FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a nail stop for a fastening tool.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Fastening tools, such as nailers, are used in the construction trades. However, many fastening tools which are available do not provide an operator with fastener magazines which are capable of easily accomplished, efficient and effective use, operation and reloading. Often, available fastening tools have noses which are insufficient in design, heavy in weight, experience misfire, exhibit poor fastener positioning before firing and produce unacceptable rates of damaged fasteners when fired. Further, many available fastening tools do not adequately guard the moving parts of a nailer driving mechanism from damage.

Additional difficulties which exist regarding many available fastener magazines include difficult and inefficient fastener loading procedures. Inconvenient or problematic procedures are required to activate a fastening tool for use after fastener reloading. Reloading problems exist in magazines in which reloading requires a fastener feeder to be moved in a direction inconsistent with the loading of new fasteners and/or in which one or more internal pieces mechanically obstruct or impinge upon a fastener pathway. Many existing magazines for feeding fasteners are particularly problematic under field conditions in which fastening tools are used and in view of the number of fasteners typically fastened during the use of a fastening tool.

There is a strong need for an improved magazine for use with a fastening tool. There is also a strong need for an improved fastening tool nose. Additionally, there is a strong need for a reliable and an effective nose protection mechanism. Thus, there is a need for a fastening tool having improvements in its magazine, nose and nose protection.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In an embodiment, the fastening device disclosed herein can have a magazine having: a pusher assembly adapted to have an engaged state and a retracted state; the pusher assembly having a pusher assembly knob; the pusher assembly knob can be connected to a pusher; the pusher can be adapted to contact a nail and to impart a force upon the nail in a direction toward a nosepiece when the pusher assembly is in the engaged state; the magazine comprises a recess into which the pusher is reversibly retracted when the pusher assembly knob is moved to reversibly retract the pusher at least in part into the recess to achieve the retracted state; and a detent adapted to reversibly maintain the pusher assembly in the retracted state.

The magazine can have a detent which has a raised portion located along the pusher assembly guide path and configured to reversibly mate with an indentation in a pusher assembly knob. The magazine can also have a spring loaded detent.

The magazine can have a pusher assembly knob which is configured to reversibly mate with a detent, and in which the pusher assembly knob can be reversibly fixed in place when the detent and the knob are reversibly mated together.

The magazine can have a detent having a detent base end portion configured to reversibly mate with a pusher assembly knob base portion.

The magazine can have a detent which has a raised portion configured to reversibly mate with the pusher assembly knob. A magazine for a fastening device according to claim which can have a stop which is located proximate to the detent.

The magazine can have a pusher guide track which can guide the path of the pusher.

The magazine can have a guide track ramp configured such that the pusher can be reversibly moved from a position at least in part in the recess guided by the guide track ramp to a position along the pusher guide track.

In another embodiment the fastening tool disclosed herein can have: a nosepiece adapted to receive a fastener from a magazine; a power source adapted to power a fastener driving mechanism which can drive the fastener when triggered; the magazine having a pusher assembly adapted to have an engaged state and a retracted state; the pusher assembly having a pusher assembly knob; the pusher assembly knob is connected to a pusher; the pusher adapted to impart a force upon a nail in a direction toward the nosepiece when the pusher assembly is in the engaged state; the magazine having a recess into which the pusher is reversibly retracted when the pusher assembly knob is moved to reversibly retract the pusher at least in part into the recess to achieve a retracted state; and a detent adapted to reversibly maintain the pusher assembly in the retracted state.

The fastening tool can be a nailer and the fastener can be a nail.

The fastening tool can have a detent which has a raised portion located along the pusher assembly guide path and configured to reversibly mate with an indentation in a pusher assembly knob.

The fastening tool can have a detent which can be a spring loaded detent.

The fastening tool can have a pusher assembly knob is configured to reversibly mate with the detent. The pusher assembly knob can be reversibly fixed in place when the detent and the knob are reversibly mated together.

In yet another embodiment, the magazine for a fastening device disclosed herein can have: a pusher assembly adapted to have an engaged state and a retracted state, the pusher assembly having a pusher; the magazine having a recess into which the pusher at least in part is reversibly retracted when the pusher assembly is in a retracted state; a means for reversibly retracting the pusher at least in part into the recess; and a means for reversibly maintaining the pusher assembly in a retracted state.

The fastening device can be a nailer and the fastener can be a nail.

The magazine can have a means for reversibly maintaining the pusher assembly in a retracted state. In an embodiment, such means can be a detent, latch or stop.

The magazine can have a means to apply a motive force to a pusher to engage the pusher with a fastener when the pusher is not maintained is a retracted state.

In an aspect, the fastening tool can be loaded with fasteners by a method having the steps of: providing a magazine with a pusher assembly adapted to have an engaged state and a retracted state, the magazine having a detent adapted to maintain the pusher assembly in the retracted state, the magazine also having a track for a feeding one or more fasteners, proving a recess in the magazine configured to receive at least a portion of the pusher assembly to allow for the feeding one or more fasteners when the pusher assembly is in the retracted state, reversibly retracting the pusher assembly into the retracted state, maintaining the retracted state by using the detent to maintain the pusher assembly in the retracted state, feeding one or more fasteners to the track, and engaging the pusher assembly from the retracted state into the engaged state.

The method for loading fasteners into a magazine for a fastening device can have a step of feeding one or more fasteners into the track and further have a step of feeding one or more nails into the track.

In another aspect, the fastening tool can have a nosepiece with a nosepiece insert which optionally can be investment cast and made of a light weight material such as aluminum, or steel. The nosepiece insert can have a nail stop which can be offset from a nosepiece insert centerline

The nail stop can have a dimension such that a nail will not have contact with the nail stop after 10 percent of the length of the nail has been driven. The nail stop can be shorter than the length of the shortest nail used with the magazine.

The fastening tool can have a nosepiece having a nosepiece insert which has a portion adapted to be contacted by a nail head of a nail such that the nail is positioned for driving. In an embodiment, the portion adapted to be contacted by the nail head can be at least in part, or wholly, investment cast. The portion adapted to be contacted by the nail head can be a nail stop. In another embodiment, the nail stop can be at least in part, or wholly, investment cast. In yet another embodiment, the portion adapted to be contacted by the nail head can comprise a contact material.

In an embodiment, the fastening tool can have a portion adapted to be contacted by the nail head such that the nail is positioned for driving. The longitudinal centerline of the nail track and the longitudinal centerline of the fastening tool can be configured to have an offset angle equal to or greater than 5°. Optionally, the portion adapted to be contacted by the nail head can be the nail stop. The offset angle can range of from 5° to 75°; 10° to 20°; 10° to 15°; or of 14°.

The fastening tool can have the nail stop which has a nail stop length which is shorter than a nail length of the nail to be driven. In an embodiment, the nail stop can have the nail stop length in a range of from 10% to 90% of the nail length; or less than 25% of the nail length; or less than 10% of the nail length.

In an embodiment, the nail stop can have a head contact length in a range of from 10% to 90%; 25% or less; 10% or less; 5% or less, or 2.5% or less, of the nail length of the nail to be driven

Optionally, the portion adapted to be contacted by the nail head can be a nail stop bridge which bridges the nail channel.

Additionally, this disclosure encompasses methods for positioning the nail for driving. In an embodiment, a method for positioning the nail for driving, can comprise the steps of: providing the fastening tool having the nosepiece insert, the nosepiece insert having a portion adapted to be contacted by the nail head which can be at least in part, or wholly, investment cast; providing at least one nail to be driven; and contacting the nail head of the at least one nail to the portion adapted to be contacted by the nail head. The contacting step can position the nail for driving, optionally by a driver blade. In an embodiment, the method for positioning the nail for driving can use the portion adapted to be contacted by the nail head to guide the nail head for a distance of 0.5% to 95% of the length of the nail to be driven.

The fastening tool can have a means for positioning the nail for driving which can have an investment cast member adapted to be contacted by the nail head and which is configured to position the nail for driving into a workpiece. In an embodiment, the means for positioning the nail head for driving can have the head contact length in a range of from of 0.5% to 95% of the nail length of the nail to be driven.

In yet another aspect, a fastening tool can have a magazine having a lockout which can a locked out state when no nails, or a predetermined number of nails, are present in the magazine. The lockout can inhibit the movement of a contact trip when a predetermined number of nails (or zero (0) nails) are present in the magazine. This inhibition of movement of upper contact trip can make an operator aware that a nail is not going to be driven and that it is appropriate to reload nails or to add more nails.

The lockout can be an angled lockout having a locking leg which does not meet a contact trip at a perpendicular angle to the direction of motion of the contact trip.

The lockout can also protect the components constituting the fastening tool's nosepiece assembly from an application of force resulting from a drop or misuse. In an embodiment, a lockout override can occur when an override force is reached.

