Power tools with housings having integral resilient motor mounts

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9545713-B2
Application number	US-201114127749-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jun 29, 2011
Priority date	Jun 29, 2011
Publication date	Jan 17, 2017
Grant date	Jan 17, 2017

Abstract

Power tool housing shells that matably attach to each other and define an interior cavity that is sized and configured to encase at least a motor associated with a power train for a power tool. Each housing shell is a substantially rigid molded shell body. Each housing shell inner surface includes at least one overmold motor mount member of a resilient material directly, integrally attached to an inner surface of the respective housing shell.

First claim

That which is claimed is:

1. A power tool housing, comprising:
first and second housing shells that each have an outer wall that encases inner surfaces, wherein the housing shells matably attach to each other and define an interior motor cavity that is sized and configured to encase at least a motor associated with a power train for a power tool,
wherein each housing shell is a substantially rigid molded shell body, and wherein each housing shell includes a plurality of axially spaced apart overmold motor mount member portions comprising an elastomeric material that are directly, integrally attached to at least one inner surface of the respective housing shell.

2. The power tool housing of claim 1 , wherein one or sets of the axially-spaced apart overmold motor mount member portions of the first housing shell are aligned with one or sets of motor mount member portions of the second housing shell and define a plurality of axially spaced apart overmold motor mount members.

3. The power tool housing of claim 2 , wherein the plurality of overmold motor mount members includes first and second overmold motor mount members that each have a width that is between about 0.5 mm to about 10 mm in a width dimension associated with an axial direction of the cavity and each projects inwardly a distance from a housing shell attachment surface.

4. The power tool of claim 2 , wherein the plurality of motor mount members is two axially spaced apart, curved motor mount members, each defined by cooperating semi-circular overmold motor mount member portions, and wherein the overmold motor mount member portions extend circumferentially between about 90-180 degrees about the interior motor cavity.

5. The power tool housing of claim 2 , wherein the interior cavity is substantially cylindrical, and wherein the plurality of axially spaced apart overmold motor mount members includes one that resides closer to the rear of the cylindrical cavity than another, and wherein some of the overmold motor mount members have a substantially common radius of curvature measured from a centerline of the cavity and a circumferentially extending length in each respective housing shell that is between about 90-180 degrees.

6. The power tool housing of claim 2 , wherein the overmold motor mount members include a motor mount member that resides proximate the rear of the interior cavity that has a stepped configuration, with (i) a forward portion that is sized and configured to snugly abut an outer cylindrical wall of a motor held thereat being discontinuous about its circumference and (ii) a second portion that is substantially orthogonal to the first portion and has a planar configuration that extends inwardly from the first portion a short distance between about 1 mm to about 30 mm.

7. The power tool housing of claim 2 , wherein the plurality of overmold motor mount members includes at least one motor mount member residing proximate a front end of the interior motor cavity and at least one motor mount member spaced apart and residing closer to a rear end of the interior cavity.

8. The power tool housing of claim 1 , wherein each housing shell includes at least one cooperating pair of aligned, circumferentially extending overmold motor mount member portions that define a respective overmold motor mount member.

9. The power tool housing of claim 1 , wherein at least one of the overmold motor mount member portions of each housing shell resides intermediate a pair of closely spaced apart housing ribs and projects inwardly toward a center of the interior cavity from the respective ribs between about 0.25 mm to about 1 mm, and wherein the ribs extend inwardly from an inner surface of the respective housing shell and also extend circumferentially at an arc of between about 90-180 degrees about the interior motor cavity.

10. The power tool housing of claim 1 , wherein the housing shell inner surfaces include circumferentially-extending support ribs and an axially extending planar sub-surface attached to the ribs, wherein at least some of the overmold motor mount member portions are integrally attached to the sub-surface, and wherein the overmold motor mount member portions include a plurality of narrow, axially spaced apart overmold motor mount member portions that project inwardly from the sub-surface between about 0. 5 mm to about 1 mm.

11. The power tool housing of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of overmold motor mount member portions comprises at least one overmold motor mount member portion with two different stacked thermoplastic elastomers.

12. A power tool, comprising:
first and second housing shells that matably attach to each other and define an interior motor cavity, wherein each housing shell is a substantially rigid molded shell body that defines an outer wall and inner surfaces, and wherein each of the first and second housing shells includes at least one cooperating portion of a resilient overmold motor mount member that is integrally attached to at least one of the inner surfaces of a respective housing shell; and
a motor that resides in the interior motor cavity, the motor having an outer wall that snugly abuts the overmold motor mount member.

13. The power tool of claim 12 , wherein each housing shell comprises a plurality of axially spaced apart resilient overmold motor mount portions that are integrally attached to defined locations of at least one of the inner surfaces of the respective housing shell and cooperate to define respective spaced apart overmold motor mount members, wherein at least two of the overmold motor mount portions have a width dimension associated with an axially extending direction of the interior motor cavity that is between about 0.5 mm to about 10 mm.

14. The power tool of claim 13 , wherein one of the overmold motor mount members has a stepped configuration, with (i) a forward portion that is sized and configure to snugly abut an outer cylindrical wall of a motor held thereat and having a discontinuous configuration about its circumference and (ii) a second portion that is substantially orthogonal to the first portion and has a planar configuration that extends inwardly from the first portion a short distance between about 1 mm to about 30 mm.

15. The power tool of claim 12 , further comprising a gear carrier with opposing end portions residing aligned with the motor in the housing shell, wherein the end portion facing the motor includes a substantially planar resilient overmold portion directly integrally attached thereto, the overmold portion having an open center space.

16. The power tool of claim 12 , wherein the overmold motor mount portions have a width of between about 1 mm to about 10 mm in a width dimension associated with an axial direction of the interior cavity, and wherein the housing shell inner surfaces include circumferentially extending support ribs and an axially extending planar sub-surface attached to the ribs, wherein the overmold motor mount portions are integrally attached to the planar sub-surface.

17. The power tool of claim 12 , wherein each housing shell includes at least one pair of closely spaced interior ribs with a cavity therebetween, and wherein the overmold motor mount portions reside in the cavity intermediate the pair of closely spaced apart ribs, the ribs extending inwardly from an inner surface of the respective housing shell and also extending circumferentially at an arc that is between about 90-180 degrees about the substantially cylindrical cavity, and wherein the overmold motor mount portions project outwardly from at least one the respective closely spaced apa

Assignees

• Johnson Joshua Odell
• Power Dominic Leonard
• Bouboulis Joseph Constantine
• Ingersoll-Rand Company

Inventors

• Johnson Joshua Odell
• Power Dominic Leonard
• Bouboulis Joseph Constantine

Classifications

• B25F5/02 Primary

  Construction of casings, bodies or handles {(B25F5/006, B25F5/008 take precedence)} · CPC title

• Y10T29/49826

  Assembling or joining · CPC title

• B25F5/006

  Vibration damping means · CPC title