Drill guide
United States Patent [1 1 [111 3, Russell Apr. 1, 1975 DRILL GUIDE 2.454.372 M1328 gilleier 403/241 2. 97.9 0 81 l 40 Ill [75] Inventor: g lg Russell Chum 3,308.2?8 lium mail I2 [73] Assignee: Porlalign Tool Company, San Diego.  
  Calif Primary E \&#39;aminerGil Weidenfeld I Filed. June 2 1973 Atlm&#39;ney, Agent. or Firm-Robert 0. Richardson [21] Appl. No.: 372,328  
  52 0.5. CI 408/14. 408/99,408/110 ABSTRACT [51] Int. Cl B23b 49/00 [58} Field of Search 408/l l0. 1 1 1. H2. 99. A y gg i versatile, drll! gulde of slmple dslgn for P 4031 3 93 95 9 97 smonmg a (111&#34; bit relative to varied workpiece configurations. [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 7 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures LSQSHQO l/l933 Harchurick i. 408/! I2 DRILL (IL&#39;IDE BACKGROUND OF THE PRESENT lNYEN&#39;TlON Drill centering guides are useful in working with flat. concave. convex and irregular surfaces. In assemhly line mass production techniques a guide can he provided for the drilling of a hole in any desired position relative to any desired surface on a workpiece. The workpiece can then he moved to a new position and another guide provides for the drilling of another hole in another desired position. In such procedure the guide set-up is seldom changed and therefore the use of a drill guide that is versatile and easily adaptahle to new positions and workpiece configurations is not necessary.  
  In using port-.ihle electrical drills in the manner of a craftsman wherein a drill is used in several operations on a single workpiece. the drill guide must he quickly converted and easily adapted to its new use in a different position on the workpiece. Proi ision must he made for convenient reliahle attachment to the drill motor or rotary shaft and fast easy separation from it after it has served its purpose. The guide must he of simple. durahle and inexpensive construction. quickly and easily mounted and accurate in its operation. lntil the present invention no such structure has heen available to serve these functions.  
 SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT INVENTION In accordance with the present imention a drill guide has been provided for supporting and aligning the rotary shaft of a drill motor or other power tool with workpieces of varied configurations. With its use a hole may he drilled through the diameter of a rod or a vertical hole may he made through a flat surface. a relatively thin edge or strip. a corner or curved surface. or a surface of irregular configuration. Instead of a cutting drill hit. any polishing. scraping or huffing device held in a drill chuck may he used. The interchangeahility of the drill guide from one mode of operation to another is simple. fast and easy. making the drill guide a convenient. if not necessary. accessory for drill motor use.  
 SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT INVENTION In accordance with the present invention a drill guide has been provided for supporting and aligning the rotary shaft of a drill motor or other power tool with workpieces of varied configurations. With its use a hole may he drilled through the diameter of a rod or a vertical hole may he made through a tlat surface. a relatively thin edge or strip. a corner or curved surface. or a surface of irregular configuration. Instead of a cutting drill hit. any polishing. scraping or huffing device held in a drill chuck may he used. The interchangeability of the drill guide from one made of operation to another is simple, fast and easy. making the drill guide a convenient. if not necessary. accessory for drill motor use.  
  The drill guide in one form consists of spaced. diametrically opposed support rods telescopically engageahle with a circular base plate having an enlarged central aperture through which a drill hit may pass when engaging the workpiece. Diametrically opposed V- shaped grooves on the surface of the hase plate serve as a cradle for pipe. rod or other rotlnd objects into which a drill hole is to he made. Slidahly mounted across the support rods is a drill motor support in which is journalled a rotary spindle. the upper end of which is internally threaded to receive the cvternally threaded BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Fl(i. I is a perspecti\e ie\\ ofthe drill guide with the drill motor. chuck. and hit in cvploded position to show the relationship of the parts.  
 FI(I. 2 is a side ele\ ational \ie\\ of the drill guide used in drilling on an irregular surface.  
 I&#34;&#39;l(i. 3 is a perspeeth e \iew showing the technique of drilling into a thin narrow surface. and  
  FIG. 4 is a plan iew showing the technique of drilling into a corner or round surface.  
 DETAILED DESCRIPTION ()I lI.l.l&#39;STR.&#39;\&#39;I&#39;I\&#39;E EMBODIME. &#39;I  
  Reference is now had to FI(I. l which shows the drill guide in perspective. This drill guide consists of a circu lar hase plate III. diametrically opposed support rods I2. I4. drill motor support 16 with spindle I8 and re taining pin 20. limit stop collar 22 and locking tlitunh screws 24. 26 and 28. The hase plate III rests on a llat workpiece 30 and has an aperture 32 through which a drill hit 34 may pass into the workpiece to drill a hole therein. Obviously a huffing or polishing instrument may also he used instead of the drill hit if desired. Plate 10 has a pair of diametrically opposed projections 36 on its upper surface having \&#39;-shaped grooves 38 thereon to receive and cradle a rod 40. tuhe or other cylindrical ohject therein as a workpiece into which a hole is to he drilled. Plate 10 has a pair of diametrically opposed hosses 42 through which a pair of support rods I2. I4 are telescopically moveahle. vertically adjustahle. and secured by thumh screws 24. 26. Appropriate apertures not shown) in plate II) permit downward insertion of the rods helow the plate. such as can he seen in FIGS. 2. 3 and 4.  
  Drill motor support If) extends hetwcen support rods I2. 14 and has openings 44. 46 into which rods I2 and I4 are received. Vertical and horizontal rihs 48. SI) lend structural integrity to the support. Centrally positioned and vertically orientated on the support 16 is a housing 52 having a hushing 54 therein. Spindle I8 is rotatahly mounted in hushing 54 and is vertically retained therein by upper retaining pin 20 and a lower retaining pin 56 (shown in FIGS. 2 and 4). The upper end of spindle I8 has a bore 58 with female threads 60 adapted to mate with male threads 62 on drill motor shaft 64 which is rotatahly mounted in drill motor housing 66. The lower end of spindle I8 has male threads 68 adapted to engage drill chuck 70. The drill chuck 70. of course. is adapted to hold drill hit 34. A limit stop collar 22 is vertically positionahle on support rod 14 and retained in position hy set screw 28. This limits the downward penetration of drill hit 34 into rod 40 or workpiece 30.  
  The additional versitility of the foregoing drill guide is illustrated in FIGS. 2. 3 and 4. In FIGS. 2 there is shown a workpiece 72 having an irregularly configured top surface consisting of surfaces 74. 76. 78 and 80.  
 Base plate Ill rests upon surface 78 while the low er ends of legs l2 and I4 protrude do\\&#39;nwardl below base It) to engage surfaces 74 and 80 respectively. In this manner drill bit 34 is \erticall orientated for making a hole into workpiece 72.  
  In FIG. 3 there is shown a technique for drilling holes in narrow strips such as in the making of dowel rod holes for frames and other purposes. The holes are een [cred on a surface 8! of workpiece 82 wherein the surface ma he of an v width up to the distance between legs l2 and [4. The legs l2 and 14 are adjusted to estend their lower ends below ring It) and to straddle the workpiece 82. When ring It) is rotated until the legs abut against each of the sides of the workpiece 82. drill hit 34 is centered o\ er surface 8! and its downward movement into the workpiece will he parallel to the sides.  
 ln FIG. 4 there is shown the technique of drilling holes in a corner of a workpiece or along the radius of a covered surface of the workpiece. The axis of drill bit 34 ma he aligned or angularh oriented relative to the side edges 84. 86 by extending the ends of legs 12 and I4 below plate It) the desired amount and letting the corner 88 of the workpiece protrude up through the opening 30 in the plate. The edges 84, 86 preferably will bear against the opening walls. The same technique applies when a curved surface 90 is on the workpiece. The legs l2. l4 and walls ofopening 30 bear against the curved surface to permit drill hit penetration at the dc sired angle.  
  ln view ofthe foregoing description of an illustrative embodiment it will become apparent to one skilled in the art that various modifications and deviations from the embodiment just described can he made and it is to be understood that these changes are to he construed as being part of the present invention.  
 What I clailn is: l. A drill guide comprising: a base plate having a central aperture. parallel diametrically opposed support rods adjustabl positioned and attached to said plate. a drill motor support between and slidably mounted on said support rods. said support including a centrally disposed upright housing. a rotatable spindle in said housing. said spindle having means at its upper end for engagement with a drill motor rotatable shaft and means at its lower end for engagement with a drill chuck. and  
 a limit slop collar slidablv positionable on one of said rods to limit downward movement of said support on said rods, said plate liming apertures therein to permit insertion ol the lower ends of said rods below said plate and adjustment means on said plate for adjustahl positioning said lower ends in the plane of said plate and helow said plate.  
 2. A drill guide as set forth in claim I wherein the axis of rotation of said spindle passes through said aperture.  
  3. A drill guide as set forth in claim I including a pair of diametrically opposed projections on the top surface of said plate.  
 \&#39;-shaped grooves on said projections to cradle and center cylindrical objects thereon for drilling holes diametrically therethrough.  
  4. A drill guide as set forth in claim I wherein said support rods are attached to said plate by means of bosses on said plate with said apertures therein to permit slidable mo\ ement of said rods therein. and  
 said adjustment means including set screws in said bosses engagahle with said support rods to maintain said rods at predetermined positions in said bosses.  
  5. A drill guide as set forth in claim 4 wherein said plate has said apertures therein below said bosses to permit passage of the lower ends of said support rods helow the plane of said plate. whereby said rods can he individually and separately adjusted by said set screws for positioning said plate on an irregular surface for drilling a hole at a predetermined angle relative thereto.  
  6. A drill guide as set forth in claim I including a drill bit received in said drill chuck. whereby holes can be drilled parallel to the side surfaces of a narrow top workpiece, said rods being positioned against said side surfaces and said plate resting on said narrow top.  
  7. A drill guide as set forth in claim I wherein said means at the upper end of said spindle is female threads engageahle with male threads on the drill motor shaft and wherein said means at the lower end of said spindle is male threads engageahle with female threads on said drill chuck.