Patent Application
20090301277
This invention relates to a miter saw with a moveable material support surface. The miter range of conventional miter saws is generally limited by the size of the turntable that is used to support the work piece. However, it is often desirable to make miter cuts that fall outside the miter range that is offered with conventional miter saws. Accordingly, a miter saw that overcomes these deficiencies is provided.
The scope of the present invention is defined solely by the claims and is not affected to any degree by statements within this summary. Briefly stated, a miter saw is provided with at least one moveable material support surface. The miter saw includes a base, a saw unit pivotally coupled with the base that comprises a motor and a saw blade coupled with the motor, and a table rotatably coupled with the base. The material support surface is moveably associated with the base, and the material support surface may also be provided with a locking mechanism to lock the support surface in a desired position.
The invention may be better understood with reference to the following figures and detailed description. The components in the figures are not necessarily to scale, emphasis being placed upon illustrating the principles of the invention.
By way of introduction, the embodiments described below include a miter saw with at least one moveable material support surface. The miter saw includes a base and a saw unit pivotally coupled with the base. The saw unit includes a motor and a saw blade coupled with the motor. A table is rotatably coupled with the base. At least one material support surface is moveably associated with the base. A locking mechanism may be provided to selectively lock the support surface in position. The phrase “coupled with,” as used herein, means coupled either directly or indirectly via one or more intervening elements.
In one embodiment, the range of the miter scale 20 extends from −70 degrees to +70 degrees from right to left in
It is also contemplated that the scale 20 be removable and to contain a display on both sides of the scale. For example, on one side of the scale 20, the displayed range may be from about 0° to about 70° while on the other side, the displayed range may be from about 90° to about 20°.
It is also contemplated that the scale 20 be in the form of a digital scale such that a digital output is visible from the top of the base 14 near its edge.
The saw 10 includes a saw unit 16 that includes a motor 24 operable to drive a saw blade 26 to cut a work piece supported on the table assembly 18. The saw unit 10 is coupled with the table assembly 18 for generally linear sliding movement by a sliding support assembly. In one embodiment, the sliding support assembly generally includes slide tubes 70 supported for sliding movement relative to the table assembly 18. The saw unit 10 is supported by the slide tubes 70 for movement with the slide tubes 70 relative to the table assembly 18. The slide tubes 70 are preferably coupled with the table assembly 18 via the bevel support member 50 that is located on the table assembly 18. Of course, it is understood that the features of the present invention are not limited to the described sliding miter saw and that the description of these features of the sliding miter saw are simply to provide perspective.
As shown in
The motor 24 and the saw blade 26 may be coupled to the table assembly 18 for pivoting movement about a bevel axis BA to allow the saw blade 26 to perform bevel cuts on a work piece supported on the table assembly 18. The miter saw may also be provided with a locking mechanism 91, as shown in
The locking mechanism 91 includes a bevel handle 90 that may be rotatably coupled with the bevel support 50 and is used to rotate the saw blade 26 about bevel axis BA. The locking mechanism 91 also includes a detent carrier 92, a detent override plate 93, a detent pin 94, a detent plate 95, a cam lock 96, a lock pin 97, a bevel indicator 98, and a bevel scale 88. The lock pin 97 operates to prevent the saw blade 26 from being able to bevel. The operator can manually adjust the locking force applied by the lock pin 97 by adjusting a locking nut 101 that is typically located on one end of the lock pin 97. The locking force of the lock pin 97 is also controlled by the cam lock 96 and by the detent carrier 92, the detent override plate 93, the detent pin 94, and the detent plate 95. The cam lock 96 applies a clamping force on the lock pin 97. The operator can release this clamping force by pulling (or rotating) the bevel handle 90 in a direction away from the saw 10. The movement (or rotation) of the bevel handle 90 concurrently rotates the cam lock 96, which only partially frees up the saw blade 26 to bevel because the detent pin 94 is still engaged. The cam lock 96 typically is released after the bevel handle 90 is rotated away from the saw. The amount of rotation of the bevel handle 90 required to release the cam lock can be adjusted depending upon desired preferences. For example, the amount of rotation can be from about 5° to about 90°, although a rotation less than about 90° is desirable. Accordingly, it is contemplated to provide an amount of rotation from about 5° to about 45° and can be, for example from about 10° to about 25° or from about 15° to about 20°.
To release the detent pin 94, the operator can continue to rotate the bevel handle 90 approximately another 10 degrees. As the cam lock 96 continues to rotate, a vertical finger 99 that is located on the cam lock 96 will impact the rear surface of the detent carrier 92. This impact will cause the detent carrier 92 to move in a backward direction away from the saw 10. As the detent carrier 92 moves backward, the detent pin 94, which is typically spring-loaded, will be pulled clear of one of the openings in the detent plate 95 in which the detent pin 94 is normally located. Once the detent pin 94 is clear of the detent plate 95, the saw blade 26 will be completely free to rotate and bevel, as long as the operator continues to hold the bevel handle 90 with enough force to overcome the spring bias of the detent pin 94. When the saw blade 26 has been positioned at the desired bevel angle, the operator can release the force that is being applied to the bevel handle 90, allowing the bevel handle to move toward the saw 10 until the detent pin 94 contacts the detent plate 95 or settles into an opening in the detent plate 95. Finally, the operator can fully lock the saw blade 26 by pulling the bevel handle 90 towards the saw 10 until the cam lock 96 returns to its locked position.
A detent override plate 93 may also be provided for the situation where the desired bevel angle for the saw blade 26 is close to an angle at which the detent pin 94 fits within the openings in the detent plate 95. In such a situation, the operator will typically have difficulty locking the saw blade 26 at a very precise bevel angle because the spring-biased detent pin 94 will attempt to push the saw blade 26 away from the desired bevel angle and towards the opening in the detent plate 95.
When an operator encounters such a situation, the operator can push the detent override plate 93 down once the detent pin 94 is pulled clear of the openings in the detent plate 95. When the detent override plate 93 is pushed down, the override plate 93 will slide behind the detent carrier 92, not allowing the detent pin 94 to contact the detent plate 95. The use of the detent override plate 93 allows the saw blade 26 to move through the range of bevel angles without the need for the operator to also hold the bevel handle 90 back away from the saw 10 to overcome the spring bias of the detent pin 94. Once the operator positions the saw blade 26 at the desired bevel angle, the operator can lock the bevel handle 90 and the saw blade 26 in the preferred manner without any interference from the detent 94. When the operator requires the detent function again, the operator can pull up on the detent override plate 93, which will allow the detent pin 94 to spring back to its normal operating position. The detent override plate 93 is typically held in place with a spring-biased detent ball 103 that is located in the bevel support 50. However, alternative methods of securing the detent override plate 93 can be utilized, such as the use of a releasable latch coupled with the bevel support 50 that the operator can manually engage or disengage.
The bevel indicator 98 indicates how many degrees the saw blade 26 has been rotated, as indicated by its location on the bevel scale 88. In one embodiment, the range of the bevel scale 99 extends from −40 degrees to +40 degrees from right to left in
The table assembly 18 includes a throat 30 that extends radially outward from the table assembly 18 beyond the outer edge 15 of the base 14. The throat 30 may have any suitable shape although typically it will be formed in the shape of a rectangle. The throat 30 will rotate concurrently with the table assembly 18. The throat 30, along with the table assembly 18, can be rotated about the base 14 to the right or to the left.
The base 14 may include at least one material support to provide additional support so that the miter saw 10 is able to cut larger-sized work pieces. Another advantage associated with the use of at least one material support is that the size of the table 18 normally needed to cut large work pieces can be significantly reduced, which reduces the amount of raw material, preferably some type of metal or polymer, needed to construct the saw 10. Therefore, the weight of the saw will be reduced as well, making the saw easier to transport. The material support is typically formed in the general shape of a block-like structure. The block-like structure can be formed in a variety of shapes, such as rectangular, circular, and semi-circular. The material support is moveable with respect to the base 14 of the miter saw. In this regard, the material support may be removable with respect to the base or may be operatively associated with the base such that it is moveable with respect to the base.
The material support has a top surface 5 that lies generally in the same plane as the top surface 22 of the table assembly 18. As a result, the table surface 22 and the material support surfaces 4, 6 may cooperate to support a work piece. The material support also typically has a first side edge 84 and a second edge 85. The side edges 84, 85 are located opposite one another and are coupled with the top surface 5. In addition, the material support typically has a bottom surface 9 that is located opposite the top surface 5 and that is capable of contacting the base 14. The bottom surface 9 is also coupled with the side edges 84, 85. The material support also typically has a rear surface 7 that is located between the two side edges 84, 85 and coupled with both the top surface 5 and the bottom surface 9. This description is applicable to both material support surfaces 4, 6 that are shown in the embodiment that is shown in
In one embodiment, the material support includes a first support surface 4 and a second support surface 6. The first support surface 4 and the second support surface 6 are independently coupled with the base 14 and are located opposite each other. Typically, the first support surface 4 and the second support surface 6 are located opposite each other and on either side of the throat 30. The material support surfaces 4, 6 are able to independently move along the periphery of the base 14.
In one aspect, a groove 72 is provided in the base 14, as shown in
The support surface 4 has a first edge 84 and the support surface 6 has a first edge 86. Each first edge 84, 86 is located at a selected default miter setting. A suitable default setting is about +/−45 degrees, such as for example +/−47 degrees. It will be understood that alternative default miter settings can be used. For example, the default miter setting can be located within a range of about +/−40 degrees to about +/−55 degrees.
In one aspect, the first edge 84, 86 may interact with the throat 30 of the table assembly 18 so that the support surfaces 4, 6, respectively move as will be explained below. The first edge 84, 86 may also act as a guide to determine the miter setting of the support surfaces 4, 6, as the operator is able to determine what angular position on the miter scale 20 corresponds with the location of the first edge 84, 86.
Support surface 4 has a second edge 85 spaced from and opposite the first edge 84. Similarly, support surface 6 has a second edge (not shown) spaced from and opposite the first edge 86. The second edge 85 can define the furthest position of the support surface 4, 6 on the base 14. In one embodiment, the first edge 84 of the first support surface 4 is located at a position that corresponds with the 47 degree miter setting, and the first edge 86 of the second support surface 6 is located at a position that corresponds with the −47 degree miter setting.
As shown in
For example, when the table assembly 18 is rotated to the left as shown in
It is also contemplated that each of the first support surface 4 and second support surface 6 may be moved by an operation other than by contact with the throat. For example, each of the surfaces 4, 6 may be moved by the user or indirectly by the throat 30.
A locking mechanism 43 may be operably associated with each material support surface 4, 6 to selectively lock the respective material support surface 4, 6 in a selected position. In general, the locking mechanism 43 cooperates with the material support surface 4, 6 along with the base 14 to secure the position of the material support surface 4,6 in relation to the base 14. The locking mechanism 43 is configured to operatively selectively lock one or both of the support surfaces 4, 6 in a selected position. The base 14 may include a slot 13 that is capable of receiving the locking mechanism 43. Any known locking mechanism may be used.
One embodiment of a locking mechanism is shown in
As can be seen in
Furthermore, alternative methods and embodiments of locking systems 44, 66 may be utilized to secure the side support surfaces 4, 6. For example, the side support surfaces 4, 6 can be secured with magnets secured to the base 14. Alternatively, a spring and detent system that cooperates with the side support surface 4, 6 and the base 14 can be utilized as a locking system. Another alternative to lock the side support surface 4, 6 is the use of screw knobs that are able to apply pressure on the side support surface 4, 6 that thus hold it in place. The screw knobs may be located above, below, or to the sides of the side support surface 4, 6 in any position as long as the screw knobs are able to contact and put pressure on the side support surface 4, 6 to lock them in place. The tension on the screw knobs can be adjusted to concurrently adjust the pressure that is exerted on the side support surface 4, 6.
Various embodiments of the invention have been described and illustrated. However, the description and illustrations are by way of example only. Many more embodiments and implementations are possible within the scope of this invention and will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art. Therefore, the invention is not limited to the specific details, representative embodiments, and illustrated examples in this description. Accordingly, the invention is not to be restricted except in light necessitated by the accompanying claims and their equivalents.
