Retractable dust control hood and guard for rotary table saw

#1. Field of the Invention

#The present invention pertains to a retractable saw dust collection and control hood and guard for use with power saws, particularly rotary table saws and the like.

#1. Background

#FIG. 1 is a plan view of a rotary table saw apparatus including the improved dust control hood and guard of the present invention;

#FIG. 2 is an elevation view taken generally from the line 2--2 of FIG. 1 and includes a circuit diagram;

#FIG. 3 is a detail view taken generally from the line 3--3 of FIG. 1;

#In the description which follows, like parts are marked throughout the specification and drawing with the same reference numerals, respectively. The drawing figures are not necessarily to scale and certain features of the invention may be shown exaggerated in scale or in somewhat schematic form in the interest of clarity and conciseness.

#Referring primarily to FIGS. 1, 2 and 3, the dust control hood of the present invention is illustrated in conjunction with a rotary table saw unit, generally designated by the numeral 10. The saw 10 includes a support table 12 having a material support surface 14 formed on a table member 15. A rotary saw blade 16 is supported by the table 12 for rotation with a portion of the blade projecting above the surface 14 and through a suitable slot 18 in the table member 15. The rotary saw blade 16 is suitably driven by conventional means including a motor 20. The motor 20 is controlled by a suitable electrical circuit, FIG. 2, including a starting or energizing switch 22 which is controlled by a solenoid actuator or relay mechanism 24. The actuator 24 is interposed in a circuit including an operator controlled starting and shut-down switch 26 and an automatic shut-down switch 28 which will be described in further detail herein.

#The saw unit 10 includes an adjustable material locating or guide member of conventional construction and generally designated by the numeral 30. The guide member 30 is movable toward and away from the blade 16 on spaced apart support rails 32 and 34 which extend from one side of the table member 15 a distance sufficient to permit supporting relatively large panels on the surface 14 for cutting the panels to predetermined lengths. The guide rails 32 and 34 are connected to a transverse support member 38 which may comprise a channel member or a generally rectangular cross section tube. The support member 38 is adapted to support a hollow tubular support member 40 for a sawdust control hood, generally designated by the numeral 42, FIGS. 1 and 2. The support member 40 has a vertically extending portion 41 which extends from the member 38 upwardly and then is joined to a substantially horizontally extending portion 43 which extends to a depending portion 45.