The present invention relates to powered fastener drivers, and more specifically to drivetrains for powered fastener drivers.
Powered fastener drivers are used for driving fasteners (e.g., nails, tacks, staples, etc.) into a workpiece. Such fastener drivers typically include a magazine in which the fasteners are stored and a pusher mechanism for individually transferring fasteners from the magazine to a fastener driving channel, where the fastener is impacted by a driver blade during a fastener driving operation.
The present invention provides, in one aspect, a fastener driver comprising a housing defining a handle portion, a magazine in which fasteners are held, a nosepiece for receiving fasteners from the magazine, a driver blade movable from a ready position toward a driven position during which a fastener positioned in the nosepiece is driven into a workpiece, a lifting mechanism operable to return the driver blade from the driven position toward the ready position for a subsequent fastener driving operation, and a drivetrain to provide torque to the lifting mechanism. At least a portion of the drivetrain is positioned within and extends through the handle portion of the housing.
The present invention provides, in another aspect, a fastener driver comprising a nosepiece for receiving fasteners from a magazine, a driver blade movable from a ready position toward a driven position during which a fastener positioned in the nosepiece is driven into a workpiece, a lifting mechanism operable to return the driver blade from the driven position toward the ready position for a subsequent fastener driving operation, and a drivetrain to provide toque to the lifting mechanism. The drivetrain includes an electric motor having a motor output shaft, a first gear box coupled to the motor output shaft to receive torque therefrom, a second gear box having an output shaft coupled to the lifting mechanism to provide torque thereto, and a drive shaft having a first end coupled to the first gear box and a second end coupled to the second gear box for transferring torque from the first gear box to the second gear box.
Other aspects of the invention will become apparent by consideration of the 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
The fastener driver 10 further includes a lifting mechanism 42, which is powered by an electric motor 46, and which is operable to move the driver blade 26 from the driven position to the ready position. With continued reference to
In operation, the lifting mechanism 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 44. 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 mechanism 42 and the piston 22 to again compress the gas within the cylinder 18 and the storage chamber cylinder 30 when the piston 22 and the driver blade 26 are returned to the ready position.
With reference to
With reference to
A clutch 92 is also disposed within the lifting mechanism housing 76 to limit the amount of torque that can be transferred to the carrier shaft 86 and the rotary lifter 49. The clutch 92 includes ball detents 94 preloaded by compression springs 96. The ball detents 94 are wedged against axial ridges 98 disposed on an end face 100 of the ring gear 90, thereby preventing the ring gear 90 from rotation below a predetermined value of reaction torque applied to the rotary lifter 49 and the carrier shaft 86. If the reaction torque applied to the rotary lifter 49 exceeds the predetermined reaction torque value, such as when the rotary lifter 49 seizes while the motor 46 is activated, torque from the motor 46 is redirected by the clutch 92 to the ring gear 90 of the single-stage planetary transmission 82, causing it to rotate within the gearbox 74 (with the ball detents 94 riding up and over the axial ridges 98).
The drive shaft 70 is coupled between the output carrier of the first gearbox 66 and the input spur gear 77a of the second gearbox 74. In the illustrated embodiment of the drivetrain 62, a first end of the drive shaft 70 is coupled to the output carrier of the first gearbox 66, and an opposite, second end of the drive shaft 70 is coupled to the input spur gear 77a of the second gearbox 74. As such, the drive shaft 70 transfers torque from the first gearbox 66 to the second gearbox 74 in response to activation of the motor 46. This “split gearbox” design reduces the torsional load that must be carried by the drive shaft 70 (if used as a direct input to the lifting mechanism 42), thereby increasing the functional life of the drive shaft 70. The shape of the drive shaft 70 is thus optimized for performance and length of life to avoid high levels of stress associated with an otherwise large torsional load.
With continued reference to
When a firing cycle or a fastener driving operation is initiated (e.g., by a user pulling the trigger 44), the motor 46 is activated to rotate the rotary lifter 49, releasing the driver blade 26 and permitting the gas in the storage chamber cylinder 18 to expand and push the piston 22 downward into the cylinder 18. Prior to reaching the driven position in the cylinder 18, the driver blade 26 impacts the fastener in the nosepiece 34, driving the fastener into the workpiece. During this time, the motor 46 remains activated, providing torque to the first gearbox 66, the drive shaft 70, and the second gearbox 74 to continue rotating the rotary lifter 49. Upon the driver blade 26 reaching the driven position, the rotary lifter 49 re-engages the rack 48, returning the driver blade 26 toward the ready position to again compress the gas stored in the cylinder 18 and the storage chamber cylinder 30.
Various features of the invention are set forth in the following claims.
This application is a divisional of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/658,986 filed on Oct. 21, 2019, now U.S. Pat. No. 11,446,802, which claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/750,290 filed on Oct. 25, 2018 the entire contents of all of which are hereby incorporated by reference.
Number | Name | Date | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
6971567 | Cannaliato | Dec 2005 | B1 |
7832610 | Tanimoto et al. | Nov 2010 | B2 |
8186553 | Tanimoto et al. | May 2012 | B2 |
8251271 | Nakano et al. | Aug 2012 | B2 |
8393512 | Tanimoto et al. | Mar 2013 | B2 |
8550320 | Nakano et al. | Oct 2013 | B2 |
8550324 | Coleman | Oct 2013 | B2 |
8561869 | Towfighi | Oct 2013 | B2 |
8720765 | Tanimoto et al. | May 2014 | B2 |
20010031179 | Potter et al. | Oct 2001 | A1 |
20060091177 | Cannaliato et al. | May 2006 | A1 |
20070272422 | Coleman | Nov 2007 | A1 |
20080190988 | Pedicini et al. | Aug 2008 | A1 |
20090294504 | Kunz | Dec 2009 | A1 |
20110036885 | Leimbach et al. | Feb 2011 | A1 |
20110303718 | Spasov | Dec 2011 | A1 |
20140202724 | Moore | Jul 2014 | A1 |
20150375381 | Tanji | Dec 2015 | A1 |
20160176032 | Tanji | Jun 2016 | A1 |
20170129085 | Miyashita | May 2017 | A1 |
20170361444 | Namouz | Dec 2017 | A1 |
20180147709 | Masatoshi | May 2018 | A1 |
20200189080 | Aizawa | Jun 2020 | A1 |
20200391364 | Yasutomi | Dec 2020 | A1 |
20210101272 | Saitou | Apr 2021 | A1 |
Number | Date | Country |
---|---|---|
2081783 | Jul 1991 | CN |
202010012259 | Dec 2010 | DE |
1652624 | Jun 2012 | EP |
1652626 | Aug 2012 | EP |
H0747270 | May 1995 | JP |
2000006051 | Jan 2000 | JP |
2006124498 | Nov 2006 | WO |
2008117880 | Oct 2008 | WO |
2008123485 | Oct 2008 | WO |
2018100943 | Jun 2018 | WO |
Entry |
---|
Partial Supplementary European Search Report for Application No. 19875694.2 dated Jun. 20, 2022 (11 pages). |
International Search Report and Written Opinion for Application No. PCT/US2019/057233 dated Feb. 7, 2020 (10 pages). |
Number | Date | Country | |
---|---|---|---|
20220388136 A1 | Dec 2022 | US |
Number | Date | Country | |
---|---|---|---|
62750290 | Oct 2018 | US |
Number | Date | Country | |
---|---|---|---|
Parent | 16658986 | Oct 2019 | US |
Child | 17888839 | US |