Hand tool with torque drive shaft
AssigneeLoggerhead Tools LLC
InventorDaniel P. Brown
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
The present disclosure relates to a hand-held tool that may be held in the palm of a hand, the hand-held tool being of adequate length and size to allow users to comfortably transfer the tool from a palm grip to a pen grip to maintain the use of the fingers and the thumb when the hand tool is stored in the palm. The hand tool is also equipped with a retractable or nonretractable torque drive shaft designed to allow the fingers and thumb of a user to be rotated freely when the tool is in palm grip and capable of transmitting torque through the housing when an axial pressure force is placed along the drive shaft to engage the tool head with the housing.
Claims19
A tool comprising:
- (a) a housing with a first end including a hub that pivotally connects the first end to the housing;
- (b) a lock mechanism disposed on the housing with a movable lock element wherein the lock element engages the hub to block the pivotal connection in a desired orientation with respect to the housing;
- (c) a drive assembly removably connected to the first end comprising a coupler and a drive shaft, the coupler including a proximate element, a remote element, and a biasing mechanism being disposed between the proximate element and the remote element and wherein the drive shaft is movably disposed between a first operable position and a second operable position;
- and
- (d) wherein the proximate element includes a first coupling surface disposed on an outer surface of the proximate element and the remote element includes a second coupling surface disposed on an inner surface of the remote element, wherein the drive shaft is normally disposed in the first operative position in which the first coupling surface does not engage the second coupling surface and wherein the first coupling surface engages the second coupling surface when the drive shaft is disposed in the second operative position.
A method of imparting work to a work element, comprising the steps of:
- (a) providing a tool having a housing with a first end including a hub that pivotally connects the first end to the housing;
- a lock mechanism disposed on the housing with a movable lock element wherein the lock element engages the hub to block the pivotal connection in a desired orientation with respect to the housing;
- a drive assembly removably connected to the first end comprising a coupler and a drive shaft, the coupler including a proximate element, a remote element, and a biasing mechanism being disposed between the proximate element and the remote element;
- the proximate element includes a first coupling surface disposed on an outer surface thereof and the remote element includes a second coupling surface disposed on an inner surface thereof, and wherein the drive shaft is movably disposed between a first operative position in which the first coupling surface does not engage the second coupling surface and a second operative position in which the first coupling surface engages the second coupling surface,
- (b) manipulating the work piece with at least one finger to impart work to the work element through the work piece while the housing rests in the palm and the drive shaft is disposed in said first operative position,
- (c) moving the shaft to the second position once a greater force is needed to impart work on the work element, and
- (d) imparting work to the work element through the work piece by moving the palm and fingers to forcibly move the housing.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.