Hand-held tool for drill bit sharpening

Details Hand-held tool for drill bit sharpening Hand-held tool for drill bit sharpening

1999-11-15

2001-08-28

Morgan, Eileen P. (Department: 3723)

Abrading

Frame or mount

Portable abrader

C451S357000, C269S239000

Reexamination Certificate

active

06280307

ABSTRACT:

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The cutting edges of drill bits normally become dull through use. Therefore, the cutting edges must be sharpened or the bit must be replaced. Proper sharpening of the cutting edges is important so that the bit will drill efficiently.
Numerous prior art machines exist for sharpening drill bits. Typically, the machine includes a rotatable grinding wheel, with a housing with a hole through which the bit is inserted for engagement with the grinding wheel, so as to sharpen the tip of the bit. Most of these machines are expensive and complicated. Also, such machines are relatively large in size.
Accordingly, a primary objective of the present invention is the provision of a hand-held tool for facilitating accurate sharpening of the cutting edges on the tip of a drill bit.
Another objective of the present invention is the provision of a tool for holding drill bits of various sizes to facilitate sharpening of the drill bits.
A further objective of the present invention is the provision of a hand-held drill bit-sharpening device, which permits visual alignment of the drill bit for accurate sharpening of the bit.
Another objective of the present invention is an improved method of sharpening the cutting edge of a drill bit tip using a hand-held tool and visual alignment of the bit with a grinding wheel.
These and other objectives will become apparent from the following description of the invention.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The tool of the present invention is adapted to hold various sized drill bits for sharpening on a grinding wheel or belt. The tool includes a hand grip for holding in a user's hand and a clamp on the hand grip for holding a drill bit with the tip of the bit extending slightly beyond the clamp. A trigger is provided on the hand grip and is connected to the clamp so as to move the clamp from a normally open position to a closed position for holding the drill bit. A sight is provided on the hand grip to visually align and orient the bit for sharpening on the grinding wheel. The sight is automatically adjustable to accommodate drill bits of different sizes and manually adjustable for different cutting tip angles. In one embodiment, the sight is in the form of a loop through which the user looks to orient the bit tip radially to the axis of the grinding wheel for sharpening the bit on the perimeter face of the wheel. In an alternative embodiment, the sight is in the form of a bubble level which the user can orient horizontally so that the bit tip is properly positioned on the side of the grinding wheel or a vertical face of a grinding surface.
In the method of sharpening the cutting edge of a drill bit tip using the hand-held tool of the present invention, the bit is placed in the clamp. The trigger is squeezed to close the clamp and secure the bit into position for sharpening. The user visually aligns the drill bit tip through the tool sight, the bit tip and the axis of the grinding wheel. The cutting edge of the drill bit is maintained in a horizontal orientation during sharpening, as the user looks in a direction perpendicular to the grinding surface of the grinding wheel.


REFERENCES:
patent: 2211393 (1940-08-01), Travis
patent: 2758430 (1956-08-01), Sprenzel
patent: 2821820 (1958-02-01), Thumann
patent: 3393476 (1968-07-01), York
patent: 5241791 (1993-09-01), Lacy
patent: 6001002 (1999-12-01), Lea

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