Patent Publication Number: US-10307902-B2

Title: Stapler having a nail guiding mechanism

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to a stapler, and more particularly to a stapler having a nail guiding mechanism. 
     Description of the Prior Art 
     A nail guiding mechanism is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,692,665, wherein two guiding feet optionally swing to a front of a nail rail via elasticity so as to centralize a nail, the two guiding feet are pivotable and can swing toward the nail rail via elasticity. In this type of structure, the guiding feet are inclined toward a nail outlet when centralizing the nail; therefore, a distal end of the nail tends to inclined toward a cartridge and is stuck easily. 
     In addition, to allow a stapler to use the nail in different dimensions, as disclosed in TWM 355151, a frontal end of the cartridge is provided with a pressing board, a receiving hole of a body has a controlling member, the controlling member can optionally push the pressing board, the pressing board can move between a frontal end and a rear end of the body, so a user can control the controlling member to move the pressing board so as to control a size of a gap of the stapler. Therefore, when the stapler is struck, a hitting board will not push two said nails, affect a striking effect and cause the nails to be stuck. However, the controlling member of this type of stapler needs to be adjusted according to different nails, and the user may forget to adjust the controlling member and cause two said nails to be struck at the same time. 
     The present invention has arisen to mitigate and/or obviate the afore-described disadvantages. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The major object of the present invention is to provide a stapler having a nail guiding mechanism which can prevent a nail from being stuck and is applicable to the nail in different dimensions. 
     To achieve the above and other objects, a stapler having a nail guiding mechanism is provided, including: a main body, having a nail outlet and a cartridge, an opening of the cartridge communicating with the nail outlet; a nail guiding mechanism, including a guiding plate facing the opening and a biasing mechanism disposed between the main body and the guiding plate, the guiding plate having an upper end away from the nail outlet, the biasing mechanism abutting against the guiding plate and normally biasing the upper end toward the cartridge; a striker, movably disposed within the main body; an operable mechanism, movably connected to the main body, being operable to drive the striker to move toward the nail outlet. 
     The present invention will become more obvious from the following description when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, which show, for purpose of illustrations only, the preferred embodiment(s) in accordance with the present invention. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a preferred embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 2  is a breakdown view of the preferred embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 3  is a partial breakdown view of the preferred embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 4  is a first cross-sectional view of the preferred embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 5  is a partially-enlarged view of  FIG. 4 ; 
         FIG. 6  is a second cross-sectional view of the preferred embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 7  is a partially-enlarged view of  FIG. 6 ; 
         FIG. 8  is a third cross-sectional view of the preferred embodiment of the present invention; and 
         FIG. 9  is a partially-enlarged view of  FIG. 8 . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     The present invention will be clearer from the following description when viewed together with the accompanying drawings, which show, for purpose of illustrations only, the preferred embodiment in accordance with the present invention. 
     Please refer to  FIGS. 1 to 5  for a preferred embodiment of the present invention. A stapler  1  having a nail guiding mechanism includes a main body  10 , a nail guiding mechanism  20 , a striker  30  and an operable mechanism  40 . 
     The main body  10  has a nail outlet  11  and a cartridge  12 , an opening  121  of the cartridge  12  communicates with the nail outlet  11 , and the opening  121  is for a nail  50  to be charged out from the cartridge  12 . The nail guiding mechanism  20  includes a guiding plate  21  facing the opening  121  and a biasing mechanism  22  disposed between the main body  10  and the guiding plate  21 , the guiding plate  21  has an upper end  211  away from the nail outlet  11 , and the biasing mechanism  22  abuts against the guiding plate  21  and normally biases the upper end  211  toward the cartridge  12 . The striker  30  is movably disposed within the main body  10 . The operable mechanism  40  is movably connected to the main body  10  and operable to drive the striker  30  to move toward the nail outlet  11 . Through the biasing mechanism  22  normally biasing the upper end  211  toward the cartridge  12 , during the action of the striker  30  striking the nail  50  and the discharge of the nail  50  out of the nail outlet  11 , it can be ensured that the nail  50  biases away from instead of close to an interior of the cartridge  12 , so the nail  50  will not be stuck. 
     Specifically, the biasing mechanism  22  includes a first elastic member  221  and a second elastic member  222  abutting against the guiding plate  21 , the guiding plate  21  further includes a lower end  212  opposite to the upper end  211 , the first and second elastic members  221 ,  222  are near and abut against the upper end  211  and the lower end  212  respectively, and the first elastic member  221  is greater than the second elastic member  222  in elastic coefficient to produce biasing effect. More specifically, the nail guiding mechanism  20  further includes a base  23  disposed in the main body  10 , the base  23  has two side walls  231  which are arranged in interval substantially parallel to each other and correspond to each other, the two side walls  231  and the guiding plate  21  define a space  232 , and the biasing mechanism  22  is located in the space  232 . The base  23  is pivoted to the main body  10  via a top end  233  thereof to ensure the upper end  211  of the guiding plate  21  normally moves toward the cartridge  12 . The top end  233  and a bottom end  234  of the base  23  are respectively provided with a first connecting base  235  for the first elastic member  221  to be connected thereto and a second connecting base  236  for the second elastic member  222  to be connected thereto so as to make the first and second elastic members  221 ,  222  stably arranged, and the first and second connecting bases  235 ,  236  may be protrusive or recessed. However, the biasing mechanism may include only one elastic member abutting against the guiding plate  21 , and the elastic member is near the upper end  211  to produce biasing effect; or the biasing mechanism may be an elastic arm which is connected to a proper position of the guiding plate  21 , and the elastic arm normally swings toward the cartridge. 
     Preferably, the nail guiding mechanism  20  further includes at least one supporting assembly  24  arranged between the base  23  and the guiding plate  21 , the guiding plate  21  further includes at least one through slot  213 , and each said supporting assembly  24  is retractably disposed within one said through slot  213 . The base  23  includes a bottom wall  237  parallel to the guiding plate  21 , a top of the bottom wall  237  includes at least one guiding slot  238 , each said supporting assembly  24  includes an elastic member  241  and a supporting member  242  pivoted to the base  23 , the elastic member  241  abuts against and between the bottom wall  237  and the supporting member  242 , and the supporting member  242  has a guiding shoulder portion  243  which is pivotably disposed within the guiding slot  238  to guide and stabilize the supporting member  242 . 
     Specifically, the cartridge  12  has a nail rail  122  arranged along the cartridge  12  and toward the opening  121  of the cartridge  12 , the nail rail  122  has a longitudinal direction and an inclined face  123  near the nail outlet  11 , the inclined face  123  is inclined in a direction from the nail outlet  11  toward a center of the cartridge  12 , the nail guiding mechanism  20  includes two said supporting assemblies  24 , the guiding plate  21  includes two said through slots  213 , one of the two through slots  213  is circumferentially closed, and the other of the two through slots  213  has an end open toward the nail outlet  11  and corresponding to the inclined face  123 . As viewed in the longitudinal direction, the two through slots  213  are located on two opposite sides of the nail rail  122 , and the inclined face  123  allows one said supporting member  242  to be partially arranged into the cartridge  12  to centralize the nails in different dimensions. Through cooperation of the two supporting members  242 , the two through slots  213  and the inclined face  123 , the nails in various dimensions are applicable to the stapler  1 , for example, T-shaped nails, U-shaped nails, reversed U-shaped nails or thick reversed U-shaped nails. 
     Please further refer to  FIGS. 6 to 9 . In actual operation, a force-accumulating mechanism  60  triggers the striker  30  to strike toward the nail outlet  11 , the biasing mechanism  22  abuts against the upper end  211  of the guiding plate  21  and abuts against the nail  50 , and the guiding plate  21  moves from the upper end  211  toward the lower end  212  and gradually away from the cartridge  12  so that the nail  50  biases away from instead of close to an interior of the cartridge  12 , so the nail  50  will not be stuck. 
     While we have shown and described various embodiments in accordance with the present invention, it should be clear to those skilled in the art that further embodiments may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention.