GB2434558A

GB2434558A - An apparatus for guiding a tool

Info

Publication number: GB2434558A
Application number: GB0601484A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Richard Hazell
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2006-01-25
Filing date: 2006-01-25
Publication date: 2007-08-01
Anticipated expiration: 2026-01-25
Also published as: GB2434558B; GB0601484D0

Abstract

An apparatus for guiding a tool onto the surface of a material for permanently deforming the material comprises a substantially planar guide 100 having at least one aperture 10 - 14 extending therethrough for guiding a tool to the surface of the material. The guide also includes gripping means 30 for gripping the material to substantially prevent the guide from slipping across the surface of the material. The gripping means may comprise glue, at least one adherent pad made of rubber, or at least one suction cup.

Description

Tool Guide [0001] This invention relates to an apparatus and method for

guiding tools onto a surface of a material for permanently deforming the material, specifically, but not exclusively, for guiding a hole saw onto a material to create an aperture in said material.

Background Art

[0002] In recent years, there has been a continued expansion in building, construction and related industries. In particular, the home improvements sector has witnessed rapid expansion. Such growth has been driven by a number of factors. With regard to the home improvements sector, access to the internet and sustained market forces tending to reduce costs of materials, goods and services has seen an ever-increasing number of people relying on their own resources as an alternative to employing skilled professional workers. In addition, over the recent years there have been sustained increases in sales in both the residential and commercial property sectors. This has fuelled demand for skilled workers in the building and related professions, leading to expansions in a number of sectors in the I..

industry. *SCS

: [0003] An important activity performed routinely in such industries is the creation of holes, apertures and the like in materials, for example using drills and associated tools. This is required for a variety of reasons, for example the fixing of two material or articles, or the creation of passages and channels for housing pipes and cables.

The power tools market provides many accessories for such purposes; for instance electric drills, drill bits, chucks, workbenches and so forth.

[0004] Due partly to the reduction in cost of materials and also variations in consumer trends, there has, and continues to be, an increase in demand for more elaborate and exotic materials. In particular, there has been recent increased demand for harder materials such as marble, granite, porcelain, slate and limestone, especially for structural and decorative purposes, for example in bathrooms and kitchens. In the past, ceramic materials, in particular ceramic tiles, would traditionally have been the materials of choice. Harder materials were, until recently, used mainly for installations in industrial or deluxe settings and were not routinely considered for installations in typical domestic settings.

[0005] The expansion in the use of harder materials has seen a corresponding increase in the need for specialised tools which are more suitable for working with these materials. In particular, the need to drill, bore or saw holes through tiles, blocks, slabs and paving stones composed of hard materials demands the use of tools which are significantly more robust than those designed primarily for softer materials, such as ceramic. Due to the expansion of the use of such hard materials into the mass market, there has been a corresponding increase in demand for tools able to withstand more extreme abrasive conditions in order to simplify procedures and reduce wastage of raw materials, cost and time.

[0006] Diamond is an example of a substance commonly used for creating holes in hard materials. Diamond is often included as a feature of drill bits and hole saws, particularly for industrial-scale use. However, the increase in demand for harder : **. materials for use in domestic settings has seen a corresponding demand in the *...

mass market for more appropriate diamond-based tools, for example hole saws. S. *

* [0007] The types of hole saws commonly used for cutting through tough materials for use in domestic settings are diamond-edged hole saws. The saw is typically * . fashioned in the shape of a hollow cylinder. In such an embodiment, one end of the saw is adapted to fit into the chuck of a personal hand-held power drill. The other end is open, is diamond-edged along its outer rim, and makes contact with the material to be cut. Typically, such a hole saw has a drill bit at its centre in order to guide and maintain the hole saw in the correct position. The drill bit will extend further than the hole saw, so that the drill bit first enters the material and is properly located therein before the hole saw reaches the surface of the material. However, for materials that require diamond edged hole saws, the drill bit will also need to be diamond edged, thereby substantially increasing the costs.

[0008] It is, of course, possible to provide a diamond tipped hole saw without a pilot or centre guides. However, use of such an unguided hole saw has the inherent problem that when initiating cuffing, it can be difficult to create the first incision in the material at the precise location without the tool tending toward a gliding motion across the surface of the material. Apart from the difficulty in creating an initial incision, any such gliding motion of the tool can irreversibly scratch the surface of the material resulting in wastage in materials and time and accordingly increasing cost.

[0009] Due to the aforementioned problems inherent in the design of such tools, the methods by which a tile, block or slab of material can be cut are significantly limited. Thus, one method commonly used in the art is to drill or saw a hole before the material is permanently fixed in the desired location. In such a method, the tile or block of material is fixed, to prevent slippage, in a vice or other such restrictive frame or contraption. A fixed bench drill, or similar tool, is then used in order to gradually and precisely lower the drill bit at right angles to the surface of the material to be drilled.

: " [0010] One such prior art apparatus and method is disclosed in Japanese patent *s.

specification JP58090409 (Yasumitsu). Here, the tile is held and drilled in a vice prior to being affixed. The vice consists of beltshaped plates which hold the tile in between face and base plates using tightening screws. The drill is introduced through a penetrating port attached to the frame. Such a method, however, does * * not allow for the ability to drill holes in such materials by freehand drilling of * * materials in situ, for example the freehand drilling of holes in tiles or blocks when affixed to a wall or floor. Moreover, the vice-like fame used in the method is not amenable to rapid attachment and detachment with respect to the material to be cut and is not readily portable. Its use is consequently significantly restricted for home DIY situations.

[0011] It is also known to provide guides or templates to facilitate location of the hole saw in the correct position on a flat surface of a material to be drilled. Prior art methods of drilling using such templates are traditionally ad hoc in nature. Thus, a suitable hole would first be drilled in a piece of wood, and the piece of wood would then be held against the material to be drilled, for example by standing on it, whilst at the same time operating the drilling machinery in order to create a suitably-sized incision in the material before the guide can be discarded.

[0012] There are clear problems inherent in such prior art methods of freehand drilling with ad hoc guides. For instance, the operator may experience difficulty in maintaining the guide hole in precise alignment with the area of the material to be cut, whilst at the same time operating the drilling machinery. Furthermore, there are practical limits to the ability of the operator to perform accurately a multitude of tasks simultaneously, for instance where a hole saw additionally requires cooling, for example with water, during operation. Finally, it may be difficult to precisely locate the correct position for a required aperture if the aperture needs to be drilled prior to the material being fixed into its correct position.

[0013] The present invention, therefore, seeks to overcome, or at least mitigate, the problems of the prior art, as shall be described with reference to the following

description and diagrams * S. * S * S...

Disclosure of the Invention S...

[0014] According to one aspect of this invention there is provided a method and * : apparatus for guiding tools onto a material for permanently deforming the material to create an aperture in said material, said apparatus comprising a substantially rigid * . plate having a first surface and a second surface, wherein the first surface and ::; second surface are separated by at least one edge; at least one aperture disposed * 25 through the first surface and second surface of said substantially rigid plate;wherein the second surface is for gripping said substantially rigid plate to said material such that said tool is guided onto a surface of said material; and wherein said tool makes substantially no contact with areas of the surface of said material, other than that area onto which said tool is to be guided.

Brief Description of Drawings

[0015] A method and apparatus in accordance with this invention, for guiding tools onto a material for permanently deforming the material to create an aperture in said material, will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a perspective view of one embodiment of a hole saw guide according to the present invention; Figure 2 is a plan view of the guide of Figure 1; and Figure 3 is a bottom plan view of the hole saw guide of Figure 1.

Detailed Description

[0016] Thus, as shown in the drawings, a hole saw guide 100 comprises a number, for example five, circular apertures 10, 11, 12, 13, 14 which are intended to correspond to five tools of standard fixed dimensions, such as 6mm, 30mm, 40mm, 16mm and 8mm.

[0017] Consequently, the apparatus is intended to be compatible with a range of : s standard tool sizes of sufficient variability so as to allow the operator to complete the IS* vast majority of routine jobs by using a single hole saw guide 100. The hole saw S...

guide 100 therefore need only be of sufficient size to accommodate the desired number of apertures 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, whilst maintaining the overall structural rigidity of the hole saw guide 100. However, it will be immediately appreciated by * * persons skilled in the art that the dimensions of the hole saw guide 100 are only intended to be limited to the extent that the structural performance of the hole saw * 25 guide 100 is maintained and that the hole saw guide 100 is of sufficient practical size so as to allow it to be readily transportable, for example to allow the hole saw guide 100 to be stowed in a tool box.

[0018] The hole saw guide 100 can be made from any suitable material which is sufficiently robust to maintain the dimensions and integrity of the apertures 10, 11, 12, 13, 14 in order to restrict any lateral movement of the tool inserted therein (as described in more detail below) and to maintain the overall structure of the hole saw guide 100. Examples of suitable materials that are rigid are wood, steel, plastic and the like. Other materials that may be suitable are flexible materials such as rubber, plastics material, or resin material. In this embodiment, the hole saw guide 100 is made from a rigid plastics material.

[0019] The phrase "permanently deform" is intended to embrace situations wherein an aperture is created throughout the entire thickness of a material, for example for the creation of a hole in a bathroom tile for the insertion of a water-carrying pipe.

Equally, however, it will be immediately appreciated by persons of ordinary skill in the art that the phrase can encompass a plethora of alternative situations. For example, where a channel or groove is required to be cut or routed into a paving slab, the apparatus could be used sequentially wherein the tool penetrates the material only to a limited extent. Consistent with the above, an aperture is intended to embrace holes, grooves, pits, channels, slits and so forth.

[0020] In this embodiment, the hole saw guide 100 is provided in the shape of a board or plate as indicated in Figure 1. In this embodiment, the thickness of the board is such that five apertures 10, 11, 12, 13, 14 can be comfortably included and : s. spaced at an adequate distance apart so as to maintain the structural rigidity and *5S* performance of the hole saw guide 100. However, it will be readily appreciated by those skilled in the art that, as with overall size of the hole saw guide 100, the * : thickness of the hole saw guide 100 can be varied depending upon requirements and is not intended to limit the scope of the invention.

* ::". [0021] The hole saw guide 100 is provided with at least one hole 10, as shown with * 25 reference to Figure 1. Such holes 10, 11, 12, 13, 14 are specifically adapted to accommodate circular tools, for example drill bits. In an exemplary method, the hole saw guide 100 of the preferred embodiment is used in conjunction with diamond-edged hole saws, adapted to fit into the chuck of a standard hand-held power drill.

The present invention, however, is not intended to be limited to the guidance of drill bits into hard material. It will be immediately evident to one skilled in the art that, equally, the hole saw guide 100 of the present invention could be used to accommodate tools adapted for similar purposes, for example boring, routing, sawing, pile-driving etc, without limiting the scope of the invention. Thus, the holes 10, 11, 12, 13, 14 of the hole saw guide 100 are not intended to be strictly limited to be circular.

[0022] The apertures 10, 11, 12, 13, 14 are disposed throughout the entire thickness of the hole saw guide 100 so as to allow free movement of a tool inserted therein. In this embodiment, the hole saw guide 100 is provided with five circular apertures 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, each aperture 10, 11, 12, 13, 14 having a different diameter in order to accommodate separate circular tools of correspondingly different diameters.

[0023] It will also be appreciated by someone skilled in the art that the apertures 10, 11, 12, 13, 14 could vary in number and size to meet the needs of the application in various other easily envisaged embodiments.

[0024] It will be also appreciated by those skilled in the art that where the aperture 10, 11, 12, 13, 14 is a circular aperture 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, the diameter of the aperture 10, 11, 12, 13, 14 may vary throughout the thickness of the hole saw guide : ** 100. For example, the aperture 10, 11, 12, 13, 14 may be fashioned so that the S...

* * . e diameter of the aperture 10, 11, 12, 13, 14 at the surface of the hole saw guide 100

SS

to be opposed to the surface of the material to be cut is smaller than the diameter of the aperture 10, 11, 12, 13, 14 on the opposite surface of the hole saw guide 100, thus creating a conical- shaped aperture 10, 11, 12, 13, 14. This could allow a * * circular tool to be more easily accommodated at an angle other than a right angle : . with respect to the material to be cut.

* .: 25 [0025] The minimum dimensions of the apertures 10, 11, 12, 13, 14 are intended to be barely larger than the dimensions of the largest relevant portion of the tool to be used. In this way, the tool can be freely inserted into the aperture 10, 11, 12, 13, 14 but in such a way that any movement of the tool lateral to the axis of reciprocating motion of the tool is prevented. Thus, movement of the tool across the surface of the material, adjacent to the area of the material into which the tool is to be guided, is prevented. Consequently, slippage of a cutting edge of a tool across the surface of the material to be cut is restricted.

[0026] In this embodiment, the hole saw guide 100 is provided with five circular aperture 10, 11, 12, 13, 14 of fixed diameter. Alternatively or additionally, the hole saw guide 100 could include means to create a aperture 10, 11, 12, 13, 14 which can be adjusted in size. Forexample, where a circularaperture 10, 11, 12, 13, 14 is required, the hole saw guide 100 may include, for example an iris feature, such that the diameter of the circular aperture 10, 11, 12, 13, 14 can be varied in order to separately accommodate a multiplicity of circular tools into the same aperture 10, 11, 12, 13, 14.

[0027] The hole saw guide 100 further comprises two indentations 20 where fingers or thumbs may be placed when holding the hole saw guide 100 against the material to be cut. The hole saw guide 100 also further comprises a name plate 40, where a company logo may be placed, or a name tape, which may indicate a source of origin, or an owner's details. It will be clear to someone skilled in the art that the indentations 20 and name plate 40, could be of any shape, size, depth and located in any position on the hole saw guide 100 as required by any envisaged : ** embodiment. S... S... * . S...

[0028] As best shown in Figure 2, the hole saw guide further comprises four pads * : 30, or feet, which are attached to the hole saw guide 100 by means such as glue.

The pads 30 are for gripping, or adhering the hole saw guide 100 to a surface so as * * to temporarily fix the position of the hole saw guide 100 such that at least one aperture 10, 11, 12, 13, 14 is in alignment with an area of a material to be cut. The * .: 25 pads 30, in combination with the portable nature of the hole saw guide 100 allows the hole saw guide 100 to be used in a flexible manner.

[0029] In this embodiment, the pads 30 are made from polyurethane and are attached to the surface of the hole saw guide 100 which is to oppose the surface of the material when the hole saw guide 100 is placed. It will be readily appreciated by persons skilled in the art that alternative means for attaching the hole saw guide 100 to the surface of a material, and alternative configurations for attaching such means to the hole saw guide 100, can be envisaged. For instance, a single strip or pad comprising adherent material could be attached to a surface of the hole saw guide opposed to the surface of the material to be cut, and which strip or pad is disposed substantially parallel to the periphery of the hole saw guide 100.

Alternatively, more than one strip or pad may be provided and placed apart at suitable distances on the same surface. The strip or pad can comprise any material or composition suitable for the purposes of providing grip, or adherence and depending upon the material to which it is to be attached. For example, gel-based compositions or, where appropriate, magnets can be envisaged, It will be readily appreciated that the exact means for providing grip, or adherence, are not intended to limit the scope of the invention.

[0030] Furthermore, the surface of the hole saw guide 100 opposed to the surface of the material to be cut may be coated, at least in part, with an adhesive substance to provide the gripping means. In this example, the surface of the hole saw guide 100 and surface of the material into which a tool is to be guided are placed substantially in direct contact, but for the presence of the adhesive substance.

: ** [0031] In this embodiment, the gripping means are four polyurethane pads 30 * *** which are attached to the surface of the hole saw guide 100 which is to oppose the * *** surface of the material to be cut. When the hole saw guide 100 is then held in place * : against the material to be cut, a gap is created between the surface of the hole saw guide 100 and the surface of the material into which a tool is to be guided. Thus, : * such a gap can be created whenever the gripping means comprise two or more discrete protrusions.

[0032] Such a gap can be employed to allow free flow of a fluid to the tool whilst the tool is guided into the material such that the flow of fluid is not restricted by the hole saw guide 100. For example, if the fluid is a liquid to be used as a coolant to cool the tool in use, such as water. Alternative fluid coolants can readily be envisaged by persons skilled in the art, such fluid coolants could be liquid or gaseous coolants. Equally, the fluid could be employed as a lubricant, for example an oil-based liquid could be employed. Such a gap will also permit easy removal of waste material.

[0033] Although the above embodiment of the guide is made of rigid material with a plurality of gripping pads provided thereon for gripping the surface of the material to be drilled, it is possible to make the guide itself out of a material that is suitable for gripping the material. For example, the guide could be made out of a rubber or gel- like substance that can grip, at least temporarily, onto the surface of the material.

Such a substance, may well not be fully rigid, but, so long as it can guide the tool to the surface of the material and prevent the tool from sliding across that surface, the material will be sufficient, even if the number of uses that can be made of it are limited. By "grip" is meant that the guide is substantially prevented from skidding or sliding across the surface of the material to be drilled, even if pressure still needs to be placed on the guide in the direction of the material to hold it from falling off the material completely.

[0034] Alternatively, of course, the guide could be made of a combination of materials chosen to provide desired properties of rigidity, flexibility and gripping. For example, an outer surface of the guide could be made of a rigid hardwearing material for durability and to prevent the tool from damaging the guide, whereas the * .** surface of the tool that is to oppose the material to be drilled can be formed of, or at * S* least include one or more areas of, a gripping material such as rubber or a gel * : substance that grip the material and substantially prevent the guide from slipping. In some cases, the gripping material may be able to deform to match the surface of * the material, particularly if such a surface is not flat and level. ** *

*. .: 25 [0035] Thus, the hole saw guide 100 can be quickly and simply attached to a tile, block or slab of material, used for the required purpose, and then rapidly detached and used on another piece of material. As noted above, the aperture 10, 11, 12, 13, 14 may be conical-shaped which allows significant latitude with respect to the entry angle with which a tool can be guided into a material. Thus, a hand-held power drill can be employed to cut pieces of material at various angles, as desired. It will be immediately apparent to persons skilled in the art that such pieces of material are not required to be permanently fixed in position (e.g. adhered to a wall or floor) in order to obtain the benefit of a number of advantages that the present invention

possesses over the prior art.

[0036] At least one embodiment of the present invention is equally intended to be used for guiding tools into materials which are permanently fixed. Thus, a section of waIl or floor in a room can be tiled or covered with slabs of hard material before being cut. The hole saw guide 100 may be positioned, horizontally or vertically, or indeed at any angle at which the material to be cut is disposed, and, since a hand drill can be used at a multiplicity of angles, the operator is provided with a hitherto unobtainable degree of flexibility.

[0037] Such a degree of freedom has clear advantages. The ability to align apertures cut separately into two or more distinct pieces of material is significantly easier and more accurate when such pieces are permanently fixed, in contrast to where each piece is required to be cut before being fixed in position. For example, the invention provides clear advantages for creating a multiplicity of apertures, which are required to be accurately aligned, in marble wall slabs for the purposes of fitting flush-mounted taps and shower accessories in bathrooms. It is envisaged that other * ,* materials could be cut such as: ceramics, glass, metal, porcelain, marble, slate, * * S 5.55 * **. paving stone, laminate work tops, medium or high density fibre board, brick, and, or *.SI stone. a

* 55I5 * * [0038] The present invention addresses the problematic tendency for tools, in * particular drill bits, which are devoid of pilots or centre guides, to glide across the surface of a material when operated by a hand-held power drill. At least some * .: 25 embodiments of the invention solve this problem by providing an apparatus which includes guide holes, the boundaries of which substantially restrict movement of the tool lateral to the axis of drilling motion of the tool, such that the tool makes substantially no contact with surface areas of the material other than those into which the tool is to be guided. In combination with the adherence, or gripping means, which allow rapid non-slip fixing of the apparatus to the material to be cut, there is provided a portable and versatile apparatus having significant advantages

over the prior art.

[0039] Embodiments of the present invention have the additional advantage that the restrictive function of the boundaries of the guide hole on the tool is such that the tool can be positioned in a way that allows the operator to insert the tool into a material at a multitude of different angles. Such degrees of flexibility were not afforded by prior art methods due to the reliance on bench or fixed drills and the reliance on cumbersome vice-like frames for gripping materials prior to being affixed.

[0040] With respect to drilling methods, the effect of the guiding feature is such that there is no requirement for reliance on the methods of drilling of the prior art, whereby a hole is first drilled in the block, tile or slab prior to being permanently fixed in the desired position. There is similarly no need to rely on a frame device for securing the block, tile or slab relative to the drill.

[0041] Where the guide holes are provided in dimensions only barely larger then the dimensions of the drill bit, the guide holes effectively perform the advantageous dual function of acting as a template for the hole to be drilled. * ** * * *

[0042] The apparatus is also portable, in contrast to apparatus and methods as **** disclosed in the prior art, which are required to be fixed or which rely on complex vice-like gripping frames which are not amenable to rapid attachment and detachment with respect to the material to be cut. * S

[0043] It will be appreciated that although only one particular embodiment is * 25 described in detail, various modifications and improvements can be made by a person skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the present invention, some of which have been previously been described.

Claims

Claims 1. An apparatus for guiding a tool onto the surface of a

material for permanently deforming the material, said apparatus comprising; a substantially planar guide having at least one aperture extending therethrough for guiding a tool to the surface of the material, the guide including gripping means for gripping the material to substantially prevent the guide from slipping across the surface of the material.

2. An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the at least one aperture is circular.

3. An apparatus according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the dimensions of the aperture are the same at a first surface of the guide as at a second surface opposed and parallel to the first surface.

4. An apparatus according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the dimensions of the aperture are not the same at a first surface of the guide as at a second surface opposed and parallel to the first surface. * *

5. An apparatus according to either any preceding claim, wherein the guide includes a plurality of apertures having differing dimensions.

*:*. 25 6. An apparatus according to any preceding claim wherein gripping means comprises at least one area of adherent material.

7. An apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the adherent material is glue.

8. An apparatus according to any one of claims I to 5 wherein the gripping means comprises at least one adherent pad.

9. An apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the at least one adherent pad is fixed to the guide by glue.

10. An apparatus according to either claim 8 or claim 9 wherein the at least one adherent pad is made of rubber.

11. An apparatus according to either claim 8 or claim 9, wherein the at least one adherent pad is made of polyurethane.

12. An apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5 wherein the gripping means comprises at least one suction cup.

13. An apparatus according to claim 12, wherein the at least one suction cup is fixed to the guide by glue.

14. The apparatus of any preceding claim, wherein the guide is substantially rigid. * 0

15. The apparatus according to claim 14, wherein said guide is formed from ** 20 any one or more of the materials of the group comprising wood, metal and plastic.

* 16. The apparatus of any one of claims I to 13, wherein the guide is substantially flexible. * 25

17. The apparatus according to claim 13, wherein said guide is formed from any one or more of the materials of the group comprising rubber, plastics or gels.

18. The apparatus according to any preceding claim wherein at least one surface of the guide further comprises at least one depression for the placement of at least one digit of a user.

19. A method for guiding a tool onto the surface of a material so as to permanently deform said material, said method comprising: holding an apparatus according to any preceding claim against the surface of said material wherein the gripping means grips said surface of material; positioning the tool so that a drilling portion thereof is positioned in the at least one aperture of the guide wherein said drilling portion of the tool makes substantially no contact with areas of the surface of said material, other than that area onto which said tool is to be guided; and using said tool to permanently deform said material to create at least one aperture in said material.

20. A method according to claim 19, wherein said material is fixed in situ.

21. A method according to either claim 19 or claim 20, further comprising contacting said drilling portion of the tool with a fluid whilst said drilling portion of the tool is in contact with said material. * (* * * * a...

I

22. A method according to claim 21, wherein said fluid is a liquid coolant, such as water.

23. An apparatus for guiding a tool onto the surface of a material for :::.. permanently deforming the material substantially as hereinbefore 25 described with reference to the drawings.

24. A method for guiding a tool onto the surface of a material for permanently deforming the material substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the drawings.