DE29521346U1 - Hand-held tool - Google Patents

Description

Improved handheld tool

The invention relates to an improved switch pad for an on/off switch for a powered hand-held tool and is particularly suitable as a switch pad for an on/off switch of a tool used in dusty or dirty environments, for example a powered grinder, a powered planer or a powered jigsaw.

A number of forms are known as on/off switches for powered hand-held tools, and these essentially fall into one of two types.

The first type includes slider type switches which have a good appearance from an aesthetic point of view but are not useful from a dust ingress point of view as they are not sealed.

The second type of known switches are toggle switches, which must be sealed with a gasket, for example made of rubber, in order to be used in dusty or dirty environments. While these switches have the advantage

Although they have the advantage of being sealed against the ingress of dust or other dirt, they have the disadvantages of being difficult to operate, of being difficult to identify the switch position before connecting the unit to the power supply and of being poorly aesthetically pleasing.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a switch pad for an on/off switch of a powered, hand-held tool, in which the above disadvantages are reduced or substantially avoided.

The present invention provides a switch pad for the on/off switch for a powered hand-held tool, wherein the on/off switch is of the toggle type in which the switch mechanism is operated by a toggle member having two toggle components pivoted about a pivot point and which is switched by selectively applying pressure to either of the two toggle components, characterized in that the switch pad forms a sealing cover for the toggle switch and is made of a resilient material and has a pair of actuating pads, each of which is associated with a respective toggle component of the toggle switch and is formed as a relatively thick pad portion connected to the switch pad wall by a relatively thin, deformable, surrounding connecting portion and is selectively switchable between a first stable position and a second stable position in which the actuating pad is depressed with respect to the first stable position.

In a preferred embodiment of a switch pad according to the invention, the actuating pad in the first stable state lies essentially in the same plane as the surrounding switch pad wall, and the actuating pad is in the

second stable position relative to the surrounding switch pad wall pressed down.

In a particularly preferred embodiment of a switch pad according to the invention, each actuating pad is provided with an identifying marking. In order to comply with international guidelines, the actuating pad which is in the relatively depressed position when the switch is in the "on" position is marked "I" and the actuating pad which is in the relatively depressed position when the switch is in the "off" position is marked "0".

It is a particularly advantageous feature of the switch pad according to the invention that the switch position can be detected very easily and reliably before the supply voltage is applied to the unit.

The invention will be further described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which

Figure 1 is a perspective view of an embodiment of a switch pad according to the invention shown in the housing of a powered hand-held tool, the scale of the switch pad being enlarged relative to that of the hand-held tool;

Figure 2 is a section along the line H-II of Figure 1 and shows the first actuating pad in the first stable position and the second actuating pad in the second stable position, and

Figure 3 is a view similar to Figure 2 and shows the first actuation pad in the second stable position and the

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second actuation pad in the first stable position.

As can be seen in Figure 1, a powered grinder, generally designated 2, having a handle portion 4 is shown. In the handle portion 4 is a switch pad 6 having first and second actuating pads 8, 10 and a surrounding switch pad wall 12. Each of the actuating pads 8, 10 is surrounded by a deformable portion 14 which connects the actuating pad 8, 10 to the switch pad wall 12. The first actuating pad 8 is marked with the symbol ¹¹ "O" and the second actuating pad 10 is marked with the symbol "I".

Figure 2 shows the switch pad 6 with an associated tilting element 16 in the "on" position. The tilting element 16 is of known form and has first and second tilting regions or components 18, 20 which are pivotable about a pivot point 22. The first tilting component 18, associated with the first actuating pad 8, is shown in a relatively raised position and the second tilting component 20, associated with the second actuating pad 10, is shown in a relatively depressed position.

Figure 3 shows the switch pad 6 with an associated tilting element 16 in the "off" position. The tilting element 16 has first and second tilting components 18, 20 which are pivotable about a pivot point 22. The first tilting component 18, which is associated with the first actuating pad 8, is shown in a relatively depressed position and the second tilting component 20, which is associated with the second actuating pad 10, is shown in a relatively raised position.

As can be seen from Figures 2 and 3, in each of the stable switched positions, i.e. both in the "on" and

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Even in the "off" position, there is no contact between a tilting component 18, 20 and the associated actuation pad 8, 10. In this way, the abrasion of the actuation pads 8, 10 and the risk of unintentional switching of the tool are reduced.

To switch the power tool from the "on" position shown in Figure 2 to the "off" position shown in Figure 3, pressure is applied to the relatively raised first actuating pad 8, thereby depressing it so that pressure is applied to the first tilting component 18 by the material of the pad 8. This tilting component 18 is then displaced to the depressed position (Figure 3) and the actuating pad 8 is also displaced to its second position. By pivoting about the pivot point 22, the second tilting component 20 is displaced from its relatively depressed position to its relatively raised position. During this displacement, the second tilting component 20 contacts the lower surface of the second actuating pad 18 and displaces it from its second, relatively depressed position to its first, relatively raised position (Figure 3).

Claims (3)

Expectations Switch pad (6) for the on/off switch of a powered, hand-held tool (2), in which the on/off switch is in the form of a toggle switch, in which the switching mechanism is actuated by a toggle element (16) which has two toggle components (18, 20) which can be pivoted about a pivot point (22) and which is switched by selectively applying pressure to one of the two toggle components (18, 20), characterized in that the switch pad (6) forms a sealing cover for the toggle switch (16) and is formed from an elastic material and has a pair of actuating pads (8, 10), each of which is associated with a corresponding toggle component (18, 20) of the toggle switch (16) and is formed as a relatively thick pad section 8, 10 which is connected to the Switch pad wall (12) and can be selectively switched between a first stable position and a second stable position in which the actuating pad (8, 10) is pressed down relative to the first stable position. 2. Switch pad according to claim 1, characterized in that the actuating pad (8, 10) in the first stable position lies substantially in a plane with the surrounding switch pad wall (12) and in the second stable position is pressed down with respect to the surrounding switch pad wall (12). 3. Switch pad according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that each of the actuating pads (8, 10) is provided with an identifying marking.