Woodworking – Planer – Adjustable cutter
Reexamination Certificate
2000-11-09
2001-10-30
Bray, W. Donald (Department: 3725)
Woodworking
Planer
Adjustable cutter
C033S642000, C033S791000, C083S522190, C144S117100, C409S210000, C409S218000, C451S009000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06308755
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the invention
This invention relates to a wood planing machine, more particularly to a wood planing machine having a shaving thickness indicator that indicates the thickness of shaving which is shaved from a workpiece by the wood planing machine.
2. Description of the related art
FIGS. 1
to
3
illustrate a conventional wood planing machine
10
that is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,771,949. The wood planing machine
10
includes a base
11
with upstanding posts
12
disposed at the corners of the base
11
for supporting a cutter carriage
13
thereon, and a height adjusting unit (not shown) for adjusting height of the cutter carriage
13
via a handle
14
which is mounted on a top end of the wood planing machine
10
. The cutter carriage
13
confines with the base
11
a wood passageway therebetween for passage of a workpiece
20
. A shaving thickness indicator is mounted on a front lower end of the cutter carriage
13
, and includes a resilient engaging member
32
fixed to the cutter carriage
13
, a pointer
31
mounted pivotally on the cutter carriage
13
and connected to the resilient engaging member
32
, and a scale
33
attached to the cutter carriage
13
adjacent to the pointer
31
and stamped with indicia for incrementally representing the thickness of shaving removed from the workpiece
20
during a pass through the wood passageway. The resilient engaging member
32
is resiliently deflectable, and is adapted to be displaced resiliently by the workpiece
20
to actuate rotation of the pointer
31
when the cutter carriage
13
is moved downwardly to permit the resilient engaging member
32
to contact the workpiece
20
.
The wood planing machine
10
is disadvantageous in that it is relatively inconvenient for an operator to view the scale
33
while operating the handle
14
to adjust the height of the cutter carriage
13
. Moreover, there is a tendency for the resilient engaging member
32
to experience elastic fatigue after being in use for a period of time, thereby resulting in poor accuracy on the desired thickness of the shaving removed from the workpiece
20
.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a wood planing machine that is capable of overcoming the disadvantages described above.
Accordingly, a wood planing machine of this invention comprises: a base having a work table adapted to carry a workpiece, and a plurality of spaced apart posts that extend upright from the work table; a cutter carriage mounted on the posts above the work table, movable along lengths of the posts, and having front and rear sides; a rotary cutter mounted on the cutter carriage and adapted to shave the workpiece; a height adjusting unit for adjusting height of the cutter carriage relative to the work table; and a shaving thickness indicator including a seat mounted on the front side of the cutter carriage and having a bottom opening, a supporting member mounted on a bottom side of the seat and having an aperture aligned vertically with the bottom opening, an actuating member seated on a periphery of the aperture and having a bottom end projecting downwardly through the aperture in a direction toward the work table and a top end projecting upwardly through the bottom opening, and a cam member mounted pivotally on the seat above the bottom opening for rotating about an axis, and having a top end and a bottom lobe abutting against the top end of the actuating member at a contact point that is offset from a vertical line which passes through a center of rotation of the cam member, the actuating member being lifted upwardly by the workpiece to actuate the cam member, via a cam action on the bottom lobe, to rotate about the axis when the bottom end of the actuating member is pushed by the workpiece upon lowering down the cutter carriage, the shaving thickness indicator further including a pointer connected to the top end of the cam member, and an urging member for urging the cam member and the actuating member back to their original positions when the actuating member is released from the workpiece.
REFERENCES:
patent: 2520868 (1950-08-01), Whiting
patent: 2658424 (1953-11-01), Huck
patent: 3067788 (1962-12-01), Eschenburg
patent: 5771949 (1998-06-01), Welsh et al.
patent: 6131628 (2000-10-01), Chiang
Bray W. Donald
Christie Parker & Hale LLP
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