FR3104402A1 - Drill dust collection tool - Google Patents

Abstract

Drilling dust collection tool This tool (1) comprises a body (10) delimiting an internal volume (V10) intended to be placed under vacuum through a suction part (20) of the body. The body is provided with a mouth (12), which is located on a first side of the body, intended to be applied against a piercing element (2), and through which the internal volume opens onto the outside of the body. The body comprises a piercing wall (14) located on a second side of the body, facing the mouth, and at least partially delimiting the internal volume while being designed to be traversed by a piercing tool (4). In order that the tool can be used safely, including on hazardous material, with drilling tools having various diameters, the body is made of a flexible material and the drilling wall includes a removable part (26) suitable for be cut out forming a passage hole (28) for the drilling tool. Figure for abstract: Figure 5

Description

Drill dust collection tool

The present invention relates to a tool for collecting drilling dust.

The invention relates to the field of tools used during drilling operations applied to an element to be drilled, in particular when the latter contains a hazardous material, such as asbestos. During such drilling operations, a drill or, more generally, a drilling tool cuts into the material of the element to be drilled in order to dig a hole therein, which generates dust containing the aforementioned material.

To prevent the dust resulting from drilling operations from spreading into the surrounding atmosphere, it is known to use a collection tool which makes it possible to collect most of the dust. This collection tool is associated with a suction unit, which is provided with an air filter to trap the dust and which is connected to an internal volume of the collection tool so as to place this internal volume under vacuum when the suction unit is activated. The collection tool has a rigid body, typically made of metal or rigid plastic, which delimits this internal volume. This rigid body has a mouth, through which the internal volume opens out onto the outside of the tool and which, when it is applied against the element to be drilled, adheres to it under the effect of the depression of the internal volume. On its side opposite the mouth, the rigid body of the collection tool includes a piercing wall which allows the piercing tool to pass through so that the latter reaches, via the internal volume, the mouth to come directly into contact of the element to be drilled. By activating the drilling tool, the latter pierces the element to be drilled and the resulting dust is, for the most part, kept in the internal volume of the collection body, from where it is sucked up by the unit. suction. In practice, the drilling wall is provided with a passage orifice for the drilling tool, the diameter of which is fixed and limited, due to the rigid structure of the tool, and the inner periphery of which can be provided with 'a brush or similar fitting which prevents too much dust from escaping from the internal volume through the passage orifice when the diameter of the drilling tool is substantially smaller than the diameter of the through hole.

This type of collection tool is satisfactory when the element to be drilled contains a material which is not dangerous, in the sense that the escape of a little dust through the passage orifice is tolerable. On the other hand, as soon as the element to be drilled contains a dangerous material, this type of tool poses safety problems linked to such a leak, in particular when the diameter of the drilling tool does not correspond to the diameter of the passage hole. Furthermore, it is impossible to use drilling tools whose diameter exceeds that of the passage orifice provided for in the collection tools available on the market.

The object of the present invention is to provide a collection tool which can be used in a safe manner, including on elements to be drilled containing a dangerous material, with drilling tools having various diameters, in particular large diameters.

To this end, the subject of the invention is a tool for collecting drilling dust, comprising a body which delimits an internal volume, intended to be placed under vacuum through a suction part of the body. This body is provided with a mouth, which is located on a first side of the body, intended to be applied against an element to be drilled, and through which the internal volume opens onto the outside of the body. In addition, this body comprises a piercing wall, which is located on a second side of the body, opposite the first side along an axis, this piercing wall being arranged opposite the mouth along the axis and at least partially delimiting the internal volume while being designed to be traversed along the axis by a drilling tool. According to the invention, the body is made of a flexible material, and the piercing wall includes a removable part which is adapted to be at least partially cut out from the rest of the piercing wall, forming a passage hole for the drilling tool.

One of the ideas underlying the invention is to depart from the traditional design of collection tools with a rigid body, by providing that the body of the collection tool in accordance with the invention is flexible. According to the invention, this body consists of a flexible, typically elastic material. This material is preferably silicone, which, as explained below, has many other advantages within the scope of the invention. In all cases, the invention also makes provision for taking advantage of the flexibility of the body to enable a removable part of the piercing wall of the body to be cut out at least partially: once cut out, this removable part is provided to be disengaged from the rest of the drilling wall, by forming in the latter a passage hole for a drilling tool, such as a drill for example. In practice, the cutting can be carried out by a cutter, a cookie cutter or a similar cutting instrument. It is understood that by playing on the dimension of the cutout, the passage hole formed in the drilling wall has a dimensioning, in particular a diameter, which advantageously corresponds to the diameter of the drilling tool which will be used with the collection tool . Thus, even if the diameter of the drilling tool is large, for example greater than 18 mm, the collection tool according to the invention can be used while guaranteeing the correspondence between the diameter of the drilling tool and the diameter of the hole passing through the drilling wall of the collection tool. As a result, in service, the risk of dust escaping at the passage hole is limited, which allows the collection tool according to the invention to be used in a safe manner on elements to be drilled containing hazardous materials, such as asbestos.

According to additional advantageous characteristics of the collection device according to the invention, taken in isolation or according to all technically possible combinations:

• The soft body material is silicone.
• The flexible body material is translucent, preferably substantially transparent.
• The removable part is suitable for forming the passage hole with a diameter of up to 32 mm.
• The removable part is thinned compared to the rest of the drilling wall.
• The removable part is provided with at least one circular groove which forms a start of the passage hole.
• Several circular grooves are provided, which are concentric and have different respective diameters.
• The body also comprises a peripheral flange, which extends from the drilling wall, surrounding the mouth, and which, on the first side of the body, forms a bearing surface against the element to be drilled.
• The peripheral edge is provided with marks suitable for identifying the removable part with respect to the rest of the body.

- The suction part of the body consists of a pipe, which extends from the bore wall and which has a frustoconical outer surface, tapering away from the bore wall.

The invention will be better understood on reading the following description, given solely by way of example and made with reference to the drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a collection tool according to the invention;

Figure 2 is a view similar to Figure 1, from a different viewing angle;

Figure 3 is an elevational view along the arrow III of Figure 1;

Figure 4 is a section along line IV-IV of Figure 3; And

Figure 5 is a view similar to Figure 4, illustrating use of the collection tool.

In Figures 1 to 5 is shown a tool 1 for collecting drilling dust, that is to say dust resulting from a drilling operation carried out on an element to be drilled.

In Figures 1 to 4, tool 1 is shown alone and not yet used.

In Figure 5, the tool 1 is shown in use, being applied to an element to be drilled 2, such as a wall, a ceiling, etc., and being used together with, on the one hand , a drilling tool 4, such as a drill, a perforator, etc., of which only a part 5, such as a drill, a point, a wick, etc., is shown in Figure 5, namely the part of this tool 4 which cuts into the element 2 to be drilled in order to make a drilling therein, such as a hole, and, on the other hand, a suction unit 6, such as a vacuum cleaner, which makes it possible to suck air and of which only a part is shown in Figure 5, namely the upstream end of a suction duct 7 whose downstream end is connected to an air pump of the suction unit 6 .

As clearly visible in Figures 1 to 4, the tool 1 comprises a body 10. Advantageously, as in the embodiment considered in the figures, the tool 1 consists exclusively of the body 10.

The body 10 defines a geometric axis X-X along which the body 10 has two opposite sides to each other, namely a side 10A which, when the tool 1 is in use, is turned towards the element to be drilled 2 , and a side 10B which, when the tool 1 is in use, is opposite the element to be drilled 2.

As more particularly visible in Figures 2 and 4, the body 10 delimits an internal volume V10, one of the dimensions of which extends along the X-X axis.

On the side 10A of the body 10, the internal volume V10 is open, being connected to the outside of the body 10 by a mouth 12 of the body 10, located on the side 10A of the body 10. The internal volume V10 thus opens onto the exterior of the body 10 through the mouth 12.

In the embodiment considered in the figures, the mouth 12 extends in a geometric plane which is perpendicular to the X-X axis and has, in the aforementioned geometric plane, an oblong contour, substantially centered on the X-X axis. Of course, other embodiments are possible for the mouth 12.

On the side 10B of the body 10, the internal volume V10 is essentially closed by a piercing wall 14 of the body 10. As more particularly visible in FIGS. 1, 3 and 4, the piercing wall 14 is located on the side 10B of the body 10, being arranged facing the mouth 12 along the X-X axis. As more particularly visible in Figures 2 and 4, the internal volume V10 is at least partially delimited by the drilling wall 14, more precisely by the face of this drilling wall, facing axially towards the side 10A of the body 10.

In the exemplary embodiment considered in the figures, the piercing wall 14 has a bell shape, which narrows as it moves away, along the X-X axis, from the mouth 12. Of course, other embodiments are possible for the drilling wall 14.

The body 10 also includes a peripheral rim 16 which extends from the bore wall 14, completely surrounding the mouth 12. As clearly visible in FIGS. 2 and 4, this peripheral rim 16 forms, on the side 10A of the body 10 , a surface 18 capable of being axially pressed against the element to be drilled 2 when the tool 1 is in use.

The body 10 also comprises a suction part 20, which connects the internal volume V10 to the outside of the body 10 and through which this internal volume V10 is intended to be placed under vacuum by suction of air. When the tool 1 is in operation, the suction unit 6 is connected to the suction part 20 so that, by activating this suction unit 6, air from the internal volume V10 is sucked up to the suction unit 6 via the suction part 20, thus putting the internal volume V10 under vacuum.

In the embodiment considered in the figures, the suction part 20 is located on the side 10B of the body 10 and consists of a pipe 22 which extends from the bore wall 14, being for example centered on a geometric axis which is parallel or coincident with the X-X axis. For advantageous reasons which will appear later, the pipe 22 has an outer surface 24 which is tapered and which tightens away from the bore wall 14, as clearly visible in Figure 4.

The body 10 is made of a flexible material, that is to say easily deformable by hand by a human operator. In practice, this flexible material is provided to be elastic, in the sense that the body 10 essentially resumes its initial shape by itself after a deformation stress is applied to it and then released. According to a practical and economical embodiment, which is implemented in the embodiment considered in the figures, the body 10 is produced as a single piece, made of the aforementioned flexible material, which amounts to saying that the wall drilling 14, the peripheral rim 16 and the pipe 22 are made in one piece with each other. This one-piece part is advantageously manufactured by molding. The manufacturing costs of the body 10 are thus limited.

In all cases, the aforementioned flexible material is preferably silicone. Silicone has the advantage of being resistant to wear and “harsh” conditions of use and storage.

Whatever the precise nature of the flexible material constituting the body 10, this material facilitates the positioning of the body 10 in a cramped and/or cluttered environment: in fact, the body 10 deforms at will and resumes, advantageously in an elastic manner, its initial shape once the body 10 is in place on the element to be drilled 2.

According to an embodiment option, which is advantageously compatible with the use of silicone for the flexible material of the body 10, this flexible material is translucent, preferably substantially transparent. In this way, the operator using the tool 1 can visualize the interior of the internal volume V10 through the body 10 from the side 10B of the latter, in particular through the drilling wall 14. The operations implemented with tool 1 can thus be more precise.

In addition, the flexibility of this material allows the peripheral rim 16 to adapt its shape, in particular at its bearing surface 18, to the surface condition of the element to be drilled 2, for example by absorbing the surface imperfections of the element to be drilled 2. This conformation capacity of the peripheral rim 16, linked to the flexibility of its constituent material, avoids using at the level of the bearing surface 18 a coating of foam or of a material similar, which could, during use, trap dust potentially containing hazardous materials, such as asbestos.

Furthermore, the flexibility of the material constituting the body 10 is also taken advantage of at the level of the tubing 22, by facilitating the adaptation of the latter to various embodiments of the suction unit 6. In particular, the conformation truncated cone of the outer surface 24 of the tubing 22 allows the tubing to be introduced into the duct 7 of the suction unit 6 whatever the value, within a predetermined range, of the internal diameter of this duct 7. More generally, the tubing 22 can thus be press-fitted in a sealed manner inside the duct 7, while then allowing easy dismantling.

Whatever the specifics of the production of the peripheral rim 16 and of the suction part 20, the flexibility of the material constituting the body 10 is taken advantage of at the level of the drilling wall 14 so that the latter includes a removable part 26 adapted to be at least partially cut with respect to the rest of the drilling wall 14 by forming a passage hole 28 for the drilling tool 4. In FIGS. 1 to 4, the removable part 26 is not yet cut. The removable part 26 is thus linked in an integral manner to the rest of the drilling wall 14, which results for example from the molding of the body 10. On the other hand, in FIG. 5, the removable part 26 is cut out, being partially released from the rest of the piercing wall 14, to form the passage hole 28. In practice, the cutting of the removable part 26 is typically carried out using a cutting instrument, such as a cutter or a cookie cutter .

According to a practical and effective embodiment, the removable part 26 is thinned compared to the rest of the drilling wall 14, as clearly visible in Figure 4. The removable part 26 thus has a thickness less than that of the rest of the wall. drilling 14. In addition, in the embodiment considered in the figures, the junction zone between the removable part 26 and the rest of the drilling wall 14 has a circular profile, as clearly visible in Figures 1 to 3 Of course, other embodiments can be envisaged for the removable part 26. In all cases, this removable part 26 is suitable, in particular by virtue of its dimensioning, to form the passage hole 28 with a diameter which can advantageously be up to 'to 32 mm: in practice, the dimension, in particular the diameter, of the passage hole 28 which is cut in the removable part 26 by the user of the tool 1 is chosen by this user according to the tool of drilling 4, in particular according to the size of the part 5 of this tool intended to start the element to be drilled 2: thus, for a given diameter of the part 5 of the drilling tool 4, corresponding to the diameter of the drilling to be made in the element 2 to be drilled, the user of the tool 1 cuts out the passage hole 28 in the removable part 26 so that the diameter of the latter is equal to or slightly less than the aforementioned given diameter.

According to an optional arrangement which is implemented in the embodiment considered in the figures, the removable part 26 is advantageously provided with circular grooves 30, as clearly visible in FIGS. 1, 3 and 4. Each of these grooves 30 forms a start of the drill hole 28, in the sense that the user of the tool 1 can, when cutting the removable part to form the passage hole 28 therein, choose one of the circular grooves 30 as cutting primer, which the user extends into the thickness of the removable part 26 to actually cut the passage hole 28. Of course, the number of grooves 30 integrated into the removable part 26 is not limiting: in the example of the figures, the grooves 30 are in triplicate, but a single groove 30 can be envisaged. When several grooves 30 are provided, these grooves are advantageously concentric and have different respective diameters, as in the example of the figures, which facilitates the choice of the groove to be used to lead to the passage hole 28.

According to another advantageous optional arrangement, which is also implemented in the example of the figures and which is compatible with all of the above, the peripheral rim 26 is advantageously provided with marks 32 suitable for identifying the removable part 26 with respect to the rest of the body 10. In the embodiment considered in the figures, these marks 32 are eight in number, being associated in pairs, the two marks of the same pair being aligned along a straight line so that, in projection in a plane perpendicular to the X-X axis, the straight line associated with each pair passes through a center of the removable part 26, in particular the center of the grooves 30, as clearly visible in FIG. 3. Each mark 32 is for example made up of a rectilinear rib as in the figures, or a rectilinear groove or even an ad hoc layout. Whatever the embodiment of the marks 32, it is understood that they make it possible to position the peripheral rim 16 more easily and more precisely and, thereby, the body 10 including the removable part 26, with respect to the element to be drilled 2, in particular with respect to axes or, more generally, marks previously drawn on the element to be drilled 2.

When using the tool 1, the operator begins by at least partially cutting the removable part 26 to form the passage hole 28 therein. As explained above, the size, in particular the diameter, of the passage hole 28 is chosen by the operator according to the drilling tool 4, in particular according to the diameter of the part 5 of this tool intended to start the element to be drilled 2 in order to make a piercing therein. Once the passage hole 28 is thus formed in the removable part 26, as shown in Figure 5, the tool 1 is connected to the suction unit 6 and the mouth 12 is applied against the element to be drilled. 2, by positioning the peripheral rim 16 on the element to be drilled 2 so that the passage hole 28 is substantially centred, parallel to the axis X-X, on the piercing to be made in the element to be drilled 2. The tool drill 4 can then be introduced coaxially into the drill hole 28, until it comes into contact with the element to be drilled 2. At the same time, the suction unit 6 is activated, so that air from the internal volume V10 is sucked up to the suction unit 6 via the pipe 22 and the duct 7, as indicated by the wavy arrows in FIG. body 10 to remain in place by itself on the element to be drilled 2, by the effect of adhesion of its peripheral edge 16 against the element to be drilled 2. By activating the drilling tool 4, the drilling of the element to be drilled 2 is operated, producing dust which spreads in the internal volume V10 before being sucked up by the suction unit 6 where it is retained by an appropriate filtering system, known per se and not detailed here. By way of example, when the element to be drilled 2 contains a dangerous material, such as asbestos, this filtering system contains a very high efficiency filter, commonly called “THE filter”.

Once the drilling is finished, the drilling tool 4 is disengaged and the collecting tool 1 is retrieved to be reused during subsequent drilling operations. It will be noted that, in particular when the flexible material constituting the body 10 is silicone, the periphery of the passage hole 28 resists the friction induced by the drilling tool 4 during the actuation of the latter. Of course, the tool 1 used so far can be reused either directly with the same drilling tool 4 or another drilling tool having the same size, or with another drilling tool having a larger size. On the other hand, if another piercing tool having a smaller size must be used to make a smaller piercing than that described above, it is advisable to use a new collecting tool 1 whose piercing wall 14 of the body 10 is cut so that the dimension of its passage hole 28 corresponds to the size of this other drilling tool. Incidentally, one of the other advantages of the collecting tool 1 is understood, namely that the latter can be manufactured according to a single model for all the sizes of the drilling tool 4, in the sense that the adaptation of the tool 1 to the drilling tool 4 actually used is made by the user, as explained in detail above.

Finally, various adjustments and variants to the collection tool 1 described so far are also possible. As examples:

-in order to reinforce the body 10 and in particular to prevent it from collapsing on itself during the depression of its internal volume V10, the body 10 advantageously comprises ribs 34, which extend inside the internal volume V10 from the drilling wall 14, apart from the removable part 26, as clearly visible in Figures 2 and 4 in the embodiment considered here; and or

- the type of operation carried out by the drilling tool 4 is not limited to drilling in the script sense, but covers any similar operation which starts the element 2 by generating dust; thus, the drilling tool 4 can be provided to start the element 2 by cutting, scraping, sanding, etc., the tool 1 then being adapted accordingly.

Claims (10)

Drilling dust collection tool(1),
comprising a body (10) which delimits an internal volume (V10), designed to be placed under vacuum through a suction part (20) of the body,
which body (10) is provided with a mouth (12), which is located on a first side (10A) of the body, intended to be applied against an element to be drilled (2), and through which the internal volume (V10) leads to the outside of the body,
and which body (10) comprises a piercing wall (14), which is located on a second side (10B) of the body, opposite the first side (10A) along an axis (XX), this piercing wall being arranged facing the mouth (12) along the axis and at least partially delimiting the internal volume (V10) while being designed to be traversed along the axis by a drilling tool (4),
characterized in that the body (10) is made of a flexible material, and in that the piercing wall (14) includes a removable part (26) which is adapted to be at least partially cut away from the rest of the drilling wall by forming a passage hole (28) for the drilling tool (4). Collection tool according to Claim 1, characterized in that the flexible material of the body (10) is silicone. Collection tool according to one of Claims 1 or 2, characterized in that the flexible material of the body (10) is translucent, preferably substantially transparent. Collecting tool according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the removable part (26) is adapted to form the passage hole (28) with a diameter of up to 32 mm. Collecting tool according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the removable part (26) is thinned with respect to the rest of the drilling wall (14). Collecting tool according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the removable part (26) is provided with at least one circular groove (30) which forms a start of the passage hole (28). Collecting tool according to Claim 6, characterized in that several circular grooves (30) are provided, which are concentric and have respective different diameters. Collecting tool according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the body (10) also comprises a peripheral flange (16), which extends from the piercing wall (14), surrounding the mouth (12) , and which, on the first side (10A) of the body, forms a bearing surface (18) against the element to be drilled (2). Collecting tool according to Claim 8, characterized in that the peripheral rim (16) is provided with marks (32) suitable for identifying the removable part (26) with respect to the rest of the body (10). Collecting tool according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the suction part (20) of the body (10) consists of a pipe (22), which extends from the bore wall (14 ) and which has an outer surface (24) tapered, tightening away from the wall of drilling.