Swinging blade guard assembly

Claim 2

In a motor driven saw blade including a supporting arm pivotally mounted at one end to a frame support with a rotatably mounted motor driven saw blade at an opposite end of said supporting arm, said motor driven saw blade being movable about the pivotal mounting of the supporting arm from an upper at rest to a lower operational position, an upper blade guard fixed to said supporting arm for encasing upper areas of said saw blade, and a lower swinging blade guard pivotally mounted to said upper blade guard for fully covering the blade when in its rest position and for exposing the saw blade when moved to its operational position, the improvement comprising: a swinging blade guard assembly including an elongated link pivotally attached at one end to said frame support and having a pre-configured slot at an opposite end which receives a slidable pin that is attached to the lower swinging blade guard adjacent the pivotal mounting of the lower swinging blade guard to the upper blade guard, and a bearing element attached to the upper blade guard in laterally spaced relationship to said pin for engaging an upper surface of the elongated link, whereby movement of the saw blade from an upper at rest to a lower operational position causes the bearing to press against an upper surface of the link while also causing edge surface areas surrounding the pre-configured slot in the link to press against the pin to rotate the lower swinging blade guard for exposure of said saw blade.

Claim 3

The improvement as defined in claim 1 wherein the upper surface of the elongated link includes a pre-configured shoulder which cooperates with the pre-configured slot to control the exposure of the lower swinging blade guard relative to the saw blade.

Claim 4

The improvement as defined in claim 2 wherein the pre-configured shoulder and pre-configured slot are constructed to facilitate rapid rotation of said lower swinging blade guard and exposure of the saw blade relative to a workpiece during initial downward movement of the motor driven saw blade, with subsequent slower rotation of the lower swinging blade guard and slower exposure of the saw blade during the remainder of the motor driven saw blade travel.

Claim 5

The improvement as defined in claim 3 wherein the pre-configured slot includes upper and lower slot sections connected by an intermediate curvilinear slot section, and said pre-configured shoulder includes upper and lower surface areas connected by an intermediate inclined surface area.

Claim 6

The improvement as defined in claim 4 wherein the lower swinging blade guard is pivotally mounted on said upper blade guard in an eccentrically offset position relative to a saw blade shaft rotatably supporting said motor driven saw blade.

Claim 7

The improvement as defined in claim 5 wherein the eccentrically offset pivotal mounting of said lower swinging blade guard is located on a detachable mounting plate that also pivots on a second eccentrically offset pivot mounting when detached from said upper blade guard to facilitate access to the saw blade shaft for removing or changing the saw blade.

Claim 8

The improvement as defined in claim 6 wherein the slidable pin is mounted to retaining plate of lower guard.

Claim 9

A swinging blade guard assembly for a motor driven saw blade including a supporting arm pivotally mounted at one end to a frame support with the rotatably mounted motor driven saw blade at an opposite end of said supporting arm, said motor driven saw blade being movable about the pivotal mounting of the supporting arm from an upper at rest to a lower operational position, an upper blade guard fixed to said supporting arm for encasing upper areas of said saw blade, a lower swinging blade guard pivotally mounted to said upper blade guard for fully covering the blade when in its rest position and for exposing the saw blade when moved to its operational position, an elongated link pivotally attached at one end to said frame support and having a pre-configured slot at an opposite end which receives a slidable pin that is attached to the lower swinging blade guard adjacent the pivotal mounting of the lower swinging blade guard to the upper blade guard, and a bearing element attached to the upper blade guard in laterally spaced relationship to said pin for engaging an upper surface of the elongated link, whereby rotation of the saw blade from an upper at rest to a lower operational position causes the bearing to press against the side of the link while also causing edge surface areas surrounding the pre-configured slot in the link to press against the pin to rotate the lower swinging blade guard for exposure of said saw blade.

Claim 10

A swinging blade guard assembly for a motor driven saw blade including a supporting arm pivotally mounted at one end to a frame support with the rotatably mounted motor driven saw blade at an opposite end of said supporting arm, said motor driven saw blade being movable about the pivotal mounting of the supporting arm from an upper at rest to a lower operational position, an upper blade guard fixed to said supporting arm for encasing upper areas of said saw blade, a lower swinging blade guard pivotally mounted to said upper blade guard for fully covering the blade when in its rest position and for exposing the saw blade when moved to its operational position, an elongated link pivotally attached at one end to said frame support and having a pre-configured slot at an opposite end which receives a slidable pin that is attached to the lower swinging blade guard adjacent the pivotal mounting of the lower swinging blade guard to the upper blade guard, and a bearing element attached to the upper blade guard in laterally spaced relationship to said pin for engaging an upper surface of the elongated link, whereby rotation of the saw blade from an upper at rest to a lower operational position causes the bearing to press against the side of the link while also causing edge surface areas surrounding the pre-configured slot in the link to press against the pin to rotate the lower swinging blade guard for exposure of said saw blade.

Claim 11

A swinging blade guard assembly for a motor driven saw blade including a supporting arm pivotally mounted at one end to a frame support with the rotatably mounted motor driven saw blade at an opposite end of said supporting arm, said motor driven saw blade being movable about the pivotal mounting of the supporting arm from an upper at rest to a lower operational position, an upper blade guard fixed to said supporting arm for encasing upper areas of said saw blade, a lower swinging blade guard pivotally mounted to said upper blade guard for fully covering the blade when in its rest position and for exposing the saw blade when moved to its operational position, an elongated link pivotally attached at one end to said frame support and having a pre-configured slot at an opposite end which receives a slidable pin that is attached to the lower swinging blade guard adjacent the pivotal mounting of the lower swinging blade guard to the upper blade guard, and a bearing element attached to the upper blade guard in laterally spaced relationship to said pin for engaging a pre-configured shoulder on an upper surface of the elongated link, and the pre-configured shoulder on the upper surface of said elongated link cooperating with the pre-configured slot to control the slidable movement of the slidable pin in said pre-configured slot for controlled exposure of the lower swinging blade guard relative to the saw blade, whereby rotation of the saw blade from an upper at rest to a lower operational position causes the bearing to press against the upper surface including the pre-configured shoulder of the link while also causing edge surface areas surrounding the pre-configured slot in the link to press against the pin to rotate the lower swinging blade guard for exposure of said saw blade.

Claim 12

A swinging blade guard assembly for a motor driven saw blade including a supporting arm pivotally mounted at one end to a frame support with the rotatably mounted motor driven saw blade at an opposite end of said supporting arm, said motor driven saw blade being movable about the pivotal mounting of the supporting arm from an upper at rest to a lower operational position, an upper blade guard fixed to said supporting arm for encasing upper areas of said saw blade, a lower swinging blade guard pivotally mounted to said upper blade guard for fully covering the blade when in its rest position and for exposing the saw blade when moved to its operational position, an elongated link pivotally attached at one end to said frame support and having a pre-configured slot at an opposite end which receives a slidable pin that is attached to the lower swinging blade guard adjacent the pivotal mounting of the lower swinging blade guard to the upper blade guard, and a bearing element attached to the upper blade guard in laterally spaced relationship to said pin for engaging a pre-configured shoulder on an upper surface of the elongated link, and the pre-configured shoulder on the upper surface of said elongated link cooperating with the pre-configured slot to control the slidable movement of the slidable pin in said pre-configured slot for controlled exposure of the lower swinging blade guard relative to the saw blade, whereby rotation of the saw blade from an upper at rest to a lower operational position causes the bearing to press against the upper surface including the pre-configured shoulder of the link while also causing edge surface areas surrounding the pre-configured slot in the link to press against the pin to rotate the lower swinging blade guard for exposure of said saw blade.

Claim 13

The swinging blade guard assembly as defined in claim 9 wherein the pre-configured shoulder and pre-configured slot are constructed to facilitate rapid partial opening of the lower swinging blade guard and partial exposure of the saw blade to a workpiece during initial downward movement of the motor driven saw blade, with subsequent slower rotation of the lower swinging blade guard and slower exposure of the saw blade during the remainder of the saw blade travel.