The present disclosure relates to the field of drivers and particularly a drive guide connectable to power tools.
The present invention provides, in one aspect, a drive guide connectable to a power tool. The drive guide includes a shank having a tool coupling portion and a barrel coupling portion. The drive guide also includes a barrel coupled to the barrel coupling portion of the shank. The barrel includes a bit coupling portion configured to couple to a tool bit. The barrel also includes a depth indicium disposed on a surface of the barrel. The drive guide further includes a sleeve disposed concentrically about and slidable along the barrel. An edge of the sleeve provides a visual indicator to determine depth based on the depth indicium.
The present invention provides, in another aspect, a drive guide connectable to a power tool. The drive guide includes a shank having a tool coupling portion and a barrel coupling portion. The drive guide also includes a barrel coupled to the barrel coupling portion of the shank. The barrel includes a bit coupling portion. The barrel also includes a set of axially aligned and axially spaced depth indicia. The drive guide further includes a sleeve disposed concentrically about and slidable along the barrel. The sleeve includes an indicator disposed adjacent an end of the sleeve that receives the barrel. The indicator of the sleeve provides a visual indication of depth based on the set of axially aligned and axially spaced depth indicia.
The present invention provides, in a further aspect, a method for operating a drive guide coupled to a power tool. The drive guide includes a shank having a tool coupling portion and a bit coupling portion, a barrel coupled to the bit coupling portion and having a bit receiving portion and a depth indicium, and a sleeve disposed concentrically about and slidable along the barrel. The method includes coupling the shank to the power tool, inserting a fastener into the barrel through a first axial end of the sleeve, and driving the fastener, by the power tool and the drive guide, into a workpiece. The method also includes moving the sleeve, by contacting the workpiece, axially along the barrel as the fastener is driven into the workpiece, and stopping driving the fastener when an edge of a second axial end of the sleeve opposite the first axial end is axially aligned with the depth indicium.
Other features and aspects of the invention will become apparent by consideration of the following detailed description and accompanying drawings.
Before any embodiments of the invention are explained in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and the arrangement of components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the following drawings. The invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced or of being carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology used herein is for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting. As used herein, the term “approximately” refers to values that are within a rounding value or manufacturing tolerances of the recited values.
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The drive guides described above have certain advantageous characteristics. For example, the circumferential spacing of the sets of depth indicia 36 allows a user to see a solid line on the barrel 28 while the drive guide 20 is rotated, yet does not require that the depth indicia 36 to be applied as solid lines extending about the entire circumference of the barrel 28. This feature makes manufacturing of the drive guide 20 easier and less expensive. In another example, the approximately 120 degree spacing of markings of each set of depth indicia 36, as described above, allows the drive guide 20 to be packaged for sale at any rotational orientation, while still allowing a potential customer to see the depth indicia 36. This allows the manufacturer to package the drive guide 20 without clocking the product to a specific orientation within the package. In yet another example, the laser etched depth indicia 36 is a wear-resistant way of marking the barrel 28, reducing the possibility of the drive guide 20 losing functionality due to wearing or removal of the depth indicia 36. In a final example, the use of the edge of the sleeve 32 as a visual indicator to determine the depth of the fastener 300 based on the sets depth indicia 36 allows a user to determine when a desired depth (e.g., a point at which the fastener 300 is flush) is reached even though the fastener is not visible to the user and the sleeve 32 is not fully retracted when the desired depth is reached.
The sets of depth indicia 36 also may provide standard reference points for standard fastener sizes. That is, each set of depth indicia 36 may correspond to a ‘flush’ position of a standard sized fastener. In sum, this design obviates (but does not preclude) other depth visualization devices/techniques such as slots in the sleeve 32, transparent portions of the sleeve 32, or an entirely transparent sleeve 32 that allow a user to view the fastener within the sleeve as it is being driven to the desired depth. As such, the sleeve 32 may be manufactured at a lower cost and have a high degree of structural integrity.
Although the invention has been described in detail with reference to certain preferred embodiments, variations and modifications exist within the scope and spirit of one or more independent aspects of the invention as described. Various features and advantages of the invention are set forth in the following claims.
This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/536,533, filed Jul. 25, 2017, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference.
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