Patent ID: 8141761

Claim:
A feed apparatus for feeding fastening elements held in a carrier to a setting device, where the carrier has uniformly spaced retaining positions for the fastening elements, the feed apparatus comprising: a. a housing with a slide adapted to be moved linearly using a pneumatically operated piston cylinder drive into one of an advance position and a home position, where the slide in the advance position is spring biased in the direction of the home position, so that the slide can be moved into the home position by the spring bias, and the carrier can be moved by an amount substantially equal to one of the uniformly spaced retaining positions; b. an advance arm including a first end and a second end, the first end being pivotably fastened to the slide, and the second end engaging the carrier such that movement of the slide can be transferred to the carrier, whereby one of the fastening elements can be positioned into a feed position beneath a punch of the setting device; and c. a blocking arm that is pivotally fastened to the housing and engages the carrier wherein a movement of the carrier is substantially prevented during the movement of the slide from the home position to the advance position, wherein the carrier is selected from the group consisting essentially of: (1) a strip magazine having opposing longitudinal sides and a strip barb shaped structure at each of the longitudinal sides, wherein the advance arm hooks into one of the strip barb shaped structures and the blocking arm hooks into another of the strip barb shaped structures, and (2) a ring shaped rotary magazine having a peripheral outer surface and a peripheral inner surface, and a first ring barb shaped structure at the peripheral outer surface, in which the advance arm hooks, and a second ring barb shaped structure at the peripheral inner surface, in which the blocking arm hooks.