The present invention relates generally to fastener driving tools, and more specifically to magazines for such tools designed to drive fasteners of differing lengths from the same tool and using the same magazine.
Automatic fastener driving tools are well known in the art, and are operated by various power systems, including but not limited to pneumatic, combustion and electronic power sources. Regardless of the type of power system, such fastener drivers typically are equipped with magazines that store a supply of fasteners to be driven into a workpiece. The fasteners are retained together in strips and are loaded as a group into a slot in the rear of the magazine. A magazine follower includes a handle operated by the user and is provided with a return spring that biases the fasteners towards a tool nose or nosepiece which is the point at which the fastener is driven into the workpiece.
It is common for such tools to be designed to drive fasteners of varying lengths. Magazines are known having two tracks for receiving strips of fasteners, one above the other. In some known magazines, longer fastener strips are loaded into an upper track, and shorter fastener strips are loaded into the lower track.
In operation, problems have occurred when users mistakenly load shorter fasteners in the upper track. Fasteners have been known to jam inside the magazine, requiring disruption of work, if not disassembly of the tool.
In one attempt to address this problem, a plastic fastener feed adapter is slidingly secured to the rear of the magazine. The presence of the adapter reminds the user to load the fasteners in the appropriate slot. In an uppermost position, the adapter accommodates longer fasteners inserted into the slot. When shorter fasteners are employed, the adapter is slid to a lower position. However, it has been found that in use, the adapter is easily dislodged from the tool and lost, and the user has the same problem of remembering to place the shorter fasteners in the appropriate slot.
In another conventional tool, a user-activated lever is rotated to allow longer fasteners to be driven. However, if the lever is not rotated prior to loading the shorter fasteners, the tool may jam in some cases.
Accordingly, there is a need for a fastener-driving tool in which the chances for misfeeding of fasteners described above is reduced.
The above-identified need is met or exceeded by the present fastener driver magazine, featuring an upper track for slidably accommodating a first length fastener, and a lower track configured for slidably accommodating a second length fastener. A magazine follower is configured for urging the fasteners loaded in the track towards a tool nose for driving purposes. The follower is biased towards the tool nose, and includes a follower claw constructed and arranged for engaging the fasteners. In the preferred embodiment, the claw is configured for engaging a shank of the fasteners. In the preferred embodiment, the claw position in the magazine remains the same regardless of the length of the fastener loaded into the magazine. It is especially preferred that the claw is positioned in the magazine such that when a shorter fastener is improperly located in the upper track, the claw does not engage the fastener, and instead, is urged toward the nose. Once the claw engages the nose, a formation on the claw engages the nose such that the tool is prevented from completing the normal operational cycle until the follower is retracted to a rear position, permitting reloading of the fasteners.
More specifically, a magazine is provided for a fastener driver and includes a magazine housing defining a first track for slidingly accommodating a first length fastener, a second track for slidingly accommodating a second length fastener, and a follower mounted to the housing and operating between a retracted position and an advanced position, the follower having a claw constructed and arranged for engaging fasteners slidably engaged in either of said first and second tracks. The first length fastener is longer than the second length fastener, and the follower is constructed and arranged in the magazine housing such that when the second length fastener is placed in the first track, the follower claw fails to engage the second length fastener.
In the preferred embodiment the shorter fasteners are 1.5 inches long, and the longer fasteners are 2.5 inches long. Accordingly, the claw is positioned to engage the longer fasteners when loaded into the upper track, the shorter fasteners when loaded into the lower track, but not the shorter fasteners when loaded into the upper track.
Referring to
A magazine 30 provides a supply of fasteners 32 to the nose 20. Included in the magazine is a magazine housing 34 secured to the tool nose 20 and to the handle 16. A magazine follower 36 is slidably mounted in the magazine housing and reciprocates between a retracted position near a rear end 38 of the housing and an advanced position at a front end 40 adjacent the nose 20.
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In the present tool 10, the magazine 30 is constructed and arranged such that when the second fastener 32b is placed in the first fastener track 42, the follower claw 48 is constructed and arranged so that the shank 50 is not engaged, but instead is entirely missed by the claw, and the claw instead is biased toward the nose 20. Once at the nose 20, the claw is inserted into the connection between the WCE and the driver 14. As such, the tool 10 will not operate until the follower 36 is withdrawn to the retracted position at the rear end 38 of the magazine.
While a particular embodiment of the present dual channel magazine lockout system has been shown and described, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that changes and modifications may be made thereto without departing from the invention in its broader aspects and as set forth in the following claims.
This application claims 35 USC 119(e) priority from U.S. Provisional application Ser. No. 61/655,341 filed Jun. 4, 2012.
Number | Date | Country | |
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61655341 | Jun 2012 | US |