초록 ▼

A portable hand-held screw driving tool is provided for use with collated strips of screws. A collated strip of screws enters from an upper-rear area of the tool and runs through a pathway or slot in an elongated, movable upper guide mounted at the tool's upper housing, then to a movable slide body

A portable hand-held screw driving tool is provided for use with collated strips of screws. A collated strip of screws enters from an upper-rear area of the tool and runs through a pathway or slot in an elongated, movable upper guide mounted at the tool's upper housing, then to a movable slide body having that receives and indexes the collated strip so a screw can be driven by the tool. The upper guide provides containment that prevents the flexible collated strip becoming substantially misaligned while moving through the guide's slot. When the tool is actuated to drive a screw into an object, the sliding guide moves longitudinally along the top of the tool, along with the tool's front-end screw-driving mechanism. Thus the flexible collated strip is always in a relatively fixed orientation as compared to the movable front end portion of the tool.

대표청구항 ▼

The invention claimed is: 1. A movable guide for use with a portable fastener-driving tool, wherein the fastener-driving tool exhibits: (i) a housing having a first end and a second end, and a wall member therebetween; and (ii) a fastener driving mechanism proximal to said first end of the housing,

The invention claimed is: 1. A movable guide for use with a portable fastener-driving tool, wherein the fastener-driving tool exhibits: (i) a housing having a first end and a second end, and a wall member therebetween; and (ii) a fastener driving mechanism proximal to said first end of the housing, for receiving a collated strip of fasteners and moving a fastener of the collated strip of fasteners to a driving position; said movable guide comprising: an elongated member having a third end and a fourth end, said elongated member being positioned proximal to the wall member of said tool's housing, said third end being proximal to said first end of the housing, and said fourth end extending toward said second end of the housing; said elongated member including a longitudinal pathway having an entry area proximal to said fourth end and an exit area proximal to said third end, said collated strip of fasteners being received at said entry area and then directed through said pathway toward said exit area, said collated strip of fasteners being directed from said exit area toward said fastener driving mechanism; and said elongated member being in a movable mechanical communication with said wall member of the housing, and in a fixed mechanical communication with said fastener driving mechanism. 2. The movable guide as recited in claim 1, wherein said movable guide is slidably mounted to said wall member at an upper portion of the housing. 3. The movable guide as recited in claim 2, wherein said movable guide exhibits at least one linear protrusion in said elongated member that is in mechanical communication with at least one mating linear recess in said wall member, such that said at least one linear protrusion slides along said at least one mating linear recess. 4. The movable guide as recited in claim 2, wherein said movable guide exhibits at least one linear recess in said elongated member that is in mechanical communication with at least one mating linear protrusion in said wall member, such that said at least one linear protrusion slides along said at least one mating linear recess. 5. The movable guide as recited in claim 1, wherein said collated strip of fasteners slides through guide surfaces of the longitudinal pathway in said elongated member, between said entry area proximal to said exit area. 6. The movable guide as recited in claim 5, wherein said guide surfaces prevent the collated strip of fasteners from becoming substantially misaligned while traveling through the pathway. 7. The movable guide as recited in claim 6, wherein said guide surfaces prevent the collated strip of fasteners from substantially (a) sagging, (b) bunching, and (c) becoming tangled. 8. The movable guide as recited in claim 5, wherein said guide surfaces include: (a) first guide surfaces that comprise two halves for directing a movement of a flexible member of said collated strip of fasteners therethrough, and (b) second guide surfaces for directing a movement of shanks of the fasteners therethrough, of said collated strip of fasteners. 9. The movable guide as recited in claim 1, wherein said fasteners comprise screws. 10. The movable guide as recited in claim 9, wherein said screws exhibit a length of at least two inches. 11. The movable guide as recited in claim 1, wherein said fastener driving mechanism includes a fastener indexing portion, comprising a slide body with a rotatable sprocket. 12. The movable guide as recited in claim 11, further comprising: a movable nose piece of said fastener driving mechanism that moves, along with said slide body, in a substantially linear direction when a fastener is driven, and said movable guide moves along with said nose piece and slide body; wherein said collated strip of fasteners does not become substantially misaligned during said movement of the nose piece, slide body, and movable guide, including when in the fastener driving position. 13. The movable guide as recited in claim 11, wherein said movable guide includes a locating pin that mounts into a mating recess in said slide body. 14. A movable guide for use with a portable fastener-driving tool wherein the fastener-driving tool exhibits: (i) a housing having a first end and a second end, and a wall member therebetween; and (ii) a fastener driving mechanism proximal to said first end of the housing, for receiving a collated strip of fasteners and moving a fastener of the collated strip of fasteners to a driving position; said movable guide comprising: an elongated member having a third end and a fourth end said elongated member being positioned proximal to the wall member of said tool's housing, said third end being proximal to said first end of the housing, and said fourth end extending toward said second end of the housing; said elongated member including a longitudinal pathway having an entry area proximal to said fourth end and an exit area proximal to said third end, said collated strip of fasteners being received at said entry area and then directed through said pathway toward said exit area, said collated strip of fasteners being directed from said exit area toward said fastener driving mechanism; said elongated member being in a movable mechanical communication with said wall member of the housing, and in a fixed mechanical communication with said fastener driving mechanism; and an extendable handle that is attached at said second end of the housing. 15. A portable fastener-driving tool, comprising: (a) an elongated housing containing a prime mover device, said housing having a first end and a second end, and an elongated wall member therebetween, said housing having a longitudinal axis between said first and second ends, and said wall member of the housing including a pair of elongated recesses running substantially parallel to said longitudinal axis; (b) a fastener driving mechanism proximal to said first end of the housing; and (c) a movable guide member having a third end and a fourth end, said third end being proximal to said first end of the housing, said guide member including a guiding pathway for a collated strip of fasteners, said guiding pathway having an exit area at said third end, and said guide member includes a pair of elongated protrusions running substantially parallel to said longitudinal axis of the housing, such that said pair of protrusions substantially mate with said pair of elongated recesses of the wall member of the housing; wherein said guide member is in a slidable movable mechanical communication with said housing using said elongated protrusions along said elongated recesses, and is in a fixed mechanical communication with the fastener driving mechanism. 16. The tool as recited in claim 15, wherein said fourth end extends toward said second end of the housing. 17. The tool as recited in claim 16, wherein said guiding pathway is in a substantially longitudinal direction with respect to the tool. 18. The tool as recited in claim 17, wherein said guiding pathway further exhibits an entry area proximal to said fourth end, wherein a collated strip of fasteners is received at said entry area and then directed through said guiding pathway toward said exit area, and wherein said collated strip of fasteners is contained within said guiding pathway in a manner that prevents the strip from becoming substantially misaligned while traveling through the pathway. 19. The tool as recited in claim 15, wherein said fastener driving mechanism includes a fastener indexing portion that receives a collated strip of fasteners and moves a fastener of the collated strip of fasteners to a driving position of said fastener driving mechanism. 20. The tool as recited in claim 19, wherein said fastener indexing portion comprises a slide body with a rotatable sprocket. 21. The tool as recited in claim 20, further comprising: a movable nose piece of said fastener driving mechanism that is proximal to said fastener indexing portion, wherein said nose piece moves, along with said slide body, in a substantially linear direction when a fastener is driven, and wherein said guide member moves along with said nose piece and slide body. 22. The tool as recited in claim 21, wherein said collated strip of fasteners does not become substantially misaligned during said movement of the nose piece, slide body, and guide member, including when in the fastener driving position. 23. The tool as recited in claim 20, wherein said guide member includes a locating pin that mounts into a mating recess in said slide body. 24. The tool as recited in claim 15, wherein a collated strip of fasteners slides through guide surfaces of the guiding pathway in said guide member, between an entry area proximal to the fourth end, and said exit area. 25. The tool as recited in claim 24, wherein said guide surfaces prevent the collated strip of fasteners from becoming substantially misaligned while traveling through said pathway. 26. The tool as recited in claim 24, wherein said guide surfaces prevent the collated strip of fasteners from substantially (a) sagging, (b) bunching, and (c) becoming tangled. 27. The tool as recited in claim 24, wherein said guide surfaces include: (a) first guide surfaces that comprise two halves for directing a movement of a flexible member of said collated strip of fasteners therethrough, and (b) second guide surfaces for directing a movement of shanks of the fasteners therethrough, of said collated strip of fasteners. 28. The tool as recited in claim 15, wherein said fasteners comprise screws. 29. The tool as recited in claim 28, wherein said screws exhibit a length of at least two inches. 30. A portable fastener-driving tool comprising: (a) an elongated housing containing a prime mover device, said housing having a first end and a second end, and a wall member therebetween: (b) a fastener driving mechanism proximal to said first end of the housing: (c) a movable guide member having a third end and a fourth end, said third end being proximal to said first end of the housing, said guide member including a guiding pathway for a collated strip of fasteners, said guiding pathway having an exit area at said third end; and (d) an extendable handle that is attached at said second end of the housing; wherein said guide member is in a movable mechanical communication with said housing and is in a fixed mechanical communication with the fastener driving mechanism.