Container

Abstract

 A container (1) for a roll of adhesive tape in which the roll is rotatably mounted upon a leaf spring (7) within a plastic housing (2, 3) the spring (7) retaining the roll against two walls (9) and (11) of the housing (2,3). The container is provided with a removable or hinged plate (21), on to which the free end of adhesive tape may be attached for easy retrieval, and an integral serrated cutting edge (19) for cutting the tape.

Description

[0001] This invention relates to a container for rolls of tape and in particular to a container for rolls of adhesive tape.

[0002] Containers for rolls of tape (adhesive and non-adhesive) are known which retain the roll by means of a spindle onto which the roll is rotatably mounted, and the roll must accordingly possess an axial hole of the correct dimensions to enable it to be mounted on the spindle. Known containers of the above type often suffer from the disadvantage that mounting and dismounting of the roll of tape is tedious and slow.

[0003] The present invention seeks to overcome the above limitations by providing a container which rotatably retains a roll of tape whether or not the roll is provided with an axial hole. In addition the container allows quick and easy loading and unloading of the roll of tape, and is suitable for adhesive and non-adhesive tapes.

[0004] According to the present invention, there is provided a container for a roll of tape, comprising a housing and a spring, whereby the roll of tape is rotatably retained in the housing by the spring which urges the roll against a retaining wall of the housing.

[0005] Preferably the spring is arranged within the housing to bear against the outer surface of the roll of tape, and in a particularly preferred embodiment, the spring is in the form of a leaf spring onto which the roll of tape may be mounted.

[0006] In a preferred form of the invention the housing comprises two interengaging parts, a base portion and a top portion, and the spring is suitably located within the base portion.

[0007] The container of the invention may be provided with a cutting edge to enable strips of tape to be cut to any required length, and the edge is preferably in the form of a serrated blade of metal or plastic.

[0008] The container of the invention may also be provided with a retaining element onto which a free end of adhesive tape may be attached for easy retrieval, the retaining element preferably being detachable from the container. The element is suitably positioned adjacent the cutting edge so that after cutting, a cut end of tape may be adhered to the element. In one form of the invention the retaining element may be attached by means of a hinge to the container, and in the preferred two- part container, may be located on the top portion thereof.

[0009] The retaining element is preferably in the form of a flat plate which abuts the upper surface of the top portion of a two part container.

[0010] In a preferred form the retaining element is located as a snug fit within an opening in the top portion, adjacent the cutting edge. The element may be provided with lateral projections which can be gripped manually to pull the element away from the container. The lateral projections may abut the upper surface of the top portion to prevent the element from falling into the opening.

[0011] In a particularly preferred form of the invention the retaining element is pivotally attached to an abutting surface by means of a cut end of tape, so that on manually gripping and pulling the lateral projections one end of the element pivots away from the container thereby allowing the cut end of the tape to be easily retrieved.

[0012] The lateral projectio ns on the retaining element also enable the element to be pulled away from the container, thereby pulling the tape from the roll which can then be cut to a desired length. Suitable materials for constructing the main parts of the container of the present invention include any light, durable and rigid material, preferably plastics.

[0013] A preferred embodiment of the invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view showing the top portion and base portion of a container prior to assembly;

Figure 2 is a perspective view of the assembled container; and

Figure 3 is a plan view of the assembled container.

[0014] Referring to Figures 1 and 2 of the drawings, a tape container 1 comprises a generally rectangular, cross-sectional shaped base 2 and a similarly cross-sectional shaped top 3.

[0015] The base 2 comprises a seat 4, which terminates in an inclined mouth 5, a guard portion 6 and leaf spring 7. Guard portion 6 is formed by three side walls 8, 9 and 10 which extend vertically from mouth 5, and which terminate in a top wall 11. The top wall 11 protrudes beyond the top edges of side walls 8 and 9 and lies parallel to the inclined mouth 5.

[0016] Leaf spring 7 is attached at one end to the inside of the open end wall of the seat 4, and extends into a cavity 12 bounded by the seat 4 and guard portion 6.

[0017] The mouth 5 is surrounded by a ledge 13, which provides an abutting support for the top 3, as is shown in Figure 1.

[0018] The top 3 has an open end 14, two opposing rhomboidally shaped walls 15 and 16 and two smaller opposing rectangular shaped walls 17 and 18.
A serrated cutting edge 19 protrudes from a top edge 20 of wall 18.

[0019] A rectangular tape-retaining plate 21 forms a snug fit within the space 22 formed by walls 15 and 16 and cutting edge 19, as is shown in Figures 1 and 3. The chamfered rear end 23 of the plate 21 abuts an upper portion 24 of a sloping internal wall 25 of top 3, while the chamfered front end 26 abuts the top edge 20 of the wall 18.

[0020] A rectangular, flat bottomed stop 27 with a quadrantal cross-sectional shape is fixed to a top face 28 of plate 21. Both ends 29 and 30 of the stop 27 laterally overhang the top face 28 of the plate 21 and abut the top edges of walls 15 and 16 respectively.

[0021] In use, a roll of adhesive tape is placed in the base 2, on the leaf spring 7. The natural resilience of the leaf spring 7 causes the roll to be pressed against walls 9 and 11 of guard portion 6, thereby retaining the roll in position. Any size roll of tape can be retained in this way provided the diameter of the roll is large enough to enable the spring 7 to press the roll against walls 9 or 11.

[0022] The top 3 is then mounted as a snug push-fit onto the base 2, so that open end 14 of the top 3 abuts the ledge 13. As illustrated in Figure 3, a loose end of the tape 31 may then be threaded through a gap 32 between the wall 11 and the plate 21, and the required length of tape 31 pulled through the gap 32 from the roll. The tape 31 may then be cut to the required length by pulling it into contact with the plate, tensioning it against stop 27 and cutting it on cutting edge 19.

[0023] After the tape has been cut the loose end remains adhered to the plate 21 and stop 27, but only loosely adheres to chamfered end 23.

[0024] The tape 31, loosely adhered to chamfered end 23, acts as a temporary hinge between the plate 21 and the top edge 33 of the wall 25. The cut end of the tape 31 may be easily retrieved by grasping ends 29 and 30 of the stop 27, rotating the element 21 about the temporary hinge and then retrieving that part of the tape 31 loosely adhered to the end 23.

[0025] When a roll of tape is finished, the base 2 and top 3 may be separated by manually pulling apart, and to facilitate this the walls 11, 15 and 16 are formed with a ridged exterior to aid gripping.

Claims

1) A container (1) for a roll of tape, comprising a housing (2,3) for the roll and a spring (7) on which the roll is rotatably supported in the housing (2,3), the spring (7) being arranged to urge the roll against a retaining wall (9,11) of the housing (2,3).

2) A container (1) according to claim 1, in which the spring (7) is in the form of a leaf spring (7) on which the roll is supported.

3) A container (1) according to claim 1 or 2 in which the housing (2,3) comprises a base portion (2) and a top portion (3) which detachably engage, the spring (7) being located within the base portion.

4) A container (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 3, which includes a retaining element (21) onto which a free end of adhesive tape can be attached, the retaining element (21) being detachable from the container (1).

5) A container (1) according to claim 4, in which the retaining element (21) is positioned adjacent a cutting edge (19) mounted on the container (1).

6) A container (1) according to claim 4 or 5, in which the retaining element (21) is hingedly attached to the container (1).

7) A container (1) according to any one of claims 4 to 6, in which the retaining element (21) comprises a flat plate (21) which is located as a snug fit within an opening in the top of the housing (2,3).

8) A container (1) according to any one of claims 4 to 7, in which the retaining element (21) is provided with lateral projections (29,30) arranged to be gripped manually to pull the element (21) away from the container (1).

9) A container (1) according to any one of claims 4 to 8 in which the retaining element (21) is pivotally attached to the container (1) by means of a cut end of tape which adheres to the element (21).

Drawing