Abstract:
The vertical blade saw assembly for ceramic and masonry materials is designed to provide an assembly that allows the user to make cuts of any shape to ceramic tiles and masonry materials in order to permit the installation of precision cuts for a particular setting. The assembly has an electric drive motor that is protected from the coolant used to keep the blade from overheating. The assembly has a plurality of parallel arms that are connected and permit the oscillating motion of the arms. The vertical blade is connected to the arms which place the blade in motion. The assembly has a base unit to provide support for the assembly. A coolant tray is positioned around the base unit. A water pump and accompanying tubing is used to circulate the coolant to the blade. Several cutting blades are also disclosed.

Description:
This patent application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/429,105 filed Oct. 28, 1999. 
    
    
     This invention pertains to vertical blade saws and, in particular, to a vertical blade saw assembly for ceramic and masonry materials that will allow the user to make precision cuts of any shape and keep the vertical blade within a desired temperature range to increase the life of the blade in these operations. 
     The use of vertical saws is well known and the use of coolants to maintain the life of a saw blade is also known. What has not been shown is a vertical reciprocating saw blade apparatus that is designed to provide precision cuts of any shape to ceramic and masonry materials that also incorporates a coolant for the vertical blade. For example, the U.S. Pat. No. 4,807,361 issued to Romuald Raczkowski on Feb. 28, 1989 for a “Cutting Blade Lubrication” and the U.S. Pat. No. 4,870,946 issued to Richard D. Long et al on Oct. 3, 1989 for a “Fluid Cooled Apparatus for Cutting Concrete Material and the Like” show devices that use blades for cutting and are cooled to maintain a desired temperature of the blade. What is needed is an assembly that will permit the cutting of precision cuts of any shape to ceramic and masonry and at the same time, allow the cutting blade to be cooled as the sawing process is underway. A diamond bladed wet band saw sold under the trade name Diamond Laser 5000 is available from Diamond Tech International. The drawback to this saw is that it has a continuous blade. This saw is incapable of doing inserts as will be explained below. The saw and the saw blade are also very expensive and replacing the blade is time consuming. 
     It is the object of this invention to teach a vertical blade saw assembly for ceramic and masonry materials which avoids the disadvantages and limitations, recited above in previous vertical blade assemblies. It is the object of this invention to provide an assembly that is inexpensive to manufacture, easy to use, and is extremely effective at making precision cuts of any shape. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     Particularly, it is the object of this invention to teach a vertical blade saw assembly for ceramic and masonry materials, for use in providing precision cuts of any shape to tiles and the like, while keeping the blade making the cut within an ideal temperature range in order to prolong the life of the blade, comprising a housing for encompassing the entire assembly; said housing having a materials support platform for positioning the material to be cut; said housing having a plurality of blade attaching arms for holding a blade in the proper orientation; a vertical blade unit attached to said blade attaching arms for cutting the material; a coolant system for maintaining said blade at a desired temperature in order to prolong the operational life of said vertical blade unit; and a drive motor for operating said blade attaching arms and said vertical blade unit. Although the invention as described has application for cutting ceramic and masonry materials, the invention is also capable of cutting other similar materials such as glass, marble, and stone. Throughout this disclosure, it should be understood that any reference to tile, ceramic tile, or masonry means any material comprising but not limited to tile, ceramic tile, masonry, glass, brick, concrete, marble, and stone. 
     It is also the object of this invention to teach a vertical blade saw assembly for ceramic and masonry materials, for use in providing precision cuts of any shape to tiles and the like while keeping the blade making the cut within an ideal temperature range in order to prolong the life of the blade, comprising in combination a housing having a drive motor that powers a blade unit positioned between two parallel attachment arms having a pivot means in order to provide parallel, oscillating motion to the arms and the blade, said housing having a material support platform having an aperture therein for the passage of the blade and a coolant system for cooling the blade, said coolant system comprising a reservoir, tubing and a coolant pump, said reservoir being located below said material support platform. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     Further objects and features of the invention will become more apparent by reference to the following description taken in conjunction with the following figures, in which: 
     FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of the novel vertical blade saw assembly for ceramic and masonry; 
     FIG. 2 is a front plan view thereof; 
     FIG. 3 is a cross sectional view of novel vertical blade saw assembly for ceramic and masonry materials, taken along line  1 — 1  of FIG. 2; 
     FIG. 4 is a side view of a first embodiment of a cutting blade according to the present invention; 
     FIGS. 5A and 5B are a side view and a front view respectively of a second embodiment of a cutting blade according to the present invention; 
     FIGS. 6A and 6B are a side view and a front view respectively of a third embodiment of a cutting blade according to the present invention; 
     FIGS. 7A,  7 B, and  7 C show a process for cutting curved shapes out of tile, ceramic tile, masonry, glass, brick, concrete, marble, and stone; 
     FIG. 8 is a pattern formed from the pieces from FIG. 7B; 
     FIG. 9 is a top view of the reservoir of FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 10 is a side view of an alternative embodiment of the reservoir of FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 11 is a side view of a forth embodiment of a cutting blade according to the present invention; 
     FIG. 12 is a side view of a fifth embodiment of a cutting blade according to the present invention; and 
     FIG. 13 is a front view of a preferred embodiment attachment method for securing a blade to a reciprocating arm. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     As shown in the figures, the novel vertical blade saw assembly  10  for ceramic and masonry materials comprises a vertically mounted, reciprocating blade  11  positioned in a housing  12  and tensioned through a work platform  13 . The housing  12  comprising a unit of rigid construction. The housing  12  may comprise a unit of metallic construction or composite construction. The work platform or table  13  has an aperture  24  therein to allow the vertical blade  11  to be able to pass through the work platform or table  13 . The standard use of the assembly is to make cuts of any shape to the tile  1 . It can also be used so that the blade  11  can be inserted through a hole in the ceramic tile  1  placed over the aperture  24  in the work platform or table  13  and a hole of any shape can be made of the tile  1 . The blade  11  is attached to two reciprocating blade arms  14  and  14   a  and locked into place by means of linking mechanisms  15  and  15   a  at the ends of the reciprocating blade arms  14  and  14   a . The reciprocating blade arms are located in parallel to each other, one located above the other. A blade tensioning device  16  is located on top of the upper blade reciprocating arm  14  consists of a tightening knob which adjusts the proper tension that is kept on the blade  11 . 
     A drive motor  17  is attached by mechanical linkages  18  to the two blade reciprocating arms  14  and  14   a  and imparts the reciprocating motion to the blade reciprocating arms  14  and  14   a  through pivot point  14   c  and through them to the vertical saw blade  11 . The drive motor  17  is preferably less than 3 HP, more preferably ½ HP. A control switch  19  turns the motor on and off. The work platform or table  13  is supported by support pieces  20  and  20   a  and provides an area below the work platform that can house the drive motor  17  and the coolant reservoir  21 . Coupled to the support pieces  20  and  20   a  and underlying reciprocating blade arms  14  and  14   a  may be a sloped diverter surface  30 . The surface  30  urges coolant that drips of off the work platform or table  13  away from the motor  17  and into the coolant reservoir  21 . The coolant reservoir  21  holds the fluids that help maintain the blade temperature in a desired range for extended life and optimum cutting capability. The coolant fluid is moved through tubing  22  to the blade  11  by means of a fluid pump  23 . The fluid will then return to the reservoir  21  by means of gravity. The fluid pump is preferably less than 1 HP, more preferably {fraction (1/40)} HP. The coolant fluid is preferably water. In operation, the user actuates the switch  19  which initiates the operation of the drive motor  17  and then in turn the reciprocation blade arms  14  and  14   a , the blade  11  and the fluid pump  23 . The tile  1  is then placed on the work platform or table  13 . The user then manipulates the tile  1  as necessary in order to make precision cuts of any shape to the tile  1 . The fluid pump  23  drives fluid through the fluid tube  22  to the blade area which sprays coolant on the blade  11 . Then, by gravity, the fluid returns to the fluid reservoir  21 . Therefore, what is described in operation is a tile saw assembly  10  having a vertically mounted reciprocating blade  11  tensioned through a work table  13 . An electric motor  17  drives the blade  11  that is held in position by two mounting arms  14  and  14   a  having pivot points to provide reciprocal motion. The arms  14  and  14   a  are positioned one above the other and in parallel to each other. An electric pump  23  is used to circulate fluid to cool the blade  11 . Precision cuts of any shape can be made. Additionally, installing the blade  11  through a hole in the tile allows cuts of any shape to be made in the interior of the tile  1 . 
     FIG. 4 shows a blade  50  which is commonly referred to as a rod saw. The existence of rod saws is well known. The cutting surface of prior art rods saws is formed from Tungsten Carbide. The blade  50  is made from a length of wire  52  that has been coated with a diamond coating. Diamond has been chosen as a coating over Tungsten Carbide because diamond last considerably longer than the Tungsten Carbide. The blade length is preferably less than 12″, more preferably 6″ and the diameter is preferably less than ¼″, more preferably {fraction (1/16)}″. The blade  50  is most preferably sized similarly to the 6″ rod saw from Q.E.P. Co., Inc. and sold as model number 10030. The rod saw from Q.E.P is made from Tungsten Carbide. The diamond coating in the present invention is deposited onto the wire  52  using conventional processes. In a preferred embodiment, the diamonds in the diamond coating will be directionally oriented to facilitate cutting predominantly in one direction. The preferred direction is during the downward stroke of the blade  50  when installed. This helps keep the tile  1  in contact with the work surface  13  and prevents chipping of the edge of the cut piece. The wire  52  is secured to end pieces  54   a  and  54   b  with a crimp  58   a  and  58   b . An opening  56 , preferably a circular hole, is formed in the end pieces  54   a  and  54   b  to allow the end pieces  54   a  and  54   b  to be secured to the reciprocating blade arms  14  and  14   a  and locked into place by means of the linking mechanism  15  and  15   a . In a preferred embodiment, the end piece  54   b  will include an indicator  59 , such as a symbol stamped into the end piece  54   b , to signal the user that this end of the wire is the “downward” end. Alternatively, end piece  54   b  could be shaped differently than end piece  54   a  to signal the “downward” end to the user. A corresponding symbol can be shown on the reciprocating arm  14   a.    
     FIGS. 5A and 5B show a blade  60  for use in the present invention. The blade  60  is made from a stamped or formed piece of metal  62  that has been coated with a diamond coating along a substantial length of the metal piece  62 . The cross section of the piece of metal  62  is preferably a rectangle. The dimensions are preferably 0.040″ by 0.375″. The diamond coating covers the two sides and the two edges. The blade length is preferably less than 12″, more preferably 6″ and the thickness is preferably less than ⅛″, more preferably {fraction (1/16)}″. In a preferred embodiment, the diamonds in the diamond coating will be directionally oriented to facilitate cutting predominantly in one direction. At each end of the metal piece  62  are end pieces  64   a  and  64   b . An opening  66 , preferably a circular hole, is formed in the end pieces  64   a  and  64   b  to allow the end pieces  64   a  and  64   b  to be secured to the reciprocating blade arms  14  and  14   a.    
     FIGS. 6A and 6B show a blade  70  for use in the present invention. The blade  70  is similar to the blade  60  shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B but only has the diamond coating on a leading edge  78 . The blade  70  has the advantage of having a narrower trailing edge which allows the user to make tighter radius cuts than the blade  60  shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B and may provide improved directional stability. A blade with diamond coating on only one edge should also be less expensive to manufacture. 
     Varied sizes, shapes, and textures of diamond pieces can be deposited on to the blades  50 ,  60 , or  70  to form different grit blades. Lower grit blades cut faster, but finer grit blades cut more smoothly. The design of the saw assembly  10  as shown in FIGS. 1,  2 , and  3  allows for quick and easy changing of the blade  11  as the need arises. 
     The vertical saw blade assembly  10  as shown in FIGS. 1,  2 , and  3  has many advantageous over prior tile cutting systems. Prior cutting systems, like the one disclosed in the Raczkowski patent, use a rotary wheel to cut the tile. The rotary wheel is best suited for making straight cuts along tile and not irregular cuts such as radiuses and holes. 
     FIG. 7 shows how to cut an arc  102  on a tile  100  using prior systems to end up with a desired section  109 . The user must make numerous cuts  104  from the edge  106  of the tile  100  to the arc  102  in order to remove the unwanted section  108 . The number of cuts is dictated by the size of the arc and the experience of the user. Even after completing this time consuming task, the user must remove the small, unwanted tile pieces  110  in order to make a smooth arc. A smooth arc is very important especially when an artisan is making a mural or the like and needs tiles of different color or texture to mate neatly to form the piece of art. The process of cutting tiles with the rotary saw always results in the destroying of the section  108  of tile  100 . Certain artistic patterns could benefit from the reuse of the section  108 . The section  108  of tile  100  could be reused if cut according to the present invention as will be described below, but not if cut using the method shown in FIG.  7 A. These wasted sections  108  are costly due to the time required to cut them and the fact that they are destroyed during the cutting process. 
     FIG. 7B shows how a tile  100 A can be cut into two useable sections  108 A and  109 A. The vertically reciprocating blade  112 A cuts a narrow path  114  through the tile  100 A. The width of the cut is dictated by the width of the blade  112 A. 
     FIG. 7C shows how to cut a shape  122  in a piece of tile  120 . The shape is shown as a circle, although any shape is achievable. The shape  122  as shown does not extend to the borders of the tile  120 . The first step is to form an opening  128  through the tile  120  with an appropriate drill bit or by plunge cutting the tile from the back side of the tile. The size of the opening  128  must be large enough to allow the blade  11  to extend therethrough. The opening  128  can be placed anywhere within the border of the shape  122 . The next step is to disconnect the blade  11  from the reciprocating blade arms  14  and  14 A, feed the blade  11  through the opening  128 , and then reconnect the blade  11  back to the reciprocating blade arms  14  and  14 A. The saw blade assembly  10  is then turned on and a slot  126  is cut from the edge of the opening  128  to the edge of the shape  122 . The cutting is then continued along the inside edge of the shape  122 . This cutting process allows for an insert to be added without having to make a cut that extends to the outside edge of the tile  120 . This type of cut cannot be made with a band saw because the band saw has a continuous blade. 
     FIG. 8 shows how the tiles from FIG. 7B can be arranged to present interesting patterns without wasting any tile. The angled lines are used to show differences in either color or texture of the tiles  100 . The narrow section  114  removed from the tile  100 A with the blade  112 A can be filled with a grout  116 . 
     Another advantage of the present invention is that an artisan can stack two or more tiles on top of each other for cutting. This concurrent cutting saves time and ensures the pieces will mate together nicely. 
     The coolant reservoir  21  as shown in FIG. 9 is “U” shaped to fit around the lower part of the saw blade assembly  10 . The bottom of the reservoir  21  rests on the base of the saw. The reservoir  21  is preferably removable to make cleaning and transportation easier. 
     As shown in FIG. 10, the front portion of the coolant reservoir  21  may be inclined to encourage the coolant to flow towards the pump  23  which is located towards the back of the reservoir  21  and to decrease the amount of coolant required. 
     FIG. 11 shows a blade  80  having a first cutting area “A” and a second cutting area “B”. The blade  80  has teeth or cutting surfaces A 1 -An and B 1 -Bn. The quantity of teeth or cutting surfaces depends on the length of the blade  80  and the number of teeth or cutting surfaces per inch of blade. The design shape of the teeth or cutting surfaces can be adjusted depending on the type of material being cut. Different teeth or cutting surface designs are well known in the art. The teeth or cutting surfaces A 1 -An are directionally oriented to facilitate cutting predominantly in a first direction. The teeth or cutting surfaces B 1 -Bn are directionally oriented to facilitate cutting predominantly in a second direction. This effectively gives the user two cutting sections. Once the first cutting section is worn, the user simply flips the blade over and starts using the second cutting section. This has the benefit of having a blade that last twice as long as previous blades. At each end of the blade  80  is a hole or pin  86  for securing the blade  80  to reciprocating blade arms  14  and  14   a.    
     The reciprocating arms  14  and  14   a  of the saw assembly  10  cause the blade  11  to reciprocate in a substantially linear path approximately 1-2″ in length. If, as is shown in FIGS. 1,  2 , and  3 , one of the reciprocating arms ( 14   a ) is closer to the work table  13  than the other ( 14 ), the blade  11  will be worn on one end and not on the other end. To cut using the blade  80 , the user simply installs the blade  11  in to the saw assembly  10  and begins to cut. When the teeth in section of the blade  80  being used get worn, the user simply removes the blade, turns it up side down, and starts cutting with the unused section. 
     FIG. 12 shows a blade  90  for cutting tile, ceramic tile, masonry, glass, brick, concrete, marble, and stone. Like the blade in FIG. 11, the blade  90  has a first cutting section “A” and a second section “B”. In this embodiment, the teeth or cutting surfaces are made of Tungsten Carbide or diamond. Each section “A” and “B” has the teeth or cutting surfaces directionally oriented to facilitate cutting predominantly in one direction. A rod saw similar to the one shown in FIG. 4 can be made with sections having teeth or cutting surfaces directionally oriented to facilitate cutting predominantly in one direction. 
     FIG. 13 shows a front view of a preferred embodiment attachment method for coupling the blade  11  to the reciprocating arm  14 . A pin  117 , having a knob  117   b  secured to one end, is inserted through the linking mechanism  15 ′ and a hole in the top end of the blade  11 . A similar attachment method secures the lower end of the blade  11  to the linking mechanism  15   a ′. This attachment method helps reduce the amount of deflection of the blade  11  when the blade  11  is urged upward and downward by the reciprocating arms  14  and  14   a.    
     While I have described my invention in connection with specific embodiments thereof, it is clearly to be understood that this is done only by way of example and not as a limitation to the scope of my invention as set forth in the objects thereof and in the appended claims.