Patent Grant
7131503
This application claims the benefit of Japanese Patent Application No. 2004-34016 filed Feb. 10, 2004, the entirety of which is incorporated by reference.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an impact driver capable of applying rotation and the intermittent impact operation to an output shaft.
2. Description of the Related Art
An impact driver includes a rotation impact mechanism provided between a motor housed in a housing and an output shaft protruding from the housing so as to transfer a motor torque to the output shaft as well as apply the impact operation to the same in the rotative direction in accordance with increase of a load on the output shaft. For example, Japan Published Unexamined Patent Application No. 2002-273666 discloses a rotation impact mechanism in which a spindle rotated by a motor is connected to a hammer through cam grooves and balls, and an anvil (an output shaft) attachable to and detachable from the hammer in the rotative direction is provided in front of the hammer, whereby rotation of the spindle is transferred to the anvil through the hammer. With this structure, when a load on the anvil exceeds a predetermined value, the hammer moves backward along the cam grooves to temporarily disengage from the anvil, and thereafter it moves forward by a coil spring biased to the front along the cam grooves to reengage with the anvil. By repeating the above operation, it is possible to apply the intermittent impact operation to the anvil in the rotative direction.
The above-described impact driver is generally used for screwing with a screw or a bolt etc. Thus, when it is used for screwing an anchor bolt on a material to be processed like a plaster board etc., a percussion drill is used first for boring and then an impact driver is used to screw the anchor bolt into a processed hole. This means that a user has to handle two separate tools in turn, which are, the percussion drill and the impact driver. Consequently, it is troublesome to exchange tools and therefore usability might be reduced.
In order to solve this problem, an object in accordance with a first aspect of the present invention is to provide an impact driver capable of boring by percussion easily and providing an excellent usability.
In order to achieve the above object, in the first aspect of the present invention, the output shaft is provided so that it can slightly move back and forth in the axial direction and a percussion application mechanism is arbitrarily provided for allowing the output shaft to generate percussion in the axial direction in accordance with the rotation of the output shaft.
In a second aspect of the present invention based on the first aspect, in order to simply form the percussion application mechanism, the percussion application mechanism comprises a first cam externally provided at the output shaft for rotating integrally with the same, a second cam inserted into the output shaft with play at the rear of the first cam and regulated its moving in the axial direction, cam gears formed on the first and second cam at opposing faces thereof for contacting each other at the backward position of the output shaft, and a regulating means provided with the housing and capable of regulating rotation of the second cam arbitrarily from the outside of the housing.
In a third aspect of the present invention based on the second aspect, in order to simply form the regulating means on a position suitable for easy handling, the regulating means comprises an operating member provided at the outside of the housing and an engaging member for moving inward and outward with respect to the second cam in accordance with the operation of the operating member and engages with the second cam at an inward position.
In a fourth aspect of the present invention based on the first aspect, with the impact driver having a chuck sleeve for attaching or detaching a tool at the top of the output shaft by sliding operation in the axial direction, in order to simply form the percussion application mechanism, the percussion application mechanism comprises a first cam externally provided at the output shaft for rotating separately from the output shaft and on which a part of the chuck sleeve mounts externally, a second cam inserted into the output shaft with play at the rear of the first cam and fixed to the side of the housing, cam gears formed on the first and second cams at opposing faces thereof for contacting each other at the backward position of the output shaft, and a regulating means provided between the chuck sleeve and the output shaft and capable of arbitrarily regulating the rotation of the first cam by means of the rotative operation of the chuck sleeve.
In a fifth aspect of the present invention based on the fourth aspect, in order to simply form the regulating means on a position suitable for easy handling, the regulating means comprises a portion to be engaged provided at the outer circumference of the output shaft and an engaging member inserted into the first cam with play in the radial direction and moving inward and outward with respect to the output shaft in accordance with the rotative operation of the chuck sleeve for engaging with the portion to be engaged at an inward position.
According to the first aspect of the present invention, as a percussion mode can be selected by the percussion application mechanism, both boring and screwing can be conducted with an impact driver only, whereby improvement of its operability can be expected.
According to the second aspect of the present invention, in addition to the effect of the first aspect, the percussion application mechanism can be simply formed.
According to the third aspect of the present invention, in addition to the effect of the second aspect, the regulating means can be simply formed at the front edge of the housing where handling is easy.
According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, in addition to the effect of the first aspect, the chuck sleeve is used as an operating member for changing modes, which is a part of the regulating means. Consequently, an impact driver of the present invention can be obtained from a conventional one with only a slight model change, having a great advantage that the percussion application mechanism can be formed with a reduced cost.
According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, in addition to the effect of the fourth aspect, the regulating means can be simply formed at the front edge of the output shaft where handling is easy.
Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be explained with reference to the drawings.
<First Embodiment>
The anvil 8 is axially supported at the front edge of the hammer case 5 so as to rotate by means of a bearing 16. At the front edge, the spindle 6 has a small-diameter unit 17 inserted coaxially into the end face of the anvil 8 with play. At the rear of the small-diameter unit 17, the hammer 7 is externally provided. The hammer 7 is connected to the spindle 6 so as to be integrally rotatable through two steel balls 20, 20 each of which partially abuts both a pair of cam grooves 18, 18 formed with a slope at the outer circumference of the spindle 6 and a pair of connecting grooves 19, 19 formed in the axial direction at the inner circumference of the hammer 7 respectively. Moreover, the hammer 7 is pressed forward at the rear thereof by a coil spring 21 provided externally to the spindle 6. At the front of the hammer 7, a pair of engaging nails 23, 23 is provided so as to engage with a pair of arms 22, 22 extending in the radial direction at the rear edge of the anvil 8. When the hammer 7 is pressed forward as shown in
In the hammer case 5, a percussion application mechanism is provided at a position of a cylindrical portion 27 which is axially supports the anvil 8 at the top of the hammer case 5. As shown in
On the other hand, an engaging pin 37 whose inner edge can engage with engaging gears 36, 36 . . . of the second cam 31 is provided as an engaging member so as to be movable inward and outward in the radial direction of the cylindrical portion 27. The engaging pin 37 has a stopper 38 at its outer edge, and is pressed in the direction away from the second cam 31 by a coil spring 39, which is externally provided to the second cam 31 between the stopper 38 and the outer circumference of the cylindrical portion 27. A cylindrical mode-change ring 40 as an operating member is externally provided to the cylindrical portion 27 so as to be rotatable in order to regulate an outward position of the engaging pin 37. It should be noted that a guide concave portion 41 with lateral sides tapered in the circumferential direction is formed in the inner circumference of the mode-change ring 40. The position of the engaging pin 37 is changeable by aligning and misaligning the guide concave portion 41 and the engaging pin 37 in the circumferential direction in accordance with the rotation of the mode-change ring 40. That is, at the rotative position as shown in
In the above-structured impact driver 1, when the mode-change ring 40 is rotated, a non-percussion mode is selected. In the non-percussion mode, when the trigger 10 is pressed to turn ON the switch 9 in order to drive the motor 3, the reduced speed of rotation of the motor shaft 4 is transferred to the spindle 6. As a result, the anvil 8 is rotated through the hammer 7. With this mechanism, screwing can be performed using a driver bit and the like mounted at the top of the anvil 8. While this screwing, as the anvil 8 is in a backward position pressed by the driver bit, the first cam 29 rotating integrally with the anvil 8 abuts to the second cam 31. In this case, however, the second cam 31 rotates integrally with the first cam 29 since the second cam 31 being disengaged from the engaging pin 37 is freely rotatable. As a result, the percussion does not occur to the anvil 8.
When screwing proceeds to a state in which a load on the anvil 8 increases, the steel balls 20, 20 are rolled backward along the cam grooves 18, 18 of the spindle 6. Consequently, the hammer 7 is moved backward against the biasing force of the coil spring 21 until it disengages from the anvil 8. However, at the moment of this disengagement the hammer 7, which is rotating with the spindle 6, immediately moves forward again being pressed by the coil spring 21 until the engaging nails 23, 23 engage with the arms 22, 22 of the anvil 8. These disengagement and reengagement of the hammer 7 with respect to the anvil 8 are mechanically repeated, which occurs the intermittent impact operation to the anvil 8. In this way, tight screwing can be conducted.
On the other hand, when the percussion mode is selected by operating the mode-change ring 40, the rotation of the second cam 31 is regulated by the engaging pin 37. That is, only the first cam 29 rotates with the anvil 8 at the backward position. Consequently, the cam gears 30 of the first cam 29 which is rotating interfere with the cam gears 32 of the second cam 31 which is regulated its rotation, and therefore the percussion in the axial direction occurs to both the first cam 29 and the anvil 8. In this case, the impact still occurs by the hammer 7, and the percussion as well as the impact can be obtained.
In the impact driver 1 in accordance with the embodiment 1, the anvil 8 is provided so as to be slightly movable in the axial direction. Moreover, the percussion application mechanism, where the percussion to the anvil 8 occurs in accordance with the rotation of the anvil 8, is optionally provided. Because of this, both boring and screwing can be conducted only with the impact driver, whereby improvement of its operability can be expected.
In particular, the percussion application mechanism comprises a first cam 29 externally provided at the anvil 8 for rotating integrally with the same, a second cam 31 inserted into the anvil 8 with play at the rear of the first cam 29 to be regulated its moving in the axial direction, cam gears 30, 32 formed on the first and second cams 29, 31 at opposing faces thereof for contacting with each other at the backward position of the anvil 8, and a regulating means provided in the cylindrical portion 27 of the hammer case 5 so as to regulate rotation of the second cam 31 arbitrarily from the outside of the hammer case 5. With this configuration, the percussion application mechanism can be formed with ease.
Moreover, the regulating means comprises the mode-change ring 40 externally provided on the cylindrical portion 27, and the engaging pin 37 caused to move inward and outward with respect to the second cam 31 in accordance with the operation of the mode-change ring 40 and engages with the second cam 31 at an inward position. With this configuration, the regulating means can be simply formed at the front edge of the housing where handling is easy.
It should be noted that an engaging structure between the second cam and the engaging member is not limited to the above embodiment. Several modifications of the engaging structure can be feasible, for example, the engaging gears of the second cam can be replaced with a protrusion having a wider pitch, the engaging member can be longer in the circumferential direction of the second cam so as to obtain a broader engaging portion, or a plurality of engaging members may be provided. Moreover, the operating member may be a semicircle or a crescentic form, and further, it may be a slide member provided linearly and slidably on the chamfered surface of the housing for moving the engaging member back and forth, not limited to be cylindrical like the mode-change ring.
Further, a click means may be provided between the operating member and the cylindrical portion. This click means serves as an indication of operative positions of two modes, which are the percussion mode and the non-percussion mode. Moreover, another regulating means may be provided which makes the operating member rotate only within two operative positions.
In this embodiment, the engaging member has a structure of engaging with the circumference of the second cam. Alternatively, the present invention may adopt another structure in which an engaging member is provided either the front or back side of the second cam in the axial direction. When the engaging member is moved back and forth by the operation of the operating member, it engages with and disengages from a portion to be engaged such as a concave portion, formed on the front or back side of the second cam.
<Second Embodiment>
Next, another embodiment of an impact driver will be explained. It should be noted that the same components as those in the first embodiment are assigned the same reference numbers and explanation thereof is omitted.
In an impact driver 1 as shown in
According to this configuration, the anvil 8 can slightly move back and forth in the axial direction between a backward portion where the arms 22, 22 abut to the large-diameter unit of a spindle 6 and a forward portion as shown in
On the other hand, at the front portion of the first cam 50, a pair of flange pins 55, 55 serving as engaging members are provided externally at the rear portion of the chuck sleeve 24. The flange pins 55, 55 are inserted with play so as to be movable inward and outward in the radial direction of the first cam 50. At an inward position, the flange pin can engage with a plurality of concave portions 56, 56 . . . arranged in the circumference direction at the periphery of the anvil 8 serving as portions to be engaged. As shown in
That is, in the rotative position as shown in
In the above-structured impact driver 1, a non-percussion mode is selected by rotating the chuck sleeve 24. In the non-percussion mode, the trigger 10 is pressed to turn ON the switch 9, and the motor 3 is driven to make the anvil 8 rotate similar to the first embodiment. Then, the hammer 7 applies the intermittent impact to anvil 8 when a load to the anvil 8 increases. Here, even if the anvil 8 is in a backward position, the first cam 50 is freely rotatable because the flange pin 55 does not engage with the concave portion 56. Therefore, the percussion does not occur to the anvil 8 although the first cam 50 abuts to the second cam 52.
On the other hand, when a percussion mode is selected by rotating the chuck sleeve 24, the first cam 50 is connected to the anvil 8 by the flange pins 55, 55. Consequently, when the anvil 8 at a backward position is rotated, the cam gears 51 of the first cam 50 which rotates integrally with the anvil 8, interferes with the cam gears 54 of the second cam 52. Because of this, the percussion in the axial direction occurs to both the first cam 50 and the anvil 8, whereby percussion and impact can be obtained concurrently.
Also in the impact driver 1 of the second embodiment, as the percussion application mechanism is optionally provided, both boring and screwing can be conducted with one impact driver only, so that improvement of operability can be expected.
In particular, the percussion application mechanism comprises a first cam 50 being externally provided at the anvil 8 for rotating separately from the anvil 8 and on which a part of the chuck sleeve 24 mounts externally, a second cam 52 inserted into the anvil 8 with play at rear of the first cam 50 and fixed to the side of the hammer case 5, cam gears 51, 54 formed on the first and second cams 50, 52 at opposing faces thereof for contacting each other at the backward position of the anvil 8, and a regulating means provided between the chuck sleeve 24 and the anvil 8 and capable of arbitrarily regulating the rotation of the first cam 50 by means of the rotative operation of the chuck sleeve 24. In other words, the chuck sleeve 24 for attaching or detaching a bit also serves as a mode-change ring, thereby requiring a slight model change from a conventional impact driver. In this way, the percussion application mechanism can be advantageously formed with a lower cost.
In addition, the regulating means comprises the concave portion 56 provided at the outer circumference of the anvil 8 and the flange pin 55 inserted into the first cam 50 with play in the radial direction. The flange pin 55 is designed so as to move inward and outward with respect to the anvil 8 in accordance with the rotative operation of the chuck sleeve 24 and engage with the concave portion 56 at an inward position. With this configuration, the regulating means can be simply formed, utilizing the chuck sleeve 24 provided at the top of the anvil 8.
Similarly to the first embodiment, in the second embodiment several modifications can be arbitrarily made. For example, the number and shape of the flange pin, or the shape of the first cam and the second cam and so on may be modified. Regarding the chuck sleeve, the portion abutting to the engaging means may be partially extended, or a separate sleeve may be provided externally with the first cam so as to abut to the engaging means. Also similar to the first embodiment, a click means may be provided between the chuck sleeve and the anvil. This click means serves as an indication of operative positions of two modes, which are the percussion mode and the non-percussion mode. Moreover, another regulating means may be provided which makes the operating member rotate only within two operative positions.
In the above first and second embodiments, an impact driver in which the hammer is used for applying impact to the anvil is shown. Alternatively, an impact driver employing an oil unit may be acceptable, in which a supplied continuous torque is converted into an intermittent torque and transferred to the spindle when the inner oil pressure increases. In this case, the spindle or the entire oil unit may be slightly movable in the axial direction, and the percussion application mechanism as described in the above embodiments may be provided between the housing and the spindle, or between the spindle and the chuck sleeve.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2004-034016 | Feb 2004 | JP | national |
| Number | Name | Date | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4098351 | Alessio | Jul 1978 | A |
| 5458206 | Bourner et al. | Oct 1995 | A |
| 6015017 | Lauterwald | Jan 2000 | A |
| 6142242 | Okumura et al. | Nov 2000 | A |
| 6688406 | Wu et al. | Feb 2004 | B1 |
| 6892827 | Toyama et al. | May 2005 | B1 |
| 20050199404 | Furuta et al. | Sep 2005 | A1 |
| Number | Date | Country |
|---|---|---|
| A 2002-273666 | Sep 2002 | JP |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20050173139 A1 | Aug 2005 | US |
