Electric tile cutter for dry and wet cutting

Abstract

The present invention relates to an electric tile cutter for dry and wet cutting comprising: a table (1); a movable carriage (2) that can move on a longitudinal rail (11); a cutting head (3) provided with a cutting disc (31) and a drive motor (32) with a drive shaft (33); electronics for selecting the direction of rotation of the drive motor (32) between a first direction of rotation (S1) for dry cutting and a second direction of rotation (S2) for wet cutting; a protective cover (5) provided with an outlet tube (51) for discharging the dust particles produced during dry cutting and intended to be coupled to a suction device; and fastening means for fastening the cutting disc which include a clamping nut (7) and a locking flange (8) for locking the clamping nut (7) with respect to the drive shaft (33).

Description

[0001] DESCRIPTION

[0002] Electric tile cutter, with dry and wet cutting capabilities.

[0003] Technical sector.

[0004] The present invention relates to an electric tile cutter, with dry and wet cutting capabilities, applicable primarily in the construction sector for cutting tiles or ceramic coverings, marble, stone, or similar materials. This cutter is of the type known as bridge cutters and has features that allow the selection of the direction of rotation and speed of the cutting disc, and the torque of the drive motor, depending on the type of cut to be made, dry or wet.

[0005] Prior art.

[0006] Currently known in the market are tile cutters that have a table for supporting the tile to be cut, a carriage capable of longitudinal movement on guiding means and equipped with a motor to drive a cutting disc that rotates in a certain direction, and which is fixed to a drive shaft by means of a tightening nut that is threaded in the same direction of rotation of the disc, to prevent said disc from loosening during the cutting process.

[0007] In these cutters, the means of guiding the carriage include a raised guide, parallel to the table, which is why they are known as bridge cutters.

[0008] Within this type of cutter, it is possible to differentiate between dry cutting cutters and wet cutting cutters; in both types of cutters the disc rotates in a certain direction, with wet cutting cutters having a water supply tube to the disc and the cutting area.

[0009] In the state of the art, various electric bridge saws are known, wet-cutting, with large (250 mm) and small (125 mm) discs, such as the Wandeli QX-1200 wet-cutting and small-disc model. Regarding dry-cutting electric bridge saws, only the IQ252 10” model with a 254 mm large disc is known, which has a double dust extraction system, through the cutting head and under the table.

[0010] The technical problem posed is the development of an electric tile cutter that allows for both dry and wet cutting, and therefore has greater versatility than existing electric cutters on the market, allowing the user to choose the most suitable cut, dry or wet, for the type of material to be cut.

[0011] Explanation of the invention.

[0012] The electric tile cutter, with dry and wet cutting capabilities, is of the type described in the preamble of the main claim and comprises: a table for supporting the tile to be cut and a raised longitudinal rail parallel to said table; a movable carriage comprising: guiding means along the longitudinal rail, and carrying a cutting head provided with a cutting disc, a water supply conduit for wet cutting, a drive motor for the cutting disc, means for fixing the cutting disc to a drive shaft of the drive motor or coupled to said drive motor, and a grip handle for manual movement of the carriage and the cutting head.

[0013] This cutter includes electronics for selecting the direction of rotation of the motor between a first direction of rotation for dry cutting, and a second direction of rotation for wet cutting; as well as selecting the rotation speed and motor torque in each of the directions of rotation, for dry cutting and wet cutting.

[0014] Preferably, this drive motor is a brushless motor with the aforementioned electronics and, unlike induction or universal motors (brushed motors) used in existing tile cutters on the market, it produces less noise and vibration during operation, is more efficient, has a longer lifespan, and improves the quality of the cut due to the reduction of vibrations.

[0015] The ability to perform both types of cuts, dry and wet, on the same cutter, gives the cutter of the invention greater versatility than existing cutters on the market, designed to perform only one of these cuts, dry or wet.

[0016] Other technical advantages of this cutter include: greater ease of use, as it is not necessary to use two different cutters depending on the type of cut to be made, nor to add additional accessories or change the disc depending on the type of cut to be made; and a lower investment in machinery since a single cutter covers the different cutting needs, both dry and wet.

[0017] Another feature of the cutter of the invention is that it comprises a disc protection cover that has at one end a dust outlet tube, aligned with the plane of the cutting disc, oriented in the direction of projection of the dust particles generated during dry cutting and suitable for coupling a suction device.

[0018] The arrangement and orientation of the dust outlet tube from dry cutting ensures that the dust particles are projected into the outlet tube and are not dispersed by the airflow generated by the rotation of the cutting disc at high speeds; generating with the suction provided by the extraction device a synergy that allows up to 80% of the dust particles generated during dry cutting to be extracted.

[0019] The aforementioned protective cover of the cutting disc may comprise at one end a protective curtain against splashes produced during the rotation of the disc in the second direction of rotation, wet cutting.

[0020] According to the invention, the disc fixing means comprise: an inner flange and an outer flange that embrace a central portion of the cutting disc and are mounted without the possibility of rotation on a non-cylindrical portion of the drive shaft; a tightening nut mounted on a threaded end of the drive shaft and acting against the outer flange responsible for pressing the cutting disc against the inner flange; and a locking flange for the tightening nut, provided with means for fixing it to the outer flange and preventing the loosening of said tightening nut during rotation of the disc in the two opposite directions of rotation of the cutting disc.

[0021] This locking flange ensures the security of the fixing, by preventing the tightening nut from rotating relative to the drive shaft during the use of the cutter, regardless of the direction of rotation of said cutting disc.

[0022] According to the invention, the locking flange of the tightening nut comprises: an inner contour provided with recesses for coupling the outer contour of the nut in different angular positions and without the possibility of relative rotation; curved, slotted holes in a circular arrangement, in which screws are mounted that are housed in threaded holes of the outer flange and fix the locking flange to the outer flange, preventing the rotation of the locking flange and the tightening nut with respect to the drive shaft.

[0023] The aforementioned curved slotted holes allow a certain rotation of the locking flange to engage the outer contour of the tightening nut with the recesses of the inner contour of the locking flange, ensuring the alignment of the locking flange fixing screws with the holes of the outer flange, regardless of the final angular position of the tightening nut in the operating position of fixing the cutting disc.

[0024] The features of the invention set forth in the appended claims will be more easily understood in view of the embodiment examples shown in the figures.

[0025] Brief description of the content of the drawings.

[0026] To complement the description being made and in order to facilitate the understanding of the characteristics of the invention, a set of drawings is included with this descriptive report in which, for illustrative and non-limiting purposes, the following has been represented:

[0027] Figure 1 shows a schematic perspective view of an example embodiment of the electric tile cutter, for dry and wet cutting. Figure 2 shows a front perspective view of the sliding carriage and the cutting head of the cutter in the previous figure, in which the cutting disc has been represented with a dashed line and the outer cover of the cutting disc's protective cover has been removed.

[0028] Figure 3 shows a rear perspective view of the sliding carriage and cutting head from the previous figure.

[0029] Figure 4 shows a partial perspective view of the cutting head and an aligned exploded view of the means for attaching the cutting disc to the drive shaft.

[0030] Figure 5 shows a detailed elevation view of the cutting disc fixing, with the tightening nut immobilized by the locking flange.

[0031] Figure 6 shows a profile view of the means for fixing the cutting disc to the drive shaft, sectioned by a diametral plane.

[0032] Detailed exposition of modes of implementation of the invention.

[0033] Figure 1 shows an example of the implementation of the electric tile cutter, for dry and wet cutting, provided with a table (1) for supporting the tile to be cut (not shown) and a raised longitudinal rail (11), parallel to the table (1), on which is mounted a movable carriage (2) carrying a tile cutting head.

[0034] As can be seen in figures 2 and 3, the aforementioned movable carriage (2) has guiding means (21), consisting of rows of bearings, for its movement along the longitudinal rail (11).

[0035] The cutting head (3) comprises a drive motor (32) for a cutting disc (31) mounted on a drive shaft (33), which in this case is the drive motor shaft (32) shown in Figure 3. This cutting head (3) has means for fixing the cutting disc (31) to the drive shaft (33) and a grip handle (34) for manual movement of the sliding carriage (2) and the cutting head (3).

[0036] The aforementioned drive motor (32) is a brushless motor, equipped with electronics housed in a protective box (4) and which has a touch screen (41) for selecting the direction of rotation of the drive motor (32) between a first direction of rotation (S1) for dry cutting and a second direction of rotation (S2) referenced in figure 2, as well as the speeds and motor torque in each of the directions of rotation (S1, S2) for dry and wet cutting, indicated in figure 2.

[0037] The cutting head (3) has a water supply tube (35) for wet cutting, visible in figure 2, and is provided with a stopcock for opening and closing the water supply.

[0038] The cutting head (3) has a protective cover (5) for the cutting disc (31), consisting of an outer cover (5a) visible in Figure 1 and an inner cover (5b) which can be seen in Figure 2 where the outer cover (5a) has been removed.

[0039] The protective cover (5) has at one end an outlet tube (51) for the dust particles generated during the dry cutting of tiles.

[0040] Said outlet tube (51) is aligned with the plane of the cutting disc (31) and oriented in the direction of projection of the dust particles, generated during the dry cutting of the tile and suitable for coupling a suction device (not shown), responsible for sucking up the dust particles.

[0041] As shown in Figure 2, the cutting disc's protective cover (31) comprises at one end a protective curtain (52) against splashes produced during wet cutting of tiles and projected by the cutting disc (31) during rotation in the wet cutting direction (S2).

[0042] Since in this electric tile cutter the cutting disc (31) rotates in two opposite directions to perform dry and wet cutting, the cutting head (3) has suitable fixing means to prevent the cutting disc (31) from loosening and to ensure safety during use of the cutter. In figures 4 to 6 these fixing means for the cutting disc (31) comprise an inner flange (61) and an outer flange (62) that embrace a central portion of the cutting disc (31) and are mounted on a non-cylindrical portion (33a) of the drive shaft (33), without the possibility of rotation relative to said drive shaft, and a tightening nut (7) mounted on the threaded end (33b) of the drive shaft (33).

[0043] Specifically, as shown in Figures 4 and 6, the non-cylindrical portion (33a) of the drive shaft (33) has two parallel, diametrically opposed planes, and the inner (61) and outer (62) flanges have central holes with parallel planes intended to face those defined in the non-cylindrical portion (33a) of the drive shaft (33) and prevent its rotation with respect to said drive shaft (33).

[0044] The means for fixing the cutting disc (31) further comprise a locking flange (8) for the tightening nut (7), said locking flange (8) being provided with means for fixing to the outer flange (62), said locking flange (8) preventing the tightening nut (7) from rotating about the drive shaft (33) during the rotation of the cutting disc in both directions of rotation (S1 and S2).

[0045] As shown in Figures 4 and 5, the locking flange (8) has an inner contour with recesses (81) for coupling the outer contour of the tightening nut (7) in different angular positions, without the possibility of relative rotation; and curved slotted holes (82) in a circular arrangement, in which fixing screws (9) are mounted, which are housed in threaded holes (62a) of the outer flange (62) and which fix the locking flange (8) to the outer flange (62), so that said fixing screws (9) prevent the rotation of the locking flange (8) and the locking flange (8) prevents the rotation of the tightening nut (7) with respect to the drive shaft (33).

[0046] In the example shown, the inner contour of the locking flange (8) has a star shape with twelve points, forming the recesses (81) for the accommodation of the six edges of the hexagonal contour of the tightening nut (7).

[0047] Once the nature of the invention has been sufficiently described, as well as an example of a preferred embodiment, it is noted for the appropriate purposes that the materials, shape, size and arrangement of the elements described may be modified, provided that this does not imply an alteration of the essential characteristics of the invention claimed below.

Claims

AMENDED CLAIMS received by the International Office on January 12, 2026 (12.01.2026).

1. Electric tile cutter, for dry and wet cutting; comprising: a table (1) for supporting the tile to be cut and a raised longitudinal rail (11) parallel to said table (1); a movable carriage (2) comprising guiding means (21) along the longitudinal rail (11), and a cutting head (3) provided with: a cutting disc (31), a water supply conduit (35) for wet cutting, a drive motor (32) for the cutting disc (31), means for fixing the cutting disc (31) to a drive shaft (33) connected to the drive motor (32), and a grip handle (34) for the manual movement of the movable carriage (2) and the cutting head (3) along said longitudinal rail (11); characterized in that it comprises: - an electronics for selecting the direction of rotation of the drive motor (32) between a first direction of rotation (SI) for dry cutting, and a second direction of rotation (S2) for wet cutting, and the selection of the rotation speed and motor torque in each of the directions of rotation (SI, S2), for dry cutting and wet cutting; - a protective cover (5) for the cutting disc (31), which has at a first end an outlet tube (51) for the dust particles generated during the rotation of the cutting disc (31) in the first dry cutting direction, aligned with the plane of the cutting disc (31), oriented in the projection direction of said dust particles and provided for the coupling of a suction device, said protective cover (5) integrating at a second end a protective curtain (52) against splashes produced by the rotation of the cutting disc (31) in the second wet cutting direction (S2), - wherein the means for fixing the disc comprise: an inner flange (61) and an outer flange (62) which embrace a central portion of the cutting disc (31) and are mounted without the possibility of rotation on a non-cylindrical portion (33a) of the drive shaft (33);a tightening nut (7) mounted on a threaded end (33b) of the drive shaft (33) and acting against the outer flange (62), and a locking flange (8) for the tightening nut (7) that prevents rotation of said tightening nut (7) about the drive shaft (33) in both directions of rotation, said locking flange (8) being fixed to the outer flange (62).

2. An electric tile cutter, according to claim 1, wherein the drive motor (32) is a brushless motor.

3. An electric tile cutter, according to any preceding claim, wherein the locking flange (8) for the tightening nut (7) comprises: an inner contour provided with recesses (81) provided for coupling the outer contour of the tightening nut (7) in different angular positions and without the possibility of relative rotation;some curved, slotted holes (82) in a circular arrangement, in which fixing screws (9) are mounted that are housed in threaded holes (62a) of the outer flange (62), and fix the locking flange (8) to the outer flange (62), preventing the relative rotation of the locking flange (8) and the tightening nut (7) with respect to the drive shaft (33).;

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