US3469758A

US3469758A - Magazine of a portable stapling apparatus

Info

Publication number: US3469758A
Application number: US604305A
Authority: US
Inventors: Dieter Volkmann
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1966-12-23
Filing date: 1966-12-23
Publication date: 1969-09-30
Anticipated expiration: 1986-09-30

Description

Sept. 30, 1969 VOLKMANN 3,469,758

MAGAZINE OF A PORTABLE S'I'APLING APPARATUS Filed Dec. 23. 1966 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR 0/5727? VOA hMAA/A ATTORNEYS Sept. 30, 1969 VOLKMANN 3,469,758

MAGAZINE OF A PORTABLE STAPLING APPARATUS Filed D80. 23. 1966 3 Sheets-Sheet f? Sept. 30, 1969 D. VOLKMANN 3 5 MAGAZINE OF A PORTABLE STAPLING APPARATUS I Filed Dec. 23. 1966 v 3 Sheets-Sheet :5

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3,469,758 MAGAZINE OF A PORTABLE STAPLING APPARATUS Dieter Volkmann, Leinstrasse 49, Neustadt am Rubenberge, Germany Filed Dec. 23, 1966, Ser. No. 604,305 Int. Cl. 1325c 5/02, 5/06; B27f 7/08 U.S. Cl. 227-120 5 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE In what follows there will be described, for greater clarity, only apparatus of this kind in the form of a stapler, although within the scope of the invention the tool can be for driving nails, pins, cramps or other fastener means.

The customary kinds of magazine of this sort are closed, after the introduction of the stick of staples, by a cover which is slidably guided in longitudinal grooves in the side walls of the magazine. The stick of staples is usually supported by a staple guide on which is mounted a follower urged by a spring, the follower pushing the stick of staples forwards towards the discharge channel situated in the front part of the apparatus. When the staples have been all used, the magazine is opened and the follower is pulled back as far as a limiting mechanical stop, whereby the spring is tensioned. After the new stick of staples has been inserted, the follower is unlocked from the catch and allowed to move forward. The cover is then closed.

Thus, the loading operation involves several manipulations during which the tool must be grasped alternately by the right and by the left hand. The charging operation is therefor time-consuming and this is undesirable, particularly in the case of compressed air driven equipment and considerably reduces the otherwise high operating efficiency of this equipment.

In order to simplify the charging operation it is known to make the follower larger or smaller in cross-section than the stick of staples, and to equip the follower with laterally resilient pusher arms capable of moving over or under the side surfaces of the stick of staples. The stick is introduced from behind into the magazine, and then the follower is pulled over the stick into its working position, and during this movement the resilient pusher arms slide over the side surfaces of the stick and come to rest up against the rearmost staple. However, the process of charging the magazine from its rear end is a comparatively inconvenient manipulation in the case of compressed air driven staplers, because the tube for supplying the compressed air is usually attached to the rear end of the apparatus and interferes with access to the tool here. For compressed air driven tools of this kind it would be best to charge the magazine from above, but this would require not only a drawing back of the follower in order to tension its spring and to give access to the charging chamber, but also an opening of the magazine cover.

One object of the invention is to make it possible in a stapler whose follower ha laterally resilient pusher arms capable of sliding over the stick of staples, to load the magazine from above, for the purpose of greatly simplifyd States Patent ing the loading process even in the case of compressed air driven tools, and to minimize the time required for this operation. The invention is based on a known kind of rear loaded stapler whose follower, which is equipped with laterally resilient pusher arms, has attached a spring ribbon providing forward thrust and is anchored near the ejector channel for the staples.

In a tool of this kind the magazine housing is, according to the invention, permanently open at the top, and the stick of staples, which is introduced into the magazine from above, is covered over by the spring ribbon which engages with the follower. By use of the invention the stick of staples is always sheltered from above, and prevented from falling out of the magazine, by the coverage efiected by the spring ribbon, in spite of the fact that the magazine is open at the top, and even if the tool is used upside down, for example when driving a staple into a workpiece from underneath. As the part of the magazine housing behind the follower is open at the top, a new stick of staples can be introduced into the magazine without it being necessary previously to open a lid, or to engage in any other manipulation, and this can be done without difficulty even during operation of the tool.

The spring ribbon attached to the follower preferably has a greater width than the stick of staples. In orde to ensure that the spring, which can for example be spring steel and attached to the follower, is always at the same height above the upper surface of the stick of staples in the magazine, irrespective of how much of its length has been coiled on to its coiling reel, it is advisable to mount on the body of the tool below the coiling reel a guide roller. With the help of this guid roller the changes in the diameter of the coil of ribbon on the reel during the coiling process have no influence on the height of the spring above the stick of staples in the magazine.

On the other hand, the coiling reel for the steel spring can if desired be mounted on the follower, in which case the front end of the steel spring is attached to a part of the body of the tool preferably adjacent the discharge opening.

The invention is of particular importance in relation to a compressed air driven hand tool for driving staples, because the air hose for the supply of compressed air, which is attached to the rear end of the tool, does not interfere with the loading process.

The drawings show by way of example, two embodiments of the invention in which:

FIGURE 1 is a side view, partly sectioned, of the magazine of a compressed air operated tool for driving staples; in this figure the tool is shown ready for operation,

FIGURE 2 is a plan view of the magazine, with the follower in its forward position,

FIGURE 3 is a plan view of the magazine with the follower retracted; this figure also shows the stick of staples and shows the tool ready for operation,

FIGURE 4 is a side view, partly sectioned, of another embodiment of the tool according to the invention.

In the embodiment shown in FIGURES 1 to 3, there is an ejector channel 1 in the front end of the body 2 of the tool, which can for example be a compressed air operated stapler. The front wall of the ejector channel 1 is formed by a closure piece 3 arranged so that it can be pivoted up forwards in the customary way for eliminating disturbances caused by staples which have become jammed. To the body 2 of the tool there is attached a magazine housing 4 which is open at the top and encloses a rail 5 serving to support and guide the staples. The magazine housing 4 accommodates in the customary way a stick of staples 6, which are inserted into the magazine from above. When the tool is in the operational position as shown in FIGURES 1 and 3, the first staple, which is in the most forward position, is in the ejector channel 1, so that when the driver 7 is depressed this staple is separated from the stick and driven into the workpiece.

The rail furthermore supports a follower 8 on which are mounted two elastic pusher arms 9 adapted to bend resiliently sideways. The pusher arms 9 are adjacent to the back end of the stick of staples 6 and urge the staples forwards against the ejector channel 1. To the upper part of the follower 8 there is attached a handle 10 which the operator uses to draw the follower back as far as the limiting mechanical stop 11 of the magazine. To the upper part of the follower 8 there is also attached a spring steel strip 12 which is guided over a roller 13 attached to the front end of the magazine near the ejector channel 1, the spring steel strip 12 being coiled spirally over a reel 14, situated diagonally above the roller 13. The spring steel strip 12 is prestressed in such a way that it winds itself automatically on the reel 14 and constantly tends to urge the follower 8 forwards, this forward pull being transmitted through the pusher arms 9 to the stick of the staples 6. The fact that the spring 12 is always guided by the stationary roller 13 has the result that the gap between the spring and the back of the stick of staples 6 remains constant, so that the changing diameter of the coil of spring on the reel 14 does not affect the position of the spring 12 relative to the stack of staples.

A retainer pin 15 is mounted on the rail 5 and acts as a mechanical stop for the rear end of the stick of staples 6. The retainer pin 15 is situated forward of the mechanical stop 11, the distance between these two stops being approximately equal to the length of the follower 8 together with its pusher arms 9. The rear part of the magazine housing, behind the retainer pin 15, this part of the magazine housing not serving as a storage space for the staples, is closed at the top by a cover plate 16 whose width is about the same as that of the stick of staples 6, so that the follower 8 can slide backwards over the cover plate 16 as far as the rear stop 11.

When the tool is in operation the parts are in the positions shown in FIGURES 1 and 3, the follower 8 being under the influence of the steel spring 12 coiled on the reel 14, to the effect that the follower 8 pushes the stick of staples 6 forward in the direction of the ejector channel 1. The stick of staples 6 is covered over along its entire length by the spring 12, so that the staples cannot fall out of the magazine even if the tool is used upside down. Behind the follower 8 the magazine housing 4 is open at the top.

After all the staples have been used up, the follower 8 has reached the position shown in FIGURE 2 and the two pusher arms 9 are in contact with the rear wall of the ejector channel 1. The spring 12 is coiled on the reel 14 leaving only a short length of spring covering the small area between the follower 8 and the ejector channel 1. The entire length of the charging space of the magazine housing 4 behind the follower 8 is open and freely available from above. A new stick of staples can therefore now be charged into the magazine housing behind the follower 8 and as far back as the retainer pin 15. When the new stick of staples has been charged, the follower 8 is drawn back by the operator, by means of the handle 10, over the stick of staples 6, which abuts on the retainer pin 15, and over the cover plate 16, back as far as the rear mechanical stop 11 of the magazine. This can be done quite easily because the follower 8 is capable of sliding, with its resilient pusher arms 9, over the stick of staples 6 and over the cover plate 16. The spring steel strip 12 then pushes the two resilient pusher arms 9 of the follower 8 forwards against the last, or rearmost, staple of the newly introduced stick of staples, the stick of staples being covered by the spring 12 and thus prevented from falling out of the magazine housing 4. The tool is now ready for operation, without there being required any further manipulations such as a sliding of a cover plate or the like.

As the spring 12 is always under tension and guided by the roller 13, which is fixed in position, the distance between the upper surface of the stick of staples 6 and the spring always remains the same, and in this way the stick of staples is always securely positioned on the rail 5.

The embodiment shown in FIGURE 4 differs from that described above only by the fact that the coiling reel for the spring 12 is mounted on the follower 8 in the form of a roller 17, and the front end of the spring 12 is anchored to the body of the tool by means of a clamping plate 18, which is attached by a screw 19 to a part 20 of the body 2 of the apparatus. Otherwise this embodiment agrees with the first version.

Although the invention is herein shown and described as applied to a portable pneumatic stapler, it is to be understood that in its broadest aspect the invention is not to be so limited except as particularly set forth in the following claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. A staple magazine structure for a stapling apparatus having a body with a staple ejector channel, said staple magazine structure comprising:

an elongated housing having an open top and being adapted to receive an elongated stick of staples;

guide means in said housing for guiding movement of a stick longitudinally within said housing;

a follower movable longitudinally along said guide means, said follower having resilient laterally movable arms adapted to engage one end of a stick when said follower is in staple-feeding position for urging the opposite end of the stick in one direction toward said staple ejector channel, and said arms being adapted to be spread apart and to slide over the stick when said follower is moved in the opposite direction; and

a retractable spring ribbon atfixed at its opposite ends to said body and to said follower for normally urging said follower in said one direction;

said ribbon being disposed along said open top of said housing in close overlying relationship with the stick when said follower is in said staple-feeding position, and the width of said ribbon being sufiicient to prowide at least a partial cover for said open top and thereby prevent the stick from falling out of said housing through said open top; and

said open top of said housing being permanently open and obstructed except for said ribbon thereover when said follower is in said staple-feeding position, whereby a stick of staples can be charged to the magazine solely through the open top of said housing when the latter is not covered by said ribbon, said follower being movable thereafter in said opposite direction to said staple-feeding position.

2. A magazine structure according to claim 1, wherein said ribbon has a width greater than the width of the staple stick.

3. A magazine structure according to claim 1, wherein said housing is provided with abutment means adapted, when said follower is moved in said opposite direction, to limit movement of the stick of staples as said arms slide over the stick.

4. A magazine structure according to claim 1, wherein one end of said spring ribbon is connected to a coiling reel mounted on said body and the other end of said ribbon is connected to said follower, and a guide roller is mounted on said body adjacent said reel, said guide roller being arranged to keep the spring ribbon at a constant small distance from the upper surface of the stick of staples in said housing.

5. A magazine structure according to claim 1, wherein on the follower there is mounted a coiling reel having one end of the spring ribbon connected thereto, the Opposite end of the spring ribbon being attached to said 5 6 body closely adjacent the upper surface of the stick in 2,755,473 7/1956 Spencer 227--127 said housing. 3,056,137 10/ 1962 Wandel et a1 227-127 References Cited 3,174,672 3/1965 Juilts 227--120 UNITED STATES PATENTS GRANVILLE Y. CUSTER, JR., Primary Examiner 1,815,066 7/1931 Maynard 227-120 5 2,059,020 10/ 1936 Pankonin 227126 US. Cl. X.R.

2,627,071 2/1953 Stearns 227-120 227127