FASTENER FEEDER HAVING VIBRATORY BRUSH

摘要

In a fastener driving apparatus including a nose piece assembly defining an elongated drive track receiving a fastener driving element therein movable through an operating cycle including a drive stroke and return stroke, a fastener feeding assembly is provided for supporting a fastener package within the fastener driving apparatus and for moving successive leading fasteners of the fastener package in a feeding direction into the drive track to be driven by the fastener driving element during the drive stroke thereof outwardly of the drive track into the workpiece. The fastener feeding assembly includes a pair of spaced support members disposed in an opposed relation to one another along a feed path for the fastener package, the feed path having a proximal end leading laterally into the drive track. The feeding assembly also includes a multiplicity of resilient bristles supported at one of the ends thereof by one of the support members and extending transversely and toward the proximal end within said feed path. One of the support members defines a feed track extending along the feed path for supporting the fastener package in a position therealong for movement thereon so that the fastener package is engaged by free ends of the multiplicity of bristles sufficient to maintain the fastener package on the feed track against movement in a direction away from the proximal end. One of the support members is mounted to the apparatus in such a manner as to vibrate in a direction toward and away from the other member in response to a vibratory pulse generated by the apparatus during the operating cycle thereof causing the fasteners of the fastener package to repeatedly resiliently flex the bristles in the feeding direction thereby feeding the fasteners toward the drive track and holding a leading fastener of the fastener package in the drive track to be driven therefrom by the driving element into the workpiece.