Method for Production of Painted Screws or Nails in a Magazine Strip
Method for production of painted driving-in elements (8), the method comprising providing the elements (8) with heads (7) for driving the elements into a medium, providing a strip-shaped magazine (2) with holes (1) for ordered supply of the elements to a driving-in power tool, inserting the elements into the holes, and subsequently painting the heads of the elements while located in the holes.
Latest Patents:
- Instrument for endoscopic applications
- DRAM circuitry and method of forming DRAM circuitry
- Method for forming a semiconductor structure having second isolation structures located between adjacent active areas
- Semiconductor memory structure and the method for forming the same
- Electrical appliance arrangement having an electrical appliance which can be fastened to a support element, in particular a wall
The present invention relates to method for production of painted screws arranged in holes in an elongated strip magazine for driving-in power tools. The invention also relates to a such a magazine.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONFor rapid fastening by screws, it is common to use belts with screws extending through holes in the belt. An appropriate tool transports the belt though a screwing head which drives the screws one by one through the belt and into the underlying medium, for example a wall. Such belt systems are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,832,696 by Donner or U.S. Pat. No. 7,090,077 by Pally et al. Likewise, belts exist for nails, for example as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,904,032 by Maier. Such belts are typically made of plastics, however, metal belts have been considered in European patent application EP1241363A1 by Sieber.
If screws in such belts are provided with washers, these are typically provided on the opposite side of the belt relative to the screw head, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,811,366 by Chen. Alternatively, washers may be integral parts of the belt and released from the belt together with the screw, for example as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,904,032 by Maier, U.S. Pat. No. 4,019,631 by Lejdegaard, U.S. Pat. No. 6,036,013 by Chen, U.S. Pat. No. 6,620,011 by Obermeier. Likewise, disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,955,674 by Maier are nails in belts with integrated washers.
During production, screws are pressed into the belts either manually or by machines. Machine treatment of the screws is fastest, however, when screws are painted, for example powder painted, the machine treatment may damage part of the paint on the screw head or washer, which results in an inferior product. It would be desirable to solve this problem.
OBJECT OF THE INVENTIONIt is the object of the invention to provide a production method minimizing the risk for damaging the paint on screws or nails during production and insertion into belts.
DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTIONThis object is achieved with a method for production of painted screws or nails, wherein the method comprises
-
- providing driving-in elements with heads for driving the elements into a medium,
- providing a magazine with holes, for example a flat, elongated strip magazine having holes arranged equally spaced in a row along a longitudinal axis of the strip magazine for stepwise supply of the elements in a magazine receptacle of a driving-in power tool,
- inserting the elements into and through the holes, and subsequently
- painting the heads of the elements while located in the holes.
In contrast to prior art, the driving-in elements, typically screws or nails, are painted after insertion into the strip magazine. The advantage is the fact that the elements are subjected to the roughest handling, namely the insertion, prior to the painting. This handling implies less damage to the paint on the surface of the elements. In addition, the insertion into the strip magazine has the advantage that the transport system of the elements into and through the painting machine can be provided by simple means, because the driving-in elements are already ordered in the magazine itself, which is easy to handle by the machine. Whereas prior art machines have to pick up screws or nails one by one for the painting, this is facilitated by the invention, because not the driving-in elements have to be picked up, but the strip only has to be guided through the painting machine.
In some cases, it is desired to use powder painting at a temperature above 180° C. In this case, the strip magazine is made of an electrically conducting material resistant to this temperature. Preferably, the material is a metal, for example aluminium or steel, although other materials are possible, for example carbon materials or conducting, thermo-resistant polymers.
Some screws are inserted into the magazine strip without washers, whereas others are provided with washers. If the washers are provided between the head and the strip magazine, it is advantageous to provide a distance of more than 1 mm, for example equal to or more than 2, 3, 4, or 5 mm, between the washer and the head for allowing paint to enter the space between the head and the washer.
Alternatively, the washers may be provided as integral portions of the strip magazine. In this case, typically, the washers are connected to a remaining part of the strip magazine by separable connecting ribs, for example following principles as described in prior art documents, for example as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,904,032 by Maier, U.S. Pat. No. 4,019,631 by Lejdegaard, U.S. Pat. No. 6,036,013 by Chen, U.S. Pat. No. 6,620,011 by Obermeier, and U.S. Pat. No. 3,955,674 by Maier. If the head and the washer are subject to painting, it is advantageous to provide a distance of more than 1 mm, for example equal to or more than 2, 3, 4, or 5 mm, between the washer and the head for allowing paint to enter the space between the head and the washer.
In a concrete embodiment, the method comprises
-
- providing a strip, for example a metal strip, with a flat mid-piece, for example with a substantially endless flat mid-piece,
- stamp punching or calendar punching holes for driving-in elements into the mid-piece
- subsequently inserting the driving-in elements into the holes,
- and then painting the heads of the driving-in elements while located in the strip.
In order to increase the stability of the strip magazine, there may be provided edge parts along the strip extending from the mid-piece, for example extending laterally. The edge parts may extend at right angles form the mid-piece, but this is not necessary, as the edge parts may extend under a sharp angle between the edge parts and the mid-piece. For example, the edge parts may have an angle of between 70 and 110 degrees with the mid-piece in order to stabilize the strip magazine.
One possible solution is an aluminium strip, preferably extruded. Laterally extending edges may be provided as part of the extrusion process. For example, the edge parts may have an L-form, which means that they extend perpendicular in one direction from the mid-piece. An example of this cross sectional shape is disclosed in International patent application WO 93/09918. Another example is edge parts having a T-form, which means that they extend perpendicular in two directions from the mid-piece. An example of this cross sectional shape is given in German Utility Model DE 200 02 058.
If the edge parts are not provided by extrusion, there are other possibilities, among which calendar rolling of the strip is one option.
If the strip magazine is provided with laterally extending edge parts, these edge parts may be provided with V-shaped slots much in the way as illustrated in International patent application WO 93/09918 in order to allow bending of the strip magazine despite the lateral edge parts. The slots, if equidistant longitudinally along the magazine, are also useful for precise advancing of the magazine through the power tool. In addition, there may be provided weakening lines from one slot on one edge part to a slot on the opposite edge part such that these weakening lines traverse the mid-piece perpendicular to a longitudinal axis of the strip magazine. For example, such weakening lines can be provided by thinning the material along the lines by calendar rolling.
It is known to provide washers with a metal surface facing the head and with a polymer, typically a rubber polymer, underneath the metal surface. In order to provide such washers, the method includes providing the strip magazine as a metal strip with attached polymer covering one side of the strip and providing the washers as integral parts of the strip magazine. The elements are then inserted into the holes of the strip magazine from the metal side.
A preferred magazine comprises a strip in a first material having a flat mid-piece and edge parts extending laterally on both sides of the mid-piece. The mid-piece has cutout perforations surrounding a portion of the magazine strip to form a washer. The washer is connected to a remaining part of the magazine strip by breakable ribs between the perforations. One of two surfaces of the strip is covered by a polymer, the polymer being substantially softer that the first material.
For example, the method comprises attaching a polymer material to one side of the strip before punching holes into the mid-piece. In addition, perforations are punched into the mid piece and through the polymer layer, the perforations surrounding a portion of the magazine strip to form a washer, where the washer is connected to a remaining part of the magazine strip by breakable ribs between the perforations.
A preferred polymer is rubber, especially ethylene propylene diene M-class (EPDM) rubber, which is also resistant to temperatures above 160° C., preferably between 160° C. and 200° C. or between 180° C. and 200° C. or between 200° C. and 220° C., which is the normally used temperature range for powder painting.
By providing a magazine strip with an upper material which is a hard material, for example metal or carbon fibre material, and a lower material, which is a soft material, like rubber, the punching process for the holes and the perforations around the washer is easier than if the strip material were entirely soft, because substantial deformation or even collapsing of the strip during the process is prevented. Thus, the advantages of a soft damping or tightening material of the washer, such as rubber or polymer foam, can be combined with the advantage of a hard and durable washer surface against which the screw is driven.
The invention will be explained in greater detail with reference to the drawing, where
The screws 8 are inserted 10 into the corresponding holes 11 in the strip 2 prior to painting in a painting station 4. In order that the paint, for example powder paint, also reaches the surface of the washer 5, the screw head 7 is located at a distance 3 from the washer, for example with a distance 3 of more than or equal to 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5 mm between the lower edge of the screw head 7 and the upper edge of the washer 5 as indicated in
After having traversed the painting station 4, the substantially endless strip may be cut into shorter pieces, for example pieces of 30 or 50 cm. The term “endless” strip does not actually mean that the strip is endless but is a jargon in the field for strips that are very long, for example more than 10 meters.
The holes in the strip 2 are provided by corresponding machines. For example a stamp punch machine 12 may be used or a calendar punch machine 13 or a combination of both. A strip 2′, 2″ without holes may be provided from a strip source 16, for example an extruder or a magazine of rolled up metal bands. If the initial strip is provided from a magazine of flat rolled up metal bands, the flat band 2″ may be formed into a strip 2′ with laterally extending side edges by using appropriate machines, for example metal rolling machines 15.
An example of a part of a magazine strip 2 is illustrated in
A magazine strip 2 with slits 19 and flaps 20 may also be used for screws 8 with washers 5 as illustrated in
Whereas the strip 2 in
An alternative magazine strip 2 is illustrated in
As illustrated in
Alternatively, a polymer band 24 may be joint with the strip 2′, before the strip 2′ is exposed to an edge deformation in a metal rolling machine 15. For example, the rolling machine 15 causes a deformation of a flat sheet into a substantially U-formed or C-formed magazine 2 having laterally extending side edge parts 18. Such a magazine strip 2 is illustrated in
In
Once, the screws are inserted into the strip 2, the friction between the polymer part of the washers 5′ and the screw shaft 8 secures the polymer band additionally to the screws. For example, the friction between the washers 5′ and the screw shaft 8 may be provided with protrusions that extend radially inward from the washers towards the screw shaft as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,036,013 by Chen.
In the case that local deformations 26 are used to hold the polymer band 24 against the strip 2, the band may be bent into the U-form as well, for example through the metal rolling process, or may be provided in U-form, as illustrated in
Optionally, the polymer band 24 may—in addition to the local deformations 26—be glued onto the strip in order to prevent deformation of the polymer band when screws are inserted into the holes 11. Using glue instead of vulcanisation simplifies the production process substantially. Also, the glue need not cover the entire contact area between the strip and the polymer band. For example, it suffices to support the polymer band, on the one hand, by the local deformations 26 at the edges 18 and, on the other hand, by a one or more lines of glue along the strip 2 near the washers 5′ and/or at the position of the washers 5′.
As an alternative to the local deformations, the polymer band 24 may also be held in place, if the edges 18′ are bent an angle V of more than 90 degrees, for example, as illustrated in
A further alternative is shown in
A further alternative is shown in
Composite washers are commercially available, where a polymer ring, typically HDPM rubber, is vulcanized onto a metal ring. The above embodiments provide the washers 5′ as integrated parts of the strips 2. After driving-in the screws or nails into the underlying material causing removal of the washers 5′ from the strip, the remaining part 25 of the strip 2 is normally discarded. In this connection, it is pointed out that the rubber is a relatively expensive material. In order to reduce the amount of rubber in the cavity 27 of the strip 2, the polymer band need not to extend to the edges 18, 29 of the strip 2 along its entire length. For example, it suffices to provide a band that only covers portions with the washers (5′). This band could be a band with straight edges such that it has a constant width along it length. However, it may alternatively have a corrugated form, being narrower in the regions between the washers and wider at the locations of the washers. Optionally, at the location of the washers 5′, it may extend to the edges 18, 29 for being hold by these, especially, if no glue is used to fix the polymer band 24 to the mid-piece 21.
Though the illustrated magazines only show three holes for driving-in elements, it is to be understood that the number of screws can take any arbitrary value. Typically, the magazines will have more than three holes for screws.
Claims
1. Method for production of painted driving-in elements (8), the method comprising
- providing the elements (8) with heads (7) for driving the elements (8) into a medium,
- providing an elongated strip-shaped magazine (2) with holes (11) for stepwise supply of the elements (8) to a magazine receptacle of a driving-in power tool,
- inserting the elements (8) into the holes (11), and subsequently
- painting the heads (7) of the elements (8) while the elements (8) are located in the holes (11).
2. Method according to claim 1, wherein the method comprises powder painting at a temperature above 180° C., and wherein the magazine (2) is made of an electrically conducting material resistant to this temperature.
3. Method according to claim 1, wherein the method comprises including a washer (5) between the head (7) and the magazine (2) and providing a distance of more than 1 mm between the washer and the head for allowing paint to enter the space between the head and the washer.
4. Method according to claim 1, wherein the method comprises providing washers (5′) for the elements (8) as integral portions of the magazine (2), the washers (5′) being connected to a remaining part (21) of the magazine (2) by separable connecting ribs (23), and wherein the method. comprises inserting elements (8) into the holes (11) with a distance of more than 1 mm between the washer (5′) and the head (7) for allowing paint to enter the space (4) between the head (7) and the washer (5′).
5. Method according to claim 4, wherein the method includes providing the magazine (2) as a metal strip with attached polymer (24) covering one side of the strip, and wherein the method comprises inserting elements (8) into the holes (11) of the magazine (2) from the metal side.
6. Method according to claim 1, wherein the method comprises,
- providing a metal strip with a substantially endless flat mid-piece (21)
- providing edge parts (18, 29) longitudinally along the strip, the edge parts (18, 29) extending from the mid-piece (21) so as to form a cavity (27) with the Mid-piece (21),
- punching holes (11) for driving-in elements (8) into the mid-piece (21),
- subsequently inserting the driving-in elements (8) into the holes (11),
- and then painting the heads (7) of the driving-in elements (8) while located in the holes (11),
7. A method according to claim 6, wherein the providing of the metal strip comprises extruding an aluminium strip.
8. A method according to claim 6, wherein the method comprises calendar rolling the strip for forming the edge parts (18, 29) as part of a metal rolling process.
9. A method according to claim 6, wherein the method comprises attaching a polymer material (24) to one side of the strip before punching holes into the mid-piece (21), and wherein the method comprises, punching perforations (22) into the mid piece, the perforations extending through the strip and the polymer material and surrounding a portion of the magazine (2) to form a washer (5′), the washer being connected to a remaining part (25) of the magazine by breakable ribs (23) between the perforations (22).
10. A magazine comprising a strip provided in a first material, the strip having a flat mid-piece (21) and edge parts (18, 29) longitudinally along the strip, the edge parts (18, 29) extending from the mid-piece so as to form an elongate cavity (27) with the mid-piece (21), wherein the cavity comprises a polymer (24), the polymer being substantially softer that the first material, the mid-piece (21) having perforations (22) extending through first material of the mid-piece (21) and through the polymer in the cavity and surrounding a portion of the mid piece and the polymer to form washers (5, 5′), the washer washers being connected to a remaining part (25) Of the magazine strip (2) by breakable ribs (23) between the perforations (22).
11. A magazine according to claim 10, wherein the magazine strip (2) is resistant to temperatures above 180° C.
12. A magazine according to claim 10, wherein the polymer is provided as a polymer band (24) connected to the midpiece (21) material by gluing or vulcanization at least in an area comprising the portion in order to form a composite washer (5′).
13. A magazine according to claim 12, wherein the polymer (24) and the midpiece (21) material are connected by gluing without vulcanisation.
14. A magazine according to claim 10, wherein the edge parts (18) extend laterally from the mid-piece (21).
15. A magazine according to claim 14, wherein the polymer is provided as a polymer band (24) and wherein the edge parts (18″) have an L-shape to form a C-shaped cavity, the L-shaped edge parts supporting the polymer band in the cavity.
16. A magazine according to claim 14, wherein the polymer is provided as a polymer band (24) and wherein the edge parts (18′) have a plurality of local deformations (26) along the edge, part (18′) and towards the, cavity (27), the deformations (26) supporting the polymer band (24) in the cavity.
17. A magazine according to claim 10, wherein the polymer is provided as a polymer band (24) and wherein the edge parts (18′) extend from the mid-piece (21) cavity under a sharp angle (W) with edges (31) of the edge parts (18′) having a mutual distance (d) smaller than the width (D) of the mid-piece (21).
18. A magazine according to claim 10, wherein the polymer is provided as a polymer band (24) and wherein the edge parts (29) are curved to form hollows (32) accommodating and supporting part of the polymer band in the cavity (27).
19. A magazine according to claim 10, wherein the magazine comprises holes through the washers, the holes being arranged equally spaced in a row along a longitudinal'axis of the strip magazine for receiving elements for stepwise supply of said elements in a magazine receptacle of a driving-in power tool.
20. A magazine according to claim 10, wherein the edge parts have an angle of between 70 and 110 degrees with the mid-piece in order to stabilize the strip magazine.
Type: Application
Filed: Dec 8, 2009
Publication Date: Dec 8, 2011
Applicant:
Inventor: Claus Hornstrup Dissing (Ry)
Application Number: 13/133,233