US2708076A - Multi-roll liner-wound tape dispenser - Google Patents

Description

May l0 1955 4. A. PQLsTER ETAL .2,708,076

MULTI-Rom. LINER-wouw TAPE DISPENSER Filed 061:. 28, 1953 r f- 3291 F/i Z MULTI-RLL LINER-WUND TAPE lDllSl-ENSER .lohn A. Polster, Roseville, Minn., Walter S. Aldrich, Kiel, Wis., and Lee M. Berlin, St. Paul, Minn., assigner-s to Minnesota Mining d.: Manufacturing Company, St. Paul, Minn., a corporation of Delaware Application ctober 28, 1953, Serial No. 388,856

2 Claims. (Cl. 242-554) The present invention relates to dispensers for normally tacky pressure-sensitive adhesive tape.

Such tape was originally commercially available in forms wherein the coating of adhesive was on only one side of the backing, the other side, or back side, being nontacky. Forms of the tape are available however, wherein both sides of the backing or carrier sheet are coated, such forms being frequently referred to as double-coated pressure-sensitive adhesive tape.

Double-coated pressure-sensitive adhesive tape has a variety of uses, one important use being to employ it as a substitute for a coating or layer of ordinary glue, mucilage or paste where two articles are to be adhered to each other. Where two sheets of paper are to be adhered together in laminated form, for example, the double-coated tape may be employed by placing a cut length or a plurality of cut lengths of the tape on a surface of one of the sheets and then bringing the surface of the second sheet into contact with the exposed surface of the tape in the desired position. The tape, being normally tacky on both sides, will adhere to both of the sheets of paper and hold them permanently together.

Tape is customarily put up for use by the consumer in rolls. In order to enable the present commercial forms of double-coated tape to be unwound easily, it is customary to insert a liner between the convolutions of the tape when the tape is being wound into rolls by the tape manufacturer, the liner being a strip of sheet material of such character that it delaminates easily from the adhesive coated surfaces of the tape when the roll is unwound. The liner is necessarily of the same length as the tape in any given roll, and is ordinarily of no use to the consumer after being removed from the tape roll. Thus, in using double-coated tape, the disposal of the liner is a problem.

An automatic removal and disposal of the liner is of course preferable to manual. A dispenser for linerwound pressure-sensitive adhesive tape with automatic liner removal and disposal is shown in the Hoover Patent No. 2,325,400. The dispenser there shown however,

is of the type generally regarded as more suitable for work benches than for desks and counters.

For oflice, store and laboratory, a smaller more compact device is preferred, to conserve space and also for improved appearance.

A further problem in connection with the marketing of double-coated tape, is the coordination of its use with the standard single-coated tape. A consumer does not wish appreciably to increase the amount of desk or counter space that he has already allocated to tape, and yet prior to the present invention, the addition to his desk supplies of double-coated tape has necessitated a choice between making such an increase, or dispensing the double-coated tape by hand.

Objectives accordingly include the provision of a compact dispenser means for liner-wound pressure-sensitive adhesive tape capable of being coordinated with the ice,

means customarily employed for linerless single-coated tapes in a manner to produce a single multi-roll dispenser wherein liner-wound and linerless rolls can be simultaneously available to the consumer, such multiroll dispenser to be not much larger than the known dispensers of linerless tape.

The present invention achieves these objectives by a mechanism exemplified by the two-roll dispenser hereinafter described and illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure l is a perspective View of the dispenser;

Figure 2 is a vertical cross sectional view on the line 2-2 shown in Figure l;

Figure 3 is a vertical longitudinal sectional view on the line 3 3 shown in Figure 1;

Figure 4 is an axial sectional view of a sleeve and shaft assembly on the line 4-4 shown in Figure 3; and

Figure 5 is a diagram showing how the coordination of the sizes and positions of certain parts permit a free choice of use by the consumer between either of the two rolls throughout the life of either one of the two, regardless of how much or how little is removed from the other.

An elongate frame 10 in the nature of a box-like container, open at the top and rear, contains and supports the mechanism and the other parts.

A horizontal serrated severing edge 11 is fixed to the upper front edge of the frame 10.

Directly behind the severing edge, two supply- roll drums 12 and 13 of equal diameters are mounted for individual rotation independently of each other on a horizontal shaft 14 which is fixed at either end in the side walls of the frame 10 at a point approximately midway between the front and rear extremities of the frame and slightly above a point midway between the top and bottom of the frame, the shaft 14 extending transversely of the frame.

Directly behind the supply- roll drums 12 and 13, a liner take-up drum 16 is positioned at the upper rear portion of the frame 10, freely rotatable about an axis that is parallel to the axis of the drums 12 and 13.

The total lateral extent of the two supply- roll drums 12 and 13 defines the lateral extent of a path 17 (as indicated in Figure 2) that extends longitudinally in respect to the frame. The length of the severing edge 11 and the length of the liner take-up drum 16 each extend at least across the full width of the path 17.

A means for mounting the take-up drum 16 comprises a lirst horizontal shaft 20 supported at either end in the side walls of the frame 10 in the lower rear portion of the frame, its axis parallel to the axis of the supplyroll drums 12 and 13 and to the axis of the liner takeanp drum 16. A sleeve 21 is journaled on the shaft 20 with a cylindrical torsion spring 22 between the shaft and the sleeve. As shown in Fig. 4, the spring is fixed at one end to the shaft 20 and at its other end to the sleeve, and is loaded to impel the sleeve to rotate counterclockwise (Figure 3). The right end of the shaft 20 is slotted to receive a screw driver (Figure l) whereby the shaft may be turned, to adjust the tension of the spring, and then rendered fixed in relation to the frame 10 by a setscrew (not shown) that is accessible at th rear of the frame.

An upwardly extending arm 2S is fixed to the left end (Figure 2) of the sleeve 21. The arm 25 is positioned outside the lateral limits of the path 17; in the illustrated embodiment, to the left thereof. A second horizontal shaft 26 is fixed to the upper end of the arm 25 and extends to the right of the arm 25 (Figure 2) transversely of the frame above the lirst shaft 20 and parellel to the iirst shaft. The liner take-up drum 16 is journaled on the second shaft 26.

The spring 22 impels the arm 25 and with it the takeup drum 16 forwardly toward the supply- roll drums 12 and 13.

The above described dispenser can be used (l) to dispense a single roll of linerless single-coated pressuresensitive adhesive tape, or, alternatively, (2) to dispense '.1 single roll of liner-wound double-coated pressure-sensitive adhesive tape, or alternatively, (3) to dispense a roll of each of the said two kinds of tape.

When a single roll of linerless or unlined tape is being dispensed, the tape may be of any width up to and including the width of the path 17, i. e., the combined lateral extent of the supply- roll drums 12 and 13. If too wide to be supported by a single drum 12 or 13, it may extend over the adjoining drum so as to be supported by the two drums, inasmuch as the diameters of the two drums are equal. The liner take-up drum 16, impelled forwardly by the spring 22, bears against the periphery of the tape roll and idles there throughout the life of the roll.

When a single roll of liner-wound or lined tape is being dispensed, its width may vary as in the case of the single roll of linerless tape. The liner take-up drum 16, impelled forwardly by the spring 22, bears against the periphery of the tape roll and is rotated thereby as tape is manually withdrawn from the supply roll, the liner being wound on the take-up drum and thereby removed from between the convolutions of the suppl;` roll as the latter unwinds.

When a roll 30 of liner-wound double-coated pressure-sensitive adhesive tape 31 and a roll 32 of linerless single-coated pressure-sensitive adhesive tage 33 are simultaneously in the dispenser, the two rolls are separately mounted on the two supply-roll drums, respectively, so that each roll may turn independently of the other.

The roll 30 of liner-wound tape 31 may be on either supply-roll drum. It is here shown as being at the left on the drum 12, with the roll 32 of linerless tape at the right on the other drum 13. For right-handed users, this is the preferred arrangement. As is brought out in Figure 1, the flight or length of withdrawn double-coated tape 31 that extends from the supply roll 30 to the severing edge 11, is for the most part above the level of the Hight of single-coated tape 33. This is largely due to the fact that resistance to rotation of the roll 30 is increased by the liner take-up, so that instead of leading off from the roll 30 in a generally radial direction (as does the tape 33 from the roll 32) the tape 31 leads olf from the roll 30 more nearly at a tangent.

After the roll 30 has been mounted, a length of the tape 31 and its liner 34- is withdrawn. The tape and liner are then separated. The tape 31 is led forwardly to the severing means 11 and anchored there by adhesion. The liner 34 is led rearwardly and started on the takeup drum 16. The liner take-up drum 16, impelled forwardly by the spring 22, bears against the periphery of the tape roll 30 and is rotated thereby as the tape 31 is manually withdrawn from the supply roll 30 and pulled toward the severing means in a dispensing operation. The said rotation or the drum 16 withdraws the liner 34 from the roll 3G and winds it up in a new roll 35.

After the first turn of the liner 34 is Wound on the take-up drum 16, thereby forming the rst convolution of the liner roll 35, it is the peripheral surface of the roll 35, and not the peripheral surface of the take-up drum 16, that then bears against the peripheral surface of the tape roll 30 to provide the traction whereby rotation of the drum 12 serves to turn the drum 16.

The liner 34 is customarily of approximately the same thickness, or less, than the tape 31. A roll of a given length of the liner alone would be of a smaller diameter than a roll of the same length of the laminated liner and the tape. As a result, the take-up drum 16, impelled forwardly by the spring 22 to maintain the required peripheral Contact between the rolls 30 and 35 throughout the lite of the roll 39, would normally gradually move forward as tape is withdrawn from the roll 30. This however, would defeat the objective of permitting an operator to use as rnuch or as little of either of the rolls 30 or 32- as he ci ooses, for were the consumption of the tape 33 to be less than of the tape 31 so that the diameter of the roll 32 decreased more slowly than the diameter of the roll 3i?, the drum 16 would then bear against the roll 32 and be thereby held back so that the peripheries of the rolls 35 and 30 would lose contact; and such Contact is essential if the tape 31 is to be kept available to the user at all times.

Accordingly, the take-up drum 16 is constructed so as to be of a diameter no greater than approximately one-half the diameter of the supply-roll drum 12. This at least doubles the number of convolutions in the liner roll 35 over the number of convolutions in the supply roll 30 for any given length of liner. Where the liner 34 and the tape 31 are of approximately the same thickness, the diameter of the roll 35 increases by approximately the same amount as the diameter of the roll 30 decreases.

With the thickness of the core 36 of the roll 30 serving in the nature of a factor of safety, this results in a maintenance of the distance between the shafts 14 and 26 (and sometimes a slight increase) throughout the life of the roll 30 as lengths of the tape 31 are withdrawn and dispensed from time to time. This is indicated in the diagram of Figure 5. At the start, the takeup drum 16 bears against the roll 3l). As tape is withdrawn, the tape roll 3i) decreases in size but the increase in size of the liner roll 35 is sufficient to maintain the original distance between the shafts 14 and 26 undiminished.

A dispenser is thus provided wherein both lined and unlined tape may be made at all times available throughout the life of either one of the two rolls, even though it may happen that none at all is used from the other roll.

For rolls of liner-wound tapes where the liner is thinner than the tape, the take-up drum 16 is replaced by a take-up drum of a still smaller diameter so as to increase the number of convolutions in the liner roll 35 and thereby provide a rate of increase in size of the liner roll suicient to maintain the original distance between the shafts 14 and 26 undiminished as tape is withdrawn.

The dispenser may be provided with more than the two supply- roll drums 12 and 13 here shown, the additional drum or drums to carry linerless tape.

Tapes other than the double-coated tape are sometimes put up in liner-wound rolls. Such tapes can of course be dispensed in the present dispenser in the same manner as the roll 30 of double-coated tape 31 here shown.

We claim;

l. A device for the simultaneous dispensing of one roll of liner-wound pressure-sensitive adhesive tape and at least one roll of linerless pressure-sensitive adhesive tape, comprising an elongate frame; a horizontal severing edge at the forward portion of the frame, the severing edge extending across at least the full width of a path that extends longitudinally in respect to the frame; at least two supply-roll drums of equal diameter mounted in the central portion of the frame for free individual rotation independently of each other about a common horizontal axis, the axis extending transversely of the frame, the total lateral extent of the supply-roll drums defining the lateral extent ot` the said path; a liner take-up drum positioned at the upper rear portion of the frame and freely rotatable about an axis that is parallel to the axis of the supplyroll drums, the length of the take-up drum extending across at least the full width of the said path, the diameter of the take-up drum being no greater than one-half the iaineter of the supply-roll drums; and a mounting means for the take-up drum comprising a first shaft fixed inA the lower rear portion of the frame parallel to the axis of the supply-roll drums and t0 the axis of the take-up drum, a sleeve journaled on the shaft, an upwardly extending arm xed to one end of the sleeve, spring means connected to the arm and loaded to impel the arm forwardly, and a second shaft fixed to the upper end of the arm and extending transversely of the frame above the first shaft and parallel to the first shaft, the take-up drum being journaled on the second shaft and the arm being positioned outside the lateral limits of the said path.

2. A device according to claim l wherein the spring means is a cylindrical torsion spring around the shaft within the sleeve.

5 References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,325,400 Hoover July 27, 1943 2,352,445 Pinckney June 27, 1944 10 2,424,486 Miller July 22, 1947

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