Abstract:
A jigsaw generally includes a housing that contains a motor activated by a trigger assembly. A reciprocating shaft is connected to the motor that extends from the housing toward a cutting area. A laser module is contained with a housing operable to produce a laser light pattern forward of the cutting area. An upper connection portion releaseably connects the housing of the laser module to the housing of the jigsaw. A lower connection portion pivotally couples the housing of the laser module to the housing of the jigsaw to permit the housing of the laser module to tilt away from the housing of the jigsaw to provide access to a rear area of the laser module.

Description:
FIELD 
       [0001]    The present teachings relate to a laser cutting guide and more particularly relate to a selectable dash-dot laser light pattern produced by a laser module that is tiltable from a housing for easy battery replacement. 
       BACKGROUND 
       [0002]    Typically, jigsaw laser cutting guides can project a bright and continuous laser line in a cutting direction forward from the jigsaw. In this instance, the bright laser light used to illuminate the jigsaw cutting path can be of such intensity that the laser light can obscure a view of a cutting path through a workpiece. Moreover, continuous use of the bright line pattern of laser light can reduce the lifetime of the batteries necessitating more frequent replacement. In some instances, replacement of the batteries can be a complex and relatively lengthy process. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0003]    The present teachings generally include a jigsaw including a housing that contains a motor activated by a trigger assembly. A reciprocating shaft that is connected to the motor that extends from the housing toward a cutting area. A laser module that produces a laser light pattern forward of the cutting area. The laser module includes an upper connection portion configured to releaseably connect to the housing and a lower connection portion that pivotally couples to the housing to permit the laser module to tilt away from the housing to provide access to a rear area of the laser module. 
         [0004]    Further areas of applicability will become apparent from the description provided herein. It should be understood that the description and specific examples are intended for purposes of illustration only and are not intended to limit the scope of the present teachings. 
     
    
     
       DRAWINGS 
         [0005]    The drawings described herein are for illustration purposes only and are not intended to limit the scope of the present teachings. 
           [0006]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a jigsaw having a housing to which a keel assembly and a laser module are attached in accordance with the present teachings. 
           [0007]      FIG. 2  is a partial side view of the jigsaw of  FIG. 1  and shows the laser module tilted away from the housing of the jigsaw to provide access for battery replacement in the laser module in accordance with the present teachings. 
           [0008]      FIG. 3  is a front view of the jigsaw of  FIG. 1  showing the laser module attached to the housing of the jigsaw that can be pivoted relative to a shoe member in accordance with the present teachings. 
           [0009]      FIG. 4  is a partial perspective view of the laser module and the jigsaw of  FIG. 1  producing a laser light pattern of consecutive dots in accordance with the present teachings. 
           [0010]      FIG. 5  is similar to  FIG. 4  and shows the laser module providing a laser light pattern of repeating dashes in accordance with the present teachings. 
           [0011]      FIG. 6  is a rear view of the laser module showing two posts that each extend outwardly and can pivotally couple to the jigsaw housing in accordance with the present teachings. 
           [0012]      FIG. 7  is a partial side view of the laser module of  FIG. 6  showing one or more optical members that can swing down to change the pattern of the laser light in accordance with the present teachings. 
           [0013]      FIG. 8 . is a bottom view of the laser module of  FIG. 6  showing the one or more optical members in accordance with the present teachings. 
           [0014]      FIG. 9  is a simplified partial exploded assembly view of an exemplary optical member having a multiple component construction in accordance with the present teachings. 
           [0015]      FIG. 10  is similar to  FIG. 9  and shows an exemplary optical member having a generally unitary construction in accordance with the present teachings. 
           [0016]      FIG. 11  is a simplified perspective view of a shoe member with a laser module connected thereto that produces a laser light pattern forward of a cutting area in accordance with further aspects of the present teachings. 
           [0017]      FIG. 12  is a diagram of a side view of an exemplary jigsaw having a laser module that produces three parallel laser lines that are generally perpendicular to a cutting direction in accordance with yet another aspect of the present teachings. 
           [0018]      FIG. 13  is a diagram of a top view of the jigsaw of  FIG. 12  showing an interruption of the three parallel laser lines that serve as a cutting guide in accordance with the present teachings. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0019]    The following description is merely exemplary in nature and is not intended to limit the present teachings, their application or uses. It should be understood that throughout the drawings, corresponding reference numerals indicate like or corresponding parts and features. 
         [0020]    Moreover, certain terminology can be used for the purpose of reference only and do not limit the present teachings. For example, terms such as “upper,” “lower,” “above” and “below” can refer to directions in the drawings to which reference is made. Terms such as “front,” “back,” “rear” and “side” can describe the orientation of portions of the component, function, system, etc. within a consistent but arbitrary frame of reference which can be made more clear by reference to the text and the associated drawings describing the component, function, system, etc. under discussion. Such terminology may include the words specifically mentioned above, derivatives thereof and words of similar import. Similarly, the terms “first,” “second” and other such numerical terms referring to structures, systems and/or methods do not imply a sequence or order unless clearly indicated by the context. 
         [0021]    With reference to  FIG. 1 , a jigsaw  10  generally includes a housing  12  that can be formed of two half shells  14 ,  16 . The housing  12  can contain a motor  18 . When activated by a trigger assembly  20 , the motor  18  can provide a reciprocating and/or pendulum motion to a cutting blade  26  attached to an end of a reciprocating shaft  24  ( FIG. 3 ) with a cutting blade holder  22 , as shown in ( FIG. 3 ). With continuing reference to  FIG. 3 , the jigsaw  10  can establish the reciprocating and orbital motion of the cutting blade  26  at one or more of the cutting angles  28 . A single control member  40  on a side of the housing  12  can control a rate of the reciprocation and/or a magnitude of the orbital (pendulum) motion of the cutting blade  26 . 
         [0022]    A shoe member  50  can be coupled to a bottom  52  ( FIG. 1 ) of the housing  12  in such a way as to permit the shoe member  50  to pivot relative to the housing  12 . As the shoe member  50  pivots relative to the housing  12 , the cutting  26  can be orientated at the various cutting angles  28  relative to the shoe member  50 . With reference to  FIG. 1 , a bottom surface  54  of the shoe member  50  can abut a workpiece  56  ( FIG. 1 ). The workpiece  56  can be wood, plastic, metal, other suitable materials and one or more combinations thereof and can be in the form of pipe, sheet material, stock material, other suitable forms and/or materials and one or more combinations thereof. The shoe member  50  can be pivoted relative to the housing  12  to adjust the cutting angle  28  ( FIG. 3 ) through which the jigsaw  10  can cut through the workpiece  56 . In one example, a forty-five degree cutting angle  58  (phantom line) is shown in  FIG. 3 . 
         [0023]    With reference to  FIG. 1 , an angle indicator wheel  70  that can be rotatably coupled to the shoe member  50  can indicate the cutting angle  28  ( FIG. 3 ) of the jigsaw  10 , as the shoe member  50  is moved relative to the housing  12 . Further, a locking mechanism  72  can include a bevel lever  74  that can be adjusted between an unlocked condition and a locked condition ( FIG. 1 ). In the unlocked condition, the locking mechanism  72  can permit the shoe member  50  to pivot relative to the housing  12 . In the locked condition, the locking mechanism  72  can prevent the shoe member  50  from pivoting relative to the housing  12 . The cutting angle  28  ( FIG. 3 ) to which the shoe member  50  can be pivoted relative to the housing  12 , when the locking mechanism  72  is in the unlocked condition, can be indicated by the angle indicator wheel  70 . It will be appreciated in light of the disclosure that the housing  12  of the jigsaw  10  can pivot relative to the shoe member  50  about a pivot axis  76  that extends in a direction that is generally parallel to a cutting direction  78 . 
         [0024]    A dust extraction port  80  can be formed on a rear portion  82  of the shoe member  50  such that a vacuum source  84  can be connected with various suitable connections to the dust extraction port  80 . A dust extraction airflow  86  can be extracted from a cutting area  88 . From the cutting area  88 , the dust extraction airflow  86  can move through an air-flow pathway established in the shoe member  50  and out the dust extraction port  80 . 
         [0025]    The jigsaw  10  can include a laser module  100  and a keel assembly  200 . The laser module  100  can project a laser light  102  that can produce a laser light pattern  104 . The laser light pattern  104  can provide, for example, a sequence of dashes  106  ( FIG. 5 ), a sequence of dots  108  ( FIG. 4 ) or one or more combinations of dots and dashes  110  ( FIG. 1 ). The laser light pattern  104  can be produced beyond a front side  112  of the cutting blade  26 . In this regard, the laser light pattern  104  can mark a cutting path  114  of the cutting blade  26  through the workpiece  56  in the cutting direction  78 . 
         [0026]    With reference to  FIG. 1 , the laser module  100  can include a housing  120  that defines an upper connection portion  122  and a lower connection portion  124  to which the laser module  100  can be attached to the housing  12  of the jigsaw  10 . With reference to  FIG. 2 , the upper connection portion  122  can include one or more fasteners  126  that can be accepted in an aperture  128  formed in the housing  12  of the jigsaw  10 . The one or more fasteners  126  can be inserted into the aperture  128  to draw and hold the laser module  100  toward the housing  12  of the jigsaw  10 . In one example, the one or more fasteners  126  can be hand-adjustable so as to be secured or uncoupled by hand from the housing  12 . 
         [0027]    With the reference to  FIG. 6 , the lower connection portion  124  of the housing  120  of the laser module  100  can include a first post  130  and a second post  132  formed in a bottom portion  134  of the housing  120 . The posts  130 ,  132  can be accepted by an aperture  136  and an aperture  138 , respectively, formed in the housing  12  of the jigsaw  10 . In one example, a connection  140  between the posts  130 ,  132  and the apertures  136 ,  138  can be configured so that the housing  120  of the laser module  100  can pivot relative to the housing  12  of the jigsaw  10  when the one or more fasteners  126  is removed from the aperture  128 , as shown in  FIG. 2 . By way of the above example, the posts  130 ,  132  can each have substantially cylindrical outer surfaces to permit the posts  130 ,  132  to rotate within the apertures  136 ,  138 . It will be appreciated in light of the disclosure that the posts  130 ,  132  can be implemented on the housing  12  of the jigsaw  10  and the respective apertures  136 ,  138  can be implemented on the housing of the laser module or various suitable combinations thereof. 
         [0028]    With reference to  FIG. 6 , a laser generator  150  can be contained within the housing  120  of the laser module  100 . With reference to  FIG. 1 , a power switch  152  that can turn the laser generator on and off can be utilized by a user and therefore can be accessible from a front  154  of the housing  120 . With reference to  FIG. 2 , a rear area  156  of the housing  120  can be open to provide the user access to one or more batteries  158  that can be used to provide power to the laser module  100 . By uncoupling the fastener  126  of the upper connection portion  122 , the laser module  100  can be tilted forward so as to provide, among other things, access to the one or more batteries  158  in the rear area  156  of the laser module  100 . It will be appreciated in light of the disclosure that while the batteries  158  are illustrated in  FIG. 2 , one or more batteries  158  and/or one or more other suitable power sources can be used to provide power to the laser module  100 . 
         [0029]    With reference to  FIG. 7 , an optical assembly  180  can be moved between an engaged condition and a disengaged condition (shown in phantom line). In the engaged condition and with reference to  FIG. 1 , the laser light  102  travels through one or more optical members  182  to produce the laser light pattern  104 . In the disengaged position, the laser module  100  can be configured to produce a solid laser line (i.e., no dots, dashes, etc.) along the cutting path  114  of the jigsaw  10 . In one example, the solid laser line can be less intense than a typical solid laser line cutting guide. In a further example, swinging the one or more optical members  182  to the disengaged condition can produce the conventional solid and bright continuous laser cutting guide. 
         [0030]    A portion of the one or more optical members  182  can be accessible from the front  154  of the housing  120  of the laser module  100 . The user can grasp the portion of the one or more optical members  182  to move the one or more optical members  182  between the engaged condition and the disengaged condition. By being able to grasp the portion of the one or more optical members  182 , the one or more optical members  182  can be moved between the engaged condition and the disengaged condition with by hand, i.e., a hand operation, and does not require any tools and/or disassembly of the laser module  100 . 
         [0031]    With reference to  FIG. 4 , the laser module  100  can produce the sequence of dots  108  to illuminate the cutting path  114 , when the optical assembly is in the engaged condition. In a further example and with reference to  FIG. 5 , the laser module  100  can produce the sequence of dashes  106  to illuminate the cutting path  114 , when the optical assembly  180  is in the engaged condition. It will be appreciated in light of the disclosure that the optical assembly  180  can also be configured to selectively produce one or more combinations of characters, icons and/or one or more suitable contrasting patterns that can provide a cutting guide established by the laser light pattern  104  that can be shown to highlight but not obscure the cutting path  114 . 
         [0032]    A filter  184  can be included with the one or more optical members  182  of the laser module  100 . The filter  184  can be configured to be readily replaced so as to change the laser light pattern  104  established by the laser module  100 . In one example, the filter  184  can have a textured surface  186 . In lieu of or in addition to the textured surface  186 , opaque portions can be used to interrupt the laser light  102 . In this regard, the filter  184  can be used to produce the sequence of dashes  106 , the sequence of dots  108  graphics, icons, etc. In one example, the filter  184  can be selectively swapped out or replaced by the user to affect a user selected change in the laser light pattern  104 . In this regard, predetermined laser light patterns can be incorporated into one or more of the optical members  182  and/or the one or more filters  184 . 
         [0033]    The filter  184  can be a single optical element in the laser module  100 , e.g., a monolithic component  188 , as shown in  FIG. 10 . In this example, the filter  184 , as part of the monolithic component  188 , can direct and manipulate the laser light  102  in one or more ways, e.g., spread the laser light  102  and interrupt the laser light to produce the laser light pattern  104 . The filter  184  can also be included with other optical members  182  that can each individually direct and manipulate the laser light  102 . For example, optical members  190  can include the filter  184  connected to a substrate  192 . Optical properties of the substrate  192  can cause the laser light  102  to change from a point source to a suitable line of light that can then be directed through the filter  184 . The filter  184  can then partially obstruct the laser light  102  to produce the laser light pattern  104  that establishes the laser cutting guide. 
         [0034]    In one example, the one or more optical members  182  can be moved to the disengaged condition to change the laser light pattern  104  to the continuous bright beam of laser light. In this regard, the user can flip down the optical member  182  from the housing  120  of the laser module to remove the laser light pattern  104 . In further aspects, one or more optical members  182  can be configured so that when the optical assembly  180  is changed between the engaged condition and the disengaged condition, a first laser light pattern and a second laser light pattern, respectively, can be produced. By way of the above example, the first pattern can be the sequence of dots  108  ( FIG. 4 ) and the second pattern can be the sequence of dashes  106  ( FIG. 5 ). In this instance, one or more optical members can remain in a position to affect the laser light  102 , while the optical members  182  are only introduced into the laser light  102  when the optical assembly  180  is in the engaged condition. 
         [0035]    With reference to  FIG. 1 , the jigsaw  10  can also include the keel assembly  200  that can provide additional straight-line accuracy when cutting a straight line in the workpiece  56  (e.g., can help avoid wandering of the jigsaw cutting line). As shown in  FIG. 3 , the keel assembly  200  can be pivoted with the housing  12  when the shoe member  50  is moved to one or more cutting angles  28  relative to the housing  12 . In this regard, the shoe member  50  can be pivoted relative to the housing  12  but the keel assembly  200  can remain generally in line with the housing  12  so as to provide, for example, a straight bevel cut through the workpiece  56 , i.e., the cutting angle is not perpendicular to the workpiece  36  but the cut through the workpiece  36  is straight. 
         [0036]    With reference to  FIG. 1 , the keel assembly  200  can extend from the housing  12  beyond the shoe member  50  and distally outward (i.e., downward) from the bottom  52  of the jigsaw  10 . The keel assembly  200  can include a keel blade member  202  to which a lower guide assembly  204  can be attached. The lower guide assembly  204  can be spaced at various predetermined distances from an upper guide assembly  206  that extends from the housing  12 . By adjusting the lower guide assembly  204  relative to the upper guide assembly  206 , the distance between the assemblies  204 ,  206  can be adjusted to accommodate workpieces having different thicknesses. 
         [0037]    With reference to  FIG. 11 , a shoe member  300  can have a laser module  302  coupled to a top surface  304  of the shoe member  300 . The laser module  302  can project laser light  306  into an optical member  308  that can, among other things, change the direction of the laser light  306 . A cutting path  310  can extend from a forward side  312  (i.e., the cutting side) of the cutting blade  314 . The laser light  306  can be directed and manipulated by the optical member  308  to produce a laser light pattern  316  in front of the cutting blade  314  to establish the laser cutting guide. The optical member  308  and/or the laser module  302  can be configured to produce one or more laser light patterns  316  such as the sequence of dashes, sequence of dots, etc. discussed above. It can be shown that the laser module  302  on the shoe member  300  can provide a laser cutting guide  318  on a workpiece  320  without having to disassemble a housing of the jigsaw (or other cutting tool) such as in a retrofit application. It will be appreciated in light of the disclosure that one or more of the optical members  182  and/or the filters  184  can be implemented (integrally or as separate components) with the optical member  308  on the shoe member  300 . 
         [0038]    With reference to  FIGS. 12 and 13 , a laser module  400  that can be connected to a housing  402  of a jigsaw  404  can project one or more generally horizontal lines  406  ( FIG. 13 ) across a rear edge  408  of a cutting blade  410 . Specifically, laser light  412  is projected beyond a front side  414 , i.e., a cutting side, of the cutting blade  410 , resulting in a portion of the laser light  412  being obstructed by the cutting blade  410 . The obstruction of the laser light  412  produces an interruption in each of the generally horizontal lines  406 , e.g., a shadow  416  that is in-line with a cutting path  418  of the cutting blade  410 . Portions  420  of the generally horizontal lines  406  are adjacent to but do not cross the cutting path  418  and can be shown to highlight but not obstruct the cutting path  418 . The one or more shadows  416 , by virtue of contrast with the portions  420  of the generally horizontal lines  406 , can be shown to highlight the cutting path  418 . In this arrangement, no laser light  412  is directed onto the cutting path but only adjacent to it. 
         [0039]    In addition, when there is twist on the cutting blade  410 , the cutting path  418  can still be sufficiently highlighted by the combination of the respective shadows  416  and the laser light  412 . To further highlight the cutting path  418  a wide angle light  422 , e.g., an incandescent bulb, an LED, etc., can be turned on along with (or in lieu of) the lines  406  of the laser light  412 . By doing so, the contrast of the shadows  416  relative to the portions  420  of the generally horizontal lines  406  can be improved as the light  420  can cast a more defined shadow along the cutting path  418  from the cutting blade  410 . 
         [0040]    While specific aspects have been described in the specification and illustrated in the drawings, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes can be made and equivalents can be substituted for elements and components thereof without departing from the scope of the present teachings, as defined in the claims. Furthermore, the mixing and matching of features, elements, components and/or functions between various aspects of the present teachings are expressly contemplated herein so that one skilled in the art will appreciate from the present teachings that features, elements, components and/or functions of one aspect of the present teachings can be incorporated into another aspect, as appropriate, unless described otherwise above. Moreover, many modifications may be made to adapt a particular situation, configuration or material to the present teachings without departing from the essential scope thereof. Therefore, it is intended that the present teachings not be limited to the particular aspects illustrated by the drawings and described in the specification as the best mode presently contemplated for carrying out the present teachings, but that the scope of the present teachings include many aspects and examples following within the foregoing description and the appended claims.