VACUUM HOSE TO TOOL SWIVEL CONNECTOR

RACCORD PIVOTANT POUR RELIER UN FLEXIBLE A DEPRESSION A UN OUTIL

English Abstract

A connector for connecting a vacuum hose to a hand
tool includes a housing with connector members which swivel
at opposite ends of the housing to allow angular deflection
and coaxial rotation of the tool in relation to the vacuum
hose. The connector members have internal air flow
passages in registration with one another through the
housing.

Claims

-6-
THE EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION IN WHICH AN EXCLUSIVE
PROPERTY OR PRIVILEGE IS CLAIMED ARE DEFINED AS FOLLOWS:
1. A connector for connecting a vacuum hose to a hand
tool, said connector comprising a housing with connector
members which swivel and rotate coaxially at opposite ends
of said housing, said connector members having internal air
flow passages in registration with one another through said
housing.
2. A connector as claimed in Claim 1, wherein each of
said connector members has an outside diameter less than
that of said housing.
3. A connector as claimed in Claim 2, wherein said
housing is located centrally of said connector.
4. A connector as claimed in Claim 1 made from a
metallic material.
5. A connector as claimed in Claim 1 made from a
plastic material.
6. A connector as claimed in Claim 1, wherein said
housing comprises a rigid hollow cylinder.
7. A connector as claimed in Claim 6 wherein said
connector members comprise rigid hollow tubes.
8. A connector as claimed in Claim 7, wherein said
tubes are narrow and elongated relative to said
cylindrical.
9. A connector as claimed in Claim 7, wherein said
tubes align with one another through said hollow cylinder.

-7-
10. A connector member as claimed in Claim 7, wherein
said tubes have end regions held by ball and socket joints
within said hollow cylinder.

Description

CA 02254188 1998-11-20
SJ-10246
- 1 -
TITLE: VACUUM HOSE TO TOOL SWIVEL CONNECTOR
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a connector member
which provides a swivel connection between a hand held tool
and a vacuum hose which draws dust and other debris from
the hand tool.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The control of dust and other debris created by
hand tools such as sanders and abraders have become a very
important issue from a workman's safety standpoint. It is
currently known to use a vacuum hose to draw the dust
created by the tool away from the working area.
Again, as is currently known, the vacuum hose is
connected directly to the hand tool and the movement of the
tool relies on the flexibility of the vacuum hose.
Although this does allow for some manipulation of the tool,
the resistance provided by the vacuum hose does inhibit
tool movement adding to operation fatigue and in some cases
producing strain injuries
SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT INVENTION
The present invention provides a connector member
for connecting a vacuum hose to a hand tool. The connector
comprises a housing with connector members which swivel at
opposite ends of the housing. One of these connector
members connects to the hand tool, the other connector
member connects to the vacuum hose. The connectors have
internal air flow passages in registration with one another
through the housing.
The connector of the present invention provides a
path of vacuum from the tool to the vacuum hose while at

~
CA 02254188 1998-11-20
SJ-10246
- 2 -
the same time making the hand tool much more maneuverable
than it would be if connected directly to the vacuum hose.
This therefore substantially reduces fatigue and the
possibility of injury of the operator using the hand tool.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The above as well as other advantages and features
of the present invention will be described in greater
detail according to the preferred embodiments of the
present invention in which;
Figure 1 is a perspective view of a hand tool
connected to a vacuum hose by a swivel connector made in
accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present
invention;
Figure 2 is a sectional view through the swivel
connector of Figure 1;
Figure 3 is an exploded perspective view of the
swivel connector of Figure 2.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION ACCORDING TO THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
OF THE PRESENT INVENTION IN WHICH
Figure 1 shows a hand held tool 1 secured to a
vacuum hose 3 by means of a swivel connector generally
indicated at 5. Tool 1 could be a sander, a polisher or
any other type of dust producing abrading type tool.
Tool 1 produces dust-like particles which are
trapped internally of the tool by the tool skirt.
Therefore, rather than spreading into the surrounding
environment, the dust particles are drawn out of the
abrader by the vacuum hose.
The details of swivel connector 5 are best seen
having reference to Figures 2 and 3 of the drawings. The

CA 02254188 1998-11-20
SJ-10246
- 3 -
swivel connector is formed by a hollow cylindrical housing
7 with two connectors members generally indicated at 15 and
35 respectively extending out from opposite ends of the
centrally located housing.
Connector member 15 has a main hollow tubular body
portion 17 terminated at its outer end with a reduced
diameter neck 19. The inner end of tubular portion 17 is
provided with a small opening 21. A ball 23 provided with
its own small opening 25 slides over the inner end of tube
17 where the opening in the ball aligns with the opening in
the tube. A pin 27 is then fitted through the two
openings. This locks the ball with the tube.
The assembled ball and tube are then located within
a ring 29. Small lips 33 are provided to opposite ends of
the ring. The ring is split at 31 to allow insertion of
the ball which is then trapped in the ring by the lips 33.
This provides a ball and socket fitting of the tube with
the ring.
Ring 29 is then press fitted within the open end 9
of housing 7. The housing, as best seen in Figure 2, has a
thickened central region which provides a stop against
which ring 29 is seated.
The split in the ring 29 allows the ring to
slightly collapse as it is being forced into the center
housing. Once in position, the ring springs back outwardly
to maintain a friction fit with the housing. If required,
the ring can be treated with adhesives to additionally add
to the securing of the ring within the housing.
Connector member 35 comprises a main hollow tubular
portion 37 provided with a small hole 39 towards the inner
end and a raised collar 41 towards the outer end of the

CA 02254188 1998-11-20
SJ-10246
- 4 -
tubular portion. A second ball 23 fits over the inner end
of tubular portion 37 where the ball opening 25 aligns with
the tube opening 39. Pin 27 is again used to secure the
ball with the tube. Ball 23 on connector member 35 fits
into its own split ring 29 in the identical manner to that
earlier described and the split ring on connector member 35
locates in the open end 11 of housing 7 again in the
identical manner to that earlier described.
With the above construction, the connector members
swivel and rotate relative to the housing of the connector.
The reduced neck region 19 of connector member 15
fits within and is held be tool collar 2 which leads
directly to the interior of the tool. Plate 45 has a
further opening 49 which locates over a post on the tool.
The outer end of connector member 35 is forced as
far as collar 41 into neck 4 on vacuum hose 3 as seen in
Figure 2 of the drawings. This completes the connection of
the vacuum hose through the swivel connector with the
interior of the tool.
As will clearly be seen in Figure 2, the open ends
of the two connector members register with one another
through the hollow center housing. As will also be seen in
Figure 2, the swivel connector has an extremely low profile
where both of the connector members are smaller in diameter
than the center housing. Accordingly, the swivel connector
in no way impedes with the hand or the wrist of the
operator using the tool as is well shown in Figure 1.
As is also shown in Figure 1 and in Figure 2,
swivel connector 5 enables the hand tool to easily be moved
to different angles and to be swiveled coaxially relative
to the vacuum hose while maintaining a vacuum passage from

CA 02254188 1998-11-20
SJ-10246
- 5 -
the hand tool to the hose. The moving of the tool does not
rely on the flexibility of the hose but rather takes place
at the swivels of the connector. As a result of the
elongated length of the connector members, very little
swivel is required to produce substantial movement of the
tool produced by the lever effect of the connector members.
This feature is further enhanced by the use of two
connector members, one to each end of the shorter center
housing.
Swivel connector 5 can be made from various
different materials including metallic and plastic
materials. The particular materials chosen need to have
sufficient strength to maintain the securing of the ball
and socket joints within the center housing and to also
maintain connections with both the tool and the vacuum
hose.
Although various preferred embodiments of the
present invention have been described in detail, it will be
appreciated by those skilled in the art that variations may
be made without departing from the spirit of the invention
or the scope of the appended claims.