Lubricant-impregnated bushing for impact tool
AssigneeMilwaukee Electric Tool Corporation
InventorsPeter Malak, Michael R. Sande, Ryan Allen Dedrickson, Guang Hu, Fan Bin Zeng, Wei Chao Xu, Qiao Cai
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Abstract
A tool includes a housing, a drive assembly including an output shaft extending from the housing such that a tool element for performing work on a workpiece is attachable to the output shaft, and a bushing disposed within the housing. The bushing rotatably supports the output shaft. The bushing is impregnated with lubricant such that the bushing is self-lubricating, and the bushing has an impregnation ratio between about 5% and about 25%.
Claims20
A tool comprising:
- a housing;
- a drive assembly including an output shaft extending from the housing such that a tool element for performing work on a workpiece is attachable to the output shaft;
- and
- a bushing disposed within the housing, the bushing rotatably supporting the output shaft,
- wherein the bushing is impregnated with lubricant such that the bushing is self-lubricating, and
- wherein the bushing has an impregnation ratio between about 5% and about 25%.
A tool comprising:
- a housing;
- a drive assembly including
- an anvil extending from the housing,
- a camshaft, and
- a hammer configured to impart consecutive rotational impacts upon the anvil in response to rotation of the camshaft;
- and
- a lubricant-impregnated bushing disposed within the housing, the bushing rotatably supporting the anvil,
- wherein the bushing is configured to gradually release the lubricant over time during ordinary operation of the tool.
A method of manufacturing a tool, the method comprising:
- forming a bushing;
- inserting the bushing into a mold cavity;
- molding a gear case of the tool in the mold cavity around the bushing;
- and
- immersing the gear case in lubricant such that the lubricant is wicked into the bushing to impregnate the bushing with the lubricant.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.