Planing Power Tool

The invention to which this application relates is to a planing power tool and in particular, to a planing tool which is provided with a motor to provide power for the rotation of a drum on which one or a series of planing blades are mounted. Power for the motor can be provided from a mains power supply connected to the tool or via a battery power source mounted on the tool.

This invention relates particularly to hand held powered planer tools of a type which can be moved and supported by the hand along a surface to be planed. The tool typically comprises a base, with the base being required to be mounted on the surface of the work piece which is to be planed and the base is moved along the work piece to perform the planing action. Provided in a chamber in the base, is a cylinder, drum or cartridge, hereinafter referred to as a drum, which is typically cylindrical in shape and which has mounted thereon, at least one blade which has an edge which protrudes from the external curved surface of the drum. The drum is mounted in the body of the tool to be rotatable about the longitudinal axis of the drum and the drum is positioned with respect to the base such that the blade or blades are brought into contact repeatedly with the work piece surface to perform the planing action on the same as the planer tool is moved along the work piece surface. There are many different known embodiments of the drum and many different ways of mounting the blades on the drum but this is not critical to the current invention and therefore any suitable blade configuration and mounting means can be used.

The drum is typically driven to rotate by a drive belt with one end of the belt moving round a drive bearing at the drum and the opposing end of the belt moving round a bearing connected

to a motor which rotates the bearing when power is supplied thereto. The motor and belt are typically provided within a body housing and said housing conventionally includes a handle portion at one end and optionally a further handle or knob at the front end thereby allowing the planing tool to be gripped by both hands in use. The body is as wide as the base as the motor which is used to power the movement of the drum, is provided with its longitudinal axis parallel to the axis of rotation of the drum.

A problem with this conventional configuration is that as the motor has to be accommodated within the body and the motor is provided with the longitudinal axis lying across the body, then the body, at least at the portion where the motor is housed, is relatively wide and is too wide to be safely grasped by a users hand in use of the planer. For this reason, the handle or handles are required to provided in a position on the planer body housing so as to depend away from the location of the motor and it is these handle parts which are designed and shaped to be gripped by the user to allow control of the tool. However, the requirement to have additional handle portions formed on the body, makes the body, which is already relatively wide, also relatively long. This therefore makes the conventional powered planer tool a relatively bulky item of apparatus for a powered tool which is to be hand controlled and means that, in some instances, the tool may not be used at all due to its bulk and weight or may only be usable in certain instances where the space within which the tool is to be used, is relatively large and there are no obstructions.

An aim of the present invention is to provide a powered planing tool which is of a form to allow the same to be used more effectively and more readily even in confined spaces and to provide the tool in a configuration which allows the power tool

as a whole to be relatively smaller than conventional planer tools and therefore more adaptable and easier to grip.

In a first aspect of the invention, there is provided a powered planer tool, said tool having a base, a rotatable drum mounted with respect to the base, said drum having at least one blade located thereon which can be positioned so as to protrude below the base to perform a planing action on a workpiece with -which the base is in contact as the drum is rotated, a body within which is mounted a motor to provide drive to rotate the drum about an axis of rotation and wherein said motor is disposed in the body such that the longitudinal axis of the motor lies substantially perpendicular to the axis of rotation of the drum.

Typically, the longitudinal axis of the motor also lies substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis from the front to the rear of the tool.

By providing the motor in this arrangement, so the width of the body of the power tool can include at least a portion which is of significantly less width than the base. Typically, this portion is the area in which the motor is housed and, this area forms the gripping or handle portion of the planer tool.

The provision of the gripping or handle portion at the part of the body in which the motor is housed, means that additional handle portion need not be formed. This in turn allows the overall length and size of the planer power tool to be substantially reduced in comparison with conventional powered planer tools .

In one embodiment of the invention, the drive for rotation of the drum, is provided via a drive belt connection from a bevel

gear which in turn is connected to the motor, and at the opposing end, a drive bearing connected to the drum.

In one embodiment, the belt drive assembly is located to one side of the motor.

Typically, the motor, in addition to being disposed as described, is positioned at the opposing side of the drum from the base and so in normal use, can be said to lie above the drum.

Typically, the tool includes dust and debris extraction means, said extraction means leading from a chamber in which the drum is positioned within the body, to an exit located towards the rear of the planer tool behind said chamber. In one embodiment, a passage is formed within the body between said chamber and exit aperture to allow the passage of the dust and debris therealong.

In one aspect of the invention there is provided a powered planer tool, said tool having a base, a rotatable drum mounted with respect to the base, said drum having at least one blade located thereon to protrude from the base, a body within which is mounted a motor to provide drive to rotate the drum about an axis of rotation via a drive belt and wherein the axis of rotation at the output of the motor is angularly offset to the rotational axis of the drum.

In one embodiment of the invention the axis of rotation of the output of the motor is substantially parallel to a longitudinal axis of the said motor.

In one embodiment the axis of rotation of the output of the motor is substantially perpendicular to the axis of rotation of the drum.

In one embodiment the axis of rotation of the output of the motor is transferred to the drive belt via a bevel gear assembly.

In a further aspect of the invention there is provided a planer power tool having a base, a rotatable drum mounted with respect to the base, said drum having at least one blade located thereon to protrude from the base, a body within which is mounted a motor to provide drive to rotate the drum about an axis of rotation via a drive belt and wherein the motor is positioned to lie substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of the power tool.

Specific embodiments of the invention are now described with reference to the accompanying drawings wherein;

Figures l a-h illustrate views of a hand operated powered planer tool in accordance with one embodiment of the invention; and

Figure 2 illustrates a sectional view along line A-A of the power tool in accordance with one embodiment of the invention.

Referring now to all of the figures there is illustrated a planer , power tool in accordance with one embodiment of the invention. The power tool 2 comprises a base 4 connected to or provided integrally with a body or housing 6. The underside 8 of the base 4, is provided to be brought into contact with the surface 10 of a work piece 12 (shown in figure I c) on which the planing operation is to be performed.

A drum 14 is mounted in the housing such that the external curved surface 16 of the same is substantially flush with the underside 8 of the base and one or a series of blades are

mounted on the drum such that the cutting edge 18 of the same protrude beyond the surface 16 of the drum. The positioning of the blades can be set via adjuster 20 to protrude beyond the underside 8 of the base to the required distance to perform the particular planning operation required. It is these blades which, when the drum is rotated, come into contact with the work piece surface 10 and cause the work piece surface to be planed. Typically, the planing tool is moved along the work piece surface in the direction of arrow 22 as the drum is rotating.

The drum is mounted within a chamber 24 and a passage 26 leads from the chamber to an exit aperture 28 located towards the rear of the housing. This passage and aperture allow dust and debris which is created during the planing operation, to be removed from the chamber 24 and hence be removed from the vicinity of the planing operation and to exit from the exit aperture 28. If required, a dust and debris collection means can be located on the exit aperture.

Also provided within the body are drive means in the form of a motor 30 which is mounted in a position above the drum and hence to the opposite side of the drum 14 from the base 4. A drive belt drive assembly 32 is located within the housing and the drive belt connects the bevel gear 34 connected to the motor 30 output, to the drum 14 to cause the same to be rotated by the motor 30 and drive belt. The bevel gear assembly allow the axis of rotation of the output from the motor to be transferred to an axis of rotation 39 which is substantially perpendicular to the output and that axis is substantially parallel with the axis of rotation of the drum so as to allow the drive belt to transfer the drive to the drum

The drum is caused to rotate about the rotational axis 36 by the belt drive assembly which, at the opposing end of the belt, is

connected to the bevel gear arrangement 34 which in turn is connected to the motor 30.

The motor has a longitudinal axis 38 which in the is case, and typically, is also the axis of rotation of the motor output to which the bevel gear assembly is connected. The motor 30, in accordance with the invention, is positioned such that the axis 38 lies substantially perpendicular to the axis of rotation 36 of the drum 14. This means the axis of the motor lies substantially parallel, and typically in line, with the longitudinal axis 40 of the tool body.

The positioning of the motor in this configuration as opposed to the conventional position of lying across the width of the body of the tool, means that the width of the housing, at least at the portion 42 where the motor is located, can be significantly reduced and, in fact, can be reduced to a sufficient extent that the same can be shaped to be easily gripped by a persons hand. Thus, and in accordance with the invention, this portion 42 of the housing forms the handle or gripping portion of the tool for the user. If required, the external face of this portion can be formed of particularly easy gripable material and/or may be shaped accordingly.

The drive belt is typically housed to one side of the drum such that the drive belt engages with a bearing at one end of the drum. However this portion 32 can be positioned so as to still allow the portion 42 to be available to be gripped as shown for example in Figure I a. In the embodiment shown the drive belt is housed within the body portion 32 so as to lie to one side of the base 4 and therefor depends outwardly from the base edge.

As the portion of the body where the motor is located can now be gripped by the user, so there is no need for handle

formations to be formed on the body to the front and/or rear of the body and hence the overall length of the body can be reduced as can the overall dimensions of the same. This therefore represents savings in material used and reduces the weight and general bulkiness of the tool.