GB2097313A

GB2097313A - Drive-in apparatus for fasteners

Info

Publication number: GB2097313A
Application number: GB8206911A
Authority: GB
Original assignee: Esco Metallwaren Martin Huhnken
Current assignee: Esco Metallwaren Martin Huhnken
Priority date: 1981-04-24
Filing date: 1982-03-09
Publication date: 1982-11-03
Also published as: GB2097313B; IT8220917A0; SE8201282L; FR2504437A1; SE448435B; DE8112241U1; IT1151149B

Abstract

In order to secure a structural member 33 accurately to a workpiece 30 by means of a fastener, drive-in apparatus for fasteners is provided with an additional detachable element 20 whose underside is level with the fastener exit opening 12 and which fits against a nose-like projection 13 of the main apparatus with an adjacent depression 23 to accommodate the member 33. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Drive-in Apparatus for Fasteners The invention relates to a drive-in apparatus for fasteners, especially staples, nails, or the like, comprising a housing having a nose-like portion at the lower end thereof with a shooting channel formed therein through which a drive-in plunger expels the fastener, and a magazine for the fasteners arranged transversely of the shooting channel and advancing the fasteners to the shooting channel.

Such drive-in apparatuses are known in numerous embodiments. There are poweroperated drive-in apparatuses which are operated with compressed air or by an electromagnet.

There are furthermore manually operable drive-in apparatuses with which the drive-in plunger is driven via a spring.

The most frequently used fasteners are Ushaped staples of different sizes. They are stored in a magazine in the form of bars and may be accommodated in the magazine of the drive-in apparatus in the form of bars.

In very many cases such drive-in apparatuses are serving to interconnect areal workpieces with each other such as, for example, plates to a carrier, or various covering fabrics to a carrier, etc. In other cases it is intended with the aid of the fasteners to fasten a non-areal structural member to a work carrier, such as a constructional fitting or the like, for example, having the apertures through which the fastener enters already formed therein preliminarily, in order to connect the structural member to the carrier. In such cases difficulties are encountered when the drive-in apparatus is to be positioned in such a manner that the fastener is shot precisely through the fastening apertures in the constructional member. This causes difficulties insofar as the constructional member for its part must assume a predetermined position.

It is the object of the invention here to provide a remedy and design a drive-in apparatus in such a manner that a series of structural members such as structural fittings, for example, may be fastened at a carrier structural member with the aid of the fasteners in a simple manner.

This object is attained in accordance with the invention by means of an additional element adapted to be detachably fitted and to be placed in close contact against the inner surface of the nose-like portion, the underside of said element being disposed about level with the exit opening of the shooting channel and having a depression disposed beside the nose-like portion for the accommodation of a structural member to be fastened at a workpiece with the aid of the fastener.

The invention avails itself of the fact that with many drive-in apparatuses the lower end of the shooting channel is situated in a nost-like projection or tool, said projection extending downwards beyond the plane which is defined by the underside of the magazine. The additional element according to the invention is now detachably fitted at the inner surface of the nose like portion and at the underside of the drive-in apparatus. Besides, the additional element is provided with a depression adapted to have inserted therein the structural member which is to be fastened with the aid of the fastener. Owing to this arrangement, the structural member to be fastened attains a definite position in view of the exit opening of the shooting channel.The structural member, in this connection, is arranged in such a manner that its fastening apertures are aligned with the exit opening of the shooting channel. The underside of the additional element in this arrangement is disposed approximately level with the said exit opening, but it may also be arranged perhaps to be disposed downwards beyond the latter. What is essential only is that a minimum space is left between the exit opening and the upper surface of the structural member received. It goes without saying that the structural member when being accommodated in the additional element must project above the end face thereof so much that the fastening apertures can be aligned with respect to the shooting channel.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the additional element is formed in one piece. It may be made, for instance, of synthetic material, wood, die-casting metal or the like materials.

According to another embodiment of the invention the end face of the additional element is provided with a recess which accommodates the nose-like portion in such a manner that the remaining end face areas are disposed approximately in one and the same plane with the corresponding side of the nose-like portion. It is possible with the aid of the recess effectively to secure the position of the additional element at the nose-like portion. Owing to the fact that the end face areas of the additional element are disposed approximately in one and the same plane with the appertaining side of the nose-like portion, all the surfaces may serve as abutment surfaces, in case the structural member to be processed permits positioning in such a manner.

It has already been explained that the additional element according to the invention may be used to accommodate certain structural components in a depression, which are then fastened by means of the fasteners at a carrier structural member. For this purpose the depression is suitably configured in such a way that the structural member to be fastened is matingly received therein. In addition to the foregoing or also alternatively, provision is made in another embodiment of the invention for the underside of the additional element to form a plane surface. It normally depends on the skill of the operator whether the fastener is driven in precisely vertically.If, now, the additional element according to the invention is employed, the plane surface on the underside of the additional element may serve to position the fastener drive-in apparatus in such a manner that the fastener is driven into a workpiece exactly vertically.

The fastening of the additional element at the drive-in apparatus may be performed in different ways. A particularly simple embodiment according to the invention consists in that a permanent magnet is arranged in the additional element which cooperates with a ferromagnetic portion fast with the housing. When the additional element consists of a relatively light-weight material, above all, the permanent magnet is easily in a position fastly, yet detachably, to connect the additional element to the fastener drive-in apparatus.

According to another embodiment of the invention provision is made for a permanent magnet to be arranged in the environments of the depression for the purpose of retentively holding a structural member situated in the depression.

Such a detachable fixation of the structural member is, of course, possible only if the structural member consists of ferromagnetic material.

With so-cailed top-loading magazines, a carrier-like rail is pulled out of the fastener drive-in apparatus in a rearward direction after a barrier has been released, and is charged with staples or other fastening means from above. The underside of this rail is normally visible. It is slidingly supported on corresponding guides. In this connection, provision is made in another embodiment of the invention for the first permanent magnet to cooperate with the facing underside of a magazine structural member. In another embodiment, provision is made in this connection for a raised portion to be arranged on the upper surface of the additional element extending longitudinally thereof and coming to lie between the ledge-iike extensions of the housing for guiding a movable magazine structural member.The additional element may in this manner follow the movement of the magazine structural member for the loading operation and the subsequent pushing-back movement, with the raised portion likewise being guided by the magazine guide. Preferably, the raised portion has a follower pin or the like which cooperates with a recess of the movable magazine structural member.

An example of embodiment of the invention will be described in more detail in the following by way of drawings.

Fig. 1 shows a perspective view of a fastener drive-in apparatus with an additional element according to the invention, Fig. 2 shows a perspective view of part of the underside of the drive-in apparatus according to Fig. 1 with an additional element according to the invention removed, Fig. 3 shows the additional element in a perspective view taken on the underside with a wood profile claw accommodated therein.

Prior to enlarging on the details shown in the drawings it is to be stated that each of the features described and shown is of inventively essential significance by itself or in connection with features of the claims.

The fastener drive-in apparatus 10 shown in Fig. 1 is a so-called electro-tacker. The inner and outer structure thereof is not going to be described in any more detail because this is not the subject matter of the present invention. The electromagnetically driven drive-in plunger is guided in a shooting channel which is formed in the "tool" 11 of the apparatus 10. The exit opening of the shooting channel is referenced 12 (Fig. 2). The tool 11 has a nose-like portion 13 which projects downwards beyond the underside 14 of a movable rail-like magazine structural member 15. The magazine structural member 1 5 is slidingly guided by two parallel guiding extensions 1 6, 1 7 of the housing of the fastener drive-in apparatus 10.It projects rearwards therefrom as shown in Fig. 1, so that it may be gripped by hand and pulled rearwards for the purpose of being filled anew with fasteners.

The opposite side walls of the nose-like projection are slightly extended rearwards from the shooting channel, as may be recognized in Fig. 2, thus forming a recess 1 8.

As may be recognized from Fig. 1, an additional element 20 may be connected to the fastener drive-in apparatus 10, said additional element being a one-piece block of synthetic material, wood, die-casting metal, or the like. It is T-shaped in outline, as may be derived from Figs. 2 and 3, i.e. it has a broader portion 21 and a narrower portion 22. A recess 23 is formed in the end face of the broader portion 21, the width of said recess slightly exceeding the width of the nose-like portion 1 3. In continuation of the side walls of the recess 23 vertical grooves are besides formed in the bottom of the recess, one of them being shown at 24.The upper surface of the additional element 20 has a raised portion 24 extending as far as recess 23 from the rear, the width of said raised portion being slightly less than the spacing of the magazine guides 1 7, 1 6. Into said raised portion 24 a permanent magnet is recessed as shown at 25. Spaced therefrom a follower pin 26 is situated on the raised portion 24 which matingly fits into an opening 27 on the underside 1 4 of the magazine structural member 1 5.

When connecting the additional element 20 to the fastener drive-in apparatus 10, as shown in Fig. 1, the nose-like portion 13 is accommodated by the recess 23, with the rearwardly projecting opposite side walls of the projection 1 3 engaging within the grooves 24. The remaining front surfaces of the additional element 20 in this arrangement are disposed in one and the same plane with the forward surface of the nose-like projection 13. The raised portion 24 is disposed inside the space between the magazine guides 1 6, 17, with the follower pin 26 gripping through the opening 27. The permanent magnet 25 cooperates with the underside 14 of the magazine structural member 1 5 such that the additional element 20 is securely held. The plane underside of the additional element 20 in this arrangement is disposed level with the exit opening 12 of the shooting channel. If the magazine structural member is pulled backwards for loading purposes, the additional element 20 in this operation will also slide rearwards therewith without there being any danger of said element dropping down.

On the underside thereof, the additional element 20 is furthermore provided with a recess (not shown) in which a profile claw of wood 33 is accommodated by the rearward portion thereof.

As indicated by the dotted line 27, another permanent magnet is recessed into the underside of the additional element 20, said magnet keeping the wood profile claw 33 in the depression at the underside of the additional element 20.

The use of wood profile claws 33 which are provided with two fastening apertures 28 is shown in Fig. 1. Profiled boards 29 provided with grooves and keys are fastened on ledges or beams 30. For this purpose a cranked portion 31 of the wood profile claw engages within the groove of the board 29, thereby holding the board 29 at the ledge 30. Fastening of the wood profile claw 33 is effected by driving in a staple into the fastening apertures 28. The fastening claw 33 is therefore arranged within the depression of the additional element 20 in such a manner that the shooting channel or the exit opening 12, respectively, is aligned with respect to the connection line of the fastening apertures such that the exiting staple may enter into the carrier structural member through the apertures 28. The wood profile claw is turthermore accommodated by the additional element 20 in such a manner that the end face surfaces of the additional element 20 as well as the end face of the nose-like projectjon 1 3 coming to lie in close contact against the side of the board 29 signalize that the cranked portion 31 of the wood profile claw is correctly positioned with respect to the board 29.

Claims

1. A drive-in apparatus for fasteners, especially for staples, nails or the like, comprising a housing having a nose-like projection at the lower end thereof with a shooting channel formed therein through which a drive-in plunger expels fasteners, and a magazine for the fasteners arranged transversely of the shooting channel and advancing the fasteners to the shooting channel, characterized by an additional element adapted to be detachably fitted and to come to lie into close contact against the inner surface of the nose-like portion, the underside of said element being disposed about level with the exit opening of the shooting channel and provided with a depression disposed near the nose-like portion for the accommodation of a structural member to be fastened to a workpiece with the aid of the fastener.

2. A drive-in apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that the additional element is formed in one piece.

3. A drive-in apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the end face of the additional element is provided with a recess accommodating the nose-like portion in such a manner that the remaining end face surfaces are disposed approximately in one and the same plane with the corresponding side of the nose-like portion.

4. A drive-in apparatus, especially according to one of the claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the underside of the additional element forms a plane surface.

5. A drive-in apparatus according to any one of the claims 1 to 4, characterized a permanent magnet is arranged in the additional element which cooperates with a ferromagnetic portion fast with the housing.

6. A drive-in apparatus according to any one of the claims 1 to 5, characterized in that a permanent magnet is arranged in the environments of the depression for the purpose of retaining a structural member disposed in the depression.

7. A drive-in apparatus according to any one of the claims 1 to 6, characterized in that the first permanent magnet cooperates with the facing underside of the magazine structural member.

8. A drive-in apparatus according to any one of the claims 1 to 7, characterized in that a longitudinally extending raised portion is arranged at the upper surface of the additional element which comes to lie between the ledge-shaped extensions of the housing to guide a movable magazine structural member.

9. A drive-in apparatus according to claim 8, characterized in that a follower pin or the like is arranged on the raised portion which cooperates with a recess of the movable magazine structural member.

10. A drive-in apparatus according to any one of the claims 1 to 9, characterized in that the additional element has a smaller width adjacent the magazine than in the forward region near the nose-like portion.

11. A drive-in apparatus according to any one of the claims 1 to 10, characterized in that the structural member to be fastened is a wood profile claw.