Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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The present invention relates to routing apparatus and is
concerned, more particularly, with an accessory for use
with routing apparatus of the type disclosed and claimed
in my U.S. patent No. 4,114,664 dated September 19, 1978.
The accessory is provided to improve the capability of
the routing apparatus for routing arc-shaped grooves in
cabinet doors or other panels.
In routing apparatus of the type referred to, a router is
mounted on the end of a bar which extends over the cabinet
door or other panel so that the router can cut decorative
grooves in the surface of the door or panel. The bar is
mounted both for longitudinal reciprocal movement and for
lateral rectilinear movement whereby when these movements
are combined, the router is free, within limits, to move
in any horizontal direction. Adjustable stops and templets
are provided for controlling movement of the arm whereby
the router may be guided for routing straight and curved
lines in a predetermined pattern.
An object of the present invention is to provide an acces-
sory for use with routing apparatus of the type referred
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to for guiding the arm and router in an arcuate path with-
out the need for arcuate templates.
~ further object is to provide such an accessory which is
readily adjustable within reasonable limits for varying
both the curvature and locatlon of the arcuate groove to
be routed.
Another object is to provide such an accessory which facil~
itates the routing of matching arcuate grooves in doors
or other panels of different widths.
An additional object is to provide an accessory whieh is
si~,ple to use requiring minimum skill and instruction and
which is aeeurate and dependable in operation and has a
long service life.
In aeeordance with the invention in one aspeet there is
provided an aeeessory for use with routing apparatus of the
type having a base, means for securing a panel to be routed
in predetermined position on the base, a arail extending
parallel to one edge of a panel seeured in said predetermined
position, a bar extending over the base having means for
mounting a router on the end thereof, and means for mounting
the bar on the rail for longitudinal reeiproeal movement and
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transverse rectilinear movement~ said accessory comprising:
a. a radius arm adapted to be attached at one
end to the bar;
b. mounting means mounting the radius arm for
longitudinal reciprocal movement and pivotal movement and
adapted to be mounted on the rail for movement along the
rail;
c. adjustable stop means for limiting longitu-
dinal reciprocal movement of the radius arm; and
d. adjustable stop means for limiting movement
of said mounting means along the rail.
Other objects will be in part obvious and in part pointed
out in more detail in the following description and the
accompanying drawings which set forth an illustrative em-
bodiment of the invention.
In the drawings:
Fig.l is a plan view of an accessory embodying my invention
and of a routing apparatus to which the accessory is applied.
Fig. 2 is an end view, partially in section, of the apparatus
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and accessory shown in Fig. l, the view being taken ~rom
the right hand end as viewed in Fig. 1, and
Fig. 3 is a schematic drawing partially in phantom illus-
trating the operation of the accessory in combination with
the routing apparatus.
With respect to the drawings showing a preferred embodi-
ment of the inventi~,the accessory is associated with a
routing apparatus of the kind disclosed and claimed in my
prior patent No. 4,114,664. Only that portion of the
routing apparatus necessary for an understanding of the
operation and function of the accessory is shown and will
be described in detail hereinafter. If further informa-
tion concerning the routing apparatus is desired, refer-
ence may be had to the said prior patent No. 4,114,564.
Referring to the drawings in detail, the routing apparatus
includes a base or work table 10 on which a panel 11 is
placed for a routing operation. Defining one corner of
the work area and for use in proper placement of a panel on
the table are a pair of abutments or ledges in the form
of elongated bars 12 and 13 secured to the surface of table
at right angles to each other, the bar 12 being adjacent the
left hand lateral edge of the table and the bar 13 being
adjacent the bottom longitudinal edge as viewed in Fig. 1.
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The panel ll to be worked upon is abutted against the bars
12, 13 and secured in place by a clamp 14 which is slidably
received in the grooves 15 for movement to the desired
cl~lping position and which can be secured in clamping
position by locking means (not shown) operated by the
handle 16.
Extending ac:ross the face of the work table and across
the panel to be routed is a bar 20 extending parallel to
the ledge 12~ Pivotally mounted on the end of bar 20 is
a universal type base plate 21 on which a conventional
commercially available router 22 is attached.
The opposite end of the bar 20 is mounted for longitudinal
movement in a carriage 30 which has a base plate 31 on
which the bar 20 rests and on which it is slidably held
by I.-shaped hold down members 32. Spaced apart rollers
33 mounted on the base plate 31 snugly engage the side
edges of the bar 20 permitting the bar to slide longitu-
dinally but accurately positloning the bar so that it isat right angles to the carriage 30 and is restrained from
pivoting or rocking in a horizontal plane relative to the
carriage 30. The members 34 are dust covers to protect
the bearings of the.rollers 33.
The carriage 30 is mounted for sliding movement on a rail
40 which is T-shaped in cross-section and which is mounted
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on the table 10 by means of a ].ongitudinally extending
piano hinge 41 thereby permitting the rail 40 to pivot
on an axis parallel to the longitudinal axis of the rail.
The hinge 41 and rail 40 are precisely mounted on the
table 10 so that rail 40 is parallel to the panel locating
bar 13 and thus parallel to the longitudinal edges of a
panel 11 clamped against the bar 13.
The base plate 31 of the carriage 30 rides on the top of
the rail 40 and is retained thereon by rollers 35 secured
on opposite sides to the plate 31 by brackets 36 so that
they engage under the shoulders 42 of the rail. ~uide
rollers 37 mounted on the underside of plate 31 snugly
engage the side edges of the shoulders 42 of the rail 40
to prevent pivoting of the carriage 30 relative to the rail
40 but at the same time permitting the carriage 30 to sl~de
easily along the rail 40.
The limits of longitudinal movement of the bar 20 are con-
trolled selectively by means of adjustable stops 50 mountedon the bar 20 on opposite sides of the carriage 30. Each
; stop 50 is of T-shaped configuration with a cross-piece 51
and a center longitudinally extending portion 52. The end
portions of the cross-piece 51 are bent down and around
the side edges of the bar 20 to position the cross-piece
51 at right angles to the bar but allowing sliding move-
ment of the stop S0 longitudinally of the bar 20 to permit
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its position to be adjusted. Each of the stops 50 can be
held in adjusted or preselected position by ope-ration of
a loc~in~ handle 54 in the case of bottom stop 50 and to
a knob 56 in the case of the other stop. The wrapped
around end portions limit longitudinal movement of the bar
by enga~ing against the adjacent edge of the carriage
base plate 31.
With the structure as thus far described, it will be appar-
ent that inasmuch as the carriage 30 is movable along
the r~il 40 and the bar 20 is movable longitudinally in
the carriage 30, the router base plate 21 can be moved in
any direction (within limits) in a plane parallel to the
upper surface of the panel 11.
The accessory of the present invention comprises the addi-
tional elements to be next described which are mounted and
used in conjunction with the routing apparatus for guiding
the bar 20 which in turn guides the router 22 for routing
an arc-shaped groove as represented by the arcuate line
60 in Figs. 1 and 3. The principal use of the accessory
is in connection with routing a design in the surface of a
rectangular cabinet or other panel which consists of the
arcuate groove denoted by the line 60 in combination with
two straight margin grooves denoted by the lines 61, 62
and an opposite straight groove denoted by line 63. This
is a commonly desired design for door panels, the arcuate
groovc being disposed at the top of the panel and the
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strai~ht grooves at the sides and bottom. Accordingly,
to route such a design in the panel 11, the panel is placed
on the base or table lO with its top edge abutted against
the loca~ing bar lZ and with its left hand edge abutted
against the locating bar 13.
Principal elements of the accessory of my invention may
comprise:
(1) a slotted bracket 60 adapted to be attached to the
bar 20,
(2) a pivot block assembly 70 adopted to be slidably
mounted on the rail 40,
(3) a radius arm 80 adapted to be slidably mounted in the
pivot block assembly 70 and to be attached at one end to 1,
the slotted bracket 60, and
; (4) an auxilliary rail 95 adapted to be mounted on the base
10 parallel to the rail 40 having adjustable stops 100, 106
for controlling travel of the carriage 30 and pivot block
assembly 70.
Turning first to the slotted bracket 60, this is a flat
plate having the configuration shown. It is attached by
screws 61 to an elongated base 62 extending along one edge
which is adapted to be secured to the upper surface of the
bar 20 intermediate the margin stops 50. The base 62 ele-
vates the plate well above the carriage 30 on which the baris slidably mounted. The bracket 60 has an elongated and
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wide groove 63 extending alongside its outer edge and an
elongated slot 64 therein, the slot 64 extending parallel
to the bar 20. A scale 65 is provided alongside the groove
63 for a purpose to be explained later~
The pivot block assembly 70 comrpises a generally rectang-
ular carriage plate 71 adapted to be slidably mounted on
the rail 40. A replaceable thin wear sheet 72 is secured
to the underside of plate 71 to ride on the top of rail 40.
10 Plate 71 has four bearings 73 mounted on its underside, one
adjacent each of the four corners, which bearings are mour~--
ted for rotation in a horizontal plane and engage on oppo-
site sides of the rail 40. The carriage plate 71 is re-
tained on the rail 40 by rollers 35 mounted on brackets
15 36 like the carriage plate 31. Threadably mounted on the
top side of the plate 71 is a vertical pivot pin 76 mount-
ing a bearing 77 on which is rotatably mounted a generally
cylindrical pivot block 78. The radius arm 80, to be next
descr:ibed, is slidably received in a diametricàl slot 79
20 in the top of the block 78. The top of the block 78 is
covered with a cover plate 81 secured thereto by screws 82.
The radius arm 80 is preferably of rectangular cross-section
as shown and at its free end houses a bearing 83 in which
25 is supported a vertical pivot pin 84 that extends upwardly
through the slot 64 in the bracket.60. The pin 84 has an
enlarged portion 85 forming a shoulder which engages against
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the undersi.de of tlle bracket 60, a section of smaller di-
ameter 86 which extends into the slot 64 and a threaded
portion 87 on which is threaded the knob 88. The threaded
portion 87 also extends through an indicator plate 89
which is slidable i.n the groove 63 and has indicia thereon
for use in cooperation with the scale 65 when selecting
the longitudinal location of the pivot pin 84 in the slot
64. When the pivot pin 84 is in desired position, it can
be clamped in this position by turning down the knob 88
against the washer 90 and indicator plate 89.
Mounted o~ the opposite end of the radius arm 80 is an
adjustable stop in the form of a clamp 91 which can be
tightened or loosened by turning the knob 92. When
loQsened, the clamp can be moved along the arm 80 to a
selected position As explained more fully hereinafter, the
stop clamp 91, by abutting against the pivot block 78 when
the arm 80 is extended, determines the permitted extension
of the arm 80 and, therefore, its effective length as a
radius arm for controlling the path of movement of the
router 22.
The au~illiary rail 95 which can be mounted on the base 10
parallel to ~he rail 40 by means of screws 96, consists of
two parallel tracks 97 and 98. Each of the tracks is
slightly canted as shown in Fig. 2 and has a longitudinally
extending channel 99 which is of inverted T cross-section.
Track 97 is used to position a stop 100 which is a plate
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bent at nearly a right an~le as shown in the drawing so
that when mounted on the track 97 it will extend upwardly
as viewed in Fig. 2 sufficiently to extend into the path
of the main carriage 30. A stud 101 having an enlarged
head 102 which is slidably engaged in the channel 99
has a threaded end 103 extending upwardly through a hole
in the base of the stop plate 100 on which is threaded
the knob 104. By turning the knob 104, the stop plate 100
can be clamped in any selected longitudinal position on
the track 97. A scale 105 is provided along one edge of
track 97 to aid in properly positioning the stop 100.
Similarly~ track 98 is used to position a stop 106 which
is bent at an obtuse angle to extend inwardly toward the
rail 40 into the path of a depending bar 107 secured to
the underside of the carriage plate 71 of the pivot block
assembly 70. A threaded stud 108 similar to stud 101 in
conjunction with the knob 109 permits the stop 106 to be
clamped in selected longitudinal position on the track 98.
A scale llO along the edge of track 98 may be used in the
positioning of stop 106.
It is believed that the operation of the arc accessory of
my invention in combination with a routing apparatus of the
type described will be readily understood from the fore-
going description taken together with the following explan-
ation in connection with the schematic view of Fig. 3. The
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:first step in setting up the apparatus for routing the
design showll in Figs. 1 and 3 is to properly position
the stops 50 on the bar 20 so as to provide the desired
margins for the cuts to be routed along the lines 61 and
5 62 This is explained in detail in my prior patent No.
4,114,664. The next step.is to position the stop 100 so
that it will be engaged by the carriage 30 when the router
22 is in the proper lateral position for r,outing the line
63. The last step is to adjust the radius arm 80 which
10 comprises firs~ locating the pivot pin 84 in slot 64 of
the bracket 60 so that it is midway between the stops 50.
This is simplified by ha~ring the scale 65 calibrated in
accordance with the widths of the panels to be routed.
The adjustable stop 91 is then located so as to provide
15 the effective length of the radius arm 80 required to
effect the desired radius of curvature of the line 60
and the stop 106 is located so that it will block move-
ment of the pivot block assembly 70 to the left as viewed
in Figs. 1 and 3, thus establishing the center about which
20 the router will pivot when routing along the line 60. If
desired, a chart may be provided for setting the positions
of the stops 91 and 106 based on the formula r = c2 +4h2
8h
where
r = effective radius of the radius arm 80
c = panel width minus margins for the lines 61,62
h = the height of the arc 60 indicated by the
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dimension denoted as "h" in Fig. 3
After the arc accessory and routing apparatus have been
adjusted as described, a typical routing operation for
creating the design as shown may be performed as illusJ-
trated diagramatically in Fig. 3. Assuming the parts arein the solid line position as shown in Fig. 3 with the
forward stop 50 engaged against the main car~iage 30 and
the main carriage 30 engaged against the stop 100, the
router bit will then be located at the corner 112 of the
design and the operator, by drawing the router forwardly
while maintaining the carriage 30 against the stop lO0
will rout along the straight line 63 until the rear stop
S0 engages the carriage 30 at which time the router bit
will be at the corner 113. The operator can then move
lS the router to the left while maintaining the rear stop
50 against the carriage 30 causing the routing of the
straight line 62 until the corner 114 is reached. At
this point the radius arm will have slid through the pivot
block 78 until stop 91 engages the pivot block 78 and the
pivot block`assembly 70 will have slid along the rail 40
until it engages the stop 106. Maintaining the parts
in this position, the router can now be moved along the
arc 60 being guided by the radius arm 80 until the corner
115 is reached. At this point~ the forward stop 50 will
have become reengaged with the main carriage 30 and main-
taining this relationship, the router can now be moved
along the straight line 61 to the starting corner 112 thus
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completing the routing of the desi~n.
As will be apparent from the foregoing description and
explanation, the accessory of my inuention is easy to
apply to routing apparatus of the type referred to and is
simple to use with accuracy and reliability. Fur~hermore,
the accessory not only permits the rapid reproduction of
the same design on a sequence of panels of the same size,
but it also permits the rapid reproduction of matching
designs in a sequence of panels of different widths be-
cause of the ease and accuracy of predetermining the same
shoulder height and margin of the arcuate routing regardless
of variations in panel width.
As will be apparent to persons skilled in the art, various
modifications, adaptations and variations of the fore-
going specific disclosure may be made withou~ departing
from the teachings of the present invention.
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