Battery powered rotary tool and a rotary swab

Abstract

A battery powered rotary tool having a housing extender coaxially affixable to an end of the rotary tool tubular housing, a rechargeable battery, a motor driver circuit, mounted with a microprocessor coupled to a solid-state switch circuit which connects the motor of the rotary tool to the battery; and a user interface mounted to the housing extender having a user input and at least one indicator light. The microprocessor is configured to, in response to a user providing a signal via the user input, provide a signal to the solid-state switch circuit sending a power input to the motor so it can be switched between at least the following modes of motor operation: forward rotation, reverse rotation, an alternating forward-reverse pulsation, and OFF. A rotary swab for use therewith is also disclosed.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A rotary foam swab adapted to connect to a rotary collet, the foam swab comprising:
 an elongate body having a central axis, a free end and a distal end, the distal end forming a circular substantially cylindrical socket sized to snuggly fit about an outer periphery of a rotary collet; and   a foam tip attached to the free end of the elongate body.   
     
     
         2 . The foam swab of  claim 1  wherein the foam tip is formed of low expansion PVA surgical foam. 
     
     
         3 . The foam swab of  claim 1  wherein the distal end of the elongate body forms an inwardly facing frustoconical surface extending about the circular substantially cylindrical socket. 
     
     
         4 . The foam swab of  claim 3  wherein circular substantially cylindrical socket tapers inwardly from the distal end 0.05-2.0 degrees relative the central axis, providing an interference fit with the rotary collet outer periphery. 
     
     
         5 . The foam swab of  claim 3  wherein the frustoconical surface which tapers inwardly in an angle of 40-70 degrees relative the central axis, to ease insertion of the rotary collet into the circular substantially cylindrical socket of the foam swab. 
     
     
         6 . The foam swab of  claim 1  wherein the circular substantially cylindrical socket is provided with a small diameter central projection sized to snuggly fit within an internal bore in the rotary collet. 
     
     
         7 . The foam swab of  claim 5  wherein a small diameter central projection tapers inwardly toward the distal end providing an interference fit with the internal bore in the rotary collet. 
     
     
         8 . The foam swab of  claim 1  wherein circular substantially cylindrical socket tapers inwardly in the direction of the distal end 0.05-2.0 degrees relative the central axis, providing an interference fit with the rotary collet outer periphery. 
     
     
         9 . A battery powered rotary tool comprising:
 a tubular housing containing a motor connected to a tool collet;   a charging base having an AC power input connected to a transformer providing a low voltage output to a rectifier having an output connected to an inductive transmitter coil;   the tubular housing provided with an inductive receiver coil which can cooperate with the transmitter coil when placed adjacent to one another;   a rechargeable battery to power the motor;   a battery charging circuit coupled to the inductive receiver coil for recharging the rechargeable battery;   a motor driver circuit, having a microprocessor coupled to a solid-state switch circuit with a pair of electrical contacts connectable to the motor and a connection to the battery; and   a user interface mounted to the housing having a user input and at least one indicator light, coupled to the motor driver circuit;   wherein the microprocessor is configured to, in response to a user providing a signal via the user input, provide a power input to the motor which can be switched between at least the following modes of motor operation: forward rotation, reverse rotation, an alternating forward-reverse pulsation, and OFF;   wherein the microprocessor is further configured to provide an indicator signal to the at least one indicator light to indicate operation of the motor.   
     
     
         10 . The battery powered rotary tool of  claim 9 , further comprising:
 a battery indicator light coupled to the battery charging circuit which provides a low state of charge warning signal to the battery indicator light, and   wherein the at least one mode indicator light comprises at least three mode indicator lights corresponding to the forward rotation, reverse rotation, and alternating forward-reverse pulsation modes of operation.