Abstract:
A tile cutting machine comprises a base, a motor accommodated in the base, a blade driven to rotate by the motor, and a working table supported on the base, wherein the working table comprises a fixed working table fixedly mounted to the base. A movable working table is slidably mounted to the fixed working table in a sliding direction parallel to a plane of the blade. The movable working table comprises a pivoting plate pivotally mounted to the movable working table about a pivoting axis parallel to the plane where the blade is located and a fence assembly mounted to the movable working table. The tile cutting machine can effectively enhance the ability to produce straight and/or square cuts.

Description:
FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE 
       [0001]    The present invention generally relates to a tile cutting machine, and more particularly to a working table of the tile cutting machine. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURE 
       [0002]    Tile cutting machines are widely used for cutting tiles such as ceramic tile and earthenware tile. Current tile cutting machines typically comprise a base, a motor arranged in the base, a blade rotatably driven by the motor, and a working table supported on the base. The working table has an elongated opening at the middle thereof, and the blade extends out from the elongated opening and is partially positioned above the working table. During operation, a workpiece to be cut is positioned on the working table, and an operator pushes the workpiece to be cut towards the rotating blade slowly so as to perform a cutting operation. 
         [0003]    The above-described tile cutting machine has lots of disadvantages. Firstly, the operator needs to manually push the workpiece to be cut for performing a cutting operation, and it is oftentimes difficult to control the workpiece to be cut such that it travels in a straight direction. Thus, this operation tends to cause the cutting surface to be crooked, and cannot ensure the straightness of the resulting cut, thereby affecting the cut quality. Secondly, when performing an inclined cutting operation, the operator needs to manually keep the workpiece to be cut in an inclined position with one hand and while pushing the workpiece to be cut with the other hand. This operation depends upon two hands to control the workpiece to be cut, which is difficult to keep the workpiece to be cut in the desired position and tends to cause an unstable cutting operation and relatively low cutting quality. Additionally, controlling the inclinded workpiece may be difficult, which may result in an increased workload on the blade and motor, thereby sometimes resulting in a seized motor. Still Further, the workpiece to be cut may slide on the working table, and overtime, the friction between the workpiece to be cut and the working table may scratch and/or deform the surface of the working table, which may cause the surface of the working table to be uneven, so that the workpiece to be cut is positioned in a non-horizontal position on the working table, that is, the workpiece to be cut is not vertical to the blade, thus the resulting cutting surface is not a vertical surface. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0004]    One object of the present invention is to overcome the deficiencies existing in the prior art, and provide a tile cutting machine having a movable working table. 
         [0005]    The tile cutting machine according to the present invention comprises a base; a motor accommodated in the base; a blade rotabably driven by the motor; a working table supported on the base; wherein the working table comprises a fixed working table fixedly mounted to the base and a movable working table slidably mounted to the fixed working table in a sliding direction parallel to a plane where the blade is located, the movable working table comprising a pivoting plate pivotally mounted to the movable working table about a pivoting axis parallel to the plane where the blade is located; and a fence assembly mounted to the movable working table. 
         [0006]    The working table of the tile cutting machine of the present invention comprises a fixed working table and a movable working table. The movable working table can slide relative to the fixed working table, and the movable working table is mounted with a fence assembly, thus the workpiece to be cut may be better positioned on the working table. During the cutting operation, the operator only needs to push the movable working table to slide, and does not need to push the workpiece to be cut as in the prior art. With better positioned, the workpiece to be cut does not tend to displace which affects the cutting quality, effectively enhancing the straightness and squareness of the cutting. In addition, during the cutting operation, the workpiece to be cut is fixed relative to the movable working table, and there is a relative sliding, i.e., friction, only between the workpiece to be cut and the fixed working table, which reduces the friction and thus the scrape on the working table as compared with the prior art. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0007]      FIG. 1  is a schematic view of a tile cutting machine according to one embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0008]      FIG. 2  is an exploded view of the tile cutting machine. 
           [0009]      FIG. 3  is an exploded view of a fixed working table of the tile cutting machine. 
           [0010]      FIG. 4  is an exploded view of a fence assembly of the tile cutting machine. 
           [0011]      FIG. 5  is a top view of the tile cutting machine. 
           [0012]      FIG. 6  is a top view of the tile cutting machine in another state. 
           [0013]      FIG. 7  is an exploded view of a movable working table of the tile cutting machine. 
           [0014]      FIG. 8  is a schematic view showing the tile cutting machine performing an inclined cutting operation. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0015]    As shown in  FIG. 1 , a tile cutting machine according to one embodiment of the present invention comprises a base  10 , a motor  20  (as shown in  FIG. 2 ) accommodated in the base  10 , a blade  30  rotatably driven by the motor  20  and a working table assembly  40  supported on the base  10 . 
         [0016]    As shown in  FIG. 2 , the working table assembly  40  comprises a fixed working table  41  and a movable working table  42 . 
         [0017]    The fixed working table  41  covers the whole base  10 . The fixed working table  41  has an elongated opening  410  at the middle thereof, and the blade  30  extends out from the elongated opening  410  and is partially positioned above the fixed working table  41 . The top surface of the fixed working table  41  is formed at one side of the blade  30  as a first supporting surface  411  for supporting a workpiece (not shown) to be cut. The first supporting surface  411  is formed with a plurality of grooves  412  for accommodating an adjusting piece  413 . The grooves  412  extend in the direction parallel to the plane where the blade  30  is located and are parallel to each other. The shape of the adjusting piece  413  may be substantially the same as that of the grooves  412 . The top surface of the adjusting piece  413  forms a portion of the first supporting surface  411 . The adjusting piece  413  may be mounted in the groove  412  by a screw  414  having an spring piece (not shown), and the position of the adjusting piece  413  in the vertical direction may be adjusted by rotating the screw  414 . In other embodiments, the adjusting piece  413  may be mounted to the grooves  412  by other mounting means to allow for an adjustment in the vertical direction. 
         [0018]    The fixed working table  41  is formed with a first concave portion  415  for accommodating the movable working table  42  at the other side of the blade  30 . The first concave portion  415  is communicated in the direction parallel to the plane where the blade  30  is located. The bottom surface of the first concave portion  415  is formed with two rectangular grooves  418  for mounting a first rail  416   a  and a second rail  416   b,  respectively. The first rail  416   a  and the second rail  416   b  each have a flat bottom surface for engaging with the rectangular grooves  418 . The first rail  416   a  is substantially cylindrical and the second rail  416   b  has an “I” shaped section. The first rail  416   a  and the second rail  416   b  extend in the direction parallel to the plane where the blade  30  is located. The bottom surface of the movable working table  41  is mounted with a first sliding block  417   a  and a second sliding block  417   b  for engaging with the first rail  416   a  and the second rail  416   b,  so that the movable working table  42  can slide relative to the fixed working table  41  and even slide beyond the fixed working table  41 , thereby enlarging the supporting area of the working table assembly  40 . The top surface of the movable working table  42  is formed as a second supporting surface  421  for supporting the workpiece to be cut. The first supporting surface  411  and the second supporting surface  421  are coplanar and can support the workpiece to be cut together. 
         [0019]    As shown in  FIG. 3 , the first concave portion  415  has a receiving hole  419  adjacent to the blade  30  for receiving a filtering plate  50 . The receiving hole  419  is in communication with the elongated opening  410 . The edge of the filtering plate  50  is engaged with the bottom surface of the first concave portion  415 . In the assembled state, the filtering plate  50  covers a portion of the blade  30  so as to facilitate the replacement of the blade  30  on one hand and prevent the blade  30  from being completely exposed outwards directly, thereby providing protection. The filtering plate  50  is provided with a plurality of apertures  51  therein so that a cooling liquid used in the cutting process may be filtered by and flowed out of the filtering plate  50  to a water tank (not shown) arranged in the base  10 . The filtering plate  50  is provided at one side adjacent to the blade  30  with a brush  52  for preventing the cooling liquid splashing. 
         [0020]    As shown in  FIGS. 1 and 4 , a front end of the movable working table  42  is provided with a fence assembly  44  for supporting the workpiece to be cut. The fence assembly  44  comprises a main fence  441  and a base plate  442  perpendicular to the main fence  441 . The main fence  441  has a third supporting surface  443  vertical to the movable working table  42  for supporting the workpiece to be cut in the vertical direction. The base plate  442  is formed with a mounting hole  444  on one end thereof and an arc slot  445  on the other end. The arc slot  445  takes the center of the mounting hole  444  as a center of a circle, and a positioning bolt  447  cooperates with the arc slot  445 . The fence assembly  44  is rotatably connected to the movable working table  42  by a fastening bolt  446 . Specifically, the fastening bolt  446  passes through the mounting hole  444  and is mounted to the movable working table  42 . When the fastening bolt  446  is released, the fence assembly  44  can rotate relative to the movable working table  42 , and the center line of the mounting hole  444  forms a rotating axis  448  of the fence assembly  44  vertical to the movable working table  42 . The movable working table  42  is formed with a plurality of positioning holes  423  and the positioning bolt  446  may cooperate with one of the positioning holes  423  so that the fence assembly  44  can be fixed in the desired angle position. 
         [0021]    The front end herein refers to the end adjacent to the operator during operation; contrarily, the back end refers to the end further away from the operator during operation. 
         [0022]    When a cutting operation is performed, the workpiece to be cut is positioned on the working table assembly  40 , one edge of the workpiece to be cut abuts against the main fence  441 , the bottom surface of the workpiece to be cut is supported by the first supporting surface  411  and the second supporting surface  421 , and the other edge of the workpiece to be cut is supported by the third supporting surface  443 , thus the workpiece to be cut may be better positioned in both the horizontal and vertical direction. The movable working table  42  is pushed by the operator to slide relative to the fixed working table  41 , and the workpiece to be cut on the movable working table  42  is slowly pushed towards the blade  30  for performing a cutting operation. When performing a bevel cutting operation, the operator needs to rotate the fence assembly  44  by a certain angle and then perform the cutting operation. During the cutting process, the workpiece to be cut does not move in any undesirable manner, thereby solving the problem in the prior art that the workpiece to be cut cannot be controlled by depending on the hands of the user to push the workpiece to be cut. 
         [0023]    During the cutting process, friction exists only between the workpiece to be cut and the first supporting surface  411  of the fixed working table  41 . The workpiece to be cut is fixed relative to the movable working table  41  so that no friction exists between them. Thus, as compared with the tile cutting machine in the prior art, the tile cutting machine of the present invention can reduce the friction between the workpiece to be cut and the working table, thereby reducing the resultant damage to the working table. When the first supporting surface  411  of the fixed working table  41  is damaged, the operator may adjust the position of the adjusting piece  413  in the vertical direction, keeping the first supporting surface  411  coplanar with the second supporting surface  421 . 
         [0024]    The fence assembly  44  is further provided with a U-shaped, first stopping block  48 . One end of the first stopping block  48  is rotatably connected to the fence assembly  44  through the fastening bolt  446  and the other end is formed with a fourth supporting surface  481  vertical to the movable working table  42  for supporting the workpiece to be cut. The first stopping block  48  may be rotated between a working state and a non-working state. As shown in  FIGS. 1 and 5 , the fourth supporting surface  481  is vertical to and spaced from the third supporting surface  443 . As illustrated, the first stopping block  48  is in the working state, and the third supporting surface  443  and the fourth supporting surface  481  cooperate to support an right angle of the workpiece to be cut, thereby preventing the workpiece to be cut from undesirable displacement. When the operator rotates the fence assembly  44  together with the first stopping block  48  to enable the right angle of the workpiece to be cut is aligned with the blade  30 , a symmetrical diagonal cut may be achieved. In the working state, the U-shaped, first stopping block  48  enables the third supporting surface  443  and the fourth supporting surface  481  to be separated by a certain distance so as to form a gap  482  for accommodating the blade  30  during the cutting process, thereby preventing the blade  30  from interfering with the first stopping block  48 . When a symmetrical diagonal cut is not needed, the first stopping block  48  is rotated to the front side of the main fence  441 , i.e., to the position as shown in  FIG. 6 . In this illustration, the first stopping block  48  is the non-working state. 
         [0025]    The third supporting surface  443  of the fence  441  is formed with a guiding groove  449  parallel to the movable working table  42  and extending in the longitudinal direction of the fence  441  for receiving and guiding a second stopping block  49 . The second stopping block  49  is formed with a fifth supporting surface  491  vertical to the movable working table  42  and the third supporting surface  443 . In the assembled state, the second stopping block  49  is mounted in the guiding groove  449  and can slide in the guiding groove  449 . The third supporting surface  443  and the fifth supporting surface  491  cooperate to support a right angle of the workpiece to be cut, thereby preventing the workpiece to be cut from undesirable displacement. The operator can rotate the fence assembly  44  together with the second stopping block  49  so as to achieve the function of non-symmetrical diagonal cutting. 
         [0026]    As shown in  FIG. 7 , the movable working table  42  is formed with a second concave portion  421  for accommodating a pivoting plate  43 . The top surface of the pivoting plate  43  is formed as a portion of the second supporting surface  421 . The movable working table  42  is provide at the side adjacent to the blade  30  with two pivoting base having a mounting hole  422 . The pivoting plate  43  is provided with a pin shaft  431  for mating with the mounting hole  422  at the two sides in the direction parallel to the plane where the blade  30  is located. The central axis of the pin shaft  431  forms a pivoting axis  430  of the pivoting plate  43  parallel to the plane where the blade  30  is located. The pivoting plate  43  can rotate relative to the movable working table  42  around the pivoting axis  430 , thereby achieving the function of an inclined cutting. 
         [0027]    The bottom surface of the pivoting plate  43  is provided with a supporting bracket  45  for maintaining the pivoting plate  43  in the desired inclined position. The supporting bracket  45  can pivot relative to the pivoting plate  43 . The pivoting mounting means may be replaced by a pin shaft and an opening mated with each other. A pivoting axis  450  of the supporting bracket  45  is parallel to the pivoting axis  430  of the pivoting plate  43 . In the direction vertical to the plane where the blade  30  is located in, the pivoting axis  430  of the pivoting plate  43  is positioned at the side of the second concave portion  421  adjacent to the blade  30 , and the pivoting axis  450  of the supporting bracket  45  is positioned at the side of the second concave portion  421  away from the blade  30 . The second concave portion  421  is provided with two positioning strips  428  extending in the direction parallel to the plane where the blade  30  is located. Each positioning strip  428  has a positioning groove for engaging with the edge of the supporting bracket  45  so as to limit the supporting bracket  45  in the desired angle position. Preferably, the positioning groove is a V-shaped groove. Various positioning strips  428  can maintain the supporting bracket  45  at different angles. In other embodiments, the number of positioning grooves may be one or more. Correspondingly, the supporting bracket  45  and the pivoting plate  43  may be supported at one or two angle positions. 
         [0028]    The front side wall of the pivoting plate  43  is formed with a cutout  432  for accommodating an auxiliary fence  46 . The auxiliary fence  46  is rotatably mounted to the pivoting plate  43  by a bolt  461  having a central axis as a rotating axis  460  of the auxiliary fence  46  which is parallel to the plane where the blade  30  is located and parallel to the pivoting axis  430  of the pivoting plate  43 . When the auxiliary fence  46  is not used, the auxiliary fence  46  is accommodated in the cut  432 . When the auxiliary fence  46  is used to support the workpiece to be cut, the auxiliary fence  46  is rotated so that at least one portion thereof extends beyond the top surface of the pivoting plate  43 . 
         [0029]    As shown in  FIG. 8 , when performing an inclined cutting operation, the pivoting plate  43  is firstly rotated to the desired position about the pivoting axis  430 , and then the supporting bracket  45  is rotated about the pivoting axis  450  to engage with one of the positioning strips  428  so as to support and maintain the pivoting plate  43  at an inclined position. Next, the auxiliary fence  46  is rotated so that at least one portion thereof is positioned above the pivoting plate  43 . The workpiece to be cut is positioned on the pivoting plate  43 , and one edge of the workpiece to be cut abuts against the auxiliary fence  46 . In this way, the fence workpiece to be cut can be better positioned, and the operator only needs to push the movable working table  42  to achieve an inclined cutting. 
         [0030]    The working table of the tile cutting machine disclosed by the present invention is not limited to the contents in the above embodiments and the structures indicated by the drawings. The obvious changes, substitutions, and modifications to the shapes and positions of the members based on the present invention are contained in the protection scope of the present invention.