US2754023A - Tape dispenser - Google Patents

Description

V. J. SHERIDAN TAPE DISPENSER July 10, 1956 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed March 2, 1953 1N V EN TOR. qncen @/m dan July lo, 1956 V. J. SHERIDAN 2,754,023

TAPE DISPENSER Filed March 2, 1953 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 TAPE DISPENSER Vincent I. Sheridan, Chicago, Ill.

Application March 2, 1953, Serial No. 339,828

10 Claims. (Cl. 216-54) This invention relates to adhesive tape dispensers, and more particularly to dispensers for applying tabs, labels, etc., to lengths of tape prior to severance of the latter from a roll by means of a cutting blade.

Lengths of adhesive tape with tabs or labels adhesively united thereto have various uses. For example, the tabs or labels may be printed with dierent types of information, such as price, weight, quality, ingredients, etc., of goods and applied to packages containing the goods by means of adhesive tape. In the wrapping and sealing of packages, it is common practice to use lengths of pressure-sensitive tape, and the present invention contemplates the provision of tabs applied to the ends of lengths of tape, serving to facilitate subsequent removal of the tape from the package.

An object of the present invention resides in the provision of a dispenser adapted to apply a tab, label, or the like, to a length of adhesive tape.

Another object of the invention resides in the provision of a dispenser adapted to house a stack of tabs, labels, or the like, in position to be successively applied to lengths of adhesive tape.

A further object of the invention resides in the provision of a dispenser embodying means to support a roll of adhesive tape and to sever lengths of tape from the roll, the dispenser also embodying means for automatically applying a tab or label to the adhesively coated side of the tape prior to severance of a length of tape from the roll.

Another object of the invention resides in the provision of a tape dispenser housing a stack of tabs or labels adjacent a tape cutting blade, and means to urge the uppermost tab or label into adhesive engagement with the tape prior to severance of a length of tape with a tab or label thereon from a roll of tape.

The invention further contemplates the provision of a tape dispenser in which the tabs, labels or the like may be of various sizes regardless of the width of the tape.

The invention embodies other novel features, details of construction and arrangement of parts which are hereinafter set forth in the specification and claims and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Fig. l is a perspective view illustrating a tape dispenser embodying features of the invention.

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary perspective view illustrating a modified form of the invention.

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary perspective View illustrating another modilied form of the invention.

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary perspective View illustrating another modified form of the invention.

Figs. 5 to 9 are detail plan views illustrating lengths of tape having flat labels, tabs or the like adhesively united thereto.

Referring now to the drawings for a better understanding of the invention and more particularly to Figs. 1 and 5 therein, the taps dispenser is shown as comprising a base 2 and spaced side walls 4 4 formed with coaxial trunnions 6 6 for insertion into an axial opening pro- States Patent vided in a roll of adhesive tape 8 which may, if desired, be a transparent pressure-sensitive adhesive tape commonly employed in wrapping packages, etc.

At one end of the dispenser, the upper edges of the side walls 4- 4 are joined to adjacent ends of a cutting plate 10 which provides a tape-supporting platform in Xed relation to the axis of rotation of the roll of tape 8 and is formed with an elongated opening 12 and a serrated cutting edge 14. The base 2, side walls 4 4 and cutting plate 10 deiine a chamber 16 to receive a stack of tabs, labels or the like to be successively applied to lengths of the adhesive tape 8. The tabs, labels, tags, or the like, may be formed from any suitable exible liat sheet material, such as paper, plastic, cloth, metal, etc., and are hereinafter referred to in the specification and claims as tags 18. A group of tags 18 are arranged in stacked relation within the tag chamber 16, the stack of tags being constantly urged upwardly against the underside of the cutting plate 1t) by resilient means, such as one or more helical compression springs 20, to dispose the uppermost tag in position to be adhesively united to the adhesive tape and thereafter withdrawn from the chamber 16 through the opening 12.. As illustrated in Fig. l, the length of the opening 12 is less than the length of the cutting plate 10 to provide abutment shoulders 22 22 at opposite ends of the plate for engagement by the stack of tags 1S.

In the use of the dispensing device, the adhesive tape 8 lies across the upper surface of the cutting plate 10 in adhesive engagement therewith and with the uppermost tag 18 in the chamber 16 and is mechanically or manually lifted from the cutting plate to withdraw the affixed tag through the opening 12. A desired length of tape is then drawn from the roll and cut therefrom by again engaging the tape against the upper surface of the cutting plate 10 and the serrated cutting edge 14, to thus provide a length of tape with a tag thereon, as illustrated in Fig. 5 in the drawings, to be applied to a package or other article.

It will be noted that each tag is bowed slightly during its removal from the chamber 16 through the opening to permit its ends to move past the abutment shoulders 22-22. In this form of the invention the ends of the tag are shown as projecting beyond the side edges of the tape.

Fig. 2 in the drawings illustrates a modiiied form of the invention in which the tape dispenser is provided with a cutting plate 26 formed with an elongated opening 27 and a serrated cutting edge 28. In this form of the invention, the cutting plate is formed with tongues 3i) overlying the tags 18 to limit upward movement of the stack of tags responsive to the force exerted by a pair of compression springs 32 32 disposed within the tag chamber 16 between the base 2 and the stack of tags. In this form of the invention each tag is bowed trans- Versely to its length during its withdrawal from the tag chamber 16 through the opening 27 during operation of the dispenser in applying lengths of tapewith tags thereon to packages, articles, etc. It will also he noted that the ends of the tags 18 are flush with the side edges of the tape 8,as illustrated in Fig. 6 in the drawings. This form of the invention is otherwise similar to the form heretofore described and illustrated in Fig. l in the drawings.

Fig. 3 illustrates another modied form of the invention in which a tape dispenser is provided with a cutting plate 34 similar to the cutting plate illustrated in Fig. 2, except that the plate 34 is provided with a relatively wide shelf 36 formed with a serrated cutting edge 37 to sever lengths of tape with tags thereon from a roll, as shown in Figs. 7 and 8.

Fig. 4 illustrates another modified form of the invention in which the tape dispenser is provided with a cutting plate 38 formed with a relatively small tag discharge opening 40 spaced between the side edges of the plate and having abutment shoulders i2-42 to engage the ends of the tags 18 prior to removal upwardly through the opening. The cutting plate is also provided with a shelf 4d projecting forwardly from the opening 46 and having a serrated cutting edge 46 to sever lengths of tape from the roll. In this form of the invention, the edges of the tags 18 are spaced from the side and end edges of the tape, as illustrated in Fig. 9.

In the several forms of the invention herein shown and described, it will be noted that the uppermost tag in a stack of tags within the dispenser is pressed into adhesive engagement with the tape by the force exerted by the compression springs prior to severance of a length of tape from the roll, and that the tags may be of various shapes and sizes and arranged in diterent positions longitudinally and transversely of their respective lengths of tape for application to packages, articles, etc., to visually convey information relating thereto or to provide a tab to facilitate removal of a length of tape from a package or to prevent adhesion of parts of the tape to the package or combination of packages to which it is to be applied.

While this invention has been shown in several forms, it is obvious to those skilled in the art that it is not so limited but is susceptible of various changes and moditications without departing from the spirit and scope of the claimed invention.

I claim as my invention:

1. A device for applying tags to lengths of adhesive tape comprising a housing having spaced side walls, means on said side walls to rotatably support a roll of adhesive tape, a cutter plate to which said tape will adhere, said plate having secured in fixed position on said side walls, said plate having a tag discharge opening and a serrated cutting edge spaced from said opening, abutment means on said plate adjacent said opening to normally engage opposite side edges of the uppermost tag in a stack of tags arranged between said side walls, and pressure applying means normally urging the stack of tags upwardly against said abutment means whereby the uppermost tag in the stack will be engaged by and adhesively united to that portion of the tape positioned on the cutting plate above said discharge opening.

2. A device according to claim 1 in which said abutment means are disposed adjacent opposite side edges of the tape when the latter is positioned upon the cutting plate to engage opposite ends of tags to bow the tags ransversely of the tape.

3. A device according to claim 1 in which said abutment means are formed on the cutting plate and disposed to engage opposite side edges of tags whereby the tags wid be bowed longitudinally of the tape during movement thereof through said opening.

4. A device according to claim 1 in which said cutting plate is provided with a relatively wide shelf extending between said cutting edge and said opening whereby said tags are spaced from the ends of a length of tape severed from the roll of tape.

5. A tape dispenser for applying tags to lengths of adhesive tape, comprising top, bottom and side walls detining a tag chamber to receive a stack of tags, said top wall having a tag discharge opening and abutment shoulders arranged to engage opposite edges of the uppermost tag in the stack, means provided on said side walls to rotatably support a roll of tape with one end thereof coplanar with and adhering'to said top Wall and extending over said opening, pressure applying means normally urging the stack of tags upwardly against said abutment shoulders to cause the uppermost tag in the stack to become adhesively united to that portion of the tape covering said opening, and a cutting edge provided adjacent the remote edge of said top wall from said roll supporting means whereby lengths of tape with tags adhesively united thereto between the ends thereof may be severed from the roll of tape.

6. A dispenser according to claim 5 in which said abutment shoulders are disposed to bow the tags longitudinally of the tape.

7. A dispenser according to claim 5 in which said abutment shoulders are disposed to bow the tags transversely of the tape.

8. A device `according to claim 5 in which said pressure applying means comprises a helical compression spring adapted to be interposed between said bottom wall and a stack of tags disposed within the tag chamber.

9. A device according to claim 5 in which `said abutment means comprise spaced protuberances disposed to engage the edges of tags to bow same longitudinally of the tape.

10. A device for successively applying individual tags to lengths of adhesive tape coincident with separation of the lengths of .tape from a dispensing roll of a continuous strip of such tape, including a frame comprising, in relatively 'fixed relation, means for rotatively mounting said roll of tape and a plate providing a 4tape-supporting platform in contact with one face of which tape dispensed from said roll is drawn and by mvhich it is supported in predetermined tixed planar relation to the axis of rotation of said roll, said plate having a tape severing edge remote from said roll and being provided with an opening of an area substantially commensurate with the area of the individual tags, said opening being disposed between said edge and roll, and means for successively presenting at the opposite face of said plate, in register with said opening, individual tags from a stack of same in position for adhesive engagement by the tape supported by said plate, including a magazine arranged between the tape severing edge and the tape mounting means for positioning said stack of tags in uniform arrangement with respect to said opening, means for normally urging the stack of tags towards the opposite face of the plate, and abutment means at said opening and overlying edge portions of said tags for successively engaging and normally arresting said tags, whereby the tags in said stack successively presented at said opening will be engaged by and adhesively united to those portions of the .tape successively positioned on the `cutting plate at said opening.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,158,787 Coates Nov. 2, 1915 2,307,406 Howard Ian. 5, 1943 2,435,129 Castel Ian. 27, 1948 2,555,747 Iosselyn Ian. 5, 1951 FOREIGN PATENTS 698,117 Great Britain Oct. 7, 1953

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