Patent Application
20140366383
The present disclosure relates to a circular saw having a blower.
A motor-driven power tool, such as a circular saw, may include a fan that rotates with the motor to force air across one or more motor components to cool the motor. It may be desirable to channel the forced air to a location at or near a location at which a blade (or other cutting or material-removal tool) of the blade makes contact with a workpiece. In this manner, the forced air may blow saw dust, chips and/or other cuttings away from the location at which the blade makes contact with the workpiece to maintain a clearer line of sight of a cut line in the workpiece.
This section provides background information related to the present disclosure and is not necessarily prior art.
This section provides a general summary of the disclosure, and is not a comprehensive disclosure of its full scope or all of its features.
In one form, the present disclosure provides a saw that may include a housing, a motor, a fan and a blower housing. The housing may include first and second vents. The motor may be disposed within the housing and may include a stationary member and a rotatable member. The fan may be attached to the rotatable member and may be rotatable therewith relative to the housing. The blower housing may be disposed within the housing and may include a baffle and a plate. The baffle may include a stem, a body and a chute. The stem may engage the stationary member and may include an opening extending therethrough. The body may include a recess in communication with the opening and the chute. The fan may be rotatable within the recess. The plate may be fastened to the baffle to enclose the fan within the recess. The housing and the blower housing may cooperate to define an airflow pathway through which air is forced by the fan. The airflow pathway may extend from the first vent, between the stationary member and the rotatable member, and through each of the opening, the recess, the chute and the second vent.
In some embodiments, the chute may extend tangentially from the body.
In some embodiments, the chute may include a shape that curves around a rotational axis of the fan as the chute curves away from a plane in which the fan rotates.
In some embodiments, the stem, body and chute may cooperate to form a monolithic body that may be molded as a single piece.
In some embodiments, the saw may include a support member disposed within the housing and supporting a first end of the rotatable member for rotation relative to the housing. The stationary member may be sandwiched between and may directly contact the baffle and the support member.
In some embodiments, the saw may include a plurality of fasteners that directly engage the baffle and directly engage the support member.
In some embodiments, the saw may include a blade driven by the motor. An outlet of the chute and the second vent may face a location that is radially outward relative to a radially outer cutting edge of the blade.
In some embodiments, the fan may be disposed at a first axial end of the motor and the first vent may be disposed adjacent a second axial end of the motor.
In another form, the present disclosure provides a saw that may include a housing, a motor assembly, a fan, a support member and a baffle. The motor assembly may be disposed within the housing and may include a stator, a rotor and a driveshaft. The rotor and the driveshaft may be rotatable relative to the stator and the housing. The fan may be attached to a first end portion of the driveshaft for rotation with the driveshaft. The support member may be disposed within the housing and may support a second end portion of the driveshaft for rotation relative to the housing. The support member may fixedly engage a first axial end of the stator. The baffle may be disposed within the housing and may engage a second axial end of the stator. The baffle may include a recess in which the fan is disposed and a chute in communication with the recess. The fan may force air through the recess and into the chute.
In some embodiments, the support member may be fixed relative to the housing.
In some embodiments, the baffle may be spaced apart from the support member and a plurality of fasteners may engage the baffle and the support member to secure the baffle relative to the support member.
In some embodiments, the chute may extend tangentially from the body.
In some embodiments, the chute may include a shape that curves around a rotational axis of the fan as the chute curves away from a plane in which the fan rotates.
In some embodiments, the saw may include a baffle plate mounted to the baffle that encloses the fan within the recess.
In some embodiments, the baffle plate may include an integrally formed chute cover that mates with the chute and cooperates with the chute to define an airflow passageway.
In some embodiments, the housing may include a first vent disposed adjacent the support member and a second vent disposed adjacent an outlet of the chute.
In some embodiments, the housing and the baffle may cooperate to define an airflow pathway through which air is forced by the fan. The airflow pathway may extend from the first vent, between the stator and the rotor, and through the recess, the chute and the second vent.
In another form, the present disclosure provides a saw that may include a housing, a motor assembly, a fan and a baffle. The motor assembly may be disposed within the housing and may include a driveshaft that is rotatable relative to the housing. The fan may be attached to a first end portion of the driveshaft for rotation with the driveshaft. The baffle may be disposed within the housing and may include a recess and a chute in communication with the recess. The fan may be disposed within the recess and may force air through the recess and into the chute. The chute may extend tangentially from a body of the baffle and may include a shape that curves around a rotational axis of the fan as the chute curves away from a plane in which the fan rotates.
In some embodiments, the saw may include a baffle plate mounted to the baffle and enclosing the fan within the recess.
In some embodiments, the baffle plate may include an integrally formed chute cover that mates with the chute and cooperates with the chute to define an airflow passageway.
In some embodiments, the saw may include a support member disposed within the housing and supporting a first end of the driveshaft for rotation relative to the housing. A stator of the motor assembly may be sandwiched between and may directly contact the baffle and the support member.
Further areas of applicability will become apparent from the description provided herein. The description and specific examples in this summary are intended for purposes of illustration only and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure.
The drawings described herein are for illustrative purposes only of selected embodiments and not all possible implementations, and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure.
Corresponding reference numerals indicate corresponding parts throughout the several views of the drawings.
Example embodiments will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings.
With reference to
The outer housing 12 may include a first shell portion 24 and a second shell portion 26 that cooperate to enclose the motor assembly 16 and blower assembly 18. Upper and lower blade guards 27, 29 may be attached the outer housing 12 and may partially enclose the blade 22. The first shell portion 24 may include a motor housing 28 that defines a first cavity 30 (
The second shell portion 26 includes a lower portion 33 defining a second cavity 34 (
As shown in
The blower assembly 18 may include a blower housing 62 and a fan 64 that is disposed within the blower housing 62 and is rotatable therein. The blower housing 62 may include a baffle 66 and a plate 68. As shown in
As shown in
The stem portion 70 may include an opening 78 extending therethrough that may be coaxial with the stator 44 and driveshaft 46. The opening 78 may be in fluid communication with a recess 80 (
The plate 68 may include a body portion 86 and a chute cover 88 integrally formed with and extending outward from the body portion 86. The plate 68 may be secured to the baffle 66 by a plurality of fasteners 90, for example, such that the body portion 86 substantially encloses the fan 64 within the recess 80 and the chute cover 88 cooperates with the chute 74 to define the passageway 82. The fasteners 90 may threadably engage the gear case 54, thereby fixing the blower housing 62 relative to the gear case 54. The body portion 86 includes an aperture 92 through which the driveshaft 46 extends. The aperture 92 may be aligned with an aperture 94 (
Fasteners 97 (
The fan 64 may be fixed to the driveshaft 46 and may rotate within the recess 80. In this manner, when the motor assembly 16 is operating (i.e., when the rotor 42 and driveshaft 46 are rotating relative to the stator 44), the fan 64 will rotate with the driveshaft 46 and draw air through the first vent openings 32 and into the first cavity 30. From the first cavity 30, the fan 64 may draw the air in an axial direction between the stator 44 and rotor 42 (thereby cooling the stator 44 and rotor 42), through the opening 78, and into the recess 80. The fan 64 may force the air radially outward through the recess 80 and into the passageway 82 of the chute 74. The air is then forced through the passageway 82 and subsequently out of the outer housing 12 through the second vent openings 36. The air forced through the second vent openings 36 may blow saw dust, chips and/or other cuttings away from a location at which the blade 22 makes contact with a workpiece to maintain a clearer line of sight of the cut line that the user is making in the workpiece.
The shape and construction of the blower housing 62 described above provides an efficient airflow path from the first vent openings 32 to the second vent openings 36. That is, a stronger flow of air is provided through the second vent openings 36 while reducing the drag on the motor assembly 16. For example, providing the fan 64 in the recess 80 between the baffle 66 and the plate 68 helps the fan 64 eject the air in a radial direction to reduce unnecessary recirculation of the air within the motor housing 28. Further, the tangential transition between the recess 80 and the passageway 82 through the chute 74 and the generally corkscrew or helical shape of the passageway 82 reduces turbulence and efficiently delivers the air to the location proximate the blade 22. Furthermore, because the space between the stator 44 and the rotor 42 is a part of the airflow path between the first and second vent openings 32, 36, the airflow path provides the dual purposes of cooling the motor assembly 16 and removing saw dust, chips and/or other cuttings from the cut line during operation of the circular saw 10.
While the motor assembly 16 and blower assembly 18 are described above as being incorporated into a circular saw 10, it will be appreciated that the motor assembly 16 and blower assembly 18 could be incorporated into any other type of electric power tool, such as a jigsaw or a reciprocating saw (saber saw), for example. As such, the principles of the present disclosure are not limited to circular saws.
The foregoing description of the embodiments has been provided for purposes of illustration and description. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the disclosure. Individual elements or features of a particular embodiment are generally not limited to that particular embodiment, but, where applicable, are interchangeable and can be used in a selected embodiment, even if not specifically shown or described. The same may also be varied in many ways. Such variations are not to be regarded as a departure from the disclosure, and all such modifications are intended to be included within the scope of the disclosure.
Example embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough, and will fully convey the scope to those who are skilled in the art. Numerous specific details are set forth such as examples of specific components, devices, and methods, to provide a thorough understanding of embodiments of the present disclosure. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that specific details need not be employed, that example embodiments may be embodied in many different forms and that neither should be construed to limit the scope of the disclosure. In some example embodiments, well-known processes, well-known device structures, and well-known technologies are not described in detail.
The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular example embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting. As used herein, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” may be intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. The terms “comprises,” “comprising,” “including,” and “having,” are inclusive and therefore specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof. The method steps, processes, and operations described herein are not to be construed as necessarily requiring their performance in the particular order discussed or illustrated, unless specifically identified as an order of performance. It is also to be understood that additional or alternative steps may be employed.
When an element or layer is referred to as being “on,” “engaged to,” “connected to,” or “coupled to” another element or layer, it may be directly on, engaged, connected or coupled to the other element or layer, or intervening elements or layers may be present. In contrast, when an element is referred to as being “directly on,” “directly engaged to,” “directly connected to,” or “directly coupled to” another element or layer, there may be no intervening elements or layers present. Other words used to describe the relationship between elements should be interpreted in a like fashion (e.g., “between” versus “directly between,” “adjacent” versus “directly adjacent,” etc.). As used herein, the term “and/or” includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items.
Although the terms first, second, third, etc. may be used herein to describe various elements, components, regions, layers and/or sections, these elements, components, regions, layers and/or sections should not be limited by these terms. These terms may be only used to distinguish one element, component, region, layer or section from another region, layer or section. Terms such as “first,” “second,” and other numerical terms when used herein do not imply a sequence or order unless clearly indicated by the context. Thus, a first element, component, region, layer or section discussed below could be termed a second element, component, region, layer or section without departing from the teachings of the example embodiments.
Spatially relative terms, such as “inner,” “outer,” “beneath,” “below,” “lower,” “above,” “upper,” and the like, may be used herein for ease of description to describe one element or feature's relationship to another element(s) or feature(s) as illustrated in the figures. Spatially relative terms may be intended to encompass different orientations of the device in use or operation in addition to the orientation depicted in the figures. For example, if the device in the figures is turned over, elements described as “below” or “beneath” other elements or features would then be oriented “above” the other elements or features. Thus, the example term “below” can encompass both an orientation of above and below. The device may be otherwise oriented (rotated 90 degrees or at other orientations) and the spatially relative descriptors used herein interpreted accordingly.
