Woodworking – Shaping machine – Vertical spindle
Reexamination Certificate
2000-08-28
2001-10-23
Bray, W. Donald (Department: 3725)
Woodworking
Shaping machine
Vertical spindle
C144S137000, C144S286100, C144S371000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06305447
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF INVENTION
1. Related Applications
There are no applications related hereto heretofore filed in this or any foreign country.
2. Field of Invention
This invention relates generally to workbenches and more particularly to a workbench defining a medial orifice to releaseably carry a base plate supporting a depending router with the router blade in operative position above the support table.
BACKGROUND AND DESCRIPTION OF PRIOR ART
With the advent and development of modern powered hand tools of substantial sophistication, it has become popular to operatively support those tools in or on some type of table-like support to provide more functional utility that often approaches the functional utility of a large stationary tool of the same type, but with substantially less overall costs. Various of such supports have become known and provided for handsaws, drills, planers, routers and the like and some such supports have become known to service more than a single type of such tools. These supports in general provide a flat planar support surface defining a medial orifice to carry the tool, or some associated base plate carrying the tool, in a functionally depending fashion with the tool operative mechanism extending upwardly through the orifice and spacedly above the support table for use.
This type of support has been found particularly useful with hand manipulatable powered routers and various supports and base plates for such routers have heretofore become known. Though these supports have had substantial historicity and during their historical period have become increasingly sophisticated, problems still remain with their use. The instant base plate for mounting a router in a support table seeks to lessen or resolve various of these still existing problems.
It generally is desirable and has become well known to mount a powered hand tool on a mounting base plate to be carried in a support table orifice. This allows convenient and easy mounting and removal of the tool as desired not only to allow the support surface to mount other tools, but also to allow an orifice defined in the support surface to be covered by an insert so that it may serve as an ordinary planar support surface. The use of base plate type tool mounting also allows the formation of the base plate from material different from that from which the support surface is formed.
Commonly, the area about a tool operatively carried in a support surface, needs to be stronger, more rigid and more durable than the support surface distal from the tool as the support plate surface adjacent to the tool commonly receives most wear, use and physical abuse to shorten its effective life. This area yet requires configurational maintenance and oftentimes fine configurational definition, for the support plate to be effectively operable with the tool, especially in the case of a router. Though various problems have existed with support plates that have heretofore become known, the advantages of such plates have out-weighed their disadvantages and the plates have come into common use.
A simple and the most commonly used method of supporting a tool base plate in a support surface has been to define in the support surface an orifice having an inwardly extending lip about its lower peripheral portion so that the periphery of the tool base plate may be supported on that lip with the peripheral surface of the base plate substantially adjacent the peripheral surface defining the support surface orifice. It is convenient, and sometimes necessary, that the upper surfaces of the support surface and tool base plate be substantially coplanar, but often this requires adjustment to accommodate irregularities and inaccuracies of the configurational definition either the support surface, the orifice therein or the base plate periphery. This problem has commonly been resolved by shimming the adjacent surfaces of the elements or providing screw type adjustment means in the peripheral area of the base plate or lip area of the support surface orifice to extend to contact the adjacent element surface so that the adjustment screws may be moved to bring the base plate surface into coplanar relationship with the support table surface.
In general such base plates have commonly been maintained on the support surface ledge by means of gravity, as the support surface normally is horizontally or at least somewhat horizontally oriented. In some instances the base plate has been fastened in the support orifice by fasteners operably extending therebetween, most commonly bolts or screws. This method of fastening is inconvenient in general and especially when the tool base plate must be removed and replaced frequently, as is commonly the case. Additionally, support tables commonly are formed of wood or derivatives having similar properties and the use of either bolt or screw type fasteners in such material is fairly rapidly destructive of the fastening areas, so as not to allow frequent fastening and unfastening and soon make such fastening less secure, even if operative.
The instant base plate resolves this problem by allowing formation of the base plate from more dense polymeric or resinous plastics to provide a strong, durable and rigid fastening structure and by providing a particularly designed releasable fastener. This releasable fastener provides a bolt extending through the fastening plate to carry each of one or more elongate fastening dogs, with a nut on the surface of the fastening dog distal from the support surface so that the fastening dog may be secured upon the support surface adjacent to the base plate without any direct fastenable contact of the bolt with the material of the support surface. This fastening method allows the fastening dog to be secured with an adjustable amount of tension between it and the support surface to allow or prevent fastening and release of the base plate by rotation of the fastening dog on the bolt.
Another problem often presented by a tool carrying base plate, and especially those used with routers, is that the base plate surface closely adjacent to the cutting tool extending therethrough may be lower than the upper surface of the surrounding support table, even though the periphery of the base plate is coplanar with the upper surface of the support table. The condition of either base plate or support table may change with use and wear, and commonly, the base plate surface closely adjacent to the cutting tool may be worn and abraded by use to a greater extent than more distal areas to become lower than the surface of the support table. It is desirable in operating router and shaper tools that the base plate surface immediately adjacent the cutting element be substantially coplanar with the more distal support surface, or at least be not lower than that support surface. The instant base plate provides a slightly raised medial portion to avoid this problem and accommodate the abrasion occurring from normal use without lowering the upper surface of the base plate below desired limits.
My invention resides not in any one of these features individually, but rather in the synergistic combination of all of its structures that necessarily give rise to the functions flowing therefrom as herein specified and claimed.
SUMMARY OF INVENTION
The instant invention provides a base plate for mounting a depending powered hand router within a lower lipped orifice defined in a support table. The base plate defines a medial orifice releasably carrying plural selectively positionable concentric inserts to allow passage of the shaft and cutter of the supported router therethrough and spacedly thereabove. The base plate or orifice of the support table lip provide plural leveling screws in the adjacent areas to communicate therebetween to adjustably position the upper surface of the base plate in substantially coplanar relationship with the upper surface of the support table. Corner fasteners about the peripheral area of the base plate depend beneath the support table to carry fastening dogs for selective adjustable motion to releasably a
Bergman Keith S.
Bray W. Donald
LandOfFree
Base plate for mounting router in a support table does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Base plate for mounting router in a support table, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Base plate for mounting router in a support table will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-2606407