Gas spring-powered fastener driver

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2016229043-A1
Application number	US-201615017291-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Feb 5, 2016
Priority date	Feb 6, 2015
Publication date	Aug 11, 2016
Grant date	—

Abstract

A gas spring-powered fastener driver including a cylinder, a moveable piston positioned within the cylinder, a driver blade attached to the piston and movable therewith between a ready position and a driven position, a lifter operable to move the driver blade from the driven position to the ready position, a transmission for providing torque to the lifter, a first clutch mechanism permitting a transfer of torque to an output shaft of the transmission in a single rotational direction, and a second clutch mechanism limiting an amount of torque transferred to the transmission output shaft and the lifter.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1 . A gas spring-powered fastener driver comprising:
a cylinder; a moveable piston positioned within the cylinder; a driver blade attached to the piston and movable therewith between a ready position and a driven position; a lifter operable to move the driver blade from the driven position to the ready position; a transmission for providing torque to the lifter; a first clutch mechanism permitting a transfer of torque to an output shaft of the transmission in a single rotational direction; and a second clutch mechanism limiting an amount of torque transferred to the transmission output shaft and the lifter.

2 . The gas spring-powered fastener driver of claim 1 , wherein the first clutch mechanism is incorporated in the transmission.

3 . The gas spring-powered fastener driver of claim 1 , wherein the second clutch mechanism is incorporated in the transmission.

4 . The gas spring-powered fastener driver of claim 1 , wherein the transmission is a multi-stage planetary transmission.

5 . The gas spring-powered fastener driver of claim 4 , wherein the first clutch mechanism is incorporated with a first stage of the planetary transmission.

6 . The gas spring-powered fastener driver of claim 4 , wherein the first clutch mechanism includes a carrier, which is also a component in one of the stages of the planetary transmission.

7 . The gas spring-powered fastener driver of claim 6 , wherein the first clutch mechanism includes
a plurality of lugs defined on an outer periphery of the carrier, a plurality of rolling elements engageable with the respective lugs, and a ramp adjacent each of the lugs along which the rolling element is movable.

8 . The gas spring-powered fastener driver of claim 7 , wherein each of the ramps is inclined in a manner to displace the rolling elements further from a rotational axis of the carrier as the rolling elements move further from the respective lugs.

9 . The gas spring-powered fastener driver of claim 8 , wherein the rolling elements are maintained in engagement with the respective lugs in the single rotational direction of the transmission output shaft, and wherein the rolling elements move away from the respective lugs in response to an application of torque on the transmission output shaft in an opposite, second rotational direction.

10 . The gas spring-powered fastener driver of claim 9 , wherein the planetary transmission includes a ring gear in the same planetary stage as the carrier, and wherein the ring gear includes a cylindrical interior peripheral portion with which the rolling elements are engageable in response to an application of torque on the transmission output shaft in the second rotational direction.

11 . The gas spring-powered fastener driver of claim 10 , wherein engagement of the rolling elements with the cylindrical interior peripheral portion of the ring gear prevents further rotation of the transmission output shaft in the second rotational direction.

12 . The gas spring-powered fastener driver of claim 10 , wherein the ring gear includes a toothed interior peripheral portion with which a plurality of planet gears rotatably supported upon the carrier are engageable, and wherein the toothed interior peripheral portion is adjacent the cylindrical interior peripheral portion.

13 . The gas spring-powered fastener driver of claim 4 , wherein the second clutch mechanism is incorporated with a last of the planetary transmission stages.

14 . The gas spring-powered fastener driver of claim 4 , wherein the second clutch mechanism includes a ring gear, which is also a component in one of the stages of the planetary transmission.

15 . The gas spring-powered fastener driver of claim 14 , wherein the ring gear includes an annular front end having a plurality of lugs defined thereon, and wherein the second clutch mechanism further includes a plurality of detent members engageable with the respective lugs to inhibit rotation of the ring gear.

16 . The gas spring-powered fastener driver of claim 15 , wherein the second clutch mechanism includes at least one spring for biasing the detent members toward the annular front end of the ring gear.

17 . The gas spring-powered fastener driver of claim 15 , further comprising a motor for providing torque to the transmission, wherein, in response to an application of a reaction torque to the transmission output shaft above a predetermined threshold, torque from the motor is diverted from the transmission output shaft to the ring gear to rotate the ring gear, causing the detent members to slide over the lugs.

18 . The gas spring-powered fastener driver of claim 1 , further comprising a motor for providing torque to the transmission, wherein the first clutch mechanism prevents the transmission from applying torque to the motor in response to an application of torque to the transmission output shaft in an opposite, second rotational direction.

19 . The gas spring-powered fastener driver of claim 1 , wherein the first and second clutch mechanisms are coaxial.

20 . The gas spring-powered fastener driver of claim 1 , further comprising:
a motor for providing torque to the transmission; and a battery electrically connectable to the motor for supplying electrical power to the motor.

21 . The gas spring-powered fastener driver of claim 1 , further comprising a housing including a cylinder support portion in which the cylinder is at least partially positioned and a transmission housing portion in which the transmission is at least partially positioned, wherein the cylinder support portion is integrally formed with the transmission housing portion as a single piece.

22 . The gas spring-powered fastener driver of claim 1 , wherein the lifter includes a plurality of pins engageable with the driver blade and a bearing positioned on at least one of the pins.

23 . The gas spring-powered fastener driver of claim 22 , wherein the lifter includes a bearing positioned on each of the pins.

24 . The gas spring-powered fastener driver of claim 23 , wherein the driver blade includes a plurality of teeth along the length thereof, and wherein the bearings on the respective pins are engageable with the teeth when moving the driver blade from the driven position to the ready position.

25 . The gas spring-powered fastener driver of claim 24 , wherein sliding movement between the bearings and the teeth is inhibited when the lifter is moving the driver blade from the driven position to the ready position.

26 . The gas spring-powered fastener driver of claim 1 , further comprising a latch assembly movable between a latched state in which the driver blade is held in the ready position against a biasing force, and a released state in which the driver blade is permitted to be driven by the biasing force from the ready position to the driven position.

27 . The gas spring-powered fastener driver of claim 26 , wherein the latch assembly includes
a latch, a solenoid, and a linkage for moving the latch out of engagement with the driver blade when transitioning from the latched state to the released state, the linkage having a first end pivotably coupled to the solenoid and a second end positioned within a slot formed in the latch, and wherein movement of the second end of the linkage within the slot causes the latch to rotate.

28 . The gas s

Assignees

• Milwaukee Electric Tool Corp

Inventors

• Wyler Andrew R
• Armstrong Nathan T
• Thurner Jason D
• Thorson Troy C
• Scott John S
• Ebner Jeremy R
• Garces Daniel R
• Dedrickson Ryan Allen
• Skinner Luke J
• Suhr Benjamin R

Classifications

• B25C1/047

  Mechanical details · CPC title

• B25C1/06 Primary

  operated by electric power · CPC title