Fastener-driving tool including a reversion trigger

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9782880-B2
Application number	US-201615173283-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jun 3, 2016
Priority date	Oct 22, 2012
Publication date	Oct 10, 2017
Grant date	Oct 10, 2017

Abstract

A fastener-driving tool includes a housing, a workpiece-contacting element movable between a rest position and an activated position, and a trigger movable between a rest position and an activated position. The tool includes an actuation lever movably connected to the trigger and a control valve including an actuating pin and an electromagnet where the actuating pin is movable between a rest position and an activated position. In a powered mode, the electromagnet is energized and attracts the actuation lever to the actuating pin and hold the actuation lever and the actuating pin in respective activated positions such that the tool is actuated each time the workpiece-contacting element contacts a workpiece. In a non-powered mode, the electromagnet is not energized such that the tool is actuated each time the workpiece-contacting element and the trigger are each moved from the rest position to the activated position in a designated sequence.

First claim

The invention is claimed as follows:

1. A fastener-driving tool actuatable to drive a fastener, the fastener-driving tool comprising:
a housing;
a workpiece-contact element movably connected to the housing, the workpiece-contact element being movable from a workpiece-contact element non-activated position to a workpiece-contact element activated position and from the workpiece-contact element activated position to the workpiece-contact element non-activated position;
a trigger movably connected to the housing, the trigger being movable from a trigger non-activated position to a trigger activated position and from the trigger activated position to the trigger non-activated position;
an actuation lever movably connected to the trigger, the actuation lever being movable from an actuation lever non-activated position to an actuation lever activated position and from the actuation lever activated position to the actuation lever non-activated position;
a control valve including an actuating pin, the actuating pin being movable from an actuating pin non-activated position to an actuating pin activated position and from the actuating pin activated position to the actuating pin non-activated position;
an electromagnet; and
a controller configured to: (1) responsive to an occurrence of an activation event, energize the electromagnet to cause the actuation lever to remain in the actuation lever activated position; and (2) afterwards and responsive to an occurrence of a deactivation event, de-energize the electromagnet.

2. The fastener-driving tool of claim 1 , wherein the deactivation event occurs when, after the electromagnet has been energized, the fastener-driving tool has not been actuated for a designated period of time.

3. The fastener-driving tool of claim 1 , wherein the activation event occurs when the trigger is held in the trigger activated position after the fastener-driving tool is actuated following: (1) the workpiece-contact element being moved from the workpiece-contact element non-activated position to the workpiece-contact element activated position; and (2) the trigger being moved from the trigger non-activated position to the trigger activated position to cause the actuating pin to move from the actuating pin non-activated position to the actuating pin activated position.

4. The fastener-driving tool of claim 3 , wherein the deactivation event occurs when, after the electromagnet has been energized, the trigger moves from the trigger activated position to the trigger non-activated position.

5. The fastener-driving tool of claim 4 , wherein after the electromagnet has been energized and before the electromagnet has been de-energized, movement of the workpiece-contact element from the workpiece-contact element non-activated position to the workpiece-contact element activated position causes the actuating pin to move from the actuating pin non-activated position to the actuating pin activated position to actuate the fastener-driving tool.

6. The fastener-driving tool of claim 3 , which includes a workpiece-contact element sensor assembly configured to sense whether the workpiece-contact element is in the workpiece-contact element non-activated position or the workpiece-contact element activated position and to generate and send a corresponding signal to the controller.

7. The fastener-driving tool of claim 3 , which includes a trigger position sensor assembly configured to sense whether the trigger is in the trigger non-activated position or the trigger activated position and to generate and send a corresponding signal to the controller.

8. The fastener-driving tool of claim 3 , wherein the deactivation event occurs when, after the electromagnet has been energized, the fastener-driving tool has not been actuated for a designated period of time.

9. The fastener-driving tool of claim 1 , which includes a biasing element that biases the actuation lever to the actuation lever non-activated position.

10. The fastener-driving tool of claim 1 , wherein the fastener-driving tool is in: (1) a sequential-actuation mode when the electromagnet is de-energized; and (2) a contact-actuation mode when the electromagnet is energized.

11. A fastener-driving tool operable in a sequential-actuation mode and a contact-actuation mode and actuatable to drive a fastener, the fastener-driving tool comprising:
a housing;
a workpiece-contact element movably connected to the housing;
a trigger movably connected to the housing;
an electromagnet; and
a controller configured to: (1) responsive to an occurrence of an activation event, energize the electromagnet to cause the fastener-driving tool to operate in the contact-actuation mode; and (2) afterwards and responsive to an occurrence of a deactivation event, de-energize the electromagnet to cause the fastener-driving tool to operate in the sequential-actuation mode.

12. The fastener-driving tool of claim 11 , wherein the activation event occurs when the trigger is held in a trigger activated position after the fastener-driving tool is actuated following: (1) the workpiece-contact element being moved from a workpiece-contact element non-activated position to a workpiece-contact element activated position, and (2) the trigger being moved from a trigger non-activated position to the trigger activated position.

13. The fastener-driving tool of claim 12 , wherein the deactivation event occurs when, while the fastener-driving tool is in the contact-actuation mode, the trigger moves from the trigger activated position to the trigger non-activated position.

14. The fastener-driving tool of claim 13 , wherein while the fastener-driving tool is in the contact-actuation mode, the fastener-driving tool actuates responsive to the workpiece-contact element moving from the workpiece-contact element non-activated position to the workpiece-contact element activated position.

15. The fastener-driving tool of claim 12 , which includes a workpiece-contact element sensor assembly configured to sense whether the workpiece-contact element is in the workpiece-contact element non-activated position or the workpiece-contact element activated position and to generate and send a corresponding signal to the controller.

16. The fastener-driving tool of claim 12 , which includes a trigger position sensor assembly configured to sense whether the trigger is in the trigger non-activated position or the trigger activated position and to generate and send a corresponding signal to the controller.

17. The fastener-driving tool of claim 12 , wherein the deactivation event occurs when, while the fastener-driving tool is in the contact-actuation mode, the fastener-driving tool has not been actuated for a designated period of time.

18. The fastener-driving tool of claim 11 , which includes: (1) an actuation lever movably connected to the trigger, the actuation lever being movable from an actuation lever non-activated position to an actuation lever activated position and from the actuation lever activated position to the actuation lever non-activated position; and (2) a control valve including an actuating pin, the actuating pin being movable from an actuating pin non-activated position to an actuating pin activated position and from the actuating pin activated position to the actuating pin non-activated position, wherein the actuation lever remains in the actuation lever activated position when the electromagnet is energized and the fastener-driving tool is operating in the contact-actuation mode.

19. The fastener-driving tool of claim 18 , which inclu

Assignees

• Illinois Tool Works

Inventors

• Moore Stephen P
• Weinger Murray Z
• Birk Daniel J
• Zhao Hanxin

Classifications

• B25C1/008 Primary

  Safety devices · CPC title

• B25C1/047

  Mechanical details · CPC title

• B25C1/06

  operated by electric power · CPC title

• B25C1/043

  Trigger valve and trigger mechanism · CPC title