Patent Application
20140352994
The present application claims priority from Japanese Patent Applications No. 2013-113512 filed on May 29, 2013, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
The present invention relates to a reciprocating power tool which performs a predetermined operation by a tool bit.
Japanese non-examined laid-open Patent Publication No. 2010-005751 discloses a battery-powered hammer drill having a vibration-proof handle. In this battery-powered hammer drill, a handle designed to be held by a user during operation is connected to a tool body via an elastic element such that it can slide in parallel to an axis of a tool bit.
By provision of the handle constructed as described above, vibration which is caused in a longitudinal direction in the tool body and transmitted to the handle can be reduced.
The above-described hammer drill is effective in reducing vibration which is transmitted to the handle in the axial direction of the tool bit, but it is desired to further improve in reduction of vibration in a direction crossing the axial direction of the tool bit.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to improve vibration reduction of a handle in a reciprocating power tool.
The above-described problem is solved by the present invention. According to a preferred embodiment of a reciprocating power tool of the present invention, the reciprocating power tool performs an operation on a workpiece by driving a tool bit in an axial direction of the tool bit. The reciprocating power tool has a driving mechanism that drives the tool bit, a tool body that houses the driving mechanism, a handle that is connected to the tool body and a first connection part and a second connection part that connect the handle and the tool body. When the axial direction of the tool bit is defined as a longitudinal direction, a direction crossing the longitudinal direction is defined as a vertical direction and a direction crossing the longitudinal direction and the vertical direction is defined as a transverse direction (lateral direction), the handle is arranged to extend in the vertical direction. The first connection part has an elastic member and connects one end region of the handle in the vertical direction and the tool body via the elastic member. The second connection part has a shaft extending in the transverse direction and connects the other end region of the handle in the vertical direction and the tool body such that the handle can rotate around an axis of the shaft with respect to the tool body. By rotation of the handle around the shaft with respect to the tool body, the elastic element prevents vibration which is caused in the tool body from being transmitted to the handle. The “shaft” in the present invention includes not only a long cylindrical member, but a spherical structure which has a convex spherical surface and a concave spherical surface slidably engaged with the convex spherical surface and can rotate in various directions. As for this spherical structure, it may have a spherical surface either in part or in its entirety.
The “reciprocating power tool” in the present invention typically represents a hammer which performs a hammering operation on a workpiece by striking movement of the tool bit in its axial direction, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, it suitably includes a hammer drill which performs a hammer drill operation on a workpiece by striking movement and rotation of the tool bit, and a cutting power tool, such as a reciprocating saw and a jig saw, which performs a cutting operation on a workpiece by reciprocating movement of a blade. Further, the “elastic member” suitably includes a spring and a rubber.
According to the present invention, the other end of the handle is connected to the tool body such that it can rotate around the shaft with respect to the tool body, and the rotation of the handle around the shaft with respect to the tool body includes a longitudinal component and a vertical component. By provision of such a construction, vibrations which are caused in the tool body in the longitudinal direction and the vertical direction and transmitted to the handle can be reduced by the elastic member.
According to a further embodiment of the reciprocating power tool of the present invention, the tool body has a battery mounting part on which a battery is detachably mounted, and an intermediate region is provided between the driving mechanism and the battery mounting part in the vertical direction. The shaft and a center of gravity of the tool body with the battery mounted on the battery mounting part are arranged in the intermediate region. By provision of the construction in which the intermediate region is provided between the driving mechanism and the battery mounting part in the vertical direction, the reciprocating power tool is provided in which the battery mounting part is disposed at a position away from an axis of the tool bit. In the reciprocating power tool having such a construction, the center of gravity of the tool body with the battery is displaced (distant) from the axis of the tool bit.
When the reciprocating power tool receives a reaction force from the workpiece during operation, moment is generated around the center of gravity. According to this embodiment, by provision of the construction in which the shaft connecting the other end of the handle and the tool body is also disposed in the intermediate region, the handle follows the movement of the tool body corresponding to the moment generated around the center of gravity.
According to a further embodiment of the reciprocating power tool of the present invention, the shaft and the center of gravity are arranged in the same position in the vertical direction and/or the longitudinal direction.
According to this embodiment, the rotation of the handle around the shaft with respect to the tool body coincides with the moment generated around the center of gravity in the tool body, so that followability of the handle to the movement of the tool body corresponding to the moment is further improved.
According to a further embodiment of the reciprocating power tool of the present invention, the elastic element is fitted on the shaft. The handle and the tool body are connected to each other via the shaft and the elastic element, and the elastic element prevents vibration which is caused in the tool body from being transmitted to the handle. Further, the “elastic element” suitably includes a rubber and a spring. In this case, the manner in which “the elastic element is fitted” suitably includes both the manner in which the elastic element is disposed entirely around the shaft and the manner in which the elastic element is disposed intermittently around the shaft. Further, the “elastic element” may be held either by the tool body or by the handle.
According to this embodiment, transmission of vibration from the tool body to the handle via the shaft can be reduced by the elastic element.
According to a further embodiment of the reciprocating power tool of the present invention, the shaft is configured as an elongate member. The elastic element is fitted on a first region of the shaft in an axial direction of the shaft. The tool body has an elastic element holding part which holds the elastic element and a contact part which can contact with a second region of the shaft other than the first region in the axial direction of the shaft. The contact part blocks movement of the shaft by contact with the second region when the shaft moves in the vertical direction and/or the longitudinal direction by elastic deformation of the elastic element. Typically, the elastic element holding part holds the elastic element in contact therewith. On the other hand, the contact part is disposed away from the shaft in a radial direction of the shaft. The shaft moves in the vertical direction and/or the longitudinal direction by elastic deformation of the elastic element and thereby gets into contact with the contact part. By contact of the shaft and the contact part, the contact part blocks further movement of the shaft. Further, the movement of the shaft in the vertical direction or the longitudinal direction means relative movement of the shaft with respect to the tool body. Further, the second region is typically disposed to be closer to the end of the shaft than the first region in the axial direction of the shaft.
According to this embodiment, the contact part can prevent the shaft from moving more than necessary, so that the elastic element can be avoided from being acted upon by excessive load and durability of the elastic element can be improved.
According to a further embodiment of the reciprocating power tool of the present invention, the tool body is comprised of a left housing and a right housing disposed on the left and the right in the transverse direction. The shaft is made of metal. Each of the right and left housings is provided with the elastic element holding part which holds the elastic element. Typically, the elastic element is comprised of a left elastic part for the elastic element holding part of the left housing and a right elastic part for the elastic element holding part of the right housing. Specifically, the elastic element is comprised of a plurality of elastic parts. Further, the shaft has a handle contact part provided between the left and right elastic parts in the axial direction of the shaft and the handle is rotatably held around the axis of the shaft in contact with the handle contact part. In other words, the handle contact part is provided between the first region on which the elastic element is fitted.
According to this embodiment, by provision of the metal shaft, strength of the shaft can be ensured. Further, the elastic element can be held by the left and right housings.
According to a further embodiment of the reciprocating power tool of the present invention, the elastic member and the shaft are disposed at the same position in the longitudinal direction and the elastic member can extend and contract in the longitudinal direction.
By provision of the above-described construction, in the reciprocating power tool which performs an operation by driving the tool bit in the longitudinal direction, vibration in the longitudinal direction which is much larger than vibration in the vertical direction can be effectively reduced.
According to a further embodiment of the reciprocating power tool of the present invention, the handle is disposed on the axis of the tool bit.
According to this embodiment, the reciprocating power tool is suitable for an operation which is performed while applying a force to the handle in such a manner as to press the tool bit against the workpiece.
According to a further embodiment of the reciprocating power tool of the present invention, the battery mounting part is provided on the tool body below the handle in the vertical direction.
According to this embodiment, by provision of the construction in which the battery mounting part is provided on the tool body below the handle, it can be more easily designed such that the center of gravity of the tool body with the battery mounted on the battery mounting part is positioned closer to the shaft around which the handle rotates.
Accordingly, vibration isolation of a handle in a reciprocating power tool is improved.
Other objects, features and advantages of the invention will be readily understood after reading the following detailed description together with the accompanying drawings and the claims.
Each of the additional features and method steps disclosed above and below may be utilized separately or in conjunction with other features and method steps to provide and manufacture improved reciprocating power tools and method for using such reciprocating power tools and devices utilized therein. Representative examples of the invention, which examples utilized many of these additional features and method steps in conjunction, will now be described in detail with reference to the drawings. This detailed description is merely intended to teach a person skilled in the art further details for practicing preferred aspects of the present teachings and is not intended to limit the scope of the invention. Only the claims define the scope of the claimed invention. Therefore, combinations of features and steps disclosed within the following detailed description may not be necessary to practice the invention in the broadest sense, and are instead taught merely to particularly describe some representative examples of the invention, which detailed description will now be given with reference to the accompanying drawings.
An exemplary embodiment of the present invention is now described with reference to
The hammer drill 100 mainly includes a body 101 that forms an outer shell of the hammer drill 100. The hammer bit 119 is detachably coupled to a tip end region of the body 101 via a cylindrical tool holder 159. The hammer bit 119 is inserted into a bit insertion hole 159a of the tool holder 159 and held such that it is allowed to reciprocate in its axial direction with respect to the tool holder 159 and prevented from rotating in its circumferential direction with respect to the tool holder 159.
The body 101 mainly includes a motor housing 103 that houses an electric motor 110, and a gear housing 105 that houses a motion converting mechanism 120, a striking mechanism 140 and a power transmitting mechanism 150. A handgrip 109 designed to be held by a user is connected to the body 101 on the side opposite to the hammer bit 119 in the axial direction of the hammer bit 119. The body 101 and the handgrip 109 are features that correspond to the “tool body” and the “handle”, respectively, according to the present invention.
In this embodiment, for the sake of convenience of explanation, the side of the hammer bit 119 is defined as the “front” or “front region” and the side of the handgrip 109 as the “rear” or “rear region” in the axial direction of the hammer bit 119 or in the longitudinal direction of the body 101. Further, an upper side of a paper plane in
The body 101 has the gear housing 105 in front and the motor housing 103 in the rear in the axial direction of the hammer bit 119. The handgrip 109 is disposed on the rear of the motor housing 103. The motor housing 103 extends downward from the underside of the gear housing 105 and houses the electric motor 110 within this extending region. The electric motor 110 is disposed such that its rotation axis extends in a vertical direction and crosses an axially extending axis of striking movement of the hammer bit 119. Further, each of the motor housing 103, the gear housing 105 and the handgrip 109 which form the body 101 has right and left halves connected together along the axial direction of the hammer bit 119.
A rotating output of the electric motor 110 is appropriately converted into linear motion by the motion converting mechanism 120 and then transmitted to the striking mechanism 140. As a result, an impact force is generated in the axial direction of the hammer bit 119 (a horizontal direction as viewed in
The motion converting mechanism 120 is disposed above a motor shaft 111 of the electric motor 110 and serves to convert the rotating output of the motor shaft 111 into linear motion in the longitudinal direction of the hammer drill 100. The motion converting mechanism 120 mainly includes an intermediate shaft 121 which is rotationally driven by the motor shaft 111, a rotating element 123 fitted onto the intermediate shaft 121, a swinging member 125 which is caused to swing in the longitudinal direction of the hammer drill 100 by rotation of the intermediate shaft 121 (the rotating element 123), a driving element in the form of a cylindrical piston 127 which is caused to reciprocate in the longitudinal direction of the hammer drill 100 by swinging movement of the swinging member 125, and a cylinder 129 which houses the piston 127. The motor shaft 111 is disposed perpendicularly to the intermediate shaft 121. The cylinder 129 is integrally formed with the tool holder 159 as a rear region of the tool holder 159.
The striking mechanism 140 is disposed above the motion converting mechanism 120 and rearward of the tool holder 159. The motion converting mechanism 120 converts the rotating output of the electric motor 110 into linear motion in the longitudinal direction of the hammer drill 100, and the striking mechanism 140 transmits this linear motion to the hammer bit 119 as a striking force. The striking mechanism 140 mainly includes a striking element in the form of a striker 143 which is slidably disposed within the cylindrical piston 127 and an impact bolt 145 which is disposed in front of the striker 143, and the striker 143 collides with the impact bolt 145. Further, a space formed behind the striker 143 within the piston 127 forms an air chamber 127a which serves to transmit sliding movement of the piston 127 to the striker 143 via fluctuations of air pressure.
The power transmitting mechanism 150 is disposed forward of the motion converting mechanism 120 and serves to transmit the rotating output of the electric motor 110 transmitted via the intermediate shaft 121 of the motion converting mechanism 120, to the tool holder 159. The power transmitting mechanism 150 mainly includes a gear speed reducing mechanism having a plurality of gears such as a first gear 151 which rotates together with the intermediate shaft 121, and a second gear 153 which is engaged with the first gear 151 and fitted onto the tool holder 159 (the cylinder 129).
As shown in
A battery mounting part 160 is formed on an underside of the lower connecting part 103B of the motor housing 103, or behind the motor housing 103 and below the handgrip 109. A battery pack 161 which serves to feed driving current to the electric motor 110 is detachably mounted on the battery mounting part 160 by sliding it horizontally forward from the rear. The battery mounting part 160 and the battery pack 161 are features that correspond to the “battery mounting part” and the “battery”, respectively, according to the present invention. Further, in this embodiment, a center of gravity G of the hammer drill 100 with the battery pack 161 mounted on the battery mounting part 160 is set in an intermediate region between the motion converting mechanism 120 and the battery mounting part 160.
As shown in
The motor housing 103 is formed in two halves as right and left housings 103R, 103L (see
In the handgrip 109 disposed in the space behind the motor housing 103, an upper front portion of the handgrip 109 or specifically an intersection of the upper arm part 109B and the stay 109D is elastically connected to the gear housing 105 via a compression coil spring 171, and a lower front portion of the handgrip 109 or specifically an intersection of the lower arm part 109C and the stay 109D is supported on the motor housing 103 via a support shaft 181 such that it can rotate around a transverse axis of the support shaft 181. The compression coil spring 171 and the support shaft 181 are features that correspond to the “elastic member” and the “shaft”, respectively, according to the present invention.
The compression coil spring 171 is disposed above the axis of striking movement of the hammer bit 119 such that it extends in the longitudinal direction within the upper connecting part 103A of the motor housing 103. Further, a front end of the compression coil spring 171 is supported by a spring receiver 173 formed on the rear of the gear housing 105 and a rear end of the compression coil spring 171 is supported by a spring receiver 175 formed at the intersection of the upper arm part 109B and the stay 109D of the handgrip 109. With such a construction, the spring force of the compression coil spring 171 acts rearward on the handgrip 109. Further, it is preferable that one compression coil spring 171 is disposed above the axis of striking movement of the hammer bit 119.
A metal stopper pin 177 is provided in the upper connecting part 103A of the motor housing 103 and serves to receive the spring force of the compression coil spring 171 acting on the handgrip 109. The stopper pin 177 extends through a transverse hole 179 formed rearward of the compression coil spring 171 in the upper arm part 109B of the handgrip 109, and ends of the stopper pin 177 are fixed to the upper connecting part 103A. The stopper pin 177 receives the spring force of the compression coil spring 171 acting on the handgrip 109 when the stopper pin 177 contacts with a front wall of the transverse hole 179. When the stopper pin 177 is moved away from the front wall of the transverse hole 179, the stopper pin 177 is allowed to move relatively in the longitudinal direction and the vertical direction within the transverse hole 179.
The support shaft 181 is disposed below the axis of striking movement of the hammer bit 119 and above the battery mounting part 160, or specifically in the vicinity of the intersection of the lower connecting part 103B and the intermediate wall part 103C of the motor housing 103 and below the center of gravity G of the hammer drill 100. The support shaft 181 is made of metal. As shown in
In each of the right and left housings 1038, 103L forming the motor housing 103, a recessed shaft hole 185 in which an end of the support shaft 181 is loosely fitted, and a housing recess 187 which holds the O-ring 183 are formed side by side in the axial direction of the support shaft 181. The O-ring 183 disposed in the housing recess 187 is fitted on an outer circumferential surface of the support shaft 181 and can elastically deform so as to allow the support shaft 181 to move in its radial direction. The outer circumferential surface of the support shaft 181 on which the O-ring 183 is fitted is a feature that corresponds to the “first region” according to the present invention. The end of the support shaft 181 is loosely fitted in the shaft hole 185 and a predetermined clearance is formed between the outer circumferential surface of the end of the support shaft 181 and an inner circumferential surface 185a of the shaft hole 185. Specifically, the end of the support shaft 181 is allowed to move in the radial direction within the range of the clearance by elastic deformation of the O-ring 183. Even if the end of the support shaft 181 tends to move beyond this range, such movement is prevented by contact with the inner circumferential surface 185a of the shaft hole 185. The housing recess 187, the inner circumferential surface 185a of the shaft hole 185 and the outer circumferential surface of the support shaft 181 which can contact with the inner circumferential surface 185a of the shaft hole 185 are features that correspond to the “elastic element holding part”, the “contact part” and the “second region”, respectively, according to the present invention.
As described above, the upper end region of the handgrip 109 is elastically connected to the gear housing 105 via the compression coil spring 171, and its lower end region is connected to the motor housing 103 via the support shaft 181 such that it can rotate around the transverse axis.
The hammer drill 100 according to this embodiment is constructed as described above. In an operation using the hammer drill 100, the user holds the grip part 109A of the handgrip 109 and performs an operation while applying a forward pressing force to the hammer drill 100. The handgrip 109 to which the forward pressing force is applied is caused to rotate forward around the support shaft 181 with respect to the motor housing 103 of the body 101 while compressing the compression coil spring 171. Thus, the stopper pin 177 fixed to the motor housing 103 is caused to move rearward with respect to the motor housing 103 within the transverse hole 179 of the upper arm part 109B and move away from the front wall of the transverse hole 179. As a result, the handgrip 109 is allowed to move in the longitudinal direction and the vertical direction with respect to the stopper pin 177.
During operation using the hammer drill 100, vibration is mainly caused in the longitudinal direction on the axis of the hammer bit 119 in the body 101. According to this embodiment, the front upper end of the handgrip 109 is elastically connected to the body 101 via the compression coil spring 171 and its front lower end is connected to the body 101 such that it can rotate around the horizontal support shaft 181 with respect to the body 101. With such a construction, vibration which is caused in the longitudinal direction in the body 101 is coped with (or reduced) by a longitudinal component of relative rotation of the handgrip 109 on the support shaft 181. Further, in the body 101, vibration is caused not only in the longitudinal direction but also in the vertical direction. The vertical vibration is coped with (or reduced) by a vertical component of relative rotation of the handgrip 109 on the support shaft 181. Specifically, according to this embodiment, when the handgrip 109 rotates around the support shaft 181 with respect to the body 101, vibrations which are caused in the body 101 in the vertical direction and the longitudinal direction and transmitted to the handgrip 109 can be reduced by the compression coil spring 171.
In the hammer drill 100 in which an operation is performed by driving the hammer bit 119 in the axial direction of the hammer bit 119 or the longitudinal direction of the hammer drill 100, vibration caused in the body 101 is much larger in the longitudinal direction than in the vertical direction. In this embodiment, the compression coil spring 171 and the support shaft 181 are disposed at the same position in the axial direction of the hammer bit 119. Specifically, the support shaft 181 is disposed right below the compression coil spring 171. Further, the compression coil spring 171 is disposed in parallel to the axis of the hammer bit 119 and can extend and contract. With such a construction, vibration in the longitudinal direction can be effectively reduced.
The battery pack 161 mounted on the battery mounting part 160 has a heavy weight. Therefore, when the battery pack 161 is mounted on the battery mounting part 160, as described above, the center of gravity G of the hammer drill 100 with the battery pack 161 (hereinafter referred to as the center of gravity of the hammer drill 100) is located at a lower position away from the axis of striking movement of the hammer bit 119. Specifically, as shown in
In this embodiment, the position of the support shaft 181 is set based on the above. Specifically, the position of the support shaft 181 is set as close as possible to the center of gravity G of the hammer drill 100, or more preferably to coincide with it. By provision of such a construction, rotation of the body 101 corresponding to moment generated around the center of gravity can coincide with or approximate to relative rotation of the handgrip 109 around the support shaft 181 with respect to the body 101. As a result, the vibration proofing effect can be enhanced. Further, in this embodiment, as shown in
According to this embodiment, with the construction in which the elastically deformable O-ring 183 is disposed between the motor housing 103 and the support shaft 181, the O-ring 183 can reduce vibrations which are caused in the longitudinal direction and the vertical direction in the body 101 and transmitted from the motor housing 103 to the handgrip 109 via the support shaft 181.
According to this embodiment, maximum movement of the support shaft 181 in the radial direction by deformation of the O-ring 183 is blocked by the inner circumferential surface 185a of the shaft hole 185 in which the end of the support shaft 181 is loosely fitted. With such a construction in which the moving range of the support shaft 181 is limited, the O-ring 183 can be avoided from being acted upon by excessive load, so that durability of the O-ring 183 can be improved.
According to this embodiment, the motor housing 103 is formed in two halves as the right and left housings 103R, 103L along the axial direction of the hammer bit 119, and the shaft hole 185 is formed in opposite division surfaces of the right and left housings 103R, 103L. With this construction, when the right and left housings 103R, 103L are disposed to hold the handgrip 109 therebetween from both sides of the handgrip 109, the right and left housings 103R, 103L can be assembled to the handgrip 109 by inserting the ends of the support shaft 181 formed through the handgrip 109 into the shaft holes 186 of the right and left housings 103R, 103L. As a result, the ease of assembling is enhanced.
In this embodiment, the O-ring 183 is disposed between the motor housing 103 and the support shaft 181. The O-ring 183 may however be disposed between the handgrip 109 and the support shaft 181. Further, in place of the compression coil spring 171, a rubber may be used.
In this embodiment, the hammer drill is described as the representative example of the reciprocating power tool, but the present invention may also be applied to a hammer which causes the hammer bit 119 to perform only striking movement in its axial direction, or a cutting tool, such as a reciprocating saw and a jig saw, which performs a cutting operation on a workpiece by reciprocating movement of a blade.
Correspondences between the features of the embodiment and the features of the invention are as follow. Further, the above-described embodiment is a representative example for embodying the present invention, and the present invention is not limited to the construction of the representative embodiment.
The body 101 is a feature that corresponds to the “tool body” according to the present invention.
The handgrip 109 is a feature that corresponds to the “handle” according to the present invention.
The hammer bit 119 is a feature that corresponds to the “tool bit” according to the present invention.
The motion converting mechanism 120 and the striking mechanism 140 are features that correspond to the “driving mechanism” according to the present invention.
The upper connecting part 103A and the upper arm part 109B are features that correspond to the “first connection part” according to the present invention.
The lower connecting part 103B and the lower arm part 109C are features that correspond to the “second connection part” according to the present invention.
The compression coil spring 171 is a feature that corresponds to the “elastic member” according to the present invention.
The support shaft 181 is a feature that corresponds to the “shaft” according to the present invention.
The O-ring 183 is a feature that corresponds to the “elastic element” according to the present invention.
The outer circumferential surface of the support shaft 181 on which the O-ring 183 is fitted is a feature that corresponds to the “first region” according to the present invention.
The inner circumferential surface 185a of the shaft hole 185 is a feature that corresponds to the “contact part” according to the present invention.
The outer circumferential surface of the support shaft 185 which can contact with the inner circumferential surface 185a of the shaft hole 185 is a feature that corresponds to the “second region” according to the present invention.
The battery mounting part 160 is a feature that corresponds to the “battery mounting part” according to the present invention.
The battery pack 161 is a feature that corresponds to the “battery” according to the present invention.
The housing recess 187 is a feature that corresponds to the “elastic element holding part” according to the present invention.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2013-113512 | May 2013 | JP | national |
