Nail feed mechanism

DETAILED DESCRIPTION What is claimed is: 1.
A nail feed mechanism for use in power operated nailing guns of the type having a nail guiding barrel, a nail magazine, for carrying a strip of nails, wherein such nails are joined together in such strip by at least two lengths of wire, said nails being fastened to said wires at spaced intervals, said nail feed mechanism being located to one side of said barrel, for feeding said strip of nails from said magazine to said barrel, a driving member reciprocable within said barrel for driving nails, and power operated means for operating such driving member, thereby separating an endmost nail of said strip from said wires and driving same out of said barrel, and comprising; means defining a nail feed channel for receiving said strip of nails; nail feed pawl means reciprocable adjacent to such channel relative to such a strip of nails; pairs of forward and rear tooth members on such pawl means, and defining groove means between such pairs for reception of said wires interengageable with nails in such strip, whereby to advance the endmost nail in such strip into said barrel; power operated means for operating said pawl means in timed relation to the operation of said driving member; contoured surfaces on two of said forward teeth of said pairs around which said wires are bent over when said endmost nail is driven along said barrel by said driving member, and, spacer means on some of said forward teeth adjacent to said contoured surfaces, such spacer means maintaining such endmost nail out of contact with such bent over portions of such wires diring driving of such endmost nail.
2.
A nail feed mechanism as claimed in claim 1 wherein there are four such forward tooth members and wherein said spacer means is formed at least partly on a first one of said forward tooth members, and wherein a second one of said forward tooth members adjacent said first forward tooth member is formed with a relieved surface, and wherein such second forward tooth member is also formed with such contoured surface