(12) United States
`Chlebowski et al.
`
`Patent
`
`(10) Patent No.:
`(45) Date of Patent:
`
`US 6,550,660 B1
`Apr. 22, 2003
`
`US006550660B1
`
`(54)
`
`(76)
`
`HAMMER-TYPE STAPLER WITH TAB
`FEEDER
`
`Inventors: Edmund M. Chlebowski, 433
`Bayshore Dr., Wilmington, NC (US)
`28411; Brian Malcolm Swanson, 308
`Harlandale Dr., Wilmington, NC (US)
`28411
`
`(*)
`
`Notice:
`
`Subject to any disclaimer, the term of this
`patent is extended or adjusted under 35
`U.S.C. 154(b) by 26 days.
`
`(21) Appl. No.: 09/922,466
`
`(22) Filed:
`
`Aug. 3, 2001
`
`Int. Cl.7 ................................................... B27F 7/32
`(51)
`(52) U.S. Cl ........................ 227/133; 227/131; 227/134;
`227/138
`(58) Field of Search ................................. 227/120, 129,
`227/133, 134, 136, 138, 140, 147, 15, 18
`
`(56)
`
`References Cited
`
`U.S. PATENT DOCUMENTS
`
`2,432,853 A
`2,537,601 A
`2,645,773 A
`2,653,317 A
`2,661,999 A
`2,664,565 A
`2,896,210 A
`4,033,499 A
`4,036,422 A
`4,182,474 A
`4,455,804 A
`
`* 12/1947 Barclay ...................... 227/133
`*
`1/1951 Peterson ..................... 227/133
`* 7/1953 Dugin ........................ 227/133
`* 9/1953 Beckman et al .............. 227/86
`* 12/1953 Abrams ...................... 227/133
`* 1/1954 Percoco ...................... 227/120
`* 7/1959 Rubin ........................ 227/133
`7/1977 Butler
`7/1977 Harvey
`1/1980 Sato
`6/1984 Francovitch
`
`4,657,167 A
`4,780,039 A
`4,870,750 A
`5,042,142 A
`5,193,729 A
`5,292,048 A
`5,407,313 A
`5,484,094 A
`5,634,583 A
`5,947,362 A
`5,975,401 A
`6,012,623 A
`
`4/1987 Mays
`10/1988 Hartman
`10/1989 Zahn
`8/1991 Beach et al.
`3/1993 Dewey et al.
`3/1994 Vanderwiel
`4/1995 Bruins et al.
`1/1996 Gupta
`6/1997 McGuinness et al.
`* 9/1999 Omil .......................... 227/120
`11/1999 Fealey
`1/2000 Fealey ........................ 227/134
`
`*
`
`* cited by examiner
`
`Primary Examiner~cott A. Smith
`Assistant Examiner~hukwurah Nathaniel
`(74) Attorney, Agent, or Firm~VlacCord Mason PLLC
`
`(57)
`
`ABSTRACT
`
`A manually operated hammer-type stapler for attaching a
`material to a surface with a tabbed staple includes a staple
`driver having a staple drive blade moveable along a blade
`pathway between a raised position to a lowered position; a
`striker at the distal end of the stapler; an elongated handle
`extending rearwardly from the staple driver; an elongated
`staple magazine beneath and parallel to the handle, the staple
`magazine having a discharge end adj acent the blade pathway
`to position a staple beneath the driver blade; and an elon-
`gated tab magazine parallel to and beneath the staple
`magazine, the tab magazine having a discharge end adjacent
`the blade pathway to position a tab beneath the driver blade,
`whereby the driver blade moves from its raised position to
`its lowered position when the striker is impacted against the
`surface to drive a staple through a tab and into the surface.
`
`14 Claims, 6 Drawing Sheets
`
`26
`
`14
`
`18
`
`42
`
`FAST FELT 2020, pg. 1
`Owens Corning v. Fast Felt
`IPR2015-00650
`
`

`
`U.S. Patent
`
`Apr. 22, 2003 Sheet 1 of 6
`
`US 6,550,660 B1
`
`O
`
`FAST FELT 2020, pg. 2
`Owens Corning v. Fast Felt
`IPR2015-00650
`
`

`
`U.S. Patent
`
`Apr. 22, 2003 Sheet 2 of 6
`
`US 6,550,660 B1
`
`I I II
`
`I I II
`
`I
`
`FAST FELT 2020, pg. 3
`Owens Corning v. Fast Felt
`IPR2015-00650
`
`

`
`U.S. Patent
`
`Apr. 22, 2003 Sheet 3 of 6
`
`US 6,550,660 B1
`
`Fig. 3
`
`14
`
`44
`
`32
`
`FAST FELT 2020, pg. 4
`Owens Corning v. Fast Felt
`IPR2015-00650
`
`

`
`U.S. Patent
`
`Apr. 22, 2003 Sheet 4 of 6
`
`US 6,550,660 B1
`
`Fig. 4
`
`58
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`/
`
`/
`
`I
`
`62
`
`44
`
`42
`
`46
`
`FAST FELT 2020, pg. 5
`Owens Corning v. Fast Felt
`IPR2015-00650
`
`

`
`U.S. Patent
`
`Apr. 22, 2003 Sheet 5 of 6
`
`US 6,550,660 B1
`
`Fig. 5a
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`/
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`/<
`/
`/
`/
`/
`/
`/
`/
`/
`/
`/
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`/
`/
`/
`/
`/
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`/
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`42
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`56
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`62
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`44
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`34
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`FAST FELT 2020, pg. 6
`Owens Corning v. Fast Felt
`IPR2015-00650
`
`Fig. 5b
`
`22
`
`54
`
`64
`
`

`
`U.S. Patent
`
`Apr. 22, 2003 Sheet 6 of 6
`
`US 6,550,660 B1
`
`FAST FELT 2020, pg. 7
`Owens Corning v. Fast Felt
`IPR2015-00650
`
`

`
`US 6,550,660 B1
`
`1
`HAMMER-TYPE STAPLER WITH TAB
`FEEDER
`
`BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
`
`(1) Field of the Invention
`The present invention relates generally to an apparatus for
`driving staples through tabs for securing sheet material to a
`substrate. In particular, the invention is well suited for
`efficiently securing roof felt to the roof of a structure.
`
`(2) Decsription of the Prior Art
`
`The conventional method of attaching roofing felt to a
`roof is to use a large headed fastener commonly referred to
`as a felt nail or "button cap". A popular type of felt nail has
`a plastic disc for a head through which a brad or nail has
`been factory pre-positioned. The plastic disc head is circular
`and concave towards the roof surface. A roofer carries a
`supply of felt nails in a nail apron. After roof felt has been
`positioned and the roofer is ready to fasten the felt to the
`roof, he or she holds the roofing nail erect with two fingers
`beneath the plastic disc head. Normally, the roofer sets the
`felt nail with one blow of the hammer then drives the felt nail
`to its final seated position with a second blow.
`
`To prevent foot injuries, manufacturers of plastic disc type
`felt nails do not rigidly fix the nail portion within the plastic
`disc. This allows the nail to deflect away and not penetrate
`the shoe of someone who accidentally steps on the nail.
`Unfortunately, since the plastic disc does not rigidly hold the
`nail or brad, the setting blow often results in a bent nail and
`perhaps injured fingers. Bent felt nails are often discarded,
`resulting in many fasteners being carelessly tossed about.
`
`Considering the wasted time and wasted felt nails littering
`the ground around roofed structures, it is not surprising that
`attempts to improve the roof felt attaching process are
`ongoing. In recent years, electric or pneumatic staple and
`nail guns have been adapted for the roofing process.
`One such staple or nail gun is described in U.S. Pat. No.
`5,184,752 to Zylka et al. Zylka et al. describes a method and
`apparatus for feeding tabs or discs to an automatic staple or
`nail gun for the purpose of attaching roof felt to the substrate
`of a roof. The Zylka et al. apparatus is comprised of a
`commercially available pneumatic nail gun, with an upright
`canister to contain plastic discs that are forced downward by
`a spring. A carriage is positioned underneath the canister to
`shuttle one disc at a time from the canister to below the nails
`being driven. Upon actuation of the nail gun’s triggering
`mechanism, a nail is expelled with force penetrating a disc,
`roof felt and roof substrate.
`Unfortunately, electric and pneumatic nail guns are
`expensive, heavy, bulky and usually encumbered with a
`lengthy power cord or pneumatic hose. Worse still, power
`cords and\or pneumatic hoses strewn across a roof become
`dangerous tripping hazards to workers on a roof. What is
`needed is an apparatus suitable for efficiently, safely and
`economically attaching roof felt to a roof.
`
`SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
`
`2
`and handle, with the staple magazine moving upward to
`meet the fixed staple driver element upon impact. In the
`second category, the staple delivery head and staple maga-
`zine are fixed. A staple is driven when the staple driver
`5 element is moved downward along a path to meet the lead
`staple from a magazine in response to impact.
`The present invention includes modifications of a
`hammer-type stapler that falls within this second category.
`U.S. Pat. No. 2,896,210 to Rubin discloses an example of a
`s0 second category stapler that can be suitably modified for use
`in the present invention. The Rubin patent discloses a
`hammer-type stapler having a staple magazine with a chan-
`nel pathway that holds a strip of aligned, adjacent staples,
`along with a staple positioner that urges the staple strip to a
`25 discharge end of the magazine. A driver blade forces the
`leading staple of the strip through a staple exit when a striker
`connected to the driver blade by levers impacts a solid yet
`penetrable surface.
`Roofers use hammer-type staplers to fasten roof felt onto
`2o a roof by impacting the roof felt stretched across the roof
`substrate with a hammer-like blow that drives the sharp
`pointed legs of a staple through the roof felt and into a roof
`substrate, usually made of wood. However, the use of staples
`alone as roof felt fasteners is adequate only in calm wind
`25 conditions. During windy conditions, roof felt has a ten-
`
`dency to rip away from the roof substrate leaving the staple
`behind.
`A staple by itself does not have enough surface area to
`reliably hold fast the roof felt in breezy conditions. Waiting
`3o for calm wind conditions is not a viable option for roofers in
`
`35
`
`an economic sense.
`One known way of improving a staple’s fastening effec-
`tiveness is to increase the staple’s effective holding area by
`first driving the staple through a narrow strip of high tensile
`strength sheet material such as plastic or metal. Preferably,
`the sheet material is made from polystyrene plastic. Other
`suitable plastics include but are not limited to: Nylon,
`Lexan, acrylics, and polycarbonates.
`
`4o This narrow strip of plastic or metal, commonly referred
`to as a tab, has substantially more surface area in contact
`with stapled material than a staple would alone.
`Consequently, a staple used in conjunction with a tab is
`significantly more effective as a fastener, so much more, that
`
`45 roof felt can be attached to a roof in wind conditions that
`would normally render the roof felting process futile. Prior
`art hammer-type staplers, however, do not include a means
`for feeding tabs under a stapler’s drive blade where tabs can
`be combined with staples in such a way as to increase the
`
`5o effective fastening capability of the staples.
`The present invention addresses this need by providing a
`hammer-type stapler that includes a tab feeder. When the
`stapler of the present invention is struck against a roof
`surface covered by roof felt, a staple is driven into a plastic
`55 or metal tab that has an area substantially larger than the
`stable. With one blow of the hammer stapler, a staple is
`completely seated into the roof substrate with a tab on top
`and roof felt sandwiched between the tab and roof substrate.
`The relatively large area of the tab prevents the roofing felt
`from tearing away from the roof substrate even in windy
`conditions.
`The hammer-type stapler of the present invention is
`generally comprised of a staple driver; an elongated handle
`extending rearwardly from the staple driver; a staple feeder
`parallel to and beneath the handle to position a staple
`beneath the staple driver; and a tab feeder parallel to and
`beneath the staple feeder to position a tab beneath the staple
`
`The present invention addresses this need by providing a 60
`modified manual hammer-type stapler that is particularly
`well suited for securely attaching roof felt to a roof.
`Hammer-type staplers are well known in the prior art, and
`are generally comprised of a staple delivery head and staple
`magazine attached to a handle. All hammer-type staplers 65
`generally fall into one of two categories. In the first category,
`a staple driver element is fixed to the staple delivery head
`
`FAST FELT 2020, pg. 8
`Owens Corning v. Fast Felt
`IPR2015-00650
`
`

`
`US 6,550,660 B1
`
`4
`mer stapler outperforms the conventional hammer and felt
`nail method because there is no need for the roofer to
`manually hold the tab or plastic disc with one hand and
`hammer with the other. Furthermore, the hammer-type sta-
`pler of the present invention requires only one swing versus
`the conventional methods two.
`
`BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
`
`FIG. 1, is a side view of the hammer-type stapler.
`FIG. 2, is a front view of the hammer-type stapler.
`FIG. 3, is an end view of the hammer-type stapler.
`FIG. 4, is a vertical longitudinal partial view of the stapler
`head prior to impact.
`FIG. 5a, is a vertical longitudinal partial view of the
`stapler head at impact.
`FIG. 5b, is a front cut-away view of the stapler’s driver
`blade seating a staple through a tab.
`FIG. 6, is a partial cut-away bottom view of the stapler.
`
`2O
`
`DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE
`PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
`
`In the following description, like reference characters
`designate like or corresponding parts throughout the views.
`25 Hammer-type stapler, generally 10, is comprised of a
`
`staple driver, generally 12, an elongated handle 14 extending
`rearwardly from driver 12, a staple magazine, generally 44,
`attached to the lower surface of handle 14, and a tab
`magazine, generally 34, attached beneath staple magazine
`3o 44.
`
`3
`driver, so that a staple driven by the staple driver will
`penetrate the tab.
`The staple driver includes a staple driver blade that is
`movable along a pathway between a raised and a lowered
`position, and a striker that is located at the distal end of the
`stapler and moveable upward when the striker impacts a
`surface to be stapled. A lever mechanism connects the striker
`to the driver blade, so that the driver blade moves downward
`when the striker is impacted against a surface. A return
`spring is connected to the lever mechanism to return the
`driver blade to the raised position when the stapler is lifted
`from the surface.
`An elongated handle extends rearwardly from the staple
`driver for use in swinging the stapler. A grip, such as a
`molded plastic grip, may form part of the handle.
`A staple magazine is positioned beneath, and parallel to,
`the handle to hold a plurality of staples that are fed sequen-
`tially beneath the drive blade of the staple driver. The staple
`magazine includes a discharge end that is adjacent the driver
`blade pathway, so that the lead staple is positioned against
`a stop for engagement by the driver blade as the blade is
`moved from its raised to its lowered position. A spring urges
`the staples against the stop.
`A tab magazine is positioned beneath and parallel to the
`staple magazine. The tab magazine also has a discharge end
`adjacent to the driver blade pathway in order to position a
`tab beneath the driver blade, so that a staple driven by the
`driver blade will be driven through the tab before penetrat-
`ing the surface. The tab magazine further comprises an
`elongated rectangular housing having a discharge end along
`with a spring to urge tabs within the housing towards the tab
`magazine’s discharge end. The tab magazine is adapted to
`move a planar strip of tabs along a tab pathway until the lead
`tab extends beyond the discharge end of the tab magazine
`and is stopped by a tab stop, which may be formed by the
`back edge of the striker.
`The tab strip is comprised of a plurality of tabs that are
`joined to each other by perforations. The tabs preferably
`have a longitudinal dimension that is approximately equal to
`the distance between the discharge end of the tab magazine
`and the stop. Thus, the perforated edge between the leading
`and immediately trailing tabs will lie along the edge of the
`tab magazine discharge end, facilitating tearing of the lead-
`ing tab from the tab strip.
`When the striker of the hammer-type stapler impacts a
`hard yet penetrable surface, the staple driver will be moved
`from its raised to its lowered position, driving the lead staple
`through the tab beneath the staple and the surface of the
`material being stapled to a substrate. The legs of the driven
`staple continue through the material and sink into the
`substrate. As the stapler rebounds from impact the stapled
`tab is torn away from the tab strip along the perforated line.
`Once the driven staple and separated tab clear their respec-
`tive magazines, a new staple and a new tab are forced against
`their respective stops. The tension springs of both the tab and
`staple magazines are sufficiently forceful to advance the next
`staple and the next tab quickly enough to be ready for the
`next staple blow no matter how often the roofer desires to
`drive a staple.
`Consequently, a roofer using the present invention can be
`just as efficient as a roofer using an electric or pneumatic
`automatic stapler with tab feeder without having to contend
`with stringing dangerous power cords or hoses across a roof.
`Moreover, the hammer-type stapler of the present invention
`is much lighter, less bulky and less expensive than either
`electric or pneumatic automatic staple guns. Also, the ham-
`
`35
`
`4o
`
`Staple driver 12 includes a staple driver blade 22 movable
`along a pathway between a raised position, as shown in FIG.
`4, and lowered position, as shown in FIG. 5a. Striker 42
`extends downwardly from the distal end of stapler 10 to
`engage a surface when stapler 10 is swung downwardly.
`Striker 42 is connected to lever 58, which in turn is attached
`to arm 60. Arm 60 is attached to drive blade 22, so that
`upward movement of striker 42 causes blade 22 to move
`quickly downwardly. Return spring 62 is also compressed as
`striker 42 is pushed in an upward direction by the impact.
`Staple magazine 44, attached beneath handle 14, has a
`discharge stop 65 adjacent to the pathway of driver blade 22
`to position the lead staple of staple strip 28 beneath driver
`45 blade 22, for engagement by the lower edge of driver blade
`22 as blade 22 moves from its raised position to its lowered
`position. Staple magazine also includes a tension spring 45
`to urge a pusher rod 47 against the rear end of staple strip 28
`to move staple strip 28 against staple stop 65.
`Tab magazine 34 is adapted to move a planar strip of tabs
`30 along a tab pathway until the lead tab is stopped by a tab
`stop 43 formed by the back edge of striker 48. Tab magazine
`34 includes an elongated rectangular housing 32 having a
`discharge end 36, and a spring 38 to urge tabs 30 within
`55 housing 32 towards the tab magazine’s discharge end 36.
`Stop 43 is spaced from the discharge end of tab magazine 34
`by a distance equal to the longitudinal dimension of the tab,
`so that the tab is torn along perforations aligned with the
`edge of the tab magazine.
`In operation, the user grasps stapler handle 14, which
`includes plastic grip 26, and swings the stapler against the
`material to be stapled, so that striker 42 impacts against the
`material. The impact drives striker 42 upwardly, causing
`blade 22 to move downwardly to push the lead staple of strip
`65 28 through the lead tab of tab strip 30, which is centered by
`stop 43, and then through the material being stapled and into
`the surface being covered.
`
`5o
`
`6o
`
`FAST FELT 2020, pg. 9
`Owens Corning v. Fast Felt
`IPR2015-00650
`
`

`
`US 6,550,660
`
`B1
`
`5
`
`10
`
`As stapler 111 rebounds, tab 48 is torn from the strip of tabs
`3!1 along a perforated line connecting it to the remainder of
`strip 311. Tab discharge end 36 forms an edge that is useful
`for breaking perforated lines holding the individual tabs
`together in strip 311.
`Also, as the stapler rebounds, staple feeder 16 urges a next
`staple into position. Tab feeder 18 urges a next tab forward
`against tab stop 43 formed by the back edge of striker 42. At
`this point stapler 111 is ready to staple again.
`It will be obvious to one skilled in the art that many
`modifications and variations can be made to the present
`invention without departing from its spirit and scope.
`Therefore, the invention is not to be limited by the descrip-
`tion of the preferred embodiment, but is to be limited only
`by the scope of the following claims. 25
`What is claimed is:
`1. A manually operated hammer-type stapler for attaching
`a material to a surface comprising:
`a) a staple driver having a blade moveable along a 20
`pathway between raised and lowered positions;
`b) an elongated handle attached to said staple driver;
`c) a staple feeder parallel to and beneath said handle to
`position a staple within said blade pathway; and
`d) a tab magazine including a tab feeder beneath said 25
`staple feeder to position a tab within said blade
`pathway, wherein said tab magazine includes an elon-
`gated rectangular housing having a discharge end, and
`a spring to urge tabs within said housing toward said
`discharge end.
`2. The stapler of claim 1, wherein said staple driver
`includes a striker for impacting said surface, and a driver
`blade actuator connecting said striker to said blade.
`3. The stapler of claim 1, wherein said tab feeder includes
`a tab magazine adapted to hold a planar tab strip parallel to 35
`said staple feeder.
`4. The stapler of claim 1, wherein said staple feeder
`includes a staple magazine with a discharge end for holding
`a strip of staples, and a staple pusher for urging said staple
`strip towards said discharge end.
`5. The stapler of claim 1, wherein said tab feeder is
`adapted to move a planar tab strip along a tab pathway, said
`stapler including a tab stop within said pathway.
`6. The stapler of claim 1, wherein said tab feeder includes
`a housing enclosing a tab magazine having a discharge end 45
`to hold a planar tab strip, and a tab pusher to urge said tab
`strip toward said discharge end.
`7. A manually operated hammer-type stapler having a
`distal end for attaching a material to a surface comprising:
`a) a staple driver having a staple drive blade moveable 5o
`along a blade pathway between a raised position to a
`lowered position;
`b) a striker at the distal end of said stapler;
`c) an elongated handle extending from said staple driver; 55
`d) an elongated staple magazine beneath and parallel to
`said handle, said staple magazine having a discharge
`end adjacent said blade pathway to position a staple
`beneath said driver blade; and
`e) an elongated tab magazine parallel to and beneath said 6o
`staple magazine, said tab magazine having a discharge
`end adjacent said blade pathway to position a tab
`beneath said driver blade, whereby said driver blade
`
`3o
`
`4o
`
`6
`moves from said raised position to said lowered posi-
`tion when said striker engages said surface to drive a
`staple through a tab and into said surface, said tab
`magazine further including a tab pusher, to urge a strip
`of tabs toward said discharge end, said tab pusher
`including at least one tension spring and a pusher rod.
`8. The stapler of claim 7, further including a drive blade
`actuator connecting said striker and said drive blade.
`9. The driver blade actuator of claim 8, wherein said
`striker is moveable from a lowered position to a raised
`position when impacted on said surface, said stapler further
`including a return spring to return said striker to said
`lowered position.
`10. The stapler of claim 7, wherein said elongated handle
`includes a plastic grip.
`11. The stapler of claim 7, wherein said tab magazine is
`adapted to move a strip of tabs along a tab pathway, said
`striker including a stop within said tab pathway.
`12. Amanually operated hammer-type stapler with a distal
`end for attaching a material to a surface comprising:
`a) a staple driver adjacent said stapler distal end, said
`driver having a staple drive blade moveable along a
`blade pathway between a raised position to a lowered
`position;
`b) a striker including a tab stop at the distal end of said
`stapler and a horizontal bar with a rear face, the rear
`face of said bar being within a tab pathway and forming
`said tab stop, said striker being operatively connected
`to said drive blade;
`c) an elongated handle extending from said staple driver;
`d) an elongated staple magazine beneath said handle, said
`staple magazine being adapted to feed a staple strip
`along a staple pathway transverse to said blade
`pathway, said staple magazine having a discharge end
`adj acent said blade pathway to position a staple beneath
`said driver blade; and
`e) a tab magazine parallel to and beneath said staple
`magazine, said tab magazine having at least one tension
`spring and pusher rod adapted to feed a planar tab strip
`along a tab pathway transverse to said blade pathway,
`said tab magazine having a discharge end adj acent said
`blade pathway to position a tab beneath said driver
`blade, whereby said driver blade moves from said
`raised position to said lowered position when said
`striker impacts said surface to drive a staple through a
`tab and into said surface.
`13. The stapler of claim 12, wherein said striker is
`attached to said driver blade by a driver blade actuator, said
`striker blade being moveable from a lowered position to a
`raised position when impacted on said surface, thereby
`moving said driver blade from its raised position to its
`lowered position, said stapler further including a return
`spring to return said striker to its lowered position when said
`stapler is raised from said surface.
`14. The stapler of claim 12, wherein said tab strip is
`comprised of a plurality of tabs having a given longitudinal
`dimension, said tabs being separated by perforations, the
`distance between said tab stop and said tab magazine
`discharge end being approximately equal to said given
`dimension.
`
`FAST FELT 2020, pg. 10
`Owens Corning v. Fast Felt
`IPR2015-00650