GB2417008A

GB2417008A - An attachment for a hand-held jigsaw

Info

Publication number: GB2417008A
Application number: GB0501372A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Peter Alexander Lacey
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2004-08-11
Filing date: 2005-01-24
Publication date: 2006-02-15
Anticipated expiration: 2025-01-24
Also published as: GB0501372D0; GB2417008B; GB0417818D0

Abstract

An attachment 13 for a hand-held jigsaw 1 of a type comprising a motor housing 3 provided with a handle 5, and a blade 9 extending from the motor housing, the attachment comprising support means 19 to support the jigsaw and an elongate guide surface 38, which extends along the base of the attachment. In use, the attachment is moved along a piece of material being cut with the guide surface abutting a piece of guide material (51, fig 6), the abutment between the guide surface of the attachment and the piece of guide material guiding the direction of cutting of the blade of the jigsaw.

Description

241 7008

ATTACHMENTS FOR JIGSAWS

The present invention relates to attachments for jigsaws and particularly but not exclusively relates to attachments for use with jigsaws of a type comprising a motor housing provided with a handle, and a blade extending from the motor housing.

Existing jigsaws of the type described above often comprise a planar base plate to which the motor housing is attached and through which the reciprocating blade extends. The blade reciprocates vertically with respect to the base plate and the base plate rests on the piece of material to be cut. It can be relatively difficult to accurately cut a desired line in the piece of material without the blade deviating from the desired line.

Once the blade has deviated it can be difficult to guide the jigsaw back onto the desired line. Additionally it can be difficult to accurately achieve precise, fine or small cuts using existing jigsaws without the blade removing too much material or without the material being damaged.

According to a first aspect of the invention there is provided an attachment for a hand held jigsaw of a type comprising a motor housing provided with a handle, and a blade extending from the motor housing, the attachment comprising support means to support the jigsaw and an elongate, guide surface which extends along the base of the attachment, such that, in use, the attachment is moved along a piece of material being cut with the guide surface abutting a piece of guide material, the abutment between the guide surface of the attachment and the piece of guide material guiding the direction of cutting of the blade of the jigsaw.

Preferably the attachment comprises a support block. /

Preferably the support block is substantially solid.

Preferably the support means of the attachment comprises a planar support surface and the base of the attachment comprises a planar base surface.

Preferably the support surface and the base surface are relatively inclined such that the blade, when the jigsaw is mounted on the attachment, is inclined relative to the base surface of the attachment.

Preferably the blade is inclined such that the tip of the blade is towards the rear of the jigsaw and the attachment.

Preferably the angle of inclination between the support surface and the base surface is fixed.

Alternatively the angle of inclination between the support surface and the base surface is adjustable. In that case, the support surface and the base surface may be separate components that are pivotally attached together.

Preferably the support means comprises mounting means operative to enable the jigsaw to be releasably mounted on the attachment. It is envisaged that the attachment may alternatively be integral with the jigsaw.

Preferably the support surface comprises the upper surface of a planar support plate adapted to be removably mounted on the attachment.

Preferably the base surface comprises the lower surface of a planar base plate adapted to be removably mounted on the base of the attachment.

J

Preferably the guide surface is planar. Most preferably the guide surface comprises a side margin of the base surface. Preferably the side margin of the base surface is longer from end to end of the side margin than the length from front to rear of the jigsaw motor housing.

Preferably the support surface comprises a slot through which, in use, the jigsaw blade extends.

Preferably the base surface comprises a slot through which, in use, the jigsaw blade extends.

Preferably the attachment comprises adjustment means operative to enable adjustment of the angle between the jigsaw and the attachment in the plane of the base surface, that is, the angle between the longitudinal axis of the jigsaw and the longitudinal axis of attachment, when viewed in plan.

According to a second aspect of the invention there is provided an attachment for supporting a hand held jigsaw of a type comprising a motor housing provided with a handle, and a blade extending from the motor housing, the attachment comprising a base for resting on a work surface or the like, and support means to support the jigsaw in a position such that, in use, the blade of the jigsaw is inclined relative to the base.

Preferably the support means is attached to the base such that the blade is inclined with the tip of the blade towards the rear of the jigsaw and towards the rear of the attachment.

Preferably the support means comprises a planar support surface and the base comprises a planar base surface, the support surface and the base surface being relatively inclined. ( )

Preferably the angle of inclination between the support surface and the base surface is fixed. The support surface and the base surface may therefore comprise a single component.

Preferably the single component is in the form of a support block.

Preferably the support block is substantially solid.

Alternatively the angle of inclination between the support surface and the base surface is adjustable. In that case the support surface and the base surface are preferably separate components that are pivotally attached.

Preferably the support means comprises adjustment means operative to enable adjustment of the angle between the jigsaw and the attachment in the plane of the base surface.

Preferably the support means comprises mounting means operative to enable the jigsaw to be releasably mounted on the attachment. It is envisaged that the attachment may alternatively be integral with the J Igsaw. /

According to a third aspect of the invention there is provided a jigsaw comprising a motor housing provided with a handle, and a blade extending from the motor housing, the jigsaw further comprising an integral attachment according to the first aspect of the invention.

According to a fourth aspect of the invention there is provided a jigsaw comprising a motor housing provided with a handle, and a blade extending from the motor housing, the jigsaw further comprising an integral attachment according to the second aspect of the invention.

Other aspects of the present invention may include any combination of the features or limitations referred to herein.

The present invention may be carried into practice in various ways, but embodiments will now be described by way of example only with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure l is a side view of a jigsaw and attachment in accordance with the present invention in a first condition of use; Figure 2 is a plan view of part of the attachment of Figure 1; Figure 3 is a sectional side view of another part of the attachment of Figure 1; Figure 4 is a view from below of a further part of the attachment of Figure 1; Figure 5 is a side view of a jigsaw and modified attachment in accordance with the present invention; and Figure 6 is a side view of the jigsaw and attachment of Figure 1 in an alternative condition of use.

Referring initially to Figures I to 4, a jigsaw 1 comprises a motor housing 3 provided with a handle 5. A planar base 7 is secured to the underside of the housing 3 and a reciprocating blade 9 extends down from the housing 3 and through an aperture in the base 7 so as to be perpendicular to the plane of the base 7. The cutting serrations 11 of the blade 9 face forwardly of the jigsaw 1 in use. A user operated switch 13 is positioned adjacent the handle 5 to enable the user, in normal use, to hold the jigsaw 1 and activate the reciprocating blade 9 using one hand.

The jigsaw 1 is releasably mounted on an attachment 13 which comprises a substantially cuboidal block 15 having an inclined forward face 17 that inclines from top to bottom of the front of the block 15.

Support means comprising a planar, rectangular, support plate 19 is removably mounted on the inclined face 17 of the block 15 using bolts (not shown) that extend through two, spaced apart block mounting apertures 25 that are spaced along the longitudinal axis of the support plate 19 and into threaded bores 26 formed in the inclined face 17 of the block 15. As can best be seen from Figure 2, the support plate l9 also comprises a forward rectangular slot 21 and four peripheral jigsaw mounting apertures 23. When mounted on the block 15, the support plate l9 is flush with the inclined block face 17 with the slot 21 positioned lowermost.

The attachment 13 further comprises a planar, rectangular base plate 27 that, as can best be seen from Figure 4 is formed with a forward rectangular slot 31, a circular block mounting aperture 33 adjacent the slot 31, and an arcuate recess 35 distal from the slot 31. In use, the base plate 27 is removably mounted on the underside of the block 15 using bolts which extend through the slot 31 and recess 35 into threaded bores 37 formed in the block 15.

In use, the jigsaw 1 is mounted on the support plate 19 using bolts (not shown) which extend through the peripheral jigsaw mounting apertures 23 and into the base 7 of the jigsaw 1. The jigsaw 1 is thus fixed in relation to the attachment 13 so as to move with the attachment 13. The blade 9 is inclined relative to the base plate 29 of the attachment 13 so that the tip of the blade 9 extends towards the rear of the base plate 27. The blade 9 is inclined at an angle in the range of 0.2 to 89.9 to the base plate 27 and preferably at an angle of approximately 45 . The blade 9 extends through the slot 21 formed in the support plate 19 and the slot 31 formed in the base plate 27.

In use the longer sides 38 of the rectangular base plate 27 function as guide margins in that at least one of the longer sides 38, in use, is placed against a piece of straight guide material that is positioned adjacent to the piece of material to be cut. The guide edge could be any suitable straight or curved object as long as at least one of the guide margins 38 of the base plate 27 can abut the piece of guide material so as to guide the direction of cutting of the blade 9 of the jigsaw 1.

Because the blade 9 is inclined relative to the direction of cutting, the blade 9 provides a relatively clean cut and therefore permits the use of a thinner blade so reducing the cutting effort, dust produced and noise.

This enables a relatively fine precise cut to be achieved.

The arcuate recess 35 and bolt partially securing the base plate 27 to the block 15 function as adjustment means to adjust the angle of the blade 9 of the jigsaw 1 relative to the piece of guide material against which the guide margin 38 of the base plate 27 abuts. The mounting is such that the jigsaw 1 and support block 15 can rotate relative to the base plate 27 about the forward block mounting aperture 33. This enables minor relative adjustment to be made between the blade 9 and the base plate 27 to ensure that the cut begins and continues in the desired direction - if this adjustment is not provided, there is a tendency for the first part of the cut made by the blade not to be fully aligned with the desired cut position.

The attachment 13 described above could alternatively comprise an integral part of a jigsaw 1 in that the support plate 19 could be fixedly mounted to the base 7 or the motor housing 3 of the jigsaw 1 as an integral part of the jigsaw 1. The base 7 of the jigsaw 1 could therefore be omitted so that the support plate 19 can be mounted directly to the motor housing 3.

In addition, the base plate 27, block 15 and support plate 19 could comprise a single component although some of the adjustability would be lost in that different support plates 19 may be required to fit different types and sizes of jigsaw. The block 15 may be solid or hollow.

The exact number and relative spacing and position of the block mounting apertures 25 in the support plate l9 and the jigsaw mounting apertures 23 in the support plate 19 can be varied in dependence upon the particular type of jigsaw with which the attachment is to be used. For example, only one block mounting aperture 25 and jigsaw mounting aperture 23 may be required. The support plate 19 can be varied depending upon which type of jigsaw is to be used so that different support plates 19 can be provided to be interchangeably mounted on the same block 15. The block 15 may comprise a number of bores 26 in different positions so that one or more of the bores 26 can be aligned with block mounting apertures 25 of different support plates 19.

Adjustment means can also be provided between the support plate 19 and the mounting block 15 to allow the support plate 19 to be angled about the longitudinal axis of the mounting block 15 in the plane of the inclined face 17. This enables any non-verticality of the blade 9 relative to the motor housing 3 to be adjusted to ensure that the blade 9 is at 90 to the base plate 27. The adjustment means could comprise any suitable mechanism or device including, for example, shims between the support plate 19 and the block 15.

Referring to Figure 5, the block 15 may be omitted altogether and the base plate 27 and support plate 19 pivotally mounted 39 together adjacent the blade 9 so as to enable the angle between the base plate 27 and the support plate 19 to be adjusted to vary the type and depth of cut achieved. The support plate 19 may be pivotally mounted 39 to an intermediate plate 41 which is itself bolted to the base plate 27. An adjustment mechanism such as, for example, a bolt pivotally mounted on one plate 19, 27 and threadingly engaging an aperture on the other plate 19, 27 may be provided to adjust this angle of inclination. Such angle adjustment between the jigsaw l and the surface on which the material to be cut is placed can also be achieved using the block 15 if the block 15 is hollow with the support plate 19 being mounted on the block 15 to pivot into and out of the block 15.

Additionally it is envisaged that relative inclination between the base 7 of the jigsaw 1 and the blade 9 could be achieved by inclining the blade 9 within the motor housing 3 using a suitable mechanism that enables drive from the motor to drive an inclined blade. \

Referring to Figure 6, the jigsaw 1 and attachment 13 are inverted with the block 15 fixedly mounted on a workbench or the like using, for example, a vice 50. When used in this way the base plate 27 is the uppermost part of the attachment 13 and the blade 9 of the jigsaw projects above the base plate 27.

The piece of material to be cut is then placed on the base plate 27 and is moved relative to the fixed jigsaw 1 from left to right in Figure 5 into cutting engagement with the blade 9.

The base plate 27 may comprise a guide margin 51 (shown in phantom in Figure 5) that projects from the base plate 27 and against which the piece of material to be cut can be placed so as to guide the direction of cutting of the piece of material.

The attachment may comprise interchangeable base plates 27 to allow the attachment to be used in the standard and inverted conditions described above.

Claims

1. An attachment for a hand held jigsaw of a type comprising a motor housing provided with a handle, and a blade extending from the motor housing, the attachment comprising support means to support the jigsaw and an elongate, guide surface which extends along the base of the attachment, such that, in use, the attachment is moved along a piece of material being cut with the guide surface abutting a piece of guide material, the abutment between the guide surface of the attachment and the piece of guide material guiding the direction of cutting of the blade of the j igsaw.

2. The attachment of claim l wherein the attachment comprises a support block.

3. The attachment of claim 2 wherein the support block is substantially solid.

4. The attachment of any one of claims 1 to 3 wherein the support means of the attachment comprises a planar support surface and the base of the attachment comprises a planar base surface.

5. The attachment of claim 4 wherein the support surface and the base surface are relatively inclined such that the blade, when the jigsaw is mounted on the attachment, is inclined relative to the base surface of the attachment.

6. The attachment of claim 5 wherein the blade is inclined such that the tip of the blade is towards the rear of the jigsaw and the attachment. l

7. The attachment of claim 5 or claim 6 wherein the angle of inclination between the support surface and the base surface is fixed.

8. The attachment of claim 5 or claim 6 wherein the angle of inclination between the support surface and the base surface is adjustable.

9. The attachment of claim 8 wherein the support surface and the base surface are separate components that are pivotally attached together.

10. The attachment of any one of the preceding claims wherein the support means comprises mounting means operative to enable the jigsaw to be releasably mounted on the attachment.

ll. The attachment of any one of claims 4 to 10 wherein the support surface comprises the upper surface of a planar support plate adapted to be removably mounted on the attachment.

12. The attachment of any one of claims 4 to 1 I wherein the base surface comprises the lower surface of a planar base plate adapted to be removably mounted on the base of the attachment.

13. The attachment of any one of the preceding claims wherein the guide surface is planar.

14 The attachment of claim 13 wherein the guide surface comprises a side margin of the base surface.

15. The attachment of claim 14 wherein the side margin of the base surface is longer from end to end of the side margin than the length from front to rear of the jigsaw motor housing.

16. The attachment of any one of claims 4 to 15 wherein the support surface comprises a slot through which, in use, the jigsaw blade extends.

17. The attachment of any one of claims 4 to 16 wherein the base surface comprises a slot through which, in use, the jigsaw blade extends.

18. The attachment of any one of claims 4 to 17 wherein the attachment comprises adjustment means operative to enable adjustment of the angle between the jigsaw and the attachment in the plane of the base surface, that is, the angle between the longitudinal axis of the jigsaw and the longitudinal axis of attachment, when viewed in plan.

19. An attachment for supporting a hand held jigsaw of a type comprising a motor housing provided with a handle, and a blade extending from the motor housing, the attachment comprising a base for resting on a work surface or the like, and support means to support the jigsaw in a position such that, in use, the blade of the jigsaw is inclined relative to the base.

20. The attachment of claim 19 wherein the support means is attached to the base such that the blade is inclined with the tip of the blade towards the rear of the jigsaw and towards the rear of the attachment.

21. The attachment of claim 20 wherein the support means comprises a planar support surface and the base comprises a planar base surface, the support surface and the base surface being relatively inclined.

22. The attachment of claim 20 or claim 21 wherein the angle of inclination between the support surface and the base surface is fixed.

23. The attachment of claim 22 wherein the support surface and the base surface therefore comprise a single component.

24. The attachment of claim 23 wherein the single component is in the form of a support block.

25. The attachment of claim 24 wherein the support block is substantially solid.

26. The attachment of claim 20 or claim 2 l wherein the angle of inclination between the support surface and the base surface is adjustable.

27. The attachment of claim 26 wherein the support surface and the base surface are separate components that are pivotally attached.

28. The attachment of any one of claims 19 to 27 wherein the guide surface is planar.

29. The attachment of claim 28 wherein the guide surface comprises a side margin of the base surface.

30. The attachment of claim 29 wherein the side margin of the base surface is longer from end to end of the side margin than the length from front to rear of the jigsaw motor housing.

31. The attachment of any one of claims 21 to 30 wherein the support surface comprises a slot through which, in use, the jigsaw blade extends.

32. The attachment of any one of claims 21 to claim 31 wherein the base surface comprises a slot through which, in use, the jigsaw blade extends.

33. The attachment of claim 20 or claim 21 wherein the support means comprises adjustment means operative to enable adjustment of the angle between the jigsaw and the attachment in the plane of the base surface.

34. The attachment of any one of claims 21 to 33 wherein the support means comprises mounting means operative to enable the jigsaw to be releasably mounted on the attachment.

35. A jigsaw comprising a motor housing provided with a handle, and a blade extending from the motor housing, the jigsaw further comprising an integral attachment according to the first aspect of the invention.

36. A jigsaw comprising a motor housing provided with a handle, and a blade extending from the motor housing, the jigsaw further comprising an integral attachment according to the second aspect of the invention.

37. An attachment substantially as described herein and as shown in the accompanying drawings.

38. A jigsaw substantially as described herein and as shown in the accompanying drawings.