GB2406071A

GB2406071A - Shoe assembly for reciprocating tool

Info

Publication number: GB2406071A
Application number: GB0321727A
Authority: GB
Inventors: John Howson
Original assignee: Black and Decker Inc
Current assignee: Black and Decker Inc
Priority date: 2003-09-17
Filing date: 2003-09-17
Publication date: 2005-03-23
Also published as: GB0321727D0

Abstract

A shoe assembly 16 for a jigsaw 2 is disclosed. The shoe assembly comprises an engaging portion 18 adapted to be mounted to and grip a base plate 6 of the jigsaw 2 in a releasable manner, and a pair of skids 20 for engaging a workpiece, as well as an aperture 24 for allowing passage of a jigsaw blade 8. The shoe assembly is press fitted onto base plate 6 such that resilient clips 22 engage the base plate . When the jigsaw is used with the shoe assembly fitted to the base plate , a different portion of the blade will be used for cutting, therefore prolonging the life of the blade. A blade clamp 50 may be provided on a drive shaft 52 above part of the base plate, so that the height of the blade clamp above the base plate can be adjusted.

Description

24060 7'

SHOE ASSEMBLY FOR A RECIPROCATING TOOL

The present invention relates to an assembly for adjusting the height of a shoe of a reciprocating tool relative to a workpiece, and relates particularly, but not exclusively, to an assembly for adjusting the height of a shoe of a jigsaw relative to a workpiece. The invention also relates to an adjustable height shoe for a jigsaw. The invention further relates to the adjustment of height of the working range of positions of a blade clamp of a jigsaw above.

Jigsaws are power tools used for cutting a workpiece of wood or other material, usually comprising a shoe on which the body of the jigsaw rests, the shoe having an aperture to allow the reciprocating blade of the jigsaw to pass through. Jigsaw blades generally comprise a toothed section that is longer than the width of the workpiece being cut. This allows the jigsaw to be used for a variety of different widths of Prior art jigsaws suffer from the drawback that the wear of the blade teeth is generally concentrated around the same part of the blade, as the jigsaw is generally used repeatedly on standard thicknesses of workpiece.

Preferred embodiments of the present invention seek to overcome the

disadvantage of the prior art.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided an assembly for adjusting the height of a shoe of a reciprocating tool relative to a workpiece, the assembly comprising; a body portion adapted to be removably mounted to a shoe of the tool; and at least one spacer member for adjusting the distance between the shoe and a workpiece on which the assembly rests in use.

By providing an assembly comprising a spacer member adapted to be removably mounted to the shoe of a tool such as a jigsaw, to allow adjustment of the distance between the jigsaw shoe and the workpiece, this provides the advantage that the height of the jigsaw blade above the workpiece can be adjusted such that a P-UK-PR11 1 8 different section of the teeth of the blade can be used for cutting the workpiece. This is advantageous because a certain portion of the toothed section of the blade may wear out due to repeated use on a standard thickness of wood or other material being cut, while the full length of the toothed section of the blade will not be worn out, and therefore varying the section of the blade that is used for cutting allows a blade to be used for longer, therefore reducing the frequency and cost of blade replacement.

In a preferred embodiment, said body portion is as least partially formed of plastics material.

This provides the advantage that a plastic body portion will cause less damage to the shoe of a jigsaw than a body portion of harder material.

Said body portion may comprise at least one resilient clip adapted to engage said shoe.

This provides the advantage of facilitating quick and easy attachment and release of the shoe assembly.

At least one said spacer member may comprise a respective skid.

In a preferred embodiment, the reciprocating tool is a jigsaw.

According to a further aspect of the present invention, there is provided a shoe assembly for a reciprocating tool, the shoe assembly comprising: a body portion; and at least one spacer member adapted to rest on a workpiece, wherein at least one said spacer member is removably mountable to said body portion for adjusting the distance between the body portion and a workplace on which the assembly rests in use.

P-UK PR11 18 This provides the advantage that the tool can be supplied with several interchangeable shoes of different height, in order to allow the wear on the blade to be spread over the length of the blade.

Said body portion may be adapted to resiliently engage at least one said spacer member.

At least one said spacer member may comprise a respective skid.

Said reciprocating tool may be a jigsaw.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a jigsaw comprising a housing in which is mounted a motor; a base plate assembly upon which the body is mounted, part of which, in use, rests against a workpiece; a substantially vertical drive shaft capable of being reciprocatingly driven by the motor in a substantially vertical direction; a blade clamp mounted on one end of the drive shaft which can be reciprocatingly driven by the drive shaft over a working range of positions above the part of the base plate assembly which, in use, rests against a workplace wherein the height of the working range of blade clamp above the part of the base plate assembly which, in use, rests against a workplace can be adjusted.

By adjusting the height of the working range of the blade clamp in relation to a workpiece, different portions of the cutting edge of a jigsaw blade can be utilised to cut a workpiece.

A preferred embodiment of the present invention will now be described, by way of example only and not in any limitative sense, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 is a side view of a handheld jigsaw and shoe assembly embodying the present invention; P-UK-PR1 1 18 Figure 2 is a side view of the handheld jigsaw and shoe assembly of Figure 1 in which the shoe assembly is mounted to the jigsaw; Figure 3 is a view from above of the mounting portion of the shoe assembly of Figure 1; and Figure 4 is a view from below of the shoe assembly of Figure 1.

Referring to Figure 1, a jigsaw shown generally by 2 comprises a housing 4 of plastics or other durable material mounted on a metal base plate 6. The metal base plate 6 forms part of a base plate assembly. A blade 8 is releasably held by a blade clamp 50 which is mounted on the end of a drive shaft 52 which extends vertically downwards from the front of the housing 4 such that when the teeth 10 of the blade are worn down by use the blade can be released from the blade clamp 50 and replaced with a new blade. A blade support roller 12 is supported on arm 14 to contact the rear of blade 8 and provide support for the blade 8.

In operation, the underside of base plate 6 is placed on a workpiece to be cut.

An electric motor (not shown) located in the housing 4 reciprocatingly drives the drive shaft 52 vertically which in turn drives the blade clamp 50 and the blade 8 mounted within it in a manner that will be well known to persons skilled in the art, and therefore will not be described in any more detail. As the blade 8 is reciprocatingly driven, the blade clamp 50 travels up and down over a working range of positions. As the jigsaw 2 is advanced along the workpiece, the blade 10, which passes through an aperture in the base plate 6, cuts the workpiece.

A shoe assembly shown generally by 16 comprises an engaging portion 18 adapted to be mounted to and grip the base plate 6 of the jigsaw in a releasable manner, and a pair of skids 20, only one of which is visible on Figures 1 and 2.

Referring to Figures 3 and 4, the shoe assembly 16 comprises a plastic mounting portion 18, having a pair of resilient clips 22 adapted to releasably grip the base plate 6 of the jigsaw 2. The shoe assembly 16 also comprises a pair of skids P-UK-PR11 1 B for engaging the workpiece, and an aperture 24 for allowing passage of the jigsaw blade 8.

Referring to Figure 2, the shoe assembly 16 is shown press fitted onto base plate 6 such that resilient clips 22 engage the base plate 6. It can be seen that a shorter portion of the blade 8 projects below the skids 20 of the shoe assembly than the portion of blade 8 projecting below base plate 6 in Figure 1. Accordingly, when the jigsaw is used with the shoe assembly 16 fitted to the base plate 6, a different portion of the blade 8 will be used for cutting, therefore prolonging the life of the blade. When the shoe 16 is fitted to the base plate 6, the combination can then be regarded as forming part of the base plate assembly.

The operation of the jigsaw and shoe assembly will now be described.

During normal operation of the jigsaw, the teeth 10 of the blade are prone to wearing as a result of repeated use. Jigsaws are generally used to cut standard thicknesses of wood or other materials, and as a result of this the wearing of the teeth will tend to be localised around a certain portion of the blade 8. In order to prolong the life of the blade, the shoe assembly 16 can be releasably mounted to the base plate 6 to raise the height of the blade above the workpiece.

The jigsaw may be supplied with several different heights of shoe assembly, in order to spread blade wear over the full length of the blade. Also, in an alternative embodiment the engaging portion 18 may be formed integrally with the jigsaw shoe, and several different heights of skid provided.

It will also be appreciated that the height of the working range of the blade clamp 50 above the workplace can be adjusted between several different positions.

It will be appreciated by persons skilled in the art that the above embodiment has been described by way of example only and not in any limitative sense, and that various alterations and modifications are possible without departure from the scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

P-UK-PR' 1 1 B

Claims

1. An assembly for adjusting the height of a shoe of a reciprocating tool relative to a workpiece, the assembly comprising:- ' a body portion adapted to be removably mounted to a shoe of the tool; and g at least one spacer member for adjusting the distance between the shoe and a workplace on which the assembly rests in use.

2. An assembly according to claim 1, wherein said body portion is at least partially formed of plastics material.

3. An assembly according to claim 2, wherein said body portion comprises at least one resilient clip adapted to engage said shoe.

4. An assembly according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein at least one said spacer member comprises a respective skid.

5. An assembly according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the reciprocating tool is a jigsaw.

6. An assembly for adjusting the height of a shoe of a reciprocating tool relative to a workpiece, the assembly substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

7. A shoe assembly for a reciprocating tool, the shoe assembly comprising: a body portion; and at least one spacer member adapted to rest on a workpiece, wherein at least one said spacer member is removably mountable to said body portion for adjusting the distance between the body portion and a workplace on which the assembly rests in use.

8. A shoe assembly according to claim 7, wherein said body portion is adapted to resiliently engage at least one said spacer member.

P-UK-PR1 1 18

9. A shoe assembly according to claim 7 or 8, wherein at least one said spacer member comprises a respective skid.

10. An assembly according to any one of claims 7 to 9, wherein said reciprocating tool is a jigsaw.

11. A jigsaw comprising a housing in which is mounted a motor; a base plate assembly upon which the body is mounted, part of which, in use, rests against a workpiece; a substantially vertical drive shaft capable of being reciprocatingly driven by the motor in a substantially vertical direction; a blade clamp mounted on one end of the drive shaft which can be reciprocatingly driven by the drive shaft over a working range of positions above the part of the base plate assembly which, in use, rests against a workplace wherein the height of the working range of blade clamp above the part of the base plate assembly which, in use, rests against a workplace can be adjusted.

12. A jigsaw as claimed in claim 11 wherein the height is adjusted by the use of an assembly according to claims 1 to 6 or a shoe assembly according to claims 7 to 9.

13. A jigsaw as claimed in either of claims 11 or 12 wherein the height of the working range can be adjusted to two different positions.

14. A shoe assembly for a reciprocating tool, the assembly substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

P-UK-PR11 8