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AssigneeAvery Dennison Corporation
InventorCharles L. Deschenes
Estimating the term…
A needle particularly well-suited for use in the dispensing of plastic fasteners of the type comprising a filament having a cross-bar at a first end thereof, each of the cross-bar and the filament including a first flat side, the first flat sides of the cross-bar and the filament being coplanar. The needle includes a stem portion. The stem portion terminates in a tip at its front end and is shaped to define a longitudinal bore and a longitudinal slot. The longitudinal bore is shaped to receive the cross-bar, and the longitudinal slot is shaped to permit the filament to extend therethrough while the cross-bar is disposed within the longitudinal bore. The longitudinal bore has a first flat side, and the longitudinal slot has a first flat side, the first flat sides of the longitudinal bore and the longitudinal slot being coplanar. Preferably, the cross-bar and the filament collectively have a “d”-shaped cross-section, and the longitudinal bore and longitudinal slot of the needle collectively have a corresponding “d”-shaped cross-section. The stem portion is preferably made of a boron/nickel alloy and is preferably made using electroforming. A conventional needle base portion may be insert-molded onto the rear end of the stem portion to facilitate removable mounting of the stem portion in a fastener attaching tool.
A needle well-suited for use in dispensing plastic fasteners of the type comprising a filament having a cross-bar at a first end thereof, said needle comprising a stem portion, said stem portion terminating in a tip at a front end thereof and being shaped to define a longitudinally-extending bore and a longitudinally-extending slot, said longitudinally-extending bore being dimensioned to receive said cross-bar, said longitudinally-extending slot being dimensioned to permit said filament to extend therethrough while said cross-bar is disposed within said longitudinally-extending bore, said longitudinally-extending bore having a first flat side, said longitudinally-extending slot having a first flat side, said first flat sides of said longitudinally-extending bore and said longitudinally-extending slot being coplanar.
A method of fabricating a needle well-suited for use in the dispensing of plastic fasteners of the type comprising a filament having a cross-bar at a first end thereof, said method comprising the steps of:
A needle comprising a stem portion, said stem portion terminating at a front end thereof in a tip, said stem portion having a longitudinally extending slot and bore, said longitudinally extending bore having a flat side in transverse cross-section.
A combination of a plastic fastener and a needle, said plastic fastener comprising a flexible filament having a cross-bar at a first end thereof, said cross-bar and said flexible filament collectively having a generally “d”-shaped cross-section taken along the length of said flexible filament and transverse to the length of said cross-bar, said needle comprising a stem portion, said stem portion terminating in a tip at a front end thereof and being shaped to define a longitudinally-extending bore and a longitudinally-extending slot, said longitudinally-extending bore being dimensioned to receive said cross-bar, said longitudinally-extending slot being dimensioned to permit said flexible filament to extend therethrough while said cross-bar is disposed within said longitudinally-extending bore, said longitudinally-extending bore and said longitudinally-extending slot collectively having a generally “d”-shaped transverse cross-section.
A needle comprising a stem portion, said stem portion terminating at a front end in a tip, said stem portion having a longitudinally extending slot and bore, said longitudinally extending bore being asymmetric in transverse cross-section and having a substantially flat surface.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.