Elongated-member-driving apparatus – With means to move or guide member into driving position – Including supply magazine for constantly urged members
Reexamination Certificate
2002-09-17
2004-09-14
Rada, Rinaldi I. (Department: 3721)
Elongated-member-driving apparatus
With means to move or guide member into driving position
Including supply magazine for constantly urged members
C227S130000, C227S107000, C227S110000, C227S119000, C227S009000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06789718
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND
This invention relates to fastener driving devices and, more particularly, to fastener driving devices of the portable type having a nail placement device or nail positioning mechanism.
Fastener driving tools for driving fasteners such as nails are commonly used in industry and commerce. The fastener driving tools are power operated and may be pneumatically powered, electrically powered or combustion powered. The fasteners are generally supplied from a collated strip or stick of fasteners disposed in a magazine assembly coupled to a nosepiece portion of the fastener driving tool housing. Typically a fastener feeding device advances the fasteners through the feed track of the magazine assembly toward and into a drive track in the nosepiece portion of the fastener driving tool. In the case of pneumatically driven tools, the housing of the fastener driving tool comprises a handle reservoir to store compressed air, a cylinder within the housing, a piston within the cylinder, a driver connected to the piston, and a main valve to provide pressurized air to operate the piston.
Fastener driving tools usually include a trip assembly mounted on the nosepiece and operatively associated with a trigger mechanism to prevent the driver from being actuated when the nosepiece is not in contact with a workpiece. Contact trip assemblies are often sequentially associated with the trigger mechanism so that when the nosepiece is placed in contact with the workpiece, the trip assembly moves with respect to the tool frame and places the trigger mechanism in an active condition so that the driver can be actuated by movement of the trigger mechanism through its actuation stroke.
In some instances, fastener driving tools may also include a positioning mechanism or a nail placement device for positioning the tool relative to an opening in a workpiece, such as a metallic structure, to be fastened to another adjacent workpiece, such as a wooden structure.
Positioning or pointing mechanisms have already been used for aligning the nosepiece with respect to the opening in a workpiece so that a fastener (such as a nail) can be precisely driven through the opening. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,452,835 discusses a positioning mechanism for powered fastener-driving tool. The mechanism comprises a probe having a tapered end adapted to extend into the opening of the workpiece. The mechanism comprises a pivot for mounting the probe to an actuator operatively mounted to the nosepiece. The probe is mounted on the pivot so as to provide a pivotal movement of the probe relative to the actuator. When a nail is driven by the tool, the head of the nail engages a surface of the probe thus pivoting the probe from the opening as the tool recoils.
Another positioning mechanism found in the commerce is one sold under the tradename of “THE LOCATOR” manufactured by Range Bull Technologies. A perspective view of this positioning mechanism is shown in
FIG. 9
, and a cross-section view is shown in FIG.
10
. Positioning mechanism
200
comprises a rigid structure
201
having an elongated bar-like portion
203
and an annular portion
205
. The bar-like structure comprises opening
207
for fastening the positioning mechanism
200
, with a screw or the like, on a contact trip mechanism (not shown) such that the positioning mechanism forms an extension of the contact trip mechanism. The nosepiece portion of the fastener driving tool comes in contact with the inside surface of the annular portion
205
. The annular portion
205
includes an integral opening locating element
202
. The opening locating element
202
is located at a lower extremity of the annular portion
205
in general alignment with the bar-like structure
203
.
The opening locating element
202
has a half-conical shaped hole entering portion
209
. Opening locating element
202
is integrally formed with the annular portion
205
. Specifically, opening locating element
202
does not move relative to the bottom portion
204
of the annular portion
205
, thus the opening locating element
202
does not move relative to the rigid structure
201
of the positioning mechanism
200
. Positioning mechanism
200
also comprises nail pusher
206
pivotally connected to the rigid structure
201
and biased by biasing spring
208
such that the pointed end of a nail
210
is pushed against a tapered arcuate surface
211
of the hole entering portion
209
. Nail pusher
206
has a rod-like shape extending from pivot point
212
to pointed end
214
which in turn is brought in contact with nail
210
. As mentioned previously, the opening locator
202
forms an integral part of the annular portion
205
. Therefore, opening locator
202
does not move relative to bottom portion
204
of positioning mechanism
200
.
The prior art is limited in its performance. For example, due to the bulkiness of the opening locator in the positioning mechanism “THE LOCATOR” it is hard to see the opening locator
202
and locate an opening at the same time which may lead to jamming and/or missing the opening. Therefore, it is desirable to overcome these and other limitations thus allowing overall improved performance and reduced cost of the fastener tool.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
In accordance with the principles of one aspect of the present invention, a fastener driving device comprises a frame structure presenting a handle portion constructed and arranged to be gripped by a user enabling the user to handle the device in portable fashion, a nosepiece structure operatively fixed with respect to said frame structure defining a fastener drive track, a fastener driving element movable through the drive track. The fastener driving device also includes a power operated fastener driving system carried by the frame structure constructed and arranged to move said fastener driving element through successive operating cycles each including a drive stroke and a return stroke and a magazine assembly carried by said frame structure having fixed structure defining a fastener feed track leading to the drive track and movable structure constructed and arranged to enable a package of fasteners to be loaded in said magazine assembly and fed along the feed track so that the leading fastener of the fastener package is moved into the drive track to be driven outwardly thereof into a workpiece during the drive stroke of the fastener driving element. The fastener driving device further includes an actuating mechanism constructed and arranged to actuate the power operated driving system including a manually actuatable trigger assembly and a contact trip assembly. The contact trip assembly comprising a trigger enabling portion and a movable assembly coupled to the trigger enabling portion, the contact trip assembly being constructed and arranged to be movable between an extended position and a retracted position whereby the trigger enabling portion enables the trigger mechanism to activate the fastener driving element when actuated by a user when said contact trip assembly is in the retracted position and disables the trigger mechanism when the contact trip assembly is not in the retracted position. The contact trip assembly is constructed and arranged to be biased toward the extended position and to be moved toward the retracted position when the movable assembly engages a workpiece by pressing the frame structure toward the workpiece, thereby moving the contact trip assembly with respect to the nosepiece.
The fastener driving device further comprises a positioning mechanism constructed and arranged to position the nosepiece structure into an opening in a first workpiece such that a fastener is driven through the opening to fasten the workpiece to a second workpiece. The positioning mechanism includes an opening locating structure movably connected to the movable assembly of the contact trip assembly and adapted to extend into the opening so as to align the nosepiece with respect to the opening. The opening locating structure is movable relative the movable assembly of the contact trip assembly b
Canlas Prudencio S.
McGee David M.
Simonelli David J.
Lopez Michelle
Pillsbury & Winthrop LLP
Rada Rinaldi I.
Stanley Fastening Systems, L.P.
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