Patent Publication Number: US-10759030-B2

Title: Depth of drive adjustment mechanism for gas spring fastener driver

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/419,585 filed on Nov. 9, 2016, the entire content of which is incorporated herein by reference. 
    
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to powered fastener drivers, and more specifically to a depth of drive adjustment mechanism for a gas spring fastener driver. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     There are various fastener drivers known in the art for driving fasteners (e.g., nails, tacks, staples, etc.) into a workpiece. These fastener drivers typically include an adjustment to adjust the depth to which a fastener is driven in to a workpiece, but often these designs are met with size and cost constraints. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention provides, in one aspect, a fastener driver including a first nosepiece, a second nosepiece coupled to the first nosepiece with a fastener driving channel formed between the first nosepiece and the second nosepiece. The fastener driver also includes a workpiece contact element that is movable with respect to the first nosepiece and the second nosepiece between an extended position and a retracted position. The fastener driver also includes a quick-release latch that is operable to secure the first nosepiece and the second nosepiece together. The workpiece contact element is positioned between the quick-release latch and the first nosepiece. 
     Other features and aspects of the invention will become apparent by consideration of the following detailed description and accompanying drawings. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is perspective view of a gas spring-powered fastener driver in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. 
         FIG. 2A  is an enlarged perspective view of a depth of drive adjustment assembly including a workpiece contact element, shown in an extended position. 
         FIG. 2B  is an enlarged perspective view of the depth of drive adjustment and the workpiece contact element of  FIG. 2A , shown in a retracted position. 
         FIG. 3  is a partial perspective view similar to  FIG. 2B , with portions removed for clarity. 
         FIG. 4  is a perspective view of the workpiece contact element of  FIG. 2A . 
         FIG. 5A  is an exploded front view of a quick-release latch, the workpiece contact element, a front nosepiece, and a rear nosepiece of the gas spring-powered fastener driver of  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 5B  is an exploded rear view of the quick-release latch, the workpiece contact element, the front nosepiece, and the rear nosepiece of  FIG. 5A . 
     
    
    
     Before any embodiments of the invention are explained in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and the arrangement of components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the following drawings. The invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced or of being carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology used herein is for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting. 
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     With reference to  FIGS. 1-2B , a gas spring-powered fastener driver  10  is operable to drive fasteners (e.g., nails, tacks, staples, etc.) held within a magazine  14  into a workpiece. The fastener driver  10  includes a cylinder assembly  18  and a moveable piston (not shown) positioned within the cylinder assembly  18 . The fastener driver  10  further includes a driver blade (not shown) that is attached to the piston and moveable therewith. The driver blade translates along a driving axis  22  to drive a fastener into the workpiece. The fastener driver  10  includes a first nosepiece  26  (i.e., a front nosepiece) and a second nosepiece  30  (i.e., a rear nosepiece). A fastener driving channel  34  is defined between the front nosepiece  26  and the rear nosepiece  30 , and extends along the driving axis  22 . With reference to  FIGS. 5A and 5B , the fastener driving channel  34  is defined with a channel portion  34 A in the front nosepiece  26  and a channel portion  34 B in the rear nosepiece  30   
     With reference to  FIGS. 2A and 2B , the front nosepiece  26  is secured to an upper housing  38  of the fastener driver  10 , and a quick-release latch  42  is operable to secure the rear nosepiece  30  (and the attached magazine  14 ) to the front nosepiece  26 . The quick-release latch  42  includes a user-actuated lever  46 , a leaf spring  50  pivotably coupled to the lever  46 , and spaced coaxial pins  54  on a lower end of the spring  50  that engage corresponding hooks  58  on the rear nosepiece  30 . In the illustrated embodiment, the hooks  58  on the rear nosepiece  30  extend through respective apertures or windows  62  formed in the front nosepiece  26 . Using the quick-release latch  42 , the rear nosepiece  30  and the magazine  14  can be attached and detached from the front nosepiece  26  without the use of tools. 
     With reference to  FIGS. 2A-3 , the fastener driver  10  further includes a depth of drive adjustment assembly  64  including a workpiece contact element  66 . The workpiece contact element  66  is movable with respect to the front nosepiece  26  between an extended position ( FIG. 2A ) and a retracted position ( FIG. 2B ). Specifically, as explained in greater detail below, the workpiece contact element  66  moves from the extended position ( FIG. 2A ) to the retracted position ( FIG. 2B ) when the workpiece contact element  66  contacts a workpiece and a force directed toward the workpiece is applied to the fastener driver  10 . The front nosepiece  26  includes a groove  70  ( FIGS. 3 and 5A ) that slidably receives the workpiece contact element  66 . In the illustrated embodiment, the groove  70  is defined in a front surface  74  of the front nosepiece  26 . In other words, the groove  70  is formed on the front surface  74 , which is opposite the fastener driving channel  34 . More specifically, the groove  70  is formed in the front surface  74  of the front nosepiece  26 , which is opposite the channel portion  34 A formed on a rear surface  76  ( FIG. 5B ) of the front nosepiece  26 . 
     In the illustrated embodiment, the workpiece contact element  66  is positioned between the quick-release latch  42  and the front nosepiece  26 . In other words, the workpiece contact element  66  is positioned in front of the front nosepiece  26 . And, the workpiece contact element  66  extends in the direction of the driving axis  22 , or generally parallel with the driving axis  22 , which is also parallel with the groove  70 . This positioning of the workpiece contact element  66  ensures a clear line of sight to the workpiece, which might otherwise be obstructed if the workpiece contact element  66  extended along the side of either of the nosepieces  26  and  30 . As such, no portion of the workpiece contact element  66  extends along the side of either of the nosepieces  26 ,  30 , therefore offering a compact design that does not block an operator&#39;s view of the workpiece or a view of the location on the workpiece where the fastener will be driven. 
     With reference to  FIG. 4 , the workpiece contact element  66  is linear. In particular, the workpiece contact element  66  includes an upper end  78  positioned directly above a lower end  82  when viewed from the front of the workpiece contact element  66 . The workpiece contact element  66  includes a mounting block  86  to secure the workpiece contact element  66  to the remaining portions of the depth of drive adjustment assembly  64 . In the illustrated embodiment, a rounded portion  90  of the workpiece contact element  66  transitions to a planar portion  94  that is slidably received with the groove  70  on the front nosepiece  26 . 
     With reference to  FIG. 3 , the depth of drive adjustment assembly  64  also includes a first bracket  98 , a spring  102 , an adjustment knob  106 , and a second bracket  110 . The upper end  78  of the workpiece contact element  66  is secured to the first bracket  98  by fasteners  114 . The first bracket  98  includes a seat  118  upon which to support the spring  102 . The spring  102  is also supported on a seat  122  ( FIGS. 2A and 2B ) formed on a mounting flange  126  of the upper housing  38 . As such, the spring  102  biases the first bracket  98  and the workpiece contact element  66  away from the mounting flange  126 , towards the extended position. A screw portion  130  is formed as part of the first bracket  98  and is received within a threaded bore of the adjustment knob  106 . The second bracket  110  supports the adjustment knob  106  between two flanges  134 . The second bracket  110  and the adjustment knob  106  translate with the first bracket  98  and workpiece contact element  66  between the extended position ( FIG. 2A ) and the retracted position ( FIG. 2B ). 
     The depth of drive adjustment assembly  64  adjusts the depth to which a fastener is driven into the workpiece. In particular, the depth of drive adjustment assembly  64  adjusts the effective length of the combination of the workpiece contact element  66  and the first bracket  98 , and changes the distance between the nosepieces  26 ,  30  and the workpiece when the workpiece contact element  66  is in the retracted position (coinciding with initiation of a fastener driving operation). In other words, the depth of drive adjustment assembly  64  adjusts how far the workpiece contact element  66  extends past the nosepieces  26 ,  30  when a fastener is driven into a workpiece. As such, when the workpiece contact element  66  is in the retracted position, the position of the workpiece contact element  66  with respect to the front nosepiece  26  is adjustable to adjust the depth to which a fastener is driven. 
     With continued reference to  FIGS. 2A-3 , the fastener driver  10  further includes a switch  138  (e.g., a microswitch) operable to detect when the workpiece contact element  66  is positioned against a workpiece. In other words, the switch  138  determines when the workpiece contact element  66  is in the retracted position ( FIG. 2B ). Upon reaching the retracted position ( FIG. 2B ), a finger  142  on the second bracket  110  engages an actuation arm of the switch  138 , thereby closing the switch  138  (if the switch  138  is normally open) to allow activation of the fastener driver  10 . Activation of the fastener driver  10  is prevented when the workpiece contact element  66  is in the extended position ( FIG. 2A ). 
     Various features of the invention are set forth in the following claims.