US3041617A - Automatic nailing machines - Google Patents

Description

July 3, 1962 E. A. PARR AUTOMATIC NAILING MACHINES 2 Sheets-Sheet l Filed March 8, 1957 INVENToR eowAnu A. ma.

July 3, 1962 E. A. PARR AUTOMATIC NAILING MACHINES 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed March 8, 1957 Inn-Ia FIG.

FIG.

\NVENTOR EDWARD A. PARR YW/f 5W,

FIG. I2.

ATTO R N EY.

' 3,041,617 AUTGMATIC NAILING MACS Edward Alden Parr, 419 Leland Ave., Palo Alto, Calif. Filed Mar. 3, 1957, Ser. No. 644,944 7 Claims. (Cl. 1--46) This invention relates to automatic nailing machines and deals particularly with a :means for automatically feeding nails into machines of this type.

Although the invention will be shown and describedin connection with machines for handling large nails such as spikes and the like, it will become obvious that the same machine may be used to drive smaller nails by merely changing the size of some of the minor parts and it'will also be shovm that the same machine will handle .more than one size of nails without any change in parts.

Briefly stated, the invention amounts to providing a device adapted to be used between a driver, preferably power operated and the object being nailed which has means for automatically feeding nails into a position to be struck by the driver depending in part on the movement of the machine from one position to another.

More specifically, it is an object of this invention to provide Aa means for feeding nails into a driving mechanism that is not entirely dependent on the driving mechanism itself to feed the nails but also involves the movement of the machine from one driving position to another. In brief, it is contemplated to use gravity as part of the operating feature of my machine, which means that the machine must be raised with respect to the door before any feeding of nails takes place. This automatically places control of the feeding of nails in the hands of the operator, without regard to the striking Vmechanism and allows the operator to optionally feed nails to precise spots, and also to feed a single nail for a single nailing operation.

It is another object of this invention to provide, means of the character described which may be used either with aV power hammer or may be struck by a hand hammer. In conjunction with an electrically power driven hammer, I propose to use an electrical switch for turn- Ving the electric current olf when the nail is driven home and also to keep the current ot during the loading cycle when the nail is being moved into position for striking.

Another object is to provide a reasonably light tool for the purpose described that may be handled easily by a single operator.

Other objects and advantages will become apparent as the description proceeds in conjunction with the drawing in which:

FIG. 1 is a side elevation of my machine;

FIG. 2 is a view taken of F-IG. 1 in the direction of the arrow 2;

FIG. 3 is a view simil-ar to FIG. 1 taken on the opposite side of the machine; l

FIG. 4 is a view of FIG. 3 taken in the direction of the arrow 4;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged fragmentary view of the means for feeding the nails one at a time into a hopper;

FIG. 6 is a plan view of FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a side View of FIG. 5;

FIG. 8 is the same as FIG. 6 showing another position of the same mechanism;

FIG. 9 is a ViewY similar to FIG. l with the driver in the extreme upper position for selecting a nail from the hopper;

FIG. l() is a fragmentary view, partly in section,`of the driver as shown in FIG. 9 showing its position relative to the shoe;

FIG. 11 shows the same position of the driver but wise thereof.

p annali? Patented July 3, 1962 21 shows how the shoe moves to permit the selected nail to drop'into 'striking position when the machine is raised from the floor;

FIG. 12 is a View of the switch, with the cover removed, showing how the switch is operated by lthe position of the driver to open or close the electrical circuitv shoe, generally designated 14. These parts with their correlating mechanism will now be described.

The main body or barrel 11 will be seen to consist of a casing 15, best shown in FIG. 10, closed on its upper end by a cap `16, suitably mounted thereon as by threads 17. Gn the lower end of the barrel 15 I mount a solid member 18, such as by Welding as shown at 19. The member 13 is equipped with holes 20 and 21, the purpose of which will be explained later. Below the mem- Vber 18, I mount another solid member 22, which is the essential part of the shoe 14. This member is pivotally mounted, as shown at 23, in a casing 24 which depends from and is attached to the member 18 'in any suitable manner such'as by welding. The member 22 is equipped with a hole 25 passing lengthwise therethrough. A stirrup 26 may be attached to the casing 24 for holding the machine against the floor by the -foot of the operator if desired.

Taking up the striking member 12, it will be seen that this member consists of a shaft 27 adapted to work inside the barrel 11 and has a turned down lower end portion 28 adapted to slidably tit into the hole 20, also a stop29'arranged to engage the cap 16 and limit the upward travel of the `driver =12. On the outer end of the shaft 27 I mount a collar Sti having arms 31 and 32 ex- -tending outwardly therefrom. Depending from the arm in turn is pivotally mounted on the casing 24 as shown at 39. The operation of the member 37 will be more fully explained with reference to FIGS. 5, 6, .7, and 8.

The nail feeding mechanism l13 is essentially a slot arranged to hold nails by their head and feed them to the member 37 which extracts the nails, one at a time from they end of the slot and drops them into a chute or hopper from where they are later taken by the shoe and moved into va positionk where they may be struck by the driver.

The means for mounting the nail feeding mechanism so that Vnails may be extracted in the manner stated consis-ts of a bracket 40 mounted on the casing 15, said bracket carrying a member 41 having a slot 42 running length- (See FIGS. 13 and 14.) The slot 42 is made of proper dimensions to slidably receive the shank of a nail and hold the head from pulling thru the slot.

In this arrangement, the slot may be filled with nails or spikes, and when in a vertical position the row of spikes would tend to slide down the slot. As a means for guiding the outer ends of the spikes and holding them more fa a) or less in line, I'provide upstanding wings, generally designated 43, on each side of the slot. Normally these wings should be spaced only far enough to permit the shank of the nail to slide smoothly between them. Referring .to FIG. 2, it will be seen that the upper portion of the wings at 43a are closer than the lower portion at 43b. The reason for this will become clear when the operation of the nail extracting member is explained.

Before going into a description of the nail extracting mechanism, it might be explained that I do not intend this disclosure -to limit my invention to any particular way of constructing the parts or elements entering into my invention. For example, in providing a slot for holding the nails in a vertical line, I am aware'there are a great many ways of doing this and accordingly intends the disclosure of means for holding a row of nails in a vertical line to cover any equivalent means for that purpose. In FIGS. 13 and l4, I have shown a simple way of making a suitable slot for the purpose described.

`Here it will be seen that the member 41 has two other members 44 and 45 mountedthereon in a manner to Pmake the slot 42. These members may be welded to the v44 and 45 in any suitable manner.

The means for extracting the nails one at a time from the slot 42 is best shown in FIGS. 5, 6, 7, and 8. These views have to do with the movements and the function ofthe member 37 as it extracts nails from the end of the slot 42. As shown in these views, the slot 42 terminates in a substantially right angle bend and holds the inal nail in an upright position. This is best shown in FIG. 7. The bracket member 41 may follow the curvature as far as necessary to hold the nails in the slot. As the nails come to the end of the slot, they are still held by their heads 46 in the slot 42 and the shank 47 of theV nail extends substantially straight downward. In this position, the shank strikes the edge of member 37 and is held against further sliding movement until the member 37 is moved. The movement of member 37 is'reciprocal and takes two positions whichare best shown y in FIGS. 6 and 8. Also in these figures, it will be seen that the member 37 is a short piece of angle iron having legs 48 and 49 and that it is held in position by rod 38, rigidly attached to one end of leg 49 and by lever arm 36 which is pivoted to the opposite end of the leg 49. The other leg 48 carries a peculiarly shaped slot. It will be noted that this slot consists of a wide portion 50 large enough to pass the head 46 of a nail. One side of this slot runs out into a shoulder 51 and the other side forms a pointed finger 52V leaving an opening between the shoulder 51 and the end of the linger large enough to pass the shank of a nail. To get the best results, the nger 52 is offset with respect to the shoul-v the shoulder for the passage of the shank of a nail such as a spike, but also to provide a stop for holding the nails in the slot against further sliding movement while the linger 52 with its pointed end enters between the shanks of the nails and pulls `the end nail oft the end of the slot. The start of this movement is shown in FIG. 6. As the member 37 is returned from the position in FIG. 6, to the position shown in FIG. 8, the finger 52 enters between the shanks of the nails and while itis pulling one nail off the end of the slot, it is holding the rest against further downward movement in the slot. The single nail pulled from the slot is slid into the openling 50 by further movement of the member 37 from where it drops into a chute -or hopper, generally designated 53, see FIGURES lOand 1l.

Referring to FIG. lO which shows the driver in an upraised position, it can be seen that in this position the lower end of the driver 28 is above the top of the shoe 22. This would bring the member 37 into the position shown in FIG. 6 and would allow one nail to drop against the shoulder 51 into position for extraction by the member 37 Vas it swings back into the position of FIG. 8. 'Ihe movement backward and forward of the member 37 is so timed, by spring arrangement, that the return of the member to its position shown in FIG. 8, does not take place until after the end of the driver 28 enters the upper part of the hole in the shoe 22. This means that the nail can not be dropped 'om the extracting means until after the shoe 22 has returned to the position shown in FIG. l0, and that the nail accordingly is held in the hopper in the hole 2,1 as shown in FIG. l0. To get the nail N from the hole 21 into the hole 25 of the shoe 22, it is a matter of raising the shoe olf the door, as shown in PIG. l1. This action may take place along with the raising of the driver 28 out of the shoe but not necessarily. If it is desired to hold a nail in the chute for special nailing, it is only a matter of holding the machine against the floor by the stirrup 26 while the driver is raised and lowered to drop a nail in the chute. The nail may then he left in the chute until needed and may then be transferred into the shoe for nailing by lifting the entire device from the hoor Without raising the driver and no new nail will be extracted from the slot. In this way a single nail may be driven if desired.

The means for operating the nail extracting in the manner stated consists of the rod 35 depending from the arm 32 which is raised and lowered with the striking means 12. This rod, as before stated, slidably passes through a bracket 36a on one end of the arm 36 the other end of which is pivotally connected to the nail extracting member 37 as shown at 366. Above and below the connection of the arm 36 with the rod 35 are coiled springs S4 and 55. It will be noted that the spring 54 does not extend full length of the space between the said point of connection of the arm with the rod, see

FIG. 9, and that -the spring 55 does not extend full length f of the space below the said point of connection. (See FIG. 2.) This is to permit a limited upward and downward movement of the driver without operating the nail driver and provides a means of operation wherein the nail extracting functions only at or near the end of each movement.

In operation, the slot 42 is filled with nails N which may be done byv special mechanism or they may be hand guided into the slot. The nails will slide down the slot and assume the positions shown in FIG. 7. The operator may then use either a power driven hammer, or a hand operated hammer and the result will amount to the same thing. The upper end of the member 12 is shown at 56 as turned down to serve either for use in a chuck of a power driven machine or as a point for striking with a hand operated hammer. When a nail is driven home, the driver assumes the position shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, and in this position a micro switch, generally designated 34 is brought into operation. Referring to FIG. 12, it will be seen that I have shown the unit 34 as comprising a micro switch S8 mounted in a casing 59 and a rod 33 passing through the casing and engaging -a roller 69 which in turn actuates the switch 58. In this view it can be seen that the rod 33 has a central flatted portion 61 terminating in shoulders 62 and 63 and it is the passing of these shoulders under the roller `y that operates the switch. The shoulder 62 Vcorresponds to the position of the driver when the nail in continuous operation as follows. Assuming, of course, the machine is loaded with nails, the operator would proceed first to raise the driver to the topmost position shown in FIG. 9. This would place the member 37 in the position shown in FIG. 6. Continued raising of the machine would result in raising it from the door, as shown in FIG. 11, and would cause the shoe 22 to rotate on its pivot 23 to the position shown in FIG. 11. This would allow the nail N, previously dropped into the hopper 53 by a preceding operation to drop into the hole 25 in the shoe. The hole in the shoe may be lined up with the hole 21 in the member 18 by stopping the swinging movement of the shoe 22 by a small band or stop 65 placed -across the open side of the depending casing 24. It will be noted in FIGS. l() and l1, that when the driver is raised to its topmost position the lower end of the driver 28 is above the top of the shoe 22 but still within the hole 20 in the member 1S. As the end of the driver passes out of the hole 25 in the shoe 22, thus allowing the shoe to swing on its pivot, the shoulder 63 on the rod 33 passes under the roller 60 on the micro switch 58 and causes the switch to shut off the current to a power driven hammer (not shown) to prevent any possibility of the hammer striking the shoe when out of position. As the machine is lowered to the oor, the shoe 22 will first swing back into place andassume its normal position, shown in FIG. l0. Then as the striking mechanism is lowered, the end of the driver 28 will enter the hole 20 and come to rest on the head of the nail. Before this point, the shoulder 63 on the shaft 33 has passed under the roller 60 and turned the switch SS-to an On position. The next stepy in driving the nail is a matter of turning on the current to the power driver. As the nail is driven home, the shoulder 62 on the shaft 3'3 passes under the roller 60' and shuts off the current. The power hammer (not shown) because it is no part of this invention may be of any conventional type, in this case electrically driven, and carries its own stopping and starting switch on or near the handle for the operator control. In my invention, the electrical circuit for the hammer is routed through the switch 58 which in turn is controlled by the position of the driver. The complete cycle of operation is a matter of raising and lowering the driver and of raising the machine itself from the floor, It is to be understood that the operator of the machine may raise the machine clear of the floor if he desires, in which case any nail or nails in the hole 25 and the hopper 53 would fall to the floor, but that in practice the machine is not raised clear of the oor, but only enough to allow the shoe 14 to swing over into a nail receiving position. The amount of lift allowed to the machine is controlled by the operator through the stirrup 26 which ordinarily is confined to the amount shown in FIG. 11. Under the foregoing arrangement, the operator may drive nails continuously or he may clear the hopper and the Shoe of nails if he desires to change the size of nails being handled.

Having shown and described a single embodiment of my invention, I am aware that some of the parts may be modified or refined without departing from the spirit of the invention. I therefore intend this disclosure to cover all such modiiication and refinements that come within `the scope of the disclosure and the purview of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In an automatic nailing machine, a striking mechanism having a tubular member with a driver longitudinally movable therein, a shoe on the lower end of said ltubular member, said shoe having a hole therethrough adapted to normally receive the lower end of said driver, said shoe being pivotally mounted on a lower eccentric point thereof to swing on its pivot by gravity when said driver is retracted and said machine is raised with respect to the oor and means to position the hole in -6 said shoe under a hopper on said tubular member to receive a nail from the same and to swing back into normal position when said machine is lowered to the floor.

2. In an automatic nailing machine a tubular member having a driver longitudinally movable therein and means for feeding nails one at a time to a hopper mounted on said tubular member upon longitudinal movement of said driver, a shoe mounted on the lower end of said tubular member having a hole therethrough adapted to normal-ly receive the lower end of said driver, said shoe being pivotally mounted on a lower eccentric part thereof to swing by gravity when said driver is retracted and said machine is raised with respect to the oor and means to position said hole under said hopper to receive a nail therefrom, and to swing back to normal position when said machine is lowered to the floor.

l3. An automatic nailing machine comprising, a main barrel, a driver reciprocably mounted in said barrel, a nail feeding mechanism on said barrel,l a shoe pivotally mounted at the lower end of said barrel, said shoe having a hole therethrough adapted to slidably receive the lower end of said driver, a hopper mounted on said barrel adapted to receive nails from said feeding mechanism, means operable by the longitudinal movement of said driver to feed nails one at a time from said nail feeding mechanism to said hopper, and said shoe being mounted on a pivot at a lower eccentric point thereon to swing by gravity from its normal position under said striking member to place the hole therethrough under said hopper to receive a nail therefrom when said machine is raised with respect to the oor and to swing back to normal position when said machine is `lowered to fthe floor.

4. In an automatic nailing machine the combination of: a longitudinally movable driver, a nail feeding mechanism adapted to drop nails one at a time into a hopper upon predetermined longitudinal movement of said driver anda shoe pivotally mounted at a lower eccentric point :thereon adapted to swing by gravity to transfer nails from said hopper to a striking position under said driver when said machine is raised from and lowered to the iloor.

5. ln a nailing machine, a reciprocating driver, a nail feeding mechanism,v a hopper adapted to hold -a single nail, means operable by the reciprocation of said driver to extract nails one at a time from said nail feeding mechanism and drop them into said hopper, a shoe below said hopper having a hole therethrough for slidably receiving said driver, said shoe being pivotally mounted on said machine ybelow said hopper on a lower eccentric point on said shoe to cause said shoe to swing by gravity when: said machine is raised with respect to the floor and a stop arranged to bring the hole in said shoe into registration -with said hopper to receive a nail therefrom.

6. An automatic nailing machine comprising, a main barrel, a driver reciprocably mounted in said barrel, a hopper mounted on said barrel, -a nail chute adapted to hold nails by their heads in a vertical position mounted on said barrel, a rod pivotally mounted on said barrel, a nail selecting member fixed to the free end of said rod, a second rod substantially parallel to said barrel connected to said driver, means for yieldingly connecting said second rod to said first mentioned rod to swing the same on its pivot point to move said nail selecting member to select a nail `from said chute and drop it into said hopper at a predetermined point of movement of said driver, a shoe eccentrically mounted near its lower end .on said machine near the lower end thereof, said shoe having a vertical hole therethrough adapted to receive the end of said driver when said shoe is in normal position and to swing Voutwardly when said machine is raised with respect to the oor, and a stop on said machine arranged to engage said shoe with the hole therethrough under said hopper for receiving a nail therefrom.

7. The elements of'claim 6 wherein the means for `yieldingly connecting saidseeond rod to said Vfirst mentioned rod includes a lever hailing one endvpivotally connected to said nail selecting member and the other end slidab'ly connected `to said rst mentioned rod, with yieldable stops on said first mentioned rod for engaging said I lever at predetermined positions of said driver.

UNITED STATES PATENTS Hansen V Apr. 9, 1918 FOREIGN PATENTS France Nov. 24, 1955

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