Cutting – By endless band or chain knife – With special blade guide means
Reexamination Certificate
1999-10-27
2001-06-05
Bray, W. Donald (Department: 3725)
Cutting
By endless band or chain knife
With special blade guide means
C083S546000, C083S829000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06240825
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to band saw guide assemblies and more particularly to a guide assembly for receiving a guide bar of a meat band saw wherein the guide bar is connected to a blade guard such that a position of the blade guard along a length of a band saw blade varies as a position of the guide bar relative to the guide assembly varies.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
In the food processing industry large upright band saws such as band saw
10
of
FIG. 1
are commonly used for cutting meat products of a variety of sizes. Such band saws typically include a frame
12
upon which is mounted a support surface
14
for positioning meat products to be cut. A housing portion
16
extends above support surface
14
and a housing portion
18
extends below support surface
14
. A band saw blade
20
passes though a plane defined by support surface
14
and extends around wheel members (not shown) located with housing portions
16
and
18
for being drivingly rotated by such wheel members. In particular, a drive motor
22
may be connected for rotating a drive wheel in housing portion
18
. A blade guard
24
extends around the cutting edge of blade
20
and downward from housing portion
16
toward support surface
14
. Blade guard
24
is connected to a guide bar
26
which extends upward toward housing portion
16
and through a guide assembly
28
which is mounted to housing portion
16
. Guide bar
26
is slidably positioned within guide assembly
28
such that guide bar
26
can be moved upward or downward through such guide assembly if a sufficient moving force is applied thereto. However, with no moving force applied guide assembly
28
engages guide bar
26
with sufficient force to hold guide bar
26
and blade guard
24
in position. Because blade guard
24
is connected to guide bar
26
for movement therewith, the length of band saw blade
20
which is protected by the blade guard
24
can be varied by varying the position of guide bar
26
relative to guide assembly
28
.
Referring to
FIG. 2
, an exploded perspective view of a prior art guide assembly
28
is shown relative to guide bar
26
and blade guard
24
. Such guide assembly
28
includes a support member
30
, a retaining plate
32
, a brake shoe
34
, a spring
36
, a screw carrier
38
, a screw
40
and an end cap
42
. Support member
30
may be mounted to housing portion
16
by a bracket assembly
44
(shown in shadow) for example. Support member
30
includes channels
46
,
48
through which guide bar
26
passes, with an open face
50
of support member
30
exposing a surface of guide bar
26
. When assembled, retaining plate
32
is mounted to support member
30
by a plurality of screws (not shown), plate
32
including an opening
52
therethrough which extends to open face
50
of support member
30
. Brake shoe
34
, spring
36
, screw carrier
38
and screw
40
are positioned withing opening
52
such that spring
36
urges brake shoe
34
into frictional contact with guide bar
26
to support guide bar
26
until the frictional force is overcome. As shown, blade guard
24
may be mounted to the bottom of guide bar
26
by a threaded handle
54
.
Although effective, prior art guide assembly
28
is somewhat costly due to the machining requirements of support member
32
. Accordingly, it is desirable and advantageous to provide a guide assembly which is relatively simple and inexpensive.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In one aspect of the present invention, a guide assembly for receiving a guide bar of a band saw is provided. The guide assembly includes a sleeve-shaped member having first and second ends. An insert member is positioned within one of the ends of the sleeve-shaped member such that an end-to-end opening of the insert member forms a first guide bar receiving channel.
The guide bar may be slidably positioned through the guide bar receiving channel. The use of a sleeve-shaped member and insert member eliminates the costly machining associated with the prior art, particularly where the insert member is formed of a plastic material. Further, preferably the insert member includes an exposed end having a peripheral lip which overlaps the end of the sleeve-shaped member. The peripheral lip facilitates proper positioning of the insert member in the end of the sleeve-shaped member, and advantageously prevents food product from entering between the outer surfaces of the insert members and the inner surfaces of the end of the sleeve-shaped member. Two insert members are preferably provided, one in each end of the sleeve-shaped member.
In another aspect of the invention, a guide assembly includes a sleeve-shaped member having first and second ends. At least one insert member is positioned within one of the ends of said sleeve-shaped member, the insert member including an end-to-end channel. A guide bar extends through the sleeve-shaped member and along the end-to-end channel of the insert member. A first end of the guide bar extends from the first end of the sleeve-shaped member and a second end of the guide bar extends from the second end of the sleeve-shaped member.
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“Hobart Catalog of Replacement Parts, Model 5801 Meat Saw”, Hobart Corporation (Oct. 1990).
Bray W. Donald
Premark FEG L.L.C.
Thompson Hine & Flory LLP
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