Puncher

Abstract

 A puncher 10 includes a pair of side members 14, 15 disposed on a base 12 having a support surface 11 for sheets P, an operation lever 18 rotatable around a rotation shaft 16 provided between the side members 14, 15, punch blades 24 supported by a slide member 20 provided movable vertically between the side members, and link members 21 each connecting the operation lever 18 and slide member 20 relatively rotatably. Each of the link members 21 is provided in an arc piece shape being symmetrical with respect to a center thereof, and a connecting position A2 between the link member 21 and the slide member 20 is located substantially on the same axis line as that of the punch blades 24.

Description

[Field of the Invention]

[0001] The present invention relates to a puncher, and more specifically relates to a puncher that reduces operation load required to an operation lever for punching holes in paper sheets by lifting and lowering a slide member supporting punch blades, and allows setting the operation angle of the operation lever to a small value.

[Background of the Art]

[0002] Conventionally, punchers are known which are capable of punching plural binding holes along an end of sheet - As such punchers, there are small types and middle-sized types for punching holes in a unit of several sheets or several dozen sheets, and large types capable of punching holes in a unit of several hundreds of sheets at a time.
Patent Document 1 discloses a puncher categorized in the large types.
[Patent Document 1] Japanese Examined Utility Model Registration Application Publication No. S52-3743

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0003] The puncher disclosed in Patent Document 1 includes movable bodies supported by a guide being provided on the back end side of a base, fixing table provided at a portion upper than the movable bodies, a handle provided rotatably relative to the fixing table through a fitting body, link members connected to the handle and movable bodies, and punch blades for punching holes in sheets, with lowering of the movable bodies.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention]

[0004] However, with this puncher, for the rotational movement amount of the first connecting position between the link member and a fitting body, the movement amount of the second connecting position between the link member and the movable body is relatively small. This causes a problem that, in punching holes, makes the rotational movement amount of the handle large.
That is, the puncher disclosed in Patent Document 1 is arranged such that the handle rotationally moves between a position where the free end of the handle protrudes a lot posterior to the base and a position where the free end protrudes above the front portion of the base.
Therefore, when setting a puncher on a tabletop, such as a work table, it is necessary to secure a large space for ensuring the rotational forward-and-backward movement amount of the handle. Accordingly, for example, in a case where the back end of a work table is arranged so as to be in contact with a wall or the like, it is necessary to position the base of the puncher considerably in front of the back end of the work table, which makes it difficult to dispose the puncher, using a work table with a small depth.

[0005] Further, for the operation of punching holes, this puncher has a link shape that causes a large deviation in a longitudinal direction between the first connecting position and the second connecting position as the operation lever is rotated forward, which causes a large transmission loss of the operation force for lowering the punch blades, and is not suitable for punching holes with a lower load of the operation force. This is partially because of the arrangement where the connecting position between each movable body and the respective link member is deviated from the axis line of the punch blades.

[Object of the Invention]

[0006] The present invention has been developed, addressing such inconveniences, and an object of the invention is to provide a puncher capable of allowing a small rotational movement amount of an operation lever and reducing the operation load.

[Means for Solving Problems]

[0007] In order to achieve the object, a puncher in accordance with the present invention includes: a base having a support surface for a sheet to be punched; a pair of side members disposed on the base; an operation lever rotatable around a rotation shaft provided between the side members; punch blades supported by a slide member provided movable vertically between the side members and protruding toward the base; and link members each connecting the operation lever and slide member relatively rotatably, the puncher being capable of punching holes in a sheet with the punch blades when the operation lever is rotationally- operated to move the slide member vertically, wherein each of the link members directly connects the operation lever and slide member and is provided symmetrically with respect to a center thereof, and wherein a connecting position between the link member and slide member is located substantially on the same axis line as that of the punch blades in a rotation region of the operation lever.

[0008] In accordance with the invention, when a connecting position between the link member and operation lever is a first connecting position and a connecting position between the link member and slide member is a second connecting position: at an initial position of the operation lever during a non-operational time, the second connecting position is located in front of the first connecting position; and at a laid-down position of the operation lever during an operational time, the first connecting position and second connecting position are located substantially on the same axis line as that of the punch blades.

[0009] Further, when a connecting position between said link member and operation lever is a first connecting position and a connecting position between said link member and slide member is a second connecting position: at an initial position of said operation lever during a non-operational time, said first connecting position is located posterior to said rotation shaft and the second connecting position is located in front of said rotation shaft; and at a laid-down position of the operation lever during an operational time, the first connecting position and second connecting position are located substantially on the same axis line as that of said punch blades.

[0010] Still further, the puncher is preferably arranged such that : the operation lever is rotatable down to a laid-down position where the operation lever is substantiallyparallel with a base at a punching time when tip ends of the punch blades butt against the base, and a rotation angle between the laid-down position and the initial position of the operation lever during a non-operational time is set substantially to 120 degrees or smaller.

[Effects of the Invention]

[0011] According to the invention, since each link member is arranged to directly connect an operation lever and slide member, the number of components can be reduced to a minimum number without using a cam mechanism or the like. Further, each link member is arranged symmetrical with respect to the center thereof, which allows a simple shape of the link member itself and makes it easy to adopt a design that decreases the rotational movement amount of the operation lever. Still further, because the connecting position between each link member and slide member is located substantially on the axis line of punch blades, it is possible to perform punching holes with an easy operation feeling while avoiding the loss of operational force.
Further, as the second connecting position is arranged in front of the first connecting position, each punch blade supported by the slide member can be positioned in front of the back end of the base, and punching positions can be easily viewed to be confirmed.
Still further, since the fist connecting position is located posterior to the rotation shaft while the second connecting position is located in front of the rotation shaft, the first connecting position and the second connecting position come to be on the same axis line as the handle is rotationally operated forward. Thus, the operation force can be effectively transmitted to the punch blades, enabling reduction in the operation load.
Yet further, the rotation angle of the operation lever is set to be substantially 120 degrees or smaller, which prevents the back end of the operation lever from protruding a lot posterior to the base during a non-punching time and does not cause inconvenience requiring an excessively large depth of the installing space.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0012] 

Fig. 1 is a schematic perspective view showing an entire arrangement of a puncher and showing a state where an operation lever is at the initial position;

Fig. 2 is a schematic side view of the puncher;

Fig. 3 is a schematic front view of the puncher with a partial cross-sectional view;

Fig. 4 is a schematic perspective view similar to Fig. 1, showing the state of using a centering member;

Fig. 5 is a schematic perspective view similar to Fig. 1, showing the state of using a position restricting member;

Fig. 6 is an exploded perspective view partially showing a slide member, sheet pressing member, and blade holders;

Fig. 7 is a partial cross-sectional view showing the state where the blade holder is attached to the slide member;

Fig. 8 is a partial cross-sectional view showing the state in the process of attaching the blade holder to or detaching it from the slide member;

Fig. 9A is a side view of a guard member;

Fig. 9B is a plan view of the guard member;

Fig. 9C is a front view of the guard member;

Fig. 10 is a partial cross-sectional view showing the initial or final state in the process of attaching the blade holder to or detaching it from the slide member;

Fig. 11 is a schematic perspective view similar to Fig. 1, showing the state of using the position restricting member; and

Fig. 12 is a schematic perspective view of the puncher, showing the state where the operational handle is laid down at the position taken at the time of punching holes.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

[0013] A preferable embodiment in accordance with the invention will be described below in detail, referring to the drawings. In the present description, words representing directions and positions will be used with reference to Fig. 2 unless otherwise described particularly. The right side in Fig. 2 is represented by "anterior side" while the left side is represented by "posterior side". The direction perpendicular to the sheet of Fig. 2 is represented by "left and right direction" , and the near side with respect to the sheet is represented by "left side" while the depth side is represented by "right side".
Further, "non-operational time" refers to a case where the operation lever is at the release limit that is away from the base, as shown in Fig. 1, and the position of the operation lever at the release limit is represented by "the initial position,". Still further, "punching time" refers to a time when the tip end of each punch blade hits onto the base side to penetrate sheets, the position of the operation lever at this time being represented by "the laid-down position,". A time when the punch blades have penetrated through sheets and come out of the sheets is represented by "the punching completion time", and the punch blades are at this time virtually at the same respective positions as those during the non-operational time.

[0014] Fig. 1 shows a schematic perspective view of a puncher in accordance with the present embodiment, and Fig. 2 shows a schematic side view thereof. Further, Fig. 3 shows a schematic front view of the puncher with a partial cross-sectional view. In these figures, a puncher 10 is arranged to have a base 12 provided with a support surface 11 at the top for sheets P to be punched, a pair of side members 14, 15 fixed at the back-end of the base 12, an operation lever 18 rotatable around a rotation shaft 16 (refer to Fig. 3) arranged between these side members 14, 15, a slide member 20 supported movable vertically between the side members 14, 15 by rotation of the operation lever 18, link members 21 connecting the slide member 20 and operation lever 18 to each other, punch blades 24, in a hollow cylindrical shape, attachably and detachably attached to the slide member 20 through blade holders 23 and protruding on the side of the support surface 11, guard member 26 rotatably supported by the side members 14, 15, and pressing member 27 that is fitted to the slide member 20 and presses the sheets P from the top.

[0015] The base 12 is arranged in a shape where the length in a longitudinal direction is longer than that in the horizontal direction, and the shape is approximated to a substantially rectangular shape in a planar view. The pair of side members 14, 15 is fixed on the left and right sides at the back end of the base 12. A centering member 30 is arranged for the base 12, at an adjacent and anterior position to the side members 14, 15, and a position restricting member 31 (refer to Fig. 5) is arranged in the region where the centering members 30 is disposed.

[0016] The centering member 30 has, as shown in Fig. 4, a pair of movable members 33 which are substantially in a point-symmetrical shape and provided protrudably in directions opposite to each other from the left and right sides of the base 12, and a pair of piece members 34 upward-and-downward appearably and disappearably at the respective end sides, with respect to the protruding directions, of the movable members 33. These movable members 33 have two anterior and posterior slide pieces 36, 37 moving in the horizontal direction across the gap space formed on the lower surface side of the support surface 11, and respective connectors 39 that connect the tip end sides of these slide pieces 36, 37 with each other, wherein the positions (refer to Fig. 1) of the slide pieces 36, 37 when not used are substantially on the same plane as the side faces of the base 12. Slot holes 40 are formed in the longitudinal direction on the top face side of the connectors 39, for appearing and disappearing of the piece members 34. At the upper end portion of each connector 39, an operational piece 39A for moving the movable member 33 in the horizontal direction is provided substantially horizontally and outward, wherein the movable member 33 can be gripped at the operational piece 39A by fingers to be pulled out. A rack which engages with a pinion, not shown, arranged in the base 12 is formed on the lower surface of the slide piece 36, and thus the movable members 33 are movable in the horizontal direction with respect to the base 12 in synchronization.

[0017] The piece members 34 are supported on the inner surface sides of the respective connectors 39, with the surfaces thereof being rotatable along the longitudinal direction with respect to the base 12, and are disposed in parallel to each other and facing each other. These piece members 34 restrict, as shown in Fig. 4, the positions of the left and right side ends P2 of the sheets P, the side P2 ends being continuous with the insertion side end P1 of the sheets P, and thus holes are punched at positions symmetrical with respect to the center of the insertion side end P1. Herein, at a side end of each piece member 34, a finger applying part 34A for protruding the piece member 34 from the slot hole 40 by engaging a finger is arranged.

[0018] The position restricting member 31 is, as shown in Fig. 5, arranged on the inner side with respect to the connector 39 disposed on the left side. This position restricting member 31 has a tongue piece shape similar to the piece members 34 and is arranged to be upward and downward appearable out from and disappearable into the slot hole 43 that is provided in the inner side than the side wall 42 of the base 12. The position restricting member 31 is rotatably supported on the inner side of the side wall 42, and it is possible to rotate the position restricting member 31 so as to protrude it from the slot hole 43, by engaging a finger with a projecting piece 31A provided on the side end thereof.

[0019] The side members 14, 15 are formed virtually in a symmetrical shape. Accordingly, the side member 14 on the left side will be described here, while the description of the side member 15 on the right side by the use of the same symbols will be omitted.
The side member 14 has, as shown in Figs. 3 and 4, a cut C-shape to form the insertion space S for sheets P at the front lower portion, and the upper portion of the side member 14 is formed in a curved shape being substantially an arc shape. As this side member 14, a single body formed by die-casting is employed, and recessed guides 45 are formed on the inner surfaces thereof along the vertical direction to receive the horizontal both side ends of the slide member 20 movable vertically. Further, a stepped penetrating hole 46 is formed at the center closer to the upper portion, and the rotation shaft 16 serving as the rotation axis of the operation lever 18 is bridged in the penetrating hole 46 to the opposite side member 15. This rotation shaft 16 is fitted through a fixing bolt 50 inserted from the outer surface side of the side member 14.
A gripping member 51 is arranged at the central portion on the top of the side member 14, and it is possible to prohibit the operation of the operation lever 18 and release the prohibition, by rotationally operating the gripping member 51 in the horizontal direction.

[0020] The operation lever 18 has a pair of arms 54 in a plate shape, of which respective one ends being fixed to the rotation shaft 16, a gripping part 56 in substantially a U-shape, the gripping part 56 being provided at the other ends of the arms 54, namely, the free ends, and connecting the arms 54 to each other, and a plurality of reinforcing bridges 57 disposed between these arms 54 and between the both ends of the gripping part 56. At a non-operational time or a punching completion time, the operation lever 18 has, as shown in Fig. 2, a release limit being the initial position inclined by an angle θ1 backward with respect to a vertical line L1 perpendicular to the axis line of the rotation shaft 16, while, at a hole-punching time, the operation lever 18 is rotatable with the laid-down position being the position inclined by an angle of θ2 downward with respect to a horizontal line L2 perpendicular to the rotation shaft. The rotation angle of the operation lever 18 is not particularly limited, however, is set to approximately 120 degrees in the present embodiment, wherein the angles θ1 and θ2 are respectively set to 24.5 degrees and 5.5 degrees.

[0021] The slide member 20 is, as shown in Fig. 2, supported at an adjacent and anterior position to the rotation shaft 16, movable vertically between the side members 14, 15. The slide member 20 is, as shown in Fig. 6, includes a main-body block 60 having a block form being long in the horizontal direction in a planar view, and side-end blocks 61 provided on the horizontal both sides of the main-body block 60. The side-end blocks 61 of the slide member 20 are received by the recessed guides 45 formed on the surfaces of the side members 14, 15 facing each other, and the slide member 20 is movable vertically along the recessed guides 45. At two upper and lower positions of the central portion of the main-body block 60, there are formed convex parts 63 substantially in an ellipse shape having a long axis in the vertical direction. The convex parts 63 are used to support the pressing member 27. Further, holder fitting parts 65 for attaching respective blade holders 23 attachable and detachably are formed in two regions of the left and right portions of the main-body block 60, and fitting spaces S1 for the link members 21 are formed in the upper spaces between the main-body block 60 and the side end blocks 61.
The slide member 20 in the present embodiment is not particularly limited, however, a single body formed by die-casting is employed. In order to reduce the total weight, the slide member 20 is formed such that an upper part 66 and lower part 67 are connected by plural partitions 68; and there are several hollowed portions and recessed portions at parts other than essential structural parts such as the holder fitting parts 65.

[0022] Each side end block 61 is provided with a hole 70 disposed on the same axis line as that of a hole 69 formed through the respective side surface of the main-body block 60, and recessions 71 are formed at portions upper and lower than the hole 70 for reducing the weight.

[0023] Each holder fitting part 65 includes, as shown in Figs. 3, 6, and 7, a pair of insertion guides 73 arranged at the lower part 67 of the main-body block 60 for guiding the blade holder 23 movably back and forth, and a receiving part 74 for receiving the upper region of the blade holder 23. The insertion guides 73 are formed in a rail form substantially in a C-shape directed in the longitudinal direction, and are disposed such that the open sides thereof face toward respective directions opposite to each other. Herein, the front end side of each insertion guide 73 is formed to be an inclined surface 73A to tolerate the angle deviation of the blade holder 23 in attaching and detaching the blade holder 23.

[0024] The receiving part 74 is arranged between two partitions 68 disposed at the upper portion between the insertion guides 73. As shown in Fig. 7, the receiving part 74 includes a base part 75 disposed at the lower portion of the partitions 68, a standing part 76 directed upward from the vicinity of the midpoint, with respect to the longitudinal direction, of the base part 75, an incline standing part 77 inclined upper-backward from the top end of the standing part 76, and an upper plane part 79 directed in the longitudinal direction to be continuous with the top end of the inclined standing part 77. The base part 75 is provided with a passage 80 opening in the up-and-down direction at the immediate back of the standing part 76, and an inclined surface 81 is formed on the posterior side of the passage 80, the top surface of the inclined surface 81 being inclined lower toward the back. Further, a cut 82 is formed on the lower surface of the front end portion of the base part 75, while a claw 84 is formed protruding upward at the front end of the upper-plane part 79.

[0025] Each link member 21 is disposed in the respective fitting space S1 (refer to Fig. 6) between the main-body block 60 and the respective side block 61, to connect the operation lever 18 and slide member 20. The link member 21 is formed, as shown in Figs. 2 and 3, using a piece body substantially in an arc shape that directly connects a portion of the arm 54 of the operation lever 18, the portion being close to the rotation shaft 16, and the upper portion of the slide member 20. The link member 21 is arranged in a symmetrical shape with respect to the center thereof. When the connection position between the link member 21 and the operation lever 18 is the first connecting position A1 and the connection position between the link member 21 and slide member 20 is the second connecting position A2, the arrangement is made such that, when the operation lever 18 is at the initial position thereof, the first connecting position A1 is located posterior and upper with respect to the rotation shaft 16, while the second connecting position A2 is located forward with respect to the rotation shaft 16. Further, the arrangement is made such that, when the operation lever 18 is at the laid-down position, the first connecting position A1 and the second connecting position A2 are positioned substantially on the same axis line as that of the punch blades 24.

[0026] The link members 21 are, as shown in Fig. 3, arranged in two pieces for each set. One end of each link member 21 is disposed so as to sandwich the surface of the arm 54 of the operation lever 18, and is connected with the arm 54 relatively-rotatably through a shaft pin 86, thus forming the first connecting position A1. On the other hand, regarding the other end of the link member 21, in a state where a spacer 87 is arranged, a shaft pin 89 penetrating the spacer 87 is supported at the both ends thereof by a hole 69 formed on the main-body block 60 and a hole 70 formed on the side end block 61, and thus the second connecting position A2 is formed.

[0027] Each blade holder 23 includes, as shown in Fig. 7, a lower unit 90 supporting the punch blades 24 and an upper unit 91 connected with the front-end upper portion of the lower unit 90. The lower unit 90 includes, as shown in Fig. 6, a bottom part 92 being substantially rectangular in a planar view, front wall 93 continuous with the bottom part 92, horizontal paired side walls 94, back wall 95, and connecting protrusion 97 protruding from the front wall 93. The central portion of the bottom part 92 is formed with a support tube 98 allowing insertion and removal of the punch blades 24 from and to the above, while the inner surface of the side wall 94 is provided with a protrusion 100 directed in the longitudinal direction. Further, the back wall 95 is formed with cuts 95A on the left and right sides so as to position the protrusion 100 to be in the insertion guide 73. Herein, in a state where the lower unit 90 is supported by the insertion guide 73, while the top surface 100A of the protrusion 100 is disposed in a horizontal plane, as shown in Fig. 7, the bottom surface 100B thereof is formed to be an inclined surface that is gradually higher toward the anterior (rightward in Fig. 7). Incidentally, the connecting protrusion 97 is formed with horizontal paired protrusions 102 and a hole 104 penetrating in the vertical direction between the protrusions 102.

[0028] The lower portion of the upper unit 91 has a shape engaging with the protrusions 102. The upper portion of the upper unit 91 includes a piece member 105 branching in two portions in a side view, and a stopper 106 fittedrotatably at the upper end of the piece member 105. The upper unit 91 is integrated with the lower unit 90 by connection at the lower end of the piece member 105 with a screw, not shown, inserted from the lower end of the connecting protrusion 97. Further, the stopper 106 has a lever shape provided with a downward hook 106A at the back-lower portion thereof, and the hook 106A side is displaceable upward by pressing down the front end of the stopper 106 as an operational end. The hook 106A is formed so as to engage with the claw 84. The stopper 106 is arranged to maintain the position, shown in Fig. 7, with respect to the piece member 105 by a spring, not shown, attached around the rotation shaft thereof, and the hook 106A restricts the angular displacement of the blade holder 23 in a state where the hook 106A is engaged with the claw 84.

[0029] The punch blade 24 is, as shown in Fig. 8, arranged in a hollow cylindrical shape, wherein while the lower end cross-section is formed in a sharp angle to punch out sheets P, the upper end thereof is formed to be a large-diameter cylindrical part 24A and eatable in the support tube 98. As shown in Fig. 7, in a state where the blade holder 23 is attached to the main-body block 60 of the slide member 20, the upper end of the large-diameter cylindrical part 24A butts against the outer circumference of the lower portion of the passage 80 so as to communicate with the passage 80, and thus the inside of the punch blade 24 and the passage 80 communicate with each other in a state where the movement of the punch blade 24 with respect to the axis direction is restricted. In such a manner, it is possible to drop punched scraps Pa, of the sheets P, which pass inside the punch blade 24 (refer to Fig. 8), through the passage 80 down to the posterior side so as to collect the punched scraps Pa into a tray, not shown.

[0030] The guard member 26 is arranged to be located normally in the insertion space S and displaceable in the vertical direction with respect to the base 12. This guard member 26 includes horizontal paired arms 108 in a plate shape supported rotatably toward the outer surface side of the side members 14, 15 through a shaft 107, and a main-body 109, of the guard, disposed in the insertion space S and connecting the front ends of these plate-shaped arms 108 to each other. The guardmaim-body 109 is arranged, as shown in Figs. 9A to 9C, in a shape having horizontal paired standing faces 110 being perpendicular to the sheet insertion direction (the direction shown by arrow a in Fig. 1), and an inclined face 111 located between these standing faces 111. Each standing face 110 includes a front-upper standing face 113, and a back-lower standing face 117 continuous through a horizontal face 115 with the lower end of the front-upper standing face 113. The inclined face 111 connects protruding faces 119 to each other, the protruding faces 119 protruding forward from the inner ends of the respective front-upper standing faces 113, and is formed in a shape that inclines backward as it goes downward. The lower ends of the back-lower standing faces 117 and that of the inclined face 111 are arranged to be continuous with a flat bottom face 120. Herein, the paired standing faces 110 are disposed in an anterior area which corresponds to the punch blades 24.

[0031] The pressing member 27 includes, as shown in Figs. 3 and 6, a pressing surface part 130 in an elongated-plate shape extending in the horizontal direction and pressing the sheets P from the above, a fitting part 131 that is continuous with the front-end central portion of the pressing surface part 130 and is fitted relatively-movably along the vertical direction of the slide member 20, and an upper part 132 disposed from the fitting part 131 to the upper side of the slide member 20. Cuts 135 are formed at two positions on the left and right sides in the pressing surface 130, and the punch blades 24 pass up and down through the cuts 135. Herein, as shown in Fig. 3, the left and right ends of the pressing surface part 130 butt against stepped parts 14A, 15A formed on the lower faces of the side members 14, 15 from below, and the upper limit of the pressing member 27 is this butt position. At two positions of the pressing surface part 130, the positions being posterior to the fitting part 131, spring-receiving lifted parts 130A are formed, facing spring-receiving protrusions 136 provided on the lower surface of the upper part 66 of the main-body block 60, and coil springs 137 are disposed between these spring-receiving protrusions 136 and spring-receiving lifted parts 130A. Thus, the pressing member 27 is applied with a downward force.

[0032] The fitting part 131 is arranged in a plate shape, and the surface is arranged in a direction along the horizontal or vertical direction. The central portion of the fitting part 131 is formed with slot holes 138 directed in the vertical direction at two positions in the upper and lower portions. The protrusions 63 provided at the central portion of the slide member 20 are positioned in these slot holes 138. By screwing washer screws 140 (refer to Fig. 3) into the protrusions 63, the pressing member 27 is fitted displaceably in the vertical direction relatively to the slide member 20.

[0033] The upper part 132 of the pressing member 27 has, as shown in Figs. 6 and 7, a top plate surface part 141 directed backward from the top end of the fitting part 131 and across, in the longitudinal direction, the top surface side of the slide member 20, and a curved surface part 143 continuous with the back end of the top plate surface part 141. The curved surface part 143 is arranged to be opening upward, and to butt against the outer circumferential surface of the lower half of the rotation shaft 16, thus engaging with it. Simultaneously when the both ends of the pressing surface part 130 butt against the stepped parts 14A, 15A provided on the lower surface of the side members 14, 15, the curved surface part 143 engages with the outer circumferential surface of the lower half of the rotation shaft 16 from the below and thus causes the ascending limit of the pressing member 27.

[0034] Symbol 144 in Fig. 1 represents a back cover covering the back-half portion of the side members 14, 15, and symbol 145 represents a front cover covering the front-half portion. These covers are attachable and detachable to and from the side members 14, 15, and the lower half portion of the back cover 144 is provided with a tray, not shown, movable in-and-out so as to collect punched scraps Pa of the sheets P. Further, symbol 146 represents a dial for adjusting the insertion amount of the sheets P along the insertion direction.

[0035] Now, the overall operation of the puncher 10 in accordance with the present embodiment will be described, referring to Figs. 10 to 12.

[0036] When replacing punch blades 24 or when loading sheets P onto the support surfaces 11 of the base 12, the operation lever 18 is maintained at the standing position, as shown in Fig. 11. During this, by maintaining a gripping member 51, the gripping member 51 being disposed at the top end of the side member 14, to be at a rotational position in a standing posture along the operation lever 18, it is possible to prohibit rotational operation of the operation lever 18. Incidentally, the position of the gripping member 51, shown in Fig. 12, is in a state permitting the rotational operation of the operation lever 18.

[0037] In a case of punching holes in a large number of sheets, for example, more or less 300 sheets P, the gripping member 51 is rotated for the standing posture to be in a state permitting the rotation of the operation lever 18 (refer to Fig. 1); in this state, the sheets P are loaded on the support surface 11 of the base 12; and then the insertion-side end P1 is inserted along the direction of arrow a. During this, in a case of punching holes at symmetrical positions with respect to the center of the insertion-side end P1, the centering member 30 is pulled out from the side ends of the base 12, as shown in Fig. 4, and the pair of piece members 34 is respectively projected upward to a position where the side ends P2 of the sheets P are in contact with the respective inner surfaces of the piece members 34.

[0038] Regarding the guard member 26, which is present so as to block the insertion space S, because the inclined face 111 is located in front of the standing face 110, the guard member 26 is rotationally displaced such that the inclined face 111 rises on the insertion-side end P1, and thus the region of the insertion-side end P1 of the sheets P can be inserted into the insertion space S.
On the other hand, the inclined face 111 is located at the central portion in a state of not performing punching holes, and the standing faces 110 are formed on the horizontal sides. Consequently, even trying to let a hand and fingers into the insertion space S, it only results in that the ends of fingers butt against the standing faces 110. Thus, the guard member 26 is prevented from being rotationally displaced unless an upward force is intentionally applied. Accordingly, dangerousness, which could be caused by careless access of a hand and fingers into the insertion space S, can be greatly reduced.

[0039] In the operation of punching holes in the sheets P, the grip part 56 of the operation lever 18 at the initial position can be gripped for rotational operation toward the position that corresponds to the time of punching holes. Regarding the operation lever 18, in the range from the initial position through the vertical line L1 to the vicinity of the line L3 where the inclination of the operation lever 18 becomes approximately equal to θ1, the first connecting position A1 moves forward and thus the descending amount of the slide member 20 for the rotation amount of the operation lever 18 is relatively small. However, after the operation lever 18 passes the vicinity of the line L3, the first connecting position A1 moves close to the vertical line that passes the second connecting position A2, and accordingly the descending amount of the slide member 20 becomes relatively large.

[0040] The slide member 20 descends and the pressing surface part 130 of the pressing member 27 comes in contact with the top sheet P, thus a pressing force being applied to the sheets P. When the operation lever 18 is further rotated in this state, the slide member 20 descends relatively to the pressing member 27 in a state where descending of the pressing member 27 is restricted, and this descending of the pressing member 20 enables punching holes by punching the punch blades 24 into the sheets P.

[0041] Then, the punch blades 24 butt against a punch-receiving surface portion, not shown, of the support surface 11, and thus the punch blades 24 turn into a state of penetrating all the sheets P. The operation lever 18 is then, as shown in Fig. 2, at the laid-down position rotated by an angle of θ2 from the horizontal line L2.

[0042] Then, when the operation lever 18 is rotated in the reverse direction, because the pressing force by the pressing surface part 130 is sufficiently applied to the sheets P in the early stage, the punch blades 24 move out of the lower sheets P being a part of many sheets P and ascend together with the slide member 20. However, the pressing force by the pressing surface part 130 decreases accompanying the ascent of the slide member 20, and accordingly the punching blades 24 become hard to get out of the upper sheets P, thus the sheets P being separated into upper and lower sheets to cause the tendency of the upper sheets P to ascend together with the punch blades 24. This is caused in such a manner that the presence of the upper sheets P having been lifted accompanying the tip ends of the punch blades 24 moves the pressing surface part 130 to an upper position than the tip ends of the punch blades 24, resisting the force by the coil spring 137.

[0043] By further rotation of the operation lever 18, when the both ends of the pressing surface part 130 butt against the stepped parts 14A, 15A provided on the lower surface of the side members 14A, 15A, and the curved surface part 143 butts against the rotation shaft 16 to reach the ascending limit, then rotation of the operation lever 18 thereafter lifts the punch blades 24, together with the slide member 20, to be upper than the pressing face part 130. At this moment, the upper sheets P accompanying the tip ends of the punch blades 24 are forcibly dropped from the tip ends of the punch blades 24. Thus, the punch blades 24 move out of all the sheets P.

[0044] In such a manner, as moving out of the punch blades 24 is carried out after the pressing surface part 130 reaches the ascending limit, a certain load is applied to the contact surface between the pressing surface part 130 and the stepped parts 14A, 15A. However, in the present embodiment, simultaneously when the pressing surface part 130 butts against the stepped parts 14A, 15A, the curved surface 143 provided at the upper portion of the pressing member 27 comes in contact with and butts against the outer circumference of the lower half of the rotation shaft 16, thereby dispersing the load to plural upper and lower portions. Thus, distortion of the pressing member 27, damaging of the stepped parts 14A, 15A, and the like can be avoided.

[0045] In a case of punching holes at four positions in the insertion side end P1 of the sheets P, the centering member 30 can be pulled out from the base 12, and the position restricting member 31 can be made standing, as shown in Fig. 11. In this state, while having one side end P2 of the sheets P in a state of butting against the position restricting member 31, the insertion-side end P1 of the sheets P can be inserted into the space S and the operation lever 18 can be rotationally operated, as described above. During this, the centering member 30 located on the right side, as an extended support surface, supports the region out of the support surface 11 of the base 12 to prevent hanging down of this region, resulting in effective avoiding of position deviation of the sheets due to the hanging-down.
After punching holes at two positions of the insertion-side end P1 in this manner, the stacked sheets P are reversed upside-down, and holes are punched with position restriction by the position restricting member 31. Thus, it is possible to punch holes at total four positions with respect to the center of the insertion-side end P1. That is, through operation of punching holes twice on condition that the sheets P are reversed upside-down once intermediately, holes can be punched in a number that is double the number of the punch blades 24.

[0046] Incidentally, through punching holes, the respective insides of the punch blades 24 are clogged by a number of punched scraps Pa in a compressed state (refer to Fig. 8). In a state where each blade holder 23 is attached to the main-body slide 60 of the slide member 20, since the inside of the respective punch blade 24 and passage 80 are continuous with each other on a line, these punched scraps Pa are present in a continuous rod form passing through the junction between the punch blade 24 and passage 80. Accordingly, in order to perform maintenance and checking, such as replacement of the punch blades 24, even trying to remove the blade holders 23 to the anterior side of the main-body slide 60, it is difficult because of the continuous punched scraps Pa, which are compressed and in a rod form.
In these circumstances, when the front end, the front end being the operational end, of the stopper 106 is pressed down and thus the engagement between the hook 106A and claw 84 is released, the inclined face 100B provided on the lower surface of the protrusion 100 inclines the lower unit 90 and thereby inclines the entire blade holder 23 such that the upper portion thereof is on the anterior side so as to break the continuous rod of the punched scraps Pa. Thus, as shown in Fig. 10, in this inclined posture, the blade holders 23 can be easily removed by operation to pull out them forward, and the punch blades 24 can be moved out to the upper portions of the respective support tubes 98 of the lower units 90 for replacement or the like.

[0047] Accordingly, in accordance with such an embodiment, the operation angle of the operation lever 18 can be set to a small value compared with the conventional large type, disclosed in Patent Document 1, and it is possible to punch holes in several hundreds of paper sheets with reduction in the operation force. Further, safety can be improved by prohibition of access of a hand and fingers into the insertion-space S.
Further, damaging of the pressing member 27 and parts engaged therewith, which could occur when removing the punch blades 24, can be prevented.
Still further, by solving the problems, due to punched scarps Pa, which make it difficult to detach the bladeholders 23, the blade holders 23 can be easily and quickly attached and detached. In addition, even having the blade holders 23 inclinable, the attaching positions of the blade holders 23 can be maintained normally at respective constant positions by the stoppers 106.
Yet further, in punching holes in a number that is double the number of punch blades 24, because the support surface for sheets P can be enlarged by the use of the centering member 30, it is possible to perform punching of holes at predetermined positions, avoiding the inconvenience of position deviation of sheets P from each other.

[0048] Although the best arrangement, mode, and the like for practicing the present invention have been disclosed above, the invention is not limited thereto.
That is, although the invention has been particularly illustrated and also described mainly regarding a particular embodiment, it is understood that those skilled in the art may make various modifications of the shapes, materials, quantities, and other detailed arrangements to the foregoing embodiment without departing from the technical idea and scope of the invention.
Accordingly, the description limiting the shapes, materials, and the like disclosed above has been made as an example for easy understanding of the invention, not limiting the invention thereto. Therefore, descriptions with terms of members excluding a part or all of the limitations of those shapes, materials, and the like are included in the invention.

[0049] For example, in the foregoing embodiment, link members 21 have been used in two pieces for each side, however, arrangement may be made using one piece of link member for each side. For this link member 21, the length and curvature thereof may be arbitrarily determined within a scope without increasing the rotation angle of the operation lever 18.

[0050] Further, the inclined face 11 of the guard member 26 may be arbitrarily arranged as long as the inclined face 11 rises on the end P1 of sheets P when the sheets P are inserted into the insertion space S, and the depth in the horizontal direction thereof may be considerably smaller than the shown example of arrangement. Still further, the inclined face 11 may be dispersed to plural positions. In short, the invention can be practiced as long as the standing faces 110 are arranged in a region in front of the punch blades 24.

[0051] Still further, position restricting members 31 may be respectively arranged, corresponding to the centering member 30 extending on both the left and right sides. With such an arrangement, by just shifting sheets P in the horizontal direction without reversing the sheets P upside-down, holes can be punched in a number that is double the number of the punch blades 24. In this case, it is possible to use the position restricting members 31, having them standing one by one.

[0052] Yet further, the arrangement of the blade holders 23 is not limited to attaching and detaching them by inclining such that the upper portions thereof move to the anterior side, but the blade holders 23 may be attached and detached by inclining such that the upper portions thereof move backward. In short, any arrangement may be made as long as attachment and detachment of the blade holders 23 are not prevented by punched strips Pa.

Claims

1. A puncher, comprising: a base having a support surface for a sheet to be punched; a pair of side members disposed on the base; an operation lever rotatable around a rotation shaft provided between the side members; punch blades supported by a slide member provided movable vertically between said side members and protruding toward said base; and link members each connecting said operation lever and slide member relatively rotatably, said puncher being capable of punching holes in a sheet with the punch blades when said operation lever is rotationally- operated to move said slide member vertically,
characterized in that each of said link members directly connects said operation lever and slide member and is provided symmetrically with respect to a center thereof, and a connecting position between said link member and slide member is located substantially on the same axis line as that of the punch blades in a rotation region of said operation lever.

2. The puncher according to Claim 1,
wherein when a connecting position between said link member and operation lever is a first connecting position and a connecting position between said link member and slide member is a second connecting position; at an initial position of said operation lever during a non-operational time, the second connecting position is located in front of the first connecting position; and at a laid-down position of the operation lever during an operational time, the first connecting position and second connecting position are located substantially on the same axis line as that of said punch blades.

3. The puncher according to Claim 1 or 2,
wherein when a connecting position between said link member and operation lever is a first connecting position and a connecting position between said link member and slide member is a second connecting position; at an initial position of said operation lever during a non-operational time, said first connecting position is located posterior to said rotation shaft and the second connecting position is located in front of said rotation shaft; and at a laid-down position of the operation lever during an operational time, the first connecting position and second connecting position are located substantially on the same axis line as that of said punch blades.

4. The puncher according to Claim 1, 2, or 3,
wherein said operation lever is rotatable down to a laid-down position where the operation lever is substantially parallel with a base at a punching time when tip ends of said punch blades butt against the base, and
wherein a rotation angle between the laid-down position and the initial position of the operation lever during a non-operational time is set substantially to 120 degrees or smaller.

Drawing