GB2433711A

GB2433711A - Suction device for a handheld power tool

Info

Publication number: GB2433711A
Application number: GB0625553A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Juergen Ruth
Original assignee: Robert Bosch GmbH
Current assignee: Robert Bosch GmbH
Priority date: 2005-12-27
Filing date: 2006-12-21
Publication date: 2007-07-04
Anticipated expiration: 2026-12-21
Also published as: GB0625553D0; GB2433711B; CN1990192B; DE102005062464A1; CN1990192A

Abstract

The invention is based on a suction device (10; 50)for drawing off particles from a handheld power tool (12), including fixing means for attaching said suction device (10; 50) to the handheld power tool (12). It is proposed that the suction device (10; 50) has a drive (22; 54) which is independent of the handheld power 15 tool (12).

Description

Suction device for a handheld power tool

The prior art

The invention relates to a suction device for drawing off particles from a handheld power tool according to the preamble of claim 1.

During the operation of handheld power tools, for example, drills, particles are regularly released, for example, in the form of dust or gases. To avoid contamination or environmental pollution, these particles must be drawn off by suction and collected in a container.

It is known to provide a handheld power tool with a suction device which is coupled mechanically to a drive of the handheld power tool and is driven jointly thereby. A suction device is understood here to mean a device which generates an air stream by means, for example, of a fan and thus draws off air via a suction passage which opens in the vicinity of the site from which the particles must be extracted, the particles being entrained by the air stream.

To simplify handling of the unit comprising handheld power tool and suction device, the latter may be attachable to the handheld power tool.

Advantages of the invention The invention is based on a suction device for drawing off particles from a handheld power tool, which suction device includes fixing means for fixing same to the handheld power tool.

It is proposed that the suction device includes a drive which is independent of the handheld power tool. In the case of a drill, for example, extraction can take place at full power without the need to operate the drill at full speed, as, for example, when drilling a hole. For example, the drive of the suction device may be switched on while the drive of the handheld power tool is still switched off, or the suction device can be operated at full power while the power tool is operated at low power. The term "independent" may in this case be understood to mean that an operating state of the suction device driven by the drive is adjustable in a manner uninfluenced by an operating state of the handheld power tool.

The drive of the suction device can be designed more simply or with loier power than the drive of the handheld power tool. Should the drive of the suction device be damaged, for example, by particles sucked into it because, for example, a protective filter has not been installed or is installed incorrectly, only this smaller and less expensive motor therefore needs to be exchanged. Furthermore, in the event of such damage the handheld power tool can continue to be operated, at least temporarily, without the extraction effect.

Simple operability can be achieved if the suction device includes a control unit for controlling a suction power of the drive independently of an operating state of the handheld power tool. This relieves the operator of the need to exercise manual control. The control unit may be designed for controlling more than two power steps or for stepless control of the suction power.

In a further embodiment the drive includes an electric motor and the suction device additionally has a power supply element for electrically connecting the electric motor to a power source of the handheld power tool. Because this power supply element can be electrically connected to a power source of the power tool, for example, a storage battery or a mains supply unit, which is preferably integrated in the power tool, separate cabling for the suction device, which impedes the handling of the handheld power tool, can be avoided.

The power supply element may be in the form, for example, of a cable with a plug connector which is disposed partially outside the suction device and can be connected to the power source of the power tool via a socket provided thereon. Alternatively or additionally, the power supply element may be configured integrally with the suction device. For example, the power supply element may be disposed inside a housing of the suction device and connected to an adapter configured as a part of the suction device. This adapter may be designed to be connected mechanically to the handheld power tool and may therefore form part of the fixing means. At the same time, the adapter ensures electrical connection to the power source of the power tool via integrated connections which can contact corresponding connections on the power tool.

It is further proposed that the fixing means of the suction device include at least one zone which is configured to cooperate in a form-fitting manner with a corresponding zone on the handheld power tool. For example, respective zones may be provided on the handheld power tool and on the suction device which are so configured that they engage with one another in an assembled state of power tool and suction device, and the suction device is retained on the power tool in this way. If these zones are made of a suitably flexible material they may be separated simply from one another, for example, by manually compressing an inwardly located zone or spreading an outwardly located zone.

The fixing means may include at least two opposed abutment faces which are so arranged that they abut respective opposed abutment faces of the handheld power tool. In other words, the fixing means may at least partially enclose the power tool with their abutment faces, so that the power tool is retained between the abutment faces, and displacement of the suction device relative to the power tool in the assembled state can thus be avoided. Because the fixing means enclose the power tool at least partially from the outside, they can also be used for conventional power tools which originally were not designed for use with a suction device and which possibly may not have their own corresponding fixing means.

Simple fixing of the suction device to the handheld power tool can be achieved if the fixing means include locking means which are provided for locking to the handheld power tool. The locking means expediently include a resilient element which can deform and apply a retaining force. The fixing means may include, for example, shaped parts adapted to the geometry of the power tool, which may be elastic in order to snap-fit on to or into the power tool. In this case the locking means may form part of the housing of the suction device.

If parts of the fixing means are designed to have variable geometry the fixing means can be adapted to the geometry of the power tool so that the same suction device can be used for different power tools.

In a further embodiment the suction device may have an adapter which is designed to cooperate in a form-fitting manner with a handle of the handheld power tool. For example, the adapter may engage in an opening in the handle for receiving a storage battery. In the assembled state the adapter may engage in this opening instead of the storage battery, the adapter itself preferably having an opening in which the storage battery can be inserted. The adapter may include a power connection the geometry of which is identical to that of the power connection for the storage battery of the handheld power tool. The adapter is advantageously configured to ensure mechanical retention of the suction device on the handheld power tool.

In a further embodiment of the invention the suction device includes a suction passage of variable length which connects a suction opening to a particle container. In this way the suction device can be adapted simply to handheld tools of different sizes and/or to different operating states. For example, this can be achieved by a telescopic arrangement of individual subsections of the passage which form the suction passage. Alternatively or additionally, the suction passage may be configured to be flexible or extensible.

There is further proposed a handheld power tool unit comprising a handheld power tool and a suction device as described above. In an advantageous embodiment of this invention an external geometry of the handheld power tool and an external geometry of the suction device are adapted to one another, in particular in such a way that the suction device abuts the handheld power tool in an at least partially formfitting manner. It is thereby achieved that the handheld power tool unit can be handled without difficulty as a whole. An advantage thereof may be that the weight of the suction device is so distributed that its centre of gravity is located close to a handle of the handheld power tool in normal handling.

In an embodiment the fixing means of the suction device preferably include elastic fixing clips which engage in correspondingly configured fixing eyes of the handheld power tool. In this way the suction device can be locked to the handheld power tool and detached simply therefrom as a result of the flexibility of the fixing clips.

The handheld power tool may be any manually operable tool, for example, a drill, an orbital sander, a belt sander, a plane, etc. Drawings Further advantages will be apparent from the following description with reference to the drawings. The drawings illustrate embodiments of the invention. The drawings, the description and the claims contain numerous features in combination. A person skilled in the art will also usefully consider the features in isolation and bring them together in further practical combinations. In the drawings: Fig. 1 shows a drill and a suction device fixable thereto, and Fig. 2 shows a suction device fixable to the handle of a drill.

Description of the embodiments

Fig. 1 shows a suction device 10 according to the invention which can be fixed to a handheld power tool 12 in the form of a drill by fixing means including elastic fixing clips 14, 16 for cooperating with fixing eyes 18, 20. The fixing means also include a plurality of abutment faces 21a, 21b, 21c, 2ld for abutment against the drill, which abutment faces, for example, the abutment face 21b, hold the drill from opposed sides.

The suction device 10 has its own drive 22 in the form of an electric motor for driving a fan (not shown) which draws air from a suction opening 26 via a suction passage 24 to a particle container 28. The particle container 28 includes a filter 30 which protects the drive 22 from damage by the particles.

To supply the drive 22 with energy the suction device 10 has a power supply element 32 in the form of a cable. The cable is provided with a plug connector 34 which can be plugged into a socket 36 on the drill which in turn is connected to the power source 38 of the drill, for example, a storage battery. In this way the drive 22 of the suction device 10 can also be supplied from the power source 38 of the drill. The drive of the suction device 10 can be controlled independently of the operating state of the drill via a control unit 40.

In the assembled state the suction device 10 is mounted on the drill, is retained thereto by the fixing clips 14, 16 and forms therewith a handheld power tool unit 100. The drill has a chuck 42, a torque adjuster 44, a handle 46 at the front of which a control button 48 is arranged, and a storage battery as the power source 38, which supplies both the drive (not shown) of the drill and the autonomous drive of the suction device with power.

The suction passage 24 of the suction device 10 includes a zone A the length of which can be varied telescopically. In this way the suction device 10 can be adapted to different lengths of the chuck 42 or of a drill bit, so that the suction opening 26 is always located in direct proximity to a drill bit or its tip held in the chuck 42 and particles released can be drawn off as efficiently as possible.

Fig. 2 shows a further suction device 50 according to the invention. This is designed to be fixed in the region of a handle of a handheld power tool, for example, the drill shown in Fig. 1. It is retained on the drill via fixing clips 52.

The suction device 50 has its own drive 54. The latter draws air from a suction opening 56 via a suction passage 66 to a particle container 58, a filter 60 preventing the drive 54 from being damaged by particles entrained in the air.

An adapter 62 which serves as the power supply element 64 for the drive 54 is integrated in the suction device 50.

The adapter 62 is designed to be coupled directly -for example, to the power source 38 of the handheld power tool 12 of Fig. 1 -so that separate cables do not need to be used. The adapter 62 may optionally have its own storage battery.

Claims

Claims 1. Suction device (10; 50) for drawing off particles from a

handheld power tool (12), with fixing means for fixing said suction device (10; 50) to the handheld power tool (12), characterised by a drive (22; 54) which is independent of the handheld power tool (12)
2. Suction device (10; 50) according to claim 1, characterised by a control unit (40) for controlling a suction power of the drive (22; 54) independently of an operating state of the handheld power tool (12)
3. Suction device according to any one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the drive (22; 54) includes an electric motor and the suction device (10; 50) further includes a power supply element (32) for electrically connecting the electric motor to a power source (38) of the handheld power tool (12)
4. Suction device according to claim 3, characterised in that the power supply element (32) is formed integrally with the suction device (10; 50)
5. Suction device according to any one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the fixing means include at least one zone which is configured to cooperate in a form-fitting manner with a corresponding zone on the handheld power tool (12)
6. Suction device according to any one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the fixing means include at least two opposed abutment faces which are so arranged that they abut respective opposed abutment faces of the handheld power tool (12)
7. Suction device according to any one of the preceding claims, characterised by an adapter (62) which is designed to cooperate in a form-fitting manner with a handle (46) of the handheld power tool (12)
8. Suction device according to any one of the preceding claims, characterised by a suction passage (24; 66) of variable length which connects a suction opening (26; 56) to a particle container (28; 58)
9. Handheld power tool unit comprising a handheld power tool (12) and a suction device (10; 50) according to any one of the preceding claims.

10. Handheld power tool unit according to claim 9, characterised in that an external geometry of the handheld power tool (12) and an external geometry of the suction device (10; 50) are adapted to one another.

11. Handheld power tool unit according to claim 9 or 10, characterised in that the fixing means of the suction device (10; 50) include fixing clips (14, 16; 52) which engage in fixing eyes (18, 20) of the handheld power tool (12) 12. Handheld power tool unit according to any one of claims 9 to 11, wherein the handheld power tool (12) is a drill.

13. A suction device substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

14. A handheld power tool unit substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings.