The present invention relates to powered fastener drivers, and more specifically to gas spring-powered fastener drivers.
There are various fastener drivers known in the art for driving fasteners (e.g., nails, tacks, staples, etc.) into a workpiece. These fastener drivers operate utilizing various means known in the art (e.g. compressed air generated by an air compressor, electrical energy, a flywheel mechanism, etc.), but often these designs are met with power, size, and cost constraints.
The present invention provides, in one aspect, a gas spring-powered fastener driver including a cylinder, a moveable piston positioned within the cylinder, a driver blade attached to the piston and movable therewith between a ready position and a driven position, a lifter operable to move the driver blade from the driven position to the ready position, a transmission for providing torque to the lifter, a first clutch mechanism permitting a transfer of torque to an output shaft of the transmission in a single rotational direction, and a second clutch mechanism limiting an amount of torque transferred to the transmission output shaft and the lifter.
The present invention provides, in another aspect, a gas spring-powered fastener driver including a cylinder, a moveable piston positioned within the cylinder, a driver blade attached to the piston and movable therewith between a ready position and a driven position, a lifter operable to move the driver blade from the driven position to the ready position, a transmission for providing torque to the lifter, and a housing including a cylinder support portion in which the cylinder is at least partially positioned and a transmission housing portion in which the transmission is at least partially positioned. The cylinder support portion is integrally formed with the transmission housing portion as a single piece.
The present invention provides, in yet another aspect, a gas spring-powered fastener driver including a cylinder, a moveable piston positioned within the cylinder, a driver blade attached to the piston and movable therewith between a ready position and a driven position, and a lifter operable to move the driver blade from the driven position to the ready position. The lifter includes a plurality of pins engageable with the driver blade and a bearing positioned on at least one of the pins.
The present invention provides, in a further aspect, a gas spring-powered fastener driver including a cylinder, a moveable piston positioned within the cylinder, a driver blade attached to the piston and movable therewith between a ready position and a driven position, a lifter operable to move the driver blade from the driven position to the ready position, and a latch assembly movable between a latched state in which the driver blade is held in the ready position against a biasing force, and a released state in which the driver blade is permitted to be driven by the biasing force from the ready position to the driven position. The latch assembly includes a latch, a solenoid, and a linkage for moving the latch out of engagement with the driver blade when transitioning from the latched state to the released state. The linkage has a first end pivotably coupled to the solenoid and a second end positioned within a slot formed in the latch, in which movement of the second end of the linkage within the slot causes the latch to rotate.
The present invention provides, in another aspect, a gas spring-powered fastener driver including a cylinder, a moveable piston positioned within the cylinder, a driver blade attached to the piston and movable therewith between a ready position and a driven position, a bumper positioned beneath the piston for stopping the piston at the driven position, and a washer positioned between the piston and the bumper. The washer includes a dome portion with which the piston impacts and a flat annular portion surrounding the dome portion.
The present invention provides, in yet another aspect, a gas spring-powered fastener driver including a cylinder, a moveable piston positioned within the cylinder, a driver blade attached to the piston and movable therewith between a ready position and a driven position, the driver blade including a plurality of openings along the length thereof, a lifter operable to move the driver blade from the driven position to the ready position, and a latch movable between a latched state in which the latch is received in one of the openings in the driver blade for holding the driver blade in the ready position against a biasing force, and a released state in which the driver blade is permitted to be driven by the biasing force from the ready position to the driven position. The driver blade further includes a ramp adjacent each of the openings to facilitate entry of the latch into each of the openings.
Other features and aspects of the invention will become apparent by consideration of the following detailed description and accompanying drawings.
Before any embodiments of the invention are explained in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and the arrangement of components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the following drawings. The invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced or of being carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology used herein is for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting.
With reference to
With reference to
In operation, the lifting assembly 42 drives the piston 22 and the driver blade 26 to the ready position by energizing the motor 46. As the piston 22 and the driver blade 26 are driven to the ready position, the gas above the piston 22 and the gas within the storage chamber cylinder 30 is compressed. Once in the ready position, the piston 22 and the driver blade 26 are held in position until released by user activation of a trigger 48. When released, the compressed gas above the piston 22 and within the storage chamber 30 drives the piston 22 and the driver blade 26 to the driven position, thereby driving a fastener into a workpiece. The illustrated fastener driver 10 therefore operates on a gas spring principle utilizing the lifting assembly 42 and the piston 22 to further compress the gas within the cylinder 18 and the storage chamber cylinder 30. Further detail regarding the structure and operation of the fastener driver 10 is provided below.
With reference to
With reference to
With reference to
With reference to
With continued references to
In operation of the one-way clutch mechanism 114, the rolling elements 126 are maintained in engagement with the respective lugs 118 in the first rotational direction (i.e., counter-clockwise from the frame of reference of
With reference to
The driver 10 further includes a torque-limiting clutch mechanism 158 incorporated in the transmission 62. More specifically, the torque-limiting clutch mechanism 158 includes the ring gear 138, which is also a component of the second planetary stage 86. The torque-limiting clutch mechanism 158 limits an amount of torque transferred to the transmission output shaft 74 and the lifter 78. In the illustrated embodiment, the torque-limiting clutch mechanism 158 is incorporated with the second planetary stage 86 of the transmission 62 (i.e., the last of the planetary transmission stages), and the one-way and torque-limiting clutch mechanisms 114, 158 are coaxial (i.e., aligned with the rotational axis 134).
With continued references to
With reference to
With reference to
With reference to
With reference to
With reference to
In other words, the latch 218 is moveable between a latched position (coinciding with the latched state of the latching assembly 214 shown in
With reference to
With reference to
With reference to
The conical washer 298 extends above and at least partially around the bumper 294. Specifically, the conical washer 298 includes a dome portion 322 against which the piston 22 impacts, an upper flat annular portion 326 surrounding the dome portion 322, a tapering portion 330 with a progressively increasing outer diameter (from top to bottom from the frame of reference of
During operation of the driver 10, the conical washer 298 facilitates distribution of the impact force from the piston 22 across the entire width of the bumper 294 while also ensuring that the impact force from the piston 22 is applied transversely to the bumper 294 as a result of the cylindrical portion 334 of the washer 298 limiting its movement to translation within the recess 302. In other words, the cylindrical portion 334 prevents the washer 298 from becoming skewed within the recess 302, which might otherwise result in a non-uniform distribution of impact forces applied to the bumper 294. In the illustrated embodiment, the conical washer 298 is made from a plastic or elastomeric material.
With reference to
With reference to
With reference to
With reference to
With reference to
After one complete rotation of the lifter 78 occurs, the latch 218 maintains the driver blade 26 in an intermediate position between the driven position and the ready position while the lifter 78 continues counter-clockwise rotation (from the frame of reference of
Various features of the invention are set forth in the following claims.
This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/113,050 filed on Feb. 6, 2015; U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/240,801 filed on Oct. 13, 2015; and U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/279,408 filed on Jan. 15, 2016, the entire contents of each are incorporated herein by reference.
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