Tapper mechanism

Abstract

A tapper mechanism having (i) a rotatable tapper body with a clutch, (ii) a driven shaft having a portion rotatably held coaxially in the tapper body for limited axial motion therein, (iii) an engageable claw connected from the driven shaft for selective engagement with the driven shaft for selectively transmitting torque from the tapper body to the driven shaft upon the axial movement of the driven shaft within the tapper body the transmission of torque from the tapper body to the driven shaft is interrupted by the disengagement of the clutch and the driven shaft is axially moved into a neutral state, (iv) a tap connected from an end of the driven shaft that is remote from the tapper body, (v) an engaging slider disposed between the driven shaft and the engageable claw, the engageable claw and the driven shaft being adapted to rotate together and are axially displaceable relative to each other within the tapper body during such rotation, and (vi) a clutch spring urging the engageable claw away from the clutch.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.