On Thu, 10 Jul 2003 20:37:33 GMT, "Leon"
wrote:

I wonder why the electric break on so many miter saws could not be beefed up
to perform as well as the saw stop.
A simple pin ingauges a hole in the blade or arbor and stops the blade. No,
I have not read the whole petition but From what every one is saying, I
would be inclined to think that the petition requires "LIKE" or better
performance and not the same way to achieve "LIKE " performance. A little
imagination should acomplish the same thing.

The physics of bringing a blade to a stop quickly enough to avoid
serious injury pretty much dictate that you will destroy the mechanism
and probably the blade in the process. Any shaft-braked system would
put so much force into the stopping mechanism it would likely break
the shaft, as you beef up the shaft to get around that problem you are
increasing the rotating mass that you have to stop. It is also
imperative that any system disengage the motor in the same instant,
and it really needs to be a positive disengage, not merely slacking a
belt because there is plenty of drag from even a loose belt.

The biggest challenge is that there is really no system other than the
one SawStop uses that is acceptable for detecting contact with a
finger or something. The use of that technology in that application
seems to be part of their patent.

Were I running SawStop I'd license the technology to any manufacturer
who wanted it for $5.00 a saw. All I would have to do then is sit back
and cash checks, something that even I could do. If the license fee is
low enough and the perceived benefit high enough the manufacturers
will diddle the technology to make it cheaper and more efficient.
Everybody wins until someone actually comes up with a system that
works as well and is outside the original patent.


Tim Douglass

http://www.DouglassClan.com