Device for dispensing plastic fasteners

Abstract

A device for dispensing individual plastic fasteners from a continuous supply of ladder stock includes a head assembly (53) that is designed to receive the supply of ladder stock, sever an individual fastener from the supply ladder stock and eject the individual fastener during a single stroke of its actuation cycle. The device also includes a stepper motor (103) for driving the head assembly through its actuation cycle, a DC power switching supply for regulating the power supplied to the stepper motor from an AC input power source, and a controller (105) for collecting historical data relating to usage of the device and for regulating operation of the stepper motor. The controller (105) is programmed to enable certain operational characteristics, such as stroke speed and mode, to be regulated through a user interface which includes a screen display and a plurality of control buttons. The device can be configured to dispense a double fastener or a fastener of which the first end of a filament (217) is branched.

Description

technical field [0001] [0001] The present invention relates generally to plastic fasteners and, more particularly, to devices for dispensing plastic fasteners. Background technique [0002] [0002] Several different types of plastic fasteners (also commonly referred to in the art as plastic attachments) are disclosed in U.S. Patent No. 4,039,078 to A.R. Bone, incorporated herein by reference. refer to. Each of the plastic fasteners described in this patent is manufactured in an H-shaped configuration in which two shortened parallel bars, or T-bars, pass at their approximate midpoints through a narrow , Flexible filaments are interconnected. Each of the plastic fasteners described in this patent is shown fabricated as a continuously connected ladder stock. In each example, the ladder-like load is formed from two elongated and continuous plastic side members or rails, wherein the two elongated and continuous plastic side members or rails are passed through a plurality of pla...

AI Technical Summary

Problems solved by technology

[0012] [0012] The third disadvantage is that fastener dispensing machines of the type described above do not use energy efficiently

Specifically, the induction motor used in this device requires a constant supply of AC power which makes the machine inefficient in terms of power consumption

[0013] [0013] Fourth disadvantage, fastener dispensing machines of the type described above are designed to receive a specific input voltage

Since electrical outlets in different countries offer different output voltages, each fastener dispensing machine can only be used in selected regions, thus limiting its use

[0014] [0014] Fifth disadvantage, fastener dispensing machines of the type described above are stand-alone devices (i.e. not linked to a computer)

As a result, it is not possible to use computerized means to track and analyze historical information related to the usage of the device (e.g., number of fasteners dispensed, activation rate per hour, etc.)

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