinal cross-sections through alternative punch
and anvil forms;
Figure 6 illustrates in partial schematlc plan
view use of an alternative form of apparatus according
to the invention in attaching packets to displaY
cards;
Figure 7 is a cross-sectlon on the line VII-VII
of Figure 6;
Figures 8 and 9 are side elevations of another
embodiment in accordance with the present invention in a
different position;
Figure 10 is a cross-section on the line TT of Figure 8;
Figure 11 shows the anvil member of the embodiment
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of Figure 8;
Figure 12 is a plan view of the folder of the embodiment
of Figure 8.
Figure 13 is a front elevation of part of the handle of
the embodiment of Figure 8 with the folder in its up position.
Referring now to Figures 1 and 2, these show a form of
the apparatus designed for light office use. The apparatus
consists of a metal base, which may be rubber-faced on its
underside to give a non-slip standing surface. The top side
10 of the base incorprates a hard steel anvil section 2 having a
T-shaped slot 3 formed therein. The slot may be of limited
depth or may extend completely through the base. The anvil
section may be an integral---------------------------------
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1 163848
part of the base or may be a separate insert into the
naterial of the base and secured thereto by adhesive,
screws or any other suitable means.
An elongate arm 4 is pivotally mounted at one end
to the base about pivot pins such as 5. The arm has a
punching head section 6 which may be integral with the
arm or a separate part secured to the arm. The punching
head section has incorporated therein a punch 7 which is
again substantially T-shaped. A leaf spring 8 is secured
to the base 1 by rivets 9 and is bent so that its free end
engages the underside of the elongate arm ~ in order to
bias that arm away from the base.
Two subtantially U-shaped resilient wire guides 10
and 11 project upwardly from the base and are located one
1~ to each side of the anvil opening 3. Each guide has a
lower part 12, 13 respectively which is located in a groove
in the upper surface or the base 1 and held within the
groove by, for exam?1e, a suitable adhesive. The blght
14, 15 respectiyely of each wire guide is located beyond
the end 16 of the anvil opening 3. The free ends of the
upper parts of the wire guides lie ahead of the opposite
end 17 of the anvil opening. A further rectangular wire
guide 18 projects forwardly from the base and in front of
the guides 10 and 11, the ends of the guide 18 again being
received in recesses within the base 1 and being secured
thereto by a suitable adhesive or other means.
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.
The~form of the anvil opening`3 and the punch 7 is
clearly s~een from Figure 1. The whole of the opening is
defin,ed by a first sharp edge and comprises a shank region
terminatinq at the end 16 and an enlarged head region
terminating at the end 17, the whole being of substantially
T-shape. The anvil opening and the punch are of substantially
the same shape and the punch projects a g,iven distance from
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~ the punching head and terminates in a web-contacting
surface 19. A first part of the web-contacting surface
10 is delineated by a second sharp edge and comprises the ,
enlarged head region and that part of the shank region
which is closest to the enlarged head region. A secona
' part 20 of the web-contacting surface forms an extension
from the shank region and tapers away from the first part
of that'surface towards the punching head. The tapered '
part of the surface blends smoothly into the remainder
' 'of the sh,ank and the junction betwenn the two 1s not sharp. '
The whole of the punch 7 is capable of fitting closely
within the anvil opening 3.
To use the apparatus to connect together two sheets
of paper the sheets 21, 22 are placed one on top of the
other and one corner of the combined sheets is thén fed
into the opening in the guide 18 from below the^guide
and into and aro,und the guides lO and 11 so that the
corner will automatically be folded back on itself to
the position shown in the drawings. Eventually the shape
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of the guide 18 will prevent the sheets of paper from
being fed any further forwara into the apparatusi The
- punchlng head can then be brought down onto the anvil
against the action of the leaf spring 8. Four thicknesses
of paper will be punched from the two folded over sheets
and the punched T-shaped portions will be pushed through
the sheets but will not be separated from them. Thus,
the shank of each punched portion remains joined to the
associated sheet due to the presence of the tapered
section 20 of the punch and the fact that this does not
include a sharp cutting edge transversely of the shank.
When the sheets are subsequently withdrawn from the
apparatus, they will be found to be secured together at
the folded corner. If the fold ls opened out, the two
sheets will stay secured to one another, with the enlarged
head portlons engaging behind the cut-out shank portions
of the sheets.
Flgure 3 shows a series of anvils having different
shaped openlngs, each of which may ~e used with a
correspondingly shaped punch in apparatus of the invention.
The anvll A has a T-shaped openlng which corresponds
substantially to the opening shown ln the apparatus of
Figures 1 and 2. Anvil B has an openlng which tends more
towards a key-hole shape and also has a shank region and
an enlarged head region. Anvil C has a triangular opening,
which can be considered as having a stem comprising the
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narrower part 23 of the triangle and an enlarged head
comprising the broader part 24 of the triangle. Anvil
D has two openings 25 and 26 arranged side by side each
of miniature key-hole form. Anvil E has a larger opening
comprising a shank 27 and an enlarged square head 28.
This latter anvil may be particularly useful in apparatus
for sec~ring together tne two ends of a length of strapping
extending around a load. If the ends are brought together
and are p~nched on the anvil E with a punch head of the
same shape, the shank of the punch tapering into the punch
head as already described,then squar~ of the s~rapping
material each secured to the material by a shank will be
punched from the material. If tension in the strapping
i8 then released the ends of the strapping will move
relatlvely and the square heads wlll engage behind the
slots so holding the strapping in a secure condition.
The apparatus shown in Figures 1 and 2 ensures that
the punched portions of material remain attached to the
main body of the material by tapering the punch head as
at 20 so that the shank of material is not cut through.
This result may be achieved alternatively by adopting either
of the constructions shown in Figures 4 and 5. Each of these
Figures shows a base 29 lncluding an anvil ope~ing 30 of
substantially T-shape. A punching head 31 is positioned
Z5 above the base and carries a substantially T-shaped punch
32. The whole of the punch is delineated by a sharp edqe.
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In each case the anvil opening includes an extension 33
of the shank region beyond the end 34 of the shank region
of the punch so that as that end enters the anvil opening
there is no cuttlng effect on material laid between the
punch and the anvil. The arrangement shown in Figures
4 and S differ only in tha~ ln the Figure 4 arrangement
the extension 33 of the shank section tapers upwardly to
meet the upper surface of the base, while in the Figure
5 embodiment no such taper is included.
Figures 6 and 7 show schemat~cally a form of
apparatus that ~ay be used for securing packets to a
display card. The apparatus comprises a base 35 in which
are incorporated a plurality of anvils each hav~ng an
anvil opening 36 of generally key-hole form. Four guide
plllars 37 extend upwardly from the base and guide thereon
a punch carrler 38 supported above the base. Compression
sprlngs 39 may surround each of the pillars 37 to bias
the carriers away from the base. The carrier 38 oarries
a punching head 40 which on its lower surface has a plurality
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of key-hole shaped punches 41, each arranged to engage
wlthin a respective one of the anvil openings 36. Each
punch 41 has an enlarged head and a shank, both delineated
by a sharp edge, and a shank extension 41a which~tapers
smoothly to meet the ~nching head, so that as the punch
engages the anvil opening a key-hole-shaped piece of
material is punched out but is left attached to the
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remainder of the material as already described. A display
card 42 with its front side uppermost is fed into the
apparatus and packets such as 43 are provided to be
secured to the card. The drawing shows two packets to
be attached to the card side by side in a series of rows
but it will of course be appreciated that by proper
choice of anvil and punches a greater number of packets
can be attached. Each packet is laid on the card with
, its front side downwards and with its uFper edge'folded
over as at 44 to give a double thickness, a strip of
card 45 being folded around the folded edge of the packet
, as best seen fro~n Figure 7. With the packets and card,
strlp arranged as shown ln this Figure, the punch carrier
is lowered towards the base elther manually or under
power and the punches punch through t,he two thicknesses
of strip 45, two thlcknesses of packet 44 and single
thlckness of dlsplay card 42. The card may then be
advanced ln the dlrectlon of the arrow shown in Figure 6
and a further two packets placed on the card in the,
positions outllned by the broken llnes 46, whereupon the
punchlng operation may be completed. When the required
number of packets have been punched to the card in this
way the ca,rd is taken from the apparatus and can be used
for display wlth the edge 47 of the card uppermost, the
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l ll6384a
packets falling and unfolding to lie adjacent the card
with the strip 45 uppermost. The packets may then be
pulled individually from the card as required.
It will be understood that, rather than attach
packets to the card ~ne row at a time as described
with reference to Figures 6 and 7 a larger form of the
apparatus may be constructed designed to punch a
plurality of packets in each of a pluralit~ of rows to
the card simultaneously.
Referring to Figures 8 to 13, another embodiment
of apparatus in accordance with the present invention~,
particularly light apparatus for office type use,
includes a base 51 within which a punch 55 is mounted
for slidable longitudinal movement within guiae 53.
The front end ~ of punch 55 carries key-hole shaped
punch members (not shown), each punch member having
an enlarged head and shank, both delineated by a
sharp edge and a shank` extension which, as is the
case with the previously described embodiment, tapers
smoothly to meet at the punch head 57.
An anvil S9, in the form of a die plate, is
located forwardly of the punch and fixed to the
base or to an extension of guide 53 by rivets or the
like through fixing holes 61. As will be described
below,punch 55 can be slidably moved from a first
position shown in Figure 8 to a second position,
shown in Figure 9, in which the punch members on the
` head 57 of the punch 55 pass through anvil openings
63. Each anvil opening 63 has a shank and an
enlarged head portion matching the shape of the above-
mentioned punch members.
Attached by means of rivets (not shown) to base
51 are upwardly extending side plates 67. Extending
through side plates 67 at a forward upper position
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, thereof is a pin 69 on which is mounted for pivotal
. movement thereon a handle 71. As can best be seen in
Figure 8, handle 71 extends ~rearwardly from pin 69
terminating at a position above the rear end of base
51. Handle 71 is shown in its rest position in
Figure 8 but downward pressure applied to the rear end
of handle 71 will cause it to move from the position
shown in Figure 8 to ~he position shown in Figure 9.
Connecting levers ,73 and 75 are each mounted at ~ .
. , 10 one end thereof for p~votai movement on a pin 77.
Pin 77 is fixed at ,each end to handle 71. Connecting
, levers 73 and 75 terminate at their other end at a
pin .79 on which they are pivotally mounted. .Also
,pivotally mounted on pin 79 and located inwardly.of
connecting levers 73 and 75 are operating levers '80
and 81. These operating levers extend,upwardly from
pin 79 to a further pin 82 on which they are also
pivotally mounted. Pin 82 is fixed at each end to
' side plates 67. Operating levers 80 and 81 extend
20 downwardly from pin 79 to the rear end of punch 55
' on which thby are again pivotally mounted~
Pin 79 also passes,through a slot ~3 of folder
' control plate 8?. As can be seen in Figure 10,
folder control pIate 87 is'located centrally between
the pair of operating levers 80 and 81 and, outwardlY
of the latter, the pair of connecting levers 73 and
75. The shape of folder control plate 87 can best
be seen in Figures 8 and 9. It is roughly
. rectangular in shape with, at its front end, neck
portion 89 and head portion 91. At its rear end it
is mounted for pivotal movement on pin 93, the
latter being fixed at each end to side plates 67.
Surrounding a substantial area of the front
portion of each side plate 67 is a channel section
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bracket 95. The central bight section 97 of bracket
95 extends transversely across the fr~nt of the side
plate 67 there being a small gap 99 between bight
section 97 and the front edges of side plate-67.
S Mounted for sliding movement within this gap is
folder 101. Folder 101 is substantially rectangular
~n shape but has a lower central cut out portion 103
and an upper substantially square shaped hole S ~
t~rough which extends the head portion 91 of folder
control plate 87.
A tension spring 104 is fastened at one end to
the rear of punch 55 and at its other end to the back
of guide 53 within base 51.
In order to connect together two or more pieces
of paper using the above-described device, the
superimposed pieces of paper 105 are fed over the
front of base 51 and below the bottom forward end of
handle 71 and folder 101 to the position shown in
' Figure 8 where the corners of the superimposed pieces
of paper 105 abut against the side plates 67. Handle
71 is then depressed. Handle 71 is linked to pin 79
by way of connecting levers 73 and 75 and as a result
of the downward movement of handle 71 pin 79 is caused
to move in a substantially horizontal forward direction.
As a result of this movement and of the location of
pin 79 within siot 83 of folder control plate 87.
the latter is caused initially to pivot upwardly
about pin 93. This is because of the downward travel
of the first upwardly extending arm of inverted
V-shaped slot 83 during the forwarfl movement of pin
79. After pin 79 has reached the apex of the V-shaped
slot 83, further forward movement of pin 79 causes
the folder control plate to reverse the direction of
its pivotal movement about pin 93 and move upwardly.
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Accordingly depression of handle 71 from the position
shown in Figure 8 to the position shown in Figure 9
causes movement of folder 101 first downwardly and
then upwardly as a result of the engagement of head
portion 91 within square shaped slot 105 of folder
' 101.
In an alternative embodiment the forward
downwardly extending portion of slot 83 may be replaced
by a forwardhorizontaIly extenaing portion. In this
case the movement of the folder, as a result of
depression of the handle, is only in a downwards
direction. This downward movement continues until
the pin reaches the centre of the slot and then further
downward movement of handle 71 does not result in any
change of position of the folder. It has, however,
been found that neater, more effective results are
obtained when the folder returns to its up position
after effecting folding of the sheets of paper.
During its downward movement, the bottom edges of
folder 101 engage papers 105 to fold them at the
corners thereof to the approximate confirmation
shown in Figure 9! although Figure 9 shows the
sltuation after the folder has returned to its up
position and the papers have been engaged by punch 55.
The above-mentioned forward movement of the pin
79 also effects forward movement of operating levers
80 and 81 about pin 82. Because operating levers 80
and 81 are connected at their lower e~ds to punch
55 this effects in turn forward movement of punch 55.
This forward movement continues during the whole o
the downward movement of handle 71 and the head 57
of punch 55 engages the folded papers 105 just as the
folder 101 is beginning its return upward movement.
Subsequent forward movement of punch 55 results in
!
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1 163848
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punch members pressinS the folder papers against anvil
plate S9 and then passing through the layers of papers
and through the anvil openings 63. The punched o~t
pieces of paper remain attached to the sheets 105 at
the bottom of the shank portions of the punched out
pieces because of the rearward tapering of the shank
- extensions of the punch members. ' The punched out
pieces are otherwise pushed through the anvil openings
to a forwar,d position thereof.
Release of the downward pressure on handle 71
allows the tension spring.104 to return to its or.iginal
position thereby returning punch 55, operating levers
80 and 81, folder control plate 87 (carrying with it
folder 101), connecting levers 73 and 75 and handle
lS 71 back to their original positions. The sheets of .
paper 105 can then be remo.ved. On un.folding them,
they are found to be secured together because of the
engagement of the enlarged head portions from the
piece,s cut out nearest to the corners of the sheets of
paper 105 with the shank portions of the pieces cut
out from positions further from said,corners. In
~05
effect the sheets of paper ~3~ are '!stitched" together
by the punched out pieces when said sheets are
unfolded.
, . ... .. _ . . .. . .
