This invention relates to bases for fixing a part .

Such bases are commonly used in the building field and mainly electricians use them, for fixing items such as wires, cables, chutes, tubes and other finishing parts to walls.

The variety of such bases is guite extended but, presently, and more commonly, they are fixed by means of a fastening apparatus for avoiding to have to preliminarily drill a hole in the wall, fixing occurring through anchoring a nail by means of the apparatus, thus referred to as a nailer.

Such an apparatus, either operating with powder cartridges or a fuel cell, is an apparatus provided, more particularly, with two safety devices, one ensured by a nail driving piston ensuring a so- called indirect shot and, the other, ensured by a pin guide at the front end of the apparatus, that should be abutted against the wall for allowing a shot to be carried out and providing the so-called abutment safety .

If the range of part fixing accessories is significantly varied, such accessories all share a common characteristic, for being fixed to a wall, of being able to be fitted onto the pin guide of the fastening apparatuses.

Thus, any part fixing base of the present application comprises

- means for receiving a pin, a plug, a nail, for fixing the base to a wall,

- means for supporting the part and

- means for maintaining the part on the supporting means .

Under these conditions, the applicant had the idea to suggest that all such part fixing bases should be formed around a common or elementary component, which could be referred to as universal.

Thus, the invention relates to an elementary pad for a fixing base for fixing a part to a wall through anchoring a nail with a fastening apparatus having a pin guide, comprising a receiving chimney for the nail to be anchored, arranged for guiding the nail stem and damping the nail, through it being crushed under the action of the nail head, and means for holding the pad on the pin guide comprising the chimney, arranged for being introduced into an axial bore of the pin guide for receiving a nail, such a pad being characterized in that the chimney is mounted on a reinforcing and pressure distributing plinth.

By means of the plinth, in a case where the pad is to be fixed, for instance, to a concrete wall, because of the good distribution of forces at the concrete surface, by means of the reinforcing and pressure distributing plinth, the application area for the pad is not damaged by the nail impact, which guarantees a good fixing power with time.

For overcoming this very problem of preserving the application area for the elementary pad of this invention, a pad could be proposed characterized in that the nail receiving chimney comprises a through-bore with a front portion, the passing section of which is tapered towards the front. If in its more narrow part, the passing section of the chimney is smaller than the section of the fixing nail stem, the chimney is subjected to an expansion which, because of the forces being split up, still will cause a spread out distribution of the nail impact forces on the surface of the application area.

Preferably, the tapered front bore portion has a three-lobed passing section allowing for nails of different diameters to be guided.

For overcoming a similar problem of spread out distribution for the nail impact forces, a distribution no longer occurring at the surface of the material to which the elementary pad is fixed, but occurring within the pad itself, a pad could be proposed characterized in that it comprises a front bottom perforated with compensating holes, being provided for restricting the constraints created by the impact of the nail on the fixing base to the pad only, excluding any other part of the fixing base.

The compensating holes will play an expanding role for maintaining forces within the pad, saving the means for receiving the part to be fixed.

The pad of this invention could thus have several characteristics independent of one another but all aiming at solving one single problem of distributing forces at the surface either of the application area of the fixing base or at the bottom of the pad.

Preferably, the chimney comprises external ribs for upholding in the bore of the pin guide, regularly distributed around the chimney as well as, around the chimney, band portions of a holding cup on the pin guide, regularly distributed around the chimney .

Coming back to the idea the invention of the present application originates from, the elementary pad for fixing base that the applicant intends to claim as such, as an elementary and single component, will be also claimed as a component integrated to a fixing base .

Thus, the invention relates as well to a fixing base for fixing a part to a wall through anchoring a nail with a fastening apparatus having a pin guide, comprising

- means for receiving the nail,

- means for supporting the part and

- means for maintaining the part on the supporting means,

characterized in that the nail receiving means comprise the elementary pad of the invention.

The present application thus relates as well to a fixing base with the elementary pad being integrated into the base.

The invention will be better understood by means of the following description of the pad and of a base, with reference to the appended drawing, wherein :

- Fig. 1 is a bottom perspective view illustrating the base pad of the invention;

- Fig. 2 is a top perspective view being diametrically cut of the pad of Fig. 1;

- Fig. 3 is a top view of the pad of Fig. 1;

- Fig. 4 is a top perspective view of the pad of Figure 1; and

- Fig. 5 is a side view of a cable fixing base with the pad of the invention integrated into the base .

Considering first the base of Fig. 5, this is thus a base 1, intended for being fixed to a wall 2, to which there should be fixed here a cable 3 through it, and comprising, integrated into it, the elementary pad 10 of this invention, being the component of the base that is to receive an anchoring nail intended to be anchored into the wall 2 for fixing therein the base, a cradle 4 for receiving and supporting the cable 3 and a pair of hooks 5, 6 for maintaining the cable 3 on the cradle 4. In the example being referred to, the base 1 is overmoulded on the pad 10, the hooks 5, 6 extending from the bottom 7 of the base and the cradle 4 is formed from the central parts of the hooks 5, 6.

The elementary pad 10, a universal component for fixing bases, will be now described.

The pad 10 comprises a nail receiving chimney 11 located at the centre of a cup 12 for receiving the pin guide of a nailer, the chimney and the cup being formed from a pad bottom 13. The cup 12 of a circular general shape, comprises a plurality, here three, of low walls 14 of a band for holding the pad on the pin guide and the same plurality of claws 15 for clamping the pad on the pin guide respectively being interposed between the low walls 14.

The chimney 11 is intended to be introduced into the inner axial bore of the pin guide being in turn able to be introduced into the cup 12 with an inner diameter substantially egual to the external diameter of the pin guide, the section provided by the claws 15 being of slightly lower diameter, but the claws 15 being arranged for being able to be slightly articulated around the foot 16 of the pad bottom. The external diameter of the chimney 11 should be substantially smaller than the diameter of the inner bore of the pin guide, for a reason that will be further explained later on.

When a nail is being anchored into the material of the wall 2 and through the chimney 11, said chimney is crushed under the action of the nail head, the crushed chimney being able to spread inside the cup while acting as a shock absorber for the nail .

The chimney 11, as well as the low walls 14 and the claws 15 of the holding band of the cup 12, is mounted on the bottom 13 of the pad comprising an external reinforcing plinth 17, to come into contact with the receiving wall 2.

The reinforcing plinth 17 provides, upon anchoring the nail through the pad 10, a good distribution of forces and a good distribution of pressure at the surface of the wall being not damaged by the nail impact. The chimney 11 comprises a through bore 18 for receiving the anchoring nail, the front portion 19 of which, with respect to the driving direction of the nail, that is the portion opening outside the reinforcing plinth 17, has a passing section being tapered towards the front, i.e. towards the external surface 20 of the plinth 17.

Because of such a characteristic, and the diameter of the stem of the anchoring nail thereby able to be easily larger than the passing section of such a front portion 19, such a front portion is subjected, upon the passage of the nail, to an expansion leading to a spread out distribution of the forces of the nail impact at the surface of the wall.

In the embodiment as represented in the drawing, the bore 19 of the front portion of the chimney 11 has a passing section being not only tapered at the front, but being also three-lobed, for allowing nails of different diameters to be guided.

The pad 10 of this invention comprises a front bottom 13 including the reinforcing plinth 17, being bored from one end to the other with compensating holes 21. By means of such holes 21, in the case where the pad 10 is integrated into a base as shown on Fig. 5, the impact forces of the nail will be maintained within the pad 10, the remainder of the base staying saved.

In the example under consideration, three holes 21 are regularly angularly spaced bored, at 120° one from the others, and at the same radial distance from the chimney 11, 19.

Around the chimney 11, there are arranged external ribs 22 for holding the chimney in the inner axial bore of the pin guide, such ribs vertically extending throughout the height of the chimney and, radially, on a diameter substantially larger than the inner diameter of the bore of the pin guide. Introducing the chimney into the pin guide occurs through slightly constraining and bending the ribs 22. This is the reason why the external diameter of the chimney is substantially lower than the diameter of the inner bore of the pin guide of the apparatus an operator will use for fixing the pad/base to the wall.

Has been described a pad with holding low walls and claws for clamping the pad on the pin guide interposed between the low walls. First, the internal surface of the low walls could be inclined for already assuring a holding function completed by that of the claws .

Second, the holding band could be continuous, without any holding claws, but with an internal inclined surface.