Patent ID: 7325315

Claim:
A saw blade clamping arrangement for a power tool including a housing, a drive shaft mounted for reciprocating motion relative to the housing and having a longitudinal drive axis, and a saw blade releasably interconnected with the drive shaft for reciprocating motion along a longitudinal axis, the saw blade clamping arrangement comprising: a blade support mechanism including a spindle extending from the drive shaft, the spindle defining a first saw blade slot, the blade support mechanism including an actuator support having a first portion surrounding the spindle and a second portion extending away from the first portion, the second portion defining a second saw blade slot, the first and second slots not intersecting; a tubular actuator mounted on the first portion of the actuator support and rotatable about the longitudinal axis of the drive shaft between an engaged position and a disengaged position; and first and second locking members operatively associated with the actuator, and movable between a locked position that selectively locks the blade in the corresponding first and second slots and an unlocked position that releases the blade.