Center-Fold Booklet Stapling with Clincher Clearance
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing sheet-stapling apparatuses face challenges in maintaining staple penetrability while preventing the forward ends of staple legs from being lifted open, leading to buckling and reduced durability, especially when dealing with center-folded booklets.
Innovation Solution
A sheet-stapling apparatus with a supporting member that angles the booklet convex upward and a pushing member with a triangular groove to maintain the fold at a larger angle than the supporting member, creating space between the clincher and the booklet, allowing the staple to penetrate without lifting the staple legs open.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Force
If the booklet is pushed flat to make the fold flat before stapling, then staple penetration becomes easier, but the forward ends of staple legs are lifted open causing buckling
Solution Approach 1:
The fold is pushed flat preliminarily before stapling to reduce penetration resistance, but the pushing member maintains this flat state only during the stapling operation. The space between the clincher and booklet is created in advance to accommodate the staple legs without lifting them open, thus resolving the contradiction between ease of penetration and penetration accuracy.
Solution Approach 2:
The space between the clincher and booklet acts as an intermediary element that accommodates the staple legs during penetration. This space prevents the staple legs from being lifted open while still allowing the staple to penetrate through the folded booklet, thus maintaining both penetration ease and accuracy.
2Reliability
If the booklet is not pushed flat and stapled in center-folded state, then staple penetration accuracy is maintained, but staple penetration becomes difficult causing buckling
Solution Approach 1:
The pushing member pushes the fold flat preliminarily before the stapling operation, reducing the resistance to staple penetration. After stapling, the fold returns to its original center-folded state. This preliminary flattening action reduces the required penetration force while maintaining penetration accuracy through the space provision.
Solution Approach 2:
The angle of the fold is changed dynamically - pushed flat (larger angle) during stapling to reduce penetration force, then returns to original state (smaller angle) after stapling. The space between clincher and booklet accommodates this parameter change, allowing easy penetration without compromising accuracy.
3Force
If the pushing member pushes the booklet with large force to make the fold flat, then staple penetration is facilitated, but durability of the booklet deteriorates and loud sound is generated
Solution Approach 1:
The pushing member applies force locally only to the fold portion of the booklet, not the entire booklet. The triangular groove shape concentrates the pushing force precisely where needed to flatten the fold, facilitating staple penetration without applying excessive force that would damage the booklet or generate loud sounds.
Solution Approach 2:
The pushing member performs partial action by pushing only the fold flat, not the entire booklet. This partial flattening is sufficient to facilitate staple penetration through the fold area while avoiding excessive force that would deteriorate booklet durability or generate loud noises.
Data Source
AI summary
A sheet-stapling apparatus mounts a center-folded booklet and staples the booklet at a fold of the booklet by a staple. The sheet-stapling apparatus has a supporting member that mounts the center-folded booklet, a pushing member that pushes the booklet to the supporting member, a stapler that penetrates the staple through the booklet and a clincher that clinches legs of the staple to bind the booklet. The pushing member has a groove that pushes the fold of the booklet and maintains the fold of the booklet at a pushing angle. The supporting member forms the space between the clincher and the booklet.