Table saw having visually different scales

Abstract

A scale assembly of a table saw includes a first positioning pin of white, a second positioning pin of black, and a third positioning pin of yellow disposed on the first slide strip of a slide mechanism; a first scale of white disposed on a top of the first slide strip; a second scale of black and a third scale of yellow disposed on a top of the first track respectively; a first pointer disposed on one end of the top of the first track and forwardly pointing to the first scale of white of the first slide strip; and a second pointer disposed on the other end of the top of the first slide strip and rearward pointing to both the second scale of black and the third scale. The scale is visible in a cutting operation.

Claims

1. A table saw, comprising: a base assembly; a table assembly mounted on the base assembly and including a table and a table saw blade; a slide mechanism mounted on the table assembly; a rip fence assembly moveably disposed at one of three positions on both sides of the table assembly; a first slide strip disposed at a front end of the slide mechanism and slidably corresponding to a first track on a front end of the table assembly; a first positioning pin of white, a second positioning pin of black, and a third positioning pin of yellow all disposed on the first slide strip of the slide mechanism; a first scale of white disposed on a top of the first slide strip; a second scale of black and a third scale of yellow disposed on a top of the first track respectively; a first pointer disposed on one end of the top of the first track and forwardly pointing to the first scale of white of the first slide strip; and a second pointer disposed on the other end of the top of the first slide strip and rearward pointing to both the second scale of black and the third scale of yellow; wherein the first pointer is used with the first scale of white when the rip fence assembly is at the first positioning pin of white for cutting a workpiece positioned against the rip fence assembly; wherein the second pointer is used with the second scale of black when the rip fence assembly is at the second positioning pin of black for cutting a workpiece positioned against the rip fence assembly; and wherein the second pointer is used with the third scale of yellow when the rip fence assembly is at the third positioning pin of yellow for cutting a workpiece positioned against the rip fence assembly.

2. The table saw of claim 1, wherein marks of the first scale of white are gradually decreased from left to right in digits.

3. The table saw of claim 1, wherein marks of the second scale of black are gradually increased from left to right in digits.

4. The table saw of claim 1, wherein marks of the third scale of yellow are gradually decreased from left to right in digits.

5. The table saw of claim 1, wherein marks of the first, second and third scales are digits of different fonts.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a table assembly and a base assembly of a table saw according to the invention;

(2) FIG. 2 is a top view of the table assembly;

(3) FIG. 3 is a detailed view of the area in a rectangle of FIG. 2;

(4) FIG. 4 is an exploded view of FIG. 2;

(5) FIG. 5 is a detailed view of the area in a circle A of FIG. 4;

(6) FIG. 6 is a detailed view of the area in a circle B of FIG. 4;

(7) FIG. 7 is a detailed view of the area in a circle C of FIG. 4;

(8) FIG. 8 is a side elevation view of FIG. 2;

(9) FIG. 9 is a view similar to FIG. 2 showing the first scale;

(10) FIG. 10 is a detailed view of the area in a circle D of FIG. 9;

(11) FIG. 11 is a view similar to FIG. 2 showing the second scale;

(12) FIG. 12 is a detailed view of the area in a circle E of FIG. 11 showing the second scale with the third scale concealed;

(13) FIG. 13 is a view similar to FIG. 2 showing the third scale; and

(14) FIG. 14 is a detailed view of the area in a circle F of FIG. 13 showing the third scale with the second scale concealed.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

(15) Referring to FIGS. 1 to 14, a table saw in accordance with the invention comprises a base assembly 10, a table assembly 20 mounted on the base assembly 10 and including a table 21 and a table saw blade 22, a slide mechanism 30 mounted on the table assembly 20, and a rip fence assembly 40 moveably disposed at one of three positions on both sides of the table assembly 20.

(16) A first slide strip 30A is disposed at a front end of the slide mechanism 30 and slidably corresponds to a first track 20A on a front end of the table assembly 20.

(17) A scale assembly as the subject of the invention is discussed in detail below.

(18) A first positioning pin 31 of white, a second positioning pin 32 of black, and a third positioning pin 33 of yellow are disposed on the first slide strip 30A of the slide mechanism 30. Correspondingly, a first scale 34 of white is disposed on a top of the first slide strip 30A. A second scale 25 of black and a third scale 26 of yellow are disposed on a top of the first track 20A respectively.

(19) A first pointer 27 is disposed on one end of the top of the first track 20A and forwardly points to the first scale 34 of white of the first slide strip 30A when the rip fence assembly 40 is at the first positioning pin 31 of white (see FIGS. 9 and 10).

(20) A second pointer 38 is disposed on the other end of the top of the first slide strip 30A and rearward points to both the second scale 25 of black and the third scale 26 of yellow of the first track 20A.

(21) Marks of the first scale 34 of white are gradually decreased from left to right in digits. When the rip fence assembly 40 is at the first positioning pin 31 of white, a user may see the first pointer 27 and the first scale 34 of white in a cutting operation so that it is possible of visually distinguishing the scales of different colors (see FIGS. 9 and 10).

(22) Marks of the second scale 25 of black are gradually increased from left to right in digits. When the rip fence assembly 40 is at the second positioning pin 32 of black, the user may see the second pointer 38 and the second scale 25 of black in a cutting operation (see FIGS. 11 and 12).

(23) Marks of the third scale 26 of yellow are gradually decreased from left to right in digits. When the rip fence assembly 40 is at the third positioning pin 33 of yellow, the user may see the second pointer 38 and the third scale 26 of yellow in a cutting operation (see FIGS. 13 and 14).

(24) In addition to having scales of different colors, the marks (e.g., digits) may be of different fonts to further enable a user to distinguish the scales.

(25) A1 is defined as a distance between the first positioning pin 31 of white and the table saw blade 22 in a cutting operation. A2 is defined as a distance between the second positioning pin 32 of black and the table saw blade 22 in a cutting operation. A3 is defined as a distance between the third positioning pin 33 of yellow and the table saw blade 22 in a cutting operation.

(26) After positioning a workpiece (not shown) on the table 21, a user may slide the slide assembly 30 relative to the table 21 to measure a width of the workpiece by moving the corresponding first pointer 27 or the second pointer 38 in order to align with the edge of the workpiece.

(27) Advantageously, it is envisaged by the invention that in this position the user may use at least one of three scales of different colors corresponding to one of three positioning pins of different colors respectively to measure the width of the workpiece so that it is possible of visually distinguishing the scales of different colors. This is a great improvement of the invention.

(28) While the invention has been described in terms of preferred embodiments, those skilled in the art will recognize that the invention can be practiced with modifications within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.