The present invention relates to a nail magazine for a nailing tool and more particularly to a coil magazine.
Power operated nailing tools for use in building and construction typically comprise a nail magazine for storing a large number of nails capable of being driven from the tool in relatively rapid succession. For this purpose, the successive nails are usually collated into a strip stored within the magazine from which nails are fed successively into a driving zone of the tool. An existing form of tool in common use is known as a coil nailer having a magazine which stores a long strip of collated nails wound into a coil or spiral; a coil magazine for such a tool can typically have a storage capacity of 200 to 300 nails. Typically, the coil nailer is driven by pressurised air fed to the tool by an air line, although other forms of power operation may be provided in order to drive the tool.
In order to provide adjustment within the magazine to enable the magazine to house nails of different length it has been proposed to provide within the interior of the magazine a movable tray for supporting the coil, the tray being movable along an axial post at the centre of the magazine, with the position of the tray along the post determining the length of nail which can be stored. The presence of the centre post for the tray complicates the loading process and also renders the magazine rather bulky. An alternative design of magazine incorporates a removable coil tray; however the removable tray suits only one length of nail and can easily be lost or misplaced when not in use.
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Aspects of the invention are set out in the appended claims.
An embodiment of the invention will now be described by way of example only with reference to the accompanying drawing, the sole figure of which is a perspective view of a coil magazine in accordance with the preferred embodiment, the magazine being shown in its open condition with a support tray exposed for loading with a fresh nail coil.
The coil magazine of the preferred embodiment is of generally cylindrical form comprising an outer body principally formed by two body parts 2, 4 connected at an outer edge for movement between a closed position and an open position (as shown) in which a fresh coil of nails can be loaded into the magazine. The body part 2 is the main body part and has a part-circular upper wall 2a, a part-cylindrical circumferential wall 2b, and a circular base wall 2c. The body part 4 has a part-circular upper wall 4a and part-cylindrical circumferential wall 4b. The two body parts 2, 4 are pivotally interconnected at their circumferential wall 2b, 4b by a pivot pin 6, the axis of which is parallel to the central axis of the magazine and thus the central axis of the nail coil when stored within the magazine.
A coil supporting tray 8 within the magazine is mounted at its outer periphery on the pivot pin 6 for swinging movement on the pivot pin and also for axial movement along the pivot pin. It is to be noted that the mounting of the tray 8 to the pivot pin 6 at its outer periphery leaves the body of the tray unobstructed to thereby permit easy loading of the nail coil onto the tray when the two body parts 2, 4 are in their open position. The mounting of the tray 8 for axial movement along the pivot pin 6 enables the height of the tray 8 within the magazine to be adjusted to accommodate different lengths of nail.
The tray 8 is lockable in a selected one of several predetermined positions along the pivot pin 6, each corresponding to a different nail length. In the embodiment shown, this is achieved by engaging the outer edge of the tray 8 into a selected one of several recesses 10 positioned along the adjacent edge of the circumferential wall of one of the two body parts (as shown, the wall 2b), the movement into engagement with the selected recess to lock the tray and the movement out of the recess to permit height adjustment occurring by swinging the tray 8 on the pivot pin 6. Circumferential ribs 12 are formed on the interior surface of the circumferential wall at least one of the body parts (as shown, both body parts) to provide circumferential support for the tray 8 when the magazine is closed. When the magazine is closed, a vertical rib 14 on the main body part 2 releasably snaps into engagement with a recess 16 in the periphery of the tray to releasably lock the tray within the main body part and thereby to prevent the tray from freely swinging outwardly when the magazine is next opened.
Nails are withdrawn from the magazine into the tool through a passage in the circumferential wall of the magazine and defined, when the magazine is closed, between radially projecting portions 2d, 4d of the two body parts and which lie adjacent when the magazine is closed. In the preferred embodiment, the magazine is mounted to the tool by engagement of a bracket portion 18 on the main body part 2 with the handle of the tool and by engagement of the projecting portion 2d and adjacent parts with the body of the tool adjacent its driving zone. With this configuration, the magazine is opened by pivoting the body part 4 to the open position.
The magazine particularly described can be configured for use with zero degree coil nailers in which the nails are collated in the coil in a configuration parallel to the axis of the coil or nailers in which the nails are orientated at an acute angle to the axis of the coil, this being determined by the configuration of the mounting of the magazine to the tool.
The magazine particularly described enables easier and quicker reloading together with easy adjustment to suit a range of different nail sizes.
The embodiment has been described by way of example only and modifications are possible within the scope of the invention.
This list of references cited by the applicant is for the reader's convenience only. It does not form part of the European patent document. Even though great care has been taken in compiling the references, errors or omissions cannot be excluded and the EPO disclaims all liability in this regard.