Power Tool Front Attachment Locking for Safe Angular Indexing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing power tools with indexable elongated bodies risk rotating unintentionally during indexing, posing a severe injury risk to users, especially when the drive is actuated by mistake.
Innovation Solution
An arrangement for a power tool featuring a base structure and a drive shaft, with a drive part for rotational locking, a base part for fixation, and an output element with an indexing part and a driven part. This arrangement allows secure operation by ensuring the driven part is disengaged from the drive part before the indexing part is disengaged, preventing accidental rotation of the elongated body.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the elongated body is made rotatable for indexing purposes, then access to narrow spaces is improved, but the risk of accidental rotation and user injury increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by requiring the operator to actively disengage the drive connection before indexing can occur. The drive part and driven part are initially engaged in a locked state, and only after deliberate disengagement by the operator can the elongated body be rotated to different angular positions. This preliminary disengagement action prevents accidental rotation while still allowing intentional indexing when needed.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If a locking mechanism is added to prevent accidental rotation, then safety is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the locking function with the existing drive connection mechanism. The drive part and driven part serve dual purposes: they transmit rotational force during operation and simultaneously prevent indexing by maintaining engagement. This merging eliminates the need for separate locking components while achieving the same safety effect, as the drive connection itself acts as the lock.
3Power
If the driven part remains engaged during indexing, then power transmission is maintained, but the elongated body cannot be reoriented
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies dynamics by creating a conditional engagement system where the drive connection can transition between locked and disengaged states. During normal operation, the drive part and driven part are engaged for power transmission. When indexing is required, the operator disengages them, allowing free rotation to reorient the elongated body. The system dynamically adapts between these two states based on operational needs.
Data Source
AI summary
An arrangement for a power tool comprising a drive part for rotational locking to a drive shaft with respect to a rotation axis; a base part for fixation to a base structure; and an output element having an indexing part and a driven part rotatable relative to the indexing part about the rotation axis; wherein the output element is movable along the rotation axis relative to the drive part and the base part from a locked position where the indexing part engages the base part and the driven part engages the drive part, to an intermediate position where indexing part engages the base part and the driven part is disengaged from the drive part, and further to an unlocked position where the indexing part is disengaged from the base part and the driven part is disengaged from the drive part.