Sencorp, Inc.

Senco Products, Inc.

Terry A Boothby

Robert G Rothfuss

David L Remerowski

Delbert E Lucas

J Charles Hueil

A tool for driving a nail or other fastener is actuated by a caseless propellant charge formed of combustible material that is transported into a combustion chamber on a strip. The propellant charge is ignited by striking a sensitizer portion of the charge at an oblique angle. The ignition member intermixes the sensitizer material with an oxidizer layer of the surface of the propellant charge, resulting in combustion of the charge. When ignited, the propellant charge is compressingly interposed between an orifice plate and a movable portion of the combustion chamber. The orifice plate includes a pedestal with an annular compression surface that separates the surface of the ignition area from the remaining surfaces of the charge, insuring that ignition gases are forced through the charge. An annular C-shaped ring is interposed between the orifice plate and the movable portion of the combustion chamber. When the charge is ignited, the resulting gas pressure resiliently expands the annular C-shaped ring and urges opposite axial ends of the C-shaped ring into sealing relationship between the relatively movable components of the combustion chamber. Combustion gases are communicated through orifices in the orifice plate to a cylinder where the gases force movement of a driver, which driver strikes and drives a fastener such a nail. The driver is reciprocally movable within the cylinder and is returned to its precombustion position by a gas spring return cylinder. The gas return cylinder in mechanically interconnected to the driver and contains a sealed gaseous fluid that is independent of and segregated from fluids in the combustion chamber. An assembly for deaccelerating the driver includes a series of spaced and aligned progressively sized metal cup members of progressively increasing mass, contact surface area and interface angles.

Assembly for decelerating a driver in a tool

Apparatus for igniting a propellant charge in a tool

An anvil attachment for the nose portion of a surgical stapling instrument of the type utilizing a replaceable cartridge of surgical staples. The anvil attachment is generally 'L-shaped'. A first leg of the anvil attachment is adapted to lie along and to be affixed to the nose portion of the surgical instrument with the second leg of the anvil attachment extending laterally of the surgical instrument nose portion. Near the juncture of the first and second anvil attachment legs, the second anvil attachment leg is provided on its upper surface with an upstanding wedge-shaped lug which, in cooperation with an adjacent relief on the first anvil attachment leg, engages and maintains the lower end of the staple cartridge in proper position against the nose portion of the surgical stapling instrument. The second anvil attachment leg has a first anvil portion adjacent the wedge-shaped lug and providing a first anvil surface adapted to abut and support the crown of a staple during a staple forming operation. The second anvil attachment leg may have one or more narrower anvil portions adjacent the first anvil portion and providing other anvil surfaces adapted to abut and support the crowns of staples of lesser inside crown dimension during the forming thereof, whereby the anvil may be used with two or more cartridges containing two or more different sizes of staples.

Anvil attachment for a surgical stapling instrument

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Cincinnati, OH, United States of America

Terry A Boothby