Driving tools

Abstract

To reduce cost of a striking driver used for a mechanical spring-type driving tool and to acquire a hardness, a toughness and wear resistance required for a striking driver by applying surface treatment such as coating to a more inexpensive substrate.SOLUTION: Necessary wear resistance is secured by coating a substrate 13d to which necessary hardness and toughness are imparted by quenching with a low temperature of 300°C or lower with a titanium nitride film or a chrome nitride film by sputtering. An inexpensive carbon steel material is used for the substrate 13d to reduce cost for a striking driver 13. Producing the substrate 13d with punching reduces cost.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a handheld driving tool for driving nails or other driving tools into flooring or plasterboard, for example, at a construction site or the like. [Background technology]

[0002] This type of driving tool is equipped with an impact driver that moves using the gas pressure of compressed gas or the biasing force of a compression spring to strike the driving tool. The driving tool is struck by the impact driver and driven into the workpiece through the driving nose. The impact driver has a long, thin rod shape. By its very nature, impact drivers require high hardness and toughness. For this reason, impact drivers are manufactured by subjecting an appropriate steel material (base material) to surface treatments such as heat treatment and coating.

[0003] Patent Document 1 discloses an impact driver that uses high-speed tool steel as a base material and has a titanium nitride (TiN) coating on the surface. Patent Document 2 discloses a technology in which multiple types of materials are combined and joined along the length of the impact driver to form a single impact driver, thereby imparting the required hardness and toughness to each part along the length. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2018-111157 [Patent Document 2] Japanese Utility Model Application Publication No. 55-175080 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] When producing an impact driver by coating a substrate made of a single material, for example, high-speed tool steel (SKH material) or die steel (SKD material) is used as the substrate and a titanium nitride (TiN) coating is applied to the surface. High-speed tool steel and die steel are typically tempered at high temperatures exceeding 550°C. In contrast, titanium nitride coating is applied at a high temperature of approximately 500°C. This increases the cost of producing the substrate by cutting or machining, but titanium nitride coating can be applied at high temperatures without reducing the hardness and toughness of the substrate obtained by tempering, thereby imparting high hardness and wear resistance to the impact driver. In this disclosure, the hardness, toughness, and wear resistance required for an impact driver can be achieved by applying a surface treatment such as a coating to a less expensive substrate. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] According to one aspect of the present disclosure, the impact driver is provided in, for example, a driving tool and strikes a driving tool. The impact driver has, for example, a substrate and a coating formed on a surface of the substrate by sputtering.

[0007] Another feature of the present disclosure is a method for manufacturing an impact driver that is provided in, for example, a driving tool and strikes a driving implement. The method for manufacturing the impact driver includes forming a substrate using, for example, steel that has been tempered at 300°C or less, and coating the surface of the substrate by sputtering at a processing temperature of 300°C or less.

[0008] Therefore, since the coating is performed by sputtering, the base material is made of inexpensive steel that is tempered at a low temperature, for example, between 150°C and 200°C. For example, the base material can be made by punching an inexpensive steel plate and tempering it at a low temperature. This ensures the hardness and toughness required of the base material while reducing the cost of the impact driver.

[0009] The sputtering method, an example of the PVC method (physical vapor deposition), allows for low-temperature processing at 180°C to 300°C. Sputtering forms a titanium nitride (TiN) or chromium nitride (CrN) coating, achieving a hardness of over 1000 HV. This provides the high hardness and wear resistance required for impact drivers. Other materials, such as steel, cast iron, aluminum alloy, and magnesium alloy, can be used for the substrate. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0010] [Figure 1] 1 is a right side view of the entire driving tool, in which the internal structure of the tool body is shown with a partial cutaway view. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of an impact driver. [Figure 3] FIG. 2 is a plan view of the impact driver. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a side view of the impact driver. [Figure 5] FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of a portion V in FIG. 2, and is a perspective view of the tip of the impact driver. [Figure 6] FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of a portion VI in FIG. 3, and is a plan view of the tip of the impact driver. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0011] In one or more embodiments, for example, the substrate is low-temperature tempered steel, which allows the substrate to be made of less expensive steel.

[0012] In one or more embodiments, for example, the coating is a titanium nitride coating or a chromium nitride coating, which provides the necessary hardness and wear resistance to the surface of the striking driver.

[0013] In one or more embodiments, for example, the coating is applied only to an area not exceeding 10 millimeters in the longitudinal direction of the tip of the substrate in the driving direction, thereby efficiently imparting hardness and wear resistance to the required areas of the impact driver.

[0014] In one or more embodiments, the thickness of the tip of the substrate in the driving direction does not exceed 1.0 mm, which reduces the cost of an impact driver for striking a thin pin tucker, for example, about 0.6 mm.

[0015] In one or more embodiments, the impact driver is manufactured by, for example, stamping a tempered steel material to form a substrate and then sputtering a coating onto only the tip region of the substrate, thereby reducing the cost of the impact driver while maintaining its hardness, wear resistance, and toughness.

[0016] In one or more embodiments, a driving tool includes an impact driver having the above configuration or manufactured by the above method, thereby increasing the durability and reducing the cost of the driving tool. [Example]

[0017] 1, in this embodiment, a mechanical spring type rechargeable pin tacker that uses the biasing force of a compression spring as a striking force (driving force) is illustrated as an example of a driving tool 1. The driving tool 1 has a tool main body 10 in which a striking mechanism 12 is housed in a generally cylindrical main body housing 11.

[0018] The impact mechanism 12 has an impact driver 13 that impacts the driving tool T, a base 14 that supports the impact driver 13, a guide bar 15 that supports the base 14 so that it can move back and forth, and an impact spring 16 that urges the base 14 in the driving direction. The rear of the impact driver 13 is connected to the top of the base 14 via a connecting pin 17.

[0019] The front of the tool body 10 has a driving nose 20 that guides the impact driver 13 in the driving direction. The front side of the impact driver 13 is always inserted into the driving passage 20a of the driving nose 20. The base 14 is advanced by the biasing force of the impact spring 16. The impact driver 13 advances through the driving passage 20a together with the base 14. One driving tool T is struck by the impact driver 13 advancing through the driving passage 20a. The struck driving tool T is ejected from the ejection port 20b and driven into the workpiece W.

[0020] A drive unit 21 and a grip unit 22 are provided at the bottom of the tool body 10. The drive unit 21 and the grip unit 22 extend downward. Although not shown in the figure, a driver lift mechanism is housed below the impact mechanism 12. The driver lift mechanism is driven by an electric motor housed within the drive unit 21. When the driver lift mechanism is activated, the base 14 is lifted rearward against the biasing force of the impact spring 16. The impact driver 13 is returned rearward together with the base 14. When the impact driver 13 is lifted to the rear end, the driver lift mechanism disengages from the base 14. As a result, the impact driver 13 is moved forward by the biasing force of the impact spring 16, performing a driving operation.

[0021] The grip portion 22 is the portion that is held by the user, and a trigger 23 that is pulled by the user is located on the upper front surface of the grip portion 22. When the trigger 23 is pulled under certain conditions, the electric motor of the drive portion 21 starts and the driving operation is performed. In this embodiment, the driving direction of the driving tool 1 is defined as the front side, and the opposite driving direction is defined as the rear side, and the left and right directions are used as the reference point for the user holding the grip portion 22.

[0022] A battery attachment section 24 is provided across the drive section 21 and the lower portion of the grip section 22. A battery pack 25 can be attached along the underside of the battery attachment section 24. The battery pack 25 is a lithium-ion battery that can be removed from the battery attachment section 24 and charged with a separately provided charger for repeated use.

[0023] A magazine 26 is connected to the driving nose 20. The magazine 26 extends downward from the underside of the driving nose 20 along the front side of the drive unit 21. The magazine 26 can be loaded with plate-shaped connected driving tools, each of which consists of a number of driving tools T temporarily fastened in parallel to one another. The loaded connected driving tools are pitch-fed toward the driving nose 20 in conjunction with the driving operation of the tool body 10. This allows the driving tools T to be supplied one by one into the driving passage 20a.

[0024] This embodiment is characterized by the impact driver 13. The impact driver 13 is shown alone in Figures 2 to 4. As shown in the figures, the longitudinal direction of the impact driver 13 is the front-to-rear direction, the left-to-right direction relative to the front-to-rear direction is the width direction, and the up-to-down direction is the thickness direction (plate thickness direction). The front-to-rear direction of the impact driver 13 coincides with the front-to-rear direction of the driving tool 1.

[0025] The impact driver 13 is a member having a long, strip-like shape from front to back, and this embodiment achieves unprecedented cost reduction. The impact driver 13 has a long main body 13c and a wider connecting seat 13a integrally formed at the rear of the main body 13c. A connecting hole 13b into which a connecting pin 17 is inserted is provided in approximately the center of the connecting seat 13a. The connecting seat 13a abuts against the upper surface of the base 14. In this abutting state, the connecting seat 13a is connected to the upper surface of the base 14 via the connecting pin 17. A narrower main body 13c extends forward from the front of the connecting seat 13a. The main body 13c extends forward from the base 14. The front (tip) of the main body 13c is inserted into the driving passage 20a.

[0026] The impact driver 13 is manufactured by sputtering a coating onto a base material 13d made of steel plate. The base material 13d is made of a cheaper material, such as carbon steel, rather than the conventional expensive high-speed tool steel or die steel. The base material 13d is manufactured by punching the carbon steel using a press die, for example.

[0027] Two grooves 13f are formed on one side of the base material 13d. The two grooves 13f are rectangular in cross section and are formed parallel to each other at a fixed distance. The two grooves 13f are formed over almost the entire longitudinal area of ​​the main body 13c. The two grooves 13f function as guide grooves for the driving passage 20a.

[0028] The base material 13d is quenched at, for example, about 800° C. to 850° C., and then tempered at a low temperature of about 180° C. to 300° C. The low-temperature tempering imparts the necessary hardness and toughness (tenacity) to the base material 13d.

[0029] After the heat treatment, the substrate 13d is coated (film formed) by sputtering, which is one of the physical vapor deposition methods (PVC method). By sputtering, for example, a titanium nitride (TiN) film or a chromium nitride (CrN) film is formed on the surface of the substrate 13d. This gives the substrate 13d a surface hardness exceeding 1000 HV (Vickers hardness). The sputtering is performed at a low temperature of approximately 180°C to 300°C. Because the sputtering temperature is lower than the tempering temperature of the substrate 13d, the required surface hardness (wear resistance) is ensured without reducing the hardness or toughness of the substrate 13d obtained by tempering.

[0030] In this embodiment, the sputtering coating is provided only in an area (coating area L) not exceeding 10 mm in the longitudinal direction of the tip end (tip end in the implantation direction) of the substrate 13d. The coating area L may be set to an area exceeding 10 mm.

[0031] The thickness D of the tip 13e of the impact driver 13 (base material 13d) is set to, for example, 0.6 mm. This allows it to accommodate the driving passage 20a with a small opening width that guides an extremely thin driving tool T with a width of, for example, 0.6 mm. The thickness D of the tip 13e can be changed within a range of 0.5 to 0.7 mm.

[0032] The driving tool 1 of this embodiment configured as described above reduces the cost of the impact driver 13 compared to conventional methods. The impact driver 13 is manufactured by coating the substrate 13d by sputtering. Sputtering is performed at a relatively low temperature (approximately 180°C to 300°C). This allows the use of inexpensive carbon steel, which has a relatively low tempering temperature. This allows the cost of the impact driver 13 to be reduced while ensuring the required hardness, toughness, and wear resistance.

[0033] The base material 13d is made by punching carbon steel, which allows for even lower costs compared to conventional impact drivers that are made by cutting high-speed tool steel.

[0034] In the illustrated embodiment, the coating is applied to an area (coating area L) not exceeding 10 mm from the longitudinal tip of the main body 13c. By applying the coating only to necessary areas of the main body 13c, the cost of the impact driver 13 can be reduced.

[0035] Various modifications can be made to the above-described embodiment. For example, although the configuration in which the substrate 13d is manufactured using carbon steel has been exemplified, the substrate material may be changed to another relatively inexpensive material that is tempered at a temperature equal to or lower than the sputtering temperature. For example, instead of carbon steel, alloy steel such as chromium-molybdenum steel, cast iron such as ductile cast iron, or alloy material such as aluminum alloy or magnesium alloy may be used.

[0036] The coating by sputtering may be applied to an area wider than the illustrated coating area L. The coating may be applied to the entire substrate 13d.

[0037] The coating formed by sputtering is not limited to CrN or TiN, and coatings of other components can also be coated.

[0038] The substrate may be manufactured by cutting instead of the punching process exemplified above.

[0039] Although a mechanical spring type tacker powered by a rechargeable battery pack 25 has been exemplified as the driving tool 1, the impact driver 13 shown as an example can be widely applied to other types of driving tools such as gas pressure or compressed air driven tackers and nail guns.

[0040] The driving tool 1 of the embodiment is an example of a driving tool according to one aspect of the present disclosure. The impact driver 13 of the embodiment is an example of an impact driver according to one aspect of the present disclosure. The substrate 13d of the embodiment is an example of a substrate according to one aspect of the present disclosure. The sputtering of the embodiment, which is performed at a low temperature of approximately 180°C to 300°C, is an example of sputtering according to one aspect of the present disclosure. [Explanation of symbols]

[0041] W: Material to be driven T...Driver 1...Driving tool (rechargeable pin tacker) 10…Tool body part 11...Main body housing 12...Striking mechanism 13...Strike driver 13a...Binding seat part, 13b...Binding hole, 13c...Body part, 13d...Base material, 13e...Tip part 13f…Groove 14...Base 15...Guide bar 16...impact spring 17...Coupling pin 20...Driving nose part 20a... firing passage, 20b... ejection port 21...Drive unit 22...Grip section 23...Trigger 24...Battery mounting section 25...Battery pack 26...Magazine

Claims

1. An impact driver provided in a driving tool for striking a driving tool, An impact driver having a flat connecting seat formed by punching carbon steel material and connected to the impact mechanism of the driving tool, a strip-shaped base material having a long main body portion that is integrally formed with the connecting seat and has the same thickness as the connecting seat at the tip side in the driving direction, and whose tip abuts against the driving tool, and a coating formed on the surface of the base material by sputtering.

2. 10. The impact driver of claim 1, The impact driver wherein the substrate is low-temperature tempered steel.

3. 3. The impact driver according to claim 1 or 2, The impact driver, wherein the coating is a titanium nitride coating or a chromium nitride coating.

4. An impact driver according to any one of claims 1 to 3, The impact driver, wherein the coating is provided only in an area not exceeding 10 mm in the longitudinal direction of the tip of the base material in the driving direction.

5. An impact driver according to any one of claims 1 to 4, An impact driver in which the thickness of the tip of the base material in the driving direction does not exceed 1.0 millimeters.

6. A driving tool having an impact driver according to any one of claims 1 to 5.

7. A method for manufacturing an impact driver that is provided in a driving tool and strikes a driving tool, comprising: A carbon steel material tempered at 300°C or less is punched to form a strip-shaped base material having a flat connecting seat portion to be connected to a striking mechanism of the driving tool, and a long main body portion that is integrally formed with the connecting seat portion and has the same thickness as the connecting seat portion on the tip side in the driving direction, the tip of which abuts against the driving tool, A method for manufacturing an impact driver, wherein a coating is applied to the surface of only the tip region of the substrate by sputtering at a processing temperature of 300°C or less.

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