Portable rapid and quiet drill
View Patent ↗A hand-held drilling device, and method for drilling using the device, has a housing, a transducer within the housing, with the transducer effectively operating at ultrasonic frequencies, a rotating motor component within the housing and rigid cutting end-effector rotationally connected to the rotating motor component and vibrationally connected to the transducer. The hand-held drilling device of the present invention operates at a noise level of from about 50 decibels or less.
1. A hand-held drilling device, comprising:
a housing constructed of materials that resist transmission or production of noise therethrough;
a transducer within the housing which operates at ultrasonic frequencies from about 20 kHz to about 30 kHz;
a rotating motor within the housing; and,
a rigid cutting end-effector rotationally connected to the rotating motor and vibrationally connected to the transducer, wherein the hand-held drilling device operates at a noise level comprising about 50 decibels or less.
2. The device of claim 1 , wherein the transducer comprises multiple piezoelectric elements and electrodes.
3. The device of claim 2 , comprising 2 or more piezoelectric elements and about 2 or more electrodes.
4. The device of claim 1 , wherein the ultrasonic transducer is capable of operating at about 25-kHz.
5. The device of claim 1 , wherein the rotating motor rotates at a speed of from about 1 rpm to about 400 rpm.
6. The device of claim 1 , wherein the rigid cutting end-effector includes a drill bit.
7. The device of claim 6 , wherein the drill bit forms a thin auger on an outer surface for the removal of accumulating dust through rotation of the bit.
8. The device of claim 6 , wherein the drill bit forms a central borehole.
9. The device of claim 8 , further comprising a gas supply communicatively connected to the formed central borehole effective for imparting positive gas pressure through the central borehole.