Hammer-activated fastener tool for driving fastener projectiles

A cartridge actuated fastener-driving tool of a type having a generally tubular housing body means to which is fixedly connected a handle, and in which is slidably carried a generally tubular barrel means having a muzzle, the barrel means carrying adjacent its breechward end a chamber body having a bore within which may be placed a power cartridge which is operative, when struck, to forcibly drive the fastener outwardly of the muzzle, a firing pin being slidably carried by the housing body means and ensleeved within an associated spring which biases the firing pin in a muzzleward direction, the firing pin being operative when struck by an associated hammer means to move muzzlewardly and thereby to strike the power cartridge to cause its fastener-driving operativity by propelling a piston means slidably carried in the bore of the barrel means to forcibly engage the fastener,

• the improvement for such a tool, comprising the provision that the tubular housing body means is provided at its breechward end with an inturned lip or flange, providing a housing abutment of fixed nature which provides a bottom against which the associated spring of the firing pin bottoms, and which bottoms the associated spring wholly independently of the handle,
• but nevertheless the lip or flange providing that the firing pin may move muzzlewardly relatively to the housing yet retaining and blocking against breechward movement of the firing pin, the lip or flange providing a fixed stop which blocks breechward movement of a spacer sleeve mentioned below,
• the firing pin carrying an abutment which is engaged with the spacer sleeve for providing the retaining and blocking of breechward movement of the firing pin,
• the housing body means being provided to be open clear thereto from its muzzleward end to accommodate installation of the firing pin and whatever are its associated components breechwardly of its cartridgestriker face to be installed into and removed from the housing body means through the muzzleward end of the housing body means.

A cartridge-actuated fastener-driving tool of a type having a generally tubular housing body means in which is slidably carried a generally tubular barrel means having a muzzle, the barrel means carrying adjacent its breechward end a chamber body having a bore within which may be placed a power cartridge which is operative, when stuck, to forcibly drive the fastener outwardly of the muzzle, a firing pin being slidably carried by the housing body means, and operative when struck by an associated hammer means to strike the power cartridge to cause its fastener-driving operativity by propelling a piston means slidably carried in the bore of the barrel means to forcibly engage the fastener,

• the piston means of the tool carrying an ejector nib on its breechward end, and the tool's firing pin has parts associated with it;
• the improvement for such a tool, comprising the provision of the chamber body with a supplementary axial bore;
• and a supplemental chamber body pin is slidably carried in the said supplemental axial bore, the said supplemental pin being longer than the operative axial length of the chamber body an amount just greater than the axial length of the ejector nib, thereby providing that the supplemental pin will be abutted by one of the firing pin's associated parts or by the breechward end of the piston means, either (a) forcing the ejector nib out of the power cartridge bore of the chamber body while the firing pin's associated parts are in a position in which the firing pin would operatively strike a power cartridge while the latter is in the power cartridge bore of the chamber body, or (b) forcing the firing pin's associated parts breechwardly away from the chamber body.

A cartridge-actuated fastener-driving tool of a type having a generally tubular housing body means in which is slidably carried a generally tubular barrel means having a muzzle, the barrel means carrying adjacent its breechward end a chamber body having a bore within which may be placed a power cartridge which is operative, when struck, to forcibly drive the fastener outwardly of the muzzle, a firing pin being slidably carried by the housing body means, and operative when struck by an associated hammer means to strike the power cartridge to cause its fastener-driving operativity by propelling a piston means slidably carried in the bore of the barrel means to forcibly engage the fastener,

• the firing pin being provided with a control body having an axial bore in which the firing pin is ensleeved,
• the improvement for such a tool, comprising the provision that the said control body's outer surface is provided with a groove means between inwardly-facing wall means, and there is provided a retainer ring means in the said groove means, the retainer ring means providing a frictional drag against the bore of the housing body means, and by abutment of the breechward one of the control body wall means releasably prevents the firing pin and its said control body and its other parts breechward of its striker face from sliding muzzlewardly with respect to the housing body means unless the firing pin is purposefully forced muzzlewardly.

A cartridge-actuated fastener-driving tool of a type having a generally tubular housing body means in which is slidably carried a generally tubular barrel means having a muzzle, the barrel means carrying adjacent its breechward end a chamber body having a bore within which may be placed a power cartridge which is operative, when struck, to forcibly drive the fastener outwardly of the muzzle, a firing pin being slidably carried by the housing body means, and operative when struck by an associated hammer means to strike the power cartridge to cause its fastener-driving operativity by propelling a piston means slidably carried in the bore of the barrel means to forcibly engage the fastener,

• the tool being of a type in which its firing pin is provided with a control body movable relative to the firing pin and to the housing body means, and there is a compression spring means which bottoms against the housing body means to bias the firing pin in a muzzleward direction,
• the improvement for such a tool, comprising the provision of the housing body means at its breechward end with a fixed spacer sleeve;
• and the muzzleward end of the said spacer sleeve provides a fixed housing abutment of a fixed location relative to the housing body means, which blocks breechward movement of the firing pin control body and of the barrel during a forced movement of the barrel means breechwardly relative to the housing body means, during which movement of the barrel means the barrel means operatively pushes breechwardly against the firing pin control body to compress the said spring means, the said blocking thereof by the said fixed housing abutment being operative to prevent continued compression of the spring means.