Blade Assembly

Abstract

The invention relates to a blade assembly for a tool for removing a slate from a roof, the blade assembly comprising: a blade having a length, a width, and a plurality of teeth; and a blade support, the blade being mounted to the blade support; wherein the blade support extends over at least 30% of the width of the blade; and wherein the thickness of the blade support to a first side of the blade is greater than the set of the teeth of the blade. The invention further relates to a blade assembly for a tool for removing a slate from a roof, the blade assembly comprising: a blade having a length, a width, and a plurality of teeth; and a blade support; wherein the blade support extends over a sufficient portion of a first side of the blade such that, in use, the teeth of the blade are prevented from coming into contact with a slate adjacent the first side of the blade assembly. The blade assembly may be included in a saw, further comprising a handle.

Claims

1. A blade assembly for a tool for removing a slate from a roof, the blade assembly comprising: a blade having a length, a width, and a plurality of teeth; and a blade support, the blade being mounted to the blade support; wherein the blade support extends over at least 30% of the width of the blade; and wherein the thickness of the blade support to a first side of the blade is greater than the set of the teeth of the blade.

2. The blade assembly according to claim 1, wherein the blade support extends over at least 40% of the width of the blade, preferably at least 50%, more preferably at least 70%, still more preferably at least 75%.

3. The blade assembly according to claim 1, wherein the blade assembly further comprises: a blade holder, the blade holder having a recess, the blade located in and extending from the recess; wherein the blade holder is mounted to the blade support.

4. The blade assembly according to claim 1, wherein the blade support comprises: a first blade support member extending over the first side of the blade; and a second blade support member extending over a second side of the blade; wherein the thickness of both the first blade support member and the second blade support member is greater than the set of the teeth of the blade.

5. The blade assembly according to claim 1, wherein the blade support extends at least the full length of the blade.

6. A blade assembly for a tool for removing a slate from a roof, the blade assembly comprising: a blade having a length, a width, and a plurality of teeth; and a blade support; wherein the blade support extends over a sufficient portion of a first side of the blade such that, in use, the teeth of the blade are prevented from coming into contact with a slate adjacent the first side of the blade assembly.

7. A saw comprising: a handle; and a blade assembly according to claim 1.

8. The saw according to claim 7, wherein the handle is connected to the blade support of the blade assembly.

Description

[0084] Embodiments of the present invention will now be described by way of example only, having reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0085] FIG. 1 is an obverse view of a blade assembly according to a first embodiment of the present invention;

[0086] FIG. 2 illustrates components of the blade assembly of FIG. 1 in more detail;

[0087] FIG. 3 is a reverse view of the blade assembly of FIG. 1;

[0088] FIG. 3a is an enlarged view of a portion of the blade and blade support of the blade assembly of FIG. 3, showing the teeth of the blade;

[0089] FIG. 3b is a cross-sectional view of the blade assembly of FIG. 3 along the line III-III;

[0090] FIG. 4 is a reverse view of a blade assembly according to a second embodiment of the present invention;

[0091] FIG. 5 illustrates components of the blade assembly of FIG. 4 in more detail;

[0092] FIG. 6 is an exploded view of a blade assembly according to a third embodiment of the present invention;

[0093] FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a blade assembly according to embodiments of the present invention; and

[0094] FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a saw including a blade assembly according to embodiments of the present invention.

[0095] For ease of explanation, like numbers have been used throughout the Figures to indicate analogous features of each embodiment.

[0096] Turning now to FIG. 1, there is shown an obverse view of a blade assembly, indicated generally as 1, according to a first embodiment of the present invention. The blade assembly 1 includes a blade 10 and a blade support 20 formed from a first blade support member 21. Two holes 25 are formed in the blade support to allow for attachment of a handle, as will be described in more detail below.

[0097] The blade 10 is mounted to and supported by the first blade support member 21 of the blade support 20. The blade may be mounted to the first blade support member by any suitable attachment means. Preferably, the blade is mounted to the blade support using a layer of double-sided adhesive tape.

[0098] As illustrated in FIG. 2, the blade 10 has a length L and a width W. When the blade is mounted on the blade support 20, the first blade support member 21 extends over at least 30% of the width of the blade. This can be seen more clearly in FIG. 3, which shows a reverse view of the blade assembly 1 according to a first embodiment of the present invention with the blade 10 mounted to the blade support 20. It can be seen from FIG. 3, that the first blade support member 21 of the blade support extends over the major portion of the width of the blade, preferably at least 75% of the width of the blade.

[0099] The blade 10 has a plurality of teeth 11, shown in more detail in FIG. 3a.

[0100] As can be seen in FIG. 3b, the thickness T of the first blade support member 21 is greater than the set S of the teeth 11 of the blade 10.

[0101] Turning now to FIG. 4, there is shown a reverse view of a second embodiment of a blade assembly according to the present invention, indicated generally as 2. As in the first embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the second embodiment includes a blade 10 mounted to a blade support 20 formed from a first blade support member 21. It is to be understood that the features of the blade and blade support of the second embodiment are analogous to those of the first embodiment and, in the interests of conciseness, further discussion of these components is omitted.

[0102] The second embodiment illustrated in FIG. 4 further includes a blade holder 30 mounted to the blade support 20. The blade holder is illustrated more clearly in FIG. 5. The blade holder includes a recess 31. The blade 10 is located in the recess when the blade and blade holder are mounted to the blade support. As shown in FIG. 4, the teeth of the blade lie outside the recess 31.

[0103] The blade holder may be mounted to the first blade support member by any suitable attachment means. Preferably, the blade holder is mounted to the blade support using a double-sided adhesive tape.

[0104] Turning now to FIG. 6, there is shown an exploded view of a blade assembly according to a third embodiment of the present invention. As in the second embodiment shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the third embodiment includes a blade 10, and a blade holder 30 mounted to a first blade support member 21 of a blade support 20. It is to be understood that the features of the blade, blade holder and first blade support member of the third embodiment are analogous to those of the second embodiment and, in the interests of conciseness, further discussion of these components is omitted.

[0105] In the third embodiment, the blade support 20 further includes a second blade support member 22. The second blade support member is similar to the first blade support member. The blade 10 and blade holder 30 are mounted to the second blade support member. Preferably, the blade and blade holder are mounted to the second blade support member using a double-sided adhesive tape.

[0106] The blade 10 and blade holder 30 are therefore mounted to each of the first and second blade support members 21, 22 such that, in the blade assembly 3 of the third embodiment, the blade and the blade holder are located between the first and second blade support members. The blade 10 extends beyond the adjacent edges of the first and second blade support members, such that the teeth of the blade lie outside of the blade support members 21, 22 and the blade holder 30.

[0107] In an alternative embodiment, the blade holder may be omitted, so that the blade assembly comprises only a blade 10 mounted to a first and second blade support member 21, 22 of the blade support.

[0108] The thickness of each of the first and second blade support members 21, 22 is greater than the set of the teeth of the blade 10.

[0109] In FIG. 7, there is shown a further perspective view of a blade assembly according to the first, second and third embodiments of the present invention.

[0110] The blade assembly according to embodiments of the present invention is preferably included in a saw. As shown in FIG. 8, the blade assembly may be affixed to a handle 40 to form a saw. The handle shown in FIG. 8 is a closed pistol grip handle.