Two speed automatic shift drill

A drill for rotationally driving a bit into a workpiece at one of two speeds according to the depth of the bit in the workpiece, comprising:

• a cam block element having a flag section and a gap section;
• a vent element having an orifice adapted to be closed adjacent to the flag section and open adjacent to the gap section;
• one of said elements being mounted to move in translation with the bit and the other of said elements being mounted to be stationary with respect to the workpiece, with the orifice and the cam block element in operative relationship to one another so that either the flag section or the gap section is adjacent to the orifice according to the depth of the bit in the workpiece;
• shifting means responsive to pneumatic pressurization for changing the rotational speed of the bit from one speed to the other speed;
• supply means adapted for connection to a source of compressed air;
• and
• means for providing communication between the supply means, the shifting means and the orifice;
• wherein the orifice vents the shifting means when it is adjacent to the gap section to drive the bit at one speed and seals the shifting means when it is adjacent to the flag section to change the speed of the bit to the other speed according to the depth of the bit in the workpiece;
• and
• wherein the supply means includes a restriction between the source of compressed air and the communication means sized in relation to the orifice to provide a pressure in the shifting means which is insufficient to cause the drill to change from the one speed to the other speed when the orifice is open.

A drill for rotationally driving a bit into a workpiece at one of two speeds according to the depth of the bit in the workpiece, comprising:

• a spindle for mounting the bit;
• a cam block element having a flag section and a gap section;
• a vent element having an orifice adapted to be closed adjacent to the flag section and open adjacent to the gap section;
• one of said elements being mounted to move in translation with the spindle and the other of said elements being mounted to be stationary relative to the workpiece, with the orifice and the cam block element in operative relationship to one another so that either the flag section or the gap section is adjacent to the orifice according to the depth of the bit in the workpiece;
• a planetary gear unit for driving the spindle, said planetary gear unit comprising;
• a sun gear adapted to be driven rotationally at a high speed;
• planet gears adapted to orbit around the sun gear at a low speed;
• and
• a planet cage journalling the planet gears to revolve around the sun gear with the planet gears at the low speed;
• a transmission output shaft;
• gear means for coupling the transmission output shaft to the spindle;
• shifting means responsive to pneumatic pressurization for shifting between coupling the transmission output shaft directly to the sun gear or to the planet cage to change the rotational speed of the spindle;
• supply means adapted for connection to a source of compressed air;
• and
• means for providing communication between the supply means, the shifting means and the orifice;
• wherein the orifice vents the shifting means when it is adjacent to the gap section to drive the transmission output shaft with the planet cage at the low speed and seals the shifting means when it is adjacent to the flag section to drive the transmission output shaft with the sun gear at the high speed thereby changing the speed of the bit in response to the depth of the bit in the workpiece.

In a drill for rotationally driving a bit into a workpiece made up of at least two layers, one layer being adapted to be drilled at one speed and the other layer being adapted to be drilled at another speed, the improvement comprising:

• a cam block element having a gap section corresponding in length and position to the respective thickness and position of one layer and a flag section corresponding in length and position to the respective thickness and position of the other layer;
• a vent element having an orifice adapted to be closed adjacent to the flag section and open adjacent to the gap section;
• one of said elements being mounted to move in translation with the bit as it bores through the workpiece and the other of said elements being mounted to be stationary with respect to the workpiece, the gap section being adjacent to the orifice as the bit bores through the corresponding layer and the flag section being adjacent to the orifice as the bit bores through the corresponding layer;
• shifting means responsive to pneumatic pressurization for changing the speed of the bit between the two speeds as the bit bores from one layer to the other;
• supply means adapted for conection to a source of compressed air;
• and
• means for providing communication between the supply means, the shifting means and the orifice;
• wherein the orifice vents the shifting means to drive the bit at the one speed through the corresponding layer and seals the shifting means to drive the bit at the other speed through the corresponding layer.