Abstract:
An improved table having improvements related to stock support, such as a rip fence stock support, as well as a lateral-table support system; features of laterally-slideable front and back rip fence guide rails, including an improved front rail configuration, an improved rear rail configuration, and an especially-configured front and back rail combination, including a rail configuration having cross-sectional aspects configured for use as both the front and rear rail, each instance of improved rail configuration providing the basis for an improved rip-fence locking system; improved sliding-rail lock shoes, including lock shoes that comprise an improved cross section for sliding in T-track, as well as lock and support shoes having a particular raised rib, also for improved sliding in a laterally-adjustable rail system, and a system wherein of one two rail shoes per rail, a rail-locking support shoe, is configured for biasing, and wherein the other shoe for each rail, a rail supporting shoe, remains fixed; front and back laterally-sliding fence rails coupled together in combination with an improved locking system; and a blade guard with quick-coupling and quick-release configuration for quickly and easily coupling and releasing the guard to and from the blade arbor.

Description:
[0001]     This is a continuation in part of application Ser. No. 29/137,901 filed Mar. 1, 2001. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONS  
       [0002]     A typical table saw includes a work table and a saw blade extending through a slot in the top surface of the table. A work piece is typically placed flat upon the work table to support and orient the work piece as it is moved across the table and cut by the saw blade. A miter guide and rip fence are also typically available to guide the work piece on a desired path across the work table. The miter guide is typically used for crosscutting, and the rip fence is typically used for ripping.  
         [0003]     An improved table saw is described in this application. This patent application describes table saw improvements related to stock support, such as a rip fence stock support, as well as a lateral-table support system; features of laterally-slideable front and back rip fence guide rails, including an improved front rail configuration, an improved rear rail configuration, and an especially-configured front and back rail combination, including a rail configuration having cross-sectional aspects configured for use as both the front and rear rail, each instance of improved rail configuration providing the basis for an improved rip-fence locking system; improved sliding-rail lock shoes, including lock shoes that comprise an improved cross section for sliding in T-track, as well as lock and support shoes having a particular raised rib, also for improved sliding in a laterally-adjustable rail system, and a system wherein of one two rail shoes per rail, a rail-locking support shoe, is configured for biasing, and wherein the other shoe for each rail, a rail supporting shoe, remains fixed; front and back laterally-sliding fence rails coupled together in combination with an improved locking system; and a blade guard with quick-coupling and quick-release configuration for quickly and easily coupling and releasing the guard to and from the blade arbor. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0004]      FIG. 1  is a front top left perspective view of a table saw having a workpiece support system in a storage configuration.  
         [0005]      FIG. 2  is a front top right perspective view of a table saw having a supplemental work piece support member installed between two adjustable rails.  
         [0006]      FIG. 3  is a top plan view thereof.  
         [0007]      FIG. 4  is a front top left perspective view of a table saw having an adjustable rail system in an extended configuration and a workpiece support system in an in-use configuration.  
         [0008]      FIG. 5  is a front top right view thereof.  
         [0009]      FIG. 6  is a front elevational view thereof.  
         [0010]      FIG. 7  is a rear elevational view thereof.  
         [0011]      FIG. 8  is a left side elevational view thereof.  
         [0012]      FIG. 9  is a right elevational view thereof.  
         [0013]      FIG. 10  is a cross-sectional view showing a rail coupling system and a rail locking system.  
         [0014]      FIG. 11  is an enlarged view thereof showing the rear rail with coupling system.  
         [0015]      FIG. 12  is an enlarged view of the left side elevational view showing the front rail and a sled slidably disposed on the front rail.  
         [0016]      FIG. 13  is a front top left perspective view of a T-Nut or shoe for coupling a rail to a surface.  
         [0017]      FIG. 14  is a back top left rear thereof.  
         [0018]      FIG. 15  is a left side view thereof.  
         [0019]      FIG. 16  is a left side view of a rail-supporting shoe.  
         [0020]      FIG. 17  is an exploded assembly view of a fence assembly with a fence-ledge.  
         [0021]      FIG. 18  is a top plan view of a table saw, with lines indicating the location of sections in views  19  and  20 .  
         [0022]      FIG. 19  is a right cross-sectional view thereof.  
         [0023]      FIG. 20  is a rear cross-sectional view thereof.  
         [0024]      FIG. 21  is a perspective view showing the spreader plate inserted into an anchor block which is coupled to arbor assembly.  
         [0025]      FIG. 22  is a perspective view of the anchor block.  
         [0026]      FIG. 23  is a perspective view of a catch for coupling and decoupling a spreader plate with an anchor block. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT  
       [0027]     A machine tool  20  such as a table saw includes a base  25  that supports a work table  30  having a work piece support surface  31 . One or more adjustable rails  35  may be slidably coupled to a front side of the work table  30  by one or more T-Nuts or shoes  45 . Copending application Ser. No. 29/137,901 is incorporated herein by reference.  
         [0028]     In one embodiment, a rail locking system  47  may be provided for locking the rails in a position. A laterally adjustable fence  50  may be slidably coupled to the adjustable rails  35  by a sled  57  and a clamp  60 . The rails  35  may include an oblique surface  65  for interfacing with the clamp  60 , so that engaging the clamp  60  pulls the fence  50  downward in alignment with the work table  30  and with a cutting tool  70 .  
         [0029]     As shown in  FIG. 1 , the adjustable rails  35  may be positioned in an inner configuration. This configuration may be advantageous when a small workpiece is being cut, or when the table saw is being stored or transported.  
         [0030]     The rails may also be extended to an outer position, shown in  FIGS. 2-5 . As shown in  FIGS. 2 and 3 , when the rails are in the outer position, a supplemental support member  75  may be inserted between the rails to provide a supplemental work surface  76  beyond the work table support surface  31 . Inserting a supplemental support member  75  to provide a supplemental work surface allows for cutting a work piece that extends beyond the work table support surface  31 .  
         [0031]     In another embodiment, a removable fence ledge  55  may be coupled to the fence for supporting a workpiece that extends beyond the work table support surface  31 , as shown in  FIGS. 4 and 5 . The fence ledge  55  may be removably coupled to the fence  50  ledge with a portion of the ledge extending beneath the fence to provide a support surface  56  for supporting a workpiece. When the fence ledge  55  is not in use, it may be stored on top of the fence  50 , as shown in  FIGS. 1-3 .  
         [0032]     Referring again to  FIG. 1 , the work table  30  has an upper support surface  31  and side members  130  extending downwardly from the support surface. The support surface  31  has portions defining a slot  135 . A cutting tool such as a rotary table saw blade  140  extends through the slot  135 . The saw blade  140  may be coupled to an electric motor which may be activated to turn the saw blade.  
         [0033]     As shown in  FIGS. 1-5 , rails  35  extend laterally across the machine tool  20  and are positionable in a variety of configurations relative to the machine tool. In a preferred adjustable rail system, a front rail  145  may be coupled to the front side  40  of the machine tool  20  and a rear rail  150  may be coupled to the rear side  41  of the table saw. Both rails preferably extend in a direction that is substantially perpendicular to the saw blade  140  and substantially parallel to the work table support surface  31 .  
         [0034]     In one embodiment, the rails  35  may be coupled to the table saw base with a coupling system  155  that includes one or more shoes  45  or T-nut fasteners. A shoe  45  may include an elongated body member having a wider portion  170  and a narrower portion  175 , as shown in  FIGS. 13-16 . Each rail has a T-shaped inner cross-section that generally matches the outer cross-sectional shape of a rail locking shoe  160 , as shown in  FIGS. 10 and 11 . The wider portion  170  of the shoe slides in a wider slot  180  of the rail cross-section, and the narrower portion  175  of the shoe slides in a narrower slot  185  of the rail cross-section. The shoe  45  may be configured to receive a coupling member  190  such as a bolt for coupling the shoe to the table saw. For example, the shoe may include portions defining a hexagonal cavity  195  for receiving and engaging a bolt  190  to prevent rotation of the bolt relative to the shoe.  
         [0035]     In one embodiment, the coupling system  155  may include a rail-locking shoe  160  and a rail-supporting shoe  165 . The rail locking shoe  160  preferably includes one or more raised ribs  200  for engaging and gripping an inner surface  205  of the rail, as shown in  FIGS. 14 and 15 . The rail supporting shoe preferably does not have raised ribs and preferably has greater clearances between the shoe and the rail to permit easy sliding of the rail, as shown in  FIG. 16 .  
         [0036]     In another embodiment, a rail locking system  47  may be provided for locking the rails  35  in place relative to the cutting tool  140 . The rail locking system  47  may include a shoe biasing system  210  for biasing the rail locking shoe  160  to engage the rail against rail locking side member  130 . As shown in  FIGS. 10 and 11 , the rail  35  may be pinched against an engaging surface  161  by biasing the shoe inwardly toward the engaging surface. The rails  35  may be coupled together by a coupling system  155  that couples a front rail locking system  162  to a rear rail locking system  163 . The coupling system  155  may be configured for simultaneously biasing front and rear rail locking shoes  160  for simultaneous locking of the front and rear rails  145 ,  150 .  
         [0037]     As shown in  FIGS. 10 and 11 , in one embodiment, a shoe biasing system  210  may include a coupling member  190  such as a bolt that extends through the rail locking shoe  160 . The coupling member  190  and rail locking shoe  160  may be biased inwardly toward the base  25  for example by rotating a rotating member  225  that is threadably coupled to the coupling member or bolt  190 . As shown in  FIGS. 10 and 11 , the rotating member  225  may have internal threads  226  and the coupling member or bolt  190  may have external threads  227 . Threadably advancing the coupling member  190  into the rotating member  225  will bias the rail locking shoe  160  to lock the rail. A handle  230  may be provided to facilitate turning of the rotating member  225 .  
         [0038]     In one embodiment, a coupling system  155  may include a rotating member  225  that is threadably coupled to both front coupling member  235  and rear coupling member  240 . As shown in  FIGS. 10 and 11 , front coupling member  235  may have external left-handed threads and rear coupling member  240  has external right-handed threads. Rotating member  225  has corresponding internal right-handed and left-handed threads. Because both the front and rear coupling members are held in a rotationally stationary position by a rail-locking shoe, rotating the rotating member  225  will threadably advance both coupling members  235 ,  240  toward the rotating member  225  to simultaneously lock both the front and rear rails  145 ,  150 .  
         [0039]     In one embodiment, the rip fence  35  may be coupled to a sled  57  which is slidably disposed on the front rail  145 . As shown in  FIGS. 8, 10 , and  12 , the front rail may include an upwardly-extending sled-engaging member  245 . The sled-engaging member  245  may include a downwardly-angled face  65  for slidably coupling with the sled  57 . The sled  57  includes front and rear rail-engaging members  255 ,  260  which extend downwardly on front and rear sides of the sled-engaging member  250 . Sliding pads  265  are coupled to the front and rear rail-engaging members  255 ,  260  for slidably engaging the front rail  65 . The engagement of the downwardly-angled face  65  produces a downwardly-angled force for aligning the fence  50  with the work table  30  and cutting tool.  
         [0040]     The rear rail  150  may be provided with a lip  270  for engaging the rip fence assembly. As shown in  FIGS. 8 and 11 , a lip  270  extends outwardly from the rear rail  150  in the outfeed direction. A lip-engaging member  275  hooks around the lip  270  to couple the rear end  280  of the fence  50  to the rail  150 .  
         [0041]     As may be observed from  FIGS. 1 and 8 , in one embodiment, a single part may be used to provide both the front rail  145  and the rear rail  155 . The rear rail  150  may include the same structure as the front rail  145  and may be rotated 180 degrees around an axis extending along the length of the rail so that the top surface  280  of the front rail  145  corresponds to the bottom surface  285  of the rear rail  150 .  
         [0042]     As shown in  FIGS. 2 and 3 , in one embodiment, the rail system may be configured to receive a supplemental support member  75  for providing a supplemental work surface  80  beyond the upper surface of the work table. The supplemental support member  75  is preferably a planar member. The supplemental support member  75  may be supported by the rails  35 , by a cross-member  80  that couples the rails together, or by a ledge  85  extending outward from the work table  30 . More particularly, as shown in  FIGS. 3 and 5 , a supplemental support member  75  may be supported at front and rear support member edges  90 ,  100  by support surfaces  95 ,  105  on the rails, at a left support member edge  110  by a support surface  115  on the lip  85  extending from the work table  30 , and at a right support member edge  120  by a support surface  125  on the cross-member  80 . The various support surfaces  95 ,  105 ,  115 ,  125 , which are preferably coplanar, can be seen in  FIGS. 4 and 5 .  
         [0043]     The various support surfaces  95 ,  105 ,  115 ,  125  may be configured to receive a supplemental support member  75  at a predetermined depth to provide a supplemental work surface  80  that has an upper surface  290  that is substantially coplanar with the upper surface  31  of the work table  30 . The predetermined depth may advantageously be ¾″. To prevent the supplemental support member  75  from sliding out of position, a support member restraining lip  295  may be provided for example at the right rear portion of the work table.  
         [0044]     As shown in  FIGS. 4 and 5 , in another embodiment, a removable L-shaped rip fence ledge  55  may be coupled to the rip fence  50  for supporting a workpiece that extends beyond the work table upper surface  31 . The rip fence ledge  55  includes a mounting member  320  for removably mounting the ledge to the fence  50  and a supporting member  325  for supporting a work piece. The rip fence ledge may be coupled to a latch assembly  305  and one or more guiding pegs  311  which may be inserted through corresponding holes  312 ,  313  in the top wall  310  or right wall  315  of the fence.  
         [0045]     The rip fence ledge  55  may be oriented in two positions on the rip fence  50 . The rip fence ledge may be oriented in an “in use” position beneath the rip fence, as shown in  FIGS. 4 and 5 , or in a “storage” position on top of the rip fence, as shown in  FIGS. 1 and 3 . In the “in use” position, the ledge  55  is coupled to the right side of the fence  50  with the supporting member  325  of the ledge extending beneath the fence toward the saw blade. In this position the rip fence ledge provides a vertical support surface  56  for supporting a work piece. The vertical support surface  56  is preferably coplanar with the upper surface  31  of the work table.  
         [0046]     When the rip fence ledge  55  is not in use, it may be removed and set aside or stored on top of the rip fence. As shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2 , in the “storage” position, the ledge  55  may be oriented on top of the fence  50  such that the supporting member  325  of the ledge extends downwardly from the top of the fence along the right side of the fence, which faces away from the saw blade. In this storage position, the ledge does not interfere with the adjustability of the rip fence  50  at locations across the surface of the work table, nor does it add thickness to the blade side  300  of the rip fence.  
         [0047]     In one embodiment, the rip fence ledge  55  may be secured to the rip fence  50  with latch assembly  305 . The latch assembly  305  may be configured to engage a hole  312 ,  313  in the top wall  310  or right wall  315  of the rip fence  50  to provide support for a work piece after it is cut. The outfeed support member  330  may be supported by two rods  335 , each of which may be slidably coupled to the underside of the work table  30  with a cylindrical bushing  340 .  
         [0048]     As shown in  FIGS. 19 and 20 , an arbor  341  may be provided.  FIG. 19  shows that the motor may be mounted to the arbor. The arbor  341  may be configured so that it may rotate in relation to the base  25 , thereby permitting adjustment of the blade  140  angle. For example, turning a handle  342  on the front of the saw may permit the arbor  341  to be rotated to a new position. The arbor  341  may be secured in the new position by turning the handle back the other way.  
         [0049]     As shown for example in  FIGS. 1, 8 , and  20 , blade guard assembly  410  comprising a removeable spreader plate  350  (or “kerf splitter plate”) may be provided for guiding and spreading cut pieces of a workpiece. In one embodiment, a clip or catch  355  may be provided for coupling the spreader plate  350  to the machine. The catch  355  may be biased by a spring  360  and may be configured so that the spreader plate  350  may be released by biasing the catch. In one embodiment, the catch may be biased without the use of a wrench. For example, in one embodiment, the catch  360  can be biased with a person&#39;s finger.  
         [0050]     As shown in  FIGS. 19 and 23 , the spreader plate  350  may include a downwarldy extending member  365  that extends below the works surface and couples with the table saw to function as a mounting plate. An anchor block  370 , shown in  FIGS. 19, 22 , and  23 , may be provided for receiving the downwardly extending member  365  of the spreader plate  350 . The anchor block  370  may be coupled to the arbor for example with a bolt or screw  372  to provide for simultaneous angular adjustment of the blade  140  and the spreader plate.  
         [0051]     The anchor block  370  may include portions which define a channel  375  into which the spreader plate  350  may extend. The channel  375  in the anchor block  370  may be configured to substantially restrict lateral and rotational movement of the spreader plate, but permit axial (i.e. vertical) movement of the plate. To secure the spreader plate  350  axially or vertically with respect to the anchor block  370 , a clip or catch  355  may be provided, as shown in  FIGS. 20, 21  and  23 . As shown in  FIG. 19 , the spreader plate  350  may include portions which define a slot  380 . An outwardly extending portion  385  of the catch  355 , such as a dimple  390  as shown in  FIGS. 20 and 23 , may be configured to engage the slot  380  in the separator plate  350 , thereby impeding vertical movement of the plate.  
         [0052]     To couple the catch  355  with the spreader plate  350 , the catch may be biased with a spring  395 . In one embodiment the catch itself may include portions which form a spring. In one embodiment, the catch may be formed from spring steel. As shown in  FIG. 23 , the catch may include a main section  400  and an offset section  405 . The offset section  405  may be configured to permit access by a tool or by a person&#39;s finger. In one embodiment, biasing the catch  355  away from the anchor block  370  withdraws the dimple  390  from the slot  380  in the spreader plate, thereby releasing the spreader plate  350  and permitting removal of the spreader plate by lifting it upwardly out of the machine.  
         [0053]     As shown in  FIGS. 1, 8 , and  19 , the blade guard assembly may include a blade guard  411  which is coupled to the spreader plate  350 . In one embodiment, the blade guard  41   1  may be pivotably coupled to an arm  415  which is pivotably coupled to the spreader plate  350 . A pair of serrated plates  420 , one on each side of the spreader plate, may also be provided for further guiding a workpiece. The serrated plates may be coupled and biased with a spring  425 .  
         [0054]     The above specification, examples and data provide a complete description of the manufacture and use of the composition of the invention. Since many embodiments of the invention can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, the invention resides in the claims hereinafter appended.