Patent ID: 7849774
Filing Date: 2010-12-14
Classification: B23D,Y10T

Abstract:
1. A power miter saw comprising: a saw base having a fence for positioning a work piece; a table rotatably connected to said saw base about a vertical shaft, said shaft having at least a threaded end portion and a nut threaded on said end portion for holding said table and said saw base together, the amount of resistance to rotation of said table relative to said saw base being controlled by the tightness of said nut; a handle assembly for angularly positioning said table relative to said saw base; a saw blade and motor assembly operatively connected to said table and being pivotable about a horizontal axis to move a saw blade into and out of cutting position; a miter sensing unit operatively connected to said saw base and said table for determining the angular position of said table relative to said saw base and generating position signals indicative thereof; a display unit operatively connected to said sensing unit for receiving said position signals and providing a digital display of said determined angular position; wherein said vertical shaft is non-rotationally attached to said table and extends through an opening in said saw base, said miter sensing unit being located on said shaft between said saw base and said nut; and wherein said sensing unit comprises a first element surrounding said vertical shaft and being rotationally fixed to, and axially movable relative to said vertical shaft, and a second element surrounding said first element, said second element being rotationally fixed to, and axially movable relative to the saw base, such that the sensing unit does not interfere with access to said nut, there being a thrust surface between said first element and said saw base to facilitate easy rotation between said first element and said saw base in the presence of axial force being applied by said nut.