Tape application tool

Abstract

To provide a tape application tool that is smaller and has a simpler structure than conventional ones while maintaining the function of making it easy to visually confirm the start and end positions of tape application, preventing injury to fingertips or the surface to be tape-applied by a cutting blade, and allowing tape application to be easily started at the application start point.SOLUTION: A tape application tool of the invention is used as follows: after attaching the adhesive surface of a tape to the surface to be tape-applied, the tape application tool is pressed on the surface to be tape-applied in a projection direction of the application part that attaches the tape to the surface to be tape-applied; thereby with the predetermined elastic force of the elastic member, a cutting tool is pressed against the tape attached to the surface to be tape-applied; and the blade portion of the cutting tool cuts the tape on the surface to be tape-applied.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a tape applicator that unwinds a tape having an adhesive surface on one side from an unwinding portion, attaches only a necessary amount to an adherend surface such as paper, and cuts the tape at the end position of attachment to complete the attachment.

Background Art

[0002] Conventionally, as such a tape applicator, in order to correct miswriting or to copy a document while hiding some characters etc. during copying, a tape called a masking tape or a masking tape is unwound from an unwinding portion, and only a necessary amount is attached to the adherend surface, and a tape applicator that cuts the tape at the end position of attachment to complete the attachment has been used.

[0003] As such a tape applicator, those such as Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2 have been proposed. In the adhesive tape holder (corresponding to the tape applicator of the present invention) of Patent Document 1, the cutting edge of the cutter (blade) for cutting the correction tape is exposed to the outside, and there is a risk of damaging the user's fingertip or the adherend surface with this blade.

[0004] On the other hand, Patent Document 2 discloses a hand-held device (corresponding to the tape applicator of the present invention) that cuts the correction tape on the outer periphery of an attachment roll that attaches the correction tape to the adherend surface. Since the hand-held device of Patent Document 2 presses the blade of the cutting tool against the tape on the attachment roll to cut the correction tape, there is no risk of damaging the user's fingertip or the adherend surface by the cutting edge of the blade as in the adhesive tape holder of Patent Document 1. However, in the hand-held device of Patent Document 2, since the cutting area where the correction tape is cut by the blade of the cutting tool is behind the contact area where the attachment roll attaches the tape to the adherend surface, even if the user tries to attach the correction tape to the adherend surface, the correction tape cannot be immediately attached to the adherend surface, and it has been difficult to start attaching the correction tape from the position where the user tried to start the attachment.

[0005] In addition, in the handheld device of Patent Document 2, since an application roller is used to press and attach the correction tape to the surface to be attached, the attachment position of the tape is behind the outer periphery of the application roller by the radius of the application roller and is hidden by the application roller, and there is a problem that it is difficult to know the position where the attachment of the correction tape starts.

[0006] As a tape applicator that solves the problems of both the adhesive tape holder of Patent Document 1 and the handheld device of Patent Document 2, the tape applicator of Patent Document 3 has been proposed. That is, in Patent Document 3, the means for attaching the correction tape to the surface to be attached is a spatula-shaped attachment portion, and a receiving portion for the blade of a cutting tool for cutting the correction tape is provided near the tip of the spatula-shaped attachment portion. A correction tape applicator has been proposed in which the correction tape is cut at this receiving portion and a feeding portion for feeding the correction tape from the cutting position of the correction tape to the spatula-shaped attachment portion which is the attachment position is provided.

[0007] In Patent Document 3, by having the above-described configuration, the start position and the end position of attaching the correction tape are easy to confirm, the cutting tool for cutting the correction tape does not damage the user's fingertips or the surface to be attached, and at the position where the user tries to start attaching the correction tape, it is described that a small correction tape applicator that can easily start attaching the correction tape can be provided.

[0008] However, the correction tape applicator of Patent Document 3 needs to be provided with a feeding portion for feeding the correction tape in order to be able to easily start attaching the correction tape at the position where the user tries to start attaching the correction tape, and there is room for improvement in terms of further miniaturization and a simpler structure.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0009]

Patent Document 1

Patent Document 2

Patent Document 3

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

PROBLEMS TO BE SOLVED BY THE INVENTION

[0010] The problem to be solved by the present invention is that in a tape applicator, the tape application start position and end position are easy to confirm, the cutting blade does not damage the user's fingertips or the surface to be pasted, and the user can easily start the tape application at the position where the user tries to start the tape application. While maintaining the function, it is to provide a tape applicator with a smaller and simpler structure than before.

MEANS FOR SOLVING THE PROBLEMS

[0011] The first invention is an unwinding part that holds a tape with one side being an adhesive surface so that it can be unwound, an application part that attaches the adhesive surface of the tape unwound from the unwinding part to the surface to be pasted, and the tape pasted on the surface to be pasted is cut on the surface to be pasted near the application part and separated into the tape pasted on the surface to be pasted and the tape before being pasted on the surface to be pasted. In a tape applicator provided in an external cassette whose cutting blade is a housing, The application part is held by the external cassette so as to be linearly movable in the front-rear direction in which the application part protrudes, while being pressed in a direction protruding outside the external cassette by an elastic member for the application part. When the protruding side in the protruding direction of the application part is the front, the cutting blade has a blade part for cutting the tape in the protruding direction forward. The cutting blade is held by the external cassette so as to be linearly movable in the front-rear direction in which the application part protrudes outside the external cassette, while being pressed in the direction in which the application part protrudes outside the external cassette by an elastic member for the cutting blade. The external cassette has a stop part that stops the linear movement of the application part inward of the external cassette. The tape on the surface to be pasted is pressed by the application part and the cutting blade, and in a state where the linear movement of the application part inward of the external cassette is stopped by the stop part, the cutting blade presses the tape after being pasted on the surface to be pasted with a predetermined elastic force of the elastic member for the cutting blade. A tape applicator characterized by that.

[0012] The second invention is the tape applicator according to the first invention, wherein the tip of the sticking portion is spatula-shaped.

[0013] The third invention is the tape applicator according to the first or second invention, wherein the blade portion of the blade is covered with a blade cover having an opening in the protruding direction of the sticking portion, and the blade cover linearly moves in the front-rear direction in which the sticking portion protrudes outside the outer cassette, and the blade portion of the blade protrudes from the opening.

[0014] The fourth invention is the tape applicator according to the first or second invention, wherein the sticking portion and / or the unwinding portion is held by an inner cassette which is a housing, and when the sticking portion is held by the inner cassette, the inner cassette is pressed in the outer cassette by an elastic member for the sticking portion in the direction in which the sticking portion protrudes outside the outer cassette, and is held so as to be linearly movable in the front-rear direction in which the sticking portion protrudes.

[0015] The fifth invention is the tape applicator according to the third invention, wherein the sticking portion and / or the unwinding portion is held by an inner cassette which is a housing, and when the sticking portion is held by the inner cassette, the inner cassette is pressed in the outer cassette by an elastic member for the sticking portion in the direction in which the sticking portion protrudes outside the outer cassette, and is held so as to be linearly movable in the front-rear direction in which the sticking portion protrudes.

[0016] The sixth invention is the tape applicator according to the first or second invention, wherein a pressed surface pressed by an elastic force of the elastic member for the blade of the outer cassette and / or the member holding the blade is relatively movable with respect to the blade in the elastic deformation direction of the elastic member for the blade, and the member holding the blade is linearly movable in the front-rear direction in which the sticking portion protrudes.

[0017] The seventh invention is the tape applicator according to the third invention, characterized in that the surface to be pressed by the elastic force of the elastic member for the blade of the external cassette and / or the member holding the blade is movable in the elastic deformation direction of the elastic member for the blade, and the member holding the blade is linearly movable in the front-rear direction in which the sticking portion protrudes.

[0018] The eighth invention is the tape applicator according to the fourth invention, characterized in that the surface to be pressed by the elastic force of the elastic member for the blade of the external cassette and / or the member holding the blade is movable in the elastic deformation direction of the elastic member for the blade, and the member holding the blade is linearly movable in the front-rear direction in which the sticking portion protrudes.

[0019] The ninth invention is the tape applicator according to the fifth invention, characterized in that the surface to be pressed by the elastic force of the elastic member for the blade of the external cassette and / or the member holding the blade is movable in the elastic deformation direction of the elastic member for the blade, and the member holding the blade is linearly movable in the front-rear direction in which the sticking portion protrudes.

[0020] The tenth invention is that, with the tape pressed against the surface to be pasted by the sticking portion, after moving the external cassette on the surface to be pasted to paste the adhesive surface of the tape onto the surface to be pasted, by pressing the external cassette forward in the protruding direction of the sticking portion on the surface to be pasted, the sticking portion linearly moves relative to the external cassette, and the blade portion of the blade contacts the tape on the surface to be pasted. Furthermore, until the sticking part moves linearly within the external cassette, contacts the stopping part provided in the external cassette that stops the linear movement of the sticking part, and the sticking part or the member holding the sticking part comes into contact with the stopping part and the linear movement of the sticking part stops, by pressing the external cassette forward in the protruding direction of the sticking part, the cutting tool moves linearly within the external cassette, the elastic member for the cutting tool is elastically deformed, and the elastic member for the cutting tool presses the cutting tool forward in the protruding direction of the sticking part with a predetermined elastic force, and the cutting edge of the cutting tool cuts the tape. This is a tape sticking method using the tape sticking tool according to the first invention or the second invention.

Advantages of the Invention

[0021] In the present invention, in a tape sticking tool provided with a winding-out part that holds a tape with one surface being an adhesive surface so as to be unwindable, a sticking part that sticks the adhesive surface of the tape unwound from the winding-out part to the surface to be stuck, and a cutting tool that cuts the tape stuck to the surface to be stuck on the surface to be stuck near the sticking part and separates it into the tape stuck to the surface to be stuck and the tape before being stuck to the surface to be stuck in a housing (external cassette), by having the following configurations (1) to (5) combined, when pressing the cutting tool of the tape sticking tool against the surface to be stuck in order to cut the tape stuck to the surface to be stuck with the tape sticking tool, the pressing force of the cutting tool can be set in advance.

[0022] (1) Hold the sticking part that sticks the adhesive surface of the tape to the surface to be stuck in the external cassette so that it can move linearly in the front-rear direction in which the sticking part protrudes, with the sticking part being pressed by the elastic member for the sticking part in the direction in which the sticking part protrudes outside the external cassette. (2) The cutting tool has a cutting edge that cuts the tape forward in the protruding direction when the protruding side in the protruding direction of the sticking part is the front. (3) Hold the cutting tool for cutting the tape in the external cassette so that it can move linearly in the front-rear direction in which the sticking part protrudes outside the external cassette, with the cutting tool being pressed by the elastic member for the cutting tool in the direction in which the sticking part protrudes outside the external cassette. (4) The external cassette has a stopping part that stops the linear movement of the sticking part in the direction into the external cassette. (5) Press the tape on the surface to be attached with the attaching part and the blade, and with the linear movement of the attaching part inward the external cassette stopped by the stopping part, the blade elastic member presses the blade with a predetermined elastic force.

[0023] Moreover, as a result of the inventor's intensive efforts, when trying to cut the tape by pressing the blade against the tape on the surface to be attached, if the force pressing the blade against the tape is within a certain range, it has been found that only the tape is cut and the surface to be attached such as the paper under the tape is not cut.

[0024] Therefore, if the force with which the blade presses the tape when cutting the tape can be set to a predetermined value according to the type and thickness of the tape, when directly pressing the blade against the tape on the surface to be attached to cut the tape, even if the surface to be attached under the tape is something easy to cut such as paper, only the tape can be cut without cutting the surface to be attached.

[0025] By using the tape applicator of the present invention, the pressing force of the blade when cutting the tape can be set according to the type and thickness of the tape. Therefore, even if the surface to be attached is something easy to cut such as paper, only the tape can be surely cut without cutting the surface to be attached.

[0026] In the tape applicator of the present invention, the structure near the attaching part can be composed of only the linearly moving blade and the linearly moving attaching part, so it is also possible to make it easier to confirm the starting position and the ending position of the tape attachment.

[0027] In the tape applicator of the present invention, even if the blade is slightly exposed to the outside when cutting the tape, the tape can be sufficiently cut, and when not in use, the blade can be stored inside a housing or the like. Therefore, the blade does not come into contact with the user's fingertips or the attachment surface, and the blade for cutting the tape does not damage the user's fingertips or the surface to be attached.

[0028] In addition, in the applicator of the present invention, a cutting blade can be provided at a position that contacts the sticking portion and cuts the tape after the tape has been stuck to the surface to be stuck. Therefore, the tape remains on the sticking portion without feeding out the tape from the blade portion where the tape is cut to the sticking portion, and the user can easily start sticking the tape at the position where the user attempts to start sticking the tape. Also, a mechanism for feeding out the tape from the blade portion where the tape is cut to the sticking portion becomes unnecessary, and a smaller and simpler structure than before can be achieved.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0029]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Figure 5

Embodiments for Carrying Out the Invention

[0030] FIG. 1 shows the tape applicator A of the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1(a) is a front view of the state where the upper case of the external cassette is removed. FIG. 1(b) is a left side view. FIG. 1(c) is a cross-sectional view taken along the line X-X of FIG. 1(a). However, FIGS. 1(b) and 1(c) show the state where the upper case of the external cassette is attached.

[0031] The tape applicator A is composed of an internal cassette 10 and an external cassette 20 that holds the internal cassette 10 inside. The internal cassette 10 includes a supply reel which is a tape-out portion of the tape 11 wound around a payout core 12 with an adhesive layer on one side, an application portion 13 that presses the adhesive layer of the tape 11 against an adherend surface such as paper to attach the tape 11 to the adherend surface, a blade cover 14, and an O-ring 15 that is mounted between a support shaft provided on the internal cassette 10 for mounting the payout core 12 and the inner diameter of the payout core 12. In the present invention, it is preferable that the application portion 13 is spatula-shaped, particularly the tip of the application portion 13 that presses the tape 11 against the adherend surface is spatula-shaped. By making the application portion 13 spatula-shaped, the tape attachment position is not hidden by the application portion 13, and the start position of applying the correction tape becomes easy to understand. The O-ring 15 applies a load to the rotation of the payout core 12, applies tension to the tape 11 unwound from the payout core 12, and prevents the tape 11 from sagging and meandering. In the tape applicator A, although the O-ring 15 is used, any member can be used as long as it can apply tension to the tape 11, and examples of members that can be used include a disc spring, a coil spring, etc.

[0032] The internal cassette 10 is movable in the direction in which the application portion 13 protrudes while being pressed in the direction in which the application portion 13 protrudes by a coil spring which is an elastic member 22 for the application portion inside the external cassette 20. The application portion 13 is held in a state of being fixed to the internal cassette 10. Therefore, in the tape applicator A, the application portion 13 for attaching the tape 11 to the adherend surface is movable in the direction in which the application portion 13 protrudes while being pressed in the direction in which the application portion 13 protrudes by a coil spring which is an elastic member 22 for the application portion. Further, the external cassette 20 holds a blade guide 28 for holding a blade 23 for cutting the tape 11 attached to the adherend surface on the adherend surface, in the vicinity of the application portion 13, in a state of being pressed in the direction in which the application portion 13 protrudes by a coil spring which is an elastic member 24 for the blade, and is held in a state of being movable in the protruding direction of the application portion 13.

[0033] In the tape applicator of the present invention, it is necessary to enable the user to continuously perform tape application multiple times. For this reason, in the tape applicator A, after the tape 11 is cut, the cutting tool 23 is configured to cut the tape 11 after the sticking portion 13 is attached to the surface to be stuck, so that the tape 11 remains at the tip of the sticking portion 13. Therefore, in order to separate the tape 11 attached to the surface to be stuck from the tape 11 remaining in the tape applicator A before being attached to the surface to be stuck after cutting the tape 11 with the cutting tool 23, when lifting the tape applicator A from the surface to be stuck, the adhesive surface of the tape 11 and the surface to be stuck are in contact between the cutting tool 23 and the sticking portion 13. In the tape applicator A, by making the sticking portion 13 spatula-shaped, the place where the tape 11 is attached to the surface to be stuck by the sticking portion 13 and the place where the cutting tool 23 cuts the tape 11 on the surface to be stuck can be provided close to each other. Therefore, the contact area between the adhesive surface of the tape 11 and the surface to be stuck between the cutting tool 23 and the sticking portion 13 can be made very small, and the tape 11 remaining in the tape applicator A can be easily peeled off from the surface to be stuck. For this reason, without the tape 11 being pulled out from the tape applicator A, the tape applicator A can be lifted and the next tape application can be continuously performed.

[0034] As described above, in the tape applicator A, after the tape 11 is cut, the tape 11 remains at the tip of the sticking portion 13. Therefore, even without a mechanism for feeding out the tape 11 from the cutting tool 23 portion where the tape 11 is cut to the sticking portion 13, the user can easily start applying the tape at the location where the user tries to start applying the tape. For this reason, there is no need to provide a mechanism for feeding out the tape 11 from the cutting tool 23 portion where the tape 11 is cut to the sticking portion 13, and a small and simple structure can be achieved.

[0035] The tape applicator A has a configuration in which the blade 23 protrudes. However, it can cut the tape 11 with a slight protruding amount. In the non-use state of the tape applicator A shown in Fig. 1(a), the blade 23 is covered by the blade cover 14 provided in the inner cassette 10, and it does not damage the user's fingertips or the surface to be attached. The blade cover 14 has an opening in the protruding direction of the attachment portion 13. As the inner cassette 10 moves, the blade cover 14 moves, so that the blade 23 can protrude from this opening to cut the tape 11.

[0036] As described above, Fig. 1(a) is a view showing a state in which the upper case of the outer cassette 20 is removed, and Figs. 1(b) and 1(c) are views in which the upper case of the outer cassette 20 is attached. In this way, the outer cassette 20 is preferably composed of two upper and lower housings and has a structure that can be opened and closed. By making it openable and closable, even after the tape 11 is used up, a new tape 11 can be attached and the outer cassette 20 can be reused. In the drawings of the present invention, the description of the fixing method of the upper case to the lower case is omitted, but any method can be used for the method of fixing the upper case to the lower case. For example, a fixing method in which the upper case and the lower case are connected by a hinge so that the outer cassette can be easily opened and closed, or a method in which a pin provided on one of the upper case and the lower case is press-fitted into a hole provided on the other can be mentioned. Since it becomes easy to attach a new tape 11 and reuse the outer cassette 20 even after the tape 11 is used up, a method in which the upper case and the lower case are connected by a hinge and the upper case can be opened and closed with respect to the lower case around the hinge as the rotation center is preferable. When the tape 11 is held by the inner cassette 10 as in the tape applicator A, after removing the used-up inner cassette 10 from the outer cassette 20, a new tape 11 can also be attached to the outer cassette 20 by attaching a new inner cassette 10.

[0037] In the tape applicator A, the internal cassette 10 is configured to hold both the unwinding portion of the tape 11 and the pasting portion 13. However, it is also possible to configure the external cassette 20 to directly hold both the unwinding portion of the tape 11 and the pasting portion 13 without providing the internal cassette 10, or to configure the internal cassette 10 to hold either the unwinding portion or the pasting portion of the tape 11 and the external cassette 20 to directly hold the other. In the present invention, since the pasting portion 13 slides within the external cassette 20, in terms of avoiding problems such as the tape 11 between the unwinding portion of the tape 11 and the pasting portion 13 becoming slack or being stretched, it is preferable for the internal cassette 10 to hold both the supply reel which is the unwinding portion of the tape 11 and the pasting portion 13. When the external cassette 20 directly holds the pasting portion 13, the elastic member 22 for the pasting portion directly presses the pasting portion 13.

[0038] Fig. 2 shows the usage state of the tape applicator A. The tape applicator A can paste the tape 11 on the surface to be pasted in the state shown in Fig. 2(a). In Fig. 2(a), (b), (c), and (d), the straight lines extending left and right where the pasting portion 13 is in contact represent the surface to be pasted. Among the angles formed by the pasting portion 13 and the surface to be pasted, the tape 11 of the pasting portion 13 is pressed against the surface to be pasted by the pasting portion 13 so that the angle on the side where the tape 11 is located is an acute angle. In this way, with the tape 11 pressed against the surface to be pasted by the pasting portion 13, by moving the tape applicator A in the direction of the arrow in Fig. 2(a), the tape 11 can be pasted on the surface to be pasted. When the pasting portion 13 is moved in the direction of the arrow in Fig. 2(a) on the surface to be pasted, due to the adhesive force of the tape 11 to the surface to be pasted, the tape 11 is pulled out from the tape applicator A and the tape 11 is pasted on the surface to be pasted.

[0039] In the state of Fig. 2(a), the tape 11 pasted on the surface to be pasted can be cut so that it separates on the surface to be pasted into the tape 11 pasted on the surface to be pasted and the tape 11 remaining on the tape applicator A by performing the operations shown in Figs. 2(b) to 2(d).

[0040] In the state of Fig. 2(a), tape 11 is attached to the surface to be attached. At the location where the attachment of tape 11 is completed, as shown in Fig. 2(b), with the tip of the attachment portion 13 as a fulcrum, the tape applicator A is rotated until the protruding direction of the attachment portion 13 becomes the direction of the surface to be attached. In the state of Fig. 2(b), when the tape applicator A is pressed in the direction of the surface to be attached, the inner cassette 10 slides relative to the outer cassette 20, and the attachment portion 13 held in the inner cassette 10 moves into the outer cassette 20. At the same time, the blade cover 14 provided integrally with the inner cassette 10 also moves relative to the outer cassette 20. As the blade cover 14 moves, the blade 23 protrudes from the opening of the blade cover 14. Further, as the attachment portion 13 moves into the outer cassette 20, the blade 23 held by the outer cassette 20 protrudes relatively with respect to the attachment portion 13, and the cutting edge (blade portion) of the blade 23 comes into contact with the surface to be attached, and the tape applicator A reaches the state shown in Fig. 2(c).

[0041] In the state of Fig. 2(c), when the tape applicator A is further pressed in the direction of the surface to be attached, the tape applicator A reaches the state of Fig. 2(d). In the state of Fig. 2(c), when the tape applicator A is further pressed in the direction of the surface to be attached, the inner cassette 10 moves linearly relative to the outer cassette 20, but when it contacts the stopper (stop portion) 21 provided in the outer cassette 20, the inner cassette 10 can no longer move linearly relative to the outer cassette 20. On the other hand, in the state of Fig. 2(c), when the tape applicator A is further pressed in the direction of the surface to be attached, the blade 23 moves linearly relative to the outer cassette 20 against the elastic force of the coil spring which is the elastic member 24 for the blade. However, since the inner cassette 10 contacts the stopper (stop portion) 21 and can no longer slide relative to the outer cassette 20, the blade 23 can no longer move linearly relative to the outer cassette 20 either.

[0042] In the state shown in Fig. 2(d), the cutting edge of the cutting tool 23 presses the tape 11 on the surface to be attached by the elastic force of the elastic member 24 for the cutting tool. As described above, in the tape applicator A, when the internal cassette 10 contacts the stopper (stop portion) 21 and can no longer linearly move with respect to the external cassette 20, the cutting tool 23 can also no longer linearly move with respect to the external cassette 20. Therefore, the force with which the cutting edge (cutting portion) of the cutting tool 23 presses the tape 11 on the surface to be attached becomes the maximum value in the state of Fig. 2(d) and will not exceed this value.

[0043] Therefore, in the state of Fig. 2(d), if the pressing force with which the cutting edge of the cutting tool 23 presses the tape 11 on the surface to be attached is set to a pressing force that can cut the tape 11 but cannot cut the surface to be attached such as the paper on which the tape 11 is pasted, by using the tape applicator A, it is possible to surely cut only the tape 11 without cutting the surface to be attached such as paper. Moreover, in the tape applicator A, in the vicinity of the pasting portion 13, the cutting portion of the cutting tool 23 that becomes the cutting portion of the tape 11 can be provided immediately after the tape 11 passes through the pasting portion 13 when the tape 11 is pasted. Therefore, the tip of the tape 11 of the tape applicator A after cutting the tape 11 can be positioned at a position where it can be pasted on the surface to be attached by the pasting portion 13.

[0044] Thus, in the tape applicator A, the cutting tool 23 can be provided in the vicinity of the pasting portion 13, and without providing a special structure, the tip of the tape 11 after cutting can be positioned at a position where it can be pasted on the surface to be attached by the pasting portion 13. Therefore, a tape applicator with a smaller and simpler structure than before can be provided.

[0045] The inventor has found that in a method of cutting the tape 11 by pressing a cutting tool on the tape 11 on the surface to be attached as in the tape applicator A, if the force with which the cutting tool presses the tape 11 during cutting is limited to a certain range, it is possible to cut only the tape 11 and not cut the paper or the like on the surface to be attached under the tape 11.

[0046] The inventor conducted the measurements shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 in order to compare the pressing force acting on the cutting tool 23 required to cut the tape 11 and the pressing force acting on the cutting tool 23 when the surface to be attached is cut, when a cutting tool 23 with a blade width of 10 mm is attached to the tape applicator.

[0047] (Measurement of the pressing force acting on the cutting tool required for tape cutting) As the tape 11, a PET (polyethylene terephthalate) tape with a thickness of 6 μm and a width of 5 mm and a PET (polyethylene terephthalate) tape with a thickness of 12 μm and a width of 5 mm were prepared. As shown in FIG. 4, the tape 11 was placed on the glass plate 41, and the cutting tool 43 was pressed against the tape 11 so that the width direction of the tape 11 and the cutting tool 43 were parallel, and the pressing force at which the tape 11 was cut was measured. The cutting tool 43 was set at the tip of a digital force gauge 42 with a maximum load of 50 N and a minimum scale of 0.01 N. With the digital force gauge 42, the force with which the cutting tool 43 presses the tape 11 was gradually increased so that it would reach from 0 to 20 N in approximately 10 seconds in a state where the force could be measured, and the pressing force of the cutting tool 43 at which the tape 11 was cut was measured. As the cutting tool 43, a blade of type A cutter manufactured by NT Cutter Co., Ltd. with a blade width of 10 mm was used. The measurement results are shown in Table 1.

[0048]

Table 1

[0049] (Measurement of the pressing force acting on the cutting tool when the surface to be attached is cut) Next, using high-quality paper 44 as the adherend surface, the pressing force of the cutting tool during cutting of the adherend surface was measured. In the actual use state of the tape applicator, on a wide planar adherend surface, the blade of a type A cutter manufactured by NT Cutter Co., Ltd. with a blade width of 10 mm (the blade used in the measurement of the pressing force acting on the cutting tool required for tape cutting) is pressed. However, in tests using a wide planar adherend surface, it is difficult to visually determine whether the adherend surface has been cut, and the pressing force acting on the cutting tool during accurate cutting of the adherend surface cannot be measured. Therefore, the high-quality paper used as the adherend surface was cut into a tape shape with a width of 10 mm. As shown in FIG. 5, this was placed on a glass plate 41, and the cutting tool (cutter blade) 43 was pressed against the high-quality paper 44 so that the width direction of the high-quality paper 44 and the cutting tool (cutter blade) 43 were parallel, and the pressing force at which the high-quality paper 44 was cut was measured. The cutting tool (cutter blade) 43 was set at the tip of a digital force gauge 42 with a maximum load of 50 N and a minimum scale of 0.01 N. With the digital force gauge 42 in a state where the force with which the cutting tool (cutter blade) 43 presses the high-quality paper 44 can be measured, the force with which the cutting tool (cutter blade) 43 presses the high-quality paper 44 was gradually increased so that it changed from 0 to 40 N in approximately 10 seconds, and the pressing force of the cutting tool (cutter blade) 43 at which the high-quality paper 44 was cut was measured. As the high-quality paper 44, multi-copy paper J2 manufactured by PLUS Corporation was used. As the cutting tool 43, the blade of a type A cutter manufactured by NT Cutter Co., Ltd. with a blade width of 15 mm was used, and both ends in the width direction of the high-quality paper 44 were surely brought into contact with the cutting tool 43.

[0050] With this method, the blade width of the cutting tool that contacts the high-quality paper can be set to 10 mm, similar to the case where the blade of the Type A cutter manufactured by NT Cutter Co., Ltd. with a blade width of 10 mm is pressed against a wide planar surface to be adhered. However, since both ends of the high-quality paper 44 come into contact with the cutting tool 43, there is a possibility that the high-quality paper 44 may be cut with a lower pressing force compared to the case of using a wide planar surface to be adhered. However, for the following reasons, there is no problem in using this measurement method as a method for measuring the pressing force acting on the cutting tool when the high-quality paper 44, which is the surface to be adhered, is cut. As described above, the inventor has found that in the method of pressing and cutting the cutting tool against the tape 11, if the force with which the cutting tool presses the tape 11 during cutting is restricted to be within a certain range, it is possible to cut only the tape 11 and not cut the paper or the like that is the surface to be adhered under the tape 11. This measurement is intended to determine this range of pressing force. The measurement of the pressing force of the cutting tool when the high-quality paper, which is the surface to be adhered, is cut is a measurement for determining the upper limit value of the range of the force with which the cutting tool of the tape applicator presses the tape 11. Therefore, even if the measured value is low, there is no problem in using the measured value obtained by this measurement method as long as it is possible to determine the range of the force with which the cutting tool of the tape applicator presses the tape 11 using the measured value obtained by this measurement method. The measurement results are shown in Table 2.

[0051]

Table 2

[0052] As shown in Table 1, when using PET with a thickness of 12 μm and a width of 5 mm as the tape 11 and using the blade of a type A cutter manufactured by NT Cutter Co., Ltd. with a blade width of 10 mm as the cutting tool 43, the x + 3σ of the pressing force acting on the cutting tool during tape cutting is 13.057 N. Therefore, when using PET with a thickness of 12 μm and a width of 5 mm as the tape 11, if the pressing force acting on the cutting tool of the tape applicator is set to 13.1 N or more, the tape 11 can be almost surely cut. On the other hand, as shown in Table 2, when using high-quality paper with a width of 10 mm as the adherend surface and using the blade of a type A cutter manufactured by NT Cutter Co., Ltd. and setting the blade width of the cutting tool pressing the adherend surface to 15 mm, the x - 3σ of the pressing force acting on the cutting tool during the cutting of the high-quality paper 44 which is the adherend surface is 17.176 N. Therefore, when using the high-quality paper 44 as the adherend surface, if the pressing force acting on the cutting tool of the tape applicator is set to 17.1 N or less, the adherend surface will almost surely not be cut.

[0053] For this reason, when using a tape applicator that uses PET with a thickness of 12 μm and a width of 5 mm as the tape 11 and uses the blade of a type A cutter manufactured by NT Cutter Co., Ltd. with a blade width of 10 mm, and using high-quality paper as the adherend surface, if the maximum value of the pressing force acting on the cutting tool is set to 13.1 N or more and 17.1 N or less, the tape 11 alone can be almost surely cut, and the high-quality paper which is the adherend surface will not be cut. If the maximum value of the pressing force acting on the cutting tool is set to about 15.1 N which is the intermediate value mentioned above, the tape 11 alone can be cut more surely, and the high-quality paper which is the adherend surface will not be cut.

[0054] Also, when using a tape applicator that uses PET with a thickness of 6 μm and a width of 5 mm as the tape 11 and uses the blade of a type A cutter manufactured by NT Cutter Co., Ltd. with a blade width of 10 mm, and using high-quality paper as the adherend surface, if the maximum value of the pressing force acting on the cutting tool is set to 10.2 N or more and 17.1 N or less, the tape 11 alone can be almost surely cut, and the high-quality paper which is the adherend surface will not be cut. If the maximum value of the pressing force acting on the cutting tool is set to about 13.7 N which is the intermediate value mentioned above, the tape 11 alone can be cut more surely, and the high-quality paper which is the adherend surface will not be cut.

[0055] Figure 3 shows a tape applicator B which is the second embodiment of the present invention. The tape applicator B is the same as the tape applicator A except that the pressed surface 27 pressed by the elastic force of the cutting tool elastic member 24 is movable relative to the cutting tool 23 in the elastic deformation direction of the cutting tool elastic member 24.

[0056] As described above, when using a PET with a thickness of 12 μm and a width of 5 mm as the tape 11, using a tape applicator with a cutting edge of type A cutter manufactured by NT Cutter Co., Ltd. with a cutting edge width of 10 mm, and using high-quality paper as the surface to be pasted, if the maximum value of the pressing force acting on the cutting tool is set to about 15.1 N, only the tape 11 can be surely cut, and the high-quality paper as the surface to be pasted will not be cut. On the other hand, when using a PET with a thickness of 6 μm and a width of 5 mm as the tape 11, using a tape applicator with a cutting edge of type A cutter manufactured by NT Cutter Co., Ltd. with a cutting edge width of 10 mm, and using high-quality paper as the surface to be pasted, if the maximum value of the pressing force acting on the cutting tool is set to about 13.7 N, only the tape 11 can be surely cut, and the high-quality paper as the surface to be pasted will not be cut.

[0057] Thus, in the tape applicator of the present invention, it is preferable that the maximum value of the pressing force acting on the cutting tool can be changed according to the tape 11 to be used. In the tape applicator B, the pressed surface 27 pressed by the elastic force of the cutting tool elastic member 24 is movable relative to the cutting tool 23 in the elastic deformation direction of the cutting tool elastic member 24. Since the pressed surface 27 is movable relative to the cutting tool 23 in the elastic deformation direction of the cutting tool elastic member 24, the maximum value of the elastic force with which the cutting tool elastic member 24 presses the cutting tool 23 can be changed. That is, the elastic force with which the cutting tool elastic member 24 presses the cutting tool 23 in the state where the inner cassette 10 contacts the stop 21 can be changed. For this reason, in the tape applicator B, different tapes 11 can be stored in the same outer cassette 20 by replacing the tapes to be stored. That is, in the tape applicator B, the maximum value of the pressing force acting on the cutting tool 23 can be set to a value suitable for each tape according to the type and thickness of the stored tape.

[0058] Any method can be used to make the surface 27 to be pressed, which is pressed by the elastic force of the elastic member 24 for the cutting tool, movable relative to the cutting tool 23 in the elastic deformation direction of the elastic member 24 for the cutting tool. However, a method that can easily and arbitrarily change the position of the surface 27 to be pressed, which is pressed by the elastic force of the elastic member 24 for the cutting tool, is preferable. As such a method, as shown in FIG. 3, the surface 27 to be pressed, which is pressed by the elastic force of the elastic member 24 for the cutting tool, is constituted by a disk-shaped block 25 having a screw hole at the center, and an example is a method of attaching the screw hole of the block 25 to a screw shaft 26 provided on a tool guide 28 for fixing the cutting tool 23. With this method, by rotating the disk-shaped block 25, the surface 27 to be pressed can be easily and arbitrarily moved in the elastic deformation direction of the elastic member 24 for the cutting tool. In the right diagram of FIG. 3, the attachment length of the elastic member 24 for the cutting tool attached to the external cassette 20 is long, while in the left diagram of FIG. 3, the attachment length of the elastic member 24 for the cutting tool is short. By rotating the block 25 in this way, the attachment length of the elastic member 24 for the cutting tool can be changed, and by changing the attachment length of the elastic member for the cutting tool, the maximum value of the elastic force with which the elastic member 24 for the cutting tool of the tape applicator B presses the cutting tool 23 can be changed. Further, the surface 27 to be pressed, which is pressed by the elastic force of the elastic member 24 for the cutting tool, is preferably fixed at a position where it moves relative to the cutting tool 23 in the elastic deformation direction of the elastic member 24 for the cutting tool so as not to move relative to the cutting tool 23 in the elastic deformation direction of the elastic member 24 for the cutting tool. By being able to fix the surface 27 to be pressed so that it does not move relative to the cutting tool 23 in the elastic deformation direction of the elastic member 24 for the cutting tool at a position where it moves relative to the cutting tool 23 in the elastic deformation direction of the elastic member 24 for the cutting tool, the maximum value of the elastic force with which the elastic member 24 for the cutting tool of the tape applicator B presses the cutting tool 23 can be stabilized. Any method can be used to fix the surface 27 to be pressed so that it does not move relative to the cutting tool 23 in the elastic deformation direction of the elastic member 24 for the cutting tool. Although not described in FIG. 3, for example, in the tape applicator B, a fixing screw hole penetrating from the outer peripheral portion to the central screw hole of the disk-shaped block 25 is provided, a hollow set screw is attached to the fixing screw hole, and the block 25 can be fixed to the screw shaft 26 with the hollow set screw.In the tape applicator B, since the block 25 can be fixed to the screw shaft 26 with the holoset screw, the pressed surface 27 pressed by the elastic force of the elastic member 24 for the blade can be fixed at a position relatively moved with respect to the blade 23 in the elastic deformation direction of the elastic member 24 for the blade so as not to move relatively with respect to the blade 23 in the elastic deformation direction of the elastic member 24 for the blade. In the tape applicator B, in order to change the maximum value of the elastic force with which the elastic member 24 for the blade presses the blade 23, the pressed surface 27 that moves relatively with respect to the blade 23 in the elastic deformation direction of the elastic member 24 for the blade is provided on the blade guide 28 on the blade 23 side. However, the pressed surface of the external cassette 20 may be made movable relatively with respect to the blade 23 in the elastic deformation direction of the elastic member 24 for the blade, or both may be made movable.

Example

[0059] (Tape 1) An acrylic adhesive (alkyl acrylate) was applied to one surface of a PET base material with a thickness of 12 μm so that the thickness after drying would be 1 μm to form an adhesive layer. A silicone release agent was applied to the other surface of the PET base material so that the thickness after drying would be 1 μm to form a release layer, and Sheet 1 was prepared. Next, while cutting Sheet 1 into a width of 5 mm, it was wound around a winding core so that the adhesive layer was on the outer peripheral side, and an adhesive tape pancake (supply reel) of Tape 1 corresponding to the unwinding portion of the present invention was produced.

[0060] (Tape 2) An adhesive tape pancake of Tape 2 was produced in the same manner except that the base material was changed to a PET base material with a thickness of 6 μm.

[0061] (Example 1) The tape applicator A shown in FIG. 1 was prepared. As the tape, the adhesive tape pancake of Tape 1 described above was used, and as the blade, a tape applicator of Example 1 using the blade of A-type cutter manufactured by NT Cutter Co., Ltd. with a blade width of 10 mm was prepared. The coil spring, which is the elastic member 24 for the blade, having a maximum pressing force acting on the blade of 15.1 N was used.

[0062] (Example 2) A tape applicator of Example 2 was prepared in the same manner as that of Example 1, except that the tape to be used was changed to the adhesive tape pancake of the above tape 2, and the coil spring, which is the elastic member 24 for the cutting tool, was changed to one with a maximum pressing force acting on the cutting tool of 13.7 N.

[0063] (Usage evaluation) After using the tape applicators of Example 1 and Example 2 to attach a 1-cm long tape onto A4-sized high-quality paper (Multi Copy Paper J2 manufactured by PLUS Corporation) placed on a glass plate, the operation of cutting the tape on the high-quality paper was performed 50 times for each tape applicator, and it was visually confirmed whether the high-quality paper was cut at the 50 tape cutting positions.

[0064] (Usage evaluation results) For both the tape applicators of Example 1 and Example 2, the tape was surely cut at all 50 locations, but the high-quality paper was not cut at all 50 locations.

Explanation of reference numerals

[0065] 10: Inner cassette 11: Tape 12: Pay-out core 13: Attachment part 14: Cutting tool cover 15: O-ring 20: Outer cassette 21: Stopper 22: Elastic member for attachment part 23: Cutting tool 24: Elastic member for cutting tool 25: Block 26: Screw shaft 27: Pressed surface 28: Cutting tool guide 30: Surface to be attached 41: Glass plate 42: Digital force gauge 43: Cutting tool (for measuring pressing force) 44: High-quality paper A, B: Tape applicator

Claims

1. In a tape applicator provided in an external cassette having a housing, the tape applicator includes a pay-out section that holds a tape with one side being an adhesive surface in a pay-out capable manner, an application section that attaches the adhesive surface of the tape payed out from the pay-out section to an adherend surface, and a blade that cuts the tape attached to the adherend surface near the application section on the adherend surface to separate the tape attached to the adherend surface from the tape before being attached to the adherend surface, wherein the application section is held by the external cassette so as to be linearly movable in the front-rear direction in which the application section protrudes, in a state of being pressed by an elastic member for the application section in a direction protruding outside the external cassette, and the blade has a blade portion that cuts the tape in the protruding direction forward when the protruding side in the protruding direction of the application section is the front, and the blade is held by the external cassette so as to be linearly movable in the front-rear direction in which the application section protrudes outside the external cassette, in a state of being pressed by an elastic member for the blade in the direction in which the application section protrudes outside the external cassette, and the external cassette has a stop section that stops the linear movement of the application section in the direction into the external cassette, and the tape on the adherend surface is pressed by the application section and the blade, and in a state where the linear movement of the application section in the direction into the external cassette is stopped by the stop section, the blade presses the tape after being attached to the adherend surface with a predetermined elastic force of the elastic member for the blade. The tape applicator is characterized by this.

2. The tape applicator according to claim 1, wherein the tip of the application section is spatula-shaped.

3. The tape applicator according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the blade portion of the blade is covered with a blade cover having an opening in the protruding direction of the application section, and the blade cover linearly moves along with the linear movement of the application section in the front-rear direction in which the application section protrudes outside the external cassette, and the blade portion of the blade protrudes from the opening.

4. The tape applicator according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the application section and / or the pay-out section is held by an internal cassette having a housing, and when the application section is held by the internal cassette, the internal cassette is pressed by the elastic member for the application section in a direction in which the application section protrudes outside the external cassette, and is held so as to be linearly movable in the front-rear direction in which the application section protrudes.

5. The sticking part and / or the unwinding part are held in an internal cassette which is a housing. When the sticking part is held in the internal cassette, the internal cassette is pressed in a direction in which the sticking part protrudes outside the external cassette by the elastic member for the sticking part, and is held so as to be linearly movable in the front-rear direction in which the sticking part protrudes. The tape applicator according to claim 3, characterized in that.

6. The pressed surface pressed by the elastic force of the elastic member for the blade of the external cassette and / or the member holding the blade is movable relative to the blade in the elastic deformation direction of the elastic member for the blade, and the member holding the blade is linearly movable in the front-rear direction in which the sticking part protrudes. The tape applicator according to claim 1 or claim 2, characterized in that.

7. The pressed surface pressed by the elastic force of the elastic member for the blade of the external cassette and / or the member holding the blade is movable in the elastic deformation direction of the elastic member for the blade, and the member holding the blade is linearly movable in the front-rear direction in which the sticking part protrudes. The tape applicator according to claim 3, characterized in that.

8. The pressed surface pressed by the elastic force of the elastic member for the blade of the external cassette and / or the member holding the blade is movable in the elastic deformation direction of the elastic member for the blade, and the member holding the blade is linearly movable in the front-rear direction in which the sticking part protrudes. The tape applicator according to claim 4, characterized in that.

9. The pressed surface pressed by the elastic force of the elastic member for the blade of the external cassette and / or the member holding the blade is movable in the elastic deformation direction of the elastic member for the blade, and the member holding the blade is linearly movable in the front-rear direction in which the sticking part protrudes. The tape applicator according to claim 5, characterized in that.

10. With the tape pressed against the adherend surface by the sticking part, by moving the external cassette on the adherend surface, after sticking the adhesive surface of the tape to the adherend surface, By pressing the external cassette forward in the protruding direction of the sticking part on the adherend surface, the sticking part linearly moves relative to the external cassette, and the blade part of the blade contacts the tape on the adherend surface. Furthermore, until the sticking part moves linearly within the external cassette, contacts the stopping part provided in the external cassette that stops the linear movement of the sticking part, and the linear movement of the sticking part stops, by pressing the external cassette forward in the protruding direction of the sticking part, the cutting blade moves linearly within the external cassette, the elastic member for the cutting blade is elastically deformed, and the elastic member for the cutting blade presses the cutting blade forward in the protruding direction of the sticking part with a predetermined elastic force, so that the blade part of the cutting blade cuts the tape. A tape sticking method using the tape sticking tool according to claim 1 or claim 2, characterized in that.

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