State of the art Staples of the described type are commonly found. However, the disadvantage of these earlier staples is that the free ends of the legs terminate in a pointed shape. This means that, when the legs are fastened into in a base, a leg can easily produce disfiguring cracks in the base because the leg forces aside the base material when the leg is pushed into it. If the base consists of a thinner material such as a strip of flooring or the like, the material may crack entirely, which can result in replacement of the entire strip or, if the material consists of a friable material such as plaster wallboard, the material closest to the leg may be crumbled, resulting in a weakened fastening of the staple leg.

Problem Accordingly there exists a need to produce a staple that can be driven into a base without causing cracks or breakage in the base.

Solution The now present invention solves the problem said above with a staple of the type described above that has legs whose free ends are blunt in shape. In one particular embodiment of the legs, the blunt shape exhibits an essentially flat surface that has an angle of inclination relative to the longitudinal axis of the leg that is essentially 90 degrees, and the essentially flat surface can be equipped with one or more outwardly curved areas or one or more inwardly curved areas.

Brief description of the figures The invention will hereinafter be described with reference to the accompanying figures, in which: Figure 1 is a view showing a base to which a longitudinally extended object is fastened with staples according to the invention; Figure 2 shows a frontal view of a staple according to the invention; Figure 3 shows a side view of a staple according to the invention; Figure 4 shows a staple according to the invention as viewed from the leg side, facing in the direction toward the inner side of the bridge; Figure 5 shows a view of a number of staples according to the invention connected together to form one composite block ; Figure 6 is a detailed view of a staple leg ; Figure 7 is a view showing an alternative embodiment of a staple leg ; Figure 8 is a view showing one more alternative embodiment of a staple leg.

Description of a preferred embodiment Figure 1 shows staples 1 according to the present invention that are fastening a longitudinal object 2 to a base 3.

With reference to figures 2-4, in which the staple 1 is shown in three different projections, it can be seen that the staple 1 comprises a first leg 4 and a second leg 5.

The legs are connected by an intermediate arched bridge 6 and, as can be seen, the legs are slightly conical, with their respective broadest ends 7,8 connected to the arched bridge 6. The legs exhibit a more pronounced conical shape 9,10 in the areas where they connect to the arched bridge 6. The longitudinal axes of the legs 4 and 5, which are indicated by the broken lines 11 and 12 are, as can be seen, essentially parallel. On the inner side 13 of the bridge 6 there are arranged beads 14, while on the outer surface of the bridge there are arranged a first land surface 15 and a second land surface 16. The land surfaces 15 and 16 are arranged with one surface over each leg 4 and 5, and arranged so that the surfaces are intersected by the respective longitudinal

axes 11 and 12. As the figures show, the respective land surfaces 15 and 16 are arranged transversely relative to the respective longitudinal axes 11 and 12. The legs 4 and 5 exhibit at their free ends a blunt shape, which will be described below with reference to figures 6-8. On the bridge 6 there are arranged projections 19 whose function is to serve as spacers, and connecting elements for use when a plurality of stales are connected together to form one composite block ; see Figure 5.

The blunt shape of the leg will hereafter be described with reference to figures 6-8, in which one leg is shown in detail. Leg 4 is depicted in the figures, but it obvious that this description will apply to leg 5 as well. In Figure 6 the blunt shape exhibits an essentially flat surface 20 whose angle a relative to the longitudinal axis 11 of the leg is perpendicular. In Figure 7 the essentially flat surface exhibits an outwardly curved area 21, while in Figure 8 the essentially flat surface has an inwardly curved area 22. The angle a is given as being perpendicular, but the angle could be anywhere from 85 to 90 degrees without degrading the function of the invention. Similarly, the areas 21 and 22 could consist of one or more areas. Because the legs are blunt in shape, they will push aside the base material when they are driven into a base, thereby eliminating the disadvantages that arise when the leg is pointed in shape.

The invention is of course not limited to the foregoing description, but rather only by the patent claims that follow.