Extendible shaft assembly for portable tools

An extensible power shaft assembly for portable tools, comprising:

• a telescoping axial drive shaft assembly including inner and outer elongated shafts each having first and second axial ends, the second ends of the inner and outer shafts being mounted in an overlapping slidable relationship to one another and having complementary outside and inside surfaces, respectively, to transmit rotary driving force between them regardless of their relative overlapping axial positions;
• a telescoping housing coaxially surrounding the drive shaft assembly, the housing including inner and outer tubes each having first and second axial ends, the second ends of the inner and outer tubes having adjacent outside and inside surfaces, respectively, positioned in an overlapping relationship to one another;
• and
• bearing means connected between the first axial end of the inner tube and the first axial end of the outer shaft for rotatably supporting the first axial end of the outer shaft;
• the first end of the outer shaft being free to move radially relative to the first end of the inner housing to accommodate a limited radial offset of a parallel external shaft;
• and
• a coaxial adapter on the first end of the outer shaft, the adapter having an axial aperture surrounded by a conical opening adapted to direct an external shaft into the aperture.

A extensible power shaft assembly for portable tools, comprising:

• a telescoping axial drive shaft assembly including inner and outer elongated shafts each having first and second axial ends, the second ends of the inner and outer shafts being mounted in an overlapping slidable relationship to one another and having complementary outside and inside surfaces, respectively, to transmit rotary driving force between them regardless of their relative overlapping axial positions;
• a telescoping housing coaxially surrounding the drive shaft assembly, the housing including inner and outer tubes each having first and second axial ends, the second ends of the inner and outer tubes having adjacent outside and inside surfaces, respectively, positioned in an overlapping relationship to one another;
• bearing means connected between the first axial end of the outer tube and the first axial end of the inner shaft for rotatably supporting the first axial end of the inner shaft and for preventing relative axial movement between them;
• and
• a floating bearing assembly axially spaced between the bearing means and the second end of the inner tube;
• the floating bearing assembly including inner bearing means slidably engaging the outside surface of the inner shaft and outer bearing means radially adjacent the inside surface of the outer tube for rotatably supporting the inner shaft relative to the outer tube while permitting free axial movement of the floating bearing assembly relative to both the inner shaft and the outer tube.

An extensible power shaft assembly for portable tools, comprising:

• a telescoping axial drive shaft assembly including inner and outer elongated shafts each having first and second axial ends, the second ends of the inner and outer shafts being mounted in an overlapping slidable relationship to one another and having complementary outside and inside surfaces, respectively, to transmit rotary driving force between them regardless of their relative overlapping axial positions;
• a telescoping housing coaxially surrounding the drive shaft assembly, the housing including inner and outer tubes each having first and second axial ends, the second ends of the inner and outer tubes having adjacent outside and inside surfaces, respectively, positioned in an overlapping relationship to one another;
• and
• bearing means connected between the first axial end of the inner tube and the first axial end of the outer shaft for rotatably supporting the first axial end of the outer shaft;
• a cushioned bearing assembly radially positioned between the outer shaft and the inner tube at an axial location spaced between the bearing means and the second end of the inner tube;
• the cushioned bearing assembly including a radially compressible surface operably positioned radially between the outside surface of the outer shaft and the inside surface of the inner tube.