US2625682A - Stapling mechanism - Google Patents

Description

AJ=1n A20, 1953 J. CRISTIANO 2,625,632

STAPLINGMECHANISM Filed Jan. 25, 1950 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 4 ATTORNEY Jan- 20, 1953 J. cRlsTlANo 2,625,62

' STAPLING MECHANISM Filed Jan. 2:5, 195o s sheets-sheet :s

'JOSEPH Cms-ruw@ ATTORNEY Patented `an. 20, 1953 UNITED STATES PATE-NT oFFlcF.'

3 Claims.

The present invention relates to tacking or stapling mechanisms; and, more particularly, to the combination of a staple feeder and a pneumatic device for controlling the successive feeding vof staples and for driving one staple at a time into a work piece, such, for example, as an article in the process of being upholstered. y

In the illustrative embodiment of the invention described herein and shown by the accompanying drawing, the novel pneumatic device which controls the feeding and driving of staples is constructed to be tted conveniently to a known type of staple driver referred to in the art as a tacken It will be understood, however, that the combination of this invention, which provides for pneumatic feeding and driving of staples, is shown as including an already obtainable tacker vfor the sake of convenience of disclosure. As shown and described herein, the tacking or stapling device of this invention includes a pressure or touch sensitive means which serves as a trigger kthereby to provide for the driving of a single staple without manual effort and with no possibility of an accidental repeating of the mechanism with the resulting possible spoilage of the work pieces and jamming of the staple Vfeed. The pressure or touch sensitive means, preferably, is arranged to contact a work piece at the point where a staple is to be driven. Response of the novel mechanism included in the present invention to action of thepressure or touch sensitive means is obtained pneumatically.

The principal aim or object of the present invention is :to provide a novel staple driver or tacker which op-erates pneumatically in resp-onse to pressure mechanically applied'against a trigger means. This mechanical pressure is preferably applied by contact with a work piece.

Another and closely related object is to provide for only a single operation of the driving mechanism in response to pressure applied to the trigger mechanism. 1

A further object is to provide a novel valve mechanism for controlling the driving ofstaples into a work piece.

A still further object is to provide' a novel appliance or attachment for a staple driverwor tacker for obtaining pneumatic, rather than manual, operation of the tacker automatically in response to application of the tacker to a work piece.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will, of course, become apparent and immediately suggest themselves to those skilled inthe art to which the inventionis directed from a reading of the following specilication in connection wtih the accompanying drawing 'in which: Fig. 1 is a transverse sectional view in side elevation of a tacking orstapling mechanism embodying the present invention with the parts in the normal or inactivated position, :the section being taken on line I-I of Fig. 3;

Fig. 2 isa view similarto Fig. 1, but with' the parts shown in an advanced stage of operation;

Fig. 3 is a top plan view of the tacking'or stapling mechanism of Fig. l; Fig. 4 is a view section on Fig. 5 is a fragmentary sectional view taken the une A15-Alfl yof online 5--5 of Fig. 1;VandY` Y- Y Fig. 6 is a view in perspective of thes'elfcontained pneumatically operated appliance or device of the present invention which is shown in Fig. 1 as being applied for operation in combination with a previously assembled tacker; Y

Referring to the drawing, the entire stapling mechanism or tacker,"which is lpneumatically operatable in accordance with the present invention, is seen to comprise a pneumatic attachment lil shown as a separate unit by Fig. 6. Figs. 1 and 2 show the manner in whichthe pneumatic attachment lll is carried by'a, Aprefabricated stapler or tacker designated finlits entirety by` reference. character il. Whilethe invention is described, illustratively,A as being'embodied in an attachment for application` to a l,normally hand operatedltacker or stapler,v it will be understood that the operating principles Aof the invention to be described hereinaftermay be employed with other types of feeding devices and mechanical drivers. VThe tacker H may, for eX- ample, be a Model 200 lSpeedmatic tacker. "This device is manufacturedbyj Speed Products,Inc., of Long Island City, New York. Similartackers are shown in U. S. Patents Nos. 2,341,530 and 2,412,620 granted to Crosby and Kipp, respectively. This commercially obtainable tacker is modified for use in accordance' with the invention by 'fremoval of ,the operating handle or leve r (not shown) and by slightly modifying the vswingable operating `lever for the' pawl whichcooperates with the kdriver hammer. In the accompanying drawing thispawl is designated I4 and the vswingable operating lever is designated I6.' For the sake of completeness o-f disclosure, the parts of the tacker Hv will nowbe described.` `It comprises a frame I8 having an opening I9 which serves Vas a finger hole so that the part 2l offthe frame canbe grasped as ya handle. The. magazine 23, whichis loaded with staples 26,' is pivoted 3 at 28 to the frame I8. The pivot 28, which is normally present in the unmodified stapler or tacker Il, is in the form of a pin, bolt, or the like, which provides a connection for the pneumatic attachment I by being received in the holes 29 and 3| (Fig. 6).

For the purpose of holding the staples 26, the magazine 23 is, or may be, channel shaped providing a ridge 34 over which the staples 26 are seated. The staples are urged forwardly against a staple driver bar 36 by a channel shaped rider 38. A relatively long helical spring 4| is anchored in the frame I8 and passes over a pulley 43. The end of the spring is connected as indicated at 46 to the rider 38. Projections 48 in the magazine 23 are notched, as indicated,at 49 to engage a pin This pin may be the journaling means for the pulley 43 and is carried at the end of a pivoted arm 52.

The frame I8 of the stapler or tacker I has a suitable bore or passage 53 which receives a helical compression spring 54. The spring 54 reacts against a plunger or hammer 56 to which is at tached the previously mentioned driver bar 36. The latter slides along the end wall 58 of the tacker II. The cross member or cross bar 59 serves as a stop for the plunger 56, and as shown in Fig. 1, an auxiliary shock absorber plunger 62 is slidable in a bore 63 in the plunger 56. The shock absorbing action is provided by an auxiliary helical spring 66. Movement of the auxiliary plunger is limited by a transverse pin 68 received in an elongated slot 69.

The plunger or hammer 56 is operated by the prexiously mentioned pawl I4 which is pivoted to the end of the swingable lever by suitable means such asa pivot 1|. The end of the pawl engages in an elongated recess I2 in the plunger 56. A spring 13 engaged against a stop 14 biases the pawl I4 into engagement with the recess 12 in the position of the parts shown in Fig. 1. The pawl I4 is released from engagement with the recess 12 when the lever I6 is swung slightly further in a clockwise direction as shown in Fig. 2. The pawl engages the plunger 56 for its release. The lever I6 is biased in a counter-clockwise direction by a spring 18 which is engaged in an opening in a tang 19 secured to the frame I8 of the tacker. The remaining end of the spring 18 engages against a pin 63 which serves pivotly to connect a rod 86 to the lever I6.

The parts thus far described, with the exception of the rod 86, are comprised in the stapler or tacker When the stapler or tacker I I is used as a hand operated device, the lever I6 serves as a trigger and it is operated by a handle (not shown) which is pivoted to a pin 88, for example. This pin 88 may serve to secure the device |0 to the `tacker by cooperation by holes 9| (Fig. 6).

The details of the apparatus I0 will now be described. As seen in Fig. 6, it comprises a frame or body member having the bifurcated ends 94 and 95 within which the previously mentioned holes 3| and 29 are provided. The body of the attachment I0 has a cylindrical bore 96 which receives a trigger rod 91 which serves as a valve operator in a manner to be described. The rod 91 is provided with the portion of reduced diameter 98 within which a set screw |0| or the like is engaged to limit movement of the rod 91. The end of the rod 91 opposite the valve arrangement is secured to a trigger bar |03 Which, in the position of theparts of Fig. l, extends beyond the lower edge of the staple magazine 23. In F1g 2 of the drawing, the entire apparatus is indicated as having been pushed against a surface |06 which may, for example, be the surface of a work piece. In bringing the apparatus into engagement with the surface |06 of the work piece, it is preferable to have the heel or end of the tacker I I adjacent the pin, contact the work piece rst. As soon as the trigger bar |83 is pressed upwardly by engagement with the surface |66 of the work piece the staple driving operation is initiated as will hereinafter appear. The rod 91 is notched, as indicated at |68 so that it will serve as an exhaust valve in combination with an exhaust port |09. The rod 91 contacts a second rod III of reduced diameter and which has a still further reduced stem |I4 extending therefrom having a valve member ||8 secured at its end. A loading spring I2I urges the rod 91 downwardly as viewed in Fig. l to maintain the valve ||8 closed against its seat and to cause the trigger bar |03 to project slightly. Screw tting |23 and |24 provide connecting means for a hose |26 that supplies a fluid, such as air, for example, under pressure to the device. The screw fitting |23 has a slightly enlarged bore therein which loosely receives the stem I I4 to provide for an air passage.

The body of the attachment I6 is provided with a cylindrical bore |28 which receives a piston |29. This piston is preferably formed of yieldable material such as, for example, synthetic rubber. Neoprene has been found suitable for the purpose. Yieldability permits the piston to tilt. The piston |29 is received on the end of the rod 86 and is suitably secured thereon as by a screw and washers |33, The end of the rod 86 is, or may be, bifurcated to straddle the lever 6 to which it is pivotally connected by the pin 83 as previously described.

The operation of the apparatus set forth will now be described. As the heel of the stapler or tacker I is set against the surface |06 of the work piece and rocked forwardly the trigger bar |03 will be pressed upwardly thereby pressing the rods 91 and upwardly so as to close the exhaust port |09 and lift the valve IIB from its seat. Air under pressure will then flow through a passage |36 against the head of the piston |29 forcing it downwardly and causing it to rock the swingable lever I6 clockwise. When this is done, plunger or the hammer 56 will be raised and as the lever I6 continues to swing the pawl I4 will move rigidly'with the lever I6 and will be disengaged from the notch 12. The hammer 56 will move downwardly carrying with it the driver bar 36 to drive the staple into the work piece. Downward movement of the hammer 56 will be checked by the auxiliary shock absorbing plunger 62. There is no possibility of the operation being repeated so long as the apparatus is in engagement with the work piece. When it is raised therefrom, the spring I2I will insure that the rod 91 is urged downwardly to force the valve IIS against its seat and to open the exhaust port |99 so that the piston |29 returns to its initial position under the infiuence of the spring 18.

The invention claimed and sought to be secured by Letters Patent is:

1. In an apparatus for driving staples, a staple driver, means to urge said driver in a staple driving direction, means to feed staples to a position against said driver whereby each successive staple is in a position to be driven, means to withdraw said driver against said urging means, said means for withdrawing said driver being releasable from said driver upon continued movement thereof,

means coupled to said means for withdrawing said driver to secure operation thereof, said last named means comprising a piston, valve means for admitting uid against said piston, and a trigger projecting from said apparatus for operating said valve means upon contact with a work piece.

2. In an apparatus for driving staples, a staple driver, means to urge said driver in a staple driving direction, means to withdraw said driver against said urging means, said means for withdrawing said driver being releasable from said driver upon continued movement thereof, pneumatically controlled and operated means coupled to said means for withdrawing said driver to secure operation thereof, and a work piece engaging trigger for initiating operation of said pneumatically controlled and operated means.

3. In an apparatus for driving staples, a staple driver, means to urge said driver in a staple driving direction, means to feed staples to a position against said driver whereby each successive staple is in a position to be driven, means to withdraw said driver against said urging means, said means for withdrawing said driver being releasable from said driver upon continued movement thereof, and pneumatically controlled and operated means coupled to said means for withdrawing said driver to secure automatic operation thereof, said pneumatically controlled and operated means including a member for contacting a Work piece to initiate operation of said staple driving apparatus.

JOSEPH CRISTIANO.

REFERENCES CITED The following references areof record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,014,639 Colwell Jan. 16, 1912 2,341,530 Crosby Feb. 15, 1944 2,412,620 Kipp Dec. 17, 1946 2,482,993 Walker Sept. 27, 1949 2.558.403 Wandel June 26 1951

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