A FASTENER DRIVING TOOL INCLUDING FASTENER DEFORMATION AND GUIDANCE ARRANGEMENTS

Abstract: A portable fastener driving tool (10) has a raceway with a driver blade (21, 60) reciprocating therein from a retracted position to a fastener-driven position for driving fasteners (61) seriatim from a fastener-stick (19, 62) positioned on a rail (63) at an angle to the raceway. The first-to-be-driven fastener (61), while attached to the stick (19, 62), is positioned in raceway so that descending blade (21, 60) serves to orient the fastener (61) to a position substantially parallel to the raceway for driving it down and out of the raceway into the workpiece and also to deform the fastener for guided engagement with a front face (64) of the rail. The fastener-­ stick (19, 62) may be supported in raceway by detent stud means (29, 31) which retract from the raceway when staple (61) descends. The deformation of the fastener provides full contact with the front face (64) of the rail which maintains guided orientation throughout the driving stroke.

Description: A FASTENER DRIVING TOOL INCLUDING FASTENER DEFORMATION AND GUIDANCE ARRANGEMENTS Technical Field This invention relates to portable fastener driving tools in which fasteners in a fastenerstick form are mounted on a rail. This invention further relates to portable fastener driving tools of the above kind which drive fasteners seriatim using a reciprocating blade and which include a magazine housing lower surface that is held against the workpiece during operation. This fastenerstick magazine lower surface may be positioned at an acute angle to the plane of movement of the reciprocating blade to permit the tool to be positioned for driving in heretofore inaccessible corners or other areas. Related Aplicat ion In at least some embodiments, the present invention may be regarded as a further development of the invention disclosed in our European Patent No. 0057179 entitled "A Fastener Driving Tool For Corners". I3aciground Art Hitherto, in fastener driving tools of the kind concerned, the guidance arrangement of fasteners removed from the fastenerstick (and initially being moved by the fastener driver) has included the remaining fasteners in fastenerstick form as positioned on the rail and various attachments to the rail which attachments have required cumbersome and laborious attachment and removal for each selected fastener size driven. Arrangements for positioning fastener magazines parallel to or at acute angles to the driving blade have been suggested for some years; U.S. Patent No. 371,659 to Arnold; U.S. Patent No. 525,581 to Blakey and U.S. Patent No. 2,966,681 to Campbell. U.S. Patent No. 2,086,922 to Peterson teaches use of a staplestick magazine positioned generally parallel to the driver blade with an arrangement of reciprocating parts to remove seriatim staples from the staplestick and thereafter transport and orient them for driving. U.S. Patent No. 2,396,356 to Wickens meters individual staples down a rail at an acute angle to the drive blade. None of the prior arrangements for feeding fasteners seriatim and driving them have been satisfactory from the point of view of reliability and simplicity. Summary or tte Invent ion Broadly, the invention comprises a portable fastener driving tool having a reciprocating driver blade and a fastener magWne in whldt the fastenerstick is positioned on a rail waving a fw t face, characterised in that the first-to-be-driven fastener is deformed as and after its removal from the stick to permit said front face of the rail to guide such fastener in correct orientation during its travel to and into the workpiece. In practical embodiments, the fastenerstick may be perpendicular i.e. at a right angle, to or at an acute angle to the plane in which the driver blade reciprocates. One end of the fastenerstick abuts the fastener raceway with the first-to-be-driven fastener positioned at an angle to the driver blade. The first-to-be-driven fastener is sheared from the fastenerstick by the force of the driver blade. Upon continued movement of the fastener, it is guided by the rail face and then, if necessary, by inclined fastener ramps adjacent the exit opening of the tool which urge the fastener back into the raceway, if it has moved out of the raceway, to assure proper alignment of the fastener as the fastener exits the tool. Such fastener ramps, together with the raceway, may define an exit opening which guides the full length of the fastener as it moves through the opening into the workpiece. It is a feature that the driver blade may be recessed to deform the first-to-be driven fastener in such a way that leg portions of the fastener are caused to move to positions in front of the rail face to provide increased and improved guidance of the fastener by the rail. Also, as in our previous European Patent No. 0057179, it is a feature that a retractable stud, which may be termed a "detent", may be positioned in the raceway which detent serves to assist in orienting andlor deforming the first-to-be-driven fastener as the blade strikes and moves such fastener during the driving stroke and also serves to support the fastenerstick during loading of the magazine. A retractable detent may not be required when driving fasteners having heads or crowns which are wide or otherwise shaped so that the driver blade striking them will properly orient them; however, with fasteners which are not properly oriented by the driver blade a detent is required. It is also a feature that more than one such stud or detent may be used. Additional detents would be positioned below the detent shown in the drawings hereinafter referred to and operate in the same manner to re-orient if necessary the fastener as it moves down the raceway. Brief De scrip t ion Of The Drawin FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of a staple driving unit partially broken away; FIG. 2 is an enlarged side view partially broken away to show a portion of the internal mechanism; FIG. 3 is another enlarged side view broken away to show the mechanism of FIG. 2 in another stage of its operation; FIG. 4 is a sectional view along lines 4-4 of FIG. 2. FIG. 5 is a partial side elevational view showing more paricularly a rail and fastenerstick assembly used in a first alternative embodiment in which the rail has a sloping front face; FIG. 6 is a front view of the fastenerstick on the rail as shown in FIG. 5; FIG. 7 is similar to FIG. 6, showing a front view of the fastenerstick on the rail and, in addition, the first-to-be-driven fastener in front of the rail; FIG. 8 is a front elevational view corresponding to FIG. 6 but showing an example of a driver modified to accomplish distortion of the fastener in accordance with the present invention; FIG. 9 is a front elevational view similar to FIG, 8 showing the blade distorting the fastener; FIG. 10 is a partial side elevational view showing a rail and fastenerstick assembly in a second alternative embodiment in which the rail front face is perpendicular to the axis of the rail; and FIG. 11 is a front view of the rail, fastenerstick and rail of the second alternative embodiment of FIG. 10 showing the fastener as distorted by the driver. Descriplion of Preferred Embodiment(s) Referring first ot FIGS. 1-4, as described in European Patent No. 0057179 the electrically powered staple driving tool 10 shown therein includes housing 11, trigger 12, electrical power conduit 13, staple magazine 14. Latch 16 permits access to the magazine for loading and unloading staplesticks. Below housing 10 is a lower drive frame 17 which carries front sheath 18. Also shown is driver blade 21 and a staplestick 19 riding on rail 24 being urged toward and against staple raceway 26 by magazine springs means (in dashed lines in FIG.l). Rail 24 has a sloping front which parallels raceway 26. Tool 10 is shown positioned in a 900 corner formed by a floor 22 and a vertical wall 23. The configuration of housing 10 and the angle of the magazine 14 to driver blade 21 permits driving staples in the corner. Driver blade 21 reciprocates in staple raceway 26 formed in front sheath 18 using an electric solenoid and suitable blade return mechanism such as spring means (not shown). The front face 27 of sheath 18 has an aperture in it for receiving detent stud 29. Detent stud 29 is positioned in staple raceway 26 adjacent the first-to-be-driven staple 33 of staplestick 19. Stud 29 may be positioned below and tangent to the crown 39 of the staple 33, as shown in the drawings, or may be positioned in a slightly lower position. To assure that staple 33 exits the tool and enters the workpiece in proper orientation, inclined ramps 37 in this construction of tool are positioned adjacent to exit 38 of raceway 26. If staple 33 strays out of raceway 26 during the driving stroke ramps 37 urge it back into proper alignment. Ramps 37 also cooperate with raceway 26 to form exit 38 which exit guides and orients staple 33 as its full length passes through the exit. Turning to FIGS. 5, 6, and 7, an alternative rail 24a is shown which has a sloping front surface 50 which assists in guiding the crown 39 of staple 33 as staple 33 is sileared off the staplestick 19 and descends under the force of driver blade 21. Rail 24a has a depth to accommodate staples having varying leg lengths including staples with much longer legs than staple 33. As so far described, the construction is basicially the same as in European Patent No. 0057179 and would operate in the same manner, Thus, in the operation of the staple driving tool 10, magazine 14 is opened and staplestick 19 is inserted for urging (to the left as shown in FIG. 1) by its biassing spring toward and against raceway 26. Due to the angle between staplestick 19 and raceway 26 and the force of biassing springs, the end of stick 19 is urged downwardly against stud 29. If stud 29 is not used in the tool other means for holding staplestick 19 in contact with raceway 26 are required. As driver blade 21 descends staple 33 is removed from staplestick 19, oriented in raceway 26, and driven in the following manner: Staplestick 19 having staple 33 at its left hand end (as shown in FIG. 2) abuts raceway 26 with the crown 39 of staple 33 adjacent stud 29. As driveblade 21 descends during the driving stroke staple crown 39 is hit by blade 21, breaking staple 33 from stick 19 and causing the legs 41 of staple 33 to rotate clockwise toward the raceway 26. The rotational orientation of staple 33 is caused by forces between blade end 42 and the staple crown 39 whose planar surfaces produce the desired rotation. If stud 29 is employed the surfaces of all three co-act to accomplish orientation during the driving stroke. Where a second detent is used, driver blade 21 moves staple 33 down the raceway 26 until staple 33 hits a lower detent whereupon staple 33 will similarly be oriented back into raceway 26 if the staple has, in part, moved out of raceway 26. Retractable detent 29 is caused to retract by staple 33 pushing it out of raceway 26. Blade 21 holes the not 39 retracted unitl it returns to its up position. Blade 21 carries chamfer 43 on its lower end to assist in readily retracting detent 29 when the driving stroke is accomplished with no staples in the tool. After its rotation into raceway 26, staple 33 continues to descend as shown in FIG. 3 and finally staple 33 is driven out of exit 38 into the workpiece. Ramps 37 provide further guiding, as necessary, of staple 33 toward the raceway 26 in the area adjacent exit 38 when staple legs 31 engage and ride down ramp surfaces 46. Exit 38, defined in part by the end of ramps 46, guides staple 33 during its exit from the tool into the workpiece. As the staple moves down to and through exit opening 38, crown 39 of staple 33 is guided continuously by raceway 26 on one side and by the sloping front of rail 24 on the other side. Legs 42 are guided during the exit of staple 33 by the ends of ramps 37. The length of raceway 26 and spacing between where driver blade 21 first strikes staple 33 and ramps 37 permits tool 10 to drive staples having longer legs than those shown in FIGS. 2 and 3. The present invention is concerned with providing additional or alternative guidance for the fasteners while they are being driven and will be more particularly described in relation to FIGS. 8 to 11 which should be read in conjunction with the foregoing description. As shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, in a first embodiment using the rail 24a of FIG. 5, to attain further or alternative guidance of staple 33 during its descent past the front surface 50 of rail 24a, staple 33 is deformed by driver blade 21a which, in this embodiment, has a recess 51 in its end portion (FIG. 8). When the blade 21a with its recess 51 strikes staple 33, and strikes also against stud 29, the staple 33 is deformed creating a bent crown 39a and, in turn, causing the staple legs 41 to toe in so that a portion of one or both legs 41 moves in front of the sloping front surface 50. As so deformed, staple 33 is then guided by the rail surface 50 during its descent down the raceway. Stud 29 here assists in the deformation of staple 33. Staple leg or legs 41 may be bent, e.g. by suitable shaping of the recessed end of the driver blade, at any desired angle provided they are readily driveable through the workpiece and are capable, if desired, of being clinched. This arrangement may even make use of the ramps 46, previously described, unnecessary. Directing attention now to the embodiment of FIGS. 10 and 11, it is seen that employing a recessed blade 60, having a recess 51 and also preferably a detent stud 29 as before, similar to the blade 21a permits improved guidance of a staple 61 as and after it is stripped from a staplestick 62 positioned on a standard rail 63, i.e. a rail having a front face 64 which is at a right angle or perpendicular to its longitudinal axis x-x in a tool where the driver blade 60 reciprocates perpendicular to such axis. As noted previously, guidance of the legs of the lead (first-to-be-driven) staple 60 to prevent them from swinging in a direction opposite to the direction of advance of stick 62 is accomplished initially by stick 62 for as long as the staple 63 is adjacent stick 62. However, rail 63 has a front face 64 extending substantially below stick 62 (as is often the case ot accommodate staples of varying leg lengths; see FIG. 11), and generally in conventional fastener driving tools of this type there is no means for guiding undistorted staples during this portion of its travel. By bending the legs of the staple, in accordance with this invention and substantially as already described in relation to FIGURES 8 and 9, the rail face 64 provides this additional guidance to the staple thus avoiding jamming and misfires.

Claims: CLAIMS 1. A portable driving tool in which fasteners are driven along a fastener driving raceway by a reciprocating driver blade out an exit opening into a workpiece and in which each fastener is fed from a reloadable magazine into the raceway at an angle to the raceway, comprising a) fastenerstick feed means for feeding a fastenerstick including a first-to-be driven fastener such fastenerstick being at an angle to the raceway; and, characterised by, b) fastener orientation means for maintaining guided orientation of the fastener in the raceway as and after it is removed from the fastenerstick, said orientation means including the i) driver blade end; di) magazine guide means; iii) detent stud means; and iv) a portion of the fastener as struck by the blade whereby the driver blade end strikes the fastener portion against the stud means to orient and/or deform the fastener. 2. The portable driving tools of claim 1 in which the reloadable magazine includes a fastener holding rail at an acute angle to the raceway. 3. The portable driving tool of claim 1 in which the reloadable magazine includes a fastener holding rail positioned perpendicular to the raceway. 4. A portable driving tool in which fasteners are driven along a fastener driving raceway by a reciprocating driver blade having a blade end out through an exit opening into a workpiece and in which each fastener is fed from a reloadable magazine into the raceway at an angle to the raceway, comprising a) fastenerstick feed means for feeding a fastenerstick including a first-to-be-driven fastener such fastenerstick being at an acute angle to the raceway; b) fastener orientation means for maintaining orientation of the fastener in the raceway as and after it is removed from the fastenerstick, said orientation means including the driver blade end and the portion of the fastener struck by the blade; and c) stud means protruding into the raceway. 5. The driving tool of claim 1 or 4 in which such stud means is mounted on spring mounting means which mounting means holds the stud in the raceway when the blade is in its retracted position and permits the first-to-be-driven fastener to push the stud out of the raceway as the blade descends during the driving stroke. 6. The driving tool of claim 1, 4 or 5 in which the driver blade has a recessed end surface for deforming the fastener. 7. A portable staple driving tool in which staples each having a crown and two legs are driven along a staple driving raceway by a reciprocating staple driver blade out through an exit opening into a woSpiece and in which each staple is fed into the raceway for driving with its legs at an angle to the raceway, comprising a) staplestick feed means for feeding a staplestick including a first-to-be driven staple at an acute angle to the raceway; b) staple orientation means for orienting the staple in the raceway as and after it is removed from the staplestick by action of the driver blade, said orientation means including the end of the driver blade, the surface of the crown of the staple and stud means protruding into the raceway; and c) magazine guide means which guides the staple including its legs during its movement in the raceway. 8. A portable staple driving tool in which staples each having a crown and two legs are driven along a staple driving raceway by a reciprocating staple driver blade out an exit opening into a workpiece and in which each staple is fed from a staplestick into the raceway for driving with its legs at an angle to the raceway, comprising a) means for positioning staples in staplestick form on a magazine rail which rail has a front guide surface adjacent the raceway; b) staplestick feed means for feeding a staplestick including a first-to-be driven staple at an angle to the raceway; c) detent such means protruding into the raceway; d) a recess in the staple driver blade end for striking the leading staple against the stud means to deform the staple including its legs as it is removed from the staplestick by the blade end; and e) staple orientation means for orienting the staple In the raceway as and after it is removed from the staplestick by action of the driver blade, said orientation means including the staple legs, the recessed end of the driver blade and the surface of the crown of the staple. 9. The tool of claim 8 having in addition spring mounting means mounting the stud means in the raceway which mounting means holds the stud in the raceway when the blade is in its retracted portion and permits the first-to-be driven staple to be distorted and thereafter to push the stud out of the raceway as it descends during the driving stroke. 10. A portable staple driving tool in which staples in staplestick form are mounted on a rail and in which a reciprocating driver blade is arranged to shear off the leading staple to drive it along a raceway out into a workpiece, characterised in that means are provided for deforming said leading staple when struck by the driver blade such as to cause the legs of the staple to move in front of a front face of said rail which then guides said staple along the raceway.

Inventors: OLESEN, PAUL
Applicants: SWINGLINE, INC.
Application year: 1985
Main classification: B25C1
IPC codes: B25C5