The present invention relates to power tools, and more particularly, to a motor housing and assembly process for a power tool.
A common problem with power tools, particularly portable power tools of the mid-handle configuration having a “jam-pot” construction, concerns the ability with which a power tool so constructed may be assembled. Typically, power tools having a jam-pot construction are assembled in a process wherein the subcomponents which form the wiring are initially installed into a first jam-pot opening and thereafter, the subcomponents are feed out through a second jam-pot opening.
An often and time-consuming operation in this process concerns the connection of the wires from a power source such as a cord or a battery pack to the trigger switch and motor assembly. In a mid-handle tool, the connection of these wires can require that the tool be reoriented multiple times. The assembly operation is such that the wires are fed through a narrow opening in the housing to later be connected to the field and brushes. The tool must be reoriented to make these connections. Additionally, mid-handle tools require an opening in the housing from the handle area to the field area to allow the wires to pass through. This opening causes the motor fan to circulate some air in the handle portion, which degrades its ability to move air through the motor for cooling.
Accordingly, a power tool overcoming the above-mentioned drawbacks is provided herein. The power tool includes a housing including a field case and front handle portion formed as a single piece, the front handle portion has an opening in a rear side thereof with a rear handle portion attached to the first handle portion for covering the opening. An end cap is connected to a first end of the field case. A motor is disposed in the field case which defines a generally cylindrical motor chamber. A trigger switch is disposed on the front handle portion and an electrical wire system including a plurality of wires is connected to the motor through the first end of the field case. The wires extend along an outer side surface of the field case and along the rear opening in the front handle portion. The wires are covered by the end cap and second handle portion of the housing. With the system of the present invention, the front handle design simplifies the wire-up of the power tool as well as simplifying the overall assembly of the power tool. In particular, all of the wire-up occurs on the rear side of the tool with no need to flip the tool over to complete the wire-up assembly. Also, the wires are along the outside of the housing, which allows the opening between the handle portion and motor portion of the housing to be removed. This improves the motor fan's ability to move air through the motor, by eliminating the air circulating in the handle portion.
Further areas of applicability of the present invention will become apparent from the detailed description provided hereinafter. It should be understood that the detailed description and specific examples, while indicating the preferred embodiment of the invention, are intended for purposes of illustration only and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention.
The present invention will become more fully understood from the detailed description and the accompanying drawings, wherein:
The following description of the preferred embodiment(s) is merely exemplary in nature and is in no way intended to limit the invention, its application, or uses.
With reference to
With reference to
As best illustrated in
The lower handle portion 14 is integrally formed with the field case 12 as a unitary member which is preferably formed by injection molding utilizing a single direction mold that provides for less complicated tooling and eliminates a parting line from the front handle portion 14 and field case 12. The parting is moved to the transition area between the motor portion and the handle portion of the housing The front handle portion 14 includes an aperture 46 therethrough at an upper portion thereof for receiving a switch 48 (best shown in
With reference to
The lower cover portion 68 of rear handle portion 20 covers the opening 56 in the rear of the front handle portion 14. A pair of screw bosses 74 are provided at a lower end of the lower cover portion 68 of the rear handle portion 20 for receiving threaded fasteners 76 (best shown in
As shown in
The motor 40 is received in the motor chamber 26 of the field case 12. Electrical connections to the motor 40 are provided through apertures 36 provided in the field case 12 for connection to terminal posts 82 which are mounted to the motor 40. The output shaft 84 of the motor 40 is drivingly connected to a gear system provided in gear case cover 16. The gear system can be of the multi-speed type that can be manually switched by the operator, or a single speed type. An impact mechanism 86 is driven by the gear system and includes an output spindle 88. The gear case 18 is received over top of the impact mechanism 86. The impact mechanism 86 is well known in the art and therefore, a detailed description thereof will be omitted. The gear case 18 includes a rear opening 90 for receiving the impact mechanism 86 and a front opening 92 for receiving the output spindle 88 therethrough. Threaded fasteners 29 are provided for mounting the gear case 18 and gear case cover 16 to the field housing 12.
With reference to
The wires 112 extend through the opening or cavity 56 in the rear of the front handle portion 14 and between slide rails 44 of the field case 12 and along bridge 42 in the rear of field case 12. The bridge 42 is provided with anchor slots 116 in which wires 112 can be inserted prior to or after connection to the motor terminals.
As illustrated in
With reference to
With the power tool housing design and assembly method of the present invention, the front handle design simplifies the wire-up of the power tool. The wire-up is simplified primarily because all wire-up occurs on the rear side of the handle with no need to flip the tool over to complete the wire-up. In addition, a soft grip surface can be applied to the rear handle portion 20 without having to alter the front handle portion 14.
The description of the invention is merely exemplary in nature and, thus, variations that do not depart from the gist of the invention are intended to be within the scope of the invention. Such variations are not to be regarded as a departure from the spirit and scope of the invention.
The present application is a divisional of U.S. application Ser. No. 10/849,983, filed May 20, 2004 now U.S. Pat. No. 7,077,218.
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Number | Date | Country | |
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20060208026 A1 | Sep 2006 | US |
Number | Date | Country | |
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Parent | 10849983 | May 2004 | US |
Child | 11439420 | US |