Staple device with extension rod

[0001] This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/679,813 filed on Jun. 2, 2018 titled “STAPLE FASTENING DEVICE WITH EXTENSION ROD” which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety for all that is taught and disclosed therein.

[0002] The invention pertains to hand tools. More specifically, the invention pertains to a stapling device for hanging a strand of wired lights.

[0003] During holiday seasons, holiday lights are often hung on the exterior of residential dwellings. More specifically the holiday lights are often secured to the underside of the eaves or soffits of the dwelling. The holiday lights are often secured to the soffit by means of a stapling device such as a staple gun. As soffits of most dwellings are at an elevated position, the installer must often use some person elevating device, such as a ladder. This can present several problems.

[0004] First the ground near the side of residential dwellings is often uneven or lined with shrubbery. This makes placement of a ladder difficult and often times unsafe for the installer. Second, holiday lights are often installed during holiday seasons which occur during the cold winter months. Using a ladder on uneven ground during icy or snowing conditions can prove unsafe and dangerous to the installer as well. Third, for multiple story residential dwellings, often times a free-standing ladder will not reach the soffit and an extension ladder must be used. An extension ladder is rested against the exterior finish of the dwelling and can often damage softer exterior finishes such as stucco. Extension ladders are often both unsafe and damaging when placed on false exterior accents such as stucco coated foam entry pillars. Finally, a ladder provides a limited span for which the installer can secure the holiday lights to the soffit before he or she needs to reposition the ladder. Over extension on a ladder to achieve a greater span to install the holiday lights is dangerous and unsafe.

[0005] For these reasons listed above falls from ladders are often common occurrences for installers. While ladder falls can be dangerous for any population, injuries resulting from ladder falls are often more severe for the elderly population. These injuries can lead residential dwelling owners to forgo installing holiday lights or hire expensive contractors to install the holiday lights. This invention is a device which allows for the installation of holiday lights by an installer without the use of a person elevating device. The installer can safely and quickly walk around the exterior of the residential dwelling and install the holiday lights without the use of a ladder or the need of an expensive contractor.

[0006] The present invention allows an installer to use the device to hold and pull tension on a string of holiday lights and secure them to the underside of a soffit on a dwelling. The activation of the stapling device is achieved by a pushing motion against the surface to be stapled to rather than the squeezing motion of current stapling devices. The staple device also provides greater mobility to the installer as opposed to the current method of positioning and repositioning a ladder around the base of the dwelling. The present invention allows the installer to quickly traverse the base of the dwelling and install the holiday lights in a more efficient manor than with the use of a ladder and squeeze-type staple gun

[0013] To assist in the understanding of the present disclosure the following list of components and associated numbering found in the drawings is provided herein:

[0014]

Table of Components
	Component	#
	anvil spring	1
	staple anvil	2
	anvil activator arm	3
	rotation axle	4
	staple holder	5
	staples	6
	staple tension spring	7
	extension rod shoe	8
	staple device	9
	rotation gear	10
	rotation gear bearing	11
	rotation gear teeth	12
	rack gear	13
	tension and activation component	14
	groove	15
	staple sled	16
	surface	17
	extension rod	18
	wired lights	19
	installer	20

[0015] Referring now to FIG. 6, the staple device 9 is attached to an extension rod 18. The staple device 9 in conjunction with the extension rod 18 is used to hang strands of wired lights 19, such as Christmas lights, Halloween lights, or other decorative strands of wired lights, to a surface 17, such as the eaves or soffit of a house. The extension rod 18 would allow for a ground-based installer 20 to reach the surface 17 without the use of a ladder. The staple device 9 would allow the installer 20 to quickly move around the base of the house and install the wired lights 19 faster than utilizing a ladder. The staple device 9 is similar to a common staple gun with significant operational modifications.

[0016] FIG. 1 shows the internal components of the staple device 9 and FIG. 2 shows the external components of staple device 9. The internal components of the device comprises: (1) a staple anvil 2 that slidably drives staples 6 into the surface 17; (2) an anvil spring 1 to provide slidable driving energy for the staple anvil 2; (3) an anvil actuator arm 3 that rotates about rotation axle 4 to raise and release the staple anvil 2 and compress the anvil spring 1; (4) staple holder 5, a staple sled 16, and a staple tension spring 7 that pushes against the staple sled 16 to deliver staples 6 to the staple anvil 2; and (5) staples 6 to be driven into the surface 17 by the staple anvil 2.

[0017] The external components of the shown in FIG. 2 comprises: (1) tension and activation component 14 fixed externally to the staple device 9 to hold and tension the wired lights 19, against the surface 17 and to activate the stapling process, and a rack gear 13 fixed to the tension and activation component 14; (2) the rotation gear 10, which is rotatably attached to rotation gear bearing 11, and has rotation gear teeth 12 to transfer the liner motion of the tension and activation component 14 into rotational motion to rotate the internal anvil actuator arm 3; and (3) the extension rod shoe 8 to attach the extension rod 18 to the staple device 9.

[0018] FIG. 3 and FIG. 4 show the front and top view of the tension and activation component 14. The tension and activation component 14 utilizes a groove 15 that is elongated and V-shaped in the front face to allow the wired lights 19 to slide through but does not allow the light bulb portion to pass through (see FIGS. 6B and 6C). This allows the installer to hook the wired lights 19 into the groove 15 and pull them tight from a previous staple 6, or from gravity for an initial staple 6, before stapling into the surface 17. A rack gear 13 fixed to that engages with rotation gear teeth 12 of rotational gear 10. A lever/handle of a normal staple gun uses a squeezing motion to drive a staple. In apposition to this, the staple device 9 due to the mechanism of the rack gear 13 and rotational gear 10 with its rotation gear teeth 12 accomplishes stapling with a linear or pushing motion.

[0019] FIG. 5 shows how the staple device 9 functions, in three steps. The internal and external views of the three steps are show together. For the staple device 9 to work, the installer would hold the extension rod 18 to secure a first portion of the wired lights 19 within the groove 15 of the staple device 9 (as described in the paragraph above) and raise the staple device 9 to the surface 17. After making contact with the surface 17 the installer 20 would push the staple device 9 toward the surface 17 with the extension rod 18 (not shown in FIG. 5) to embed a staple 6 into the surface 17 and thereby securing the first portion of the wired lights 19 to the surface 17. One or more bulbs may be skipped and the groove 15 engages a next portion of the wired lights 19. After again making contact with the surface 17 the installer 20 would push the staple device 9 into the surface 17 with the extension rod 18 (not shown in FIG. 5) to embed a next staple 6 into the surface 17 and thereby securing the next portion of the wired lights 19 to the This process is repeated until all of the wired lights 19 are secured to the surface 17.

[0020] Step 1 shows the tension and activation component 14 making contact with the surface 17. Notice the tension and activation component 14 is in the fully extended position, the rotation gear 10 is at the start location, and anvil activation arm 3 and the staple anvil 2 are in the start position as well.

[0021] In step 2 the installer pushes the extension rod 18 further towards the surface 17. This causes the tension and activation component 14 to retract, which rotates the rotational gear 10. The rotation gear 10 with rotation gear teeth 12 engaging with rack gear 13 causes the anvil activation arm 3 to rotate about rotation axle 4 and starts to raise the staple anvil 2 and compress the anvil spring 1. As the staple anvil 2 raises the staple tension spring 7 pushes a staple 6 under the staple anvil 2.

[0022] In Step 3 the installer continues to push the extension rod 18 further towards the surface 17. This continues the actions of step 2 until the anvil activation arm 3 rotates around rotation axle 4 completely and the staple anvil 2 slips off the anvil activation arm 3. Once this occurs, the stored energy in the now fully compressed anvil spring 1 drives the staple anvil 2 down onto the top of the staple 6 and drives the staple 6 out the bottom of the staple device 9, over a portion of the wired lights 19 and into the surface 17. As the staple device 9 is then moved away from the surface 17 the system will reset and is ready for another full operational cycle. The reset is accomplished with a torsion spring (not shown) on the rotation axle 4, or, alternatively, with a coil spring (not shown) attached to the anvil activator arm 3. Either of those two components will create a force pulling the anvil activator arm 3 back down to its starting point.

[0023] FIGS. 6A, 6B, and 6C show how an installer 20 would operate the staple device 9 from the ground to staple wired lights 19 to a surface 17. FIGS. 6B and 6C show the operation of the tension and activation component 14 with a string of wired lights 19.

[0024] Having described the present invention, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that many and widely differing embodiments and applications of the invention will suggest themselves without departing from the scope of the present invention.