US3360176A - Locating and positioning fixture for nailing machines - Google Patents

Description

DEC. 26, 1967 M G ET AL 3,360,176

LOCATINO AND POSITIONING FIXTURE FOR NAILING MACHINES Filed April 1966 6 Sheets-Sheet 1 Dec. 26,, 1967 GEHL ET AL LOCATING AND POSITIONING FIXTURE FOR NAILING MACHINES 6 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed April 7, 1966 m 36 5 as cSmJM7w .Edwzn M E'EhZ Fred IEaAfiaz-nscm Dec. 26, 1967 M. GEHL ET AL 3,360,176

LOCATING AND POSITIONING FIXTURE FOR NAILING MACHINES Filed April 7, 1966 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 Edwm M EeZ-zZ Fred B.Adamscm Dec. 26, 1967 E. M. GEHL ET AL LOCATING AND POSITIONING FIXTURE FOR NAILING MACHINES 6 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed April 7, 1966 will!!! JmJn/w .Edwm M E'eZ-zZ Prad.B.Adsmsnn WW Dec. 26, 1967 GEHL ET AL LOCATING AND POSITIONING FIXTURE FOR NAILING MACHINES 6 Sheets5heet 5 Filed April 7, 1966 Dec. 26, 1967 E. M. GEHL ET AL 3,360,176

LOCATING AND POSITIONING FIXTURE FOR NAILING MACHINES Filed April 7, 1966 6 Sheets-Sheet 6 dmdw w .E'dwm MGehZ 3 Fred .EzAuamsun United States Patent 3,360,176 LOCATING AND POSITIONING FIXTURE FOR NAILING MACHINES Edwin M. Gehl, 3100 W. Sheridan, Milwaukee, Wis. 53209, and Fred B. Adamson, Milwaukee, Wis.; said Adamson assignor to said Gehl Filed Apr. 7, 1966, Ser. No. 540,913

9 Claims. (Cl. 227-148) This invention concerns itself with blind nailing matched tongue and groove flooring strips to a sub-floor, and has as its general purpose and object to provide a device with which a power actuated nailing machine, of which there are several on the market, may be used to quickly and expeditiously nail such flooring strips in place and do so with a minimum of manual effort.

Laying hardwood flooring has always been a tedious and exacting job. To produce a neat, workmanlike result, each flooring strip must be driven tightly against the previously laid strip and then blind nailed in place. This requires the nails to be driven at a 45 angle through the tongued edge of the strip, with the heads of the nails driven below the surface and located at the junction of the upper side of the tongue and the edge of the strip from which it projects.

While various tools have been proposed in the past to facilitate the laying of hardwood flooring, the best there was still required the carpenter to expend considerable manual effort, since the nails had to be manually driven. Laying a hardwood floor thus was considered a backbreaking job.

The present invention eliminates the hard work heretofore involved in laying hardwood flooring, by utilizing a power operated nailing machine to drive the nails. To this end, the invention resides in the provision of a locating fixture to support and properly position a portable nailing machine for blind nailing of matched tongue and groove flooring strips, so that by simply moving the locating fixture along the strip and actuating the trigger of the machine, nails are successively driven at the proper angle through the tongued edge of the flooring strip, to secure the strip to the sub-floor.

It is also an object of this invention to incorporate means in the locating fixture for driving the flooring strip home before it is nailed into position.

Still another object of this invention is to provide a device of the character described which not only properly locates the nailing machine and incorporates means for driving the flooring strip home before it is nailed in place, but in addition automatically triggers the nailing machine as a consequence of driving the flooring strip home.

With the above and other objects in view which will appear as the description proceeds, this invention resides in the novel construction, combination and arrangement of parts substantially as hereinafter described and more particularly defined by the appended claims, it being understood that such changes in the precise embodiment of the herein disclosed invention may be made as come Within the scope of the claims.

The accompanying drawings illustrate several complete examples of the physical embodiments of the invention, constructed according to the best modes so far devised for the practical application of the principles thereof, and in which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of the tout-ensemble embodying this invention, and illustrating the same in its position of use;

FIGURE 2 is a side view of the complete structure, illustrating the relationship of its various components during the act of nailing a flooring strip in place;

FIGURE 3 is a fragmentary detail view through the tongued edge portion of a flooring strip and that part of the locating fixture of this invention which engages the same, to better illustrate the manner in which the fixture is properly positioned and guided to its proper position on the flooring strip;

FIGURE 4 is a perspective view of the locating fixture per se, but with the parts thereof disassembled, as they would have to be to enable a nailing machine to be placed in the fixture preparatory to being secured therein;

FIGURE 5 is a perspective view of the bottom of the fixture;

FIGURE 6 is a view partly in side elevation and partly in section, illustrating a slightly modified embodiment of the invention wherein the locating fixture is equipped with means for driving flooring strips home before they are nailed in place;

FIGURE 7 is a sectional view through FIGURE 6 on the plane of the line 7-7;

FIGURE 8 is a view similar to FIGURE 6, illustrating a further modification of the invention, wherein trigger actuating means are incorporated in the fixture to automatically actuate the trigger of the nailing machine as a consequence of driving the flooring strip home;

FIGURE 9 is a sectional view through FIGURE 8 on the plane of the line 9-9; and

FIGURE 10 is a sectional view through FIGURE 9 on the plane of the line 10-10.

Referring now particularly to the accompanying drawings, the numeral 5 designates a sub-floor to which a finish floor 6 is to be secured. The finish floor consists of relatively narrow matched flooring strips 7, usually of hardwood, having a tongue 8 projecting from one edge thereof, and a groove 9 in its opposite edge. When properly positioned and secured to the sub-floor, these strips are neatly interengaged with the tongue of one received in the groove of another; and so that the nails 10 by which the flooringstrips are secured will not be visible, they are driven at an angle through the tongued edges of the flooring strips along axes which pass through the junction of the top of the tongue with the edge of the flooring strip from which the tongue projects.

With a view towards facilitating the proper placement and driving of the nails, nail guiding and driving devices have been proposed in the past. Patent No. 2,169,433, issued Aug. 15, 1939, to T. A. Roy, is typical of these earlier carpenters aids; but all these prior devices were of the impact type in which the nails must be driven by one stroke or swing of a heavy mallet or hammer. Before long this becomes quite tiring.

By contrast, the present invention substitutes a portable power-driven nailing machine for manual effort. To

this end, a unique fixture indicated generally by the numeral 11 has a conventional nailing machine 12 detachably secured thereto in such a way that when the fixture is properly positioned on a flooring strip to be nailed in place, the nails that are driven ,by the machine pass through the tongued edge of the strip at the proper angle and location. The nailing machine for which the fixture 12 is designed is of the type illustrated in Patent No.

3,056,965, though it is to be understood that the fixture could be adapted to receive and mount other nailing machines.

All nailing machines suitable for use in nailing flooring strips in place, generally have a body portion 13 which I houses the mechanism by which nails are forcibly projected from a nozzle 14 alonga path coincident with the longitudinal axis 15 of the body portion and nozzle. The nails to be driven are contained in a magazine 16 and are successively presented to the driving mechanism as the machine is actuated.

The nailing machine 11 is pneumatically powered, and is actuated by lifting a trigger 17 mounted directly beneath a handle 18 by which the machine may be carried about, it being understood that the machine must be connected with a suitable source of air pressure.

The fixture 11 comprises a base 20 having a fiat bottom surface 21, and a cradle 22 to receive and locate the nailing machine. The cradle is integral with the base and has spaced side walls 23 connected by a bottom wall 24 which is disposed at an angle of 45 to the fiat bottom of the base. The lower end of this U-shaped structure is closed by an end wall 25 which is shaped to fit the nozzle portion of the nailing machine and to locate the nailing machine with the axis of its nozzle passing through a port 26 in the base.

The nailing machine is removably though firmly held in the cradle 22 by a yoke 27 which embraces the body portion of the machine and is detachably secured to a flange 28 at the top of the end wall 25, and by a strap 29 which extends across the top of the magazine of the machine and is detachably fastened to the side walls 23.

Since the axis of the nozzle is perpendicular to the bottom of the nailing machine, and since the bottom of the machine seats upon the inclined wall 24 of the cradle, the nails projected from the nozzle travel along a path inclined 45 to the flat bottom surface of the fixture. Hence, if the fixture is properly located with respect to the tongued edge of the flooring strip to be nailed in place, the nails driven by the machine will pass through the tongued edge portion of the strip at the proper angle and location.

To locate the fixture on a flooring strip to be nailed in place, an abutment 35 projects down from the base to engage the edge portion 36 of the flooring strip above its tongue 8. As best seen in FIGURE 3, the abutment 35 has a gauging surface 37 disposed perpendicularly to the underside of the base, to have flat surface-to-surface engagement with the edge portion 36 of the flooring strip, and to preclude any interference with proper positioning of the fixture by such engagement, the distance the abutment 35 projects from the underside of the base is less than the width of the portion 36 of the flooring strip. Accordingly, when the fixture is in position, no part of the abutment 35 contacts the tongue 8 of the flooring strip. This is necessary since the tongue may not be accurately placed on the strip, and its profile is not reliably uniform. Since the gauging surface 37 is necessarily narrow, a second abutment 38 projects from the underside of the base and extends beyond the lower edge of the abutment 35 to guide the fixture to its proper position during placement thereof on a flooring strip. This second abutment has a surface 39 perpendicular to the flat underside of the base to engage the tongue of the flooring strip during placement of the fixture. It should be noted, however, that the distance between the surfaces 37 and 39 is greater than the width of the tongue 8, so that when the fixture is in proper position on the flooring strip, no part of the shoulder 38 contacts the tongue.

Still further aid in quick placement of the fixture is afforded by having the lower edge of the first abutmrint 35 bevelled, as at 40.

Although the base of the fixture has a sufiiciently large area thereof engageable with the top of the flooring strip to normally assure the desired stability for the fixture during the nailing operation, to guard against any possible instability a foot 41 preferably projects down from the front portion of the base to rest upon the sub-floor. Obviously, this foot 41 has a height corresponding to the thickness of the flooring strip.

To produce a neat workmanlike job, each flooring strip should be driven tightly home against the previously secured strip before it is nailed in place. This may be accomplished by simply striking the tongued edge of the strip with a rubber mallet in the way in which it has always been done; but in the modified embodiment of the invention illustrated in FIGURES 6-10, inclusive, the fixture 11 has means to facilitate driving home the flooring strips before they are nailed in place. To this end, a plunger 45 is slidably mounted in an open ended bore 46 formed in an upwardly projecting boss 47 formed integrally with the base. The axis of the bore 46 is parallel with the axis 15 of the nailing machine nozzle and the coincident path of the nails driven by the machine; and in fact lies substantially in the same transverse plane as the axis 15. Hence, the path of the plunger passes through the junction of the top of the tongue and the edge of the flooring strip.

The lower end of the plunger 45 is shaped to provide a V-shaped nose 48 with the sides of the V, forming an angle of 90 so that one side 49 is vertical and the other side 50 is horizontal. The disposition of the parts is such that there is less space between the side 49 and the adjacent edge 36 of the flooring strip when the plunger 45 is in its retracted position (shown in FIGURE 6) than there is between the horizontal side 50 and the top of the tongue. Accordingly, upon sudden downward motion of the plunger 45, the impact thereof on the flooring strip will be applied to the edge 36 to drive the flooring strip solidly against the previously secured strip.

A spring 51 yieldingly holds the plunger in its retracted position. This spring encircles a stem 52 on the upper end of the plunger, and is confined between a shoulder 53 in the tubular boss 47 and the inner end of a head 54 secured to the stem by the pin 55. The ends of the pin 55 project into slots 56 in the tubular boss to hold the plunger against rotation.

In use, the operator grasps the handle of the machine with one hand, with one finger thereof on the trigger 17, and with the other hand strikes the head 54 with a hammer or mallet, and directly thereafter lifts the trigger. To accommodate both left and right-handed workmen, the plunger 45 and all of its associated structure is duplicated at both sides of the fixture, as shown in FIGURE 7.

That embodiment of the invention illustrated in FIG- URES 8-10, inclusive, incorporates all of the structure described thus far, but in addition has means by which motion of either one of the two plungers 45 to drive the flooring strip home, automatically triggers the nailing machine. Broadly, the means for accomplishing this result consists in the provision of suitable linkage, indicated generally by the numeral 60, through which downward mo tion of either plunger 45'is translated into upward motion of the trigger 17.

Since the linkage 60 is duplicated at both sides of the fixture, a description of one will suifice for both. It includes a bell crank lever 62 pivoted to the fixture to swing about a horizontal axis. One arm 63 of this lever bears against one-end of a pin 64 which is slidably mounted in the body of the fixture, and has its other end in engagement with another pin 65 also slidably mounted in the fixture but at right-angles to the pin 64. The contacting ends of the pins 64 and 65 are inclined and so disposed that endwise movement of the pin 65 towards the pin 64 imparts endwise motion to the latter in the direction to rock the bell crank 62 in the clockwise direction, as viewed in FIGURE 8.

This motion of the bell crank acting through its other arm 66 pushes upon a third pin 67 which in turn is connected to one end of a cross bar 68. The opposite end of the cross bar is connected to the pin 67 of the linkage at the opposite side of the fixture, and together the pins 67 normally hold the medial portion of the cross bar closely adjacent to the underside of the trigger 17, so that if upward movement is imparted to either end of the cross bar, the trigger can be lifted. To assure this result, the cross bar has an adjusting screw 69 threaded therein in position to engage the trigger.

The linkage is actuated when its plunger 45 is driven downward, by an inclined cam surface 70 on the plunger bearing against one end ot the pin 64; Preferably, this end of the pin is inclined to have surface-to-surface engagement with the cam surface 70. A spring 71 holds the pin 64 against the cam surface; and a spring 72 holds the pin 67 in its retracted position.

From the foregoing description taken with the accompanying drawings, it should be apparent to those skilled in this art that the present invention greatly facilitates the laying of tongue and groove flooring, and that it opens up an entirely new field of use for portable power operated nailing machines.

What is claimed as our invention is:

1. A locating fixture to support and properly position a portable power driven, trigger controlled nailing machine having a nozzle from which nails are forcibly projected along a path coinciding with the axis of the nozzle, when the machine is triggered, for blind nailing matched tongue and groove flooring strips to a sub-floor, said fixture comprising:

A. a base having a bottom surface adapted to rest upon a flooring strip to be nailed in place and having a port through which nails may pass;

B. structure projecting up from said base and forming a cradle to receive and hold the nailing machine with the axis of its nozzle passing through said port in the base at substantially a 45 angle to the bottom of the base;

C. means on said structure to detachably secure the nailing machine in the cradle; and

D. shoulder means depending from the underside of the base adjacent to said port to engage the tongued edge of a flooring strip which is to be nailed in place, and by such engagement so locate the fixture that the axis of the nailing machine nozzle passes through the engaged edge of the flooring strip.

2. The locating fixture of claim 1, wherein said shoulder means comprises a first abutment on the underside of the base, having a flat gauging surface projecting perpendicularly from the underside of the base to engage that portion of the tongued edge of the flooring strip above the tongue without contacting the tongue, and

said abutment being so positioned with respect to the cradle that said axis of the nailing machine nozzle passes substantially through the junction between the top of the tongue and the edge of the flooring strip, and said shoulder means further comprising a second abutment projecting down from the base a distance greater than the first abutment, to be engageable with the tongue of the flooring strip during placement of the fixture, and thereby guide the fixture into proper position as it is placed on the flooring strip,

the gauging surfaces of said abutments being spaced apart a distance greater than the width of the tongue on the flooring strip, so that the second abutment does not contact the tongue when the fixture is in proper position on the flooring strip as defined by the engagement of the gauging surface of the first abutment with the edge of the flooring strip above the tongue. 3. The fixture of claim 2, further characterized by a bevelled edge on the first abutment receding from the gauging surface thereof to assist in guiding the fixture to its proper position on a flooring strip.

4. The fixture of claim 2, further characterized by a foot projecting from the base at a distance from the portion thereof which rests upon the flooring strip when the fixture is in proper position thereon,

said foot being of a height corresponding to the thickness of the flooring strip, so that the foot rests upon the sub-floor when the fixture is in its proper position.

5. The fixture of claim 1, wherein the means on said cradle-forming structure by which the. nailing machine may be secured in the cradle, comprises a yoke of a size and shape to embrace a portion of the body of the nailing machine, and

means for detachably securing said yoke to said cradle-forming structure.

6. The fixture of claim 1, further characterized by means by which a flooring strip may be driven home into tight matching engagement with a previously fastened flooring strip, said means comprising an impact plunger having a nose shaped to engage the tongued edge of the flooring strip above the tongue, means on the base defining an open-ended guideway extending upwardly from the base and in which the plunger is axially slidably received with its nose lowermost,

the axis of said guideway being inclined and substantially parallel with the path along which the nails are to be driven through the tongued edge of the flooring strip, and passing through the base at a point such that the nose of the plunger will engage the tongued edge of the flooring strip above the tongue upon downward motion of the plunger, means yieldingly holding the plunger in a retracted position from which it must be moved to engage the tongued edge of the flooring strip, 'and a head on the upper end of the plunger adapted to be struck with a mallet.

7. The fixture of claim 6, wherein said means for driving the flooring strip home is duplicated at opposite sides of the cradle-forming means.

8. The fixture of claim 6, further characterized by trigger-actuating means on the fixture operatively connected wtih the trigger of the nailing machine and said plunger,

to automatically actuate the trigger of the nailing machine in consequence of motion of the plunger incident to driving the flooring strip home.

9. A machine for properly positioning and nailing tongue and groove flooring strips to a sub-floor comprising the combination of a portable power driven nailing machine having a nozzle from which nails are forcibly projected along a defined axis when the nailing machine is operated,

a handle by which the machine may be carried and manipulated, and

a trigger adjacent to the handle by which operation of the machine is initiated; and

a locating fixture for said nailing machine by which it is properly positioned on the flooring strip, said fixture comprislng:

(1) a base to rest upon the flooring strip, said base having a port therein;

(2) structure on the base defining a cradle to receive and hold the nailing machine with said axis along which it propels the nails passing through the port in the base at an acute angle;

(3) means detachably securing the nailing machine in said cradle;

(4) guide means on the underside of the base to engage the tongued edge of a flooring strip and so position the fixture thereon that nail-s driven by the nailing machine pass through the tongued edge of the flooring strip to elfect blind nailing thereof to the sub-floor;

(5) a plunger slidably mounted in the fixture for axial movement along an inclined path which passes through the base,

the plunger having its lower end positioned to engage the tongued edge of thefioorig strip and drive the flooring strip home against a previously nailed strip upon downward travel of the plunger; (6) means yieldably holding the plunger in a retracted position; (7) a head on the upper end of the plunger adapted to be struck with a mallet;

(8) a trigger actuating lever on the fixture positioned to actuate the trigger of the nailing machine; and (9) linkage operatively connected with said lever and the plunger, through which downward travel of the plunger is translated into trigger actuating motion of said lever.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS Payzant 227-110 Roy 227-110 Anstett 227-148 Anstett 227-148 Dettloff et a1 227-127 Boulay 227-109 XR GRANVILLE Y. CUSTER, JR., Primary Examiner.

Claims (1)

1. A LOCATING FIXTURE TO SUPPORT AND PROPERLY POSITION A PORTABLE POWER DRIVEN, TRIGGER CONTROLLED NAILING MACHINE HAVING A NOZZLE FROM WHICH NAILS ARE FORCIBLY PROJECTED ALONG A PATH COINCIDING WITH THE AXIS OF THE NOZZLE, WHEN THE MACHINE IS TRIGGERED, FOR BLIND NAILING MATCHED TONGUE AND GROOVE FLORING STRIPS TO A SUB-FLOOR, SAID FIXTURE COMPRISING: A. A BASE HAVING A BOTTOM SURFACE ADAPTED TO REST UPON A FLOORING STRIP TO BE NAILED IN PLACE AND HAVING A PORT THROUGH WHICH NAILS MAY PASS; B. STRUCTURE PROJECTING UP FROM SAID BASE AND FORMING A CRADLE TO RECEIVE AND HOLD THE NAILING MACHINE WITH THE AXIS OF ITS NOZZLE PASSING THROUGH SAID PORT IN THE BASE AT SUBSTANTIALLY A 45* ANGLE TO THE BOTTOM OF THE BASE; C. MEANS ON SAID STRUCTURE TO DETACHABLY SECURE THE NAILING MACHINE IN THE CRADLE; AND D. SHOULDER MEANS DEPENDING FROM THE UNDERSIDE OF THE BASE ADJACENT TO SAID PORT TO ENGAGE THE TONGUED EDGE OF A FLOORING STRIP WHICH IS TO BE NAILED IN PLACE, AND BY SUCH ENGAGEMENT SO LOCATE THE FIXTURE THAT THE AXIS OF THE NAILING MACHINE NOZZLE PASSES THROUGH THE ENGAGED EDGE OF THE FLOORING STRIP.

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