U.S. patent application number 11/307786 was filed with the patent office on 2007-08-23 for embossed tape collating strip for nails.
This patent application is currently assigned to ILLINOIS TOOL WORKS, INC.. Invention is credited to Donald E. Bergstrom, Geronimo E. Lat, Thomas H. Malpass, Henry W. Schniedermeier, Lawrence S. Shelton.
Application Number | 20070193208 11/307786 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 38426739 |
Filed Date | 2007-08-23 |
United States Patent
Application |
20070193208 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Bergstrom; Donald E. ; et
al. |
August 23, 2007 |
EMBOSSED TAPE COLLATING STRIP FOR NAILS
Abstract
A fastener assembly for use in a fastener driving tool includes
a row of fasteners arranged substantially parallel to each other
and a strip having a supporting substrate and an adhesive
composition thereon. The supporting substrate has an elongated
dimension extending generally in the direction of the row of
fasteners. The substrate has embossings formed therein. The
adhesive composition is bonded to the fasteners and maintains them
in the substantially parallel arrangement in the row. A method for
making the embossed strip is also disclosed.
Inventors: |
Bergstrom; Donald E.; (Lake
Villa, IL) ; Lat; Geronimo E.; (Ivanhoe, IL) ;
Shelton; Lawrence S.; (Morton Grove, IL) ; Malpass;
Thomas H.; (Ottowa, IL) ; Schniedermeier; Henry
W.; (Glenview, IL) |
Correspondence
Address: |
Levenfeld Pearlstein, LLC (ILLINOIS TOOL WORKS)
2 North LaSalle Street
Suite 1300
CHICAGO
IL
60602
US
|
Assignee: |
ILLINOIS TOOL WORKS, INC.
3600 W. Lake Ave.
Glenview
IL
|
Family ID: |
38426739 |
Appl. No.: |
11/307786 |
Filed: |
February 22, 2006 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
52/749.1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
F16B 15/08 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
052/749.1 |
International
Class: |
E04F 21/00 20060101
E04F021/00 |
Claims
1. A fastener assembly for use in a fastener driving tool,
comprising: a row of fasteners arranged substantially parallel to
each other; and a strip having a supporting substrate and an
adhesive composition thereon, the supporting substrate having an
elongated dimension extending generally in the direction of the row
of fasteners, the supporting substrate having embossings formed
therein, the adhesive composition bonded to the fasteners and
maintaining them in the substantially parallel arrangement in the
row.
2. The fastener assembly in accordance with claim 1 wherein the
strip is formed having diamond pattern embossings.
3. The fastener assembly in accordance with claim 2 wherein the
diamond pattern is a repeating diamond pattern.
4. The fastener assembly in accordance with claim 2 wherein the
diamond pattern has a major axis and a minor axis.
5. The fastener assembly in accordance with claim 4 wherein the
major axis is parallel to an edge of the strip.
6. The fastener assembly in accordance with claim 1 wherein the
fasteners are positioned at an angle relative to the elongated
dimension of the strip.
7. The fastener assembly in accordance with claim 6 wherein the
diamond pattern has a major axis and a minor axis and wherein the
major axis or the minor axis is positioned substantially parallel
to the fasteners.
8. The fastener assembly in accordance with claim 4 wherein the
strip includes ribs extending between embossings at the major or
minor axes.
9. The fastener assembly in accordance with claim 1 wherein the
strip includes one or more longitudinally extending embossings.
10. The fastener assembly in accordance with claim 1 wherein the
substrate is laminated to the adhesive layer.
11. A strip for use in bonding fasteners to one another in an
assembly in which the fasteners are parallel to one another,
comprising: a supporting substrate and an adhesive composition
thereon, the supporting substrate having an elongated dimension
extending generally in the direction of the row of fasteners, the
supporting substrate having embossings formed therein, the adhesive
composition bonded to the fasteners and maintaining them in the
substantially parallel arrangement in the row.
12. The strip in accordance with claim 11 having diamond pattern
embossings formed therein.
13. The strip in accordance with claim 12 wherein the embossing are
in the form of a repeating diamond pattern.
14. The strip in accordance with claim 13 wherein the diamond
pattern has a major axis and a minor axis.
15. The strip in accordance with claim 14 wherein the major axis is
parallel to an edge of the strip.
16. The strip in accordance with claim 14 wherein the major axis at
an angle to an edge of the strip.
17. The strip in accordance with claim 14 including ribs extending
between embossings at the major or minor axes.
18. The strip in accordance with claim 11 wherein the embossings
define a 3-dimensional profile.
19. The strip in accordance with claim 11 wherein the embossings
are defined by embossing lines that intersect and that are offset
from one another at the respective intersections.
20. The strip in accordance with claim 11 wherein the strip has a
thickness that is greater than a thickness of a comparable
non-embossed strip.
21. The strip in accordance with claim 18 wherein the embossings
define a predetermined pattern and wherein the pattern is a diamond
shape.
22. The strip in accordance with claim 18 wherein the embossings
define a predetermined pattern and wherein the pattern has at least
three sides.
23. A method for making a strip for use in bonding fasteners to one
another in an assembly in which the fasteners are parallel to one
another comprising the steps of: providing a substrate; applying an
adhesive to the substrate; and embossing the substrate.
24. The method in accordance with claim 23 wherein the adhesive is
applied to the substrate prior to carrying out the embossing step.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The present invention pertains to collated fasteners. More
particularly, the present invention pertains to a collated nail
strip formed with an embossed tape, for use in a fastener driving
tool.
[0002] Fast-acting fastener driving tools are in widespread use in
the construction industry. For use in these tools, the nails are
assembled in strips that are inserted into a magazine of the tool.
The strips are flat and the nails or other fasteners are held
parallel to one another. The nails are assembled in a staggered or
stepped manner such that the major axis of the nail forms an angle
to the longitudinal direction of the strip. In presently known
collated nails, the angle is about 10 degrees to 40 degrees and
preferably between 15 degrees and 25 degrees. An in-depth
discussion of such fasteners is provided in U.S. Pat. No.
5,733,085, to Shida, which is incorporated herein by reference.
[0003] Presently known collated nails are assembled using tape
strips or an extruded plastic material. The plastic (or polymer) in
the plastic-formed strips is cooled and hardens to hold the nails
in the strip form for use in the tool. The tape strips are formed
from a kraft paper or other paperboard material having a plastic
(polymer) adhesive on a surface thereof that is heated on contact
with hot nails and, as it cools, adheres to the nails.
[0004] The tape strips have the advantage of minimizing the debris
that is formed as the tool is actuated and the nails are driven
into the material (typically wood) to be fastened. However, with
the tape strip it has been observed that the strip can flex and
tend to advance on each other. This is a condition known as
corrugation and has been found to be one of the greatest causes of
tool jamming and fastener failure, and increases as the nails are
spaced farther apart.
[0005] One way in which the corrugation problem has been addressed
was to use a thicker tape with a relatively large quantity of
adhesive material on the tape (to secure to the nails). However, it
was found that as the strip's resistance to corrugation increased,
the force required to separate the nail from the strip and to shear
the tape, e.g., resistance to shear, increased as well. As such,
nails tended to remain affixed to the tape and jamming of the tool
occurred.
[0006] Accordingly, there is a need for a paper tape collation
system for strip-formed fasteners that reduces the tendency for the
nail strip to corrugate in the tool magazine. Desirably, such a
system reduces the tendency to corrugate without increasing the
shear required to properly separate the nail from the strip in a
predetermined manner as the tool is actuated. More desirably, such
a system includes a tape that has a thickness several times greater
than plain tape without increasing the paper thickness or weight.
More desirably, such a system reduces the tendency to corrugate
without substantially increasing the size of the tape or the amount
of adhesive.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0007] A fastener assembly is for use in a fastener driving tool.
The assembly includes a row of fasteners arranged substantially
parallel to each other and a strip having a supporting substrate
and an adhesive composition thereon. The assembly forms a collating
nail strip.
[0008] The substrate has an elongated dimension extending generally
in the direction of the row of fasteners. The substrate has
embossings formed therein. The adhesive composition is bonded to
the fasteners and maintains them in the substantially parallel
arrangement in the row.
[0009] The embossings in the strip reduce the tendency of the nail
strip to corrugate and decreasing the shear required to properly
separate the nail from the strip and without substantially
increasing the size of the tape or the amount of adhesive.
[0010] The embossings provide a resulting tape thickness that is
several times greater than plain (non-embossed) tape. The embossing
pattern produces a 3-dimensional geometry that increases the
rigidity of the tape and increases the overall thickness of the
nail strip.
[0011] A present strip is formed having diamond pattern embossings.
The diamond pattern is a repeating diamond pattern that defines
major and minor axes. The major axis can be formed parallel to an
edge of the strip. Alternately, the fasteners are positioned at an
angle relative to the elongated dimension of the strip and the
major or minor axis is positioned substantially parallel to the
fasteners, or at an angle such as 90 degrees. The strip can include
ribs extending between embossings at the major or minor axes.
[0012] Various alternate embossings patterns can be used, such as a
rectangular pattern, a hexagonal (e.g., honeycomb) pattern, a
circular pattern or some combination thereof that allows plastic
material to be moved (or introduced) into the rib sections (the
embossings). Embossing depths can vary to provide a desired overall
tape or nail strip thickness.
[0013] These and other features and advantages of the present
invention will be apparent from the following detailed description,
in conjunction with the appended claims.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS
[0014] The benefits and advantages of the present invention will
become more readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the
relevant art after reviewing the following detailed description and
accompanying drawings, wherein:
[0015] FIG. 1 is a plan view of one embodiment of a nail strip
having a paper tape collation system having an embossed tape
pattern embodying the principles of the present invention;
[0016] FIG. 2 is a plan view of a second embodiment of the paper
tape collation system, FIG. 2A being a second view of this
embodiment;
[0017] FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of an isolated section of the
embossed diamond patterns;
[0018] FIG. 4 is a schematic illustration of a 45 degree square
embossing pattern
[0019] FIG. 5 is a schematic illustration of a 45 degree square
embossing pattern with an alternating integrated brace;
[0020] FIG. 6 is an illustration of a cross-section of an exemplary
section of embossed tape;
[0021] FIG. 7 is a schematic of an alternate pattern in which the
embossing lines are offset from one another at the line
junctures;
[0022] FIG. 8 is an illustration of yet another alternate pattern
in which the embossing is a single longitudinal embossing; and
[0023] FIG. 9 is an illustration of a testing device that was used
to compare the shear required for an embossed tape strip to that
required for a plain tape strip.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0024] While the present invention is susceptible of embodiment in
various forms, there is shown in the drawings and will hereinafter
be described a presently preferred embodiment with the
understanding that the present disclosure is to be considered an
exemplification of the invention and is not intended to limit the
invention to the specific embodiment illustrated.
[0025] It should be further understood that the title of this
section of this specification, namely, "Detailed Description Of The
Invention", relates to a requirement of the United States Patent
Office, and does not imply, nor should be inferred to limit the
subject matter disclosed herein.
[0026] Referring now to the figures and in particular to FIG. 1
there is shown a nail strip 10 having a paper tape collation system
12 with an embossed tape pattern 14 embodying the principles of the
present invention. The strip 10 includes a plurality of fasteners
16, such as the illustrated nails disposed parallel to one another.
As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, the illustrated
nails 16 are full head nails, rather than D-head nails.
Accordingly, the nails 16 provide increased holding characteristics
(due to the increased surface area of the nail 16 head). However,
it will be appreciated that using full head nails 16 requires that
the strip 10 is fabricated with a slightly greater distance between
the (axes A.sub.16 of the) nails 16 to accommodate the larger nail
16 heads.
[0027] The nails 16 are collated and held to one another by tape
strips 18. A strip 18 can be disposed along each side of the nail
strip 10. The tape strips 18 are adhered to the outer peripheral
sides 20 of the nails 16 by an adhesive 22. Any of a variety of
known adhesives 22 can be used, such as extrudable polyolefins,
such as maleic anhydride modified, and others, such as, but not
limited to polyethylene (especially high density polyethylene),
polypropylene, copolymers of ethylene with other alpha-olefins (for
example, linear low density polyethylene) copolymers of propylene
with other alpha-olefins, copolymers of ethylene with ethylenically
unsaturated esters and their derivatives (for example, ethylene
vinyl acetate), and mixtures including any of these polymers. The
adhesive 22 can be applied by extrusion, coextrusion, spraying or a
variety of other known application processes. It will be
appreciated by those skilled in the art that a lamination formed
from multiple layers of similar or dissimilar materials can be used
to form the tape to achieve a desired result.
[0028] The paper tape strips 18 are formed with the embossed
pattern 14 therein. One pattern, a diamond pattern, has
diamond-shaped embossings 24, each having a major axis (as
indicated at 26) and a minor axis (as indicated at 28). The diamond
pattern can be a repeating diamond pattern.
[0029] Advantageously, the embossings 24 present a tape 18 with a
thickness t.sub.18 that is several times greater than that of a
plain tape. The actual thickness will of course depend upon the
type of embossing and the depth of the embossing. The embossing 24
produces a ribbed pattern or profile having a 3-dimensional
geometry that increases the rigidity of the tape 18. This reduces
the opportunity for the strip 10 to corrugate, particularly as the
distance between the nails 16 increases.
[0030] The embossed tape 18 provides another advantage that may be
less apparent. Nail strips 10 are used in a variety of nail guns,
and conversely, nail guns can use a variety of different sizes of
nails. The widths of the magazines of the nail guns vary to
accommodate these different size nails. Accordingly, there may be
little space between the nail strip 10 and the magazine wall or
there may be a fairly sizable distance between the strip 10 and the
wall.
[0031] It will be appreciated that it is desirable for the
thickness of the strip 10 to as large as possible without ering so
large as to bind on the walls of the magazine. This prevents
side-by-side overlapping of nail strips 10. As such, there is a
desire to increase the overall nail strip 10 thickness, without
increasing other characteristics, such as the shear force required
to separate a nail 16 from the strip 10.
[0032] The present embossings 14 provide this increased thickness
(as well as increased rigidity) without a commensurate increase in
some of the other, non-desired characteristics. For example, it has
been found that because the amount of adhesive (plastic) is not
increased, the required shear has not increased. In fact, it was
found that the force required to shear the nail 16 from the strip
10 actually decreased compared to a plain tape strip.
[0033] A weight impact fixture 200 was used to determine the
comparative differences in force required to separate a nail from a
plain strip and an embossed strip in accordance with the principles
of the present invention. The fixture 200, illustrated in FIG. 9
includes an exemplary nail gun magazine 202 mounted to a stand 204.
A graduated tube guide 206 carries a 4 ounce weight 208 with a
driver blade 210 mounted to a bottom end. The weight 208 and driver
blade 210 were raised to a designated height and "dropped" so that
the blade 210 struck the nail 16 head.
[0034] The height to which the weight 208 was required to be raised
in order to separate the nail 16 from the strip 10 was measured
over 12 drops for the embossed tape strip and 11 drops for the
plain tape strip. In testing, a plain strip having a thickness of
0.023 inches and a diamond embossed strip, also having a thickness
of 0.023 inches were subject to drops to shear the nails 16 from
the strip 10. The heights to shear were measured. The results are
provided in Table 1, below. TABLE-US-00001 TABLE 1 DROP HEIGHT TO
SHEAR Embossed Tape Plain Tape Drop Height Drop Height Drop Number
(Inches) (Inches) 1 39 53 2 39 48 3 39 48 4 39 48 5 42 43 6 39 48 7
39 48 8 39 48 9 36 48 10 36 43 11 39 48 12 42 -- Average 39
47.5
[0035] As can be seen from the results, the heights for the
embossed tape were consistently less than that required to shear
the plain tape. The percent difference was calculated as: %
diff=[(avg.sub..pl-avg.sub.emb.)/ avg.sub..pl].times.100%=18%
difference.
[0036] This represents a substantial decrease in the shear force
required to separate the nails from the strip in the embossed tape
strip compared to the plain tape strip.
[0037] In the exemplary diamond pattern, the tape 18 can be formed
with the major axis 26 or minor axis 28 parallel to the edges 30 of
the tape 18, e.g., so that the diamond pattern 14 falls within the
edges or margins 30 of the tape 18. Alternately, as seen in FIGS. 2
and 2A, the tape 118 can be formed with the diamond pattern 114 on
a bias relative to the length L.sub.118 of the tape 118. In such an
arrangement, the major axis 126 can be oriented transverse, and
preferably perpendicular to the longitudinal axis A.sub.16 of the
nail 16. In this manner, the minor axis 128 extends parallel to the
shear line 132 that is formed as the nail 16 is separated from the
strip 10.
[0038] The novel embossings 24, 124 in the tape 18, 118 provide a
number of advantages over known flat or planar tape strips. First,
the embossings 24, 124 provide resistance to bending of the tape
18, 118 per se, and, when forming part of the nail strip 10, help
to reduce the tendency of the nail strip 10 to corrugate. In
addition, the diamond pattern 24, 124 provides points at which the
tape 18, 118 will tend to shear, or frangible regions (32, 132), to
facilitate separation of the nail 16 as it is driven from the
remainder of the strip 10. Thus, the embossed pattern 14, 114
provides strength in the compressive direction (to prevent
corrugation) and provides separation lines 32, 132 along which the
tape 18, 118 can be torn.
[0039] As seen in FIG(S). 3 (and 5), a reinforcing rib 34 (and 434)
can be formed in the tape 18, 118 along the major axis 26, 126 of
the diamond embossing 24, 124. The rib 34 provides additional
rigidity and strength to the tape 18, 118 to further reduce the
potential for corrugation.
[0040] In a present embossed tape 18, 118, a 3/4 inch wide kraft
paper tape substrate 36 having the diamond pattern embossing 24,
124 was formed. The paper 36 was a 30 lb. kraft paper with
thickness of about 0.003 inches (3 mils). The diamonds 24, 124 each
had a minor axis 28, 128 dimension of about 0.064 inches and a
major axis 26, 126 dimension of about 0.099 inches. The adhesive
layer 22 was a heat reactive high density polyethylene based
material applied to the substrate 36 to a thickness of about 19
mils after embossing.
[0041] In the illustrated strip 10, the nails 16 are positioned at
an angle .alpha. of about 20 degrees to the transverse direction 38
of the strip 18, 118; however, other angles .alpha. are
contemplated for use with the present invention. One of the
advantages of the 20 degree collation system is that a greater
number of nails can be "packed" in less linear (tape measured)
distance as the angle .alpha. decreases. As such, the number of
nails in a 20 degree collation is greater than the number of nails
16 in a 30 degree collation system.
[0042] FIGS. 4-5 illustrate two square, 45 degree embossing
patterns 314, 414, a first 314 in which the embossing lines or
creases 324 are on 0.130 inch centers and the embossing lines have
a width of about 0.020 inches (20 mils). The embossing pattern 314
is a 45 degree pattern and the machine direction is illustrated by
the arrow at MD. The depth of the embossings 324 are at, for
example, about 16 mils to 22 mils. The pattern 414 in FIG. 5
illustrates a 45 degree pattern 414 with the embossing lines or
creases 424 on 0.130 inch centers and having a width of about 0.020
inches (20 mils), with depths of about 16 mils to 26 mils. The
pattern 414 of FIG. 5 also includes the brace 434 in an alternating
pattern that extends corner to corner of the squares in the machine
direction MD. The braces 34 and 434 provide additional rigidity to
further reduce the opportunity for the strip 10 to corrugate.
[0043] As seen in FIG. 7, the pattern 514 can be formed such that
the embossing lines 524 are not straight at the junctures 526
(e.g., not collinear), but rather are offset from adjacent lines to
further enhance the ability to effectively (e.g., cleanly) shear
the tape, while maintaining the desired longitudinal rigidity of
the tape.
[0044] Various embossing patterns have been successfully formed,
including square embossing patterns with depths of 25 and 35 mils,
a square embossing pattern with a depth of 25 mils and with
alternate bracing (FIG. 5), a canted diamond pattern with a 23
degree cant and depth of 35 mils, a reinforced (braced) canted
diamond pattern with a 23 degree cant and depth of 35 mils and a
canted diamond pattern with a 67 degree backside cant and a depth
of 35 mils. The angle of cant is the measured as the angle between
the diamond major axis and the edge of the tape strip. Still
another tape 614 is illustrated in FIG. 8 in which one or more
longitudinal embossings 624 extend along the length or along the
longitudinal axis of the 614.
[0045] It will also be appreciated by those skilled in the art that
the "paper" tape substrate 36 can be formed from materials other
than paper or paperboard-based materials, such as polyester and
other film forming polymers or fabrics, such as cloth. In all such
strips, the embossing 14, 114, 314, 414, 514, 614 can be formed in
the strip during manufacture, such as following an extrusion step
in which adhesive extruded onto the tape (to form the lamination)
or later in a post-manufacture process. It is also anticipated that
the substrate is provided, the embossings formed and the adhesive
applied. In a present tape and process, the embossings are formed
after application of the adhesive to the substrate, and are formed
to a depth of about 16 mils to about 35. In making the nail strip
10, the tape 18 is applied to heated nails 16 and introduced to a
roller to press the tape 18 to the nails 16. In one method of
making the strip 10, the tape 18 is pressed with a greater force at
the edges than in the center of the tape 18.
[0046] It has been found that the embossed tape nail strip 10 has
the additional advantage of reducing the amount of debris that is
generated upon actuation of the nail gun. Strips of nails having an
equal number of nails were fired from a nail gun and the debris
generated was collected. The strips included a plastic collation, a
non-embossed (plain) tape strip and an embossed tape strip. The
debris from each was weighed. The plastic collation generated 4.318
grams of debris per strip of nails, the plain tape generated 0.5586
grams of debris and the embossed tape generated 0.2137 grams of
debris per nail strip. It will be appreciated that it is more
advantageous to have a lesser amount of debris generated.
[0047] The embossings 14, 114, 314, 414, 514, 614 are not limited
to the illustrated repeating diamond pattern 24, 124, 324, 424,
524. In fact, many other embossing shapes and profiles are
anticipated as set forth above, such as, cruciform shapes,
hexagonal shapes, octagonal shapes and round shapes. These and
other shapes can be used to form the embossed pattern 14, 114, 314,
414, 514, 614 and are all within the scope and spirit of the
present invention.
[0048] All patents referred to herein, are incorporated herein by
reference, whether or not specifically done so within the text of
this disclosure.
[0049] In the present disclosure, the words "a" or "an" are to be
taken to include both the singular and the plural. Conversely, any
reference to plural items shall, where appropriate, include the
singular.
[0050] From the foregoing it will be observed that numerous
modifications and variations can be effectuated without departing
from the true spirit and scope of the novel concepts of the present
invention. It is to be understood that no limitation with respect
to the specific embodiments illustrated is intended or should be
inferred. The disclosure is intended to cover by the appended
claims all such modifications as fall within the scope of the
claims.
* * * * *