GAS SPRING FASTENER DRIVER
A fastener driver including a cylinder, a piston positioned and moveable within the cylinder, a driver blade attached to the piston and movable with the piston, a front nosepiece at least partially defining a fastener driving track through which fasteners are driven by the driver blade, a rear nosepiece at least partially defining the fastener driving track, and a magazine attached to the rear nosepiece and operable to supply the fasteners to the fastener driving track through the rear nosepiece. The rear nosepiece and the magazine are removably coupled to the front nosepiece as a unit.
This application is a continuation of co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/807,724 filed on Nov. 9, 2017, which claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/419,719 filed on Nov. 9, 2016, the entire contents of both of which are incorporated herein by reference.
FIELD OF THE INVENTIONThe present invention relates to power tools, and more particularly to gas spring fastener drivers.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONThere are various fastener drivers used to drive fasteners (e.g., nails, tacks, staples, etc.) into a workpiece known in the art. These fastener drivers operate utilizing various means (e.g., compressed air generated by an air compressor, electrical energy, flywheel mechanisms) known in the art, but often these designs are met with power, size, and cost constraints.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONThe present invention provides, in one aspect, a fastener driver including a cylinder, a piston positioned and moveable within the cylinder, a driver blade attached to the piston and movable with the piston, a front nosepiece at least partially defining a fastener driving track through which fasteners are driven by the driver blade, a rear nosepiece at least partially defining the fastener driving track, and a magazine attached to the rear nosepiece and operable to supply the fasteners to the fastener driving track through the rear nosepiece. The rear nosepiece and the magazine are removably coupled to the front nosepiece as a unit.
The present invention provides, in another aspect, a method of operating a fastener driver. The method includes initiating a fastener driving operation by moving a driver blade, with a gas spring mechanism, from a retracted position toward a driven position, stopping the driver blade at an intermediate position between the retracted position and the driven position in response to a fastener jammed in a fastener driving track defined between a front nosepiece and a rear nosepiece of the fastener driver, detaching a battery from the fastener driver, and removing the magazine and the rear nosepiece as a unit from the front nosepiece, after the battery has been removed.
The present invention provides, in yet another aspect, a fastener driver including a housing, a cylinder, a piston positioned and moveable within the cylinder, a driver blade attached to the piston and movable with the piston between a first position and a second position, a gas spring mechanism onboard the housing for driving the driver blade from the first position toward the second position, a motor for returning the piston from the second position toward the first position, thereby compressing gas in the gas spring mechanism, a battery removably coupled to the housing for supplying power to the motor, a front nosepiece at least partially defining a fastener driving track through which fasteners are driven by the driver blade, an electrical switch coupled to the front nosepiece, a rear nosepiece at least partially defining the fastener driving track, and a magazine attached to the rear nosepiece and operable to supply the fasteners to the fastener driving track through the rear nosepiece. The rear nosepiece and the magazine are removably coupled to the front nosepiece as a unit, and the electrical switch is operable to detect when the rear nosepiece is removed from the front nosepiece.
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.
DETAILED DESCRIPTIONWith reference to
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In operation, the lifting assembly 48 (
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Occasionally, a misfire or incomplete fastening operation, resulting in a jam, occurs during operation of the fastener driver 10. That is, the fastener 12 failed to completely eject from the nosepiece 16 into the workpiece. Subsequently, the drive blade 20 is inhibited from moving through its full stroke length due to the fastener 12 blocking the fastener driving track 76. To prevent the operator from attempting to clear the jammed fastener 12 while power is still supplied to the fastener driver 10 by the connected battery 60, removal of the rear nosepiece 68 and the magazine 18 to access the fastener driving track 76 (to clear the jam) first requires removal of the battery 60. After the battery 60 is removed, a fastener driving operation cannot be inadvertently initiated, and the rear nosepiece 68 and magazine 18 can be fully disengaged from the front nosepiece 64 to access the fastener driving track 76 to clear the jam.
Also, due to the presence of the electrical switch 92 in the slot 88 of the front nosepiece 64, the fastener driver 10 will remain deactivated, despite reattachment of the battery 60, until the rear nosepiece 68 and magazine 18 are reattached to the front nosepiece 64. Upon reattachment of the rear nosepiece 68 and magazine 18, the projection 80 contacts and closes the switch 92 (if it is normally open), thereby returning the fastener driver 10 to an active or operational state in which a fastener firing operation may be initiated.
Various features of the invention are set forth in the following claims.
Claims
1. A fastener driver comprising:
- a cylinder;
- a piston positioned and moveable within the cylinder;
- a driver blade attached to the piston and movable with the piston;
- a front nosepiece at least partially defining a fastener driving track through which fasteners are driven by the driver blade;
- a rear nosepiece at least partially defining the fastener driving track; and
- a magazine attached to the rear nosepiece and operable to supply the fasteners to the fastener driving track through the rear nosepiece,
- wherein the rear nosepiece and the magazine are removably coupled to the front nosepiece as a unit.
2. The fastener driver of claim 1, further comprising an electrical switch operable to detect when the rear nosepiece is removed from the front nosepiece.
3. The fastener driver of claim 2, further comprising a motor for driving movement of the piston, wherein activation of the motor is inhibited in response to the electrical switch detecting removal of the rear nosepiece from the front nosepiece.
4. The fastener driver of claim 3, wherein the electrical switch is coupled to the front nosepiece, and wherein the rear nosepiece includes a projection engageable with the electrical switch when the rear nosepiece is coupled to the front nosepiece.
5. The fastener driver of claim 4, wherein the projection disengages the electrical switch in response to removal of the rear nosepiece from the front nosepiece.
6. The fastener driver of claim 1, further comprising
- a housing; and
- a battery removably coupled to the housing;
- wherein the magazine and the rear nosepiece are removable from the front nosepiece as a unit in response to prior removal of the battery from the housing.
7. The fastener driver of claim 6, wherein the magazine includes a blocking member engageable with the battery to prevent removal of the magazine from the housing when the battery is coupled to the housing.
8. The fastener driver of claim 1, further comprising a quick-release latch operable to secure the front nosepiece and the rear nosepiece together.
9. The fastener driver of claim 8, wherein the rear nosepiece includes two hooks, respectively, positioned on opposite sides of the fastener driving track, and wherein the quick-release latch is engaged with the hooks to secure the front nosepiece and the rear nosepiece together.
10. A method of operating a fastener driver, the method comprising:
- initiating a fastener driving operation by moving a driver blade, with a gas spring mechanism, from a retracted position toward a driven position;
- stopping the driver blade at an intermediate position between the retracted position and the driven position in response to a fastener jammed in a fastener driving track defined between a front nosepiece and a rear nosepiece of the fastener driver;
- detaching a battery from the fastener driver; and
- removing the magazine and the rear nosepiece as a unit from the front nosepiece, after the battery has been removed.
11. The method of claim 10, prior to removing the battery, blocking removal of the magazine and the rear nosepiece from the front nosepiece in response to contact between a blocking member on the magazine and the attached battery.
12. The method of claim 10, further comprising actuating a switch in response to removal of the magazine and the rear nosepiece from the front nosepiece, thereby inhibiting further operation of the fastener driver.
13. The method of claim 12, further comprising:
- removing the jammed fastener in the fastener driving track; and
- reattaching the magazine and the rear nosepiece as a unit to the front nosepiece.
14. The method of claim 12, further comprising actuating the switch in response to reattachment of the magazine and the rear nosepiece as a unit to the front nosepiece, thereby returning the fastener driver to an operational state.
15. The method of claim 13, further comprising reattaching the battery to the fastener driver after reattachment of the magazine and the rear nosepiece as a unit to the front nosepiece.
16. A fastener driver comprising:
- a housing;
- a cylinder;
- a piston positioned and moveable within the cylinder;
- a driver blade attached to the piston and movable with the piston between a first position and a second position;
- a gas spring mechanism onboard the housing for driving the driver blade from the first position toward the second position;
- a motor for returning the piston from the second position toward the first position, thereby compressing gas in the gas spring mechanism;
- a battery removably coupled to the housing for supplying power to the motor;
- a front nosepiece at least partially defining a fastener driving track through which fasteners are driven by the driver blade;
- an electrical switch coupled to the front nosepiece;
- a rear nosepiece at least partially defining the fastener driving track; and
- a magazine attached to the rear nosepiece and operable to supply the fasteners to the fastener driving track through the rear nosepiece;
- wherein the rear nosepiece and the magazine are removably coupled to the front nosepiece as a unit, and wherein the electrical switch is operable to detect when the rear nosepiece is removed from the front nosepiece.
17. The fastener driver of claim 16, wherein the magazine and the rear nosepiece are removable from the front nosepiece as a unit in response to prior removal of the battery from the housing.
18. The fastener driver of claim 17, wherein the magazine includes a blocking member engageable with the battery to prevent removal of the magazine from the housing when the battery is coupled to the housing.
19. The fastener driver of claim 16, wherein activation of the motor is inhibited in response to the electrical switch detecting removal of the rear nosepiece from the front nosepiece.
20. The fastener driver of claim 19, wherein the rear nosepiece includes a projection engageable with the electrical switch when the rear nosepiece is coupled to the front nosepiece, and wherein the projection disengages the electrical switch in response to removal of the rear nosepiece from the front nosepiece.
Type: Application
Filed: Jun 1, 2020
Publication Date: Sep 17, 2020
Inventors: Edward Pomeroy (Piedmont, SC), Zachary Scott (Easley, SC), John Schnell (Anderson, SC), Essam Namouz (Greenville, SC)
Application Number: 16/889,229