Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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Tape dispenser with cover
The present invention relates to a hand-held device for
transferring a film of adhesive, covering or coloured
material from a backing tape onto a substrate according to
the preamble of claim 1.
In prior art, correction tape applicators or applicators
for adhesive tape or the like are known. Usually, these
applicators comprise a housing and a tip of an application
member protruding from the housing, whereby correction tape
of the like is guided around this tip. Since correction
tape or any other tape used for these type of applicators
is very sensitive and the tip is always exposed to the
ambience and, thus, to outside influences, it is =very
likely that the tape is injured or even ruptured, when the
applicator is not in use and stored somewhere. Once such a
tape ruptures, the entire applicator has to be thrown away.
However, there exist some solutions to protect the tape
from outside influences, when the applicator is not used.
For example, a cap can be provided, which fits on the
housing and.which is put on the applicator after use. Using
such a cap for protection has the disadvantage that it can
easily get lost, and then the tip with the tape thereon is
unprotected again. Moreover, the applicator is enlarged in
size, when a cap is put on the housing, thus, rendering it
inconvenient to store.
Another solution known from prior art is to provide a
protection member directly on the housing, so that it
cannot get lost. However, applicators equipped with this
kind of protection means usually are hard to handle by a
user.
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Therefore, it is an object of an aspect of the present
invention to provide a hand-held device for transferring a
film of adhesive, covering or coloured material from a
backing tape onto a substrate, according to which the
application member is reliably protected, when the device
is not used, and which is easy to use for a user.
According to the invention, a hand-held device for
transferring a film of adhesive, covering or colored
material from a backing tape onto a substrate is provided,
comprising a housing. The housing is provided with a tip
opening, through which a tip of an application member
protrudes. A cover is provided, the cover being moveable
on a neck portion of the housing from a first position in
which the tip of the application member is uncovered to a
second position in which the tip of the application member
is covered. Preferably the cover is arranged radially
outside a neck portion of the housing.
According to the general idea of the present invention the
cover is transferred between the first and the second
position by rotating it relative to the housing.
To this regard the cover can e.g. be mounted directly or
indirectly on the housing such that it spirals between the
first and the =second position.
Preferably the tip itself is not rotated when rotating the
cover, but fixed in rotation vis-a-vis the housing.
E.g., the cover can comprises a first member adapted to
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spirally move on the outer surface of the neck portion and
a second member connected to the fist member adapted to
cover the tip of the application member in the second
position.
By the above-mentioned construction of a hand-held device,
the cover stays on the housing, even when the hand-held
device is used, so that the cover which is intended to
protect the tip, when the hand-held device is not in use,
cannot get lost. The protection of the tip, moreover, is
achieved in a very easy to handle manner in that the cover
is moved from a first position in which the tip is
uncovered to a second position in which the tip totally
disappears inside a cavity formed by the cover, and, thus,
is protected against outside influences.
Thereby the cover moves spirally on the outer surface of
the neck portion, facilitating the handling for a user, who
without any effort can grip the cover between his thumb and
the index finger of one hand and move the cover by twisting
it. To carry out the twisting motion in the manner
described above is much easier for a user than it would be
the case, if, e.g., a linear movement would have to be
carried out to move the cover in a position to protect the
tip. The cover smoothly slides on the surface of the
cylindrical portion of the neck, whereby the spiral
movement is guided by the two guiding members provided
inside the first member of the cover.
Preferably, the outer circumference of the cylindrical
portion of the first member is corrugated or provided with
ribs or grip ribs, respectively. Thus, a user, whose finger
tip and thumb tip rests on the outer circumference of the
cylindrical portion of the cover to twist it in either
direction for covering or for uncovering the tip of the
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application member, will not slide off the cover surface
with his finger tips, when performing the twisting motion.
Further, the cover itself will not slide off the
cylindrical neck portion of the hand-held device, since
preferably at least one stop pin is provided on the neck
portion, projecting from its circumference and restricting
the spiral movement so that the cover cannot slip off the
neck portion.
The present invention and further advantages, which can be
achieved by the present invention, will now be explained in
detail by means of a preferred embodiment with reference to
the drawings in which
Fig. 1 shows an exploded view of the
housing and the cover according to the
present invention;
Fig. 2 shows a perspective view of the
hand-held device according to the present
invention, the cover being in the first
position; and
Fig. 3 shows a perspective view of the
hand-held device according to the present
invention, the cover being in the second
position.
Fig. 1 shows the hand-held device 1 according to the
present invention. The housing 2 and the cover 3 are
illustrated separately in an exploded view. The housing 2
itself has three differently
shaped portions: a rear
portion 4 having a hemispherical shape, an intermediate
portion or main body 5 having a rounded long-stretched or
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terete, shape, and a neck portion 6 provided at a front end
of the hand-held device 1. The neck portion 6, moreover, is
made up of two differently shaped portions: a cylindrical
portion 7 adjacent to the main body 5 and a tapering
5 portion 8, forming the outermost part of the front end of
the housing 2.
Projecting from the surface of the cylindrical portion 7
positioned immediately before the transition from the
cylindrical portion 7 to the tapering portion 8, there is
provided a stop pin 9, against which the cover 3 will abut,
when being twisted by a user, and, thus, will not come off
the neck portion 6 of the housing 2. The tapering portion
8 only has a very slight taper and at the very front end of
the tapering portion 8, there is provided a tip opening 10,
through which the tip 11 of an application member 12
protrudes. A correction tape 13 being composed of a backing
tape on the surface of which a film of covering material is
applied is directed from the cavity formed inside the
housing 2 to the application member 12, around an
application edge 14 and back into the housing 2 again.
For safe guidance of the correction tape 13 around the tip
11 of the application member 12, the tip 11 has two
opposite guiding wings 15, which extend on both sides
therefrom substantially perpendicular to form a wall on
both sides of the tip 11 such that the correction tape 13
cannot slip off, when the application edge 14 is moved on
the surface of a substrate as, e.g., a sheet of paper. A
recess 20 is formed in the tapering portion 8 of the neck
portion 6. The recess 20 extends from the very front end of
the tapering portion 8, where also the tip opening 10 is
provided, towards the cylindrical portion 7. The recess 20
is arranged directly above the correction tape 13.
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Inside the housing 2 or, in particular, in the cavity
formed by the housing 2, a driving mechanism (not shown) is
provided for supplying the correction tape 13 to the
application member 12 and for taking up the used tape. The
driving mechanism can be of any type, as long as the tape
13 is automatically supplied and taken up, when using the
hand-held device 1 in that the application edge 14 is moved
on a substrate.
Further, the cover 3 is illustrated in Fig 1, as already
mentioned above. As can be seen from the drawing, the cover
3 comprises two main components: a lower cam or first
member 16 and an upper cam or second member 17. The first
member 16, in an assembled state of the hand-held device 1,
is seated on the neck portion 6 of the housing 2. Moreover,
the second member 17 is fixedly connected to the first
member 16, when the hand-held device 1 is assembled. The
first member 16 has a ring-shaped collar 18, the inner
diameter of which is slightly larger than the outer
diameter of the neck portion 6, so that it fits thereon
relatively tight, but however, still has some positive
allowance such that the cover 3 can be moved on the neck
portion 6.
Two guiding member 19 are arranged on the inner
circumference of the ring-shaped collar 18, substantially
opposite to each other. Each guiding member 19 is formed
with a trailing edge 26, which verges into a steep rising
edge 27. Due to this configuration which, moreover, in an
assembled state of the hand-held device 1, contacts the
outer surface of the cylindrical portion 7 of the neck
portion 6 and slides thereon, a spiral movement of the
cover 3 on the outer surface of the cylindrical portion 7
is enabled and guided or controlled, respectively, when a
user twists the cover 3.
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The cover 3 thus is arranged radially outside the neck
portion 6. This has the advantage that essentially the
entirety of the cover 3 can be easily gripped in order to
be manipulated by the fingers of a user. Preferably the
cover is entirely exposed to the outside.
A further advantage of this arrangement of the cover 3
outside the neck portion 6 is that thus there is more space
available inside the neck portion 6. This is of importance
e.g. in order to provide for a clearing between the neck
portion 6 and the tip in order to allow a flexible
(swinging) movement of the tip.
The screwing mechanism between the cover and the neck
portion can comprise a radially acting guiding curve, i.e.
one element of the screwing mechanism is arranged radially
insdie the cover. This can lead to a reduction of the
length of the screwing mechanism when compared to a
linearly arranged mechanism as it is known e.g. from JP
2005001850. The screwing mechanism according to the
invention is preferably arranged radially inside the cover
and not at= the rear end as it is known e.g. from JP
2005001850.
The second member 17 of the cover 3 will now be described.
The second member 17 substantially corresponds to the shape
of the neck portion 6 of the housing 2, but, however, has
slightly larger diameters such that it still fits and also
can be moved on the neck portion 6. Thus, the second member
17 also has a cylindrical portion 21, the inner diameter of
which is just slightly larger than the outer diameter of
the cylindrical portion 7 of the neck portion 6, and a
tapering portion 22, the inner diameter of which is just
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slightly larger than the outer diameter of the tapering
portion 8 of the neck portion 6.
The surface of outer circumference of the cylindrical
portion 21 of the second member 17 is corrugated such that
grip rips 23 are formed thereon, to prevent the finger tip
and/or thumb tip of a user, who holds the hand-held device
1 in his fingers, to slip off the cover 3, when he twists
the cover 3 to cover or uncover, respectively, the
application member 12. Here, the grip ribs 23 are provided
over the entire surface of the cylindrical portion 21.
However, it is also conceivable that they are only provided
partially, e.g., just at two positions, where the user
should place his finger tips or lengthwise, just covering a
portion of the cylindrical portion 21, but still being
provided around the entire circumference.
Moreover, the second member 17 has a first opening 22,
which is adapted and sized to be slid over the first member
16 and a second opening 25, through which the tip 11 of the
application member 12 protrudes, when the hand-held device
1 is being used.
Fig. 2 shows a perspective view of the hand-held device
1 according to the present invention, the cover being in
the first position, and Fig. 3 shows a perspective view of
the hand-held device according to the present invention,
the cover being in the second position. With respect to
Fig. 2 and Fig. 3, the operation of the hand-held device 1
will now be explained.
In Fig. 2, the cover 3 of the hand-held device 1 is in the
first position, in which the tip 11 of the application
member 12 is uncovered, so that the hand-held device 1 is
ready for use. In this position, i.e., the first position
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of the cover 3, the tip 11 of the application member 12
protrudes through the second opening 25 of the cover 3. The
cover 3 is in a retracted position here, since the collar
18 of the first member 16 abuts against the main body 5 of
the housing 2 and the neck portion 6 of the housing 2 is
totally overlapped by the cover 3, so that it cannot be
seen from the outside.
After the user terminates using the hand-held device 1, he
puts his index finger tip and his thumb tip on the
cylindrical portion 21 of the cover 3 and simply twists the
cover 3, e.g., 90 degrees (any angle is conceivable
depending on the shape of the guiding members), whereby the
cover 3 moves along the longitudinal axis L of the hand-
held device 1 spirally around the outer circumference of
the cylindrical portion 7 of the neck portion 6, on the
surface of which the cover 3 slides. When the second
position is reached, i.e., when the tip 11 of the
application member 12 totally disappears in a cavity formed
by the cover 3 and, thus, is completely covered and
protected, the stop pin 9 prevents any further movements
such that the cover could slip off the neck portion 6 of
the housing 2. In this position, which also is an extended
position of the cover 3, the hand-held device 1 can be
carried along or stored, without any risk that the
correction tape 13 gets injured or ruptured. Moreover, in
this extended position, a part of the cylindrical portion 7
of the neck portion 6 is uncovered and, thus, visible here.
To turn the cover 3 back to the first position, if a user
wishes to use the hand-held device 1, it just has to be
twisted into the opposite direction (as shown by the
respective arrows in Fig. 2 and Fig. 3), whereas this
movement is automatically stopped when the collar 18 abuts
against the main body 5 of the housing 2. Thus, a reliable
protection of the tip 11 carrying the correction tape 13 or
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the like is achieved by a very simple mechanism, which is
very easy to handle for a user.
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List of reference numerals
1 hand-held device
2 housing
3 cover
4 rear portion
5 main body
6 neck portion
7 cylindrical portion
8 tapering portion
9 stop pin
10 tip opening
11 tip
12 application member
13 correction tape
14 application edge
15 guiding wing
16 first member
17 second member
18 collar
19 guiding member
20 recess
=
21 cylindrical portion
22 tapering portion
23 grip ribs
24 first opening
25 second opening
longitudinal axis
