The present invention is related to a fastener driving device that includes a dust blower.
Fastener driving devices are often used in a construction setting in which dust may cover the target location for a fastener. This may make it challenging to accurately locate where a fastener is to be driven into the workpiece. In order to clean off the target location, the user of the fastener driving device may hold the fastener driving device with one hand, and use the other hand to manipulate a separate blower or brush.
Although there is at least one existing fastener driving device that has a built-in dust blower located near the head valve of the device, it takes two hands to use the dust blower, one hand to hold the device and one hand to operate the dust blower. Moreover, the outlet of the dust blower is located towards an upper portion of the device, which makes it awkward to use when needed.
It is desirable to have a fastener driving device with a built-in dust blower that is less cumbersome to use.
According to one aspect of the invention, there is provided a fastener driving device that includes a housing having an engine receiving portion and a handle portion. A drive engine is located in the engine receiving portion. The drive engine includes a cylinder and a piston reciprocally mounted within the cylinder. The piston includes a driver configured to move along a drive axis to drive a fastener during a drive stroke. A reservoir is at least partially located in the handle portion and is configured to receive a gas having a pressure greater than atmospheric pressure. The reservoir is in fluid communication with the drive engine. The fastener driving device also includes a trigger configured to operate the drive engine, and a dust blower configured to allow gas in the reservoir to be selectively communicated to atmosphere through an outlet in the engine receiving portion of the housing. The dust blower includes a passageway extending from the reservoir to the outlet in the engine receiving portion of the housing. The passageway at least partially circumnavigates the cylinder of the drive engine. The dust blower also includes an actuator configured to selectively open and close the passageway so that when the passageway is open, gas from the reservoir is communicated from the reservoir to the outlet, and when the passageway is closed, the gas from the reservoir is not communicated from the reservoir to the outlet.
According to another aspect of the invention, there is provided a fastener driving device that includes a housing having an engine receiving portion and a handle portion extending from the engine receiving portion. A nose assembly is operatively connected to the housing and defines a drive track. A drive engine located in the engine receiving portion of the housing, and includes a cylinder and a piston reciprocally mounted within the cylinder. The piston includes a driver configured to move along a drive axis to drive a fastener out of the drive track in the nose assembly during a drive stroke. A reservoir is at least partially located in the handle portion and is configured to receive a gas having a pressure greater than atmospheric pressure. The reservoir is in fluid communication with the drive engine. The fastener driving device includes a trigger configured to operate the drive engine. A dust blower is configured to allow gas in the reservoir to be selectively communicated to atmosphere through an outlet in the engine receiving portion of the housing. The outlet is positioned near the nose assembly and configured to direct at least a portion of the gas generally in the same direction as the drive axis.
According to another aspect of the invention, there is provided a fastener driving device that includes a housing having an engine receiving portion and a handle portion. A drive engine is located in the engine receiving portion, and includes a cylinder and a piston reciprocally mounted within the cylinder. The piston includes a driver configured to move along a drive axis to drive a fastener during a drive stroke. A reservoir is at least partially located in the handle portion and is configured to receive a gas having a pressure greater than atmospheric pressure. The reservoir is in fluid communication with the drive engine. The fastener driving device also includes a trigger configured to operate the drive engine. A dust blower is configured to allow gas in the reservoir to be selectively communicated to atmosphere through an outlet in the engine receiving portion of the housing. The dust blower includes an actuator on the housing. The actuator has a manually engageable portion positioned on or near the handle portion to enable a user grasping the handle portion with one hand to access the trigger and/or the manually engageable portion with the one-hand. The actuator is configured to selectively open and close a passageway between the reservoir and the outlet so that when the passageway is open, gas from the reservoir is communicated from the reservoir to the outlet, and when the passageway is closed, the gas from the reservoir is not communicated from the reservoir to the outlet.
These and other objects, features, and characteristics of the present invention, as well as the methods of operation and functions of the related elements of structure and the combination of parts and economies of manufacture, will become more apparent upon consideration of the following description and the appended claims with reference to the accompanying drawings, all of which form a part of this specification, wherein like reference numerals designate corresponding parts in the various figures. In one embodiment, the structural components illustrated herein are drawn to scale. It is to be expressly understood, however, that the drawings are for the purpose of illustration and description only and are not a limitation of the invention. In addition, it should be appreciated that structural features shown or described in any one embodiment herein can be used in other embodiments as well. It is to be expressly understood, however, that the drawings are for the purpose of illustration and description only and are not intended as a definition of the limits of the invention. As used in the specification and in the claims, the singular form of “a”, “an”, and “the” include plural referents unless the context clearly dictates otherwise.
Features of the fastener driving device in accordance with one embodiment are shown in the drawings, in which like reference numerals designate like elements. The drawings form part of this original disclosure in which:
As illustrated, the housing 12 includes an engine receiving portion 16 and a cap 18 that is connected to the engine receiving portion 16 at one end. The housing 12 also includes a handle portion 20 that extends from the engine receiving portion 16. As shown, the handle portion 20 may extend substantially perpendicularly from the engine receiving portion 16. The handle portion 20 is configured to be received by a user's hand, thereby making the device 10 portable. The reservoir 14 is substantially defined by the handle portion 20, although it is contemplated that a portion of the reservoir 14 may be defined by the engine receiving portion 16 as well. In an embodiment, the handle portion 20 may also include a second reservoir (not shown) that is configured to be open to atmosphere and is configured to allow exhaust gas to exit the device 10 through the handle portion 20.
The device 10 also includes a nose assembly 22 that is connected to the housing 12. The nose assembly 22 defines a fastener drive track 24 therein, as illustrated in
As shown in
The fastener driver 42 is configured to enter the drive track 24 and drive the successive leading fasteners, one at a time, into the workpiece. The fastener driver 42 may have any configuration. In the illustrated embodiment, the fastener driver 42 includes a piston 52 and a drive rod 54 that is connected to the piston 52. A seal 56 is provided between the piston 52 and an interior wall of the cylinder 40 so as to form a slidable seal. This allows pressure on one side of the piston 52 to be different from pressure on the other side of the piston 52 so that a pressure differential may effect movement of the piston 52. The drive rod 54 may be connected to the piston 52 by any suitable fastening technique, such as a threaded or a welded connection. The illustrated embodiment is not intended to be limiting in any way. The drive rod 54 may have a substantially circular cross-section, or the drive rod 54 may have a cross-section that is D-shaped, or is shaped as a crescent, as would be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art.
The engine 38 also includes a head valve 58, partially shown in
The device 10 also includes an actuator 64 that is constructed and arranged to actuate the head valve 58, and, hence, initiate the drive stroke. The actuator 64 includes a trigger valve 66 and a contact arm 68 that interacts with the trigger valve 66 through a mechanical linkage. The trigger valve 66 is constructed and arranged to allow passage of the pressurized gas from the reservoir 14 to a chamber above the head valve 58 through a passageway (not shown), and to selectively allow passage of gas from the chamber through an exhaust opening in the trigger valve 66.
The trigger valve 66 may be moved to the actuated position by pressing a valve stem 90 against the force applied on the valve stem 90 by the pressurized gas, and the bias of a spring 96 that is disposed within the trigger valve 66. This may be done with the user's finger, or can be done with a trigger 98 that is rotatably mounted to the housing 12. Triggers that have linear movement rather then rotational movement are also contemplated. When the trigger 98 is rotated toward the valve stem 90 while the contact arm 68 is depressed against the workpiece, the trigger 98 engages the valve stem 90 and presses the valve stem 90 against the bias of the spring 96. When the trigger valve 66 is actuated, i.e. when the valve stem 90 is moved against the bias of the spring 96 and the pressurized gas, the passageway within the trigger valve 66 between the chamber above the head valve 58 and the exhaust opening is opened, and the pressurized gas in the chamber is now able to flow through the trigger valve and out the exhaust opening.
Actuation of the head valve 58, or movement of the head valve 58 to the open position, will depend on whether the pressurized gas from the chamber above the head valve 58 is exhausted to atmosphere through the trigger valve 66. Once the pressurized gas from the chamber starts to be exhausted, the pressure within the chamber drops. This pressure drop, when high enough, allows the head valve 58 to move to the open position due to the force being exerted on the head valve 58 by the pressurized gas within the reservoir 14, which is at a greater pressure. Additional details of suitable engines and actuators for the fastener driving device 10 may be found in, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,134,586, 7,143,918, and 7,677,426, the entire contents which are incorporated herein by reference.
As illustrated in
As illustrated in
The passageway 102 is connected to the outlet 104 via a second passageway 120 that extends perpendicularly from the passageway 102 and substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of the cylinder, as illustrated in
As can be appreciated from
As illustrated in
The actuator 106 includes a manually engageable portion 130, an elongated member 132 that is operatively connected to the manually engageable portion 130, and a pair of seals 134 spaced apart along the elongated member 132. The manually engageable portion 130 may be in the form of a push button that is configured to be pushed by a user's thumb or finger, as illustrated in the Figures, and may be attached to one end of the elongated member 132. Any suitable means for attaching the push button to the elongated member 132 may be used, such as a press fit, an adhesive, etc. In another embodiment, the manually engageable portion 30 may be in the form of a rotatable switch or a slide, or any other suitable structure that is configured to allow the user to actuate the actuator 106. The illustrated embodiment is not intended to be limiting in any way.
The elongated member 132 generally includes a first portion 136 configured to be received by the first portion 126a of the elongated chamber 126, and a second portion 138 configured to be received by the second portion 126b of the elongated chamber 126. As illustrated, the first portion 136 has section that has a smaller diameter than the second portion 138 and is located between the pair of seals 134. The seals 134, which may be o-rings, are configured to engage the inner surface that defines the first portion 126a of the elongated chamber 126 when the elongated member 132 is positioned within the chamber 126 and provide a seal between the first portion 126a of the elongated chamber 126 and the first portion 136 of the elongated member 132 when the elongated member 132 is in a first position, as illustrated in
The actuator 106 also includes an end cap 140 and a biasing member 142, which may be a spring, for example a coil spring, that is positioned between the elongated member 132 and the end cap 140. The biasing member 142 is configured to bias the elongated member 132 in the first position, as discussed in further detail below. Any suitable biasing member may be used to bias the elongated member 132. The illustrated embodiment is not intended to be limiting in any way. The end cap 140 may be a set screw that is screwed into the housing 12, as illustrated in
When the elongated member 132 is in the first position, as illustrated in
To actuate the dust blower 100 by moving the elongated member 132 from the first position to the second position, the user may use a thumb (or finger) to press the manually engageable portion 130 of the actuator 106 towards the housing 12 and against the bias of the bias member 142, which opens a fluid flow path between the reservoir 14 and the outlet 104, as described above. To stop the flow of the pressurized gas from the reservoir 14 to the outlet 104, the user may take the thumb (or finger) off of the manually engageable portion 130 so that the biasing member 142 may move the elongated member 132 from the second position back to the first position, which will stop the flow of the pressurized gas from the reservoir to the outlet 104.
In the illustrated embodiment, the manually engageable portion 130 of the actuator 106 is located near the trigger 98 of the fastener driving device 10, as illustrated in
While specific embodiments of the invention have been described above, it will be appreciated that the invention may be practiced otherwise than as described. The descriptions above are intended to be illustrative, not limiting. Thus, it will be apparent to one skilled in the art that modifications may be made to the invention as described without departing from the scope of the claims set out below.
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Number | Date | Country | |
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20120000031 A1 | Jan 2012 | US |