The present invention relates to a mounting system for affixing rotating tools, such as grinding wheels, circular saw blades, and the like to a tool arbor such is found in hand-held power tools.
Hand-held power tools, such as grinders, sanders, saws, and the like include a motor driven arbor shaft to which is mounted an appropriate tool head, such as a grinding wheel, sanding disk, or circular saw blade. The arbor is typically threaded, allowing a tool hub to be affixed thereon, such as by a mounting nut assembly. The hub may be an integral part of the rotary tool, but often a hub is provided as an intermediate coupling unit between the arbor and the tool element, which is removably mounted to the hub. This latter form of tool head construction is often preferred, as it allows the work-engaging tool element, such as a grinding wheel, to be removed from the hub when worn without disengaging the hub itself from the arbor shaft. Further, such a construction allows the replacement and interchange of the working tool elements without replacement of the hub. This is of significant value, since during the course of operation a variety of tool elements often are required. This provides for more economical tool element exchange and further lessens the down time of the tool for such exchange.
Various constructions have been proposed for mounting disk-shaped tools on a hub in a removable manner. U.S. Pat. No. 6,116,996 to Yanase, for example, utilizes a flange system in conjunction with a gravity-driven stopper to assist maintaining the tool disk in position on a hub-like member. U.S. Pat. No. 6,786,811 to Krondorfer, et al mounts a tool element through a system utilizing circumferential and axial locking elements. Often sanding disks and the like are removably mounted using hook-and-loop fastener systems. While such systems are satisfactory for low rpm operation, they may not provide sufficient holding power for high rpm applications.
Notwithstanding the efforts of others, it remains a goal in the tool art to provide a mounting system for rotary tools that allows a rotary tool to be easily and quickly mounted upon or removed from a hub, but securely retains the rotating tool upon the hub to prevent inadvertent disengagement therefrom over a wide range of operating speeds.
It is accordingly an object of the present invention to provide such a tool mount which is of economical construction, and allows a rotary tool to be quickly and efficiently mounted upon and removed from a tool hub typically mounted to a tool arbor.
It is a further purpose of the present invention to provide such a mounting system that further provides secure retention of the tool element in a fixed position on the hub to prevent inadvertent disengagement therebetween.
In accordance with the foregoing and other objects and purposes, a rotary tool mounting system in accordance with the present invention comprises a hub mountable to the tool drive shaft and a tool element removably mountable on the hub. The tool element has an arcuate flange projecting into a central mounting aperture, while the hub has an axially-extending wall with a circumferential groove to retain the tool element flange. Each of the hub and tool element has at least one complementary lock element in the form of a projection or a mating depression. When the tool element is fully mounted on the hub the projections and depressions align, frictionally retaining the tool element in a fully mounted position on the hub.
In a first embodiment the hub may be provided with projections on a face, while the tool element has complementary depressions on an opposed face. In a second embodiment the tool element may have radially inwardly extending projections and the depressions are located on the hub wall.
A fuller understanding of the present invention will be attained upon consideration of the following detailed explanation of preferred but nonetheless illustrative embodiments of the invention, when reviewed in conjunction with the annexed drawings, wherein
With initial reference to
A first embodiment of the mounting system is depicted in
Tool element 14 includes spaced flanges or projections 24 extending inwardly along the sidewall 26 of its mounting bore 20. The projections are dimensioned to be received by the recesses 22, thereby retaining the tool element 14 upon the hub. As seen in
To maintain the tool element in the fully mounted position, the hub and tool element are provided with complementary frictional lock elements. As may be best seen in
As seen in
As seen in
To maintain the tool element in the fully-mounted position, the hub and tool element are again provided with complementary frictional lock elements. Projections 50 are located on the face 16 of the hub, and may comprise a pair of small metal balls 52 embedded in the hub and extending slightly above the hub face 16, forming exposed spherical caps. Alternatively, the projections may be merely raised portions of the plastic or similar material from which the hub is formed. As depicted in
Number | Name | Date | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
2654193 | Rich et al. | Oct 1953 | A |
2671994 | Hickman | Mar 1954 | A |
2839879 | Eisenbeis | Jun 1958 | A |
3158972 | Mackay, Jr. et al. | Dec 1964 | A |
3270467 | Block et al. | Sep 1966 | A |
RE26552 | Block et al. | Mar 1969 | E |
3491494 | Mackay, Jr. | Jan 1970 | A |
3574978 | Block | Apr 1971 | A |
3623281 | Moffat | Nov 1971 | A |
4245438 | van Buren, Jr. | Jan 1981 | A |
4839998 | Block | Jun 1989 | A |
5619770 | Bell | Apr 1997 | A |
5678272 | McCracken et al. | Oct 1997 | A |
6067705 | Boyde et al. | May 2000 | A |
6116996 | Yanase | Sep 2000 | A |
6382058 | Owoc | May 2002 | B1 |
6523214 | Kaiser | Feb 2003 | B1 |
6786811 | Krondorfer et al. | Sep 2004 | B2 |
6869346 | Wendt et al. | Mar 2005 | B2 |
6887142 | Rupprecht et al. | May 2005 | B2 |
Number | Date | Country | |
---|---|---|---|
20070167119 A1 | Jul 2007 | US |