Patent Publication Number: US-2007117499-A1

Title: Rotary protecting hood of a pneumatic grinder

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
      The present invention relates to a rotary protecting hood of a pneumatic grinder, and more particularly to a rotary protective hood of a pneumatic grinder that uses a limit member and a protecting hood to constitute fixing and releasing relations.  
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
      In the manufacturing and grinding industry that requires manual operations, a pneumatic grinder is an indispensable tool that features a low failure rate, an easy maintenance, a light weight and a small volume, and an easy and simple operation, etc, and thus the pneumatic grinder is extensively used. The prior art pneumatic grinder usually installs a protecting hold to a body at a position proximate to a grinder wheel for preventing the sparks, grinding bits, or dusts produced during the grinding process from hurting or contaminating the operator.  
      R.O.C. Patent Publication No. M257263 entitled “Pneumatic grinding tool” discloses a pneumatic grinder that comprises a long body and a short body, and the long body includes an operating section, a holding section, and a connecting head, and the operating section includes an air incoming module for allowing air to pass through, and the operating section includes a pressing section, and the long body is connected to the short body and includes a grinder wheel for providing the grinding function. The bottom surface of the connecting head connected to the grinder wheel and the bottom surface of the connecting head form an angle, such that the edge of the grinder wheel includes a protecting hood disposed proximate to a side of the long body of which the operator holds, so as to prevent the sparks and grinding bits from hurting or contaminating the operator.  
      However, the protecting hood of the foregoing prior art pneumatic grinding tool is in a fixed form and does not have the function of adjusting the position of the protecting hood. In a manufacture process, operators are usually forced to change the standing position or direction, or the operating pose to cope with the position or angle for the operation of grinding a work piece, and thus causing inconvenience to operators or making the operation more difficult, and greatly reducing the grinding quality. Therefore, we need a rotary protecting hood of a pneumatic grinder to prevent the sparks, grinding bits, or dusts produced in a grinding process from hurting or contaminating the operator, and the fixing position of the protecting hood can be adjusted according to the grinding position or angle of the work piece to make the manufacturing process easier and achieve the effect of improving the convenience of the operation.  
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
      The primary objective of the present invention is to overcome the foregoing shortcomings and avoid the existing deficiencies by providing a rotary protecting hood of a pneumatic grinder capable of providing a protecting function as well as adjusting the fixing position of the protecting hood according to the grinding position and angle of the work piece.  
      To achieve the foregoing objective, the present invention installs a connecting end on the body, and the connecting end includes a grinder wheel and a protecting hood thereon, wherein the connecting end includes a limit member, and the limit member and the protecting hood include a fixing section and a plurality of fixing holes respectively, such that the limit member and the protecting hood constitute a fixing relation. The limit member includes a first position that constitutes a fixing relation with the protecting hood and a second position that constitutes a releasing relation with the protecting hood, such that the protecting hood displaces with respect to the body. With the foregoing measure, the rotary protecting hood of a pneumatic grinder allows users to change the fixing position of the protecting hood if needed to achieve the effects of improving the operator&#39;s convenience and enhancing the grinding quality. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       FIG. 1  is a perspective view of the present invention;  
       FIG. 2  is an exploded view of a structure of the present invention;  
       FIGS. 3A and 3B  are cross-sectional views of the present invention; and  
       FIGS. 4A  to  4 B are schematic views of an application of the present invention. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
      The technical contents of the present invention will now be described in more detail hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings that show various embodiments of the invention.  
      Referring to  FIGS. 1 and 2  for the perspective view and the exploded view of the present invention, the invention includes a body  10 , and the body  10  includes a connecting end  20  thereon, and the connecting end  20  includes a grinder wheel  40  and a clamping member  90  for fixing the grinder wheel  40 , and the clamping member  90  comprises a supporting base  91  and a locking member  92 . The connecting end  20  includes a protecting hood  30  for sheltering the grinder wheel  40 , a latching member  70  for pressing the protecting hood  30  such that the protecting hood  30  will not be loosened, and a supporting member  80  for supporting the latching member  70 . The body  10  includes an accessory handle  13  disposed at a lateral side for providing another holding position of the body  10 , and the rear end of the body  10  has an air incoming section  12  for passing high-pressure air, and the lower edge of the body  10  has a manual switch  11  for turning on or off the pneumatic grinder. During the operation, an operator holds the holding body  10  by a hand and the accessory handle  13  by the other hand to overcome the torque. If the operator presses the manual switch  11  at the upper end of the body  10 , the high-pressure air will pass through the air incoming section  12  and the pneumatic motor (not shown in the figure) will drives the grinder wheel  40  to rotate in a high speed for performing the grinding and manufacturing processes. During the operation, the protecting hood  30  provides the function of protecting the operator, and a limit member  50  of the protecting hood  30  is installed at the connecting end  20  as shown in  FIGS. 2 and 3 A, and the limit member  50  and the protecting hood  30  include a fixing section  51  and a plurality of fixing holes  31  respectively for constituting a fixing relation, and a resilient member  60  having a resilience for storing power and resuming position is installed between the connecting end  20  and the limit member  50 , and the connecting end  20  includes a depressed hole  15  corresponding to the resilient member  60  for limiting the resilient member  60 , and the limit member  50  includes a pressing section  53  and a top pressing section  52  of the resilient member  60  for allowing the operator to apply a force.  
      Referring to  FIGS. 3A and 3B  for the cross-sectional views of the present invention, the limit member  50  includes a first position for defining a fixing relation with the protecting hood  30  (as shown in  FIG. 3A ) and a second position for defining a releasing relation with the protecting hood  30  (as shown in  FIG. 3B ), wherein the first position and second position of the limit member  50  are defined by the resilient member  60  disposed between the connecting end  20  and the limit member  50  and having a resilience for storing power and resuming position, and the resilient member  60  normally presses against the top pressing section  52  of the limit member  50  (as shown in  FIG. 2 ), such that the fixing section  51  and the fixing hole  31  are connected with each other (the limit member  50  is situated at the first position) such that the limit member  50  and the protecting hood  30  form a fixing relation. If the operator applies a force at the pressing section  53  of the limit member  50 , the fixing section  51  will be separated from the fixing hole  31  (the limit member  50  is situated at the second position) such that the limit member  50  and the protecting hood  30  release the fixing relation. The resilient member  60  can store power when the limit member  50  is situated at the second position for resuming the limit member  50  to the first position, if the applied force is released.  
      Referring to  FIGS. 4A and 4B  for a schematic view of an application of the present invention, if the limit member  50  is situated at the first position, the fixing section  51  and the fixing hole  31  of the protecting hood  30  are connected with each other, such that the limit member  50  and the protecting hood  30  constitute a fixing relation (as shown in  FIGS. 3A and 4A ). If the limit member  50  is situated at the second position as shown in  FIG. 3B ), the fixing section  51  will be separated from the fixing hole  31 , such that the fixing relation between the limit member  50  and the protecting hood  30  is released, and the protecting hood  30  can displace with respect to the body  10  to change the fixing position of the fixing hole  31  (as shown in  FIG. 4B ), wherein the fixing hole  31  could be a circular through hole or a circular groove, and the fixing section  51  could be a protruded pillar, or the fixing hole  31  and the fixing section  51  have opposite structures. With the foregoing measure of the present invention, the fixing position of the protecting hood  30  can be adjusted according to the grinding position and angle of the work piece to improve the convenience of the operation.  
      While the invention has been described by means of specific embodiments, numerous modifications and variations could be made thereto by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention set forth in the claims.