The present invention is in the field of mechanical or powered abrasive tools, specifically in the field of handheld orbital sanders and more specifically, in the field of ergonomically designed grips for handheld orbital sanders.
Hand-held orbital sanders and other handheld abrading or abrasive tools are common in the prior art having been available to the general public for several decades. One problem common to handheld (portable) powered sanders, including orbital sanders, is the tool grip is configured in such a way that the user is required to arch his wrist, which over a period of time will tend to cause wrist strain and eventually chronic injuries such as carpal tunnel syndrome. Typically, the user must grip the sander on top of the housing with the abrasive material, such as a sandpaper sheet, attached to the rotating bottom of the sander. In order to provide sufficient pressure to the abrasive tool, the user must press down on the top of the housing while at the same time arching the wrist out of the way of the attached air hose, for pneumatic sanders, power cord, and/or dust and air exhaust. This problem may be exacerbated by the addition of a dust collection bag attached to the exhaust. In several embodiments, the hand must simultaneously hold down a “dead-man” type power switch. These strained gripping positions can lead to long-term, if not permanent damage to the hand, wrist, and/or distal portion of the forearm. Although there exist innumerable embodiments of handheld sanders, they fail to disclose a sander with an ergonomically comfortable gripping surface for handheld sanders, including rotary sanders.
U.S. Pat. No. D494,434 to Sun, et al. is typical in that it discloses a handheld pneumatic burnishing device having a relatively large switch that is held by the gripping hand as the burnishing device is operated. An air inlet and exhaust extends out from the housing under the switch. Because the '434 device lacks a hand or wrist support or rest, the user is required to arch his/her wrist and cup the hand in order to hold the switch and simultaneously maneuver the tool on the surface to be treated.
U.S. Pat. No. D458,102 to Tseng and U.S. Pat. No. D438,078 to Leu are similar in structure to the tool in the '434 patent in that they include a switch held by the gripping hand and they also lack any type of wrist or forearm resting device or a guard to prevent the wrist or forearm from contacting either the inlet or inlet hose and the exhaust duct or bag. U.S. Pat. No. D436,817, also to Leu, features a dust bag outlet that extends from underneath the switch, but provides no stable component on which to rest the gripping hand's wrist or forearm. U.S. Pat. No. D353,984 to Izumisawa discloses an orbital sander similar to that of the '817 patent in that the exhaust duct extends some distance from the housing of the sander. However, the exhaust duct, aside from possessing a curved shape unsuitable for supporting a wrist, is also positioned below the level of the switch, making it unavailable for a wrist or forearm rest even if the shape of the duct was more suitable.
U.S. Patent Publication No. 2003/0228833 to Boyer is typical of handheld sanders and other similar abrasive tools designed to be held with two hands in that the switch is located under one of the handles and it can only be effectively operated using two hands. In addition, it lacks any component that can be used as a guard or rest for supporting the wrist or forearm.
Therefore, there is a need in the field for an orbital abrasive tool ergonomically designed to be held with one hand and that provides a guard or rest for the user's wrist or forearm to prevent carpel tunnel syndrome and other injuries to the gripping hand.
The present invention broadly comprises an abrasive or abrading tool assembly comprising an abrading tool having a housing, an air inlet port, an exhaust outlet, and a support for a wrist and forearm, in which the support is fixedly attached to the abrading tool and extends toward the air inlet port and dust bag outlet. In one embodiment, the abrading tool is a rotary tool. In an alternate embodiment, the air inlet port may be replaced by an electric power cord in electrically powered tools.
The present invention also includes a wrist/forearm support for an abrading tool comprising a substantially flat body, two longitudinal members projecting from the body wherein each longitudinal member defines an orifice, in which the orifices are positioned substantially opposite from each other, and a support member that extends from the bottom of the body in the direction of the tool. In a preferred embodiment, the wrist/forearm support also includes a bridge between the ends of the two longitudinal members with the bridge, forks and body of the support defining an orifice.
One object of the invention is to provide a support for the wrist and/or forearm of the hand used to grasp or grip a handheld abrading or abrasive tool.
A second object of the invention is to enable a user to effectively grip a handheld abrasive tool without arching the wrist.
A third object of the invention is to allow a user to grip an abrasive tool with the palm of the hand resting on the tool.
An additional object of the invention is to decrease injuries caused by prolonged gripping of a handheld abrasive tool.
A further object of the invention is to reduce occurrences of carpel tunnel syndrome and other chronic injuries caused by the improper or awkward grips of users holding abrasive tools.
A further object of the invention is to provide protection for a user's hand from hot exhaust air and sharp edges and corners from the air inlet port, the exhaust duct and dust bag, and the dust bag coupling attaching the dust bag to the exhaust duct.
The nature and mode of the operation of the present invention will now be more fully described in the following detailed description of the invention taken with the accompanying drawing Figures, in which:
At the outset, it should be appreciated that like drawing numbers on different drawing views identify identical structural elements of the invention.
While the present invention is described with respect to what is presently considered to be the preferred embodiments, it is understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments. The present invention is intended to cover various modifications and equivalent arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.
Adverting to the drawings,
Wrist-forearm support 30 (“support 30”) is attached to the top of duct 27 and extends out toward and preferably over duct 27 and exhaust duct 26 and air intake 26a. In
Longitudinal members 33 extend from body 31. Each of longitudinal members 33 defines a pin orifice 34 with each of pin orifices 34 directly opposite the other pin orifice 34. As will be discussed below, orifices 34 are positioned to receive a pin designed to pivotally hold switch 22. By pivotally hold is meant that switch 22 is held in place by support 20 in such a manner as to enable switch 22 to pivot or rotate both toward and away from surface 21a. Pad 24 holds abrasive material 25 to be applied to the article to be treated.
Thus it is seen that the objects of the invention are efficiently obtained, although changes and modifications to the invention should be readily apparent to those having ordinary skill in the art, which changes would not depart from the spirit and scope of the invention as claimed.
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Number | Date | Country | |
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20080045127 A1 | Feb 2008 | US |