Abstract:
A clip of fasteners for use in attaching a structural panel to a metal substrate comprises a plastic strip with openings characterized by inwardly-extending ribs for gripping and supporting fasteners that comprise a forward self-drilling portion, a rearward self-tapping thread portion and cutting blade means formed integral with the self-drilling portion. Each fastener has a head with a top surface adapted for driving engagement by a driver tool for rotatively driving the fastener, and a tapered surface having a plurality of circumferentially spaced cutting edges that function to cut away the ribs supporting the fastener as the fastener is rotatively driven through the structural panel to secure the panel to the substrate and create a countersink in the structural panel.
Abstract:
A method and apparatus for fastening a first relatively soft structural component (350) such as a wood panel to a second relatively hard structural component (352) such as a steel angle iron using fasteners (8) each having a forward self-drilling portion, a rearward, self-tapping portion, and an outwardly projecting head. The fasteners are driven by a pneumatic rotary impact driver (2) and the method comprises rotatively driving each fastener so as to cause its self-drilling portion to drill a first hole through the wood panel and thereafter rotatively driving and impacting that fastener so as to cause its self-drilling portion to drill a second hole in the angle iron and its self-tapping portion to form a screw connection with the angle iron around the second hole.
Abstract:
A powder-actuated fastener-driving tool of the type disclosed in U.S. Patent No. 4,655,380, modified to include a safety system for preventing accidental discharge of the tool, a fastener storage and feed assembly, and a simpler firing pin assembly. The safety system prevents discharge of a fastener from the tool except when the front of the tool is engaged with a workpiece and the cylinder assembly is urged rearwardly a selected distance into the housing of the tool. The fastener storage and feed assembly is adapted to store a strip of fasteners and to index the strip so as to position the leading fastener in the strip in position to be discharged from the tool. In the present invention, a unitized firing pin is provided for firing the cartridges used in the tool, instead of the plural-element firing actuator and pin assembly of the '380 tool.