Reciprocating saw with clamp for receiving blade in multiple orientations

Abstract: A reciprocating saw (11) with a keyless blade clamp (35) having a slotted channel (37) in a clamp body (39) for receiving a blade (40) alternatively in first and second, intersecting cutting planes. The blade (40) may be alternatively oriented in four 90° offset orientations with the blade teeth facing in the same directions as the top, bottom, left and right side of the saw (11). When the retainer (53) is in the clamp disengaged position, a blade (40) may be slidably inserted and removed from the channel (37) in any of the four 90° offset orientations. A retainer (53) is located in a track (51) in the clamp body (39) and is movable between clamp engaged and disengaged positions. When the blade (40) is located in the first cutting plane, the retainer (53) engages the edge (55) of the blade. When the blade (40) is in the second cutting plane, the retainer (53) engages the sidewall (57) of the blade (40). A manual operated, spring biased release 61 is pivotally connected to the clamp body 39 and is connected to the outer tips (73, 75) of the retainer (53) for moving the retainer (53) between a clamp engaged and a clamp disengaged position.

Description: This invention relates to saws and more particularly relates to reciprocating saws that are used typically for rough cutting applications. Reciprocating saws are used by variety of tradesmen such as plumbers, electricians and carpenters for both remodeling and new construction. Many of the applications require the saw to be used in confined locations that restrict the maneuverability of the saw. Conventionally such saws have an elongated, integral housing and have the blade fixed for reciprocation in a single plane. One known way for increasing the maneuverability of the saw is to make the blade clamp and drive rotatable about the axis of reciprocation of the output shaft of the saw. As a result the blade can be rotated into any angular orientation about the axis of reciprocation permitting the blade to more easily positioned for cutting in a corner or adjacent to the vertex of an angular workpiece. Examples of such saws are disclosed in US Patent 5,193,281 and PCT application WO94/00264. These approaches requiring the drive shaft to be rotatable about its axis of reciprocation are complex and have not proved to be practical. Another approach is to make the blade holder capable of receiving the blade in a plurality of cutting planes parallel to the axis of reciprocation. An example of this approach is disclosed in European patent application 0,072,282. The clamp has a plate connected to the output shaft with screws. To change blade orientation between 90° offset cutting planes requires removing the plates by unscrewing the screws, changing the blade orientation, rotating the plate 180° and then reattaching the plate to the shaft. While simpler and more practical, this approach still fails to achieve the desired level of simplicity. US Patent No. 3,528,463 also discloses a blade holder capable of receiving the blade in a plurality of cutting planes as according to the precharacterising portion of claim 1. A further strong design preference in power tools today is to develop keyless chucks and clamps which do not require tools for clamping and unclamping an accessory bit or blade in the power tool. A keyless clamp is desirable because it is normally easier to use and can be used without auxiliary tools which frequently become misplaced or lost. As used herein, a keyless clamp means a clamp that can be opened and closed without the aid of an auxiliary tool by manual adjustment of the clamp segments. The present invention has a number of aspects. According to one aspect of the present invention, a reciprocating saw comprises: a housing; a motor in the housing; a gear train located in the housing and connected to and driven by the motor; an output shaft driven by the gear train; and a blade clamp attached to and driven by the output shaft, the clamp having a channel for receiving a blade oriented relative to the channel alternatively in a first cutting plane parallel to the axis of reciprocation of the output shaft and in a second cutting plane intersecting the first cutting plane and parallel to the axis of the output shaft characterised in that the clamp is a keyless blade clamp including a retainer engageable with an edge of a shank of a blade located in the first cutting plane engageable with a sidewall of a shank of a blade located in the second cutting plane. Preferably the channel has a pair of intersecting slots for slidably receiving the blade in first and second cutting planes. The blade may be oriented in the first cutting plane with the teeth facing in the same direction as the bottom or top of the clamp body and may be oriented in the second cutting plane with the teeth facing in the same direction as the right or left sidewall of the clamp body. Preferably the clamp has a retainer located in a track of the clamp body and manually movable between clamp engaged and disengaged positions. The clamp may also comprise a manual release for moving the retainer between the clamp engaged and disengaged positions. The release is preferably U-shaped with a pair of legs which are pivotally connected to the clamp body and receive opposed tips of the retainer. According to a second aspect of the present invention, a reciprocating saw comprises a housing, a motor in the housing, a gear train driven by the motor and an output shaft driven by the gear train. A blade clamp, in accordance with the first aspect of the invention described above, is connected to and driven by the output shaft. Other preferred aspects of the invention will be apparent from reviewing the appended claims. One form of saw and clamp according to the present invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 is a perspective view of a reciprocating saw in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention. Figure 2 shows a side elevational view of the saw of Figure 1 and illustrates an application for the saw when the blade is oriented to reciprocate in a cutting plane perpendicular to the sidewalls of the saw. Figure 3 shows a side elevational view of the saw of Figure 1 and illustrates an application for the saw when the blade is oriented in a cutting plane parallel to the sidewalls of the saw with the saw teeth projecting upwardly. Figure 4 is a front elevational view of a blade clamp for the saw of Figure 1 in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention. Figure 5 is a side elevational view, taken along line 5-5 of Figure 4, of the clamp without a blade mounted in the blade receiving channel. Figure 6 is a cross sectional view, taken along line 6-6 of Figure 4, of the clamp without a blade mounted in the blade receiving channel. Figure 7 is a cross sectional view, taken along line 6-6 of Figure 4, of the clamp with a blade clamped in the blade receiving channel in a cutting plane transverse the sidewalls of the saw. Figure 8 is a cross sectional view, taken along line 6-6 of Figure 4, of the clamp with a blade clamped in the blade receiving channel in a cutting plane parallel to the sidewalls of the saw. The present invention is directed to reciprocating saws preferably of the type shown in Figures 1-3 and used for rough cutting applications such as plumbing, heating, ventilating, and air conditioning and to blade clamps for such saws. The clamp of the present invention is preferably used on such reciprocating saws but may be used also on other reciprocating saws commonly known as jigsaws. In addition the clamp could be adaptable to any saw with a thin elongated blade. According to the present invention, a reciprocating saw 11 comprises a housing 13 which preferably is elongated and includes a pair of opposed sidewalls 15, 17, a top wall 19, a bottom wall 21, a front end, a rear end 23 and a handle 25 adjacent the rear end 23. The top wall 19 and bottom wall 21 extend between the sidewall 15, 17. Such a housing configuration is conventional but the invention is clearly adaptable to other housings. According to the present invention (Figure 1), the saw 11 further comprises a motor 29 disposed in the housing 13. The motor 29 is preferably a conventional motor such as a universal or permanent magnet dc motor commonly used for power tool applications. According to the present invention (Figure 1), the saw 11 further comprises a gear train 31 and output shaft 33 and driven by the gear train 31. The gear train 31 is disposed in the housing 13 and connected to and driven by the motor 29. The gear train 31 may be a conventional type such as a bevel gear drive train or a wobble plate drive train which are commonly used for reciprocation saw applications. The output shaft 33 is preferably tubular but may be of any conventional construction. According to the present invention (Figures 4-8), the saw 11 further comprises a keyless clamp 35 attached to and driven by the output shaft 33. The clamp 35 has a channel 37 formed in a clamp body 39 for receiving a blade 40 oriented relative to the channel 37 alternatively in a first cutting plane and in a second plane intersecting the first cutting plane. Preferably, the body 39 has a cylindrical projection 41 inserted in and rigidly attached to a tubular end 43 of the output shaft 33 of the saw 11 with a pin 45. The channel 37 preferably has a pair of intersecting slots 47, 49 for receiving the blade 40 in the first and second cutting planes, respectively. The slots 47, 49 are sized to be approximately the same size as the blade shank 50. The channel 37 alternatively receives the blade 40 in the first cutting plane in first and second orientations: the first with the teeth facing in same direction as the top wall 19 of the saw housing 13 and the second with the teeth facing in the same direction as the bottom wall 21 of the saw housing 13. The channel 37 alternatively receives the blade 40 in the second cutting plane in third and fourth orientations: the third with the teeth facing in the same direction as the left sidewall 15 and the fourth with the teeth facing in the same direction as the right sidewall 17. The first cutting plane orientations are in 180° offset from each other and the second cutting plane orientations are 180° offset from each other. The first cutting plane orientations are offset from the second cutting plane orientations by 90°. Preferably, the clamp 35 further comprises a track 51 formed in the body 39 and a retainer 53 located in the track 51. The retainer 53 is manually movable between clamp engaged and clamp disengaged positions with a blade 40 located in the channel 37 in the first and second cutting planes. The track 51 extends toward and away from the intersection of the slots 47, 49 whereby in the clamp engaged position the retainer 53 can engage, as shown in Figure 8, the edge 55 of a blade 40 located in the first slot 47 and, as shown in Figure 7, the sidewall 57 of the blade 40 located in the second slot 49. The retainer 53 is preferably a pin with a centrally disposed, inwardly tapered, annular recess 59 for engaging edge 55 of the blade 40 in the clamp engaged position. The clamp retainer 53 is manually operable through the use of a manually operable release 61 discussed below so that the clamp 35 is "keyless". Keyless clamps provide the advantage that no tools are required to open and close the clamp. The clamp 35 preferably further comprises a manual release 61 pivotally connected to the body 39 and engaged with the retainer 53 for moving the retainer 53 between the clamp engaged position and the clamp disengaged position. The release 61 is U-shaped and has a pair of legs 63, 65 pivoted to opposed sides of the body 39 and has an elongated opening 67, 69 in each leg 63, 65 inwardly of the pivotal connection 71 to the body 39 for receiving, respectively, one of the opposed tips 73, 75 of the retainer 53. The release 61 is spring biased counterclockwise (Figure 5) about pivot 71 into the clamp engaged position by a pair of torsion springs 77, 79. Each torsion springs 77, 79 is connected between one of the opposed retainer pin tips 73, 75 and a nib 81 (only one shown) projecting from each sidewall of the clamp body 39. In operation, a blade 40 can be alternatively located in the clamp 35 with the teeth facing in-the same direction as the top wall 19, bottom wall 21, left sidewall 15 and right sidewall 17 of the saw 11. To insert a blade 40 into the clamp 35, the release 61 is manually pivoted about pivot 71 clockwise in FIG 5 to move the retainer 53 from the front end of the track 51 to the rear end 23 of the track 51 as the retainer 53 is moved from the bottom to the top of the elongated opening 67, 69 in each leg 63, 65 of the release 61. With the retainer 53 in the rearward portion of the track 51, a blade 40 may be slidably inserted into any of four orientations 90° offset from each other. For example as shown in FIG 8, the shank 50 of the blade 40 can be inserted into the vertical slot 47 in FIG 4 with the teeth facing downward or facing in the same direction as the bottom wall 21 of the saw 11. When the shank 50 is fully inserted into the slot 47, the release 61 is released and the retainer 53 is engaged with the upper edge 55 of the blade. Alternatively, the blade 40 can be inserted into the horizontal slot 49 in Figure 4 with the teeth facing in the same direction as the left sidewall 15 of the saw 11. When the blade 40 is in the horizontal slot 49 the retainer 53 is engaged with the sidewall 57 of the blade shank 50 as shown in Figure 7. The versatility of the saw 11 with a blade 40 that can be oriented in 90 degree offset locations is illustrated in Figures 2 and 3. As shown in Figure 2, a cut can be made close to the intersection of two walls 83, 85 joining at a 90 degree angle. When making such a cut, the saw 11 can be held in the normal orientation with the sidewall 15, 17 of the saw 11 vertically aligned. As shown in Figure 3, a cut can be made in a board 87 attached to a flat surface 89. Again when making such a cut, the saw 11 can be held in the conventional orientation with the sidewalls 15, 17 vertically aligned. Other applications will be apparent to those skilled in the art. As will be recognized the versatility and maneuverability of the saw 11 is markedly enhanced when equipped with a clamp 35 in accordance with the present invention. Various modifications and variations can be made in a saw according to the present invention without departing from the scope of the invention. Thus, the present invention is intended to cover these modifications and variations provided they come within the scope of the appending claims.

Claims: A reciprocating saw comprising: a housing (13); a motor (29) in the housing; a gear train (31) located in the housing and connected to and driven by the motor; an output shaft (33) driven by the gear train (31); and a blade clamp (35) attached to and driven by the output shaft (33), the clamp (35) having a channel (37) for receiving a blade (40) oriented relative to the channel (37) alternatively in a first cutting plane parallel to the axis of reciprocation of the output shaft (33) and in a second cutting plane intersecting the first cutting plane and parallel to the axis of the output shaft (33), characterised in that the clamp (35) is a keyless blade clamp including retainer(53)engageable with an edge(55)of a shank(50) of a blade (40) located in the first cutting plane and engageable with a sidewall of a shank(50) of a blade(40)located in the second cutting plane. A saw as claimed in claim 1, wherein the blade clamp (35) has a body (39) having opposed front and rear ends, the rear end fixed to the shaft. A saw as claimed in either one of claims 1 or 2, wherein the first and second planes are perpendicular. A saw as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the channel (37) has a pair of intersecting slots (47,49) for receiving the blade (40) in the first and second cutting planes respectively. A saw as claimed in claim 4, wherein the first and second slots (47,49) are each approximately equal in thickness to the thickness of a shank (50) of a blade (40) and are each for slidably receiving the blade shank. A saw as claimed in any one of the previous claims, wherein the retainer (53) is a pin with a substantially cylindrical outer surface engageable with the sidewall of the blade shank (50) in the second cutting plane. A saw as claimed in any one of the previous claims, wherein the retainer has an inwardly tapered recess for engaging the edge of the blade shank (50) in the first cutting plane. A saw as claimed in any one of the previous claims, wherein the clamp (35) has a track (51), and the retainer (53) is located in the track (51) and the retainer (53) is manually movable between clamp engaged and clamp disengaged positions with a blade shank (50) located in the channel in one of the first or second cutting planes. A saw as claimed in claim 8, wherein the track (51) guides movement of the retainer (53) toward and away from the channel (37); and the clamp comprises a manual release (61) having an elongated aperture (67,69) receiving the retainer (53) the release (61) being pivotally connected to the body for manually moving the retainer (53) in the track (51) between clamp engaged and clamp disengaged positions with a blade shank (50) in the channel. A saw as claimed in either one of claims 8 or 9, wherein the pair of intersecting slots (47,49) comprises intersecting first (47) and second (49) slots, and wherein the first slot(47) has a first extreme end adjacent the track (51) and a second extreme end distant from the track (51) and the intersection of the first (47) and second (49) slots is located closer to the first extreme end than the second extreme end. A saw as claimed in claim 10, wherein: the track (51) has opposed open ends; the release (61) is substantially "U"-shaped, having a pair of legs (63,65) pivotally connected to opposed sides of the body (39) and the release (61) has an elongated opening (67,69) in each leg (63,65) inwardly of the pivotal connection to the body; and the retainer (53) is a pin with opposed tips (73,75) wherein the elongated opening (67,69) in each leg (63,65) receives one of the opposed tips (73,75) of the retainer (53) respectively. A saw as claimed in any one of the previous claims, wherein the housing (13) is elongated in a direction generally parallel to the output shaft, has a pair of opposed sidewalls (15,17) a top wall (19) and a bottom wall (21), the top and bottom walls extending between the sidewalls, a front end, rear end and handle (25) adjacent to the rear end. A saw as claimed in claim 12, wherein the first cutting plane intersects the top and bottom wall and the second cutting plane intersects the sidewalls. A saw as claimed in claim 13, wherein the channel (37) alternatively receives the blade in the first cutting plane with teeth facing in the same direction as the top wall and with the teeth facing in the same direction as the bottom wall; and the channel (37) can alternatively receive the blade (40) in the second cutting plane with the teeth facing the same direction as the left sidewall or with the teeth facing in the same direction as the right sidewall.

Inventors: GRANT JEFFREY P, MELVIN JASON R, GRANT, JEFFREY P, MELVIN, JASON R.
Applicants: BLACK & DECKER INC, BLACK & DECKER INC.
Application year: 1998
Main classification: B23D51
IPC codes: B23D51