The present disclosure relates to power tools, and more particularly to powered handheld cutting tools.
Powered handheld cutting tools, such as chainsaws or pruners, include a saw chain driven around a chain guide for cutting objects, such as trees and tree branches. Some powered handheld chainsaws or pruners include an electric motor for driving the chain link blade and a battery for powering the electric motor.
Saw chains are typically formed with linkages riveted to one another through a common drive link. Each drive link is engaged by a driven sprocket to drive the saw chain around the chain guide. Saw chains for chain guides with lengths up to 610 mm (approximately 24 inches) may be referred to as standard-type chains and may be identified by the number of drive links in the chain. For example, a saw chain for a 610 mm chain guide may have about 84 drive links.
Standard chains generally include cutting elements attached to every other linkage. The linkage between cutting elements is referred to as a tie strap or skip tooth. Different configurations of saw chains are often categorized based on their chain sequence of cutting elements and tie straps.
Some saw chains include cutting elements attached to each linkage. Saw chains with these types of saw chain sequences may be referred to as full house chains. A full house chain will have nearly twice as many cutting elements as a standard chain with the same number of drive links.
Other saw chains may include cutting elements attached to every other linkage and separated by at least one tie strap. These types of saw chains may be referred to as semi-skip chains or skip chains, depending on how many tie straps are included between cutting elements. Semi-skip and skip chains are typically used on chain guides from 610 mm to greater than 813 mm (approximately 32 inches).
The disclosure provides, in one aspect, a handheld cutting tool including a motor, a driven gear coupled to the motor for receiving torque therefrom and a sprocket coupled for co-rotation with the driven gear and a housing. The housing includes a motor housing portion in which the motor is located, a drive housing portion in which the driven gear and sprocket are located, and a handle portion extending from one of the motor housing portion or the drive housing portion. The cutting tool further includes a handle guard extending between the handle portion and one of the drive housing portion or the motor housing portion, wherein an interior portion of the handle guard and the handle portion of the housing collectively define an opening through which a user's hand is positionable for grasping the handle portion, and wherein an exterior portion of the handle guard opposite the interior portion includes a support face that defines a plane relative to the housing. The cutting tool even further includes a guide bar extending from the drive housing portion and a chain supported on the guide bar and engaged with the sprocket such that rotation of the sprocket moves the chain along the guide bar. The support face of the handle guard is configured to support the cutting tool on a horizontal support surface. And, the chain does not intersect the plane.
The disclosure provides, in another aspect, a handheld cutting tool including a motor, a driven gear coupled to the motor for receiving torque therefrom and a sprocket coupled for co-rotation with the driven gear and a housing. The housing includes a motor housing portion in which the motor is located, a drive housing portion in which the driven gear and sprocket are located, and a handle portion extending from the motor housing portion. The cutting tool further includes a guide bar extending from the drive housing portion and a chain supported on the guide bar and engaged with the sprocket such that rotation of the sprocket moves the chain along the guide bar. The cutting tool even further includes a battery pack removably coupled to an end of the handle portion opposite the motor housing portion. The battery pack includes a foot portion defining a plane. A center of gravity of the cutting tool is located above the foot portion when the cutting tool is stood upright on the foot portion, thus permitting the cutting tool to balance only on the foot portion of the battery pack.
Other aspects and aspects of the disclosure will become apparent by consideration of the detailed description and accompanying drawings.
Before any embodiments of the disclosure are explained in detail, it is to be understood that the disclosure is not limited in its application to the details of embodiment and the arrangement of components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the following drawings. The disclosure 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 illustrated in
By providing additional cutting teeth, the exemplary full house saw chain 44 can improve cutting efficiency for the pruner 20 and reduce vibration generated during the cutting operation for smoother operation, especially at lower speeds, when compared to a standard-type saw chain, semi-skip saw chain, etc. In other embodiments by way of example, the saw chain 44 is any of a standard-type saw chain, a semi-skip saw chain, skip saw chain, or the like, such that use of the pruner 20 is not limited to a single saw chain sequence or configuration. The pruner 20 may also include a chain brake, dampener, or the like (not shown) for resisting movement of the saw chain 44 about the guide bar 40. In some embodiments by way of example, the full house saw chain 44 may be utilized and operated at the lower speeds to alleviate or eliminate the need of a chain brake or the like. In other embodiments by way of example, the pruner 20 may include a chain brake or the like and the exemplary full house saw chain 44 or another sequence/configuration of saw chain.
The guide bar 40 is movable within the drive housing portion 32 to adjust the tension of the saw chain 44. In some embodiment, the guide bar 40 may be between about 127 mm (approximately 5 inches) and about 305 mm (approximately 12 inches) long. A bumper spike 45 is coupled to and extends from the drive housing portion 55 to engage a workpiece and increase stability by providing a pivot point during a cutting operation. As shown in
Referring to
The pruner 20 further includes a trigger 128, upon which a user's index finger is positioned, to selectively enable the drive mechanism 48. The trigger 128 is mechanically, electrically, or electro-mechanically connected to the motor 50 such that actuation of the trigger 128 by a user advances the saw chain 44 about the guide bar 40 in cutting operation.
As illustrated in
In the illustrated embodiment of
The foot 76 defines a base plane 80 (
Referring to
The housing 24 even further includes a knuckle guard 120 that extends between the drive housing portion 32 and the motor housing portion 28 (
With reference to
With reference to
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 is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 17/104,783, filed Nov. 25, 2020, which claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/940,020, filed Nov. 25, 2019, the entire contents of all of which are incorporated by reference herein.
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20220410425 A1 | Dec 2022 | US |
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62940020 | Nov 2019 | US |
Number | Date | Country | |
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Parent | 17104783 | Nov 2020 | US |
Child | 17901143 | US |