Woodworking – Process – Mechanical cutting or shaping
Reexamination Certificate
2001-08-08
2003-02-18
Bray, W. Donald (Department: 3725)
Woodworking
Process
Mechanical cutting or shaping
C144S135200, C144S137000, C144S286100, C144S286500, C144S329000, C409S226000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06520227
ABSTRACT:
I. BACKGROUND OF INVENTION
A. Field of Invention
This invention relates to hand-held and operated tools such as to routers, jigsaws, spindle sanders, etc., and in particular to an improved mechanism and method for operably mounting such tools upside down into a tabletop or bench but allowing quick and easy removal for hand-held use.
B. Problems in the Art
Hand-held router tools are available in many sizes and designs. Various horsepower electric motors are encased in a housing to which handles are attached for holding and guiding the tool. A collet extending vertically and attached directly to the motor shaft allows exchange and securement of multiple profiles and shank diameters of cutting bits. Surrounding the collet and cutter is a base with a center opening sized to allow clearance for the cutter. The base is attached to the router housing through posts or by sleeving to the outside of the housing. Many hand-held routers have what is called a factory sub-base plate (e.g. a relatively thin plastic ring) of closely or identical diameter and shape as base
14
, and attached to base
14
by machine screws. The factory sub-base (not shown) is usually of a material that does not have propensity to make scratches as the router is moved across a surface. It also acts as a sort of wear plate.
These types of routers are intended to be used hand-held, with the factory base/sub-base bearing against a workpiece and the cutter extending downward generally vertical in relation to the workpiece. The worker must move the router relative to the workpiece. This requires good coordination and control on the part of the worker to move the router in the desired manner.
Inverting the router position, with collet and cutter extending vertically up through a corresponding hole in a larger supported surface such as a table, can be advantageous. For example, this allows use of larger cutters, both horizontal and vertical, in relation to base. With cutters extending upward vertically and the router held stationary in a table top, the workpiece is controlled into a rotating cutter or bit, with the router stationary and not moving relative to workpiece. This type of router can sometimes be built-in to a table and therefore is not readily removeable and convertible to hand-held use.
Therefore, attempts have been made to create systems to allow hand held routers to be mountable for table use. The router can then be used in either hand-held or table-mounted mode.
Problems arise with such existing router table designs however. Usually the factory sub-base is removed and a substantial-sized, larger insert plate is mounted by bolts or screws to base of the hand-held router. The hand-held router, with attached insert plate, is inverted and set into a comparable sized receiving opening in a customized table. Phenolic or other plastics are commonly used as the insert plates. The insert plate is usually of a size, which permits the router and router handles to be lowered from the top through the accompanying and size-matching table hole. This can lead to insert plates that sag in the center due to the constant weight applied by the router and the substantial size of the insert plate. These types of plates are also undesirable when using the router in hand-held mode. The size (usually substantially larger than the hand-held router base) and/or shape (many times square or rectangular) obstructs free turning and positioning of the router in hand-held mode, when following templates or straight guides, or when working in limited access areas and, at a minimum, is quite different from the factory base and factory sub-base, and thus makes it difficult to use the router for all its factory capabilities. If a worker is restricted to one router, switching from table use to hand use leaves either an unwieldy added insert plate, or requires time consuming changing of the insert plate to the factory base or base-plate of the router. Therefore, there is room for improvement in the art relative to table support of hand-held routers.
For example, refer to
FIGS. 1 and 2
. An existing method of converting a hand-held portable router
10
into a table-mounted tool is illustrated. Conventional hand-held routers
10
have a housing
12
encasing a motor, a base plate or plates
14
attached to housing
12
by posts or sleeves
21
, handles
16
, and a bit
18
removeably positionable in a bit collet or chuck
17
which is rotatable by the electric motor and extendable through opening
19
in base plate
14
. An electrical cord
11
supplies connection to an electrical power source.
As illustrated in
FIGS. 1 and 2
, one state of the art way of converting the hand-held router
10
to a table top tool is to configure a table
20
(see
FIG. 2
) to include a relatively large rectangular opening
26
with a flange or ridge
28
smaller in perimeter dimensions than opening
26
.
A relatively large plate
22
having an opening
23
for bit
18
is mounted by bolts or screws
24
to base plate
14
of router
10
(usually after removal of a factory sub-base). Plate
22
has an outside perimeter which mates into receiving opening
26
. Flange
28
supports plate
22
. Note that router
10
and plate
22
are inverted and pass into and through opening
26
when mounted into position, so that plate
22
is flush with table top
20
. (See FIG.
2
).
Once inserted into table
20
, cord
11
is connected to appropriate circuitry for access to electrical power, and what was the hand-held portable router
10
now functions as a table mounted tool with bit
18
extendable above the surface of table
20
. As can be appreciated, plate
22
sits flush in table
20
, to the extent possible. Also, as can be appreciated, fences can be adjustably positioned on tabletop
20
to assist the woodworker when manipulating work pieces to bit
18
.
As previously mentioned, the size of plate
22
is usually sufficiently large to support router
10
, but also allow handles
16
and housing
12
to pass through table surface
20
when mounting it, and also pass back through when removing router
10
with attached plate
22
. Thus, the size and dimensions of such plates
22
are substantially larger than the factory base
14
and factory sub-base, and many times are square or rectangular which is much different than round, and not very conducive to hand-held routing.
This combination makes it very cumbersome and even difficult to then use router
10
in a hand-held portable mode because of the substantial size of plate
22
and many times because of the non-round shape. Removal of plate
22
, to convert router
10
back to hand-held mode (and reattachment of factory sub-base), is time consuming and cumbersome, but may be necessary for accurate use of router
10
in a hand-held mode.
Router fences of various designs are often used to set depth of cut and/or add stability to the workpiece. Normally, such fences attach to or across a substantial part of the tabletop and are moveable from very near to the bit to a position away from and towards or near the edge of the tabletop. With the design of
FIGS. 1 and 2
, removal of the fence is necessary for most cutter bit changes, and for removal of the router from the table.
A mechanism and method is needed allowing a router of almost any size or design to be quickly and easily exchanged from the top of a table, with no fence removal, ready for hand held use with a base plate of generally the same design and feel as its factory base plate.
The same or similar problems exist for many other hand-held tools. Examples are jigsaws, drills, spiral saws, spindle sanders, or other tools having a working member extending downwardly or generally vertically through an integral base plate when in a hand-held and operated mode.
II. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an apparatus which fits into the top of an existing table, or becomes a self contained table allowing hand-held routers or other tools of a variety of sizes, designs and horsepower to be quickly installed or removed from the table or table top allowing
Henderson David L.
Mc Farlin, Jr. Robert E.
LandOfFree
Apparatus and method for mounting routers in tables does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Apparatus and method for mounting routers in tables, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Apparatus and method for mounting routers in tables will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-3126114