Hammer drill having switching mechanism for switching operation modes

1. A hammer drill comprising:

a housing;

a motor disposed in the housing and generating a rotational force;

a working tool;

a striking force transmitting mechanism comprising:

a cylinder rotatably supported in the housing, the cylinder extending in an axial direction and having one end and another end, the working tool being engaged with the one end so as to be rotatable together with the cylinder;

a piston disposed adjacent to the another end in the cylinder and movable in a reciprocating motion in the axial direction;

a motion converting mechanism that converts the rotational force of the motor into the reciprocating motion of the piston; and

a striking member disposed between the working tool and the piston in the cylinder and slidable in the axial direction, an air chamber being formed in the cylinder between the piston and the striking member, the reciprocating motion of the piston generating pressure changes in the air chamber, allowing the striking member to transmit a striking force to the working tool;

a rotational force transmitting mechanism comprising a gear that transmits the rotational force of the motor to the cylinder, thereby rotating the cylinder together with the working tool;

a switching mechanism that switches on and off transmission of the striking force to the working tool and that switches on and off transmission of the rotational force to the working tool, thereby switching operation modes among at least a rotation and strike mode, a strike only mode, and a neutral mode; and

a rotation locking mechanism that engages the cylinder during the strike only mode, thereby locking rotation of the cylinder,

wherein, during the neutral mode, the transmission of the striking force, the transmission of the rotational force, and the locking of rotation of the cylinder are all turned off.

2. The hammer drill according to claim 1 , wherein the cylinder has an outer peripheral surface; and

wherein the cylinder is formed with at least one through-hole for providing fluid communication between the air chamber and an outside of the cylinder,

further comprising:

a sleeve disposed around the outer peripheral surface of the cylinder, the sleeve being slidable in the axial direction for opening and closing the at least one through-hole to allow and block the fluid communication between the air chamber and the outside of the cylinder, thereby turning on and off the transmission of the striking force; and

a restricting member that, during the neutral mode, restricts an amount of sliding of the sleeve for opening the at least one through-hole.

3. The hammer drill according to claim 2 , wherein the rotational force transmitting mechanism further comprises a coupling member disposed around the outer peripheral surface of the cylinder, the coupling member being fitted with the outer peripheral surface of the cylinder by spline fitting, allowing the coupling member to be slidable in the axial direction for engaging with and disengaging from the gear;

wherein the housing has an inner peripheral surface;

wherein the rotation locking mechanism comprises a rotation locking member disposed in the housing and fitted with the inner peripheral surface of the housing by spline fitting, allowing the rotation locking member to be slidable in the axial direction for engaging with and disengaging from the coupling member; and

wherein the rotation locking member serves as the restricting member.

4. The hammer drill according to claim 3 , wherein, during the neutral mode, the coupling member is disengaged both from the gear and from the rotation locking member, and the at least one through-hole is open.

5. The hammer drill according to claim 3 , wherein the switching mechanism comprises a switching member having an eccentric pin and a cam; and

wherein, when the switching member is rotated, the eccentric pin slides the coupling member to engage with and disengage from the gear and the rotation locking member, and the cam slides the rotation locking member to change a position of the sleeve.

6. The hammer drill according to claim 3 , wherein, during the strike only mode, the coupling member engages with the rotation locking member for locking rotation of the cylinder and the working tool.

7. The hammer drill according to claim 1 , wherein the operation modes further include a rotation only mode; and

wherein, during the rotation only mode, the switching mechanism turns off the transmission of the striking force and turns on the transmission of the rotational force, thereby transmitting the rotational force to the working tool without transmitting the striking force.

8. The hammer drill according to claim 7 , wherein the switching mechanism comprises a switching member that can be operated among a plurality of switch positions; and

wherein the neutral mode is positioned between the strike only mode and the rotation only mode in an order for switching the operation modes with the switching member.