Patent ID: 7344058

Claim:
A washer feeding fastener driver comprising: a fastener driver that drives fasteners through a penetration position: a washer storage container that stores an elongate strip of sequentially connected washers, the washers joined in closely adjacent edge-to-edge positional relationship, the washer storage container joined with the fastener driver; a washer feeding mechanism, joined with the fastener driver, that serially feeds the strip so that the washers sequentially move into the penetration position where a leading washer of the strip is in alignment with a fastener being driven by the fastener driver, the feeding mechanism being synchronized with the fastener driver such that the leading washer is placed at the penetration position in line with the fastener before the fastener is driven by the fastener driver, the washer feeding mechanism including: a track extending between the washer storage container and the penetration position, where the leading washer is in alignment with the fastener being driven by the fastener driver, a first resilient member positioned adjacent the track, the first resilient member engaging at least one washer in the strip to urge the at least one washer against said track to temporarily position the strip in a fixed position, a second resilient member engaging an edge of at least one washer to prevent the washer from moving rearwardly along the track away from the fastener driver, and a pusher that moves the washers forwardly relative to the track to move the leading washer into the penetration position, the pusher being distal and separate from the first resilient member and the second resilient member, the pusher moving relative to and independently from the first resilient member and the second resilient member as the pusher moves the washers relative to the track; wherein the washers are interconnected by a breakable linkage which is at least one of broken and cut when a fastener is driven through the leading washer in a penetrating manner and the washer is driven into contact with a substrate surface being fastened by the action of the fastener driver.