Importance

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Abstract

A highly reliable and inexpensive safety device for a power tool having a protective guard over a cutting blade which prevents use of the power tool when the protective guard is not in place. The safety device includes a proximity detector detecting a distance between the guard and a power tool table top and an interlock system that prevents operation of the power tool when a distance less than a predetermined relative proximity is not detected. In the case of a power table saw a pair of magnets are secured to the guard and a pair of reed switches are mounted beneath the table top to be closed when the guard is in place. The interlock system responds to the reed switches by allowing the saw to be started when the switches are both closed and preventing startup when they are not. A key activated bypass circuit allows the saw motor to be started when the guard is not present.

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First Claim