Nailers with jamming-alleviating mechanisms

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12350798-B2
Application number	US-202318328426-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jun 2, 2023
Priority date	May 8, 2018
Publication date	Jul 8, 2025
Grant date	Jul 8, 2025

Abstract

A fastener tool includes a motor, a drive mechanism connected to the motor and adapted to drive a piston, and a cylinder filled with compressed gas. The piston is accommodated in the cylinder and suitable for a reciprocating motion within the cylinder. The drive mechanism includes a blade fixed to the piston, and a gear coupled to the motor. The gear contains a plurality of teeth adapted to engage with a plurality of lugs on the blade such that a rotation of the gear is transformed to a linear movement of the blade. The drive mechanism further includes a disengagement module which within a period of a rotation cycle of the gear, is configured to prevent one of the plurality of teeth from unintentionally engaging with a misaligned one of the lugs.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A fastener tool comprising:
a motor;
a drive mechanism connected to the motor and adapted to drive a piston; and
a cylinder filled with compressed gas,
wherein the piston is accommodated in the cylinder and suitable for a reciprocating motion within the cylinder,
wherein the drive mechanism includes a blade fixed to the piston and a gear coupled to the motor, wherein the gear includes a gear body and a plurality of teeth spaced apart on the gear body adapted to engage with a plurality of lugs on the blade such that a rotation of the gear is transformed to a linear movement of the blade,
wherein the drive mechanism further includes a disengagement module which, within a period of a rotation cycle of the gear, is configured to prevent interference between a first tooth of the plurality of teeth and a misaligned one of the lugs of the blade during the rotation cycle,
wherein the gear body includes a groove defining a path in which at least part of the first tooth is movable between an extended position and a shrunken position, and
wherein the disengagement module includes a stopper element mounted on and rotatable with the gear body, into which at least part of the stopper element inhabits part of the groove and blocks the path of the first tooth to its shrunken position within the period, and is configured to engage an actuator adapted to urge the stopper element out of the groove enabling the first tooth to move into the shrunken position outside the period.

2. The fastener tool of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of teeth of the gear are spaced apart on the gear body of the gear in a rotational direction by at least a first pitch and a second pitch different from the first pitch respectively, wherein the first pitch is smaller than the second pitch, and wherein one of the plurality of teeth being the first tooth after the second pitch in the rotational direction.

3. The fastener tool of claim 2 , wherein the actuator is not rotatable with the gear body.

4. The fastener tool of claim 3 , wherein the actuator is engageable with the stopper element to move the stopper element outside the groove, thereby unblocking the path and allowing the first tooth to retract.

5. The fastener tool of claim 2 , wherein the stopper element is biased by a spring element to block the path.

6. The fastener tool of claim 2 , wherein the first tooth is biased by a spring element to its extended position.

7. The fastener tool of claim 1 , further comprising a sensor adapted to determine an angular position of the gear.

8. A fastener tool comprising:
a motor;
a drive mechanism connected to the motor and adapted to drive a piston; and
a cylinder filled with compressed gas, wherein the piston is accommodated in the cylinder and suitable for a reciprocating motion within the cylinder;
wherein the drive mechanism includes a blade fixed to the piston and a gear coupled to the motor, wherein the gear includes a plurality of teeth adapted to engage with a plurality of lugs on the blade such that a rotation of the gear is transformed to a linear movement of the blade, and
wherein the gear further includes a gear body and a movable tooth which, within a period of a rotation cycle of the gear, is configured to move along the gear body to prevent interference between the movable tooth and a misaligned one of the lugs of the blade during the rotation cycle,
wherein the gear body includes a groove in which at least part of the movable tooth is movable between an extended position and a shrunken position, and
wherein the drive mechanism includes a stopper element at least partially movable into the groove preventing the movable tooth from moving to the shrunken position within the period, and which is urged by an actuator out of the groove so that the movable tooth is able to retract into the shrunken position when contacting a misaligned lug of the plurality of lugs outside the period.

9. The fastener tool of claim 8 , wherein the plurality of teeth of the gear are spaced apart on the gear body in a rotational direction by at least a first pitch and a second pitch different from the first pitch respectively, wherein the first pitch is smaller than the second pitch, and wherein the movable tooth is a first of the plurality of teeth after the second pitch in the rotational direction.

10. The fastener tool of claim 8 , wherein the movable tooth is biased by a spring to the extended position.

11. The fastener tool of claim 10 , wherein the stopper element is biased by a second spring to block a path of the movable tooth.

12. A fastener tool comprising:
a motor;
a drive mechanism connected to the motor and adapted to drive a piston; and
a cylinder filled with compressed gas,
wherein the piston is accommodated in the cylinder and suitable for a reciprocating motion within the cylinder;
wherein the drive mechanism includes a blade fixed to the piston and a gear coupled to the motor, wherein the gear includes a plurality of teeth adapted to engage with a plurality of lugs on the blade such that a rotation of the gear is transformed to a linear movement of the blade,
wherein a first tooth of the plurality of teeth is movable relative to a gear body between an extended position and a shrunken position,
wherein the gear body includes a groove defining a path in which at least part of the first tooth is movable between the extended position and the shrunken position,
wherein the drive mechanism further includes a disengagement module configured to block the path of the first tooth from the extended position to the shrunken position, allowing the first tooth to engage with the lugs of the blade, and wherein the disengagement module is further configured to release the path of the first tooth during a period of rotation of the gear, allowing the first tooth to move to the shrunken position,
wherein the disengagement module further comprises a stopper element that blocks the path of the first tooth to the shrunken position within the period, and
wherein the stopper element is biased by a first spring to block the path, and wherein the first tooth is biased by a second spring to the extended position, allowing the first tooth to move to the extended position outside the period.

13. The fastener tool of claim 12 , wherein the disengagement module further comprises an actuator not rotatable with the gear body, and wherein the actuator is adapted to urge the stopper element to move out of the path.

Assignees

• Techtronic Cordless Gp
• Techtronic Power Tools Tech Ltd

Inventors

• Tan ying xiang
• Lin Hai Ling
• He Xi
• Zhou Jin Lin

Classifications

• B25C1/06

  operated by electric power · CPC title

• B25C1/041 Primary

  with fixed main cylinder · CPC title

• B25C1/008

  Safety devices · CPC title

• B25F5/00

  Details or components of portable power-driven tools not particularly related to the operations performed and not otherwise provided for · CPC title

• B25C1/047 Primary

  Mechanical details · CPC title