Illinois Tool Works Inc.

Bruce Wywialowski

Richard Joseph Urban

A collation comprises a plurality of sleeves for supporting and carrying a plurality of fasteners through a magazine, wherein each of the plurality of sleeves have a front and a predetermined length of between about &#xbc; and about 0.4 inch, each of the plurality of fasteners have a predetermined length of between about &#xbe; inch and about 1 &#xbd; inch and a tip located at a predetermined position from about 0.05 inch behind the sleeve front to about &#xbc; inch beyond the sleeve front, frangible bridges integrally connecting the plurality of sleeves together in a serial array and facilitating the separation of a leading one of the plurality of sleeves from remaining ones of the plurality of serially arranged sleeves when a drive member of the fastener driving tool drives a leading one of the fasteners disposed within the leading one of the sleeves, and a plurality of protrusions from the sleeves for engaging the rails in the magazine.

Collations for fasteners of various lengths

A fastener driving tool for driving fasteners toward a work surface comprises a body having a forward end, a rear end, and a cylinder with an axis, a piston mounted within the cylinder, a power source for driving the piston axially forwardly, a driver blade extending axially forwardly from the piston, a nosepiece extending axially forwardly from the front end of the tool body, wherein the nosepiece encloses a drive bore for guiding the fasteners and the driver blade toward the work surface, there being an opening into the drive bore for the fasteners, a magazine for guiding the fasteners to the opening. In one aspect, the magazine and the nosepiece are fixed with respect to each other, and the tool includes a fastener guide that extends axially forwardly from the nosepiece and moves with respect to the nosepiece between an extended position and a retracted position. In another aspect, the opening into the drive bore provides a small clearance through which the tips can pass, wherein the opening is long enough to accommodate fasteners of at least two different lengths.

Guidance system for fasteners

In one aspect of the invention a collation comprises a plurality of sleeves for supporting and carrying a plurality of fasteners through a magazine, wherein each of the plurality of sleeves have a front and a predetermined length of between about &#xbc; and about 0.4 inch, each of the plurality of fasteners have a predetermined length of between about &#xbe; inch and about 1&#xbd; inch and a tip located at a predetermined position from about 0.05 inch behind the sleeve front to about &#xbc; inch beyond the sleeve front, frangible bridges integrally connecting the plurality of sleeves together in a serial array and facilitating the separation of a leading one of the plurality of sleeves from remaining ones of the plurality of serially arranged sleeves when a drive member of the fastener driving tool drives a leading one of the fasteners disposed within the leading one of the sleeves, and a plurality of protrusions from the sleeves for engaging the rails in the magazine. In another aspect, a system of collations comprises a plurality of first collations each having a plurality of sleeves each having a front, the sleeves holding first fasteners having a tip located at a predetermined position relative to the sleeve front, and a plurality of second collations each having a plurality of second sleeves each having a front, the second sleeves holding second fasteners having a different length than the first fasteners and a tip located at the same predetermined position relative to the front of the second sleeves.

Growing community of inventors

Elmhurst, IL, United States of America

Bruce Wywialowski