Claims
- 1. A portable circular saw having a center of gravity comprising:
- a motor having an axis;
- a housing enclosing the motor therein;
- a handle carried by the housing;
- an arbor for carrying a saw blade, said arbor being operatively connected to the motor and having an axis of rotation substantially perpendicular to the motor axis; and
- a shoe pivotally supporting the housing thereon, the housing pivoting relative to the shoe about a pivoting axis which is substantially parallel to the arbor axis;
- wherein the housing is inclined at an angle relative to the shoe,
- part of the handle is disposed behind the arbor axis, between the housing and the shoe, and within said angle, and
- the pivoting axis is disposed in front of the arbor axis.
- 2. The saw of claim 1, wherein the angle is about 45.degree..
- 3. The saw of claim 1, further comprising a hook assembly attached to said handle.
- 4. The saw of claim 3, wherein the hook assembly is attached to said handle at a position relative to the center of gravity so that, when the circular saw is hung from said hook assembly, the handle pivots upward.
- 5. The saw of claim 3, wherein the hook assembly is a folding hook assembly.
- 6. The saw of claim 5, wherein the handle has a sidewall, the shoe has a width, and the hook assembly is attached to said sidewall of said handle so that, when said hook assembly is folded, the hook assembly substantially extends within the width of said shoe.
- 7. The saw of claim 5, wherein the handle has a sidewall, the housing has a width, and the hook assembly is attached to said sidewall of said handle so that, when said hook assembly is folded, the hook assembly substantially extends within the width of said housing.
- 8. The saw of claim 3, wherein the hook assembly comprises a barrel integrally attached to said handle, and a hook slidably connected to said barrel.
- 9. The saw of claim 8, wherein the hook assembly further comprises a detent cap attached to said barrel for holding the hook in a plurality of radial positions.
- 10. The saw of claim 9, wherein the hook assembly further comprises a spring biasing said hook against said detent cap.
- 11. The saw of claim 9, wherein the hook assembly further comprises biasing means for biasing said hook against said detent cap.
- 12. The saw of claim 1, further comprising a drive shaft disposed along the motor axis, and a transmission mechanism connected to said arbor and said drive shaft.
- 13. The saw of claim 12, wherein said transmission mechanism creates a torque in rotational direction opposite to rotational direction of said arbor.
- 14. The saw of claim 12, wherein said transmission mechanism comprises:
- a first gear disposed on said drive shaft; and
- a second gear disposed on said arbor, said second gear meshing with said first gear.
- 15. The saw of claim 14, wherein distance from the blade to the second gear is greater than distance from the blade to the drive shaft.
- 16. The saw of claim 1, further comprising a hook assembly attached to said housing.
- 17. The saw of claim 16, wherein the hook assembly is attached to said housing at a position relative to the center of gravity so that, when the circular saw is hung from said hook assembly, the handle pivots upward.
- 18. The saw of claim 16, wherein the hook assembly is a folding hook assembly.
- 19. The saw of claim 18, wherein the shoe has a width and, when said hook assembly is folded, the hook assembly substantially extends within the width of said shoe.
- 20. The saw of claim 16, wherein the hook assembly comprises a barrel integrally attached to said housing, and a hook slidably connected to said barrel.
- 21. The saw of claim 20, wherein the hook assembly further comprises a detent cap attached to said barrel for holding the hook in a plurality of radial positions.
- 22. The saw of claim 21, wherein the hook assembly further comprises a spring biasing said hook against said detent cap.
- 23. The saw of claim 21, wherein the hook assembly further comprises biasing means for biasing said hook against said detent cap.
- 24. The saw of claim 1, wherein a first plane substantially perpendicular to a second plane defined by the shoe intersects the shoe, the handle and the housing, in that order, when the saw is at a maximum depth of cut setting.
- 25. The saw of claim 1, wherein said angle being less than about 90.degree..
- 26. The saw of claim 1, wherein the distance between the pivoting axis and the shoe is smaller than the distance between the arbor axis and the shoe.
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 09/158,481, filed Sep. 22, 1998, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,930,903, which is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 08/866,790, filed May 30, 1997, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,850,698.
US Referenced Citations (10)
Continuations (2)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
158481 |
Sep 1998 |
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Parent |
866790 |
May 1997 |
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