Microfastener Driving Tool With Integrated Gas Spring
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional microfastener tools require an external pressurized gas source, such as an air compressor, which is cumbersome and limits tool portability, and their lifter motors are often oriented perpendicularly, increasing the tool's profile and working space requirements.
Innovation Solution
A fastener driving tool utilizing a gas spring principle with a sealed pressure chamber and a working cylinder, incorporating a removable battery pack, and a rotary-to-linear lifter mechanism, allowing for a compact design with parallel or angled lifter motor alignment, and a tri-chamber seal to maintain gas pressure for multiple drive strokes.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Force
If an external pressurized gas source is used, then the tool can operate with sufficient driving force, but the tool portability and ease of operation deteriorate due to the need for heavy equipment and hoses
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the external gas source with the tool itself by integrating a gas reservoir and gas spring mechanism directly into the tool housing. This merging eliminates the need for separate external compressors and hoses, allowing the tool to maintain sufficient driving force while significantly improving portability and ease of operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The gas spring mechanism is nested within the tool's internal structure, with the gas reservoir integrated into the housing and the piston-d driver assembly contained within the tool body. This nesting arrangement allows the gas-powered driving force to be generated and delivered without requiring external equipment, resolving the contradiction between force and portability.
2Ease of operation
If the lifter motor is oriented perpendicularly, then the lifting function is achieved, but the tool profile and working space requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs an asymmetric lifter mechanism where the lifter arm and its associated motor are positioned at an angle rather than perpendicular to the tool axis. This asymmetric arrangement achieves the necessary lifting function while reducing the tool's profile and working space requirements compared to a conventional perpendicular orientation.
Solution Approach 2:
The lifter mechanism is designed to operate in a different spatial dimension or orientation than traditional perpendicular arrangements. By repositioning the lifter motor and arm at an angled configuration, the patent achieves the lifting function while minimizing the tool's cross-sectional profile and working space footprint.
3Productivity
If compressed gas is vented to atmosphere after each stroke, then the system can reset for the next stroke, but gas is wasted requiring frequent repressurization
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of venting the compressed gas to atmosphere after each driving stroke, the patent recovers the gas by redirecting it back into the gas reservoir through a check valve system. This recovery mechanism allows the gas to be reused for subsequent strokes, eliminating waste and reducing the frequency of repressurization while maintaining rapid reset capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The gas spring mechanism maintains continuous useful action by keeping the gas sealed within the system throughout the operating cycle. The gas is compressed during the drive stroke and then recovered rather than discarded, allowing the system to continuously reuse the same gas supply for thousands of strokes without interruption or waste, thereby maintaining productivity while eliminating substance loss.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The tool operates independently of external gas sources, providing a compact and portable design with efficient gas reuse for thousands of drive strokes, enhancing usability and reducing space constraints.
Implementation Method 1
The self-contained pressured gas stored in the sealed pressure chamber forces the piston and driver towards an exit end of the tool with sufficient force to drive a small fastener (such as a pin) into a substrate
Implementation Method 2
Actuating a trigger on the tool rotates a rotary-to-linear lifter that holds the piston and driver in a 'ready position'
Implementation Method 3
The upper chamber of the working cylinder (a 'variable displacement volume') is in fluidic communication with the pressure chamber, thereby sharing the compressed gas; this compressed gas is not vented to atmosphere during a drive stroke, but instead is re-used many, many times for thousands of drive strokes
Data Source
AI summary
A portable linear fastener driving tool is provided that drives staples, nails, pins, or other linearly driven fasteners. The tool uses a gas spring principle, in which a cylinder filled with compressed gas is used to quickly force a piston through a driving stroke movement, while a driver also drives a fastener into a workpiece. The piston/driver is then moved back to its starting position by use of a rotary-to-linear lifter, and the piston further compresses the gas above the piston, thereby preparing the tool for another driving stroke. In an illustrated embodiment, the tool exhibits an inverted U-shape tri-chamber design for the central cylinder, a left-side pressure chamber, and a right-side pressure chamber. In one illustrated embodiment, the lifter motor is configured to have its longitudinal axis substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of the working cylinder, thereby making this tool more compact. Other embodiments show the angle to be between 0-90 degrees.