JPS6359825B2 - - Google Patents

Abstract

A housing for a vacuum sanding device consists of a ring or plate spaced above a backup pad to define a chamber, the periphery of the housing is spaced slightly above the backup pad for the whole periphery of the housing and the outer edge of the housing is coterminous, or nearly so, with the edge of the backup pad.

Description

Claim 1: A vacuum housing 14 having an opening and having means 40 for connecting to a vacuum source, and a housing 10 connected to said vacuum housing 14 having a first opening communicating with the opening of said vacuum housing 14. a plate 20 carrying an abrasive sheet on its underside facing away from the vacuum housing;
a backing pad 12 attached to the lower surface of the plate 20, the backing pad and the plate defining an opening connecting both the lower surface and the periphery of the backing pad to a first opening in the plate 20. , in which the circumferential wall of the backing pad slopes outwardly toward its lower surface, the plate 20 has on its lower surface legs 26 for spacing the backing pad 12 from said lower surface; The periphery has lip members 24, 28 directed outwardly and downwardly from the plate 20, extending generally perpendicular to the underside of the backing pad between the outer edge 13 of the backing pad and the peripheral edge 25 of the lip member. A vacuum sander characterized in that a circumferential gap 36 is defined.

2. The vacuum sander according to claim 1, wherein the leg portion 26 is integral with the plate 20.

3. A vacuum sander as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2, wherein said plate 42 is rectangular and has a lower base member 46 adapted to receive a backing pad 48 on its underside.

4. A vacuum sander as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the housing forms a tubular handle 68 attached to the plate 20.

5. drive means are mounted within said vacuum housing 14 and have a drive member 18 extending across said opening; a plate 20 is secured to drive member 18 and has an upper surface facing the opening provided in said vacuum housing; 3. A flexible sealing ring 32 is mounted on the vacuum housing 14 and held sealingly on the top surface of the plate 20. vacuum sander.

6. The backing pad 11 is provided with one circular channel 15 or two or more concentric circular channels and channel holes 17 extending through the backing pad 11.
The vacuum sander according to any one of items 1 to 5.

7. Any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein a plurality of ribs 29 are provided on the inside of the lip member for spacing the lip member 28 from the surface of the backing pad 11. Vacuum sander as described in .

8. Any of claims 1 to 7, wherein another lip member 102 is added above the lip member 28 and is spaced therefrom by a rippled projection 104. Vacuum sander mentioned in one.

field of invention The present invention relates to a vacuum sander.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Vacuum sanders have been known for some time. They are usually rotary or double-acting sanders, but patents have also been issued for rectangular vacuum sanders. An example of such a rectangular vacuum sander is
U.S. Pat. No. 4,062,152 to Mehrer, December 13, 1977;
3123946 of Hoveland on March 10, 1964, 3, 1950
It can be found in Smul 2499933 on the 7th of May. For circular vacuum sanders, examples are Canadian Patent No. 1080477 of Assignee August 1, 1980, Canadian Patent No. 931761 of Olmoen, U.S. Patent No. 3785092 of Hutchins,
No. 2,895,266 to Statler, US Pat. No. 4,164,101 to Robert and US Pat.

The structure of the patented prior art device has several drawbacks. Many of them are complex, incorporate too many moving parts, and are therefore expensive to manufacture and maintain. Others do not provide adequate suction adjacent to the immediate workpiece area, and if they do, they are sometimes spaced substantially outside the backing pad or sanding block. With the upper housing, the sanding block can never reach deep into corners or hard to reach areas.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention is constructed to overcome many of the shortcomings of the prior art and to enable a sanding operator to apply his or her sandpaper to even the corners and other hard-to-reach areas. By incorporating a housing that can be brought into close proximity to the vacuum sander, the vacuum sander is constructed to provide a highly efficient, lightweight, and easy-to-use vacuum sander. The present invention is adapted for use with many types of sanders, such as double-acting or orbital sanders, rotary sanders, rectangular block sanders, and hand block sanders. It can also be used with rectangular vibrating sanders.

In one broad aspect, the present invention relates to a type of vacuum sander that includes a backing pad.

A housing plate connected to the vacuum housing has legs on its lower surface for spacing the backing pad from said lower surface, and has a lip member directed downwardly and outwardly from the plate around its periphery. However, the lip member defines a circumferential gap extending generally perpendicular to the underside of the backing pad between the outer edge of the backing pad and the peripheral edge of the lip member.

In embodiments of the invention used with circular or rotary sanders, the lip member of the housing plate reaches very close to the edge of the backing pad and thus very close to the sanding surface. The lip of the housing plate thus helps to pick up dust all around the working rim of the sander. Backing pads used with vacuum sanders typically have a hole in the central portion that passes from the rotating mechanism to an upper chamber formed by a flexible collar extending downwardly into the housing. This combination of a vacuum hole through the backing pad and a peripheral vacuum inlet formed by a lip member in the plate of the housing allows dust to be drawn from the sanded surface through the hole and the entire circumference of the backing pad. Inhalation is forced. The edges of the lip members of the suction housing plate are preferably flexible so that when struck by an operator, the edges flex and return to their original position.

In rectangular configurations, such as pole or hand sanders, there is again a gap between the lip member of the housing plate and the top surface of the backing pad, so that the vacuum prevents dust from simply passing through the associated holes in the backing pad. Instead, it is sucked in all the way around the edge of the sanding block. The device picks up dust evenly at the front, sides and rear.

Brief description of the drawings The present invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:
1 is a cross-sectional view of a vacuum sander incorporating the invention, FIG. 1a is a modified version of the embodiment of FIG. 1, and FIG. 2 is a fragmentary view of a portion of the housing of the invention. FIG. 3 is a perspective view similar to FIG. 1 but showing a slightly different arrangement of the housing; FIG. 4 is a plan view of another embodiment of the invention; FIG. The figure is a cross-sectional view taken along line 5--5 of FIG. 4, and FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 6--5 of FIG.
6 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 6, FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of another embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of another embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. is the 8th
10 is a partially cutaway bottom view of the embodiment shown in FIG. 8, and FIG. 10 is a sectional view of a portion of the embodiment shown in FIG.
FIG. 11 is a top view of FIG. 10, and FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view similar to FIG. 8 of another embodiment of the invention.

Referring to FIGS. 1, 1a and 2,
A housing 10 according to the present invention is shown attached to a backing pad 12 of a rotary grinder or orbital sander that includes a vacuum housing 14. Backing pad 12 is connected to a motor shaft by a stud 16, and motor shaft 18 rotates backing pad 12 and a grinding wheel disk attached to its underside.

Housing 10 includes a circular hoop plate 20 having a central upright flange 22 and a peripheral lip member 24 depending therefrom and extending outwardly and downwardly from the plate. A plurality of legs 26 are provided on the lower surface of the plate, and these legs are attached to the plate 2 of the housing as shown in FIG.
0 above from the backing pad 12. This spacing can be varied according to the length of the legs 26 used for the particular requirements of the job. In any event, the spacing of the vacuum housing plates 20 above the top surface of the backing pad 12 defines a vacuum chamber that communicates with a large vacuum outlet or opening 30 defined by the flange 22. In the embodiment of FIG. 1, a resilient sealing ring 32 attached to the body of the vacuum housing 14 extends downwardly and rests on the upper surface of the housing plate 20.
This is because the air sucked into the chamber is lined with pad 12.
or through a peripheral opening 36 defined between the lip member 24 and the sloped surface 38 of the backing pad.

The flexible sealing ring 32 has a conduit 40 for releasably connecting it to suitable vacuum means, not shown.
can include.

The embodiment of the invention shown in FIG. 1a is essentially the same as that of FIG. 1, except that the conduit 40 is spaced from the side of the vacuum housing 14, but the seal ring 32 is not.

The embodiment shown in FIG. 3 is similar to that shown in FIG. 1, but the backing pad 12 has a slightly different hoop and the legs 27 spacing the plate 21 above the backing pad are It is longer than the leg 26 of the embodiment of FIG. Additionally, instead of having a circular aperture bounded by flange 22 in FIG. upwardly into the chamber delimited by ring 32 and outwardly through vacuum conduit 40.

In the embodiments of FIGS. 1 or 3, the periphery 25 of the lip member 24 and the periphery 13 of the backing pad are adjacent to each other, or nearly so, so that the operator can precisely locate corners, valleys, etc. It will be appreciated that the sander can be moved to areas that are difficult to reach. Housing 10 can be made of a flexible plastic material so that when lip member 24 contacts any portion of the work surface, the lip member flexes and then returns to its original position.

Turning now to the embodiment of the invention of FIGS. 4-6, the housing of the embodiment of FIG. 4 consists of an elongated rectangular plate 42 having a series of depending legs 44; Sanding blocks or backing pads 48 are attached to the legs 44 to help space the plate 42 above the base member 46. As in the embodiment of FIGS. 1-3, the spacing of the plates 42 above the base member 46 defines a vacuum chamber 50 which communicates with external vacuum means via a circular upright flange 52. and
One end of a flexible tube 54 is connected to the circular upright flange.

This embodiment of FIGS. 4-6 includes a universal joint generally designated 56 and a pair of upright plate members 58.
, the upright plate member being integral with or otherwise secured to the base member 46;
and extends upwardly through an opening defined by flange 52 . A plate 58 supports a roll pin 60 to which a T-shaped member 62 is attached, allowing the T-shaped member to move horizontally in one direction. At the top of the member 62, perpendicular to the pin 60, is another roll pin 64 which is connected to a connector 66 attached thereto.
gives horizontal motion to . The connector is then adapted to be detachably attached to the distal end of a vacuum pipe 68, which also serves as an elongated handle for operating the sander.

5 and 6, the base member 46 is provided with a chamfered edge 70 and the housing plate 72 has a chamfered edge 70 extending outwardly and downwardly from the plate 42, as shown in FIG. It will be seen that a peripheral lip 72 is provided so that the tapered edge of the lip 72 and the chamfered edge of the base plate 46 define a peripheral opening 74. It is also noted that because the edges of the base member 46 and the distal edges of the rip member 72 abut each other, the operator can move the sander into corners and other difficult-to-reach locations during sanding operations. Good morning.

Turning now to FIG. 7, a vacuum sander 76 has the same basic arrangement as the sander of FIGS. 4 and 5, but instead of a plate 42 having a central opening for attachment to the vacuum means, the housing is Since the plate 78 has an integrally formed handle member 80 and the handle member 80 is of tubular construction, the handle member has a compartment 82 between the plate 78 and the base 84 and a suitable outlet 86. It communicates with an external vacuum means (not shown) attached to the handle. As in the embodiment of FIG. 5, a housing plate 78 is attached to the base 84 by suitable screws 88 extending through legs 90, and a backing pad or sanding block 92 is attached to the lower end of the base. ing. Peripheral lip member 94 of plate 78 is slightly spaced from chamfered edge 96 of base 84 to provide peripheral opening 98.
is formed.

Turning now to FIGS. 8 and 9, housing 9 has a backing pad 11 secured to it which is provided with at least one circular suction channel 15, two such channels being shown. There is. Depending on the working requirements and the diameter of the pad, several concentric channels or one single channel may be used. As seen in FIG. 8, the channel preferably has a width equal to or slightly larger than the diameter of the hole 17 in the base of the pad 11. As shown in the bottom view of the pad in FIG. 9, circular channels 15 interconnect with holes 17, while channels 15a interconnect with holes 17a.

Since the suction channels 15 and 15a are provided, the operator can connect the suction hole of the sanding disk to the hole 17 of the pad.
It is unnecessary to align with, and furthermore,
It will be appreciated that it is unnecessary to use centering pins in the loading device for that purpose. Because of the circular suction channel, the operator simply sticks the paper to the backing pad using the outer diameter of the paper and backing pad as a guide, and the holes in the paper do not have to be perpendicular to the holes 17 in pad 11. , the hole in the paper is above the associated channel 15 or 15a, so that during operation the dust passes through the channel 15 and then through the hole 17.
and is sucked into the upper housing. At the same time, dust is also drawn into the peripheral opening 23 between the housing lip and the edge of pad 11.

It will be appreciated that a sanding disk having one or two concentric rings of holes can be used in the pads according to FIGS. 8 and 9.

10 and 11, the interior surface of the frusto-conical skirt of the housing, lip member 28, includes a series of shallow ribs 2, shown in dotted lines in FIG.
9 can be provided. These ribs provide space between the inside of the suction skirt and the edge of the backing pad when the operator applies downward pressure to the edge of the pad against the workpiece surface 33 as shown in FIG. 31 is prevented from being closed completely.

FIG. 12 shows another embodiment of the invention. A lip member 28, which is a nylon suction ring, is attached to the backing pad 11 as shown in FIG.
However, additionally, another flexible cone 100
Alternatively, a skirt is secured at its upper end to the suction housing (not shown) and extends downwardly to the surface to be sanded and past the nylon seal ring 28. Another lip member 102, which is a flexible cone or skirt, has inwardly projecting ripples or protrusions 104 that space the skirt from the surface of the plastic ring 28, and the skirt 102 is sufficiently flexible. The elastic nature allows the backing pad and skirt 28 to vibrate and rotate under the skirt without wearing the pads down.

For this additional flexible skirt, holes 15 or 17 are provided in the bottom of the backing pad and sanding disc.
It is not necessary to have This is because all of the sanded material and dust are removed from the lining pad, suction ring 28 and flexible collar or skirt 10.
This is because it is sucked into the housing between the two circumferential surfaces.

It will be appreciated that in all embodiments of the present invention, the peripheral aperture is sufficient to vacuum dust that accumulates anywhere around the sander, whether circular or horizontal. rear of the device,
Suction through the sides or the front provides a much more efficient unit than is available in the prior art. The arrangement of the invention can be used with all rectangular vibrators, hand sanders, pole sanders and disc sanders or long body files. The housing can be made of various materials such as nylon, fiberglass or various alloys.

34 or 5 and 7 of FIGS. It is also effective to use it in combination with a suction hole like 45 in the figure.

Although the invention has been described with respect to particular embodiments and particular applications thereof, various modifications will occur to those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims. .

The terms and expressions used in this specification are used as terms of description and not as terms of limitation, and in the use of such terms and expressions, the features illustrated and described or We do not intend to exclude any equivalents of the parts.
It is recognized that various modifications are possible within the scope of the claimed invention.