Scalloped Driver Blade and Lockout Assembly for Fastener Tool
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing fastening tool driver blades with a flat profile cause staple legs to buckle when driving staples into a workpiece, and the tools can be damaged when fired without fasteners, leading to reduced tool life and potential harm.
Innovation Solution
A scalloped driver blade profile that contacts the curved edges of staples above their legs, preventing buckling, and a lockout assembly that prevents the tool from firing when the magazine is empty or nearly empty of fasteners.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If a flat profile driver blade is used, then the structure is simple, but the staple legs buckle when driving staples into the workpiece
Solution Approach 1:
The driver blade transitions from a uniform flat profile to a scalloped profile with varying local geometries. The scalloped profile includes specific features such as a crown relief portion and leg relief portions that create localized contact points on the staple, applying force at optimal locations to prevent buckling while maintaining overall structural integrity of the blade
Solution Approach 2:
The driver blade incorporates curved and scalloped surfaces instead of flat surfaces. The scalloped profile features rounded contact surfaces that match the curvature of the staple crown and legs, enabling better force distribution and preventing stress concentration that would cause buckling
2Ease of operation
If the tool is allowed to fire without fasteners, then the operation is unrestricted, but the tool suffers damage and reduced life
Solution Approach 1:
The lockout assembly performs a preliminary check before allowing the tool to fire. The fastener presence detector detects whether a fastener is present in the magazine before the firing operation can commence, preventing damage by blocking the firing sequence when no fastener is available
Solution Approach 2:
The lockout assembly creates a feedback mechanism where the detected state of fastener presence is used to control the firing capability. When no fastener is detected, the system provides feedback to the firing mechanism to prevent operation, and this state is maintained until a fastener is loaded into the magazine
Data Source
AI summary
A tool is provided for applying fasteners to a workpiece. The tool as a magazine that carries multiple fasteners and is carried by a housing. A driver blade is provided to drive a lead fastener into a workpiece. The driver blade has a driving edge with a profile that includes driving projections, having curved contact surface for contact with curved edges of the fastener, and a relief portion therebetween that is recessed relative to both projections and contact surfaces. Further, the tool includes a lockout assembly for limiting movement of the driver blade and contact trip, thereby limiting activation of the motor. The pusher may include a pusher lockout surface that is designed for movement in an opposite direction to a feed direction by the contact trip as well as configured to slide over a locking art of the contact trip when the fasteners are empty or nearly empty.