U.S. patent application number 10/090937 was filed with the patent office on 2002-12-12 for elbow attachment.
Invention is credited to Yorde, Richard E. JR..
Application Number | 20020185289 10/090937 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 22037918 |
Filed Date | 2002-12-12 |
United States Patent
Application |
20020185289 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Yorde, Richard E. JR. |
December 12, 2002 |
Elbow attachment
Abstract
An elbow attachment for a power tool coverts the torque of the
power tool drive shaft to a transverse shaft which is supported by
a housing to extend angularly with respect to the drive shaft. A
pinion gear is mounted on the power tool drive shaft and a face
gear is mounted on the transverse shaft interiorly of the housing.
The face gear and pinion gear engage one another when the elbow
attachment housing is mounted to the power tool housing. The pinion
gear has teeth with a face width which allows for variability in
the precise mounting of the elbow attachment housing to the power
tool housing, without any significant resultant detriment to
operation of the
Inventors: |
Yorde, Richard E. JR.;
(Gambier, OH) |
Correspondence
Address: |
Dillis V. Allen, Esq.
Suite 205
1080 Nerge Road
Elk Grove Village
IL
60007
US
|
Family ID: |
22037918 |
Appl. No.: |
10/090937 |
Filed: |
March 5, 2002 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
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10090937 |
Mar 5, 2002 |
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09061756 |
Apr 16, 1998 |
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6352127 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
173/216 ;
173/29 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B25B 21/00 20130101;
B25B 21/002 20130101; B23Q 5/045 20130101; B25F 3/00 20130101; Y10T
408/957 20150115 |
Class at
Publication: |
173/216 ;
173/29 |
International
Class: |
B25D 001/00 |
Claims
1. An elbow attachment kit for use with a power tool having a
housing which supports a drive shaft which is rotary about its
longitudinal axis and which protrudes externally of the power tool
housing at a driving end of the housing, the attachment kit
comprising: a pinion gear detachably mounted on the drive shaft at
a location externally of the power tool housing and at a
predetermined distance from the driving end of the housing, said
pinion gear having gear teeth with faces of predetermined face
width which extend substantially parallel with the longitudinal
axis of the power tool drive shaft, an elbow member, including an
elbow member housing having a power tool engaging end which is
engageable with the power tool housing adjacent its driving end, a
transverse shaft having a longitudinal axis and supported by the
elbow member housing to be substantially perpendicular to the
longitudinal axis of the drive shaft of the power tool upon
engagement of the elbow member housing with the power tool housing,
the transverse shaft having a tool engaging end disposed externally
of the housing for engaging a tool, and a face gear having gear
teeth which extend substantially radially with respect to the
longitudinal axis of the transverse shaft, with the face gear being
mounted on the transverse shaft at a predetermined position at
which the teeth of the face gear are engageable with the teeth of
the pinion gear when the elbow member housing is engaged with the
power tool housing.
2. An elbow attachment kit in accordance with claim 1 in which the
relative positions of the pinion gear and face gear are such that
the teeth of the face gear engage the teeth of the pinion gear at
approximately the midspan of the face width of the pinion gear
teeth upon engagement of the elbow member housing with the power
tool housing.
3. An elbow attachment kit in accordance with claim 1 in which the
teeth of the face gear remain engaged with the teeth of the pinion
gear throughout movement of the face gear parallel to the drive
shaft toward or away from the driving end of the power tool housing
an amount less than one-half the face width of the pinion gear
teeth.
Description
[0001] This application is a continuation of U.S. Ser. No.
09/061,756, Filed: Apr. 16, 1998, entitled "ELBOW ATTACHMENT".
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0002] The present invention pertains to right angle or elbow
attachments for power driven tools, and more particularly pertains
to elbow attachments for mounting to power tools to drive an output
shaft perpendicular to the drive shaft of the power tool.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0003] Several elbow attachments for use with power tools are
currently available in the marketplace; however, each of the
presently available elbow attachments suffers a significant
shortcoming. Currently available elbow attachments are of two
general types.
[0004] One type of commonly employed elbow attachment utilizes a
pair of bevel gears to transfer the torque from the drive shaft of
the power tool to the transverse shaft of the elbow attachment,
which transverse shaft is supported by the elbow attachment housing
perpendicular to the power tool drive shaft. That is, a first bevel
gear is mounted to the drive shaft of the power tool, and a second
bevel gear is mounted on the transverse shaft of the elbow
attachment. The first and second bevel gears are disposed such that
when the elbow attachment is mounted to the power tool, the first
and second bevel gears mesh to effect transfer of the torque from
the power tool drive shaft to the transverse shaft of the elbow
attachment. A particular shortcoming of this type of elbow
attachment is that it is necessary for the two bevel gears to be
accurately positioned with respect to one another for the gears to
properly mesh. Hence, this arrangement does not allow for any
significant variability in the positions of the two bevel gears,
and therefore it does not allow for any variability in the precise
position at which the elbow attachment is mounted on the power
tool. Since it is difficult to provide such high precision in the
mounting of the elbow attachment to the power tool housing without
increased complexity of design and/or cost, elbow attachments which
utilize a pair of bevel gears are subject to improper meshing of
the bevel gears and accelerated wear, as well as increased
noise.
[0005] In another type of commonly employed elbow attachment, the
housing of the elbow attachment supports both a longitudinal shaft
and a transverse shaft, with the shafts supporting respective gears
which mesh with one another to transfer the torque from the
longitudinal shaft to the transverse shaft. The longitudinal shaft
is engageable with the drive shaft of the housing and is disposed
for rotation together with the drive shaft about the drive shaft
axis. The transverse shaft extends perpendicular to the
longitudinal shaft. The longitudinal and transverse shafts are
maintained in their respective positions within close tolerance,
such as by their support on respective bearings, and therefore the
gears maintain good meshing. A particular shortcoming of this type
of elbow attachment is its requirement of the longitudinal shaft
and its associated bearings, which add significantly to the cost
and size of the device.
[0006] Accordingly, there is a need for an elbow attachment which
allows for some variability in its engagement with a power tool
housing while still maintaining good meshing of the gears which
transfer the torque to the transverse shaft, and which does not
require a second shaft and associated bearings in addition to the
transverse shaft to allow for a lower cost product.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0007] In accordance with the present invention, an elbow
attachment is provided for use with power tools having a housing
which supports a drive shaft which is rotary about its longitudinal
axis and which protrudes externally of the power tool housing at a
driving end of the housing.
[0008] A pinion gear is detachably mountable directly on the drive
shaft of the power tool at a location externally of the power tool
housing and at a predetermined distance from the driving end of the
housing, with the pinion gear having gear teeth with faces of
predetermined face width which extend substantially parallel with
the longitudinal axis of the power tool drive shaft. An elbow
member is provided, comprising an elbow member housing having a
power tool engaging end which is engageable with the power tool
housing adjacent its driving end, with a transverse shaft having a
longitudinal axis and supported by the elbow member housing to be
substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the drive
shaft of the power tool upon engagement of the elbow member housing
with the power tool housing, with the transverse shaft having a
tool engaging end disposed externally of the housing for engaging a
tool, and with a face gear having gear teeth which extend
substantially parallel with respect to the longitudinal axis of the
transverse shaft, with the face gear being mounted on the
transverse shaft at a predetermined position at which the teeth of
the face gear are engageable with the teeth of the pinion gear when
the elbow member housing is engaged with the power tool
housing.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0009] In the drawings, wherein like elements are referenced
alike:
[0010] FIG. 1 is an exploded, perspective view of a prior art elbow
attachment which utilizes a longitudinal shaft in addition to a
transverse shaft.
[0011] FIG. 2 is an exploded, perspective view of an elbow
attachment embodying various features of the present invention;
and
[0012] FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the elbow attachment of FIG.
2 mounted to a power tool housing, with a cutaway to illustrate the
engagement of the pinion and face gears.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0013] An elbow attachment embodying various features of the
present invention is illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3 and referred to
generally by reference numeral 20. The elbow attachment 20 has an
elbow attachment housing 22 which preferably has a split line 24 to
define a first housing portion 26 and a second housing portion 28
which are engageable with one another along the split line 24.
Screws 25 may be employed to securely hold the two housing portions
24 and 26 together. With reference to FIG. 2, the housing 22
supports a transverse shaft 30 on a pair of bearings 32 for low
friction rotation of the transverse shaft 30 about its longitudinal
axis. The transverse shaft 30 has a tool engaging end 34 which
extends externally of the housing 22, and which has means for
engaging a tool bit. In the illustrated embodiment, a threaded
portion 36 is provided adjacent the tool engaging end 34 of the
transverse shaft 30 for engaging a collet and collet nut assembly
38; however, as will be readily apparent to those skilled in the
art, any of a wide variety of arrangements for engaging tool bits
are currently well known and employable with the elbow attachment
20 of the present invention, and the invention is in no way limited
to transverse shafts having threaded portions nor limited to use
with collets.
[0014] The elbow attachment housing 22 is engageable with a power
tool housing 48 of a power tool 50. In the illustrated embodiment,
the power tool housing 48 has an external threaded portion 52 which
is threadably engageable with an internally threaded portion 54 of
the elbow attachment housing 22 to detachably secure the elbow
attachment 20 to the power tool 50.
[0015] A pinion gear 44 is securely and detachably mountable
directly on the drive shaft 56 at a location externally of the
power tool housing 48 and at a predetermined distance from the
driving end 58 of the power tool housing 48. The pinion gear 44 has
gear teeth 60 with faces which extend substantially parallel with
one another and with the longitudinal axis of the power tool drive
shaft 56. Preferably, the pinion gear 44 has a plurality of teeth
60 extending radially outwardly and uniformly angularly spaced.
[0016] A face gear 40 is secured on the transverse shaft 30
internally of the elbow member housing 22, for rotation together
with the transverse shaft 30. The face gear 40 has teeth 42 on one
of its sides which extend substantially parallel to the
longitudinal axis of the transverse shaft 30. The face gear 40 is
secured to the transverse shaft 30 at a location such that the
teeth 60 of the pinion gear 44 mesh with the teeth 42 of the face
gear 40 upon and throughout engagement of the elbow member 20 with
the power tool, as best seen in FIG. 3.
[0017] In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, the
elbow attachment 20 of the present invention does not require great
accuracy in the distance of the face gear 40 toward or away from
the driving end 58 of the power tool 48, hence allowing for
inaccuracy or variability in the mounting of the elbow attachment
housing 22 to the power tool housing 48, particularly allowing for
inaccuracy in the longitudinal direction of the output shaft axis,
without any significant detrimental effect on the proper operation
and longevity of the device. This beneficial aspect of the elbow
attachment of the present invention is attributable to the fact
that the faces of the pinion gear teeth 60 all extend parallel to
the power tool axis 56 and extend to a predetermined face width or
depth. The elbow attachment housing 22 is configured such that the
teeth 42 of the face gear 40 mesh with the teeth 60 of the pinion
gear 44 at a location spaced from either end 62 of the pinion gear
44 when the elbow attachment 20 is fully mounted on the power tool
50. Since the profiles of the teeth 60 of the pinion gear all
remain equal throughout the depth of the pinion gear, it does not
make any difference at what point, intermediate the ends 62 of the
pinion gear teeth 60, the teeth 42 of the face gear 40 mesh with
the teeth 60 of the pinion gear 44. Hence, the elbow attachment
housing 22 is preferably configured such that the teeth 42 of the
face gear 40 mesh with the teeth 60 of the pinion gear 44, when the
elbow attachment is full and ideally mounted on the power tool 50,
at a location sufficiently spaced from the end 62 of the pinion
gear 44 which faces the power tool 50, such that improper mounting
of the elbow attachment or unintentional loosening of the elbow
attachment from the power tool during usage will riot result in
detrimental operation of the device. For instance, with the
threaded engagement of the elbow attachment with the power tool as
in the illustrated embodiment, incomplete screwing down of the
elbow attachment housing 22 or slight unscrewing of the elbow
attachment housing 22 will result in the face gear teeth 42
engaging with the pinion gear teeth 60 at a location further away
from the power tool 48, but without any significant affect on the
operation of the elbow attachment 20. Similarly, over screwing of
the elbow attachment housing 22, such as attributable to wearing
down of the engaging end 68 of the elbow attachment housing 22,
will result in the face gear teeth 42 engaging with the pinion gear
teeth 60 at a location closer toward the power tool 50.
[0018] The aforementioned advantageous aspect of the elbow
attachment of the present invention allows for the use of means for
engaging the elbow attachment to the power tool which are
significantly less expensive and/or complex than is required with
prior art elbow attachments which require greater accuracy and
precision in the engagement of its gears. Likewise, the position of
the pinion 44 on the drive shaft 56 does not have to be as accurate
with the elbow attachment of the present invention as would be
required were a pair of bevel gears or the like employed, which
require greater accuracy and precision in the engagement of its
gears.
[0019] With reference to the prior art elbow attachment of FIG. 1,
it will now be appreciated that since the elbow attachment 20 of
the present invention employs only one shaft mounted on bearings,
rather than two shafts mounted on respective bearings as in the
prior art designs of the type illustrated in FIG. 1, still further
cost savings in the production of the elbow attachment 20 of the
present invention may be achieved relative to production of prior
art elbow attachments.
[0020] The transverse shaft 30 has an integral enlarged region 70
with an aperture 72 therethrough, and the housing has a notch 74
through which an implement may be inserted into the aperture 72
when it is rotatably aligned with the notch 74, by which the
transverse shaft 30 may be held stationary against rotation during
engagement and disengagement of tool bits.
[0021] A particularly advantageous feature of the present invention
is that it allows for utilization of the power tool's
already-existing tool bit holder for engaging the pinion gear, such
that no separate mechanism for securing the pinion gear to the
drive shaft is required. That is, the elbow attachment lends itself
to retrofitting onto a wide range of currently existing power
tools, with the pinion gear mounted to the drive shaft via the
standard tool bit mounting mechanism already provided on the power
tool.
[0022] Though the invention is described herein by way of preferred
and illustrated embodiments, the invention is broader in scope than
any specific embodiments, and many variations and modifications
will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art. All such
modifications and variations are within the scope and spirit of the
present invention which is set forth in the accompanying
claims.
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