NO347225B1

NO347225B1 - Clip hammer

Info

Publication number: NO347225B1
Application number: NO20211362A
Authority: NO
Inventors: Thorbjørn Drage; Roger Bach; Rune Dalen
Original assignee: Letti As
Priority date: 2021-11-15
Filing date: 2021-11-15
Publication date: 2023-07-10
Also published as: SE2251300A1; NO20211362A1; SE545581C2

Description

Title: Clip hammer

Description

Field of invention

The invention relates to clip hammer, more specifically to a clip hammer operable by one hand for fastening of cables or pipes onto a substrate by means of clips.

Background

In every home and building electrical cables distribute power and signals to numerous locations. Electricians spend a lot of time stretching cables and fastening them to walls and ceilings and in many places throughout the world homes and building are made of wood or plates derived from wood. When building with this kind of material clips that can be hammered into the substrate is preferred by the craftsmen. In some of the prior art both hands must be used.

NO336912 describes a device to insert one legged clips into a substrate using a hammer. Several stapling devices are on the market for stapling the cables to the substrate. However, staples fastened by these devices have the problem of a short extension in the longitudinal direction of the cable to be fastened resulting in high pressure per area covered by the staple. Also, the staple is hammered in to the substrate with one blow. This increases the danger of squeezing the cable which can compromise the integrity of the cable and give a lesser esthetic impression. This problem is exacerbated by the fact that most substrates are uneven in hardness and different strike force is needed to hammer in the same type of clips or staples on different locations on the substrate.

Another issue with a clip hammer is that the clips have a directionality as opposed to nails for a nail gun. The head of the clip must be directed at a right angle to the cable or pipe that is going to be fastened. Also, If the cable is positioned in a visible region it is desirable to be able to space the clips evenly.

The present invention seeks to mitigate, at least to some extent, these problems.

Summary of the invention

In one aspect of the invention it is described a powered clip hammer operable by one hand for fastening cables or pipes onto a substrate with clips. The clip hammer comprises a main section, a front section and a punch rod. The main section comprises a powered hammer device and a main section rod guiding structure directed along a centerline, C of the clip hammer. The front section comprises a front section rod guiding structure directed along the centerline, C, and a clip chamber in front of the front section rod guiding structure for positioning a clip for receiving a strike force. The clip hammer further comprises a punch rod moveable in the main section rod guiding structure and the front section rod guiding structure for transferring a strike force from the hammer device to the clip to be hammered into the substrate. The clip hammer further comprises main section movement restriction means arranged for preventing the movement of the punch rod in the main section rod guiding structure beyond a maximum forward position. The clip hammer further comprises front section movement restriction means arranged for preventing the movement of the punch rod in the front section rod guiding structure beyond a maximum rearward position. The strike force of the hammer device causes the punch rod to move in main section rod guiding structure and the front section rod guiding structure, thus hammering the clip in the clip chamber into the substrate with one or more strikes.

In an embodiment of the invention pretension means pretensions the front section away from the main section along the centerline C, holding the punch rod in the maximum forward position relative to the main section and in the maximum rearward position relative to the front section when no force is applied against the pretension means, leaving the clip chamber open for insertion of a clip.

In another embodiment of the invention the main section movement restriction means of the clip hammer is arranged for allowing the punch rod to move in the main section rod guiding structure between a retracted pre strike position in contact with the hammer device and the maximum forward position, allowing the punch rod to follow the clip as it enters into the substrate during a strike.

In yet another embodiment of the invention the front section movement restriction means of the clip hammer is arranged for allowing the punch rod to move in the front section rod guiding structure between the maximum rearward position, with the front end of the punch rod at the rear of the clip chamber and a forward completion position with the front end at a mouth of the clip chamber

In yet another embodiment of the invention the front section of the clip hammer further comprises a clip magazine for loading a plurality of clips and a reloading mechanism for entering the clips from the clip magazine into the clip chamber one at the time for being hammered into the substrate.

In yet another embodiment the hammer device of the clip hammer is an auto hammer.

In yet another embodiment the punch rod of the clip hammer the punch rod of the clip hammer is pretensioned away from the main section by means of a punch rod spring pretensioned between a rearward facing spring surface and a forward facing spring surface on the main section rod guiding structure which in turn is fastened to the main section.

In yet another embodiment the front section movement restriction means of the clip hammer comprises a punch rod restrictor connected to the front section interacting with a punch rod restriction structure on the punch rod.

In yet another embodiment the main section movement restriction means comprises a main section rod restrictor pin protruding from the punch rod moving in a main section rod restrictor slot on the main section.

In yet another embodiment the main section movement restriction means comprises a main section rod restrictor pin attached to the main section guide structure moving in a main section rod restrictor slot on the punch rod.

In yet another embodiment the clip hammer is powered by a battery driving an electrical motor.

In yet another embodiment the hammer device can be activated and deactivated by activation means.

In yet another embodiment the activation means is activated when the front section has moved a predetermined distance towards the main section.

In yet another embodiment the activation means is activated by means of sensors sensing the relative position between the front section and main section.

In yet another embodiment the strike force of the hammer device can be adjusted according to the strike force needed to hammer different kinds of clips into different substrates.

Short description of the drawings

The following drawings are appended to facilitate the understanding of the invention. The drawings show embodiments of the invention, which will now be described by way of example only. Same numerals in different drawings refer to the same feature.

Fig. 1a shows an embodiment of the clip hammer according to the invention and an exemplary clip.

Fig. 1b shows essential features of the invention in a schematic way.

Fig. 2 shows the front section and the main section of the clip hammer separated.

Fig. 3 shows a side view of an embodiment of the clip hammer with the cover taken off.

Fig 4 shows a side view of an embodiment of the clip hammer with the front section spring mounted.

Fig. 5 shows an embodiment of how the punch rod connect to the front section and the hammer housing of the main section.

Fig. 6 shows embodiments of means for activating the motor.

Fig. 7 and 8 shows an embodiment of the indication system.

Fig 9 shows lengths and distances related to the punch rod according to the invention.

Fig. 10 shows detailed features of an embodiment of the punch rod.

Fig. 11a-d shows a stepwise progression of a clip being hammered into a substrate.

Detailed description

In this text we will assume the powered clip hammer is standing upright as if fastening a horizontal cable on a vertical wall. Rearward and forward directions are indicated in fig. 3. Left and right is as seen from the rear looking forward. We have positioned a centerline, C, of the clip hammer centrally in the punch rod.

The invention discloses a clip hammer 1 operable by one hand for fastening cables or pipes onto a substrate with clips. Figure 1 shows the clip hammer comprising a main section 2 and a front section 3. In fig. 2 the front section and the main section is separated and a punch rod 4, also comprised by the clip hammer, is visible.

Fig. 1b shows the essential parts schematically. The main section comprises a hammer device 5, a hand grip 7, an energy source 11 or access to an energy source 11, a motor 12 for activating the hammer device 5 using energy from the energy source 11 and means for activating the motor. In short, the hammer device is a powered hammer device 5. Further the main section comprises a main section rod guiding structure 24. The clip hammer comprises main section movement restriction means 50, which is arranged for restricting the movement of the punch rod 4 in the main section rod guiding structure 24 to a maximum forward position. This will prevent the punch rod 4 from slipping out of the main section.

As seen in fig. 1b the front section 3 is, in a preferred embodiment, pretensioned away from the main section 2 and is moveable a distance along a centerline, C, of the punch rod 4 and the clip hammer 1. The front section 3 comprises a front section rod guiding structure 25 directed along the centerline, C, and a clip chamber 29 in front of the front section rod guiding structure 25 for positioning a clip 10 for receiving a strike force from the hammer device. The clip hammer comprises front section movement restriction means 51 arranged for preventing movement of the punch rod 4 in the front section rod guiding structure 25 beyond a maximum rearward position. This will prevent the front section 3 from slipping off the punch rod and the punch rod 4 from slipping off the main section 2.

The strike force of the hammer device 5 causes the punch rod 4 to move in main section rod guiding structure 24 and the front section rod guiding structure 25, thus hammering the clip 10, which is positioned in the clip chamber 29 into the substrate with one or more strikes.

In one embodiment, shown in fig. 3, the front section 3 comprises a clip magazine 6 for loading a plurality of clips and a reloading mechanism 36 for entering the clips into a clip chamber 29 one at the time, from which the clip is hammered into the substrate. The clip magazine 6 may be adapted to fit into a clip magazine pocket 6b as seen in fig. 3 Many different kinds of clip magazines 6 may be used and in one embodiment the front section 2 comprises a magazine as described in NO336912. We will not go into great detail in the description of the magazine.

In a preferred embodiment, shown in fig. 3, the hammer device 5 is an auto hammer 5 of the type described in e.g US2011120739 A1 where a rotating hammerhead 13 is mounted with a spring and is diverted to one side of the punch rod 4 if the clip being hammered is not entering far enough into the substrate during a strike and force is applied to the clip hammer by an operator pushing it towards the substrate. Thus, the inertial force of the hammerhead is at least partially preserved, and the rotating hammerhead does not stop if the substrate is too hard. Auto hammers are prior art and will not be discussed, as such, in further detail in this text.

In a preferred embodiment, seen in fig. 3 and 4, the main section 2 comprises a corner hand grip 8, directed rearward and upwards at an angle between 0 and 30 degrees with the centerline, C. This will enable the user to enter the clips in any desired position close to corners where a wall meets the floor or ceiling or another wall.

In one embodiment, seen in fig. 3 and 4, the energy source is a battery and the motor is an electrical motor. Preferably the motor is in one of the hand grips 7, 8 and the battery is in the other of the hand grips 7, 8 as seen in the figures. Other energy sources could be pressurized gas or alternating current from the local grid.

Preferably, the strength / striking force of the rotational hammer is adjustable. Fig. 2 shows a control panel 41 for adjusting the striking power. To obtain optimal use of the clip hammer 1 the auto hammer 5 should have a striking force being a fraction of the striking force needed to enter the particular type of clip 10 into the particular substrate. This set up will enable the user to enter the clip 10 into the substrate with a combination of force from the hand and the strikes from the auto hammer 5. The user can compensate for local variance in force needed by pushing more or less on the hand grip 7, 8 and using a greater or smaller number of strikes. The adjustment on the motor will compensate for different kinds of substrates like types of wood or boards and for smaller or bigger clips. Preferably the number of strikes needed to enter a clip into the substrate is roughly 5 – 25 at the rate of 1-100 strikes per second. 15 – 30 strikes per second seems to be advantageous. This will help the operator to avoid using too much force when hammering the clip and thus destroying or weakening the cable or pipe being fastened to the substrate.

In an embodiment the motor 12 is activated by activation means 37, as seen in fig.

6, reacting on the position of the punch rod relative to the main section 2.

Preferably, the motor is activated just before the onset of hammering in order to save limited battery power. This can be achieved by starting the motor just after the punch rod 4 starts to move towards the hammer head 13. This corresponds to the moment when the clip 10 touches the substrate. The activation means 37 for activating the motor 12, in this embodiment, is sensors sensing the relative position between the punch rod 4 and the main section 3.

In preferred embodiment shown in fig. 6, sensors 22a and b senses the relative position between the front section 3 and the main section 2. As soon as the front section has moved towards the main section and the two sensors 22a and b are aligned or in a predetermined relative position, the motor 12 is started and the auto hammer 5 is ready for hammer action. This feature has the advantage that the motor is not started by the operator directly and the user do not have to think about pulling a trigger 33. As mentioned earlier the directionality of the clips dictates the position of the clip hammer and thus makes it difficult to position a trigger on the two hand grips 7, 8 which is easily operable in all positions of the clip hammer 1.

In another embodiment the means for activating the motor is a trigger 33 positioned on the hand grip 7 and the corner hand grip 8, if present.

In one embodiment shown in fig 4 a front section spring 16 is mounted between a front section spring structure 17 seen in fig. 5 and a main section spring structure 18. The front section spring 16 is an embodiment of the pretension means 16 and provides pretensioning of the front section 3 away from the main section in a direction parallel with the centerline C of the clip hammer 1. In an alternative embodiment the pretension means 16 is a gas spring 16. In an alternative embodiment the front section spring 16 is surrounding the punch rod 4.

Figure 5 shows an embodiment of the clip hammer 1 where a hammer housing 23 houses the auto hammer 5 and comprises a main section rod guiding structure 24. A similar front section rod guiding structure 25 is positioned on the front section 3. The two guiding structures keep the punch rod positioned parallel with the centerline C, thus enabling the hammerhead 13 to hit the rear end of the punch rod 4 when the operator pushes the clip hammer towards the substrate.

In one embodiment illustrated in fig. 5 and fig. 11a-d, the punch rod 4 is pretensioned away from the hammer device on the main section 2 in a direction parallel with the centerline C by means of a punch rod spring 15 (in fig. 5 and 6 the spring is depicted in a contracted state). This feature will prevent the hammer device 5 striking the punch rod 4 without the punch rod being in direct contact with the clip, because a clip 10 must be present in the clip chamber 29 for the punch rod to be able to counteract the force of the punch rod spring 15 when an operator pushes the clip hammer towards the substrate. This feature prevents ‘loose firing’ of the punch rod when there is no clip present in the clip chamber and also enables the operator to improve the control of the last part of the hammering of the clip into the substate.

In one embodiment, seen in fig. 10, the punch rod spring 15 (shown in a contracted state) is pretensioned between a rearward facing spring support surface 28b on the punch rod 4 and a forward facing spring support surface 28a on the main section rod guiding structure 24, which in turn is fastened to the main section.

As seen in fig. 1b and 5, the front section 3 and punch rod 4 are provided with front section movement restriction means 51. The front section movement restriction means are interacting structures on the punch rod 4 and the front section 3 controlling the movements of the punch rod relative to the front section. In a preferred embodiment seen in fig. 5 the front section movement restriction means 51 comprises a releasable structure, that prevents the front section 3 from sliding off the punch rod 4 during use and enable release of the front section 3 for service. In this embodiment the front section is provided with a releasable clip guide plate 19 closing a forward/top side of a clip chamber 29 through which the clip will pass when hammered into the substrate. The releasable clip guide plate 19 is provided with a punch rod restrictor 20 gripping a punch rod restriction structure 21 on the punch rod 4. In the embodiment shown in fig. 5 the punch rod restriction structure 21 comprises a recess with a rear and front stopping wall 21a, 21b. The punch rod restrictor 20 and punch rod restriction structure 21 constitutes an embodiment of the front section movement restriction means 51.

As seen in fig. 1b and 10 the main section 2 and punch rod 4 are provided with main section movement restriction means 50. The main section movement restriction means are interacting structures on the punch rod 4 and the main section 2 controlling the movements of the punch rod relative to the main section. In a preferred embodiment shown in fig. 10 and fig. 5 the punch rod 4 is movable in the main section rod guiding structure 24 between a retracted pre strike position in contact with the hammer device 5 and a forward post strike position, corresponding to the maximum forward position, allowing the punch rod 4 to follow the clip unhindered as a strike from the hammerhead 13 pushes the punch rod forward and the clip 10 enters into the substrate during the forward movement of the punch rod. In fig. 9 this distance is illustrated as r. In a preferred embodiment seen in fig. 5 the main section movement restriction means 50 comprises a movement restrictor pin 31 connected the punch rod and a movement restriction slot 38 on the main section 2. In the embodiment shown in fig. 5 the movement restriction 38 slot is inside the hammer housing and is illustrated by a dotted line. The movement restrictor pin 31 may also alternatively be connected to the main section and the movement restriction slot 38 may be a recess on the punch rod 4 as shown in fig 10 in the lower depiction of the punch rod. Fig 11c shows an embodiment where the restrictor pin 31 is fastened to a slot in the main section rod guiding structure. The movement restrictor pin 31 and movement restriction slot 38 constitutes an embodiment of the main section movement restriction means 50.

In another embodiment the movement restrictor slot 38 is positioned on the punch rod as indicated by a dotted line in fig. 11c and the movement restrictor pin 31 is attached to the main section, more precisely on the main section rod guiding structure 24. In this embodiment the main section rod guiding structure 24 is a hollow cylinder holding a cylindrical part of the punch rod 4.

As can be seen I fig. 9, the rod restriction structure 21 and the punch rod restrictor 20 will give the punch rod 4 ability to move a distance l, relative to the front section 3, in a direction parallel with the centerline C. The distance l must be at least as long as a distance k from a mouth structure 30 of the clip chamber 29 to a front end 35 of the punch rod 4 when the punch rod is retracted as far as possible in the clip chamber 29, which is when the punch rod restrictor 20 hits the front end of the punch rod restriction structure 21. In other words, the punch rod 4 must be able to move at least the length of the clip chamber 29 relative to the front section.

In a preferred embodiment the front section is provided with a rearward facing front section end buffer 40 and the main section is provided with a forward facing main section end buffer 39. As can be seen in fig 11 d, the two end buffers 39, 40 are designed to stop further forward movement of the main section 2 relative to the front section 3 when the clip 10 has been hammered into the substrate and the front end 35 of the punch rod is positioned at the mouth of the clip chamber.

The reloading mechanism 36 must be able to put a new clip 10 from the clip magazine 6 into the clip chamber 29 when the punch rod 4 is in the retracted position. In the embodiment shown in fig. 9 the reloading mechanism is triggered by reloading wings 26 positioned on the sides of the front end of the punch rod which activates the reloading mechanism 36 when the punch rod 4 retracts in the clip chamber.

Preferably the mouth structure 30 of the clip chamber 29 is shaped for allowing a cable or pipe to be accommodated in the mouth structure 30 when a tip 34 of the mouth structure is resting on the substrate.

The following sequence, illustrated by fig 11 a-c, takes place when operating an embodiment of the clip hammer provided with tension means 16 and a punch rod spring 15:

1. A clip 10 is put in position in the clip chamber 29 by the operator or a reloading mechanism 36 supplied with a clip from a magazine of the clip hammer 1.

2. The clip hammer is put in position where the next clip is to be hammered into the substrate. This is seen in fig 11a.

3. The operator pushes the hand grip 7 and the main section 2 and the punch rod 4 is pushing the clip in a movement towards the main section 2 against the mentioned pretensioning of the front section 3 away from the main section 2 until the tip of the clip 10 hits the substrate. During this step compression of the front section spring 16 takes place. This is seen in fig. 11b.

4. The operator keeps pushing and the main section 2 starts to move forward on the punch rod 4 against the pretensioning of the punch rod 4 away from the main section 2. During this step compression of the punch rod spring 15 takes place and the punch rod approaches the hammer device. This is seen in fig. 11c.

5. The hammer device may have been active all along but must be activated at point 4 at the latest. This can e.g. be achieved by two sensors 22a and b registering the relative position between the front section and the main section and starting the hammer device at a predetermined relative position or by a trigger 33 controlled by the operator.

6. The operator keeps pushing further on the hand grip 7 and the hammer device will start hammering the punch rod 4 and if the force applied by the user is greater than the combined pretensioning force the clip will be hammered into the substrate as seen in fig. 11d.

In fig 11a the punch rod 4 is in the maximum forward position relative to the main section 2 and in the maximum rearward position relative to the front section 3. A new clip have just been inserted into the clip chamber 29.

In fig 11b the punch rod 4 is in the maximum forward position relative to the main section 2 and in an intermediate position relative to the front section 3.

In fig 11c the punch rod 4 is in the retracted pre strike position relative to the main section 2 and in an intermediate position relative to the front section 3. The clip is touching the substrate and hammering of the clip will commence.

In fig 11d the punch rod 4 is in the maximum forward position relative to the main section 2 and in the forward completion position relative to the front section 3. The clip has been hammered into the substrate and further hammering is impossible because the main section end buffer 39 hits the front section end buffer 40 preventing further forward movement of the punch rod in the clip chamber 29 due to the punch rod spring 15 preventing the punch rod 4 to contact the hammer device 5. Without the two end buffers 39 and 40 the same effect can be achieved by positioning the restrictor 20 such that it reaches the rear end of the punch rod restriction structure 21 before the hammer device 5 can reach the punch rod 4. This is an inferior solution because the hammer device would be able to hammer on the restrictor 20, which would simply wear out. The punch rod must have an overall length which is slightly shorter than the distance from the hammerhead 13 in a striking position to the mouth 31 of the clip chamber 29, when the front section 3 and the main section is maximally pushed together as can be seen in fig. 11d.

In some embodiments of the clip hammer the combined pretensioning force mentioned in point 6 in the sequence above is equivalent to the combined force exerted by the punch rod spring 15 and the front section spring 16. The punch rod 4 will maximum be able to travel a distance r from the retracted pre strike position in contact with the hammer device 5 towards a maximum forward position when the hammerhead 13 strikes the punch rod 4. In a preferred embodiment this distance is significantly shorter than the length of the clip chamber 29. This feature combined with a plurality of smaller strikes rather than a few strong/hard strikes will enable the operator to apply the right level of force to firmly fasten the cable or pipe to the substrate without crushing or damaging the cable or pipe.

If further force is applied by the user after counteracting the mentioned combined pretensioning force, this force will be transferred to the clip via the punch rod 4. However, if the hammer device 5 is an auto hammer, this will only be the case as long as the hammer head of the auto hammer is not deflected. Then, further force applied will be directed through the tip 34 of the mouth structure 30 onto the substrate and will not contribute to a faster hammering operation.

In a preferred embodiment illustrated in fig. 11a, the front section spring 16 is able to be compressed a distance at least as long as the distance, k, which is the length of the clip chamber 29. The front section spring structure 17 and the main section spring structure 18 must allow at least the same distance of movement without interfering with each other.

In one embodiment, shown in fig. 7 and 8, the clip hammer 1 comprises an indication system indicating the position of the previous clip fastened on the cable or pipe 9 and where the next clip is to be fastened. At least one light beam unit 32 is directing a light beam from each side of the clip hammer 1 towards the substrate enabling the user to precisely apply the same predetermined distance between each clip along the cable or pipe 9. The light beam can be a LASAR beam or a light beam from an LED or another light source. The light beam should be directed such that the light beam crosses a line A, as shown is fig. 8, going through the mouth structure 30 of the clip chamber 29 and is perpendicular to a vertical plane comprising the central line C. This configuration allows the user to direct one light beam to the previous clip and if the user holds the clip hammer perpendicular to the substrate the user will be able to fasten the clips with a regular predetermined distance along the cable or pipe 9.

In one embodiment the direction of the light beam units 32 are adjustable. This will enable the user to adjust the indicated distance between each clip according to the characteristics of the cable/pipe and the clips.

In another embodiment two light beams are directed from each side of the clip hammer such that the two previous clips are indicated with the same distance along the line A. This will enable the user to hold a straight line on surfaces without any straight patterns or features.

Inventory

1 Clip hammer

2 Main section

3 Front section

4 Punch rod

5 Hammer device / Auto hammer

6 Clip magazine

6b Magazine pocket

7 Hand grip

8 Corner hand grip

9 Cable or pipe to be fastened

10 Clip

11 Energy source / battery

12 Motor for activating the rotational hammer with energy from the energy source 13 Hammerhead

14 Guide structure for front section 3

15 Punch rod spring

16 Front section spring/Pretension means

17 Front section spring structure

18 Main section spring structure

19 Clip guide plate

20 Punch rod restrictor

21 punch rod restriction structure

22a, b Sensors for activating the motor

23 Hammer housing

24 Rod guiding structure main section

25 Rod guiding structure front section

26 Reloading wings

27 Housing contact surface

28a and b Rearward and Forward facing spring support surface

29 Clip chamber

30 Mouth of clip chamber

31 Main section rod restrictor pin

32 Light beam unit

33 Trigger

34 Tip of mouth structure

35 Front end of punch rod

36 Reloading mechanism

37 Activation means

38 Main section rod restrictor slot

39 Main section end buffer

40 Front section end buffer

41 Control panel

50 Main section movement restriction means 51 Front section movement restriction means

Claims

1. A powered clip hammer (1) operable by one hand for fastening cables or pipes onto a substrate with clips (10) comprising:

a main section (2) comprising:

a powered hammer device (5)

a main section rod guiding structure (24) directed along a centerline, C of the clip hammer,

a front section (3) comprising:

a front section rod guiding structure (25) directed along the centerline, C,

a clip chamber (29) in front of the front section rod guiding structure (25) for positioning a clip (10) for receiving a strike force,

a punch rod (4) moveable in the main section rod guiding structure (24) and the front section rod guiding structure (25) for transferring a strike force from the hammer device (5) to the clip (10) to be hammered into the substrate,

main section movement restriction means (50) arranged for preventing movement of the punch rod (4) in the main section rod guiding structure (24) beyond a maximum forward position,

front section movement restriction means (51) arranged for preventing movement of the punch rod (4) in the front section rod guiding structure (25) beyond a maximum rearward position, thus holding the front section (3), the main section (4) and the punch rod (4) together, and

wherein the strike force of the hammer device (5) causes the punch rod (4) to move in main section rod guiding structure (24) and the front section rod guiding structure (25), thus hammering the clip (10) in the clip chamber (29) into the substrate with one or more strikes.

2. The powered clip hammer (1) according to claim 1, wherein pretension means (16) pretensions the front section away from the main section (2) along the centerline C, holding the punch rod in the maximum forward position relative to the main section and in the maximum rearward position relative to the front section when no force is applied against the pretension means, leaving the clip chamber (29) open for insertion of a clip (10).

3. The powered clip hammer (1) according to claim 1, wherein the main section movement restriction means (50) is arranged for allowing the punch rod (4) to move in the main section rod guiding structure (24) between a retracted pre strike position in contact with the hammer device (5) and the maximum forward position, allowing the punch rod (4) to follow the clip as it enters into the substrate during a strike.

4. The powered clip hammer (1) according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the front section movement restriction means (50) is arranged for allowing the punch rod (4) to move in the front section rod guiding structure (25) between the maximum rearward position, with a front end (35) of the punch rod (4) at the rear of the clip chamber (29) and a forward completion position with the front end (35) at a mouth (30) of the clip chamber (29).

5. The powered clip hammer (1) according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the front section further comprises:

a clip magazine (6) for loading a plurality of clips (10),

a reloading mechanism (36) for entering the clips (10) from the clip magazine (6) into the clip chamber (29) one at the time for being hammered into the substrate.

6. The powered clip hammer (1) according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the hammer device (5) is an auto hammer (5).

7. The powered clip hammer (1) according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the punch rod (4) is pretensioned away from the main section (2) by means of a punch rod spring (15) pretensioned between a rearward facing spring surface (28a) on the punch rod (4) and a forward facing spring surface (28b) on the main section rod guiding structure (24) which in turn is fastened to the main section.

8. The powered clip hammer (1) according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the front section movement restriction means (51) comprises a punch rod restrictor (20) connected to the front section (3) interacting with a punch rod restriction structure (21) on the punch rod (4).

9. The powered clip hammer (1) according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the main section movement restriction means (50) comprises a main section rod restrictor pin (31) protruding from the punch rod (4) moving in a main section rod restrictor slot (38) on the main section (2).

10. The powered clip hammer (1) according to any of the claims 1 - 8, wherein the main section movement restriction means (50) comprises a main section rod restrictor pin (31) attached to the main section guide structure (24) moving in a main section rod restrictor slot (38) on the punch rod (4).

11. The powered clip hammer (1) according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the clip hammer is powered by a battery (11) driving an electrical motor.

12. The powered clip hammer (1) according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the hammer device can be activated and deactivated by activation means (37).

13. The powered clip hammer (1) according to claim 12, wherein the activation means (37) is activated when the front section (3) has moved a predetermined distance towards the main section (2).

14. The powered clip hammer (1) according to claim 13, wherein the activation means (37) is activated by means of sensors (22a, b) sensing the relative position between the front section (3) and main section (2).