US-12623333-B2 - Drill/driver multi-tool

Abstract

A hand-held powered multi-tool integrates a rotary driver, a capacitive stud finder and a level detection device into a single tool housing. The tool housing includes a head portion that houses a motor, a hand grip portion that protrudes from a rear end of the head portion, and a guard portion. The guard portion is generally U-shaped and joined to a forward-facing edge of the hand grip portion. The stud finder is integrated into a base of the guide portion, while the level detection device is integrated into a leg of the guard portion.

Inventors

• Gregory Herman
• Bradley Padget
• Jeremy Rubens
• Alexander Hills
• Caitlyn Miklasz

Assignees

• ROBERT BOSCH GMBH

Dates

Publication Date

20260512

Application Date

20240829

Claims (16)

1. 1 . A hand-held power tool, comprising: a tool housing, the tool housing including a head portion that is elongated in a front-to-rear direction of the tool, a hand grip portion that protrudes from a rear end of the head portion, the hand grip: portion having a proximal end that adjoins the head portion and a distal end that is spaced apart the proximal end, and a U-shaped guard portion that adjoins the head portion, the guard portion having a first leg that extends from the proximal end of the hand grip portion toward a front of the tool, a second leg that extends from the distal end of the hand grip portion toward the front of the tool, and a base that is spaced apart from the hand grip portion and extends from the first leg to the second leg; a motor that is disposed in the head portion; a chuck that disposed on a front of the head portion and is mechanically connected to an output shaft of the motor; an actuator that protrudes from the tool housing into a space between the hand grip portion and the guard portion, and is configured to actuate a switch when the actuator is depressed by the user; and a stud finder that is integrated into the guard portion, wherein the base has a planar detection surface that faces away from the hand grip portion, and a sensor of the stud finder faces the detection surface and is configured to detect capacitance in a direction perpendicular to the detection surface.
2. 2 . The hand held power tool of claim 1 , wherein the base includes a first lateral side surface that extends along one side edge of the planar detection surface and a second lateral side surface that extends along another side edge of the planar detection surface, the first lateral side surface and the second lateral side surface are on opposed sides of the planar detection surface, at least one of the first lateral side surface and the second lateral side surface includes an indicator that provides an indication of whether a change in capacitance is detected by the sensor.
3. 3 . The hand held power tool of claim 1 , wherein the base includes a first lateral side surface that extends along one side edge of the planar detection surface and a second lateral side surface that extends along another side edge of the planar detection surface, the first lateral side surface and the second lateral side surface are on opposed sides of the planar detection surface, each of the first lateral side surface and the second lateral side surface includes an indicator that provides an indication of whether a change in capacitance is detected by the sensor.
4. 4 . The hand held power tool of claim 1 , wherein the base includes a proximity switch that is disposed on the detection surface and is configured to move between a first switch configuration in which the stud finder is not activated and a second switch configuration in which the stud finder is activated, and wherein when the detection surface is spaced apart from a surface to be detected, the proximity switch is in the first switch configuration and when the detection surface abuts a surface to be detected, the proximity switch is in the second switch configuration.
5. 5 . The hand-held power tool of claim 1 , wherein the stud finder is activated by a proximity switch.
6. 6 . The hand-held power tool of claim 1 , wherein the stud finder is an electronic stud finder and includes a capacitance detector, a stud finder printed circuit board assembly, and logic electronics that are supported on the stud finder printed circuit board assembly and electrically connected to the capacitance detector.
7. 7 . The hand-held power tool of claim 1 , comprising a power supply that is detachably mounted to the tool housing and electrically connected to the motor via the switch.
8. 8 . The hand-held power tool of claim 7 , wherein the stud finder is powered using the power supply.
9. 9 . The hand-held power tool of claim 1 , wherein the second leg includes an interior cavity that intersects an outer surface of the second leg, and the power tool includes a level detection device that is configured to be removably stowed in the cavity and retained in the cavity by a retainer.
10. 10 . The hand-held power tool of claim 9 , wherein the level detection device comprises: a level detector housing, a level detector disposed in the level detector housing, the level detector configured to detect a level of a reference surface of the level detector housing, and a laser disposed in the level detector housing, the laser configured to emit a beam of visible light in a predetermined direction relative to the reference surface.
11. 11 . The hand-held power tool of claim 9 , wherein the level detection device is powered by a level detection device battery.
12. 12 . The hand-held power tool of claim 1 , wherein the first leg includes a work light that is configured to project visible light toward an area forward of the chuck.
13. 13 . The hand-held power tool of claim 1 , wherein an outer surface of the guard portion includes a recess that is configured to receive and retain therein an accessory of the power tool.
14. 14 . The hand-held power tool of claim 13 , wherein the accessory is one of a drill bit and a rotary driver.
15. 15 . A hand-held power tool, comprising: a tool housing, the tool housing including a head portion that is elongated in a front-to-rear direction of the tool, a hand grip portion that protrudes from a rear end of the head portion, the hand grip portion having a proximal end that adjoins the head portion and a distal end that is spaced apart the proximal end, and a U-shaped guard portion, the guard portion having a first leg that extends from the proximal end of the hand grip portion toward a front of the tool, a second leg that extends from the distal end of the hand grip portion toward the front of the tool, and a base that is spaced apart from the hand grip portion and extends from the first leg to the second leg; a motor that is disposed in the head portion; a chuck that disposed on a front of the head portion and is mechanically connected to an output shaft of the motor; an actuator that protrudes from the tool housing into a space between the hand grip portion and the guard portion, and is configured to actuate a switch when the actuator is depressed by the user; and a stud finder that is integrated into the guard portion, wherein the base includes a proximity switch that is configured to move between a first switch configuration in which the stud finder is not activated and a second switch configuration in which the stud finder is activated, and wherein when a surface of the base is spaced apart from a surface to be detected, the proximity switch is in the first switch configuration and when the surface of the base abuts a surface to be detected, the proximity switch is in the second switch configuration.
16. 16 . A hand-held power tool, comprising: a tool housing, the tool housing including a head portion that is elongated in a front-to-rear direction of the tool, a hand grip portion that protrudes from a rear end of the head portion, the hand grip portion having a proximal end that adjoins the head portion and a distal end that is spaced apart the proximal end, and a U-shaped guard portion that adjoins the head portion, the guard portion having a first leg that extends from the proximal end of the hand grip portion toward a front of the tool, a second leg that extends from the distal end of the hand grip portion toward the front of the tool, and a base that is spaced apart from the hand grip portion and extends from the first leg to the second leg; a motor that is disposed in the head portion; a chuck that disposed on a front of the head portion and is mechanically connected to an output shaft of the motor; an actuator that protrudes from the tool housing into a space between the hand grip portion and the guard portion, and is configured to actuate a switch when the actuator is depressed by the user; and a stud finder that is integrated into the guard portion, wherein the second leg includes an interior cavity that intersects an outer surface of the second leg, and the power tool includes a level detection device that is configured to be removably stowed in the cavity and retained in the cavity by a retainer.

Description

BACKGROUND When doing a repair or improvement project around the home or in the workplace, multiple tools may be needed in order to complete the project. For example, in order to perform a wall-mounting project, the person performing the project would need to own and/or gather together several individual tools, including a rotary driver, a stud detector and a level detector. A rotary driver is a hand-held rotary tool having an adjustable chuck that can accommodate drill cutting and driving bits of various sizes. A stud finder is another handheld device and may be used within wood or “stick built” buildings to locate framing studs located behind wall surfaces, usually drywall wall surfaces. A level detector is a device used to establish a horizontal or vertical plane. When using a conventional stud detector, a user will press the detector against the wall and move it back and forth to try to locate each side of a stud behind the wall. Following finding the stud, the user will need to change tools. Following use of the stud detector, the user may use the rotary driver to drive fasteners through the object being mounted and into the wall. Following use of the rotary driver, a user may use the level device to check the final orientation of the mounted object or device relative to a horizontal. Some users may not have all needed tools or may find it cumbersome to keep switching between several different tools while working on a project. It is desirable to provide a single tool that combines the functionality of multiple tools in order to simplify performance of frequently performed projects and reduce tool storage needs. SUMMARY In some aspects, a hand-held power multi-tool may integrate several tools often used to complete a common project into a single device. For example, in the illustrated embodiment, the multi-tool is a hand-held powered rotary driver that also incorporates a capacitive stud finder and a level detection device. Such a multi-tool would be useful in hanging pictures or shelving on the walls of a room. In use, a user would need a single multi-tool, to identify a location on a wall corresponding to a stud, drill a hole in the wall and stud for receipt of a fastener, and to level the object mounted via the fastener. In addition to the convenience of having multiple tool functions in a single power tool, the multi-tool described herein combines the stud finder and drill/driver in a unique way. In one example, the stud finder is permanently integrated into the tool housing by means of a U-shaped “knuckle guard” referred to herein as a “guard” located in front of the user's hand. The guard is a portion of the tool housing that provides a natural extension of a typical pistol-type tool grip and is ideally suited for receiving the stud finder while providing ease of handling and positioning the stud finder in use. Moreover, by placement of the stud finder in the guard portion of the tool housing, the capacitive stud finder is physically separated from other electrical components of the multi-tool. This physical separation isolates the electrical components of the stud finder from other electronics or dense objects that may interfere with the stud finder detection sensitivity. In another example, a large area of the guard is available for indicators and/or other human interface devices such as displays, interfaces or other indicator schemes. For example, in some embodiments, a series of LED indicators may be provided on both lateral sides of the guard. By providing interface devices on each of opposed sides of the tool housing, the indicators can be seen by both right and left-handed users and/or in situations in which the tool is used in unusual orientations. In another example, the multi-tool includes a protruding proximity switch on the front face of a detector surface of the stud detector. The proximity switch detects when the detector surface is pressed against the wall. Upon detection that the detector surface of the detector is pressed against the wall, a controller within the multi-tool automatically activates the stud detection device. In another example, the stud finder is powered using the main battery of the multi-tool. In yet another example, other tools may be stored in the tool housing for easy access. For example, the outer surface of the housing may include recesses that receive and detachably retain drill bits, driver bits, level detectors, wrenches or other frequently used ancillary devices. In some aspects, a hand-held power tool includes a tool housing. The tool housing includes a head portion that is elongated in a front-to-rear direction of the tool and a hand grip portion that protrudes from a rear end of the head portion. The hand grip portion has a proximal end that adjoins the head portion and a distal end that is spaced apart the proximal end. The tool housing also includes a U-shaped guard portion that protrudes from the head portion. The guard portion has a first leg that