Abstract:
A device for temporarily securing attachment auxiliary elements on a hand-held setting tool includes a base member ( 21 ) mountable in a region of the mouth ( 18 ) on the barrel ( 18 ) of the setting tool and having a passage ( 26 ) which extends substantially coaxially with the barrel ( 15 ) in a mounted condition of the base member ( 21 ) on the barrel ( 15 ), and at least one groove ( 22, 23, 24, 25, 34 ) for receiving and temporarily securing at least one section ( 41 ) of an attachment auxiliary element ( 40 ) and which extends substantially parallel to a longitudinal axis ( 36 ) of the passage ( 26 ) of the base member ( 21 ), and clamping jaws ( 28 ) which form flanks ( 27 ) of the at least one groove ( 22, 23, 24, 25, 34 ) and which are formed of at lest partially elastic material.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001]     1. Field of the Invention  
         [0002]     The present invention relates to a device for temporarily securing attachment auxiliary elements on a hand-held setting tool and including a base member mountable in a region of the mouth on the barrel of the setting tool and having a passage which extends substantially coaxially with the barrel in a mounted condition of the base member on the barrel, and at least one groove for receiving and temporarily securing at least one section of an attachment auxiliary element.  
         [0003]     2. Description of the Prior Art  
         [0004]     Devices for temporarily securing attachment auxiliary elements on hand-held tools are used for fixedly attaching, for a short time on a hand-held tool, attachment auxiliary elements such as fixing straps, pipe clamps, ceiling suspenders, cable bands, etc. With the setting tool, an attachment auxiliary element is attached to an object with an appropriate fastening element such as nail, bolt, pin, etc. The hand-held setting tools are usually driven with liquid, gaseous or solid fuels, or by pneumatic, electromechanical, or electropneumatic drives.  
         [0005]     Australian Patent No. 486,273 discloses a setting tool with a device for temporarily securing attachment auxiliary elements such as, e.g., conduit clips and which is mounted in front of the setting tool on the tool barrel. The device has a receiving groove that extends transverse to the longitudinal axis of the setting tool barrel and in which means for securing an attachment auxiliary element is arranged.  
         [0006]     The drawback of the known device consists in that attachment auxiliary elements, which have only a certain size can be secured with the device, and the holding force of the device is not sufficient for reliably securing large straps or pipe clamps.  
         [0007]     Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a device for temporarily securing of attachment auxiliary elements on a setting tool and in which the above-mentioned drawback is prevented.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0008]     This and other objects of the present invention, which will become apparent hereinafter, are achieved by providing a device for temporarily securing attachment auxiliary elements on a setting tool of the type described above and in which the guide groove extends substantially parallel to a longitudinal axis of the passage of the base member, and the flanks of the at least one groove are formed by clamping jaws formed of at least partially elastic material.  
         [0009]     The formation of clamping jaws of at least partially elastic material permits to clampingly hold an attachment auxiliary element in the guide groove, without using any auxiliary means. Because the guide groove extends parallel to the passage of the base member in which the setting tool barrel is received, a projecting section of the attachment auxiliary element can be clamped in the guide groove. Thereby a relatively large section, which projects from the holding section of the attachment auxiliary element, can be reliably held.  
         [0010]     Advantageously, there are provided several guide grooves extending substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of the passage of the base member. Thereby, a to-be-secured attachment auxiliary element can be secured on the device in different positions. This improves handling of a setting tool equipped with the inventive securing device.  
         [0011]     Advantageously, at least two of several guide grooves have different groove widths. This permits to secure on the inventive device attachment auxiliary elements having different dimensions.  
         [0012]     It is further advantageous when at least two of several grooves have different cross-sections. Thereby, attachment auxiliary elements having different outer profiles can be secured with the inventive device. Thus, it is advantageous when, e.g., one of the guide grooves has a substantially annular cross-section, whereby attachment auxiliary elements having round or cylindrical sections can be secured on the inventive device. It is further advantageous when at least one of the grooves has a substantially rectangular cross-section so that an attachment auxiliary element with an angular and, in particular, rectangular cross-section can be secured on the device.  
         [0013]     Advantageously, the groove flanks taper from the groove bottom to the groove opening, whereby the groove width diminishes toward the groove opening. This permits to reliably secure attachment auxiliary elements having different dimensions in one and the same groove. Advantageously, the clamping jaws which form the groove flanks, are not rigid. Rather, the clamping jaws are formed so that they are elastically tiltable parallel to the longitudinal direction of the guide grooves. In this way, the guide grooves can be expanded for receiving an attachment auxiliary element having larger dimensions.  
         [0014]     Advantageously, the groove depth diminishes from the mouth-side end of the base member to the opposite end. Thereby, they provide for good guidance of arcuate, bulged or inclined sections of the attachment auxiliary elements.  
         [0015]     Advantageously, the base member is formed as an elastic plastic shaped part. This improves the clamping characteristics of the clamping jaws which form part of the base member, and increases the service life of the device.  
         [0016]     It is further advantageous when magnets are provided in the region of the guide groove or grooves. The magnets provide for an additional holding force when the attachment auxiliary elements are formed of para-or-ferromagnetic materials.  
         [0017]     The novel features of the present invention, which are considered as characteristic for the invention, are set forth in the appended claims. The invention itself, however, both as to its construction and its mode of operation, together with additional advantages and objects thereof, will be best understood from the following detailed description of preferred embodiment, when read with reference to the accompanying drawings. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS:  
       [0018]     The drawings show:  
         [0019]      FIG. 1 a  side, partially cross-sectional view of a device according to the present invention, together with a setting tool;  
         [0020]      FIG. 2  front view of the device shown in  FIG. 1 ;  
         [0021]      FIG. 3 a  perspective view of another embodiment of a device according to the present invention; and  
         [0022]      FIG. 4 a  front view of the device shown in  FIG. 3 .  
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0023]     A hand-held setting tool  10 , which is shown in  FIG. 1 , includes a device  20  for temporarily securing attachment auxiliary elements  40  and which is arranged in front of the tool  10  in the region of the tool mouth  18  and is supported on the barrel  15  of the setting tool  10 . The setting tool  10  further includes a housing  11  with a handle  12  formed thereon. On the handle  12 , there is provided an actuation switch  13  for initiating a setting process. The setting tool also includes a setting mechanism  14  which is not described here in detail but different embodiments of which are well known to those skilled in the art. The setting mechanism  14  can be driven, e.g., with solid or liquid fuels. In the setting direction  52 , a bolt guide  16 , which forms part of the barrel  15 , adjoins the setting mechanism  14 . Sidewise of the bolt guide  16 , a magazine  19  for fastening elements  50  projects therefrom. The fastening elements  50  such as, e.g., nails, bolts, pins, and the like can be stored in the magazine  19  and are introduced therefrom in the bolt guide  16 . The barrel  15  also includes a safety sleeve  17  that is displaceably supported on the bolt guide  16 . The actuation of the setting tool  10  with the switch  13  is only then possible when the bolt guide  16  has been displaced by a certain amount in a direction opposite the setting direction  50  upon having been pressed against a constructional component U. If only the safety sleeve  17  is displaced in the direction opposite the setting direction  52 , actuation of the setting tool  10  is not possible.  
         [0024]     The device  20  for temporarily securing of attachment auxiliary elements  40  has a base member  21  that is essentially formed of an elastic plastic material. The base member  21  has a passage  26  into which the barrel  15  and the safety sleeve  17 , if available, are inserted. The base member  21  is frictionally or forcelockingly held on the safety sleeve  17  and can be displaced together therewith over the bolt guide  16 .  
         [0025]     On each of the four sides of the base member  21  of the device  20 , there is provided a guide groove  22 ,  23 ,  25 , and  34  (see  FIGS. 1-2 ), respectively. The guide grooves  22 ,  23 ,  25 , and  34  extend coaxially with respect to the longitudinal axis  36  of the passage  26  in the base member  21 . The groove flanks  27  or side walls of the guide grooves  22 ,  23 ,  25 ,  34  are formed by elongate clamping jaws  28  extending coaxially with the passage  26 . Because of the elasticity of the material the base member  21  is formed of, the clamping jaws  28  can pivot within certain limits. The flanks  27  or the side walls of the guide grooves  22 ,  23 ,  25 ,  34  taper in the direction of the openings of the respective grooves  22 ,  23 ,  25 ,  34 . As a result, the groove width Nb of the guide grooves  22 ,  23 ,  25 ,  34  is smaller in the regions of the respective groove openings than in the regions of the bottoms  29 ,  30  of the respective grooves  22 ,  23 ,  25 ,  34 . The cross-sections of the respective grooves  22 ,  23 ,  25 ,  34  have different profiles and/or sizes and serve for clampingly receiving sections  41 ,  44  of the attachment auxiliary elements  40  which extend approximately parallel to the attachment axis of these attachment elements  40 . The guide groove  34  has substantially an annular cross-section suitable for receiving, e.g., the annular cross-section  44  of an attachment auxiliary element  40 . The three other guide grooves  22 ,  23 ,  25  have approximately from rectangular to trapezoidal cross-sections of different sizes for receiving, e.g., rectangular flat sections  41  of the attachment auxiliary elements  40 .  
         [0026]     The groove depth Nt of the guide groove  22  diminishes from the mouth-side end  38  to the opposite end  39  of the base member  21  so that the groove bottom  29  rises in a direction of the end  39 . The groove depth Nt of the guide grooves  23 ,  24 ,  25  does not diminish so that their bottoms  30  extend substantially parallel to the passage  26  of the base member  21  of the device  20 .  
         [0027]     The attachment auxiliary element  40 , which is shown in  FIGS. 1-2 , is formed as a securing clip and has a retaining section  42  which is securable on a constructional component U with a fastening element  50 . A straight section  41  projects from the retaining section  42  at a right angle thereto. A hook-shaped section  43  adjoins the straight section  41 . The hook-shaped section  43  can be used, e.g., for securing a bunch of conduits on the constructional component U.  
         [0028]     In the bottom  30  of the guide groove  23 , a magnet  35  is embedded which provides for retaining of the section  41  of the attachment auxiliary element  40 , which is formed of steel, in the guide groove  43 .  
         [0029]     The embodiment of the device  20  for temporarily securing attachment auxiliary elements  40  on a setting tool, which is shown in  FIGS. 3-4  differs from the device  20  shown in  FIGS. 1-2  in that the length of the base member  21  is shorter, in the direction parallel to the passage  26 , than the length of the base member  21  of the device  20  shown in  FIGS. 1-2 . The device  20  shown in  FIGS. 3-4  further differs from that of  FIGS. 1-2  in that all four of the guide grooves  22 ,  23 ,  24 ,  25  generally have approximately from rectangular to trapezoidal cross-section, and in that support means  31  is provided at the end  39  of the base member  21 . The support means  31  provides for a resilient support of the device  20  against the housing  11  of the setting tool  10  or against the magazine  19  for fastening elements (shown in  FIG. 1 ). The guide grooves  24  and  25  are approximately identical and both have their bottom  29  rising from the mouth-side end  38  to the opposite end  39 . The guide grooves  22 ,  23  have a bottom  30  extending parallel to the passage  26  in the base member  21 , so that the groove depth Nt of the grooves  22 ,  23  does not change or changes insignificantly. For description of other elements of the device  20  shown in  FIGS. 3-4  and of other technical details, reference should be made to the description of  FIGS. 1-2 .  
         [0030]     Though the present invention was shown and described with references to the preferred embodiments, such are merely illustrative of the present invention and are not to be construed as a limitation thereof and various modifications of the present invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art. It is, therefore, not intended that the present invention be limited to the disclosed embodiments or details thereof, and the present invention includes all variations and/or alternative embodiments within the spirit and scope of the present invention as defined by the appended claims.