Loop-Held Fastener Strip for Rigid Magazine Feeding
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing fastener strips for power tools lack efficient mechanisms to securely hold and advance fasteners, leading to issues with rigidity and consistent feeding during the driving process, which can result in inefficiencies and potential misalignment.
Innovation Solution
A fastener strip design featuring a backer with multiple fastener holders, each containing a pair of loops with holes to securely hold fasteners, and a terminal support to assist in maintaining the strip's rigidity and alignment within the power tool's magazine, allowing for consistent feeding and driving of fasteners.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If a conventional fastener strip design is used, then the structure is simple, but the rigidity is insufficient leading to misalignment during feeding
Solution Approach 1:
The fastener strip is segmented into multiple functional components: a backer portion providing structural support, multiple fastener holders with loops for securing fasteners, and a terminal support at the end. This segmentation allows each component to perform its specific function while collectively providing the necessary rigidity and complexity to solve the feeding alignment problem.
Solution Approach 2:
The fastener strip employs a composite structure combining the backer portion (providing overall rigidity), fastener holders with loops (providing fastener retention), and terminal support (providing end stability). This composite design integrates multiple material functions into a single strip structure, achieving enhanced rigidity without excessive complexity.
2Reliability
If fasteners are held loosely in the strip, then the strip structure is simpler, but feeding consistency and alignment are poor
Solution Approach 1:
Each fastener holder is segmented into multiple loops (first loop and second loop) that work together to securely retain the fastener. This segmentation of the holding function into multiple discrete loops provides reliable fastener retention while maintaining a relatively simple overall structure that feeds consistently.
3Reliability
If the fastener strip lacks terminal support, then the structure is simpler, but the end alignment and feeding reliability deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The terminal support is positioned at the end of the backer portion before the fasteners are fed into the power tool. This preliminary positioning structure pre-establishes the correct alignment and orientation of the fastener strip as it enters the feeding mechanism, ensuring reliable end alignment without requiring complex adjustment mechanisms during operation.
Data Source
AI summary
A strip for holding fasteners includes a backer extending along a strip axis and having a first side and a second side, wherein the second side is opposite the first side. The strip includes fastener holders disposed along a length of the first side of the backer, where each of the fastener holders includes a first loop having a first hole and a second loop having a second hole configured to hold a fastener. The backer is configured to be fed through a magazine of a power tool such that fasteners held by the fastener holders may be driven into a workpiece by the power tool.