Portable Power Planer

A power planer for planing a wood workpiece and producing a sawdust byproduct, the power planer comprising:

• a cutterhead;
• a carriage assembly defining a cutter cavity, the cutterhead being rotatably disposed in the cutter cavity;
• a motor coupled to the carriage assembly and providing a source of rotary power, the motor having an output shaft and a housing, the housing having at least one air inlet aperture;
• a dust collection mechanism having a volute housing, a dust hood and an impeller, the volute housing having a first inlet, a second inlet and an outlet, the first inlet being coupled in fluid connection to the air inlet aperture in the housing of the motor, the dust hood enclosing a portion of the cutter cavity and being coupled in fluid connection to the second inlet in the volute housing, the impeller being rotatably coupled to the output shaft and disposed in the volute housing between the first and second inlets, the impeller including a first set of impeller blades and a second set of impeller blades, the first set of impeller blades generating a first air flow in which air flows through the air inlet aperture in the motor and into the first inlet in the volute housing, the second set of impeller blades generating a second air flow in which air flows from the cutter cavity, through the dust hood and into the second inlet in the volute housing, the second air flow being adapted to carry away at least a portion of a sawdust byproduct from the carriage assembly, the first and second air flows combining in the volute housing and being discharged through the outlet.

A power planer for performing a planing operation on a wood workpiece, the wood working operation producing a sawdust byproduct, the power planer comprising:

• a cutterhead;
• a carriage assembly rotatably supporting the cutterhead;
• a motor associated with the carriage assembly and providing a source of rotary power, the motor having an output shaft and a motor housing, the housing having at least one air inlet aperture;
• a dust collection mechanism having a blower housing, a dust hood and a fan, the blower housing having a first inlet, a second inlet and an outlet, the first inlet being coupled in fluid connection to the motor housing, the dust hood surrounding a portion of the cutterhead and being coupled in fluid connection to the second inlet in the blower housing, the fan being rotatably coupled to the output shaft, the fan having a first portion and a second portion, the first portion of the fan generating a first air flow which flows through the air inlet aperture in the motor housing and into the first inlet in the blower housing, the second portion of the fan generating a second air flow which flows through the dust hood and into the second inlet in the blower housing, the second air flow being sufficient to carry away at least a portion of the sawdust from the carriage assembly, the first and second air flows combining in the blower housing and being discharged through the outlet.