Wing headed fasteners and process for attaching same

Claim 2

Wing headed fasteners for use in removably attaching first members, such as cabinet backings, to second members, such as cabinets, said fastener comprising a main body portion, said body portion having a top end and a bottom end, at least one integral wing portion made of resilient material and projecting outwardly from said top end of said body portion, said body portion being free of projections between the bottom of said wing portion and the bottom end of said body portion, there being aperture means in said body portion for receiving nails therein to pivotally attach said wing headed fasteners to said second member whereby said fastener may be rotated to removably attach the first members to the second member, and said aperture means comprising a top portion that is countersunk to receive to be contiguous with the received nail and a bottom portion that is countersunk to reduce the area of contact and therefore the friction between the bottom end of said fastener and said second member.

Claim 3

A wing headed fastener for use in removably attaching first members, such as cabinet backings, to second members, such as cabinets, mEans integral to said wing headed fasteners for inter-connecting said wing headed fasteners in strips in a spaced apart relationship so that said wing headed fasteners can be fed for successive fastening by tools that automatically drive nails, said fastener comprising a main body portion, said body portion having a top end and a bottom end, at least one wing portion projecting outwardly from said top end of said body portion, said body portion having a cross section dimension that is free of projections from said wing portion down to said bottom end thereof in order that said body portion can be inserted in key slots in said first member, said at least one wing portion being resilient and being shaped with respect to said body portion to deflect and exert a holding force on said first member when said body portion is disposed in said slot with said bottom end thereof forced against said second member, and there being aperture means in said body portion for receiving the nails therein to pivotally attach said wing headed fasteners to said second member in a manner that forces said at least one wing portion against said first member to removably attach said first member to said second member and to enable said wing headed fastener to pivot into registry with the key slots for removing said first member.

Claim 4

A wing headed fastener for use in removably attaching first members, such as cabinet backings, to second members, such as cabinets, mEans integral to said wing headed fasteners for inter-connecting said wing headed fasteners in strips in a spaced apart relationship so that said wing headed fasteners can be fed for successive fastening by tools that automatically drive nails, said fastener comprising a main body portion, said body portion having a top end and a bottom end, at least one wing portion projecting outwardly from said top end of said body portion, said body portion having a cross section dimension that is free of projections from said wing portion down to said bottom end thereof in order that said body portion can be inserted in key slots in said first member, said at least one wing portion being resilient and being shaped with respect to said body portion to deflect and exert a holding force on said first member when said body portion is disposed in said slot with said bottom end thereof forced against said second member, and there being aperture means in said body portion for receiving the nails therein to pivotally attach said wing headed fasteners to said second member in a manner that forces said at least one wing portion against said first member to removably attach said first member to said second member and to enable said wing headed fastener to pivot into registry with the key slots for removing said first member.

Claim 5

The wing headed fastener of claim 3 wherein said aperture means comprises a top portion that is countersunk to receive the head of a nail and a bottom portion that is countersunk to reduce the area of contact and and therefore the friction at the bottom of the fastener.

Claim 6

The wing headed fasteners of claim 3 wherein said means for interconnecting said wing headed fasteners comprise gate sections extending perpendicular to the body portion, and substantially normal to the at least one wing portion of said wing headed fasteners.

Claim 7

The wing headed fastener of claim 2 wherein said section of the top portion of said aperture means is countersunk, and wherein the bottom portion of said aperture means is substantially conically shaped whereby said bottom portion of said aperture means is non-contiguous with the received nail.

Claim 8

An improved process for attaching a slotted panel having a plurality of slots to a workpiece by means of apertured wing headed fasteners having a body portion with at least one of said wing portions projecting outwardly from said body portion, said wing headed fasteners attached to each other by integral interconnecting gate portions to form a strip of spaced apart wing headed fastener, said wing portions being resilient and being shaped to deflect and exert a securing force on said panel in the closed position of said fastener when said body portion is inserted in and forced against said workpiece, including the steps of: pushing said strip to position one of said apertured wing headed fasteners for mounting on said workpiece, superimposing the panel on said workpiece, passing the body portion of each of said fasteners through each of said slots toward said workpiece, driving second fasteners through said apertures and into said workpiece to rotatably mount said wing headed fastener so that said body portions are forced against said workpiece, and cutting said gate portion on one side of said fastener and trimming said gate portion on the other side of the fastener while driving said second fastener through said aperture into said workpiece, whereby said wing portions are forced against said panel to secure said panel onto said workpiece when said wing headed fastener is in its closed position not in registry with said slot.

Claim 9

An improved process for attaching a slotted panel having a plurality of slots to a workpiece by means of apertured wing headed fasteners having a body portion with at least one of said wing portions projecting outwardly from said body portion, said wing headed fasteners attached to each other by integral interconnecting gate portions to form a strip of spaced apart wing headed fastener, said wing portions being resilient and being shaped to deflect and exert a securing force on said panel in the closed position of said fastener when said body portion is inserted in and forced against said workpiece, including the steps of: pushing said strip to position one of said apertured wing headed fasteners for mounting on said workpiece, superimposing the panel on said workpiece, passing the body portion of each of said fasteners through each of said slots toward said workpiece, driving second fasteners through said apertures and into said workpiece to rotatably mount said wing headed fastener so that said body portions are forced against said workpiece, and cutting said gate portion on one side of said fastener and trimming said gate portion on the other side of the fastener while driving said second fastener through said aperture into said workpiece, whereby said wing portions are forced against said panel to secure said panel onto said workpiece when said wing headed fastener is in its closed position not in registry with said slot.

Claim 10

A strip of fasteners comprised of a plurality of wing headed fastener elements made of resilient material, arranged side by side with a thin narrow web integrally formed therewith to interconnect adjacent fasteners for providing a strip of the fasteners which feeds through a magazine of an automatic tool, each of said fastener element comprisiNg a barrel-like body having at least one diametrically arranged wing extending from a top end thereof, the body being free of projections other than said wing extension.

Claim 11

A strip of fasteners comprised of a plurality of wing headed fastener elements made of resilient material, arranged side by side with a thin narrow web integrally formed therewith to interconnect adjacent fasteners for providing a strip of the fasteners which feeds through a magazine of an automatic tool, each of said fastener element comprisiNg a barrel-like body having at least one diametrically arranged wing extending from a top end thereof, the body being free of projections other than said wing extension.

Claim 12

A strip of fasteners comprised of a plurality of wing headed fastener elements made of resilient material, arranged side by side with a thin narrow web integrally formed therewith to interconnect adjacent fasteners for providing a strip of the fasteners which feeds through a magazine of an automatic tool, each of the fastener elements including a body having an axial opening therethrough.

Claim 13

A strip of fasteners comprised of a plurality of wing headed fastener elements made of resilient material, arranged side by side with a thin narrow web integrally formed therewith to interconnect adjacent fasteners for providing a strip of the fasteners which feeds through a magazine of an automatic tool, each of the fastener elements including a body having an axial opening therethrough.

Claim 14

A strip of fasteners comprised of a plurality of wing headed fastener elements made of resilient material, arranged side by side with a thin narrow web integrally formed therewith to interconnect adjacent fasteners for providing a strip of the fasteners which feeds through a magazine of an automatic tool, the fastener elements and web being integrally formed from a plastic material, each fastener element comprising a central barrel-like body with an axially aligned opening therein and having diametrically opposed wings on one end of said barrel, said wings extending substantially perpendicular to the axis of said opening, and said web comprising a thin and narrow sheet of material substantially perpendicular to the wings and axis of said openings.

Claim 15

A strip of fasteners comprised of a plurality of wing headed fastener elements made of resilient material, arranged side by side with a thin narrow web integrally formed therewith to interconnect adjacent fasteners for providing a strip of the fasteners which feeds through a magazine of an automatic tool, the fastener elements and web being integrally formed from a plastic material, each fastener element comprising a central barrel-like body with an axially aligned opening therein and having diametrically opposed wings on one end of said barrel, said wings extending substantially perpendicular to the axis of said opening, and said web comprising a thin and narrow sheet of material substantially perpendicular to the wings and axis of said openings.

Claim 16

An improved process for attaching a panel to a work piece comprising the steps of: inserting a plurality of nails into a first magazine in a tool, inserting a plurality of fastening elements into a second magazine in said tool, pushing said nails and said fasteners toward a working area of said tool, aligning one of said nails with one of said fastening elements stationed in said working areas, positioning said aligned nail and fastener over a work piece, and driving said one nail through said one fastener and into said work piece.

Claim 17

An improved process for attaching a panel to a work piece comprising the steps of: inserting a plurality of nails into a first magazine in a tool, inserting a plurality of fastening elements into a second magazine in said tool, pushing said nails and said fasteners toward a working area of said tool, aligning one of said nails with one of said fastening elements stationed in said working areas, positioning said aligned nail and fastener over a work piece, and driving said one nail through said one fastener and into said work piece.