Abstract:
A power tool comprising an electric motor for driving a tool is disclosed. The electric motor comprises a shaft, an armature, and a brush collector. The stator is configured as a self-supporting unit comprising first and second supporting parts. One of the supporting parts may be configured as an air guide ring allowing air to be routed between a fan and the opposite end of the electric motor along the armature and the brushes.

Description:
RELATED APPLICATIONS 
   This application is a continuation application of International Patent Application PCT/EP2003/011097 filed Oct. 8, 2003 and claiming priority of German patent application DE 10248921.2 filed Oct. 17, 2002 which is fully incorporated by reference herewith. 

   BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   The invention relates to an power tool having an electric motor for driving a tool, having a motor shaft, having a stator, having an armature and having a commutator with brushes. 
   An power tool such as this is known, for example from WO 01/51251 A1 which corresponds to U.S. Ser. No. 2002/0151262 A2. The known power tool is an angle grinder with a universal motor which has a fan at its end facing the tool, and has a commutator with brushes at the opposite end. The angle grinder is surrounded by a housing on which the bearing for the motor shaft, a tool head for driving the tool, the brushes, switches and the like are held. 
   Power tools such as these have been known for many years. 
   Normally, power tools are driven by universal motors. A universal motor normally has a housing within which a stator with pole field windings is provided, within which an armature is arranged such that it can rotate. The armature is held on a motor shaft, which is mounted by means of bearings on the housing such that it can rotate. Furthermore, a universal motor has a fan which is provided at a first end of the armature, and has a commutator with brushes, which is provided at the other end of the armature. 
   Owing to the high power/weight ratio and the capability to use them universally with direct current and with alternating current, universal motors such as these have been proven for driving power tools. As before, power tools are subject to the requirement for weight reduction, for an increase in power and for a reduction in the physical size for the same power. Furthermore, rationalization efforts are continuously resulting in the requirements for a design which is as simple and cost-effective as possible and for simple installation. Furthermore, reliability that is as high as possible is desired, even for use in continuous operation. 
   Power tools having a housing in the form of a rod always have a specific shaft diameter for a specific power class, thus resulting in a specific minimum diameter for a rod housing, owing to the necessity for the commutator and the associated brushes. If it is now intended to increase the power of an power tool such as this, then this at the same time involves the rod housing having a larger diameter, which has a disadvantageous effect on the handling capability, since excessively large diameters can be gripped with the hand only with difficulty. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   It is a first object of the invention to disclose an improved power tool having a particularly ergonomic design. 
   It is a second object of the invention to disclose an improved power tool having an improved high power/weight ratio. 
   It is a third object of the invention to disclose a power tool having a high reliability under adverse operating conditions. 
   These and other objects of the invention are achieved by a power tool having a self-supporting stator to each of whose two ends a supporting part is attached, wherein brushes are attached by means of brush holders to the two supporting parts, and wherein the motor shaft is mounted on the two supporting parts, or on parts which are attached to them. 
   The object of the invention is achieved completely in this way. 
   While, in the past, the stator and the other parts of the motor such as brushes, bearings for the motor shaft, switches and the like have been accommodated in the housing, a self-supporting structure is now used which leads to a weight reduction, and thus to an improved power/weight ratio. In this case, all of the further components of the power tool can be attached to the self-supporting stator by means of the two supporting parts. In this context, these components include, for example, a housing for the power tool, one or more switches, as well as control electronics for controlling the electric motor. 
   The brushes together with the brush holder and at least one switch are preferably held on a first of the supporting parts, while the control electronics and at least one switch are held on a second of the supporting parts. 
   This allows a particularly space-saving and weight-saving design. 
   In a further advantageous development of the invention, the two supporting parts are connected to a housing. 
   In this way, the load-bearing parts of the power tool can be attached to the supporting parts, and the supporting parts may have widely differing functions, while the housing, which must be specially adapted for the purpose of ergonomic handling of the power tool can be attached to the supporting parts. This decouples the load-bearing function of the supporting parts and the external design of the housing from one another, and simplifies assembly. 
   According to a further development of the invention, a tool head, into which the tool can be inserted, is attached to a first of the two supporting parts. 
   In contrast, the motor shaft is preferably mounted in bearings on the tool head and on a second supporting part. 
   If necessary, the tool head may in this case have a gearbox. 
   These features assist a modular, particularly space-saving, and ergonomic design of the power tool. 
   According to a further embodiment of the invention, a switch is attached at least to the first supporting part and can be operated via an activation surface which is held on the housing. 
   In this case, an activation surface is preferably formed both on the first and on the second supporting part, thus making it possible to hold an power tool in the form of a rod using one or two hands. The activation surface itself may in this case be formed either directly on the relevant supporting parts or else on the housing, which extends beyond the relevant supporting part. 
   According to a further development of the invention, mutually opposite brush holders are held on the first supporting part. 
   According to a development of this embodiment, the first supporting part has means for electrical connection of the brushes to the stator. 
   This further simplifies the design. For this purpose, by way of example, a contact can be provided directly on the supporting part, which is otherwise composed of insulating material, allowing contact to be made via a plug connection with the stator. If required, a cable connection may also be provided. 
   In an additional development of the invention, a grip surface which tapers in the area between the two mutually opposite brush holders is provided on the first supporting part. 
   The housing may be roughly oval in this area. 
   This embodiment avoids the disadvantage resulting from the relatively large distance in the area of the two mutually opposite brushes. Instead of having to design the grip surface to be rotationally symmetrical in this area, an approximately oval or elliptical grip surface shape is chosen, so that the larger cross section between the two brushes can be achieved with a narrower cross section in the area in between them. This allows a grip surface with a relatively short grip separation for the fingers even for a relatively high-power power tool. 
   The two supporting parts are preferably composed of an insulating material, in particular of plastic. 
   This on the one hand results in a low weight, while on the other hand parts with a complicated shape molded from plastic can be produced using a casting method. Particularly when electrical switches are intended to be held on the supporting parts, an insulated version is particularly advantageous. This makes it possible to achieve the required protection against direct contact for power tools which are operated with mains voltage, in a simpler manner. 
   Particularly if the power tool is equipped with optical switches, the protection against direct contact can in this case be achieved in a particularly simple manner. 
   According to a further development of the invention, at least one activation surface for operation of a switching element of a switch is provided at least on one of the two supporting parts. 
   An embodiment such as this allows a particularly ergonomic design to be achieved, once again in particular when optical switches are used as switches which operate, for example, by means of optical waveguides between which the signal transmission is influenced by means of a monitoring element. 
   According to a further development of the invention, a fan is held on the motor shaft in the area between the first supporting part and the tool head. 
   This advantageously allows the fan to be partially integrated in the first supporting part and partially in the tool head in order to achieve a particularly space-saving arrangement. 
   According to a further alternative of the invention, the object in the case of an power tool of the type mentioned initially is achieved, according to the invention, by arranging the commutator between the fan and the winding core of the armature. 
   An arrangement such as this allows the power tool to be produced with a shorter shape, while also achieving better ergonomics. This is particularly advantageous when this embodiment is combined with the already-mentioned self-supporting embodiment of the stator and the two supporting parts which are held on it. If switches are intended to be accommodated in the area of the first grip part, for example in the case of an embodiment in the form of optical switches, a certain amount of space is required in any case for installation of the switch. This can at the same time be used for installation of the commutator in this area. To this extent, the commutator, brushes and one or more switches can be accommodated in the area of the first supporting part, thus making it possible to reduce the overall physical size. Furthermore, no carbon dust from the brushes is blown through the motor. In addition, as a consequence of the space which is required in any case for the brushes, the first supporting part may be an air guide ring for advantageously guiding the air towards the fan, in which case a nozzle effect can be achieved at the same time. 
   As has already been mentioned above, an embodiment with switches or sensors in particular in the form of light-optical elements is particularly preferable. In this case, at least two optical waveguides are provided in each case, which have an associated transmitter and a receiver, as well as a monitoring element, for influencing the light signals which are transmitted between the optical waveguides. 
   Optical switches or sensors such as these can be accommodated in a particularly space-saving manner on virtually all of the parts of the power tool, thus making it possible to considerably improve the ergonomics overall. 
   For an embodiment such as this with optical waveguides, it is preferable to use a mount element for holding the optical waveguides, which has a molding in which depressions are provided, in which the optical waveguides can be inserted. 
   This has the advantage that the optical waveguides are better protected against vibration, environmental influences and the like, and that the assembly process is simplified, since the optical waveguides can be integrated in the mount element in advance so that only an already completed mount element now need be installed. 
   In this case, the molding preferably has holders for transmitting or receiving elements which are associated with the optical waveguides, or for switching elements for influencing radiation which is transmitted by the optical waveguides. 
   Furthermore, the molding may have a holder for LEDs. 
   This allows the optical waveguides to be attached together with the associated transmitting or receiving elements and together with the associated switching elements to the mount elements, thus allowing a simpler design and simpler assembly, overall. 
   Furthermore, it is preferable for the molding to interact with the housing of the power tool in order to seal the optical waveguides which are held in the molding, and/or transmitting or receiving elements or switching elements which are coupled to them, against contamination by dust or the like. 
   In this case, the molding together with the housing may form a completely sealed unit. 
   This results in better operational reliability, since the optical waveguides are screened from dust and the like by means of the mount element. This is particularly important for power tools in which it can be expected that a large amount of dust will be produced, for example in the case of grinders. 
   In one additional development of the invention, the molding is composed of a vibration-damping and/or acoustically damping material. It is also possible to mount damping elements on the molding by means, for example, of adhesive bonding. By way of example, these may be foam elements. 
   These measures also improve the operational reliability and, in addition, result in better ergonomics. 
   It is self-evident that the features of the invention which have been mentioned above and those which are still to be explained in the following text can be used not only in the respectively stated combination but also in other combinations or on their own without departing from the scope of the invention. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       52  Further features and advantages of the invention will become evident from the following description of preferred exemplary embodiments and with reference to the drawing, in which: 
       FIG. 1  shows a plan view of an power tool according to the invention, in the form of an angle grinder with a housing in the form of a rod; 
       FIG. 2  shows a simplified illustration of the power tool shown in  FIG. 1 , in which the protective shroud has been omitted, but showing the motor, which is held in the housing which is in the form of a rod, as well as the stator and two supporting parts which are attached to it; 
       FIG. 3  shows an enlarged side view of the power tool shown in  FIG. 1 , in which, however, all that can be seen is the tool head as well as the stator and a first and a second supporting part; 
       FIG. 4  shows a longitudinal section through the power tool shown in  FIG. 3 ; 
       FIG. 5  shows a longitudinal section through the power tool shown in  FIG. 4 , but illustrated enlarged, on a section plane which has been rotated through 90° with respect to the section plane shown in  FIG. 4 ; 
       FIG. 6  shows an enlarged illustration of the power tool shown in  FIG. 5 , in the area between the tool head and the stator, with a mount element also being illustrated, with optical waveguides held in it, in order to form optical switches; 
       FIG. 7  shows an overall view of the mount element shown in  FIG. 6 ; 
       FIG. 8  shows a view of the optical waveguide bundle, which is inserted into the mount element shown in  FIG. 7 ; 
       FIG. 9  shows a view of the power tool shown in  FIG. 2  obliquely from above, but with a mount element inserted, as well as optical waveguides; 
       FIG. 10  shows a side view of the power tool shown in  FIG. 9 , and 
       FIG. 11  shows a cross section through the power tool in area of the brushes. 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     FIG. 1  shows a plan view of the power tool according to the invention, which is annotated overall with the number  10 . 
   The illustration shows an angle grinder with a housing which is in the form of a rod and is suitable for single-handed operation or for two-handed operation. A protective shroud  15  is provided on the tool head  14  of the power tool  10  in the conventional manner. In the area of the junction with the tool head  14 , the housing  12  has a taper, on both sides of which switches are provided, which can be operated via elastic activation surfaces  27 . In this area, the housing  12  has a grip surface  24  which can be gripped with one hand from above or below, and in which case two mutually opposite activation surfaces of the switches can be gripped. 
   In the rear area of the housing  12 , which faces away from this and runs approximately conically towards the end, a second grip surface  26  is formed, which once again has an activation surface  28  on each side, for operation of a switch that is formed underneath it. 
   The switches are preferably optical switches, having optical waveguides between which the transmitted signals can be influenced via monitoring elements, with the optical waveguides having associated transmitting and receiving elements, as are in principle known from U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/214,844 the entire disclosure of which is fully incorporated by reference. 
     FIG. 1  furthermore also shows the air induction slots  13  for the motor fan, which are located in the area facing away from the tool head  14 , shortly in front of the activation surfaces  28  for the switches. 
     FIG. 2  shows the major components of the power tool  10  within the housing  12 . According to the invention, the power tool  10  is equipped with a self-supporting electric motor  16  which has a self-supporting stator  18  to whose first end, which faces the tool head  14 , a first supporting part  20  is attached, which is preferably composed of plastic. A second supporting part  22  composed of plastic is provided at the opposite, second end of the stator  18 . Both supporting parts  20 ,  22  are screwed through the stator  18  in a manner which is still to be described below with reference to  FIG. 4 . Control electronics  23 , which are indicated only schematically, are also held on the second supporting part  22 . The tool head  14  is held on the first supporting part  20 . The housing  12  which externally surrounds the power tool  10  is attached to both supporting parts  20 ,  22 . Thus, overall, the motor  16  together with the supporting parts  20 ,  22  is the supporting structure to which all of the other components of the power tool  10  are attached. 
   This configuration allows a particularly space-saving and weight-saving design to be achieved, which likewise allows particularly advantageous assembly. 
     FIG. 3  shows the power tool  10  shown in  FIG. 2  in an enlarged form, in an arrangement rotated approximately through 90° with respect to the position shown in  FIG. 2 , but with the housing having been removed and essentially illustrating the motor as well as the two supporting parts. 
   The shape of the two supporting parts  20 ,  22  can be seen well in  FIG. 3 . Holding surfaces  25  for holding optical switches, as will be explained in more detail in the following text, are provided on each side on the first supporting part  20 . 
   A tool drive shaft, which is held in the tool head  14 , as well as a tool that is attached to it are also indicated, schematically, by the dashed lines  17  in  FIG. 3 . 
   The stator  18  has a laminated stator core  31  through which the first and the second supporting part  20 ,  22  are screwed by means of screws  43  to form a compact unit, which is firmly connected to the laminated stator core  31 . 
   Further details of the design of the power tool  10  can be seen in  FIG. 4 , which shows a longitudinal section through the power tool shown in  FIG. 3 . The motor  16  has an armature  32  which is mounted on a motor shaft  34 . At the end of the motor shaft  34  facing away from the tool head  14 , this motor shaft  34  is mounted by means of a bearing  40 , which is held in a bearing shell in the second supporting part  22 . At the opposite end, the motor shaft  34  is mounted on the tool head  14  by means of a bearing  39 . A fan  38  can be seen in the transitional area between the first supporting part  20  and the tool head  14 , and is mounted on the motor shaft  34 . Fan outlet openings  42  in the tool head  14  are associated with the fan  38 . 
   Air is thus induced through the electric motor  16  via induction openings  13  ( FIG. 1 ) at the opposite end, while the cooling air emerges at the tool head  14 , which is advantageous in order to minimize the ingress of foreign particles into the motor. This is because, of course, the greatest amount of dust is produced in the area of the tool head  14 . The commutator  36  for the electric motor  16 , which is in the form of a universal motor, is provided between the armature  32  and the fan  38 . The associated brushes will be explained in more detail in the following text with reference to  FIG. 5 . 
     FIG. 4  also shows the screw connection of the two supporting parts  20 ,  22  through the laminated stator core  31 . The tool head  14  is screwed to the first supporting part  20  in a manner which is not illustrated in any more detail. 
     FIG. 5  shows an enlarged section illustration through the power tool  10 , in the form of a longitudinal section from the side in the area between the tool head  14  and the armature  32 . 
   One brush holder  54 , in which a (carbon) brush  56  is held, is in each case attached to the first supporting part  20 , mutually opposite one another, on the upper face of the power tool  10 , and on the lower face, offset through 180° with respect to it. A brush spring  58 , as is illustrated schematically in  FIG. 5 , is in each case used to provide the contact pressure for the brushes  56 . It is feasible to provide a contact-making capability for the brushes  56  directly in the first supporting part  20 , which is produced from insulating plastic, by means of which an electrical connection  59  is made with the stator  18  and with the field windings  19 . This may, of course, also be achieved in the conventional manner by means of connecting cables. 
   The perspective, cross-section illustration shown in  FIG. 11  shows that the housing  12  is oval in the area of the brushes  56 . Since the diameter in a first direction is predetermined by the brushes  56 , the oval shape results in a smaller diameter in the other direction, at right angles to the first. This results in better ergonomics for gripping the housing  12  at this point. 
   The first supporting part  20  is in the form of an air guide ring, whose inner surface ensures that the cooling air is guided in a specific manner through the motor  16  towards the fan  38 , in which case a nozzle effect can be achieved at the same time. 
     FIG. 5  also shows a clamping lever  30  which is held on the tool head  14  and is used for clamping-in and releasing the tool  17 . Since the power tool  10  is intended to be operated only with the clamping lever  30  closed, the clamping lever  30  has an associated sensor which continuously checks whether the clamping lever  30  is in its closed, clamped position. For this purpose, a light-optical switch  52  is provided at the upper end of the tool head  14  and can be operated via a switching element  53  that can be moved by the clamping lever  30 . When the clamping lever  30  is closed, the switching element  53  is thus moved, which leads to a light beam being released which is transmitted via optical waveguides and is evaluated by associated evaluation logic. 
     FIG. 6  shows, in more detail, the design of the optical switches which are used for the power tool  10 . Each optical switch has two optical waveguides, one of which is in the form of a transmission conductor which is coupled to an LED, while the other optical waveguide is in the form of a receiving conductor and is connected to an associated evaluation unit. In the illustrated case, two associated optical waveguides each end at a specific distance in the form of prisms, so that light can emerge in between them. If no object is located between these two ends, then light passes from the transmitting conductor into the receiving conductor, and this is recorded by the evaluation logic. 
     FIG. 6  now illustrates a total of six optical waveguides  63 ,  64 ,  66 ,  67 ,  71 ,  72 , which are each held in depressions  62  in a molding  61 . The molding  61  is part of a mount element  61 , whose shape can be seen in more detail in  FIG. 7 . The molding  61  is essentially a panel composed of a suitable plastic, which is curved in a suitable manner in the direction in which the optical waveguides  63  to  72  that are held in it extend. The plastic material of the molding  61  preferably has mechanical and, if required, acoustically damping characteristics, in order to provide better vibration damping. Since the optical waveguides  63 - 72  are inserted in associated depressions in the form of holding grooves  62 , they are protected particularly well against environmental influences from the outside, thus ensuring reliable operation. Furthermore, a good signal-to-noise ratio is ensured, and the profile of the optical waveguides is fixed, by virtue of the separations which are predetermined by the depressions  62 . Rigid optical waveguides can preferably be used for this purpose, and are curved three-dimensionally to the desired shape. 
   In the illustrated situation, two ends of mutually associated optical waveguides  63 ,  64 ;  66 ,  67  and  71 ,  72  are in each case associated with a respective elongated recess  65 ,  68  or  70 , which extends outwards from the two ends in the area of the prisms. An associated switching element can engage in this recess  65 ,  68 ,  70 , thus making it possible to interrupt the passage of light between the two ends. 
   In  FIG. 6 , the recess  68  between the two optical waveguides  66 ,  67  has an associated slide  55 , which can be moved by means of the switching element  53  into the area between the two prismatic ends, in order in this way to interrupt the passage of light. A switching element  74  is provided in the area of the recess  70  for the switch  73 , with which the two optical waveguides  71 ,  72  are associated, with this switching element  74  being held on the first supporting part  20  such that it can pivot and having a switching tongue  76  which can extend into the area of the recess  70  between the two prismatic ends of the optical waveguides  71 ,  72 . 
   Furthermore, the mount element  60  has a suitable recess in order to allow installation of the brush holder  54  with the brush  56  and the brush spring  58 .  FIG. 6  shows an associated attachment screw  79 . 
     FIG. 7  shows an overall view of the mount element  60  and of the optical waveguides  63 - 72 . 
     FIG. 8  shows how the relevant optical waveguides  63 - 72  can be combined to form a prefabricated optical waveguide bundle  84 , with the optical waveguides  63 - 72  preferably being rigid and being held together by means of a common holder  86 . This holder has depressions for the connection of LEDs for associated transmitter diodes, as well as connections for receiver elements.  FIG. 8  indicates only one LED  87 , by way of example. 
     FIGS. 9 and 10  show how the mount element  60  together with the optical waveguides which are held in it has been placed on the upper face of the two supporting parts  20 ,  22  and has been inserted directly on the tool head  14 . With regard to the housing that is then fitted, this housing is preferably sealed to the edges of the mount element  60 . The mount element  60  is thus located in a position in which it is immediately adjacent to the fitted housing, with the optical waveguides which are held in it being reliably protected against possible ingress of dirt or the like. 
   Furthermore,  FIG. 10  also shows the slightly angled profile of the mount element  60  in the area of the holder  86 , on which the transmitter LEDs and receiver elements are arranged.  FIG. 10  also shows the switching elements  74  and  91  which are associated with the switches  73  and  90  and by means of which the transmission of light between interacting optical waveguides can be interrupted. Input radiation from the rear is, of course, also feasible.