Dry-fire bypass for a fastening tool
AssigneeBlack & Decker Inc.
InventorsErin Elizabeth JASKOT, Michael P. BARON, Stuart E. GARBER
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A fastening tool includes a contact trip operatively associated with a contact trip switch to enable a fastener drive system to be fired when the contact trip reaches a firing position, after having engaged a work surface. If a dry-fire condition exists in a magazine connected to the fastening tool, the movement of the contact trip is completely taken up or absorbed by a biasing agent so that the contact trip switch is not closed. The biasing agent also limits the amount of force that can be applied to the contact trip switch in the event an operator slams the contact trip against a work surface or drops the fastening tool nose-first onto an unyielding surface.
Claims20
A method of bypassing an arming device of a fastener drive system disposed in a housing of a fastening tool, the arming device normally being responsive to movement of a fastening tool contact trip to a firing position to enable the fastener drive system to drive a fastener, comprising:
- taking up the distance traveled by the contact trip when the contact trip moves toward the firing position so that the arming device remains in a no-fire condition.
A method of limiting the force applied to a contact trip switch by a contact trip of a fastening tool as the contact trip moves toward a firing position closing the switch, comprising:
- transmitting the force applied by the contact trip to the contact trip switch via a biasing agent.
A fastening tool, comprising:
- a housing;
- a fastener drive system disposed in the housing and including a driver for driving fasteners into a work surface;
- an arming device connected to the fastener drive system and having a no-fire condition preventing the drive system from firing and having a firing condition enabling the drive system to be fired;
- a contact trip movably connected to the housing and engageable with the work surface;
- a biasing agent housing movably disposed in the housing and operatively associated with the contact trip and the arming device, the biasing agent housing biased to be engageable with the arming device;
- a main spring connected to the housing and biasing the contact trip into engagement with the work surface,
- wherein the contact trip is movable to a firing position in response to engagement with the work surface,
- wherein the biasing agent housing is engageable with the arming device to cause the arming device to assume the firing condition when the contact trip reaches the firing position, and
- wherein the biasing agent housing is movable independently of the contact trip, responsive to a bypass event, to permit the contact trip to move to the firing position without placing the arming device in the firing condition.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.