Static structures (e.g. – buildings) – Machine or implement
Reexamination Certificate
2001-12-21
2003-09-02
Friedman, Carl D. (Department: 3635)
Static structures (e.g., buildings)
Machine or implement
C144S117400
Reexamination Certificate
active
06612089
ABSTRACT:
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention pertains generally to electric power planers, and more particularly to an inside corner power planer which permits the user to plane areas close to interfering structures such as an adjacent perpendicular wall.
BACKGROUND ART
As a part of the construction of a wood frame house, one stage is the erection of stud walls and other wood framing. The carpenters try to make the planes of the walls flat as they go but sometimes they make a mistake and insert bent studs or studs warp later due to moisture. Prior to installing sheet rock panels on a wall, a crew uses a level to make sure the outer surfaces of the studs in the wall are all in the same plane. Any studs that are out of the plane of the wall are planed off with an electric planer if they are too high or built up using thin wood strips if they are too low until the wall is perfectly flat. A conventional electric power planer can be used for most of the work including the leveling of outside corners. However, a conventional electric power planer is not very useful on an inside corner. The housing of the planer butts against the adjacent wall keeping the planer blade away from the corner leaving an unplaned strip. Since the wall must be perfectly flat all the way into the corners in order to properly install the sheet rock panels, the unplaned strip left in the inside corners must be removed by hand with a hammer and chisel until the entire wall is flat.
FIGS. 1-4
illustrate bottom plan, top plan, left side elevation, and reduced top plan views, respectively, of a conventional prior art electric power planer, generally designated
500
. Conventional planer
500
has a front shoe
502
with a flat lower surface
504
and a rear shoe
506
with a flat lower surface
508
. A cylindrical rotatable cutter assembly
510
is positioned between front shoe
502
and rear shoe
506
. The longitudinal axis
512
of the planer passes through front shoe
502
, rear shoe
506
, and cutter assembly
510
. Cylindrical cutter assembly
510
rotates on an axis of rotation
514
perpendicular to longitudinal axis
512
on bearings on either end which are not shown. Cylindrical cutter assembly
510
has removable blades
516
which perform the planing operation when cutter assembly
510
is rapidly rotated by a motor
523
powering a belt
525
.
As shown on
FIGS. 2 and 3
, when cutter assembly
510
is rotated, it has a cylindrical cutting envelope shown in dotted outline with a length L and a radius R. Anything inside the cutting envelope would be cut by the whirling blades
516
. The forward most projecting line
520
of the envelope is parallel to axis
514
. The right end
522
of the envelope is perpendicular to axis
514
. The plane
500
is designed to cut material along a cutting line
518
parallel to axis
514
and slightly below the plane of flat lower surfaces
504
and
508
of front and rear shoes
502
and
506
. When planer
500
is used to plane a surface
600
of a workpiece such as a stud in
FIG. 4
, the planing operation can be performed satisfactorily until the plane bumps into an interfering structure
602
such as an adjacent perpendicular wall. Then cutter assembly
510
cannot reach the surface
600
adjacent interfering structure
602
because the housing
501
for the motor
523
gets in the way. As planer
500
planes up in direction
524
, it leaves an unplaned swath of width D. Depending upon the construction of the particular planer, distanced is typically 1.25 inches.
Woodworking tools have been developed for removing material into corners. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 2,432,753 shows a shaping tool with two handgrips powered through a flexible shaft by a remote electric motor. While the cutter shown is for an outside corner, a cutter for an inside corner might also be developed.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,711,799 illustrates a router having a bit shaped to make a concave surface in an inside corner. The bit could be modified to make a 90° angle. The router is mounted in a holder having 90° sides which positions the bit as needed in the corner.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,993,897 discloses another router and holder for working on inside corners.
An electric power planer has much larger blade surfaces for removing wood than is possible in a router bit. Faster material removal and longer blade life are therefore possible with a planer than with a router. A planer which could remove material in the inside corner of a structure would offer an advantage over the prior art.
DISCLOSURE OF INVENTION
The present invention is directed to an electric power planer which can plane into inside corners close to interfering structures such as walls. The planer can also be used to plane around fixtures such as electrical outlets, heating and air conditioning registers, and lighting fixtures. The planer is specifically designed to place the outer edge of the cylindrical cutter assembly adjacent the interfering structure. This is accomplished by constructing the housing of the planer at an angle to the cutter assembly so that the end of the forward most projecting line of the cutter assembly is proximate to the edge of the housing.
In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention, the planer has a bearing at the outer end of the cylindrical cutter. The housing on the planer has an edge that is substantially defined by a line from the front outermost point of the bearing to the end of the forward most projecting line of the envelope defined by the rotating cylindrical cutter assembly.
In accordance with an important aspect of the invention, the planer has a front shoe having an edge also defined by the line from the front outermost point of the bearing to the end of the forward most projecting line of the cylindrical cutter envelope.
In accordance with a preferred embodiment, the housing is constructed to be angled with respect to the cutter assembly on the right side of the plane.
In accordance with another preferred embodiment, the housing is constructed to be angled with respect to the cutter assembly on the left side of the plane.
In accordance with yet another preferred embodiment, the housing is constructed to be angled with respect to the cutter assembly on both the right and left sides of the plane.
In accordance with another preferred embodiment of the invention, a method of planing a workpiece adjacent an interfering structure is provide, including:
providing an electric power planer having a housing, a cylindrical cutter having a cutter envelope, and a bearing, the housing having an edge substantially defined by a line from the end of the forward most projecting line of the cylindrical cutter envelope to the front outermost point of the bearing;
providing a workpiece adjacent an interfering structure; and,
planing the workpiece while touching the interfering structure with the edge of the housing.
In accordance with an important aspect of the invention, the step of providing an electric power planer further includes providing a front shoe with an edge defined by the line from the front outermost point of the bearing to the end of the forward most projecting line of the cylindrical cutter envelope, and the step of planing the workpiece while touching the interfering structure includes touching both the edge of the housing and the edge of the shoe against the interfering structure.
In accordance with an important aspect of the invention, prior to the planing step, providing wedges and using the wedges to move the workpiece away from the interfering structure.
In accordance with yet another important aspect of the invention, after the planing step, further including the step of removing the wedges.
REFERENCES:
patent: 4693648 (1987-09-01), Cavedo
patent: 5383275 (1995-01-01), Hild et al.
Freilich Hornbaker & Rosen
Friedman Carl D.
Masters Ted
Slack Naoko
Tyson Timothy Thut
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