A shoe assembly for a reciprocating tool

0001The present invention relates to a guard rail assembly for a working member of a reciprocating tool and relates particularly, but not exclusively, to a guard rail assembly for the blade of a reciprocating jig saw.

0002Jigsaws are power tools which comprise a reciprocating saw blade for cutting a workpiece of wood or other material. Jigsaws generally comprise a body housing an electric motor and a drive mechanism to convert the rotary motion of an output shaft of the motor into reciprocal motion of the blade. Jigsaws are also provided with a supporting shoe in the form of a flat surface which rests on the workpiece and provides a reaction surface for cutting. The jigsaw body may also be able to pivot laterally about the longitudinal axis of the jigsaw to enable bevel cutting of the workpiece.

0003A further feature of many jigsaws is a guard rail mounted on the underside of the body of the jigsaw which extends forwardly of the saw blade to prevent objects from coming into contact with the saw blade above the shoe, so that only the workpiece below the shoe comes into contact with the blade. A problem arises with guard rails of this type when the jigsaw is being used for bevel cutting. The guard rail on the jigsaw body may come into contact with the upper surface of the shoe when the body of the jigsaw is tilted. This effectively limits the angular range of bevel cuts that can be achieved. The problem also arises that the user's line of sight to the blade may be obstructed by the guard rail.

0004Preferred embodiments of the present invention seek to overcome the above disadvantages of the prior art.

0005According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a shoe assembly for a reciprocating tool having a body, a rotary output shaft and a working member adapted to execute reciprocating movement in response to rotation of said rotary output shaft, the assembly comprising:- <ul id="ul0001" list-style="none" compact="compact"><li>a base plate adapted to be mounted to said body of said tool and to engage a workpiece, wherein the base plate includes an aperture to allow the working member to pass therethrough during reciprocating movement thereof; and</li><li>guard means adapted to be mounted to the base plate for restricting access to said output member between the base plate and the body.</li></ul>

0006By providing a guard means mounted on the base plate of the tool, this provides the advantage that when the tool is tilted for bevel cutting, the body of the tool is prevented from coming into contact with the guard means, thereby providing an increased range of bevel cutting angles. A further advantage is provided in that a flush cut blade can extend forwardly almost to the front of the base plate, but behind the guard means. This allows the tool to cut a portion of a workpiece even when the body of the tool is prevented from passing over that portion of the workpiece. Moreover, the advantage is provided that the guard means prevents objects other than the workpiece from coming into contact with the working member of the tool.

0007In a preferred embodiment, the guard means is adapted to be mounted to at least one groove formed in said base plate.

0008This provides the advantage that the guard means reinforces the shoe of the jigsaw.

0009In a preferred embodiment, at least one said groove is formed in the underside of said base plate.

0010At least one said groove may extend from the underside of said base plate along a forward edge of the base plate.

0011This provides the advantage that the forward edge of the guard rail protects the front of the shoe.

0012The assembly may comprise first and second grooves formed respectively on either side of said aperture.

0013At least one groove may comprise a slot for resiliently receiving a portion of said guard means.

0014In a preferred embodiment, said guard means comprises at least one guard rail.

0015At least one said guard rail may be supported by two respective substantially upright portions mounted in use to said first and second respective grooves formed in said base plate.

0016The assembly may further comprise a dust guard adapted to engage said guard means.

0017This provides the advantage that dust is prevented from projecting in front of the tool and obscuring the view of the operator.

0018The guard means may be removable from said base plate.

0019This provides the advantage that flush cut blades of even greater forward projection can be fitted to the tool.

0020Said guard means may be formed from a single piece of steel.

0021According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a reciprocating tool comprising:- <ul id="ul0002" list-style="none" compact="compact"><li>a body;</li><li>motor means having a rotary output shaft;</li><li>drive means for converting rotary movement of said output shaft to reciprocating movement of a working member; and</li><li>a shoe assembly as defined above.</li></ul>

0022In a preferred embodiment, said reciprocating tool comprises a jigsaw.

0023Said motor means may be an electric motor.

0024Preferred embodiments of the present invention will now be described, by way of example only and not in any limitative sense, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:- <ul id="ul0003" list-style="none" compact="compact"><li>Figure 1 is a front perspective view of a jigsaw embodying the present invention and fitted with a standard blade;</li><li>Figure 2 is a front perspective view of the jigsaw of Figure 1 fitted with a flush cut blade;</li><li>Figure 3 is a close up front perspective view of the flush cut blade of Figure 2;</li><li>Figure 4 is a perspective view of the jigsaw shoe showing the guard rail assembly and ball indent;</li><li>Figure 5 is a perspective view of a jigsaw body engaging the shoe of Figure 4; and</li><li>Figure 6 is a perspective view of the underside of a base plate of a second embodiment of the invention.</li></ul>

0025Referring to Figure 1, a jigsaw comprises a body 1 (only the front of which is shown in Figure 1) housing a motor (not shown) and a drive mechanism (not shown) to convert the rotary output of the motor into reciprocal motion to drive a blade 2. The body 1 is mounted on a shoe 3 which is formed from a metal cast and has two forwardly projecting arms 4, 5. The blade 2 is supported by a blade support roller 6 which provides a reaction force for the blade along the longitudinal axis of the jigsaw during cutting. A guard rail, shown generally by 7, comprises a horizontal bar 8 supported by upright portions 9, 10 which respectively engage arms 4, 5. The guard rail 7 is formed from a single metal bar bent into shape.

0026During operation of the jigsaw, the underside of the shoe 3 is placed on the workpiece to be cut. The teeth (not shown) of the blade 2 are angled such that on the upstroke of the blade the workpiece is cut, and on the downstroke of the blade any swarf that is produced is cleared away. The shoe therefore provides a reaction force for the cutting on the upstroke of blade 2.

0027A further feature of the jigsaw is the ability of the body 1 to pivot about the longitudinal axis of the shoe 3 in order to produce bevelled cutting. Referring to Figures 4 and 5, the shoe 3 comprises a raised portion 11 adapted to receive the body 1. As can be seen more clearly in Figure 4, a series of indentations 12 are formed on the raised portion 11, extending in a line across the raised portion 11 transverse to the longitudinal axis of the shoe 3.

0028A deflectable ball bearing (not shown) mounted on the underside of the body 3 is adapted to be resiliently received in one of the indentations 12 in order to secure the body 1 at a specific angle relative to the shoe 3. By pivoting the body 1 about a longitudinal axis relative to the shoe 3, the user can select the angle at which the body 1 is held by the deflectable bearing (not shown), and therefore select the angle of the bevel cut produced by the blade 2. In Figure 5, the body is shown in the upright position such that the blade 2 is generally perpendicular to the base of the shoe 3.

0029The present invention overcomes the problem associated with prior art jigsaws of the range of angles available for bevel cutting being restricted by a body mounted guard rail. When a guard rail is mounted on the underside of the body projecting forwardly around the saw blade of the present invention, the side arms of the guard rail will eventually come into contact with the shoe as the body 1 is tilted about the shoe. Consequently, a guard rail 7 mounted on the forward part of the shoe 3 overcomes this problem, because the guard rail and body are remote from one another at all angles of inclination. The guard rail of the present invention also obscures the line of sight of a user of the jigsaw to a lesser extent than a prior art guard rail mounted to the body of the jigsaw.

0030Referring now to Figures 2 and 3, a jigsaw is shown fitted with a flush cut blade 13. A flush cut blade 13 is useful for cutting a workpiece in restricted spaces. In Figure 1, the forward arms 4, 5 of the shoe 3 project forwardly from the edge of the standard blade 2. If the front edges of arms 4, 5 come into contact with an obstruction such as a wall, the cut will fall short of the wall by a distance of the front edge of the blade 2 to the front edges of the arms 4, 5.

0031A flush cut blade overcomes this problem. As shown in Figures 4 and 5, the front edge of the blade 13 extends to a point that is nearly level with the edges of arms 4, 5. A further advantage of the shoe mounted guard rail 7 is that the guard rail 7 does not restrict the forward extent of the flush cut blade. A shoe mounted guard rail also permits the fitting of a dust shield (not shown).

0032Referring now to Figure 6, a second embodiment of the present invention is shown with parts common to the embodiment of Figures 1 to 5 denoted by like reference numerals but increased by 100. A jigsaw shoe 103 comprises two forwardly projecting arms 104, 105. In the front of the two forwardly projecting arms 104, 105 and in the underside of arms 104, 105, two slots 120, 121 are formed, the slots 120, 121 adapted to receive the guard rail 107. The upright portions 109, 110 of the guard rail 107 are bent, such that they can be resiliently received in slots 120, 121. By extending the upright portions 109, 110 into slots 120, 121 formed in the underside of the shoe, the rigidity of the shoe is reinforced.

0033By locating the upright portions 109,110 in the slots formed in the front of the two forwardly projecting arms 104, 105 the guard rail 107 is located at the most forward point of the jigsaw shoe 103.

0034It will be appreciated by persons skilled in the art that the above embodiments have been described by way of example only and not in any limitative sense, and that various alterations and modifications are possible without departure from the scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.