Patent Application
20060060030
The present invention generally relates to the field of power tools, and particularly to a saw blade, such as a circular saw blade.
Circular saws are useful for cutting a variety of materials including wood, metal, masonry, and glass. Such an array of materials may be cut by a single type of circular saw due to the vast number of circular saw blades currently available. Each circular saw blade is generally built for a specific purpose. For example, an abrasive saw blade may be used for cutting masonry and metals while a diamond saw blade is configured to cut glass, concrete or ceramic material. Further, a saw blade with few teeth and a large gullet is often employed to make a rip cut (i.e., a cut with the wood grain) while a blade with many teeth (forty-eight or more) and a small gullet is used for making a cross cut (i.e., a cut across the wood grain).
The life and performance of a saw blade is highly dependent upon the materials from which the saw blade is manufactured. In order to increase saw blade life and performance, a number of modifications have been made to the conventional metal circular saw blade. First, tips composed of a highly durable material such as carbide may be added to saw blade teeth. Such addition significantly increases the life of the saw blade when compared to a steel or high-speed steel blade without such tips for carbide tips do not dull as quickly and thus, may be used for a longer period. In addition, the body of the saw blade may be coated with a frictionless material to reduce blade friction (e.g., heat) during use and thus, extend the life of the blade. Further, one or more expansion slots may be defined along the outer perimeter of the blade to allow blade expansion to occur during saw operation without resulting in blade deformation.
Although the modifications to the traditional circular saw blade have increased the life and performance of such blade, such modifications result in increased production costs, for additional labor, materials, and processing are required. For example, coating the saw blade body with a frictionless synthetic material increases the cost of the saw blade due to the cost of the material as well as the labor involved with the process.
Therefore, it would be desirable to develop a manufacturing process which may reduce production costs and promote efficient manufacturing of a circular saw blade. Such process may include the use of alternative materials such as polymers for the saw blade body.
Accordingly, the present invention provides a saw blade composed of composite material. In a first aspect of the present invention, a circular saw blade includes a body generally circular in shape including an aperture and an outer periphery. The aperture being generally defined in the center of the body and configured to be at least partially received by a circular saw arbor body. Further, a plurality of teeth are disposed around the outer periphery of the body for providing a cutting edge. The body is formed of a composite material, the composite material including two or more structurally complementary substances in which one of the two or more structurally complementary substances is a matrix such as an adhesive binder.
In a further aspect of the present invention, a saw blade for cutting a fibrous material is disclosed. In the present aspect, the saw blade includes a body which is generally circular in shape and includes a centered aperture and a plurality of teeth. The centered aperture is configured to be at least partially received by a saw arbor. Further, the plurality of teeth are disposed around an outer periphery of the body. In addition, a plurality of tips are affixed to the plurality of teeth. The body and the plurality of teeth are composed of a composite material and the plurality of tips affixed to the plurality of teeth provide a cutting edge capable of cutting fibrous material.
In an additional aspect of the present invention, a method for manufacturing a saw blade is provided. The present aspect includes forming mold form configured to generate a saw blade including a generally circular main body and a plurality of teeth. The plurality of teeth is disposed around an outer periphery of the main body and provides a cutting edge. Further, the mold is configured to provide a main body which includes at least a centered aperture for allowing the blade to be connected to a circular saw arbor. In addition, the aspect includes selecting a composite material for the main body of the saw blade. The composite material including two or more structurally complementary substances in which one of the two or more structurally complementary substances is an adhesive binder. For example, the adhesive binder is a polymeric material. The composite material is then placed (e.g., injected) within the mold to form a composite circular saw blade in which the plurality of teeth are integral to the main body of the saw blade.
It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory only and are not restrictive of the invention as claimed. The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of the specification, illustrate an embodiment of the invention and together with the general description, serve to explain the principles of the invention.
The numerous advantages of the present invention may be better understood by those skilled in the art by reference to the accompanying figures in which:
Reference will now be made in detail to the presently preferred embodiments of the invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. In general, the present invention provides a composite circular saw blade. The use of composite material is advantageous for it allows manufacturing of a saw blade to be simplified. For example, both the main body of the saw as well as the cutting edge may be manufactured simultaneously. Such simplification may result in reduced manufacturing costs when compared to costs associated with manufacturing of conventional saw blades. Further, the use of composite materials may assist in increasing the useful lifespan of the saw blade without requiring additional manufacturing steps. For example, the composite material of the present invention may also reduce friction, thereby assisting in avoiding heat build up on the blade as it passes through a workpiece without requiring the blade to be coated with a substantially frictionless material post blade production.
Referring to
In an exemplary embodiment, the saw blade body 105 is formed of a composite material. Composite material is defined as including two or more structurally complementary substances in which one of the two or more structurally complementary substances serves as a matrix (e.g., an adhesive binder). For example, the adhesive binder may be a substantially frictionless material. Substantially frictionless material includes materials which in use do not generate sufficient heat to affect saw blade performance(e.g., the blade does not reach a temperature which generates sufficient friction between the blade and workpiece and thus, do not require a frictionless coating be applied to the blade in order to avoid blade deformation or wobble). For example, the coefficient of friction for a composite blade formed of a substantially frictionless material is approximately similar to that of a metal blade coated with a frictionless material such as polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) post blade formation. In exemplary embodiments, the saw blade body 105 is formed of polymeric material reinforced with glass fibers, carbon fibers, or the like.
It is contemplated that additional substances which provide sufficient rigidity to support the functional operation of the composite saw blade 100 may be used to form the composite without departing from the scope and spirit of the present invention. For example, aluminum reinforced with carbon fibers may be used to establish the body of the saw blade. Further, the organization of the fibers of the reinforcing materials may vary depending upon the desired structural strength. For instance, the fibers may be woven, random, unidirectional or a combination thereof. Further, glass flakes in addition to glass fibers may be employed to reinforce the matrix material.
It is further contemplated that the saw blade body 105 may be a single, solid body composed of a composite material or the body may include a number of layers. Such layers may include the same material or a combination of varying composite materials. For example, a first layer may include polymeric material reinforced with glass fibers while a second layer includes polymeric material reinforced with carbon fibers. In such example, a metallic element may also be included within one or all of the layers.
With continued reference to
In an alternative embodiment, the plurality of teeth 110 may be attached to the body 105 subsequent to the saw blade body 105 formation. For instance, teeth receiving recesses may be defined along the outer periphery of the saw blade body 105 allowing a plurality of teeth to be mechanically coupled to the saw blade body 105. Further, the present invention may connect the body 105 with saw teeth or blade segment sections as described in U.S. Patent Application 60/611,174 entitled: Segmented Circular Saw Blade, filed on Sep. 17, 2004, which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety. Such configuration allows a single saw blade body 105 to accommodate multiple teeth patterns. In addition, individual teeth may be replaced as needed prolonging the overall life of the saw blade. It is understood that the individual teeth or blade segment(s) including teeth may be composed of similar (e.g., composite material) or different material (e.g., metal) as that of the body 105.
In exemplary embodiments, the plurality of teeth 110 are typically designed and ground to suit a particular application. For example, the dimensional characteristics, such as the length, width, and tooth angle, may be varied to accommodate the use of a blade to accomplish a specific task. The standard flat top tip configuration, as illustrated in
In addition to varying tooth length, width, and angle, the number of teeth included on the blade may vary depending upon the type of cut to be made or the material to be. For example, the number of teeth 110 may vary ranging from two to four hundred. A saw blade with thirty or less teeth is typically employed to perform a rip cut on fibrous material, while a blade with forty-eight or more teeth is generally used to generate a cross-cut on such material. In further embodiments, the alignment or set of the plurality of teeth relative to one another may be varied. In one embodiment, the plurality of teeth may be set to present a substantially planar cutting edge. Alternatively, it may be preferable in certain situations to set the teeth in a staggered manner relative to one another. The staggered tooth configuration may present the teeth at various angles relative to one another.
It is contemplated that the outer diameter established by the saw blade body 105 including the plurality of teeth 110 may range between three and three-eighths inches to forty inches. Thus, the composite circular saw blade 100 may be configured for use with a variety of saws ranging from small handheld circular saws to larger industrial style saws. Although the present disclosure focuses upon a circular saw blade, it is to be understood that the disclosed invention may be employed to generate blades for a variety of saw assemblies. For example, Dado Blades and Dado Chippers may be formed using composite material. It is also to be understood that the disclosed saw blade may be configured to cut materials in addition to fibrous material including masonry, glass, ceramic, metal, and the like.
In additional exemplary embodiments, the composite circular saw blade 100 may include a variety of apertures for noise and heat reduction, aesthetics, and the like. For example, the saw blade body 104 may include noise reducing apertures for attenuation of the sound level generated during blade operation. Such apertures may be generally in the shape of the letter “S.” Further, as illustrated in
In even further exemplary embodiment, the saw blade 100 may include additional features which may increase the performance and the life of such blade. As illustrated in
Referring now to
Referring to
It is contemplated that the manufacturing process herein described may be accomplished utilizing a variety of manufacturing techniques without departing from the scope and spirit of the present invention. As described above, the manufacturing process may occur via an injection molding process wherein the composite material is injected into a mold form which provides the desired circular saw blade configuration. In the alternative, the composite circular saw blade 100 may be machined out of a sheet of composite material.
In the exemplary embodiments, the methods disclosed may be implemented as sets of instructions or software readable by a device. Further, it is understood that the specific order or hierarchy of steps in the methods disclosed are examples of exemplary approaches. Based upon design preferences, it is understood that the specific order or hierarchy of steps in the method can be rearranged while remaining within the scope and spirit of the present invention. The accompanying method claims present elements of the various steps in a sample order, and are not necessarily meant to be limited to the specific order or hierarchy presented.
It is believed that the present invention and many of its attendant advantages will be understood by the forgoing description. It is also believed that it will be apparent that various changes may be made in the form, construction and arrangement of the components thereof without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention or without sacrificing all of its material advantages. The form herein before described being merely an explanatory embodiment thereof. It is the intention of the following claims to encompass and include such changes.
The present application claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. § 119(e) of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/611,046, entitled “Composite Circular Saw Blade,” filed Sep. 17, 2004 which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 60611046 | Sep 2004 | US |
