Mobile base for a table saw
A mobile base that attaches to the stand of a table saw is disclosed. The mobile base includes wheels and casters that rotate down and lift the saw when a foot pedal is depressed. The mobile base raises the saw asymmetrically to provide clearance for the legs of an extension table attached to the table of the saw. A locking mechanism locks the wheels and casters so that they do not retract while the saw is moved, and a foot-operated lever releases the wheels and casters so that they may retract and lower the saw back to the ground.
This application claims the benefit of and priority from the following U.S. Provisional Patent Application, the disclosure of which is herein incorporated by reference: Ser. No. 61/008,696, filed Dec. 21, 2007.
TECHNICAL FIELDThe present disclosure relates to a mobile base that may be attached to a table saw or other piece of power tool equipment.
BACKGROUNDIn a workshop environment, such as a wood-working workshop, it is sometimes necessary to move tools from one place to another within the workshop. For example, a tool may have to be moved from a storage location to a position where it can be used and then back to the storage location. Also, a tool may have to be moved in order to clean-up certain areas, or bring new items into the workshop area. This presents a special problem for large, heavy or awkward tools such as table saws.
To address this issue, different kinds of mobile bases have been developed. A mobile base gives a piece of equipment mobility by providing it with wheels that operate when the equipment needs to be moved. Once the equipment is moved to its new location, the wheels may either be withdrawn or prevented from rotating so that the equipment does not move.
This document describes a mobile base designed to attach onto a fixed base, or stand of a power tool.
A saw 10 secured on a fixed base, or stand 12 is shown in
Saw 10 is a type of table saw called a contractor saw. A contractor saw typically includes an open-leg stand, like stand 12. Stand 12 includes four legs 18, each ending with a foot 20 that rests on the floor or ground to support the saw. A typical contractor saw may weigh from 150-250 pounds or more, depending on its configuration, and table 14 may measure in the neighborhood of 24″×44″ or more. Thus, the saw is difficult to move.
As shown in
As best shown in
As best seen in
The assembly of foot pedal 26, bar 30 and wheels 52 is shown in
A rigid elongate link 70 is attached at one end to one of the brackets 50, as shown at 72 in
With this configuration, and as depicted in
The extension of the wheels and the lifting of the saw is also shown
As shown in
To be able to pick up the saw and provide stability when an extension table is attached to the saw, arms 84 hold the two casters out away from the stand toward the legs of the extension table, as shown in
As is evident from the prior description of mobile base 22, stand 12 holds bars 30 and 82 in place relative to each other when the wheels and casters are lowered. In other words, mobile base 22 is designed so that the forces involved in the rotation of shafts 30 and 82 and in the lowering of wheels 52 and casters 86 are transmitted through and accommodated by stand 12. Using the stand to transmit those forces and hold bars 30 and 82 in place allows the mobile base to include a single link 70 between bars 30 and 82 instead of having different links connecting different ends of the shafts. When foot pedal 26 is pushed down and shafts 30 and 82 are rotated, arm 29 and link 70 at one end of the shafts creates a torque and, because the stand holds the shafts in place, that torque rotates the shafts instead of simply displacing them. Arms 50 and 80, discussed above, are sized as long as practical while still maintaining clearance to move as required, in order to minimize or lesson the force transmitted through the stand.
Once the wheels and casters are extended and positioned underneath the saw, they are locked in the extended position so that the operator is free to remove his foot from the foot pedal and move the saw without the wheels retracting. The mechanism that locks the wheels in the extended position includes a locking lever 110 shown isolated from other structures in
As seen in
As seen in
Slot 148 is shaped so that locking lever 110 and link 70 can move relative to each other. As foot pedal 26 is pushed down, link 70 moves along locking lever 110 and bolt 120 slides in slot 148 toward the end of the slot furthest away from the foot pedal. The length of slot 148 is sized to limit how far bolt 120, and thus linkage 70, can move forward, thereby preventing over-rotation of bar 30 as pedal 26 is pushed down. If the wheel mounts of wheels 52 reach or go past a vertical position, the wheels may be pushed towards the inside of the stand as the saw is lowered which would render the foot pedal ineffective. Another safeguard against over-rotation, depending on the configuration of stand 12, is provided by lever arm 80 which might also abut a lower cross-rail of the stand and thereby be limited in how far it can move.
As stated, slot 148 is roughly L-shaped and includes at its end an upturned section 140. As foot pedal 26 is pushed down, bolt 120 slides in slot 148 until the bolt is adjacent slot section 140. This is shown in
A spring 142 is attached to bolt 120 and is also included in the locking mechanism. One end of the spring loops around section 130 of bolt 120 (as shown in
As link 70 moves, bolt 120 moves in one direction while locking lever 110 moves generally in the opposite direction, stretching spring 142. Arrow 154 in
Hole 146 of locking lever 110 is positioned between slot 148 and hole 115 and above hole 115 so that the force exerted by spring 142 causes lever 110 to rotate in such a way that bolt 120 moves into slot section 140. This traps bolt 120 in section 140, thereby locking the wheels in place even after the operator removes his foot from pedal 26.
Locking lever 110 also includes a foot pad 200 at the end opposite slot 148. Foot pad 200 allows the operator to release the wheels from their locked position. The wheels are released by pushing down on foot pad 200. That motion rotates slot 148 in locking lever 110 upward so that bolt 120 moves out of slot section 140 into the longer section of the slot. The weight of the saw then causes the saw to lower, and as the saw lowers, it pushes the wheels of the mobile base out of the way until the saw rests once again on the four feet 20 of stand 12.
The descent of the saw can be controlled by the operator's foot so that the saw descends smoothly to the ground. This is accomplished by the relative positions and sizes of foot pedal 26 and release foot pad 200. When in the unlocked position, foot pedal 26 is positioned above release pad 200, as shown in
The mobile base and systems disclosed herein are applicable to wood-working power tool equipment, and particularly to table saws, including cabinet saws, contractor saws, hybrid saws, jobsite saws, and bench top saws. The described mobile base provides a simple and effective means for moving a piece of power equipment from one location to another.
It is believed that the disclosure set forth above encompasses multiple distinct inventions with independent utility. While each of these inventions has been disclosed in its preferred form, the specific embodiments thereof as disclosed and illustrated herein are not to be considered in a limiting sense as numerous variations are possible. The subject matter of the inventions includes all novel and non-obvious combinations and sub-combinations of the various elements, features, functions and/or properties disclosed herein. No single feature, function, element or property of the disclosed embodiments is essential to all of the disclosed inventions. Similarly, where the claims recite “a” or “a first” element of the equivalent thereof, such claims should be understood to include incorporation of one or more such elements, neither requiring nor excluding two or more such elements.
It is believed that the following claims particularly point out certain combinations and sub-combinations that are directed to one of the disclosed inventions and are novel and non-obvious. Inventions embodied in other combinations and sub-combinations of features, functions, elements and/or properties may be claimed through amendment of the present claims or presentation of new claims in this or a related application. Such amended or new claims, whether they are directed to a different invention or directed to the same invention, whether different, broader, narrower or equal in scope to the original claims, are also regarded as included within the subject matter of the inventions of the present disclosure.
Claims
1. A mobile base for use with a power tool, the mobile base comprising:
- a plurality of wheels on a first side;
- at least one wheel on a second side; and
- a mechanism configured to move one or more wheels in such a way to raise at least one of the first and second sides asymmetrically from the other of the first and second sides.
2. The mobile base of claim 1 where the power tool has an extension table and legs configured to support the extension table, and where the first side is between the second side and the legs configured to support the extension table.
3. The mobile base of claim 1 where the power tool has an extension table and legs configured to support the extension table, and where the second side is between the first side and the legs configured to support the extension table.
4. The mobile base of claim 1 where the power tool has an extension table, and where the wheels are positioned so that the center of gravity of the power tool and extension table is between the plurality of wheels on the first side and the at least one wheel on the second side.
5. A mobile base for use with a power tool having a stand with legs, the mobile base comprising:
- a set of wheels on a first side; and
- at least one wheel on a second side;
- where either the set of wheels on the first side or the at least one wheel on the second side is positioned substantially outside the legs of the stand, and the other is positioned at least partially within the legs of the stand.
6. The mobile base of claim 5 where the set of wheels on the first side includes two wheels positioned substantially outside the legs of the stand, and where each such wheel is supported by a member extending out away from the stand.
7. The mobile base of claim 6 where the members extend outwardly at an angle relative to the stand.
8. The mobile base of claim 6 further comprising a connection between the members.
9. A mobile base for use with a power tool having a stand with legs, the mobile base comprising:
- a set of wheels on a first side;
- at least one wheel on a second side;
- a lever arm associated with either the set of wheels on the first side or the at least one wheel on the second side; and
- a link interconnecting the lever arm to the other of the set of wheels on the first side or the at least one wheel on the second side;
- where either the set of wheels on the first side or the at least one wheel on the second side is positioned substantially outside the legs of the stand; and
- where the lever arm is positioned substantially within the legs of the stand.
10. The mobile base of claim 9 where the link is operatively connected to a foot pedal.
11. The mobile base of claim 9 where the lever arm is associated with the set of wheels on the first side, and where the set of wheels on the first side are positioned substantially outside the legs of the stand.
12. A mobile base for use with a power tool having a stand with four legs, the mobile base comprising:
- two rotatable shafts, each shaft configured to be held between two legs of the stand;
- a single link extending between the two shafts, where the link is configured so that rotation of one shaft moves the link to rotate the other shaft;
- a moveable foot pedal adapted so that movement of the foot pedal rotates one shaft; and
- wheels attached to the shafts so that rotation of the shafts lowers the wheels;
- where the shafts are held by the legs of the stand so that the forces of rotating the shafts and lowering the wheels are transmitted through the stand.
13. The mobile base of claim 12 where the shafts and link are configured so that the shafts rotate in opposite directions when rotation of the shafts lowers the wheels.
14. The mobile base of claim 12 further comprising a locking mechanism to lock the wheels in a lowered position.
15. The mobile base of claim 14 where the locking mechanism is spring-biased.
16. The mobile base of claim 14 where the locking mechanism includes a release foot pad configured to allow an operator to release the wheels from the lowered position.
17. The mobile base of claim 16 where the foot pedal and release foot pad are positioned so that the release foot pad is above and adjacent the foot pedal when the wheels are in the lowered position.
18. The mobile base of claim 12 where the two rotatable shafts are substantially parallel, and where the link extends substantially transverse to the two shafts.
19. The mobile base of claim 18 where the two rotatable shafts have ends, and where the link is positioned closer to one set of ends than the other.
20. The mobile base of claim 12, where the legs of the stand slant outwardly and where the two rotatable shafts are held between the legs so that the shafts remain generally horizontal to the ground.
Type: Application
Filed: Dec 22, 2008
Publication Date: Jul 9, 2009
Inventors: Stephen F. Gass (Wilsonville, OR), James F.W. Wright (Sherwood, OR)
Application Number: 12/317,373
International Classification: B62B 5/00 (20060101);