An anvil-attachable layer for use with a surgical stapler, or fastening instrument, wherein a proximal end portion of the layer is attached to a staple cartridge assembly, for example. The layer may be attached to the staple cartridge assembly by an adhesive, weld, or a staple-cartridge-based clamp, wherein the attachment is weak enough to allow the layer to pull away from the staple cartridge assembly with stapled tissue. Alternatively, the layer can include two or more lateral slits that define a connector region that can be cut by a knife of a surgical stapler to release the layer.

A surgical stapler, or fastening instrument, may generally comprise a layer, such as a tissue thickness compensator, for example, releasably attached to a fastener cartridge and/or anvil by a flowable attachment portion. The flowable attachment portion may be indefinitely flowable. The flowable attachment portion may be flowable from the time that layer is installed to the fastener cartridge to the time in which the layer is implanted to patient tissue. The flowable attachment portion may comprise a pressure sensitive adhesive. The flowable attachment portion may comprise an adhesive laminate comprising a base layer comprising the tissue thickness compensator and an adhesive layer on at least a portion of a surface of the base layer comprising the pressure sensitive adhesive. Articles of manufacture comprising flowable attachment portion and methods of making and using the flowable attachment portion are also described.

A universal magazine mounts to a hand-operated power tool that will automatically feed a hidden deck board clip to the tool head from a strip of such clips and position the clips one at a time under the power tool's driving mechanism. The strip includes multiple hidden clips separated by a frangible section or tab located between adjacent clips. Each hidden clip can be formed of a plastic material and include a locating tab defined on each side of the clip's body and fastener aperture defined in a center of the body. Further, strips can be adapted for manual use and manipulation rather than for use with a power tool.

A binding machine, includes: a staple magazine unit configured to accommodate a staple having a crown portion and a pair of leg portions; a staple driver provided at a position facing the crown portion; a clincher provided at a position facing tip ends of the leg portions and movable along an extending direction of the leg portions; and a regulating portion configured to regulate a movement amount of the clincher toward the leg portions. The clincher and the staple driver are configured to sandwich the staple therebetween with a movement of the clincher along the extending direction toward the leg portions, folding the staple.

A fastener driver includes a housing, a cylinder disposed within the housing, a piston positioned and moveable within the cylinder, a driver blade attached to the piston and moveable with the piston from a first position toward a second position during a fastener driving operation, and a nosepiece at least partially defining a fastener driving track through which fasteners are driven by the driver blade. The nosepiece includes a longitudinal guide groove in which a fastener is received, and parallel guide ribs extending from an interior surface of the nosepiece, thereby defining an extension of the guide groove. When the driver blade is in the second position, the driver blade partially overlaps with the guide ribs, thereby allowing a first portion of the fastener to be received in the guide ribs and a lower, second portion of the fastener to be received in the guide groove.

A reload assembly includes a shell housing, a knife carrier, a lockout component, and a hook component. The lockout component is supported on an inner wall of the knife carrier and has a body formed of a resilient material that defines a window. The hook component is supported on the inner housing portion of the shell housing and includes a body having a hook that is received within the window of the lockout component when the knife carrier is in its retracted position after the reload assembly has been fired to obstruct readvancement of the knife carrier.

A magazine for use with a fastening tool. The magazine can have a pusher assembly that can be retracted into a recess in the magazine to facilitate loading and reloading of fasteners. The pusher assembly can have a pusher assembly knob which can be reversibly latched to a detent to maintain the pusher assembly in a retracted state. The fastening tool can use a magazine which can be reloaded by a method which has a step of reversibly retracting the pusher assembly into the retracted state to allow for feeding one or more fasteners to the magazine.

The cutting portion includes a pair of introduction portions allowing the staple legs penetrating the sheets of paper to be introduced therein, a pair of cutting members configured to cut the staple legs introduced in the introduction portions, and a discharging path configured to discharge cut staples cut by the cutting members. The discharging path includes a temporary receiving portion for the cut staples provided between the pair of introduction portions. The temporary receiving portion includes a pair of inlet portions respectively provided on side surfaces thereof opposing the introduction portions. The pair of inlet portions are configured to allow the cut staples cut by the cutting members to enter therein.

There is provided a staple cartridge, on which a refill is configured to be mounted, the refill including a refill main body configured to accommodate therein a plurality of staple sheets in a stacked state and having a discharging port for discharging the staple sheets, and a staple presser configured to be placed on the stacked staple sheets so as to move in a stacking direction of the staple sheets as the staple sheets are discharged through the discharging port and an amount of the staple sheets is reduced. The staple cartridge includes a mount portion, on which the refill is configured be removably mounted, and a displacement member provided on the mount portion and configured to abut against the staple presser to be displaced in accordance with a position of the staple presser in a state where the refill is mounted on the mount portion.

A preferably pliers type stapler is disclosed with a staple loading structure that is both simplified and easy to operate. A lower handle and base are connected to the body through a pivoting and cam system. A single motion pulls the lower handle and base away from the body to expose a staple track location for loading staples at a bottom of the body. Preferably the same single motion releases the track to move outward from a rear of the body. In one embodiment a compact simplified structure using a preferably torsion spring provides a low cost reliable spring energized system.