Staple Refill Sidewall Geometry to Prevent Sheet Blocking
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing refills for electric staplers experience blocking issues where staple sheets adhere to each other, leading to failed feeding during the stapling process.
Innovation Solution
The refill design includes inclined walls on either side of the staple sheets, angled in the axial direction, with at least parts of these walls at the same height from the bottom surface, preventing sheet adhesion by guiding sheets to move apart and ensuring smooth feeding.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If staple sheets are stacked closely together in the refill, then space utilization is improved, but adhesion between sheets occurs causing blocking
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies curvature by forming inclined walls (first and second inclined walls) on the side walls of the refill. These inclined surfaces guide the staple sheets to follow a curved path during feeding, preventing them from adhering to each other by maintaining proper spacing through the curved guidance surfaces.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a dimensional solution by creating inclined surfaces that extend in the stacking direction. This adds a spatial dimension to the feeding path, causing staple sheets to diverge in the axial direction while being fed, thereby preventing adhesion without reducing space utilization.
2Productivity
If staple sheets are fed sequentially, then continuous stapling is achieved, but adhesion prevents successful feeding
Solution Approach 1:
The inclined walls create curved guidance surfaces that actively separate staple sheets during the feeding process. This curvature ensures that even when sheets are in close proximity for continuous feeding, they follow divergent paths that prevent adhesion, maintaining both continuous operation and feeding success.
3Ease of manufacture
If side walls are vertical, then manufacturing is simplified, but staple sheets adhere to each other
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces vertical side walls with inclined walls that have curved surfaces. While this increases manufacturing complexity slightly, it provides the functional benefit of guiding staple sheets along curved paths that prevent adhesion, achieving reliable sheet separation.
Solution Approach 2:
The inclined walls are applied locally to specific portions of the side walls rather than requiring the entire structure to be complex. This allows most of the refill to maintain simple geometry while only the critical feeding regions have the curved inclined surfaces needed for separation.
Data Source
AI summary
A refill includes: a bottom wall; a first side wall; a second side wall; and a front wall in which a discharge opening is formed. The first side wall includes, in a part thereof in a stacking direction, a first inclined wall extending in a coupling direction of staples and inclined in an axial direction. The second side wall includes, in a part thereof in the stacking direction, a second inclined wall extending in the coupling direction of the staples and inclined in the axial direction. The first inclined wall and the second inclined wall are inclined in the same direction, and at least a part of the first inclined wall and at least a part of the second inclined wall are formed at the same height from a bottom surface of the bottom wall in the stacking direction.