U.S. patent application number 15/935432 was filed with the patent office on 2018-07-26 for band saw with improved safety system.
This patent application is currently assigned to SawStop Holding LLC. The applicant listed for this patent is SawStop Holding LLC. Invention is credited to Stephen F. Gass.
Application Number | 20180210419 15/935432 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 26844016 |
Filed Date | 2018-07-26 |
United States Patent
Application |
20180210419 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Gass; Stephen F. |
July 26, 2018 |
BAND SAW WITH IMPROVED SAFETY SYSTEM
Abstract
A band saw including a frame, at least two, spaced apart,
rotatable wheels supported by the frame, a blade looped around the
wheels, where rotation of at least one wheel causes the blade to
move around the wheels, a detection system adapted to detect a
dangerous condition between a person and the blade, and a reaction
system configured to engage and stop the blade within 10
milliseconds after detection of the dangerous condition is
disclosed. The reaction system may be configured to cut and grip
the blade.
Inventors: |
Gass; Stephen F.; (West
Linn, OR) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
SawStop Holding LLC |
Tualatin |
OR |
US |
|
|
Assignee: |
SawStop Holding LLC
Tualatin
OR
|
Family ID: |
26844016 |
Appl. No.: |
15/935432 |
Filed: |
March 26, 2018 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
10146527 |
May 15, 2002 |
9927796 |
|
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15935432 |
|
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60292100 |
May 17, 2001 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B23D 55/00 20130101;
Y10T 83/7083 20150401; B27G 19/00 20130101; F16P 3/12 20130101;
Y10T 83/707 20150401; B27G 21/00 20130101; G05B 2219/45044
20130101; B27B 13/16 20130101; B27G 19/02 20130101; B27G 19/06
20130101; Y10T 83/089 20150401; B27B 13/14 20130101; G05B
2219/49159 20130101; G05B 19/4061 20130101; Y10T 83/081 20150401;
G05B 2219/49152 20130101; B23D 59/001 20130101 |
International
Class: |
G05B 19/4061 20060101
G05B019/4061; B27G 19/06 20060101 B27G019/06; B27G 21/00 20060101
B27G021/00; F16P 3/12 20060101 F16P003/12; B23D 55/00 20060101
B23D055/00; B27B 13/16 20060101 B27B013/16; B27B 13/14 20060101
B27B013/14; B27G 19/02 20060101 B27G019/02; B27G 19/00 20060101
B27G019/00; B23D 59/00 20060101 B23D059/00 |
Claims
1. A band saw comprising: a motor; at least two spaced-apart
wheels, where at least one wheel is driven by the motor; a band
blade extending around the wheels, where the band blade is
electrically isolated; signal generation circuitry adapted to
generate an electrical signal; a capacitive coupling adapted to
capacitively couple the signal generation circuitry to the band
blade to transfer at least a portion of the electrical signal to
the band blade; and detection circuitry that monitors the
electrical signal on the band blade for changes indicative of a
dangerous condition between a person and the band blade, where the
detection circuitry triggers some action to mitigate the dangerous
condition when the changes indicative of the dangerous condition
are detected.
2. The band saw of claim 1 further comprising a second capacitive
coupling adapted to capacitively couple the detection circuitry to
the band blade, and where the detection circuitry monitors the
electrical signal on the band blade through the second capacitive
coupling.
3. The band saw of claim 1 where at least one wheel is mounted for
rotation on a shaft, where the capacitive coupling includes two
spaced-apart conductors, and where at least a portion of the shaft
is one of the two conductors and a charge plate adjacent the shaft
is the other of the two conductors.
4. The band saw of claim 3 further comprising a second capacitive
coupling adapted to capacitively couple the detection circuitry to
the band blade, where the detection circuitry monitors the
electrical signal on the band blade through the second capacitive
coupling, where the second capacitive coupling includes two
spaced-apart conductors, and where the shaft is one of the two
conductors and a charge plate adjacent the shaft is the other of
the two conductors.
5. A band saw comprising: a motor; a band blade driven by the
motor, where the band blade is electrically isolated; signal
generation circuitry adapted to generate an electrical signal;
coupling means for capacitively coupling the signal generation
circuitry to the cutting tool to transfer at least a portion of the
electrical signal to the cutting tool; and detection means for
monitoring the electrical signal on the cutting tool for changes
indicative of a dangerous condition between a person and the
cutting tool, and for triggering some action to mitigate the
dangerous condition when the changes indicative of the dangerous
condition are detected.
Description
COPYRIGHT NOTICE
[0001] A portion of the disclosure of this patent document contains
material which is subject to copyright protection. The copyright
owner has no objection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of
the patent document or the patent disclosure, as it appears in the
Patent and Trademark Office patent file or records, but otherwise
reserves all copyright rights whatsoever.
[0002] The computer program listing identified herein is subject to
copyright protection.
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0003] This application is a continuation of U.S. patent
application Ser. No. 10/146,527, filed May 15, 2002, which in turn
claims the benefit of and priority from U.S. Provisional Patent
Application Ser. No. 60/292,100, filed May 17, 2001, both of which
are herein incorporated by reference.
[0004] This application hereby incorporates by reference the
following U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/676,190, filed Sep.
29, 2000.
[0005] This application also hereby incorporates by reference the
following PCT patent application: PCT/US00/26812, filed Sep. 29,
2000.
[0006] This application further incorporates by reference the
following U.S. provisional patent applications: Ser. No.
60/157,340, filed Oct. 1, 1999, Ser. No. 60/182,866, filed Feb. 16,
2000, Ser. No. 60/225,056, filed Aug. 14, 2000, Ser. No.
60/225,057, filed Aug. 14, 2000, Ser. No. 60/225,058, filed Aug.
14, 2000, Ser. No. 60/225,059, filed Aug. 14, 2000, Ser. No.
60/225,089, filed Aug. 14, 2000, Ser. No. 60/225,094, filed Aug.
14, 2000, Ser. No. 60/225,169, filed Aug. 14, 2000, Ser. No.
60/225,170, filed Aug. 14, 2000, Ser. No. 60/225,200, filed Aug.
14, 2000, Ser. No. 60/225,201, filed Aug. 14, 2000, Ser. No.
60/225,206, filed Aug. 14, 2000, Ser. No. 60/225,210, filed Aug.
14, 2000, Ser. No. 60/225,211, filed Aug. 14, 2000, Ser. No.
60/225,212, filed Aug. 14, 2000, Ser. No. 60/233,459, filed Sep.
18, 2000, Ser. No. 60/270,011, filed Feb. 20, 2001, Ser. No.
60/270,941, filed Feb. 22, 2001, Ser. No. 60/270,942, filed Feb.
22, 2001, Ser. No. 60/273,178, filed Mar. 2, 2001, Ser. No.
60/273,177, filed Mar. 2, 2001, Ser. No. 60/273,902, filed Mar. 6,
2001, Ser. No. 60/275,594, filed Mar. 13, 2001, Ser. No.
60/275,595, filed Mar. 13, 2001, Ser. No. 60/275,583, filed Mar.
13, 2001, Ser. No. 60/279,313, filed Mar. 27, 2001, and Ser. No.
60/292,081, filed May 17, 2001.
COMPUTER PROGRAM LISTING APPENDIX
[0007] A computer program listing is being submitted herewith via
EFS-Web as a Computer Program Listing Appendix. The computer
program listing is one ASCII text file entitled "sawbrk.txt". The
date of creation of the file is Jun. 29, 2000, and the size of the
file is 50602 bytes. That computer program listing (i.e., the
"sawbrk.txt" ASCII text file) is hereby incorporated by
reference.
FIELD
[0008] The present invention relates to band saws, and more
particularly to a band saw with a high-speed safety system.
BACKGROUND
[0009] Band saws are a type of woodworking machinery used to cut
workpieces of wood, plastic, and other materials. Band saws include
two, spaced-apart wheels, and a blade tightly looped around the
wheels. The blade is made from a band of metal with teeth on one
edge of the band. The blade moves around the wheels when the wheels
spin. Band saws also include a table or work surface adjacent the
blade and upon which workpieces are placed. A person uses the band
saw by placing a workpiece on the table and then sliding the
workpiece into the moving blade. Band saws present a risk of injury
to users because the blade is exposed when in use. Furthermore,
users often must place their hands very close to the blade to
position and move workpieces, which increases the chance that an
injury will occur.
[0010] The present invention provides a band saw with an improved
safety system that is adapted to detect the occurrence of one or
more dangerous, or triggering, conditions during use of the band
saw, such as when a user's body contacts the moving blade. When
such a condition occurs, the safety system is actuated to limit or
even prevent injury to the user.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0011] FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram of a band saw with a
fast-acting safety system according to the present invention.
[0012] FIG. 2 is a schematic side elevation of an embodiment of a
band saw according to the present invention.
[0013] FIG. 3 shows a wheel mount with a capacitive coupling used
in the band saw of FIG. 2.
[0014] FIG. 4 shows a wheel mount used in the band saw of FIG.
2.
[0015] FIG. 5 shows schematically a reaction subsystem that stops a
blade by cutting and gripping the blade.
[0016] FIG. 6 is a schematic representation of one embodiment of a
cutting pawl and backing plate used in a reaction system that stops
a blade by cutting the blade.
[0017] FIG. 7 is a schematic top view of another embodiment of
cutting pawls used in a reaction system to stop a blade by cutting
the blade.
[0018] FIG. 8 is a schematic front view of the cutting pawls shown
in FIG. 7.
[0019] FIG. 9 is a schematic circuit diagram of an electronic
subsystem for the safety system of FIG. 1, including an excitation
system, a contact sense system and a firing system.
[0020] FIG. 10 is a schematic circuit diagram of a first
alternative electronic subsystem for the safety system of FIG. 1,
including an excitation system, a contact sense system and a firing
system.
[0021] FIG. 11 is a block diagram illustrating the arrangement of a
second alternative electronic subsystem.
[0022] FIG. 12 is a schematic diagram of an excitation system of
the subsystem of FIG. 11.
[0023] FIG. 13 shows an exemplary attenuation in signal that occurs
when the finger of a user contacts a blade.
[0024] FIG. 14 is a schematic of a contact sense portion of the
subsystem of FIG. 11.
[0025] FIG. 15 is a schematic of a power supply of the subsystem of
FIG. 11.
[0026] FIG. 16 is a schematic of a boost regulator portion and a
firing portion of the subsystem of FIG. 11.
[0027] FIG. 17 is a schematic of a motor control portion of the
subsystem of FIG. 11.
[0028] FIG. 18 is a schematic of a rotation sensor portion of the
subsystem of FIG. 11.
[0029] FIG. 19 is a schematic of a user interface portion of the
subsystem of FIG. 11.
[0030] FIG. 20 is a block diagram of second and third alternative
electronic subsystems.
[0031] FIG. 21 is a schematic of an excitation system portion of
the subsystems of FIG. 20.
[0032] FIG. 22 is a schematic of a contact sense portion of the
second alternative subsystem of FIG. 20.
[0033] FIG. 23 is a schematic of a contact sense portion of the
third alternative subsystem of FIG. 20.
[0034] FIG. 24 is a schematic of a power supply and firing system
portion of the subsystems of FIG. 20.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0035] A band saw according to the present invention is shown
schematically in FIG. 1 and indicated generally at 10. Band saw 10
may be any of a variety of different types and configurations of
band saws adapted for cutting workpieces, such as wood and plastic.
Band saw 10 includes an operative structure 12 having a blade 14
and a motor assembly 16 adapted to drive the blade. Band saw 10
also includes a safety system 18 configured to minimize the
potential of a serious injury to a person using the band saw.
Safety system 18 is adapted to detect the occurrence of one or more
dangerous, or triggering, conditions during use of band saw 10. If
such a dangerous condition is detected, safety system 18 is adapted
to engage operative structure 12 to limit any injury to the user
caused by the dangerous condition.
[0036] Band saw 10 includes a suitable power source 20 to provide
power to operative structure 12 and safety system 18. Power source
20 may be an external power source such as line current, or an
internal power source such as a battery. Alternatively, power
source 20 may include a combination of both external and internal
power sources. Furthermore, power source 20 may include two or more
separate power sources, each adapted to power different portions of
band saw 10.
[0037] It will be appreciated that operative structure 12 may take
any one of many different forms, depending on the type of band saw
10. As will be described in more detail below, operative structure
12 typically includes two, spaced-apart wheels and a table adjacent
the wheels. A blade 14, made from a band of metal with teeth along
one edge of the band, is positioned around the wheels adjacent the
table. Motor assembly 16 includes one or more motors adapted to
drive blade 14 by spinning at least one of the wheels around which
the blade is positioned.
[0038] Safety system 18 includes a detection subsystem 22, a
reaction subsystem 24 and a control subsystem 26. Control subsystem
26 may be adapted to receive inputs from a variety of sources
including detection subsystem 22, reaction subsystem 24, operative
structure 12 and motor assembly 16. The control subsystem may also
include one or more sensors adapted to monitor selected parameters
of band saw 10. In addition, control subsystem 26 typically
includes one or more instruments operable by a user to control the
band saw. The control subsystem is configured to control band saw
10 in response to the inputs it receives. Detection subsystem 22 is
configured to detect one or more dangerous, or triggering,
conditions during use of band saw 10. For example, the detection
subsystem may be configured to detect that a portion of the user's
body is in contact with a portion of blade 14. In some embodiments,
detection subsystem 22 may inform control subsystem 26 of the
dangerous condition, which then activates reaction subsystem 24. In
other embodiments, the detection subsystem may be adapted to
activate the reaction subsystem directly. Various exemplary
embodiments and implementations of detection subsystem 22 are
described in more detail in U.S. Provisional Patent Application
Ser. No. 60/225,200, entitled "Contact Detection System for Power
Equipment," filed Aug. 14, 2000, by SD3, LLC, the disclosure of
which is incorporated herein by reference.
[0039] Once activated in response to a dangerous condition,
reaction subsystem 24 is configured to quickly engage operative
structure 12 to prevent serious injury to the user. It will be
appreciated that the particular action to be taken by reaction
subsystem 24 will vary depending on the type of band saw 10 and/or
the dangerous condition that is detected. For example, reaction
subsystem 24 may be configured to do one or more of the following:
stop the movement of blade 14 by cutting the blade and/or by
gripping the blade, or by retracting the blade from its operating
position.
[0040] The configuration of reaction subsystem 24 typically will
vary depending on which action(s) are taken. In the exemplary
embodiment depicted in FIG. 1, reaction subsystem 24 is configured
to stop the movement of blade 14 and includes a brake mechanism 28,
a biasing mechanism 30, a restraining mechanism 32, and a release
mechanism 34. Brake mechanism 28 is adapted to engage operative
structure 12 under the urging of biasing mechanism 30. During
normal operation of band saw 10, restraining mechanism 32 holds the
brake mechanism out of engagement with the operative structure.
However, upon receipt of an activation signal by reaction subsystem
24, the brake mechanism is released from the restraining mechanism
by release mechanism 34, whereupon, the brake mechanism quickly
engages at least a portion of the operative structure to bring the
blade to a stop.
[0041] Control subsystem 26 includes one or more instruments that
are operable by a user to control the motion of blade 14. Those
instruments may include start/stop switches, speed controls, etc.
Control subsystem 26 typically includes a logic controller
connected to receive the user's inputs via the instruments. The
logic controller is also connected to receive a contact detection
signal from detection subsystem 22. Further, the logic controller
may be configured to receive inputs from other sources, such as
blade motion sensors, workpiece sensors, etc. In any event, the
logic controller is configured to control operative structure 12 in
response to the user's inputs. However, upon receipt of a contact
detection signal from detection subsystem 22, the logic controller
overrides the control inputs from the user and activates reaction
subsystem 24 to stop the motion of the blade. Various exemplary
embodiments and implementations of control subsystem 26, including
the logic controller, are described in more detail in U.S.
Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/225,059, entitled "Logic
Control For Fast Acting Safety System," filed Aug. 14, 2000 by SD3,
LLC, and in U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No.
60/225,094, entitled "Motion Detecting System For Use In Safety
System For Power Equipment," filed Aug. 14, 2000 by SD3, LLC, the
disclosures of which are herein incorporated by reference.
[0042] A computer program listing for a controller as shown in FIG.
1 is submitted herewith as a Computer Program Listing Appendix.
[0043] One embodiment of band saw 10 is shown specifically in FIG.
2. It includes a main housing 50 enclosing a pair of spaced-apart
wheels 52 and 54. Wheels 52 and 54 are supported for rotational
movement by housing 50. Housing 50 also typically encloses the
wheels to prevent a user from touching them while they are
spinning. The perimeter of each wheel may be coated or covered in a
high-friction material such as rubber, etc. A relatively thin,
continuous loop, tooth-edged blade 14 tightly encircles both
wheels. Wheel 54 is driven by motor assembly 16 (not shown in FIG.
2) so that it rotates in the direction of arrow 56. Rotating wheel
54 causes blade 14 to move, which in turn, causes wheel 52 to
rotate. Blade 14 moves adjacent table 58. A workpiece is cut by
sliding the workpiece on table 58 into the teeth of moving blade 14
between wheels 52 and 54. An upper blade-guide assembly 60 and a
lower blade-guide assembly 62 maintain the moving blade in a stable
path.
[0044] Band saw 10 includes a detection subsystem 22 to detect when
a person's body comes into contact with blade 14. Detection
subsystem 22 is based on the capacitance of a human body. It is
believed that the capacitance of a user's body, as measured through
dry contact with a portion of the user's body, is approximately
25-200 picofarads. That capacitance tends to increase with
increasing body size and with increased coupling between the user's
body and an electrical ground. As a result of the inherent
capacitance of a user's body, when the user touches blade 14, the
capacitance of the user's body is electrically coupled to the
inherent capacitance of the blade, thereby creating an effective
capacitance that is larger than the inherent capacitance of the
blade alone. Detection subsystem 22 is configured to measure or
monitor the capacitance of the blade, so that any substantial
change in the measured capacitance would indicate contact between
the user's body and the blade.
[0045] FIG. 3 shows a capacitive coupling that may be used as part
of detection subsystem 22 in measuring the capacitance of the blade
to detect contact between the blade and a person. In FIG. 3, wheel
54 is shown mounted on an arbor or shaft 72 by a bolt 74 and washer
76. Arbor 72 extends through a hub 70 on the wheel, and bolt 74 is
threaded into the arbor and presses against hub 70 to hold the
wheel on the arbor.
[0046] Arbor 72 is supported for rotational movement by bearings 80
and 82, which are mounted in a portion of housing 50, and which are
spaced along the length of the arbor. Bearings 80 and 82 do not
directly contact arbor 72 or wheel 54. Rather, arbor 72 and wheel
54 are electrically isolated from bearings 80 and 82 by insulating
bushings 90, 92, and 94, 96, respectively. Those bushings are
configured to extend around the arbor, to receive the bearings, and
to hold the arbor and wheel away from the bearings and housing so
there is no metal-to-metal contact between the bearings/housing and
the wheel/arbor. The bushings may be made from many different
insulating materials, such as PET-P or some other hard plastic.
Bushings 90 and 92 are held in place between wheel hub 70 and an
enlarged portion 100 on the arbor that has a greater diameter than
the rest of the arbor. Bushings 94 and 96, in turn, are positioned
between enlarged portion 100 and a snap ring 102 on the arbor. In
this manner, wheel 54 is supported by housing 50 for rotational
movement, but is also electrically isolated from the housing.
Bushing 90 includes a flange 91 sandwiched between hub 70 and
bearing 80 to prevent the hub from touching the bearing. Similarly,
bushing 92 includes a flange 93, and bushing 94 includes a flange
95, preventing enlarged portion 100 from touching either of
bearings 80 or 82, and bushing 96 includes a flange 97 preventing
snap ring 102 from touching bearing 82. A pulley 84 is mounted on
the end of arbor 72 opposite wheel 54, and a belt (not shown)
driven by motor assembly 16 may be used to drive pulley 84 and
thereby spin arbor 72 and wheel 54 in bearings 80 and 82 to move
blade 14. The belt is typically non-conducting and thus does not
electrically couple the arbor to the housing.
[0047] A cylindrical, insulating sleeve 110 is positioned and
securely held around enlarged portion 100 by housing 50. Sleeve 110
may be press-fit into an appropriate receptacle on the housing. Two
electrically conductive plates or tubes 112 and 114, having an
outer diameter that fits snugly within sleeve 110, are, in turn,
press-fit into sleeve 110. Alternatively or additionally, plates
112 and 114 may be glued or otherwise mounted in sleeve 110. Sleeve
110 and plates 112 and 114 are coaxial and concentric to enlarged
portion 100 of arbor 72. Plates 112 and 114 also have an inner
diameter slightly larger than the diameter of enlarged portion 100
so that they do not contact any part of arbor 72. Plates 112 and
114 are spaced apart in sleeve 110 by a gap 120. Plates 112 and 114
may be made from any conductive material, such as brass tubing.
Sleeve 110 protects plates 112 and 114 from damage and debris, and
also electrically isolates the plates from housing 50.
[0048] Plates 112 and 114 may be thought of as contact detection
plates that are used to create capacitive couplings with the arbor
and blade. Detection subsystem 22 includes suitable electrical
circuitry (e.g., such as described in U.S. Provisional Patent
Application Ser. No. 60/225,200, entitled "Contact Detection System
for Power Equipment," filed Aug. 14, 2000, by SD3, LLC, which is
herein incorporated by reference) to transmit an input signal to
plate 112, and to detect the input signal through plate 114 via
wires (not shown) attached to the plates, which wires may extend
from the plates through a hole or holes in sleeve 110 to detection
subsystem 22. In other words, detection subsystem 22 imparts a
signal on plate 112. That signal then drives a signal onto arbor 72
by virtue of the capacitive coupling between the plate and the
arbor. The arbor is conductively coupled to wheel 54, so the signal
induced on the arbor is also induced on the wheel. Blade 14 loops
around a significant portion of the perimeter of wheel 54, so the
signal on the wheel induces a signal on the blade. If wheel 54
includes a non-conductive, high-friction material such as rubber
around its periphery to prevent the blade from slipping on the
wheel when the wheel is rotated, then a signal is induced on the
blade by a capacitive coupling between the blade and the wheel. If
blade 14 directly contacts wheel 54, then the signal on the blade
is the same as the signal on the wheel because of the conductive
contact between the wheel and the blade. The signal on the arbor
also induces a signal on plate 114 because of the proximity of the
plate to the arbor. Thus, plate 114 monitors the signal on the
blade/arbor. When a person touches the blade, the effective
capacitance of the blade/arbor combination changes, causing the
signal on plate 114 to change, thereby signaling contact between
the blade and a person.
[0049] Plates 112 and 114 are mounted close to, but spaced-apart
from, arbor 72. Those plates are capacitively coupled to the arbor
by virtue of their size and placement parallel to and spaced-apart
from the arbor. It is within the scope of the present invention
that the number, size and placement of charge plates or tubes may
vary.
[0050] The effect of this arrangement is to form two capacitors in
series through the arbor, creating a capacitive shunt at the
junction between the capacitors. Plates or tubes 112 and 114
function as charge plates of the capacitors. The input signal is
capacitively coupled from plates 112 onto arbor 72, and then
capacitively coupled from the arbor to plate 114. Any change in the
capacitance of the blade/arbor changes the signal coupled to plate
114.
[0051] When a user touches blade 14, the capacitance of the user's
body creates a capacitive load on the blade. As a result, the size
of the capacitive shunt between plates 112 and 114 and the blade is
increased, thereby reducing the charge that reaches plate 114.
Thus, the magnitude of the input signal passed through the blade to
plate 114 decreases when a user touches the blade. Detection
subsystem 22 is configured to detect this change in the input
signal and transmit a contact detection signal to control subsystem
26.
[0052] In some cases, there may be a significant amount of
resistance at the contact point of the user's dry skin and the
blade. This resistance may reduce the capacitive coupling of the
user's body to the blade. However, when the teeth on the blade
penetrate the outer layer of the user's skin, the moisture inherent
in the internal tissue of skin will tend to decrease the resistance
of the skin/blade contact, thereby establishing a solid electrical
connection. The sensitivity of detection subsystem 22 can be
adjusted as desired to recognize even slight changes in the input
signal.
[0053] Generally speaking, the spacing of the charge plates or
tubes from the arbor is not critical, and may vary depending on the
charge plate area and the desired capacitive coupling.
[0054] Blade 14 must be electrically isolated from ground for the
signal to be induced on the blade. Additionally, capacitive
couplings between the blade and other parts of the saw must be
minimized so that the relative increased capacitance caused from a
person touching the blade is reliably measurable. In other words,
if the blade is capacitively coupled to other items, such as to a
blade guard or to the housing, then the increased capacitance from
a person touching the blade will be insignificant compared to the
combined capacitance of the blade and other items, meaning that the
contact by the person will be harder to detect and the detection
will be less reliable. Specifically, in a band saw, the blade will
present a large surface area to wheel 52 and therefore will
capacitively couple to that wheel.
[0055] Band saw 10 addresses this issue by electrically isolating
wheel 52 from housing 50, as shown in FIG. 4. Wheel 52 includes hub
121, and hub 121 is mounted on spindle 122 by washer 124 and nut
126 threaded onto the spindle. The spindle is mounted to, or is
part of, housing 50, so the spindle and housing support the wheel.
Bearings 128 and 130 are press fit into appropriate openings in the
hub, and the bearings contact spindle 122 and support the hub and
wheel on the spindle at spaced apart locations, as shown. The
bearings support the wheel for rotational movement on the spindle.
Two non-conductive bushings 132 and 134, made from PET-P, a hard
plastic, or some other non-conductive material, are positioned
between spindle 122 and bearings 128 and 130, respectively, to
prevent the bearings from contacting the spindle. Bushing 132
includes a flange 136 sandwiched between bearing 128 and washer 124
to prevent any metal-to-metal contact between the bearing and the
washer or spindle. Bushing 134 includes a similar flange 138
sandwiched between bearing 130 and housing 50 to prevent
metal-to-metal contact between that bearing and the housing. With
this construction, wheel 52 is electrically isolated from housing
50.
[0056] Thus, in band saw 10, a charge or signal on plate 112
induces a charge on arbor 72 and wheel 54, which in turn induces a
charge on blade 14 and wheel 52. That charge then induces a signal
on plate 114, which is monitored by detection subsystem 22. When a
person touches the blade, the effective capacitance of the
blade/arbor/wheels combination changes, and that change is
immediately detected by the detection subsystem. No special or
unique blade is required.
[0057] It will be appreciated that the size of charge plates 112
and 114 may be selected to provide a desired capacitance with the
arbor. Indeed, the size of the charge tubes may be different to
provide different capacitances. For example, in the embodiment
depicted in FIG. 3, charge plate 112 is longer than charge plate
114, thereby providing a higher capacitance between charge plate
112 and the arbor, than between charge plate 114 and the arbor.
Alternatively, or additionally, the inside diameters of the charge
tubes may be different to provide different capacitances due to
different arbor-to-charge plate spacings.
[0058] It will be appreciated that while the charge plates or tubes
and insulating sleeve in the exemplary embodiment are cylindrical,
other shapes may also be used. For example, insulating sleeve 110
may have a rectangular outer cross-section while maintaining its
circular inner cross-section. Likewise, charge plates 112 and 114
may have any suitable outer cross-sectional shape to match the
inner shape of the insulating tube.
[0059] Since charge plates 112 and 114 should not come into contact
with each other, the fit between the charge plates and insulating
sleeve 110 is typically tight enough to frictionally prevent
movement of the charge plates along the axis of the insulating
sleeve. Alternatively, a bump or ring may be formed or positioned
on the inner diameter of the insulating sleeve between the charge
plates to prevent the charge plates from coming into contact. As a
further alternative, caulk, glue, epoxy, or similar material may be
applied between the charge plates and insulating sleeve to prevent
the charge plates from moving. As another alternative, one or more
set-screws may be threaded through the insulating sleeve to bear
against the charge tubes, making sure that the set screws do not
contact the housing or some other metal that would ground the
charge plates.
[0060] As explained above, blade 14 should be electrically isolated
from housing 50, which is usually grounded. Thus, blade guide
assemblies 60 and 62, which may include ball-bearing guides and/or
friction pads, etc., are constructed to electrically insulate the
blade from the main housing.
[0061] Insulating sleeve 110 may also be constructed to receive a
Hall Effect or similar sensor to detect blade/arbor rotation, as
described in more detail in U.S. Provisional Patent Application
Ser. No. 60/225,094, entitled "Motion Detection System for Use in
Safety System for Power Equipment," filed Aug. 14, 2000, by SD3,
LLC, which is hereby incorporated by reference.
[0062] Electrically isolating the blade as described above has the
advantage that the blade need not be capacitively isolated from
wheels 52 and 54, which is difficult to do effectively.
Nevertheless, and alternatively, capacitive couplings to the blade
may be created in other ways, such as disclosed in U.S. Provisional
Patent Application Ser. No. 60/225,211, entitled "Apparatus and
Method for Detecting Dangerous Conditions in Power Equipment,"
filed Aug. 14, 2000, by SD3, LLC, and incorporated herein by
reference.
[0063] As explained above, when detection subsystem 22 detects
contact between blade 14 and a person, reaction subsystem 24 reacts
to prevent or limit injury to the person. FIG. 5 shows
schematically one embodiment of a reaction system that stops the
blade by cutting and gripping the blade. In the illustrated
embodiment, reaction subsystem 24 is shown adjacent blade 14 and
under table 58. Reaction subsystem 24 includes a backing plate 150
supported by the housing and positioned near one side of blade 14.
Backing plate 150 is made of either hardened or non-hardened
metal.
[0064] A cutting pawl 152 is mounted adjacent backing plate 150 on
the opposite side of blade 14. Cutting pawl 152 is made from
hardened steel. Cutting pawl 152 is mounted to pivot in the
direction of arrow 154 around pivot pin 156 mounted to the housing
of the saw. Cutting pawl 152 includes a cutting edge 158 on the end
of the pawl opposite pivot pin 156. Pawl 152 is configured to pivot
down so that cutting edge 158 contacts blade 14 and cuts the blade
against backing plate 150. Cutting pawl 152 and backing plate 150
may be thought of as brake mechanism 28 shown in FIG. 1.
[0065] The force to pivot pawl 152 into the blade to cut the blade
is, in part, provided by spring 160, which typically is a spring
providing approximately 10 to 500 pounds of force. The spring is
configured to force pawl 152 in the direction of arrow 154. When
spring 160 pushes cutting edge 158 into blade 14, the downward
motion of the blade also pushes pawl 152 downward, so that pawl 152
effectively locks on the blade and uses the motion of the blade to
help cut the blade. Spring 160 may be thought of as biasing
mechanism 30 discussed above.
[0066] Cutting pawl 152 also includes a gripping surface 162 to
grip the blade and hold it against backing plate 150 both while the
blade is cut and thereafter until the pawl is moved back away from
the blade. Gripping surface 162 may be simply a surface on the
pawl, or it may be a layer of high-friction material such as rubber
or plastic, as shown in FIG. 5. Gripping surface 162 also may be
thought of as part of brake mechanism 28 discussed above. Gripping
surface 162 is optional, and cutting pawl 152 may be made without a
gripping surface. In that case, reaction subsystem 24 simply stops
the blade by cutting it, without simultaneously gripping the
blade.
[0067] A fuse wire 164 is used to hold cutting pawl 152 away from
blade 14 until the detection subsystem detects that a person has
contacted the blade. At that time, a firing subsystem 166 sends a
surge of electrical current through fuse wire 164, burning the wire
and releasing the cutting pawl. Possible fuse wires and firing
subsystems are disclosed in more detail in U.S. Provisional Patent
Application Ser. No. 60/225,056, entitled "Firing Subsystem for Use
in a Fast-Acting Safety System," filed Aug. 14, 2000, by SD3, LLC,
and incorporated herein by reference. A mechanism providing
mechanical advantage to hold the cutting pawl away from the blade
may be used, as described in U.S. Provisional Patent Application
Ser. No. 60/225,056, entitled "Spring-Biased Brake Mechanism for
Power Equipment," filed Aug. 14, 2000, by SD3, LLC, and
incorporated herein by reference. Fuse wire 164 may be thought of
as restraining mechanism 32, and firing subsystem 166 may be
thought of as release mechanism 34.
[0068] When cutting pawl 152 cuts blade 14, the tension of the
blade around wheels 52 and 54 is released and the blade stops
immediately. The blade has relatively little mass, and therefore
little momentum, so the blade stops without incident. Additionally,
the majority of blade 14 is typically within housing 50 so that the
housing would contain the blade even if the blade tended to lash
out when cut.
[0069] FIG. 6 shows another type of cutting pawl at 170. Cutting
pawl 170 is pivotally mounted to cut blade 14, as described above.
Cutting pawl 170 includes a cutting edge 172 that extends helically
away from the blade relative to the blade so that the cutting edge
first contacts the blade at a point designated at 174, and then
progressively moves into and across the blade. The cutting edge may
extend helically away from blade 14, as if the pawl had been
twisted around an axis perpendicular to the pivot axis of the pawl.
Additionally, the pivot point of pawl 170 may be mounted to the
housing of the saw so that the pawl pushes blade 14 back, away from
where the blade would normally cut, thereby retracting or pushing
the blade away from the point where a person most likely would
accidentally contact the blade. For example, the pivot may be
non-parallel to the table so that the pawl pushes the blade down
and back. FIG. 6 also shows a backing plate 176 against which
cutting pawl 170 cuts blade 14. Backing plate 176 includes a curved
surface 178 that follows the radius of cutting pawl 170 as it
pivots. Cutting pawl 170, shown in FIG. 6, may be released to cut
blade 14 as described above in connection with the embodiment shown
in FIG. 5.
[0070] FIG. 7 shows a top view, and FIG. 8 shows a front view, of
another way of cutting blade 14 upon the detection of contact
between a person and the blade. The embodiment shown in FIGS. 7 and
8 includes two cutting pawls, 180 and 182, each positioned on one
side of blade 14, to act like scissors to cut the blade. FIG. 8
shows how the pawls are positioned vertically relative to each
other to act like scissors. The pawls would be released by a fuse
wire and firing system, and pushed into the blade by springs, as
described above. The pawls may be configured to strike the front of
blade 14 first so that the pawls retract or push the blade back and
away from a user of the saw. Pawls 180 and 182 also could be
configured and mounted to the housing to strike blade 14 at an
angle so that they lock onto the blade and so that they are
self-feeding due to the motion of the blade. Pawls 180 and 182 also
could be mounted so that they move down with blade 14 as they cut
the blade.
[0071] Additionally, any of the cutting pawls described above may
have a cutting edge made of carbide or hardened steel.
[0072] One example of an electronic subsystem 1000 of contact
detection subsystem 22 according to the present invention is
illustrated in more detail in FIG. 9. Electronic subsystem 1000 is
adapted to work with the two-plate capacitive coupling system
described in U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No.
60/225,211, entitled "Apparatus and Method for Detecting Dangerous
Conditions in Power Equipment," filed Aug. 14, 2000. Electronic
subsystem 1000 includes an excitation system 1010 and a monitoring
or contact sensing system 1020. However, it will be appreciated by
those of skill in the electrical arts that the exemplary
configuration of electronic subsystem 1000 illustrated in FIG. 9 is
just one of many configurations which may be used. Thus, it will be
understood that any suitable embodiment or configuration could be
used within the scope of the invention.
[0073] As shown in FIG. 9, excitation system 1010 includes an
oscillator circuit that generates a wave input signal, such as a
square wave signal, at a frequency of approximately 200 khz and
voltage amplitude of 12 volts. Alternatively, excitation system
1010 may be configured to generate a signal of a different
frequency and/or a different amplitude and/or different waveform.
The oscillator is formed by a pair of inverters 1030, 1040 from a
CD4040 configured as a bistable oscillator. The output of inverter
1030 is connected to a 100 pF capacitor 1050, which is connected
through a 100 k.OMEGA. resistor 1060 to the input of inverter 1040.
A 10 k.OMEGA. resistor 1070 is connected between the output of
inverter 1040 to the junction between capacitor 1050 and resistor
1060. The output of inverter 1040 is connected to the input of
inverter 1030. A 10 k.OMEGA. resistor 1080 connects the output of
inverter 1030 to the input of another inverter 1090, which serves
as an output buffer to drive the input wave signal onto the blade.
A 2 k.OMEGA. series resistor 1100 functions to reduce any ringing
in the input signal by damping the high frequency components of the
signal.
[0074] It will be appreciated that the particular form of the
oscillator signal may vary and there are many suitable waveforms
and frequencies that may be utilized. The waveform may be chosen to
maximize the signal-to-noise ratio, for example, by selecting a
frequency at which the human body has the lowest resistance or
highest capacitance relative to the workpiece being cut. As an
additional variation, the signal can be made asymmetric to take
advantage of potentially larger distinctions between the electrical
properties human bodies and green wood at high frequency without
substantially increasing the radio-frequency power radiated. For
instance, utilizing a square wave with a 250 khz frequency, but a
duty cycle of five percent, results in a signal with ten times
higher frequency behavior than the base frequency, without
increasing the radio-frequency energy radiation. In addition, there
are many different oscillator circuits that are well known in the
art and which would also be suitable for generating the excitation
signal.
[0075] The input signal generated by the oscillator is fed through
a shielded cable 1110 onto charge plate 440. Shielded cable 1110
functions to insulate the input signal from any electrical noise
present in the operating environment, insuring that a "clean" input
signal is transmitted onto charge plate 440. Also, the shielded
cable reduces cross talk between the drive signal and the detected
signal that might otherwise occur should the cables run close
together. Alternatively, other methods may be used to prevent noise
in the input signal. As a further alternative, monitoring system
1020 may include a filter to remove any noise in the input signal
or other electrical noise detected by charge plate 460. Shielded
cable 1110 also reduces radio-frequency emissions relative to an
unshielded cable.
[0076] As described in more detail in U.S. Provisional Patent
Application Ser. No. 60/225,211, entitled "Apparatus and Method for
Detecting Dangerous Conditions in Power Equipment," filed Aug. 14,
2000, the input signal is coupled from charge plate 440 to charge
plate 460 via blade 400. As shown in FIG. 9, the signal received on
charge plate 460 is then fed via a shielded cable 1120 to
monitoring system 1020. The monitoring system is configured to
detect a change in the signal due to contact between the user's
body and the blade. It will be appreciated that monitoring system
1020 may be implemented in any of a wide variety of designs and
configurations. In the exemplary embodiment depicted in FIG. 9,
monitoring system 1020 compares the amplitude of the input signal
received at charge plate 460 to a determined reference voltage. In
the event that the input signal received at charge plate 460 falls
below the reference voltage for a determined time, the monitoring
system produces an output signal to reaction subsystem 24. The
reaction subsystem is configured to receive the output signal and
immediately act to stop the blade.
[0077] The particular components of monitoring system 1020 may vary
depending on a variety of factors including the application, the
desired sensitivity, availability of components, type of electrical
power available, etc. In the exemplary embodiment, a shielded cable
1120 is connected between charge plate 460 and a voltage divider
1130. Voltage divider 1130 is formed by two 1M.OMEGA. resistors
1140, 1150 connected in series between the supply voltage
(typically about 12 volts) and ground. The voltage divider
functions to bias the output signal from charge plate 460 to an
average level of half of the supply voltage. The biased signal is
fed to the positive input of an op-amp 1160. Op-amp 1160 may be any
one of many suitable op-amps that are well known in the art. An
example of such an op-amp is a TL082 op-amp. The negative input of
the op-amp is fed by a reference voltage source 1170. In the
exemplary embodiment, the reference voltage source is formed by a
10 k.OMEGA. potentiometer 1180 coupled in series between two 10
k.OMEGA. resistors 1190, 1200, which are connected to ground and
the supply voltage, respectively. A 0.47 .mu.F capacitor 1210
stabilizes the output of the reference voltage.
[0078] As will be understood by those of skill in the art, op-amp
1160 functions as a comparator of the input signal and the
reference voltage. Typically, the voltage reference is adjusted so
that its value is slightly less than the maximum input signal
voltage from charge plate 460. As a result, the output of the
op-amp is low when the signal voltage from the charge plate is less
than the reference voltage and high when the signal voltage from
the charge plate is greater than the reference voltage. Where the
input signal is a periodic signal such as the square wave generated
by excitation system 1010, the output of op-amp 1160 will be a
similar periodic signal. However, when a user contacts the blade,
the maximum input signal voltage decreases below the reference
voltage and the op-amp output no longer goes high.
[0079] The output of op-amp 1160 is coupled to a charging circuit
1220. Charging circuit 1220 includes a 240 pF capacitor 1230 that
is connected between the output of op-amp 1160 and ground. A 100
k.OMEGA. discharge resistor 1240 is connected in parallel to
capacitor 1230. When the output of op-amp 1160 is high, capacitor
1230 is charged. Conversely, when the output of op-amp 1160 is low,
the charge from capacitor 1230 discharges through resistor 1240
with a time constant of approximately 24 .mu.s. Thus, the voltage
on capacitor 1230 will discharge to less than half the supply
voltage in approximately 25-50 .mu.s unless the capacitor is
recharged by pulses from the op-amp. A diode 1250 prevents the
capacitor from discharging into op-amp 1160. Diode 1250 may be any
one of many suitable diodes that are well known in the art, such as
a 1N914 diode. It will be appreciated that the time required for
capacitor 1230 to discharge may be adjusted by selecting a
different value capacitor or a different value resistor 1240. As
described above, charging circuit 1220 will be recharged repeatedly
and the voltage across capacitor 1230 will remain high so long as
the detected signal is received substantially unattenuated from its
reference voltage at op-amp 1160. The voltage from capacitor 1230
is applied to the negative input of an op-amp 1260. Op-amp 1260 may
be any one of many suitable op-amps, which are well known in the
art, such as a TL082 op-amp. The positive input of op-amp 1260 is
tied to a reference voltage, which is approximately equal to
one-half of the supply voltage. In the exemplary embodiment
depicted in FIG. 9, the reference voltage is provided by reference
voltage source 1170.
[0080] So long as charging circuit 1220 is recharged, the output of
op-amp 1260 will be low. However, if the output of op-amp 1160 does
not go high for a period of 25-50 .mu.s, the voltage across
capacitor 1230 will decay to less than the reference voltage, and
op-amp 1260 will output a high signal indicating contact between
the user's body and the blade. As described in U.S. Provisional
Patent Application Ser. No. 60/225,056, entitled "Firing Subsystem
for Use in a Fast-Acting Safety System," U.S. Provisional Patent
Application Ser. No. 60/225,170, entitled "Spring-Biased Brake
Mechanism For Power Equipment," and U.S. Provisional Patent
Application Ser. No. 60/225,169, entitled "Brake Mechanism for
Power Equipment," all filed Aug. 14, 2000, the output signal from
op-amp 1260 is coupled to actuate reaction subsystem 24 and stop
the blade. The time between contact and activation of the reaction
system can be adjusted by selecting the time constant of capacitor
1230 and resistor 1240.
[0081] It should be noted that, depending on the size,
configuration and number of teeth on the blade and the position of
contact with the operator, the electrical contact between the
operator and blade will often be intermittent. As a result, it is
desirable that the system detect contact in a period less than or
equal to the time a single tooth would be in contact with a user's
finger or other body portion. For example, assuming a 10-inch
circular blade rotating at 4000 rpm and a contact distance of about
one-quarter of an inch (the approximate width of a fingertip), a
point on the surface of the blade, such as the point of a tooth,
will be in contact with the user for approximately 100 .mu.s. After
this period of contact, there will normally be an interval of no
contact until the next tooth reaches the finger. The length of the
contact and non-contact periods will depend on such factors as the
number of teeth on the blade and the speed of rotation of the
blade.
[0082] It is preferable, though not necessary, to detect the
contact with the first tooth because the interval to the second
tooth may be substantial with blades that have relatively few
teeth. Furthermore, any delay in detection increases the depth of
cut that the operator will suffer. Thus, in the exemplary
embodiment, the charging circuit is configured to decay within
approximately 25-50 .mu.s to ensure that monitoring system 102
responds to even momentary contact between the user's body and the
blade. Further, the oscillator is configured to create a 200 khz
signal with pulses approximately every 5 .mu.s. As a result,
several pulses of the input signal occur during each period of
contact, thereby increasing the reliability of contact detection.
Alternatively, the oscillator and charging circuit may be
configured to cause the detection system to respond more quickly or
more slowly. Generally, it is desirable to maximize the reliability
of the contact detection, while minimizing the likelihood of
erroneous detections.
[0083] As described above, the contact between a user's body and
the teeth of blade 400 might be intermittent depending on the size
and arrangement of the teeth. Although monitoring system 1020
typically is configured to detect contact periods as short as 25-50
.mu.s, once the first tooth of the blade passes by the user's body,
the contact signal received by the second electrical circuit may
return to normal until the next tooth contacts the user's body. As
a result, while the output signal at op-amp 1260 will go high as a
result of the first contact, the output signal may return low once
the first contact ends. As a result, the output signal may not
remain high long enough to activate the reaction system. For
instance, if the output signal does not remain high long enough to
actuate firing subsystem 760, fusible member 700, may not melt.
Therefore, monitoring system 1020 may include a pulse extender in
the form of charging circuit 1270 on the output of op-amp 1260,
similar to charging circuit 1220. Once op-amp 1260 produces a high
output signal, charging circuit 1270 functions to ensure that the
output signal remains high long enough to sufficiently discharge
the charge storage devices to melt the fusible member. In the
exemplary embodiment, charging circuit 1270 includes a 0.47 .mu.F
capacitor 1280 connected between the output of op-amp 1260 and
ground. When the output of op-amp 1260 goes high, capacitor 1280
charges to the output signal level. If the output of op-amp 1260
returns low, the voltage across capacitor 1280 discharges through
10 k resistor 1290 with a time constant of approximately 4.7 ms. A
diode 1300, such as an 1N914 diode, prevents capacitor 1280 from
discharging through op-amp 1260. The pulse extender insures that
even a short contact with a single tooth will result in activation
of the reaction system.
[0084] The above-described system is capable of detecting contact
within approximately 50 .mu.s and activating the reaction system.
As described in more detail in U.S. Provisional Patent Application
Ser. No. 60/225,056, entitled "Firing Subsystem for Use in a
Fast-Acting Safety System," U.S. Provisional Patent Application
Ser. No. 60/225,170, entitled "Spring-Biased Brake Mechanism For
Power Equipment," and U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No.
60/225,169, entitled "Brake Mechanism for Power Equipment," all
filed Aug. 14, 2000, in the context of reaction system for braking
a saw blade, a brake can be released in approximately less than 100
.mu.s and as little as 20 .mu.s. The brake contacts the blade in
approximately one to approximately three milliseconds. The blade
will normally come to rest within not more than 2-10 ms of brake
engagement. As a result, injury to the operator is minimized in the
event of accidental contact with the cutting tool. With appropriate
selection of components, it may be possible to stop the blade
within 2 ms, or less.
[0085] While exemplary embodiments of excitation system 1010 and
monitoring system 1020 have been described above with specific
components having specific values and arranged in a specific
configuration, it will be appreciated that these systems may be
constructed with many different configurations, components, and
values as necessary or desired for a particular application. The
above configurations, components, and values are presented only to
describe one particular embodiment that has proven effective, and
should be viewed as illustrating, rather than limiting, the
invention.
[0086] FIG. 10 shows alternative embodiments of excitation system
1010 and monitoring system 1020, as well as firing system 760,
which is described in more detail in U.S. Provisional Patent
Application Ser. No. 60/225,056, titled "Firing Subsystem for Use
in a Fast-Acting Safety System," filed Aug. 14, 2000. Alternative
excitation system 1010 is configured to generate a square wave
signal using only a single comparator 1330 such as an LM393
comparator. A 1M resistor 1340 is connected between the high input
terminal of comparator 1330 and ground. Another 1M resistor 1350 is
connected between the high input terminal of comparator 1330 and a
low voltage supply V. A 1M resistor 1360 is connected between the
high input terminal of the comparator and the output of the
comparator. A 100 pF capacitor 1370 is connected between the low
input terminal of the comparator and ground. A 27 k resistor 1380
is connected between the low input terminal of the comparator and
the output of the comparator. A 3.3 k resistor 1390 is connected
between the low voltage supply V and the output of the comparator.
The alternative oscillator circuit illustrated in FIG. 12 produces
a square wave having a frequency of approximately 3-500 khz. A 1 k
resistor 1400 is connected between the output of the comparator and
shielded cable 1110 to reduce ringing. It will be appreciated that
the values of one or more elements of alternative excitation system
1010 may be varied to produce a signal having a different
frequency, waveform, etc.
[0087] As in the exemplary embodiment described above, the signal
generated by alternative excitation system 1010 is fed through
shielded cable 1110 to charge plate 440. The signal is capacitively
coupled to charge plate 460 via blade 400. Alternative monitoring
system 1020 receives the signal from charge plate 460 via shielded
cable 1120 and compares the signal to a reference voltage. If the
signal falls below the reference voltage for approximately 25
.mu.s, an output signal is generated indicating contact between the
blade and the user's body.
[0088] Alternative monitoring system 1020 includes a voltage
divider 1130, which is formed of 22k resistors 1410 and 1420. The
voltage divider biases the signal received via cable 1120 to half
the low voltage supply V. The lower resistance of resistors 1410,
1420 relative to resistors 114, 1150 serves to reduce 60 hz noise
because low-frequency signals are attenuated. The biased signal is
fed to the negative input terminal of a second comparator 1430,
such as an LM393 comparator. The positive terminal of comparator
1430 is connected to reference voltage source 1440. In the depicted
embodiment, the reference voltage source is formed by a 10 k.OMEGA.
potentiometer 1450 coupled in series between two 100 k.OMEGA.
resistors 1460, 1470 connected to the low voltage supply V and
ground, respectively. A 0.1 .mu.f capacitor 1480 stabilizes the
output of the reference voltage. As before, the reference voltage
is used to adjust the trigger point.
[0089] The output of second comparator 1430 is connected to the
base terminal of an NPN bipolar junction transistor 1490, such as a
2N3904 transistor. The base terminal of transistor 1490 is also
connected to low voltage supply V through a 100 k resistor 1500,
and to ground through a 220 pF capacitor 1510. Potentiometer 1450
is adjusted so that the voltage at the positive terminal of
comparator 1430 is slightly lower than the high peak of the signal
received at the negative terminal of the second comparator when
there is no contact between the blade and the user's body. Thus,
each high cycle of the signal causes the second comparator output
to go low, discharging capacitor 1510. So long as there is no
contact between the blade and the user's body, the output of the
second comparator continues to go low, preventing capacitor 1510
from charging up through resistor 1500 and switching transistor
1490 on. However, when the user's body contacts the blade or other
isolated element, the signal received at the negative terminal of
the second comparator remains below the reference voltage at the
positive terminal and the output of the second comparator remains
high. As a result, capacitor 1510 is able to charge up through
resistor 1500 and switch transistor 1490 on.
[0090] The collector terminal of transistor 1490 is connected to
low voltage supply V, while the emitter terminal is connected to
680.OMEGA. resistor 1520. When transistor 1490 is switched on, it
supplies an output signal through resistor 1520 of approximately 40
mA, which is fed to alternative firing system 760. As described in
more detail in U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No.
60/225,056, titled "Firing Subsystem for Use in a Fast-Acting
Safety System," filed Aug. 14, 2000, the alternative firing circuit
includes fusible member 700 connected between a high voltage supply
HV and an SCR 6130, such as an NTE 5552 SCR. The gate terminal of
the SCR is connected to resistor 1520. Thus, when transistor 1490
is switched on, the approximately 40 mA current through resistor
1520 turns on SCR 6130, allowing the high voltage supply HV to
discharge to ground through fusible member 700. Once the SCR is
switched on, it will continue to conduct as long as the current
through fusible member 700 remains above the holding current of
approximately 40 mA, even if the current to the gate terminal is
removed. Thus, the SCR will conduct current through the fusible
member until the fusible member is melted or the high voltage
source is exhausted or removed. The fact that the SCR stays on once
triggered allows it to respond to even a short pulse through
resistor 1520.
[0091] FIG. 10 also illustrates an exemplary electrical supply
system 1540 configured to provide both low voltage supply V and
high voltage supply HV from standard 120 VAC line voltage.
Electrical supply system 1540 is connected to provide low voltage
supply V and high voltage supply HV to alternative excitation
system 1010, alternative monitoring system 1020, and alternative
firing system 760. The line voltage is connected through a
100.OMEGA. resistor 1550 and a diode 1560, such as a 1N4002 diode,
to a 1000 .mu.F charge storage capacitor 1570. The diode passes
only the positive portion of the line voltage, thereby charging
capacitor 1570 to approximately 160V relative to ground. The
positive terminal of capacitor 1570 serves as the high voltage
supply HV connected to fusible link 700. When SCR 6130 is switched
on upon detection of contact between the blade and the user's body,
the charge stored in capacitor 1570 is discharged through the
fusible link until it melts. It will be appreciated that the size
of capacitor 1570 may be varied as required to supply the necessary
current to melt fusible member 700. As described in U.S.
Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/225,056, titled "Firing
Subsystem for Use in a Fast-Acting Safety System," filed Aug. 14,
2000, use of a HV capacitor leads to a much higher current surge,
and therefore a faster melting of the fusible member than is the
case with a low voltage system.
[0092] The positive terminal of capacitor 1570 also provides a
transformer-less source of voltage for low voltage supply V, which
includes a 12 k resistor 1580 connected between the positive
terminal of capacitor 1570 and a reverse 40V Zener diode 1590.
Diode 1590 functions to maintain a relatively constant 40V
potential at the junction between the diode and resistor 1580. It
can be seen that the current through the 12 k resistor will be
about 10 mA. Most of this current is used by the low voltage
circuit, which has a relatively constant current demand of about 8
mA. Note that while resistor 1580 and diode 1590 discharge some
current from capacitor 1570, the line voltage supply continuously
recharges the capacitor to maintain the HV supply. A 0.1 .mu.F
capacitor 1600 is connected in parallel with diode 1590 to buffer
the 40V potential of the diode, which is then connected to the
input terminal of an adjustable voltage regulator 1610, such as an
LM317 voltage regulator. The ratio of a 1 k resistor 1620 connected
between the output terminal and adjustment terminal, and a 22 k
resistor 1630 connected between the adjustment terminal and ground,
set the output voltage of regulator 1610 to approximately 30VDC. A
50 .mu.F capacitor 1640 is connected to the output terminal of
regulator 1610 to buffer sufficient charge to ensure that low
voltage supply V can provide the brief 40 mA pulse necessary to
switch on SCR 6130. The described low voltage source is
advantageous because of its low cost and low complexity.
[0093] It should be noted that when high voltage supply HV is
discharged through fusible member 700, the input voltage to voltage
regulator 1610 may temporarily drop below 30V, thereby causing a
corresponding drop in the low voltage supply V. However, since the
reaction system has already been triggered, it is no longer
necessary for the detection system to continue to function as
described and any drop in low voltage supply V will not impair the
functioning of safety system 18.
[0094] It will be appreciated by those of skill in the electrical
arts that the alternative embodiments of excitation system 1010,
monitoring system 1020, firing system 760, and electrical supply
system 1540 may be implemented on a single substrate and/or in a
single package. Additionally, the particular values for the various
electrical circuit elements described above may be varied depending
on the application.
[0095] One limitation of the monitoring systems of FIGS. 9 and 10
is that they actuate the reaction system whenever the incoming
amplitude from charge plate 460 drops below a preset threshold.
Under most circumstances this represents a reliable triggering
mechanism. However, when cutting green wood, a substantial
additional capacitive and resistive load is coupled to the blade.
The moisture in green wood gives it a very high dielectric
constant, and an increased conductivity relative to dry wood. In
fact, when cutting very green wood, i.e. over 50% moisture content,
the amplitude of the signal on charge plate 460 can drop to a level
equivalent to what is seen when a user contacts the blade. Thus,
the systems of FIGS. 9 and 10 are limited in their ability to offer
protection while processing green wood.
[0096] Another embodiment of an electronic subsystem 100 adapted to
accommodate green wood and offering certain other benefits is shown
in FIGS. 11-19. As shown in FIG. 11, system 1000 includes an
excitation system 1010 in the form of a class-C amplifier connected
to a micro-controller 1710. System 1000 also includes a monitoring
system 1020 in the form of a contact sense circuit connected to
controller 1710. A power supply 1730 supplies power to the various
elements of system 1000. A motor controller 1740 is adapted to turn
a motor off and on based on signals from the controller. A boost
regulator 1750 operates to charge a firing system 1760. A rotation
sense circuit 1770 detects rotation of the cutting tool. Lastly, a
user interface 1780 is provided to allow a user to control
operation of the saw and provide feedback on the status of the
system.
[0097] A computer program listing for a controller as shown in FIG.
5 is submitted herewith as a Computer Program Listing Appendix.
[0098] FIG. 12 illustrates the circuitry of the class-C amplifier
in more detail. The amplifier includes a drive output that is
coupled to plate 440 as shown in FIG. 11. The drive output is
sinusoidal at about 500 khz and the amplitude is adjustable between
about 3 volts and 25 volts. A 32-volt input supply line from the
power supply provides power for the amplifier. The base frequency
is provided by a 500 khz square wave input from the controller. The
amplitude is controlled by pulse width modulation from the
controller.
[0099] The controller is programmed to adjust the drive voltage
output from the amplifier to maintain a predetermined amplitude at
plate 460 under varying capacitive loads. Thus, when cutting green
wood, the controller ramps up the drive voltage to maintain the
desired voltage on plate 460. The controller is preferably capable
of skewing the drive voltage between about 1 and 50% per
millisecond, and more preferably between 1 and 10%. This allows the
system to maintain a constant output level under the varying load
created while sawing green wood, or such as might be created by
placing a conductive member such a fence near the blade. The
controller should preferably not skew the drive voltage by much
more than 50% per millisecond, or it may counteract the drop in
signal created by a user contact event.
[0100] FIG. 13 illustrates the change in signal amplitude seen at
plate 460 as the teeth of a 10-inch, 36-tooth saw blade spinning at
4000 rpm contacts a user's finger. Each of the drops in the signal
amplitude is from a single tooth moving through the skin of the
finger. It can be seen, for instance, that the signal amplitude
drops by about 30% over about 500 as the second tooth strikes the
finger. When cutting very green wood, the signal attenuation upon
contact will be more like 15%, but will occur over the same 500.
Therefore, as long as the system can detect a contact event of a
5-25% or greater drop in less than 1000, providing a skew rate of
around 10% per millisecond should not override an actual event. It
will be understood that the skew rate and trigger thresholds can be
adjusted as desired. The primary limiting factor is that the
trigger threshold should not be so small that noise creates false
triggers, unless false triggers are acceptable.
[0101] FIG. 14 shows the details of the contact sense circuit. The
contact sense circuit receives input from plate 460. In this
embodiment, the preferred capacitive coupling between the blade and
the plates is about 30 pF for the drive plate and about 10 pF for
plate 460. The larger drive plate size improved signal transfer for
a given total capacitance of both plates. The actual values are not
critical, and equal values could be used as well. Generally
speaking, the capacitance of the drive plate should be comparable
to the human body capacitance to be detected, i.e. 10-200 pF.
[0102] The input from plate 460 is fed through a high-pass filter
1790 to attenuate any low frequency noise, such as 60 hz noise,
picked up by plate 460. Filter 1790 can also provide amplification
of the signal to a desired level as necessary. The output of the
filter is fed into a set of comparators 1800, 1810. Comparator 1800
pulses high briefly if the maximum signal amplitude from the filter
exceeds the value at its positive input set by voltage divider
1820. The output pulses from the comparator are fed to the
controller. The controller samples over a 2000 window and modulates
the drive amplitude to attempt to maintain the sensed voltage at a
level so that 50% of the waveform cycles generate a pulse through
comparator 1800. If less than 50% generate pulses, then the
controller raises the drive voltage by a set amount. Likewise, if
more than 50% generate pulses, the drive voltage is lowered. The
system can be configured to step by larger or smaller amounts
depending on the deviation from 50% observed during a particular
window. For instance, if 45 pulses are observed, the system may
step up the drive amplitude by 1%. However, if only 35 pulses are
observed, the system may step by 5%. The system will continually
"hunt" to maintain the proper drive level. By selecting the window
duration and adjustment amount, it is possible to control the skew
rate to the desired level as described above.
[0103] Comparator 1810 pulses every cycle of the waveform so long
as the sensed voltage exceeds a lower trigger threshold set by
voltage divider 1820. Therefore, under normal circumstances, this
is a 500 khz pulse. The pulse output from comparator 1810 is fed
through a divide-by-four circuit formed by two D-flip flops to
reduce the frequency to 125 khz--or an 8 .mu.S period. The output
of the divider is fed to the controller. The controller monitors
this line to insure that a pulse occurs at least every 180.
Therefore, if more than about half of the pulse are missing in over
an 18 .mu.S period, the controller will trigger the reaction
system. Of course, the particular period can be selected as desired
to maximize reliability of contact detection and minimize false
triggers. A benefit of the described arrangement is that a single
pulse or even two may be missing, such as due to noise, without
triggering the system. However, if more pulses are missing, the
system will still be triggered reliably. The particular trigger
level for missing pulses is set by the voltage divider. This level
will typically be between 5 and 40% for the described system.
[0104] FIG. 15 illustrates the circuit of power supply 1730. The
power supply includes an unregulated 32-volt output and regulated
5, 15 and 24-volt outputs. The 24-volt output is used to power the
excitation signal, which has a relatively large voltage, and the
32-volt output powers a capacitor charging circuit described below.
The 5-volt output powers the controller and other logic circuitry,
while the 15-volt output operates most of the analog electronics. A
low-voltage output is monitored by the controller to insure that
adequate voltage is present to operate the system.
[0105] Boost regulator 1750 and firing system 1760 are shown in
FIG. 16. Boost regulator 1750 includes a buck-boost charger 1830
that steps up the 32-volt supply input to 180 volts for charging
the firing circuit. The controller provides a 125 khz input to
modulate the buck-boost cycle of the charger. A regulator circuit
1840 monitors the voltage from the firing circuit and turns the
charger on or off as necessary to maintain the charge near 180
volts. The regulator circuit is constructed with a predetermined
amount of hysteresis so that the charger will turn on when the
firing circuit voltage falls below 177 volts and turn off when the
voltage reaches 180 volts, as set by the voltage divider inputs and
feedback to comparator 1850. The output of comparator 1850 is fed
to the controller. By monitoring the charge and discharge time
based on the state of the output of comparator 1850, the controller
can verify that the capacitor in the firing circuit is operating
properly and storing adequate charge. An overvoltage circuit uses a
220V transient suppressor to signal the controller if the voltage
on the capacitor exceeds about 220V. This testing is described in
more detail in U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No.
60/225,059, titled "Logic Control for Fast-Acting Safety System,"
filed Aug. 14, 2000. The firing circuit is described in more detail
in U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/225,056, titled
"Firing Subsystem for Use in a Fast-Acting Safety System," filed
Aug. 14, 2000.
[0106] FIG. 17 illustrates the circuitry of motor control 1740. The
motor control receives a logic level control signal from the
controller to turn the motor on and off based on input from the
user interface, described in more detail below. The motor control
also turns off the motor when a trigger event occurs. The logic
signal is electrically isolated from the motor voltage by an
optoisolated triac driver. This isolates the ground of the
detection system from the ground of the motor power. A mechanical
relay or similar device can also be used and will provide the same
isolation. When the optoisolated triac drive receives a signal from
the controller, it turns on Q6040K7 triac to provide power to the
machine.
[0107] The rotation sense circuit is shown in FIG. 18. The purpose
of the rotation sense circuit is to insure that the contact
detection system is not turned off until the cutter or blade as
stopped. The rotation sense circuit utilizes a hall-effect sensor
that is located adjacent a rotating portion of the machine. A small
magnet is inserted in the rotating portion to signal the
hall-effect sensor. Output of the hall-effect sensor is fed to the
controller. As described in more detail in U.S. Provisional Patent
Application Ser. No. 60/225,059, titled "Logic Control for
Fast-Acting Safety System," filed Aug. 14, 2000, the controller
monitors the output of the hall-effect sensor to determine when the
cutter has coasted to a stop. Once the cutter stops, any sensed
contact will no longer trigger the reaction system. It should be
noted that rotation of the cutter could be detected by other
arrangements as well. Various suitable mechanisms are described in
U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/225,094, titled
"Motion Detecting System for Use in A Safety System for Power
Equipment," filed Aug. 14, 2000.
[0108] For instance, a small eccentricity can be placed on the
cutter or some other isolated structure that rotates with the
cutter, such as the arbor. This eccentricity can be placed to pass
by sense plate 460 or by a separate sensing plate. The eccentricity
will modulate the detected signal amplitude so long as the cutter
is rotating. This modulation can be monitored to detect rotation.
If the eccentricity is sensed by sense plate 460, it should be
small enough that the signal modulation generated will not register
as a contact event. As another alternative, rotation can be sensed
by electromagnetic feedback from the motor.
[0109] The controller may also be designed to monitor line voltage
to insure that adequate voltage is present to operate the system.
For instance, during motor start up, the AC voltage available to
the safety system may drop nearly in half depending on the cabling
to the saw. If the voltage drops below a safe level, the controller
can shut off the saw motor. Alternatively, the controller may
include a capacitor of sufficient capacity to operate the system
for several seconds without power input while the saw is
starting.
[0110] User interface 1780 is shown in FIG. 19. The user interface
includes start, stop and bypass buttons that are used to control
the operation of the saw. The bypass button allows the user to
disable the contact detection system for a single on/off cycle of
the saw so as to be able to saw metal or other materials that would
otherwise trigger the reaction system. The user interface also
includes red and green LEDs that are used to report the status of
the system to a user. More details on the operation of suitable
user interfaces are described in U.S. Provisional Patent
Application Ser. No. 60/225,059, titled "Logic Control for
Fast-Acting Safety System," filed Aug. 14, 2000.
[0111] Two additional electronic configurations for detection
subsystem 22 are shown in FIGS. 20-24. As illustrated in FIG. 21,
the alternative detection systems utilize a micro-controller 1710
to manage and monitor various functions. An excitation system
delivers a 350 khz sine wave drive signal through plate 44 to the
blade. The circuit for generating the drive signal is illustrated
in FIG. 21. The excitation circuit uses a 700 khz oscillator with
an output fed into a double to generate a 1.4 Mhz signal. The
output of the double is fed into a set of S-R flip-flops to extract
phase signals at 90-degree intervals. The phase signals are used to
drive a synchronous detection system that forms one of the two
embodiments of FIGS. 20-24 and is shown in more detail in FIG. 23.
The 350 khz square wave 180-degree phase signal is fed through an
inverter and a buffer amplifier into a Q=10, 350 khz band pass
filter.
[0112] The output of the band pass filter is a 350 khz sine wave
that is fed through another buffer amplifier to a sense amplifier
190 shown in FIG. 22. The output of the sense amplifier is fed to
plate 440 and the input from plate 460 is fed back to the negative
input. When a user touches cutter 400, the feedback on the sense
amplifier is reduced, thereby causing the output amplitude to go
up. The result of this arrangement is that the drive amplitude on
the blade is small during normal use and rises only when a user
touches the blade or green wood is cut. In this embodiment, the
preferred capacitive coupling of the plates to the blade is about
90 pF each, although other values could be used.
[0113] The output of the sense amplifier is fed through a buffer
and into a 350 khz band pass filter to filter out any noise that
may have been picked up from the blade or plates. The output of the
band pass filter is fed through a buffer and into a level detector.
The level detector generates a DC output proportional to the
amplitude of the sense amplifier. The output of the level detector
is smoothed by an RC circuit to reduce ripple and fed into a
differentiator. The differentiator generates an output proportional
to the rate of change of the sense amplifier output amplitude. As
mentioned above, the sense amplifier output only changes when a
user touches the blade or green wood is cut. The change when
cutting green wood is slow relative to what happens when a user
touches the blade. Therefore, the differentiator is tuned to
respond to a user contact, while generating minimal response to
green wood. The output of the differentiator is then fed to a
comparator that acts as threshold detector to determine if the
output of the differentiator has reached a predetermined level set
by the voltage divider network. The output of the threshold
detector is fed through a Schmitt-trigger that signals the
controller that a contact event has occurred. An RC network acts as
a pulse stretcher to insure that the signal lasts long enough to be
detected by the controller.
[0114] The output from the level detector is also fed to an analog
to digital input on the controller. It may be that the under some
circumstances, such as while cutting extremely green wood, the
response of the sense amplifier will be near saturation. If this
happens, the amplifier may no longer be capable of responding to a
contact event. In order to provide a warning of this situation, the
controller monitors this line to make sure that the detected level
stays low enough to allow a subsequent contact to be detected. If
an excess impedance load is detected, the controller can shut down
the saw without triggering the reaction system to provide the user
with a warning. If the user wants to continue, they can initiate
the bypass mode as described above.
[0115] The second of the two alternative detection systems of FIGS.
20-24 is a synchronous detector that uses the phase information
generated by the flip-flops in FIG. 21. This system drives plate 44
through the ALT DRIVE circuit shown in FIG. 21. This ALT DRIVE
circuit and the detection circuit of FIG. 23 are substituted for
the circuit of FIG. 22. As shown in FIG. 23, the signal from plate
460 is fed through a pair of buffer/amplifiers into a set of analog
switches. The switches are controlled by the phase information from
the flip-flops. This arrangement generates an output signal that is
proportional to the amplitude of the signal detected from plate 460
with improved noise immunity because of the synchronous detection.
The output signal is fed into a differentiator and threshold
detector circuit as previously described. These circuits send a
trigger signal to the controller when the detected signal amplitude
drops at a rate sufficient for the differentiator to have an output
exceeding the threshold level.
[0116] FIG. 24 illustrates a power supply and firing system suited
for use in these two alternative arrangements. The power supply
generates plus and minus 15-volt levels, as well as a 5-volts
level. The capacitor in the firing circuit is charged by a
secondary input winding on the power transformer. This arrangement
provides for isolation of the system ground from the machine ground
and avoids the need to step up power supply voltage to the
capacitor voltage as accomplished by boost regulator 1750. However,
the capacitor charge voltage becomes dependent on the line voltage,
which is somewhat less predictable.
[0117] The charging circuit for the capacitor is regulated by an
enable line from the controller. By deactivating the charging
circuit, the controller can monitor the capacitor voltage through
an output to an AID line on the controller. When the capacitor is
not being charged, it should discharge at a relatively know rate
through the various paths to ground. By monitoring the discharge
rate, the controller can insure that the capacitance of the
capacitor is sufficient to burn the fusible member. The trigger
control from the controller is used to fire the SCR to burn the
fusible member.
[0118] With any of the above electronic subsystems, it is possible
to avoid triggering in the event metal or metal-foiled materials
are cut by looking for the amplitude of the signal, or the rate of
change, depending on the system, to fall within a window or band
rather than simply exceeding or falling below a certain threshold.
More particularly, when metal is cut, the detected signal will drop
to almost zero, and will drop within a single cycle. Thus, the
controller or threshold detection circuitry can be configured to
look for amplitude change of somewhat less than 100%, but more than
10% as a trigger event, to eliminate triggering on metal or other
conductive work pieces which would normally substantially
completely ground the signal.
[0119] It should be noted that, although not essential, all of the
described embodiments operate at a relatively high frequency--above
100 khz. This high frequency is believed to be advantageous for two
reasons. First, with a high frequency, it is possible to detect
contact more quickly and sample many cycles of the waveform within
a short period of time. This allows the detection system to look
for multiple missed pulses rather than just one missed pulse, such
as might occur due to noise, to trigger the reaction system. In
addition, the higher frequency is believed to provide a better
signal to noise ratio when cutting green wood, which has a lower
impedance at lower frequencies.
[0120] As described above, the present invention provides a band
saw which is substantially safer than existing saws. The band saw
includes a safety system adapted to detect the occurrence of a
dangerous condition, such as a person accidentally touching the
moving blade, and to stop movement of the blade to prevent serious
injury to a user. The band saw may be used to cut wood, plastic, or
other non-conductive material.
[0121] The band saw also may be modified for use in the meat
cutting industry. In that case, the detection system would be
modified so that a user of the band saw would wear a glove with one
or more interior wires on which an electrical signal is induced.
When the blade cuts into the glove and contacts the interior wires,
the blade would ground the wires and the detection subsystem would
detect that the signal on the wires had changed. The reaction
system would then trigger as described above.
[0122] While several particular exemplary embodiments have been
described and illustrated, it will be appreciated that many
different modifications and alterations may be made within the
scope of the invention.
* * * * *