The present invention is generally directed to a center point drill and a center point drill attachment that can be attached to a power drill for enabling a user to apply maximum force during use of the drill. The center point drill attachment includes a vertical elongated housing, a series of gears contained within the housing, a short shaft extending from a back exterior of the housing that is capable of being attached to the chuck of a standard power drill, a quick release chuck or keyless chuck positioned on a front exterior of the housing that is connected to the series of gears, and an attachment mechanism for attaching the center point drill attachment to the bottom of a standard power drill.
The center point drill is a cordless power drill having the keyless chuck or the quick release chuck of a standard power drill moved down across from the center of the drill handle right in front of the operator's fist. The drill includes a generally triangular shaped housing having a middle opening large enough to inert a user's fingers therethrough which appears like a generally triangular ring like shape. A battery is contained within one side of the triangular ring shaped housing, a motor and gearbox are contained within another side of the triangular ring shaped housing, and a trigger mechanism is contained within the last side of the triangular ring shaped housing. A quick release chuck is located on the flattened face of an exterior corner of the triangular ring shaped housing so that at least part of the trigger mechanism is in longitudinal alignment with the chuck. The activation trigger for the center point drill can be a standard switch system equipped with a heat sink, terminals, and a forward/reverse switch. The motor, separate gears, and battery for the center point drill may also be standard items.
Cordless power tools were invented by Black & Decker back in the early 1960s and reduced the amount of time that a contractor had to spend on a job because they could just grab a power tool and screw, drill, or cut within a few seconds. The reduced amount of time spent on jobs meant that builders could move onto the next job more quickly and could increase the number of jobs they did per year.
Over the past decades, the volt size of the batteries, the range of tools that are cordless, and the weight of cordless power tools have changed. This is due to the advancement in different technologies such as battery technologies and the material compositions used to make the power tools.
Cordless drills commonly have a pistol grip and are also available in the hammer drill configuration. Most have a clutch, which aids in driving screws into various substrates while not damaging them. Right angle drills are also available which allow a worker to drive screws in a tight space. However, currently used cordless drills fail to provide a configuration in which a user can apply the greatest pressure or force when drilling or attaching screws, thereby reducing the time and effort required by the user to complete a job. Reducing the time and effort required by the user also reduces user fatigue.
Accordingly, there is a need for a cordless drill and a cordless drill attachment capable of being attached to a conventional cordless drill that include a configuration that enables a user to apply maximum pressure or force during use to reduce time and effort spent by a user.
The present invention is directed to a drill attachment that can be attached to a conventional cordless drill and a new cordless drill configuration that requires a user's hand to be in direct alignment with the keyless chuck or the quick release chuck of the drill (these chucks allow for the easy change of drill bits). This configuration enables a drill user to apply maximum pressure or force during use to reduce time and effort spent by the user thereby resulting in faster completion of jobs and reduced user fatigue.
A key component of the invention is a series of gears or a planetary gear system that enables a quick release chuck or keyless chuck associated with the drill to be positioned right in front of a user's or operator's hand or fist. The drill attachment device of the present invention includes 1) a vertical elongated housing having a top and a bottom, 2) a first gear contained within the housing near the top of the housing, 3) a first short shaft having a first end attached to the first gear and a second end capable of being attached to a chuck of a drill or drilling tool, 4) an elongated drive shaft having a top end and a bottom end vertically positioned within the housing and contained within a top half of the housing, 5) a second gear connected to the top end of the drive shaft so that the second gear is in communication with the first gear, 6) a third gear connected to the bottom end of the drive shaft, 7) a fourth gear located within the housing near a center of the housing such that the fourth gear is in communication with the third gear, 8) a second short shaft having a first end and a second end where the first end is connected to the fourth gear, 9) a quick release chuck or keyless chuck connected to the second end of the second short shaft, and 10) an attachment member connected to an exterior of the housing near the bottom of the housing for connecting the bottom of the housing to a drill or drilling tool.
The first, second, third, and fourth gears may all be bevel gears or spine gears. The tooth-bearing faces of the bevel gears are conically shaped and the teeth may be straight or curved. Spline gears have ridges or teeth that mesh with an equal number of like ridges or teeth. The drill attachment device may also include an adjustment screw mechanism so that the bottom half of the drill attachment device can be raised or lowered depending on the size of the existing drill or drilling tool that you are attaching it to. The screw tightens the adjustment mechanism that slides up and down. The vertical elongated housing is narrow in width, i.e. it is clearly considerably longer/higher than it is wide. The quick release chuck or keyless chuck is located on a front exterior of the housing. The attachment member extends from a back exterior of the housing. The attachment member may be one or more spring clip members that can easily be used to clip the bottom of the drill attachment device to the bottom of a standard drill or drilling tool. The gear system (namely the first, second, third, and fourth gears as well as the elongated drive shaft and first and second short shafts) may all be contained within an oil bath contained within the housing. The oil bath may comprise only a portion of the interior of the housing such as the top half of the housing.
The center point drill of the present invention includes a generally triangular ring shaped housing having an opening in a middle of the housing large enough to insert a user's fingers therethrough, a battery contained within a first side of the generally triangular ring shaped housing, a motor, a driver, and a first gear contained within a second side of the generally triangular ring shaped housing, a second gear contained within a corner of the generally triangular ring shaped housing located between the first and second sides of the housing such that the second gear is in communication with the first gear, a quick release chuck in communication with the second gear wherein the quick release chuck is located on a flattened face of an exterior corner of the generally triangular ring shaped housing, and a trigger mechanism contained within the third side of the generally triangular ring shaped housing wherein at least a portion of the trigger mechanism is located on an exterior surface of the middle opening of the generally triangular ring shaped housing. The middle opening of the generally triangular ring shaped housing may also have a generally triangular shape. The first and second gears of the center point drill may be bevel gears or spline gears.
The center point drill may also include a direction switch connected to the trigger mechanism to change the direction of rotation of the quick release chuck. The driver may include an impact spindle and an impact hammer located between the motor and first gear as well as reduction gears. The spindle and reduction gears may include splines that mesh with one another to transfer torque from one to the other. The spindle and reduction gears may also be bevel gears. In one aspect of the invention, at least a portion of the trigger mechanism contained within the third side of the generally triangular ring shaped housing is in longitudinal alignment with the quick release chuck. An outer exterior surface of the third side of the generally triangular ring shaped housing containing the trigger mechanism may be slightly rounded to accommodate a user's grip when the user's fingers are placed through the middle opening of the generally triangular ring shaped housing.
The battery in the center point drill may be contained within a compartment within the housing that is accessible form an exterior of the housing for easy battery removal and replacement. The generally triangular ring shaped housing may be made of top and bottom halves that can be secured to one another with screws. The generally triangular ring shaped housing may also include a number of openings in top and bottom surfaces of the housing located near where the motor is contained within the housing in order to vent heat from an interior of the housing.
The present invention is directed to a newly configured center point drill that positions a user's hand in direct alignment with the chuck of the drill which enables a user or operator to apply maximum pressure or force while using the drill thereby reducing time and effort spent by the user/operator. The configuration of the center point drill of the present invention also balances the weight of the heaviest components of the drill thereby making it easier and less cumbersome to use without the hand, wrist and arm fatigue experienced with prior art drills. The present invention is also directed to a center point drill attachment device which enables a user/operator to attach the device to any existing drill or drilling tool to attain a position with their hand that is in direct alignment with the chuck of a drill thereby facilitating efficient use of the drill while reducing user fatigue.
A perspective view of one exemplary embodiment of the center point drill 10 of the present invention is shown in
A front perspective view of an exemplary embodiment of the drill attachment device 100 of the present invention is shown in
First, second, third, and fourth gears 112, 122, 124, 126 may be bevel gears or spline gears. Attachment member 110 may include one or more spring clips 134 and an extension spring 136 that can easily be used to clip the bottom 106 of the drill attachment device 100 to the bottom of a standard drill or drilling tool. The gear system (namely the first, second, third, and fourth gears 112, 122, 124, 126 as well as the elongated drive shaft 120 and first and second short shafts 114, 128) may all be contained within an oil bath contained within the housing 102. The oil bath may comprise only a portion of the interior of the housing 102 such as the top half of the housing.
The drill attachment device 100 may also include an adjustment screw mechanism for raising or lowering the bottom half of the drill attachment device depending on the size of the existing drill or drilling tool that yon are attaching it to. The screw tightens the adjustment mechanism that slides up and down. The vertical elongated housing 102 is narrow in width, i.e. it is clearly considerably longer/higher than it is wide. The housing 102 is preferably made of a suitable lightweight material such as a polymer material or a light weight metal like aluminum, for example, that is strong and durable and that can withstand heat and pressure.
The drawings and description of exemplary embodiments of the invention herein shows various exemplary embodiments of the invention. These exemplary embodiments and modes are described in sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to practice the invention and are not intended to limit the scope, applicability, or configuration of the invention in any way. Rather, the following disclosure is intended to teach both the implementation of the exemplary embodiments and modes and any equivalent modes or embodiments that are known or obvious to those reasonably skilled in the art. Additionally, all included examples are non-limiting illustrations of the exemplary embodiments and modes, which similarly avail themselves to any equivalent modes or embodiments that are known or obvious to those reasonably skilled in the art.
Other combinations and/or modifications of structures, arrangements, applications, proportions, elements, materials, or components used in the practice of the instant invention, in addition to those not specifically recited, can be varied or otherwise particularly adapted to specific environments, manufacturing specifications, design parameters, or other operating requirements without departing from the scope of the instant invention and are intended to be included in this disclosure.
Unless specifically noted, it is the Applicant's intent that the words and phrases in the specification and the claims be given the commonly accepted generic meaning or an ordinary and accustomed meaning used by those of ordinary skill in the applicable arts. In the instance where these meanings differ, the words and phrases in the specification and the claims should be given the broadest possible, generic meaning. If any other special meaning is intended for any word or phrase, the specification will clearly state and define the special meaning.
This application claims priority to provisional patent application having Ser. No. 62/478,108, filed Mar. 29, 2017, which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety.
Number | Date | Country | |
---|---|---|---|
62478108 | Mar 2017 | US |