WO2016008850A1

WO2016008850A1 - Method and fixture for attaching a sanding disc to a hand sander

Info

Publication number: WO2016008850A1
Application number: PCT/EP2015/065978
Authority: WO
Inventors: Jerry Horn; John Michael Thiergartner; Steven R. Van Dyke
Original assignee: Rud. Starcke Gmbh & Co. Kg
Priority date: 2014-07-15
Filing date: 2015-07-13
Publication date: 2016-01-21
Also published as: EP2974828B1; EP2974828A1; ES2630104T3

Abstract

A hand sander (102) and sanding disc fixture for attaching a sanding disc (104) to a hand sander (102) includes a table (106) have a top (108) with a sander storage station (120) and an application station (124) thereon. The storage station (122) has a holder (150) holding a hand sander (102) having a sander pad (130). The application station (124) has at least two datum pegs (190) extending from the top (108) of the table (106) that hold a stack (128) of sanding discs (104) with attaching sides of the sanding discs (104) facing away from the top (108) of the table (106). The datum pegs (190) pass through datum holes (174) in the sanding discs (104). The datum pegs (190) having datum surfaces configured to be received in datum notches (142) in an outer diameter of the sander pad (130). The datum pegs (190) align the sander pad (130) with the sanding discs (104) when the sander pad (130) is pressed against the attaching side of the outermost sanding disc.

Description

METHOD AND FIXTURE FOR ATTACHING A SANDING DISC TO A

HAND SANDER

The present disclosure relates generally to apparatus and methods for attaching to and detaching a sanding disc from a hand sander.

It is conventional to attach removable sanding discs to rotary and orbital motion sanders. The sanding discs are typically coated on one side with a sandpaper-like texture. These discs are available from many venders. The abrasive disc is typically held on a sander pad that is mounted on the hand sander, such as with a hook-and-loop fastener system. The discs are designed to be used until the abrasive surface has degraded. The disc is then removed from the sander pad and discarded. A replacement disc can then be placed on the sander pad, and sanding can resume.

At least some known hand sanders are coupled to a vacuum system to remove dust and/or debris generated during a sanding operation. Typically, the sanding disc includes openings defined therein and the sander pad includes corresponding openings through which dust and/or debris are pulled by a vacuum created by the vacuum system.

For hobby users, the removal and replacement of the discs represents an inconvenience. However, in such a case, there is plenty of time to remove the spent disc, replace it with a new disc, and resume sanding. While it is time consuming to do so, the replacement of a few discs in this manner would not greatly increase the time to complete the project.

However, such a system is less advantageous when the hand sander is used in an industrial or assembly line operation where the disc is replaced many times in the course of an hour. The time to remove the disc from the sander pad and line up the vacuum holes in a new disc with the vacuum holes in the sander pad and attach the new disc to the sander pad may be excessive. Ac- cordingly, in some instances, the user may be forced to remove the disc by peeling up an edge with a hand. The user would then reapply a sanding disc by hand by visually lining up the vacuum holes in the disc with the holes in the sander pad to the appropriate position. Such a system does not ensure consistent placement of the disc on the sander pad, which can create inconsistences in the sanding performance.

Accordingly, it is advantageous to create an apparatus and method for removing and applying a sanding disc to a sander pad that minimizes these detrimental results.

In one embodiment, a hand sander and sanding disc fixture is provided for attaching a sanding disc to a hand sander. The fixture includes a table have a top, a sander storage station on the table, and an application station on the table. The sander storage station has a holder holding a hand sander having a sander pad on the top of the table. The application station has at least two datum pegs extending from the top of the table. The datum pegs hold a stack of sanding discs with attaching sides of the sanding discs facing away from the top of the table. The datum pegs pass through datum holes in the sanding discs. The at least two datum pegs having datum surfaces configured to be received in datum notches in an outer diameter of the sander pad. The datum pegs align the sander pad with the sanding discs when the sander pad is pressed against the attaching side of the outermost sanding disc.

In another embodiment, a hand sander and sanding disc fixture is provided for attaching a sanding disc to a hand sander. The fixture includes a table have a top. A sander storage station is provided on the table. The sander storage station has a holder holding a hand sander having a sander pad on the top of the table. A sanding disc storage station is provided on the table. The sanding disc storage station has a central spindle extending from the top of the table. The central spindle holds a stack of sanding discs with the central spindle extending through a central hole of each sanding disc. An application station is provided on the table. The application station has at least two datum pegs extending from the top of the table. The datum pegs hold a stack of sanding discs with attaching sides of the sanding discs facing away from the top of the table for attachment to the hand sander. The datum pegs pass through datum holes in the sanding discs to align the sanding discs with the sander pad when the sander pad is pressed against the attaching side of the outermost sanding disc.

In another embodiment, a method of attaching a sanding disc to a hand sander is provided that includes providing a sanding disc application station with at least two datum pegs extending from a top of a table. The method includes positioning a sanding disc at the application station with the at least two datum pegs extending through datum holes in the sanding disc, the sanding disc being positioned with an attaching side of the sanding discs facing away from the top of the table. The method includes aligning a hand sander with the application station by pressing the hand sander against the at least two datum pegs such that datum notches in an outer diameter of a sander pad of the hand sander receive the at least two datum pegs. The method includes sliding the hand sander in an attaching direction toward the top of the table along the at least two datum pegs until the sanding pad is pressed against the attaching side of the sanding disc and the sanding disc is attached to the sanding pad. In a further embodiment, a sander pad is provided that includes an attachment shaft extending from a first surface of the sander pad for coupling the sander pad to a sanding device. An attachment surface is positioned on a second surface of the sander pad, opposite to the first surface of the sander pad, and configured to removably couple a sanding disc to the sander pad. A plurality of datum notches are formed in a perimeter of the sander pad and configured to facilitate alignment of the sanding disc and the sander pad.

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a hand sander and sanding disc fixture formed in accordance with an exemplary embodiment.

Figure 2 is a bottom perspective view of a sander pad of the hand sander shown in Figure 1 that is formed in accordance with an exemplary embodiment.

Figure 3 is a bottom view of a sanding disc shown in Figure 1 that is formed in accordance with an exemplary embodiment.

Figure 4 is a top perspective view of a portion of the fixture of Figure 1 showing a sanding disc storage station.

Figure 5 is a top respective view of a portion of the fixture of Figure 1 showing the hand sander attached to the sanding disc in an application station.

Figure 6 illustrates one of the sanding discs being removed with the hand sander from the application station shown in Figure 5.

Figure 7 illustrates the hand sander in a sanding disc removal station of the fixture shown in Figure 1 . Figure 8 illustrates one of the sanding discs being removed from the hand sander at the sanding disk removal station shown in Figure 7.

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a hand sander and sanding disc fixture 1 00 formed in accordance with an exemplary embodiment. Figure 2 is a front perspective view of the fixture 1 00. Figure 3 is another front perspective view of the fixture 100. Figure 4 is a rear perspective view of the fixture 1 00. Figure 5 is a top view of the fixture 100. The fixture 100 is used to support a hand sander 102 (Figure 1 ) and a plurality of sanding discs 104 (Figure 1 ) during periods of use and non-use. The fixture 100 is used for attaching and detaching the sanding discs 1 04 to and from the hand sander 102.

The fixture 100 includes a table 106 having a top 108. The table 1 06 includes sides 1 10, 1 12, a front 1 14 and a rear 1 1 6. Optionally, the table 106 may be angled such that the top 108 is non horizontal. For example, the front 1 14 may be lower than the rear 1 1 6. Optionally, the table 106 may be angled between 30^° and 60^°. In other alternative embodiments, the table 106 may be oriented horizontally. In other alternative embodiments, the table 106 may be oriented vertically. Optionally, the sides 1 1 0, 1 12, may be adjustable to vary the angle of the table 106. For example, adjustable brackets may be provided on the sides 1 10, 1 1 2 to adjust the angle of the top 108 of the table 106.

In an exemplary embodiment, the fixture 1 00 includes a plurality of stations that serve different functions. In the illustrated embodiment, the fixture 100 includes a hand sander storage station 120, a sanding disc storage station 1 22, a sanding disc application station 124, and a sanding disc removal station 1 26.

In other embodiments, it may be desirable to use only some of these stations. In other embodiments, other stations may be added as desired. The stations may be oriented to conveniently access the hand sander 1 02 and/or the sanding discs 104.

The hand sander 102 is stored in the storage station 120 when the hand sander 102 is not in use. A plurality of the sanding discs 1 04 is stored in the sanding disc storage station 122 for easy access when additional sanding discs 104 are needed. Optionally, the sanding discs 104 may be stored in groups or stacks 1 28 of sanding discs 104. Each stack 128 of sanding discs

1 04 may include any number of sanding discs 104, such as approximately 25 sanding discs. These stacks 128 of sanding discs 1 04 may be placed in the sanding disc storage station 122 as a group and/or may be removed from the sanding disc storage station 122 as a group, such as to move one stack of the sanding discs 104 at a time from the sanding disc storage station 122 to the sanding disc application station 1 24. The sanding discs 104 at the application station 1 24 are ready for attachment to the hand sander 102 when the sanding disc 1 04 on the hand sander 1 02 needs to be replaced. The sanding disc 1 04 on the hand sander 1 02 may be removed at the removal station 1 26. The removal station 126 may be provided at any location, such as along the sides 1 10 and/or 1 1 2, along the front 1 14 or at another location. After removal, the outermost sanding disc 104 at the application station 1 24 may be easily and conveniently applied to the hand sander 102.

The hand sander 102 includes a sander pad 130 coupled to a sanding device 132 that causes the sander pad 130 to rotate during a sanding operation. In an exemplary embodiment, the sanding device 132 is pneumatically operated.

Alternatively, the sanding device 132 may be electrically operated. In an exemplary embodiment, a vacuum system 134 is coupled to the sanding device 132 to remove dust and debris during the sanding operation. The vacuum system 134 creates a vacuum through holes in the sander pad 130 and holes in the sanding disc 104 to remove dust and debris during the sanding operation.

Figure 6 is a bottom perspective view of the sander pad 1 30 in accordance with an exemplary embodiment. The sander pad 1 30 includes an attachment shaft 1 36 extending from a top or first side 138 of the sander pad 130. The attachment shaft 1 36 is used to attach the sander pad 1 30 to the sanding device 1 32 (shown in Figure 1 ). Optionally, the attachment shaft 1 36 may be threaded. The attachment shaft 136 may have external threads or internal threads, such as in a threaded bore, which are used to secure the sander pad 130 to the sanding device 132. Other types of attachment components may be used in alternative embodiments.

The sander pad 1 30 includes a plurality of vacuum holes 140 in spaced relation to one another. The precise shape, size, and configuration of the vacuum holes 140 are not critical to the present disclosure. A sander pad 130 having a different number, size, and shape of vacuum holes 140 could be used instead of the embodiment shown. In some alternative embodiments, the sander pad 1 30 may not include any holes of any kind. The size, shape, and position of the vacuum holes 140 may be related to the vacuum system 134 (shown in Figure 1 ) to allow a vacuum to be created through the sander pad 130.

The sander pad 1 30 includes a plurality of datum notches 142 having open sides 143 formed in a perimeter or outer diameter 144 of the sander pad 130. The notches 142 are open along the outer diameter 144. In the illustrated embodiment, the notches 142 are V-shaped; however the notches 142 may have other shapes, sizes, and positions in alternative embodiments. The notches 142 have a seat 145 opposite the open side 143 thereof with side walls 147 extending between the seat 145 and the open side 143. Optionally, the side walls 147 may be non-parallel with respect to each other. The notches 142 are used to align the sander pad 130 with the sanding discs 104 (shown in Figure 1 ) at the application station 124 (shown in Figure 1 ), as de- scribed in further detail below.

In an exemplary embodiment, the sander pad 1 30 includes at least two notches 142. Optionally, the notches 142 may be positioned equally around the outer diameter 144. The use of equally spaced notches 142 allows a user to more easily index the sander pad 130 with the sanding discs 104 at the application station 124. For example, because the sander pad 130 is configured to orbit and/or rotate, the sander pad 130 may be permitted to stop in any position after the removal of the rotary force. The use of multiple notches 142 would allow alignment of the sander pad 130 at any pad position. In some embodiments, it may be desirable to just use a single notch or a specified number of notches instead. In such embodiments, it may also be desirable to incorporate a stop on the sander pad 130 to ensure a similar placement of the pad each time the rotary force is removed. This may minimize the need for the user to look for the position of the notch 142 and possibly be forced to ro- tate his or her hand and arm in a complicated manner to secure the next sanding disc 1 04 to the sander pad 130.

The sander pad 1 30 includes an attachment surface 146 at a bottom 148 of the sander pad 130. The attachment surface 146 is used to attach the sand- ing disc 1 04 to the sander pad 130. Optionally, the attachment surface 146 may include a hook structure or a loop structure for hook-and-loop attachment of the sanding disc 104 to the sander pad 130. Other types of attachment devices may be used in alternative embodiments. Returning to Figure 1 , the hand sander storage station 120 includes a holder

1 50 used to hold the hand sander 102. The holder 150 includes a lip 152 that engages and supports the sander pad 130 and/or the sanding device 1 32. Optionally, the lip 152 may be semi-circular in shape to allow the hand sander 1 02 to be placed in the holder 150 from above the holder 150. The hand sander 102 may hang from the holder 150. The lip 152 may stop the hand sander 102 from tipping to one side or the other. For example, the lip 152 may extend behind the sander pad 130. Optionally, the holder 150 may define a shelf for the hand sander 102 to rest on when not in use with one or more tabs 1 56 extending from the holder 150 behind the sander pad 130. The tabs 1 56 hold the hand sander 1 02 in the holder 150. The hand sander 102 may be removed by moving the hand sander 1 02 toward that rear 1 16 of the table 106 until the hand sander 102 is removed from the holder 150. The holder 150 prevents the hand sander 102 from rolling over and activating a hand sander throttle lever 1 54 on a top of the sanding device 1 32. If the hand sander 102 would roll over and the sanding devices 1 32 turn on, it would be necessary for the operator to grab the hand sander 102 while running and risking injury from the sanding disc 1 04. In an exemplary embodiment, the shape of the holder 150 corresponds in shape and size to the shape and size of the sander pad 130. However, in other embodiments, such a correspondence may be unnecessary. Optionally, the size and shape of the holder 1 50 may be adjustable to accommodate different sized and shaped hand sanders

102. The holder 150 may be removable from the table 1 06, such as by removable fasteners.

The sanding disc storage station 122 is provided at another location on the table 1 06. The sanding disc storage station 1 22 includes a central spindle 1 60 extending from the top 108 of the table 106. The central spindle 1 60 passes through a central hole 1 62 in each of the sanding discs 104 stored in the sand ing disc storing station 122. The central spindle 1 60 is an elongated post long enough to hold multiple stacks 128 of sanding discs 104.

Figure 7 is a bottom view of one of the sanding discs 104 formed in accordance with an exemplary embodiment. Figure 7 illustrates an attaching side 1 70 of the sanding disc 104. The attaching side 170 is configured to be attached to the sander pad 130 (shown in Figure 6). Optionally, the attaching side 1 70 may include a hook structure or a loop structure for hook-and-loop at tachment to the sander pad 1 30. Other types of attaching structures may be used in alternative embodiments to attach the sanding disc 104 to the sander pad 130. The sanding disc 104 includes an abrasive side (not shown) opposite the attaching side 170. The abrasive side is used for the sanding operation.

The sanding disc 104 includes a plurality of holes. The holes may serve different functions. In an exemplary embodiment, the sanding disc 104 is circular and the central hole 1 62 is located at a center of the circular sanding disc 104. The sanding disc 104 may have other shapes in alternative embodiments.

In an exemplary embodiment, the sanding disc 104 includes a plurality of vacuum holes 1 72. The vacuum holes 172 are configured to be aligned with the vacuum holes 140 (shown in Figure 6) in the sander pad 1 30. The vacuum from the vacuum system passes through the vacuum holes 1 72. The precise shape, size, and configuration of the vacuum holes 172 are not critical to the present disclosure. The sanding disc 1 04 may have a different number, size, and shape of vacuum holes 1 72 that correspond to the vacuum holes 140 in the sander pad 130.

In an exemplary embodiment, the sanding disc 104 includes a plurality of da- turn holes 174 in spaced relation to one another. The datum holes 1 74 are used to locate the sanding disc 1 04 in the application station 124 (shown in Figure 1 ) and are used to locate the sanding disc 1 04 relative to the sander pad 130. In an exemplary embodiment, the datum holes 1 74 are positioned near an outer edge 176 of the sanding disc 1 04. The datum holes 174 are closed such that a portion of the sanding disc 104 is positioned between the datum holes 174 and the outer edge 176. The datum holes 174 have a spacing that corresponds to a spacing of the notches 142 (shown in Figure 6) of the sander pad 130. Optionally, the datum holes 174 may have a shape and size that is similar or equal to the shape and size of the vacuum holes 172. Al- ternatively, the datum holes 1 74 may be sized and/or shaped differently than the vacuum holes 1 72. The datum holes 174 may be positioned a distance 1 78 from the central hole 162. The distance 178 may be greater than the distance of any of the vacuum holes 172 to the central hole 1 62. As such, the datum holes 174 are positioned further from the central hole 1 62 than the vac- uum holes 1 72. In some embodiments, at least some of the datum holes 174 may define vacuum holes with the vacuum from the vacuum system passing there through.

Stack holders 180 are shown in Figure 7 attached to the sanding disc 104. The stack holders 180 pass through the vacuum holes 172 and are used to stack multiple sanding discs 104 together in one of these stacks 128 (Shown in Figure 1 ). In an exemplary embodiment, only a single stack holder 1 80 is used for stacking the sanding discs 104, however multiple stack holders 1 80 may be used. The stack holders 180 are sized and shaped to correspond to the vacuum holes 1 72 to pass through multiple vacuum holes 172 and orient the sanding discs 1 04 relative to each other. The stack holder 180 includes a base 1 82. The stack holder 180 includes legs 184 (shown in Figure 8) extending from the base 1 82. The legs 184 are the portions of the stack holder 180 that extend through the vacuum holes 172. The base 182 may include indi- vidual beams meeting at a hub and extending to the legs 184, as in the illustrated embodiment. Other embodiments may include a disc-shaped base with the legs 184 extending therefrom.

Figure 8 is a top perspective view of a portion of the fixture 100 showing the sanding disc storage station 122 with a plurality of stacks 128 of sanding discs

104 stored in the sanding disc storage station 1 22. The central spindle 1 60 passes through the center holes 1 62 of each of the sanding discs 104 in the storage station 1 22. The stack holders 180 are used to hold a plurality of the sanding discs 104 together in each stack 128. The legs 184 of the stack holders 1 80 pass through the holes 1 72, which orients the sanding discs 104 relative to each other such that the holes 172 of each sanding disc 1 04 are aligned. The legs 184 stop relative rotation between the sanding discs 104.

In an exemplary embodiment, the legs 1 84 extend beyond the outer most sanding disc 104 and protrude any desired distance over the outer most sanding disc 1 04 to allow a user to easily grasp the stack holder 1 80. The user may grasp the stack holder 180 and pull the stack 128 off of the central spindle 1 60. The user may then move the stack 128 to another station, such as the application station 124 (shown in Figure 1 ). The stack holder 180 may be discarded and recycled after the stack 128 is moved to the application station 1 24. Optionally, the legs 1 84 may protrude a sufficient distance to allow the user to grasp the legs 184 even when the user is wearing gloves.

In an exemplary embodiment, the stack holders 1 80 may fit a plurality of locations on a given sanding disc 104. Because the legs 1 84 extend beyond the outer most sanding disc 1 04, when a stack 128 of sanding discs 104 is placed on top of another stack 1 28 of sanding discs 104, the free ends of the legs 184 of the stack holder 1 80 in the lower or bottom stack 128 may be allowed to protrude through the next higher or top stack of sanding discs 104 until that top stack 128 of sanding discs 1 04 is removed, thereby exposing the free ends of the legs 1 84 of the next lower stack holder 180. The stacks 128 are posi- tioned in the storage station 122 such that the stack holders 180 are offset with respect to each other. For example, the stack holder 180 of the top stack 1 28 may be positioned slightly clockwise of the stack holder 180 of the bottom stack 128 such that the stack holders 180 do not interfere with each other. In other words, adjacent stacks 128 of the sanding discs 1 04 have the stack holders 180 positioned differently, such as in a spiral manner. The stack holders 1 80 may be positioned at any location that does not interfere with the stack holder 180 of the lower stacks 128. Figure 8 illustrates three stacks 128 of sanding discs 104 in the storage station 122 on the central spindle 1 60, however more or less stacks 128 may be provided in the storage station 122.

Returning to Figure 1 , one of the stacks 128 of sanding discs 104 are shown in the sanding disc application station 124. In the application station 124, the sanding discs 104 are stored with the attaching side 1 70 facing upwards and the abrasive side facing downward. In an exemplary embodiment, the sanding discs 104 are stored in the sanding disc storage station 122 with an abrasive side 1 86 facing upward. The user may grasp the stack holder 1 80 and remove the stack 128 of sanding discs 1 04 from the storage station 122 and may then invert the stack 128 into the application station 1 24, where the stack holder 180, which is then on top of the stack 128, may be removed and discarded. The stack holder 180 is used to align the holes in the sanding discs 104, such as the datum holes 174, for ease of loading the stacks 1 28 into the application station 124. The sanding discs 104 are stored in the application station 1 24 with the attaching side 170 facing upward for attachment to the hand sander 102.

In other embodiments, the use of stack holders 180 may not be necessary, and the sanding discs 104 can be stored with the attaching side 1 70 facing upward in the storage station 120 such that the sanding discs 104 may be simply picked up from the storage station 1 22 and moved to the application station 1 24 without flipping the sanding discs over. In other alternative embodiments, the sanding disc storage station 122 and the application station 1 24 may be combined into a single station. For example, the storage station 122 may be unnecessary and the sanding discs 104 may be stored at the application station 124.

The application station 124 includes a plurality of datum pegs 190 extending from the top 1 08 of the table 1 06. The datum pegs 190 hold a stack 128 of the sanding discs 104 with the attaching sides 170 of the sanding discs 1 04 facing away from the top 108 of the table 106. The datum pegs 190 pass through the datum holes 174 in the sanding discs 104. When the sanding discs 104 are placed on the datum pegs 190 the sanding discs 104 are aligned and the vac- uum holes 1 72 are aligned and positioned for attachment to the hand sander

102. The datum pegs 1 90 maintain alignment of the vacuum holes 172 in the sanding discs 104 included in the stack 128 of sanding discs 104. In an exemplary embodiment, the fixture 100 includes at least two datum pegs 1 90. The datum pegs 190 have an outer surface defining a datum surface. The datum pegs 1 90 extend to tips 194. The tips 1 94 are exposed beyond the outer most sanding disc 104. The datum pegs 190 hold the positions of the sanding discs 104 relative to the table 1 06. Optionally, the datum pegs 190 may be tapered such that the datum pegs 190 are thinner at the tips 194 and ticker at the base of the datum pegs 1 90. Having the datum pegs 190 tapered makes loading of the sanding discs 104 onto the datum pegs 1 90 easier. The datum pegs 1 90 are used to align the hand sander 102 with the outer most sanding disc 1 04 for easy application of the sanding disc 104 to the sander pad 130.

Figure 9 is a top respective view of a portion of the fixture 100 showing the hand sander 102 attached to the outermost sanding disc 1 04 in the application station 1 24. Figure 10 illustrates one of the sanding discs 104 being removed with the hand sander 102 from the application station 124. The datum pegs 190 are used to index the sander pad 130 with the sanding disc 104. During the attaching process, the sander pad 130 is placed against the datum pegs 190 such that the datum pegs 190 are received in corresponding notches 142 in the sander pad 1 30. The sander pad 130 is then pressed toward the sanding discs 104 with the datum pegs 190 maintaining alignment of the sander pad 130 with the sanding discs 104. When the attachment surface 146 of the sander pad 130 contacts the attaching side 170 of the sanding disc 104 the sanding disc 104 is attached to the sander pad 130 and the sanding disc 1 04 may be removed from the stack 128 by moving the hand sander 102 away from the table 1 06. The user may then use the hand sander 102 and sanding disc 1 04 as desired. The sanding disc 1 04 may be attached by a hook-and- loop structure on the attaching side 170 and the attachment surface 146. Optionally, the vacuum system 134 may be used to hold the sanding disc 104 against the sander pad 1 30.

In the illustrated embodiment, two datum pegs 190 are used to index the position of the sander pad 130 and the sanding disc 104. In other embodiments, a different number of datum pegs 190 may be used. Also, in the embodiment shown, the datum pegs 190 have a circular cross section. In other embodiments, datum pegs of a different shape may be used. A person having ordinary skill in the art may select an appropriate corresponding datum peg and datum notch configuration to achieve the particular desired outcome. The datum pegs 190 are used to support the sanding discs 104. Optionally, the sanding discs 1 04 may hang from the datum pegs 1 90. For example, the datum pegs 190 pass through the sanding discs 104, such as through the datum holes 174. The sander pad 1 30 includes the open-sided notches 142, and the sander pad 1 30 may be side-loaded into position against the datum pegs 1 90 with the datum pegs 1 90 being pressed against the seats 145 of the notches 142. For example, because the notches 142 are open along the outer diameter 144 of the sander pad 130, the sander pad 130 may be brought into position in the application station 124 from the side (e.g., generally parallel to the top 108 of the table 1 06) as opposed to needing to be loaded from the top downward toward the table 106. The seats 145 may have complementary shapes to the datum pegs 190. The open sided notches 142 make it easier for positioning the hand sander 1 02 in the application station 124, such as compared to having closed holes in the sander pad 130 that need to be aligned with the datum pegs 190 and loaded in a direction perpendicular to the top 1 08 of the table 106. The datum notches 142 are disposed equidistant from each adjacent datum notch 142 such that any of the datum notches 142 may received the corresponding datum pegs 1 90. The vacuum holes 140 are positioned relative to the datum notches 142 such that each of the vacuum holes 140 are configured to be aligned with vacuum holes 172 in the sanding disk 1 04 irrespective of which datum notches 142 receive the datum pegs 1 90. The sander pad 1 30 may be loaded into position against the datum pegs 190 by side-loading in a direction non-parallel to the datum pegs 190, such as in a perpendicular direction or a transverse direction.

Optionally, the datum pegs 190 may be removable from the table 106 and adjustable to different relative positions to accept sanding discs 104 having different configurations of datum holes 174. For example, the datum pegs 1 90 may be threadably coupled to the table 106 and the table 106 may include multiple threaded bores that the datum pegs 190 may be threaded into. The datum pegs 190 may be moved relative to each other and relative to the table 106. For example, a user may be able to configure the datum pegs 1 90 in the application station 124 to accommodate a variety of sanding discs and corresponding sanding pads 130. Such a feature may be more desirable in a hobby-type environment, or a single user may use a variety of sanding discs 104 and a variety of sanding pads 130. In an industrial setting, where only a single sander pad 130 and corresponding sanding discs 104 may be used, the datum pegs 1 90 may be welded or otherwise fixed in place to enhance durability, if desired.

Returning to Figure 1 , when the sanding disc 1 04 has reached the end of its useful life, the fixture 100 may be used to efficiently remove the sanding disc 1 04 from the sander pad 130. For example, the sanding disc 1 04 may be removed at the sanding disc removal station 126. After removal of the sanding disc 1 04 the hand sander 102 may be moved to the application station 124 to attach a new sanding disc 104 to the hand sander 102. Figure 1 1 illustrates the hand sander 1 02 in the sanding disc removal station

1 26. Figure 1 2 illustrates one of the sanding discs 104 being removed from the hand sander 102.

The fixture 100 includes a removal tool 196 extending from the table 1 06. The removal tool 196 has a hook 1 98 at an end of the removal tool 196. The notches 142 in the sander pad 130 expose a portion of the sanding disc 1 04, which may be engaged by the removal tool 1 96 to remove the sanding disc 1 04 from the hand sander 102. For example, the datum holes 174 and corresponding portions of the sanding disc 1 04 surrounding the datum holes 1 74 are exposed below the notches 142. Optionally, the sanding disc 104 may be larger than the bottom 148 of the sander pad 1 30 to provide a surface for gripping and removing the sanding disc 1 04 from the hand sander 102. During removal, the hook 198 is placed adjacent any desired notch 142 and through a corresponding datum hole 174 in the sanding disc 104. The hand sander 102 is moved upwardly. The hook 198 removes the sanding disc 104 from the sander pad 130 without contact by a user's hands. Pulling upward on the hand sander 102 separates the sanding disc 104 from the sander pad 130.

In an exemplary embodiment, the fixture 1 00 may include a disposal station 200 adjacent the removal station 126. The disposal station 200 catches the spent sanding discs 104 to be later discarded. For example, the disposal sta- tion 200 may include a trash receptacle or other device used to discard the used sanding discs 1 04. Once the sanding disc 104 has been removed, the user may then align the notches 142 with the datum pegs 1 90 (shown in Figure 1 ) to install a new sanding disc 1 04 and resume standing.

The notches 142 on the sander pad 1 30 and the corresponding datum holes 1 74 on the sanding disc 1 04 may serve the purposes of improving the attachment of the sanding disc 104 to the sander pad 130, removal of the sanding disc 1 04 from the sander pad 1 30, and/or aligning the sanding disc to the sander pad 130 for full flow of the vacuum through the sanding disc 1 04 and the sander pad 130, while minimizing the time spent by the user in achieving these tasks and minimizing the risk of injury to the user.

It is to be understood that the above description is intended to be illustrative, and not restrictive. For example, the above-described embodiments (and/or aspects thereof) may be used in combination with each other. In addition, many modifications may be made to adapt a particular situation or material to the teachings of the various embodiments without departing from their scope. Dimensions, types of materials, orientations of the various components, and the number and positions of the various components described herein are in- tended to define parameters of certain embodiments, and are by no means limiting and are merely exemplary embodiments. Many other embodiments and modifications within the spirit and scope of the claims will be apparent to those of skill in the art upon reviewing the above description. The scope of the various embodiments should, therefore, be determined with reference to the appended claims, along with the full scope of equivalents to which such claims are entitled. In the appended claims, the terms "including" and "in which" are used as the plain-English equivalents of the respective terms "comprising" and "wherein." Moreover, in the following claims, the terms "first," "second," and "third," etc. are used merely as labels, and are not intended to impose numeri- cal requirements on their objects. Further, the limitations of the following claims are not written in means-plus-function format and are not intended to be interpreted based on 35 U.S.C. § 1 12, paragraph (f), unless and until such claim limitations expressly use the phrase "means for" followed by a statement of function void of further structure.

This written description uses examples to disclose the various embodiments, and also to enable a person having ordinary skill in the art to practice the various embodiments, including making and using any devices or systems and performing any incorporated methods. The patentable scope of the various embodiments is defined by the claims, and may include other examples that occur to those skilled in the art. Such other examples are intended to be within the scope of the claims if the examples have structural elements that do not differ from the literal language of the claims, or the examples include equivalent structural elements with insubstantial differences from the literal languages of the claims.

The foregoing description of embodiments and examples has been presented for purposes of illustration and description. It is not intended to be exhaustive or limiting to the forms described. Numerous modifications are possible in light of the above teachings. Some of those modifications have been discussed and other will be understood by those skilled in the art. The embodiments were chosen and described for illustration of various embodiments. The scope is, or course, not limited to the examples or embodiments set forth herein, but can be employed in any number of applications and equivalent devices by those of ordinary skill in the art. Rather it is hereby intended the scope be defined by the claims appended hereto. Additionally, the features of various implementing embodiments may be combined to form further embodiments.

Claims

1 A hand sander (102) and sanding disc fixture for attaching a sanding disc to a hand sander (1 02) comprising: a table (106) have a top (108); a sander storage station (1 20) on the table (106), the sander storage station (120) having a holder (150) holding a hand sander (1 02) having a sander pad (130) on the top (1 08) of the table (106); and an application station (124) on the table (106), the application station (124) having at least two datum pegs (1 90) extending from the top (108) of the table (106), the datum pegs (190) hold a stack (128) of sanding discs (104) with attaching sides of the sanding discs (1 04) facing away from the top (108) of the table (106), the datum pegs (1 90) passing through datum holes (1 74)in the sanding discs (104), the at least two datum pegs (1 90) having datum surfaces configured to be received in datum notches (142) in an outer diameter of the sander pad (130), the datum pegs (190) aligning the sander pad (130) with the sanding discs (104) when the sander pad (130) is pressed against the attaching side of the outermost sanding disc (1 04).

2 The fixture of claim 1 , wherein the datum surfaces are configured to be side loaded into the datum notches (142) in the outer diameter of the sander pad (1 30).

3 The fixture of claim 1 , wherein the sanding discs (1 04) have vacuum holes (140) aligned with vacuum holes (140) in the sander pad (130) by the datum pegs (190).

4 The fixture of claim 1 , wherein the datum pegs (190) maintain alignment of the vacuum holes (140) in the sanding discs (1 04) included in the stack (1 28) of sanding discs (104).

5 The fixture of claim 1 , wherein the holder (150) includes a lip holding the sander pad (130) against the top (108) of the table (106).

6 The fixture of claim 1 , wherein the table (106) includes brackets to adjust an angle of the table (1 06).

7 The fixture of claim 1 , wherein the holder (150) is semi-circular, the hand sander (102) hanging in the semi-circular holder.

8. The fixture of claim 1 , wherein the holder (150) is adjustable to receive differently shaped hand sanders (1 02).

9. The fixture of claim 1 , wherein the datum pegs (190) are removable from the table (106) and adjustable to different relative positions to accept sanding discs (104) having different configurations of datum holes (140).

10. The fixture of claim 1 , further comprising a sanding disc (104) storage station (122) on the table (106) configured to hold at least one stack (128) of sanding discs (104) having aligned vacuum holes (140).

1 1 . The fixture of claim 10, wherein the sanding disc (1 04) storage station (1 22) comprises a central spindle (160) extending from the top (1 08) of the table (106), the central spindle (1 60) holding the at least one stack (1 28) of sanding discs (104) with the central spindle (160) extending through a central hole (1 62) of each sanding disc (104) in such stack (1 28).

12. The fixture of claim 10, wherein the sanding disc (1 04) storage station (1 22) is adjacent to the application station (124), and wherein sanding discs (1 04) from the stack (128) of sanding discs (104) at the sanding disc storage station (122) are removed from the sanding disc (104) storage station (1 22) and moved to the application station (1 24).

13. A hand sander (102) and sanding disc fixture for attaching a sanding disc (104) to a hand sander (1 02) comprising: a table (106) have a top (108); a sander storage station (1 20) on the table (106), the sander storage station (120) having a holder (150) holding a hand sander (1 02) having a sander pad (130) on the top (1 08) of the table (106); and a sanding disc storage station (1 22) on the table (106), the sanding disc storage station (122) having a central spindle (1 60) extending from the top (108) of the table (106), the central spindle (160) holding a stack (1 28) of sanding discs (1 04) with the central spindle (1 60) extending through a central hole (1 62) of each sanding disc (1 04); an application station (124) on the table (106), the application station (1 24) having at least two datum pegs (190) extending from the top (1 08) of the table (106), the datum pegs (190) holding a stack (1 28) of sanding discs (104) with attaching sides of the sanding discs (104) facing away from the top (108) of the table (106) for attachment to the hand sander (102), the datum pegs (1 90) passing through datum holes (1 74) in the sanding discs (1 04) to align the sanding discs (104) with the sander pad (130) when the sander pad (130) is pressed against the attaching side of the outermost sanding disc (104).

14. The fixture of claim 13, wherein the datum surfaces are configured to be side loaded into the datum notches (142) in the outer diameter of the sander pad (1 30).

15. The fixture of claim 1 3, wherein the sanding discs (104) have vacuum holes (140) aligned with vacuum holes (140) in the sander pad (130) by the datum pegs.

1 6. A method of attaching a sanding disc to a hand sander (102) comprising: providing a sanding disc (1 04) application station (124) with at least two datum pegs (1 90) extending from a top (1 08) of a table (106); positioning a sanding disc (1 04) at the application station (124) with the at least two datum pegs (190) extending through datum holes (1 74) in the sanding disc (104), the sanding disc (1 04) being positioned with an attaching side of the sanding discs (104) facing away from the top (1 08) of the table (106); aligning a hand sander (102) with the application station (1 24) by pressing the hand sander (102) against the at least two datum pegs (1 90) such that datum notches (142) in an outer diameter of a sander pad (130) of the hand sander (102) receive the at least two datum pegs; and sliding the hand sander (1 02) in an attaching direction toward the top (108) of the table (106) along the at least two datum pegs (190) until the sanding pad (130) is pressed against the attaching side of the sanding disc (104) and the sanding disc (104) is attached to the sanding pad (130).

17. The method of claim 1 6, wherein said aligning a hand sander (102) comprises side-loading the hand sander (102) into the application station (1 24) in a direction non-parallel to the datum pegs.

18. A sander pad (130) comprising: an attachment shaft extending from a first surface of the sander pad (130) for coupling the sander pad (1 30) to a sanding device; an attachment surface positioned on a second surface of the sander pad (130), opposite to the first surface of the sander pad (1 30), and configured to removably couple a sanding disc (104) to the sander pad (130); and a plurality of datum notches (142) formed in a perimeter of the sander pad (130) and configured to facilitate alignment of the sanding disc (104) and the sander pad (1 30).

19. The sander pad (1 30) of claim 18, wherein each datum notch (142) defines an open channel having an open side at the perimeter being opposite a seat of the datum notch, the seat receiving the datum peg to register the sander pad (1 30) to the datum peg.

20. The sander pad (130) of claim 1 8, wherein at least two of the datum notches (142) receive datum pegs (1 90) to orient the sander pad (1 30) relative to the sanding disk.

21 . The sander pad (1 30) of claim 18, further comprising vacuum holes (140) in the sander pad (130), the vacuum holes (140) being positioned relative to the datum notches (142) such that each of the vacuum holes (140) are configured to be aligned with vacuum holes (140) in the sanding disk irrespective of which datum notch (142) receives the datum peg.

22. The sander pad (130) of claim 1 8, wherein the datum notches (142) are disposed equidistant from each adjacent datum notch.