Electric impact tool

An impact tool for applying desired impact forces to an impact receiving object comprising:

• a housing defining a drive path;
• a flywheel having a peripheral edge and mounted on said housing;
• means for rotating said flywheel;
• elongate ram means having a rear end, an impacting end, and a side, said ram being mounted in said housing for movement toward and away from said impact receiving object from a repose position in which a central portion of said ram side is located immediately adjacent said flywheel peripheral edge and said rear end is spaced apart therefrom, into an impacting position in which said ram rear end is located immediately adjacent said flywheel peripheral edge;
• means supporting at least one of the ram means and flywheel for movement relative to the other from normal spaced positions to an operating position with the side of said ram means engaged against the periphery of said flywheel in a tangential manner;
• control means for moving said flywheel and ram means into driving engagement to move said ram means along said drive path in a direction toward said impact receiving object to apply a desired impact force thereto;
• and retraction means for moving said ram means away from said impact receiving object upon disengagement of said flywheel.

An impact tool for applying an impact to an impact receiving object,

• a ram means mounted for movement along a path and having a friction surface with a given coefficient of friction,
• rotating body for storing energy to be imparted to the ram means,
• a clutch means for coupling the rotating body to the friction surface of the ram means, said clutch means including means mounting said rotating body for pivotal movement toward the ram means about a pivot point spaced on the other side of the axis of rotation of the rotating body from the ram means,
• and wherein said given coefficient of friction and the tangent of the acute angle formed by a line generally perpendicular to said path and a line passing through the axis of rotation of the rotating body and said pivot point are generally the same.

A portable hand tool comprising

• a housing,
• a work performing means carried on the housing,
• a power unit on the housing coupled to the work performing means and for operating the work performing means, said power unit including at least one balance rotating body of a mass and rotating in one direction at a speed sufficient to provide a gyroscopic precession of the housing.
• and a further balanced rotating body on the housing rotating in a direction opposite to said one direction and having a speed and mass sufficient to generally nullify said gyroscopic precession of said housing.

An impact tool for applying an impact to an impact receiving object,

• elongate ram means mounted for movement in the direction of its length and having a ram surface on one side thereof,
• a rotating body for storing energy to be imparted to the ram means mounted alongside the latter for rotational movement about an axis perpendicular to its direction of movement,
• clutch means for coupling the rotating body to the ram surface of said ram means and friction material drivingly associated between said rotating body and said ram surface, and
• said clutch means including means mounting said rotating body for pivotal movement toward the ram means about a pivot point spaced on the other side of said axis of rotation of the rotating body from the ram means.

An impact tool for applying desired impact forces to an impact receiving object comprising:

• a housing defining a drive path;
• ram means mounted for reciprocal movement in said drive path toward and away from said impact receiving object;
• a first flywheel;
• means for rotating said first flywheel;
• a counterrotating flywheel supported on the opposite side of said ram means from said first flywheel;
• support means supporting said first flywheel in a normal position adjacent to and spaced from said ram means, said support means being movably mounted;
• and means for moving said support means to move said first flywheel into driving engagement with said ram means to move said ram means along said drive path in a direction toward said impact receiving object to apply a desired impact force thereto.