U.S. patent application number 10/161299 was filed with the patent office on 2003-12-04 for dust director portable vacuum guard.
Invention is credited to Segiel, Theodore R. JR..
Application Number | 20030224707 10/161299 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 29419743 |
Filed Date | 2003-12-04 |
United States Patent
Application |
20030224707 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Segiel, Theodore R. JR. |
December 4, 2003 |
DUST DIRECTOR PORTABLE VACUUM GUARD
Abstract
A dust director portable vacuum guard for mounting onto a
portable angle grinder bore to both protect an operator from
contact with the angle grinder turning blade and provide for an
efficient vacuum removal of dust and debris off from a work
surface. The dust director includes a housing consisting of
parallel inner and outer walls joined at forward edges by a web and
with the inner and outer walls connected, at upper edges, to a
barrel. The barrel connects to a vacuum source and is slotted from
a forward dust colleting end to the web, and the slot is stepped a
selected distance apart from the inner wall upper edge to function
as a baffle for increasing vacuum efficiency. An attachment ring is
pivotally mounted in an opening in the housing inner wall that is
to receive and couple to an angle grinder bore and can be released,
with it and the connected angle grinder bore, to pivot in the inner
wall opening by operation of a spring loaded thumb screw, allowing
for pivoting of the vacuum guard for sawing through a wall corner.
With, for sawing through a wall corner, the invention includes an
extension cover that is pivotally connected across the inner and
outer walls lower ends to be released to expose both sides of the
angle grinder blade so as to allow an operator to observe the blade
as it saws through a wall inside corner.
Inventors: |
Segiel, Theodore R. JR.;
(Murrysville, PA) |
Correspondence
Address: |
M. Reid Russell
1240 East 100 South # 10
St. George
UT
84790
US
|
Family ID: |
29419743 |
Appl. No.: |
10/161299 |
Filed: |
June 4, 2002 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
451/451 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B23Q 11/06 20130101;
B24B 55/052 20130101; Y10T 83/207 20150401; B24B 55/102 20130101;
B24B 27/0683 20130101; B28D 7/02 20130101; B23Q 11/0046
20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
451/451 |
International
Class: |
B24B 055/04 |
Claims
I claim:
1. A dust director portable vacuum guard comprising, a housing
formed from a stiff material to include a hollow straight tube, a
pair of thin flat inner and outer walls that are spaced apart, are
essentially parallel to one another, and connect at right angles to
a back wall and each said inner and outer wall is connected along a
straight edge to said straight tube, with said inner wall
connection to said straight tube spaced a distance apart from an
edge of a longitudinal slot formed in said straight tube that
extends from a forward end to said back wall, providing an air
baffle to a vacuum flow that is pulled through said barrel; an
attachment ring for releasable mounting in an opening formed
through said inner wall, adjacent to a corner of forward and bottom
edges thereof that is for receiving and mounting to a bore of an
angle grinder fitted therein, and said outer wall leading edge is
straight and is set back from said inner wall leading edge to
approximately cross an edge of said the inner wall opening, with
said forward end of said straight tube approximately aligning with
the leading edge of said inner wall; set screw means for releasably
maintaining said attachment ring in said inner wall opening; and
means for mounting said bore of said angle grinder to said
attachment ring.
2. The dust director vacuum guard as recited in claim 1, further
including an extension cover that is formed as a channel section
having parallel upstanding side walls and a web secured at right
angles between aligned side wall parallel edges that is of a width
to span the housing inner and outer walls and is pivotally
connected on one end to said inner and outer walls at their
junctions with a lower edge of said web; and including means for
releasably coupling an end of said extension cover, opposite to its
pivot connection to said housing.
3. The dust director portable vacuum guard as recited in claim 2,
wherein the extension cover is open across an area above the web,
between its side walls, and adjacent to the pivot coupling,
allowing said extension cover to pivot from a housing lower end
covering attitude to an extended attitude of approximately ninety
degrees or greater taken from lower ends of the housing inner and
outer walls.
4. The dust director portable vacuum guard as recited in claim 2,
wherein the means for releasably coupling is a detent coupling
consisting of a dimple that extends inwardly from an extension
cover side wall formed to fit into a hole formed in an opposing
housing inner or outer wall, with said detent to fit into said hole
when said extension cover is closed over said housing lower
end.
5. The dust director portable vacuum guard as recited in claim 1,
wherein the air baffle is formed by the straight tube inner edge
that extends into the longitudinal slot approximately there
quarters of an inch from the junction of said longitudinal slot
with the inner wall top edge.
6. The dust director portable vacuum guard as recited in claim 5,
wherein the air baffle is approximately eleven sixteenths of an
inch in width and, at a forward end, is angled outwardly at
approximately a forty five degree angle to the barrel forward
end.
7. The dust director portable vacuum guard as recited in claim 1,
wherein the means for mounting the angle grinder bore in the
attachment ring are a plurality of equal spaced threaded holes
formed through said attachment ring that are accessible from an
outer face of the housing inner wall, and with a pair of said
spaced threaded holes to each receive a set screw turned
therethrough into engagement with said angle grinder bore.
8. The dust director portable vacuum guard as recited in claim 1,
wherein the attachment ring includes a flange edge that for
positioning between the housing inner and outer walls when said
attachment ring is fitted into the hole in the housing inner wall,
which said attachment ring is formed to turn in said housing inner
wall opening, and the set screws are for turning into, to couple
to, an angle grinder bore and including means for releasably
maintaining said attachment ring in said housing inner wall opening
that includes a thumb screw having a broad head end and threaded
body that is to pass through a hole formed through said housing
inner wall and through a tab that extends outwardly from and in the
plane of said attachment ring flange, and including a tab threaded
means to receive an end of said thumb screw turned therein.
9. The dust director portable vacuum guard as recited in claim 8,
wherein the thumb screw is fitted through a coil spring maintained
between the housing inner wall surface and said thumb screw head
end, providing a biasing of the screw end out of the tab threaded
means; and said head end is broad and has an outer edge that
facilitates manual turning.
10. The dust director portable vacuum guard as recited in claim 1,
wherein the attachment ring includes four equal spaced thread holes
with a pair of holes as are directly across from one another with
each hole to receive one of the pair of set screws for mounting the
angle grinder bore thereto.
11. The dust director portable vacuum guard as recited in claim 1,
barrel is a hollow tube that is approximately two inches in
diameter.
12 The dust director portable vacuum guard as recited in claim 1,
wherein the leading or forward edge of the outer wall is
approximately aligned with the rear edge of the attachment ring
hole, and the junction of the outer wall lower edge and said
leading or forward edge is rounded.
13. The dust director portable vacuum guard as recited in claim 1,
wherein the slot formed in the barrel extends from hollow tube
forward end to approximately the barrel junction with the top edge
of the web that is secured to, and extends between, the rear edges
of the inner and outer walls.
14. The dust director portable vacuum guard as recited in claim 1,
wherein the dust director housing and barrel are formed from
aluminum or thin gauge steel.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] 1. Field of the Invention
[0002] This invention relates to dust containment guards for
electrical and air tools, and in particular to a dust guard for
mounting to an angle grinder, circular saw, or the like, that
includes a vacuum port for connection to a vacuum hose to pull dust
and materials as are generated by tool operation off of a work
surface and collect them in a vacuum system
[0003] 2. Prior Art
[0004] Electrical and air tools that incorporate turning blades or
wheels for cutting or removing material off from a surface are, of
course, well known, as are guards or shrouds for fitting onto a
tool to separate an operators hands from a moving tool edge or
surface. A common example of such arrangement is found in a skill
saw where, when an operator, holding the saw by its handle, pushes
the turning tool blade into a section of wood, and lifts a spring
loaded shroud by contact with the section of wood edge. The shroud
is thereby lifted onto, and travels along, the wood surface where
the turning saw blade is cutting. Such guard arrangement is, of
course, well known for use with skill saws, and where a skill saw,
or a like saw has been used in a shop setting, such has often
included a vacuum port for attachment onto a vacuum hose end for
drawing dust, as is produced by the blade sawing action, off from
the work surface, and with that dust then traveling into a vacuum
system.
[0005] Angle grinders are, of course, tools that includes a turning
blade, and are hand held by an operator. In practice, the operator
holds an angle grinder handle and urges the turning blade edge
against or into an item or surface, such as a block wall, to cut or
saw into and across that item or surface. Such angle grinder mounts
the blade to a drive shaft that is journaled through a bore whereto
a guard or guards are fitted. In which arrangement, the drive shaft
and bore are arranged at a right angle to the handle. In use, the
turning blade generates a large amount of dust, for example, as
when it is used to cut or saw into a wall, or the like. Where the
angle grinder is used to cut or saw along a line drawn onto a wall
surface, or the like, it is important that an operator be able to
see the turning blade sawing edge so as to direct that sawing edge
along the scribed line. Accordingly, it is desirable to provide an
arrangement for removing dust as is generated in wall cutting
operations that will not hinder an operators visibility of the
turning blade sawing edge that is in contact with the that wall
surface. Whereas, which arrangement still needs to provide proper
positioning of the guard vacuum end so as to efficiently remove the
sawed materials.
[0006] The invention is in a dust director meets the operators need
to have a clear view of the turning blade edge while affording the
operator with a view of the work surface. To meet these needs, the
invention provides a dust director portable vacuum guard that
connects a barrel portion to a vacuum hose where an opposite barrel
end can be positioned for efficiently drawing dust and particles
off from the wall, or other surface being cut or sawed. Further,
the unique features of the invention include: an arrangement for
mounting the dust director to an angle grinder by a use of an
attachment ring that provides for fastening the dust director guard
securely to the angle grinder's bore while allowing the dust
director to be maintained in a swiveling or fixed cutting position,
with the attachment ring sized to be suitable for mounting onto a
number of angle grinders, or like tools, as are currently being
marketed; an extension cover that is pivotally attached to an open
side of the dust director portable vacuum guard housing to be swung
open to expose a side edge of the angle grinder blade to enable the
cutting or sawing of an inside corner of a masonry wall; and an air
baffle that is part of a barrel of the dust director guard that
significantly increases the vacuum efficiency in a removal of
grinder dust removal from the work surface.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0007] It is a principal object of the present invention to provide
a light weight dust director portable vacuum guard for mounting
onto a conventional angle grinder, or like tool, that will shield
the turning tool blade while allowing the operator to see the work
area and tool edge and is connected through a hose to a vacuum to
draw materials as are produced by the turning tool blade off from
the work surface.
[0008] Another object of the present invention is to provide a dust
director portable vacuum guard that, when mounted onto a
conventional angle grinder, or like tool, provides the operator
with the ability to adjust the guard to their personal cutting
styles, that is comfortably held by the operator and provides for
an efficient dust removal off of a work surface.
[0009] Another object of the present invention is to provide a dust
director portable vacuum guard arranged for mounting onto a number
of commercially available angle grinders, or the like, so as to be
capable of swiveling and, alternatively, can be fixed in position
relative to a bore where through a turning tool blade drive is
journaled, allowing for guard pivoting between a first position
where the angle grinder blade can be use to saw along a wall, and
where the guard is freed to rotate allowing the blade to turn into
and through a corner.
[0010] Another object of the present invention is to provide a dust
director portable vacuum guard having an open tube as a vacuum
barrel with a large attachment end for receiving a vacuum hose
fitted thereover, facilitating high volume of suction, and includes
a baffle for improving vacuum efficiency.
[0011] Still another object of the present invention is to provide
a dust director portable vacuum guard that is configured to expose
the turning blade edge and sides, giving an operator both good
blade visibility and facilitating their guiding the turning blade
along a line scribed over a surface and provides even for cutting
or sawing into and out of a wall's inside corner.
[0012] Still another object of the present invention is to provide
a dust director portable vacuum guard with an extension cover
arranged to cover the entire turning blade that is configured to
allow a lifting of the extension cover when the blade is not
turning, for cutting inside of a corner, with the extension cover
then easily restored to its blade covering attitude after the
corner cut is made.
[0013] Still another object of the present invention is to provide
a dust director portable vacuum guard that allows pivoting of the
angle grinder relative to the guard housing to allow the angle
grinder blade to cut or saw into a wall inside corner, providing an
opeator with a blade shield that is easy to use and that provides
cutting or sawing versatility.
[0014] Still another object of the present invention is to provide
a dust director portable vacuum guard that is easy and quick to
install onto a conventional portable angle grinder.
[0015] The present invention is in a dust director portable vacuum
guard that includes a housing with an attachment ring for fitting
onto a portable angle grinder, arranged for mounting onto a tool
bore, preferrrably a portable angle grinder. To provide this
mounting, the angle grinder cutting blade is first de-mounted from
the angle grinder bore, as by turning a mounting bolt that fits
through the blade center coupling opening into a drive and is
journaled in the grinder bore. The dust director portable vacuum
guard includes a grinder bore receiving hole formed through an
inner side wall wherein the attachment ring is pivotally mounted
and is held in place by a spring loaded thumb screw. The dust
director portable vacuum guard inner side wall is one of a pair of
parallel inner and outer side walls that extend at right angles
from junctions with a guard vacuum barrel and connect, along rear
edges, to a back wall. The vacuum barrel is a straight tube that is
arranged for connection, on an exhaust end, to a vacuum hose, and
incorporated an air baffle as a component that provides for
improved dust collection performance.
[0016] The dust director portable vacuum guard includes the
attachment ring for mounting an angle grinder bore thereto and is
releasable to allow rotation and is formed to couple to the bores
of a number of commercially available angle grinders utilizing four
equal spaced threaded screw holes. To mount the attachment ring to
the angle grinder bore, for positioning the dust director guard at
a desired angle to the angle grinder turning blade, two of the four
holes are selected to receive set screws turned therein.
Re-positioning of the dust director portable vacuum guard on the
angle grinder bore requires only a release of the set screws, a
turning of the attachment ring to a desired location on the angle
grinder bore, and a re-turning of the pair of set screw into the
selected threaded screw holes to appropriately re-lock the dust
director guard onto the angle grinder bore at the new selected
position. Further, the guard also includes a spring loaded thumb
screw located on the backside of the housing and is threaded for
turning into the attachment ring, securing the attachment ring to
the housing when it is turned therein, and, when turned out of the
attachment ring, the attachment ring is allowed to pivot in its
hole mounting in the inner wall. So arranged, release of the
attachment ring to pivot, allows the operator to position the dust
director portable vacuum guard appropriately to afford the operator
with good visability of the angle grinder blade as it saws.
Further, the thumb screw is spring loaded by fitting the threaded
body thereof through a coil spring that is maintained to the screw
head end undersurface and housing inner wall surface to maintain it
in alignment with the hole through the housing inner wall
[0017] The dust director guard further includes an extension cover
that, when unsnapped after the grinder is stopped, can be pivoted
away from the grinder blade, allowing the blade to be turned into a
wall corner, simultaneously cutting the wall on both sides of the
corner and into the corner. Wherafter, the grinder is again turned
off, the extension cover is snapped back into place, allowing
forward cutting to be resumed. Also unique to the dust director
guard of the invention, the dust director guide barrel includes an
air baffle that channels a dust flow as is pulled off the work area
under vacuum, passed into the barrel that directs that flow into a
vacuum system. The baffle, in practice, provides for a greater
volume of dust collection off of the work area than does an open
barrel alone.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0018] In the drawings which illustrate that while is presently
regarded as the best and preferred mode for carrying out the
invention:
[0019] FIG. 1 is a side elevation perspective view taken from a
rear and outer side of a dust director portable vacuum guard of the
invention shown as including an attachment ring pivotally mounted
in a housing inner wall that is for attachment to a portable angle
grinder bore and showing the dust director guard as including a
straight open tube for fitting a vacuum hose thereover;
[0020] FIG. 2 is a view like FIG. 1 only showing an extension cover
fitted over a butt end of the dust director portable vacuum guard
that has one end released and the extension cover pivoted around a
pivot coupling at its other end, opening the housing butt end;
[0021] FIG. 3 shows a sectional view taken along the line 3-3 of
FIG. 1, showing a detent type closure of the extension cover end to
the housing butt end;
[0022] FIG. 4 is a perspective view like that of FIG. 2 only taken
from a forward end of the dust director portable vacuum guard
showing the attachment ring and an end view of an air baffle
arrangement that is a section of the barrel between the dust
director guard side and barrel exhaust slot;
[0023] FIG. 5 is a front end view taken between the lines as 5-5 of
FIG. 4, showing the barrel as open with the baffle arrangement
shown on the left side thereof as a barrel section that terminates
at the exhaust slot;
[0024] FIG. 6 is an enlarged end sectional view of the dust
director guard of FIG. 1 mounted at its attachment ring to the bore
of an angle grinder by a pair of set screws and showing a spring
loaded thumb screw, with an angle grinder blade shown mounted onto
a drive journaled through a bearing of the angle grinder, with a
mounting bolt shown turned into a threaded mounting hole that is
formed in the drive, and showing the blade turning alongside an
edge of the baffle, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5;
[0025] FIG. 7 is a side elevation view taken from the outer side of
the dust director portable vacuum guard of FIGS. 1, 2 and 4 mounted
onto a portable angle grinder, showing an angle grinder blade as
turning counter clockwise, illustrate by arrow A, and showing, an
angle grinder grip as having been positioned to extend forward of,
and essentially parallel to, the guard barrel end;
[0026] FIG. 8 is a side elevation view like that of FIG. 7 only
showing, in solid lines, the angle grinder grip as having been
pivoted opposite to the direction of turning, arrow A, illustrating
how the dust director guard can be pivoted relative to the
attachment ring and connected angle grinder bore after the spring
loaded thumb screw is released, and with the extension cover shown
open;
[0027] FIG. 9 shows an operator using the angle grinder of FIG. 4
holding the dust director guard barrel in their left hand with the
angle grinder grip held in their right hand, maintaining that grip,
as shown, at a right angle attitude to the barrel, with the
extension cover shown in a closed attitude, and with the edge of
the angle grinder blade shown aligned to saw into a grout joint
between bricks of a wall;
[0028] FIG. 10 is a view like that of FIG. 9 only showing the dust
director guard barrel as having been pivoted to a position
alongside of the angle grinder grip after release or un-threading
of the spring loaded thumb screw, with the extension cover shown
open allowing the angle grinder blade saw through a wall
corner;
[0029] FIG. 11 is a bottom plan perspective view of the dust
director portable vacuum guard with mounting the angle grinder, and
with the angle grinder handle shown at a right angle to the barrel,
and with the guard housing shown broken away above the attachment
ring, showing the spring loaded thumb screw in its threaded
attitude, locking the attachment ring in the guard housing, and
showing, with a curved arrow, the thumb screw as being turned;
and
[0030] FIG. 12 is a view like that of FIG. 11 only showing the
spring loaded thumb screw as having been turned, unthreading it
from the attachment ring, allowing the attachment ring and
connected angle grinder to be turned through approximately ninety
(90) degrees, and showing the thumb screw as retained to the inner
wall outer face by a coil spring that the screw is fitted
through.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0031] The invention in a dust director portable vacuum guard 10 is
shown alone in FIGS. 1, 2 and 4, and is shown installed to a
portable angle grinder 30 in FIGS. 6 through 12. Shown in FIGS. 1,
2 and 4, the dust director portable vacuum guard 10, hereinafter
referred to as dust director 10, includes, as an angle grinder
mounting and turning housing 11, hereinafter referred to as housing
11 that consists of pair of parallel inner and outer walls 12 and
13. The inner and outer walls 12 and 13, respectively, have rear
edges 12a and 13a, respectively, that are connected to parallel
long sides of a rectangular end wall 14. The forward area of the
inner and outer walls, 12 and 13, respectively are matched to inner
and outer end walls 16 and 17 of an extension cover 15 that is open
across a forward end and includes a rear wall 18 that is secured to
the extension corner inner and outer end walls rear edges, forming
a channel section that is coupled to ends of the outer walls 12 and
13 at like pivots 19, above an open section. Which open section
allows the extension cover 15 to be pivoted between the attitudes
shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, and is maintained in a locked attitude by a
detent lock 20, shown in FIG. 3, and discussed in detail below.
[0032] The dust director 10 is open across the forward edges 12b
and 13b of the inner and outer walls 12 and 13, respectively. The
outer wall 13 forward edges 13b, as shown in FIGS. 1, 2 and 4, are
set well back from the inner wall 12 forward edge 12b, with the
inner wall 12 including an attachment ring 21 that is exposed
between which inner and outer walls forward edges 12b and 13b. The
attachment ring 21 is for connection to an angle grinder and, as
set out and described in detail below, and is arranged for
connection to a number of angle grinders as are currently being
marketed.
[0033] The dust director 10 housing 11 includes inner and outer
walls 12 and 13, respectively, that include top edges 12c and 13c,
respectively, that, as shown best in FIG. 5, connect, as by
welding, into sides of a cylindrical tube or barrel 22, hereinafter
referred to as barrel 22, that connects at a rear end 23 to a
vacuum source that pulls a vacuum therethrough. Shown best in FIG.
5, the barrel 22 is open with the outer wall 13 joined or formed
into the barrel right side wall, and with the inner wall 12 welded
or otherwise connected along edge 13c to a left side of barrel 22,
providing a section of the barrel to an edge 25 that forms an air
baffle 24. Which air baffle 24, in practice is approximately eleven
sixteenths ({fraction (11/16)}) of an inch in width from joint 13c,
shown as a welded joint with the end of inner wall 13, and is shown
as a distance B in FIG. 5. The air baffle 24, as shown, extends to
within approximately one (1) inch to the housing 11 inner bottom
edge 12b, angling outwardly at 27 at, approximately a forty five
(45) degree angle to the barrel 22 forward edge 26, providing a
slot having a width of approximately thirteen sixteenth ({fraction
(13/16)}) on an inch that extends to the housing end wall and
wherein an angle grinder 30 blade 38 turns. Hence, the air baffle
24 is, in practice, an extension of the vacuum air hose, attaining
a maximum suction at the barrel forward edge 26 that is,
approximately, the vacuum as is present at a very end of a vacuum
air intake.
[0034] The housing 11, provides an open area within barrel 22
wherein an angle grinder blade 38 turns, as shown best in FIG. 6,
that extends from the barrel edge 25, that is the edge of baffle
24, and the housing inner wall 12, and to the barrel junction with
the housing end wall 14. In practice, as discussed hereinbelow
relative to operation of the angle grinder 30 mounted to the dust
director 10, the air baffle 24 tends to maintain the vacuum draw
that is pulled through barrel 22 to around the turning angle
grinder 30 blade 38, confining the vacuum pulling action to a work
surface that the angle grinder is sawing along, as illustrated in
FIGS. 9 and 10, thereby maximizing vacuum efficience to remove dust
and particulates off of that work surface.
[0035] The open cylinder or tube forming the barrel 24 is straight
and preferably has a diameter of approximately two (2) inches. A
barrel rear end 23 is arranged for receiving a vacuum tube hose 29,
as shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, fitted thereover, and a barrel forward
or work contacting end 26 is open and, as shown in the cross
sectional view of FIG. 6, is immediately adjacent to the angle
grinder blade 38. The barrel 22 at end 26 is an extension of the
inner wall 12, through approximately one hundred eighty degrees of
arc, and then curves inwardly at 27 to the barrel edge 26,
providing an open area at the barrel end 26 wherethrough an
operator can observe the turning angle grinder blade 38 as it is
guided along a work surface, as illustrated in FIGS. 7 and 8.
[0036] As set out above, the area between the housing inner wall 12
forward edge 12b and the housing outer wall forward edge 13b is
open to receive angle grinder 30 that is mounted at its bore 31 to
the attachment ring 21. The attachment ring 21 is fitted to turn in
a hole formed in the inner wall 12, as shown best in FIG. 6 and in
FIGS. 1, 2, and 4, and is intended to function as a universal angle
grinder mounting to accommodate the mounting to the housing 11 of a
number of commercially most popular angle grinders. To provide this
universal mounting, the dust director 10 attachment ring 21
includes four equal spaced threaded set screw holes 35 that can
each receive a machine set screw 36 turned therethrough. In
practice, to mount a particular angle grinder 30 to the attachment
ring 21, two of the set screw holes 35 are selected to match spaced
depressions or a groove formed in the bore of a particular selected
angle grinder, as illustrated by the angle grinder 30 and its bore
31. The screws 36, are shown as set screws, and are turned into
through the selected set screw holes 35 into the depressions or a
groove, locking the angle grinder to the attachment ring 21, as
illustrated in FIG. 6. Which set screw holes 35, as illustrated in
FIGS. 1 and 2, are preferably spaced at equal intervals around an
open short cylinder 37 of the attachment ring, with the selected
set screw holes 35, that receive the set screws 36, are preferably
selected to be across from one another, for locking the angle
grinder 30 bore 31 to the attachment ring 21.
[0037] To provide an operator with a capability for rotating the
housing 11 relative to the angle grinder blade 38 for a particular
work situation, the attachment ring 21, by a spring biased thumb
screw 40, hereinafter referred to as thumb screw, is releasable
from its connection to the housing inner wall 12, allowing rotation
of the attachment ring 21 and mounted bore 31 within the hole
formed in the inner wall 12. The thumb screw 40, shown best in FIG.
6 and in FIGS. 11 and 12, is arranged for turning through a back
side, or side away from the mounted angle grinder, and housing
inner wall 12, to pass through a hole 43 formed through which inner
wall for turning in a nut for threaded portion 42 that is formed in
or secured to an outer surface of a tab 39a portion of a right
angle flat flange 39 of the attachment ring 21. The thumb screw 40
includes a broad flat head end 44 and threaded body 45, with the
broad head 44 including a slot thereacross for receiving a screw
driver blade, and also can be turned manually by an operator to who
grips a head end 44, at a knurled outer edge surface, between their
fingers.
[0038] In practice, the angle grinder bore 31 is secured, as
described above, by set screws 36 that are passed through the
attachment ring 21 and into holes, a slot, detents, or the like,
that are formed in the bore 31. So arranged, the attachment ring 21
is free to rotate until it is fixed in placed by an operator
turning the thumb screw 40 body 45 through the inner wall 12 hole
43 and into the nut or threaded portion 42 of tab 39a, coupling the
attachment ring 21 and angle grinder bore 31 to the inner wall 12.
Should, however, the operator wish to release the coupling that is
provided by the thumb screw 40, the thumb screw head end 44 is
turned to turn the thumb screw body 45 out of the nut or threaded
portion 42, as shown by an arrow 44B on FIG. 11, until the thumb
screw body end passes out from the inner wall 12 nut or threaded
portion 42, releasing the connected attachment ring 21, allowing it
and the angle ringer bore 31 to turn in the inner wall 12 hole 43.
For maintaining the screw body 45 in alignment with the hole
through the inner wall 12 after release from the nut or threaded
portion, the screw body 45 is fitted through a coil spring 46 whose
end is maintained to a washer 47 that is fixed to the inner wall
surface at the inner wall hole 43, as by welding it onto the edge
of inner wall hole 43. The coil spring 46 is thereby retained
between the undersurface of thumb screw head 44 and washer 47,
aligning the end of screw body 45 with the inner wall hole 43 after
the tube screw 40 is turned out of the nut or threaded portion 42
of the attachment ring tab 39a, as shown in FIG. 12. The attachment
ring 21 is thereby free to rotate within its mounting in the inner
wall 13 hole. With a re-coupling of the attachment ring 21
requiring only an operator pushing on the bolt head end 44 to
compress the coil spring and urge the bolt 40 threaded end 45 into
the nut or threaded hole 42 to re-secure the attachment ring to the
housing inner wall 12, shown in FIGS. 1, 2, 4, 6 and 11.
[0039] Shown in FIG. 6, the angle grinder 30 includes the bore 31
whereto the attachment ring 21 is mounted that, as shown includes
roller bearings 50. The roller bearings 50 are shown maintained in
a track 51 that engage the surface of a drive shaft 52 whereon the
blade 38 is mounted between inner and outer mounting plates 53a and
53b, respectively. The mounting plates 53a and 53b are urged
together with the blade 38 therebetween by turning a nut 54 onto a
threaded end of the drive shaft 52. Which drive shaft is shown as
having been turned through an inner nut 55 that engages an outer
surface of a washer 56 whose inner surface is engagement with the
side of bearing race 51. So arranged, the angle grinder bore 31 is
mounted to the attachment ring 21 so as to be both rigidly fixed
thereto by set screws 36. The attachment ring 21 is allowed to
rotate in its inner wall 13 mounting upon release of the thumb
screw 40, as set out above, to afford an operator the flexibility
to position the dust director 10 in relation to the angle grinder
30 to allow an operator to cut through a corner, accommodating the
operators cutting or sawing needs.
[0040] Dust director 10 pivoting relative to the angle grinder 30
is allowed by the release of the attachment ring 21, as set out
above, allowing the operator to position the angle grinder handle
60, that they hold in one hand, appropriately for the cutting task
involved, from sawing along a wall joint and through a corner, such
as a cement joint between bricks, as shown in FIGS. 7 through 12.
To saw into and through a corner, as shown in FIG. 10, with the
attachment ring 21 released, as shown in FIG. 12, the operator
holds a vacuum hose 29 fitted onto the barrel 22 end 23 in their
left hand and with handle 60 of the angle grinder 30 held in their
right hand, and with the barrel 22 end 26 held close to the wall
surface wherein the blade 39 is cutting. As the turning angle
grinder 30 blade 39 approaches the corner, shown in FIGS. 8 and 10,
the angle grinder handle 60, is moved from the position shown in
FIGS. 7, 9 and 12, through the attitude shown in broken lines in
FIG. 8, to the attitude shown in FIGS. 10 and 12 to be
approximately parallel to the barrel 22. Additionally, for cutting
through a wall corner, with the angle grinder turned off, the
extension cover 15 detent coupling 20 is released, and the
extension cover is pivot around its pivot coupling, as shown in
FIGS. 8 and 10, thereby opening area between inner and outer walls
12 and 13 below the pivots 19, the extension cover 15 pivoting to
where a rear edge of a web 18 between sides 16 and 17 of the
extension cover 15 engages the housing rear wall 14. Open the
extension cover to the attitude shown in FIG. 8 allows the operator
to better see and guide the angle grinder turning blade 38 through
a wall corner, as shown in FIG. 10. Shown best in FIG. 3, the
detent coupling 29 includes a protrusion 29a that extends inwardly
from the extension cover 15 inner wall to fit into a hole 29b that
is formed through the housing inner wall 13. The protrusion 29a
will travel into, to snap in and be held in, the hole 29b, when the
extension cover is manually pivoted around pivots 19, and is
disengaged out from hole 29b when an operator, with their fingers,
pulls the extension cover 15 away from the inner wall 13 lower
edge. Accordingly, to cut around a corner like that shown in FIG.
10, the operator stops the angle grinder 30 and pulls the extension
cover 15 lower end and the lower edge of extension cover rear wall
18. The extension cover 15 easily snaps out of covering engagement
between the lower edges of the housing inner and outer walls 13 and
14, allowing the angle grinder blade to cut through corners, and
like inwardly angled sections of a wall. In which cutting
operation, an operator appropriately pivots the angle grinder
handle 60 and maintains the barrel end 26 proximate to the work
surface that is being sawed.
[0041] For sawing a wall like that shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, the
blade 38 will preferably have a diamond or hard metal cutting edge
38a. As described above, by appropriate pivoting of the angle
grinder handle 60 relative to the guard 10, after release of the
thumb screw 40, between the attitudes shown in FIGS. 9 through 12,
and by appropriate pivoting of the extension cover 15 between open
and closed attitudes, the operator can maintain a view of, and
effectively guide the turning blade 38 cutting edge 38a, across and
around a work surface, like that shown in FIGS. 9 and 10. In which
sawing operations, as shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, the operator
maintains the barrel 22 work contacting end 26 close to the work
surface. Which barrel 22 provides, with its air baffle 24, as set
out and described above, for an improved suction. Which air baffle
24 extends into the barrel 22 to its barrel edge 25 a distance B
from the outer wall surface, and is proximate to the turning angle
grinder blade 38. Thereby, a vacuum pulled through the barrel from
end 26 lifts materials off of a work surface, such as a masonry
wall that is being sawed by the angle grinder blade turning in a
counter-clockwise direction as indicated by arrows A in FIGS. 7 and
8 and arrow R1 in FIG. 12. In which vacuuming, the materials pulled
by the vacuum are channeled past the barrel forward edge 26 that
condenses the flow and limits turbulence. The baffle 24 thereby
provides optimum suction at the turning blade 38 cutting edge,
greatly improving the dust removal capability over a barrel without
a baffle arrangement. In practice, use of the dust director 10 of
the invention eliminates practically all dangerous dust and
particulates from the work area.
[0042] Hereinabove has been set out a description of a preferred
embodiment of a dust director portable vacuum guard of the
invention, and while a preferred embodiment thereof had been shown
and described herein, it should be understood that the invention
can be modified within the scope of the present disclosure without
departing from the subject matter coming within the scope of the
following claims, and a reasonable equivalency thereof, which
claims I regard as my invention.
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