Metal connector adaptor for a fastening tool

A fastening tool comprising:

• a housing;
• a nosepiece assembly carried by the housing, the nosepiece assembly having a fastener drive track;
• an engine carried by the housing and configured to drive a fastener out of the drive track and into a workpiece during a drive stroke;
• a contact arm comprising an upper contact arm portion and a lower contact arm portion, the lower contact arm portion being movably mounted to the nosepiece assembly and operatively coupled to the upper contact arm portion;
• a trigger configured to move the lower contact arm portion;
• a magazine assembly constructed and arranged to feed successive leading fasteners from a supply of fasteners contained therein into the drive channel;
• an adaptor being configured to receive the lower contact arm, the adaptor including:
• a body having a front portion, a rear portion, an upper portion and a lower portion, and a drive channel through a center portion thereof for receiving the lower contact arm;
• a pendulum member pivotally connected to the body by a pin defining a pivot axis passing through a center portion of the drive channel, the pendulum member being biased about the pivot axis toward the drive channel;
• a pair of claws pivotably connected to the body and surrounding the lower contact arm portion in the drive channel, the pair of claws having an open position and a closed position and being biased in the closed position;
• a guide member that guides a fastening member from the magazine assembly, the guide member fixedly disposed within and on an opposite side of the drive channel and facing the pendulum member, the guide member having a portion protruding from the lower portion of the body, and
• a button member mounted fixedly and extending laterally from the body, the button member being adapted to be manually depressed to reposition the pair of claws from the closed position to the open position.

An adaptor comprising:

• a body having a front portion, a rear portion, an upper portion, a lower portion and a drive channel extending in a direction from the upper portion to the lower portion;
• a pendulum member pivotally connected to the body by a pin disposed perpendicular to the drive channel, the pin defining a first pivot axis, the pendulum member being biased about the first pivot axis toward the drive channel;
• a pair of claws pivotably connected to the body and surrounding the drive channel, the pair of claws having an open position and a closed position and being biased in the closed position;
• a guide member fixedly disposed within and on an opposite side of the drive channel and facing the pendulum member, the guide member having a portion protruding from the lower portion of the body for aligning the adaptor with designated holes in a metal connector, and
• a button member mounted fixedly and extending laterally from the body, the button member being adapted to be manually depressed to reposition the pair of claws from the closed position to the open position.