Torque-Indicating Driver and Method
OwnerBrian Cutlerinventor
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A torque-indicating driver that includes, a handle, a tube casing; a click arm with a fastener-engaging portion at one end that projects from the tube casing and operably coupled to a torque-limiting mechanism housed within the tube casing at the other, torque-adjusting mechanism within said handle and coupled to said torque-limiting mechanism for adjusting the torque-limiting mechanism to the desired torque value, and torque-indicating mechanism operably coupled to said click arm such that an indicator is activated to signal that the desired torque has been reached during the tightening of a fastener.
Claims11
A torque-indicating driver comprising:
- a handle;
- a tube casing;
- a click arm with a fastener-engaging portion at one end that projects from the tube casing and operably coupled to a torque-limiting means housed within the tube casing at the other;
- torque-adjusting means within said handle and coupled to said torque-limiting means for adjusting the torque-limiting means to the desired torque value;
- torque-indicating means operably coupled to said click arm such that an indicator is activated to signal that the desired torque has been reached, wherein the torque-indicating means comprises electronic torque-indicating means.
A method for indicating when a desired torque setting has been obtained when using a torque-indicating driver to secure a fastener comprising:
- providing a torque-indicating mechanism coupled to a click arm and housed within a tube casing and coupled to a torque-limiting mechanism, wherein the torque-indicating mechanism comprises electronic torque-indicating means wherein the electronic torque-indicating means comprises an indicator that is fixedly attached to the click arm at one end and includes a first contact at the other, such that when the desired torque is reached, the first contact engages a second contact thereby closing a circuit and signaling to the user that the desired torque has been reached;
- setting a torque-adjusting mechanism coupled to said torque-limiting mechanism, and;
- applying a force to the fastener engaged driver thereby activating the torque-indicating mechanism when the desired torque is obtained.
A method for indicating when a desired torque setting has been obtained and exceeded when using a torque-indicating driver to secure a fastener comprising:
- providing an electronic torque-indicating mechanism coupled to a click arm and housed within a tube casing and coupled to a torque-limiting mechanism;
- setting a torque-adjusting mechanism coupled to said torque-limiting mechanism, and;
- applying a force to the fastener engaged driver thereby activating the electronic torque-indicating mechanism when the desired torque is obtained, wherein the electronic torque-indicating mechanism comprises an indicator that is fixedly attached to the click arm at one end and includes a first contact at the other, such that when the desired torque is reached, the first contact engages a second contact thereby closing a circuit and signaling to the user that the desired torque has been reached, and wherein the electronic torque-indicating mechanism further comprises a third contact such that when the desired torque is exceeded, the third contact is engaged with the second contact thereby closing a circuit and signaling to the user that the desired torque has been exceeded.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.