Electric Stapler

Overview

An electric stapler does what a hand stapler does, but it fires the staple for you the instant you slide paper in. Push a stack against the throat, a sensor sees it, and a motor drives a single staple through and clinches it, useful at a busy desk or copier where someone staples sets all day. The consumable is a glued Staple Strip loaded into the Staple Magazine.

The mechanism replaces hand pressure with a motor and a cam. The Driver Mechanism has the motor turn a Drive Cam that snaps the Driver Blade down in a fast stroke; the blade shears one staple off the front of the strip and pushes its legs through the paper. Underneath, the Clincher Anvil has curved grooves that catch the legs and bend them inward so they lie flat, the clinch that holds the sheets together. A reused Coil Spring returns the blade for the next cycle, and another keeps the Staple Pusher feeding the strip forward as staples are used.

A small Control Board runs the cycle, and the unit takes wall power through the Power Supply with a backup Backup Battery for cordless use.

How it works

When a stack enters the throat, the Paper Sensor signals the Control Board, whose Microcontroller starts one cycle of the Drive Motor, a small motor built on a reused Stator Assembly and Rotor Assembly. Through a reused Helical Gear Pair the motor turns the Drive Cam, which drives the Driver Blade down.

The blade shears the front staple from the Staple Strip and forces its legs through all the sheets. As the legs emerge below, they strike the grooves of the Clincher Anvil and curl inward, clinching the stack tight. The cam continues round and a Coil Spring lifts the blade clear, while the spring-loaded Staple Pusher in the Staple Magazine advances the strip so a fresh staple sits ready. The whole stroke takes a fraction of a second. Running off the Backup Battery, a single reused Li-ion Cell, 18650 with its protection board, the stapler works the same when unplugged, and the controller manages charging whenever the adapter is connected.