Method and apparatus for packaging saw blades

#The present invention relates to saw blades and, more particularly, to saw blade(s) having a protective cover that protects the teeth on the saw blade(s) and protects a person handling the saw blade(s), and to tags for security and display purposes that can be used on saw blade(s) with or without the protective cover.

#Saw blades come in a variety of shapes and forms. For example, saw blades can be of the circular type that have teeth that extend around the periphery of the circular saw blade. Saw blades can also be of the reciprocating type that are linear and have teeth along one peripheral edge of the linear blade. The teeth on the saw blades are sharp and can injure a person handling the blades if care is not exercised. Additionally, the sharp teeth on the saw blades can damage other objects or goods that inadvertently come in contact with the teeth. Furthermore, the teeth can have special tips, such as carbide tips, that can be damaged if the blade is mishandled or dropped. Therefore, saw blades are typically packaged with a protective cover that encloses the teeth and prevents accidental injury or damage to a person, other goods, or the teeth of a saw blade.

#A typical prior art cover used on saw blades is a flexible plastic tubing that has a single cut through the tubing wall along the length of the tubing, such as disclosed in commonly assigned U.S. Pat. No. 5,456,057. The tubing is wrapped around the periphery of the saw blade with the teeth extending into an interior of the tubing through the cut along the length of the tubing. The tubing thereby encloses the teeth of the saw blade and provides a protective cover for the teeth of the saw blade. Because the tubing has a circular cross section while the saw blade is relatively flat, the tubing is not close fitting to the saw blade and is substantially thicker than the saw blade. The tubing thereby provides a protective cover that significantly adds to the overall thickness of the protected saw blade.

#The present invention will become more fully understood from the detailed description and the accompanying drawings, wherein:

#FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a circular type saw blade;

#FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a protective cover of the present invention for the saw blade of FIG. 1;

#The following description of the preferred embodiment(s) is merely exemplary in nature and is in no way intended to limit the invention, its application, or uses.

#Referring to FIG. 1, a saw blade 20 having opposite first and second sides 22, 24 with a thickness 25 therebetween and a peripheral edge 26 is shown. The saw blade 20 has a plurality of recesses 27 and teeth 28 positioned along peripheral edge 26. The number of recesses 27 and teeth 28 will vary depending upon the application for which the saw blade 20 is intended to be used. The teeth 28 may have tips 29 that are made of a special material to accommodate the application in which the saw blade 20 is intended to be used. For example, the teeth 28 can have carbide tips, diamond tips, etc. that will vary for the application in which the saw blade 20 is to be used. When the saw blade 20 has tips 29, the thickness 25 of the saw blade 20 includes the thickness of the tips 29. The saw blade 20 has a central opening 30 that allows the saw blade 20 to be mounted on a power tool (not shown). The saw blade 20, as shown in FIG. 17, may have indicia 31, such as product and safety information, on the first and/or second sides 22, 24. The saw blade 20 shown in FIG. 1 is a circular saw blade. Circular saw blades can come in a variety of diameters, as is known in the art. For example, the saw blade can come in a 7 ¼″ diameter, a 12″ diameter, etc. The saw blade 20 can also come in a variety of shapes other than circular. For example, the saw blade 20 can be a straight or linear saw blade (not shown) that has teeth that extend along one peripheral edge of the linear saw blade. While the saw blade 20 will be shown and discussed as being a circular type saw blade 20, it should be understood that the invention can also be used on linear type saw blades, as will be apparent to those skilled in the art, and still be within the scope of the invention as defined by the claims.

#Referring to FIG. 2, a protective cover 32 which provides a protective enclosure for the teeth 28 of the saw blade 20 is shown with the saw blade 20 removed for illustration purposes. The cover 32 also reduces the potential of the teeth 28 injuring a person handling the saw blade 20. The cover 32 is shown in FIG. 2 in its preferred embodiment sans the circular saw blade 20. The cover 32 is made from a heat shrinking material so that the cover 32 can envelop and protect the teeth 28 of a saw blade 20 when heat is applied to the cover 32, as will be explained in more detail below. The cover 32 can, as shown in FIGS. 14 and 17 and as will be discussed in more detail below, envelop and protect the teeth 28 of a stack of saw blades 20. The cover 32 has first and second portions 34, 36. The first portion 34 has opposite inner and outer surfaces 38, 40. Likewise, the second portion 36 has opposite inner and outer surfaces 42, 44. As can be seen in FIG. 2, the first and second portions 34, 36 are joined along a peripheral edge 46 of the cover 32. The peripheral edge 46 defines the outer radial boundary of the cover 32. The peripheral edge 46 also defines the boundary between the first and second portions 34, 36. Preferably, as shown in FIG. 2, the peripheral edge 46 is circular and the cover 32 is also circular to fit on a circular saw blade 20.